‘Central Park’ Episode 7 ‘Squirrel, Interrupted’ is a filler but reveals Molly’s crush to be Bitsy’s relative
Spoilers for ‘Central Park’ Episode 7, ‘Squirrel, Interrupted’
Filler episodes are tiring. We always pray that a show doesn’t have one of these, but prayers sometimes don’t work. It barely adds any meaning to the story, goes into some unnecessary background details and, goes without saying, it does not move the plot forward. It does not develop the story.
And unfortunately, ‘Central Park’ Episode 7 ‘Squirrel, Interrupted’ is a filler episode.
The episode begins with Cole, voiced by Tituss Burgess, singing excitedly about, well, squirrels. He’s a big fan of a series of fantasy books about hidden squirrel warriors, who live inside Central Park in New York City -- they sound a bit like the rodent version of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. And the reason he’s excited is that there was going to be a scavenger hunt in the park, based on the books. He and his dad Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.) were to participate together.
While the father-son duo is off to the hunt, Paige (Kathryn Hanh) and Molly (Kristen Bell) are stuck at home. So, Paige suggests that they play chess. It becomes apparent that Paige had been letting Molly win for ages. But things change when Molly actually defeats her mother. Paige is both shocked and proud.
At the scavenger hunt, things turn south because of Owen’s lack of understanding of the books (and their incomprehensible internal logic), and Cole’s annoyance with his father’s annoyance. Things with Paige and Molly, on the other hand, are going great. Paige takes Molly to the park for her to play with regular chess players there, and it soon becomes apparent that Molly is a savant.
Things turn a little tense, however, when Molly decides to compete against an old man who plays chess in the park. This man is supposedly undefeated and usually plays ten people at a time. Paige is afraid for Molly, but the teen is unusually high on confidence. Her hubris, sadly, is met with a fall and the old man quickly checkmates her. But that was not for the lack of trying. Paige’s fears that this might turn Molly away from the game also remained unfounded as Molly says she was happy to learn from the man.
Even Cole and Owen reconcile (after Owen makes an attempt to understand the books). They win the scavenger hunt and things end all happy and cheerful again.
Outside the park, even Bitsy Brandenham (Stanley Tucci), the evil hotel heiress who wants to destroy Central Park, has a sort of family day. She visits her brother at a family reunion of sorts. Obviously, she hates everyone and everything there and most of all, she hates her brother.
The only thing that this episode has to offer is one detail no one saw coming. Remember Brendan (Eugene Cordero), the kite-flying boy that Molly has a crush on, and the one who got an allergic reaction when he and Molly kissed because Molly had just eaten peanut butter ice cream? Yes, that Brendan, it turns out, is a relative of Bitsy.
And when Bitsy announces her plans to destroy Central Park to her family, Brendan is in the room. While Molly and Brendan have not met since the allergic reaction (in episode 3), it is likely that they soon will. And this just might be the little thing that makes the Tillerman family realize the true extent of Bitsy’s plans.
New episodes of ‘Central Park’ air every Friday on Apple TV+.