Atypical season 2, episode 1 premiere recap: ‘Juiced!’

Sam learns the hard truths about his family’s recent drama in the Atypical season 2 premiere.

Atypical season 2 is back! And the premiere didn’t waste any time diving right into the drama of where last season left off–Elsa’s affair being revealed courtesy of Casey. It’s safe to say that Elsa has screwed up big time and is now dealing with the repercussions of her family falling apart.

However, Sam has no idea what is going on and has been told that his father is at their grandpa’s building a porch…in the winter. The season 2 premiere started off with a flashback to 2004 when Sam was a young kid, and Doug and Elsa did not know he was autistic.

This seems to have been an appropriately placed moment for the series as it illustrated a parent’s concern and confusion over their child’s behavior, and the importance of keeping a vigilant eye on it. Another flashback took us to the moment that Elsa saw Casey’s note, “Stop banging the bartender” on their whiteboard which unfortunately Doug read as well.

Credit: Netflix

In all these changes along with losing Julia as his therapist, Sam is feeling quite unsettled. The search for a new therapist is proving to be extremely difficult, and at this point, Elsa has taken him to almost everyone they can possibly think of.

Casey’s relationship with Elsa has greatly suffered ever since she learned about her mother’s affair by catching her locking lips with the bartender. There isn’t much Elsa can do to convince Casey it was all a mistake, and despite Elsa’s attempts to reach out to her–Casey is not having it. But she is headed off to Clayton Prep which will be interesting for Sam at school, and also for her relationship.

There are some incredibly hilarious passive aggressive comments from Casey towards Elsa during dinner which reminded us why Atypical is such a great show. It doesn’t hold back from exposing the truth, and it does so in a way that gets the point across without offending anyone. Casey has been hurt by her mother and it’s natural she would behave this way, so it’s good to see that brutal honesty coming out.

Remember Sam’s girlfriend, Paige, from last season? It’s hard to forget Sam’s short-lived relationship with Paige and we see what she’s up to for a brief moment in the premiere. She and Sam are no longer together but it appears Sam can’t forget about their moment of passion in the igloo.

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It was wonderful to see Sam’s best friend, Zahid, back again with his witty remarks and outlandish advice. Since Sam is having a hard time finding a therapist, Zahid suggests texting random people because it’s just as therapeutic. Not sure that’s true, but hey it’s Zahid, so we’ll roll with it. There is a harsh reality in Sam’s struggle to find a good therapist, and it’s great that the show brings that up in a way that we can all relate to.

In an effort to get Sam in with a good therapist, Elsa makes a call to her friend Kathy from the autism group who knows a great doctor Sam could go talk to. But there’s one caveat, and as we learn by the end of the episode, Elsa has to babysit Kathy’s cat.

It’s very clear in the first episode of the season that things are going to get worse before they get better. Casey is livid and angry towards Elsa, and after finding out Elsa tried to tailor her blazer the night before her first day at Clayton Prep, she was furious. Sam overhears Casey during this argument and learns about Elsa cheating on Doug.

Unfortunately, a fight breaks out between Sam and Casey as well which leads to some punches being thrown around and Casey storming away from it all. Completely confused and flustered, Sam goes to see Julia despite Elsa’s instructions not to. He gets some clarity from her and although she can’t be his therapist, she has provided him with the confidence to go back and tackle his family’s issues.

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Something positive came out of all this and it was the return of Doug! The kids appear to be more settled once they realized Doug is back, but it may not be as easy as they think. Doug wants to stay with the kids so he asks Elsa to leave instead. He is disgusted by her and doesn’t trust she can take care of the kids given how much they have already fallen apart since he left.

Sigh, everything seems to be a hot mess right now on Atypical, and we have no idea what the future holds for the Gardner family.

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