Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – Zoey’s Extraordinary Reckoning

By: Madison Ruby

This episode opens up with Simon (John Clarence Stewart) just having finished his big speech as SPRQ Point’s spokesperson outing his own company for not having enough diverse people on their team. Zoey (Jane Levy) is shocked he felt this way, but Simon says he tried to tell her and she admits she was more focused on fixing the problem then realizing the bigger issue. There is clearly a rift in their friendship and Zoey says she needs to start listening more. She wants to take a stand to help by using the fourth floor to organize a town hall meeting for anyone to say their feelings on what happened. Most of the people don’t have anything of substance to say with a white employee stating, “Well my step-dad is Black.” Clearly Simon is annoyed that none of these people actually see what the real issue is and how they are being blatantly ignorant without meeting to be. Zoey hears him sing “Black Man in a White World” by Michael Kiwanuka. She asks him if he’d like to say anything, but he obviously feels that no matter what he says no one will really listen anyways. Zoey keeps pressing to try and help Simon. but he needs space. He leaves, but she keeps texting him trying to find ways to apologize for town hall as she overall just feels like she failed him completely.

Max (Skylar Astin) and Mo (Alex Newell) decide to take advantage of Danny Michael Davis (Noah Weisberg) and his new love for Zoey and wanting to give back due to what Simon said about the company. They present their business idea to him and he is so quick to give them the money to start up, but he wants Max to fix a glitch ASAP that Max later tells Mo he doesn’t know how to remedy. He goes to the fourth floor to ask for help, but realizes the former co-workers he was looking for moved to the fifth floor. Tobin (Kapil Talwalkar), Leif (Michael Thomas Grant) and Mackenzie (Morgan Taylor Campbell) decide they will help him out and they start working together.

Danny Michael Davis tells Zoey she needs to let Simon know that the company board decided that he needs to “retract” what he said. He needs to express that was his own opinion. Of course, this is ridiculous and unfair because what Simon said was right and a cause for change for the better. He tells Zoey he knows it isn’t what she wants, but it is what has to happen. Zoey has no idea how to tell Simon this, so she goes to Mo for help. Mo is very clearly annoyed that Zoey “came to her Black friend to ask how to talk to her other Black friend” and that he is constantly telling Zoey how to handle emotional situations in life. Zoey hears him sing “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige. She says she can handle talking to Simon because they are friends and leaves knowing she needs to do better on her own.

Tobin expresses to Simon how he agrees with what he said at the meeting and feels the same way. Simon slyly claps back at Tobin saying at the townhall meeting he seemed to joke around about it instead of saying something serious. Tobin says he isn’t very into speaking publicly, but he has Simon’s back “lowkey.”

Zoey goes to tell Simon straight up what is going on. She says she doesn’t want to be just the messenger and that he is not alone in this. He corrects her saying, yes, she isn’t just the messenger but he is alone. She cannot understand his experiences as a Black man in this world or in this office and she never will. He has no room for mistakes, no one to look up to, and has to constantly explain how he made it this far as Black man. He tells Zoey he has to think about if people are scared when they see him just because he is Black. Zoey tries to make him feel better by saying she just sees Simon and he says that she is denying the fundamental part of who he is by just seeing him not as a Black man. Her asking him to retract what he said is asking him to deny the fundamental part of him that is being a Black man and he will not do it. Zoey goes to Danny Michael Davis and explains they are part of the problem by asking him to do this and that Simon has been feeling alienated for a long time and the company, including herself, have been oblivious to this.

Tobin, Max, and the others keep working on the glitch issue. When Tobin finds the solution a co-worker calls him “Slumdog” like the Indian character in Slumdog Millionaire because Tobin is also Indian. This is obviously offensive, but instead of being hurt by it Tobin brushes it off and jokes along with them saying he’ll all be calling him “Slumdog Tobillionaire’.” Zoey then hears Tobin’s real feelings when he sings “The Tracks of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. He really feels upset inside, but no one sees this because he covers it up by cracking jokes. Zoey asks him to talk in her office. Max thanks everyone for helping and says he is going to add a special SPRQ Point discount for everyone, except for Leif since he got him fired.

Zoey asks Tobin how he feels about Simon’s press conference and that she feels like he might be kind of hurt or upset because he makes himself the butt of the joke. He says that it is worth it to make jokes from his personal experiences. He walks out without saying his true feelings, but then decides he should. He tells Zoey he is like this because he is a first-generation Indian man, so he knows how it works and this is how he fits in. He says people are surprised when he doesn’t have an accent. She asks why he doesn’t go say something, but in his defense he says all he would say is, “People are treating me like an Indian guy,” and that he is one so how can he help this. Zoey tells him that they are trying to make Simon say he is the only one who feels this way and Tobin could be a big help, but he doesn’t want to stir the pot anymore and decides against it.

Zoey heads back to her apartment where she encounters Mo and Simon. Simon was going to retract his words and just deal with it, but Mo says he can’t do that and he has to hold his head high and stand by his feelings as a Black man. He tells Zoey is going to quit first thing tomorrow morning and he is surprised to hear she supports him and doesn’t tell him to consider changing his mind.

The next morning Zoey goes into work and learns Tobin ended up listening to her and spoke out on how he feels, which caused a bunch of other SPRQ Point employees from all around the world to speak out. She rushes to Danny Michael Davis’ office to tell Simon not to quit, but they are already going over the reaction to Tobin’s post and Danny Michael Davis finally realizes how serious this is. He goes to the board meeting and brings in Simon to give more details about the racism within SPRQ Point, even telling multiple stories of blatant racism that has happened from all over the world and in their building specifically.

Everyone heads to Max and Mo’s restaurant “MaxiMo’s” where Tatiana (Alvina August) reads the news article about what SPRQ Point is doing to help fix the problem, which is giving $50 million to Black-owned startups and promising equal representation in all leadership positions by 2025 including the board, with more she doesn’t say. They make a toast to Simon and his powerfulness by standing up. Zoey hears them celebrating by singing “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae. Finally, Zoey asks how Simon feels after everything. He ends the episode with saying “relief.”