Jerry D

Hi everyone. I wrote about how cruel Colin seemed in Amy’s hallucination of him at the party in Unspoken Truths where she drank and she took GHB, which leads me to the topic of Colin Hart himself and the effect he had on all the main characters on the show, especially Amy Abbott.

When Everwood started, we saw that Amy Abbott, who Ephram Brown immediately fell in love with, initially became friends with Ephram so he would ask his father, a renowned surgeon, to operate on her boyfriend, Colin Hart, who had been in a coma as the result of an auto accident he had been involved in with her brother, Bright Abbott. We saw that Bright initially bullied Ephram and he told him that if Colin was there, he would “kick his ass” for hanging around with Amy, so we got our first inkling of who Colin Hart had been.

We learned about Colin through the recollections of people like Nina, who called him a charmer, and we saw that he had been the “Goldenboy” of Everwood, handsome, popular, and athletic, and the entire town was elated when he came out of his coma after Andy operated on him, and they called him the “Miracle of Everwood.”

When Colin initially came out of his coma, he had no memory of the person he had been, and he felt uncomfortable with all the adulation he was receiving, and he felt like an outsider looking in on someone (himself) that he didn’t know, so he was drawn to Ephram Brown who he also recognized as an outsider, and he befriended him, much to the chagrin of Amy, who had become close to Ephram while Colin was in a coma and later recuperating.

We saw in one flashback scene that Colin, Bright, and Amy were like the three musketeers, doing everything together, and we saw that Amy seemed to be in love with Colin, and she told him she loved him, but he didn’t say those words back to her, which haunted her all the months he was in a coma. We later learned from Colin’s sister Laynie that Colin was about to break up with Amy before the accident which changed all their lives, so her idealized view of their relationship didn’t quite match with reality. We also saw that Colin could be arrogant, and the accident he was in, where Bright was driving, was due to the fact that they were drinking and they were racing their friends in his father’s truck.

Later, as Colin began to regain his memory, the nice guy we initially saw became more and more arrogant and irrationally angry, and he smashed a trophy cabinet with the basketball he was holding in a blind rage and he savagely attacked Ephram and Bright in a truly frightening scene that clearly indicated that something was seriously wrong with him, and we saw that the surgery that brought him back hadn’t been entirely successful, and he would need to have another, more risky surgical procedure done to clear up the issues he was having. Even before that though, Colin really started to display the arrogance that we had seen in him in that flashback scene as he spoke disdainfully about Ephram in front of Amy when Ephram was humiliated by his date leaving him at that dance, and Amy stuck up for Ephram and she refused his ultimatum and she reminded him that Ephram had been a good friend to both of them. I think that she really began to see that Colin wasn’t who she thought he was, but all that was swept away when he had a convulsion which precipitated his final, and ultimately fatal, surgery.

Right before his surgery, Colin spent one last day with Bright and Amy, and he told Amy the words that she had waited to hear, that he loved her, but he never apologized to Ephram for beating him up even though he had the opportunity to do so when he went to see Andy to ask him to not try to save him if his upcoming surgery didn’t go as planned, and we all know that Andy honored Colin’s wishes and he let him go rather than allow him to live in a severely incapacitated state after a vein burst during his surgery.

After Colin’s death, we saw the entire town of Everwood, and especially Amy, turn on Andy for “losing Colin” and he became the pariah of the town for a while, and we saw Amy descend into a deep depression over his loss, and she had two key hallucinations of him, one in The Last of Summer where he was alive and happy and calling her “Grover” and asking her to meet him by the diving board, and the second time in Unspoken Truths where he was downright cruel to her and dismissive of her feelings, and he told her to stop following him and that she needed to say goodbye to him.

So who was the real Colin Hart? Did he really love Amy? Was he the nice charming guy that Nina described, or was he the arrogant and angry young man who beat up Ephram and his best friend in a fit of rage? Or was he the cocky pre-accident young man who taunted his rivals and who may have very well “kicked Ephram’s ass” for spending time with Amy?

I think that the answer lies somewhere in between. I feel that a good deal of Colin’s pre-accident charm and popularity was largely an act, and people saw what they wanted to see in him, and this was magnified after his accident and his “miraculous return,” but the real Colin was cocky and arrogant as many young people who become the center of attention in a small town become, and in many ways he was like Nina’s husband Carl, who had also once been the “Goldenboy” of the town, and we saw that he became very bitter when he didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations of him. Carl had married the “Golden Girl” of the town, Nina, but he never really loved her, and everyone saw Colin and Amy as the “Golden Couple” of the town, and Amy had an idealized version of Colin in her head that she wanted so desperately to be reality, but I honestly don’t think that Colin ever really loved Amy. Granted, Colin was still young, and his horrific and ultimately fatal accident had changed him forever, but in many ways, he remained an enigma, and it was hard to know who Colin really was, and due to his death and the way that most traces of his memory were eradicated by the middle of Season Two, he’ll always remain an enigma.

jediwands

Jerry, this is brilliant!

