May 16, 2015
Party of Five 6.20, Great Expectations: My Best Friend’s Fake Green-Card Wedding
This hedgehog is taking a soak to get his mind off this endless season
Summary: Will and Holly are at a courthouse, getting married. The judge marrying them asks if Will has anything to say to his bride. “You look nice,” he says. After a short ceremony, they’re officially hitched. Bailey’s a little uncomfortable to watch the new bride and groom kiss. Holly immediately goes on guard, noting that the INS could be anywhere, watching her.
Charlie already has a crib for the baby, but Kirsten worries that they’re tempting fate. (By the way, they haven’t told anyone about her pregnancy yet.) An INS agent surprises the McCorkles, suspicious because Bailey seems to have his own set of keys to their apartment. He sets up an appointment to interview Holly and Will about their relationship. Adam shows up at the Salingers’ after spending some time at an artists’ colony in Mexico. He announces that he’s moving there, but wants to spend the next few days with Julia.
Will’s sure that he and Holly won’t be able to fool the INS agent. He knows that if they get caught, he’ll never be able to run for elected office. Bailey’s like, “Hey, future president, you live in my basement. Chill.” He advises them to pretend Will is Bailey and answer questions as if they’re being asked about him. Will still isn’t assured.
Claudia tells Julia that she had an awesome dream about Todd declaring his love for her. Julia doesn’t think it’s that great – after all, it didn’t really happen. At work, Charlie and Bailey clash with a guy named Mitch who disagrees that they should be training people on a new process so they can increase their output. Charlie tells him to give it a try and go back to his way if things don’t work out.
Adam asks Julia to come to Mexico with him so they can be hipster starving artists together. She resists, so he invites her to just come for a week. He’s sure that she won’t want to leave. Holly admits to Will that she feels bad for making him go through so much so she can get a green card. He’s equally apologetic, calling himself a coward. She thinks he’s actually being selfless.
One of Julia’s professors lectures on Charlotte Bronte, who encouraged her readers to follow their dreams. Kirsten cancels a weekend away with Charlie, worried about being too far away from her doctor. Claudia tries to enact the dream she had about Todd, but he’s not clear on what she’s doing. He’s speechless when she mumbles that she loves him.
Charlie tells Bailey he’s firing Mitch for not following orders. Bailey asks permission to talk to Mitch and try to get him in line so they don’t have to pay him severance. Charlie’s more concerned with the money they’ll lose if the business goes under. He announces that he’ll do Mitch’s job if they let him go. Bailey reminds him that he can’t do every job; after all, that’s why he hired Mitch and Bailey in the first place.
Julia tells Adam she’ll go to Mexico with him for a few weeks. She sees it as a chance to do some writing that actually interests her, instead of writing boring papers. Will asks Bailey some intimate questions about Holly so he can put on a believable front for the INS. He also asks about the couple’s worst fight, which leads to Bailey and Will having their own fight about it.
Claudia’s written Todd a Dear John letter, and says Julia was right about how she shouldn’t have read too much into the dream. Julia feels differently now, and praises Claudia for saying “I love you” before Todd did. Claudia tears up the letter.
Bailey’s annoyed with Holly for telling Will about their fight; he feels like they’re exposing everything about their relationship. He accuses her of caring more about her green card than him. Holly angrily says that might be true. She calms down and tells Bailey that the only thing she’s ever felt sure of is her desire to be a doctor. She knows it’s her future, and she can’t afford to jeopardize it.
Julia finds Kirsten crying in the Salingers’ house, where she’s picking up some of Daphne’s old pregnancy books. She’s bleeding, so Julia takes her to the hospital, but everything’s okay. Her doctor urges her to have faith that things will work out so she doesn’t stress herself out so much worrying about something that might not happen.
Will and Holly meet with the INS agent, who asks the one question they can’t answer: How did they fall in love? Will talks about how great Holly is, and it becomes clear that he’s speaking from the heart. Todd tells Claudia that his parents always said “I love you” to each other, even though they were having affairs, so the phrase never meant anything to him. Instead of saying it to Claudia, he demonstrates his love for her by letting her drive his beloved car.
Mitch comes in to get his last paycheck, and Charlie tells him that he was right about his method being a bad idea. He recognizes Mitch’s hard work and would like him to stick around. They agree to try to trust each other more. Instead of meeting Adam to leave the country with him, Julia meets him to tell him she’s staying put. She needs to be close to her family because they give her strength.
Holly’s pleased with the way Will snowed the INS agent, apparently clueless that he’s actually in love with her. She and Bailey make up, as he says he’s grateful that she told him how she feels. Will’s saddened to see them close again. As Charlie and Kirsten finally announce their pregnancy to the family, Adam leaves Julia a message asking her to change her mind and join him in Mexico. She ignores it so she can celebrate with her family.
Thoughts: How pregnant is Kirsten supposed to be now? She found out weeks ago, and she’s still not showing.
