By Couch Baron
First off, I just want to say that I think episodes with significant numbers of original flashback scenes are very hit or miss, so props to everyone involved for knocking this one out of the park. Also, I know you can pretty much assume that you should take this precaution with this show, but seriously? Get the tissues out. No, seriously. No, seriously.
The copy of this episode I have includes the trailer for the episode of 7th Heaven, wherein Eric tells Lou to shut up, and Annie slaps Lou. The Camdens are such lovely, Christian people. "Christian" in the sense of the American Family Association, of course.
Previouslies, and lots of them. Oh, just read the recaps.
Fade up on a good old-fashioned swimming hole, as Irv tells us that "Every small town worth its salt has a place like this. A place where the landscape invites us to blend in for a while." He goes on that Everwood's is called Buck's Rock, and for most people, it "eliminates any and all doubt of a higher power." Atheists in small towns, stand strong! Don't go to the lake! We see Colin standing on the end of a long tree branch that's jutting out over the water, and Irv continues that Buck's Rock exists so people can forget the responsibilities of adult life. Man, I should go there. It's not easy being a kid trapped in an adult's body. Plus, there's all that shirtless Bright. Colin dives into the water, and then resurfaces and whoops exuberantly. And if you think whooping can only be done exuberantly, check out the reaction to a home run at a Mets game in September. We see Amy on the shore with a book, because she used to care about things other than being the biggest bitch since Joan Crawford. Colin claims he won the championship, but Bright (ahhh) tells him his toes were curled, and gives him a 5.5 out of six. Colin and Amy flirt a bit, and he kisses her on the cheek and tells her, "You're , Grover." Aw. She puts him off, and Bright, now on the branch, calls that Amy doesn't share their sense of adventure. Nor your rather buff torsos, I must add. Bright spins into the water like he's doing a triple salchow or something. Ladies and gentlemen, in case you still had any doubts, allow me to opine that we just observed the two-column proof entitled "Bright Is Gay." It's not a very complex work, but then again, neither is the person in question.
As Bright swims to shore, Amy asks Colin what he was just thinking, and he responds that he was thinking of fireworks. My first thought is "chicka," but he's apparently talking about real fireworks, which disappoints Amy. He counters that he can't think about her every second. In case you're mulling over whether this makes him an inconsiderate boyfriend, let me advise you not to spend too much time on that question. It'll be settled beyond doubt soon enough. He tries to appease her, saying that sometimes he has to think about normal guy things, such as Katie Holmes, and I hope that's not some sort of Joey Potter's IT shout-out, because one, Berlanti, you are so much better than that show that I consider it a stain on your record, and two? Ew. Bury her, her two-toned hair, and her horrendous posture, and salt the earth.
Anyway, Colin temporarily redeems himself by telling Amy that he wasn't thinking entirely about fireworks, but also about watching them with her the year before. They kiss. It's sweet, until Colin surreptitiously unfastens the chain from her neck and runs to the branch. Hmm. I wonder if he's pulled the same trick with her bra. Amy snits that that's her confirmation cross and she'll kill him if he drops it, but he just tells her to come get it from him. I have to say that I find the way these two interacted in this scene entirely realistic, considering they're supposed to have known each other since they were children. Also, since this recap is the only chance I'll get to say it, Mike Erwin did an incredible job with this role over the whole season. Amy gingerly climbs out on the branch with him, and they both hold the necklace. He asks if she's ready. For what? To explain to her parents how she lost the necklace? Because both of them holding it while jumping in is a good way never to see it again. Anyway, Amy's affected by the spell of the place or whatever, because they count to three and jump in. They resurface happily, and Amy tells Colin she loves him. He just smiles and swims to shore. Yeah, I think the pendulum just swung to "inconsiderate" fast enough to cause whiplash. And also, Amy, you might want to get out of the water before the hypothermia sets in, because that? Was cold.
White flash to the present. Amy stands over Colin's hospital bed. The Piano Of Kleenex Flashbacks plinks wistfully. I'd advise you to get used to it. Amy folds her cross into Colin's hand. Sniff. I won't shed a tear before the opening credits, I won't, I won't, I won't...damn. Credits.
