Episode Report Card Joe R: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Brick Dance
By Joe R | Season 3 | Episode 3 | Aired on 08.26.2007
Celia is entertaining Isabelle in her seedy-ass motel room as part of her plan to win her daughter over to her side. Isabelle is having none of it, of course, despite Celia's best efforts at making nice. She tells Isabelle to pretend they're in "film noir" so the crappy motel room seems cooler. Isabelle would rather watch TV, particularly the girl-on-girl party line infomercial that's on right now, but Celia puts the kibosh on that. They argue over who gets the bed and who gets the cot -- Celia, being the mother, says she should have the bed. Unless they want to share it -- "How fun!" Isabelle doesn't even know why they're doing this, seeing as they don't like each other. Celia offers that maybe they just don't know each other very well, and this can be their opportunity to lie down and just talk. Of course, once Celia unfolds the cot, there's a condom inside. They're like fortune cookies, those motel cots. Betting slips? Used tissue? Insect? Condom? You never know! It should be noted, also, that despite the crappy surroundings, Celia still has her martini glass, which I would take as comforting, though I'll forgive Isabelle for not doing the same.
Botwins'. Andy is still permanently on the verge of tears as he prepares to disembark for his military adventure. He'll only be three hours away, he chokes, and if Shane gets sad, he can always go sit in Andy's room -- "don't open the nightstand drawer." Nancy says there might not be a room for much longer, as they're going to have to sell the house and "embrace change" in their lives. The weight of that prospect simultaneously crushes down on all four of them at once, and even Silas knows better than to whinily bitch about it. Andy wishes Silas luck in court, gives Nancy a fierce and sincere embrace, and takes off. "It's good to embrace change, right?" says Nancy, unconvincingly.
U-Turn's. Nancy shows up with $7,000, which is well short of what she owes. U-Turn tells Marvin to go out and break one of her kids' legs. He's not serious, but you can never quite tell with U-Turn, and that's what ends up making him super scary -- he's in on the joke of Nancy as a big-time dealer to a point, but after the laughing's done, he's still got his gun and is eager to use it. He tells her she's going to work her debt off "in trade," which makes my stomach drop, but dumb-ass Nancy is all, "How do you mean?" U-Turn wants to her to pick up a package, but Nancy says she can't -- she's got Silas's court hearing. U-Turn predictably starts to tell Nancy how to parent her kids, which is such an obligatory ironic statement that it kind of takes the fun out. "Move some stuff around," U-Turn tells her, about her scheduling conflicts, and Nancy heads out to begin her new life as a drug mule. When she's gone, Marvin asks why U-Turn sent her out. "I wanted to see how she'd do," U-Turn growls.