Holly knows they have doctors in England, right? Why does she hate to be one in the U.S.?
Scott Grimes (Will) is really good in this episode. It’s too bad they never gave him more to do.
Julia, you can leave your family for a few weeks. Try to work on not spiraling into co-dependence.
May 2, 2015
Party of Five 6.18, Too Cool for School: Taking Classes, Building Things – the Family Business
This little duckling says, “There are only six episodes left!”
Summary: Things are going well at the furniture factory with Charlie in charge. Gus reveals that a company wants to buy him out, and he’s considering the sale. Charlie’s annoyed that Gus put him in charge and is now taking away what he’s worked so hard to build up. He has a ton of ideas that he hasn’t been able to start working on yet. Gus thinks the sale will give him more time for that.
Owen wants to take Victor to school to talk about his life for show-and-tell. Victor refuses multiple times, then runs off. One of Julia and Adam’s professors objects to Julia’s use of stream-of-consciousness writing, but Adam stands up for her. He’s defensive about there not being rules in writing. Bailey meets with a woman who I guess is a career consultant or headhunter; whoever she is, she tells him he needs a business degree to do the kind of job he wants.
Charlie meets with people from the company that wants to buy the factory, and though the offer is impressive, he’s hesitant to take a job where he’ll need approval for his ideas. Claudia and Todd spend some time together before he goes to New York for a few days. He’ll be working with an old friend who happens to be a woman, so of course Claudia’s jealous. He assures her that she hasn’t been in love with him for a very long time.
Bailey tells Holly that he really, really doesn’t want to go back to college. She thinks he just needs to find something that really interests him. She’s pre-med and fascinated by everything she reads about for her classes. He just needs to find his own “pre.” Charlie tells Kirsten that he’s not sure he can take a job where someone’s always looking over his shoulder. Plus, he’ll have to make popular items, not the things he wants to make. Kirsten jokingly suggests that Charlie buy the factory, and he admits that he’s considered it.
Julia asks Adam why he got so defensive with their professor. He doesn’t like that she accepts everything their teachers say and lets them pass judgment on her. Julia points out that that’s kind of the point of college. Claudia tries to find out more about Victor, who claims there’s nothing interesting about him. She encourages him to open up about whatever he’s obviously trying to keep from Owen. Victor won’t budge.
Charlie goes over his business proposal for the factory with Bailey, who’s supportive but realistic. It’s going to be super-expensive. Downtown, Claudia spots Victor in a heated argument with a woman who he appears to buy something from. Holly invites Bailey to sit in on a class with her, but he’s made up his mind that school is a bad fit for him. Classes make him feel dumb. Adam picks a fight with his professor over his use of language and whether his story is clear. Apparently he just turned in a story by Samuel Beckett to make a point. I don’t know. Shut up, Adam.
Charlie tries to get a bank loan, but he doesn’t have enough collateral. Bailey peeks in on a biology class but finds it over his head. Then he’s drawn to an economics class, which is much more his speed. Claudia and Todd talk on the phone about Victor, but they’re interrupted when his friend Mabel picks up the line. It turns out they got caught in a rainstorm and she needed dry clothes. Plus, she lost her purse, so Todd’s letting her spend the night.
Bailey tells Charlie that he spoke to some venture capitalists who think he can come up with enough collateral for the factory sale. Charlie announces that he can’t ask everyone involved to take such a big risk just so he can make his own designs. The sale will give him lots of money and allow him to spend more time with Kirsten. Bailey thinks Charlie should go through with buying the factory – it’s right for him. Charlie says that there are things that are more important.
Claudia hears Victor on the phone, threatening to go see someone for a face-to-face confrontation. She admits that she saw him fighting with the woman downtown. Victor accuses her of suspecting that he was buying drugs. She has no right to interrogate him or invade his privacy. Julia’s distressed because Adam could get kicked out of school, but he doesn’t care. She tells him she’s at least committing to school. Adam shoots back that she’s begging for approval. He may not commit to school, but he commits to himself.
Bailey stays up late reading an economics textbook, interested in learning more about what the professor was talking about in the class he audited. Holly guesses that it’s more interesting to him now than a couple years ago because he’s had real-world experiences and knows how to apply it. He admits that he’s considering going back to college after all.
Bailey, Claudia, and Julia stage a sort of intervention on Charlie to urge him to buy the factory. They’re willing to put up their shares of the restaurant as collateral. Bailey thinks it would be riskier not to take the chance. They’d like to own a piece of Charlie’s business and be a part of something that’s growing. Charlie worries that something will go wrong and they’ll lose the restaurant. Julia and Claudia say that the family’s different now, so maybe the family business should be, too.
Claudia apologizes to Victor for prying into his personal life, but he thinks she has a right to know what’s going on. He tells her that the woman he fought with was Valerie, his sort-of girlfriend from when he was a teenager in Brooklyn. She got pregnant and wanted to marry Victor, but he’d started to realize he was gay.
