Everwood TV Show - A Moment In Manhattan - Everwood Recaps, Everwood Reviews, Everwood Episodes | TWoP

Recapped by Al Lowe · Aired 2005-02-21

Anyway, Treat does not accept Patch's resignation. On the contrary, he thanks Patch for betraying his trust, saying that someone had to do it. He says he will tell Ephram the truth himself, after the big audition.

Amy comes over while Ephram is packing for the trip. He's bringing enough clothes for a month, and he keeps packing while he lays out an itinerary of their weekend. He can't wait to take her to H&H "for the good bagel breakfast." First, he tells her, she has to make good on her promise to try lox with her bagels. "You insult my people when you don't eat our gross fish."

Amy reveals that she is there to bow out of the trip, entirely. She says he should go and enjoy the time alone with his dad. My problem with this scene is two-fold. First, Ephram's face looks...dirty. Like he's been cleaning chimneys. Did he go to Ash Wednesday service, for some reason, and forget to wash up? Am I the only one seeing the dirt? Secondly, aren't they supposed to leave tomorrow? How difficult and expensive is it to book a flight from the tee-niniest little mountain town in Colorado to New York? I know that's nitpicky, but Amy! You probably brought a non-refundable ticket, and girl, if you are flying Delta, you are about to get a rude awakening.

Ephram is disappointed that she's not going: "You've been doing the good bagel countdown since we first talked about this." He asks her what's really up, and she says her "head is just not in a good space right now." Ugh. I hate it when people say things like their "head" is not in a "good space." I can't abide that kind of relationship jargon. I'm giving Amy a pass, though, because she's like, 17. Also, she's just so pretty I can't be mad at her.

Ephram, to his credit, doesn't push her on it, and we cut to Patch at the gym. He steps off the treadmill in his snazzy red shorts, making the following speech to the others exercising around him: "Sometimes I impress even myself. Let it be known: I could easily do another twenty minutes, but choose not to out of respect for the time limit on these machines, arbitrary though it may be." I love that man.

Irv comes in, looking solemn. Patch seems surprised. "Irv? Keeping that clogged heart flowing freely, good for you!" Irv explains that he's there a lot, usually at night. That must be why Patch misses him when he, himself, is in "thrice-weekly for my cardio, plus a weight-training session with Franco." Irv tells Patch he's just there to shower this morning, as he is "not allowed" to use the one at home. Patch: "You and Mother have another spat?" Irv: "You could say that..." Patch: "Well, what would be more accurate to say?"

By Al Lowe

Irv comes clean about the separation, telling Patch he moved out of the house a month ago and has been sleeping on the couch at his office. He tries to go on to tell him that he's made good progress on his book, but Patch interrupts, asking if they've tried working it through. Irv looks for sympathy, saying, "You know how she is."

But Patch is having none of it. "Well, I know old she is. Both of you! Time has washed you clean of function. Good Lord and butter, how many more times do you think you can fall in love?" We only get, like, one second to laugh at Patch's joke at the expense of the elderly when Irv hits us with the one-two punch. "Maybe we don't get any more love in life. Maybe we do. I just know I'm the one that walked out, and she's not much of a forgiver."

Forgoing sympathy, Patch tries empathy, agreeing that his mother would rather give a kidney to a stranger than grant a loved one a second chance. Irv tells him he's sad about it, but he's preparing himself to move on.

Meanwhile, Ephram and his dad have arrived in New York and are crossing the city in a cab. I'd like to tell you what they said in the first minute of the ride, but the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Rockdale, Georgia (which is not exactly near me at all) and so most of this scene sounds like "EEEERGG! RREEEERRG! EEERRRRG!" Don't go back to Rockdale.

I can lip-read enough to see that Treat is looking pensive and Ephram is telling him he'll be all right with his memories. Ephram looks very excited to be in the city, and Treat looks happy to be with his son. It's sweet, except for the ear-piercing siren on my TV.

Walking down Fifth Avenue, Treat starts to get crazy, babbling about the greatness of New York. He asks Ephram why they ever left the city. "Well," Ephram says, "you put us in a car and forced us." Treat is so high on life, he laughs and asks if it would be touristy to get a pretzel. Ephram: "Only if you pay more than a dollar." Is that true? ["What this show doesn't know about New York City is a lot, but this is more or less true." -- Sars]

By Al Lowe

Treat is going on and on. New York City is his natural habitat, and he loves it so much he nearly gets killed celebrating his love by walking out in front of a cab. Laughing again, he asks Ephram if he seems manic. Ephram says no, he's glad his dad is happy, as he's been depressed far too long. Treat is surprised by this. "Yeah," Ephram says. "Your girlfriend's boyfriend just came out of a coma. Trust me, I'm like, the one guy on earth who can totally relate." Haaaa! What a thing for a father and son to have in common. Treat answers, amazingly, that he's "forgotten all that." He says he's given all that drama up until he's back in Everwood, which may be never. He continues his hopped-up talk, trying to convince Ephram to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center, since he never got to take him as a kid. Ephram has to get ready for his audition, though, so they make plans for later.

