"Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" begins its second season with James Van Der Beek's Viking funeral in Central Park. The "Dawson's Creek" star helped Chloe (Krysten Ritter) enjoy a fabulous lifestyle and befriended an awestruck June (Dreama Walker). How can the show go on without him?
'Godfather' Day
The show rewinds to reveal Chloe forging an annual letter from Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson begging James to do a "Dawson's Creek" reunion show. Turning them down makes James feel powerful like Don Corleone on his daughter's wedding day, and Chloe milks the opportunity to ask for something big.
June tries to make the reunion show a reality so she can impress her childhood friends. Her emotional PowerPoint presentation convinces James to agree to the reunion, but Chloe wants to protect her special holiday. She shoots June and Luther (Ray Ford) with tranquilizer darts and makes James watch six hours of disappointing reunion shows. He decides to protect his legacy and avoid the reunion.
Reunion desperation
Lost and lonely, he and June aimlessly roam the streets before deciding they must make the reunion show. June calls her gal pals to share the big news, but they are busy with careers and family life instead of relishing teenage dreams.
James's agent tells him the cast isn't interested in a reunion. Devastated, he meets with Busy Phillips. She says everyone hates him because he convinced the cast to give the crew 145 rowboats as farewell gifts, but never paid his share.
June and James both suddenly realize their lives were better 10 years ago. Chloe tries to convince them to move forward like sharks, but James decides to try Plan B.
Zack attack
He stalks Frankie Muniz at a grocery store and desperately pitches a reunion show where "Malcolm in the Middle" meets Dawson. Chloe uses her handy dandy tranq gun on James. Mark-Paul Gosselaar ("Saved by the Bell") gives him an intervention of sorts because he shares James's problem. The only solution is to get rid of everything from his iconic role.
Chloe snaps June out of her depression by saying her story is just beginning, while June's friends are trapped on boring paths (i.e. family and career).
Funeral fire
The funeral is actually for Dawson. James loaded his flannels, dolls, scripts, and other gear into the boat. Chloe added June's wardrobe of autumnal sweaters because they "look like a pumpkin mated with a turd."
Chloe's mean antics may seem like a short-lived basis for a TV show, but she is complex with a surprising sense of optimism shrouded by sarcasm. Despite the push and pull of her relationship with June, these huge tent-pole moments cement their bond and empower her to make outrageous choices without chasing June away.
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