Victor wouldn’t help her with the baby, so Valerie moved to San Francisco to live with her parents. Later, when Victor matured, he moved here to see Valerie and their daughter, but her parents have kept him away. The thing she gave him was a picture of their daughter. Valerie’s parents don’t think Victor wants to be a father, but that’s what he wants more than anything.
Julia goes to see Adam, but he’s split town. Todd brings Claudia flowers and a huge model of the Empire State Building to try to convince her that he doesn’t want to be with Mabel. She just wants assurance that she doesn’t need to worry, which he easily gives her. Bailey’s more anxious than Charlie to hear back from Gus about which buyout offer he wants to take. When Gus accepts Charlie’s offer, both brothers are super-excited. Charlie takes a moment to look at his designs and think about what he’ll get to make in the future.
Thoughts: Adam gives English majors a bad name. There’s always at least one who thinks he’s above critique and, you know, actually learning stuff. Why go to college at all if you’re not going to listen?
Also, this plot is turning out just like the Joey/Oliver Hudson (I can’t remember his character’s name and I’m not interested enough to look it up) plot from Dawson’s Creek that this was already similar to.
Everyone being supportive of Charlie is so sweet. I’m such a softie for supportive families.
April 25, 2015
Party of Five 6.17, Getting There: The Sense of an Ending
You can tell Fiona’s wacky beacuse of her curly hair
Summary: Adam’s working on a writing assignment, but Julia’s stuck on the ending to hers. She may be distracted by the idea of ramping things up with Adam, even though they agreed to take things slowly. Adam’s on board. There’s a scene with Bailey with Holly, but part of it is cut off, so I don’t know what’s going on.
Charlie wants to take care of Kirsten while she goes through morning sickness, but she sees it as a positive – it means she gets to have a baby. She thinks Charlie should look at the hassles at his job in a positive way as well. They’re all steps getting him toward his goal. Todd’s stressed about an audition for first chair, but Claudia thinks he has it sewn up. She’s wrong – she’s gotten the honor.
Adam wants to sleep after sex, but Julia wants to talk, now that she has a ton of ideas for her story. He goes back to bed while she gets to work. Bailey goes to Holly’s place, which has been taken over by her sister, Fiona, an aspiring fashion designer. Holly confides to Bailey that Fiona will lose interest in this pretty quickly, like she’s lost interest in all her other hobbies. Bailey thinks she should keep trying to find what she loves to do. Holly assures him that she’s talking about Fiona specifically, not people in general looking for their callings.
Charlie meets with a buyer from a hotel chain who wants to use his chair design (called the Diana – aww!) in all the chains. That means building thousands of chairs. Charlie notes that the company is small, so the buyer tells him to get bigger. He’s hesitant to accept the job because he doesn’t think the company is equipped to handle it. The buyer thinks he would be crazy to turn her down.
Griffin and Will pretend to help fix Fiona’s sewing machine, but it looks like they just want to hang out with her. Griffin offers to let Fiona sleep on his couch to give Holly her apartment back. Will invites her to stay in the house, like there aren’t enough people there already. Bailey just wants the sewing machine to get fixed so Fiona can get back to working and discovering her calling and making him feel better about needing to find his, I guess.
Charlie looks for new space for the factory, realizing that it’s a lot more complicated than he expected. He’s advised to figure out his business strategy. What a concept! Julia wants to have sex while Adam’s trying to write; he thinks she’s procrastinating, but she thinks sex will inspire her, since it did last time. Adam resists because he really needs to work (and also, they’re in the library – keep your pants on, Julia).
Todd claims he’s totally okay with Claudia being first chair, but it’s obvious he isn’t. Claudia may not be either, since the new dynamic affects her playing. Charlie finds Bailey with an aptitude survey in hopes of figuring out what he should do with his life. The test says he should manage a restaurant. Heh. Charlie tells Bailey about the big hotel job, asking him to help get the new factory location up and running. Bailey doesn’t want to waste more time on a job he doesn’t love, when he could be looking for what he’s supposed to be doing.
The next day, Bailey learns that Fiona’s hooking up with Griffin, much to Will’s dismay. Fiona’s excited to tour Alcatraz with Griffin, but Bailey urges her to work instead. After all, he’s lined up buyers for her, so they’ll need something to look at. Fiona decides that she needs to put on a fashion show. Todd thinks Claudia’s faking humility, as she’s done in the past, and that she messed up on purpose to make him feel better. She calls him on pretending to support her when he was mad about losing first chair to her. He says she can’t handle competing.
Julia’s stuck on her ending again, which annoys Adam – “it is always about the ending with you.” He’s annoyed that she’s using him to finish her story so she can get published. Julia doesn’t see a problem with having that as a goal. Adam argues that the point of writing is writing, not to have people read it. He tears up his story, telling Julia that rewriting it will be better than having sex.
