The 2012 Summer Re-Watch: Everwood "Unfinished Business" Review

"Unfinished Business" tied up loose ends from "Unspoken Truths" because the storylines were left unfinished. The lack of resolution in #216 was deliberate. The WB and Everwood wanted audiences back in two months to find out if Tommy lived, if Amy would recover, if Madison and Ephram were over, and what would happen between Nina and Carl.

The Amy-Tommy cliffhanger is resolved within the teaser. Two days have gone by since the party. Tommy didn't die. Amy decided to go home and end her relationship with Tommy. Tommy's impressive heel turn continued during their conversation outside of Edna and Irv's house. The character of Tommy Callahan is a cross between bad Lifetime movie boyfriend and The WB's rendering of Shakespeare's Iago, if Iago had been a depressive teenage addict who was only interested in convincing his ex-girlfriend that life would be shit now after being with him and drinking date-rape liquid and doing shots of hard liquor. Tommy's a little snake in his last scene, slithering around, promising Amy she won't adjust or get her life back after 'what [they] had.'

Tommy is right, to a degree, but only because Amy's susceptible to self-doubt. Tommy put the thought into her head, and it affected her. Bright won't talk to her. The old friends she had moved on and feel offended by Amy's attempt at making amends. Paige, her best friend, makes catty comments about Amy's painful and misguided past couple of months. Amy's publicly humiliated in a new diner where the local County High students congregate on free nights. Bright watches from the corner. Amy almost gives up trying to fit in again. Bright motivates her to forget the catty comments and the bitchy behavior, to continue showing up and pushing her presence in her friends' faces until they get over their anger and forgive her and welcome her back.

Amy's character changes between "Unspoken Truths" and "Unfinished Business," for the good. Season 1 Amy had positives and negatives. She's a frustrating fifteen year old girl in season 1, so focused on Colin that she alienates and hurts others. She goes through these identify shifts in season two. The first is grief-striken and depressed girl followed by Lifetime character followed by the new iteration of the character. Amy's more grounded, more compassionate, less superficial, and more careful with people's feelings. She never resents people for feeling angry with her because she recognizes the error of her ways; even her defense of herself is half-hearted. Amy's really cool in the final two seasons of the show. That cool character began in "Unfinished Business."

Since Amy's arc was so melodramatic, one can't escape a bout of melodrama in "Unfinished Business." The damn birth control pills return to the narrative. Harold discovers the pills in his daughter's bag. Harold and Rose discuss the matter with Amy. Amy assures them they should not worry about the pills signify: she never slept with Tommy or anyone. Unfortunately, she accidentally reveals Andy as the doctor who prescribed the pills. Harold marches over to the Brown residence, launches into a self-righetous spiel about how immoral Andy's actions were, and declares Andy his enemy. Andy defends the decision by using the patient-doctor confidentiality agreement to which Harold argues Andy should've broken the law for his child as he would've done to same if Ephram came to him in secret. One of my favorite aspects of Andy's character is Big City Doctor who makes unpopular decisions, especially when he's contrasted by small-town Catholic doctor with a book of morals as thick as a Joseph Heller novel. I understand Andy's thought process and code, but I'd probably react like Harold.

Madison and Ephram, meanwhile, fake their way through another 24-36 hours of relationship before the relationship mercifully ends. Ephram essentially resolves himself to the fate of the relationship after the bar incident. Madison stresses the importance of working through problems. Neither she nor he are the type of people to bail when a relationship gets hard. Ephram's not. I still don't know who Madison is supposed to be. She lies through her teeth, though. Her 21st birthday marks the end of the relationship. Ephram's out-of-place among her friends. The relationship ends on Ephram's piano bench. The girl who picks Ephram up is Amy. The friends meet on a snowy sidewalk in the evening and walk around the town together. Amy notices Ephram's sadness and assures him Madison will regret letting Ephram go because no boy is better than he. Ephram would be wise to remember the old cliche about one door closing and another opening.

The last piece of unfinished business is Nina's legal troubles with Carl. Carl petitioned for sole custody of Sam. Carl planned to use his salary and position to win custody. The case got ugly. Sam's car crash received attention. Andy got caught in legalspeak and nearly damaged Nina's case. Nina does win custody and allows Carl to have Sam over the weekend because she's a sweet, nice woman. The story highlighted Andy's fondness for Nina and Nina's essence as a mother/friend/neighbor. The writers needed to re-establish their bond. Linda is only present for one scene, which quickly becomes a scene about Nina; that is intentional.

Other Thoughts:

-Paul Wasilewski changed his last name to Wesley sometime before TVD began. I thought Wesley was a terrible actor because of Tommy; however, Wesley's very good on TVD as Stefan Salvatore.

-David Hudgins wrote the episode. Sandy Smolan directed it.

UP NEXT: "Last Looks"--Madison and Ephram stupidly think Madison babysitting Delia will still work post-breakup; Amy thinks about going off the anti-depressents; Bright worries about college acceptance letters. Watch the episode on Amazon.

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