jediwands

jediwands

With it being holiday weekend and the actual holiday landing on tomorrow, I thought I'd put this up now in case you wanted to get started a little early.

everwoodfan52

Thanks, Michelle! I will take advantage.....

jediwands

everwoodfan52

My thoughts......


I love the opening song so much....glad I am able to see the show with the original music...


Poor Harold is so serious and feels so much responsibility. It's so obvious that he is not handling his mom's leaving and absence as well as his sister.

Andy and Linda have a cute first meet...

Harold is not impressed...."Of course she did.." "That would be very useful when I've lost all my sheep."

Andy and Harold at the diner again....I just love it!
Nina...you almost slipped and told Andy...

Bright wants to sit next to Ephram...adorable. Of course he has a motive. Bright knew from the very beginning that he could trust Ephram to watch over and take care of Amy.

Poor Andy is always given these tough jobs. He looks even more uncomfortable than Travis.

It looks like Ephram is going to stalk Amy. He loves clothes....right. lol

It's so obvious the way that Edna shows so much more favoritism toward Linda.

Irv gets pissed off so darn easily and the parents in this town can be so aggravating.

When did Laynie become a lush?

Lots of family resentment at that dinner table. How can Edna insinuate that Harold doesn't have a life? Raising 2 kids....a successful marriage...and successful medical career sounds like a life to me!

W0w! Harold's resentment toward Linda really runs deep.

I love the parallel between Andy's confidentially issue and Ephram's and I love when Andy and Ephram smile at each other.

Is Nina talking about these kids or is she referring to her own situation getting out in a small town?

I'm glad that Edna finally owned up to her responsibility for the unfortunate family dynamics. God....Harold really let her have it!! If my kid said those things to me I would be so heartbroken and so riddled with guilt!

I can understand Travis's dilemma. It's tough to be a snitch. Especially when you're a new kid.

Really harsh words between Bright and Amy.

Thank goodness there's one parent with sense in this town.

Come on, Nina! Here's your window. Tell him! Good!!

I guess Amy and Laynie are no longer pissed at Ephram.

Ephram & Bright....the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I love that scene.

Harold & Linda....the beginning of a beautiful work relationship..

Alexa

Im finally back from my vacation! Wow, already up to 203? Yikes... im behind.

I will try to catch up in a few days!

jediwands

My eyes always light up seeing Vanessa Taylor featured in an episode. She is so talented and clearly all over the Linda arc. I love her creative mind. It has always been between Taylor and Green for me in the writing department. They are both so artistically gifted and just like Berlanti, understand these characters perfectly. They typically never write anything that isn't authentic.

With that said... I remember this episode always having a really bad MEoW and as I watched... sure enough, there it is. Hurts my eyes. It almost feels like they didn't know what to do here... so, are we to assume the 13 year old and others his age were essentially raped? I guess it's insinuated a bunch of older kids were having group sex and dragged some 12 - 13 - 14 year olds into it (probably more than once), and the younger kids were hurt and confused over the entire nightmare. I have always been confused over the meaning here and and the parents irritated me as well. I understand the need to think the best of your children and even going into denial mode until presented with factual information. But they were so quick to avoid and not take in what was being told to them. What a weird deal.

The flashbacks... I feel like there was so much to explore... we could have found out endless information about Edna, Harold and Linda. We don't. I typically don't mind flashbacks (see the EA one in S4 focusing in on S2) but it has to be well done. It just felt like there was way too much left to be explored.

That said, I LOVE the Harold/Linda dynamic we see that's not in flashbacks. Those two were fun. They seem like siblings but it's obvious Linda is really out of touch since she hasn't been around. Harold is mean to Linda, but I don't blame him. Not coming home for your father's funeral? And three years?! That is really unbelievable to me but I still root for these two siblings because while there's clearly a love/hate between them, you can't help but pull for this sibling relationship.

BRIGHT AND EPHRAM! It's exciting knowing they are only just beginning. Bright caring about his sister is always wonderful but Bright and Ephram truly do rule. I only wish the trio of Bright/Ephram/Amy could have battled Amy's depression together, sort of like the new trio and a more mature trio than the childhood trio with Colin. It would have been so great seeing this transpire instead of adding gross, dark, Tommy and Madison to the mix.

