With one episode left until the Minx finale, the Bottom Dollar crew are all making some stark realizations about themselves and the fate of the company. While Doug (Jake Johnson) wallows after being passed up for the job to head Minx International, Tina (Idara Victor) and Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond) accompany Constance (Elizabeth Perkins) to her ranch for a retreat to hire new recruits for the international operation. On the way through the woods, Joyce lets slip to Tina that she feels terrible that she promised Doug the job without running it by Constance first. It becomes immediately apparent that Tina had no idea Joyce tried to give Doug the job, yet another reason I worry about Doug and Tina’s communication skills. Then again, Doug seems like the type to keep some of his angsty feelings bottled up.
Doug eventually has to stop his wallowing when Bambi (Jessica Lowe) and Richie (Oscar Montoya) call him to help with a magazine emergency. The model for their upcoming issue’s centerfold ran over his mother with her car (mom-slaughter, as they called it), which means that now they have to rethink some of the pages without Joyce and Tina around to help. Doug suggests getting Shelly (Lennon Parham) to write another Bella LaRouche column. Meanwhile, Richie uses this opportunity while Joyce isn’t around to say no to unearth his earlier centerfold idea at the bathhouse.
As Doug calls to see if the team can move their photoshoot to the bathhouse, he notices something ripped up in Constance’s trash can. When he pieces it back together, what he learns worries him that Constance has other plans for Bottom Dollar as a whole. He heads off to Constance’s ranch to try and warn Tina and Joyce. He seeks out Tina first, telling her that he thinks Constance will sell Bottom Dollar for parts. Tina is currently the only one with absolute job security under Constance, seeing as they’ve been pretty much on the same page since Constance arrived (and she just gifted Tina some brand-new business cards). Doug’s warning falls on deaf ears. Even later, when he snoops and finds evidence that Constance is dissolving Bottom Dollar, Tina still doesn’t think that means they should do anything. Doug is upset that Constance has ruined something they built together, but Tina reminds Doug it wasn’t really “together.” When Tina finally voices that she wants Doug to be happy for her, it’s clear that he’s going to have to work on that while also nursing a bruised ego.
Doug also tries to warn Joyce, and she similarly brushes him off. However, during the retreat, Doug’s words might have gotten to Joyce more than she realizes. Constance and Tina have different ideas of what they’re looking for when it comes to hiring for the international operation, and Joyce feels like Constance isn’t listening to her concerns. She wants to ensure the people they’re hiring capture Minx’s point of view and that the vision she initially started with doesn’t change. Joyce eventually talks to Constance about this, and Constance tells her to put together a dream list, and they’ll see what they can do. I’ve been curious about Constance’s motives since she decided to invest in Bottom Dollar, but now that the thought of her selling the company has been floated, I wonder if she’s only saying this to placate Joyce.
The rest of the team head to the bathhouse to shoot their new centerfold. Shelly looks to find a quiet place where nobody’s having sex to write a Bella LaRouche column on a deadline for the very first time. Richie and the rest of the crew work to set up the shoot as the models get a bit antsy. It’s clear that Richie is a bit wound up and isn’t staying true to his original vision: to show the bathhouse and how the men relate to each other there as they are. He eventually shoos the Minx crew and gets to snapping photos. Unfortunately, the shoot is interrupted when the police raid the building. Looking for other moments of authenticity, Richie begins to shoot photos as all this is happening. It’s clear he’s on a journey to figure out his style and what he wants to say with his work beyond the magazine, and I wonder if the direction he wants to go in will clash with Joyce’s overall vision in any way.
In the midst of the raid, Shelly and Bambi find themselves locked together in a steam room. It’s not great for Shelly, who’s been doing her best to avoid Bambi at all costs, which Bambi calls her out on. She doesn’t understand why Shelly made such a big deal about wanting to be friends and then has avoided her ever since. It’s clear that Shelly gets more confused when she’s around Bambi, but she certainly wasn’t thinking about how pushing her away might make Bambi feel. Bambi’s journey all throughout this season has been one of trying to find her path, while people continually put her in a box. By now, she’s tired of it, and it’s nice to see her voice this to someone she cares about.
Meanwhile, Shelly seems to come to her biggest realization with Bella LaRouche’s help. At the end of the day, she goes home and shares her column with Lenny (Rich Sommer) as she comes out to him as a lesbian. It’s a big step, and it’s been very exciting to watch Shelly on this journey of self-discovery and coming to terms with her identity.
Everyone on the Bottom Dollar crew seems to be on different pages in their own journeys. It’ll be interesting to see how the story wraps up this season and if there’s time for them to get back on the same page.
