Party of Five 6.7, We Gather Together: Regrets Only

February 14, 2015

Party of Five 6.7, We Gather Together: Regrets Only

A lot of people on this show could use some time with this crew

Summary: Charlie’s back in the principal’s office, eager to do something about Myra and her mother’s accusations. The principal, Mary Anne, tells him that they won’t file charges if Charlie resigns. Charlie refuses – quitting would be like saying he’s guilty. Mary Anne disagrees, arguing that it would be like saying it never happened. If charges are filed, all the other parents will immediately see Charlie as guilty, whether he is or not.

Julia spends the night at Evan’s, then wakes up to find his son, Brian, in the house. Brian is also a college student, and he’s not thrilled that his father’s dating someone so young. He’s been reading Julia’s manuscript and wonders how she could have so many life experiences in so few years. Evan is disappointed to learn that Brian dropped out of college, but Brian thinks it’s just because Evan can’t get his tuition back. Evan accuses him of ruining his college career out of spite. Brian shoots back that Evan cares more about other people’s children than his own.

Joe has no Thanksgiving plans, so he wants to have a meal at the restaurant. Bailey invites him to have dinner with the rest of the Salingers. Tracy stops by the restaurant to confront Bailey for avoiding her calls. He tells her he doesn’t want to get involved with someone who’s already married. Tracy thinks her husband’s already cheating, so why shouldn’t she have some fun, too? Bailey still resists, but he doesn’t look happy about it.

Claudia returns to school after playing sick for a while to avoid Derek. He admits that he had too much to drink and got “out of control,” but it was all in fun. Claudia clearly doesn’t agree. Victor tries to help Daphne look for a job, but she’s distracted at the sight of Griffin, who she suddenly has the hots for. Victor thinks she should go for it. Daphne resists, so Victor gets Griffin to give her a ride somewhere. It’s all very high school.

Julia questions Evan and Brian’s relationship, which has been bad for years. (Evan gives the exposition that he was 18 when Brian was born, so don’t go thinking he’s old or anything.) He wonders if the badness is his fault. Joe invites Victor to the Salingers’ Thanksgiving, which already various non-Salingers anyway.

Kirsten agrees with Charlie’s first instinct not to quit, but Charlie’s reconsidering – they could use the money he would get as severance. He also wants Kirsten to avoid stress; she’s already undergone IVF treatments and could be pregnant. Claudia confides in Julia that Derek tried to rape her. Julia comforts her, then urges her to report him. She thinks Derek has probably assaulted other girls, and if Claudia doesn’t say something, he could attack another girl. Claudia’s not ready to speak up.

Charlie and Mary Anne meet with Myra’s mother and a lawyer so Charlie can resign, but Myra’s mother also wants him to apologize. He wonders why she’s offering a deal if she thinks he’s guilty. Myra’s mother says it’s so Myra doesn’t have to face Charlie in a courtroom. Charlie blasts her for being a horrible mother. Mary Anne tries to negotiate wording that Charlie can agree with so he’ll just be saying he regrets how he handled things with Myra.

Claudia tells Alexa about Derek’s assault, now also thinking that she should report him. Alexa thinks Derek should get a pass – he was drunk, he regrets what happened, and an accusation like this could ruin his life. If there was no actual rape, then no one got hurt. Alexa adds that she believes Claudia, but other people won’t.

At Evan’s, Brian accuses Julia of playing house to make her family think everything’s great. Julia tells him to come out and tell her whatever his problem is with her. Brian doesn’t like that his father is dating someone so young, and that Julia’s acting like his mother when they barely know each other. Evan walks out during the argument, which is always mature. Kirsten tells Charlie that she got a false positive on a pregnancy test.

The next day, Charlie and Claudia go grocery shopping and discuss the Myra situation. He’s decided to fight back. Claudia warns that the whole school will find out about Myra’s accusations, and everyone will be talking about him. Charlie knows it’ll be tough for both him and Claudia, but he wants the truth to come out. When they get home, they’re impressed with how nicely Victor has decorated the house. Evan and Brian are both there, so this is going to be awkward.

Will wants Bailey to go on a double date with him; he’s caught the attention of two ring girls. He reminds Bailey that he wanted to be more spontaneous. Daphne and Griffin start drinking, which can’t end well. Brian blows up at Evan, then runs off. Evan doesn’t see the point in chasing after him since they always have the same conversation. Julia points out that Brian doesn’t have anyone else to chase after him. A drunk Daphne and Griffin head to the basement to look for more alcohol but only find balsamic vinegar. They console themselves by making out.

Myra shows up and promises Charlie that she never made any accusations; her mother made inferences and took things too far. Not that Myra denied them, of course. She’s upset that taking the case to court could lead to Charlie accusing Myra’s mother of being a bad parent, which might get Myra taken away from her. After Myra leaves, everyone else sits down to dinner, which kicks off with Victor singing grace.

After dinner, Bailey goes to Tracy’s to tell her he used to be fun. She kisses him and invites him inside. Charlie goes to Myra’s to tell her mother that Myra’s going to testify that the accusations are false. Both of them want to protect the people they love, so he would like Myra’s mother to do the right thing for her daughter.

Daphne and Griffin have an awkward conversation, avoiding discussing their hookup while agreeing to still be friends. Maybe friends who make out. Claudia tells Julia that she’s decided to keep her assault quiet so people won’t start talking about her. Julia thinks that’s a bad idea, not least because she’s going to have to keep going to school with Derek. Claudia just wants to pretend it never happened.

Will surprises Bailey at work, ready for their double date with the ring girls, and Bailey is suddenly so spontaneous that he cancels plans with Tracy to go out with them. Charlie’s ready to move on from the whole Myra mess, and he tells Kirsten that he’s optimistic that she’ll get pregnant. She thinks they should wait before trying again, but he notes that they fought through their struggles and things turned out all right.

Julia’s meddling worked, and Evan and Brian have patched things up. Plus, Brian has decided to go back to school (partly so he doesn’t have to pay his father back for his tuition). He knows Julia talked Evan into doing some actual parenting for once. Brian still thinks Julia’s too young for Evan, but he doesn’t mind her so much anymore. In fact, he minds her so little that he tries to kiss her. Now that’s awkward.

Thoughts: Brian is played by Eric Mabius from Ugly Betty. He looks so scrawny here.

I can’t remember ever seeing an assault plot on TV where the person who was attacked wants to keep it quiet. Usually the show wants to send the message that you shouldn’t let the attacker get away with it.

They really overloaded the cast this season. There are way too many people on the show. I wonder at what point they knew this would be the last season, and they decided to just do whatever they wanted.

“If you report this, you could, like, ruin his life.” Go away, Alexa. Juliet would have already beaten the crap out of this guy.

Permalink