|
Fan Forum Legend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 306,031
|
Quote:
|
I thought that this was an incredibly well-done and pivotal episode that set the stage for the rest of Season Three, as major changes took place and a secret was revealed that would have devastating consequences for Amy Abbott and the boy she loved and inspired, Ephram Brown.
|
This was definitely an enormous set up episode to conclude the rest of the season. It felt like it so much as every fan understood the babygate nightmare was finally going to be exposed to everyone involved.
Quote:
|
This episode started out on an outwardly jubilant note as Amy threw a surprise party for Ephram, who had been invited to audition for Julliard, but what should have been a joyous occasion for her was overshadowed by some devasting news that she had learned, news which would change her life and shatter her happy relationship with Ephram. The theme of this episode was surprise, and the types of surprises that some key characters received varied, but those surprises would change their lives forever.
|
I love how it wasn't just a surprise for Amy finding out about the pregnancy, but it was Hannah's surprise test results and Bright's surprise firing as well. I love how Everwood takes one main theme and is able to create many different storylines for characters using only one.
Quote:
|
We then saw the show flash back to the previous week where Ephram told Amy that he had found out that he had gotten the audition for Julliard, and they were both overjoyed and excited at this news, but Harold came out and said that they were taking Hannah to the clinic in Denver to get her Huntington’s test, which Ephram had understandably forgotten about given the news that he had received, and Ephram told Amy to tell Hannah that he said good luck and, and that he was thinking about her.
|
This scene was beautiful. If only the baby nightmare never would have entered the picture, how beautiful it would have been seeing Ephram and Amy happy sharing Ephram's good news together and Ephram telling Amy it was THEIR happiness and news, together. Instead, we had to deal with Madisongate wrecking everything.
Quote:
|
Meanwhile, we saw Rose tell Bright, who was reading some type of “Men’s Magazine,” that she had received a call from Human Resources that a woman named Jillian had filed a sexual misconduct complaint about him, and they were going to have a formal hearing about the matter that they both had to attend, but Bright said that him and Jillian had gone out on a few dates and that was it, and Rose told him that he wasn’t supposed to date co-workers, but Bright made light of the whole issue.
|
I remember watching for the first time thinking Bright was not going to work there forever and here we are seeing his eventual firing.
Quote:
|
At the clinic in Denver we saw a counselor caution Hannah about getting a test to see if she had the gene to get Huntington’s Disease, saying that she simply couldn’t take the test, but she had to go through a series of preliminary evaluations to see if she would be able to handle the news if her test determined that she did, in fact, have the gene to get Huntington’s Disease.
|
The moment felt so real.
Quote:
|
We saw Amy tell Harold that she wanted to have a surprise party for Ephram to celebrate his getting an audition for Julliard, and she mentioned inviting Madison, indicating that she had come to terms with Ephram’s relationship with Madison, but Harold didn’t seem happy at the prospect, for reasons he would reveal to Amy later in the episode.
|
It was so contrived.
Quote:
|
We then saw Amy at Amanda’s house and my stomach turned once again as they continued their illicit affair and Amanda told him that she had drawn up the preliminary paperwork to divorce John, but then Amanda heard a phone message from John’s doctor at the clinic in Oregon where John was being treated that there was a change in his condition and she needed to come to the clinic right away.
|
I hate these two so much.
Quote:
|
We saw Amy planning Ephram’s party with Hannah, and Harold asked Hannah about her visit with her Social Worker and Hannah seemed distraught and confused about what she should do, and Amy, being Amy, tried to speak for her, but Harold told Hannah that she was the only one who could decide what she wanted to do.
|
What a powerful scene.
Quote:
|
We saw Andy and Amanda go to the clinic in Oregon where John was and Amanda impatiently asked John’s Doctor questions about John’s condition, but he wouldn’t give her exact details of his progress, and both her and Andy got increasingly frustrated until he told them that John wanted to tell her about his progress himself, to Andy and Amanda’s mutual shock.
|
So strange how Andy even needed to go.  He wasn't John's doctor anymore. Back off, Andy. Yuck.
Quote:
|
We then saw Harold and Amy have a somewhat heated discussion about Hannah, and Harold told Amy that she needed to let Hannah make the decision to take the Huntington’s test on her own, but Amy blew up at him and she left in a huff.
|
Tom and Emily have incredible chemistry together. I also sit up a little straighter when they share scenes.
