Felicity 4.4, Miss Conception: I Want You to Want Me

April 10, 2021

Felicity 4.4, Miss Conception: I Want You to Want Me

Javier was right to be concerned

Summary: Felicity is in the bathroom of the dorm apartment, looking at a box that contains a pregnancy test. Oh, dear. Javier wants to see her in her bathing suit, so she puts the box in a drawer (yeah, no one will see it there) and joins him in the living room. Elena comes home, and Javier announces that Felicity is a contestant in the Miss Sunrise Surprise pageant. Elena and Javier both think she needs a suit that’s “more stringy.”

Felicity attends a meeting with the other contestants, then gets ready for a promo photo shoot. The hair/makeup guy gives her big hair that makes her look like a country singer. Another contestant, Sarah, gives her advice on what directions to give the guy next time. She’s been in pageants before, in search of exposure for her desired singing career.

Another contestant complains that Felicity used her hairbrush, and Sarah defends Felicity when she apologizes. Javier struggles to hide his reaction when he sees Felicity’s new look. He warns her not to get too close to her competitors. He tells her she’s as gullible as a sea bird. (Get it? Gull? I love Javier.) He thinks Felicity’s the prettiest of the bunch and will easily win…but not with her current hairstyle.

Noel is desperate for a job, so he’s turned to a guidance counselor at his alma mater. It’s the same guy who cautioned Ben against going pre-med, which means we still haven’t seen Ben meet with his advisor. The counselor is about to leave his position, so Noel can take his job. I’m sure the students will be thrilled to get counseling from a guy with no experience who’s only taking the job because he has no other options.

Meghan meets with her father, who disapproves of her marriage to Sean because he has nothing going for him. Meghan says he has an idea for a shrimp restaurant, but Walter notes that restaurant are money pits. Also, shrimp aren’t healthy. Dude, people who eat in seafood restaurants aren’t there for their health. Walter tries to set Meghan up with another guy, advising her to make sure her marriage to Sean is what she really wants, since it comes with some sacrifices on her part.

Elena tries to help Felicity prep for the pageant, but Felicity’s distracted by the possibility that she’s pregnant. She hasn’t taken the test yet, since she’s afraid of what it’ll say. Elena tells her that not knowing is the hardest part, so she should go ahead and take it. At the loft, Sean works on a new shrimp dish – shrimp yogurt. It’s an alternative to sweet and fruity yogurt flavors. Sean, no. Meghan repeats her father’s criticisms of his shrimp-based ideas. She doesn’t want him to be doing this in ten years. Sean says he has other ideas, so Meghan tells him to write them down for discussion.

Felicity’s test is positive, so…yikes. Elena thinks it could be a false positive, so Felicity needs to take a blood test. Felicity says she’s not going to tell Ben yet, since he’s already dealing with enough. What she doesn’t tell Elena is that Ben might not be the father – at this point, only Javier knows that Felicity and Noel slept together.

The next morning, Felicity tells Ben about the pageant for the first time. Ben’s amused but also supportive, since $10,000 are at stake. She doesn’t want him to come, since she would be embarrassed. Noel finalizes his paperwork and is now officially a guidance counselor. The previous counselor isn’t so good with the guidance; he tells Noel to look up answers to any questions he has on his own. Noel immediately gets a visit from his first counselee: Ben.

Felicity has her blood drawn and is told she can get the results of her pregnancy test the next day. She won’t be able to come back, though, since the pageant is tomorrow. She also tells the doctor that she’ll be going through the pregnancy on her own, without the baby’s father. Yes, I’m sure that’ll work out great.

At another pageant meeting, Sarah asks Felicity what she’ll be doing during the talent portion. Felicity still hasn’t picked something, even though it’s worth 30% of her score. Denise, the hairbrush chick from earlier, mocks her, so Felicity says she’s a dancer. Sarah backs her up, saying she’s won some big awards. She tells Felicity that Denise has pulled some dirty tricks at previous pageants. Felicity admits that she used to take dance classes, so Sarah thinks she’ll be able to pick it up again.

Felicity gives it a shot later at the dorm apartment, getting interrupted by Noel. He notices that something’s going on with her, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. Noel reassures her that what happened between them is in the past, so she doesn’t need to feel awkward about it. Felicity admits that she might be pregnant. Noel realizes she’s telling him because he might be the father. Elena comes in and realizes that Felicity told Noel what’s going on. She also figures out why.

