jediwands

jediwands

Decided to put this one up a tiny bit early.

jediwands

Thoughts while watching

- I miss going to movie stores and picking out movies to watch. I loved that entire process so much.

- Bright and Ephram growing closer as friends is one of the few really positive things about S2.

- Bright's advice is typically not always good, even if he tries. This thing with Madison, having Ephram ignore her, obviously made the adult babysitter want to date Ephram all the more.

- Brittany and Delia and their entertaining friendship is always fun to see.

- Delia knows Andy is behaving strangely. She is only 10 but already in tune with matters of the heart.

- Andy is so hung up on Linda. Poor Edna trying to protect Andy.

- Andy and roses, 300 roses, wow.

- Harold still wants Andy and Linda never happening.

- Here comes Amy/Tommy.

- Medical case was overall pretty good even if it didn't have an ideal outcome.

- Madison is fighting with a boyfriend and flirting with Ephram in front of Delia. What a great role model she is.

- Bright and Ephram shooting hoops is so great to see. I love this. I played basketball and would bond with friends while going there. I can relate.

- When Laynie told Amy about Tommy’s drug and behavioral history it should have been a red flag for Amy but as we see, it attracted her to him all the more. Shows how unstable she is with her depression. Once again, where are the medical professionals in her life trying to help her? They have vanished.

- Red balloons now with Harold freaking out.

- Linda said no to Andy. Kind of strange he didn't give up already. Yes, it's obvious she likes him and is holding back but technically she still said no.

- Bright singing to children is so outstanding. LOL.

- Madison continuing to flirt with Ephram under Andy’s roof is so inappropriate. Makes me sick. Why is she asking him why it feels like they haven't talked forever? Do you understand that your job duties do not include seducing a boy?

- Andy didn’t know taking advice from Brittany is bad?

- Rose knew Harold stole Andy’s gifts, lol.

- Laynie, please stop taking Amy to parties.

- Amy/Tommy, here was go with another relationship that is not a good idea. But at least this one never got serious and ended when it was meant to end.

- Poor Justin. Unfortunately, that is real life. Sometimes you can fall hard for someone and they do not return the feelings. True love is difficult to find. When you have it, embrace.

- Amy/Tommy... Tommy is a smooth talker... and then they kiss.

- Great scene between Harold/Linda when Harold told her he figured out she is HIV+. Tom and Marcia lit up the screen.

- So sickened by Ephram/Madison... she looks so much older. He looks so young. This is so repulsive. Her description of falling for Ephram... please, make it stop.

- Ephram and Madison kiss... illegal, gross, vile, criminal.

- Justin case was so realistic like I mentioned above. Sometimes it doesn't work out but what I love is how Justin was still happy he told her how he felt. That was awesome.

- Madison walking into Ephram's room is BEYOND criminal, disgusting, vile, inappropriate. She is sickening. She mentions it being illegal and prison could enter the picture. I remember several years ago a few Ephram/Madison fans were literally looking up Colorado law to see if things weren't as bad as it seemed. I laughed. Did they not hear what Madison said during this scene alone? Quit searching for Colorado law. Listen to the characters. Madison tells you she's a future child rapist in the legal sense, it is illegal, it is wrong, it should have never happened. Then laughs about telling him to get his a$$ to high school. I hate her so much.

^ How does she even joke about this?

- Andy singing is strange. I like Treat's voice but do find this somehow weird and out of character for Andy.

- But Linda telling Andy how she got HIV+... what a scene. What a powerful scene.

General Thoughts

The highlight of this episode was seeing Bright and Ephram continue to develop a close friendship. I really love this friendship. This season is dark, very dark, so watching Ephram and Bright get closer is pure light in an otherwise pretty dark season.

Paul Wesley, as Tommy is interesting. I also saw him on The OC. I never watched The Vampire Diaries. It might be surprising, but I never loathed Amy/Tommy. Dislike, yes, but they never repulsed me like Ephram/Madison. They were all wrong and Amy was only drawn to him because she was in darkness and sensed he had darkness surrounding him too. It was comforting. They definitely have no business in a serious relationship but thankfully how it plays out was relatively painless, unlike Ephram/Madison.

