Everwood - The Everwood Rewatch Fest: "Home" (S1, Ep. 23)

**'Tos** · 10-16-2009, 11:59 PM

We'll keep this up for one week 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!

Home

Written By: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Rina Mimoun, Vanessa Taylor
Directed By: Sandy Smolan

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Original Air Date—19 May 2003
As the day of Colin's surgery approaches and emotions run high, Andy takes Ephram and Delia on a road trip to his old medical school to consult with his mentor, Dr. Donald Douglas. Back in Everwood, Colin kidnaps Amy and Bright in the middle of the night to surprise them with a special day of memories and hopes for the future.

Imdb

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

**'Tos** · 10-17-2009, 12:09 AM

Well, we're at the end of the first season of our little Rewatch. *sniff sniff* But, we're at my possible favourite episode of the series, so that's nice, hee. And S2 will be coming up soon, so get ready for the show to go dark. And Madisony.

I've got two questions to go along with the Rewatch, but feel free to go with just the Rewatch if you feel like.

(1) We touched on this in the last episode, but assuming that you were unspoiled when you first saw this episode, did you feel that the cliffhanger was ambiguous?

(2) I've asked this before, but it always interests me: for those of you who do not necessary love Colin, how do you view this episode when a lot of it is dealing with him facing the idea of his own death? How do you view his goodbyes? Do you like him anymore because of this episode? And if you don't like him at all, what do you take away from his scenes in this episode or do you just ignore them and wait for the next non-Colin scene?

Okay, so I phrased that second question horribly. Hopefully at least one of you makes some sense out of it, heh. Feel free to ask any questions yourselves if you think of one too, by the way.

Anyway...I've rambled enough. Onto the rewatch!

Taryn74 · 10-21-2009, 03:05 PM

Hubby and I watched Home (and the first two eps of S2) last night.

Oy with the tears already. I'm not sure there was a moment that I wasn't crying during this ep. Hubby said "Oh boy" when Irv was still talking at the beginning and I was already reaching for the tissues.

Oops, had to erase a whole paragraph, realized I was talking about The Last Days of Summer instead of Home, heh.

Dang but the scenes with Mrs. Hart cutting/shaving Colin's hair and Andy prepping for surgery and the Abbott's heading out for the hospital and that incredibly haunting song...gah. Please excuse me for a moment.

......looks for tissues.....

OK I'm back.

I didn't realize until I was thinking about it this morning, but Colin asking Andy at the beginning of the ep what he could promise him about the results of the surgery (Andy's answer - "Nothing" gave me chills) flowed right into Colin at the end making Andy at least promise not to fight to bring him back if he wasn't going to be "whole". GAH. I'm with you, 'Tos, I think Colin knew before he even agreed to the surgery that he wasn't going to make it. That a 17 year old kid had the maturity and presence of mind to preemptively take the choice to keep him alive out of not only his parents' hands, but the doctor that was going to be working on him because he knew people were going to want to place blame.......GAH. It blows me away. And makes me cry, as I am doing AGAIN. Damn you, Berlanti.

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We touched on this in the last episode, but assuming that you were unspoiled when you first saw this episode, did you feel that the cliffhanger was ambiguous?

I was unspoiled, but the first time I watched was on ABC Family so I only had to wait a day to see the results of the surgery. Had I several months to obsess and discuss, I probably would have flip-flopped many times on the issue.

IIRC, at the end of Home I was thinking Colin must have died because Andy looked so deflated when he came out to the waiting room, but then I totally bought into the beginning of The Last Days of Summer, so Colin fading away out of the scene was very jarring and sad (as it was meant to be).

Colin's goodbyes to everyone were just perfect. Even though Amy refused to accept a goodbye from him, he still made sure to tell her this time "I love you" and truly mean it.

Poor Harold with his slip-up at dinner. I think he also knew, just from a doctoring standpoint, that Colin wasn't going to make it. It must have killed him to know how badly Amy was going to suffer.

OK I have to get supper plates together, may come back and ramble more later.

**'Tos** · 10-21-2009, 06:32 PM

Hee, well I can guarantee you that you won't be the only tearing up on this one. Although it is nice to have a female here that cries, because it's usually been guys like me doing most of the bawling, heh.

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I think he also knew, just from a doctoring standpoint, that Colin wasn't going to make it. It must have killed him to know how badly Amy was going to suffer.

Very interesting point. Especially since, in contrast, Andy seems so confident that Colin is going to make it. He even tells Colin that he has nothing to worry about and he brushes aside Dr. Douglas' concerns about how invested he is. It's a wonder that Andy doesn't start doing drugs in S2 too, heh.

Taryn74 · 10-21-2009, 08:50 PM

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Originally Posted by 'Tos (View Post)

...in contrast, Andy seems so confident that Colin is going to make it. He even tells Colin that he has nothing to worry about and he brushes aside Dr. Douglas' concerns about how invested he is.