Maybe it's my fragile state, but the theme music has worn me down. It can stay.
Treat, holding up x-rays, explains to the Harts that the bone fragment is in Colin's brain stem; the procedure to remove it will be extremely delicate and will take a minimum of eight hours, and that's barring complications. Yikes. I can't recap for an hour without taking a break. Computer games, though, are another matter. What was I saying? Treat goes on that he's flying an associate of his in from New York, and that they'll start prepping Colin at nine the morning. Mrs. Hart asks for the odds that Colin will die. Treat gently tries to tell her that they're doing the equivalent of a Hail Mary here, but Mrs. Hart says that Colin drove that day and made a mistake, and is paying the price. "I just don't want to be responsible for making him worse." Mrs. Hart, I suggest you write those words down, put them in the safe, and retrieve them in about ten episodes. You might also add, "And don't forget to SHUT UP." Treat counters that given how long Colin's been in the coma, this territory is a foreign to him as human decency is to John Ashcroft. (Yeah, that joke's tired, but people? It's an election year.) However, Treat promises that in all his cases, he's never had one where he cared more about the outcome. Dude, not even Tiger Woods's uncle? No Masters tickets for you this year, Treat! Mrs. Hart, meanwhile, just looks like she's concerned at just how far Treat's caring goes. Mrs. Hart, if you're worried about anyone's affection for Colin crossing a certain line, I'll tell you this: Cherchez le Bright.
Ephram and Treat make small talk about an imminent visitor. Said visitor rings the bell, and Delia excitedly goes to answer it. "Uncle Brian" is a handsome and strapping man who just happens to be black, and is wearing a stylish leather jacket and messenger bag. Let me guess -- not from around here? Sure enough, he says that he's brought them New York City, and produces, among other things, H&H bagels and slices of Ray's Pizza. Uncle Brian, I live in England. Please come visit me . Ephram and Brian exchange a bit of banter, and Brian gives him a Bill Evans record, and then Treat and Brian exchange a long, meaningful embrace. They start to reminisce, but Treat says they should save that until later. "Did you eat on the plane? Are you hungry?" Brian: "Yes and yes." Hee.
Abbott house. Patch brightly informs his brood that he bought a satellite dish. Man, if my parents had bought one of those when I was a teenager, I'd still be grinning about it. Bright and Amy, however, look like they just got summer school, community service, and piano lessons all at once. Patch sarcastically tells them to hold their applause, and Amy at least makes a half-hearted effort to appear enthused. Rose, meanwhile, looks at Patch with an expression that's either "I have no idea what's going on with them either" or "Wow, you couldn't be more clueless if your name were Tai Fraser." You'd think there wouldn't be a lot of common ground between those expressions, but you'd be wrong. Patch cheerfully blathers some more about the dish, and Rose wonders why he's picking it up instead of having someone come and install it. Rose, you've seen him naked. He's a man. Patch sniffs that he's a Mensa member, and isn't going to pay "some tool-belted ignoramus" to install the thing when he can do it just as well himself. Okay, first off, I know a lot of smart people who learned an actual trade at a young age and went on to make shitloads of money rather quickly, so chill out there, Dr. High Horse. Also, I can totally see your son wearing a tool belt, although that might be more of a Village People thing. But I can forgive this attitude if it leads to another installment of "Patch's Follies," which are far more entertaining, on average, than those dreary MEOWs. So. Amy brings up the day, saying she's going to the hospital. Rose pipes up that she's going to mind the Harts' store for them, while expositing that Patch will be on call, so Amy should ride with Bright. Bright sullenly says he's not going. That declaration's going to be as warmly received as a nice case of herpes and a slap in the face. Amy asks what he means, and when Bright snittily repeats himself, Amy says it figures, which makes no sense to me at first, but she clarifies that he never goes to see Colin. She chews Bright out, and he says something nonsensical and gets up from the table. Patch tries to stop him, but Rose says to let him go, and opines that he's just scared about tomorrow. Oh, but there's more to it than that, my dear Mayor, as we enter another flashback.
