'The Mick' Season 2, Episode 13 'The Dump' Recap: Ben Gains a Friend, the Colonel Gets Lost [SPOILERS]

You’ve got to hand it to Eric Dean Seaton, tonight’s director for “The Mick” season 2, episode 13, titled “The Dump.” This one’s one to surely keep you laughing like a lunatic. “The Dump” sees Mickey (Kaitlin Olson) and Alba (Carla Jimenez) on a mission to return Ben’s (Jack Stanton) new friend, Dump, to where he lives—which is, judging by his false name, the garbage dump. Meanwhile, Chip (Thomas Barbusca) and Sabrina (Sofia Black-D’Elia), take their grandfather, the Colonel(E.J. Callahan) out on a shopping spree—and loses sight of him along the way.

Using The Colonel for shopping freebies

The episode begins with the Colonel left outside their mansion, while birds lounge on his head and body. Chip and Sabrina walk by, and she blames her brother for forgetting to bring the Colonel in last night. Jimmy (Scott MacArthur) scolds them for being irresponsible grandkids and tells them to at least give the Colonel proper grooming. Chip says he can’t because he’s lining up later for the new Kevin Durant kicks. Jimmy scorns at them and walks away. Reluctantly, Sabrina agrees and has Chip push the Colonel along as she gets her car keys. Chip, however, shrugs and leaves for his Kevin Durant sneakers.
Later, Sabrina sees Chip lined up outside the store. The two siblings try to pass the Colonel along, causing Chip his spot on the line. But then the store owner sees Chip with the Colonel and tells him to get the sneakers first so he wouldn’t have to choose between family and the shoes. As they walk out, the Colonel gets a free pair of shoes, and Chip is satisfied, saying that the kicks are a statement of culture and class. Sabrina has none of it, and they proceed to have their grandfather groomed. Along the way, though, people admire them for being “good grandkids,” and some guys even compliment the Colonel for his shoes. Seeing this act as an advantage to get more things for themselves, Sabrina and Chip hatch a plan to use their grandfather as their bargaining chip for their shopping spree, thinking that the Colonel deserves this kind of respect.

In the bar, Sabrina and Chip try to buy alcohol and uses their “war hero grandfather” as a way to get what they want. A former soldier notices the Colonel’s purple star and offers to pay for the drinks. As he salutes the Colonel, Sabrina and Chip try to get more out of their privilege by telling the bartender about the Colonel’s war history. Meanwhile, behind the two siblings, a passing waiter accidentally hits the Colonel’s wheelchair, and he rolls out of the bar. The bartender notices that he’s gone and asks Sabrina and Chip where the Colonel went—much to their shock.

That night, they still couldn’t find the Colonel. They blame it on Jimmy for forcing them to hang out with their grandfather. So they call Jimmy up to ask for his help, but he’s busy playing a duck hunt arcade game. Jimmy asks if the Colonel has a tracker implant, to which the siblings say no. Then, Sabrina remembers that she left her phone in the Colonel’s wheelchair, so they proceed to track it. Finally, they find the Colonel near a derelict area, with his Kevin Durant sneakers stolen. They wheel him out while throwing fake praises about their grandfather’s life as a former soldier. One would just think that their flattery is somewhat repulsive—and not to mention, offensive.

Ben and ‘Dump’

Elsewhere in the episode, Mickey and Alba are with Ben and his schoolmates on their way from a field trip at the dumps. The entire bus is thrown into chaos as the kids throw stuff around, hitting Mickey with a piece of ham. She flips out, and Alba blabbers on about how she hated the entire trip. Ben, on the other hand, loved every second of it—even when he stepped on something gooey. He then asks Mickey and Alba if they could come to every field trip, to which they both refuse. Alba also didn’t like how she was forced to come, and how Mickey fails to treat her equally. Of course, Mickey shuts her down.
As they arrive at the school, Mickey does a headcount twice. She’s surprised that they have an extra kid on board. 20 kids went on the field trip, and they went home with 21. She finds the extra kid behind them, and when asked where he came from, the kid didn’t answer. So they decide to take the kid back to the dump, and Ben is excited. However, as they reach the place, they find police cars scattered all over the garbage dump, causing Mickey to panic and force Alba to drive away.
In their mansion, Mickey panics and gives Ben and the kid some snacks. She even came up with a very inappropriate name for the kid—Dump (guest star Aaron Castellano). Alba is shocked and gives Ignacio as Dump’s new name. Mickey is alarmed because the cops are now looking for Ignacio, which might imply that they kidnapped him. Mickey fears that she might get jailed for it and Alba might get deported (to which Alba counters by saying that she’s a citizen, and Mickey saying that nobody cares anymore—a subtle nod to how modern-day America’s stance on immigrants are now). Alba suggest calling the police, but Mickey swats the phone away from her. They would have to use a phone that can’t be traced to their house. As Mickey flips out, she changes Ignacio’s name back to Dump.

