Episode Report Card Drunken Bee: A | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Decisions
By Drunken Bee | Season 4 | Episode 10 | Aired on 07.09.2010
Commercials. Dinner at the Taylors. Dopey Ryan is there. Why does this guy rub me the wrong way so much? He just seems so church camp or something. Julie prompts him to talk about being in Indonesia. The thing I love best is that the Taylors aren't falling for his "Save the World" shtick. Tami asks if all the work in Indonesia was for school credit (trying to sniff out exactly how old this kid is), and he says that it started that way, but then he took an extended leave and got hooked on the work. Coach is SO not impressed. But Ryan thinks he rules the world because of all the good samaritan points he's been racking up, so he walks right into the challenge. He tries to chat Coach up about football. Coach just gives him some "Mmmhmmm"s. Then Ryan wonders how it was, when it rained last week. Coach doesn't know what the hell he's asking, and now Tami and Julie are glancing at each other, mortified on his behalf as Ryan starts blathering about how it must be weird, you know. Everyone playing out in the rain. Football in the rain. Coach finally throws him a bone, "Yeah, it can get pretty weird I guess." But when it comes out that Ryan is leaving for Arizona next week, Coach suddenly gets real chatty.Big Merri opens the door at night to find Vince on his doorstep. Vince says he's there to talk to Merri. They sit down and Vince apologizes for how suspect this seems, but he needs an advance on his check. Big Merri asks why and Vince doesn't volunteer it at first; so Big Merri asks how much. Four grand. Big Merri asks him what kind of trouble he's in, and Vince denies that it's for him. He shares that he's trying to get his mom checked into rehab and Big Merri asks about low-income programs. Meanwhile, Jess has come into the hallway and is eavesdropping on their conversation (seemingly right in view of Vince, but he doesn't notice her). Vince tells him about the waiting list, and Big Merri sadly tells him that he just doesn't have that kind of money to give to Vince. But he doesn't stop there, he tells Vince to "hear me now. I'm sayin' no to the money, but not to you." Big Merri tells him that he's proud of Vince for asking for help, and he knows that Vince is trying to do something with his life. "We'll figure this out." Vince leaves, and Big Merri turns to find Jess in tears. She wonders how he could believe in Vince when the past three years he's been saying that Vince is a no-good low-life, and also, he never comes to Caleb's games or goes to see her dance on the sidelines of the Lions games or goes to her Academic Smackdowns, but he goes and watches Vince practice. "And you proud of him." She says that she tries hard to make her father proud, too. Oh, it's the prodigal son thing. Nobody loves the one who stays home and does the work, everyone loves the one who nearly flames out. But really: what is going on with Vince and these Merriweathers? It's now been a little too long with zero background information there.