Back in Everwood, Bright is having an epiphany. He explains to Amy that he is feeling great. Amy: "I seriously can't deal with you right now." But, no, he really does feel great, even though, as he says, his life sucks. "I was thinking about it. I have no reason to be happy, but I am. So, how come?"

"I don't know," Amy guesses. "You prayed. No, wait. Porn." Both good guesses, I thought. My idea would have been that he prayed for porn, but I would have also been wrong.

Because, no. All this greatness is, according to Bright, due to Jillian, the girl who almost sued him for sexual harassment and got him fired. Amy looks on in shock as Bright explains, "I apologized to her, for getting bored with her after three days and treating her like crap! Like, I dumped her ass, but then I said I was sorry. And I meant it!" Dude, "dumped her ass"? Harsh words for primetime.

Bright then lays out his plan to go around and apologize to every girl "I've dicked over" in the past. DUDE. "Dicked over"? What is going on on the WB? Anyway, Amy hears this plan, pauses, and asks, "Seriously, Bright...can't you just volunteer at a hospital?" Nope, he has a list of names and everything, starting with the girl in sixth grade who let him touch her boobs. Names keep coming to him to add to the list. "Taco Bell Chick! With the clock tattoo. Or, was it Taco Time Chick with the bell tattoo?"

Over at Edna's, Rose is trying her best to talk some sense into her mother-in-law. Edna's on a rant, so she can barely get a word in. When Rose says she can understand why Edna is angry, Edna reminds her that if she gets angry enough she could have her squad full of old Army buddies corner Irv in a parking lot and beat him with a sack of nickels. This show is a lot more like Deadwood than I realized.

By Al Lowe

Edna tells Rose, "Don't worry about me. I'm a decorated war veteran. I've tied tourniquets on blown-off legs with blood squirting clear across the tent. One time my hand cramped, and I had to use my teeth." She's tough, you dig? She thinks she should be able to handle getting over Irv leaving her but, actually, she seems unable to get past it. She remembers that when Hal Sr. died, it hurt, but it made sense and she was able to deal with it. "But this one...it's weeks later...I'm still IN it. When something's over, it should be over. Why should I care if his smell is leaving the pillow?"

Clearly, she does care. Edna is pretty awesome in this scene. She's hurting, and Rose knows it, but Edna spurns all attempts Rose makes at trying to get her to share her feelings with Irv. "Oh, no. He left." Rose says that's just pride talking. "Do you even know what I had to do," Rose says, "to keep Harold from running off and joining the seminary three days before we got married?" Edna: "I don't want to." Hee. The point is, Rose says, Edna wouldn't still be so upset if the marriage wasn't worth saving. Edna protests this, but too much, and Rose bustles her out the door to come and hang out at Chez Abbott.

In the halls of Julliard, Ephram is wandering around, listening to various people in their various rehearsals. I loved this part, because I was a music student, myself -- though not at a school as prestigious as Julliard -- and clearly remember doing the same thing along the rehearsal corridors. I remember early in my freshman year coming out of my own practice room after crashing for a piano exam, and knocking on the door of the room to mine, where a guy had been playing the same three measures of some trombone solo for two hours, trying to get it right. I hit him up for 50 cents to get a Coke, and I remember he nervously asked if I was a piano student. I told him, no, I was a vocalist, and he goes, "Yeah, I could tell." Even though the joke was on me, I laughed. We understood each other. That guy plays in a very important orchestra, now. I still sing professionally. Being able to understand even the smallest thing about music, and the performance of music, will really put it in the blood, and it's in there for life. I know actors feel the same way about the theater. So, when Ephram stops to watch a girl practice her violin and clearly finds her level of skill to be impressive, I can see in his face the same thing I felt the first time I ever sat in a really good choir. It feels like a gift. He realizes he belongs there, with these musicians, and it is a bona fide thrill.

By Al Lowe

He goes to check for his audition, which the check-in girl, wearing -- I'm sorry -- a very ugly hat, confirms is Sunday at 4 PM. Ephram: "Great. What do I do until then?" Hatgirl chuckles, and asks him how to get to Carnegie Hall. You don't have to be a native New Yorker to know there's only one way: Practice. Practice. Practice.

