Episode Report Card Pablo G: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Stony Path
By Pablo G | Season 1 | Episode 9 | Aired on 11.23.2011
Fortress of Solitude. In Nolan's dimly lit office, Tyler hands over Nolan's credit card and thanks him for helping him look the part of a success. Nolan thinks Tyler looks like nothing more than a thief now. While we're calling names, Nolan must be a liar, Tyler protests, because he had promised to help him climb the ladder at Grayson Global. He can still help Tyler if he'll invest $20 million at the investors party tomorrow, which Tyler will gladly "repay." Nolan: "Transaction declined. Cash only." It annoys me that thus far Tyler is the only character whose response to not getting what they want is to start unbuttoning their blouse. He invites Nolan to think over this business proposal in the swimming pool with him. Nolan isn't interested at all. He has pulled out his whale figurine spy camera and casually set it on a shelf in the room during this conversation before declaring he must go meet with someone less crappy. Nolan invites Tyler to stick around while he's gone as long as he doesn't steal anything. Tyler literally crosses his heart and then immediately takes a seat at Nolan's computer when he's out of earshot.
Charlotte sits in her kitchen texting. We see a close-up of Charlotte's cell phone screen with a text to Declan which reads: "2nite's the nite!" Please say it's the night you stop typing texts this way, Charlie. Victoria enters the kitchen behind Charlotte, reads the text over her shoulder and asks with concern what 2nite is the nite for. Oh, mom. Char gets defensive over this intrusion of privacy, which launches Victoria into a lecture about Declan not being the right boy for her. She adds that she has already swiped Charlotte's car keys as she also snatches her daughter's cell phone off the kitchen counter. Charlotte screams that her mom can't do that, but Victoria walks off, holding the phone up and declares, "I just did."
Meanwhile, Declan is at the Stowaway fretting around the bar over being ready for Charlotte when she arrives. He buzzes past Jack and asks him to send Charlotte upstairs if he's not out of the shower before she gets there. Amily is there at the bar counter and giggles at how cute Declan is about all of this. Jack admits it's cute and walks off to attend to patrons. Nolan sneaks up behind Amily's barstool and gruffly whispers for her to get wise, take the money and leave. She's not intimidated. Instead, she tries to hurt Nolan's feelings by revealing that Emanda used to talk about him like he was a creepy stalker of her father's when he would visit him in prison. Nolan continues trying to be scary, adding that people Emanda wants gone usually end up gone in spectacular fashion. Amily gets up from the bar, suggesting Emanda should consider the ripple effect, and walks out. Jack returns and finds an empty barstool where Amily once was and asks Nolan where she went. He reminds Jack about his advice that Amily is a nomadic bad idea. Nolan downs the rest of his drink and starts to leave, but sees Queen Victoria enter the bar and thinks he must've been drugged or something. Victoria walks up to Jack and asks where she can find Declan. Jack tells her he's upstairs and that that's his brother before Victoria invites herself to go straight upstairs. She enters Dec's bedroom right as he exits the shower in a towel. He has a near heart attack. Victoria calmly asks Declan what his price is to stop seeing Charlotte. Dec asks Victoria, "Are you freakin' serious?" Queen Victoria without losing her trademark Botox smile: "I am freakin' dead serious." Stand-up Declan declines the bribe because he really cares about Charlotte, but Victoria insists that she is simply applying her experience to the situation and has the teenagers' hearts in mind. She asks again what Declan's price is.