Two and a Half Men Episode Recap: Not All Dogs go to Heaven

As fans well know, Charlie Sheen was fired from CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” in March 2011, after entering rehab and making “disparaging comments” about the shows creators and executive producers, Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn.

Monday April 30th’s episode of “Men” was a definite shocker to both Sheen-version fans as well as the sitting through the Ashton Kutcher-version because there’s not much else on television fans.

Since his brother died, Alan (Jon Cryer), needed to sponge off someone. In comes Walden Schmidt (Kutcher), a divorced thirty something billionaire who bought Charlie’s house and allowed Alan to stay, rent-free of course, but Alan’s cushy existence is about to be uprooted.

Walden has the difficult task of telling Alan he must leave because he wants his British girlfriend Zoey (Sophie Winkleman) and her daughter, Ava (Talyan Wright), to move in. Alan handles the news like a champ, he suffers from a heart attack and encounters his brother’s ghost while in the hospital.

Charlie Harper returns? Not quite.

In an attempt to boost the ratings of the Kutcher-version, Lorre decided to bring back Charlie from the dead. I mean the Charlie on the show not the real life Sheen, he’s still “winning.”

Lorre cast Kathy Bates to play Harper in the afterlife to try to piss off Sheen. The jokes on Lorre, Sheen was “honored” that the Oscar award winner gave his character a reprise on the show.

Poor Emilio, we all know you hoped to replace Charlie but the resemblance to Bates is uncanny. In all seriousness, Bates performance indicates hours upon hours of studying Sheen’s acting. She made a reincarnated mental-case, drug addict look good and was eerily on point with Sheen’s mannerisms.

A slight piece of hair laid above her right eyebrow, just like Sheen’s signature hairstyle. Instead of loose shorts, that caused Sheen to always cross his legs when he sat, she wore blue jeans and one of Harper’s recognizable black and tan bowling shirts, while puffing on a cigar. Granted, Sheen is no Bates and vice versa, but Bates is about 20 years older and she made him look good. Sheen would be lucky if he looked that good in 20 years, if he’s alive.

Of course this must sound like the strangest thing ever. Charlie explains that after getting pushed in front of a train, being in the gender confused, “old broads” body is his “eternal damnation” in Hell.

After his conversation with his brother, Alan decides to stop being a leech and move out on his own. His son, Jake (Angus T. Jones), pretends not to get the memo. Jake brings his girlfriend back to his room at the Malibu beach house, that smart little stoner.

In true “Men” style, the episode takes some twists and turns before the half hour episode ended. The fans got a taste of that old Charlie Harper sarcasm and debauchery. Even if it wasn’t the real Charlie, the imitation was spot on.