I also hate to say it but... I need to rip Laynie here... I find it gross that Laynie's brother died after an accident involving alcohol, her father is a true alcoholic going downhill fast and yet she finds it normal and appropriate to drag Amy to a keg party knowing how depressed and off she is. It's just... not a good look at all. We rip Tommy apart because he's well, Tommy... however, if not for Laynie being pretty careless, Amy probably never even meets Tommy. I really didn't like Laynie AT ALL in this episode during the rewatch. I don't remember ever finding her this ridiculous in other rewatches. But she was very annoying and inappropriate in every scene throughout the entire episode. She's basically completely manipulating Amy even if Amy is a willing participant. What on earth is Laynie thinking with the alcohol and older guys knowing Amy is clearly not right in the head and ready to go there with drinking and older guys? So stupid. Laynie was awful in this one.

Abbott dinner, as usual, was worth eating popcorn and enjoying every minute. I loved how Rose was just a spectator and Marcia Cross hit Linda's explanation of why she wanted to come home right out of the park. "Shove it" with Harold being Harold, Rose just watching, and like I said, I love Linda's explanation of why she wants to come home.

The Ephram/Andy scene! Love it. Ephram: "You know, you're getting better at that." Andy: "I practice when you're not at home." LOL. That whole scene is superb. Smiles all around at the end! They're getting along! Madison, stay out of the Brown house!

The bar scene was perfect. Harold: "Milk. 2%." Edna's apology too. I agree with her that Harold will always be the one to stay, and part of it is obligation but I think another part is regret. Harold will deep down without formulating thoughts, have a sort of regret over never taking any chances like his mother and sister did. But he also knows his life in Everwood is great with Rose and his family at the same time. Edna telling Harold about her failures as a mother is great, and I like that Harold is still so upset about what happened in the flashback. He should be.

Nina telling Andy that Carl was having an affair. "He wasn't just having an affair. He was having an affair with a man" Andy: "Oh." Beautiful hug. I love these two so much and the chemistry between Treat and Stephanie is really noticeable in this one.

I laugh seeing Andy breaking confidentiality while telling Nina that he told the parents he wouldn't.

It took me until this rewatch to catch Bright saying there's a surplus of college girls that want to hook up with high school guys, and Ephram saying it doesn't work like that is foreshadowing of Madison.

Which brings me to... this episode is a classic example of why I get so pissed thinking about Madison and how unnecessary she was. Madison had no business entering the picture. It's bad enough what she did to the entire series as a whole, and how repulsive she was to the vast majority of the fanbase... but we see RIGHT in this episode how far Ephram and Andy have come. And once that wicked witch enters the picture (which, unfortunately is very soon) everything changes... Ephram/Andy start the process of unraveling and I don't know how anyone who is a fan of this father/son dynamic could welcome Madison knowing what is shortly to come and will continue until well into S4 for Ephram/Andy. It disgusts me.

Last Thoughts:

- Marcia Cross has a brilliant screen presence. She is so talented. She's on a completely different level compared to most actresses.

- The continued continuity at the diner between Andy and Harold is so much fun. Harold choking at the thought of Andy meeting Linda was brilliant and total foreshadowing.

- Andy and Linda meeting for the first time is so adorable.

- Bright telling Ephram he already stalks Amy was so funny. LOL.

- I keep wondering what I truly think of Irv getting mad at Edna. At times I get the feeling that Irv resented staying in Everwood but because he did, Edna almost has to act a certain way in order for him to get the hint that she always appreciates it. I might be too hard on him though. But to be honest, I didn't understand why he was so angry with her for being super excited over Linda being home, remembering her time away as well, along with stating the obvious... Irv and Edna are older and do stay at home and have a settled type of life... nothing wrong with this. He just seemed ultra sensitive in this one.

jediwands

YAY! Sounds good! Welcome back, looking forward to your thoughts and hope you had a great time on vacation!

jediwands

Different music is so sad and depressing.