Colin lounges on Bright's bed and says that his outfit doesn't look that bad. "If this were 1775, you'd be a total chick magnet." We see that Bright's dressed in full on American Revolution garb. Hee! Aside from the obvious point that the outfit is exceptionally dorky, Chris Pratt's resemblance to Heath Ledger, at least in the hair department, brings to mind The Patriot, in which Gregory Smith played Ledger's younger brother, so I can't help but think that everyone involved had a good laugh over this storyline. But Bright, a word of advice: Keep your eyes peeled for Jason Isaacs. Colin tosses Bright a flask and says he swiped it from his dad's liquor cabinet. Well, plenty more where that came from. Bright takes a big swig, and Colin tells him it's supposed to last all day, but Bright takes another slug. Ah, drinking in the early afternoon. There's nothing better...er, so I'm told.
Downstairs, Patch calls for everyone to get moving. Colin comes down the stairs and tells Patch he's looking "revolutionary," and then correctly identifies the Revolution-era rifle with which Patch is accessorizing his outfit. Hmm. Something about the guns and the alcoholic father makes me wonder if Patch would really be that psyched about Colin spending his every waking hour with either Bright, Amy, or both, but I'm sure I'm overthinking it. Besides, it appears that Colin patiently listens to Patch when he's in windbag mode, and what else could he want in a potential son-in-law? Patch exposits that the Abbotts were chosen by the town to represent them at this year's Fourth of July celebration. "Do you know why?" Bright: "'Cause you told them you'd pay for the costumes yourself?" Patch ignores this and says that the Abbotts represent everything the people in the community wish they were. Patch, you know I love you. But you're a misanthrope, your son's a drunk driver, and most people who watch this show hate your daughter. Maybe you should reflect a minute before you rip that vest patting yourself on the back. Rose enters the room, and Patch blathers some more about how he has his speech memorized before Amy comes down the stairs. Colin tries to pay her a compliment. Amy gives him a look that says...well, let's just say that if you filtered out all the words that would have caused a 1776 audience to swoon in horror, there wouldn't be many left. Maybe "Colin." Patch, oblivious to the temperature change, leads everyone out. Amy blows by Colin again, whose expression clearly says, "This will get worse before it gets better." Oh, my hunky petunia, you have no idea.
Fade to Treat and Brian on the porch. Treat explains the circumstances of Colin's accident as he knows them. Foreshadowing is squawking Bright's name in my ear for the second time this episode, but since everyone reading this probably already knows the upcoming twist, I'll just shove a cracker in his beak and shut him the hell up. Brian compares what they'll be doing to "climb[ing] Mount Everest." Hmph. I like my metaphor better. I'll still take the pizza, though, Brian. After Treat fairly good-naturedly exposits that Ephram hates him, he and Brian exchange some medical mumbo-jumbo, and Brian basically tells Treat how awesome a surgeon he is, but he wants to know why Treat had him fly out, as he checked around, and there are a couple of top people in the area who could have assisted Treat with Colin. Treat tells him he wanted a familiar face, but Brian gives him the sort of "don't bullshit me, girlfriend" usually reserved for no-nonsense executive assistants, wise matriarchs, and Whoopi Goldberg. Treat confesses that he's scared, and says he's going to rely on Brian more than usual. Brian notes that Treat is talking like he isn't sure they'll succeed, and Treat wonders whether he's got any more miracles left in him. Brian: "Before you took me under your wing, Andy, I never believed that there were people put on this earth simply to fix God's mistakes. That's the sort of gift that doesn't go away." Awwww. Brian says he'll be great, and goes into the house. Treat looks like that's just what he needed to hear, and Brian, I'm glad you're not staying on the show, because I really can't afford another crush at the moment.
