Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 2 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT My Dinner With Awkward
By Couch Baron | Season 2 | Episode 3 | Aired on 08.10.2008
Betty walks her mount up next to Arthur, who's letting his horse graze away. Betty tells Arthur that the horse was fed in the stable, and he's ruining her for whoever has her next. They chat pleasantly until Arthur says that while he's not afraid to ride, he feels more comfortable with animals "when they're on the other end of [his] rifle." Betty doesn't much care for that attitude, and he confesses that Tara doesn't either, especially since all the men in her family ride. Betty takes her horse off to warm him up, thinking if the other one takes a mysterious trip to the glue factory, she'll know who to blame.
Don's still in his robe and the kids in their pajamas (early start for the equestrian set, I'm guessing). He tells the kids he'll be right back, and heads into his study, from where he calls Bobbi. Ew. He tells her that he'd like to invite her and Jimmy to Lutece with him and Betty and the Schillings, and after she accepts, he haltingly (for him) tries, in a veiled way, to assess her intentions toward him. She, however, opts to keep him guessing, and hangs up. Don slowly gets up and heads back to his kids.
Betty's done riding, and is in the stables finishing up when Arthur comes in. She admonishes him not to smoke in there, and he makes a joke about burning the place down, but she's not amused: "Just because you don't know what you're doing doesn't mean the rest of us are silly." He's chastened and apologizes, but goes on that he can't figure Betty out, and adds he could tell Tara was jealous of her the other day. Betty's dismissive of that idea, but does note that it seems like Tara's a girl who has everything, and Arthur agrees, recalling that when she'd come visit him at Yale, there would be a warm reunion followed by some obscure argument, where she'd pout and he'd soothe her. Betty, in no uncertain terms, turns and tells him that his fiancée would be very unhappy if she knew he was sharing this information with a stranger. She'd probably be even more unhappy if she knew he tried to kiss said stranger, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Arthur apologizes, but doesn't stop, remembering when he first saw her house that was, as he describes it, "only a slightly smaller version of [his] high school," and coming to an understanding of why she was usually happy, and why she was so angry when she didn't get what she wanted. Betty, discouraging him by continuing to do stable busy work, opines that all girls are like that, but Arthur tells her that she isn't -- she's so "profoundly sad." Betty: "No. It's just my people are Nordic." Ha! She didn't mean that to be funny, so I can't laud her sense of humor again, but that's still the line of the episode. Anyway, Arthur tries to kiss her, but she rebuffs him -- twice -- so he's reduced to repeating himself: "You're so profoundly sad." He considers this, and replies, "You're wrong. I'm grateful." When she's away from him, though, she lights a cigarette, and we see her hands are shaking again. I welcome this development if it sends her back to therapy.