You know, I really think at this point Andy himself was buying into Amy's belief that he was sent to Everwood to "heal" Colin, and that Colin was going to be ok for no other reason than he was "meant" to be because Andy was there.

I think it's telling that Andy and Amy seem to be the only two who went beyond mourning over Colin - they were almost nonfunctioning (Andy as a doctor and a part of the town, and Amy as...well, as a person) for months. That's not normal. (Yes, I realize the Harts were pretty messed up too, but their reaction seemed to me to be a more normal stage of grief than the despair of spirit that Amy and Andy went thru.)

Rewatching it this time I did notice why everyone was harping so much on it being Andy's "fault" that Colin died - Andy said himself the blood clot that eventually killed him was a result of the first surgery. Somehow before now I had just assumed it was a result of the accident. So even though Colin never would have regained consciousness in the first place if the surgery had not been performed, it was the surgery that eventually led to his death. (Although without it, Colin never would have gotten a few months of his life back, which is something I think would have helped Amy tremendously to realize.)

**'Tos** · 10-24-2009, 10:05 PM

With the flu bug hitting the boards this week, I can see why this one is going slow. I really want to get into this, but with a flu, I just can't give it justice right now.

Taryn, if you do want, feel free to post about the episodes you're watching with your husband in the Episode Discussion thread if you don't want to wait for us to get healthy, hee, because who knows how long we'll take. By the time we really get going again, you may be on S4!

**'Tos** · 11-02-2009, 03:48 PM

The opening voiceover is probably one of my favourites. Retelling the whole season in a few minutes. It doesn't feel like exposition. It makes the episode, the finale, special and important. It doesn't feel like they're telling this for new viewers, but that it's for us old viewers to, because there's so much care put into the voiceover.

I am just so impressed at how amazing this episode looks. Both roadtrips, especially, look like something from a movie instead of a low budget family drama.

"His own changed face frightened him" Nice, Irv. Nice. Really shows that Colin saw what was happening to him, and how scared he was about it all, and how that would affect him too. And I like that Colin gets to make his own decisions in this one. After his mind is controlling so much of him, after it's deteriorated and controlled some of his behaviours, HE is in control in this episode. He goes to see Andy at the beginning of the episode and later in the episode. He gets to control (for the most part) every goodbye, or non-goodbye with Ephram. While that moment when he snubs Ephram is harsh, it is all Colin. Genuine, no mind issues, it's him in control. It's an odd choice, but he does make it. There's something freeing about that. And mean, heh.

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Originally Posted by Taryn

I think Colin knew before he even agreed to the surgery that he wasn't going to make it. That a 17 year old kid had the maturity and presence of mind to preemptively take the choice to keep him alive out of not only his parents' hands, but the doctor that was going to be working on him because he knew people were going to want to place blame.......GAH. It blows me away. And makes me cry, as I am doing AGAIN. Damn you, Berlanti.

Very much agreed. And he also plans his final day, his final goodbyes to his parents and Amy. Very impressive that a kid like this has the frame of mind to do all of this. And also shows, again, how in control he is in this episode. Possibly for the first time in quite a few episodes.

Mike Erwin owns this episode. From beginning to end, he is amazing. Michelle mentioned in another one of these threads that Mike Erwin's acting doesn't get talked about enough, which is true. Although I totally talk about it all the time, hee. I still think that he is the best guest star that Everwood ever had, and that he was just as talented as Tom or Treat or Greg or Emily.

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Originally Posted by Taryn

I think it's telling that Andy and Amy seem to be the only two who went beyond mourning over Colin - they were almost nonfunctioning (Andy as a doctor and a part of the town, and Amy as...well, as a person) for months. That's not normal. (Yes, I realize the Harts were pretty messed up too, but their reaction seemed to me to be a more normal stage of grief than the despair of spirit that Amy and Andy went thru.)

Excellent point again. S2 is really about them getting over this episode and Colin's death, and it says a lot about them that both went above and beyond in their grief. Although I think Andy's is a lot about what Dr. Douglas (love this character) says about how Andy cannot handle someone's death at this point in his life after Julia. I just love that moment, because it's so clear that Andy shouldn't be doing the surgery, but he does. And that makes S2 so engrossing. Especially from his own hands. Amy probably has more to do with how invested she was in both the reality and the fantasy of Colin.

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I know we've had some sickness on the board and that I, personally, have been slacking on getting to this episode. But I hope that once we start S2 or even now that the whole board can get back into these Rewatches. I know that people are busy and have lives and have other shows to watch, but I do think that these are important to the board. So, I hope we can all get back into these soon.

Taryn74 · 11-02-2009, 07:55 PM

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"His own changed face frightened him" Nice, Irv. Nice. Really shows that Colin saw what was happening to him, and how scared he was about it all, and how that would affect him too.

I know. I think part of what breaks my heart for Colin in Home is that he just couldn't bear the thought of "coming back" like that again, hurting everyone he loved without being able to control it. I just think back to the horrified look on his face as he stared at Bright on the sidewalk with a bleeding lip and black eye, and it kills me. Kills. Me.

