2 Broke Girls

About the series

Contains story spoilers.

Max Black has spent her life working for money; Caroline Channing arrives at the same Brooklyn diner after her father's financial crimes destroy the wealthy life she expected to keep. Their partnership in 2 Broke Girls combines Max's cupcake baking with Caroline's determination to turn it into a business. Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs play the two women in the comedy created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings. Garrett Morris plays cashier Earl, Jonathan Kite plays cook Oleg and Matthew Moy plays diner owner Han Lee. The workplace pays their immediate bills while their shared ambition points somewhere else. Getting there means finding equipment, seeking customers and sharing a home when their experiences of ordinary things can be wildly different.

A dental problem exposes the scale of that difference. Caroline needs the bite guard left in her seized townhouse, but an inexpensive replacement fails and an alarming budget dental clinic offers little reassurance. She refuses to spend their cupcake savings on a better dentist, keeping the business fund separate from her personal emergency. Breaking into her old home through an unwired skylight seems like the solution. Max discovers an enormous wardrobe, luxurious bathroom and photographs that make Caroline's lost life tangible. They retrieve the guard and find cash in a handbag, then spend time together over the expensive sushi Caroline remembers eating with her father. He calls from prison and thanks Max for helping his daughter. Their raid has consequences, though: setting off the security system closes off future visits, and inventoried furs cannot simply be resold. The familiar comforts remain visible but no longer freely available.

Their practical disagreements can also produce progress. Caroline wants a Murphy bed instead of continuing to sleep on the couch; Max wants her to build it herself. Caroline challenges Max to do something equally uncomfortable by handing business cards to Peach, the wealthy mother whose children Max looks after. Max resists because promoting herself feels needy, while Caroline struggles with the bed's assembly. Inviting Johnny to help brings Max's uncertain attraction to him into the apartment without solving the carpentry. Caroline finally admits she cannot manage the project, and Max joins her to finish it. Peach later calls the number on a card about ordering cupcakes, then declines when she discovers the business is only starting. Max sees another embarrassment. Caroline sees evidence that the cards reached somebody and generated an enquiry. They have a usable bed and their first sign that promotion can work, even without a sale.

A second job takes Caroline into a home where keeping possessions has become overwhelming. Hired as a personal organiser, she discovers that her client Douglas is a hoarder and wants to leave. Max persuades her to stay, helps negotiate a higher fee for both of them and notices items that might be sold online. The piles eventually reveal kittens and even Douglas's mother living among the clutter. Caroline connects the reluctance to discard objects with Max's refusal to admit her feelings for Johnny. Max has accompanied him on a late-night billboard-painting trip and wondered why he did not kiss her despite the romantic setting. Encouraged to act, she finally moves toward him, only to discover his girlfriend Cassandra. Johnny admits he has feelings for Max but remains tangled in his existing relationship. Max refuses to take responsibility for sorting out that confusion after spending days dealing with somebody else's accumulated mess.

Thanksgiving brings another attempt to earn enough for bakery equipment. The women take seasonal work in Santaland, while Caroline hopes to visit her father in prison. His refusal to see her makes the holiday feel like a personal rejection. They help feed homeless diners before returning to a demanding Black Friday shift, using energy drinks to keep going. Max's move from elf to Mrs Claus pays more but leaves Caroline feeling abandoned again. Exhaustion and disappointment spill into an outburst in front of the children, ending their time at the department store. Outside, Max reminds her that she still has a place to live, work and people who care about her. Caroline reveals that she took a mixing spoon while they were being thrown out, giving them a very modest substitute for the mixer they wanted. She has also donated two dollars from their fund. The shift ends with that small loss and a renewed appreciation of what Max has given her.

Caroline's horse Chestnut makes the limits of their living arrangements impossible to ignore as winter approaches. Max wants him moved somewhere suitable, but Caroline distrusts Peach's interest: adopting a damaged celebrity's pet might help Peach win a place on reality television. Another stable rejects him after deciding that the out-of-shape horse will not earn its keep in film work. When they arrive at Peach's home, cameras confirm Caroline's suspicions. She still puts on the social performance needed to secure a better home for Chestnut, then reveals she never signed the release allowing her own appearance to be used. Max's apparent readiness to give him up turns out to conceal real attachment. Caroline lets her say goodbye privately, and Max thanks the horse for being a good part of a difficult time. They leave with plans to visit and bring him home in spring. The decision protects him for the winter while admitting that losing a familiar companion hurts both women.