Episode 10: “And the Very Christmas Thanksgiving”

As “Two Broke Girls’” debut season nears its fall finale, I think we can safely say that next week’s final episode won’t be anything too surprising. While the outrageous and the occasionally offensive are inherent to the show’s M.O., unpredictable plot twists are not.

“And the Very Christmas Thanksgiving” indicates this all too well.  The episode, featuring the girls working as elves at the Santa display at a department store, contained nothing terribly surprising. There were some great little jokes, like Max’s explanation that the diner customers’ wallets will “close faster than Kim Karsashian’s legs after the wedding check clears,” or when Caroline asks if Max is “one of those ‘I’m too cool to believe in the wonders of Christmas’ bitches,” and she responds “I am so many kinds of bitches I’ve lost count.”

Then there was the entire debacle of Caroline taking a “9 hour energy AKA elf juice” shot and her resulting aggression towards “Mary Christmas.” You really can’t go wrong when a character takes a mood-altering substance, particularly if it’s totally legal.

“Thanksgiving” also showcased some of the show’s now-typical sentimental moments, this week once again involving Caroline and her father. Finally allowed to see him in prison because it was Thanksgiving, Caroline is turned away when he decides he didn’t want her to see him.

All of these elements that have become part of the show’s comfortable groove, but one moment stood out to me as odd. Earl made a joke longer than a sentence, about the “chocolate pie” from the help, which he has never done before. His delivery was so incredibly slow and mumbled, though, that it was sadly not even funny. Usually he has spectacular timing, thanks in part to his history on “Saturday Night Live.”  Because of this, you would think his timing would be flawless, so I really don’t know what went wrong. It only worked because of his age, but it still came off as a bit strange. Not a major distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.

I’d say the writers have established a general structure for a “Two Broke Girls” episode that seems to work well: lots of raunchy one-liners, one ridiculous plot line (like working as elves), and one sentimental plot line. It also helps if the involvement of the characters at the diner is as minimal as possible. This formula is great as long as there are plenty of the one-liners and there isn’t too much emphasis on either of the plot pieces.

The past few weeks, however, because of the Johnny drama, have fluctuated from totally disappointing to thoroughly impressing me.  “Thanksgiving” was back to their norm, and is a testament to how good a norm “Two Broke Girls” maintain. If they stick to what obviously works through the rest of the season and into the next “Two Broke Girls” could be around for quite a while.

Katie Monigan is a contributing writer. Email her at entertainment@nyunews.com.