Episode Report Card Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Cat-In-Hat
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 19 | Aired on 04.02.2000
Black-and-white Karen shows us the inner workings of a type-A control freak by admitting that she's terrified someone will figure out she has no idea what she's doing.
Now Karen's at work, looking clenched and stupefied at the sight of Leo wheeling his bike into her office. She's very stiff with him, and he doesn't get why. After a few moments, he plops a contract from his hospital onto her desk and asks if she can look at it (with the requisite free-spirit comment that he "hates signing things"). She stammers that she can, but not at the moment. Leo clues in and smirks, saying she thought he was there to make out. She says no. He says yes. She says no. He prowls around to her side of the desk and gropes at her, suggesting they go to his place for lunch. Which I suspect amounts to the same thing as Frosted Flakes. Karen breaks away and moves to the other side of the office. She tells him she feels uncomfortable, that she needs control in her life. He wants to know why, like she's just said she needs a three-headed, hairless, albino chihuahua with four broken legs in her life. Then he apologizes and says he can't help it if he's impulsive (he doesn't seem to realize that there's a fine line between impulsive and inconsiderate). She says that's one of the things she likes about him, and they get all "aw, shucks, you like me?" Leo asks if he can move closer and promises he won't be inappropriate. She hedges by saying that it's fine to be all touchy when they're "out in the world" and he says he understands. He moves slowly towards her, and says she wants to kiss him, doesn't she? She says no. He says yes. She says no. He says yes infinity, stamped it, no erasies. So she has no choice but to admit that she does, in fact, want to kiss him. He leans in as if he's going to plant one, then stops, smirks and says, "You know? Now's not really so good for me." They laugh, and he says maybe later, when they're out in the world, and then wheels his bicycle out of her office.
Jessie's made it to practice after all, and she's kicking the hell out of a big weight bag. Paul makes a point of walking past without speaking to her, and Toby comes up after to say he thinks Paul's mad because she "kicked his butt." Jessie denies kicking his butt and says she doesn't care. The teacher strolls past and lets her know that she'll be sparring with Paul again, since they're such a good match (oh, the irony!). This time, Jessie lets the big doof beat her -- she doesn't even try to hit him back. He finishes the sparring match by kicking her on the chest and knocking her down, hard. Karen walks in just as he does this, and on the way to the car asks Jessie if she's okay. She says the kick looked like it hurt, but Jessie says she doesn't know what she's talking about and she doesn't feel like getting into it.