Suburgatory Episode 1.06 Charity Case

Tessa is horrified that the people of Chatswin throw away unused food when it could just as easily be donated to the needy. Tessa complains to Mr. Wolfe about it and he suggests making it a charity. And lucky for Tessa, Mr. Wolfe elects her to spearhead the campaign. Yippee. She can finally make changes in the suburbs… one plate of food at a time.

Mr. Wolfe organizes a school assembly to teach the students about conserving food. To Tessa's surprise, the students acknowledge that people are suffering. Unfortunately, their idea of "suffering" is Floridians who inherited frizzy hair and oily skin. Suddenly, Tessa's good-willed "Feed the needy" charity transforms into a "Send a cleansing face brush to a Floridian” charity. And it's all thanks to Tessa.

Meanwhile, George is taking a tour of Noah's new bathroom. This beauty is equipped with a heated floor, towel warmers, a talking toilet and a walk-in steam shower with multiple heads. The only thing this dream bathroom is missing is a skylight. Thank goodness George is the Chatswin Skylight King. While on the skylight job, George tries out Noah's dream shower. Too bad the maid walks in on George mid-shower and he's so shocked that he stumbles out face-first into Noah's bathroom sink. What a fantasy shower buzzkill.

Now it’s the Skylight King’s turn to ask a favor from Noah the Dentist King. People in Chatswin sure are lucky to have friends with such practical professions. Sadly, when George gets Noah's bill, it does not include the friends and family discount. C'mon, Noah. George gave you a great deal on your bathroom skylight! Maybe that's how Noah gets his dream bathrooms in the first place… he has to rip off his friends...

Tessa can't stand that she's the head of the dumbest charity in the world, so she has a great idea to turn it all around. She exposes the sheltered suburban population to life in the real world by bringing in her homeless lady-man friend, Gladys, from New York City. The students can't believe their eyes and ears. (And they seriously don't understand how someone can be both a man and a woman at the same time.) Gladys talks about a life of poverty and hunger, and it seems to really sink in for the students. But, as we’ve learned, nothing is ever what it seems in Chatswin. The students interpret Tessa's show and tell as a personal cry for help. The people of Chatswin begin donating things to the needy all right, but the needy turn out to be Tessa and George.

Tessa gives the fancy donated goods to someone she knows who could really use it – Gladys. And George confronts Noah about the dental price tag, to which Noah concedes he was in the wrong. At least one good thing came out of Tessa’s charity: she was able to make a very selfish town care about something bigger than themselves.