Summary: David surprises Felicity in her dorm room as she’s leaving a message for her parents. She told them previously that she has too much work to come home for Thanksgiving, but she thinks they don’t believe her. David suggests having a casual Thanksgiving together. They start making out on her bed (with the door open), so she puts a Post-It on the door. It doesn’t do its intended job, and Meghan comes in anyway. Felicity snaps at her, and Meghan says she was doing her a favor, but since Felicity’s being a jerk, she won’t do it. The favor was going to be to warn Felicity that her parents are in the building.
Felicity tells Sally via tape that she wants her parents to leave. She loves them, of course, but there are a lot of things she hasn’t told them about her life. The Porters meet David, then get reintroduced to Meghan, who pretends she’s really into helping the kids in the dorm and is starting a recycling campaign. She’s also wearing what looks to be lingerie as a shirt, but no one comments on that. Anyway, the Porters want to have Thanksgiving with Felicity, then do their own thing while she studies. Felicity says she and David have plans, so Barbara invites him to hang out with the family.
At Dean & DeLuca, Javier offers Ben an opportunity to make some extra money over Thanksgiving. Javier’s hosting a charity event and is so desperate for help that he’ll pay Ben and any friend he can bring along twice what he usually makes. Ben agrees and says he’ll ask Julie and Sean if they want to come along. “Do you know why I like you?” Javier replies. Ben asks why, and Javier tells him, “No, I’m asking.” They both laugh.
Felicity confides in Elena that she hasn’t told her parents that she’s dropped pre-med. She’s afraid of how he’ll react. Noel tells them that Ruby isn’t going to make it back from her movie set for the holiday, so Noel and Elena will be spending the day together. Elena invites Felicity, her parents, and David over, suggesting that it’ll take the pressure off of them. They’ll just have a party.
Julie and Sean are up for Javier’s event; they’ll just have dinner together at the loft afterward. Javier has them all sign contracts, since the last time he got servers to help him, they all took silverware home with them. Sean asks for an exclusivity clause so he can serve Smoothaise. Ben describes it as “not so bad.” It’s then that he learns that the charity event is being organized by Maggie.
Felicity takes her parents to Epstein Bar, trying to pass it off as a café instead of the pub it is. Barbara claims to like Felicity’s hair. She and Edward ask questions about David, curious about why she hasn’t mentioned this guy she’s been seeing for a month and was going to spend Thanksgiving with. Then Edward asks about Felicity’s pre-med courses. She finally comes clean about dropping the major and switching to art classes.
Edward asks about all the changes Felicity has made in her life – her hair, her courses, her older boyfriend. She tells her parents there are a lot of things they don’t know about her life. She feels judged, so she ditches them. Back at the dorm, Meghan is trying to fill community service hours by getting food for everyone who’s staying in the dorm over break. Burky asks for stuffing without raisins. David’s there again, but Felicity has to leave for work. She tells him they’re having Thanksgiving at Noel and Elena’s. David asks to bring another guest – his mother. She wants to meet Felicity’s parents.
Ben goes to Maggie’s catering space and tells her to move her event somewhere else. She says it was her husband’s decision to have it there. Ben tells her he met her husband when he came in to order a cake for their anniversary. He can’t be the other man anymore. Maggie says she never meant to keep anything from Ben, but her relationship with her husband is complicated. She knows the party will be weird, but she misses Ben and would like him to be there.
Barbara goes to Dean & DeLuca, where Javier is thrilled to meet her for the first time. She tells Felicity that David seems great, and she shouldn’t have implied that they’re moving too fast. She’s looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with him and getting to know him better. Barbara has even bought him a gift from a museum gift shop, knowing he likes photography. It seems Edward isn’t as happy about David, though.
Noel objects to Professor Sherman coming to his apartment, as well as to his assignment to call her and tell her what to bring. Elena shuts him down and sends him on an errand so she can ask Felicity about her love life. Felicity thinks it’s sweet that David came by her room twice in one day, then walked her to work. Elena wonders if Felicity thinks David is getting more serious than she is. She says Felicity’s right to be freaked out about their Thanksgiving plans, and it’s weird that David isn’t, too. She’ll be able to see if they’re on the same page by watching how he reacts to Barbara’s gift.
Speaking of freaking out, Ben is trying to convince himself that the party won’t be weird, what with his secret lover and her husband both there. He tells Julie and Sean everything will be okay. They don’t care – they just want to take home the leftovers. Also, Julie didn’t know Maggie was married, and Sean didn’t know her husband would be there. The husband, Charlie, officially introduces himself to the three of them, recognizing Ben as the guy who sold him the cake. He says he wife loved it.
Felicity and David make pumpkin pie together at his apartment, and she gives him Barbara’s present. David reveals that he got the Porters a guide book to New York. She tells him he’s allowed to be honest about not liking the situation, but David is happy to get to know the people who brought Felicity into the world – the person he’s falling in love with.
Felicity tells Elena about this the next day, as they’re shopping at a convenience store. Felicity is surprised that David doesn’t see their relationship as casual, the way she does. Elena agrees that he’s moving too fast. Felicity realizes she’s the Ben of the situation – David has strong feelings, and Felicity has led him on. Elena tells her to talk to him about it, but not now. Thanksgiving comes first.
Professor Sherman is the first guest to arrive at Noel and Elena’s, followed closely by Felicity’s parents. Noel will have to entertain them all by himself. Sean tries to push Smoothaise on guests at the charity event, but it’s not going over well. Charlie greets the guests and thanks them for their donations for a homeless shelter. Holy cow, Maggie is cheating on the nicest guy on the planet.
