After Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 1, Episode 6: Team Simon is dead

After Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 1, Episode 6, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Night Out,” we’re fully on Team Max.

There are few things more capable of creating fandom wars than shipping, especially when there’s a love triangle involved. With the two potential love interests for Zoey Clarke (Jane Levy) on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, we’ve tried to stay out of the Team Simon versus Team Max conflict—until now.

At the halfway mark of the series’ first season, we’re throwing our vote in for Team Max, despite having secretly pined for the extraordinary chemistry and shared experience between Zoey and Simon (John Clarence Stewart) for the first five episodes. Sorry, Simon, but it’s a no from us.

Is Skylar Astin’s Max perfect? Absolutely not. He probably never should have gotten involved with Autumn if he had such strong feelings for Zoey; or, at the very least, he shouldn’t have gone back to her coffee shop so soon after breaking up with her. Not to mention, as both Autumn (Stephanie Styles) and Mo (Alex Newell) said, he’s a “nerd who dresses like a third-grader.”

(For the record, the nerd part of that statement is part of Max’s appeal; but, especially on a show with the ever-fabulous Mo, the third-grade wardrobe has got to go.)

But in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 1, Episode 6, despite all of his faults, it was Max—not Simon—who showed he was worthy of Zoey’s affections and our approval. Simon was willing to just kind of…stand there when his fiancée, Jessica (India de Beaufort), let on that she thought something was happening between Zoey and him, rather than doing anything at all to support either woman.

And when Maggie’s rose wall got torched, Simon seemed more worried about fixing his own mess than comforting the friend who showed up at his engagement party to support him, despite knowing how painful it would be for her. Let’s not forget, too, that it was a big step for Maggie to even work on that rose wall with Mitch’s illness, something Simon should have understood but didn’t.

Max, on the other hand, after having been put in the so-called “friend zone” all along, immediately followed Zoey and made cute jokes to cheer her up. Then, there was the concerned, heartbroken look on his face when Zoey received the call about Mitch’s fall. If you started all-caps texting or tweeting, “OMG, HE LOVES HER” in that moment? You’re not alone.

And can we gush over that beautiful rendition of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers, as Max gripped Zoey’s hand and escorted her home in the middle of a crisis, for just a second? It was one of the most memorable musical numbers on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist to date, which is no small accomplishment, considering how good every single performance has been.

Max is endgame for the love story on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and we’re 100% convinced of that. It’s only real love that makes a guy help your parents bring your dad’s bed downstairs, stick around, lingering at the corners in concern as your mom lets her own guilt over an accident out, and promise you “always” after you thank him for his support.

(If you were a Caskett shipper and were traumatized by hearing that particular way of saying “I love you,” you’re not alone.)

Finally, there was the reprisal of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” right at the end of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 1, Episode 6. That song is going to be the Team Max ballad from here on out; we’ve mandated it so.

It’s kind of like that famous quote from The X-Files (via IMDB):

"Well, it seems to me that the best relationships – the ones that last – are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is… suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with."

For Zoey Clarke, Max is absolutely that guy for Zoey, and after “Zoey’s Extraordinary Night Out,” there’s no question. Maybe we should have paid more attention when he was sweet enough to bring Mitch some pudding several episodes ago, but we’re definitely paying attention now. It’s a match made in nerd heaven, and we are here for it.

Where do you fall on the Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist love triangle? Team Max or Team Simon? Let us know!