Thief Of Love · 11-03-2009, 12:12 AM

I've been a bit of a slacker as regards the last few rewatch eps (though not without personal reason), but I do intend to get back on track within...well, some time next week. Might just start with "Home," though, because I'm more interested in that than anything else at season's end.

Excellent thoughts so far!

**everwoodfan52** · 11-06-2009, 09:26 PM

Like you, 'Tos, I love the montage at the beginning of the episode of most of the major events of the season. Andy without a beard is so strange.
Colin is not my favorite character (as you all know!) but I do have somewhat of a heart. He had a really tough decision to make for such a young guy. How the surgery was going to progress and what the outcome would be was mostly for him to decide.
Bladder the size of a proton...what an interesting concept.
Did they ever mention what University the Browns went to visit?
A truly moving scene with Colin and dad....you can feel the love and the fear from both of them.
Clever use of sugar, cherries, and olives to demonstrate brain surgery.
Funny Bright line: "Be careful or Dad will hear you and call the State Trooper." That was singular. wasn't it?
Ephram is such wonderful big brother...putting a tired Delia on his back. Adorable.
Nice scene between Colin and Bright at the diner.....how come Colin was so sweet? He still had a brain disorder...but he wasn't beating anyone up or inconsiderately mocking someone! Perhaps it wasn't the brain disorder.
It's kind of amazing to me that Ephram had no idea until now what a fantastic doctor Andy was.
Don't you just love Treat as an actor? Such a beautiful little speech to Ephram in the car about why he moved his family to Everwood.
I still believe that there was something missing from the Colin/Ephram scene in the Brown living room: a Colin apology!
I don't have to say how beautifully sad and moving the montage to Cathedrals was
Amy/Ephram scene at the vending machine was incredibly sweet.
The look on Andy's face at the end of the episode said it all. There's no way that he would have worn that expression if Colin was okay.

**'Tos** · 11-06-2009, 10:31 PM

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Originally Posted by Betty

Ephram is such wonderful big brother...putting a tired Delia on his back. Adorable.

Yes! So cute. Why didn't we get to see more of this? There are only a few moments, even just in S1. And most of them come from either "A Thanksgiving Tale" or "The Unveiling". Ooh, or that moment where Delia had a nightmare, so Ephram slept in her bed. He was a good brother...until he fled to Europe without telling her why.

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Did they ever mention what University the Browns went to visit?

Generic Colorado University?

I would have figured that Andy would have gone to a prestigious school, though.

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Nice scene between Colin and Bright at the diner.....how come Colin was so sweet? He still had a brain disorder...but he wasn't beating anyone up or inconsiderately mocking someone! Perhaps it wasn't the brain disorder.

This scene may basically be one of the biggest reasons I adore Colin so much, hee. It's so sweet. At this point, and feel free to disagree, I would say that Colin is not stressed anymore about what's happening to him, and he's not full of that fear and uncertainty of what's going on in his brain that he cannot control. He knows what's happening to him, he's sort of accepted it. Mainly, though, he feels that he's going to die. Or that it's very, very likely. And..somehow, he's made some peace with that, which is why he makes sure to have a special goodbye with everyone. To me, these are more than just goodbyes you would have with loved ones before surgery. They just seem like more to me. Except for Ephram, who doesn't even get one. Because as sweet as Colin is in that Bright scene, he is still a cocky guy who doesn't like Ephram. It's Colin's final parting shot, and despite all of his maturity throughout the episode, it's probably his most immature moment of the series.

I've thought about this way too much, haven't I?

**'Tos** · 11-11-2009, 03:56 PM

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Originally Posted by Thief Of Love (View Post)

I've been a bit of a slacker as regards the last few rewatch eps (though not without personal reason), but I do intend to get back on track within...well, some time next week. Might just start with "Home," though, because I'm more interested in that than anything else at season's end.

Excellent thoughts so far!

Well, hop to it already then!

Hee, I've been waiting for someone other than just three people to do one so I can finally move on to the next one already, heh.

Thief Of Love · 11-11-2009, 03:58 PM

Dude, pressure much? Heh.

Yeah, I need to do some things involving my DVD/VCR before I can watch, so that's technically keeping me from doing it at the moment, but I'm really rather non-busy right now, so, not much of an excuse after all. In the next few days, okay?

**'Tos** · 11-11-2009, 04:05 PM

Oh, I guess it'll have to do.

Hee, yeah, that's fine. It's just that we're about a month from the start of this thread, so I figured I'd try and snatch one more person to do it before then, heh.

**everwoodfan52** · 11-11-2009, 09:49 PM

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Originally Posted by Thief Of Love (View Post)

Dude, pressure much? Heh.

Yeah, I need to do some things involving my DVD/VCR before I can watch, so that's technically keeping me from doing it at the moment, but I'm really rather non-busy right now, so, not much of an excuse after all. In the next few days, okay?

'Tos has definitely gotten bossy since he's become a working man. All that pressure.