Before the final scene of the episode, "Just Like in the Movies" is a light-hearted episode about romance. Andy's coaching a stutterer to overcome the stutter. The patient, Justin, wants to tell his best friend how he feels about her before she leaves for Texas. Andy relates. Since the near-kiss in "The Burden of Truth," Andy wants Linda to be part of his life. The woman is resistant. 300 hundred roses and a bunch of balloons can't break her icy resolve. Justin becomes a symbol of hope for the bearded doctor. If he can't overcome the stuttering in three days, well, he'll just have to sing how he feels to his best friend. Andy's undeniably stunned when Justin receives a big NO from his best friend. Andy, the brilliant neurosurgeon, never heard of the friend zone. Andy looks he got rejected once Justin receives his rejection. Linda, previously, directly told Andy that all the flowers and balloons on planet Earth wouldn't change her mind about a relationship with him. So, Andy's witnessing the deteoriation of American romance in a short period of time. As an aside, I'd like to commend Linda for her direct communication about how she felt. Ignoring male folk isn't the best plan, ladies, and you can assure a male will leave you alone if you simply say, 'No, I'm not interested." We're not daft, we get the intent of silence, but still, be a little decent and have some respect for a dude. Anyway, Andy feels like a big fat zero.
The next day when Justin's in Andy's office, Andy apologizes to Justin for failing him. Justin's not mad, though. The song to his best friend represented a new chapter in his life. The way he spoke made him the outcast in school. Years of being teased caused him to be self-conscious about his voice, so he never told any girl he liked about his feelings. Yes, the woman he wanted to be with didn't want to be with him, but he'll move on with the confidence of the experience, of being able to be honest with someone about the way he feels. If the ladies say no, he knows the reason isn't limited to the way he speaks. Andy's encouraged by Justin's words. In the evening, Andy plays a song on his acoustic guitar outside of Linda's home. Linda comes out, sits on the ground, and smiles as Andy croons a little ditty about love. Harold implored his sister to tell Andy the reason why she's resistant to a relationship because Andy's a grown man who deserves the opportunity to make a choice about whether he's prepared to date Linda. (Harold connected the dots of her resistance after a discussion about his wife about why she'd ignore all of Andy's gestures. After several phone calls, Harold learned about the HIV.) Linda tells a heartbreaking story about the day she became infected with the disease, and Andy doesn't have words, and so they sit in silence.
The Linda storyline has several layers to it. It affects all of Everwood, but currently it's confined to the Linda-Andy storyline. Harold's very calm when he approaches his sister about the disease. The effect on the practice and the patients isn't brought up. I understand why the effect of the disease is confined to one area of the show. The WB didn't want the storytelling to become too complex. The Linda-Andy dynamic is changed now. They've moved beyond beautiful roses and fun balloons. Andy will need to weigh Linda in relation to his children. Does he want to bring another woman into his life who could pass away? Does he want to expose his children to the possibility they'd lose a new mother figure? We'll see how Andy deals with it next episode.
The rug isn't pulled out of any of the other characters' feet in the episode. Amy meets Tommy Callahan, a troubled youth who recently was released from rehab. And Ephram wonders how to proceed with Madison post-kiss. Tommy's the kind of bad boy Lifetime movies popularized. Amy's struggle with depression lessens as she's now on anti-depressants, but now she moves into a less interesting story. Amy's night with Tommy is the beginning of a tiresome arc about a rebellious teenage daughter. Ephram and Madison never worked. Sarah Lancaster and Greg Smith didn't have any chemistry. I watched their second big kiss scene twice in hopes of understanding it. Madison explains her feelings for Ephram in an overly-long monologue which ends on her line about 'becoming undone' when she kissed him. The writers never showed Madison's desire for Ephram; heck, Ephram's desire for her was random, too, more of a product of Amy hurting his feelings than any attractive quality he found in the babysitter. Both teenage romances are problematic. I'll write more about each as the weeks go by.
Season 2 isn't on the level of season 1. "Just Like in the Movies" is an example of why season two can't measure up. The 'rug-pulling' at episode's end doesn't even pack the punch of any season one Colin Hart stuff. The Linda-Andy dynamic evolved naturally enough, any one's interest in other person would've been raised after the harrowing adventure in the mines, but Andy's romantic urgency with Linda doesn't track. Madison-Ephram and Amy-Tommy will be a huge headache. Indeed, I might be more critical of the show going forward as I get deeper into the season.
Other Thoughts:
-Paul Wesley portrays Tommy. Wesley's performed well on TVD. Tommy's a rather limited character. There isn't much Wesley can do with the character because of the lazy writing. The man's gotten to work with two gorgeous women in his career. Lucky dude.
-Harold's great in any scene revolving around Andy's romantic gestures. Of course, Tom Amandes knocks the serious material out of the park in the same episode.
-Delia had a slumber party. Bright attended to help Ephram with Madison. The highlight of the episode is Bright leading the little girls in song to Beyonce. Chris Pratt did everything exceptionally well that Everwood's EPs asked of him.
-Rina Mimoun wrote the episode. Matt Shakman directed.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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