The long-awaited Spring Premiere begins with scenes from earlier in the season, which document Molly and James's turbulent relationship and his drug problem. Then we see the gang making merry at a holiday party held in the girls' dorm apartment until the gun-toting James crashes the party and fires a shot into the crowd.
In the minutes after the shot, which are filmed in hand-held-jerky-vision, Sean and Tracy run back into the apartment through the open door. Knoll yells, "What happened? What happened?" Sean, who is out of breath, pants, "We lost him, we chased him down Broadway. Is anyone hurt?" Sean runs down the hall and asks Felicity, as he passes her, whether anyone was hurt. Felicity runs into another room and asks Molly, who is sitting on the floor, whether she is okay. Molly moans that it's all her fault. Felicity says it isn't -- but in my opinion it is, at least in part. Felicity asks Molly where Ben is, and Molly says he's in the other room. Felicity runs in to find Ben hovering over a young woman who is stretched out on the floor; he is stanching the blood flowing out of her abdomen. He commands Felicity to call an ambulance. She calls 911 and reports that there's been a shooting. Elena walks in holding her arm and tells her to ask for another ambulance, because she was shot, too.
Ben is still with his patient. He asks her name, and she tells him it's Avery. He tells her to keep breathing and looking at him. Ben and patient seem remarkably calm. They're likely both in shock.
Avery is strapped onto a stretcher is wheeled out of the apartment with Ben following, as Felicity looks on with her mouth hanging open. Ben climbs into the ambulance and holds Avery's bloodied hand. She removes her oxygen mask and croaks, "Please take me to a good hospital." The paramedic says they'll take good care of her. Ben asks him how she's doing, and the paramedic indicates that she's doing well. Ben repeats that to Avery, who tries to smile. She laments, "I just bought this dress." Ben says that she looks nice and tries to engage her in a conversation about her holiday plans. He tells the paramedic, "Hey, her hand's gettin' cold, man. What does that mean?" The paramedic instructs him to keep talking to Avery, and then adjusts her IV bag. Ben keeps yammering about fishing and Florida and Avery appears to be listening intently. We hear the sound of Avery flatlining; Ben asks what's going on. The paramedic says, "She's in defib. Move your hands!" While the paramedic is shouting, "Clear!" we're treated an extreme close-up of Avery's face, which appears impassive with every bolt of electricity which zaps through her. What is it with WB shows and close-ups of clinically dead people with their eyes open? At least this time I didn't start sobbing like when Joyce died onBuffy the Vampire Slayer. That hit a little too close to home for me, having seen one of my parents die at home yet still have open eyes. Anyway, this is where the scene ends. Cut to the credits.
Sean is interviewing Ben, Felicity, Knoll, Molly, Elena, and Tracy individually for his Docuventary. They each sit on a stool in front of a grey backdrop. Ben whispers, "She died in the ambulance. She looked at me and she died." Felicity says, "It just feels like a bad dream. You hear about things like this happening all the time, but, not...not to you -- not to people you care about." Knoll weighs in: "You know when a, a plane crashes, uh, how you see people on the news, who're, uh, supposed to be on that plane, but because of, like, horrific traffic on the way to the airport, didn't make the flight? Well, that's...that's what happened, except it wasn't...it wasn't traffic. It was, um, yeah, my shoe. [removes shoe and holds it up] Yeah, the laces were untied, so I bent down to tie 'em, and I guess the bullet whizzed right over me and, and Avery was standing behind me." Back to Ben saying, "Then they used that thing on her heart. They shocked her heart and she came back." Sean comments, "That's really amazing," and Ben remarks, "It's more than amazing." Molly, who is on the verge of tears, explains that the police caught James less than an hour after the shooting, hiding behind a dumpster, and that now he's in prison. Tracy talks about not wanting to go to Africa after the shooting, but says that Elena was "adamant," so he's planning to go. Elena describes herself "as the lucky one" because she was only hit in the shoulder. Molly says that she's going back to England for a while, because "it's the best thing to do right now."
Fade to black with a super which reads, "Three Months Later."
