Episode Report Card Aaron: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Death Leppard
By Aaron | Season 1 | Episode 13 | Aired on 08.18.2001
David Chase: "Moo." Heh. I like that.
Alan Ball: Thanks.
David Chase: On the other hand, it’s still not as funny as spelling out "poo" and "ass" in a Scrabble game.
Alan Ball: Of course it is, you fucking moron.
David Chase: Hey!
Alan Ball: What? I thought we were doing the catchphrase thing.
David Chase: Uh, no.
Alan Ball: Oh. Sorry.
David Chase: Eh, what are you gonna do?
The Ironic Segue Fairy, who has apparently been forced to work overtime due to the mysterious disappearance of the Ironic Musical Detachment Fairy, cuts us straight from the robbers to the cop, as David and Keith are hanging out in a coffee shop somewhere. David is going on and on about how he's tired of all the prejudice and the shame. He also swears a lot, so we know he’s serious. Then he casually mentions that he has to give a devotional reading at Mass that Sunday, and I instantly cringed in anticipation of the inevitable triumphant speech. Oh, and he also confides that he came out to Ruth, and it was "really uncomfortable," despite the fact that she’s still "just as weird as always." Keith claims he has to leave and go meet Eddie, but for some reason, he can’t seem to drag himself away. Aww. It’s so cute. They’re like two little awkward boys on their first date. Keith finally manages to make it to the door, saying, "Take care, David," as he steps outside. As soon is the door is safely shut behind him, David snarks, "Say hi to Eddie for me." Heh. But then we pan over to see Darth Gayder, oh-so-artfully framed by a big red stop sign. Hmm. Is that an omen for season two, or just Alan Ball looking for a cool shot?
Parker’s Party redux. Claire is camped out on the sofa, watching some girl snort lines in the kitchen. The Late Nate appears and asks if she wants to do "what those really cool kids in there are doing." When she says no, The Late Nate mentions that he likes her boyfriend. Really? I guess that makes him the only one then, huh? He can’t put his finger on exactly why he likes him, though, and before Claire can get clarification (get it?), Gabe and the Boys return, and The Late Nate vanishes. As soon as she sees Gabe, Claire leaps to her feet to greet him. "Did you miss me?" he asks. "Not that much, Ego-Man," she replies, which I liked, but you can also see that she really did miss him, which I liked for completely different reasons. They hug, and Claire’s eyes suddenly go wide, presumably because she feels the gun in his belt, and not because he’s just happy to see her.