5 WTF moments from Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist season 2, episode 7

We missed Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist while it was on hiatus. With that being said, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Memory” wasn’t exactly a triumphant return. But even with that being said, that doesn’t mean even a least favorite episode of this series is bad when compared with other shows.

To be fair, it was going to be difficult for the show to keep improving from week to week. That’s especially true after the incredibly moving and meaningful sixth episode in Season 2.

Rather than compare Episode 7 to its immediate predecessor, it’s probably best to look at the story from a different point of view. This hour of television had its moments, both good and bad…and then there were those that were absolutely “WTF.”

A lot of important things happened: MaxiMo’s finally served its first customers their food from all the other restaurants (still a weird concept but whatever). We met some new characters, and some old ones searched for new meaning in their lives. Then, there was Zoey’s ill-fated quest to recreate the “extraordinary memory” in question.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist goes all-in on the love triangle

Nothing says “WTF” like a series making a clear choice, going back on that choice for legitimate reasons, and then…acting like the choice never happened? But that seems to be the route Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2 is taking. It’s exhausting, to say the least.

When Zoey and Max broke up after having their big romantic moment, it absolutely made sense. What doesn’t make sense is bringing in a new character who clearly has eyes for Max to keep things “interesting.”

It’s difficult to say whether this story will play out the way we’re afraid it will or if Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist will surprise us. Here’s hoping for the latter.

And while we’re at it: Does it even count as a “love triangle” if there are so many moving parts? Logically, you’d almost have to call it a love pentagon at this point…which raises the next issue.

Why were Simon and Zoey flirting? Where’s Tatiana?

I guess we’re going to make Simon weirdly available while Max is distracted? But last we checked, things seemed to be heating up between Simon and Tatiana.

“Zoey’s Extraordinary Memory” saw Simon and Zoey having this weird sort of vibe that would have made sense before Zoey clearly picked Max. Except, well, this is after.

Then, there’s Simon initiating some of that, and like…Why? We’ve already proven that this is never going to work.

Did Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist really do a “sleeping her way in” story?

It’s 2021, but what television needed was this. If you didn’t catch the sarcasm there, please reread the sentence.

Look: There were better ways to show that Leif was having a hard time finding “the one” after his weird relationship with Joan ended. We didn’t need some girl pretending to like him just because he worked at SPRQ Point.

Intentional or not (probably not—we really have loved every other episode of this series), that’s just a really, really bad idea to play with. Hollywood has way too much of a “casting couch” history for which the women in question have always been smeared, when it’s really the industry itself that’s the problem. The same can be said for pretty much any industry: It’s not the women being conniving; it’s usually that they have no choice.

There’s no telling how far Leif’s date would have gone, of course. But it’s just not a good look.

David joins Aiden’s band

Earlier this season, David left his career to spend more time at home with his son, Miles. It was a breath of fresh air in a landscape that usually puts the emphasis on mothers having to make the choice between work and family.

In Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2, Episode 7, David is understandably having a bit of trouble with his new reality. He needs an identity outside of just “Dad,” and that’s totally fine!

Here’s what’s not cool: They called David old because he’s in his 30s. Some of us watching at home are around his age, and we’re not exactly done with that rock life. Or, well, we weren’t exactly done with it before COVID-19 ended our days of going to standing-room-only shows and being excited about getting some bodily fluid or another leaked on us from the lead singers…

Zoey thinks she’s a burden to her friends

This is more of a “WTF” in terms of “WTF THAT HURTS WHY” than anything else, but it’s still a “WTF.” Zoey spent much of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2, Episode 7 trying to bring something back that just couldn’t be recaptured: a moment in time.

You can’t recreate something that has already happened, especially when that “extraordinary moment” (if you will) involves someone who’s no longer with us. Zoey was doomed from the start.

Even if he was still alive, Mitch wouldn’t have been able to give Zoey the exact same memory he gave her when she was a kid. That’s just not how any of this works.

Zoey’s inability to communicate, even as she now has the ability to hear other people’s feelings through heart songs, remains one of the most relatable things on this show. It’s also one of the most frustrating, to be perfectly honest. If she’d just stopped to tell anyone how important seeing the meteor shower was and why, there’s not a single person who wouldn’t have tried to give her a special evening.

But, between the aforementioned trouble with sharing and Zoey’s need to always be there for everyone else, that’s not how things went down. Not until the very end of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist season 2, episode 7, at least.

Zoey admitted that she was “tired of being a burden” and didn’t want her “friendship to be one-sided.” And it just…hurt. Been there, done that, too.

Easier said than done here, Zoey, but know this: If they’re truly your friends, it’s never one-sided in the way that you fear. And even if they’re there for you more than you’re for them, that’s ok. They love you. They want to help you. Let them.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist airs Sundays at 9/8c on NBC.