‘Anger Management’ Review: “Charlie Lets Kate Take Charge”

‘Anger Management’ continues on its 90-episode, two-year run with its 27th overall episode “Charlie Lets Kate Take Charge,” as Charlie takes to coaching a high school baseball team with his competitive father, while Kate takes over Charlie's therapy group to mixed results.

Last week’s episode “Charlie and Kate's Dirty Pictures” saw Charlie task Nolan with uncovering information about Kate’s apparent infidelity, while Lacey adjusted to her new prison lifestyle, so what will the latest episode bring?  Are there more laughs to be had in the twenty-seventh half-hour of ‘Anger Management,’ or does it strike out?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Anger Management’ episode 27, “Charlie Lets Kate Take Charge!”

Charlie and Jen arrive to the principal’s office expecting bad news about Sam, but instead the principal offers Charlie a chance to coach the high school baseball team, given his past history. Jen points out that Charlie often had a difficult time managing his temper in the sport, growing increasingly competitive, but Charlie insists it all stemmed from his father’s coaching style.

Later, Martin drops by hoping to act as Charlie’s assistant coach, playing up every sympathy in the book to Charlie’s repeated denials. Finally, Charlie agrees so long as Martin unequivocally supports his every decision. While Charlie busies himself with practice, Kate steps in to run the group therapy sessions, though she quickly dismisses the group’s rambling style of explaining their issues, proving a much different taskmaster.

During his first game, Charlie refrains from scolding the team players who repeatedly strike out, though Martin presses he should have a firmer hand in motivating them. Charlie goes as far as to bench the team’s best player for mouthing off, at which Martin himself storms off the field in argument with Charlie over their respective styles.

By the next therapy session the group plots to find any weakness of Kate’s and exploit it, as Patrick deduces her stuffy rich upbringing from her outfit. Peeling back the layers, the group gets Kate to tear up at reminders of her deceased father, at which point Patrick and Lacey begin to tearfully admit their own troubled relationships with their families. Meanwhile at the prison, Charlie’s chat with the inmates forces him to admit that he took the coaching gig as a means to earn his father’s approval, before a prison riot places the room on lockdown, preventing Charlie from reaching the next game.

With Charlie absent, Martin applies his much more aggressive coaching style until Charlie finally arrives. Martin attempts to spur the best player into a hit, while Charlie undermines his every command, the exchanges eventually turning personal, before Charlie finally throws Martin out of the game. Meanwhile back at the group session, Kate apologizes for their unorthodox session, as the group thanks her for sharing her difficult childhood. Ed soon begins to open up as well, before revealing that his research found Kate’s father to be very much alive, and Kate admits she exaggerated her story to get them results.

Following the game, Martin returns with a six-pack and apologizes to his son, pointing out that Charlie could do very well coaching professional baseball through some of his old contacts. Charlie insists his work helping people gives him more satisfaction. Martin asks for a ride, even though "someone” slashed Charlie’s tires.

As disappointed as we were to see things return to status quo by the end of last week's episode, we have to give 'Anger Management' credit for its increased success with mixing different combinations of its characters. Here Kate was afforded the opportunity to interact with the entire group, offering a different sort of foil to the therapy dynamic which provided a few nice character moments in her elaborate deception.

Similarly, the series always benefits from the enthusiasm and presence of Martin Sheen, who clearly had a great time playing off his son with a few peppered references to the real Charlie Sheen's film career here and there. 'Anger Management' may not steal the news like today's big renewals and cancellations, but it's nice to see a more conventional series play to its strengths and throw in an experiment from time to time.

Did you enjoy the latest from ‘Anger Management’s ongoing run, or did it make you burn with rage? Join us next week for another all-new ‘Anger Management’ episode recap of “Charlie and the Break-Up Coach” on FX!