Minx Season 2 Episode 6 Review: This is Our Zig
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
There are some hard truths ahead, and Minx Season 2 Episode 6, “This is Our Zig,” highlights why business and family may be best kept separate in more ways than one.
Continuing the trend of giving us character-driven arcs, “This is Our Zig” shows us exactly how the success of Minx has started to form cracks with the original gang. Specifically, the side characters.
All Hail Joyce Prigger
First, let’s talk about Joyce’s trip to Poughkeepsie. It’s no secret that Joyce has been lapping up the attention that she’s garnered from Minx’s success. However, her encounter with Professor Meerim highlights just how superficial that success is.
Joyce sees herself as intelligent, but the fact that she doesn’t remember that Shelly came home to help raise her shows just how out of touch she is.
It’s hard to believe that Shelly has never mentioned her dreams before, let alone her time at Berkley. Joyce could have shown just a modicum of interest.
Similarly, the way she thought her professor would remember her shows how egocentric she is, and highlights the reality.
Joyce needs to stop worrying about other people and accept that she hasn’t gotten where she is based on her brilliance alone. Shelly’s comment about how spending some time herself might help her write the book underscores that point.
SHELLY: A flight alone. You can work on your book.
JOYCE: There’s not much to go on really, it’s just a title.
SHELLY: Well if you spend some time with yourself rather than seeking out other people’s praise maybe you’ll know where to start.
The Full Vassar Experience
That brings me to Shelly. The decision to have Shelly accompany Joyce on this trip is a smart move.
While Joyce has had every opportunity, Shelly’s accomplishments are more celebrated by the professors at Vassar, the same people Joyce wants to please.
Shelly’s experience at Vassar comes to a head when Joyce walks in on her and Professor Merrim having sex. That moment, and the subsequent conversation between Joyce and Shelly, highlight just how much Shelly sacrificed for Joyce and how Shelly is just now getting to find herself.
SHELLY: I let go of my dreams to take care of you. You’ve gotten to be whoever you wanted. Why can’t it be my turn?
It infuriating to see Joyce react how she does, and it only serves to highlight her immaturity. Shelly has been a very nurturing presence, but she needs to make time for herself too, and advocate for what she wants.
The trip to Vassar has shown her that it’s not too late to take hold of her dreams, and I think the decision to stay is the right one for Shelly.
Nobody Stands Up to Tina’s Mom
Moving on to Tina and Doug, we get more commentary about how Tina’s job has affected her family. This is the first time we see anyone’s family outside of work. It’s enlightening to see how they view Tina’s job and how duty to the stationary store factors into the family dynamic.
Tina is one of my favorite characters in this series, and she really comes into her own during her mother’s retirement party. Especially when she tells her mom to sell the store.
TINA: Then sell it! Don’t pass it along like a haunted hot potato.
The reveal that Tina is going to run the European division of Minx, not Doug, is an explosive moment, but it shows just how quickly Tina’s star is rising within the company. (However, Tina is going to have to reconcile that if she does take this leadership role, she’s going to be someone’s role model whether she likes it or not.)
This also means that Doug and Tina’s relationship is hitting a breaking point. While I want to see them stay together, it feels like Doug is holding Tina back.
He’s made it very clear that he’s not great when he can’t be in control, and finding out that Tina has been promoted over him is likely to have lasting repercussions on their relationship. With that said, I wouldn’t blame Tina for not saying yes to a future proposal.
Minx is a Workplace, Not a Family
Bambi and Richie’s storyline on this episode is the most understated, but it has some of the most profound quotes.
BAMBI: How gorgeous are you? I can see it now. Why you have to leave our family. You have so much more to give this world.
RICHIE: Not a family. Just a workplace, and you have more to give too. You’re so good at loving and nurturing. You have a real gift, Bambi.
While Richie and Bambi ride the high, their perspectives on work come out.
The dichotomy of work and family feels like a timeless conversation. Anyone who has read articles about workplace culture knows that the whole, “we’re a family” line gets trotted out a lot.
However, Richie is right. Minx is a workplace. Not a family.
While Joyce, Doug, Tina, and Bambi have all had a hand in Minx’s success, the fact is that there’s no guarantee they’ll stay together. Richie is already feeling stagnated by Joyce blocking his vision and although Bambi is finding inspiration working with the people around her, it’s starting to read like parents staying together for a child.
Richie deserves to flourish, and if Season 2 ends with him getting another job: I would celebrate it. Just as I am celebrating Tina’s chance to move to Europe.
I also believe that Bambi will find her way because much like Shelly, she hasn’t had the same opportunities. She is looking for a guiding light, and I think that she’ll find it in time and that will lead her to who she ultimately wants to be.
Bambi has the tenacity, she just needs to find it.
In the end, “This is Our Zig” pushes the shifting group dynamics for the better. As we move into the last two episodes of the seasons, it’s sure to have a lasting effect on what’s to come.
What did you think of this episode of Minx? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Minx streams new episodes Fridays on Starz.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.