jediwands

jediwands

I put this one up a little early due to my schedule, the fact that we are finished discussing the previous episode, and since it's the last episode of S1 (and arguably the greatest episode of the series ), why not?

jediwands

I remember reading that during the incredible vending machine scene, Berlanti gave Greg Smith and Emily VanCamp a note to touch hands when he hands her change from the vending machine. What a subtle but powerful little thing he inserted in there. Berlanti understood he was writing them as Soulmates or Twin Flames, and he knew this every step of the way.

everwoodfan52

Thanks for being on top of things, Michelle!
I thought I would watch early since I will be busy tomorrow....


My thoughts.....

I am frankly not interested in watching Amy and Colin romping and enjoying their early relationship. Call me cold.

I love Irv's intro and recap summarizing everything that brought Amy/Ephram together and Andy/Colin together. Really well done.

Scary conversation between Colin and Andy.....it doesn't sound hopeful. I actually feel sorry for Colin who has to make a very tough decision.

Adorable Andy/Ephram/Delia kitchen scene. Bladder the size of a proton.....

Love the way that Bright mocks Amy at the dinner table. Typical big brother. lol

Ephram actually hasn't yelled at Andy yet! Another nice convo in the car.

Colin is having very intuitive feelings regarding his prognosis. You really do have to feel sorry for the entire Hart family.

How difficult it must be to be a brain surgeon. So complicated! Andy's discussion with Dr. Douglas sounds like Greek to me!

Ephram carrying Delia on his back......

I love the story Dr. Douglas told Ephram about the first time he came in contact with Andy's talent. Ephram is super impressed. He knew is father was famous, but not this amazing and remarkable.

Bright and Colin did have a really sweet relationship. It was super nice of Colin to reassure Bright that the accident wasn't Bright's fault. Bright needed to hear that before the surgery.

Amy just doesn't want to hear it and Colin is so realistic. You really can't Blame Amy who is very frightened at the thought of losing Colin.

Ephram and driving just don't mix. Delia is a riot.

Again....I wish Andy had not waited so long to tell Ephram why he moved all of them to Everwood. It would have saved so much heartache!

Wow....I believe we are going to have an entire episode of Ephram and Andy getting along....and well!

Somehow Colin telling Amy that he loves her does not hold a candle to when Ephram told Amy he loves her.

Too bad Andy did not take Dr. Douglas's advice regarding performing the surgery.

Ephram/Colin......awkward. I wonder what Colin meant when he told Ephram, "I know how you feel."
But....again....where was Colin's apology? He owed that to Ephram.

Colin really put Andy on the spot with his request. I don't blame Colin, but he didn't realize the consequences of this request.

Nina just lets herself in...so sweet. I guess she hasn't told Andy about Carl.

Where the heck is Laynie? Her brother is having major life threatening surgery.

Wonderful song...Cathedrals....and very moving montage of events leading up to the surgery.

I'm glad Ephram told Amy that he came for his dad and not for her.

I am Home.

What an ending.....of course we know what happened, but for those watching this episode when the series originated it must have been quite a cliffhanger. I can't imagine waiting until the next season to find out if Colin survived.

jediwands

^ Betty, glad I put it up early.

Love all your thoughts!

I will respond to them after I watch.

jediwands

Haven't watched the episode yet but was thinking about the title, Home, and what it truly means to Everwood fans. In many ways the title represents how people feel when they think of Everwood and/or this very board. Totally at HOME. Over the years many people within the fandom have met others and bonded, forming many different types of relationships with each other… I know I have. I pause and think about this and how incredibly happy I am I checked out and eventually this board. My life has completely changed as a result. I have always believed there was a special magic to everything surrounding this series. The episode title is so fitting.

Will watch the episode shortly.

everwoodfan52

I hear you, Michelle.

jediwands

jediwands

The first season of Everwood told two stories that paralleled one another. The town lost its center when Colin Hart's accident transpired and the Brown family lost their center: Julia Brown, wife and mother. Andy Brown moved him and his family to a small town in Colorado because of a promise he made to his Julia.

Fate brought Colin and Dr. Brown together. The surgeon brought Colin back to life. Andy also healed the relationship with his son and gave the residents of Everwood free medicine and wonderful medical care. Andy built a life in Evewood that New York City never gave him... all in the name of Julia Brown.

Colin's situation is deteriorating though and this once Miracle of Everwood just might be running out of luck. Colin does trust Andy when he promises him absolutely nothing.