I will add to the Introduction Thread! I am currently busy with some things but will respond very soon later on tonight first chance I get!

Jerry D

Thanks Michelle!

I'll be looking forward to seeing your response!

jediwands

Excellent thoughts, friend.

When you started this topic and wrote up your brilliant thoughts, a thought came to me about two characters on this show that essentially played a large role in both families and their relationships with each other. Both Colin and Madison affected both families in different ways, both good and bad (mostly bad with Madison). A lot of people think Colin was the link that brought the two families together and that is true. But at the same time, his passing did have a negative effect on both families in different ways too.

I never saw a direct parallel before between Colin and Madison but one actually does exist, in a way.

As for Colin specifically and your wonderful question... I am with you, he is somewhere in between. What we can go by the most is those flashbacks. We know that before the accident he was not only not in love with Amy, but planning on breaking up with her. In the S2 flashback shown in S4 between Ephram and Amy, Amy called her feelings for Colin somewhere close to Big Bird, that sort of crush, nothing serious or real. We also saw him being so into wanting to race those other classmates (which ultimately played a part in his eventual death too) because it seems he was always up for the fast lane and being number 1. I think Colin was the type that seemed nice to everywhere but probably talked in a gossip way about others if they were not cool enough or did anything for him. He really seemed like the definition of cocky. We even see how he gets Bright to drink in the flashback and he's acting like he doesn't understand why Amy is so mad even though he is ignoring her and acting like he doesn't mutually share the same feelings. He knew what she was upset about and didn't really care, he was taking off with Bright to do his thing. I don't think he was as bad as the version of him being physically abusive to Bright, Ephram, and the glass in the school though. That was a direct side effect of his brain injury. Amy might have been fooled by him as being cooler than he truly was, but I doubt she'd ever crush on a guy who was physically abusive and openly made fun of others. She wouldn't go there and I don't even think Bright would. Bright's bullying of Ephram wasn't him either, it was the direct result of guilt over being the driver of the accident that hurt Colin.

So I think Colin was somewhere in between. No, I do not think he ever loved Amy and I don't even think the Colin right before his death was in love with her either even if he said those words. That I Love You to Amy was basically a celebration of the childhood friendship the trio had (thus, they were all together) in addition to them being that innocent childhood crush "love but not in love" you have at a very young age. I also think Colin and Carl did share a direct parallel with each other. You could even see Carl show many Colin traits. Only difference is Colin didn't love Amy and Carl not only didn't love Nina but he was either gay or bisexual as well.

I was never a real fan of Colin, certainly pre-accident and since we never really got to know the true Colin post-accident it was difficult to really get attached to this version either. I felt sorry for him as a human being, to die so young due to such a heartbreaking accident. But I never felt emotionally connected to him. The reality is we simply never got to truly know Colin in real time, only flashbacks and while those showed a cocky guy who was ready to break up with Amy and liked fast cars/trucks, we still never fully got to know the real Colin. He was basically meant to be that bridge to merge together the two families, even if a couple detours took place like Amy's Clinical/Situational Depression. At least once Colin's time was up, it was pretty much up without any severe lasting effects. The same cannot be said for Madison Kellner, but that's another story.

jediwands

Done!

Jerry D

Thanks!

Yes, Colin was the link that brought the Brown's and the Abbott's together, but it also tore them apart, at least for a time, as Amy initially blamed Andy for losing Colin and for honoring his wishes to not be brought back in an incapacitated state if his surgery didn't go as planned, so that kept Amy and Ephram apart for a time. We also saw that Harold and Andy's friendship ended for a while due to Andy prescribing birth control pills for Amy, which was an indirect effect of Colin's death as she started dating Tommy and she considered having sex with him due to her "acting out" and dating the worst possible guy she could find in the aftermath of Colin's death, so his passing did have a negative effect on both families.

Amy seeing Ephram kiss Madison derailed Ephram and Amy getting back together earlier in Season Two, and the drama and turmoil with both Tommy and Amy and Ephram and Madison could have been avoided. Ephram could and would have been there for Amy as she dealt with her situational depression and she never would have dated Tommy and she never would have left home, and Ephram never would have gotten Madison pregnant or gone off the rails like he did when he was with her.

