July 17, 2021
Felicity 4.18, Time Will Tell: The Do-Over
When your drunk friend starts messing with witchcraft, it’s time to cut her off
Summary: Remember when Felicity used to send Sally tapes all the time, talking about stuff that happened to her? She’s doing that again, but she warns that Sally might find what she has to say unbelievable. For starters, she’s back in the dorm apartment. Also, Elena’s dead. Nooooooo! She was in a car accident six months ago, which I think is right after we last saw Felicity. I need a hug.
We go back in time to Elena’s funeral. Afterward, Noel tells Felicity that he feels like they should do something because at any moment, something important could disappear. Felicity admits to Sally that instead of holding on to the people she loves, she pulled away. While studying together, Ben suggests that he and Felicity go do something more fun. Felicity wants to keep working, so Ben leaves without her.
Felicity tells Sally that around this time, Ben started hanging out with a classmate named Claire. Felicity studied with them for a while, but eventually started spending more time by herself. The day she got an invitation to Noel’s wedding – way to bury the lede, Felicity – she caught them kissing. And that was the end of Felicity and Ben.
Felicity calls Meghan, who tells her to come back to New York. Felicity doesn’t want to go to Noel’s wedding, since she’s a mess, but Meghan talks her into coming anyway. At the loft, Sean has made a party favor for the wedding, a shirt with him, Noel, and Noel’s bride on it. It’s Zoe! I didn’t see that working out. Javier asks Felicity where Ben is, and Meghan lies that he’s not coming because he has exams. Why would Ben want to go to Noel’s wedding anyway?
Noel comes by and admits to Felicity how nervous he is to get married. Felicity thinks he and Zoe are perfect together. Also, it’s normal to be nervous – Elena was really nervous before her wedding. Yeah, and it didn’t happen. Not a great example there, Felicity. Noel tells her he misses talking to her. He reminds her of when he took her to the airport right after graduation, and she asked if he ever thinks about the two of them. He said no, but of course he was lying. He even thought he might marry Felicity. But he’s not hitting on her! Definitely not! He totally loves Zoe! It’s just that things don’t always work out the way you thought they would.
Felicity tells Sally that this is when she started thinking she might have made a mistake. Maybe she should have been with Noel all along. Anyway, here’s where it gets weird, she says. Meghan has decided to put a hex on Ben using a spell from a book written by a guy named Korsakoff. After confirming that Felicity will never, ever get back together with him, even after he inevitably comes to New York to grovel, Meghan does a spell that will cause Ben to trip.
The old gang gets together for dinner the night before the wedding. Richard gives a toast that’s less about Noel and more about how Richard is still single. He thought Noel would stay single forever, always pining for Felicity. Felicity tells Sally that she started feeling a little jealous, wishing she was the one marrying Noel. When it’s Felicity’s turn to give a toast, she awkwardly stumbles through some words about how the bride and groom are lucky to have each other.
As Meghan expected, Ben shows up wanting to talk to Felicity. P.S. He has a bump on his forehead because he tripped. Success! Sean encourages Ben and Felicity to get married, since it’s awesome. After dinner, Noel and Zoe split up for the night, and Felicity offers to walk home with Noel. That effectively drives Ben away, at least for now. Richard was hoping to take Noel to a strip club, but Noel would rather hang out with his ex.
When they get to the loft, Ben is there waiting. Noel gives them some space, saying he’s going to go up to the roof and think about how tomorrow, he won’t be single anymore. Yes, he should definitely do that in the place where he once slept with Felicity. Great idea, Noel. Ben apologizes to Felicity, saying his kiss with Claire didn’t mean anything. Oh, well, then it’s okay! He tells her that he and Claire agreed not to see each other anymore. Felicity catches on to his wording, guessing that this had been an ongoing thing before she caught them. He admits that he cheated for a month. Meghan, make him trip again!
Speaking of Meghan, she and Felicity get drunk together and trash-talk Ben. Felicity wishes she could go back to the night she slept with Noel, because that’s when she really blew it. Meghan asks what she would do differently. Felicity admits that she would have chosen Noel over Ben. But it’s all hindsight, so there’s nothing she can do.
…Or is there? Meghan has a book of magic spells, and she thinks she can send Felicity back in time. Felicity’s like, “Whatever, I’m going to go pass out.” But when she wakes up…she’s on the roof with Noel. Her hair, which has been straight for a while, is now curly again, like it was back when she and Noel slept together. Felicity thinks she blacked out and came up to the roof to be with Noel. She scampers off, worrying about Zoe. Noel has no idea who that is.
Felicity tells Sally that she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or going crazy. She’s still not sure. She goes downstairs to the loft just as Ben arrives with a pizza. He apologizes for their fight about the printer, blaming his mood on Hodges. Felicity thinks he’s messing with her. Noel comes in and acts casual, just like he did when this all happened for real. Felicity runs off to track down Meghan.
At the dorm apartment, she tells Meghan that the spell she did worked. Meghan is very confused and has no idea what Felicity’s talking about when she says Meghan sent her back in time. She’s also kind of excited that Felicity has gone crazy. Speaking of excited, that’s how Felicity feels when she sees a very-much-alive Elena. She tells Meghan that Elena’s supposed to be dead. Meghan quips that she’s engaged, which is pretty similar. She also predicts that Ben will kill Noel when he finds out Noel slept with Felicity.
Felicity wants to get out ahead of everything, and Meghan asks if she wants to be with Noel. Felicity says she thinks she does. Meghan’s thrilled because this means senior year will be awesome. Felicity tries to sleep, but she’s worried about where or when she might wake up, as she tells Sally. All she knows is that she has a chance to do everything again – and this time, she’ll do it all right.
The next morning, Noel comes over and worries that Ben will see the huge hickey he left on Felicity’s neck. Felicity is calm about it, saying she’ll just tell Ben the truth. She knows what will happen if she doesn’t, and it’s bad, so it’s better for her to be honest. Noel doesn’t like this idea, but Felicity says it’s the best out of all of their options. Since she seems so sure, Noel agrees to let her do what she wants.
Felicity goes to the loft, but Ben isn’t there. Sean is on his way to get the fortune cookies for Elena and Tracy’s wedding. Felicity comments that it might actually happen this time. Sean is confused. As Felicity leaves Ben a note, she hears the message from Janet and remembers that whole mess. She crumples up her note and leaves.
Felicity meets up with Ben at Epstein Bar and blurts out right away that she slept with Noel. She felt guilty before, but not anymore. She needed someone who was there for her. Felicity brings up Claire and Janet, telling Ben she no longer believes that nothing happened between him and Janet. When she clarifies that she slept with Noel just last night, not over the summer, Ben asks if she wants to be with him now. Felicity says she does. He needs to trust that this is for the best, especially since he broke her heart.
As Ben leaves, Felicity tells Sally that she knew this was the right thing, but she started to doubt herself. She just had to remind herself that eventually Claire would be in the picture. She goes back to the loft and tells Noel that she was honest with Ben. She thinks she and Noel should get back together. Noel thinks she’s having some sort of weird breakdown because she’s stressed about her future. Felicity says her future is fine; she’s going to ditch art and go back to pre-med. She knows what she wants.
Noel says that’s great, but he’s still trying to figure things out. Felicity says he will. Right now, they need to take this opportunity to get back together. Yeah, she spent the summer talking about Ben non-stop, but now she’s over him. Felicity knows she’s always chosen Ben over Noel, but that was a mistake. It feels right to be with Noel now. Noel is, of course, not going to say no to being with her, so he’s up for it. They agree to get coffee together before Elena and Tracy’s rehearsal dinner.
Felicity goes to a shift at Dean & DeLuca, where Ben tells her he doesn’t want to break up. Maybe they can get past whatever he did that makes her think he broke her heart. She says they can’t. She tells Sally that whether or not this is the real world, the feelings feel real, and this hurts.
Pavone agrees that of course this breakup hurts. Hey, it’s Pavone! Yay! Felicity says she thought it would be easier, given what she knows will happen. She’s sure that Ben isn’t the right one for her. Pavone doubts that Noel is the right one. Felicity reminds her that she urged Felicity to open the drawer and uncover Noel and all that, which Pavone doesn’t remember, since it hasn’t happened yet. Felicity says she wants to make good decisions, but Pavone tells her that’s not what’s most important right now. She needs to think about what she wants. Felicity announces that she wants to be with Noel, but she would prefer if that didn’t hurt Ben so much.
On their coffee date, Felicity suggests that she and Noel go away together some weekend. He tells her it’s not a good idea. Well, really, their whole attempt at another relationship is a bad idea. He was hoping she would come to him some day and ask to get back together, but it doesn’t feel right. He’s having trouble getting his life on track. Felicity assures him again that he will, but Noel doesn’t have that same confidence. They need to stay friends right now.
They head to the rehearsal dinner at the loft, but…there’s no rehearsal dinner. Elena and Tracy had a huge fight about Noel and Felicity’s fling, and Elena called off the wedding. Welp, that’s one way of not having to try to get Donald Faison in the episode. Ben is super-drunk, so Felicity goes to check on him, because I’m sure she’s exactly who he wants to see right now. He tells her he’s upset about missing his first pre-med exam, not because Felicity cheated. Felicity promises that if he keeps working hard, he’ll achieve his goals.
She then pulls Meghan into the bathroom and insists that they find a way to send Felicity back to the future. She’s screwed up too much stuff, and will continue screwing things up (for example, Sean and Meghan won’t get married). Meghan obviously doesn’t remember doing a time-travel spell, but she says she’ll find one to send Felicity back.
The Internet isn’t helpful, and Felicity realizes that if the book is from the future, it might not have been written yet. Since Meghan has never even heard of Korsakoff, she’s probably right. Felicity realizes that she could be stuck in the past forever. Well, you should probably start making better decisions, then. Meghan suggests that she go see a psychiatrist. Felicity pretends she’s getting sick and is just acting weird.
This is where Felicity starts making her tape for Sally. Noel finds her and says he thinks it’s nice that she makes the tapes. She tells him she’s made a big mess of things. Noel admits that he turned her down for a relationship because he’s terrified of losing her as a friend. Felicity promises that that will never happened. He kisses her, and I guess that’s back on. I’m sure everything will work out great!
Thoughts: Oh, come on. Was killing off Elena really necessary?
I don’t get couples who break up and get back together multiple times, especially when cheating is involved. Try being single! You might like it!
I’m sorry, it’s hilarious that Felicity went back in time, torpedoed her life, and tried to go all in for Noel…and he said “no, thanks.”
March 27, 2021
Felicity 4.2, My Best Friend’s Wedding: Opening the Drawer
The sleeves are weird, but the rest of the dress looks nice
Summary: The last time we saw Felicity, she was kissing Noel on Tar Beach. Well, it turns out the kissing went beyond just that, and the two of them are now putting their clothes back on. Oh, dear. She immediately wants to leave, disagreeing when Noel tells her everything will be okay. Yeah, dude, you’re not the one who just cheated. You’re the one who got what he wanted.
After asking Noel to wait a few minutes so they don’t arrive together, Felicity goes back to the loft to get her purse, then starts to leave. Ben comes home and thinks she’s just been waiting there for him. He apologizes for blowing up at her and invites her to hang out for a while. Felicity lies that she doesn’t feel well, so she’s going to go home and sleep. Before she can slip out, Noel comes down, and they act like they didn’t just do something awful together.
Elena and Tracy come by Felicity’s room the next morning and tell her that their minister is overbooked, so they’d like her to get ordained online and perform their ceremony. Tracy promises that she can get guidance from his minister and from his aunt and uncle who have been married for 50 years. Felicity suggests that the aunt or uncle do the ceremony instead. “No, no, no, they’re nuts,” Tracy says. Felicity agrees, even though she’s the last person who should be preaching about love and faithfulness right now. Also, she has a huge hickey on her neck.
At the loft, Sean has a very important box to present to Ben and Javier. Javier doesn’t care, since he’s focused on wedding planning. He couldn’t secure a place for the wedding rehearsal, so he’d like to host it at the loft. Well, of course. Sean shows the guys the contents of the box: condoms that play “Here Comes the Bride” when ripped open. He calls them Rubber Bands. They play different songs for different occasions. Dare I say that this invention might actually make Sean some money for once?
As Sean says that, after Saturday, Tracy and Elena can finally have sex, Meghan comes in. She comments on the fact that Sean just used the words “Tracy” and “sex” in the same sentence. You might be surprised to learn that this leads to a fight between Meghan and Sean. He’s annoyed that, in the wake of her declaration that she wants to have sex with Tracy, he now can’t get the idea out of his head. Um, the idea of Meghan and Tracy having sex, not the idea of Sean and Tracy having sex. Though maybe he has that idea, too; I don’t know his brain.
Meghan thinks Sean is implying that he doesn’t think she could get Tracy. I don’t know, but I’ll say straight out that I don’t think she could get Tracy. Meghan wants to make a bet that she can get Tracy to kiss her before the wedding. The loser of the bet has to be the winner’s servant for a day. Sean thinks this is the easiest bet he’ll ever win, so of course he’s in.
