Zoey's Extraordinary Failure

**Zoey's Extraordinary Failure** is the fifth episode of NBC's musical dramedy *Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist*. It aired on March 8, 2020.

## Episode Summary

After hearing her first duet, Zoey gets a little too involved in her brother's marriage. Leif receives negative feedback at work. Maggie is offered an enticing work opportunity.

## Plot

At the Clarke home, Emily, David, Zoey, and Maggie are going through Zoey and David’s childhood clothes and toys. Emily finds a Cabbage Patch Kid and Care Bear that she thinks are Zoey's but turn out to be David's. Maggie says David was a sweet, sensitive child while Zoey was more inquisitive. Maggie leaves the room, and Zoey overhears her talking on the phone to Jessica. Zoey asks her mom why she's being so secretive, and Maggie says she feels weird talking about work in front of Mitch. Maggie asks Zoey for updates on Simon, and Zoey says she hasn't texted him back in a few days.

In the other room, Emily asks David if they can build the crib that night, but David says he'll have another late night at the office working on the O'Reilly case. Emily is visibly upset, and Zoey notices this tension and asks if everything's okay. Emily and David say yes, but then Emily starts singing "Just Give Me A Reason." David joins in, and Zoey hears her first duet. When they stop singing, David and Emily head out, and Zoey asks if they're sure everything’s okay. Even though they say yes, Zoey knows something’s wrong. She calls Mo and tells him she heard her first duet and doesn't know who to help. Mo says they should talk over drinks later that night.

At SPRQ Point, Joan says that now the SPRQ Point Watch is out there, they need a new project. First, though, they will go over the anonymous peer reviews, though Zoey was unaware of this. Joan and Zoey call in the coders one by one. They tell Tobin his coworkers thought his work was adequate, and he seems happy with that. Next, they tell Max coworkers thought he lacks initiative and tends to settle in his work, which Zoey downplays as constructive. When they call Leif in, he's not worried since he is beloved by the other coders, but his reviews say he is overly ambitious and self-righteous. Leif seems hurt by this and walks out. Though Zoey asks, Joan doesn't give her her own peer reviews.

That night, Zoey sits with Mo at a bar and tells him she invited Max, too. Mo asks about the duet Zoey heard, and Zoey says Emily seemed more upset than David. Zoey says she and Emily aren't close, but David is super harmless. Max arrives and says Autumn is outside looking at a rainbow in an oil slick. Zoey mentions how Max hasn't talked much about Autumn since they went to Napa. Max says he feels like he and Autumn aren't on the same wavelength, but Autumn joins them and raves about how fun Napa was.

Suddenly, Zoey hears a song playing and sees her brother singing "Fight For Your Right" while playing pool. In the middle of the song, David texts Emily that's he's still working and will be home later. Zoey calls David's name, and David stammers and asks what Zoey's doing there. Zoey said she thought he had to work, but David fibs that he and his colleagues have their legal breakthroughs over pool.

At SPRQ Point, Zoey knocks on Simon's office window. He says he thought she ghosted him since she wasn't replying to his texts. Zoey asks Simon advice for what to do about David lying to Emily, and Simon says to cut him some slack, since he might have needed time to himself. Zoey thanks Simon and starts to leave but then asks Simon if he’s alright. Zoey says she can tell something's wrong. Simon asks how she does that, and Zoey says she can just read him. Simon confides that his dad's birthday is in a few days, and since it's the first since his death, it's bringing stuff up. Zoey says she's here for him.

Zoey is at her desk when she hears the beginnings of the song "Everybody Hurts." She walks up to an isolation pod and opens it, and Leif is inside singing. After the song, Zoey asks Leif if he’s okay, and he says yes. Even so, Zoey doubts this and tries to reassure Leif, but Leif reveals he's not used to negative feedback since his family puts a lot of pressure on him. Leif says he wants to be alone, and he shuts himself inside the isolation pod.

