'Tos

We'll keep this up for one or two weeks and then go on to the next episode. After you've watched the episode, you can comment on it anyway you'd like, big or small. You can focus on certain characters, scenes, quotes, or the episode as a whole. You can tie the episode to the rest of the series, or comment about it as a self-contained episode. It's all up to you! You can always give your thoughts after the one week period, as all rewatch threads will stay open for more thoughts and anymore discussion. Thanks!

The Last of Summer

Written By: Greg Berlanti and Rina Mimoun
Directed By: Michael Schultz

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If you haven't already, please feel free to comment on our previous episodes:

The Pilot
The Great Doctor Brown
Friendly Fire
The Kissing Bridge
Deer God
The Doctor Is In
We Hold These Truths
Till Death Do Us Part
Turf Wars
Is There a Doctor in the House?
A Thanksgiving Tale
Vegetative State
The Price of Fame
Colin the Second
Snow Job
My Funny Valentine
Everwood Confidential
The Unveiling
The Miracle of Everwood
Moonlight Sonata
Episode 20
Fear Itself
Home

Thief Of Love

You know what's fantastic? The abrupt cut from Amy's daydream to the memorial service. No transitions to ease us from fantasy to reality, just the stark truth: Amy's dreaming. Colin's dead. I think there's something I also love about the fact that we drop in on the service as some random kid who didn't know Colin all that well is speaking. A little against dramatic expectations, which is cool, and also means all the drama of that opening is saved for the Browns' entrance.

Also fantastic: the original musical selections! (Hallelujah for having taped the eps, hee.) I'm not particularly keen on Robbie Williams' "One Fine Day," but the lyrics just telegraph what's happening in that teaser: "I like to reminisce about a time I've never had / [...] / One fine day / In the middle of the night / You'll wake up in it..."

I'm also not a huge fan of "The Things We Do For Love" (prefer 10cc's one other well-known song), but holy catfish do I love how that serves as the score for Delia and company's efforts to be rescued by Bright. And "Oh Girl" doesn't have much to do with anything, really, but I just lurve that song in and of itself.

Non-editing-related things:

The Harts. Ugh. On the one hand, the pain they're going through would have to be tremendous, and I'm not going to criticize (fictional) people for having difficulty coping through the grief. But at the same time, the way Mrs. Hart just seems to dump the responsibility for Colin's memorial on Amy is kind of awful. To me, at least. Though, at the same time, I'm not sure it was necessarily the Harts' duty to tell Amy about Colin's wishes, the way Amy thinks it was. But then, it's ultimately better that she does know that he basically died in peace, in accordance with his wishes, so... Wow, you'd think I'd have a set opinion by now on something that happened in an episode that aired 6 years ago, heh.

Whatever happened to Planet California? Also, best thing about Bright's "burn my nuts" line -- everyone's non-reaction except for Harold's, who gives him a sidelong glare, even as Bright's statement is technically perfectly innocuous. Harold reacts so wonderfully to dinnertime vulgarities.

In a strange reversal of my feelings regarding "Home," at the moment, with this episode, I'm more interested in the Abbotts than the Browns. I think it's because, with the Browns, we have the story -- which we'll see again -- of Everwood's small town mob mentality, turning against Andy for 'killing' Colin, and of Andy coping with his decision, and discussing the matter with Delia and Ephram, all of which is very well-written, and great, but...not as dramatically compelling to me as, say, Amy's discovery and the painful-to-watch blow-up at Andy, or Bright and Harold's conversation about Bright's hand in Colin's fate, maybe just because of the rawer nature of the Abbott angle versus the Brown.

But then, ask me tomorrow and I might call the Brown material more moving. It's just that kind of an episode, heh.

(Next episode's an easier call, though. It's all about the Abbotts then, every time.)

