Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Wake Up, Little Susie
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 1 | Aired on 10.23.2000
Cut to Lily and Rick on the couch, where Lily is reveling in the picture-perfect fact that they're out there snuggling while their kids are playing together in the other room. The fact that it's entirely forced seems not to enter her mind.
Grace lands on one of Zoe's hotels, but Zoe is so preoccupied with counting her money that she doesn't notice. Grace silently encourages Jessie to hurry up and roll. Jessie does, and then realizes that Grace was on Zoe's property and starts to say something. Zoe looks at the board and starts freaking out, drawing the attention of Rick and Lily. Sibling brouhaha erupts, and Jessie finds herself caught in the middle as the adults try to sort out what happened. Grace storms off to her room, and Rick turns his attention back to Jessie, looking for an explanation. Instead, she says tearily that she wants to go home. Lily takes a beat to process what just happened, then grabs Zoe by the arm and drags her out of the kitchen.
When we return from commercials, Rick and Jessie are in the truck, and he's trying to make her see that it wasn't a big deal. He asks why, specifically, Jessie wanted to leave. She claims she had a stomachache. He says he's not sure that was enough of a reason to leave. "Fine," Jessie says. "Next time, I'll just puke all over the floor." Rick assures her that "next time, it'll seem like it never happened." Jessie's still upset, but she won't talk about it anymore.
Cut to Grace and Zoe sprawled on Lily's bed, while Lily grills them about their homework. She suggests that Zoe get an early start on her science assignment, and Zoe replies, "Our entire generation is being stressed out from too much homework." Lily asks about what happened earlier, and Grace tells her that Zoe's just annoying, and Zoe says that Grace cheats. They say it matter-of-factly, the heat of the moment entirely forgotten as Zoe calmly braids Grace's hair. Lily brings up Jessie, and Grace says she's "a baby." Lily rebukes her, but Grace won't back down. She wants to know what she's expected to do -- Jessie wasn't her guest. Lily insists that when somebody -- no matter who invited them -- comes into their house, they're to be treated well. Grace wants to know if that'll still be the case if Lily and Rick get married and Jessie moves in. Lily has no answer for her, and fed up, Grace leaves to do her homework, flapping her arms as she goes.
The next day, Rick surprises Lily at work. They talk about the night before, and Rick admits that Jessie is convinced that Grace hates her. "Oh, poor thing!" Lily exclaims. "That's just so ridiculous!" "Well, kids can give out all kinds of signals," Rick says, and I think the implication is pretty clear. Hackles rising, Lily wants to know what he means. He says that Jessie probably picked up on something that wasn't really..."Are you saying that Grace really was mean to Jessie?" Lily demands. She insists that Grace wasn't, and the bickering escalates. Rick slows himself down and says that maybe Grace is feeling pressured, and she's letting out it in a way that caused Jessie to pick up on something. Lily interjects that they're all feeling pressure. Lily wants to know if Rick is saying that she's doing something wrong. He says that's not the case. They agree that everyone's doing the best they can.