Party of Five 6.24, …That Ends Well: Get Thee Behind Me, Salingers

June 11, 2015

Party of Five 6.24, …That Ends Well: Get Thee Behind Me, Salingers

No more of these weirdos

Summary: Everything looks fine with the baby Kirsten’s supposedly pregnant with despite not showing. The doctor casually tells her and Charlie that they’re having a boy, thinking they wanted to know. They’re happy with the news. At home, Kirsten shows Owen the sonogram, and he asks if he can name the baby. Charlie’s on board, though Kirsten’s hesitant. Owen knows it would be a big deal to give the baby a meaningful name, like Charlie did with Diana.

Downtown, Claudia tells Bailey that she’s decided to go to Juilliard. He tells her he’ll be just a train ride away, in Pennsylvania. Unlike her brother and sister, Julia wants to make a big deal out of her announcement that she’s moving across the country. Justin thinks she’s going overboard. No one cares what you think, Justin. Julia wants to announce her plans at a family dinner, hoping everyone will be as excited as she is.

The Salingers, plus Kirsten and Justin, gather for dinner at the restaurant. Bailey hijacks Julia’s big night to tell her that he’s going to Pennsylvania; everyone else already knows. Julia blurts out that she was planning to move, too. Claudia realizes that everyone’s leaving, revealing that she’s going to Juilliard. Owen just wants to know who’s staying with him and Charlie while everyone else goes to the East Coast.

Back at the house, Julia tells Bailey her worries about how the family will stay a family when everyone’s scattered. Bailey thinks Julia will have other opportunities, but he has to take advantage of what he has right now because it won’t come back. Julia tells him that she already said yes to the internship. Bailey complains that he’s always the one who backs down, but this time, he won’t. Who says anyone has to back down? What is wrong with this family??

Charlie can’t believe he spent so much time thinking about what would happen after Bailey left when now everything is going to be different. After their parents died, Charlie resisted being a family guy, and now he’s the only one who’s left. Because…living in different geographic areas means you’re not a family? Whatever, I only have to care about this for another half hour.

Everyone spends the night moping, and the next day, Justin jabs at Bailey that he got what he wanted. Julia turned down the internship so Bailey can go to Pennsylvania. WHY? WHY?? These people are insane. Justin tells Bailey that Julia’s plans are about more than just her career. They’re both moving to D.C., partly so Julia can be her own person and make decisions for herself. Holy cow, did I just side with Justin on something?

Owen tells Charlie that he’s picked a name for the baby. It’s in honor of someone who means a lot to him, and who he looks up to and owes a lot to. The name is Stewie, after a kid he knows. Stewie’s really good at soccer and flicking boogers. That’s quite a legacy to look up to, unborn baby boy Salinger. Charlie wonders exactly how Owen is indebted to the kid.

Claudia’s decided not to go to Juilliard, because Bailey is a big baby and is the only one who’s allowed to get what he wants. She wants to pay Bailey back for how much he’s taken care of her over the past six years. Her older siblings stayed to keep the family together, so now she wants to repay the favor.

Now Bailey’s playing martyr, telling Charlie that he’s not going to go to Pennsylvania. If he goes, Julia and Claudia won’t, and he doesn’t want them to give up what they want. Plus, the guilt would be too much for him to handle if he left. Charlie thinks there could be another solution, but Bailey’s already resigned to giving up his dream so his sisters can be happy. “It’s not okay, it’s just how it is,” he says. I roll my eyes.

At the house, Charlie calls a family meeting and tells everyone that for years he’s always tried to think about what their parents would do. He thinks they would tell their children to do what they want to do. Charlie notes that if their parents were alive, all of the kids would have split up long ago. The family has stayed together longer than most because of their parents’ deaths. Now they need to be okay with taking care of themselves.

Bailey’s reluctant, since things work so well when they’re close to each other. Charlie asks if they plan to live around each other forever. When their parents died, the kids clung to each other, but now six years have gone by. They want each other to be happy, which means they did something right. They have to trust that they’ll still be a family when they’re not right next to each other. If the Salingers could survive everything they’ve gone through, they can handle some distance.

Charlie leaves, and the other Salingers discuss keeping in touch and coming home for special occasions. Kirsten and Charlie pack up their place, talking about how different it’ll be to live in the Salingers’ house again. Charlie isn’t looking forward to raising little kids in a house with a lot of stairs. Kirsten reminds him how happy the family was living there. She notes that the others are going to new places, but Charlie’s going somewhere he knows. Charlie says he’ll always think of it as his father’s house, not his own.

Charlie’s solution is to sell the house, an idea that stuns Bailey. Julia isn’t sure about selling the home they shared with their parents. She needs a place that she knows everyone will come back to together. Charlie wants to start his own traditions. Also, the house is pretty expensive. The money from the sale will benefit everyone.

Griffin learns of the sale from Julia and sees it as the push he needs to find a new place to work. He’s not sure why he’s stayed so long anyway; it’s weird to work where you used to live with your ex-wife. Plus, he has a girlfriend, and it seems they’re getting pretty serious. He and Julia muse about having kids in the future, but not with each other. Julia thinks their kids will be friends.

A nice couple with young kids checks out the house while the Salingers consider whether or not to sell to them. Claudia’s the first to say that she thinks things will be okay. They still have the restaurant, and plenty of other mementos and memories of their family. “I’ve had 17 years here. That’s enough.” The couple wants to make an offer on the house, and the Salingers accept.

The siblings, Kirsten, and Diana spend one last night in the house. They tease Charlie and Kirsten about having to name the baby Stewie. Everyone separates to have memories in different rooms. Kirsten remembers her and Charlie’s first engagement. Claudia remembers putting up her living-room tent for the first time. Julia remembers teaching Charlie to dance in the kitchen. Griffin comes in and Julia gives him glasses they got for their wedding, so he can toast good things with his girlfriend.

In the backyard, Charlie remembers a late-night project/singalong with Bailey and Julia. In Owen’s room, Bailey remembers tending to his brother when he was a baby. He tells Owen stories about his babyhood, when they shared a room. Charlie and Kirsten spend their last night in their old room, reminiscing about the first time they had sex in his parents’ bedroom. Julia and Claudia share a room for the last time, not wanting to sleep because they’ll miss their last hours together.

In the morning, Bailey, Julia, and Justin decide to turn their drive to the East Coast into a road trip. Kirsten feels the baby move for the first time, and everyone gathers to celebrate. Charlie suggests that they let Owen name the baby Stewie, but give him the middle name Nicholas and call him Nick. Nice compromise.

As the furniture is taken from the bedroom, Kirsten notices the kids’ height charts on a doorframe. Julia remarks on how fast they grew. Claudia spots a mark for their father, and notes that Charlie’s taller than him. Everyone shares a nice last moment together, and then they’re out of our lives, FINALLY.

Thoughts: Letting a child name a baby is so, so risky. Always retain veto power.

Heh, even the show can’t explain why Griffin’s still hanging around the Salingers.

Wow, this show was a lot more boring than I remembered. Thanks for reading my recaps! I promise that the next show will be a lot more interesting.

P.S. This was my 1,000th post!

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