Wonderful summary about Colin, both pre and post accident. I initially really liked Colin when he befriended Ephram and he basically ordered Bright to allow him into their group, but as time wore on and his real personality emerged, I liked him less and less. Granted, his lashing out and fits of rage were due to his medical condition, but we did see glimpses of how Colin was before his accident, and we saw the cockiness and desire to come out on time versus any perceived rival, and that recklessness led to his ultimately fatal accident.

Like you said, though, we never fully got to know the real Colin, so he'll always remain am enigma to us.

everwoodfan52

What a great idea for a thread,Jerry! I’m looking forward to contributing to it soon as I get rid of my company! Become an invalid and people want to visit you… And stay! Not that I’m complaining! Lol

jediwands

I’ve decided to temporarily top this and bump the revival thread so it’s visible.

Jerry D

I think that you were so correct Michelle when you said that Colin's purpose was to bring the Brown's and the Abbott's together, so he wasn't really fleshed out as a character as much as he could have been, but I would have liked to have known him better, and if I did, maybe I would have liked him more.

I liked him when he first came back and befriended Ephram, but as he gained back more of his memory he seemed to become more arrogant, and his fits of rage due to his brain injury really made it difficult to like him.

jediwands

Yes it’s as if Colin brought the families together but immediately it was challenge after challenge after challenge. Julia’s death essentially started the journey of bringing the two families (plus Nina) together, then Colin finished the meant to be plan even if the second the families were linked it was not going to be easy.

That’s so true. It’s so frustrating. Blind Faith is a beautiful yet heartbreaking episode as it gives us a tough truth that the path taken will clearly be filled with obstacles and tears.

We did, indeed. I think if we saw the real Colin during any moment or stretch of episodes it was right around the ski trip time period (Snow Job) when he suspected something was up with Ephram and Amy after finding out Ephram knew about Grover. What a creepy encounter between Colin/Ephram next to the bus. It was sort of dark. His memories are still fuzzy and he’s not totally himself but you see flashes until his angry outbursts start happening as his brain deteriorates further.

Exactly.

I do wonder if Berlanti considered Colin surviving. I want to say no since way too many storylines played off of his passing but I’d be interested in hearing Berlanti’s thoughts on this.

jediwands

Absolutely. Colin was already written as a supporting character. Game changing supporting character, but never one to be heavily involved in present day storylines. Colin represented both Amy and Bright’s childhood basically. You just got the feeling his story really had an expiration date.

The Golden Boy Nina talked about (the real Colin) did not seem endearing in the least and we later found out he had similar traits to Carl. Flashbacks also had most wondering why he was so worshipped. After the accident, we can merely guess the real versus medical condition Colin.

So it was quite difficult to like him. We didn’t see overwhelming evidence to like him and I think that was the point Berlanti was trying to make.

Jerry D

I think that you're absolutely right that was the point Berlanti was trying to make, and once the Colin story was completely over with (and it was completely over with in Unspoken Truths when Amy "saw" Colin for the last time) all mention of him ended for the most part. I really hate that Laynie/Nora was victimized by the desire of the writers to purge the show of anything to do with the Harts.

jediwands

I cannot stand that either. I don’t think most of the audience looked at Laynie and even thought of Colin much. Sure, she was his sister, but their sibling relationship was not fleshed out. The Harts as a family were not even focused on. Laynie was introduced as Amy’s friend and Ephram’s crush/first date in Everwood. Laynie was pushed out of Everwood when things got rough for Colin. She didn’t even return for his last surgery. They were not focused on as siblings in the present.

So while she was obviously his sister the writers didn’t showcase them as siblings and most people thought of Laynie as way more connected to Ephram and Amy. It’s really too bad she didn’t get her own storyline and independence as a character post-Colin’s passing.

Jerry D

You're absolutely correct about that. I don't think that we ever saw Colin and Laynie in the same scene together except in the ice skating scene when she kissed Ephram, so while she was his sister, she really functioned more as Amy's best friend and as someone who liked Ephram than as Colin's sister, so there was no reason to write her off the show after Colin died.

I've said this before, but I would have much preferred having Ephram and Laynie date for a while while Amy was dealing with her depression in the aftermath of Colin's death instead of having Ephram and Madison "date". It would have been really intriguing and cause a lot of good drama to see Ephram torn between his feelings for Laynie and his feelings for Amy, and also to see Amy's reaction to her best friend dating the boy that she loved.

everwoodfan52

I don't know if it's my imagination, but I remember a scene with Colin and Laynie where she told him she was leaving. It appeared that Laynie was worried about Colin and didn't want to be there when he died. Colin silently understood. Does anyone else remember that scene?