Noel goes to the dorm apartment with various products Felicity thinks will clear up her hickey. Has she never heard of foundation? Also, the hickey is the least of her problems, really. She thinks she should just be honest and tell Ben that they slept together. Noel disagrees. Out in the living room, Tracy and Elena are practicing for their first dance. He wants to take the waltzing from the living room to the bedroom, even though they’re not married yet. Elena declines, which makes Tracy think something’s going on with her.
Felicity goes to see Pavone in hopes of easing her guilt about cheating on Ben. She thinks Pavone will say she shouldn’t tell Ben what she did. Pavone doesn’t think that way, necessarily – Felicity doesn’t have perspective on the issue yet, and there might be something she’s not seeing yet. There’s a drawer, and there’s something inside it that Felicity needs to look into.
Someone put Richard in charge of music for the reception, for some reason. He notices that Noel is acting weird and thinks it’s lady problems. First he thinks Noel is in a dry spell, but then he thinks Noel scored with someone. Noel likes that it was someone Richard doesn’t know. Her name is Sandy, and she works at a nearby pizza place. Noel, you idiot – of course Richard is going to go over there and check her out!
The show didn’t want to cast people to play Tracy’s parents, so Javier announces that they’re stuck in Buffalo and can’t make the wedding rehearsal at the loft. He enlists Noel and Richard to be their stand-ins. Felicity arrives, and Ben sees that she looks upset, so he takes her to his room to talk. She pretends she’s just emotional about the wedding and how much everything’s changing. Noel comes to get them, since Felicity is kind of integral to the rehearsal.
The next day, Sean is still working on gifts for the wedding guests. Sean needs a better plot. Ben asks Noel if he knows why Felicity’s been acting weird – has she said anything to Noel about her relationship with Ben? Did she say anything the other night? Noel lies that he only saw her for a minute, so they didn’t really talk.
At the dorm apartment, Meghan takes Tracy into the bathroom, where the light is better, so he can give his opinion on ribbon. She offers him some kind of lip product that will make his lips tingle – maybe he’d like to use it with Elena on his wedding night? But the only way to get the full effect is to kiss someone. Yeah, nice try, Meghan, but Tracy doesn’t want to kiss you, and also, he probably thinks you’re crazy now.
Felicity stops by the loft to see Ben, but he’s not home. While she’s leaving him a note, she hears a message on the answering machine from someone named Janet. She mentions driving by their hotel and thinking about him. She’ll be transferring to Columbia in two weeks. Hmmm, I’m sure there’s a completely innocent explanation for all of that.
Felicity and Noel wind up arriving at the dorm apartment at the same time, and he warns her that Ben is curious about what’s going on between them. She asks him about Janet, furious that Ben apparently slept with someone else. Yeah, that jerk! Felicity would never do that to him! Noel starts to give her advice, like she wants advice from him. He tells her that if she wants to come clean to Ben, she should.
Richard comes by, and we learn that he has a band called Morse Code (because his last name is Coad). Also, guess what? He went by the pizza place where Sandy works and learned that there’s no Sandy! Surprise! He also sees the hickey on Felicity’s neck, then quickly puts together that she’s “Sandy.” That means the one person who should never know a secret you want to stay secret now knows Noel and Felicity’s big secret!
Ben and Felicity go to dinner, and she asks who Janet is. Ben reminds Felicity that he told her about Janet – a group of the EMT students got hotel rooms for some exercise, and Janet came on to him, but he told her he has a girlfriend. He insists that nothing happened. He also knows that Felicity’s weirdness lately has to be related to something else.
He thinks it’s because Felicity’s uncertain about her future, while Ben knows what he wants to do. They’ve switched positions since freshman year. He knows he’s been busy, so he’s neglected their relationship a little, and he wants to help Felicity however he can. Felicity fights back tears as she says she’s confused. She wants to spend some time apart.
Richard thinks Noel is itching to run up to the roof and yell, “I finally had Felicity!” Okay, first, I hate when people say “had” when they mean they slept with someone. It’s gross. Second, the roof is the scene of the crime, so Noel should stay away from there. He tells Richard this isn’t funny. Ben comes home, and fortunately, Richard leaves immediately, so Noel doesn’t have to worry about him saying something he shouldn’t. Unfortunately, now Ben and Noel are alone in the loft. Ben reveals that Felicity broke up with him the night before. Noel is, like, the least amount of sorry you can be while saying you’re sorry.
At the dorm apartment, Elena confronts Meghan for trying to kiss Tracy. Meghan brushes it off, saying it’s just part of a stupid bet. Elena asks what Meghan would do if she tried to sleep with Sean. Well, first she would roll her eyes, because that would never happen. Meghan tells her it’s nothing to worry about, and Elena’s obviously just freaking out because Tracy suddenly wants to have sex, but might not after they’re married. Elena disinvites Meghan from the wedding, which Meghan is probably fine with, since it means she doesn’t have to stand in front of a bunch of people wearing a pink dress.
Felicity and Noel go for a walk so she can pretend she cares about how he’s handling the aftermath of their hookup. Then she starts worrying about herself again. She’s concerned that this will ruin their friendship. Noel says he doesn’t have any expectations, so that’s one less thing for her to think about.
Meghan and Sean fight (shocking!) about how Meghan doesn’t care that Elena just threw her out of the wedding party. He accuses Meghan of not caring about other people. She blindsided Elena with something major the day before her wedding. Sean tells her she has to stop testing people and pushing them away just to see how far she can go. Meghan’s like, “The people I test keep failing, so maybe that’s good to know.” Sean warns that she might eventually drive everyone away, including him, and end up alone.
Tracy comes to the dorm apartment, where Elena greets him with, “I want to have sex.” They head straight to her room, but she puts the brakes on before too many clothes can come off. Meghan got in her head, and now she doesn’t know if she and Tracy will have a good sex life after they get married. Tracy points out that Meghan has piercings, though I’m not sure why that means she can’t weigh in here. He promises that they’re getting married for the right reasons.
Felicity chats with Tracy’s unnamed aunt and uncle, who tell her the secret of a long relationship is forgiveness. Your heart gets stronger the more you use it. Felicity’s really happy to hear that. She goes back to see Pavone, admitting that she’s not sure Ben will forgive her for sleeping with Noel. Pavone gets her to realize that, even if she was sure, that wouldn’t solve all her problems. She would still feel horrible about cheating. Pavone thinks she doesn’t want to let go of her guilt because of what she could expose underneath.
Felicity says she deserves to feel guilty since she did something horrible. Pavone says she’s more scared than Pavone ever realized – she’s too scared to look in the drawer. Felicity still doesn’t know what this drawer is supposed to symbolize. Pavone says her problem won’t go away by itself, and she can only hide it for so long. Felicity asks who’s in the drawer. Pavone comments that she never said it was a person. Felicity thinks Noel is in the drawer. Pavone says she chose him for a reason – she could have turned to anyone while she was struggling, including Ben. She’s been dancing around this for years, and clearly wants to be with both Ben and Noel.
It’s wedding day, and Elena is willing to put it off since Felicity is having relationship issues. Felicity tells her she needs to follow her heart. Meghan shows up in her bridesmaid dress, knowing Elena will let her back in the wedding party. She apologizes for trying to kiss Tracy and for making judgments about Tracy and Elena’s relationship. Elena forgives her and says Meghan shouldn’t worry about her relationship with Sean; they’re perfect for each other. In fact, they’re the couple who should be getting married today.
Noel approaches Felicity just minutes before the ceremony and offers to make a pact not to tell anyone that they slept together. Javier checks on them and reveals that Tracy hasn’t arrived yet. Elena finds him outside, and he tells her they don’t have to go through with this if she doesn’t want to. He thinks she’s only marrying him because she doesn’t want to lose him. Tracy promises that he’s not just doing this to have sex – he really loves Elena and wants to spend his life with her. He’s just not sure she feels the same way.
Inside, Elena announces to the wedding party and guests that there won’t be a ceremony. Meghan decides that she’s ready to get married, though, and asks Sean if he wants to be servants for life. She reminds Elena that she said Meghan and Sean should be the couple to get married. Elena likes this idea, so Felicity marries Meghan and Sean instead of Elena and Tracy. Ben and Noel both watch her closely, and poor Elena has to stand there in her wedding dress while someone else gets married. At the reception, everyone’s happy except Ben. Bad Felicity! Bad!
Thoughts: Coincidentally, “My Best Friend’s Wedding” is also the name of the Scrubs episode where Turk (Donald Faison’s character) and Carla get married. That episode also features a wedding ceremony that doesn’t go as planned. And Scott Foley is a guest star!
Tracy has a mustache now and I hate it.
I’m so tired of the TV cliché where one character gets ordained online to marry a couple. Enough, TV shows. J.J. Abrams must be a big fan of it; it happens on Alias, too, as Greg Grunberg’s character gets ordained online to marry Carrie Foreman’s character and Kevin Weisman’s character (in other words, Sean marries Meghan and Earl).
The first song played at the reception is “I Will Survive,” which is such a weird choice. It’s about surviving a breakup, so why would you play it after a wedding?
March 13, 2021
Felicity 3.17, The Last Summer Ever: The Grieving Process
This is kind of cool
Summary: Felicity hasn’t made a tape for a while, but Noel is making one for Felicity. While he tries on his gown for graduation, we hear him telling her goodbye. Felicity is currently meeting with Pavone to talk about how hard it is to say goodbye. You get used to making connections with people and becoming friendly, but then you graduate and it all changes. If you’re having hard times with a friend who then moves away, you don’t have college to keep you together anymore. Pavone points out that life outside of college ends, too. Felicity gets that, but she thought she and Noel would stay friends.
At the loft, Felicity presents her idea for the summer to Ben: Camping. Ben easily agrees. Noel comes in and thinks get awkward. They make brief small talk about Ruby, who’s coming to visit for Noel’s graduation. Felicity tells Pavone that she hasn’t said anything to Ben about Noel kissing her. Pavone thinks that’s interesting. Felicity claims the kiss didn’t mean anything, so there’s no point. Plus, she doesn’t want to make things worse between Ben and Noel. Pavone asks what it matters if Felicity and Noel are about to end their friendship. Felicity admits she’s not ready to accept that the friendship is over.
Ruby arrives in New York with her baby, Eva. She and Noel kiss, so…that doesn’t seem to be completely over. She has no regrets about deciding to keep the baby. Things didn’t work out with Wade (clearly, since she kissed Noel), but Ruby isn’t too broken up about that. Felicity joins them before the two can start talking about anything too intense.
Elena and DeForrest return to the dorm apartment after a trip to an amusement park and find Tracy leaving Elena a letter. Molly shows up for two seconds to tell Elena that Tracy’s actions remind her of James – just when things seemed to be over, James would show up and they’d get back together. Elena says she can’t trust Tracy anymore, so that won’t happen. She’s not going to meet up with him tomorrow, as he’d requested.
Ben turns down some opportunity, pretending he has to stay with a sick aunt. Felicity bugs him about what he just backed out of. He’s reluctant to tell her, since he thinks it’s embarrassing. Finally he admits that watching the paramedics save Avery made him think about becoming an EMT. He applied to a summer program in Kansas City (just as a joke), and he got in. Felicity thinks he should consider doing it, even though this would be their last summer together without job obligations.
Sean is back to his old money-seeking ways, this time offering scalped graduation tickets. Meghan’s parents are richer than we thought, since, in addition to their house in Tuscany, they also have a house in Geneva. They’ve offered to let Meghan and Sean spend the summer there. He reminds her that they talked to Dr. Zwick about Meghan making him feel emasculated, and this fits into that category. He’d rather work for his own money than accept a nice offer from Meghan’s parents. Sean suggests that they come up with an idea together for what to do over the summer.
Felicity and Noel meet up at Epstein Bar so she can give him a graduation present. It’s an out-of-print book he wanted a couple years ago. Noel tries to turn it down, but Felicity insists that he take it. He leaves immediately afterward. Later, Felicity and Ben set up a tent at the loft, talking more about the EMT program. She still thinks he should give it a shot. Sean disagrees, since Ben can’t even take his own temperature. Ben tells Felicity they’re spending the summer together and the discussion is over. She suggests that they skip Noel’s graduation and leave tomorrow.
Elena ends up meeting with Tracy after all so she can tell him in person that she’s moved on to DeForrest. Tracy and Rose have ended things, so clearly he wants Elena back. She’s mad that he wanted to be celibate, then dumped her for someone he then slept with. Tracy denies that he’s ever slept with anyone other than Elena. Elena reveals that she found that condom in his wallet, but Tracy’s just kept it there since he dated Elena.
He went to Africa to get some distance from Elena and be with people who share his beliefs. He and Rose didn’t make sense, but he and Elena do. He’s not giving up on the possibility of them getting back together. Elena tells him that she didn’t think she would be able to get over him, but she did, and she’s not going to go back to him.