Kirsten is no longer as positive about her morning sickness and savoring the journey and all that. Charlie laments that he can’t find someone to help him out on such short notice, and he can’t do it himself, so he’ll have to turn down the hotel job. Like Bailey, he doesn’t want to spend time on something he doesn’t like when he could be enjoying his time with his family.
Fiona holds a show for Bailey’s buyers at the restaurant, using Bailey, Griffin, and Will as models. (The clothes are awful, by the way.) Holly thinks Bailey’s doing too much for something Fiona will lose interest in. He’s giving her breaks she won’t get in the real world, and feeding her fantasy. He may think he’s helping her, but he’s not. Julia thinks she and Adam should have tantric sex to tap into their creativity. She admits that he’s right about how she approaches endings, but with tantric sex, there isn’t an end.
Bailey and Holly make up, and he admits that he led Fiona down the wrong path. Holly, however, likes that Fiona’s happy – in fact, she’s happier than Holly, who supposedly has her life figured out and is going somewhere. Claudia and Todd do a really stupid dueling-violins thing. I want those 30 seconds of my life back. Apparently they’re inspired by each other, and also turned on by the competition. They kiss while I beg for the sweet release of death.
As we all expected he would, Bailey agrees to help Charlie so he can accept the hotel job. He doesn’t want to run around looking for something new and end up making a mistake. Plus, he would enjoy working with Charlie again. Julia and Adam are good now. Bailey and Holly appear to be back together, making out at a café. He’s ready to slow down a little and savor their time together.
Thoughts: I’m so over this show. It’s SO BORING. This season is ENDLESS. Also, I already know what I’m going to recap after this, and I’m eager to get started, which makes this show even more boring.
And thus Claudia learned at a young age the perils of the workplace romance.
No, no, no! Adam’s wouldn’t rip up his work if he actually liked it! Or if he did, he’d start screaming once he realized what he’d done.
April 18, 2015
Party of Five 6.16, Blast from the Past: Better Call Bailey
Imagine being married by this guy
Summary: Bailey’s at group therapy in rehab, being heckled by a guy named Oliver. Bailey says he’s not scared about relapsing because he feels like he can switch it on and off now. Oliver doesn’t think he should be in rehab, since he only had one slip. He doesn’t believe Bailey really has a problem with alcohol. He should go home and live his wonderful, fantastic life.
Adam catches Julia reading an email from Justin announcing that he and Laura are eloping in Vegas. Adam wonders if Julia’s going to go to the wedding. Julia doesn’t know if Justin wants her there – is he inviting her or asking her to stop it? Adam encourages her to go. Kirsten tries to sympathize with the distraught mother of a girl in a depression-drug study, but the mother doesn’t think Kirsten can really understand how she feels. Little does she know that Kirsten can.
Bailey’s discharged from rehab but sticks around to try to talk to a counselor. The counselor urges him to talk to his family instead. Claudia and Todd find it awkward to spend time alone together. Julia’s decided to go to Vegas, but she’s stalling her departure for Vegas, telling Claudia that she’s not sure what to say to Justin. She sees two options: Ask Justin to get back together, or encourage him to move on. Claudia invites herself and Todd along on a road trip.
In Bailey’s absence, Charlie’s putting in some time at the restaurant. He clearly feels uncomfortable working with Joe the thief. Joe’s hurt that Charlie doesn’t trust him, but…come on. Will’s the only person home when Bailey arrives, so Bailey faces his first night home alone. Kirsten tells Charlie how difficult it is to see the kids in the drug trial, struggling with depression. Charlie thinks she’s having a relapse of her own depression because she went off her meds to get pregnant.
Will brings Holly over to see how much progress Bailey has made. Bailey confides that he’s sick of people telling him how great he looks. He feels like quitting drinking was easy, but he feels worse than he did before. He may look fine, but he’s not. In Vegas, Todd gets distracted by showgirls. I think we’re supposed to think that he’s sexually frustrated. I don’t care. Justin’s happy to see Julia but scampers off right after just a minute of chatting.
Kirsten allows the distraught mother to pull her daughter out of the drug trial, which her boss is upset about. Kirsten thinks she did the responsible thing, since the kids on the drug aren’t improving and the kids not on the drug are miserable. Her boss argues that the kids are in the study so thousands can get help. He’s noticed that she’s been acting strange lately.
Bailey goes back to the rehab center to see the counselor, and while he’s there, Oliver steals a bottle of pills. Bailey stops him with a tackle, reminding us all how he was a wrestler in high school. Adam shows up in Vegas to give Julia a very When Harry Met Sally-like speech listing what he loves about her. He wishes she would let Justin go and pair up with him instead. Justin shows up, sees them together, and runs off again.
Julia catches up with Justin, who tells her that marrying Laura is a leap of faith. He wants to go through with it, even though he still loves Julia. He’s not sure he’s supposed to take the leap with her or Laura. Julia says she’s not sure what she wants. Joe calls Charlie on his attitude toward him, like…you stole from his business. You’re lucky you still have a job there, dude. Joe thinks he should be forgiven because they have 20 years of history. Charlie won’t budge, so Joe considers quitting.
