It’s exciting to learn that our production company, Parakeet, has been chosen by Culturist magazine as their representative. Along with a few other podcasts, we’re up against Brooklyn Dads and Murder Gals for the cover photo. But we’re excited to see what the future holds for us!
Jessie starts to wonder if Phoebe’s place is too bland and boring. She shows Jayden pictures of her childhood room. Her parents once made it Yoruba themed, but then Jessie rebelled and pushed her Nigerian culture away.
Jayden suggests she call her mom to help her redecorate the house, but Jessie says she’s too intense. She wants to call her ex-boyfriend, Idris. Jayden reluctantly agrees.
When Phoebe buys the $1,200 dress with her credit card, she is broke. Malika chides her, but Phoebe insists they should be proud to wear the dress and deserve the attention. The parakeet certainly doesn’t usually give Black women a platform to shine. They will be the first and have to make the most of it.
Phoebe and Malika are excited to get their cover photo on the magazine, until they find out the Murder Gals have a much more extravagant plan for their shoot. ..
Phoebe is looking for ways to top the Obama and Mandela pictures she saw online, but she’s not finding anything that really stands out. She decides to search for “Black Sexcellence” instead, and finds a lot of pictures of black celebrities posing with owls. Michael, however, has an owl guy!
Jessie and Phoebe buy a Nigerian mirror and reconnect with Idris, but Jayden decides to change the location of the photoshoot to Jessie’s and Jayden’s apartment, due to its elegance.
Michael’s “owl guy” comes through, and Phoebe takes several great pictures with the bird. But when Jayden and Jessie return home with their new mirror, the owl freaks out and breaks it.
Jayden and Jessie reprimand Phoebe for taking an owl into their home without their permission. Phoebe says she was just discouraged. She’s broke; she just can’t afford the things the other podcasters can. ..
After Phoebe leaves, Jessie tells Jayden that it was special for her to look at so many Nigerian pieces. She decides she wants to invite her mother for a girls’ weekend so they can look at more pieces together. ..
Phoebe ends up on the cover of a magazine, but she comes clean on the podcast. She says it’s not her house or her owl in the picture. And she’s sorry she made her fans feel they couldn’t keep up with a life she wasn’t even living. ..
“Black excellence is a pain in the ass, right?” she says. “Being broke doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It means you’re doing the best you can. And I think I’m okay representing that.”
The Episode Review
In “Everything’s Trash,” Phoebe struggles with an outstanding debt. However, the episode ends with the realization that she has more debt than we knew- $60,000. ..
Robinson’s comedy is taking a refreshing approach by tackling big issues and relevant themes with a light-hearted touch. Even if it waives too many small things (I’m stuck on the “owl guy”), it doesn’t resolve all of Phoebe’s problems at the end of an episode. Everything’s Trash realizes that life is messy–but it’s funny too.
