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We open on the season finale with nearly the same lines that opened the pilot: Irv tells that he "wasn't there the day Colin Hart's life changed forever," and then he says a bunch of other stuff that I'll be damned if I'm going to type out. What follows is basically a recap of the entire season, packaged up into a nice little montage of images: Colin diving into the water the day of his accident; Colin and Amy sitting in the sun on the bank, smiling like fools; the actual wreck; Amy Abbott standing by Colin's hospital bed. We switch over to NYC and Andy's story: the accident scene; moving to Everwood; that bad-ass scene in the first episode with Treat and Ephram screaming at each other; Treat alone. Then the two stories converge: Amy meeting Ephram; talking on the ferris wheel; kissing; Treat operating on Colin. Then Colin's new self and descent into MADNESS, I tell you! MADNESS! Colin breaking the trophy case, beating up Bright, crying, blah blah. We flash to the present, where Colin is playing basketball in his driveway. Irv tells us, "The boy hadn't decided if life was worth dying for -- the choice was all his own." Colin shoots. He scores. He looks kind of cute. Shut up.

The camera cross-cuts to Colin bouncing the basketball on Treat's desk. He asks Treat, "If I do nothing I could just stroke out any day, right?" Treat says it's possible, but that there are an infinite number of outcomes. He says that if they succeed, only his motor skills would be impaired. Colin wants to know which way it will go. Treat doesn't know. Colin asks, "Can you promise me that I won't be a vegetable?" Treat: "No." Colin: "Can you promise me that I won't lose my mind and my memory?" Treat: "No." Colin: "What can you promise me?" Treat: "Nothing." Colin takes a deep breath and tells Treat, "Okay. I'm in." He walks out. Irv finishes, "This is the story of Colin Hart. And Andy Brown. It's the story of a town that lost its center and strove to regain it. This is the story of Everwood." Aw. Credits. Aaaand I'm already sick of typing.

Breakfast at the Brown House. Treat is fixing breakfasts and packing lunches. He yells upstairs, "Where are my children? I don't hear feet moving!" Oh, Treat. You've come so far. Ephram walks in with his best cuteness on and tells Treat that they're not going to be gone by six. Treat expositions to Ephram that they're "visiting university, not enrolling." Road trip! Ephram says the last time he took a trip with Treat, he ended up in Everwood. Heh. Delia says she's ready, and Treat orders her to use the bathroom, since she has a bladder the size of a proton. The Browns head out.

Abbott House of...oh, Colin's there? And his parents, too? And they're all eating dinner together? Okay. Amy and Bright tell Colin about how this year's graduating class get to have their ceremony in a huge baseball stadium, because one of the kids' dads is a "jillionaire." Bright: "We're so screwed year. We don't have any jillioinaires in OUR class." Silly Bright. It's not jillionaire, it's silipillionaire. Mayor Rose asks Colin what his plans are for "tomorrow." Colin says he hasn't really thought about it. Patch Abbott tells him to consider resting before his surgery. Bright tells him to do something fun, like wrestling an alligator or something. Yeah, that sounds like a freaking PARTY, doesn't it? Amy says she wants to do something "normal," like seeing a movie. Bright teases her, "Oooh, movie...that's SPECIAL." Heh. Patch totally shoves his foot in his mouth and says, "I'm sure Colin can decide for himself how he wants to spend his..." Oh, Patch. Everyone freezes in shock. Patch finishes, "...tomorrow." Nice save, Patch "Could I Get Some Ketchup With This?" Abbott.

