'The Mick' Season 2, Episode 9 'The Divorce' Recap: A Relationship Crumbles and Another One Rekindles [SPOILERS]

Things are looking bright for the crazy bunch of “The Mick”—except for Chip (Thomas Barbusca). The show’s fall finale episode gives us a not-so-shocking revelation as Chip learns about the truth of his parentage. Meanwhile, after going through a tumultuous relationship status for the past episodes of the series, Mickey (Kaitlin Olson) finally tries to bring a sense of belonging and companionship to her undefined relationship with Jimmy (Scott MacArthur). It’s one fun episode, albeit giving away lessons on divorce, masturbation, incest, and sex.

The Bastard

The episode opens with Mickey, Chip, and Sabrina (Sofia-Black D’Elia) visiting the Pemberton’s parents in prison. Both Poodle (Tricia O’Kelley) and Christopher Poodle (Laird Macintosh) have a significant announcement, which comes as no shock to Sabrina and devastating news for Chip. Their parents have filed for divorce, and Chip is not Christopher’s son. The revelation happened back in “The Visit” episode, but Chip thought his dad meant something else. Apparently, his real dad’s name is Howard Buckley (Matthew Glave). Chip collapses upon hearing about the divorce and him being a bastard.

Back home, Chip sulks as he calls everything he touches a “bastard.” Alba (Carla Jimenez), Sabrina and Mickey ask how he is, to which he just grunts. Alba suggests finding out about his birth father, but Chip calls him a home wrecker and has none of it. He leaves as Mickey comments about the destructive relationship that the Pemberton kids’ parents have. Sabrina shoots back about Mickey’s unhealthy and dysfunctional relationship with Jimmy. Mickey shrugs it off—at least they’re not fighting off a divorce, right? Then, Ben (Jack Stanton) comes in and asks what a divorce is. For some mysterious reason, Mickey and Alba vanish, leaving Sabrina alone to answer all of Ben’s curiosities.

Chip reconnects with his real father

Later, Alba sees Chip burning the stuff that Christopher gave him. She tries to cheer him up by telling him what she found out about his real dad. When Alba tells Chip that Howard is a wealthy CEO, Chip lights up. Together, they embark on a mission that helps Chip connect with Howard. As soon as Chip arrives in his dad’s company, he’s immediately impressed. He sees Howard talking with his associates and enters the restroom. Chip follows him inside and tries to start a conversation. He’s in awe, but when Howard asks Chip if he’s an intern, he says yes. He then tries to impress Howard by telling him that he’s big into work ethics. Incidentally, Howard has a daughter his age, and he wishes that she also had the same “work ethic” that Chip has.

Chip follows him around until he stops at his office. He overhears Howard arguing with a teenage girl. Chip comes in and sees that it’s Howard’s daughter, Kelly (Alyssa Jirrels). She wants to go to a concert, but Howard refuses because he doesn’t want her to go alone. Kelly angrily walks out as Howard sees Chip. He then asks him if Chip wants to take Kelly to the concert—an unofficial date. And since Chip wants to impress his real dad, he agrees.
That night, we see Chip all dressed up to take Kelly to the concert. Sabrina taunts him by saying he’s going out on an incestuous date with his sister. Chip fires back by saying Kelly is hotter than Sabrina. The situation gets more awkward as Ben comes in to ask about what incest is. Alba and Chip take off, with Alba acting as their driver. Meanwhile, Sabrina tells Ben that he could ask her anything he wants to know, but only for tonight and no more.

Chip arrives at Howard’s home, and he eagerly tells Kelly to take her time so he could spend more time with Howard. They have some spark as Howard tries to make fun of Chip’s name. But the conversation cuts short when Kelly arrives and immediately storms off. In the car, Kelly tells Chip that she’s not going to a concert, but to a boy’s house. Chip refuses because it might jeopardize the excellent image he’s been trying to build for Howard. Kelly then threatens to tell her dad that Chip flashed his dick if he refuses. Reluctantly, Chip agrees.
Later, Chip waits inside the car while waiting for Kelly. He decides to check out what’s happening and sees the boy Kelly is seeing come outside, talking to someone on the phone. It’s another girl, and Chip overhears it all. As soon as the boy comes back in, Chip follows and rats on the guy as he was about to start having sex with Kelly. She is furious, and the argument heats up with the boy calling Kelly a bitch. Chip gets mad too and tells the boy to stop disrespecting her.

Outside, Chip and Kelly sit on the front porch. Chip’s lip is bleeding after the boy beat him up. Kelly thanks him for standing up for her, and he tells Kelly that he will always be there for her. Kelly leans in and kisses Chip, but he flinches and tries to push her away. Kelly says it’s okay, and that he will enjoy it. Shrugging, Chip leans in for another make-out session. But he ultimately feels weird and pulls away, finally revealing that he is her bastard brother. Kelly freaks out, kicks Chip in the balls and runs back home. Chip follows her and explains everything to Howard and Kelly. Chip tells him about his Mom, Poodle, and Howard remembers. But instead of welcoming Chip, he kicks him out and tells him not to come back.

Mickey tries to make amends with Jimmy

Apparently bothered by what Sabrina said, Mickey decides to clear things up with Jimmy. She comes in his room but walks in on Jimmy masturbating. He tries to tell her that he’s just reading the news casually. Mickey meant well when she came in, but instead of having a productive talk, they both break into an argument about masturbation and privacy. Since the mood has passed, Mickey leaves.

Meanwhile, Sabrina explains what divorce is to Ben. As he recaps what he learned, Jimmy comes down to ask them where Mickey is. Instead of getting an answer, Ben questions Jimmy if he and Mickey are fighting and getting a divorce too. Jimmy storms off angrily. He comes to Mickey’s room and sees her masturbating. But instead of giving an excuse like “reading the news,” Mickey tells him the truth. Again, their argument continues.
That night, Mickey comes to Jimmy to apologize for everything, especially for burning his ass. She tells him that they should start over, and Jimmy agrees and asks her out. As they hold hands, Jimmy kisses Mickey’s, but she feels weird. Later, they both try to make this “restart” work as they talk in a bar. But everything just seems incredibly off and awkward, so Mickey decides to get hard drinks. Thanks to the alcohol, they reconnect with each other and talk about random things while drunk. The bartender tries to get them to ease off on the bottles, but Mickey gulps her beer down and throws up in her glass. Jimmy tells the bartender to leave them alone and drinks Mickey’s beer puke. Finally, the bartender kicks them out. As they walk outside, Mickey tells Jimmy that he’s turned on, and they hide in an alley to have sex.

While they are doing the deed painfully and awkwardly by the dumpster, two guys see them struggling. They think that Jimmy’s raping Mickey, and so they beat him up. As soon as the police arrive, Mickey tells them to uncuff Jimmy, because they were doing it consensually. The cops leave them both sitting on the curb. The episode ends with Mickey resting her head on Jimmy’s shoulder, asking how the hell they came to that convoluted point in their relationship.

‘The Mick: The Divorce’ Fall Finale Overall Verdict

It’s good to see Mickey finally trying to make amends with her bad treatment towards Jimmy. The guy’s been through a lot, even seen as a “dog” to Mickey  since the first season of “The Mick.” Nonetheless, it’s a great way to keep things leveled and coherent, because, for a show like this, the last thing you need is a sense of confusion to where things might lead. The fall finale helps us interpret things in an optimistic but open-ended manner, with Mickey’s gradual change of heart, and how Chip treats his status as a Pemberton bastard. You never how things might turn out with Mickey and her dysfunctional family.
“The Mick” returns Tuesday, January 2, 2018, with an all-new timeslot at 9:30 PM on FOX.