Baskets 3.3 Recap: Chip Looks For More Clowns While Eddie Deals With His Demons

Now that Eddie has returned to the rodeo, he wastes no time in breaking in the three wild horses Dale purchased in the premiere. With the horses tamed, the Baskets Family Rodeo can have their grand opening. Despite some hiccups with the new clowns, opening night is a success with both Chip and the horses standing out. In order to celebrate, Christine pops open some champagne and shares it with her crew. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea since Eddie is a recovering alcoholic and even a shot glass full causes him to relapse.
[Spoilers for 3.3 Ahead!]
The following day as Christine is arriving to work, she sees a billboard in front of the Korean church next door requesting her presence. As she enters, she sees a trail of destruction caused by the rodeo’s clown car.  Eddie spiraled out of control and Mama Baskets offers to take him in until he can get his head right. While both are at her home, she relates her own experience with a car accident. When she was a child, her father let her drive the car. Since she was so short, she couldn’t see over the wheel and crashed into a hospital.
The clowns from opening night didn’t seem to be too reliable (maybe since they were found on Craig’s List) so Chip sets out to find replacements. He hits up the local Arby’s where he meets up with two of his friends, who happen to have entertainment experience. He tries to convince both Jode, a Juggalo who he worked with as a clown in the first season and Trinity, a vagabond performer he traveled with last season.  Unfortunately for Chip, they’re prospering at Arby’s and Jode’s even up for a management job. They politely decline his offer, leaving Chip empty-handed.
Later, a distraught Trinity visits Chip at work. She’s had a change of heart and wants to be a rodeo clown, despite being pregnant. What’s really bothering her is that Jode’s too focused on becoming manager, that he’s changed. Also, he asked her to wash her hands after using the bathroom and she hates taking orders from anyone. Jode soon follows his true love and is willing to give up his Arby’s job to be a clown too.
Their first practice together is a hot mess. Despite Chip trying to keep everyone focused, the couple’s relationship drama takes over. Trinity confesses that she is pregnant with Jode’s baby, but Jode only lectures her more. Now that she’s going to be a mother, she needs to be more responsible and go back to work at Arby’s because of the benefits package, something the rodeo doesn’t have. Fearing he will lose her, he makes an impromptu marriage proposal. The proposal only enrages Trinity and she storms out. Jode soon follows, but not before quitting the rodeo for a second time.  After cooling off, the two make up and compromise that Jode can only manage her at work, not at home.
Meanwhile, the more time Christine and Eddie spend together, the more he reminds her of her father. At first, she enjoys having him around letting him wear her dad’s old clothes and cooking a big breakfast for him. However, the more Eddie drinks she begins to have flashbacks to her childhood and all the negative effects her father’s alcoholism had on her and her family.
This culminates during a late-night disturbance when Eddie stumbles back drunk with some unwanted guests. The sound of a vase falling leads to a memory where we see the real story behind Christine’s only car accident. After a night of drinking, her father was driving back home with she and her brother and got into a serious accident. He became unconscious and it was up to Christine to take him to the hospital.
She breaks out of it when she hears Chip’s voice calling out to her. Seeing his mother in no condition to deal with the situation, he calls a cab for the guests and scolds Eddie for his behavior. He tells his inebriated coworker to sleep it off and to get his act together if he wants to remain employed by the Baskets Family Rodeo. Wanting to get his life back on track and maybe feeling guilty for taking Christine for granted, Eddie attends an AA meeting the next day.
Christine Baskets has experienced a lot of growth and empowerment since last season and it was sad to see how quickly it went away as she relived her father’s alcoholism through Eddie. During the final scene, she regressed back to a traditional, mild-mannered daughter cleaning up the fallen vase and the rest of the house as Eddie and his guests party. It was a touching gesture to see Chip come to his mother’s aid and take care of things. Christine is one who won’t hesitate to help those closest to her and she feels responsible when they fall back down. Sometimes things are out of her control and no matter what she does, she can’t help, so maybe she needed Chip to tell her it’s not her fault and she did nothing wrong. It doesn’t look too bad for Christine though, because at least this time, Eddie took the initiative to return to AA. Her real dad would never attend a meeting no matter how much she prayed.
Interesting episode notes:

• Craigslist might not be the place to find clowns, but it’s a good place to find a tire.
• Before being taken in by Christine, Eddie was staying in a stall with goats, maybe even the one Dale got last episode.
• The secret to good cheese and crackers is the Triscuits.

Baskets airs Tuesday nights at 10:00 pm on FX.