Meanwhile, Treat is wandering the halls of the place where he used to put his own gift to use: the hospital. He runs into an old colleague, Rick, who is getting ready to go into surgery. Rick asks him how things are going in Neverland. "Everwood," Treat reminds him. Rick goes on to talk about his daughter, who is nine. Actually, he remembers, she's ten. He wasn't able to make it to her recent birthday party. As Rick rushes off to surgery, Treat looks pensive, possibly remembering back in the day when he was a bad dad.

Outside, Ephram comes across a guy playing electric piano on the street. Plugged in to...what? I don't know. The guy is, conveniently, just finishing up. Ephram asks if he can take over for a minute. Piano Guy: "Are you any good?" Ephram: "I'm okay." The guy relinquishes his seat, and...Ephram sits down and does some of the worst fake piano-playing I have ever seen. His arms aren't even near the right place at the right time, and just...the whole thing is wrong. I mean, it is scandalously bad. He looks pretty satisfied with himself, though, and a crowd gathers to clap when he's done. He stands up as none other than Madison emerges from the group, saying, "You've been practicing." Of all the sidewalks in all the world, she had to walk up on this one, and, oh my, how I wish she hadn't. They rush into a clinging hug, naturally. Gross.

Madison lives in New York now! How convenient and horrible. Ephram is so excited to see her. She is excited that he is there to audition for Julliard. I am not excited by any of it, because she is a big ol' molester, and I hated her storyline from the start. And yet, here she is. Ephram mentions that his dad will be happy to see her as well, and we see Madison's face fall. "Your dad's here, too..." It's not a question.

By Al Lowe

Speak of the devil, Treat strolls up in the middle of this lovers' reunion. His face also looks a bit bloodless after seeing Madison. Ephram, though, is oblivious, and goes about making plans to "catch up." Uh, yeah, I guess they have a few things to catch up on. Or maybe just one thing.

Speaking of one of those things, back in Everwood, Bright knocks on the door of a pregnant lady's house. It's one of his old girlfriends, and he actually asks her if she's pregnant "or just loading up on the carbs." Ha? He launches into his apology speech. This is the girl who took his virginity, apparently. Except for the part where he uses the gross phrase "took my virginity," it's a nice, if clueless, little speech. The girl says that she appreciates it, and that though she was upset at the time, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. When she poured her heart out to her friend Milo, they ended up being more than friends and got married. "Hey, cool," Bright says. "I get an RBI." He goes on to say that he never saw her as the type who wanted to settle down. Au contraire, Bright. She just "didn't want to settle down with you. You're not the type of guy a girl thinks of building a home with." Bright looks a little crestfallen to hear this. He doesn't seem to feel quite so "great" now. Comeuppance is a dish best served cold.

My one problem with this is: How old is Bright, again? Isn't he like, 19 or something? In which case, why on earth would anybody be thinking of building a home with him? Do Everwood residents age more rapidly than other people? Is that why Delia seems so old? I mean, is it good that this virginity-taker is married and pregnant at the same age? It's just weird, is all I'm saying.

Cut to Treat, arranging to meet Madison on the sly, before we cut back to the Abbott house, where Rose and Patch realize they have accidentally invited both Irv and Edna to dinner. Patch is trying to get rid of Edna when Irv rings the doorbell. Oh, yes, Irv has arrived with a lady friend. This does not go over well with his estranged wife, who starts yelling: "You sure didn't waste any time!" She insults the lady's make-up, her clothes, and her "knockers," before storming out, warning, "He farts like a bull in his sleep."

By Al Lowe

Ephram calls Amy after practicing the crap out of Haydn. He tells her that he ran into Madison on the street, and that it was weird, because he realized he has no lingering feelings for her at all. Amy tries to seem cool with it, and says she hopes their planned meeting won't throw off his audition. Then, she goes the extra mile up Ridiculous Mountain, and says "tell her I say hi." Please, girl. They get schmoopy and say goodnight, Amy trying to find something better to say than "I love you." She can't. They both say it, as well as good night, and plan to talk after his audition.

In some coffee shop, Treat waits alone. Madison arrives, looking for all the world like the Bucky of old. She cuts Treat off as he tries to start in on his talk. "Save it. I listened to you once, and it was a mistake. I spent the last year regretting the fact that I didn't tell Ephram the truth. I'm not going to make that mistake again." Instead of smacking her down, Treat says, "I know. I want you to tell him." He goes on to say that he's spent every day for a year ashamed of himself for sending her away like he did and wondering what she decided to do with the baby. She interrupts again, saying, "I'm not going to tell you what I did." Treat continues to flagellate himself, pathetically, saying he doesn't even deserve to know. Madison rubs it in, saying he doesn't even get it -- that she was broke and pregnant, and didn't have anyone but Treat to trust, and that he sent her away thinking his money would make it all better. Well, damn, Madison. Didn't it? Ain't nobody heard from your ass in a year! But, no, Treat does not call her on it, just goes on agreeing with her, saying he thought he was trying to protect Ephram, but all he did was put more lies between them. Madison repeats pretty much the same lines she just delivered, and they are essentially arguing the same point: that Treat did the wrong thing. Whatever. I disagree. The only thing he should have done differently was have Madison arrested, and then lock Ephram in a bell tower for a year for being so dumb as to have unprotected sex -- or any sex at all -- with his babysitter. Treat tries to find meaning in the situation, saying he thinks Fate has a plan for them, and that all of his instincts and intentions were wrong. He hopes Madison's intentions, whatever they are, are better. "Tell him everything," Treat says. "I plan to," Madison answers. "THAT'S WHAT HE JUST SAID," I scream.