Speaking of... Ephram/Madison are the definition of illegal and disgusting. It is so creepy. I get such a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach watching their scenes. A four year age difference when they're in their mid to late 20s is completely different compared to a 16-year-old boy with a 20-year-old. It is just gross on every level. Boys are way more immature at this time! They look so weird together. Ephram looks so young. Does she not see an actual boy in front of her? What is wrong with her? She needs professional help. This was absolutely intentional too. Berlanti wanted us to note how weird and gross they look together. We are absolutely not meant to look at them and think this is a healthy situation.

Andy is slightly out of character pushing so much to be with Linda. It was kind of cute, the roses, then the balloons but when she told him to stop after that and he proceeded with the singing it felt slightly odd to me. Oh well, the amazing scene between Andy/Linda when she told him about having the virus was phenomenal. It was so moving, my jaw was on the floor due to intrigue.

I have to say, I dislike the lack of Ephram/Amy interaction not just this episode, but so far throughout all of S2. The problem is it takes away from the heart of the show in general. Everything feels SO incredibly separated right now. It's so obvious this is only taking place because Berlanti has to convince us for right now, it has to be Ephram/Madison and Amy/Tommy. I really do believe Berlanti felt like Ephram/Amy around each other in S2 while they were with Tommy and Madison would have watered down those other relationships... or more watered down since those relationships were set up to look flawed and bad from the start. I strongly feel like Berlanti thought if he would have given Ephram/Amy more scenes together in early S2, he would have had to get them together around mid-S2 as a result and he wasn't ready for them just yet. He wanted that last part of S2 to be dedicated to Ephram/Amy. It's still very frustrating because Ephram/Amy are a significant part of the show... even THE heart of the show. We should have gotten more scenes between them during this time period.

It is obvious Berlanti created three obstacles with the three main romantic pairings in this season:

- Andy and Linda's HIV.
- Amy and Tommy's drug problem.
- Ephram and Madison being an adult.

It was clear all three relationships were not going to last long-term.

Another strong episode as far as quality, acting, writing, production. Very high quality and quite moving. The only problem is seeing Madison's mug on the screen is draining and I cringe when she enters the screen. It is just so wrong seeing her with Ephram.

Added thoughts

- Question: Was Tommy being honest with Amy when he told her that he was clean now, but sadly he just wasn't able to maintain it? I really wonder if he was telling her the truth at this point.

- I forgot how insufferable this Laynie is. Party party party. She had taken Amy to a couple parties too. We cannot even blame Colin’s death or depression for Laynie’s behavior. She’s on medication and has admitted she feels better. Of course, she has never had an ideal relationship with her parents so she could be wanting to get away from them which is why she’s going for it so strongly with guys and attending parties that are questionable (older guys the first one, leaves Amy alone at the other one, drops Amy for a guy in other instance). So this could be acting out due to wanting to get away from her parents. It just sucks that she’s dragging Amy into it. The last thing Amy needed was attending this last party and getting together with Tommy.

- Felt really bad for Harold when he figured out why Linda was "not interested" in Andy. I can’t emphasize this enough. Tom’s reaction as Harold just sucks you in.

- I will forever believe Madison never truly wanted to date Ephram. Instead, Madison was just flattered that he was so intensely pursuing her, and she confused that with thinking she returned his feelings. Then went for it, illegal and all.

- Bright and the karaoke scene is so full of awesome. He had that whole room of young girls hanging off his every word and absorbing his fun energy; but it was so completely innocent and totally adorable.

everwoodfan52

My thoughts....

Awe...Bright and Ephram hanging out together...so cute that they watch movies together.
Ephram...Beware! Bright hasn't been known to give good dating advice....unless he's giving it to Amy.

Brittany can be so bossy!
Delia: "We can't have chaos." lol

Poor Edna needs to backtrack fixing up Linda with Andy...so sad.

I do love a confident Andy.

Linda has such a horrible problem...heartbreaking that she really really likes Andy, but has to avoid entering any relationship being trapped by this virus.

Yuck...Tommy. Eyebrows! Now we have both Eyebrows and Bucky on the show!

I don't need a filler medical storyline even though it runs parallel to Andy's situation.
Andy, you're not a speech pathologist nor a therapist. Send this guy to one! Then we can get on with the important storylines!

What? Madison is going to allow Ephram to eat pizza??

