jediwands

jediwands

THOUGHTS


I like seeing Amy with a large smile on her face walking around campus. When is the last time Amy has looked this carefree? Amy is strolling around while observing clubs and organizations at A&M, feeling like life is fresh, new, exciting with limitless possibilities. I love this moment. Amy deserved this moment.

Amy and Reid admittedly have a cute chemistry. Reid noticing Amy taking organic chemistry first semester of college might be hinting that Amy is going into medicine like family members on her paternal side. At the very least, she is thinking some type of field requiring heavy science. I understand this, because my scientist sister was doing the same thing as a freshman in college. My sister is a lead scientist at a major corporation in Minneapolis with ties to Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. My sister, Kris, Double Majored in Biology and Chemistry with a Minor in Physics and received her Graduate Degree in Biochemistry. She also got into medical school, physical therapy school, but her heart was with research science so she pursued research in Biochemistry and many other subspecialty areas. Bottom line, my sister took organic chemistry immediately freshman year. It was a must and you do not take organic chemistry as a freshman unless you are very serious about science in some form. Even Reid seemed shocked and he is in medical school. Reid offers to help Amy if she needs assistance while also giving more hints about being unhappy even this early on... Reid jokingly tells Amy he has not felt smart since medical school started. Everwood is really like a mini-mystery series. The show is so well written, foreshadowing is everywhere. I feel like I am reading a Harry Potter novel while watching Everwood which is definitely a good thing. Reid checks the time and says that he has an appointment with Ed, his new cadaver. Amy says that that’s what she’s looking for: “friends who don’t talk back.” Reid tells her she’s funny. They do have cute banter. As he walks away, Maura comments on how “hot” he is. Amy: “And gay. Hot and gay.” Maura says that "all the good ones are.”

The Ephram and Bright banter is back. Bright cannot pronounce words. Yes, writers, we get that there is a theme of "sex" throughout the episode so the slight X-rated thing you did there did not go unnoticed. I love how Bright called Ephram “a social black hole.” Ephram trying to keep busy because he doesn’t have piano or Amy anymore… you blew it, dude, even if I still love you. Ephram, it is clear you are meant to feel lost right now since you deliberately threw away your gift and spiritual romantic everything at the end of S3. I will say this... I am in the minority... I like Ephram's long hair. Ephram talking light and consciousness is super cool, too. It is kind of interesting Bright didn’t initially want to go to the party because he’s trying grow up but at the same time, poses for a picture that makes him look like an extroverted hardcore partier. I also did not notice the parallel until now… at the beginning of S3 Bright was lost, attempting to get Ephram to go to parties but Ephram was with Amy, consumed by piano and school. It even temporarily messed up their friendship. In the beginning of S4, it is Ephram feeling lost, trying to get Bright to go with him to parties but Bright is with Hannah attempting to be serious about his life. Ephram still has academic excellence though even bored with college at the moment because what he needed to study was material he already read in high school AP English. Bright reminds Ephram that he told him AP classes were a waste of time. LOL.

Go away Jake. Nina loves Andy even if she feels like she should be with you. You can tell Jake wants to punch Andy at Sam’s. Andy looks over the coffee selection, noticing “Vanilla Swiss Almond” and “Chocolate Macadamia Nut.” Nina states that it sounds more like an ice cream parlor than a coffee shop. I guess this means some of the Townies are adjusting a little bit to the LA-style Everwood restaurant. Andy says that business seems to be booming, slight passive-aggressiveness indicating that it must be why he never sees Nina anymore. Nina admits that she practically lives in the restaurant now. Right on, Nina, you lie. Andy’s poor jaw looks like it's in a terrible state due to tension and stress.

Rose and Harold have a discussion… even breakfast conversations at the Abbott’s are quite important. Rule in Everwood: Always pay close attention to the Abbott meals... breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love how Rose cuts Harold off when he’s trying to give a scientific explanation. LOL. I guess this scene was meant for Sexy Dessert Metaphors.

Amy and Hannah driving together in Amy’s Kia Sorrento. I agree with Hannah about Jack White being gross. Poor Amy finding out about Ephram living with Bright. I love this exchange between Amy and Hannah as it shows how strong their friendship is. Amy is truly happy for Hannah but at the same time feels frustrated they cannot spend a lot of time together and now it’s even more challenging finding out Ephram lives with Bright (and Reid). I love how Amy is truly happy for Hannah, however. You also see so strongly how much Hannah cares for Amy and wants to make sure she’s not in a super sad place even if it’s obvious Amy is struggling. Hannah feels it and really wants to help Amy. I love these two. They are the definition of best friends. I really appreciate Amy’s reaction to Ephram as it’s clear she’s still in love with him. We all know this. Amy: “Ephram moved in with Bright and you meant to tell me? That’s like, ‘Paul Revere, get on your horse and ride’-type information!” The Ephram and Amy spiritual connection is undeniable.