By Al Lowe

At the Abbott house, Bright comes into Amy's room bearing a package of bagels Ephram has mailed. "Does he ever run out of ways to be your bitch?" Hee. The box has a note from Ephram reading "you promised." I guess that's about the lox. They talk about Bright's apology rampage. He says most of them were grateful -- one girl even told him he should call her, prompting him to crack, "You'd think they'd learn." Ha! Of course, you'd think he'd learn, too.

Amy says that in his own shallow way, he's taken the first step towards respecting women. He blows this off, saying it was weird to see them all fine without him. Amy: "You expected weeping?" Bright says no, it's that they'd all moved on, but hadn't seen him as someone they'd want to move on with. Instead of enlightening Bright to some of the possible reasons for this, Amy says he'll "settle down when the time is right." Bright asks when that will be. Good question, for again, I say: 19.

She tries to explain how he'll know the One, by asking if he ever misses any of these girls he's dated. Bright: "Sometimes in the shower...but, mostly, no." Amy says he'll know when it's right to settle down when he finds someone he actually misses. He rightly scoffs at this, and asks if all chicks believe that crap. Leaving with the bagels, he asks Amy if she and Hannah want to go to a Hong Kong art film festival. Amy tells him Hannah's out of town in Minnesota until week. Bright: "That long? That sucks." Amy says she'll go with him, alone, but he passes. Know why? He misses Hannah! Amy knows it, smirks, and rolls over, clinging to her note from Ephram.

Irv and Edna are duking it out in their driveway. He tells her to shut her cakehole, that he knows she still loves him, and he still loves her, too. He gives her a piece of paper, telling her it's a page from his book. "You started it?" Edna asks. "I finished it," he answers. Edna's impressed. But wait, there's more. He already has publishing interest in the book. That lady whose knockers Edna insulted was Irv's editor friend. Hooray! "So," Edna says, "she wasn't just some hussy?" Irv says that even if she had been, there's only one hussy for him, and it's Edna. Edna's his journey. Wherever she is, that's his adventure. Crying! He makes her read the last page of his book, which is all about realizing that there isn't so much a cure for regret, as a remedy. You can writhe around thinking how you'd do it better if you could go back, or you can do better, now. Damn right, Irv.

By Al Lowe

Treat, trying to do just that, is standing on a rooftop, looking over the park as Ephram comes to join him. Treat says he realized they lived in that building for fifteen years, and he never brought Ephram up to look at the view. Ephram: "Wow. You're making up for a lot this weekend." Eek. Something like that.

Ephram is getting ready to go meet Madison downtown, but first he wants to talk to Treat about his audition. "I was thinking," he starts, "if they do make a mistake and decide to take me, I get to live here again. And, yeah, maybe, you know..." Treat: "What?" Ephram: "Maybe you and Delia would want to come too, and move back here with me." Aw, man. Ephram lists all the pros for such a decision: Treat's dating options would improve, he could go back to surgery or open another clinic, "and also, Delia's going to be twelve soon -- good luck finding a bat mitzvah tutor in Everwood." Treat's starting to mist up, and so am I, as Ephram says that even though he thought his dad was insane to drag them to Everwood to find a way to become a family, somehow, it worked. "Everything you took us there to find, we got. It was the right thing to do." He goes on to say that they've missed too much already, and they should keep their family together. Treat is about to break down, man. He hugs his son, thanking him. Ephram tells him not to get sentimental, and Treat explains by saying, "I never thought we'd get here." He tells Ephram that if he feels the same way when the time comes, he'll be right there with him in New York.

For a split second, Treat's happy, like he can see the future laid out all perfectly before him. Of course, when Ephram reminds him, "I've got to go meet Madison," he realizes Fate may not have much more family harmony in store for him after all, and says, "I know."

Irv voices over the last lines of his newly written book, saying he thinks of the doctor in the mountain town, helping so many others despite his grief, looking ahead to new memories and new mistakes. "I think of him, and remember there's always a reason to try again. I think of him, and I can hope to hope."

And on that note, we fade out to hiatus on Treat, looking not so very hopeful at all.