Brown BMW. Treat says he needs to see "Dr. Douglas," and asks Ephram if he remembers him. Ephram remembers that he was Treat's teacher in college. Treat says that whatever kind of doctor you were to become, Dr. Douglas pushed you to be ten times that, and that he learned more with him than he had before, or since. We get it. He's your mentor. Treat explains further, and just as boringly, that if he had a case that was deemed "impossible," he'd visit Dr. Douglas about it. If they figured out a way to do it, Treat would. If not, Treat wouldn't perform the procedure. Blah blah blah. Ephram looks just as bored as I am. He asks his dad why he didn't ask for Dr. Douglas's help the first time he worked on Colin. Treat: "There was no question last time. We had nothing to lose." There's a moment of contemplative silence. Delia calls from the back seat, "Daaaad." Treat pulls over for her to use the bathroom. I could get into a car trip with Delia; I always have to stop a hundred times, too. O, tiny bladder! I hate you!

Koma Krazy House. Daddy Hart is on the couch, watching TV. Colin walks in and says he couldn't sleep. Daddy Hart couldn't either, so he's watching old videos of Colin, Bright, and Amy. Colin sits down beside his dad and asks, "Isn't this the trip to Beaver Creek last year?" Daddy Hart can't believe he remembers. Colin says he remembers some of it, but not much. They watch the video for a few seconds. It's sort of cute -- Amy and Bright throwing rocks in the water, trying to splash everybody. Colin looks at his dad and says, "Dad? Are you scared?" Daddy Hart says he is. Colin says he's scared, too, but not so much of the surgery. He says he just has a feeling, like when you leave the house in the morning, that you've left something on, and the feeling nags you all day long -- the feeling of forgetting, or leaving something behind. Aw, Colin. Daddy Hart says nothing makes sense to him, and he wishes it did. Colin: "You want to tell me what you're scared of?" Daddy Hart hesitates, then shakes his head and tells his son, "No." He pulls Colin to his chest and kisses his head. That scene was so good, I can't even think of anything shitty to say about it. Damn you, Berlanti!

University. Ephram, Delia, and Treat walk in on the end of Dr. Douglas's class and take seats in the back. Dr. Douglas goes on about medicine, Wernicke's area, et cetera, ad tedium, until he catches sight of Treat. He stops for a second, then says, "What we do know is that maintaining what you've learned is a process of keeping your neural pathways in constant use. If a patient -- or even a doctor -- ceases the practice of any skill...the essential pathways degenerate." Ooh, BURN. Treat looks sheepish. Dr. Douglas ends the class. Ephram comments, "He sure looked happy to see you."

Cut to Treat, chasing Douglas down the sidewalk. Treat calls him Donald. Doctor Donald Douglas? Heh. I'll be calling him Triple D from now on, if you don't mind. He clearly looks like a gangsta thug, being old and white and in a suit and all. Triple D calls back to him, "What did I say? The day you walked out on your gift would be the last day that we talked." Goodness. Asshole much? Treat reminds him that whatever he left was his to leave behind. Triple D wants to know what about HIS time, the time he spent teaching Treat everything he knows. Well, yes, because this is so OBVIOUSLY all about you. Triple D starts to walk away again, until Treat tells him that he has "a patient." Triple D starts to listen with interest when Treat starts explaining Colin's case to him. Treat tells him about the complications and the need for more surgery. Triple D: "You want to go back in." Treat: "You tell me." Triple D nods, and just like that, I kind of like him. Commercial.

We come back to Triple D and Treat. Hee. Triple D and the Treats is the name of my new band. I'm the lead singer. Sars is the drummer. ["Hello, Cleveland!" -- Sars] Anyway. The magical medical duo are in a bar, talking about Colin's case over a couple of cocktails. They say a bunch of medical words, and then start using bar paraphernalia to make their points. Treat pours out a packet of sugar, and traces a path through it with his finger as he says, "I dissect around the nerve and transpose it." Triple D drops a cherry into the sugar and asks about bleeding. Treat has an answer for that, too. He picks up the cherry and eats it. More medical blibbety-blab. Triple D grabs an olive on a toothpick and asks, "What if the vessel is stenotic?" Treat takes the olive, pushes it to the other side of the toothpick, and replies, "In that case, I use a stent." Bravo! I loved this scene. They start up again with the medical talk, the main point of which is that it's a very dangerous and risky surgery, and Colin might die. Which we all knew. Treat assures Triple D that he won't mess up, but Triple D suggests a situation that they just can't figure out. Gosh, being a fictional brain surgeon is HARD! I wonder if they should consult Dr. Drake Remore. Triple D says they'll sleep on it, and talk tomorrow. He invites Treat and "the kids" to a tea at his house the afternoon. All right, a tea! Why don't these people ever have fun parties?

