Deer God:
Outstanding episode. Michael Green certainly got this one right. Then again, he hardly ever misses. I loved the E/A flirty banter. How adorable was that whenever she called him "ham?" Too cute. Good Lord, I adore this pairing. Scorching chemistry. I enjoyed the Harold/Amy scenes. I loved whenever Amy tells Harold that he has a boy-crush on Andy. Priceless.
Edna/Delia's interaction was so sweet. I loved how in Edna, Delia was growing close with a Grandmother-type. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this relationship. I have always been saddened by the lack of Edna/Delia, especially in season 3. They really built a solid foundation for a relationship between these two in season 1, but never took advantage of it later on in the series. The storyline involving Andy/Ephram was powerful stuff. You could sense the strain in their relationship in every way possible. And Ephram's breakdown was absolutely heartbreaking. Greg Smith acted the hell out of that scene. Wow, was he amazing. I could feel every emotion that was running through Ephram. And the last scene with Ephram/Amy was beautiful. Ephram, pouring his heart out for Amy to see was fabulous. Amy going from flirting/teasing him to being entirely serious, as you could see her think about Colin but then start to immediately shift and think about Ephram, with what he was saying to her, and how she was realizing that she cares very deeply about this purple-haired boy that just adores her. Emily was all about pure brilliance. Then again, what else is new? I still cannot get over how great we have it with Greg/Emily on this show. The talent they have is unreal. Whenever Amy tells Ephram "okay" and quietly shuts the door, and the music comes on, I thought that was such a lovely ending. That song was incredibly fitting to that scene and the entire episode. Great, great song and amazing ending as Ephram is walking away from the Abbott house.
The Doctor Is In:
Another brilliant episode. Honestly, Taylor is my very favorite writer, next to Berlanti. Every episode Taylor has written is perfection. She is very in tune with the vision of this show. Please Taylor, come back, now that
J & B is over. We need your brilliance back on this show is a huge and desperate way.
I loved the intro to Dr. Trott. Being that my career is in psychology, I got a huge kick out of Gretchen putting Harold in his place.
I loved the parallel of how Andy/Gretchen got along swimmingly, but Harold/Gretchen were like oil and water. Great stuff and so typical. While I loved the banter between Harold/Gretchen, I also loved how it was Gretchen that helped Andy with a few of his own personal internal struggles.
Ephram writing that song for Amy throughout the episode was absolutely adorable. I love how he was hiding it from her the entire episode until the end, but it seemed as if Amy knew he was up to something and then just sort of let him go about his business until she finally made him fess up during the incredible piano scene, which I'll get back to. I will never get over the chemistry that is blazing between Greg/Emily as E/A. Just their screen-presence together is moving.
The Delia/Mag. storyline was very intriguing. Only this amazing show would dig into a storyline like this and hit a homerun with it. I loved this storyline so much. I cried whenever these two friends had to say good-bye to each other. Amazing scene and storyline.
The breakdown that Amy has at her ballet recital was so emotional and heartbreaking. What more can I say about Emily? She is so insanely talented.
Back to the piano scene between E/A. This is one of my favorite scenes of all time between them. Amy walking down to where Ephram is playing and asks him what he is playing. You can feel how strong their dynamic is because I am convinced that Amy knew Ephram was creating something for her. It's just one of those subtle instances where you immediately pick up on how they just "get" each other. Beautiful. Amy slides over and sits closely on the bench, next to Ephram.. She looks so pretty in that scene, I have to say. She always looks pretty, though.. Then she tells him the story of Colin but notice how she INSTANTLY goes back to asking Ephram what he is playing.. How I viewed this scene is Taylor's brilliant way of showing that Amy is instantly going back and forth between Colin and Ephram like a seesaw, in that she is understanding how strongly she is starting to feel for Ephram.. How she knows that now, she has TWO guys in her life that she deeply, deeply cares about. Like Amy is now very confused as to where Colin stops and where Ephram starts if that makes any sense. Thus, Taylor was trying to drill this point home in a very intense but ever so subtle way. It worked like a charm.. Oh man, what a brilliant moment. After Amy asks Ephram again about what he was playing (like I said, I know she knew it was for her in a connected, special kind of way) and Ephram gorgeously starts explaining to Amy how he wrote a song for her and Amy looks right at him as they exchange the intense and powerful eye contact that they have always been known for. I literally get chills while watching Amy pick up his sheet music and get it all set up for him to play, followed by more intense eye contact.. Then Ephram starts to play the beautiful music, as Amy sits closely to him and then she personally looks up at him, and you just know that what is running through her mind is how much she deeply cares for this adorable guy. Oh man, incredible stuff. This scene, literally, is a perfect example of why I am so moved by this pairing. They have the whole package.
Two more great episodes.