Episode Report Card M. Giant: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT I Say Quakerism, You Say Aneurysm
By M. Giant | Season 5 | Episode 8 | Aired on 07.23.2005
And then Nate and Maggie are naked and kissing on her sofa. Nate, you asshole. I guess she's not mad at him for what happened between their parents.
Speaking of cheaters, Rico's home. Vanessa's parked on the sofa in front of the TV, eating a plate of pasta. Rico asks where the Federiquitos are, and Vanessa says they're at Rico's mom's and that he can pick them up in the morning. Rico says this used to be pizza night. "Well, there are a lot of things that used to be," Vanessa says flatly. Rico complains, "You can't even wait to have dinner with me?" Without looking at him, Vanessa sets the plate down on the coffee table and tells him to finish it, then goes back to her show. Rico says he can't do this any more. "I feel like I'm just the guy who mows the lawn and takes out the trash and occasionally gets to have sex with you while you lay there [sic] looking bored out of your mind…I was expecting you to try to make this work." He says if she doesn't love him he'll just move out. Vanessa softens a little bit and says she still loves him, but she can't get over what happened. Rico sits down next to her and puts on his puppy-dog face, and says, "But why? You know I'll never do anything like that again." Vanessa says she can't explain; it's how she feels. Neither of them knows what to do now. Rico gives up and takes a forkful of pasta. "It has too much salt," he mumbles. Vanessa agrees that it's really bad, laughing a little. Rico asks her out for dinner, and she agrees. Aw, these two crazy kids might just make it work, assuming Rico keeps getting a steady stream of attractive Latina corpses to boost his self-esteem.
Dinner at Keith and David's, and everyone's eating their steak tonight with plastic knives and forks. Anthony's breaks, and he turns to whisper to David, "My knife broke." It's so cute how he lives every second of his whole life in abject terror. David says it's okay, and sets the box of plastic utensils on the table with a pissy look at Keith. Shut up, David. I can't believe he wants to let Durrell continue to have access to sharp objects. I wouldn't even let the kid near that pointed glance that David just shot across that table. Apropos of nothing, Keith announces that he told the Pasqueasel that he wants a couple of weeks off after school's out. "I was thinking we'd go on vacation," Keith says. "Go down to Mexico. Go swimming in the ocean." Anthony asks, "Who's going to take care of us?" Keith obviouses that the kids are going with them. David looks surprised, and Anthony looks happy. Durrell says, "I don't want to swim. I want to go to the mountains and learn to snowboard." It's hard to say if he's just being contrary or testing Keith. In the latter case, Keith passes by saying that they'll do that in the winter, all four of them. "We'll go all kinds of places," he finishes. The boys look at each other and at David, who happily says, "Yes, we will!" David totally doesn't get what happened, but he doesn't really care. Dinner resumes in a happier atmosphere, although nobody gets up to break out the real steak knives. Probably wise.
Ruth and Begley have reached their campsite as Ruth, her hair now in a braid down her back, comments on how good it smells out in the sticks. "This is the way the world is supposed to smell," Begley comments from right behind her as they start unloading the car. The world is supposed to smell like Begley? I want off now. Begley says there's a stream where they can go fishing in the morning. Ruth happily says she feels completely free, with nobody waiting for her or expecting her to do anything. "You can do anything you please," Begley says. Why she's doing Begley, then, shall remain a mystery for now.