Recap: SON OF ZORN Welcomes the Return of The Drinking Buddy

Season 1, episode 8 : “Return of  the Drinking Buddy”
Written by Reed Agnew
Directed by Eric Appel

[All photos courtesy Fox Broadcasting Co.]

We begin with some home videos of Zorn (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) and his best friend Headbutt Man (Voiced by Rob Riggle) in their younger days.

We pull out to find Zorn watching them at work. Linda (Artemis Pebdani) comes in and tells everyone that they landed a new account and to celebrate they’ll be going out to a bar.

Meanwhile, Alan (Johnny Pemberton) asks Layla (Clara Mamet) out to a party.

At home, Craig (Tim Meadows) and Edie (Cheryl Hines) are preparing to host Headbutt Man. Zorn is ecstatic to see him and preparing himself to get wasted like old times. Headbutt Man arrives, but he’s not alone. We are introduced to girlfriend Elizabeth (Alex Borstein) and daughter Headbutt Girl (voiced by Jillian Bell).

Alan is forced to take Headbutt Girl, or as she wants to be called, Dorothy Clementina, to the party.

Zorn is ready to have a good time with his old pal, but Headbutt Man tells him that he’s sober now. Zorn is downright bored with what Elizabeth and Headbutt Man are into, so he tries to bring up old times. Headbutt, however, doesn’t want to live in the past.

Zorn gets Headbutt alone, he tells him that he thinks Elizabeth is bad for him. Headbutt Man tells him that before he met her he was self-destructive, Elizabeth saved him from himself.

Zorn decides to go to the bar for the work party and talks Headbutt Man into going with him. When they get there, Headbutt Man finds the temptation of booze to be too much and he starts drinking.

Meanwhile, at the house, Edie and Elizabeth discover they had met before years ago at summer camp.

Alan, Layla and Headbu…sorry Dorthy Clementina are at the party. Alan and Layla are having a good time. Some of the partiers start to strip to take a dip in the pool but Alan doesn’t wanna (his cartoon legs and the ridicule he’d receive been the point of distress).

At the bar, Zorn and Headbutt Man are really getting into it and having a good time, until Headbutt confides in Zorn that all the headbutts having given him brain damage. If he even does it one more time, he could die. Linda tries to talk Headbutt into headbutting her truck.

Back at the party, Headbutt Girl is an embarrassment. She is eating the host’s deodorant. Everyone starts to make fun of her, but Alan comes to her rescue….and then she headbutts him for calling her Headbutt Girl. Only her father can call her that.

Zorn tries to stop Headbutt Man from taking on Linda’s truck. Luckily, Elizabeth arrives to talk Headbutt down. Headbutt Man and Girl and Elizabeth leave. Zorn has a better appreciation that the past should stay in the past.

Zorn tosses Headbutt Man his keys…which hit him in the head. Headbutt Man collapses.

Analysis:

I will admit at the outset of this analysis that I have only been “drunk” once in my life. I’ve never even had a hangover.

That said, this episode makes a good argument not to get goaded into things while drunk or drinking enough that you lose control.

We meet Headbutt Man fully in this episode; we’ve seen him previously but only for a minute or two. We learn that Headbutt Man has reformed himself from his days with Zorn, all thanks to the love of a woman, played by Family Guy‘s Alex Borstein (Nice to see her in the flesh and not animated).

Zorn in this episode still has a hard time accepting change. He just wants to pal around with Headbutt, but Headbutt is doing something that Zorn has a hard time doing, looking inward and reforming into a better version of himself. At least by the end of the episode, Zorn has learned his lesson. Don’t dwell on old memories and accept that things must change.

We meet Headbutt Man’s  daughter, the girl who doesn’t want to be referred to as Headbutt Girl, Dorthy Clementina. She is…well, her father’s daughter. She becomes the third wheel to his budding romantic relationship. But when Dorthy is put down at the party, he defends her, but also calls her Headbutt Girl, which earns him a headbutt. Never forget when defending someone, don’t tick them off.

We are now half way through season one (still slated for just 13 episodes). The writing and acting are fairly consistent and the ratings seem to be evening out. I don’t know if the ratings are good enough for a season two pickup, but they still have plenty of time to decide.

 

Son of Zorn airs Sunday at 8:30/7:30 Central on Fox. It can also be found on Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu and Fox.com. For more information, visit the official website.