Treat washes his face. He starts to reach for a towel, but Delia rebukes him. He realizes his mistake, and says, "Towel, nurse." Hee. Delia tells Treat she's not going to be a brain surgeon, as you have to wake up early, even on Saturday. Word, Delia. She says she's going to be a fireman and a tap dancer. That calls forth a mental image of a musical number that's either horrifying or wildly funny. I guess that depends on if it takes place at Chippendales. Delia apprehensively asks Treat if he's going to have to work at the hospital all the time again, but he assures her that's not the case, and asks her to go wake up Uncle Brian. She goes to the couch. Jeez, couldn't they have done better for the assisting surgeon here? He pretends to be asleep, but then growls at her. "I've still got time for a tickle-ectomy." Aw.
Kitchen. Treat enters to find that Ephram's prepared breakfast. AB, you're so lucky. Brian joins them and drops some tapes on the counter. Ephram snarks about an invention called the CD player, but it turns out that Sue Ellen used to make them mix tapes to play while they operated, and each tape had a different type of music, depending on the surgery. Well, that's...nice. Um, Sue Ellen, maybe you should take up canasta or something. Just a thought for the afterlife. Ephram tosses a CD that he made, entitled "Brain Stem 2000," into the mix. Good Lord, I can't stand how sweet he can be. He says he's going back to bed, and Treat looks pleased as punch. Brian notes that Ephram can't hate Treat all that much. Well, who could?
Patch works on the satellite dish. It's not going well. Oh, Patch, how do you stay so thin when you have to eat your words so often? Bright appears and starts to head for the door, but Patch stops him, saying he wants to tell him something about Treat. Bright: "Yeah, he's the axis of evil. I know." Hee! Patch agrees, but he also says he's an outstanding surgeon. "In fact, if he weren't so annoying in every aspect of his existence I'd say we were lucky to have him in this town." Patch goes on that Colin's in good hands, but Bright says Patch doesn't understand, and leaves. Oh, Bright, I hate to see you all angst-y. It's as depressing as an unhappy golden retriever.
Ephram picks up the ringing phone. It's Amy. He asks if she's all right. She exposits that she's at the hospital, but nothing's happened yet. Ephram guesses that they're shaving Colin's head. At Amy's horrified silence, he says he doesn't know what he's talking about. Hee. Amy asks him what he's up to, and it couldn't be more obvious that she wants him to join her. The cluelessness gene is definitely present on the Brown Y chromosome. After an awkward conversation, she hangs up. The piano signals another flashback as Amy sighs disappointedly.
Patch, on a stage in front of the town meadow or park or something, calls into the microphone for Amy to report to him. She does, and he desperately tells her that Rose is "kissing babies like it's Election Day," and that Bright's nowhere to be found. In addition, he can't find the orchestra's conductor, as he wants to establish a signal for when they should start playing. Amy points out that it's not an orchestra, but the school band, and the "conductor" is nearby, eating a corn dog. Patch tells Amy to go find her brother. Cut to Bright and Colin, sitting on the slope of a hill. Look, I'm really trying not to make too much of this, but they are sitting very close and looking very adoringly into each other's eyes. They're taking turns drinking from Colin's flask. Prohibition arrives in the form of Amy, and they could have used her disapproving face on a poster back in the Roaring Twenties, I tell you what. Colin tipsily says, "Hey, Grover," but she tells Bright they have to go. She spots the flask, and says that Patch will smell the liquor, but Colin counters that Bright's had a bunch of breath mints. I am throwing myself against the door to keep out the multitude of HoYay jokes that are pressing relentlessly against it. It's hard to do that and type at the same time, though, so I won't be held responsible if they wear me down. Colin fesses up that he gave Bright the liquor, saying he wanted to give him some "liquid courage." Amy and Bright start off, but Amy snits her way back and asks Colin if he even cares that they're fighting. Colin's all, we are? Colin, for such a good athlete, you're dropping the ball an awful lot this episode. Colin apologizes for whatever he did, but after a thought, amends it to "earlier. When you said to me what you said at Buck's Rock, and I didn't say what I should have said back." Amy says that his non-reaction hurt, and it was the first time she ever said that to someone she wasn't related to. Colin says it took him by surprise, and basically tries to fix the situation with whatever words he can say that aren't "I love you." Amy's not having it, and stomps off. Shocker!