Taryn74

I think I'm going to go back and watch this one again again before I do a long rambling post, but some thoughts off the top of my head:

One reason this show is so much more than it seems - Amy's reaction to finding the DNR letter and all it implied, and Harold allowing her to go off on Andy in a public place without repremanding her. My initial reaction to that is "WTH? How dare you let your daughter act like that in public without even so much as trying to shut her up!" But then later when he's speaking about it to Rose, we realize that Harold is worried that Amy is bottling everything up inside and the outward expression of grief - while embarrassing for everyone involved - will ultimately do her more good than harm. The layers to this show just blow me away.

Bright: "I'll just have to tell them not to burn my nuts." That is still one of the funniest Bright moments ever. It ranks right up there with Kirk's "Yes, I have some balls" in Gilmore Girls episode Afterboom.

Yes, yes, yes. Word's can't express how effective that teaser was. I especially love that Amy was daydreaming in real time and not having a flashback kind of daydream - i.e. it included Delia and Brittany and Ephram as a normal part of it.

Good point about Amy finally knowing that Colin died according to his wishes. Normally I'm just flabbergasted that Amy thinks everyone has somehow betrayed her by not informing her of the DNR wishes, but you're absolutely right that knowing this was what Colin wanted should have given her some measure of peace. Of course we know it didn't (poor, sad Amy ) but it - well, it had the potential to.

More thoughts to come, I've got some errands I need to go run.

'Tos

Not to over-analyze Amy's daydream when it's really more about being a fake out, but why are her parents and grandparents there in her daydream? Heh. Even weirder? That she imagines Andy and Ephram playing ping pong of all things! Does she not know Ephram? Anyone not sure that this is a fake out should have seen it coming the second the ping pong table made its debut.

All the parallels to "The Pilot" and "The Great Doctor Brown" are so awesome. Amy being the last one to leave at Colin's funeral, just as Ephram was the last to leave at Julia's. Andy's office being empty, and him being the outcast once again, Andy remembering conversations from the past, Amy being talked to by a vision of Colin, Andy walking with Delia while the whole town looks on and Ephram choosing to go with him. I like parallels.

I like that what seems to be another of Ephram's bratty arguments blaming Andy for something he has no control over actually turns into Ephram caring about Andy and being worried about him with his, "Why are you doing this to yourself?" It really shows how far Ephram has come. In the early episodes of S1, Andy is MUCH worse than he is here in this episode, and Ephram is grieving and blaming Andy too much to notice. He notices here and he tries to snap Andy out of it, and it's really sweet.

As much as I sympathize with Andy in this one, I cannot believe that he comes late to Colin's memorial service. I know it's for dramatic effect and all, but, there is no way he would let that happen. No way. That's too assy of a thing even for Andy Brown to do.

I really love that Ephram defends his father (in his own way, of course) to Amy, calling him a good man. I think Ephram would do that even in the early episodes of S1, but the difference is that now he knows that Andy is a good man.

Tour de force episode for Treat. That memorial speech alone was worthy of an Emmy. Emily is amazing too. How she switches from being down while talking to Ephram to excitement and joy when she sees DeadColin by the pool? Great stuff.

Agreed about the editing of the beginning. I was so bloody pissed off when the fake out happened. Not because Colin was dead, but because I felt it was so gimmicky and kind of cruel. I still do, but it's at least an effective cruel gimmick.

No, it's pretty awful, I agree. Not to say that I wouldn't be doing the exact same thing in her shoes, but it's just so awful knowing what Amy's going through and that Mrs. Hart is doing too much grieving to realize that Amy is going through the exact same thing she is. I think that little moment where Amy asks Laynie if she wants to help says so much. Amy doesn't want to be doing this, but if she doesn't, who else is going to do it? Tough situation to put an emotionally distraught teenage girl in.

Yeah, absolutely agreed. He just holds her and watches her go off on Andy. I like his "sorry" after Amy walks away, because he really does feel bad for Andy, he knows that Andy is not really to blame and doesn't deserve this at all. But it's not about Andy, even though he's letting him suffer. It's about his daughter, and trying to avoid her getting to the state that she does ultimately get to.

ShadowMagist

I just caught this now. Good eye.

