'The Mick' Season 2, Episode 17 'The Night Off' Recap: When All Hell Breaks Loose [SPOILERS]

It’s crazy enough being a part of Mickey (Kaitlin Olson) and the Pemberton kids’ dysfunctional family. But taking Alba (Carla Jimenez) out of the equation? Things are going to be more problematic than it was before. “The Mick” Season 2, episode 17, titled “The Night Off,” shows us just what could happen if you leave the kids (and Mickey) alone without Alba’s watchful supervision. Interestingly, tonight’s episode title gives a not-so-subtle callback to Sofia Black-D’Elia’s role in HBO’s “The Night of” as Andrea Cornish. Although she didn’t die here from mysterious circumstances, it’s still a bit close to the premise of the HBO series, as we’ll see Sabrina and Mickey in jail.

Alba’s day-off

“The Night Off” opens with Alba giving instructions to Mickey, Sabrina, and Chip (Thomas Barbusca) as she’s about to go for a spa weekend. However, they don’t seem to care at all, with Mickey saying that they can handle themselves. Ben (Jack Stanton) comes in to tell Alba about his dream, but Mickey ends up lending her ears as Alba leaves. We then see a montage of Ben and Mickey spending the whole day talking about Ben’s dream (with him doing all the talking). Finally, come nightfall, Mickey tucks Ben to bed even though it’s still a bit early for his bedtime. Ben tries to protest, but Mickey’s had enough of Ben’s odd dream sequences.
Mickey then heads down to the living room and tells Jimmy (Scott MacArthur) to prepare for their night out. She tasks Sabrina to look after Ben and Chip, but Sabrina refuses, saying that it’s Mickey’s responsibility. Chip tries to volunteer himself, but Mickey doesn’t trust him well enough to be the man of the house. A kid who always does weird things and has action figures stuck in his butt isn’t exactly the kind of person you need for looking after people. Meanwhile, Alba’s train nears its stop. Alba goes to the bathroom, but after using it, she ends up locked inside with a rat.

Jimmy’s new friend

Jimmy and Mickey then look for a parking space for their date night. Mickey sees one, but another car is backing up already. Try as Jimmy might, he couldn’t stop Mickey from doing something rash. Mickey gets out and stands in the way of the vehicle, allowing Jimmy to take the spot. It turns out that four dude-bros are inside the car, so Jimmy tries paying for the parking space they stole. However, the entire hoo-ha results in a brawl, and a large, random guy steps in to help Jimmy. Together, they beat the hell out of the guys, disabling them altogether.

The man then introduces himself as Doug (Benjamin Arthur), and Jimmy is impressed by his fighting skills and the manliness oozing out of him. Mickey then gets a call from the cops. Apparently, they picked Ben up from the street as he was riding his bike along the highway. Mickey goes to pick him up, while Doug offers to give Jimmy a ride home (with Jimmy asking him to buy him a drink too).

Responsibilities

Back in the Mansion, Mickey rants about how selfish Sabrina was for not looking after her brothers. Chip asks why Ben didn’t call for him, to which Ben replied, “you’re not an adult.” Sabrina then comes in, visibly hungover. Mickey then scolds her about leaving the two kids alone (Chip interjects, “call me a kid one more time, and I’ll box your freaking ears.) Sabrina, however, says that it’s better if they maintain a system of mutually doing nothing for each other. As Sabrina walks out, Jimmy informs Mickey that they will be meeting with Doug and his girlfriend for dinner that night.
Later, as Sabrina prepares to leave for another night out, Mickey handcuffs her with Ben. Despite Sabrina’s threats, Mickey didn’t budge and went with Jimmy for their group date with Doug. As soon as they arrive at the restaurant, Doug’s “girlfriend” turns out to be a boyfriend, to which Jimmy didn’t see coming. Throughout the rest of the dinner date, Jimmy is visibly pissed. Mickey, however, is so ready to get drunk with her new friends. Meanwhile, Alba swigs from her flask while still stuck in the train’s restroom. She offers the rat a drink as well by pouring some in the flask’s cap.