Nina stops by the Brown house, saying she made treats for the kids, so she thought she'd bring Ephram some too. Ephram thanks her. She asks if he's heard from Treat, but Ephram says it could be hours. Nina supposes Ephram's used to this kind of waiting, but Ephram points out that since he knows Amy, he's closer to the situation than usual. Nina says some nice things about Amy, and then Ephram asks her what Colin was like. Way to play this one close to the vest, Brown. Nina says Colin was a charmer. "He's the kind of kid who forgets to mow your lawn for two weeks, and then when he finally comes you end up paying him for three." Well, no offense, Nina, but I think that makes you the kind of customer teenagers call "chump." She goes on that he was all-state in football, and pretty smart besides. She asks how Amy is holding up, and Ephram hems and haws until he confesses that he's a very aesthetically pleasing mound of putty in Amy's little hands, but she's not interested in him. "If she wanted me at the hospital she could have asked me." Nina: "Could she have?" She explains that Amy probably doesn't feel like she has the right to ask Ephram to be there, but if Ephram feels like he can handle it, he should go, and if not, he shouldn't. "You don't have to be the best friend that helps her get through this. You just have to decide what kind of friend you want to be." Oh, but Nina, Ephram's way too good-looking to play the Jon Cryer role. Nevertheless, he's clearly going. Thanks for the cookies and wisdom, Nina. Does your oven have a special setting for that?
Buck's Rock. Bright sits broodily. The Piano Of Everyone Loved Colin, Especially Me takes us into another flashback. Patch is making his rousing speech that must have been taken from the Continental Congress. Bright plays with the rifle. Hee. Patch raises a white handkerchief with a flourish, and the band starts playing right in the middle of a sentence. Patch goes ballistic, saying that wasn't the signal. No, the signal was when your speech got boring. And frankly, judging from the audience's faces, I'd say the conductor was a little late picking up the cue. Bright takes the opportunity to go join Colin, who says, "Hey, Johnny Tremain, want to see something that'll knock your pantaloons off?" Okay, seriously, is it me? Colin leads Bright over to a shiny red pickup, which Colin says is his dad's new truck. Well, I guess it's only fitting that its maiden voyage is going to be a little unsteady. Two young yahoos drive up in a truck of their own, and they invite Colin and Bright to "Miller's Field for some off-roading." Colin accepts. Well, in keeping with the theme, I'd say you guys are wearing Bad Idea pantaloons. Bright says they have to be around for the fireworks, but Colin thinks they'll make it back before anyone misses them. Bright "jokes" that Colin has to take him home to change first. They drive off, which Amy sees. She looks sad. Well, how would you feel if your boyfriend were in love with your brother? (Don't email me. Even if that's happened to you.)
Someone puts Ephram's CD into a player. It's all white gloves, scalpels, and a hole in the head. Treat starts cutting, and "I've Got You Under My Skin" starts playing. Treat: "That's my boy." Hee. Indeed. Commercial.
Surgery, some amount of blood later. Treat announces what they've done for the official record, and then examines his work. He's dismayed to find that there's a second chip that apparently was too small to show up on the initial scans. He says they're going to need another pint of blood, and orders someone to tell the OR head nurse that no one's going anywhere for a while.
Flashback. Off-roading, Colin driving. Colin seems to do better than the two yahoos, who eventually bail, saying they don't want to miss the fireworks. Colin offers the keys to Bright. Bright tries to get out of it, saying he's still a little drunk, but Colin says he'll take the heat if Bright scratches the truck. Oh, Berlanti. That is cruel. They switch seats, and the show doesn't call your attention to the fact that they're not wearing seat belts. Thank you for not pandering, here.
