Baskets 3.7 Recap: A Girl’s Weekend In Vegas

Christine surprises Martha at work with a proposition. She has booked the two of them a girl’s weekend in Vegas at a business woman’s conference. Not only will Shark Tank’s Lori Greiner be there, but they will also receive a free tote. Mama Basket’s is trying to learn more about the business side of things so she can run the rodeo better.
[*Spoilers for 3.7 Ahead!]
At the conference, Christine begins networking with other attendees. She even forms a friendship with a group of entrepreneurs and they hit the strip club. At the club, she orders a lap dance for Martha on stage. Martha’s clearly uncomfortable and ends up falling off the stage.
Back at the hotel, Christine goes to fetch some ice for her friend and ends up bumping into the star of the conference, Lori Greiner. When she returns to the room, she decides to ask Lori advice on how to deal with Dale at the meet and greet.
The next day, Martha realizes she lost her purse and thinks it’s back at the strip club. She wants to leave the conference to find her bag, but Christine doesn’t want to go. She’s more interested in attending the Greiner seminar and wanting to pick her brain about business.  Martha has had enough and goes off on her friend. She’s been dragged out to Vegas against her will and has been forced into uncomfortable situations. She points out Christine’s biggest problem is her inability to listen and to be mindful of other’s sensitivities. All Dale wanted to do was help with the rodeo budget, but she wouldn’t listen to him. That’s why he’s suing her.
Christine is still focused on her meet and greet with Greiner. Always thoughtful, Christine remembers how Lori was suffering from a sore neck the previous night so she buys her a massage. When she finally meets her business hero, it’s more like a drive by photo op and she’s unable to get a word in.
Since it’s already paid for, Christine takes the massage instead. Though she isn’t able to talk her business struggles with the reality star, the masseuse is the next best thing. Mrs. Baskets opens up and discusses the difficulties of running the rodeo and the stress of her legal problems with her son. It ends up being both a physically and emotionally relaxing experience. All she really needed was someone to vent to and listen.
While his mom’s away, Dale finds it a good opportunity to sneak into the house and do his laundry. He also begins taking random things around the home as collateral for the fireworks payment. At the same time, Ken takes a quick trip to Bakersfield. He catches Dale leaving the garage while stealing a treadmill and unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to drop the lawsuit.
Ken returns to the house looking to chat with Dale again, but this time, he’s not there. Chip volunteers to take his mom’s beau to his brother. On the drive, the two seem to bond over how they’ve rebranded their personalities. Chip is trying to find a new clown persona after giving up the French clown, Renoir. Similarly, Ken has switched gimmicks for his carpet business. Before he was the Carpet King, he was known as the Carpet Gnome, the Carpet Bagger, and the Carpet Brother.
When they finally find Dale, Ken brings an olive branch by giving him the AC adapter to the treadmill. The two have a heart to heart and end up on good terms. Hopefully Dale can be more sympathetic towards his mom and appreciate how hard she’s working for the him and his brother.
Finally back in Bakersfield, Christine pays Dale a visit at the rodeo. She brings him a book on how to deal with back pain, which was highly recommended by the masseuse. Also, she apologizes for not listening to him and acknowledges the mistakes she made. From now on, she will stay in her lane and not micromanage everyone. In addition, she’ll lean heavily on the advice from her financial wizard. His mom’s apology and promise to repay him are enough for Dale to forgive her.
This episode focused on pairings that aren’t normally explored on the show. There is Ken and the boys and it was touching to see them bonding. He obviously loves Christine a lot and it’s good to have him incorporated more with other members of the family. The relationship between Christine and Martha has been developing since last season and it introduces a new dynamic to have the backdrop of Las Vegas. They have an odd couple kind of feel as Christine is happy go lucky and outgoing while Martha is more reserved and uptight. Despite their differences, they have a good understanding of each other which makes their friendship work.
Interesting episode notes:

• Comic cons aren’t the only place for poorly selected panels. At the business conference, there was a talk on being a woman in business held by four white men.
• The clown car from the rodeo doubles as Chip’s everyday vehicle.
• Things went well between Martha and the Basque shepherd from episode 2 as he is now her boyfriend.