Single Drunk Female Review: Shamrocks and Shenanigans (Season 1 Episode 4)

After a bit of a sophomore slump, Single Drunk Female Season 1 Episode 4, “Shamrocks and Shenanigans” brings back some of the sparks we saw from the series premiere.

Like I mentioned in my review of Single Drunk Female Season 1 Episode 3, it’s to be expected that Sam’s story jumps forward in time each episode — she’s supposed to be sober for a full year, and thus far each episode has jumped forward in time about 1 month. On the previous episode, we saw Sam at her 30-day mark.

When we open on Sam doing inventory at the grocery store where she works, she’s 62-days sober, and about to face her toughest challenge yet — St. Patrick’s Day.

My main criticism of Single Drunk Female, aside from the series premiere, has been that there have been criminally too few scenes of Sam and her sponsor Olivia together. Sofia Black D’Elia (Sam) and Rebecca Henderson (Olivia) have palpable chemistry on-screen, and bounce off each other brilliantly, elevating the comedic game of the show.

The same stands true for this week.

The stress of St. Patrick’s Day could have been the perfect situation for Sam to spend time with her sponsor, and yet instead the duo shared only a Facetime call of encouragement.

On the other hand, I suppose in the long run Sam’s solitude in the tough situation can give her confidence to uphold her sobriety in the face of adversity.

Regardless, Olivia’s main advice to Sam is to not be alone on such a difficult day. Sam, though she tries her hardest, unfortunately, ends up solo for most of March 17th.

So desperate to be not alone, Sam even reaches out to her ex-bff Brit who is shopping for her wedding dress. That she’s going to wear to marry Sam’s ex-boyfriend. Such a mess!

Even though it got a little awkward at the end, I was glad to see Sam putting in more work to mend her relationship with Britt. There’s obviously a lot of history between them, both before Sam’s drinking became a problem and after, and I hope they start to hash it out more.

Still, though Sam was on a major “Amends” tour on Single Drunk Female Season 1 Episode 3, “I’m Sorry But…” and she botched it, it’s nice to see that the path to forgiveness is still being pursued.

In other unlikely duos, James and Mindy end up on their own St. Patrick’s Day journey.

They’re both a little further along in their sobriety, so they aren’t trying to actively avoid alcohol in the same way that Sam is. It makes it a little easier on them when James has to go to a bar to retrieve a set of spare keys, and it’s more obvious to them to buddy-up on such a difficult holiday.

I think it’s great that Single Drunk Female is showcasing people at all stages of the journey, and how coping methods change as you grow.

Even though Sam is obviously the protagonist of this story (it is called Single Drunk Female) getting to see more of the side characters interact without her in the mix is a welcome addition to the story.

And then there’s Carol, Sam’s mother. While I did feel for her when she was hesitant to move her relationship further with Bob, I still find it frustrating that she’s not more perceptive to how her actions affect her daughter’s sobriety.

And I still think those tiny aggressions towards Sam’s sobriety are going to come to a head and blow up in both of their faces sometime soon.

Single Drunk Female has been doing a good job of subtly driving Sam’s progress forward at the end of each episode. Some instances have been small, like making her bed. Here, we see Sam meet up with Mindy and James at a coffee shop on St. Patrick’s Night.

And even though it was not intentional, it’s still a step in the right direction for her and her sobriety. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Stray thoughts:

• Stephanie (pronounced Stefani) is still one of the funniest characters on this show and I hope we see more of her 
• Felicia’s best quote of the week: “It’s like the SuperBowl, but better since I don’t have to see Maroon 5 shirtless.”
• A Flannagan not getting to properly celebrate St. Patrick’s Day was the best joke in the episode. Props to comedy genius Tami Sagher for a small, but mighty, role.
• Loved that we got a little more background on Britt with the bit of Haitian Creole language. And you can tell her and Sam were besties since she taught Sam only the swear words.
• Also, is it a compliment to compare a wedding dress to a funnel cake?? Jury is out on that one,

 

What did you think of this episode of Single Drunk Female? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Single Drunk Female airs Thursdays at 10:30 pm ET/9:30 CT on Freeform.

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