I can relate to the medical case with Ethan and life not being important after losing someone. Unlike the patient, I never went on an antidepressant after my mom passed but in looking back, I probably should have given the PTSD and panic attacks I received for several years. I battled my way back but this psychologist should’ve known better that getting help would’ve made the mourning process at least a little easier by taking care of my mental health. So I can relate to his world crashing down after the sudden death of a loved one. Of course the other part of the storyline I cannot relate to in the least. What I wonder is if he should’ve been seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist who could have decided if he even needed to be on an antidepressant any longer. It seems clear his clinical depression was due to a very situational tragedy, the loss of his brother. So maybe since he had his girlfriend he wanted to be with for a while (it was like a dream come true), grades were up again, he could try to decrease the dose of the antidepressant, try another drug that wouldn’t interact with his abilities as a young man romantically or even go off the medicine completely and see how he felt. He could have always gone back on an antidepressant if he started feeling sad again. So I don’t necessarily love how it was either one way or the other because I feel like more options were available. I know it's Everwood but maybe Andy should have referred him to a specialist in Denver. I’m not sure who the actor is who plays Ethan but I really like him. He did a great job with the storyline.

Here we are at the apartment occupied by Bright, Ephram, and Reid. Oh Bright, of course you would wonder if there was a difference between Chinese and Thai food. Reid walks in understanding every aspect of Asian food. Bright: “Gay people. They just know so many things.” Ephram, you don’t like these parties and neither does Hannah so don’t push this, please. I guess Bright feels like hiding his real self works better for his relationship with Hannah while Hannah wants to meet him him halfway. Bright even gets mad and walks away while both Ephram and Hannah should have just thought the party wasn’t appealing since neither of them would ever love that scene.

Yikes, Harold bluntly telling Rose they don’t even know if the chemo worked is inappropriately cruel. Although I understand why he seems conflicted, anxious, and unsure but at the same time Rose just wants to live her life again and stop being seen as a patient and instead, a wife, mother, and woman.

Jake having interaction at the post office reminds me of S1 Laynie and Ephram. Jake goes off on Andy, telling him that Nina told him about the kiss and he cannot play games with him anymore, but they will keep up appearances around Nina because it is important to her; however, they are no longer friends, Jake doesn’t like him and cannot trust Andy anymore. Okay, Jake has a right to be rude to Andy since Nina told him Andy kissed Nina but I still want him off the screen. In addition, I don’t think Nina told Jake she responded positively to that kiss since last I checked Andy wasn’t kissing himself. Jake bothers me here because he isn't thinking of the big picture. He is the one who told Andy that Nina was in love with him. Did Jake not stop to think about the possibility that Andy might also be in love with Nina? How stupid of Jake not wondering what Andy felt for Nina. Jake should be wondering if he walked into something already brewing between Andy and Nina, which is precisely what happened. Granted, they weren't at the mutually realizing romantic feelings phase yet but sorry, Jake, you fail to see that Andy and Nina were established as close friends well before you moved to Everwood. So expecting Andy and Nina not to be around each other or pissed off at Andy for returning feelings when you had no idea how he felt is on you. Yes, Andy and Jake are friends. But not best friends, not even good friends. Yes, Andy never should have tried kissing Nina since she wasn't single. The kiss is all Jake should be mad about, not if Andy is in love with Nina as well or making things messy for Nina and Sam. It is pathetic that Delia and Sam barely recognize each other anymore due to this triangle drama. Nina, you should know better. Jake, you should look at the big, damn picture and Andy, you shouldn't have kissed Nina (and Nina, you are lying to Jake, you kissed Andy back!). But Andy did have every right to declare his love for Nina because he was told Nina was in love with him and it lead to evaluating his feelings. Sorry, Jake, you arrived late and Andy and Nina were evolving and have been intensely close for years. Ask Linda Abbott who picked up on Andy and Nina immediately and knew they acted like a married couple even with the friends label. I want Jake off the screen, and Nina to own up to her real feelings and stop being so passive.