Bailey goes back to the rehab center yet again, and Oliver tells him that taking the pills wouldn’t have killed him, so Bailey stopping him was a waste of time. Bailey just wants to know what’s wrong with Oliver. Oliver recognizes that he and Bailey are both fans of crises. In Oliver’s case, he likes being rescued. In Bailey’s case, he likes being the rescuer.
Claudia catches Todd watching porn and asks him to start noticing her instead of other women. Todd says he’s been trying not to come across as a dog because he knows what happened with Claudia and Derek. Claudia kisses him, assuring him that they don’t need to move quite that slowly. Julia goes to Justin and Laura’s wedding but stays out of sight and leaves before it’s over.
Charlie tries to catch Bailey up to speed on the restaurant, but Bailey stops him. He admits that he hates working there even though he’s good at it. The only time he feels useful is when someone calls him needing to be rescued. If their parents hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have a reason to live. Bailey continues that the high point of his life was when Charlie got sick – Bailey was able to take charge and prove his worth. He hates that he needs people to suffer so he can feel successful.
After Bailey’s meltdown, Charlie goes home to deal with his wife’s ongoing struggle. Kirsten confides that she felt like her depression had come back, but a trip to the doctor told her otherwise: She’s pregnant. Her mood swings have been hormonal, not related to a mood disorder. Charlie manages to be happy, despite the fact that they’re throwing a baby into the mess the family has become.
Julia leaves Vegas to tell Adam that she wants him in her life. She’s happy he came to tell her how he feels. Charlie asks Bailey to help Owen with his homework, but Bailey recognizes that Charlie’s trying to keep him busy. Owen shows Bailey a letter he wrote while Bailey was in rehab, and the effort he put into it makes Bailey emotional.
That night, Charlie invites Joe to join the family (and Will) for dinner at the house. He wants Joe to stay on at the restaurant until they figure out what will happen with Bailey. Bailey learns that the family has been having dinner together once a week, a new old tradition. And then I assume Charlie and Kirsten announce their pregnancy, but we don’t get to see it.
Thoughts: We only see him for a few seconds, but the minister at Justin and Laura’s wedding is played by Doug Jones. He’s been in tons of stuff, but is usually unrecognizable because he plays a lot of creatures in heavy makeup. If you’ve seen anything by Guillermo del Toro, you’ve seen Doug Jones.
How are all these people paying for this Vegas trip? And don’t they have school?
’90s music alert: Filter’s “Take a Picture.” Ugh, that song.
April 4, 2015
Party of Five 6.14, One for the Road: Luke and Laura
Still a better relationship than Justin and Laura
Summary: Charlie and Daphne discuss the details of her move to Texas with Luke, and her desire to take Diana with her. Charlie warns that Daphne doesn’t get how difficult it’ll be to take care of Diana without his help. Plus, she can’t be sure that things will work out with Luke. He thinks they should work everything out in Texas, and then he’ll take Diana to visit. Daphne doesn’t like that Charlie will only be letting her visit.
Claudia and Julia corner Bailey to talk about the restaurant’s money situation, but only to thank him for giving them his own money. He’s confused that they’re not mad at him. Justin and Laura are in town, and they go see American Beauty with Julia and Adam. Justin and Julia clearly still have a deep bond, leaving Laura and Adam feeling like outsiders. Bailey visits Evvie, who invites him to a party, warning that it’ll be wild and there will be lots of beer.
Adam’s uncertain about attending Justin and Laura’s engagement party the next day, admitting to Julia that he thinks they’re a horrible couple. They don’t have much in common, and certainly don’t have the connection that Justin and Julia have. This seems to be the first time Julia’s thought about this. Evvie busts Bailey for drinking at the party, figuring out that he’s been skipping AA meetings because he’s not sober. She thinks she can drink a little, too.
Daphne decides to challenge Charlie’s plans and try to take Diana to Texas with her. She questions whether he’ll even let Diana visit once Daphne moves. She tells Charlie that she feels like he believes he’s Diana’s father and mother, and Daphne’s mother as well. Charlie tells her that she doesn’t get to make all the decisions on her own, and if she tries to take Diana, he’ll stop her. Daphne won’t be backing down without a fight. Meanwhile, Bailey and Evvie have drunken sex.
Charlie and Kirsten meet with a lawyer so they can be ready in case Daphne fights for custody. Kirsten warns that Charlie’s going to be in the same situation he was with Bailey when they fought for Owen. A judge will be deciding what’s best for Diana, instead of Charlie and Daphne doing it themselves. Kirsten doesn’t think a judge will give Charlie custody anyway. Plus, he should have known this could happen, considering the circumstances of Diana’s conception.
At the engagement party, Laura tries to keep Justin away from Julia. Julia complains to Adam that he put the idea in her head that they’re a bad couple. She thinks the marriage was Laura’s idea from the start, and Justin doesn’t really want to get married. Adam encourages her to say something to Justin. Julia refuses, knowing that Laura will accuse her of wanting Justin back, which she totally doesn’t! Really! She doesn’t want him! Adam thinks she should look after her friend.