Sean and Meghan present their summer ideas to each other, though she’s still stuck on going to Switzerland. He wants to go to Atlantic City, which isn’t far enough away for Meghan’s tastes. She suggests Hawaii, but Sean doesn’t have the money for that. They start fighting, of course. Meghan wants him to let her pay for a fun vacation because she can. Sean responds by clucking like a chicken, which Dr. Zwick told them was a good way to end an argument. I’m still not sure that woman was qualified for that job.
Noel and Ben are both packing up the loft, Ben for the summer and Noel forever. Noel announces that he’s sorry, not for anything in particular (like kissing Ben’s girlfriend), but in general. He wants the two of them to part on good terms. I think Ben just wants to part. He asks Noel what it’s like knowing what he wants to do with his life. Noel feels lucky, but he also feels like he just fell into something good. It just took one graphic design class his freshman year to give him direction in life. Ben tells him that he thinks Noel and Ruby were great together, in case Noel wants any relationship advice from the guy dating the woman he’s in love with.
The next day (I guess), Noel hangs out with Ruby and Eva, inviting them to dinner with him and his parents. He notices that Ruby is still wearing a bracelet he gave her. She says she likes it because it reminds her of him and makes her feel closer to him. She admits that she misses him. Noel goes home, blatantly ignoring Felicity, then deciding to speak to her after all. He tells her he can’t keep the book she gave him because it’ll remind him of her, which he doesn’t want.
Felicity leaves, then comes back to yell at Noel for dumping his friends because he’s afraid of what comes next. He tells her what really scares him is her following him through his life. She thinks he’s ending their friendship because she won’t be with him, which is selfish. She gives him back the book. Noel says he’s not selfish just because he wants her out of his life. As she leaves for real, Ruby shows up, having heard the end of the fight.
Back to Noel’s tape and getting ready for graduation. He wonders which memories of Felicity will stick with him. The only thing he remembers about high school biology is a question he missed on a test. Is the only thing he’s going to remember about Felicity their fight, after all those years of right answers?
Felicity asks Pavone if she’s the one being selfish. Pavone notes that she’s just trying to move on, and anger is one of the stages of the grieving process. Felicity doesn’t think this is about grief, but Pavone says losing a friend is a loss. First was denial, when Felicity bought Noel a book because she couldn’t accept the end of the friendship. Then was anger. Now she’s bargaining, believing that going to graduation will help ease the pain.
Felicity says she just doesn’t want the fight to be the last interaction she has with Noel. She’ll just apologize to him. Pavone doubts she can leave it at that. Felicity spills everything she really wants to say: She cares about Noel, and she wishes he had more faith in their friendship after everything they’ve survived. As Noel graduates, Felicity tells Pavone that she doesn’t know what her future holds, but she always thought Noel would be part of it. She counted on their friendship and wants it back. Then she’d invite him to go get ice cream.
Javier makes his only appearance of the episode when he catches up to Noel after the ceremony. He offers to let Noel work at Dean & DeLuca if the job in Seattle doesn’t work out. Ruby comes up to Noel next, and he asks if she came back to New York for graduation or… She finishes for him, admitting that she came to see if there’s still a chance for them. Now she knows there isn’t, because Noel is clearly still in love with Felicity.
Ben and Felicity have made it to the ceremony after all, and Noel pulls Felicity outside for a chat. He apologizes for their fight, and she tells him she understands where he’s coming from and she wishes things were different. She was being selfish. We meet Noel’s mother for the first time as she meets Felicity for the first time. She’s heard all about Felicity, of course. She insists on taking a picture of Felicity and Noel together. Once they’re done, the two of them just wish each other luck.
Felicity packs up her room in the apartment, feeling like that makes things final. Ben joins her and says that going to graduation make him think even more about his future. He now wants to do the EMT program after all. Felicity is supportive but doesn’t want to spend the summer in Kansas City. Plus, he’ll be too busy to see her anyway. Yes, she’d love to go camping, but she’d spend the whole summer feeling guilty that Ben wasn’t doing something amazing for himself. Ben says he doesn’t have to go, but Felicity thinks he does.
Elena goes to DeForrest’s place to have a big talk, but he already knows what she’s going to say: She’s getting back together with Tracy. He’s been through this before, and he doesn’t want Elena to have to break up with him, so they’ll just end things like this. Elena feels horrible, and she knows what it’s like to be in DeForrest’s position. She really did like him and doesn’t want him to think she just saw him as a safe choice. DeForrest says he hopes Tracy makes Elena happy. She asks him to say something mean so she doesn’t feel so bad walking away from him.
Now that Ben and Felicity aren’t going camping, Sean has taken all their stuff so he and Meghan can go instead. Yeah, Meghan seems like a big fan of camping. She tries to be nice and not shut down her beloved boyfriend’s great idea, but it’s obvious this is a bad idea. Sean gets it – they could have all their meals made by a personal chef in Switzerland. Looks like he’s changed his mind about spending the summer in luxury. Felicity, meanwhile, will spend the summer in the loft, alone. How fun!
Felicity sees Ben off to the airport as we see Noel making his tape to her. He leaves her a time capsule with a gun from the Assassins game, a magic 8-Ball, and Boggle. He thinks their time apart is important. He’s sure they’ll get through this and continue to be in each other’s lives. Tracy goes to the dorm apartment, where Elena tells him she broke up with DeForrest, but that doesn’t meant she wants Tracy as her boyfriend again. Tracy doesn’t want that, either…because he wants to be Elena’s husband. Instead of responding to his proposal, she passes out.
Felicity is moving into the loft when Noel shows up. “The Internet’s dead,” he announces. His project was canceled, so he no longer has a job in Seattle. Look which two people have no summer plans and a whole loft to themselves? Felicity asks Noel if he wants to get some ice cream.
Thoughts: No one’s getting a summer job? Really?
Obviously Elena and Tracy can’t work out. This was 2001, and Donald Faison was about to start on Scrubs. Though Greg Grunberg was pulling double duty here and on Alias, so what do I know?
Want to feel old? Eva would now be the same age Ruby was when Ruby had her.
Season 3 is short, so we’re already done! Just one season left…
December 19, 2020
Felicity 3.5, Surprise: Zones of Disturbing Energy
Nowadays, this would be called revenge porn and whoever sent it out would be in a lot of trouble
Summary: Ben and Noel are trying to get ribs from a Texas restaurant Felicity likes for a party the next night. Sean interrupts to talk about something that seems serious. Meanwhile, Felicity is seeing a doctor to make sure she didn’t catch anything from Randy. Sean tells the guys that he has some aching “down under” and is worried it’s serious. Ben asks him not to say the word “testicle.” Noel agrees that the word makes him uncomfortable. Sean tells them they hate their genitalia.
Felicity gets a morning-after pill and a lecture about protected sex. The doctor notices that her birthday is tomorrow. Let’s hope her present isn’t an STD. Ben and Noel go back to trying to get the ribs for Felicity’s surprise birthday party. While Noel takes his first call for his tech-support job, Sean asks Ben for a second opinion on his possible testicle trouble. Ben refuses, which is understandable, and tells him to see a doctor.
Sean interviews Felicity about her 20th birthday, which she always thought she would celebrate in a very grown-up way, with a limo and cocktails. Instead, she wakes up the morning of the big day with Ben kissing her all over, unaware that she’s not into it. She tells him she has to go to class. He gives her a present, then goes to get ready for work. While he’s gone, she calls Randy’s frat house to try to get in touch with him.
At the loft, it looks like Sean didn’t sleep all night. He tells Meghan he has a lot on his mind, like the docuventary. He tells her he has to go get a camera, but instead he goes to a doctor. The doctor prescribes him antibiotics, since he might just have an infection, but he also wants to give Sean an ultrasound in case it’s something more serious. Sean is in denial and says he’ll just take the antibiotics.
Felicity goes to see Pavone, who’s convinced Professor Morton to give Felicity a slot in an art exhibition. Felicity’s not as excited as she should be. She confides that she got drunk and woke up in a stranger’s bed. She has no idea what, if anything, happened. Pavone wonders if she was roofied, a possibility that Felicity hadn’t considered.
She doesn’t know how to tell Ben what happened. Pavone tells her not to say anything until there’s something to tell. Felicity thinks Ben deserves the truth. They need to have honesty in their relationship. Pavone says that kindness is more important, and in this case, Felicity being honest with Ben wouldn’t be kind. Felicity says that pretending everything is fine feels horrible. Pavone applauds her honesty that she just wants to tell Ben everything to make herself feel better.
Felicity and Ben meet up for lunch at Epstein Bar, and when a bunch of guys come in, Felicity recognizes one as Randy. He approaches her while Ben is away from the table and says he heard she was looking for him. Felicity isn’t able to learn anything before Ben comes back, and she pretends she and Randy are just classmates. Randy doesn’t look that bright (sorry, Randy), but he catches on that Felicity’s keeping whatever happened quiet because she has a boyfriend.
Noel goes to his first tech-support assignment, recovering a file from a computer that appears to have a virus. The computer’s owner, Jason, recognizes Noel from his Leon days, remembering his blond streaks. Noel easily fixes the computer, which was compromised by a virus from a suspicious email…an email from the frat Randy belongs to, featuring a picture of Randy and a topless Felicity from their game of strip ping pong.
Richard is hosting a town meeting/pizza party on Friday. Hey, he kept his campaign promise of Free Pizza Fridays! That’s refreshing for a politician. He meets Molly, then immediately slams her for driving Julie away. He asks Elena to fix them up. While Felicity tries to call Randy again from the dorm apartment, Ben bakes her a cake at the loft. Sean downplays his medical problem to Ben, who tells him that Meghan thinks Sean turned down sex that morning because of her. Sean says he’s not going to tell her about his medical issues; they’re too personal.
Noel shows Felicity the photo and confirms that she doesn’t remember what happened. Apparently the photo was sent to the whole school, so Ben may see it. Noel thinks he can delete it before Ben sees it, but Felicity is resigned to telling him everything. Noel reminds her that it’s her birthday, so that obviously shouldn’t happen right now. He spills that Ben has something big planned for her, so she shouldn’t ruin it. She can wait anyway, since he won’t see the picture until tomorrow. Felicity isn’t sure that she can wait, but Noel asks her to trust him.
Sean films as the group starts decorating for the party. Meghan asks Ben if Sean is cheating on her; he’s acting the same way she did when she got crabs from a performing artist while she was dating someone else. Ben promises that Sean has never been happier and definitely isn’t cheating. Ben ruined the cake, but he hopes the ribs will arrive in time and be a good enough treat. Also, Javier’s there now, and he’s good at fixing cooking disasters.
The ribs arrive, but the box they came in is pretty small. That’s because it actually contains a book. Javier takes over the food prep, asking for a list of all the ingredients available to him so he can whip something up in 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Ben goes to meet Felicity for dinner, pretending he forgot his wallet so they can go back to the loft. Richard and Molly bond over their love of Doctor Who and agreement that Tom Baker was the best Doctor. Sean asks Meghan to film a birthday message for Felicity, but she’d rather talk to him. Sean says no.
Ben and Felicity reach the building, so everyone hides, then jumps out and surprises her. She’s genuinely surprised, but also distracted because she was getting ready to tell Ben about Randy. She pretends everything’s awesome. As soon as Meghan and Sean sit down with their food, she asks him if he has an STD. He assures her that he doesn’t; isn’t he allowed to not be in the mood for sex sometimes?
Richard gets on someone’s computer to resolve a Doctor Who-related debate between him and Molly, and it quickly becomes obvious what’s about to happen. Noel spots them and tries to casually keep Richard from logging into his email. He should have tried harder. As Ben joins the group to announce that he’s about to make a toast, Richard opens THAT email, giving Ben an eyeful of his girlfriend, topless with another guy.
Felicity pulls him out of the room and tells him that she had a bunch of drinks at the frat party and doesn’t remember what happened. Ben has heard enough and walks out. Javier suggests that the rest of them eat dessert while Ben cools down. But Ben doesn’t cool down – he goes to the frat house looking for Randy. He’s not there (is he ever?), but another guy tells him that Felicity slept with Randy. During the party, she didn’t act like she was dating someone else.
Richard and Molly go for a walk, talking about the hot topic of the evening. Richard is mad that Felicity apparently cheated on Ben, but Molly says he’s too much of a Puritan. This seems to be a turn-on for her, as she tries to kiss him. Richard hesitates, saying that as student-body president, he can’t get involved in a sex scandal. Molly promises that they’ll be discreet. Richard notes that they barely know each other. She guesses his middle name, and he tells her his enemies are everywhere, they scampers off. That was really weird.
Back at the loft, Sean decides to come clean to Meghan, since secrets are obviously bad for a relationship. He tells her about his medical issue, which she thinks was something small to overreact about. She was reading tarot cards earlier that evening and drew one that indicates weak character. She doesn’t want Sean to ignore something that could be serious. She wants him to get the ultrasound. Sean refuses, so Meghan leaves.