At the Clarke home, Jessica is in the greenhouse with Maggie. Jessica asks Maggie what it’s like working with Mitch. Maggie says Mitch is the business side and she is the creative side. Then, Zoey enters and asks where David is, and Maggie says he's running late. Zoey asks what Jessica and Maggie are up to, and they say they're working on flower combinations for the engagement party. After Jessica leaves, Zoey discusses her parents' business with her mom. Maggie mentions that an old client, Linda, wants Maggie to design the gardens at her new estate. Maggie says it would be weird to work without Mitch, but Zoey says she thinks he would be thrilled. Maggie gets a text from David saying he won't be able to make it because he's working on the O'Reilly case again.

Zoey finds David at the bar and asks him what he's doing. David asks how Zoey knew he was there, and Zoey points out that when David said he was working the O'Reilly case, he was really at O'Reilly's Tavern. Zoey scolds David for lying to Maggie, but he defends himself by saying he's worried about work and Mitch and just needed to forget about everything. However, Zoey presses him for more, and David pulls out a sonogram of his baby. Zoey excitedly takes a picture, but when David gloomily says he's having a boy, she asks whats wrong. David says he got made fun of as a kid for not being manly, and he's the same will happen to his son. Zoey tells him to talk to Emily, and he says he will when he's ready and asks Zoey not to tell her.

At SPRQ Point, Zoey drops off a grief kit in Simon's office for him, including a pillow to scream into, tequila, a hammer, and OREOs. Simon loves it. He tells Zoey that Jessica got them tickets to the warriors game, and she's doing her best to support him. Later, Zoey finds Leif drawing a sad clown version of himself in his journal, and then she sees Max with his head in his hands and asks if he's depressed, too. Max explains that Autumn suddenly decided she wants him to meet his parents next week. Although he thinks Autumn is very sweet and pretty, Max says their relationship is happening very fast. He asks Zoey if he's overthinking since the relationship is nice and easy. Zoey says she wants him to be happy and not settle, and Max remarks that that sounds like his peer reviews. Zoey gets a phone call from Emily, who apparently wants to talk with her.

Zoey and Emily get coffee and walk on the pier. Emily asks Zoey how her life is, but she interrupts her answer and says something's wrong with David. Emily says she knows something's up and asks Zoey if she knows anything. Zoey says she wants to help, but she doesn't want to get involved in their marital issues. Emily starts tearing up and pleads with Zoey to tell her if David's having an affair. Zoey finally gives in and tells her that David has the pre-baby jitters and that he's afraid of having a boy. Zoey also mentions that David's late nights at work are actually him going out with the boys to blow off steam, and Emily seems very upset.

At SPRQ Point, Zoey calls David and leaves a message saying she screwed up. She sees Leif singing "Everybody Hurts" again and goes to Joan to tell her she thinks they broke him. Joan says they can't tell him who wrote the bad peer review because Joan wrote it, attempting to change Leif's attitude. Joan tells Zoey she thought the peer reviews were too passive-aggressive but agreed to do them because they were Zoey's idea. However, Joan says tough conservation are part of the job, and as Leif's manager, Zoey has to do something.

That night, David knocks on Zoey's apartment door and asks why she told Emily about his fears about having a baby. Zoey insists that it isn't a big deal and that Emily was just very persuasive. However, David argues that it is a big deal because Emily did not want to have kids when they got married. David says he had to talk her into it, and now she's terrified he's not all in. David is angry at Zoey for interfering in his marriage. When Zoey claims she was just trying to help, David says she failed.

In Mo's apartment, Zoey says she made things worse with Emily and David. Zoey says she feels like she failing and insists that she's not a failure. Mo asks why Zoey's putting so much pressure on herself, and she says that as a kid she got no negative criticism so she had to pressure herself. Mo says Zoey needs to change her relationship with failure. Mo tells Zoey how he designed berets and didn't sell a single one, but a designer online saw them and had Mo make scarves, and then another commissioned Mo to paint portraits of his mom. Mo tells Zoey to see every failure not as defeat but as a stepping stone to success.