Ooh, Amy and Bright are sneaking out of their house. Amy climbs down that paragon of all television houses that kids sneak out of, the trellis. Bright tells her to be quiet and hurry. Colin waves them out the gate. Badness! Amy's nearly out when someone shines a flashlight on her. It's Patch. "What's going on?" Amy asks her dad how he heard them. He says they're about as stealthy as a gaggle of gorillas. Heh. He says, "Is this Colin's idea of pre-operative preparation, corrupting other youths into committing vandalism?" Amy: "Um, I don't know what you just said, but we're not going to graffiti anything if that's what you think." I thought you were an honors student, Amy Abbott. Big words not that hard. Amy explains that Colin just wanted one day for her and Bright. Patch sighs, and gives her his cell phone. He orders her to call every four hours, and get back in time to get some sleep. Aw, Patch! Cool daddy. Amy hugs him and runs off.

Back at the university, Treat is taking Ephram and Delia on a tour. Ephram is super-bored, and tells Treat that Delia died at the "last place that wasn't the place you were looking for." Treat is apparently looking for some parking lot that is important to him in some way. Delia complains that they've been walking for hours. Ephram bends down and lets Delia jump on his back. Dear God, I love him. Uh, can I get a ride after Delia? Treat says he thinks he knows where it is. Ephram says they're late for Triple D, and need to do this some other time. Treat doesn't care. Strains of REM start to play, and we cut to

Colin, Amy, and Bright, driving a cute little red convertible. Amy and Bright tease Colin about where he's taking them, suggesting Disneyland and other wacky places, but Colin won't tell. Amy interrupts Bright, "Ooh, I love this song!" She turns up the radio, and they all sing along to "Man On The Moon" for a little while. Bright has a pretty nice voice, which makes Amy roll her eyes and tell Colin to turn it back down. Aw. I like singing Bright. Shut up, Amy. Bright sings anyway, and eventually they all join in on the "If you believe...they'd put a man on the moon" part, smiling and laughing and grinning at each other, and if this weren't Everwood, it'd be an awful, cheesy scene. But it is Everwood, though, and we're all forced to love it and hate ourselves for it in the morning. Don't act like you didn't, either.

Brown Family, arriving at Triple D's tea. Pretty fancy house. Triple D greets them, and Treat groans, "You didn't!" Triple D laughs, and says, "Everybody's waiting for you." He leads Treat into the room, where a huge crowd is gathered. Delia is incredulous. "Are they all here for DAD?" she asks Ephram. Triple D introduces Treat to the crowd as "the prodigal in both senses -- Dr. Andrew Brown." Everyone applauds. Ephram stares, clearly seeing his father in a new light. Daddy's a ROCK STAR!

Back to Amy, Bright, and Colin. Bright: "So this is your big surprise. Mile High Pancakes?" Colin tells Bright that they're only at the halfway point, and to chill. Mmm, pancakes. Amy gets up to use the restroom, and asks Colin to order chocolate chip pancakes for her. Mmm, chocolate chip pancakes. Damn, I'm hungry. Bright asks Colin what's the difference between two confusing items on the menu. Something about bacon and sausage. Colin laughs, and tells Bright he asked the same question the last time they were there, and the difference was "a hash brown and twenty-seven cents." Colin is making me CRAZY with all this "oh, I'm so CHARMING now! No more Krazy Kolin! Love me! Love ME!" business. Because I need to hate him, and based on the few episodes, I should. Yet now he's all nicey-nicey? Infuriating. Colin tells Bright that the only thing he can't remember is the night of the accident. Bright studies his menu even harder. Colin says, "Look, I know you think it's your fault." Bright finally says, "That's because it is." Aw, Bright. Colin tells him that he remembers the inflatable pool in Bright's front yard, and the time he first slept over, and "you're it, man. You're my best friend. Whatever...happened that night, it's all good between us." Bright gives Colin a meaningful look, and then says, "So, uh, which one costs the extra twenty-seven cents?" Colin smiles. I think I may have a little tear. That was exactly what Bright needed to hear. I hate you ALL!