Noel goes to Epstein Bar, where Ben is already drinking. Noel thinks they’re kind of friends now, so he wants to offer Ben some friendly advice: Don’t make the same mistakes with Felicity that Noel made. Both of the guys have gotten drunk and done dumb things, so Ben needs to forgive Felicity for doing the same thing. Noel adds that if Ben pushes Felicity away because of this, he’ll regret it.
Ben goes to the dorm apartment and tells Felicity he went to confront Randy. She apologizes for not telling him what happened. He wishes she’d at least told him she didn’t remember what happened instead of lying that she and Randy were just classmates. He can’t get past the idea that Felicity slept with someone else.
The next day, Felicity finally connects with Randy at the frat house. She asks him if he sent the photo out to be mean because she’d introduced him to her boyfriend. Randy promises that he wasn’t responsible for the picture. Felicity asks if they were safe, and he says they were safer than safe – they didn’t have sex. She was sick, so he just let her sleep. The next morning, Randy’s frat brothers assumed they had sex, and he just let them. He repeats that nothing happened.
Sean goes to the dorm apartment and asks Meghan why she’s bugging him so much about getting the ultrasound. She tells him that being in denial isn’t the same as handling his problems. Sean admits that he’s struggling to accept that this could be serious, and he’s made an appointment for the ultrasound. He asks her to come with him, and she agrees, after joking that she can’t go because she’s getting a new tattoo.
Sean interviews Noel about his new job and his new biggest fan, Jason. Noel says Jason’s room is a “zone of disturbing energy.” The first time he was there, Noel saw the topless photo. The second time, he saw something else strange. Jason has lit candles and is playing classical music, which is strange enough, like, this isn’t a date, dude. He invites Noel to a concert with him and admits to having a crush. Noel says he’s straight, and Jason tries to hide his disappointment. He reveals that there’s nothing wrong with the computer. As Noel leaves, he sees another topless photo, this one of Jason and Richard.
Sean’s ultrasound shows that he has some sort of growth on his testicle. The doctor would like to do a surgical procedure to learn more. If it’s malignant, it will need to be removed ASAP. Meghan can tell something’s wrong when she comes into the exam room, and she just sits next to Sean and holds his hand. Noel and Richard hang out at Epstein Bar, but Noel as a hard time acting normal. Richard says that he liked Molly at first, but she proved to be more aggressive voodoo-y than he’d expected. He calls Noel out on acting weird.
At Dean & DeLuca, Javier forces Felicity and Ben to work things out so their rare, special love won’t just “blow in the wind.” Felicity tells Ben that Randy said nothing happened, but Ben doesn’t think she can trust his word. Felicity’s tests all came back negative, so she doesn’t have a reason not to believe Randy. Ben says it doesn’t matter – Felicity woke up in someone else’s bed and lied to her. He’s done talking about it. Felicity goes home and finally opens Ben’s present, a nice set of paints. Maybe she can paint him an apology?
Thoughts: Ben’s present is wrapped in newspaper instead of wrapping paper, which seems like a very Ben thing to do. Or maybe just a college thing to do.
I want to see Javier compete in a Quickfire challenge on Top Chef.
After the Internet took off, I bet Richard spent hours on Doctor Who message boards. I bet he cosplayed as really obscure characters.
November 14, 2020
Felicity 2.23, The Biggest Deal There Is: It’s Just One Summer! Everyone Needs to Chill Out!
Look, everyone’s happy! That won’t last
Summary: Felicity makes out with Ben while voicing over to Sally that sex is a big deal. That’s why she and Ben haven’t gotten there yet. Sean and Meghan, however, have. She freaks out when she wakes up in his bed the next morning, tossing him a “thanks” before she leaves. Felicity catches her and Meghan swears her to secrecy. Then she admits that Sean is “pretty amazing.”
Felicity tells Sally that she’s going to turn down Morton’s internship offer without giving any details (you know, that she wants to spend the summer with her boyfriend instead of taking advantage of an amazing opportunity). Ben is leaving for California the day after Javier’s wedding, and Felicity will be there a couple days after. She goes to see Morton, who tells her that a prominent curator will be working with them. So if Felicity turns down the internship, she’s saying no to more than she thought.
Ben waits for Felicity at the loft, worrying that she’ll change her mind and accept the internship. Richard suggests that Ben just stay in New York for the summer. Richard will be spending it in Palm Beach. No one cares, Richard. Sean thinks Ben should stick with his California plans – he’ll make more money there, and he shouldn’t sacrifice that for a summer with his girlfriend. Julie asks for advice on the horrible outfit she has to wear for her summer job at in inn in Maine. My advice: Burn it. Sean gives her a message from Carol, not having any idea who that is. Ben fills him in.
Felicity tells Morton that she really wants to work with her and the curator, but it’s not going to happen. Morton isn’t thrilled, but she accepts it. At Dean & DeLuca, Javier tells Ben to stay away from his cousin, Natalie. We finally meet Samuel for the first time when he brings Natalie to the restaurant. Ben chats with her and learns that she’s moving to New York in the fall for grad school.
Felicity runs into Pavone in a bathroom; Pavone has heard about her internship and is sorry to hear that Felicity isn’t taking it. She guesses that Felicity wants to be with Ben instead. Pavone tells her to take the internship – she shouldn’t let fear stop her from taking an opportunity to become a more interesting person. She wants Ben and Felicity to work out, and if they’re really good together, Ben will still be around for a long time.
Felicity tells Sally that, as usual, she left the conversation with Pavone a) feeling like her advice was wrong and b) resenting her for giving that advice. When Felicity gets to Dean & DeLuca, she finds Ben and Natalie chatting and I guess starts worrying that she’ll lose him. That night, she asks him what he would do in her position. She knows she can’t babysit their relationship even if they’re in the same city. Ben tells her to take the internship. That’s what he would do. It’s not like they’re in love. In fact, maybe they should slow things down a little.
Meghan is spending the summer as a camp counselor at Wicca camp (who knew that was a thing?), so she needs to spend some time preparing, which means she can’t let Sean distract her. Sleeping with him was a mistake, and she knows they don’t have a future. That means they can only sleep together one more time.
Felicity tries to get her internship back, but Morton has already offered it to a grad student. She agrees to call Felicity if that arrangement falls through. Sean can’t believe that Felicity wants the internship instead of Ben. Ben feels the same, even though he told her to take it. “Now you know what it’s like to be Noel,” Richard quips.
Felicity complains to Elena that Ben doesn’t seem to care if they’re apart for the summer. We go back and forth between the two conversations, with both Ben and Felicity being upset about how things are going. Felicity now doubts that she and Ben are really in love; maybe she shouldn’t spend the summer with him after all. These two are EXHAUSTING.
Julie and Carol meet up at Epstein Bar, where Carol announces that her husband/Julie’s birth father is sick. Meanwhile, Noel goes to Javier and Samuel’s rehearsal dinner at the loft and meets Natalie. They have the kind of banter that always leads to a relationship on TV. During the meal, Richard (…why was Richard invited?) tells another guest about an idea he has for a website: fillherupnow.com. Someone brings gas to you and fills up your car for you. I think Richard’s been spending too much time with Sean.
There are various other conversations around the room, like Noel and Natalie getting to know each other, Elena and Tracy possibly discussing living together over the summer, and Javier and Samuel having a tiff about something changing. Sean tries to chat with Meghan, who isn’t interested. Felicity, as the best man, makes a toast and says that Javier is a big romantic. He “sees the best version of life.” She admires how open Javier and Samuel are with each other (you know, as opposed to Felicity and Ben).
Ben interrupts to tell everyone how Samuel risked his job to go to Spain with Javier when Javier’s visa ran out. Felicity adds that Samuel was really emotional over the thought of losing Javier – so emotional that he cried. Ben reminds everyone that Javier was being forced to go back to Spain. Felicity shoots back that at least Samuel cared. Ben spits out that Javier didn’t want to abandon his boyfriend.
Felicity finally pulls Ben out of the room so they can talk things over instead of shooting passive-aggressive barbs at each other. She’s upset that he’s so okay with letting her go. He says he was just trying to let her have what she wanted. They stop fighting and start kissing, like, that’s not the way to resolve things, guys. They end up on the bed (his, I hope) as Felicity tells Sally that the first time she had sex with Ben, there were 40 people in the next room and none of them knew. She’s wrong – they all know, and Javier has to tell them to pretend they don’t.
Afterward, Felicity teases Ben about the way he says “anything,” leaving off the G. I’ve noticed that, too! He says it like he’s faking an American accent. He tells her he’s sorry she lost the internship, though she teases that he’s not really sorry. Felicity thinks things have worked out for the best. They’ll just be apart a couple of days, and then they’ll get to be together for the whole summer.
The next day, Ben and Julie set up for the wedding in a park, and he asks how things went with Carol. She tells him that her father needs a kidney transplant. Ahhh, so that’s why Carol called – she wants Julie to find out if she’s a match for a donation. Julie admits that she’s mad that Carol kept her a secret from her husband until Julie was useful. She walked out of the conversation. Ben agrees that Carol has handled the situation wrong, but Julie shouldn’t take it out on her father, who had no clue she even existed.
Javier has “severe jitters” and is grateful to Felicity for helping to calm him down. Sean gets a call forwarded from the loft and hands his cell phone off to Felicity – it’s Morton, telling her the internship is up for grabs again. Felicity immediately says she’s in. Noel arrives for the ceremony with Natalie, after spending the whole night walking around the city together. Elena’s surprised, and Natalie asks if she’s never done that before. “If we get to know each other better, I’ll let you in on things I’ve done,” Elena replies awesomely.
Sean confronts Meghan for being cold to him when they’re around other people, even though they’ve spent two awesome nights together. He’s letting her stay with him, so she should show him some courtesy. She agrees. He gives her a skull necklace, the first piece of jewelry anyone’s ever given her that she doesn’t wear in her nose, tongue, or bellybutton. Aww, it must be true love.
Time for the wedding! The officiant tells Samuel and Javier that they will go through lots of different experiences together, but if their relationship has a foundation in love, the love will always be there. Richard’s already crying. Javier’s vows are lovely, but for some reason he decides to spring it on Samuel that he’s going to start classes at UNY next year. As Samuel says his vows, which are about looking at the person he’s going to be with forever, Felicity can’t help but look at Ben, her possible future.
Like most TV weddings, this one is over fast, as the officiant pronounces Javier and Samuel partners in life right after they say their vows. Everyone has fun at the reception, and Ben notes how happy and unworried the newlyweds are. Of course, this is when Felicity gives him something to worry about. She tells him she’s taking the internship, and he has a hard time hiding how sorry he is that they’ll be apart for the summer.
Noel is basically already in love with Natalie, less than 24 hours after meeting her. She wonders if he’s just desperate for a connection with someone after losing the connection he had with Ruby. Noel says he’s sick of being the nice, accommodating guy. When Natalie asks if he wants to do something dangerous or impulsive, he’s intrigued. Julie is moping by herself until Javier pulls her onto the dance floor, saying no one’s allowed to pout at his wedding. Felicity can pout just as well on the dance floor as she can anywhere, though, and she tells Ben she doesn’t want him to leave tomorrow.
In the morning, Elena calls the loft to ask if Noel is there. Natalie’s family is looking for her, and Noel has taken a bunch of his stuff and left behind a note that says, “See you in September.” The two of them left the reception early and no one’s seen them. Elena tells Sean that she doesn’t trust Natalie.
Julie calls Carol from a pay phone, for some reason, but hangs up without talking to her. Meanwhile, Meghan goes to the loft and announces that she quits. Not the possibly blooming relationship – she quit her summer job. Her parents have a villa in Tuscany that will be free all summer, if Sean would like to spend some time there with her.
Felicity sees Ben off to the airport, promising that the summer will go by fast. He tells her she can come home if she hates the internship. They say they love each other, which seems really fast, but what do I know? Felicity goes back to her room to mope while Ben thinks important thoughts in an airport waiting room.
Pavone calls Felicity to her office to make sure Felicity knows she wasn’t downplaying the situation with Ben. She shows Felicity a picture of her husband, who she had to be away from for four years while he was in the Air Force. They were able to get through it. Pavone is proud of Felicity for choosing herself over a guy, something she didn’t do two years ago. That means she’s making adult choices. Felicity wishes that growing up felt a little better. That night, Felicity goes to the roof of her building to reminisce about the night she and Ben watched a movie there. And…that’s it. Wait, that’s it?
Thoughts: Natalie is played by Ali Landry.
Female TV characters, please stop turning down awesome opportunities for guys.
I can’t believe Samuel is just some generic white guy. No offense to the actor, of course. But he seems so boring for Javier to fall in love with him.
Fillherupnow.com is available, if anyone wants it.
I’m halfway through the series! Season 2 went fast – I feel like I just started it.