Sometimes Ephram acts so jerky. Jaybirds?

I love Delia!! "I'm 10...not stupid!"

Laynie has become such a party girl...I miss the other Laynie.

Andy is definitely persistent. Poor Harold has to contend with all of these flowers and balloons. I still don't understand why he's so adamant to keep Linda away from Andy.

Oh, Linda. You had to lie and break Andy's heart while your heart was breaking as well.

Bright! Those girls just love him!
Good for you, Bright. Just shoo Madison away! lol

Brittany does sometimes give good advice. Yes, Andy, go and sing to Linda!

Hmmmm...Rose's words have Harold thinking and wondering, "What's the real story with Linda?"

Amy, aren't you going to tell Laynie that you are leaving and with a guy? Didn't the two of you go to the party together??

I guess Brittany's advice is helping 2 people....almost!

And Officer and a Gentleman...I love that ending...too bad it didn't work for Justin like in the movie..


Tommy is a scumbag, but he can be so sweet as well. Still don't like him, though.

I prefer Ephram sitting with Amy on that porch swing...

Good riddance to Jay, but don't replace him with Ephram...Madison! Yuck! You're going to catch his cold, Madison.

Andy....great choice of song! I think it's working!

I also love the way that Anne Murray sings it.....



Andy is in shock...Poor Linda....I guess Andy needs some time to process this...


I love that going to the movies was the theme throughout this episode.

jediwands

Right. This friendship is one of the best parts of S2. If you think about it right now it’s the lead relationship in the season.

Precisely.

Their banter was so cute during that scene. LOL.

Very sad. She’s literally having to protect a man she does consider a second son from getting a potentially deadly virus from her very own daughter.

Would love more information on how he got Julia’s attention.

It is so sad, especially how she even got HIV. She was selfless helping a little dying child and gets the virus that way. No one deserves HIV but how she got it is just heartbreaking.



That’s an excellent point. No idea why he took this case. I guess because being a neurosurgeon he thinks he understands the neurological system, which he does, but he’s not a speech pathologist.



I didn’t understand what he was getting at there?



Agree. Is this the real Laynie or the Laynie acing out because she doesn’t have close relationships with her parents? Like, if Colin would have lived would she still be this version of Laynie?

I do wonder if it’s because he feels like Andy has so much of his family and hopes/dreams… gifted as a surgeon, has Edna working with him, his son likes Amy… maybe Harold thinks Andy has too much of the Abbott’s and now he wants his sister too?



The girls adored him. LOL.

I love when he told Madison to get away.

Brittany is a quirky character. LOL.

Absolutely.

Weird, right? Laynie seemed like she abandoned her first and probably won’t notice.



Good scene.

Agreed. I did think it was nice when he gave her his coat.

Yes.



Beautiful version.

Treat and Marcia are magical there.

Clever.

everwoodfan52

I was thinking the exact same thing!! Such good old days that we can go to Blockbuster and rent a movie!

That's kind of the only thing I like about season 2 as well as the ending when Amy and Ephram got together.
.

Yes, but I kind of wish that Delia was more a leader in this friendship rather than a follower.

Yes, but Bright has to cut out the sports references when talking to Ephram.


Yes!! What the heck is she even doing in Ephram's room?!? Is there no privacy in this house?

I loved it and have always loved this song..

I was wondering the same thing, although he will use more than pot in a later episode...
I think they are purposely making Laynie detestable so that we won't miss her when she leaves. It didn't work, but I really can't stand this Laynie! Not a good influence at all!

-

jediwands

Yes! Miss it so much.

That’s very true.

Good point.



Right? I hate that scene SO MUCH. She has crossed so many lines.

I love the song and Treat’s voice.

Indeed.

Wow. That’s a very good point. I think you are absolutely correct… precisely what they’re attempting to do with Laynie during this time period. When you think about it, she’s literally like Amy’s dark influence, pushing her into more darkness throughout S2. That’s basically her storyline/purpose.

everwoodfan52

This makes so much sense. Yes...Harold regretted Andy so much because of everything that Andy had. (of course Harold should have considered the fact that he had a healthy marriage and a loving wife while Andy lost his.)
It is interesting that when Harold found out why Linda broke up with Andy he changed his tune and felt that Andy deserved some happiness. That was a huge jump.

jediwands

Exactly!