Harold and Andy bantering with Harold asking Andy what was wrong (assuming Nina) and then Harold telling Andy about his issues with Rose once again shows that they are so in sync in S4 and the real definition of best friends. Harold realizes that he’s been trying to detach from Rose, since it might be less painful if something happened to her. Andy urges Harold to tell Rose about these feelings, but Harold doesn’t know how to tell Rose that he’s afraid she might die which is so sad; she’s already spent the past several months hearing bad news and worst-case scenarios (which is even worse than chemo) and does not want to add to that with his own anxiety. Andy tells Harold that whatever he’s thinking, Rose is as well; he should be less worried about the conversation they’ll have than the ones he could be having with himself for the rest of his life, because those are the ones that will kill him. This right here is why I love Andy Brown. What perfect advice which is not only intellectually sound, but based on life experience and mistakes/regrets of his own.

Hannah is trying so hard to do the right thing which means making Bright happy and Bright, for whatever reason, believes if he does go with who he really is, it is almost borderline dangerous as he wants to grow up and focus on Hannah and his relationship with her. Hannah says she’ll be the designated driver and that if she feels uncomfortable, she’ll tell him and they’ll leave. Bright says she is the “coolest girl in the world” and Hannah fully agrees that he is “very lucky.” They kiss and it is actually really cute even if you feel the set up of this party will not go as planned. You can see how much these two care about each other. The constant issue is they are just so very different.

Poor Amy when she meets these girls. The second they find out she lives at home and does not have a fake ID she was almost marked as useless. Ellie thinks it’s “harsh” that Amy lives at home. Amy sarcastically says that it’s not that bad, “once you get used to the ‘harsh’ thing.” What idiots and give Amy's stuck up high school friends a competition on who is the worst group of girls Amy has had to deal with.

Nina, just quit being so damn passive. Lying that Jake is sick because he can’t handle your friendship with Andy? Stop. Then Nina gets all pissed off after finding out Andy wondered who prescribed the medication for Ethan and maybe it was another doctor. What else would he believe at this point since Andy knows he did not prescribe it and certainly Harold, already aware of the situation, never would either. That leaves Jake if he received an actual prescription. On top of it all, she knows Jake has a history of prescribing inappropriately since a boy died essentially due to Jake’s carelessness. She is in denial about everything. Nina getting mad was annoying even if Jake wasn't at fault in this case. Nina, you are not being honest about anything right now.

The Bacchanal. Ephram is ready to get wild, although you know immediately it’s really not going to happen. Bright even reminded him he hates beer as he’s asking where the keg is. Bright was still hesitant until Hannah seems like she is fine with the situation. Bright looks like he entered a heaven on earth once he thought the green light was received. Bright kisses her and he’s ready to dive into party mode.

I love how both Ephram and Amy are miserable. There’s a parallel for sure insinuating they are better off together even if they need a break right now.

Abbott living room. Amy lies on the couch, watching television. Harold and Amy scenes are great even if Amy wasn’t going to be watching a movie with her father this time. Amy told Harold to go torture Rose. LOL. Amy: “Oh, that’s just great. My mother, who has a lower T-cell count than I do, has a better social life than I do. That’s just awesome.” Amy saying Princeton was out because Colorado A&M was tough enough seems like the writers finding a way to let the audience know Princeton is officially out of the picture.

Of course Ephram and Hannah are both drinking pop/soda. Man, Bright makes the word extroverted seem satanic. Ephram looking out for Hannah was sweet. He truly wanted Hannah to leave with him and go to the movie. Even if I’m glad Hannah said no because we wouldn’t have gotten the famous movie theater Ephram and Amy scene I felt for Hannah so much. Bright literally was the biggest party animal there. He didn’t need to let loose that much. Hannah and Ephram and how they reacted told the story. This episode is clearly showing Bright and Hannah as way too different and foreshadowing what is to come.

I like the Rose and Harold scene. I think it was clever of Rose to go to Edna and Irv’s. I love that Harold is finally listening to Rose now. This cancer storyline sort of gave new life into Harold and Rose. You hardly see them so affectionate and fun in the past.

We have arrived at the classic, moving theater Ephram and Amy popcorn moment. Ephram and Amy are so spiritually connected. We see this in the Pilot and it only becomes more and more obvious as the series moves along. Think about how many things had to happen in order to get them to the precise midnight showing at the theater. They are a prime example of written in the stars. The universe finds a way. Pure magic, the energy is magnetic. Written in the stars always finds a way.