Ben and Maggie end up in a back room together, and he panics about the possibility of her wanting to make out while her husband is in the next room. Maggie says she just wanted to say hi, but that doesn’t last long before she wants to kiss. Julie interrupts and tells Maggie that Charlie’s looking for her.
Elena and Felicity finally make it to the apartment, to Noel’s relief. Meghan shows up next, having never mentioned that Barbara invited her. Meghan’s excited at the possibility of Barbara getting drunk. Professor Sherman tells Felicity that she likes them together; David’s happier than he’s been in a long time. Of course, now Felicity’s going to have to ruin it by telling him (later! After Thanksgiving! Don’t cross Elena!) they’re moving too fast.
Ben thinks Julie’s mad that she caught him and Maggie together, about to do something naughty. She tells him she doesn’t want to run interference for him again, then asks if Maggie’s worth it. Back at the apartment, Felicity tells Elena that she doesn’t feel right waiting until tomorrow to talk to David about their relationship. Elena tells her to have some of Professor Sherman’s boozy punch and stop thinking.
Noel and Meghan note that the Porters and Professor Sherman are getting along really well. Meghan’s disappointed that no one seems likely to fight. Felicity asks her about the dinner she was organizing at the dorm. “Oh, yeah,” Meghan says, remembering. Cut to the dorm, where Burky and three other students are waiting at a table, hungry.
David arrives for dinner, and Noel, who’s been drinking the punch, tells Meghan he likes David. In one of the bedrooms, David tells Felicity he hopes he didn’t overwhelm her the night before when he shared his feelings. “Are you guys fighting in there?” Meghan calls to them across the apartment. “If you are, talk louder!” Heh. David tells Felicity they’ll talk later. After Thanksgiving!
Maggie takes a break from the party to look at the snow out the window. Ben joins her and tells her they can get coffee together and talk sometime, but not now. After Thanksgiving! Charlie comes to bring Maggie back to the party, but she tells him she wants to introduce him to Ben, the person she’s been sleeping with. Charlie says she’s drunk, but Maggie seems pretty sober. She also knows that Charlie cheated on her, so she figures it’s only fair that she slept with someone else.
Off-screen, Felicity has learned that Edward wasn’t surprised to hear that she dropped pre-med. He knew she was wavering about it last year, and he’s not thrilled, but he likes that she’s happy. Plus, he really likes David, and they’ve discussed David visiting the family over Christmas. Noel asks Professor Sherman what’s in the punch, but she won’t tell him. He goes to his room to lie down. Edward turns to Elena to get his fill of science-related course talk.
Felicity needs a break from all the happiness and warmth, so she goes to Noel’s room, not realizing he’s there. He reminds her of last Thanksgiving, which feels like just a day ago to her but a million years ago to him. As they talk, their faces get close enough to kiss…which is exactly what happens. Of course, that’s right when someone walks in. Unfortunately, the person who walks in is Professor Sherman.
Noel rejoins the party first, and Felicity waits a few seconds before coming out of the bedroom. Other than Professor Sherman, Meghan seems to be the only one who notices. Felicity and Noel end up sitting next to each other, and they agree that they shouldn’t have kissed. They decide to talk about it once the punch has worn off “sometime in February.”
Everyone compliments the turkey, which Elena cooked. Meghan asks if she can keep the bones. Edward jokes that he hopes Felicity gets special treatment in Professor Sherman’s class, since she’s dating the professor’s son. Professor Sherman says no, and David quips that he’s working on it. Professor Sherman asks to speak to Felicity in another room, and Noel braces himself for a big fight. David remains clueless.
Professor Sherman tells Felicity that David had his heart broken by his last girlfriend, so Felicity needs to be honest and tell him about her and Noel. David has followed them to the bedroom and has some questions. Felicity blames the punch for a drunken kiss. Everyone else comes to the bedroom, where Meghan tries to start a big fight. David brushes off the kiss, saying his and Felicity’s relationship is casual. The parents turn on each other while Noel tries to take responsibility.
Felicity sends everyone away so she and David can discuss things on their own. She promises that she was going to tell him everything later. David thought she was over Noel, and Felicity says it’s not about him. David doesn’t believe that. He knows he freaked her out by saying he was falling in love with her. Felicity says she really likes him, but she thought they were on the same page. They were trying to keep the pressure off.
Felicity just broke up with Ben a few months ago, and she spent her whole year pursuing him and Noel. No matter how much she likes David, she can’t handle a serious relationship right now. David wishes she’d said something sooner so he didn’t make a fool of himself. I think Felicity made a bigger fool of herself, so you’re probably okay, buddy.
Ben, Julie, and Sean have dinner together at the loft, and Julie is introduced to tofurkey. Sean suggests adding Smoothaise if it’s not good, but Julie and Ben are fine with it as it is. Sean jokes that everything went really well at the party. Ben handles it well, saying he’s not heartbroken; he and Maggie just had a fling. Julie and Sean think he can learn something from the situation. They list some possible lessons, like “never date a caterer.”
Felicity walks her parents out of the party, inviting them to say something about what happened. Edward just says he wants the recipe for the punch. Barbara doesn’t think she should be embarrassed. Felicity invites them to have breakfast in the morning. Barbara appreciates being back in her life, even if it’s brief.
Thoughts: What a coincidence that no one from this friend group is going home for Thanksgiving! And for the second year in a row! It’s like how everyone on Friends always spent Thanksgiving together. Weren’t their families disappointed about that? I would think Meghan’s parents would be especially sad not to have her there. They seem like big family-holiday people.
Who puts raisins in stuffing?? That should be a criminal offense.
If I were Barbara, I would be so happy to hear Javier gushing about my daughter. I’d feel a lot better about her living across the country from me if I knew he was looking out for her.
'90s Flashback 
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