The pageant contestants kick off a rehearsal with the Q&A portion, answering questions about ice cream and world peace. Sarah and Javier try to calm Felicity’s nerves. She doesn’t want to give canned, typical pageant answers, but she also wants to win, so she tries to find a balance. One of the judges asks her about her plans for the future, specifically the next five years. Felicity says she’s not sure, since she’s an artist. When the judge asks for more details, Felicity doesn’t know what to say.

At the loft, Sean goes over some invention ideas with Meghan. One is a see-through reading table that would absolutely be popular today, since people could put their devices on it and look up at them while lying on their back. Another is a restaurant called Before and After that only serves appetizers and desserts. There’s also a combination sleep mask/alarm clock. Meghan isn’t impressed by anything on the list.

Sean reminds Meghan that getting married was her idea, so if she thinks it was a mistake, that’s not on him. Meghan says she’s sacrificing a lot to stay with him. Her parents are going to cut her off if she doesn’t end it. Sean is surprised, since he thought Meghan’s parents liked him. He asks Meghan if she agrees with her father that she’s making a mistake.

Ben comes to see Felicity the next morning, but she’s on her way to a pageant rehearsal. She tells him he can stay to do some work. While getting set up, he finds an invoice from her clinic appointment to get her blood test. The pageant contestants do a ridiculous dance routine to “Rhinestone Cowboy,” but no one seems into it. Backstage, Sarah wants to get revenge on Denise for a previous prank she played with muscle ointment.

While Ben and Noel play basketball together, Felicity and Sarah wait for Denise to get her comeuppance. Sarah asks who Felicity’s invited to the pageant that night. Felicity says her family’s in California, and she didn’t invite any friends or her boyfriend. Sarah thinks she needs someone to root for her even if she’s embarrassed to be in the pageant.

Felicity tells her that Ben was really popular in high school, and she wasn’t. Even though they’ve both changed, sometimes she still feels like they’re in high school. She keeps waiting for him realize who she really is and decide he doesn’t want her anymore. She doesn’t want him to not want her. Sarah reminds her that beauty queens always smile, no matter how they’re feeling.

Ben tells Noel that Felicity might be pregnant. Noel thinks Felicity told him, then lies that she didn’t tell him (but Ben knows he’s lying). Backstage at the pageant, Denise gets creamed. Ben shows up and asks Felicity if she’s pregnant. She tells him she hasn’t verified anything yet. He’s upset that she told Noel and not him. Felicity says she panicked and didn’t want to bother him. Ben decides to leave, but Felicity asks him to stay.

As the contestants introduce themselves onstage, Denise tells Javier that Felicity has no chance. He tells her she’s going down. A montage of the talent portion shows us a variety of the contestants’…well, talents. There’s gymnastics, miming, ventriloquism, fencing, and dancing. Sarah is a showstopper singing “The Greatest Love of All.” Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Felicity dance.

Felicity wins Best Evening Wear and Sarah wins first runner-up. Denise wins the whole thing, because life is just like that sometimes. At least Javier is proud of Felicity, and she may have made a new friend in Sarah. Plus, Felicity gets two good things, though: a gift certificate to the Wiz and her period. She’s happy that Ben stayed.

At the loft the next morning, Sean and Meghan fight about how she should have defended him to her father. He doesn’t think all his ideas have to work – just one. Meghan notes that some people never find the right one. Sean is sure that he has. If Meghan doesn’t agree, she can go out with that guy her parents want her to be with. It looks like Meghan has already made her choice, though. Yay, more fighting is in our future! And probably more shrimp!

Noel comes by the dorm apartment, happy that Felicity called him the night before to let him know she’s not pregnant. He also has a solution to some of her money problems – a TA position for an art course that will help pay for her credits. The class is down the hall from his office, so they’ll have to see each other a lot. Felicity is uncertain, but Noel gets her to admit that she would accept the position if they hadn’t slept together. He wants to know that she still wants to be around him, because they’re still friends.

Ben brings Noel his final paperwork to make the official jump to pre-med. He tells Noel that Felicity isn’t pregnant, and Noel pretends he hadn’t heard. They decide to play basketball again soon. Yeah, Noel, you should definitely be hanging out with the guy whose girlfriend you secretly slept with. You’ll make a great guidance counselor, making decisions like that!

Thoughts: Sarah is played by Monica. One of the judges is played by Joyce Brothers.

Wow, who would have thought that impulsively getting married to someone you constantly fight with might turn out to be a bad idea? Certainly not me!

As far as excuses not to reveal a possible pregnancy go, “I didn’t want to bother you” isn’t exactly a good one.

I always forget that Keri Russell was on The Mickey Mouse Club, so Felicity must have some singing and/or dancing talents.

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