"The Last of Summer" takes place during the Labor Day weekend, presumably. The town pool's about to close with one last summer event left before the unofficial end of summer. Amy day-dreams about the pool party. She imagines her brother and Colin chasing little children around the pool as well as a conversation between her and Colin about a rendevous under the diving board later that night. As Colin walks away, he disappears into the air, and an expression of sadness overwhelms Amy's face. We're then transported to the County High gym where a memorial for Colin's happening. Amy, dressed in black, shakes off her day-dream. A fellow student addresses the audience with his own memories. Amy follows him, unsure of what to say, then interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Brown. The assembled people stare in shock, and Amy resentfully glares at him.
Greg Berlanti never was interested in telling a story that would end with success for Colin. Everwood's not about Colin or his family. The show's about Andy and his family. A character doesn't grow unless he encounters conflict, hardships, and obstacles throughout his arc. "The Last of Summer" isn't about Colin's00it's about Andy's place in Everwood following the unsuccessful surgery, and about that promise he made to Colin in his living room. "Home" was Colin's goodbye--to his friends, family, and the audience. "The Last of Summer" is about loss, adaptation, change, acceptance, and moving on--essential Everwood, in other words.
Andy's been ostracized from the community because he's perceived as an executioner, as Donald predicted in "Home." Lunch from Mama Joy's carried out in a bag. The patients don't visit Andy's practice anymore. Andy's beaten himself over the summer for carrying out Colin's wishes on the table. Memories of the crucial moments replay over his head. The blood was leaking from a vein, the surgery would start from scratch, and Colin's brain would've been damaged from the additional time it took to repair the vein and re-start the procedure. The conversation repeated in his head, so he prepared his team to close, and Colin bled out. The guilt and doubt were displayed in his expressions. Ephram wonders why Andy's beating himself up when he's lost patients before. Andy hesitates before he agrees with his son that he tried his best. The great Doctor Brown needs to be set free from his secret to resume his life and to forgive himself for losing Colin on the table.
Mrs. Hart asks Amy to organize a memorial for Colin before the first day of school at County High. Amy obliges. She struggles throughout the organization of the memorial as she looks through old photos and deals with memories of her boyfriend and is confronted by the future they'll never share. Layne comes over to drop off Colin's laptop, in case there's anything Amy could use from it. Amy apologizes to Colin's sister for not calling her before the surgery. Laynie's not mad because she had one more day to feel normal (I have a brief nitpick: "Home" was about Colin's individual goodbyes to the people he loved, and he never called his sister? The exchange makes it seem like Laynie didn't know the surgery happened, which is just odd). The laptop, of course, has the fateful document Colin typed up, instructing Dr. Brown not to resuscitate him if something went wrong.
Amy confronts Dr. Brown in Brenda's brand new restaurant about the document. Half the town's packed into the Planet Hollywood rip-off so they witness the emotional exchange. Amy basically accuses Andy of murdering her boyfriend. She forces him to confess that he stopped trying, which he does. The girl's in tears as her father leads her. Later, Ephram and Andy have an honest exchange about what happened. Ephram feels hurt that his father wouldn't tell him, and claims the only mistake he made was "not being honest with me." The confrontation, in a way, partially freed Andy because the secret came out. The conversation with Ephram gave him perspective. Andy went through the critical moments of surgery and explains, "Colin would have been barely functioning at best, and at worst he would have been on a respirator, until the Harts were forced to make the same decision that I had to make." Andy knew that the only way to keep his promise was to let Colin go, so he did, and now Ephram can decide just like everyone else in town: did he kill Colin Hart or did he save him?
The County High memorial presents a moment of catharsis for Andy. He listens as Amy finishes her words of remembrance then approaches the podium to offer his condolences, share his memories of his patient, and to defend himself, "Many of you believe that I was somehow responsible for all of this...and I let you, because I was desperate to believe it, too. We're taught as surgeons to think that we are in control of people's destinies. But the truth is, we are really just foot soldiers. Colin knew this. He didn't expect a miracle from me, because he knew that he was the miracle. What he expected was for me to do my best." Andy chokes up and tears stream down his cheeks as he apologizes to the Harts, and to Amy, for not being enough to save Colin's life. "I'm sorry that he's gone," Andy says, in conclusion, then exits the gym with his family. The burden's lifted, though, and he's free once more.
The last hours of summer fade away as a new season waits to take its place. Amy and Ephram are the lone two pool workers, cleaning up the remnants of the last pool party of the summer. Ephram delivers a speech to Amy that's rich with themes regarding adaptation after loss as well as the reality of life after the loss. Following his mother's death, people told him that he'd heal in time and feel normal again; however, he never felt normal again; he just learned how to adapt and continue living with something broken inside him and someone missing from his life. The words don't comfort Amy because she's lost inside herself. Grief's different from each person. The grief I felt after the deaths of my grandmothers didn't resemble the grief I felt for my brother nor did that grief resembled the grief I feel with my dad gone. Ephram tried to help but he and Amy's grief isn't similar. It's a process she'll need to go through, and she will over the course of season two.
Everwood was a wonderful series that too few people watched during its four year run. "The Last of Summer" finds characters trying to return to normalcy after a devastating loss in their lives. The characters will return to normalcy because the series celebrated the resiliency of the human spirit. The obstacles and hardships don't stop, though, and that allows the characters to continue growing. There will be more loss before its series finale as well as new relationships. I'd like to write all about what happens after #201 but I'd never spoil the show for anyone who happened to stumble upon this after seeing the episode for the first time. The series wasn't perfect after its near-perfect season one but it was pretty damn good.
Other Thoughts:
-Dr. Abbott helped Bright with a tie before the memorial. The conversation's about Amy's outbursts of emotion. Bright feels differently from his sister. He doesn't blame Dr. Brown. If anything, he feels guilt for causing the accident. Harold tells his son that Amy's outbursts of grief doesn't mean she loved Colin more, which moves Bright to hug his father in thanks and appreciation.
-Emily VanCamp was terrific throughout the episode. Alyson Hanigan held the title for best crier on television but VanCamp's performance throughout the series threatens to steal the title. I thought Treat Williams was fantastic, especially when he delivered the speech at the memorial.
-I experience a gamut of emotions whenever I watch "The Last of Summer." It's a powerful and moving episode. Irv's narration, which leads to the credits and the theme, always gets me. The third and fourth season abandoned the narration device, which I used to detest, but I enjoy it now,
-Greg Berlanti & Rina Mimoun wrote the episode. Michael Schultz directed it.
-In closing, I recommend everyone watch seasons two, three, and four of Everwood. Friday Night Lights is considered the best family-drama ever made (I think). Well, I disagree because Everwood tops the list.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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