Andy even makes a comment in S1 (if I’m remembering correctly) about Harold’s happy, stable marriage. Yes, Harold was envious of Andy’s accomplishments but Harold had the very basic thing that we as humans crave... love, stability and happiness. The beauty of Harold is his ability to change how he sees things and even passionately embracing a different way of thinking, especially with those close to him. Which is why how he’s handling his daughter’s depression is so shocking. He typically sees the light by now. He hasn’t.

Alexa

I haven't watched yet but can i say

PAUL WESLEY!!!!

I met him and hes soooooooooooo freaking nice and adorable. GAWDDDDDD. Hes one of my biggest celeb crushes lol.

everwoodfan52

He is very good looking! Too bad he had to play Tommy.

jediwands

That's awesome!

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Alexa

I liked the epsiode, I thought it felt like classic Everwood.

I like that Delia got some more scenes. Bright was funny in the episode too, him singing Karaoke.

I like Tommy. I mean, if we can't have E/A then I am on board with him because I love Paul and he's an interesting character. He makes the SL fun. And at least Amy has somethign to do. To be totally fair, she saw Ephram with Madison first. It's just a bummer they aren't getting more scenes (E/A I mean) The kiss with Tommy was WAY TOO FAST though, like they literally just met in this episode.

Omg Why Can I playing in the background ummmm MEMORIES!

Ephram trying to get Madison ugh I dont like this. He just still seems way too young. And her weird ass glances to him all the time are meh. Like, girl, hold firm and say no. Jeez. Stupid Bright convincing Ephram to keep going.

Madisons speech was sweet IF SHE WASNT 20. lol. Like is 4 years that big of a gap? NO. Again, if Ephram was 18 then okay I wouldnt care, but like, shes 20 and hes 16??? thats so weird when you are that far apart? She even said herself it was illegal like???

I remember when I was in 11th grade I kinda thought this 8th grade guy was cute but I was like theres no way in hell I am even going to let myself THINK about him because hes simply way too young. I wouldnt have even dated a freshmen lol. So to think of dating a sophomore when you are in college, ew. Its just weird AF.

Linda's story was SO SAD good lord. She was very brave telling Andy that story.



Top 5:
1. Linda
2. Ephram
3. Tommy
4. Amy
5. Andy

i liked Bright and Harold in this episode too!

jediwands

It really did feel like classic Everwood.

Bright was hilarious.

I completely agree. Amy's definitely not doing anything wrong. She does seem to be attracted to Tommy because she senses he's a bad boy but the thing is right now in her life it would be what she is attracted to. She is searching for something, anything to help her get through the short-term since her clueless family refuses to help her. Finally someone does give her some attention who seems interesting (and very easy on the eyes) and of course she's going to be interested. Plus, like you said, she saw Ephram with Madison. Heading back Ephram's way right now is impossible thanks to Madison. So Amy knows the boy she truly loves (Ephram) is unavailable, she has a horribly selfish, wild best friend in Laynie who doesn't care about anything but guys and parties, her family treats her terribly (father) and passively (Rose) or entirely clueless as to what she's going through. Tommy makes sense right now.

I didn't notice that initially!

Agreed. This entire storyline is so annoying. He seems so much younger, it makes me sick. The way she looks at him makes me want to throw her behind bars and yes, Bright has never had good advice in this area minus some great Ephram/Amy wisdom here and there. But yes, this storyline is tiring.

4 years is nothing, it's all about what age Ephram is which is 16 and truly, he looks about 14. It is so gross. She mentions it being illegal then two seconds later laughs about it. She expects a 16 year old boy (who maturity-wise is around 14/15) to understand what she is saying when she's giving mixed signals? What an absolute loser. She held all the cards and blew it, completely doing the wrong thing, crossing illegal lines.

Yes.

Heartbreaking. No one deserves to get this virus but how she got it too... she was a superhero.

I like this list!

Jerry D

We saw that this episode once again followed a theme that resonated throughout it, as romantic scenarios borrowed from some cheesy 80’s movies played out through this episode.

