Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Unfinished Business
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 17 | Aired on 03.05.2000
Cut to the high-school auditorium, where Grace and the rest of the troupe are onstage limping through their dress rehearsal. Phil, alone in the audience, is mouthing the words. So he does know more than just two lines! Who knew? Grace is pretty stinky but Lear actually manages to heave some inflection into his lines. The camera pans back and we see Phil fast asleep, snoring softly. That didn't take long, but I can't say I blame him. Oddly, the rehearsal ends before they even reach the end of Act I, scene i, and Grace walks up the aisle, blabbing the whole time about how she was so terrible, and she's so embarrassed and, methinks the lady doth protest too much. Luckily, her little spiel awakens Phil before she reaches his seat, and she has no idea he slept through almost everything. As Phil stands to leave, he groans and gets a funny look on his face. Grace is concerned, but he brushes it off. Foreshadowing, anyone? There's plenty to go around tonight.
Cut to Phil and grace in the car, where Phil is regaling her with tales of his own thespian exploits. Note: it's nighttime and it's raining. They pull up to a red light, and Phil is so into his story that he doesn't notice the light change. Someone behind him honks, and he turns to bitch them out as he lets the car ease forward into the intersection. But the car across the intersection has already started making a left and, OH NO. "Grandpaaaaaa!" Grace shrieks. Cue the smashing glass.
Lily's still pounding out the synopses, and Zoe's showing her this neat little feature called the pull-down menu (Lily really is in trouble with this whole computer thing), when the phone rings. Each heads in different directions in a quest for the cordless, and Lily pulls it from under a couch cushion. You can tell right away it's bad news because she moves very slowly and her face looks frozen. She clutches her chest as she asks "What kind of accident?"
After the commercial break, we see Lily and Zoe tearing down a hospital corridor and rounding the corner to reach the nurses' station. Lily asks frantically where she can find Grace and Phil and we hear Grace say "Mom." The three of them race into each others' arms and Grace tells Lily that both she and Phil are okay. PSYCHE! Well this obviously wasn't "the accident that would change their lives forever." Zoe keeps hugging Grace because she's so relieved she's not hurt.
Cut to Phil being wheeled out of a room by a lovely young nurse and doctor. He's in a gown with a big piece of gauze on his chin, and he's in the middle of telling a joke. In the background, Lily races around the corner and catches up to them. The doctor explains to her that they've checked everything, including his heart and internal organs, and everything looks okay. They'll keep him overnight for observation. Jake pops up and he's assured that Grace and Phil are fine. In fact, Phil says he's glad for things like the accident, because "everything looks so beautiful to [him]" now. He then jokes about the beautiful nurse and the doctor's beautiful nose and basically just shows us all he's full of life. "[He's] not on any drugs" he assures Lily, "[He's] alive. That's the only drug [he] needs." Uh-oh. Phil has just unwittingly jinxed himself but no one else seems to notice.