Episode Report Card Kim: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Assassins
By Kim | Season 1 | Episode 17 | Aired on 04.19.1999
Lynn walks into Dean & Deluca to see Ben. Lynn makes a stupid coffee joke that Ben seems to enjoy, for some unknown reason. Lynn announces that he has passes to the Knitting Factory. Ben can't believe Lynn wants to go out again tonight, because they barely made it to practice this morning. Lynn protests that they were fine, and points out that the band was great. Ben agrees, but isn't sure about going out again. Lynn says that Ben will be fine, and badgers Ben until he agrees to go out.
Noel arrives at his room and finds Felicity's letter on the floor. He looks at it briefly and then sets it aside. Richard sidles in and says he has a question about the rules of the game. Noel wants to go over it later. Richard asks if the name in the envelope is the person he's supposed to shoot. Noel says it is. Richard says that if Noel had his name, he could shoot Richard. Noel agrees and asks Richard to leave. Richard fumbles for his gun and finally pulls it out, saying, "Ironic, isn't it? How the hunter so quickly becomes the hunted?" I don't know why, but that just cracked my shit up. Noel tells Richard that didn't even make sense. Richard says he's about to shoot Noel. Noel begs Richard to put him out of his misery. Richard says Noel's taking all of the fun about it. Noel says he needs to be shot and put out of his misery. Richard relaxes and says that he's there if Noel wants to talk. Noel doesn't want to. Richard asks if it's about Felicity. Noel doesn't answer. Richard says that Noel has the look, and there must be another guy in the picture. Richard says he's been there, with a girl he dated at summer camp. Noel says he doesn't know what happened. Richard says when it happened to him, he felt like he needed to find out everything he could about the other guy, and he just found out that the guy was a Minnow and not even allowed out of the shallow end of the pool. That didn't make Richard feel better. Richard adds, "You hear what I'm telling you, man? I lost my girlfriend to a guy that wore floaties." All Noel hears is that part about finding out about the other guy. Richard adds that it's human nature, but also a really bad idea. Noel leaves.
Noel asks Felicity about Simon. Felicity keeps apologizing, and then admits that she met him at the art studio. Noel says that being an artist is romantic. He keeps angrily shaking a Magic 8-Ball. Felicity says she doesn't want to do this. Noel asks if she was drunk. Felicity says she doesn't want to talk about it. Noel says that this involves him, too, and he doesn't even know if they were safe. Felicity explodes that of course they were. So Simon just keeps condoms at the art studio? Maybe he had one in his wallet. Anyway. Felicity reminds Noel that he was with Hannah, and Noel says that he didn't have sex with Hannah. Felicity knows that. Noel says that, two months ago, Felicity said she wasn't ready for sex. Felicity says that Noel was the one who was confused about his ex-girlfriend. Noel yells that it's not his fault that Felicity slept with someone else. Felicity says, "You wanted the facts, and the fact is that when you left to go to Hannah's, I thought that you were breaking up with me. I mean, I could barely breathe." Noel asks if it was about revenge. Felicity shrieks that it wasn't, and Noel yells, "Then what the hell was it?" While he yells, he tosses the Magic 8-Ball and breaks something. Felicity recoils. Noel rubs his face with his hands. Felicity says that she doesn't know, and she doesn't know what he wants her to say. She made a mistake -- a horrible mistake. She would do anything to take back the last few days, and she's really sorry. Noel quietly says, "But you can't. It's done." He walks out. Felicity cries. Keri Russell got a lot better at the crying as the series went on. I think this is when I started to hate Noel. I mean, yes. Felicity slept with someone else. But Noel practically slept with Hannah. There's just some sort of undercurrent of "men are expected to sleep around but women must remain pure and virginal" that bothers me in Noel's attitude.