The fake out/daydream still makes me mad, more than anything, because it drew me in hook, line, and sinker. First time watching I was ecstatic that Colin was alive, Andy and Ephram were friendly (them playing ping pong isn't so out there, after all, they did end up playing pinball in Vegetative State) and it was just a perfect moment and then in one second, everything changed and it was just an emotionally draining roller coaster. Damn you Berlanti(and Mimoun) indeed!

Agreed on the Harold parenting front. Letting Amy get out all of her anger and sadness, unfair as it was, was necessary for her to move on. Which is why I loved his scene with Bright even more. Him telling Bright that it doesn't mean that Amy loved Colin more...that was just such an understated moment. It got touched upon a few times later on in the season and that was a good move. Everwood, more than any show I think, showed the fallout and reprecussions from all sides on pretty much any issue it dealt with. So kudos to the writers and the WB for standing that kind of intricate storytelling.

And because I love me some good/lame humor:

Nina: And when's the last time you had a Ashton Kutcher hamburger?

Andy: What is that, some kind of sauce?

Hee!

'Tos

Man, I miss the WB and how it would stand by shows and storytelling like this. I mean, they didn't know how to promote this kind of storytelling, but at least they put it on the air, heh.

Hee, and I love Nina's look at him after he says that. By the way, I'm very surprised that you didn't mention how great she looks in that scene, because she really does.

I'll post the next ep tomorrow.

everwoodfan52

I kind of don't agree with Harold allowing Amy to lambaste Andy at that restaurant.
Who does that? Who sreams at a doctor because he lost a patient? She was rude, disrespectful, and cruel to a parent in front of his kids.
I honestly wouldn't have cut her as much slack.

I know ....I know...you're all going to come to poor grief stricken Amy's defense!

'Tos

It is a tough call, because I agreed with your take for most of the times I watched this episode, Betty. Especially because I sympathize with ol' Beardy most of the time, heh. And because Andy looks SO hurt throughout this scene. It's just the circumstances, and how she wasn't letting her emotion out and needed to so desperately. But, Harold's parenting decision to let her do this to Andy didn't really work anyway, because she just went back to not letting her emotions out and went through a downward spiral.

Basically, I don't think there was any right choice there. You stop her and ground her and yell at her, it works just as well as letting her scream at Andy. It was a lose lose situation for Harold. Amy needed to hit rock bottom before she got better, and all Harold could really do is watch it happen. The only parenting decision I really question for him throughout the storyline is not allowing Amy to go on antidepressants, and even that's tricky! What a complex and heartbreaking story.

i never learn

this ep, wow, ok. amy is grating on my every last nerve right now. i thought after season one she couldn't possibly get anymore selfish, but low and behold! what's worse is how gag worthy all the colin love is too. srsly, as if home wasn't completely devoid of the way they built up his attitude, but in this ep it's as if the whole town lost some saint. i couldn't even not eye roll at andy's speech because colin was not this ace patient who had such a wonderful spirit as andy claimed. nope.

the only scene that i even remotely liked was bright/harold tying the tie and harold telling bright that amy acting like a little brat wasn't proof that she loved colin more. good writing/acting on both ends!

'Tos

Another rewatcher!

Heh, yeah, Colin was pretty polarizing last season, and Amy is definitely just as polarizing time time around.

We really start seeing Bright and Harold's relationship grow too, so that scene is wonderful.

i never learn

yes, polarizing, thank you! i mean, i remember watching this when it first aired and being completely in love with amy and even liked colin, but now, wow, time has changed. four eps into season two though, amy is definitely less hard to take... thank god! even 204 made me start liking ephram/amy again. i swear, during my season one rewatch, i was like, how can ephram even stand this chick! then i remembered in home how amy told ephram that he's still protecting her. i mean, i don't like how amy used ephram, but there is just something about the way he feels about her that makes me want to look past what she did and see her through his eyes.

anywho, yes, bright and harold's relationship is such a plus in season two! i seriously forgot how much focus they threw on the abbotts this season. and the bright/ephram friendship is another fantastic thing that happens in two too.