Quote:
|
In Bright’s meeting with Human Resources at his job, he acted in a very arrogant way as he dismissed the accusations that Jillian was leveling at him, but the evidence was there on paper as he had sent Jillian a series of sexually explicit emails at work, and evidence of his misconduct as his former job was brought up, and Rose was shocked and disappointed to see the type of person her son was, and it was recommended that Bright be transferred to another department, and it seemed obvious that the reason that he wasn’t fired outright was because Rose, the mayor, and the ultimate boss over everyone, was his mother.
|
I didn't like Bright's behavior at all.
Bright had three episodes in a row of being there for Hannah beautifully with sage-like wisdom and then this storyline appears.
Quote:
|
Amanda and Andy were shocked to see John recognize her and when Andy introduced himself to John, John turned to him and thanked him, and Andy seemed delighted at the progress that John had made.
|
I still don't think Andy should have even been there. He wasn't his doctor, he was only sleeping with the patient's wife.
Quote:
|
We saw Rose confront Bright about his behavior and when he tried to put all the blame on Jillian, calling what she did a “bitch mood,” Rose slapped him and she told him that his behavior was morally bankrupt, and that he shouldn’t treat women as interchangeable objects, and she told him that he should be an honorable and good man, and that she had failed him, and that he was fired.
|
I loved the acting in this scene.
Quote:
|
I liked how Harold went to see Hannah and she told him about her conversation with her mother, and that she wanted to take this test because she wanted to care for herself whether or not she had the Huntington’s Disease gene, and she asked him to take her to get her test, and you could tell that Harold was really touched that she asked him.
|
I was so emotionally taken in by this moment. It was beautiful.
Quote:
|
I liked how they juxtaposed Andy telling a team of doctors about John’s case with Hannah getting her test and Amanda bringing Charlie to see John, to Amy, Harold and Hannah praying in church for a good outcome for Hannah’s test.
|
It was very well done.
Quote:
|
I liked the talk that Amy and Harold had as she told him she was him (which he acknowledged was true) and that maybe she had pushed too hard with Hannah, but she wanted Hannah to live her life. That happy mood was soon broken, however when she started talking about her and Ephram and that if there was something that Ephram knew that was preventing her from making an informed decision about them, it wouldn't be the same, and Harold told her that Madison left because she was pregnant with Ephram’s child, and that Ephram knew nothing about it, and Amy was devastated by this news. I think that Harold never should have told Amy about Madison’s pregnancy because it broke her heart and set her up for more heartbreak as it put her in a completely unfair position of knowing about Madison’s pregnancy before Ephram did, and it set the stage for the disaster that was soon to come.
|
Emily drives me to tears no matter how many times I watch this scene. It is SO powerful. Yes, I understand why Harold felt compelled to tell her then given Amy's words but he should have waited to talk to Andy.
Quote:
|
I liked that Bright went to see Jillian and that he apologized to her, and it showed some growth and maturity on his part and that Rose’s words of admonition had made an impression on him.
|
I just wasn't sure what Bright's grin was all about as he was walking away. I didn't like that expression and not sure if it was in the writing or the way Chris decided to play the scene.
Quote:
At long last, we finally saw the end of Andy and Amanda’s relationship as she said that she wasn’t going home and that she had to stay in Oregon to be with her family, and they exchanged endearing words, but they both knew it was over between them. So long, Amanda! You won’t be missed! 
|
Quote:
We saw Ephram tease Bright about losing his job, and then they walked in to Ephram’s house while everyone was waiting to surprise him, and Ephram saw a forlorn looking Amy as he told her that he loved her so much, but Amy, trying to put on a brave face to hide her heartbreak, said that she knew he loved her, but she couldn’t hold back her tears.
We saw Hannah tell Bright that she had gotten her test results and that they were negative, and Bright was so happy for her and he wanted to celebrate this news with her, but Hannah said that she needed some time to process this news by herself.
In a heartbreaking final scene, Ephram thanked Amy for helping him to get to this point, and that she had pushed him whenever he got lazy and she never for a second made him think that if he didn’t try, he wouldn't get here eventually, and that she was right. Amy then told him that he was so talented, but Ephram said that talent was nothing without strength to back it, and he asked her to go to New York with him for his audition, but the stricken look on her face said it all, and it was so heartbreaking to see as this young woman had to hide what she knew from the boy that she loved.
|
All of these scenes were so amazing, the acting, writing, directing was magical.
Quote:
|
Overall, I thought that this was an excellent episode, but it was an episode that set the stage for some of the darkest episodes that we would ever see on this show.
|
It had S1 quality but certainly a set up for darkness and a conclusion to the season as you knew it was inevitable not everyone was going to be happy.
|