100%. It's interesting he has such a good relationship with Rose. The psychologist in me observes this because of how much lack of trust he has in both his mother and sister. Typically that can bleed into your romantic relationship. Thankfully, his relationship with Rose is sound.

Loved it.



The continuity (diner meetings) is priceless.

Good thing Andy is clueless quite often. LOL.

In the past he used Ephram but I love how this time it's for a good thing and at the same time, he cares about and respects him.

Did you find that strange he was so uncomfortable?



Yes. A part of me thinks it's great since I love mother/daughter combinations but the other part is very sad for Harold.

Right! Both worked my last nerve.

Speaking of getting on my nerves... I honestly disliked Laynie in this episode. I forgot how terrible she was with Amy in this one. She was like on a mission to mess up Amy. It was so strange.

Right! I love how Rose just took it all in.

Big time. Tom played it so perfectly though... you could still feel the strong love Harold had for Linda while Harold was going there.

One of my favorite moments between them.

That scene was interesting.

LOL! They would never do that to you, just the opposite.

Yes, that scene was very nice. I liked how it was a great scene, total understanding, but you get the sense that Harold will never truly get over his mom leaving.

Awful. Poor kid.

YES!

I forgot how blunt that scene was. Amy said Bright killed Colin due to the drinking and driving and Bright said Amy killed Colin since he had side effects for a while before doctors got involved. Man.

I still remain wondering IF Colin would have gotten medical attention/surgery the second the first side effect appeared would it have just been a simple surgery and fix? Did the delay ultimately cause his passing? It is never explained and this episode highlights the possibility once again that the delay might have caused his death.

I am a firm believer in free will/meant to be but the logical part of me still wants answers on this!

Exactly the first thing I thought once she stepped forward and stood up to those other ridiculous Townies.

Beautiful moment.

Definitely strange interaction between the three of them all episode long.



There is even a slight parallel here between both pairings:

Harold/Linda, sibling relationship.

Bright/Ephram, future brother-in-law sibling relationship.

jediwands

What a difference a year makes


This shows their progress. Both times Bright asked Ephram for help, too. In 1.9, Ephram literally snuck out to a party to check on Amy because Andy refused. In 2.3, Andy let him go.

Jerry D

I thought that this was an excellent episode that introduced us to a character that had been briefly mentioned in Season One, but who we now got to meet, Harold’s globetrotting sister Linda, who was as much Edna’s daughter as Harold was his father’s son. We got to see a flashback scene as a tearful Harold said goodbye to Edna at the Everwood train station as she departed for Vietnam, and he told her that he didn’t understand why she was leaving them and he tried to give her logical reasons why she should stay, while Harold’s sister Linda was excited about the adventure that Edna was about to embark on and she told her mother that she too would be embarking on adventures of her own someday. I think that this scene sowed the seeds of Harold’s resentment toward board his mother and his sister, as he saw himself as the one who stayed behind while they traveled the world.

We saw Linda return to the same train station that she had seen Edna off so many years ago, only to discover that that train station was now a doctor’s office as she met Andy and Edna joyfully greeted her daughter.

The dinner scene at Harold’s house was fraught with tension as Harold showed his thinly veiled contempt and resentment for Linda’s traipsing all over the world while he practiced medicine in Everwood, and this resentment continued as he told Andy how he felt about Linda.

You could really see in the conversation between Edna and Linda that Edna was living vicariously through Linda’s tales of adventure, much to Irv’s dismay, and Irv’s resentment came to a head later in this episode.

The shocker in this episode was when Linda revealed that she had been without roots for too long and she wanted to settle down in Everwood and join Harold’s practice, but Harold wanted no part of that initially, as his long-standing resentments toward both his mother and his sister for their abandonment of him due to their wanderlust ways came to a head in this episode, and he confronted both his mother and his sister for not being there when he needed them.

Harold and Edna’s conversation was very telling as Harold confronted her about leaving her family when she was a child and how her heart was never into being a mother, as Edna pleaded with him to let Linda join his practice, and his resentment toward her was echoed in his resentment toward Linda, who he chided for not coming home when their father died because he (Harold) needed her. I was glad that Harold finally came around as Linda started to move into his office, and the scene ended with another flashback to when they were children.