Hospital. A side view of Amy, who's trying to get something out of a snack machine, allows us to see Ephram enter. He hesitates for a second, and then tells her she's holding up the line. Aw. She's unmistakably happy to see him, even as she asks him what he's doing there. He says he came for a Twix, and offers to split it with her, since he really only wanted one. Sweeter and sweeter. Ack! I'm addicted to sugar! Is there a support group for this sort of thing? Oh, right, I work for it. Amy smiles and holds up the candy. Cut to the two of them sitting down, as Ephram produces travel-size Boggle, checkers, Scrabble, and normal-sized Clue, because apparently "Professor Plum wouldn't look as cool all travel-sized and squashed up." I was always Miss Scarlett. I wonder if that should have told me something. Amy picks Scrabble (bo-ring) ["Hey!" -- Sars] and Ephram produces a Webster's Concise Pocket Dictionary, in case he has to challenge her. I can't stand it. My teeth are falling out. Amy tells Ephram that he's a good friend. I expect the Pretty In Pink soundtrack to start playing, but it doesn't.
Operating room. Some nurse asks what they're listening to. Treat says it's a CD his son made. Nurse: "Oh. It's really good!" I can't tell if she's being sarcastic with that mask on. I should start wearing one of those. It'd save me a lot of future wrinkles from screwing up my face in an effort to appear sincere. Something starts bleeding, and I could try to explain what's happening, but let's stick to the basics: It ain't good. There, who said brain surgery was hard? Shots of Bright driving the pickup are interspersed with Treat's team trying to save Colin. This scene is edited amazingly, by the way. Doves's "Caught By The River" plays as Bright is driving in an area that's not exactly all open field. The team works. Bright drives. Bright looks scared. Colin screams, "Bright!" The truck takes a jump over a hill, and we know no more.
Bright returns home, and Patch immediately knows something's wrong. Bright confesses he remembers everything about last Fourth of July, and what's more, he always has. He spills the whole thing -- the drinking, the off-roading, and the fact that he was driving. "It's my fault. Now if Colin dies, it's gonna be like I killed him. Like I killed my best friend." He starts to cry as he says he should have told Patch. Patch nods, not unkindly. Bright: "Amy's gonna hate me forever." Patch shakes his head, wondering if he might be right. I have to be honest and say, as obvious as it may seem in retrospect, I'm not sure I would have seen this coming if I'd watched the episodes in order from the beginning, so again, kudos to the writers for sparing the anvils.
Twix commercial. Gee, talk about your coincidences!
Hospital. Bright has clearly just told the Harts the story with Patch standing by. Mr. Hart can't believe that Bright took four months to tell them, and says that this has to change something, even though his wife disagrees. Patch pipes up that Bright wants to make things right, but Mr. Hart only seethes, "That shouldn't be my son in there." Ouch. Poor Bright. Mr. Hart leaves, and Bright desperately looks to his dad for something, anything, but Patch looks like he's out of ideas. Mrs. Hart invites Bright to sit down, which he does, looking even more like a hurt puppy than he did before. He shakily tells her that he knows he did a horrible thing, and he's so sorry. Mrs. Hart very kindly tells him that he's the first person to have taken any responsibility for the events of that day, including herself. That's it -- somewhere between this episode and the rest of the season, Mrs. Hart clearly must have been featured in a remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. I mean, who is this compassionate, reasonable woman? She goes on that she didn't know he was drinking or that he took the truck keys, but maybe she should have. "When I look back at that day, I think that I knew." Bright tells her he misses Colin. Mrs. Hart: "Me too." She reaches a hand out to Bright's knee and asks him if he'll wait there with her, and he agrees. And no matter how horrible she was later in the season, I will say this for her: She was kind to Bright when it really counted.
