For instance, the A story (or maybe it's the B) involves the Reverend Keyes, who we last saw in "Till Death Do Us Part." The story begins simply enough as Andy and Keyes watch an Avalanche-Red Wings game and discuss women. Andy wins a hockey bet, receives the wrong amount, and Keyes notes that his eyes have been playing tricks on him. The next day, Andy runs tests on his friend's eyes. Soon, Andy learns that internal bleeding in his eyes will detach the retina and the Reverend will become a blind man.
The great doctor Brown's faced with the task of delivering that sad news. Initially, Andy resists and plans to send Tom to Denver; however, Andy discusses the situation with Nina and changes his mind. After all, Tom didn't abandon Andy in Denver when Andy experienced a panic-attack as he was about to attend a party for single men and women. Instead, Tom provided friendship and strength for Andy in his moment of panic. Andy remembered how he delivered terrible news in Manhattan. If the patient looked like he'd cracked, Andy checked on other patients. If the patient held up, he elaborated on the diagnosis in strictly analytical terms. The trick: get out before they crack because they always do. But he's in an Everwood now--a place where his patients are his friends or his son's friends. Andy can't be afraid anymore nor can he hide.
The scene's masterfully written by, presumably, Michael Green (presumably because it could've easily been Berlanti doing a polish or Mimoun or Taylor). The acting's moving; the dialogue's powerful. Reverend Keyes is blind-sided by the news. Andy sits across from him at the desk. If the image of the two characters at the desk were a still picture, their body language would communicate its meaning. Andy's hunched, distraught, and incapable of finding the balance he needs to provide comfort for his friend; Keyes' head is bowed, a man broken. Keyes wonders how he'll take care of himself. Andy promises that he'll learn. Keyes realizes he'll never be able to read again. As a Reverend, he's met countless people who've sought him for comfort. When something terrible happened, Keyes assured his parishioner that the good Lord had a reason for things, "and we shouldn't try to decipher them." He hadn't realized how empty those words sounded until now. Andy offers, "I don't know much about God. I've seen a lot of people get sick, and worse. I don't think God does this. I don't think He makes people go blind. I think what God does is, gives us what we need to get by." The Reverend wonders if Andy can fix his blindness. Andy responds, "No, but I can sit with you."
The conversation was heavy and deep for a prime-time family drama on TheWB. Everwood was never the typical family-drama though. Berlanti never took the easy way out with his characters. The scene's powerful because the Reverend questions the will and the way of God. In doing so, he questions his entire life's work in his moments of agony. Andy's in a similarly broken place without his wife. He can't promise the Reverend that God has a plan because he'd be lying. Reverend Keyes needs to adapt, and he also needs spiritual recovery. It's a philosophical conversation that's quasi-nihilistic and reveals how thin the line between a world with profound meaning and a world without meaning is.
The scene resonated, more than ever, with me because of the last year in my life. Some of the dialogue hit so close to home that it nearly reduced me to tears. The end, especially, reminded me of words someone said to my family in the days following my dad's passing.
By far, the A story's the strongest case-of-the-week in the season because it's personal and real--real in a way network dramas rarely are in their _____-of-the-week stories. The Reverend Keyes story has one chapter left in Everwood and it's a beautiful one--the story's about the fruits of adaptation and spiritual recovery. But that's in season two.
One wouldn't think an episode named "Snow Job" would have such an emotionally moving story in it because of that title connotes something sexual. However, the majority of folk possess dirty minds. Job refers to the biblical character that had everything taken away from him by God in his fight with the devil. Irv briefly ruminates on the story of Job and how it relates to his small-town and eventually wonders why the bible didn't bother to show Job's good times with his family when they gave thanks to all. Well, Irv, you missed the point of the story of Job.
"Snow Job" is about sex too. Colin wonders if he and Amy had it. Bright's in pursuit of it. The Church sponsored ski trip's predominantly an opportunity for the County High students to drink and engage in sexual activity. Harold volunteered to chaperone the trip to prevent underage debauchery but he fails in his duties when the video yearbook crew spiked his evening tea or cocoa with potent sleeping medicine. The wacky behavior of the County High students isn't worth much more than this paragraph though.
Colin and Amy take a huge step towards rekindling their romantic flame. Colin's less depressed because his memories have been returning at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, memories of Amy haven't returned, which frustrates him. He lashes out at Amy shortly after their second first kiss because she consistently refers to the past when Colin cannot remember the past. Colin elaborates on his frustrations with Ephram, explaining that Amy just wants one memory and he can't give her that. Ephram helps him out by telling him the Grover story, which is enough for Colin and Amy's relationship to take off.
Now, Amy knows that Ephram told her boyfriend the Grover story because it came directly from the ferris wheel. She tells Ephram that she hasn't forgotten the time they spent with one another. Later, Colin accusingly asks Ephram about his history with Amy, considering how personal the Grover story is. Colin only jests, of course, but he'll return to the issue in the future completely serious.
Overall, "Snow Job" is tremendous. The case-of-the-week's exceptional. The ski trip moves Amy and Colin's relationship forward in a substantial way. Ephram moves aside just in time to meet Laynie Hart, Colin's sister. The episode blends sadness and renewal perfectly.
Michael Green wrote "Snow Job." David Petrarca directed it.
UP NEXT: "My Funny Valentine"; "Everwood Confidential"--a double-dose of Everwood on Wednesday and Thursday. Watch #116 here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SLSIW6
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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