Although there was much praise for the finale, there were plenty of snark-worthy moments to keep us entertained. I was a little disappointed that they didn't manage to extend the drama of Caleb's death longer than they did, largely because it shortened any sorts of issues involving his divorce (huge potential). But as much work as there was to do with the funeral, Sandy had more important things on his mind. Kirsten had been drinking more and more through all of their problems this year, and Caleb's death only made things worse for her. Everybody was worried, including Seth.

While stumbling around looking for a cell phone charger, Seth goes into his dad's office. No, we are not talking about his office on the beach. Apparently, Sandy had an office in the house the whole time, which is interesting because I have never seen him with a laptop or anything, so I had no idea he took work home. Calling it an office is a stretch. Perhaps a study or "big room with desk and books and my diploma," but I don't think you can call it an office. Inside one of his dad's desk drawers Seth finds a pamphlet for a treatment center. Naturally, he searches out for Ryan so the old man may convey some wisdom to him.

Seth is a smart kid, or at least we are assuming he is a smart kid. If he was just a huge comic book geek and an idiot, life must have been really tough for him. Come to think of it, I have never seen him in any of Ryan's classes, and with Ryan taking all of those AP courses, maybe that means Seth really isn't that smart and all this time is expecting to make his money the old-fashioned way - inherit it. Anyway, Seth is a little confused and asks Ryan why his dad would have a pamphlet like that around. When Ryan states the obvious, that maybe it was Seth's mom that needed the treatment, Seth sort of stared in amazement, as if the thought that his mom may have been drinking too much never occurred to him.

Sandy was looking at a number of treatment centers. After he found the bottle last week, he knew his wife wasn't going to be able to do it alone. He visited a very nice treatment center and talked to who I presume was the head doctor there. Now, I am not familiar with drug treatment centers, but I do know that just because you are an MD doesn't necessarily mean you have to wear a lab coat, so I thought it sort of strange that this guy would walk around the treatment center wearing one. Sure, alcoholism is a medical issue, but people are usually treated with more group therapy and talking than lab tests and electroshock, or at least that's how it was when Dr. Carter had to be detoxed a few years back on er. Like any person going through this type of thing, Sandy came to the realization that getting outside help doesn't mean that you failed, but more like it was going to take more work and expertise to beat this than he had first expected. He wanted Kirsten to go, but was pretty sure "she's not going to come voluntarily."

Everybody else is preparing for the funeral. Although Julie was right on the verge of killing Caleb last week, she held back, and the two of them came to share an uneasy respect for each other. When she saw he collapsed in the pool, she really did try to save his life. Imagine my surprise when the biggest question on her mind the morning of the funeral is what she is going to wear that accessorizes her dress properly. God, Julie, it may be Newport but "it's a funeral, not a fashion show," which is exactly what Marissa had to say. Sure, in many ways it was a huge relief that he died, but at least wait until he is in the ground to celebrate.

With any funeral, there is a good reason to come back with any actors who may have left during the season for some reason or another. In that respect, we are not surprised to see that Jimmy Cooper and Haley Nichol are back for some action. If there was any reason for a little cameo appearance from Kaitlin, this would have been it, but I guess her boarding school has no bereavement policy. We did get a reason for why Haley didn't come back when her father was sick in the hospital, so I will give them points for remembering to clear that up.

Posted by J-Unit on May 25, 2005 12:56 AM