Chemistry. Unspoken Love. Ephram is literally saying high school was everything because of Amy, just like telling Amy in S1 he was home in Everwood or the “I thought New York had everything?” and Ephram tells her “just about” meaning it doesn’t have her.

It always goes back to Ephram and Amy. They have an unstoppable connection filled with eternal love.

When Ephram reaches across the aisle and gives Amy popcorn… my face flushes. It is the most adorable moment of the episode by far and one of my top five Ephram and Amy moments of all time. This moment reassures the audience that Ephram and Amy are finding each other once again. Pure Gold.

I like the Andy and Ethan medical case. This is a reminder to Andy that he’s learned many lessons along the way… never lie to the people you love. Andy stands in his doorway stating that “sex really does kill.” Listening to Ethan explaining how he got the pills is a reminder of how easily this still happens. Andy says he was probably given speed or veterinary medicine instead which is so scary to think about. Andy offers two pieces of advice: first, “Never lie to the people you love,” and if Karen rejects him after hearing the truth, then she doesn’t deserve him. And second? “Never buy medicine off a porn site.” LOL.

Amy looks adorable in the hat, sweatshirt and jeans. Emily pulls off any look. Actually that’s totally how I dress 5 out or 7 days.

We receive more Reid foreshadowing:

Then Reid said sometimes you have to pretend like everything is going great even when it’s not…

Amy tells Reid she is considering reuniting with Ephram. Even if the point of the conversation is to show that life shouldn’t always be easy because you don’t learn and grow that way, and was more of a hint that right now she is meant to be on this path, I just love that Amy spends one brilliant moment alone with Ephram at the movies since fate set it up that way and she’s remembering them romantically even while slightly pausing… unbreakable connection.

Andy telling Nina it is not Jake he needs to win back, it is Nina and their friendship is such a heartwarming moment. I like what he had to say to her. The only thing in Nina’s defense is I keep remembering how much he ignored their friendship at times when he was with Amanda and Linda. Of course we know both Linda and Amanda picked up on the closeness between Andy and Nina. Also, things are very different right now since they both understand they are in love with each other. Andy is not consciously using friendship to be near Nina because he’s in love with her even if essentially that is what’s going on. He’s not manipulating it, in other words. But he definitely misses her and says as much. Nina just comes across as so passive in this scene with Andy. She’s controlled by Jake basically inside her mind. You were friends with Andy well before you knew Jake, Nina. She has Sam to think about which is why she took the easy way out and picked Jake in the first place. But Andy is showing that Sam and Delia have a family connection so why is she ignoring this? Nina is in a terrible spot. And I truly believe the writers boxed her in due to her professional life and made her choose Jake in order to delay Andy and Nina a little longer. But at the same time given her history and failed marriage that greatly affected her son, she has to understand making the right choice is extra important not just for herself but for Sam as well. The choice is clearly Andy.

I love how Andy calls Jake “Tiny Tim.” LOL.

The last Bright and Ephram scene is good. Bright even says it’s typical that Ephram bumps into Amy. Ephram tried telling him that he was an ass last night, Bright asks Hannah, who lies. More foreshadowing that Bright and Hannah are way too different. Hannah needs to be strong here with Ephram clearly having her back but she cannot go there, to Ephram’s great disappointment. Bright even mentions there’s Thai in the fridge like he’s clueless about it when at the beginning of the episode Hannah mentions she loved Thai and that’s what they got for lunch. Insinuation is Bright just doesn’t get these things, or shares similarities with Hannah at all. Bright even starts rapping the thing about bouncing again. Hannah grabs a few ibuprofen, dry. Bright's rap continues annoyingly even over the closing screen showing the creator/producer credits. Oh, Bright.



FINAL THOUGHTS


Definition of put on a happy/brave face:
to appear happy/brave even when one is not

1. Hannah acting like parties and Bright being a hardcore partier in her presence is just fine.

2. Ephram acting like partying is something he wants to embrace and his “friendship” scenes with Amy are nice communicating but he clearly wants to reunite.

3. Reid in general given what we know happens to him literally is the textbook version of this title.

4. Amy and college life, missing Ephram, and wanting to spend more time with her best friend Hannah but faking so much of it overall.

