Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Mediation
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 13 | Aired on 01.23.2000
Later that night, Eli's scrambling around trying to find Grace's phone number so he can ask her about the essay. He asks Rick, who is working in the next room, if he knows the number off-hand. Before Rick can answer, Eli finds the number and gets Lily on the phone. She and Rick are clearly eavesdropping, so both Grace and Eli decide to switch phones, asking their respective parents to hang up when they tell them. In yet another parallel experience (the third, if anyone's counting), we're treated to close-ups of Rick and Lily twiddling the phone cord, swallowing hard, licking their lips, and staring intensely. Each seems to sense the other's presence but neither one can bring themselves to speak. The tension finally breaks when the kids simultaneously yell for them to hang up the phones. Lily is so distracted, she actually jumps.
As Grace and Eli discuss The Stranger, we watch Lily and Rick continue to live out their parallel realities. Rick settles at the top of a staircase and looks forlornly into space and, hey whattaya know, Lily's doing exactly the same thing in her little corner of the universe. Okay we get it already -- these little scenes are beginning to feel like the Twilight Zone meets Hallmark Presents.
Eli turns the conversation from the novel to his experience with divorce, saying that everyone expects him to act a certain way because his parents split up. Grace agrees and both comment on how hard it is to show their emotions about their parents' divorces. We get one last look at Lily and Rick in their matching his 'n' hers positions before fading gracefully to commercials.
As the Mannings get down to breakfast the next morning, Lily starts fishing for some information. She asks if Grace is tutoring Eli that night and wonders what they talk about. Very subtle. Even through her cloud of teenage angst, Grace can see what Lily's up to, and she's not going to give her an inch. "We talk about The Stranger" she says. Lily tries to hide her disappointment.
Surprisingly -- okay, not really -- the same scene is unfolding in the Sammler household. Rick asks if Grace has mentioned how Lily is doing. Jessie points out that Eli's already answered him, like, three times. Eli remarks that it's English -- it's not like they're discussing Rick and "the Mom." yeah, that's right -- even their kids have parallel nicknames for them.
Meanwhile, back at the Manning ranch, Grace tells Lily that Eli didn't know she and Rick had split up. Lily is encouraged by the news and immediately starts prodding Grace for more, but Grace is trying to get the hell out of there because she's late for school. She opens the door to find three strangers standing on the stoop. They were about to ring the bell, but end up giving Grace a heart attack instead. It turns out to be a realtor with two clients. There must be some unwritten realtors' code, because this one barges in just like dumpy Ed did. Grace is freaked and shooting her mother the stink-eye while Lily tries to figure out who they are and what they want. Grace sarcastically smiles and waves before bailing, leaving Lily standing there in her pajamas wondering how to get the strangers out of her house.