I like the opening scene with Bright and Ephram and Bright gave Ephram misguided advice about how to win over Madison, as the friendship between these two former adversaries continued to grow. It was ironic or prophetic to see Chris Pratt, as Bright, talking about action movie stars, as Chris Pratt himself became one of the biggest action movie stars on the planet, as he’s now on the same level as the biggest action star of the day that Bright mentioned, The Rock.

It was funny seeing Bright advise Ephram to ignore Madison, and a testimony to their growing friendship was them seeing the famous scene in Casablanca where Humphrey Bogart’s Rick said to Claude Rains’ Louis: “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” play in the video store (remember video stores? ) and the same could be said for Bright and Ephram’s friendship. Bright had some classic lines in this episode like when he told Ephram that he needed a “wing man” and he said “Do you want to sit here and play Scrabble or do you want to get the dibble dabble?” and he uttered the most prophetic line of all when it came to Madison: “You know, for being a smart guy, you’re kind of an idiot.” I also liked it when Bright, playing his “wingman” role to the hilt, entertained Delia and her friends and then sat between Ephram and Madison.

I liked Andy and Edna’s conversation as Edna, knowing Linda’s condition, was trying to discourage him from pursuing a relationship with her, but Andy used every means he could to woo her, from sending her flowers and balloons to finally serenading her, but she initially rejected him and she told him that she didn’t want to date him and that she didn’t have any romantic feelings for him, but later, encouraged by Harold, she told him the truth about her condition, leaving Andy stunned and at that point unsure of what to say. I really loved it when Harold told Linda that she deserved some happiness in her life and so did Andy, illustrating the growing affection and respect that he had for Andy and the love that he had for his sister.

Well, I’ve talked about what I liked in this episode, which now brings me to what I didn’t like about this episode. This was the episode that introduced us to the character of Tommy, who checked out Amy literally and figuratively at the drug store where he worked as Amy picked up her prescriptions. I liked seeing Laynie again but her screen time was brief as she tried to encourage Amy to go to a party with her and she told her about Tommy, who apparently had recently gotten out of rehab. We saw Amy run into Tommy at that party and he convinced her to leave the party with him and he worked his charms on her, and we saw him walk her home and kiss her good night, setting the stage for a future relationship between them that was thankfully short-lived. We saw that Tommy knew more about her than he originally let on telling her: “You...checked your tiara at the door the day your boyfriend died and... ...you've been wandering the halls alone ever since... ...looking for...something or...someone to fill the void and take all the sadness away,” and he made his move to be that person at that point, which would have near-disastrous consequences for Amy later. I heard that he was so broken-hearted after Amy broke up with him that he later hooked up with someone named Katherine Pierce and he became a vampire!

In another very unfortunate development, we saw Ephram and Madison’s relationship continue to progress in a nauseating fashion, as Ephram found out that she had broken up with her boyfriend Jay and she confessed her feelings for Ephram, telling him that her stomach got fluttery when he was around and how she came undone when she was around him, while telling him that their relationship would never work and reminding him of their age difference, but once again, she didn’t listen to her own advice and she continued pursuing her illegal (her words) relationship with Ephram.

I liked the medical side-story in this episode and how it fit into the overall theme of this episode as Andy advised a young man that stuttered named Justin that he should tell the girl of his dreams, Kirsten, how he felt about her by singing to her, and in a scene that was reminiscent of the final scene in “An Officer and a Gentleman” he went to the place she worked and he did express his feelings to her, but she rejected him, telling him that she didn’t share the feelings that he had for her, but although Justin was disappointed, he thanked Andy for encouraging him, because he could look back and say that he had tried everything, and in his own way he encouraged Andy to do the same with Linda.

On a personal note, I was once in Justin and Andy’s position and I tried everything I could think of to woo the girl of my dreams, but like Justin, I was also told by the girl of my dreams that she didn’t feel the same way about me, but at least I too could look back and say that I tried everything I could think of to show and tell that girl that I cared about her.

I really liked seeing Andy serenade Linda after taking inspiration from what Justin told him, and Treat Williams has an amazing voice. I liked that Linda finally told him the truth that she had HIV and how she contracted it, and I liked Andy’s truthful reaction where he said that he didn’t know what to say, and this episode ended on an ambiguous note concerning their relationship.

Overall, I consider this episode as somewhat of a filler episode that furthered the main romantic relationships that dominated the middle part of the season.