Luke tells Charlie that Daphne’s decided to stay in San Francisco while he moves to Texas. Charlie feels bad. Julia and Adam decide to leave the party early, and as they’re saying goodbye to Justin, he tells Julia that he feels like things are moving too fast. She says he can stop it, then backtracks. Justin thinks she wants him to call off the engagement. He reveals that Laura thinks Julia’s jealous, and now he’s starting to agree.
Bailey goes to Evvie’s place and finds her unconscious, apparently from alcohol poisoning. He takes her to the hospital, where he runs into Holly. Evvie’s sponsor arrives and yells at Bailey for letting Evvie drink at a party, and for drinking himself after two years of sobriety. Bailey’s more concerned with what Holly thinks of him. Things are now super-awkward and tense between Charlie and Daphne.
Julia tells Griffin about the Justin situation, because if there’s one thing Griffin likes to talk about, it’s Justin and Julia’s relationship. He thinks she’s jealous of Laura, not the other way around. When Griffin and Julia were married, he wasn’t as worried about bills and marital problems as he was that one day Julia would realize she should be with Justin.
Charlie wants to smooth things over with Daphne so they don’t fight for the rest of Diana’s life. Daphne complains that she’s done everything Charlie wanted her to do, and he won’t let her have Diana. She feels like he sees her as putting herself ahead of Diana. Daphne hates that she has to see how happy Charlie is with Kirsten and Diana, but gets shot down when she tries to have the same thing.
Julia shows Adam a story she wrote about a couple reconnecting after being separated for years. She tries to make out with him, but he gets that she’s trying to prove to herself that she doesn’t want to be with Justin. He encourages her to talk to him. Charlie tells Kirsten that he wants to be fair to Daphne, but he’s worried that she won’t let him see Diana again. He wants to do the right thing but doesn’t know what it is.
Bailey gets drunk and goes to see Holly, rambling that he was trying to be a good person. Holly’s annoyed that he hasn’t changed. He snaps at her for looking down on him for not being perfect. She needs to accept that people have problems. Charlie tells Daphne that he does see her as Diana’s mom after all the work she’s done to get there. He supports her decision to take Diana to Texas.
Julia admits to Justin that she’s jealous of Laura. It’s hard for her to see her first love committing himself to someone else. Justin reveals that he said he felt things were moving too fast because he thought he might still have feelings for Julia. He plans to go back to school with Laura, and then “we’ll see.” Sorry, Laura! Your fiancé is a coward who doesn’t want to marry you! Charlie says goodbye to Diana, who of course has no idea what’s going on.
Bailey drinks at the restaurant, then goes home, where he tells his sisters to leave him alone. Julia guesses that he’s been drinking. He rambles that he’s been in charge of the family for years, and just wants a break. Julia tells him not to blame the family situation for his problems with alcohol. Before she and Claudia can stop him, Bailey leaves the house, driving recklessly.
Thoughts: Someone needs to tell Charlie and Daphne about the concept of joint custody.
Julia wants to have Kevin Spacey’s baby. Awww.
If the show hadn’t ended at the end of this season, I hope Lacey Chabert and Jeremy London would have left, because they had nothing to do.
March 28, 2015
Party of Five 6.13, The Declaration of Co-Dependence: Say It Ain’t So, Joe
Me, preparing for the rest of this endless season
Summary: The restaurant’s profits have dropped, so Bailey takes a look at all the finances and learns that some purchases have been entered twice. Joe admits that he’s responsible – he needed money and took it from the restaurant. Bailey tells Joe not to say anything to the family; they already have enough financial problems since they’re paying Griffin’s hospital bills. He also blames himself for letting this happen. At the house, Bailey gives his sisters what he claims is their share of money from the restaurant, but it’s actually from his personal account.
Charlie has a big group ready to put together his furniture, and they’re thrilled to hear that this means their jobs are safe. Bailey goes to a party at his AA friend John’s house, claiming that he’s been going to meetings at a different location. He meets a woman named Evvie who jokes that AA is like a cult. She’s annoying. Charlie, Kirsten, Daphne, and Luke have dinner together and discuss childcare. Thrilling.
Julia complains to Adam that everyone she knows has a stable life and a plan for the future. When she mentions Justin, Adam tries to find out how close they are. He convinces her to crash a bar mitzvah with him to get free food. Joe tries to come up with ways to pay back the money he stole, but Bailey warns him not to do anything stupid. He thinks he can use his own money to keep the restaurant afloat. Joe leaves, then comes back for his keys and catches Bailey drinking beer. Bailey admits that he’s been drinking again but only moderately.
