Episode Report Card Deborah: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Growth Opportunity
By Deborah | Season 2 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.07.2004
Kevin answers the door at home. Lily Waters marches right in, introducing herself as Helen's confirmation coach: "We got a thing at four. I'm early." Kevin says she'll be home soon, and introduces himself. Lily strides into the kitchen as she says, "I read your project about that jaywalking guy. Very cool." Kevin thanks her as he bumps down the two stairs into the kitchen. She asks if he heard about the guy who's trying to eat a bicycle, as she opens the fridge and starts rummaging. Kevin: "Do you want anything to drink while you're waiting?" The mild sarcasm is completely lost on Lily, who keeps rummaging as she says she's parched. As she crouches a little, Kevin can't help but notice her butt and her exposed midriff, since he's right behind her. Interestingly, he makes a point of looking away, and asking her about her surfing. She says he should try it, adding, "I'm sure they've got some kind of rig they could strap you in." Kevin smiles, intrigued by her indifference to his wheelchair. Her head still in the refrigerator -- how long does it take to find a drink, for heaven's sake? -- she asks how his lawsuit's coming. Kevin: "Okay, I guess…" Lily: "Am I being too nosy? Can I finish the cran-apple?" Kevin: "Sure." Lily: "Sure about the nosy or the cran-apple?" Kevin: "The cran-apple." But he doesn't sound too sure.
She finally closes the fridge and goes to the counter, swigging the drink from the bottle. I can't tell what's on the t-shirt under her leather vest, but I suspect it reads, "Kiss me, I'm an iconoclast" (tm joshleejosh). Kevin says he can't tell her too much about the lawsuit; his parents are handling it: "They don't tell me much." Lily stops drinking and says, "Wait a minute. You don't know anything about a lawsuit in which you're named, even though the accident was -- just a guess -- the most important event of your life?" Hmm. I believe Lily would be that blunt and direct, but I feel like the writer took us there just a little too fast. Kevin, bristling slightly: "Okay, now you're being too nosy." Lily: "No, it's just -- I mean -- you're twenty, and a reporter. How do you turn off interest in your own life?" Kevin just stares at her. Lily backs off: "You're right. None of my business." Helen arrives at this point and sees that they've met. She doesn't pick up on the awkwardness. I actually like the idea of Lily and Kevin together; I think they have chemistry, and Kevin seems to like older women. I also have to suspect there's a reason Lily's search for a man who wouldn't mind her smoking was mentioned earlier. We saw Kevin smoke last year, though I don't think he's a regular smoker. But why bring that up at all, if it's not remotely relevant? It just stuck out too much to be random.
Luke's sitting on the stairs at school when Grace comes around the corner. He stands up quickly; she stops when she sees him. Neither speaks as they start to descend the stairs together on either side of the railing. Luke begins: "I've thought about it, and I do want to work within your terms." Grace, quietly: "Well, you shouldn't. It's totally unfair." Luke: "See, that's the thing: I don't think they are. I mean, basically, I've been asking for a total regime change in your public and personal life. But you know what? I looked up every major political revolution in the last hundred years, and not even the most violent ones were sudden. You know, they built up over years of dissatisfaction and unrest." Yeah, but…who wants their relationship to be like that? Grace asks, "Did you make a special effort not to use a science metaphor?" Hee. I'll have to get him to teach Frink that. Luke admits, "I'm trying to expand my range." Grace stops and turns to him: "So basically, you're saying…what?" Luke: "I'm willing to wait. Hoping that the, uh, revolution will gain some small foothold in the outer regions, such as…maybe an occasional exchange of words in public." He hands her something which I at first think is a drink with a straw in it. Grace: "What's this?" Luke explains, "Well, even warring tribes have been known to make peace offerings in, uh, you know, recognition of their commonalities." Grace: "Did you just make that up?" He says he did, and they chuckle. He explains it's a sunflower seedling: "It's hard to believe it can grow over eight feet tall." Eight feet? Pfft! I've seen sunflowers on Dovercourt Road in Toronto that reached the second storey of a house. Some of them have blossoms the size of steering wheels. Scary, scary flowers. ["THANK you. Wing and I were saying one time that they're like the floral equivalent of a barking Doberman." -- Sars] Luke adds that he stole it from Joan. Grace snorts a bit, saying she can't believe Joan's still at it. It should be noted that she's giving her seedling quite a tender look. Luke says Joan's hypothesis has promise: "The idea of a community garden can be tied to some key aspects of quantum theory." So let's hear it, because it's not at all clear to me how. Grace: "Lay it on me. I can't get through my paper. It's too much research." Luke points out that they're having a conversation. Grace: "Not anymore. Just lay it on me." Luke starts yammering as they walk down the hall, and the music gets louder and louder so he doesn't really have to say much of substance.