Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT My Brilliant Career
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 20 | Aired on 04.09.2000
Finally, it looks like Lily's going to get out of there, when Crusty calls out again. She tells Lily that she's not as young as Lily probably thinks -- she's twenty-eight. Then she wishes Lily "good luck with [her] kid." Lily looks thoughtful for a second and then splits.
At home, she finds Grace in bed. Grace tells her what she learned, and then worries maybe Lily didn't already know about Jake's infidelity. Lily assures her that she knew. The phone rings, and we hear Jake's voice on the machine. Lily goes to her room to grab it, and hisses, "Nice going, Jake." She says that Grace doesn't want to talk to him, tells him that she'll call him later, and slams down the phone.
Jake's worried that "he's going to lose [Grace]," but Tiffany guarantees that he won't. She's convinced it will all be okay in the long run. Jake's angry at her for letting the truth slip out. She says she made sure to tell Grace that he didn't leave Lily to be with her. Yeah, Jake agrees: "Lily threw me out, " he says, wallowing in self-pity. He's sorry that he couldn't just put the past behind himself and leave it there. He hates that Grace had to find out about his indiscretions.
BWake reminisces about Grace when she was still in diapers. She was daddy's little girl. He can't believe how easy it was to make her happy back then -- all he had to do was be there. It's amazing to him that he was the person who could make her that happy.
A little later, Lily sticks her head in to check on Grace, who apologizes for "being so mean...when it was him." Lily reminds her that Jake is a good person, and that Grace's relationship with him is her own. What happened between him and Lily isn't Grace's problem. Grace insists that there should be "consequences for people who betray other people." Lily tells Grace that she doesn't want to see her waste a minute with her father, especially since Lily just lost her own, and knows how much it hurts. She tells Grace that, if she wants to be an adult, then this is what it's all about -- dealing with the fact that people aren't perfect. She insists that she's forgiven Jake, she just can't be in love with him anymore. Grace starts sobbing, and says she hates him. Lily holds her and the phone starts ringing again. Grace begs her not to leave, and Lily says she's not going anywhere. She hugs Grace even tighter.
At his place, Jake is staring out the window into the darkness, and crying. Zoe comes padding into the room in her jammies and fuzzy slippers. She asks him if he's okay. He scoops her up into his arms and says he's okay. Then he settles onto the sofa, still holding her, and tells her how much he loves her. Somewhere along the way, the episode lost its light-hearted feel. The mood is definitely melancholy as we fade to black.