When Nathaniel sees that Sam has improved so much, he asks her for writing samples. He thinks she may be a good fit for his new company, Smug Media, and he asks her to interview with them in New York. When Sam tells her mom about the opportunity, Carol isn’t so enthused. Bzzz made Sam want to drink, so she’s worried that this job would make her daughter fall back into her old ways. At the AA meeting, James notices that Sam is in a good mood. She tells him about her interview. Coincidentally, investors in New York invited James to pitch his sobriety app. Sam suggests they go on a road trip together, but James says she should probably take Chloe. Sam would, she says, but Chloe ghosted her. Still, James doesn’t think it’s a good idea, as it could blur the boundaries they have set for their friendship. Before the meeting starts, Olivia stands outside to greet people. Carol unexpectedly shows up, and she’s not there for Sam. She arranges to meet Olivia for coffee later, so they can talk about Sam. Carol unloads her concerns about Sam’s interview to Olivia. She thinks it could lead to more drinking for Sam and hopes Olivia can persuade her not to go. But Olivia says that is not part of her job as Sam’s sponsor. It’s Carol who needs to speak with her daughter. Sam worries about coming up with writing samples. Drinking made writing so much easier. Without alcohol, she has a bad case of writer’s block. Her stress even leads her to lash out at a customer at the grocery store. Mindy intervenes, telling her the only risk involved in going to this interview would be not clearing the trip with Sam’s probation officer… which Sam forgot to do. Luckily, the officer clears Sam for the trip on short notice. At home, Brit visits Sam unexpectedly. She gives her an invitation to the wedding. She and Joel thought about it and decided they really wanted her there. Carol works up the courage to share her concerns with Sam. When she goes up to Sam’s room, she finds her trying to write. Sam says Brit gave her an invitation to the wedding, but that she doesn’t really want to go. Carol asks to see what she’s writing, and Sam shows her the blank page. She claims she can’t write unless she drinks. This makes Carol scoff. She says that nobody does anything better drunk and asks her if she really thought that anything she wrote for Bzzz was so great. She then urges Sam to lock herself in the room and write anything. Even if it’s terrible, it will likely pass the standards of Smug Media. When Carol leaves, James texts Sam “good luck.” She responds to say that she can’t do this alone. When Sam waits for the bus to New York the next day, James surprises her by showing up. On the bus, James drifts off to sleep on her shoulder. The episode ends with Sam pulling out her laptop and writing.
The Episode Review
Single Drunk Female continues its lazy method of developing chemistry between Sam and James. While it’s obvious that the show writers intend for romantic tension to be developing, forced dialogue and time skips prevent a relationship from progressing organically. The show doesn’t allow much at all to happen organically, come to think of it. Just in this episode, both Carol and Brit had quick turnarounds with little-to-no explored reasons. Additionally, Carol’s crossing of boundaries in going to Olivia was not resolved at all. This episode just reinforced for me that Single Drunk Female is all about getting to the next point, rather than exploring each scene and theme to a satisfactory conclusion.
