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[everwood] i talked my face off to mostly no one so extensively today that i'm making a spillover plurk. feel free to join me for the last two episodes of season one, you'll be completely confused and then bummed out!
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1.22 suddenly Colin's parents want Andy on his case again, funny how that seizure clarified their priorities
cacopheny
wow if there's 22 episodes no wonder you're needing so many plurks
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oh yeah, this was way before thirteen episode seasons became more of a norm
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Andy is far more gracious about this change of heart than i am
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the Harts are once again faced with a choice between risky surgery or letting things proceed naturally, but this time Colin's around to have a say
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and Colin says Absolutely Not because he cannot face another round of recovery. he'd rather chance death, or a stroke, and i almost don't blame him. plus of course there's that adolescent sense of immortality - i almost said invulnerability, but Colin knows better than that, at least
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Andy is dragging Ephram out on a camping trip with Irv because apparently it makes him nervous when he and Ephram get along for more than five minutes at a stretch. this was supposed to be Irv's recharging alone time, btw, so i'm sure he's going to be fucking thrilled to have a sulking teenager along
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rude, Andy
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Ephram is fully prepared to flunk his finals out of sheer spite toward Andy. such drama, bless
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Andy has learned to question his decisions regarding Ephram and consider what he might do better! i'm very proud, good job Andy
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Colin demands an undeserved apology from Amy, and when she obeys because she's not mad at him anymore, he says it's too late. Colin, i need you to reconsider how you'd like to be spending your time. being a dick to your girlfriend does not belong on that list
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"why do you keep talking to me about Ephram" you brought Ephram up, dude. ha, i got so annoyed that for a second i forgot that might be a legitimate moment of confusion
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either way, Colin has definitively dumped Amy bc she was too nice to her friend for his taste. i mean, okay, he does know Amy and Ephram kissed a couple of times, but that's not what this is, and i don't know why i'm arguing with the behavior of a dude whose brain injury is resulting in extreme mood swings, i'll stop now
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oh cool, we're back in "Andy doesn't care that going to nyc would make Ephram happy" territory again. i mean, that's the only reason he has for saying no when Ephram asks to spend the summer there instead of just a week. he offers nothing else and upbraids Ephram for being upset about it
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(meanwhile, Irv, who has been kind and gracious about this whole thing, has gotta be thinking "coulda had a nice weekend, but no, i gotta listen to this white bullshit")
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also Nina's husband is having an affair, i'm sad for her but it's not a storyline that especially captivates me
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Ephram talks Irv into letting him take the canoe out alone while Andy is out hiking (no doubt reveling in the experience with properly broken-in boots, heh), which i'm sure will go just fine
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oh it's a little motorboat, even better
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at least Irv doesn't let him wiggle out of wearing the lifejacket
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Irv accurately tells Andy that he shouldn't be trying to control Ephram, it is both dumb (my word not his) and a bad parenting choice
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Irv, winning my heart for eternity: "It's not my fault he wants to get away from you for the summer." i love you Irv i would propose but i'm afraid of Edna
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god i love when Nina puts idiot men in their place
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oh look, Ephram has ended up unconscious in the water, never could have seen that coming. well, at least he didn't also liquefy his hand accidentally starting the motor while pulling reeds out of it. i forgot for a second that i was watching a tv show and i was very worried
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a tv show aimed primarily at teenagers at the turn of the century, more specificall
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y
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at least he obeyed Irv about keeping the lifejacket on
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so they find Ephram pretty easily in the pitch dark, which, fine; he's conscious now but didn't respond to them shouting his name - there's no indication he even heard them
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ah, Colin was trying to chase Amy away for what he thinks is her own good earlier. that makes sense
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Amy is having none of that. she's with Colin come what may, just as always
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Ephram apologizes for scaring Andy and Andy says, "Sorry i kidnapped you and too you to the unabomber fantasy camp." SNORT.
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Andy has had A LOT to think about in the past few hours and has decided that it's best to let Ephram spend the summer in new york. progress! i mean that genuinely - that is not a decision he would have been able to make himself make not so long ago, wrapped up in his own grief and misery as he was
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this is a far cry from "you can't go because i need you here more than i want you to be happy." this is good parenting. it's not magically gonna be a smooth ride from here, but i hope to be doing less shouting at him in future
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shocking plot twist 2003-style: Carl was cheating on Nina with a man!
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here in 2021, i'm just like, ". . . okay."
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Andy thanks Irv for talking some sense into him and Irv is like "that is my function as the sole Black character on this show. that and dispensing old timey wisdom."