Charlie tells his boss, Gus, that a recent lumber delivery was incorrect. Gus reveals that he changed the type of wood to cut costs. Charlie reminds him that the customers paid for a different kind. They’re trying to appeal to a clientele who wants something better than they provide. Gus takes offense and tells Charlie to keep doing what they’ve always done. Evvie tracks down Bailey at the restaurant and asks him to be her sponsor, since she doesn’t feel like she can talk to hers. Bailey resists, and when she keeps pushing him, he snaps at her to knock it off.
Taking care of Diana means Kirsten can’t do all the work she wanted to. (Get used to it, wannabe mommy.) Adam cooks dinner for Julia and she starts to think that he’s interested in her romantically. He starts to express his feelings, but she tells him they don’t need to talk about it. Joe calls Bailey out on lying to Evvie about going to AA meetings, which he can’t do while he’s drinking. He asks if the other Salingers know. Bailey downplays the situation again, basically saying that he’ll keep quiet about Joe’s theft if Joe keeps his mouth shut about the drinking.
Bailey meets up with Evvie and babbles about having people around who understand what you’re going through. One of Charlie’s co-workers, Warren, has concerns about the materials they’re using on the furniture. Some customers have come by to see their chairs and weren’t impressed. Charlie tells him they need to defer to Gus. Warren points out that Gus hasn’t exactly steered the factory to a good place, but Charlie has made things better for everyone.
Bailey and Evvie go to the Salingers’ to talk about her problems with AA. All she wants is to feel good, which he can understand. Julia ambushes Adam at his apartment, since he’s been avoiding her, and tells him that she likes him…as a friend. She’s afraid to lose his friendship when she really needs it, and when she’s trying to figure out who she is as a single person. Adam pretends he only likes her as a friend, too: “Not every boy wants to marry you.”
Charlie checks with the customers, a bunch of who say they’d pull their orders if the factory switched types of wood. Gus says that he recently answered a question for some employees who then asked to talk to Charlie. He loves the furniture and thinks it would be better for Charlie to take the lead in the business. Charlie resists, but Gus promises that he trusts him.
Bailey comes home to a mini-intervention comprised of Joe, Claudia, and Julia. He’s relieved to learn that Joe only told Claudia and Julia about the restaurant, not his drinking. Bailey insists that everything’s taken care of, so Charlie doesn’t need to know anything. His sisters are annoyed that he’s been saying for months that they just need to be patient and wait for profits to improve. They’ve set up a meeting with Bailey’s accountant. Bailey’s furious and leaves the conversation.
Charlie gives Kirsten the news about his job, admitting that he’s not sure about being the person who makes all the decisions for the company. Kirsten thinks he should focus on the positives, like being able to employ his creativity. Charlie points out that running the company would take up even more of his time, so Kirsten will have to cut back at work to look after Diana. She’s willing to make sacrifices so Charlie can have a job he really wants.
Julia happily gives Adam the news she overheard from a friend in the admissions office that he passed his GED. This means he’ll be able to apply and get into the school. She hugs him, but Adam doesn’t want to have physical contact with someone who says they should just be friends. He’s worried that he’ll kiss her and decide it’s not a bad thing. Julia agrees that they’ll keep things platonic, though now it seems like she’s regretful.
Charlie, Julia, and Claudia gather for the meeting with the accountant, but Bailey is a no-show. He’s too busy stopping by an AA meeting just to say hi to Evvie, who decides to skip it with him. Daphne and Luke return from a trip to Texas with the news that Luke has been transferred there. Daphne’s agreed to go with him, and she wants to take Diana.
Thoughts: Evvie sucks at reading people, because Bailey couldn’t have been less interested in her when they met.
Adam took and passed the GED in the past two weeks? Aren’t there multiple parts? Wouldn’t he need to study?
Bailey, didn’t you learn anything about hooking up with fellow AA-goers from your experience with Annie?
Why doesn’t Charlie get Victor to watch both Owen and Diana?
March 21, 2015
Party of Five 6.12, Bad Behavior: Teach Your Children Well. Or Not at All. Whatever
Julia’s new boyfriend. Maybe this one won’t be a big mess
Summary: Bailey comes home after a night out and pretends he got up early to go to the gym. Owen notices that he’s wearing the same clothes he wore the day before. Will and Victor know that Bailey’s been hooking up all week; they approve. Will mentions that he’s in a new relationship with a woman named Deborah, and things are going slowly. They’re about to go even slower since Deborah’s sister is coming to visit. Bailey offers to entertain the sister so Will and Deborah can be alone.
Daphne accidentally interrupts Charlie’s work presentation, then saves it by making a sale. Julia has trouble with a class assignment that doesn’t give her any specifications. One of her classmates gets right to work while Julia faces writer’s block. Victor tries to clarify arrangements for a sleepover Owen’s having with a friend, but the friend’s father changes the plans to keep his kid from going to the Salingers’. Julia’s surprised to see that her classmate wrote something good in a short amount of time. She asks him for tips to overcome writer’s block.