We got to see that Irv rightfully told Edna that her acting like she was being held back by not having the choices that Linda had and that her saying that denigrated what he and Edna had together as they could have as many adventures together as they could apart.

The medical subplot of this episode was quite groundbreaking for its time as Nina asked Andy to give some advice to a boy who had been caught with condoms in his possession by his mother, and we found out that the boy and his friends had formed some kind of “sex club” which was putting them all in danger, but both the boy and Andy were put in an awkward position as Andy had to inform the disbelieving parents of the other children in this “sex club,” and the boy, Travis, was beaten up for telling Andy about this “sex club” and revealing the names of the other children in this “club.” Andy’s meeting with the parents was initially a disaster, but I was glad that Andy confronted them all again after Travis was beaten up and he forced them to face the truth.

I liked how Bright approached Ephram and he asked him to keep an eye on Amy, and although Ephram initially refused to do that, his love and concern for Amy won out and he did look out for her. Ephram was dismayed to see Amy and Laynie drinking as they prepared to go to a frat party, and I was glad that Ephram went to see Bright and they both went to the party to get Amy away from what could have been a very dangerous situation for her and Laynie. I did like seeing the progress that Ephram and Andy made in this episode as Ephram asked to go to that party, and Andy allowed him because he knew he was doing it to protect Amy.

The confrontation between Bright and Amy at the frat party was fraught with long simmering resentments that came to a head as Amy blamed Bright for the accident that caused Colin’s coma and eventual death and Bright blamed Amy for covering up the true extent of Colin’s condition until it was too late, and just when it looked like Bright and Ephram were going to be forcibly thrown out of the party by some of the frat boys with Amy and Laynie remaining there, Ephram told them that Amy was only 15, which made them back off and which allowed them all to leave peacefully with Amy and Laynie, and Ephram’s cool handling of the situation was noticed and later acknowledged by Bright, and I feel this episode really marked the beginning of their friendship.

I loved the conversation that Andy and Nina had at the end of the episode as she admitted, all those months later, that Carl had left her because he was having an affair with a man, and she tearfully showed her vulnerability and the anguish she was feeling and he literally offered her a shoulder to cry on and he comforted her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode and I thought that it showcased all the characters very well.

Jerry D

I absolutely loved that scene and I loved seeing the progress they've made and the trust and respect that Andy showed Ephram in that scene.

jediwands

Absolutely. Like I mentioned, that’s why Madison entering the screen in the very next episode is so frustrating. She represents darkness. It has almost arrived.

jediwands

Most certainly. Poor Harold was traumatized as a result.

I think about if I’m Harold’s age and my mom left me for months while understanding the breakdown I had as she was leaving… she never would have gone there. Harold truly was scarred as a result.

Their greeting was so adorable.

Crystal clear seeing this.

Such a good point about Edna living vicariously through Linda. That’s exactly what she was doing.

It was fantastic writing as continuity was apparent given the S1 hints now showcased in S2.

The medical subplot felt rather creepy to me, almost like it was written in a Stephen King sort of way. Less is more. I have so many questions we never got answers to. I think this was the brilliance of the storyline in thinking about it. We weren’t meant to understand what truly went on. It feels much more haunting as a result.

Emily plays depressed Amy to perfection. It’s the subtle things she does with the character. You really feel Amy sinking. Contrasting this to Bright swimming is very interesting. He’s becoming closer friends with Ephram and taking school seriously. The paths Amy and Bright are currently on literally go in completely different directions.

It was such a perfect scene.

S2 is definitely a very dark season but I’ve always believed it has some of the best writing of the entire series.

Jerry D

Great thoughts, Michelle.

For the first time in this episode I saw Laynie as a bad influence on Amy, because they really could have gotten in over their heads and possibly been sexually assaulted at that frat party if Bright and Ephram didn't rescue them. Amy was so lost after Colin's death that she did a lot of things that were uncharacteristic for her, and that really started in this episode.

I dread the next episode with the introduction of Madison.