This is one of many reasons I feel Colin had accepted his fate. Everything he did throughout this entire episode from trusting Andy when he promised nothing, to not getting upset over Harold slightly making the Abbott meal uncomfortable about the last day without trying, to Colin saying goodbye to Bright and Amy essentially on their last day together, to telling Ephram in so many words to take care of Amy, and of course, his telling Andy not to revive him if he would end up being a vegetable. I honestly believe Colin knew he was not going to survive the surgery and that, to me, is a very sad reality. He's calm and collected throughout.

Regarding Amy/Colin/Bright spending their last day together... in the middle of the night, Bright and Amy sneak away for an adventure with their best friend. The trio eats pancakes at the Mile High Diner then visit the place where the County High Class of 2003 will graduate in two hours. The moments between Bright, Amy and Colin are very sad as you really do get a sense that this is their goodbye.

This show was so brilliant at tackling tough issues and handling it in such an amazingly realistic way. Life and death is such a significant theme in this brilliant season finale and you can feel it throughout your veins while watching every second of the episode.

The Brown story is a beautiful one. Andy prepares for the surgery by visiting his mentor. You can feel the importance of this surgery as it is not even close to any that he performed in NYC. The town, its people, the patient, his family, and his friends are all relying on Andy Brown. Andy also is a changed man since living in Everwood. He does not make broken promises anymore. He cares about his patients in a way that only Julia would want him to.

Ephram wanders around Donald's study during a party and of course this moment was an enormous one for father/son as Donald tells Ephram a story from his father's years as a student doctor when he realized how remarkable Andy would be. Andy's stitching was impeccable which meant everything. Ephram stared at his father during the story as Greg Smith shines, and a sudden epiphany about the necessity of his father's sacrifice in Manhattan hit him like a ton of bricks. Andy tells Ephram about the promise he made to Julia when he explains why he won't return to New York. Ephram tells his father that the last year would've been much easier had he opened up about the promise earlier. "It wasn't supposed to be easy," Andy says. What... an amazing moment between these two as Julia's ghost circles around them.

Colin showing up at the Brown's was another significant moment in this episode. The interaction between Ephram and Colin was their most important scene of the season. Colin gave Ephram his blessing to be with Amy in this scene if you watch it closely and really study what is going on here. He absolutely did and Ephram knew it. It is my favorite scene between these two.

Colin's words to Andy about not bringing him back if he ends up a vegetable was heartbreaking because the first time I watched this episode, I had a feeling that Colin wasn't surviving but this moment clinched it for me. I just knew his funeral was coming soon because Colin had already started the process of leaving this life and moving on. The moment expressed this fact so vividly.

I really liked the scene with Andy and Nina as Andy left to go to perform his surgery, and I liked it when she kissed him and wished him luck. Talk about foreshadowing for the future. They have become true friends with sporadic romantic tension. Berlanti was brilliant at making us believe they were good friends with much more to come.

The montage kills me each and every time I tune in. The music. I started crying the second the music started. Colin's head needs to be shaved. His mother's with him as he recalls how she used to cut his hair every single time until he needed a better haircut at thirteen. Mrs. Hart kisses her son's head and begins cutting. Earlier, Colin sat with his dad, head on his shoulder like when he was a boy, hoping his father wasn't so scared. Both moments with his parents separately brought him back to when he was just a boy. It was showing his parents that he loved them and would always be with them. He would always be their little boy.

During the montage, seeing Amy, especially, prepare for the surgery and outcome is simply heartbreaking. Such powerful stuff this show could pull off effortlessly. Emily VanCamp, you are amazing.

The famous Ephram/Amy scene is the best, simply the best, I love these two more than any other couple in history of my TV watching...

The chemistry, the believability, the love and caring, the connection, oh the connection, the magical love story, the meant to be tag that is never leaving them, it was all there. These two are the best. Thank you, Berlanti, for Greg/Emily as Ephram/Amy.

On the table, Colin counts backwards from 10. He falls asleep after uttering '7.'

... the scene fades and transitions to the shuffling feet of Andy's through the hall leading towards the waiting room.

... the credits rolled and viewers in May of 2003 had to wait four months for the fate of Colin Hart.

"This is the story of Colin Hart. And Andy Brown. It's the story of a town that lost its center and strove to regain it. This is the story of Everwood."