At a concert, Claudia runs a guy named Todd, who she used to compete against in strings competitions. He’s stuck with music and is surprised that she gave it up. He invites her to sit with him. Charlie tells Kirsten that Daphne’s a surprisingly good salesperson. Kirsten falls asleep, but I don’t think it’s personal. Deborah’s sister Megan wants to go to a club after their double date with Will and Bailey; Deborah objects, but Bailey agrees to go. After he leaves, Deborah tells Will that she doesn’t like Bailey.
Claudia hangs out with Todd, who plays violin on hip-hop tracks for a living. He asks her to a party, and she balks until he assures her that he just wants her to meet some of his friends. Julia tracks down her classmate, Adam, who works on a historical ship. She’s thinking about using him as her character in the writing assignment she’s struggling with. She reveals that she’s figured out that he doesn’t really go to her school.
Victor tells Bailey that he thinks Owen’s friend’s father had a problem with his son spending the night under the guardianship of a gay man. Bailey decides that he doesn’t want his brother hanging out with homophobes. Victor advises him to explain things to Owen so he gets what’s going on. Charlie goes to a work party with Kirsten, who encourages him to leave early to help Daphne get some furniture ready for a convention.
Todd praises Claudia after a jam session, telling her she may already have a job offer in the works. He tells her that this job involves really listening to the music and trusting your instincts. He kisses her, but she runs off. Adam tells Julia about his dead father and runaway mother, who left him with no money. She thinks he should apply for financial aid. Adam’s worried that he’ll get busted for auditing classes; he doesn’t want to take the risk.
Bailey’s late to the restaurant, and Will accuses him of hanging out with Megan. Apparently Bailey slept with her the previous night, and she was a virgin before that. Now Megan’s upset that Bailey didn’t call her. Bailey tells Will that Megan basically begged him for sex, and if he hadn’t slept with her, someone else would have. Will still thinks Bailey’s a bad guy for…sleeping with a virgin, I guess. I don’t know.
Kirsten’s late getting to the convention, which Daphne has jazzed up with naked women (might as well put pretty women in a bed to sell the bed, right?). Julia finds Claudia practicing her violin in the shed, apparently trying to hide that she’s playing again. She tells Julia about Todd and how stable and adult he is. She wanted to kiss him back, but after the situation with Derek, she’s not sure she can trust her instincts.
Owen tries to avoid Victor, eventually calling him an extremely offensive word he learned from his friend. Victor calmly asks him not to use it again. Owen doesn’t know what the word means, but he knows it’s bad. His friend said Victor would turn him gay. Victor’s annoyed that Bailey didn’t explain things to Owen. Victor tries to use people’s likes and dislikes to explain that everyone is different, and it doesn’t make anyone good or bad.
Kirsten arrives at the end of the convention, and she and Charlie bicker about how they’ve been unable to be there for each other at work functions. He points out that he was able to make time to go to Kirsten’s work party. One of them will need to make a concession. “Are you volunteering?” Kirsten sasses. Adam blasts Julia for using him for her assignment, because a professor figured things out and he’s been banned from campus.
Victor confronts Bailey for not talking to Owen, who now has that new vocabulary word. Bailey claims that he just got Owen out of the house because he didn’t know how to explain things with him. Victor reminds Bailey that he’s not Owen’s parent. He’s considering leaving so Bailey will have to take care of his brother instead of passing him off to someone else.
Julia tells Adam that she talked to someone on the school’s board (uh-huh, sure), and if he applies, he might get a spot. Adam admits that he never finished high school. His mom left and he had to work to support himself. Julia encourages him to finish and then apply to college. Adam doesn’t want her help. Bailey finally pretends to be a responsible adult, telling Owen that he’ll always be there for him.
Claudia asks Todd to meet her for a talk, which he commandeers by admitting that he’s still the same geek he always was. His sister has been helping him seem cooler, but he realized he couldn’t keep up the charade forever. Claudia asks him to help her get the job he thought she might get offered. Julia bugs Adam again, advising him to let her help him study for the GED. She accuses him of being afraid of having his work judged along with everyone else’s. He accuses her of being afraid to try new things. When she agrees to work on that, he makes her create a character on the spot.
Charlie calls Kirsten at work so they can discuss staying connected while they’re both so busy. Their conversation veers toward phone sex, so…I guess that’s their solution. While cleaning up the kitchen at the house, Bailey casually grabs a beer from the fridge and takes a few sips. Dun dun!
Thoughts: Adam is played by Sean Maher (Firefly). Todd is played by one of my childhood crushes, Thomas Ian Nicholas (Rookie of the Year, the American Pie movies).
As a writer, Julia would know to NEVER read someone’s writing without asking. Adam was right to try to avoid her.
Victor: “You know how some people like D.C. Comics and some like Marvel?” Owen: “Right. I like both.” You heard it here first, folks: Owen is bi.
Ugh, I hated this he’s-not-really-a-student plot on Dawson’s Creek, too. At least that one had Roger Howarth as an entertainment factor.
'90s Flashback 