October 10, 2020
Felicity 2.18, Party Lines: Greg Wants to Make UNY Great Again
Yeah, please don’t let this guy run your Student Council
Summary: Sigh, the docuventary filming is still going on. Sean tells both Felicity and Ben that he needs more footage of them – specifically, their love life. Neither wants to discuss the other, since Ben ruined things by looking into Greg’s past. But Ben would like to know what Felicity said about him. (Psst, Ben – she called you a jerk. Work on that.)
Felicity, Julie, and Elena discuss Sadie Hawkins at Noel and Elena’s apartment; there’s a dance coming up, followed by Student Council elections. Julie complains that the other two will have dates, but she won’t. Noel tells them school dances are dumb, and they’ll agree when they’re juniors. Elena thinks he’s just bitter because he doesn’t have a date. (Ruby’s out of town, telling her parents she’s pregnant.) Felicity suggests that Noel and Julie go to the dance together. Noel doesn’t want a pity date, though.
Greg walks Felicity home after a bowling date and they kiss good night. She feels dumb asking him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance, but he’s happy to go with her. He also has a request: He’s running for Student Council president and wants Felicity to be his campaign manager. She has no experience, but Greg thinks that the way she ran the sit-in indicates that she’d be good at this.
Back to the filming. Felicity tells Sean that Ben is clearly jealous of Greg because of his accomplishments. She claims that working with Ben at Dean & DeLuca is fine and not tense at all. In reality, when Ben hears that Greg is running for president, he taunts that his platform must be “drugs, not hugs.” He’d be perfect for Student Council because all the people on the council are “stiff, earnest losers.” Felicity says that at least he has direction in his life.
Ben admits to Sean that he doesn’t have any direction in his own life. Then he visits Pavone to take a career-assessment test. His best fit is stockbroker, so he gets an internship. Sean tells him that Felicity will be impressed. Not that Ben cares, of course. Not that he’s trying to find direction so he can prove anything to Felicity. Why would Sean even suggest that? Leave it alone, Sean! This isn’t about Felicity!
On campus, Leila tells Felicity that she’s also running for Student Council president. Felicity quickly learns that Leila, unlike Greg, has a platform and is aware of issues affecting students. Richard’s also running, mostly so he can change the rules he wants to break. He’ll also institute Free Pizza Fridays. Felicity and Leila dismiss him.
Ben comes home from his first day at his internship in a bad mood. All he got to do was look after Stephen, his boss’ son. Greg is finally developing a platform, but it’s the opposite of what Felicity supports. For instance, he’s against affirmative action on campus. Meghan stops by to offer to make a sign for a rally that Thursday where the candidates will address the student body. She’s upset to learn that Felicity is Greg’s campaign manager. “Sometimes I really want to kill you in your sleep,” she says.
Felicity confides her feelings to Sean about Greg’s platform as Ben puts in another day as Stephen’s babysitter. Ben practices a card trick on him, but it’s not successful. At least he gets tickets to take Stephen to a piano concert. Oooh, fun. At home, Sean asks Ben if he’s told Felicity about his internship. Ben says he doesn’t want to admit that he’s basically a babysitter.
But at their next shift together at Dean & DeLuca, Ben tells Felicity that he’ll be out tomorrow because he has an internship on Wall Street. She’s happy for him. Then he ruins it by asking about Greg’s campaign promises. Felicity says it’s pointless since Ben will never vote for Greg. She tells him Greg wants to reinstate the swim team, but Ben doesn’t believe her. Pam comes by and Felicity watches as she and Ben chat.
Sean learns that Pam asked Ben to the dance and asks if he’s actually into her. Ben says she’s “just a girl.” Next, Sean asks Felicity for her best memory of Ben. She tells him about an incident from their road trip the previous summer; there was a spider in a motel bed, and Ben freaked out about it while trying to get rid of it. He screamed and she laughed. Sean thinks she still likes Ben and bugs her to admit it. Instead, she gives him the finger, making him note that he’s lost his PG-13 rating.
Over at Noel and Elena’s, Tracy is trying to take more wallpaper down. The landlord must really hate this group. Elena casually asks if Tracy wants to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with him. He’s clearly been waiting for this invitation, but Elena put it off too long, so he already has a date, a classmate of theirs. Elena notes that the classmate got a B- on a test, but if that’s the kind of person Tracy wants to date, fine.
Felicity gives Greg some notes on his campaign before they go to the rally. People are very excited for Free Pizza Fridays. Felicity sees Leila leave the auditorium, having what looks like a panic attack. Felicity checks on her and tries to assure her that she can get through addressing everyone. She passes on the advice Elena always gives her: focus. Felicity reminds Leila that the campaign is about more than just a speech, but Leila can’t stop thinking about the large audience, which includes her parents. She asks Felicity to read her speech for her.
So Felicity takes the stage for Leila (pretending Leila lost her voice) and talks about how the student body is diverse but also similar. They’re all there to learn, grow, and make the school the best it can be. That’s why the school shouldn’t repeal affirmative action. This gets a big round of applause from the audience. Leila also supports letting the students write messages around campus in chalk, something Greg is against. Noel and Julie almost die laughing when Felicity asks “her” parents to stand up. Afterward, they decide to go to the dance together.
Greg isn’t happy that Felicity just delivered a greet speech for one of his opponents – not to mention one that goes against his entire platform. Felicity just wanted to help a friend, and she knows Greg isn’t going to change his platform, so…Felicity’s leaving his campaign. Greg admires her passion so much that he’s not even mad.
Felicity feels great now that she doesn’t have to support a candidate whose platform she doesn’t support. She thinks Leila has a great chance of winning. But Leila comes by her room to announce that she’s dropping out of the race. She can’t handle all the public speaking the presidency would involve. She and Elena think Felicity would make a great candidate, though.
The next day, Tracy goes to Noel and Elena’s to tell Elena he’ll accept her invitation to the dance after all. Elena says he’s rude for breaking off his other date just before the dance, but Tracy says it’s better than going with her and letting her fall in love with him when he’s not interested. Elena tells him to uncancel his date, then says she’s not going with him. Tracy won’t accept her rejection, even though, since this is a Sadie Hawkins dance, it’s supposed to be ladies’ choice. He notes that Elena kicks him out of her apartment a lot, considering she claims to like him.
Ben takes Stephen to Dean & DeLuca, but even the promise of free pastries doesn’t interest Stephen. He declares Ben the worst babysitter he’s ever had. Ben counters that Stephen is the worst kid he’s ever met. Stephen confides that he doesn’t want to go to the piano concert. He’s a prodigy but quit playing a year ago. Ben decides to take him somewhere more fun, a gym where they can play basketball. They chat about dads, and Ben sees that Stephen, like himself, doesn’t have a good relationship with his father.
At the health center, Felicity makes a call to find out if she can still register to run for president. She needs to get 200 signatures on a petition. Ben brings in Stephen, who hurt his finger. Greg declines to help, since Stephen isn’t a student, but the health center was close by and Ben doesn’t want to take Stephen to the hospital. He tries to help Stephen fight through the pain while Greg fixes him. Suddenly Felicity’s in love with Ben again. She tells Sean that seeing Ben with Stephen reminded her of something, but she won’t say what.
Ben asks Felicity about Greg’s campaign and learns that she’s left it and is considering running herself. She doesn’t think she can get 200 signatures in time. Ben says she has a way of making people want to try harder, so she should go for it. She praises him for the way he helped Stephen. Ben promises to sign her petition, leaving her with only 199 signatures to gather.
Stephen’s father is less than happy about his son’s injury, noting that it’ll get him out of piano practice for a few weeks. Stephen tells him he quit playing. I can’t tell if he’s been lying about taking lessons or if his father’s too clueless to know he quit. Anyway, now Ben thinks he would be good at coaching a team, like kids’ basketball. Pavone is pleased.
Felicity tells Greg that she’s thinking of running for president. He thinks Ben talked her into it. Felicity reminds him that this isn’t a big deal. In that case, Greg says she shouldn’t run. I think she should run – run far away from Greg. He tells her he risked his job by treating Stephen, but she warns him not to turn doing something good into a favor. Greg tells her to do whatever she wants.
Sean invites Felicity to talk about the fight, asking if it was about Ben. Felicity won’t talk, so Sean tells Ben that she and Greg got into a big fight and aren’t going to the dance together. There’s a back-and-forth where Ben and Felicity tell Sean they’re not getting together. Ugh, just do it and save us all from having to hear about how you don’t want to be together.
Elena is surprised to hear that Noel is going to the dance with Julie. Elena’s the only one not going, so Julie tells her to call Tracy. Elena refuses, wanting to hold on to her pride, but she lets that go pretty quickly and calls him. He immediately accepts her invitation, and she tells Noel and Julie that Tracy is wrapped around her finger.
Everyone gathers at the dance, and Felicity tells Ben she’s running for president. She thanks him for encouraging her. Tracy and Elena dance together, but when a slow song comes on, she tries to sit it out. He makes her dance, teasing that it’s painful how much she likes him. As Richard hands out free pizza, Greg tells Felicity that he’s glad she’s running for president. He overreacted, and he wants to beat the toughest competition to feel like a real winner. Noel and Julie haven’t danced yet, so they finally stop putting it off. Felicity dances with Greg but has her eyes on Ben. He and Pam look pretty close, but he also has his eyes on someone else.
Thoughts: Up until this episode, Ben has really not done a good job this season of making a case for why Felicity should be with him. No wonder she wanted to be with Greg.
Richard is a stealth genius. Never underestimate the draw of free food for college students.
Why are these people so interested in a school dance? This isn’t eighth grade. Judging from the turnout, most UNY students agree with me.
October 3, 2020
Felicity 2.17, Docuventary II: Sean and Richard Clearly Ship Felicity and Ben
The school’s security team seems…not great
Summary: Richard films Sean as he introduces himself for the follow-up to his first docuventary. Someone’s interested in it and wants Sean to add some scope and depth and stuff. Ben doesn’t want to participate, but Richard says it’ll be okay, since he’s involved this time. Ben claim he’s too busy to take part; he’s working a bunch of different jobs to try to finish up his community service. Sean says they’ll just come film him while he’s volunteering. Then he asks Ben to help them convince Felicity to participate. Ben refuses. Richard and Sean ignore him, and Richard celebrates by pretending he’s on Star Trek.
At first Javier is pleased to be asked for an interview, but he backs out when he remembers that the camera adds 50 pounds. Sean tells him it’s only 10, so Javier says he’ll do it. Felicity, however, doesn’t want Sean delving into her personal life again. That’s the whole show, girl! Sean says he has to use the same participants as the first docuventary, since it’s an ongoing piece. Felicity says she doesn’t have a love life anyway. The guys tell her that Ben has already agreed to take part, so Felicity might as well do it, too.
Cut to Ben threatening to shove Sean’s camera in a place no one should ever put a camera. He finally gives in and tells Sean to get it over with already. Ben is washing dishes somewhere (maybe the campus cafeteria), still complaining about being punished for breaking into the pool. He asks when the guys are interviewing Felicity. Sean says they’re going to talk to her and Greg together. Now Ben has something else to complain about. He finds someone’s retainer on a tray and decides this is enough to keep him from breaking any more rules.
Felicity and Greg are up next, feeling awkward about being interviewed in his office, where they kissed after the sit-in ended. He tells her he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Richard unplugs the computer to plug in a light, and Greg tries to stop him but can’t. Then he acts like nothing’s wrong. I don’t know.
Back in the kitchen, Ben tells Sean that he needs to express his feelings for Julie already. He doesn’t think Sean ever will. Sean asks Javier about Felicity and her friends, and Javier says she’s his favorite. She’s optimistic and friendly and an autumn, just like Javier. It’s like they’re sisters. Noel is sweet and cute, and Javier would date him if Noel liked men.
Sean films one of Noel’s classes, where he’s administering a test. Richard wishes Ben luck. Noel tells Sean that he never expected to become a teacher, but he likes it. Sean notes that he went from an RA to a TA. At the health center, a co-worker named Jim tells Felicity that one of the workers quit. Felicity tells Sean (back on camera) that she wants the newly available job. Sean reminds her that last year, she was moving away from medicine toward art.
In his interview, Javier says that Ben is confused. He’s a “sweet, dumb guy” who isn’t actually dumb. Ben, now in the admissions office, pretends he’s having a great time. He gets to file classified student info. Sean asks what he wants to do with his life, but Ben doesn’t answer. He asks how Greg and Felicity’s interview went. Richard notes that Ben really hates Greg. Ben says that once Felicity’s finished her volunteer hours, Ben will never have to think about Greg again. Sean jokes that Ben can access Greg’s grades and change his GPA. Don’t give him any ideas, Sean!
Felicity tells Greg that she’d like a permanent job at the health center. Greg thought she might want to stay on after her community service was over. Felicity says she only wants the job if she’s right for it; she doesn’t want any favorable treatment. He promises to consider her for the position. And also for the position of his girlfriend, I assume.