The first season of Everwood is the very best television I have ever seen and nothing comes close to it. The writing, production, acting, it is all there. The characters, the realism of the town, the complete honesty in the storytelling, the risky storylines that always worked amazingly, and its ability to produce powerful emotions inside of me. Everwood is the best, simply the best.

jediwands

It was so perfect.

You can feel how hopeless it truly is.

I loved that so much and how they did have to pull over eventually on the trip for Delia to go, lol.

Absolutely. LOL.



Greg does a lot of acting in this one with just his eyes. He's so good.

He knows.

Me too. I have a childhood friend who's an ophthalmologist and when she starts talking medical I get lost, especially when she discusses the optic nerve since it's truly part of the brain. I understand some aspects of the brain as a psychologist but not to the extent that she does so it's very interesting. Yes, my friend, Jill, would read my sister's science and math books growing up. I played soccer with her. When we were all casually drinking or having fun Jill was our designated driver probably reading one of my sister's calculus or organic chemistry books. LOL.

That was so adorable. All about the little things.

He had no idea. I also think Ephram felt a little guilty for being so hard on Andy about his job. Now that he knows just truly how good he was and how many people he was helping he sees things very differently.

100%. Especially since it truly wasn't Bright's fault. He was driving but Colin forced the keys (and even the alcohol) on him, it was all Colin's idea. Wish Colin knew that during the conversation.

Definitely. EVC is so good during that baseball scene. Oh my gosh, she's amazing.

I love how Delia was eating pizza, haha.

Yeah, for sure. I loved the spiritual comment saying it wasn't meant to be easy. Otherwise, he could have saved arguments telling Ephram from the start.



Notice she never said it back? She calls him a jerk. I get that she liked hearing it but I've ALWAYS found that moment interesting since she never says it back to him. I think he told her he loved her because he didn't say it back before the accident. Now he's saying it which is why she calls him a jerk. So it's continuity. Yet I still think it's interesting she doesn't say it back.

Right?

100% believe the I know how you feel was saying he knows Ephram will be there for Amy.

Indeed. You just knew things were going to go south after the conversation.

It's interesting she didn't tell Andy about Carl, especially then. She knew she couldn't tell him something so heavy before his surgery so she waited.

So beyond weird she was MIA. Not just for Colin but she's Amy's best friend. I don't get it.

I cry every, single time I hear it.

Yeah.



Right? I couldn't imagine the wait! Especially when spoilers weren't as easy to get back then.

Jerry D

I absolutely loved this heartfelt and moving episode, which charted the progress that Andy Brown and Colin Hart have made over the last year, as they both embarked on a journey which a tragedy had forced them to take, and they met at a crossroads which would decide both their fates.

I loved the opening sequence, as Irv related the story of Andy and Colin’s journey, as it set the scenario for this pivotal episode. I liked Andy’s honesty with Colin about the prospects for his surgery, telling him that he couldn’t promise him anything, and I was glad that Colin had the maturity and presence of mind to accept that honesty. I also thought that Colin and Andy’s final talk was heart wrenching, when Colin told Andy that if he couldn’t bring him back, that he shouldn’t keep trying, and he gave him a note confirming that in case anything happened. The only part of this episode that I didn’t like was when Ephram greeted Colin at the door right right before Colin talked to Andy and he barely spoke to Ephram, who showed so much concern for Colin, and to me, I would have felt very differently about Colin overall if he had apologized to Ephram for beating him up and if he had thanked Ephram for befriending him and being there for him, but he basically said nothing to Ephram, and it left me with a bad impression of Colin that I’ve never really gotten over.


The dinner between the Hart’s and the Abbott’s was fraught with tension, as everyone tried to sidestep the fact that Colin was facing surgery. It was sad seeing Mr. Hart watch an old videotape of Colin before his accident had disrupted all their lives, and I was disappointed that he couldn’t tell Colin what he was afraid of.

I thought that Dr. Douglas was very harsh to Andy initially, but as we got to know him in this episode, you could understand that he was angry that Andy had abandoned his gift, and you really got a sense of how talented a surgeon that Andy had been, and how much respect Dr. Douglas had for him. I thought that Dr. Douglas was completely honest with Andy as they discussed the prospects for Colin’s surgery, and I thought that he gave Andy some sound advice when he told him not to go through with the surgery, but Andy had too much invested in Colin, his family, and the town of Everwood to turn away now.