Jail time

The group date continues, with only Mickey having the time of her life with Doug and his boyfriend Eric (Eric Davis). Doug then notices Jimmy’s sour demeanor and asks what’s wrong, to which he feigns sleepiness. The waitress then informs Jimmy about a situation near his car. Jimmy forces Mickey to leave with him and tells her that they’re ditching Doug and Eric.

Outside, they see the Colonel (EJ Callahan) chained to Jimmy’s car. Of course, it’s all part of Sabrina’s plan to get back at her for cuffing Ben to her wrist. Jimmy walks out, fed up with the ongoing drama of the night. Mickey and Sabrina then exchange keys to free each other, but Mickey leaves her with Ben and the Colonel to go back and drink with to Doug and Eric. Sabrina follows suit, and the two engage in a drinking match to show each other that they’re incapable of looking after Ben and the Colonel. Sabrina accidentally spills the alcohol on Mickey, and they cause a scene. The police arrive, taking them into custody for the night. As the cop car drives away, Ben and the Colonel are forced to walk home together, with Ben pushing his wheelchair.

In the jail cell, Mickey blames the events of the night to Sabrina. If Sabrina were more responsible for taking care of her brothers and the Colonel, this wouldn’t have happened, and Mickey would’ve helped her out. Sabrina, on the other hand, is scared out of her wits. It’s her first time in jail, and there’s already a dominant female inmate trying to size them up. Mickey tries to coax her to apologize, but Sabrina falls short.

Seeing the dominant female, Mickey comes up to her and asserts her dominance by crapping on the public toilet inside the cell. Meanwhile, a drunk Alba tells the rat how vital Mickey is to her, and that their partnership is something to be proud of. The doors suddenly open, and the rat escapes. Alba panics and feels bummed that her new friend is gone.

Chaos ensues

Back in the Mansion, Chip calls for Sabrina and Ben. Seeing no one, he beams and proceeds to make something to eat while dancing. We then see Ben and the Colonel passing by a drunk guy and a group of hookers as they walk home. As soon as Chip finishes making a sandwich, he accidentally slices his fingers off with a knife.
Meanwhile, Jimmy is in his car revving up the engine and drinking beer alone. Doug comes to him and tries to ask what’s wrong. That’s when Doug finds out that Jimmy isn’t a homophobe, but doesn’t like it when people don’t reveal one’s sexuality to him from the get-go. Jimmy also tells Doug about the time when he and his teenage friend spent their summer doing typical boy stuff and kissing each other to “practice” making out with girls. When the summer ended, Jimmy was surprised to find out that his friend turned out to be gay in the end. This revelation pissed Jimmy off, and now it’s happening again with his new friend Doug. Jimmy feels frustrated that they’re so different yet so alike as well. Doug then assures him that he’s not Jimmy’s childhood friend and asks if they can still be friends. Jimmy agrees, and Doug tries to mess with him by asking if it’s okay to jack off in front of Jimmy.

Back in the prison cell, Mickey is now the dominant inmate, and she has one of the female prisoners braid Sabrina’s hair. Finally, Sabrina apologizes to Mickey and tells her how much she appreciates what Mickey is doing for them all. Sabrina then tells Mickey that she will be taking care of her brothers until Alba returns. The police officer then comes to free them, but Mickey asks to stay, basking in the glory of her dominance over the inmates.
The episode ends with Ben, the Colonel, Sabrina, and Alba arriving home all at once and looking disheveled. As they come in, they see blood spattered all over the walls. They look around for Chip and finds him in the bathtub, half awake and half asleep (possibly from blood loss). Chip tells them about his accident, and Alba switches back to her normal caring mode to bring Chip to the hospital.

‘The Mick: The Night Off’ Overall Verdict

All the praise goes to the director, Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) for one awesomely hilarious episode of “The Mick.” “The Night Off” is chock full of crazy laughs that could make you tear upon the brink of insanity, but it also establishes the unbreakable bond between the Pembertons, Mickey, Jimmy, and Alba. The episode shows us how it feels like to take one out of the equation, where, in this case, all hell indeed breaks loose.
“The Mick” continues next Tuesday, March 20th, with “The Car” at 9:30 PM on FOX.