Triple D's crib. Triple D finds Ephram alone in the library. He says, "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't read all of those." Ephram asks him how many he wrote, though. I love a man who loves books. EPHRAM THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO CALL ME UNTIL FALL! I HAVE A REALLY GOOD TAN NOW AND AM VERY CUTE!!!!! I CHECK MY EMAIL ALL THE TIME!! Triple D says he likes to hide out during parties, too, but Treat is the opposite. Ephram says he's never seen his dad "like this." "In his element?" Triple D asks. Ephram: "I usually catch him at his least useful." Triple D says that's too bad. Ephram asks Triple D how he knew that Treat was going to be great. He says that you get to be able to tell with doctors, and tells Ephram a story about a patient he saw years ago who had just come out of surgery. The stitches on the patient were so perfect that he knew the attending surgeon couldn't have done them. When he found out who had stitched the patient up, he found out that a student had closed. And that's how he met Treat. He tells Ephram that he and Delia should be proud of their father. Ephram looks like he just might be. Commercial.

University campus again. Looks like Treat might have found his parking lot after all. He, Ephram, and Delia stand on the edge of it. Delia: "This is the best part?" Hee. Treat tells them that he got a driving lesson in the parking lot once, from a girl "in the dean's office [he] was trying to sweet-talk." On their first date, she got in his car, then drug him to the parking lot and taught him how to drive a standard shift. She told him that "no self-respecting surgeon should be allowed to drive an automatic." Of course, we all know it was Julia, and now Ephram and Delia do, too. Treat holds the keys out to Ephram. "So. You wanna learn?" Ephram's face lights up. He's so cute. I'm so not funny this episode. Why can't it suck just a little bit? Damn you, Everwood, damn you to hell!

Back to the road trip. Colin has brought Bright and Amy to the fancy baseball field. It's all decorated for the graduating class. Colin says, "I guess this is what a jillion dollars'll get you these days, not bad!" He tells Bright and Amy it's all theirs for a few hours. Bright and Colin run immediately to the diamond and pretend they're playing, but Amy looks like she swallowed a cat. She stomps over to Colin and tells him that she knows what he's doing, and she's not going to let him. What, have fun before he might die? Buzzkill. She's mad because she thinks he's there in case he doesn't get to graduate the year. Amy says he can't tie up all his loose ends, and he can't finish anything that day with her, because they're not done. She tells him he's morbid. Colin says, "Morbid? You want morbid? Last night I wrote out my will." He laughs a little. That is sort of morbid. Poor Colin. He tells Amy that he just wanted her to have something practically perfect, that she could hold on to. Amy: "I want to hold on to you. If you think you can tie our relationship up into a neat little bow, you can't. You have to come back, Colin." Aw. Colin promises her that he will. They hug. Everwood sucks.

