Mom Season 5, Episode 17 recap: An AA meeting goes wrong

Things go hilariously awry when Christy and the gang hold an AA meeting at a women’s prison. Here’s what happened this week on Mom.

Told in a series of flashbacks, this week’s episode of Mom starts by showing the aftermath of a prison brawl. Bonnie’s hurt her hand, Christy bumped her head, and Jill thought her watch had been stolen, but it was actually still hidden in her bra. The ladies then take their turn telling the story of what happened to an inquisitive official.

Christy starts her story with their drive over. Not pleased with having to act as the chauffeur for the group, she reveals she could be using this time to study for the LSAT. Bonnie, as always, is very grouchy to be doing something good, and had hoped Marjorie would’ve forgotten all about the long-planned excursion.

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Next, Jill speeds up the story a little by skipping right to the part where she talks in front of the prison group about her struggle with sobriety, which was surprisingly heartfelt. After she finished, it was Bonnie’s turn to talk. Not long after cracking a joke making fun of Wendy’s attempt at bringing humor into her speech, Bonnie introduced herself. Right away someone jumped up from the back of the room saying “Bonnie Plunkett you ruined my life,” and came charging, threatening to kill her.

Deciding not to press charges, the ladies left the prison feeling confused about the incident, but also a little bummed out that the riot probably overshadowed the real reason they were there. Bonnie, on the other hand, is completely focused on something else. She can’t for the life of her seem to remember who Tammy, the woman who attacked her, is, let alone why she came after her.

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Finally home, Christy has had enough of her mother repeating “Tammy” over and over again. The entire night Bonnie says the name repeatedly, trying to solve the mystery. The next day, over lunch, just as Wendy is diving into a story, Bonnie suddenly remembers.

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Tammy was a fellow foster kid who lived with Bonnie when they were 14. While at first Tammy was a good kid, it didn’t take long for Bonnie to change that. Revealing that she turned her into a drug-addled vagrant, Bonnie says she went way down the rabbit hole and was kicked out a month after she moved in.

Under pressure from the rest of the group, Bonnie heads back to the prison to make amends with Tammy. After thoroughly apologizing for what she did, Bonnie is puzzled to hear that Tammy wants an apology for what she actually did, which was planting their foster parent’s wallet in her book bag. Remembering that she did that, Bonnie feels truly terrible about how things turned out for Tammy.

At a meeting the next day Bonnie says this revelation about her past actions is really bothering her. Saying she can’t eat or sleep, she genuinely seems to be torn up about it. On the flip side, Christy says she is grateful that she went to the prison that day. Seeing all these woman locked up for things she has done herself, Christy considers herself lucky that she’s gotten her act together.

With Christy in tow, Bonnie heads back to the prison to talk to Tammy again. After suggesting that Christy’s lawyer friend takes a look at her case, Tammy turns down the offer, saying she deserves to be there. Loosening up, Tammy and Bonnie reminisce on the few good times they had living together.

Later, the ladies go back to the prison to hold another meeting. After Wendy failed to land a another punchline, it’s Bonnie’s turn to talk. Yet again, after introducing herself a woman jumps up and comes after her, but this time Bonnie remembers her right away, saying “I remember this one, it’s bad.”

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What did you think of this week’s episode? I liked how we got to learn more about Bonnie’s upbringing. It’s good to see her character evolving and showing remorse for her past actions. What do you think will happen next? Will Christy ace the LSAT and get into law school? Will Wendy ever be able to crack a joke successfully? Let us know in the comment section below or shoot us a tweet!

Mom airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS

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