Basically Pluto
The Trap
Episode 4 of Teenage Bounty Hunters begins with Sterling sleeping outside in the tent with Luke. In the morning, he scrambles to get himself ready and bolts before anyone notices him. Debbie has not forgiven her daughter though and refuses to let Sterling in the house. As further revelations are shared, Blair happens to be dating Miles now. After getting ready, they head down to Yogurtopia. Our bonds-woman Yolanda returns and teases Bowser over his ineptitude in the field. It turns out she has a big hit but isn’t sure he’s going to be able to handle it. The girls however convince her to show their next target, a scammer called Kendra Saint John. In order to catch her in the act, they realize they need to find a neighbourhood tailoring for the 1%. That neighbourhood housing their own house. Back home, it turns out Miles has been hired by Debbie to work as a valet. Blair immediately becomes flustered until Sterling helps calm down. When a pink car pulls up, they immediately get their game faces on. Only, Kendra isn’t inside and it turns out she’s ill. Instead, it’s a man named John Slack who works for the Jewels of the Magi. As he starts to try and palm off jewelry to them, Sterling and Blair work their charm and win him over. They convince him that Kendra is a manipulator. This certainly rattles him and John quickly heads off to take a call.
Bowser’s Past
Meanwhile, a security officer pulls up next to Bowser as he’s staking out the house. When he tells the cop he’s undercover, the officer’s demeanour immediately changes to one of delight. When more officers arrive however, Bowser’s forced to hand over his bail paperwork. As it turns out Bowser has history. That history comes in the form of shooting Officer Atticus down in Florida, which the rest of the officers seem to know about. Back at the party, things take a turn for the worst when Debbie’s secret about Luke leaks out. Luke’s Mother is furious though and calls her disappointing. Blair drives with John Slack to find his car. On the road though, she admits to being a bounty hunter and forces him to reveal all. It turns out John’s actually the one in charge now as Kendra bailed and left. With crucial information gained, Blair picks up Miles and drives him home, where they decide to make their relationship official.
The Failed Skip
That evening, Sterling and her Mother have a heart to heart about their sins. Debbie is cryptic but talks about her past and the “other life” she had before. When the girls find out Bowser was arrested, they race down to meet him. There, they learn the truth about what happened in Florida. Bowser was a cop once upon a time and assigned to protect Shelita Pancake, the number 1 drag queen. However, his gun went off and shot Officer Atticus, the horse on the police force. Although the trio haven’t caught their skip this time, they do have a lead and contemplate whether to head down to Knoxville and find him. Bowser however, decides to call it quits and leaves.
The Episode Review
With more melodrama this time around, some of the comedy paves way for a healthy dose of poignancy. As our characters take a more inward look at their lives, there’s some welcome depth to this one beyond the silly humour. However, the comedy is where this series hits its stride and when the jokes land, they land really well. The horse gag is classic slapstick silliness and the slow-burn across the breadth of the episode is a really nice touch. We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for this drama but so far, Teenage Bounty Hunters has been enjoyable enough – especially after recovering from that terrible opening 15 minutes – but certainly not a show to write home about.