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like i love Irv of course, but Everwood saved its groundbreaking for abortion stories, not the portrayal of Black people on television
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anyway they were also not gonna be the ones who admitted on network television that bisexuality exists, so Carl is gay
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Andy takes his new perspective from the experience of fearing for his child's life and uses it to try and talk Colin's dad into persuading him to agree to the surgery, and that's where we end. season finale ahead! stay strong
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Right. we begin with Andy being very clear and direct with Colin about the fact that he can't make any guarantees that he'll come out the other side of the surgery still himself, not a vegetable, not without loss of motor function, or even alive. Colin takes this all in and says he'll do it
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i like the way Andy handles this - not just with the professionalism a doctor should have, but showing Colin the respect he deserves by not trying to gentle his delivery just because Colin's a kid. i think that's part of why Colin chooses to have the surgery; he appreciates not being handled with kid gloves the way he's been for months
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anyway this entire episode is one big Damn You Berlanti so just assume i am crying the whole way through
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people keep popping up and being mad at Andy for walking away from his gift for neurosurgery, which. that was his choice to make? he is not and cannot be responsible for every single brain patient? fuck off?
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lol Andy has dragged his kids on a tour of his alma mater: "Where's Delia?" Ephram: "She died at the last place that wasn't the place you were looking for." i don't think i've said recently that i love Ephram
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i love Ephram
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(i have just discovered that a third podcast has joined the Everwood conversation, i am beside myself)
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for his last pre-surgery day, Colin has taken Amy and Bright on a mystery trip (he and Bright have made up because of course they have, how could they not have?), and he tells Bright that he doesn't hold the accident against him. he is so clearly trying to set things to rights in case the surgery goes wrong - forgiving
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what needs forgiving and saying goodbye, just in case
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Ephram is getting the opportunity to hear directly from Andy's mentor just extraordinary a surgeon he is, and see how impressed with him people in the field are, and it's interesting to watch him take it all in and think it over. he doesn't exactly get much chance to see or hear about Andy at his best
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Amy has figured out what Colin is doing and is very upset. She can't even look sideways at the possibility that the surgery might end very badly He promises her he'll come back, even though he can't know, because it's what she needs and this day is also, for Colin, about giving Amy and Bright what they need
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Bright needed forgiveness; Amy needs hope, for as long as she can have it
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in a moment of incredible maturity, Ephram tells Andy that he would be okay with Andy going back to surgery and never being around. it's not even about going back to new york for him; he just wants Andy to know he can go back to work he found fulfilling without having to worry about reigniting Ephram's anger toward him
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it's incredibly, incredibly sweet, and coming right after a conversation about how Andy has found some of the patience he needs for parenting, it's as far away from the screaming fight in the pilot as you can get. it's just a really lovely moment
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Andy reciprocates by finally, FINALLY telling Ephram that it was Julia who told him about Everwood, which Ephram very reasonably responds to by wanting to know why the fuck he didn't just say that to begin with
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excellent question, i have also been wondering, let's see what dumb shit Andy has to serve up!
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"It wasn't supposed to be easy." Oh, so it was about punishing himself for being a terrible husband, how charming and how absolutely in character to have not even considered the fact that he was torturing Ephram right along with himself. fucking hell, Andy
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well, he does at least now realize what a bad call that was, so again with the progress. ugh
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Andy's mentor tries to talk him out of performing this deeply risky surgery, especially on a patient he has a personal connection to, but Andy won't be dissuaded, not even by the longterm consequences for him personally (everyone in Everwood will hate him) if he fails
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Colin goes to Andy with what basically amounts to a personal DNR request, to which Andy agrees. Colin gives it to him in writing as well. there's also an awkward interaction with Colin and Ephram; they've been on the outs for a few episodes now and neither of them knows what to say, both aware of what Colin is facing
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this time, Nina comes over to make the pre-surgery breakfast (and let us know that they haven't forgotten where they left her story), and Ephram accompanies Andy to the hospital
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this episode is why it's so important to have the original music. Jump Little Children's "Cathedrals" plays over the preparation for Colin's surgery and i cannot imagine any other song being there. it wouldn't work. it has to be this one
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it's such a perfect and effective use of music i ended up buying the CD it was on and i must have listened to it a thousand times
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Ephram tells Amy that he's not going the New York for the summer, and that Everwood is his home now. i. i have too many feelings right now, like way too many
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we get a scene of the surgery, and Andy going out to give everyone the news after, and . . . that's it. the fucking cliffhanger from hell
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infuriating. summer was such. a long. wait.
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happily, i don't have to wait now, and i've got just about enough time for one more episode before i must face the facts about tomorrow bringing with it a complete overhaul of my life, so!
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2.1 starts out with a poolside scene in which Amy works as a cocktail server and Bright and Colin work as lifeguards and everyone is there having a lovely time. whew!
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. . . except that it's a fantasy Amy is having at a memorial school assembly, because Colin died.
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Colin's story hurts, and it was so much harder watching it knowing how it ends
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i couldn't believe the first time that they killed him off. i didn't really think they would
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i am seriously crying now, so let's upgrade this one to a Fuck You Berlanti for how cruel that fakeout was
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the episode has barely started, this is gonna be fun
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Nina got an upgrade to series regular, hell yeah
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also hell yeah: Delia has friends now!
