TV Recap: “Raven’s Home” – Booker Helps Catch a Thief in “21 Lunch Street”

21 Jump Street was a TV series about two young-looking cops who went undercover at a high school, which inspired the title of the sixth episode of Season 5 of Raven’s Home, “21 Lunch Street.” This episode made its Disney Channel debut on Friday, April 15th, putting Booker and his new friends at the center of a school mystery. Here’s a recap of “21 Lunch Street.”

(Disney)

(Disney)

Ivy is excited to show off her brand-new cellphone, the Galactic 14. She saved up for a long time to get it and basks in Booker and Neal’s jealousy, not letting them see it out of fear that they will break it (Booker’s screen is already cracked and neal cracks his while trying to show Ivy how careful he is). As they talk, principal Rivera walks by and tells Ivy to be careful because someone is stealing electronics at the school.

In art class, Booker, Ivy, and Neal work on their self-portraits, with Neal creating a sculpture of their teacher, Ms. Linda, on whom he has a crush. When Booker asks Ivy if he can take a picture on her phone (even his camera lens is cracked), she tells them she doesn’t have her phone. As she begins to explain, Booker has a vision of Ivy holding her phone saying “I can’t believe it, we caught the thief!” Booker jumps to the conclusion that Ivy’s phone was stolen and she doesn’t deny it. Neal says that Booker must be psychic and he becomes defensive, saying that it’s a logical assumption since Ivy is so responsible. Booker and Neal decide to try to catch the thief and get Ivy’s phone back.

Meanwhile, Raven and Victor stop by The Chill Grill after a long walk. Raven goes to the kitchen to get Victor some healthy oatmeal and while she’s away, he meets a man named Stone who ordered a plate of bacon and saw the way Victor stared at it. After learning that Victor survived a heart attack and that his daughter is forcing an extremely healthy lifestyle upon him, Stone convinces Victor that his current lifestyle is no way to live. After Victor has some bacon, he leaves with Stone to go rent electric scooters. He doesn’t say goodbye to Raven.

Through a montage, we see Booker and Neal hiding in the hallways trying to catch the thief. While waiting in the lunch line with Ivy, they tell her about their failed attempt and the lunch lady asks them if they have suspects or clues, which impresses the kids. But when the lunch lady looks suspicious and leaves, Booker and Neal jump to another conclusion, believing that the lunch lady is the thief. Neal confesses that he saw the lunch lady multiple times while they were on their stakeout, seeing her enter and leave the computer lab multiple times. They convince Ivy that the lunch lady is guilty and she plans to help them take her down.

Raven is angry when Victor comes home with his new friend Stone and she learns that he’s been too adventurous for his heart. When Victor gets mad at Raven for being too controlling, he leaves with Stone to go to Golden Gate Park to slackline. Once there, Victor gets out onto the ropes between tall trees and Stone gets scared, abandoning Victor, who becomes too scared to move. He eventually manages to get his phone to his ear to call Raven for help.

Booker, Ivy, and Neal find Principal Rivera in the hallway and announce that the lunch lady is the thief. She gets frustrated with them and says they don’t know what they’re talking about, asking them to stay out of this. Booker is stunned and says “We’re the ones who catch the thief, I saw it.” Neal asks Booker what he meant by that and Booker once again becomes defensive, not wanting to reveal to his new friends that he’s psychic. Ivy regrets getting involved.

Later, Neal asks Booker and Ivy to help him get rid of his art project before Ms. Linda sees it. It’s too heavy to lift, so he goes to the backroom to find a cart and ends up discovering the stolen laptops. The door opens and they duck behind a shelf as Ms. Linda enters, talking on the phone and asking the other party if they have the money for the laptops. Booker pulls out his phone to try and make a video that will prove that Ms. Linda is the thief, but he knocks something over and gives their presence away. Ms. Linda blocks them from leaving as she explains that she’s not a real art teacher and makes her money by stealing from schools. Ivy pulls out her phone, revealing that she was recording Linda’s confession. Ms. Linda grabs the phone and runs out of the classroom, but the lunch lady is just around the corner and uses a sheet pan to knock Linda to the ground. “I can’t believe it, we caught the thief,” Ivy says, fulfilling Booker’s vision. The lunch lady says she’s the one who caught the thief, revealing that she’s actually a detective in disguise. “I did not see that coming,” Booker says.

Raven arrives to help Victor and he apologizes for running off. He tells her he just wanted to feel like himself again. Victor is too scared to move, so Raven conquers her own fear and steps out on the ropes toward him. However, she also becomes scared stiff and screams for help. Luckily for both of them, Alice came along and gets a firefighter to bring them down with a cherry picker.

As Linda is escorted away by police, Booker asks Ivy why she lied about her phone. She says that she was embarrassed because after bragging about how responsible she is, she accidentally cracked her phone’s screen. Booker reminds her that nobody is perfect. When they get back to his house, they turn on the TV and notice something funny on the local news. Raven and Victor are being helped down from the trees, with Raven begging the news crew not to film her because she doesn’t want her son to see this. Too late!

Raven’s Home will return for another fun episode on Friday, April 22nd with “Retreat Yourself.” Here’s a description of the next episode.

After having a vision about his health, Raven takes Victor to a relaxation retreat, while Booker throws an impromptu birthday party for Alice.

Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).