Sandy and the Nana are about to have their dinner, when Sophie gets a call from Bobby. There is a malpractice suit and he doesn't know when he will be back. Marriage? Oh, I don't know about that. I would usually complain about the writers not giving the story any suspense, but since the whole episode was apparently a ruse to get some free tickets from American Airlines, I'll cut them some slack. Bobby didn't have any malpractice suit, of course. Sandy had seen him earlier and dropped some pretty strong hints about the FBI, background checks, and what he would do to somebody that might have been out to get his mom's million dollar condo. (Again, he can buy his mom a seven figure condo, but can't scrape enough money to get Seth a car? Glaring oversight, I would say. Seth should be driving a Prius by the beginning of next season.) She is upset with him and storms off, but later admits that it might have been too good to be true. She is just sad that she might have to spend the rest of her years alone.

Things are ending up pretty nicely in Miami, but everything is hitting the fan in Newport. Carter and Kirsten have their dinner, and a lot of wine. And this isn't just funny, ha ha, Kirsten is a lush, type of drinking, they finished an entire bottle before dinner. OK, come to think of it, that isn't that much, but soon they are drunk and they start to eat. We don't see dinner, but I am sure it is awkward, there was a couple of times when they would touch hands and look away. Both wanted something to happen, but neither would say it. After dinner, Carter says it was the best dinner he had, which was funny, because it didn't look like Kirsten had eaten anything. God Kelly Rowan, you're hot, but try some tofu or something. Your collar bone is starting to freak me out.

In the spirit of honesty, Carter says that he had second thoughts about leaving Newport. He hates the town, but he couldn't stand having to leave Kirsten. They share a small kiss, but Kirsten can't bring herself to do anything more. She wishes Carter good luck, and then there is an ominous turn. Kirsten pulls the vodka bottle out of the fridge[thanks for the correction josh]. We all know that she is a lush, but this straight vodka in a glass is supposed to tell us she has a problem. I wonder if this is going to lead to something in the future? (BTW, I am treating the two hours as two episodes, so no spoilers from the second in the comments please. Although I am guessing most people have seen both hours, you have been warned).

On the beach, the two are having fun, but Trey is getting a little playful. His eyes are bloodshot, just in case you didn't realize that cocaine might have made him high, and he starts to tell Marissa that he feels strongly about her. He feels strong enough that he thinks they could be more than friends. Although Marissa says that she was being nice because he was Ryan's brother, he doesn't listen. He proceeds to throw her against the sand, and tries to kiss her. Marissa is really trying to fight back, but he is too strong. He is just about to tear off her top when she grabs a piece of driftwood and hits him on the side of the head. She runs away crying and Trey can't believe what he has done. From Miami, Ryan calls Marissa's cell phone, which just rings and rings on the sand, with nobody there to answer.

Wow. Sexual assault is a very difficult thing to handle on network television. I'll have more on that when I recap the second hour, but to think that the writers decided to tackle sexual violence and alcoholism with only three episodes left says a lot. The ramifications for all the parties involved in either incident are going to be huge. They sort of tried to handle teenage pregnancy last year, but gave up on it after the first episode this year. But unlike Theresa's baby (now in it's 5th or 6th trimester by my count), they are not going to be able write either of these away so easily.

"Hey!" Count: Episode - 13, Season Total - 276

Posted by J-Unit on May 8, 2005 7:51 PM