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Andy, as foretold, has been shunned by Everwood over Colin's death
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Andy flashes back to the moment during the surgery he knew they were going to lose Colin. there was just too much bleeding and not enough time to do anything about it; the brain can only be kept on a minimized bloodflow for so long
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one of Delia's new friends tells her she can't come to her slumber party after all bc her mother doesn't want Andy dropping her off or picking her up, as if every single other person with a license in Everwood has dropped dead. Ephram witnesses this and is pissed
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ah, Ephram and Andy are fighting, just like old times. this time, though, Ephram is angry that Andy has spent the summer wallowing in guilt to the point of neglecting his role in their family, and it's mixed with worry for Andy too
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Ephram tells Andy to figure his shit out or it's only going to get worse for all three of them, which is sound advice. this is very different from how they fought before, more about angrily communicating than trying to draw blood
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it's probably the healthiest fight we've seen them have
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Amy is angry about the DNR, having just found it on Colin's computer, and oh boy we already know that Andy and Nina and having dinner at the same place the Abbotts are having dinner tonight, so this should go well
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we got to see the DNR onscreen btw and obvious i paused to read it, and it was a well-considered and cogent piece of writing. Colin knew what he wanted, and he requested it with his parents' consent. Andy was right to stop the surgery when he did rather than risking exactly what Colin feared most - being alive without being himself
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ah, everyone will be at dinner, how exciting
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yep, that was as crushing as i expected
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Ephram is upset that Andy didn't tell him about the DNR, but i don't think it's because he now blames Andy for Colin's death - Andy explains very clearly that Colin would at best have been barely functional and needed help for the rest of his life, which Colin specifically cited in the DNR as something he didn't want -
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but because, i think, Ephram believes he could have helped Andy carry that burden, that he could have made it easier for Andy to let go of his guilt. Ephram believes so deeply in helping his loved ones, he has this caretaking instinct that you tend to see expressed in a much more masculine manner in male characters
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he's not trying to punch the problems away, he's always trying to support his people and help them fix it
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that's a valuable thing to see now, nevermind twenty years ago
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hee, Bright needs Harold's help to tie his tie and Harold ends up being like, "wait, what the fuck did you even do"
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Bright has some complex baggage about being the driver in the initial accident and is worried that Amy will blame him like she blames Andy, and Harold gently talks him through it while he works on the tie. it's a nice scene; Harold and Rose must be going through a lot themselves, watching their children hurt and helpless to do anything about it
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and Ephram dooms them all by declaring that after the past year, this one will be a cakewalk. why not just ask what could possibly go wrong while you're at it Ephram, jesus
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god, it's going to be so hard for Amy to recover from this. i worry
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so i decided to at least start the next episode bc i have time to kill while the sleep meds kick in, and hello pre-Veronica Mars Kristen Bell!
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heh, Andy is now too involved in Ephram's life for Ephram's tastes - he's bought completely and wholeheartedly into the idea that Ephram needs to spend the next two years of his life focused on getting into the right college. meanwhile, Juilliard is knocking at Ephram's door
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Everwood has produced a worse parent than Andy and it is the woman who let her 17 year old daughter get breast implants, like, there's a reason why there are age requirements for body modification
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Ephram is not going to Juilliard - too many bad habits and bad teachers. which sucks, but i kind of enjoy the implication that Matthew was as shitty a teacher as he is a human being
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Amy has very obviously tailspun into depression, and her mother is handling it much worse than my mother did when i did the same thing at around Amy's age. Harold is taking a calmer approach, but i'm not sure he sees what i'm seeing. he's not a psychologist, nor is he sitting back and watching Everwood. i do have the advantage here
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speaking of Harold, he still totally can't stand Andy and it is not at all out of a sense of loyalty that he refuses to offer a second opinion to Kristen Bell because she shot Andy's evaluation down in part because of Colin. i love Harold
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he gives Andy a good lecture about how not being his usual pushy, meddling self does not suit him and it makes Harold sad (he does not say that last part)
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and then he goes and blows it really badly with Bright; they get into a fight about college which Harold gets frustrated during and loses his usual control with his children, and ends up telling Bright that he's not smart enough to get into college without football. like. those are the words he uses
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and Andy gets to be the target for Ephram lashing out over his devastation about Juilliard
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so they're about to have a very fun lunch
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lol Andy has committed the cardinal sin of showing up in person to take Ephram out of class, their relationship is dead now
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Bright and Harold, on the other hand, have a good, honest conversation about what Harold's priorities have always been with Bright vs with Amy. Bright has shown himself to have a lot of integrity in this episode - they're clearly working up to him having his own story to carry this season, instead of orbiting others'
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Andy saves himself by talking to Ephram about his musical talent in a way very much reminiscent of how Julia used to. he's not letting Ephram give up on his music because that one dude told him to. binging the show in the past few days the way i have has really highlighted just how much Andy has improved as a parent
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Andy a year ago wouldn't have known how to do this, or that he could, and that's if it occurred to him at all. it's really satisfying to see how he's changed and how his relationship with Ephram has become so much healthier. he's still got a ways to go, but he's become a person who can get there