Later, they drive outside to look for a payphone. Mickey then has Alba call the police, informing them that they have Dump in custody. Alba then makes a racist impression of a black woman while talking to the operator. Mickey is shocked and asks Alba why she had to do the accent. But to Alba, it’s a cool, white lady and that Mickey is racist for thinking that it’s a black lady’s voice. A cop then comes on the line and asks Alba if they have information about the kidnapping. Alba is disoriented and defensively says that they only took the kid by accident, causing her to put the phone down. Mickey panics because now the police think that they kidnapped Dump on purpose.
Back in the mansion, Ben and Dump play video games. Obviously, Ben is enjoying Dump’s company. Mickey then turns the game off and tries to ask Dump where he’s from. She offers him a deal: answer her questions and Dump can take home all of Ben’s video games. Still, Dump won’t say a word, leading Alba to smash the game console using a golf stick. Mickey freaks out, and they both engage in a useless shouting match on what to do. Seeing no other options, Mickey grabs the golf stick from Alba and proceeds to destroy Ben’s video games.
Again, they drive outside to another payphone. This time, it’s Mickey’s turn to call the police. Since they’re already kidnapping suspects, Mickey plays along and plans to give them a drop point. The cop answers and Mickey uses a fake Asian accent. She assures them that the child is okay as she also learns from the police that Dump is deaf. When asked about her demands, Mickey says they have none but swiftly retracts it as Alba tells her that the police might think that she kidnapped Dump to molest him. Mickey then demands $1 million as the ransom for the kid and instructs the police to go to Greenwich Park. As they prepare to go to the drop point, they notice that Ben and Dump ran off and left a note. Ben didn’t want Dump to go, and so they went to a place no one could ever find them. But of course, Mickey knew that they went back to the dump since Ben loved it so much.

That night, Mickey and Alba infiltrate the dump by going over the wall. They then encounter a huge guard dog, and Alba tells Mickey to go and find the boys as she fights off the dog. As Mickey looks around, Ben appears with Dump on a mountain of garbage. Mickey tells him to come home with her, but Ben refuses, saying that he’s home and he won’t let them take Dump away. Ben then comes up with a deal: he will only go home if Mickey comes to every single field trip he’ll be having for the next ten years. Mickey refuses and gives a counter offer: she will come to his field trips every other year for the next hundred years. Finally, Ben agrees. The boys come down, and Alba catches up to them, looking disheveled after having a brawl with the dog. They leave Dump with a couple of snacks and a note that apologizes for their racist calls as the police find the boy soon after.

The episode ends with Mickey and Alba with Ben as they’re on the way home from a field trip to the mustard factory, with the kids throwing packets of mustard at her.

‘The Mick: The Dump’ Overall Verdict

“The Dump” is the only episode of “The Mick” so far that made me laugh my ass off. The subtle themes of racism and Chip and Sabrina’s blatant display of pretentiousness make tonight’s show a funny commentary on some current social issues. Of course, “The Mick” isn’t a profoundly political comedy show, but it does nail some points down to a very simple scoff at particular matters of political correctness and societal problems. It’s also nice to see Jimmy back with the gang, albeit very disappointing state after his short-lived businessman career in the previous episode.
“The Mick” continues Tuesday, February 6th, with “The Church” at 9:30 PM on FOX.