While Max and Autumn are out on a run, Autumn lists off a bunch of plans for Max meeting her parents. Max asks to stop running and says they should break up. He says they are looking for different things and that maybe their journey was supposed to awesome and short. He asks Autumn if she hates him, and she says no and that Max needs to do what's right for him. They awkwardly continue their run, with Autumn running ahead and Max running far behind.

Zoey checks in on Simon at work on his dad's birthday. Zoey notices that Simon is holding the hammer from the grief kit in his hands. Zoey says she's there if he needs her. Later, Zoey sees Leif wallowing once again on a swing. Zoey tells Leif she asked Joan for her peer reviews and that they can read them together. Zoey's reviews say she lacks confidence, tries too hard, and Leif's said he deserved the promotion over her. Zoey tells Leif that once you take in criticism, it's about how you bounce back. Leif still insists on wallowing. Zoey tells Leif point-blank that his "all I do is win" attitude is arrogant, which Leif misconstrues as Zoey saying she wrote the peer reviews. Leif thanks Zoey for admitting it was her, and Zoey says he's missing the point.

At the Clarke house, Zoey asks her mom if she's going to take the gig at Linda's estate. Maggie says she loves her work but insists that it's a partnership and that she can't picture doing it without Mitch. Maggie says she's shutting down the business, but Mitch walks in and starts singing "It's Your Thing." Zoey asks Maggie if she has talked to Mitch yet and says that if she told him she was going to keep working, he would be happy for her.

Zoey is in her apartment at night. She calls David and apologizes for what she said to Emily. Zoey says they need to move past this. David cuts her off says he appreciates the call, but he needs a break. David says he'll reach out when he's ready.

Back at the Clarke home, Maggie and Mitch are discussing Maggie's work. Maggie asks Mitch if she should continue the business, and Mitch beeps yes. Maggie asks if he's sure, and Mitch clasps her hand to his heart. Maggie kisses Mitch and then calls Linda and says she’ll do the project.

In her apartment, Zoey has a face mask on while she eats Chinese food and looks at David's sonogram. Max FaceTimes her and recoils at the face mask. Max starts telling Zoey how he took initiative and broke up with Autumn, but Zoey gets text from Simon that he's outside her door. When Simon knocks on the door, Zoey says she'll have to call Max back. She rips off the face mask and then opens the door. Simon says he knows it's late but he has to talk through some stuff, and Zoey lets him in.

Simon says that as he was looking through old emails, he noticed that his dad’s started sounding bleaker at some point. He asks Zoey if he could have stopped his dad and if he failed him. Zoey says it's possible Simon failed to see the signs his dad was hurting, but maybe there was nothing more he could have done. Zoey says it's hard to admit failure sometimes, but carrying vague guilt won't help Simon move forward. Simon, crying, thanks Zoey for the pep talk and for being real. The music for "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" starts, and Simon almost leans in for a kiss, but he pulls back and starts singing. At the end of the song, Zoey has her back against the door while Simon leans over her, their faces very close.

## Cast

### Starring

* **Jane Levy** as Zoey Clarke
* **Skylar Astin** as Max Richman
* **Alex Newell** as Mo
* **John Clarence Stewart** as Simon Haynes
* **Peter Gallagher** as Mitch Clarke
* **Mary Steenburgen** as Maggie Clarke

### Guest Starring

* **Michael Thomas Grant** as Leif Donnelly
* **Kapil Talwalkar** as Tobin Batra
* **Andrew Leeds** as David Clarke
* **India de Beaufort** as Jessica Hamilton
* **Alice Lee** as Emily Kang
* **Stephanie Styles** as Autumn
* **Gordon Hart** as Whipped Man #1
* **Kevin Tookey** as Whipped Man #2

#### Uncredited

* **Nicholas Dohy** as Brogrammer
* **Jared Outten** as Brogrammer

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