Episode Report Card Niki: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Pressure Cooker
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 4 | Aired on 11.20.2000
The next morning, Eli's reading (?!) the paper while Jessie watches him. She asks whether he's still mad and when it's clear that he is, she points out, "No one else got to leave either." They bicker a little longer before Rick enters, asking who wants turkey. "Ha. Ha," Jessie says. Rick rhymes off a list of turkey possibilities including turkey cereal and turkey toast. If Jessie didn't have a problem with eating before, she surely does now. Peg comes in, apparently from a healthy, well-adjusted run, and wants to know Lily's number. She assures Rick that she just wants to thank Lily for dinner and he passes on the number. He takes a stab at addressing Jessie's eating issues by asking if that's all she's having for breakfast; he's so hungry after Thanksgiving dinner, "it makes no sense." He gets a sullen reaction. Rick then turns his attention to Eli, asking about his plans for the day. Eli says he's got a bunch of stuff to do. Rick asks if that means homework. Exasperated, Eli snaps that it's Friday; he's got all weekend to do his homework. "Nobody said you had to work today," Rick responds, icily. Whoo-ee. You could cut the tension in that room with a big ol' carving knife. Unless you're Rick, in which case you'd just shred it and then feel inadequate. Rick looks so sad and tired. Defeated, he mutters, "Fine," and walks away wearily. Jessie looks bummed. She looks at Eli. Eli looks bummed.
Cut to the up escalator at my nemesis -- a mall crowded with holiday shoppers. I'm getting hives just watching this scene. I hope it's a short one. Ah, it's an inter-familial Christmas expedition. Peg, Jessie, Zoe, Rick, and Lily are together. Peg takes the girls to the record store, giving us some time alone with Rick and Lily. They chat, but it's a little restrained. Rick wonders if Lily's okay. She says she's exhausted. Rick says Thanksgiving was nice. "Was it?" she asks dryly. He doesn't get her attitude and assures her that it was "wonderful." Well anything's wonderful after a bottle of wine, isn't it? Rick wants to know what's going on. "You tell me," Lily snaps. She says she doesn't know what's happening -- she's never been with him on a holiday before. They pause at a railing overlooking the floor below so that they can focus all their attention on bickering without having to walk at the same time. Lily accuses Rick of being "totally out of it" and "in another world" at dinner. She says he should tell her if he was upset. Rick opts to deny deny deny his feelings by lashing out. I'm having ex-boyfriend flashbacks. He snaps, "What? I didn't tell enough jokes for you?" He accuses her of having some expectation of what he was supposed to be like. She claims she only expected him to be himself. Rick claims, "This is getting weird. You're judging me!" Lily insists that she's not judging him. I believe her. I feel for Lily at this point. It's one of the few times we've seen her actively interested in discussing Rick's problems, and she's getting shot down hard. Rick's lashing of her continues: "I don't believe this! I'm in a strange house --" "You're not in a strange house!" Lily interjects. "And you expect me to perform for these people [uh, that would be her family, dude -- watch it]; you want me to be the host...You want me to be your father!" Oh, that's a low blow. Lily, shocked, turns away. Rick kicks off his pity party, claiming that he "was dealing with [his] mother, [her] mother, [their] children" and he just wanted everyone to have a good time. Lily claims she wanted the same thing. Not to mention that she was dealing with all the same stuff plus cooking, cleaning, setting the table, and a host of other crap. Just then, Jessie comes flying up with Zoe wanting to know how much money she can spend. Rick stammers for a few seconds then says that Jessie can spend whatever her grandmother sees fit. Watching him, Lily's face softens a little, but things are still far from resolved.