Ben peeks at Greg’s file, then goes to Noel’s class. Noel and Ruby are at least on speaking terms now, as she asks him to call her later. Ben asks Noel how much he knows about Greg, and whether Greg and Felicity are getting together. Noel’s out of the loop about that. Ben reveals that Greg was arrested for cocaine possession a couple years ago. Should Ben tell Felicity? Noel thinks they should keep it quiet until they know whether Felicity is actually getting together with Greg. After all, Felicity’s an adult and can handle her own relationship.
Sean films Felicity as she starts to make a tape for Sally, but Felicity finds the situation weird. Meghan arrives, so Felicity tells the guys to film her instead, then runs off. Meghan isn’t happy to be left to give the guys a tour of the dorm, but she manages to get them to give her $90 for it. Then she kicks them out.
Back to Javier talking about Felicity and her friends. He loves Elena and her sassiness. The guys interview Elena and Tracy, asking them about their goals of becoming doctors. Elena mentions that she was McGrath’s assistant last year. Tracy hates the guy, whom he calls the prince of darkness (then asks the guys to edit that out). Noel runs in, frantic because he lost the blue books from his class’ test. If he can’t find them, his life is over.
At the health center, Greg invites Felicity to get dinner with him the next night. She reminds him that he said he had a messed-up past and shouldn’t be in a relationship again. He’s decided to risk it, so she says yes. Then he informs her that she got the job at the health center. He claims she would have gotten it even if she’d turned him down for a date. Why not tell her she got the job, then invite her to dinner to celebrate?
Speaking of celebrating, Felicity takes Julie and Elena out to Epstein Bar since her new job means she has money to treat them. Ben joins them, followed by Sean and Richard with their camera. Ben is less than thrilled to learn that Felicity will now be assisting Greg at work. Sean and Richard film her at work, and we learn that Richard messed up some files by turning off Greg’s computer. He thinks they should spy on Felicity to learn more about her new relationship.
Ben has moved on to the campus security office, where his ability to answer the phone properly is scrutinized. Sean and Richard film Felicity and Greg from afar as they have what looks like a great first date. Sean worries that he’ll kiss her after walking her home; Ben would hate that. Before any kissing can happen, Felicity spots the guys, who take off running. Richard says it’s like they’re in The Blair Witch Project.
Next the guys film Ruby, who tells them about her love of art. She plans to be a museum curator some day. She doesn’t want to talk about her pregnancy; she still hasn’t told her parents. Noel convinced her to go see them next week and break the news. Ruby never thought she would choose this path, but being pregnant has changed something in her. Sean asks Noel if he and Ruby are still together. He thinks Ruby misses Noel. If she hadn’t decided to keep the baby, would they still be together? Noel doesn’t know.
At the health center, Jim is having a bad day – because of Felicity. He wanted Felicity’s job, and clearly thinks she got it because Greg likes her. Jim is being pushed out of his own position now. Felicity asks Greg if he got her the job because he likes her. He admits that he did. He blames Jim’s job loss on the elimination of a work-study position.
Felicity says that Jim should have gotten her position; he’s more qualified and has been there longer. She pulls Jim into Greg’s office and tells Greg to hire him instead. Greg tells Felicity not to put him on the spot like that. If she doesn’t take the job, she has to leave – there’s a cap on volunteers. Greg stuck his neck out for her, so if she doesn’t want it, she needs to quit. Felicity says she will.
Sean interviews Tracy and Elena about how much pressure they face in college. Elena can deal with it, but Tracy has a harder time. Sometimes he carries a stuffed rabbit around with him as a piece of security. Elena admits that she had a name tag made for herself that says Dr. Elena Tyler, and she rubs it to motivate herself to reach her goal. Tracy says he was joking about the rabbit. P.S. Noel still can’t find his blue books.
Sean and Richard do some editing at the loft, but Richard is annoyed that Sean is being controlling. It’s his movie, dude. Ben comes home in a better mood than expected; he got to know the security guard he was working with and thinks the guy is cool. Richard tells him that Felicity and Greg have become a subplot in the film. The camera was running before their first interview, and the guys captured them talking about their kiss. “She digs this fella,” Richard tells Ben.
Ben goes to the health center and asks to see Felicity, who it looks like has officially been replaced by Jim. Greg shortly tells Ben that she’s not there. Ben starts to leave, then tells Greg that he knows about his arrest. Felicity’s too good for Greg, and if he hurts her in any way, Ben will kill him.
Pavone doesn’t see why Felicity’s so annoyed with everything that happened at the health center. She thinks Felicity sabotaged a job she was too afraid to commit to. Felicity says she got the job because she didn’t deserve it. Pavone asks why she questions every accomplishment. She did deserve the job. If Jim came to her complaining about losing the job to Felicity, Pavone would tell him to grow up. In the course of Felicity’s life, she’ll come across 2,000 Jims. Most of the time, they’ll get the job she wants because they’re guys. She should take what she can. In this case, she should take the paperwork that confirms that she’s finished her community service.
At Dean & DeLuca, Javier tells Felicity that he’s pleased with how he comes across in the docuventary. He doesn’t look as fat as he’d feared, and his English is great. Greg comes by and asks Felicity if Ben has talked to her yet. He admits that he had a drug problem for a while and eventually got arrested for possession. He’s been clean for years. Ben found out about the arrest, and Greg wanted to tell Felicity before Ben could.
Greg works a tough job at the health center, trying to make up for all the resources they don’t have, and having Felicity there has made him happy to be there. He knows he’s good at running the place, but Felicity being there makes him better. He thinks he’s figured out how to hire both her and Jim. Felicity guesses that he’s going to volunteer to take a pay cut. She says she’ll just volunteer, but he reminds her that the slots are full.
So Felicity spooks the newest volunteer by telling him that he’ll have to see a lot of blood. Like, for example, a guy came in last week with an almost-severed hand. Look at Felicity, channeling her inner Meghan! She realizes this is the wrong way to go about this, so she just tells the guy she really wants the position. Turns out the guy thought he’d taken a paying job, not a volunteer position, so I think the slot is now open for Felicity. Meanwhile, Tracy tells Sean and Richard that he didn’t care much about having a social life before he met Elena. She wants to prove herself to everyone, but Tracy says she never has to prove herself to him.
The guys want something more emotional in the film, something that will invoke tears. Ben announces that he’s done with his community service hours…and he found Noel’s blue books in the lost and found. This is exactly what the guys need for a tear-invoking scene. Before they give Noel the news, he steels himself to tell the professor that he lost the tests. Richard presents him with them on camera, saying he and Sean are Noel’s guardian angels. Noel thinks they had them all along. Instead of crying, Noel punches the camera.
Javier tells the guys that Julie’s great. If he weren’t gay…well, he wouldn’t want to be with her, but she’s cute. Julie tells them that she wants a guy who understands her and loves her in spite of all her problems. She’s not sure she’ll ever find that guy. Sean thinks she will.
Felicity finds Ben at Epstein Bar and asks how he found out about Greg’s arrest. Ben starts in on a rant about how he’s trouble, but Felicity doesn’t want his opinion. He admits that he looked in Greg’s student file. Felicity slams him for investigating Greg, which Ben points out is exactly what he did to her. Felicity says that was irrational and she only did it because she was in love with Ben. But of course the situation here isn’t the same!
At the health center, Jim gives Felicity a flower as a peace offering. Greg kisses her and tells her they’re even. The volunteer Felicity edged out of the health center is now working at Dean & DeLuca, but he’s not good at it. Sean films a greeting for the film channel that wants his docuventary, continuing to film even as Ben storms through the loft.
The guys interview Meghan about why she decided to become an RA. Ooh, a question I had is finally answered! Meghan made a bet with someone and lost, so being an RA is her punishment. Back in Javier’s interview, Sean asks what he thinks about Meghan. Javier, who has only said good things about everyone else, says that Meghan scares him to death.
Thoughts: Jim is played by the late Alexis Arquette.
I need everyone to change their names. Scott Foley played Sean on Scrubs, so I keep wanting to call him Sean instead of Noel, but there’s already a Sean. Now we have a Greg, which is what I always want to call Greg Grunberg. If I start calling Julie “Pink Ranger,” just ignore me.
Why would you ever give student volunteers access to other students’ private files? Maybe if they were being paid and had signed a confidentiality agreement or something, but not someone completing community service hours for showing bad judgment.
September 26, 2020
Felicity 2.16, Revolutions: Get in Good Trouble
Felicity the activist
Summary: Ben is trying to study for Noel’s class while working at Dean & DeLuca. Felicity suggests that he ask Noel if he needs help, but Ben doesn’t like that idea. Javier alerts the two of them to the fact that his ex has just entered the restaurant. Javier had a “crunch” on the ex, who fell too in love with Javier. Javier wants Ben to pretend they’re dating. Ben says no, but Javier ignores him and starts acting like they’re together. Then he realizes the ex is someone else. Felicity cracks up.
Back in her dorm, Felicity annoys Meghan by using a squeaky highlighter while studying. Burky drops by with a book full of business cards from the restaurants he’d like Felicity to pick from for their first date together. Felicity starts to turn him down gently, but Burky stops her, warning that he’ll jump out the window if she uses the word “flattered.” “Flattered,” Meghan says dryly. Fortunately, Felicity’s saved when Julie comes by to invite her to get donuts. Burky leaves as well, telling Meghan that, for the record, she scares him. Mission accomplished, I assume.
Donuts having been acquired, Julie asks Felicity if she ever has nightmares. Felicity says she had one recently about Megan’s box. Julie confides that she’s been having trouble sleeping lately because she keeps having nightmares about Zach. Felicity suggests that she see a counselor at the health center. Julie has already tried that, but she doesn’t feel ready to go back yet.
The health center is busy, so when a student named Leila comes in for an appointment, there’s only one available. She tells Felicity she needs a morning-after pill. Felicity offers to try to get her an earlier appointment so she doesn’t have to spend the whole day anxious.
But Greg, who’s studying for the MCAT, tells Felicity that the health center’s policy has changed and they can’t administer the morning-after pill anymore. Greg personally hates the change, but he has to go along with it to keep the health center up and running. Felicity gives Leila the bad news and offers her a list of local doctors who can help her. Leila doesn’t have insurance, which is why she’s there. She complains that the school is supposed to provide women’s services but is instead limiting their options.
Noel runs a class discussion that Ben tries to participate in, but it’s clear that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Ruby’s still in the class, and she and Noel are still on the outs. Noel thanks Ben for at least trying to contribute to the discussion, since hardly anyone else in the class does. He offers to give Ben any help he needs.
Felicity tells Greg that she feels horrible about having to turn down Leila’s request. She’s done some research and discovered that every other school health center in the city distributes the morning-after pill. Plus, that pill is basically a bigger dose of birth control, which the health center does distribute. So what’s the issue?
Greg says that some articles about the morning-after pill and RU-486 (the “abortion pill”) upset the trustees, so they’ve banned any form of post-sex contraceptive. Greg tried to fight them, but the trustees get final say. Felicity doesn’t like having to tell students that the administration is making decisions for them. Greg doesn’t, either, and he also doesn’t like the funding cuts and the fact that they can’t treat non-students. He has to pick his battles.
Felicity tells Pavone about the situation, complaining that Greg doesn’t seem to be taking her point of view seriously. She gets that he can’t fight every battle that comes along, but why not this one? Pavone tells her she’s presumptuous – just because she thinks something’s important doesn’t mean that everyone else does. Greg’s right, and he can’t fight this battle. Felicity’s not going to change anything but saying the same stuff over and over. Obviously, Pavone is implying that if Greg won’t fight the battle, Felicity should.
Felicity reads up on protests, including some successful sit-ins arranged by University of New York students. She goes to see Leila, who got her needs met by Planned Parenthood, and tells her about the sit-ins. One only took three days, so Felicity thinks she can arrange one on her own. She invites Leila to join, if she wants, and Leila immediately agrees.
The two of them and Elena start things off in the health-center lobby. They make some signs and wait for the participants they’ve recruited to join them. Burky comes by to pick up some medication (Elena teases that it’s Viagra) and scoffs at their low turnout. He tells them he’ll bring enough people to really make things happen.
Ben and Noel grab lunch together, talking about some topic from class. Well, Noel’s talking. Ben’s kind of listening. The sit-in slowly grows as Felicity and Leila make calls to try to get more participants. Leila manages to get in touch with someone from the New York Times. That was fast. There’s only, like, ten people protesting!
Greg calls Felicity away from the protest and tells her it’s starting to disrupt the health center’s operations. That’s kind of the point, buddy. He tells her that the head of Student Services is coming by that afternoon, and Greg needs to look good as the director of the health center. Felicity tells him she’ll completely understand if he wants to distance himself from the protest. But Greg wants a letter of recommendation for med school from this guy, and he needs to protest to end now. He warns that the participants could really harm their futures by continuing it.