5. Andy acting okay with his strained relationship with Nina (until the end).

6. Harold not telling Rose true fears like he told Andy.

7. Jake not okay with Andy but having to act like he is in public.

8. Nina in complete denial about nearly everything in her life.

9. Ethan not wanting to tell his girlfriend about his intimacy troubles.


Reid’s storyline continues to be very foreshadowed. The irony is his sexuality was teased as the biggest mystery but we soon find out the actual biggest mystery is still out there. There are many moments showing us that Reid is living a life that is fantasy as he is crying out for help.

Bright and Hannah are too different and trying to make it work regardless of this sad reality. It really is frustrating because love exists between them but their differences are vast. Poor Hannah not speaking up with Ephram trying to help her out is disappointing. It is possible Bright doesn’t cheat if Hannah demonstrates some strength this early on. I am not blaming Hannah, of course, but if Bright and Hannah tackled their differences and how to exist with his extroversion and her views on sex right away it would not have gotten to the cheating moment quite possibly. At the very least, Bright would have broken up with her before he cheated if they were communicating properly. It seems their communication was excellent as friends but once they entered a romantic relationship when you need even more communication, it does not exist.

Ephram and Amy are spiritually, powerfully connected and always find moments together even during difficult times. They have this bright light of hope that shines down on them no matter what is happening between them. You feel it as this warm, eternal hope understanding their meant to be tag is never leaving. Right now, they are both trying to find their way yet their paths merge, leading them back to each other for strength and reassurance until they truly come back together as one in every way.

Harold and Rose are communicating better than ever post-cancer and it is so refreshing. They are a prime example of life throwing you a curveball and finding a way to hit a home-run. The diagnosis seems to have only made them stronger. Rose is listened to by Harold in a way that did not exist in the past. It is beautiful.

Andy wants his friendship back with Nina but Jake’s anger, Nina’s continued passiveness and denial of what she truly wants keeps getting in the way. I love Nina but watching her in the final season is challenging. Jake also is infuriating at this point. As mentioned, he had every right to be upset Andy went in for the kiss but he doesn't understand or care to explore the big picture. He never has. He told Andy almost jokingly that Nina was in love with him without stopping to think about if Andy knew or returned the feelings. Now he is still ignoring the bigger picture. If he noticed for a second that maybe he walked in on something that was already in the works he might not be so quick to hate on Andy and kindly walk away after finally Nina speaks the truth. But as usual, Andy needs to be the punching bag. Go away, Jake.

The Andy and Harold friendship is a highlight of the final season. I am convinced that is why they had Harold so harsh at the end of S3. The writers wanted to show what stupid Madisongate as well as Rose's cancer did to this friendship pairing. It put a dark strain on them all season long. It finally came to a head at the end of S3 and now in S4 we are seeing them healing together, growing together, confiding in each other and it is just as gorgeous as watching the energetic, spiritual, romantic bond between Ephram and Amy.

No Edna, Irv or Delia in this one.

I am really satisfied the final season of this precious series named Everwood is so strong with endless high quality and a S1-feel.

Looking forward to the next one.

Jerry D

I found this episode to be somewhat of a letdown from the first two incredible episodes of this show, as the theme “put on a happy face” resonated throughout it as some of the characters tried to adjust to their new circumstances by pretending to be who they weren’t, and this episode had an overwhelming emphasis on sex that quite frankly I didn’t care for.

We saw everyone being welcomed to campus at Colorado A & M and we saw Amy being recruited for the camera club by a girl named Maura, and then she met up with Reid, and she seemed smitten by him once again, but when Maura mentioned how “hot” he was, she said he was gay, and Maura said “All the good ones are.”

I liked how the show conveyed the excitement of the first day at college, and how everything was rife with possibilities, and I enjoyed seeing Amy happy and smiling as she walked around the campus.

I cracked up when Bright pronounced the word Bacchanal as Back Anal, and Ephram surprised him when she said that he wanted to go to this party, saying “I like parties,” and he referred to himself as “Ephram Brown, party animal extraordinaire,” but Bright correctly said that he was a “social black hole,” and we really saw that Ephram was trying to reinvent himself because as he put it, he didn’t have his piano or Amy anymore.

I liked that Bright didn’t want to go the party because he was with Hannah now and he knew that she wouldn’t like that type of a party and he was trying to grow up. Still though, we saw that Bright was trying to be someone that he really wasn’t to be with Hannah, and later in the episode we saw that Hannah was trying to be someone that she wasn’t to be with Bright.