I was glad that Harold was understanding when he caught Amy and Bright sneaking off to show Colin a good time on his last day before his surgery. I really liked seeing them on their “adventure,” and I especially loved it when Colin told Bright “You’re it man, you’re my best friend. Whatever it was that happened that night, it’s all good between us.” I also loved it when Amy realized that Colin was trying to give her a perfect day so she could have something to hold on to in case he didn’t make it through the surgery, but Amy told him that she wanted told hold on to him, and that she wanted him to get through his surgery, and I was so happy that Colin finally told Amy the words she had waited so long to hear, that he loved her.

I loved seeing the progress that Andy and Ephram have made over the last year, and this episode showcase that perfectly, as Dr. Douglas told Ephram what a gifted and remarkable surgeon Andy had been, and Ephram got to see Andy in his element, being sought out and admired by aspiring surgeons at Dr. Douglas’s party. I loved Andy and Ephram’s driving lesson, and I thought it was incredibly thoughtful, loving, and sweet of Ephram to tell Andy that he could go back to being a surgeon in New York if he wanted to, and that he would understand, and I was so moved when Andy told him that he had moved them all to Everwood to fulfill a promise that he had made to Julia, and you could tell that Ephram was really touched by hearing that admission on Andy’s part. I especially loved it that Ephram then stuck around to be there for his father, and it really showed me that this father and son, who had started out as hostile strangers to one another, have come such a long way together.

I loved the scene between Ephram and Amy, and I loved it when Amy told him that he was still taking care of her. I thought their conversation was sweet and tender, especially when Ephram said he was there for his father, and that he was going to stay in Everwood for the summer, and I was especially moved when Amy mentioned that it would be nice to go home for the holidays, and Ephram said that he was home.

The final montage of scenes as everyone prepared for Colin’s surgery was very well done, and the look on Andy’s face after the surgery was over left us all wondering if the surgery was a success, and at the time, this season ended with a cliffhanger, and we wondered what both Colin and Andy’s fate would be as this incredible inaugural season of this wonderful show ended, but having watched this show in the later seasons, we all knew what happened and that this episode was the last episode we would see Colin Hart in as a living person as he didn’t make it through his surgery.

Words can not describe how much I love this heartwarming and well-crafted show and I honestly think this was the best season of any television show that I’ve ever watched.

jediwands

I remember watching this episode for the first time and didn’t realize there was a direct parallel between Colin and Andy. Not the way Irv explained it. I thought of it only as Colin being the bridge for the Browns and Abbott’s to meet. It was so great watching it all come together in this episode.

The Colin/Andy scene is heartbreaking. I truly think Colin understood he wasn’t making it. He has tears in his eyes. I think Colin knew he told Andy this because he already understood if he lived he’d be a vegetable. He understood this.

As for Colin and Ephram… I’ve watched this scene so many times over the years. I will always believe it was a passing of the torch so to speak. He knew Amy was going to end up with Ephram. He knew it and that, combined with awaiting his conversation with Andy didn’t have him thinking about an apology. Also, the silence between them was so tension-filled. I’m not sure anyone in his position would be thinking about an apology even if Ephram deserved one. I’m trying to think if he apologized to Bright? I don’t think he did. He made things right with Bright but no apology. So I feel like I have to give him a break during that scene with Ephram due to all that was on his mind.

Plus… Irv’s Narration was interesting. If you listen to the words it did say that Colin was not in his right mind (in so many words) as we were shown him punching Bright in the flashback.



Agreed so much, Jerry!

jediwands

The title of the episode is so perfect because once you watch the episode, you immediately think it pertains to Ephram being finally home. But it's way more than that, especially when listen to the appropriate song played during the scenes leading up to the surgery... Colin was going home too...

everwoodfan52

You know, Michelle, it never dawned on me that Colin meant that he knew Ephram would be there for Amy when he said, "I know what you mean." I hope that's what he meant. I am wondering that if Colin knew that Ephram and Amy were this close....what would his plan have been if he did survive. Would he just let Amy go? or would there continually be a triangle?
I agree with you that after seeing how important and remarkable what Andy can do for people's lives Ephram was feeling guilty about how he resented and treated his dad. I love that Ephram gave Andy permission to move the family back to NY and to work as much as he wanted because Ephram understood. I also love the fact that Andy reassured Ephram that this was not he only reason he moved the family to Everwood.

everwoodfan52

Good catch....I didn't notice that!! That is interesting. Either Amy does not reciprocate the love or she believed that Colin was insincere.