Unstable – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Engaged, Focused and Ridiculously Sane

Episode 2 of Unstable begins with Jackson panicking because his father is holding his therapist hostage in the basement. When Jackson arrives, he notices that the therapist is grateful to his father for opening his eyes to his own shortcomings, which irritates him.

Thereafter, the therapist asks Jackson how he feels about his mother’s death and if he has grieved, and Jackson brushes the subject aside. As a result, Anna and Jackson ask the therapist to leave.

The following morning, Ellis notices Jackson isn’t putting peanut butter on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He questions Jackson about it and learns that Jackson is not putting peanut butter on his sandwich because his deceased mother prepared it.

Furthermore, Jackson appears to be in denial about how much the loss has hurt him and refuses to grieve. When Ellis encourages Jackson to express his grief rather than bottle it up, Jackson refuses to listen. Ellis is ecstatic when Jackson informs him that because he missed his flight and will be flying the next day, he will accompany him to his office that day.

At work, Anna informs Malcolm that, as the project manager, he must take charge and cut some costs. As a consequence, he informs Ruby and Luna that they won’t be able to binge on expensive pistachios. Following that, they confront and argue with him. He avoids confrontation and drops the matter seeing as he is uncomfortable with it.

Ellis arrives at work and has an entertaining conversation with Anna. She then informs him that the board is considering replacing him. She informs him that the board has called a meeting in a few hours and requests that he attend. Instead, he informs her that he is going to lock himself in a room and will not come out until he has a breakthrough.

Jackson and Luna bond at the lab over the project and their nerdiness. It’s here where Luna informs him that she has a boyfriend. After Jackson walks away, Ruby tells Luna that she’s thinking about asking Jackson out, which bothers Luna, and Ruby notices.

Ellis is working on his presentation in his room, but he quickly gets distracted. When Anna walks in, he tells her about his late wife. After that, Anna suggests that he focus, which he does, but he gets distracted again. Meanwhile, Ruby asks Jackson out in the lab while working on a project, and Anna walks in on him before he can respond. Anna urges him to join her right away.

Malcolm walks in on Ellis doing something strange. Following that, Malcolm seeks Ellis’ advice on the pistachio situation, and Ellis advises him to begin by switching from the expensive brand of pistachio to a cheaper one, which he does. Ruby and Luna notice the change and are oblivious about it, but they strategically do not inform Malcolm about it so that he does not dare to go to them and make more changes for a few more days.

Anna asks Jackson to accompany her to Ellis’ room and cry for him regarding his deceased mother so that Ellis can focus and not be preoccupied with his son’s lack of grief. When Jackson enters the room, he confronts his father, telling him that he has his own way of grieving and that if he doesn’t understand that, it’s on him.

Ellis is inspired by Jackson and confronts the board members during the meeting. He goes on to say that he’ll finish the project on his own timeframe and that if they don’t understand, it’s on them. The board members are at a loss for words and appreciate Ellis’ confidence.

Ruby reminds Jackson about her asking him out, and she asks him if he can go out with her the day after the following day. Jackson then informs her that he is only available that very same day and will be flying out to New York the next day.

Ellis brings Jackson a Jelly sandwich at night and tells him about his newfound realization of not rushing him through his grieving process. He then tells him that he should have peanut butter when he’s ready. Jackson expresses gratitude to Ellis and informs him that he has decided to stay a while longer because he has some unfinished business. Ellis is overjoyed that Jackson is staying and breaks into song.

Later that night, Jackson begins crying and grieving for his loss while eating peanut butter.

The Episode Review

The episode is lighthearted and entertaining to watch, despite dealing with serious mental health issues such as grief in a humorous yet informative manner. Without a doubt, the main characters, particularly Rob Lowe, are entertaining to watch. The secondary characters too are absolutely hilarious in their own way.

The episode concludes with Jackson deciding to stay for a few days and him mourning for his loss. It will be fascinating to see where the show goes from here.