Back at Sam’s restaurant, we saw Andy talking to Nina and he invited her and Jake over to his house for dinner, but then Jake walked over and they all painfully forced smiles as they “put on a happy face” that masked how they all really felt.

We saw Harold and Rose back at their house and Rose was clearly feeling better and she said that since the kids were away, she wanted to make pot roast and cheese cake, with cheese cake being a metaphor for sex, which quite frankly creeped me out, as did so many other scenes in this episode.

We saw Amy and Hannah talking on campus and Amy was still going on about Reid, and then Amy saw Ephram’s car and Hannah told her that Ephram was living with Bright and she apologized for not telling her sooner, but Amy understood that she was with Bright now and they were still basically in the “Honeymoon” phase of their relationship.

We saw Andy talking to a young man named Ethan Harcourt who explained that he had been on Anti-Depressants after his brother died, and he was doing well and he now had a girlfriend and he wanted to go to the “next level” of their relationship, but he was having difficulty being intimate, and Andy said that erectile disfunction was a common side effect of Anti-Depressants, and Ethan asked him to prescribe him some Viagra, but Andy told him that he couldn’t prescribe Viagra to him due to his age.

We saw Bright and Hannah deciding what food they wanted to eat, narrowing the choices down to Chinese Food or Thai Food, and Reid explained that Thai Food was a melting pot of several different cultures, so it would be the better choice, and Bright said “Gay people just know so many things,” reinforcing yet another silly stereotype about gay men. Ephram then sneakily maneuvered the conversation to try to get Hannah and Bright to go to the Bacchanal, but Bright, seeing through his ploy, got upset and walked out of the room.

We saw Harold and Rose talking at breakfast and it seemed like he wasn’t able to “perform” the night before, but Rose assured him that “these things happen,” but Harold didn’t want to talk about it, and after quite a bit of back and forth bickering between them he said that he didn’t want to have sex with her and they both got upset and angry and Harold left in a huff.

We saw Jake confront Andy at the post office about the fact that Andy had kissed Nina and he told him that they were no longer friends and he didn’t like him and he didn’t trust him, which upset Andy a great deal, but at least everything was now in the open.

I liked the talk that Andy and Harold had as they initially talked about Ethan Harcourt’s case, and Harold referred to him as “boner boy,” (which personally I didn’t find funny and I thought that it was out of character for Harold to say something like that) but then the topic switched to Harold’s not wanting to have sex with Rose, and Harold said it was more of a conscious choice than a physical problem because in many ways he had been trying to detach any emotions that he felt because he was afraid that Rose might die, and Andy advised him to talk to Rose about how he was feeling, but Harold said that he didn’t want to add to Rose’s burdens. Andy then said that Harold was trying to protect himself, which was natural, but that anything he was thinking about Rose was thinking about too, and he said “Don't worry about the conversations you have, Harold. Worry about the ones you could be having with yourself the rest of your life. Those are the ones that kill you.” I loved how Andy spoke from the heart in that scene and it was very clear how much he still missed Julia and how he was still ridden with guilt and regret following her death.

We saw Bright and Hannah talk about why he didn’t want to go to the Bacchanal, and he said that he gets drunk and sloppy at parties and he acts like an ass at them and he didn’t want her to see him like that, and he was trying to figure out what the rules were in their relationship, but Hannah told him that she just wanted him to be himself and that she wanted to go to the party with him.

We saw Amy go to the camera club meeting and she saw that she really had nothing in common with these girls, and some of them seemed to look down on her because she wasn’t living on campus, and they just seemed to want to talk about boys, so she felt dispirited, and she expressed her frustration to Harold about how her life “sucked.”

We saw Andy and Nina talking and Nina cancelled their dinner date, nervously explaining that Jake was sick, but then they were interrupted by Ethan’s mother, who angrily accused Andy of prescribing Viagra to Ethan, which made him end up in the cardiac unit of the hospital, but Andy said that he didn’t prescribe Viagra to Ethan and his partner (Harold) wouldn’t have prescribed Viagra to him either, and Nina stormed out thinking that Andy was accusing Jake of writing the prescription.

Bright and Hannah went to the Bacchanal, but it very quickly became obvious that Bright loved being there as they played the classic drinking game “Thumper” which I recall from my fraternity days, and Bright became the life of the party and both Ephram and Hannah looked very uncomfortable at the party and she asked if Bright was usually like this and Ephram said that he was. Ephram invited Hannah to go to a midnight showing of Batman at their local theater, but she declined and Ephram left, leaving her to witness Bright carrying on at the party in a really over-the-top manner that seemed to show how much he was in his element at this party while Hannah was totally out of her element at this party.