Cut back to the parking lot. Ephram is pitching and bucking that fine BMW all over the place. Treat is trying to help him, but he can't seem to find the brake. Delia sits on the sidewalk. She remarks to a passerby, "Sad, isn't it?" Heh. Ephram finally stops the car. Treat says his patience level has definitely increased since they moved to Everwood. Ephram: "You mean you actually have patience now?" He tells his dad that maybe they're done in Everwood, that they've done what they need to and maybe should go back to New York. He says, "I'm not talking about going back for me. I mean, for you." Where is this going? Is Ephram about to make a sacrifice for his dad? Am I drunk? Don't answer that. Ephram says that he gets it now, and that his dad needs to be doing what he's so good at. Treat says that his children aren't the only reason he gave up being a surgeon. Ephram doesn't understand. He wants to know why Treat would give it all up, and move them to a town he'd never even heard of. Ah, but there's where you're wrong, young Ephram. Which I think you're about to find out. Treat says, "I made a promise." He tells Ephram about his promise to Julia, and how he would be there if anything ever happened to her. Treat tells Ephram, "I broke enough promises to her while she was still alive. It was the only promise left I could still keep." Aw. Not crying. Not even a little bit. Ephram asks his dad, "Do you realize how much easier the last year would have been if you'd just told me that?" Treat nods. He says, "It wasn't supposed to be easy." Piano Music Of Crying Recappers plays in the background.

Colin, Bright, and Amy drive back from their trip. Colin stops at an intersection, and Amy tells him to turn left. He says it'll take longer that way. Amy says she knows. Colin: "Good idea. We'll take the long way." Aw. They look at Bright sleeping in the back and laugh. Colin turns to Amy then and tells her he loves her. Amy: "You're such a jerk." AW! Colin smiles at her and they drive away. Dude! Do something stupid! Say something retarded! Quit making this so fucking HARD for me!

Triple D's house. He and Treat are discussing Colin's surgery. They're still trying to talk out the problem they had earlier. Treat says that if something I didn't understand with cardiac blood flow to the brain happens, he'll "open him up." Triple D: "And then?" Treat: "That's it." Triple D grins at Treat. "That. Is. It." Treat is jubilant. He thanks Triple D for helping him figure it out. He gushes, "That was fun!" Heh. Treat's so cute when he's a huge dork. But Triple D totally brings him down by telling him that just because he CAN do something, doesn't mean he ought to. Treat insists that the surgery will work. Triple D fixes a cocktail, and tells Treat that what he's doing isn't medically remarkable; it's just hard. Treat says he's not doing it for science. He says he's doing it for Colin, and his family, and "this town." Then he Willows, "Everything is...connected. And he is at the center." Then his hair turns black and black veins appear on his face and he flays Triple D. Just kidding. Triple D tells Treat he maybe shouldn't do the surgery, as Treat's soul cannot bear another loss. Treat says, "Well. That's pretty much why I have to do it." He thanks Triple D and wishes him goodbye. Commercials. I look around and find somebody to fix me a drink. Ah. Seven-year-olds make really good martinis.

Brown House. Colin knocks on the door. When Ephram answers, he asks for Treat. Ephram calls for him and invites Colin in. He asks Colin if he should wait with him. Colin says that's fine. They stand and stare at each other awkwardly for about forty-five hours. Kiss! Kiss! Colin finally says Ephram doesn't have to wait. Ephram starts to say, "Well, I feel like..." Colin says, "I know how you feel." Now, what does that mean, exactly? He knows that Ephram wants to punch him back? He knows how he feels about Amy? I'm very confused. Colin says he'll just wait by himself. He goes to the living room. Treat finds him, and Colin says he needs to talk for a minute. When they sit down, Treat asks Colin how he is. Colin fakes, "I'm good!" He tells Treat that his day was amazing. He laughs uncomfortably. Treat has no idea what Colin wants. I don't either. Colin finally gets to the point: he tells Treat that if he doesn't wake up the way he's supposed to after the surgery, he doesn't want to come back. He tells Treat, "Don't bring me back." Treat tries to say something reassuring, but Colin interrupts him: "Just promise me that you won't keep trying." Treat promises. Colin hands Treat an envelope, and says he wrote it down just in case. Treat says, "I understand. But everything's going to be fine. This will never get opened." At this point Colin has tears in his eyes. I don't. Aw. I wish Dr. Brown were MY doctor!