Burky hands out fliers about the protest to students and random people on the street. Noel and Ben have taken their study session to Noel’s apartment, where Ben says this is more work than he ever did in high school. He basically coasted back then while he spent his time partying and doing sports and hanging out with girls. Noel’s high school experience was completely different. Wow, who would have guessed?
Felicity, Elena, and Leila hang up a banner in the health center that says “There’s got to be a morning after.” Creative. The movement has grown, and when Simmons, the head of Student Services, arrives to meet with Greg, he has to step over people sitting on the stairs and all over the lobby. Julie calls to find out what’s going on, and Felicity, concerned with what this all will do to Greg, tells her they might be done soon.
The other students have no plans of backing down. One guy (he’s only credited as Long-Haired Guy, despite not having long hair; I’ll call him Hal – explanation below) hands out a brochure he put together for a previous protest, telling students what to do in case they get arrested. Felicity thinks they should change tactics, maybe with a petition. If they continue the sit-in, they could be there for days, and they still might not get what they want. Leila and Elena refuse to call things off. Just then, Burky arrives with a ton of new protesters.
That night, some people chant outside the building: “There’s no laughter without the morning after! We’ll stay until we get that pill!” Julie and Ruby have both joined the protest, and Elena’s a little surprised, since Ruby’s having a baby. She doesn’t think Ruby realizes how much her life is going to change. Felicity tells the protesters that the administration won’t talk to them, so they’re going to have to keep going. The event continues with a cheer from Penny and Stacy and a singalong of “We Shall Not Be Moved,” led by Hal. Sean films everything.
Ben and Noel are either unaware of the protest or are staying out of it – they’re drinking and playing video games at Noel’s place. (I think they’re playing Mortal Kombat.) They’re pretty drunk, which is probably why Ben thinks it’s a good move to throw Noel’s next beer to him before he’s ready to catch it. He nails Noel in the head, then laughs. Noel accuses Ben of doing it on purpose. Ben offers to let Noel hit him back, and though Noel refuses at first, eventually he decks Ben. Soon it’s an all-out fight, mirrored by their video-game characters.
Greg is in trouble for not stopping the protest, so he’s most likely not going to get a letter of recommendation from Simmons. He knows the school won’t give in – they rely too much on money from the trustees, no matter what strings come attached. Felicity feels bad about the consequences Greg is facing for the protest, but she’s not shutting it down. He gets it.
Everyone settles in for the night, either sleeping or studying on the floor. Julie wakes up from a nightmare, and Felicity suggests again that she see a counselor. She feels better when she makes tapes to Sally; letting out what she’s feeling is enough to help. Julie wants to find a way to feel better, but something about the idea scares her.
Ben and Noel have fallen asleep/passed out at the apartment, and in the morning, they both have hangovers and bruises. Ben makes a hangover remedy from lime juice, tomato juice, eggs, and baking soda. They acknowledge that they fought the night before but don’t agree on who won.
Sean tries to document a new day at the protest, getting an establishing shot of the health-center building, but that requires standing in traffic, and he just gets honked at. Meghan takes her time in the bathroom, ignoring the huge line outside the door, as people play hacky sack and try to entertain themselves in various ways. There’s practically a record scratch when Ruby spots a new face in the crowd: Edward.
Sullivan, who’s with the school’s administration, has known Edward for a while and wants him to teach a course next semester. He gets Edward to sit down with Felicity and Greg to resolve the protest. Edward didn’t know anything about it until Sullivan called and told him to read about it in the paper. Felicity’s father reminds her that she’s working at the health center as a punishment; she can’t get out of trouble by getting in more trouble. Dude, she’s not trying to get out of trouble. Did you actually read what the protest is about?
Sullivan asks Felicity to shut everything down in exchange for the administration reviewing the policy on post-sex contraception. Edward says he talked to the dean, and this is the best the protesters can hope for. Worst-case scenario: Felicity loses her RA position, gets expelled, or gets arrested. Is this worth winding up with a police record? She needs to end things before they get out of control.
Felicity refuses. She knows the possible consequences and she’s willing to face them. She’s not the only person involved here, and Edward can’t make her stop this just because he wants her to. She’s not a kid anymore. Felicity thanks Sullivan for the offer of compromise, but she doesn’t think it’s appropriate. Sullivan turns to Greg, who’s now fully on Felicity’s side. He’s asked for a bunch of things at the health center that just get stalled at the review stage. The protest seems to be the only way to bring about change.
The press has arrived, so Leila pulls Felicity out of the meeting to talk to them. Felicity’s nervous about it and asks Leila to give an interview, but Leila doesn’t want her parents to find out she’s having sex. Julie reminds Felicity that she was okay talking to the protesters, so she can handle this.
Ben and Noel keep studying while drinking the hangover cure. Once they’ve covered everything, they agree to never study together again. They come across Felicity’s live interview on TV, where she talks about women having the right to choose how to handle their health needs. Felicity struggles to get her thoughts together, so Julie speaks up. She notes that one reason to take the morning-after pill is comfort. A woman who’s been raped might need it for peace of mind.
Julie reveals that she was raped, and one of the fears as a result was that she was pregnant. When the health center distributed the morning-after pill last year, Julie was able to take it and feel like it was one less thing to worry about. It’s peace of mind for women’s partners, too, so they don’t have to face an unplanned pregnancy. When the interview is over, Felicity praises Julie for her courage.
The sit-in continues, and Elena is even able to use her patented study method despite being surrounded by people. Felicity thanks Greg for siding with the protesters. He tells her he’s wanted to change a lot of things but has never actually done anything to try to make the changes. The dean calls, having seen Julie’s interview, and says that a trustee, who also saw the interview, is now pretending this was all a misunderstanding. Long story short, the protesters have won. Also, Greg may get his letter of recommendation after all. He and Felicity kiss, then get awkward about it.
Felicity tells the protesters that thanks to their efforts and Julie’s interview, the administration has caved. There’s an impromptu dance party and Sean hoists Felicity up in the air. Burky thinks Felicity kissed Greg and complains that it’s not fair, since Burky tried so hard to get her to like him. He tells Meghan, who’s mad that Felicity’s moving in on her “crunch.” Whatever, guys. Can’t you be happy for two seconds?
Thoughts: Leila is played by Keiko Agena. Hal is played by Hal Ozsan.
Until this episode, I’d completely forgotten that Burky existed. This show completely wasted Michael Peña’s talents. (Not that his career suffered or anything. I mean, he’s in a Marvel franchise. He’s fine.)
Ben’s right: Who DOES drink Mr. Pibb? Do they even still make it?
September 5, 2020
Felicity 2.13, Truth or Consequences: Help Not Wanted
A watched pregnancy test never boils
Summary: Ruby is about to take a pregnancy test and find out if Noel knocked her up. According to him, blue means no and pink is “not no.” Ruby tries to convince herself that she’s just late because of stress. He tells her they don’t need to take the test right now if she doesn’t want to. She thinks her period is about to start anyway. They’ll hold on to the test and use it later if necessary. Because, as everyone knows, if you don’t take a pregnancy test, you’re not actually pregnant.
Felicity and Ben meet with Pavone, who tells them they’re lucky. They each have to complete 50 hours of community service before the end of the semester. Ben protests, arguing that no one got hurt when they broke into the pool. Felicity is more willing to take the punishment, but Ben keeps whining. Pavone tells him she came up with the 50-hour requirement and she can always raise that if she feels like it.
At the loft, Sean catches Julie practicing meeting the head of Erik’s label, Pop Rocks. Sean invites her to practice on him instead. He doesn’t seem impressed. Ben and Felicity run into each other downtown as she’s on her way to meet Edward for dinner. She asks if Ben had a hard time seeing his parents after they split up. He says it was strange seeing them as separate people. Felicity and Ben have both chosen to do their community service at the health center, though she can’t imagine him working there. He’s actually excited about it and thinks he’ll do a good job.
Ruby still hasn’t gotten her period, so she decides it’s time to take the test. She can’t believe they get the results in just two minutes – it’s so little time to give them such important information. They urge it to turn out blue, thinking blue thoughts. They watch as the stick changes color…but it’s pink, not blue.
Ben and Felicity’s volunteering is off to a great start when their boss, Greg Stenson, tells them he doesn’t like that people serve their community service there. He doesn’t seem to believe them when they say they really want to help. He assigns them to answer phones, but Ben says he has experience using Excel and offers to do data entry instead.
Ruby is now debating whether or not to have the baby. Noel asks if they should leave school and get married. Ruby tells him he doesn’t need to do anything. He points out that she’s only 18; what kind of job can she get (without a college degree) that will pay enough to support a child on her own? Ruby just replies that she doesn’t want to be pregnant.
A guy named Lloyd comes to the health center to report that he had a nosebleed this morning and thinks he’s a hemophiliac. Greg reminds him that he’s not a student, so he can’t use the health center. He tells Felicity he likes attention and once came in with what he said was a shark bite.
Greg complains that Felicity isn’t doing things fast enough, like all the others who do community service there. Felicity tells him she’s not an idiot and doesn’t need to be grouped with the other community service servers. She checks in on Ben, who doesn’t actually know how to use Excel and is just messing around on a computer instead. He doesn’t care if he gets in trouble since he’s already there because he’s in trouble.
The Pop Rocks guy, Larry, tells Julie that her music is “nice,” but he doesn’t think they can do anything with that. Erik insists that she’s worth the effort (and money), and he thinks her music will touch people. Just this once, Larry should bet against his instincts and give her a chance. Larry gives in but tells Erik that if it goes badly, it’s all on him. There are no promises that Julie will be successful, but at least she gets to make a record.
Noel and Ruby come to the health center and talk with Greg, who’s a lot gentler with patients than he is with the volunteers. He tells Ruby that he knows this is scary, but lots of people go through it and she’ll be fine. Ruby asks if the abortion will hurt. Greg is honest with her, but still reassuring. He thinks making the decision and being sure about it is harder than undergoing the procedure itself. Ben spots Noel and Ruby as they’re leaving, and when Greg gives him Ruby’s paperwork, Ben learns why they’re there.
The next day, Greg tells Felicity that when Ben comes in, Greg needs to yell at him for not doing any work. He thinks Felicity really does want to help, but Ben is just doing his time. Greg doesn’t have a choice about accepting volunteers through community service, but Felicity can tell him to find a different place to serve. Felicity says she won’t do that, since Ben is her friend. If Greg has a problem with him, he can say it himself.
Ben meets Noel at Epstein Bar to tell him he knows Ruby is pregnant and going to have an abortion. If Noel wants to talk, Ben is there to listen – he’s been in Noel’s position. He got a high school girlfriend pregnant?? I bet Felicity doesn’t know that. Noel tells him angrily that what’s going on with him and Ruby is their business, not Ben’s. Erik takes Julie home after a label party and they start drunkenly kissing. They get horizontal, but Julie tries to put on the brakes before they get naked. Erik doesn’t listen, and Julie starts getting panicked. She calls him Zach and pushes him off. He leaves angrily as she cries.
Also crying: Ruby, who Felicity runs into in the dorm bathroom. Ruby confides that she’s pregnant and asks if Felicity’s ever been in that situation or known someone who was. Felicity, thinking of her mother (who confessed in the last episode that she married Edward because she was pregnant), says she knew someone who got pregnant at 19. She stayed with the father, but they recently split up. Ruby wonders if she’s doing the right thing. Felicity says that Ruby’s opinion is the only one that matters, since it’s her decision.
At the health center the next day, Felicity tells Ben that Greg’s mad at him for slacking. Thanks to some help from Sean, Ben thinks he can handle Excel, but Felicity tells him that Greg doesn’t want him there. She encourages him to prove to Greg that he should be there. Ben refuses – he’ll just find another service place. He doesn’t want to help anyone, and when he tries to, he fails.
It’s almost time for Ruby’s appointment, and Noel’s struggling to find something supportive to say. She tells him he doesn’t need to say anything. On the way to the health center, they pass a woman with a baby. Later, Felicity is about to approach Noel in the waiting room when Ruby comes in crying. She says she can’t go through with it.
Felicity brings up the situation in a session with Pavone. She calls Noel her friend and Ruby her advisee instead of mentioning that they’re her ex and his new girlfriend. She wanted to help Noel, but she didn’t know what to say to him. Then she mentions that they used to go out. When she looked at him, she saw her father and imagined him in this position when Barbara got pregnant in college. Maybe they made the wrong decision. Pavone notes that there are always tons of possibilities, and you can only choose one path to follow. Felicity should talk to Noel about his life and feelings without bringing her own baggage into it.
Noel tries to go about his normal life, teaching his class while pretending it’s not a big deal that Ruby skipped it. Felicity comes by and invites him to open up about his feelings. He hasn’t seen Ruby since she left the health center, and he doesn’t know what she’s thinking. Felicity apologizes for not coming to talk to him earlier. Noel admits that he’s scared. If Ruby wants to keep the baby, Noel knows he won’t able to handle it. Ruby will be fine, but Noel isn’t strong enough. Felicity disagrees – if Ruby’s strong, it’s because Noel is with her. He’s more capable than he knows, and he’s helped Felicity more than he thinks.