I loved the heart-to-heart talk that Harold and Rose had where she told him that for the last four months, he treated her like she was one of his patients, and that yesterday he finally treated her like she was his wife again, and she poignantly said “It’s the first time since all this horribleness began that I felt like us again. I’ve missed us, and Harold said that he missed them too, and she told him that she needed him and she needed to feel him beside her again, and that she could manage all the chemo, but the distance between them was killing her. I thought that this was an incredible scene that showed how much Harold and Rose loved each other, and it perfectly illustrated the depth of feelings that they had for each other.

I loved the scene where Ephram and Amy met up at the movie theater, and I loved their teasing banter about Amy going through “the change” and I loved how Ephram talked about how she finished high school and how that was a big one for him and Amy said “You hated high school,” and he said “Not all of it,” and they both knew what he meant. I also loved how Ephram reached across the aisle to give Amy some popcorn. I loved how even after all that had happened between them, Ephram and Amy still shared a magical connection that neither one of them could deny and that I loved seeing on the screen.

We saw Andy go to see Ethan, and Ethan apologized to Andy for telling his mother that he had prescribed him the Viagra, and Andy asked where he had gotten the pills, and he told Andy he had gotten them off a porn website and Andy advised him to never to lie to the people that you love and to tell his girlfriend Karen the truth and ask her to be patient, and if she couldn’t do that she didn’t deserve him, once again imparting advice from lessons that he had learned in his own life.

I liked the talk that Amy and Reid had and he gave her some good advice that sometimes you just have to pretend like everything’s going great even when it’s not, and eventually you’ll start believing it along with everyone else. We then saw that Reid had a girlfriend as a beautiful young woman came up and kissed him, and Amy said “Bright Abbott, you are a dead man!”

We saw Andy go and talk to Nina and he said that they weren’t acting like friends, and if they really wanted to be friends they needed to be straight with one another and that he missed her and their friendship.

In the final scene, we saw Hannah lie to Bright and say that he didn’t make an ass out himself as Ephram had told him he had been, and that she enjoyed the party, but it was very clear that she seemed uncomfortable and unhappy pretending to be someone she wasn’t to make Bright happy, and this episode seemed to really signal how mismatched they really were, and the differences between them were too vast to ever make their relationship work in the long run.

Overall, like I said earlier, I found this episode to be somewhat of a letdown from the previous episodes and I didn’t like all the emphasis on sex in it, but there were still some moments that really engaged me in it.

everwoodfan52

Ok….. There’s nothing left for me to say. Lol

jediwands

There is! YOUR own thoughts as you watch!

everwoodfan52

I will watch tomorrow!

Jerry D

I liked that too, and I liked how the show conveyed the excitement of the first day of college.

That's wonderful about your sister and I do think that Amy is going to go into medicine.

I really liked seeing Bright and Ephram's friendship and banter back on track.

I noticed the slight passive-aggressiveness on Andy's part too. I definitely picked up on all the tension between Andy, Jake and Nina in this episode.

That's a really good catch about the dinners at the Abbott's. To be honest, though, I didn't like all the allusions to sex in this scene.

I had to look up who Jack White was! I also loved seeing Hannah and Amy's friendship scenes in this episode.

I was also thinking that there could have been other ways that Ethan could have worked around this issue, but as was typical of the one and done medical stories in this show, they just wanted to have Ethan take something that ended up putting him in the hospital because Andy wouldn't prescribe him Viagra.

I think that Ephram was lonely and as he admitted he didn't have his piano anymore and he didn't have Amy, so he was trying to reinvent himself, but before the episode was out, he knew that the partying lifestyle wasn't for him.

Yes, that really was cruel, but Harold tends to be cruel when he feels that he's on the defensive.

I hated what Jake said to Andy, and like you, I just want him to be off my screen.

I just loved that scene and it was one of my favorite scenes in the entire episode. I loved how Andy gave Harold advice from how he still was grieving losing Julia.

Yes, Bright and Hannah had and have their cute moments but they're just completely mismatched.

I really felt so sorry for Amy in that scene.

I really did hate seeing Nina be so passive in this episode and that passiveness would continue throughout this season.

And dive into the party mode he certainly did!

Yes, the parallels between how they felt definitely showed how much of a connection they still had even though they were apart at this point.