'Tos

Heh, you're definitely not alone on Colin. In fact, I might be alone on liking him to the extent I do still. Heh, no, not quite. But still, polarizing indeed.

Amy does get better after her outbursts in this one, I agree. A lot darker and sadder, too, though. Bangs of Sadness and all!

I know! It's a big Abbott break out season, isn't it?! Harold does so much and deals with so much between dealing with Amy, his family and Andy. Rose steps up just as much as Bright does as a full, complete character. Bright, yup. And Amy, obviously. It's huge. The Browns have a lot of stuff too, but I think the Abbott stories are stronger and more engrossing overall throughout the season.

i never learn

i'm sure you're not alone... maybe. i just found his character very jarring in season one, especially during the second half of it. i mean, so many other characters were tossed into his storyline, which just seemed to create this giant discord within the show as a whole. after they moved away from colin being such a focal point though, everwood definitely developed this wonderful balance of storytelling, including moving the abbotts to the forefront, which allowed a great dynamic to unfold between them and the browns. like, i like that it became more focused on the town and the families versus just being seemingly about one character.

amy, wow, i have such a love/hate thing going on with her this season. i'll just say it's easier to empathize and even sympathize with her character during eps 202-209 and 217-222. everything in between just feels like rehash of her relationship with colin, so.

like i said, i really enjoyed the two family dynamic of season two, especially the abbott's development. it's interesting because they are essentially taking one family and reflecting them off the another in ways that both compliment and contradict each other, yet are also slowly building a unification between two fathers who are so different, but really grow to depend on the other as outlets away from their families. so, season two is definitely a step up from season one both character and story wise imo.

'Tos

As a Colin fan, I will say that I think that's very fair, hee. You're not alone in thinking he took up too much of the story. I quite liked how Andy was affected by the story and how it affected Bright and Amy and the Abbotts even, but that's me liking the whole story. Because I really grew to love the subtle nuances of the Colin story, how he was breaking down and knew it and how scared he was about what was happening to him. But I am in quite the minority on that one. Although I think I have stolen away a few people to the dark side. Hee.

You know, when I watched S2, I HATED Amy's behaviour for a lot of it too. I really did. I don't now, I feel more and more bad for her with every rewatch that I do, but I do know where you're coming from at least!

I also hated S2, heh, so that didn't help.

Really interesting thoughts on S2, though, as a whole, with the Abbotts all stepping up. I really agree with that. It's still my least favourite season, but only because of the individual elements that I didn't enjoy that take up so much of the season. Madison and Tommy, namely. I think I feel the way about them taking up so much of the story as you do about Colin in late season one! But, I really see what you're saying about how much it sets off. The Abbotts stay strong until the end, as does Harold and Andy's unification, Bright and Ephram. There's so much good about the season that I adore, so I should probably hate that I let Madison and Tommy affect my enjoyment of it, but I do. I can't help myself. Nah, when I say it's my least favourite, I still thoroughly enjoy the season and appreciate it. Just not quite as much as the other three. One of the seasons has to be last place, right? Heh. But I really agree with you on how the Abbotts step up. I love that aspect so much. Bright's development in S2 is one of my favourite developments of the whole entire series. He's just SO good.

i never learn

oh, the andy/colin scenes were always amazing to me! even the ephram/colin scenes were nice to see, or until colin went all psycho on him, but you know.

i totally see where you are coming from in terms of madison and tommy!!! i mean, barf to both of them, seriously! hell, i'd take colin over either any day of the week, but yea, his arc was still somewhat excessive in the second half of one. i really enjoyed his appearance in season two though. i thought those moments really made amy her most vulnerable, which allowed me to sympathize with her struggle of letting him go.

bright, to me, is honestly the brightest spot of season two! i just love how deeply they delved into his character and really tried to stray away from the jock/jerk stereotype they made him out to be in season one! in fact, i can't wait for season three on dvd when hannah finally comes around, hee!