The 2011 Summer Re-watch: Everwood "The Great Doctor Brown" Review

The painting of the family doctor, cheerfully treating the wounds and warming the hearts of his patients opens the episode. Irv narrates over the image, noting that the family doctor is an icon of the American experience. Irv describes Andy as the best example of he ever knew of the family doctor; however, he was rough around the edges when it came to the family title. Thus, we have the major theme for the episode. How does Andy reconcile his medical duties with his family duties? More importantly, can he?

Certainly, the reality of being a doctor in America's more difficult than the famous painting depicts. Irv's narration is guilty of over-romanticizing parts of Everwood, its history and its citizens (of course, the narrations are part of a book that isn't introduced so it's sort of the point). "The Great Doctor Brown" doesn't explore difficulties of insurance, health care, etc in modern America. The story's simple: Andy came to Everwood to be the man and father his late wife wanted him to be. Now, can he? As the Browns sit down for dinner, Andy receives a phone call from a mother with sick children--his first house call. Andy leaves the house, much to Ephram's chagrin. Once he arrives at the house, he learns that each child in the household's sick so his night's just begun. Upon returning home, he's met with resentment from Ephram because nothing's changed except for their location.

Ephram's not simply a petulant teenager with an infite grudge with his father because of the important moments Andy missed as a high profile neurosurgeon in Manhattan. Ephram thinks about his sister, about how he had his mother for the times when he had a nightmare or needed a parent. Julia's not around anymore to offer comfort and peace to her daughter after a nightmare. Delia needs her father present in her life, not making long house calls with families full of sick children. Small town, lower class families need a doctor, and they have one in Dr. Brown but Andy doesn't need to exhaust himself after-hours if it means further damaging his relationship. Andy receives such advice from Dr. Abbott in one of the final scenes of the episode, after Andy scared away his patients by talking to himself at the Fall Thaw. Harold reminds the great doctor Brown that small town medicine's a marathon, not a sprint, and that he'll be no use to the citizens of Everwood if he burns himself out by over-extending himself.

A day earlier, at the annual Fall Thaw festival, Julia reminded her husband why he came to Everwood. The scene's one of the best in the entire series. Dr. Brown makes a wish by throwing a quarter into a "pond," and through the glass, he sees his wife. Andy wonders what she's not in Everwood when she promised she would be so many years ago if anything happened to her. Julia looks at her husband with sympathy in her eyes as she gently reminds him that he moved so that he could know his son. He needs to say goodbye to her and hello to Ephram. She disappears and, seemingly, the entire town's staring at Andy Brown. It's the most important scene in the episode. It scales back Andy's workload and it helps him to re-focus on the true task at hand--building a relationship with his son.

Ephram wants a good, solid relationship with Andy as well. The problem is, Ephram's a teenager who acts out rather than communicate with his father about what he wants and needs from him. I've re-watched the first season of Everwood a number of times since 2002-2003. I only cared about whether or not Amy would give Ephram a chance during the first season because I was as young as the characters. Their story in "The Great Doctor Brown" has thematic unity with Andy's A story. Once upon a time, I thought Ephram only lied to Amy about Andy helping Colin because he felt jealous and hurt that Amy used and played him to restore her boyfriend. Ephram is jealous and hurt but surgery on Colin represents the life Andy left in Manhattan. The night before, Ephram successfully communicated what he needed from his father, and the incident at the festival brought the family closer together. Ephram doesn't want to threaten this newfound familial harmony. Of course, Ephram's going to find out how good his father is at his job in the next episode which will affect the Colin stuff but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The C story's heartwarming. Delia wants to sit in the front of the class but her teacher won't let her. Andy has a meeting with Ms. Violet, in which he tells the teacher that Julia taught her daughter how to be strong and independent from a young age, and he'd be a bad father to tell her anything else. Julia's portrayed as a saint throughout much of the first season until "The Unvieling" where we learn that she, too, wasn't perfect. She seemed like one hell of a woman though considering how strong Delia is.

"The Great Doctor Brown" is one fantastic second episode of a television series. Treat Williams was tremendous throughout the episode, especially in the scene with his wife and the scene with Mrs. Dudley when she tells him how grateful she is for him. Tom Amandes' Harold Abbott delights in every scene he's in. The time will come when I write more about him. This episode features such scenes as him calling his daughter over to the table in annoyance, deconstructing Amy's comparisons of her life to the crucifixion as well as his order of the most complicated ice cream cone.

Greg Berlanti wrote the episode. Kathy Bates directed it.

UP NEXT: "Friendly Fire," in which Ephram witnesses first-hand how good his father is at his job.