Episode Report Card Niki: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Taking Sides
By Niki | Season 3 | Episode 11 | Aired on 01.03.2002
Judy, meanwhile, is getting down to some sleuthing. She quickly dials Lily's number, not to speak with Lily but with Rick. She feels a little ridiculous asking him, but she wants to know if he was lying to cover for Sam the night before. Rick closes his eyes and tries to think of a way out. Seconds pass in silence. "Rick?" Judy prods. "What do you mean?" he stalls. Her voice gets an edge, and she says, "Thanks. That's all I needed to know." Rick pleads with her to listen, but Judy assures him, "It's okay, and I thank you. Seriously." She hangs up and curls herself into the fetal position on her couch.
Soliloquy Beach. Again. Now they're all spread out on the sand, looking for all the world like they just finished a huge, rollicking orgy. Sam oinks out the story of how he met his wife because Karen showed up at the beach one weekend with Rick, and she dragged along her friend Janine. Sam says he wasn't interested in falling in love; he was only looking to get laid. I'll give you a second to gather yourself up off the floor.
Sam's got Melissex right where he wants her by the time we cut back to his studio. Namely, on his bed with her shirt off. They're kissing loudly, until Sam suddenly stops with a sigh. Looking stunned and somewhat confused, he says, "I don't believe this. I can't. I can't do this." Melissex rolls onto her back and pulls up the covers with a knowing "You love her." Sam denies it. She assures him it's true. He refuses to accept it. She won't let him deny it. "What are you, my shrink?" he asks. She chuckles and says she's "just spent too much time around single men." She then launches into a little lecture on love and how "it's one of the most dangerous emotions you can feel." When she's finished, Sam says, "Wow, this is...uh...completely embarrassing." "Not at all," she says, being a good sport. Sam glances down at her chest. "Nice bra," he offers. What an ass. Silently, Melissex climbs out of bed and starts to get dressed.
After the break, Lily breezes into Booklovers. Pleasantly surprised, Judy asks what she's doing there. "You okay?" Lily asks, by way of an answer. Judy waves it off and insists that she is, but you know she's lying.
"You okay?" Rick asks. Sam glibly says he's "very fine" and asks how Rick is. Rick doesn't answer, but instead asks how things went with Melissex. Sam informs him they have approval for the lobby. "That's quite a night," Rick observes. "Quite a night," Sam echoes.
"It's totally my fault," Judy says, trying to convince Lily and herself. She says that Sam's been totally honest with her, and that they have no claim on one another. Judy laments that she's "just an idiot, which [Lily] has been trying to tell [Judy] for months." Lily doesn't bother denying it, but just says that she's sorry. Bitterly, Judy states, "He clearly needs to sleep with every woman in Chicago between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-four. It was ridiculous of me to think that was ever going to change."