Ephram tells Amy that he's run out of things to say. "I'm really not this boring." Why not lose the shirt? It'd spice things up, anyway. Amy looks pretty miserable, but she says it's not him. "It's just this whole day is starting to feel longer than the four months Colin's been in a coma." Just wait until the recovery, dollface. She goes silent again, and Ephram asks what she's thinking about. She says she's thinking about the moment Colin wakes up, and what she's going to say to him. Ephram looks perturbed. Amy: "It's not what you think. I am gonna tell him how sorry I am." She goes on that she's never told anyone this, but she and Colin had a fight that day, and she relates the whole "I love you" business. Ephram hesitantly says that he probably had trouble with the words. "Sometimes people really want to say something, but...you just can't." Smith artfully pushes the subtext here without making it seem all about him. Unlike some actors who shall remain James Van Der Beek and Alyssa Milano. Amy acknowledges that that's possible, but worries that maybe Colin never really loved her at all, and the worst part is that she suspects Colin wasn't just going for a joyride, but was running away from her. Well, that's really a bit much, I think. If she's suggesting that Colin actually tried to hurt himself to get away from her, well, that seems like an extreme step. And if he did, it didn't actually work. "This bitch is visiting me again? I don't even like her!" Ephram tells her very sincerely that he's been where she is now. He says he was sure his mom's accident was his fault, and given that she was going to his recital when she died, I can imagine the guilt was overwhelming. "Blaming yourself -- it's just a way to try and make sense of something that will never make sense, when the truth is, it was what is was: An accident." Amy notes that it's amazing: "Out of all of the people I've known my whole life, you're the only one who showed up today." And we've got someone else who needs to remember her own words in a few episodes' time. Gingko biloba: It stops you from acting like a heartless bitch.
Treat and Brian emerge from surgery into the waiting area. Since it's not the season finale, Treat wastes no time breaking the news, which, happily, is good. He cautions them that they may not see any difference for a week or two, but he's done everything possible to help Colin. The Harts are overjoyed, and go in to see their son. Patch somberly thanks Treat. He'll have to brand himself in penance later. Back inside, Brian showers Treat with praise, saying that he's even better than he was before, and asks him to come back to New York. Treat amiably refuses, and goes to see Ephram and Amy, who are apparently in another waiting area altogether. He tells them the good news, and sends Amy off with Brian to go see Colin. Amy starts to leave, but rushes back to thank Treat and give him a kiss. She doesn't spare a glance Ephram's way. Ephram, spell out "COLD" and take a triple word score. Man.
After Amy runs off, Treat turns to Ephram: "Considering a career in neurosurgery?" Ephram: "I am now." Hee. Ephram asks Treat how it went, and Treat gives a fairly uninformative answer. Ephram: "I meant...how'd it go for you?" Someone bottle this kid for me, please. Treat considers the question, and confesses that he was scared, and that he didn't want to fail anyone, least of all Ephram. Ephram can't believe that Treat was scared of failing him. Welcome to Lesson Seven of the informational series entitled "Your Dad's A Real Person, Too." Lecturer: Greg Berlanti. Tissues not included. Treat says the music helped him, and Ephram somewhat sheepishly tells him he's glad. Treat notices the travel games, and challenges Ephram to Scrabble. Ephram declines, as Treat would have an unfair advantage, what with his medical vocabulary. "But I will kick your butt in Clue." Treat: "Oh, I think not, Professor Plum." Hee. These two actors clearly enjoy each other. It's not always easy to tell, with all the screaming and yelling and beard-bashing.
As the Brown men prepare for battle, the Flashback Piano starts up again. Irv pipes up: "When things are working right in the universe, a loss of innocence is usually followed, in time, by an increase in humanity." We fade back to Buck's Rock as Irv continues, "Time is funny like that; for everything it robs us of, it grants us something. Sometimes it's a new friend; sometimes it's a better understanding of ourselves. Sometimes, it's just a perfect day." When even the monologues are spot on, you know it's a perfect episode. Take a bow, Everwood. We've panned up to the shore, where Amy lies between a shirtless Colin and Bright, on a different day than the Fourth of July. Bright and Amy lie with their eyes closed, while Colin happily looks at the sky. Bright murmurs that they should head back soon, and Amy agrees, as she thinks Patch will go ballistic if they're late. I don't think Patch would really go ballistic, but he'd probably talk a lot, and for the kids, that would be punishment enough. Colin: "Hang on a second, guys. Let's just lie here a little longer." Amy says they don't have all day. Colin smiles. "Sure we do." Greg, I know you wanted me to understand that Colin appreciated life to the fullest, and I did. Now, I hope you understand this: Damn you, Berlanti.