Episode Report Card Deborah: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Growth Opportunity
By Deborah | Season 2 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.07.2004
Joan's outside planting some decorative kale, while Big Gulp Kid watches her and asks, "Why are you planting cabbage? Isn't it already, like, cabbage?" Joan: "Shut. Up!" He stands up, and retorts, "Yeah? Shut you up!" He laughs moronically and high-fives another burnout. Grace and Luke come over -- how is it even the often-oblivious Joan still hasn't noticed what's going on? -- and Grace asks, "Making soup?" Joan says, "Apparently they flower." She asks what they're doing there. Grace: "Boy Wonder figured out you're not brain-dead. Apparently dirt can equal physics." One of the bleacher burnouts decides to toss a pop can at Grace's feet. She narrows her eyes and says, "You so don't want to go there, dude." Big Gulp Kid's smirk fades slightly. Luke starts, "You see, if we posit that your indeterminate element is the unpredictable level of resistance --" Grace: "Stifle it, Einstein. Just pick up all this garbage and pile it over there." As they start picking up garbage, Joan says, "Hey, Grace? Thank you." Grace: "I'm doing this for me, dude." Joan smiles agreeably: "I know." As the scene fades out, you can see that it's the most miserable, ill-conceived little patch of garden ever. And I say that as someone whose yard currently looks like a missile site.
After some commercials, Judith walks out to the garden alone, smoking. She encounters Adam out there, picking up more garbage and throwing it to one side. Has no one in Arcadia ever heard of Rubbermaid, or Hefty? She asks him, "Want a cigarette?" Adam: "No, thanks. Big fan of the lungs." Hee. Judith: "Right. You know, usually I'm the only one around here this early, so I won't have to endure the breakfast inquisition with the shrinks. You?" He claims he just wanted to see Joan's garden. She says, "You could see it later…with her." Adam says it would be weird if she were here: "You know, we always work on these kinds of projects together. This is the first time we're not." Judith asks if it's because of her. I'm not sure I believe she's able to conceive of anything as not being because of her in some way. Adam tries to deflect the question but finally admits that it is because of Judith: "Sorry." Judith, looking slightly sad, changes the subject and says she used to plant stuff with her father: "Then he got busy, he got a gardener and we stopped doing that kind of thing. Guess that's why I freaked when Joan said she wanted to do a garden, huh?" Adam shrugs. After a pause he says he's going to keep cleaning up, and asks Judith if she wants to help. She pretends to consider that and says, "Nah." She walks off.