That's a really good point about Princeton being out of the picture for Amy.

I thought that the writers went really over the top showing Bright as this party animal as we hadn't seen him be quite so, as Ephram and Hannah but it, much before, but I guess they were trying to show how completely mismatched Bright and Hannah were.

Good catch about how Rose had gone to Edna and Irv's. I know that she told Harold that she had gone to see his mother, but it didn't click with me. I loved seeing the love and affection between Harold and Rose in this scene.

I absolutely loved that scene for all the reasons that you so perfectly articulated.

I love how Andy gives advice based on his own experiences and he did that wonderfully two times in this episode.



We definitely got a lot of foreshadowing about what would happen to Reid later in this season in this episode.

I loved that even at this early point Amy was thinking about reuniting with Ephram.

Yes, I felt that Jake said and did all the right things to make Nina think that she loved him, but her heart was still with Andy.



Ephram was honest with Bright but Bright didn't want to hear it because he felt like he was able to be himself and still have Hannah, but this episode sowed the seeds for their eventual breakup.

Great summary!

I agree that we got a lot of foreshadowing about Reid in this episode.

I think this episode really illustrated that Bright and Hannah were really mismatched and they were heading for a fall.

Ephram and Amy's connection was simply magic.

I loved seeing Harold and Rose's love and affection for one another grow stronger and deeper.

Go away Jake indeed.

I really love Andy and Harold's friendship and how they're there for one another.



I'm looking forward to the next episode too.

Great review as always Michelle!

Jerry D

Side note: For those who don't know it, Thumper is a drinking game where each person is assigned a hand signal and if someone signals your hand signal, and you don't signal someone else's hand signal, you have to drink. I never participated in that game, but I did see it played when I was in a fraternity in college.

Jerry D

I was reading the transcript for this episode (thanks to you finding that website Michelle) and I caught where Andy said "I'm getting TMJ from all the phony smiles." LOL!

I can relate to TMJ, and you were the one that correctly diagnosed that I had it!

By the way, since I got my new night guard, my TMJ is gone, so I have you to thank for that.

jediwands

Sounds good.

jediwands

That’s interesting, I was wondering about this. I had no idea. Thanks for explaining!

jediwands

I was totally thinking of your TMJ when Andy mentioned it. That’s wonderful you feel better and I’m glad to have helped.

jediwands

It really did. It made me look back on the experience too.

Anna and Sara are following in their mother’s footsteps (science-related fields).

Yes, it really seems that’s the direction Amy was intending to go in.

It was great knowing they still kept in contact while Ephram was in Europe which means even from a distance, Ephram was there for Bright during Rose’s toughest moments. How adorable Bright was waiting for Ephram to return so he could live with him too.

It was so believable I found myself feeling nervous watching their scenes.

I didn’t either. I remember back when this episode aired live a childhood guy friend was staying at my parents for several weeks and he watched the episode live with me. I felt so embarrassed. I don’t really understand the point, if it was due to the medical case and they got carried away or what.

Their friendship scenes are wonderful.

That’s very true. They had a clear conclusion they wanted to reach so finding true solutions to Ethan’s problem didn’t fit the narrative.

100%. I liked when both Ephram and Bright took pictures and while Ephram said he wanted to be a partier his picture was boring and blah and while Bright said he didn’t want to go to the party he posed with a partying type of look.

This is so true. It’s how he always approaches things.

It just feels like Jake was meant to be gone by the end of S3/beginning of S4 and since it did happen it is extra annoying.

It was so perfect.

That is really the summary of Bright and Hannah.



That’s the frustrating part… the passiveness continues until the very end.

Massively.

This is classic Ephram and Amy… still together when apart.

Which is interesting because Princeton was such a huge deal last season. Even Ephram got involved.

That’s exactly it… the writers were on a mission to show how opposite and in a concerning way.

It was really nice. Finally Rose is featured more and it’s not all about Harold with Rose in a supporting role.



Indeed. We even got some in the last episode but this episode it really seemed like the writers wanted to add even heavier foreshadowing.

Absolutely! Glad they didn’t because it’s clear Amy needed more time but like you said, her thinking about it was excellent.

That’s exactly it.

It really was! You really felt a sense of worlds apart in this one.

Thanks!

Big time.

Honestly there’s no other way to evaluate this.



You just never see this.

He’s definitely overstayed his welcome.

Thank you! Right back at you.

jediwands

Will respond to your review in the morning… or I guess in a few hours.

Jerry D