‘Anger Management’ Review: “Charlie & His New Therapist”

‘Anger Management’ continues on its 90-episode, two-year run with its 31st overall episode “Charlie & His New Therapist” as Charlie's difficulty collaborating with Kate on a study leads him to a new therapist ('Happy Days's Marion Ross), while Patrick perpetrates a lottery prank on Ed as comeuppance.

Last week’s episode, “Charlie Breaks Up With Kate,” saw Charlie’s relationship with Kate grow increasingly complicated, while the group put time in at a soup kitchen and Jen got back with her ex-boyfriend Sean (Brian Austin Green), so what will the latest episode bring?  Are there more laughs to be had in the thirty-first half-hour of ‘Anger Management,’ or does it fail miserably?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Anger Management’ episode 31, “Charlie & His New Therapist”!

Charlie and Kate discuss the press release for their upcoming study, as Charlie protests that Kate wants her name listed first on account of her doctorate. Later, Mike arrives to Charlie’s house and observes that Charlie’s stress over the situation has grown, and he’ll soon need a new anger therapist.

Over in the living room, Patrick announces a plan to Lacey and Nolan to trick Ed into thinking he won the lottery as punishment for his many insults, before Ed himself arrives. When Charlie starts the session, Lacey points out that Kate released their study’s press statement without Charlie’s consent, to which Charlie goes in the next room and destroys his phone with a frying pan out of anger.

Convinced to see a new therapist, Charlie visits his old teacher Dr. Murphy (Marion Ross), and reluctantly accepts the overly-mothering woman as a new therapist when she reveals her recently restarted practice. Meanwhile, Patrick and the others enact their lottery prank on Ed over dinner, handing him a ticket with numbers picked from a recorded broadcast of the previous week’s drawing. Ed falls for the ruse and believes himself to have won, leaving the others behind to enjoy their prank.

Charlie confronts Kate about her press release, to which Kate claims the university offered her no choice. Kate balks at the thought of Charlie seeing Dr. Murphy as his new therapist, pointing out that Charlie doesn’t need the additional motherly influence. Charlie describes Kate’s condemnation in the next session with Dr. Murphy, before the matronly woman fixes him oatmeal and invites Charlie to nap on her shoulder.

The next day at therapy, Patrick and the others worry about Ed’s absence, before the man enters and reveals he left his wife, without yet verifying the ticket and realizing its fraudulent origins. Patrick soon comes clean with the group’s prank, while Lacey flees and absolves herself of responsibility for the cruel gesture. Later, Charlie attempts to break things off with Dr. Murphy given her mothering tendencies, but Murphy reveals she put on the persona as a means to facilitate trust between the pair. When Charlie mentions Kate however, Murphy reveals that Kate had previously been accused of plagiarizing portions of her dissertation.

A short while later, Charlie confronts Kate with the plagiarism accusations, to which Kate admits a scant two paragraphs of her first draft were borrowed in distress, before a revised draft won the approval of the board. Still confident in his victory however, Charlie demands they be equal partners in the study, to which Kate acquiesces.

Ed stays with Patrick until his wife accepts him back -- which takes some doing as he said cruel things during his exit -- while Charlie admits to Dr. Murphy he feels misled over Kate’s apparent plagiarism. Murphy insists they need to reestablish trust, and begins opening her shirt to breastfeed, prompting Charlie to quickly flee and revoke her services.

As previously discussed, FOX aired tonight's all-new episode as a means to boost lagging FX ratings for the series, regardless of Charlie Sheen's ongoing 100-episode deal with the company. It certainly doesn't hurt that "Charlie & His New Therapist" offers up one of the more interesting episodes of the ongoing run, wisely recruiting sitcom veteran Marion Ross as a matriarchal figure.

As per usual, the sub-story of the group's prank with Ed largely fails to resonate, though the revised dynamic between Kate and Charlie offers up the freshest dynamic the series has offered in months. It's odd to think that 'Anger Management's most well-documented relationship could survive such upheaval, but the continued study between the characters and Ed's ongoing odd couple relationship with Patrick offered us genuine interest in the next episode, for which we only need to wait until Thursday on FX.

Did you enjoy the latest from ‘Anger Management’s ongoing run, or did it make you burn with rage? Join us later this week for another all-new ‘Anger Management’ episode recap of “Charlie and Kate Start a Sex Study” on FX!