Ben has a session with Pavone and tells her he’s leaving the health center. He doesn’t know where he’ll do his service instead. Pavone asks his opinion on the music she’s playing, by Pachelbel. He says it’s elevator music and he doesn’t like it. She gives him the CD and tells him to listen to it a few times. Pavone tells him to figure out where he wants to do his service hours and not just follow Felicity around. Ben needs to get past the loss of the swim program and refocus his energy. His grades aren’t bad, but they’re average, and she doesn’t think Ben himself is average. Everyone has to figure out who they are at some point.
Erik is done with Julie, and I really hope she signed a contract because if he terminates it, she can sue him. Sean tries to get her to open up to him, but she says it just didn’t work out. He guesses that Erik made a move on her, as Sean predicted he would. Julie blames herself; she let him kiss her because he’d been so patient and helpful. Didn’t she owe him after everything he’d done for her? Sean says that if he did this to get close to Julie, he’s a fraud. If it was about her music, she doesn’t owe him anything.
Ben goes by Felicity’s room, and after Meghan gets five seconds of screen time, the other two go outside to talk. He admits that he volunteered at the health center because Felicity wanted to work there. He sees things in her that he wishes he had himself. Felicity admits that she doesn’t know what she wants, but Ben likes that she cares about things. Now he needs to find something he cares about. Felicity tells him that it was nice of him to try to help Noel, even though Noel didn’t want his help. Ben asks her if she likes Pachelbel – now Ben thinks he’s good.
At his apartment, Noel tells Ruby his father’s theory about three-year cycles. Every three years go by like a roller coaster, and then you dip and come up. Ruby says she’s been trying to figure out what she wants since she was 15. That’s part of the reason she did the movie. Now she thinks her purpose is to have the baby. Noel doesn’t respond, but I’m pretty confident he doesn’t feel like that’s his purpose.
Thoughts: Between classes and schoolwork, her job, her RA responsibilities, therapy, and now community service, how does Felicity have time for a life?
Greg’s hair is huge. Do you think it’s full of secrets?
I guess health center volunteers don’t learn about confidentiality?
Guys, Excel isn’t that hard. Read the Help section if you don’t understand something.
August 29, 2020
Felicity 2.12, The Slump: Why Are You Here?
Exactly the sort of person I want to pour my heart out to
Summary: Felicity starts out a new tape to Sally with the words “I’m in trouble.” She goes to see John, but he’s on indefinite leave and has been replaced by a professor named Toni Pavone, who thinks it’s okay to smoke in the office. Pavone is familiar with Felicity’s circumstances and says, “You’re in trouble.” She’s been sent to counseling over the pool break-in. Felicity acknowledges that it was stupid and immature. She worries that she and Ben will be expelled.
Pavone tells her about a frat stunt from years ago that left a guy in a coma after he jumped in the pool drunk. It cost the college a lot of money, so now they have strict policies about this sort of thing. Since Felicity was caught drinking, she’ll have to undergo alcohol treatment counseling. Ben arrives late and Pavone tells him, “You’re in trouble.” Yeah, show, I think we get it.
Felicity continues her tape, telling Sally that she got off easy, at least in terms of her parents’ split. It’s a good time for it. If they’d divorced years ago, Felicity would have obsessed over it. Now that she’s out of the house, it doesn’t affect her as much. Her life hasn’t changed much. Yeah, she’s totally fine! She’s definitely not thinking about her parents while she’s out with her friends or working at Dean & DeLuca.
Ben complains to Felicity about having to go to counseling. He thinks it’s optional, so he’s not doing it. In fact, he’s thinking of leaving school. Edward comes by and he and Felicity mention that Barbara is arriving in New York that evening. Noel is doing much better in his TA position, and Ruby praises him after class. He chastises her for writing, “Hi, Noel” on what was supposed to be an anonymously graded paper. Now he won’t be able to stay partial. Ruby gets mad and storms off. What is up with this girl?
At her next session with Pavone, Felicity says it might be a waste of time. She doesn’t normally drink. Pavone asks why she did the night of the pool break-in. Felicity has already explained that she was just trying to blow off steam. Pavone asks where that steam came from. Felicity reveals that she’d just found out her parents were separating. She claims it’s not a big deal, since it happens to a lot of people. Everything will be fine. Tonight the three Porters are all having dinner together, and Felicity insists it’ll go great.
She gets that she’s facing consequences for her actions, but since she doesn’t normally do things like break into a pool, she shouldn’t have to face THIS consequence. Pavone shows Felicity her diploma from Yale and says she’s a professional therapist and knows what she’s doing. Felicity can come back when she’s ready to talk.
Edward and Barbara are already at the restaurant when Felicity arrives for dinner. She voices over that she never caught them having sex (now THERE would be something to talk about in therapy), but this feels similar – she’s getting a glimpse of their intimate life. Hon, they’re just sitting next to each other and not talking. That’s not intimate. She admits that she doesn’t want to think about what’s happening to the family.
The three of them make small talk about a spa and a special dinner the family has been invited to for Edward’s job. Felicity confirms that Barbara will be attending. Suddenly things get to be too much for Felicity, and she starts crying. Edward admits that he told her about the divorce, even though he and Barbara had planned to tell her together. The two of them bicker as Felicity tries to stop crying.
Guess who’s ready to start talking to Pavone? Hint: It’s not Ben. Felicity tells Pavone that she doesn’t know who she is anymore or how she got here or what she’s doing. She’s been in relationships she doesn’t understand. She “dropped pre-med like it was some kind of victory” and can’t remember why it felt like that. Also, she hates her haircut. Yay! We agree on something!
Felicity says she didn’t realize how much she depends on her parents being there, even when “there” is 3,000 miles away. She thinks it’s partly because she’s an only child. Pavone asks if she said any of this to her parents. Felicity just let them talk. They told her the separation for the best, but Felicity feels responsible. Her decision to come to New York and push them away disrupted things. If she hadn’t been so selfish, Barbara and Edward would still be together.
Pavone asks what was so selfish about coming to New York. Felicity admits that she followed Ben there, then tried to convince herself that it was for her. Her parents were in New York for Thanksgiving and looked happy. Everything was fine at Christmas. Why are they breaking up? Pavone reminds her that she said it was because of her.
After her session, Felicity finds Ben playing basketball by himself somewhere in the city. She tells him that if he doesn’t go see Pavone, he’ll get expelled. Ben has been looking into traveling to Prague, because that would definitely be a better option than just sucking it up and going to therapy. Felicity jokes that she’ll go with him, but Ben says she should. They could drop out together! Ben, sweetie, no.
Noel apologizes to Ruby, even though…he didn’t do anything wrong. He gushes over her paper and apologizes for acting like she was capable of writing what she wrote. She heads off to class instead of addressing the situation. While studying with Felicity and Julie, Elena mentions that she likes her new lab partner, Tracy. She doesn’t want to know if he’s single because if he is, she won’t be able to stop herself from obsessing over him.
Edward stops by, so Julie and Elena head out to give him and Felicity privacy. He tells her that the dean wants him to do a guest lecture at the medical school. He also learned about the pool break-in and Felicity’s counseling. He asks for more details about her potential punishment, but she says she doesn’t know anything.
Edward announces that Barbara isn’t coming to the dinner the hospital is putting on to honor him. He thinks Felicity should skip it, too, and spend time with Barbara, since she’s only in town for a few days. But when Felicity goes to a spa with Barbara, Barbara tells her to go to her father’s dinner. She thinks Edward’s downplaying it so Felicity won’t feel bad about skipping it. If Felicity doesn’t go, Edward will complain to Barbara about it. Felicity tells Barbara she’s sorry for everything.
Pavone would like to know why Felicity apologized. Isn’t she mad that her parents are splitting up? Felicity says she’s just tense. Not everyone gets angry. Pavone agrees – many people who are “repressed and out of touch” say they’re tense instead of admitting their true feelings. She’d like to know who Felicity really is. Her politeness is just an act. Felicity says she’s sorry but this is just who she is. Pavone replies that, first, she’s not sorry, and second, Felicity already said she doesn’t know who she is. She fully admitted not knowing why she came to New York. Pavone doesn’t believe it was just to follow Ben.
Felicity should be angry. She’s been her parents’ “centerpiece” her whole life, but they didn’t tell her about the separation while she was home. Then Edward told her, didn’t tell Barbara he’d done so, and let Felicity bear the burden of knowing something she wasn’t supposed to. Now they’re putting her in the middle of their awful game, Martyrball, and telling her to spend time with each other. How can Felicity not be angry?
Felicity doesn’t respond, so Pavone asks her how it feels to be the good little girl all the time. It’s annoying to watch. She keeps denying what she’s going through. Felicity finally admits that she’s angry. Her mom is leaving and she doesn’t understand why. Edward’s moving to New York, and Felicity doesn’t want him there. She doesn’t like the position her parents have put her in. Pavone is pleased that she’s finally expressing her feelings.
At Dean & DeLuca, Ben tells Felicity he’s planned a European trip for them. She likes the idea of just running off to Vienna or wherever, but she doesn’t think it’s realistic. Traveling together would be awkward. Ben asks if she’s happy in New York. If not, why not leave? They could get tickets today and be in Europe in two days. Felicity tells Ben that her parents are splitting up. Thinking about a trip to Europe is the only fun thing she’s gotten to experience recently. But she’s not going to actually go.
Tracy is over at Elena and Noel’s apartment, so Noel has two people to talk to about his relationship issues. He wants to be the kind of guy who doesn’t care when his girlfriend is upset about something. That’s just called being a jerk, Noel. Instead, he’s caring too much about how Ruby’s been acting. Tracy asks if Noel apologized. Noel did, so Tracy advises him to say that he wants to do whatever it takes to fix things. At least, that’s what Tracy would say if he had a girlfriend. Which he doesn’t. Well, there’s the answer to a question Elena didn’t want answered.
Felicity goes to dinner with Barbara, who invites her to ask any questions she has. Barbara is just trying to figure out who she is, and she doesn’t feel like she can do that while married to Edward. Felicity thinks they’re just dealing with the normal difficulties anyone has in a relationship. Instead of working through them, Barbara’s breaking up the family.
Barbara says that Felicity doesn’t understand. She’s always been in Edward’s shadow. Felicity asks why they got married in the first place, especially since she left college to do it. Barbara can’t answer that. Felicity asks if she was pregnant. Barbara pauses for a long time, then says there were a lot of reasons she and Edward got married.
Ben is playing basketball again, and when Felicity comes to the court, she tells him she’s ready to drop out. Meanwhile, Noel is putting Tracy’s advice into action, but Ruby is still acting weird. Finally, she explains why: She’s late. Noel handles this calmly, repeating Tracy’s words that no matter what, they’ll be okay.
Felicity shares her travel plans with Pavone, who wonders why she and Ben chose Vienna as their destination. Also, why did Felicity come to the session if she’s dropping out of school? Felicity says she wanted to thank Pavone in person. Pavone wonders if Felicity wants to be talked out of her decision. Felicity insists that she doesn’t.
Pavone tries to get her to talk about her parents. Felicity says she hasn’t felt this bad about things since she went to ballet camp when she was ten. She hated it so much that she came home a day early. She found out that Barbara had been sleeping in the guest room. Felicity’s parents were embarrassed that she found out, and everyone was uncomfortable. Felicity told them she loved camp just to make things better, then went back the next four summers.
Pavone remarks that it’s a hard job to keep everyone happy. Felicity says that might be why she came to New York. Pavone replies that it makes sense that she would want a break from her parents. She asks again why Felicity and Ben chose Vienna. Felicity still doesn’t know, but she feels lost where she is. Pavone tells her that she can be lost anywhere.
Barbara and Edward come by Felicity’s room, having heard about her trip from Meghan. Felicity tells them she thought about it, but she’s not going. Barbara says that she and Edward both wish things didn’t have to be so hard, but they both love Felicity. She hugs Felicity goodbye before heading back to California.
Felicity goes back to the basketball court yet again and tells Ben she’s not going on the trip. He’s not surprised to hear it. In fact, he never bought her a ticket – he knew she wasn’t serious about it. He’s not going, either, if she’s not coming, even if it means he has to see Pavone. But maybe Ben and Felicity can go to Europe this summer. They play basketball together, and then Ben shows Felicity his bed on the court, because seriously, is he living there now?
Thoughts: Pavone is played by Amy Aquino. Tracy is played by Donald Faison, which means that when Scott Foley, Amy Smart, and Keri Russell did guest stints on Scrubs, they were having mini-Felicity reunions.
Yeah, Ben, school-ordered therapy is totally optional. Dude, you need it more than anyone on this show.
Leaving aside the possible pregnancy, Ruby can’t be worth all this drama. She barely has a personality.
'90s Flashback 