Episode Report Card Gwen: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Words
By Gwen | Season 4 | Episode 14 | Aired on 02.06.2000
Matt's taking every jar out of the refrigerator. Annie walks in and tells him that Shana called her and told her they were breaking up. "No offense," says Matt, "But why is that any of your business?" Okay, first of all: it really isn't Annie's business, but Shana brought her into it by calling her. What kind of lame girlfriend complains about her man to her man's MOM? Second: if you live in your own apartment but you still go to your mother's house and eat her food, you should be a little more gracious about her concern for you. Third: shut up, Matt. So Annie thinks Matt's being a baby. She says he should break up with Shana only if he doesn't love her, not just because long-distance relationships are hard. Well, I disagree, but then again, in my world, Matt and Shana would have had sex by now. So it could be that I simply don't possess the family values required to comprehend this storyline. Matt whines that he just wanted a sandwich. Annie tells him that every sandwich from her kitchen comes with a free side order of advice. I almost laughed at that, but then I got over it.
At the church, a whole bunch of people are sitting around. Bill enters the room with Sheila and asks RevCam what's going on. Nosy Louis gets up and introduces himself to Bill. He says they're having a support-group meeting for parents of kids with Tourette's. Despite Sheila's and Louis's encouragement, Bill gets mad and peels out. RevCam follows him out as Louis rudely grabs Sheila's arm.
On the lawn, Bill tells RevCam that he just doesn't understand. RevCam tells him that he wants to understand, that Bill needs to open up and release his pain and anger. Okay. Here it comes. When Bill was growing up, he had a cousin who had Tourette's. Guess what. Bill bullied him. He teased and tortured him. Aw, man. Reverend CamDumb says, "I'm not sure I follow." Bill says he can't stand imagining other kids making fun of Bobby the way he did to his own cousin. He doesn't want to be reminded of his own horrible behavior. He's done the research and found out the syndrome is hereditary, so basically it's his fault that Bobby has it. ADD he can deal with, but this -- he just doesn't think he can bear it. Of course everything he's saying is irrational, but this Bill guy is doing a good job of making me feel bad for him. That unreasonable guilt can mess you up. I'm getting a little choked up. I want to hug Bill. I wonder if RevCam will do it for me. RevCam puts his hand on Bill's shoulder and tells him he needs to forgive himself for the past so he can help his son and his wife. "Heal yourself!" whispers RevCam. "I just don't think I can," says Bill. Aw. Bill's almost crying. He keeps grabbing his nose to keep stuff from coming out. He almost sobs and then does a little dismissive wave at Rev and then runs off into the night again. That was the best scene I ever saw on this show, and it's not even That Special Time for me, either.