Episode Report Card Cate: A+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Prodigal
By Cate | Season 6 | Episode 7 | Aired on 11.11.2001
SuperMom's checking on the special pot roast when Mary walks into the CamKitchen. Mary has put her stuff into the twins' room so that she won't "be in anyone's way." What, the twins don't count as people? Isn't she in their way? Annie tries to convince Mary that she's not in anyone's way. She even offers her the garage apartment. You know the rest of the kids are going to be pissed over that, but in a way, it might be the best thing for everybody. If Mary has her own apartment, everyone else will have to see less of her, and that certainly provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Annie leads her off to check out the apartment.
RevCam comes downstairs, shouting to Annie as he enters the kitchen. That's a little insulting to assume that she spends all her time in the kitchen. I know she's pregnant a lot of the time, and I have no idea if she tends to walk around barefoot, but I've definitely seen her in lots of rooms other than the kitchen. Ruthie comes in and asks RevCam if this week's sermon will be about the prodigal son -- a parable that's never made a whole lot of sense to me. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, I'll boil it down quickly. A father has two sons, between whom he divides his estate. The younger brother goes off to squander his inheritance. When it's all gone, he comes home again, and his father welcomes him with great fanfare. You know -- the fatted calf and all. The older son is peeved because he's loyally worked for his father all this time, and never received so much as a goat. When he complains, his father says, "'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found'" (Luke 15:31-2).
It's pretty easy to see where they're going with this on the show -- even though I want to point out that at least the prodigal son confessed his misdeeds and apologized for them, and he doesn't seem to be nearly as big a loser as Mary. Still, who can fault the older brother for being angry? Bible or no, I'm not so sure holding one child to different standards than another is such a great idea, parenting-wise. I'm sure Brenda Hampton disagrees. Dammit -- I'm never gonna get the hang of this "family values" business! At least RevCam and Ruthie don't explore the topic at great length. There's no time, for they have snooping to do. Ruthie hints that RevCam should phone the horse's ass to find out whether he and Mary got married. As Ruthie leaves, RevCam picks up the phone and stares at it thoughtfully.