Still in Docuventary format, Javier is putting together a large and unwieldy floral arrangement. He cites Charlton Heston's and the NRA's old saw that "guns don't kill people, people kill people." He likens it to stating that "butter knives don't spread butter on bread. People spread butter on bread." He concludes that, while it may technically be true, it's still a stupid thing to say. Chuck Heston also probably says stuff like, people don't wear bad wigs, bald heads wear bad wigs. I couldn't agree more with Javier, who thinks that the only things that should have pistols are flowers. ["Except flowers have pistils, so it's a joke that doesn't work as well in print." -- Wing Chun] Sadly, that's the only glimpse of Javier and his wisdom that we get in this episode.
Elena is at the apartment and wearing a tank top, which doesn't reveal any sign of her injury. She tells Sean and his unstoppable videocamera that she only had to wear an arm sling for a few weeks. At first, she thought she'd never feel safe again, but she's taking a self-defense class now and she tells Sean that she could kick his ass now. ["I think she could have probably kicked his ass before, too." -- Wing Chun]
Felicity walks into the apartment, and Elena jumps out at her, lets out a Miss Piggy "hi-yah," and drops Felicity to the floor. Felicity implores her to stop attacking her, but Elena explains that if Elena had been a burglar, Felicity would be dead by now. Felicity asks Elena to let her up, and Elena says she won't until Felicity promises to take the self-defense class. Felicity says that she'll take the class when she has time, but that, at the moment, she's facing a very important deadline. Elena asks if it's more important than her life. Felicity claims that she has work and school and Knoll -- who's facing "an existential crisis" -- to deal with. Elena blah blahs about how empowering the class is, and that maybe Knoll's problem is that he "needs a good flipping over." Heh. Yeah, I'd prescribe a flipping for Knoll so long as it was Chow Yun-Fat who administered it.
Felicity phones Knoll, who is reading at the loft. ["He's reading Sartre, no less. Get a life, Knoll." -- Wing Chun] She tells him that "Morrison called [her]," and that they "have to get Pet Store done." She left out the "Loser," which is the most important part, in my opinion. ["And they don't have to finish jack because Icebox.com went out of business a few months ago." -- Wing Chun] Knoll whines that he doesn't feel like working. Felicity announces that they have to get it done, so she's going to come over later to work on it. Knoll groans, "Fine." He hears a knock at the door and hangs up on Felicity. I wish Knoll could hear my mother give one of her "you want to whine? I'll give you something to whine about" speeches. He opens the door, and the young blonde woman standing there says that she's looking for Ben. Knoll most ungraciously grunts, "Yeah?" The woman tries again and asks whether Ben lives there. Self-centred Knoll responds, "Depends how you define 'live.'" Blondie gamely asks whether she may leave a message for Ben. Knoll says, "Pen on the table. Close the door." Blondie comes in and sits at the table. She has a small gift-wrapped box with her. Ben parks himself back on the sofa. Blondie writes a note and asks Knoll to tell Ben that "Avery Swanson" came by. The realization that this is the woman who actually took the bullet floors Knoll. She's able to be polite after surviving being shot and Mr. Didn't-Even-Sustain-A-Flesh-Wound can't carry on a conversation. Go figure. He tells Avery that she's the reason he's "laying there," because ever since the shooting, he's been going over it in his tiny mind. If any of you readers ever again have the nerve to ask me why I don't like Knoll, please refer to this scene. I know his type. In another ten to fifteen years he's going to be having the first of many serial mid-life crises. This is someone who, under no circumstances, should be indulged. In the middle of imputing blame for his sloth, he thinks to offer Avery a chair. She insists that she's okay; in fact, she can stand on her own again, and she likes to do so. Knoll demands, "Since that night, does it all seem pointless to you?" I think she might have been justified in saying that it hadn't until she met him. Instead, she smiles serenely and says, "That night reprioritized everything for me. Gave me new purpose." Knoll manages to say, "Really." All through the scene I was trying to figure out who Avery looked like. I realized that it wasn't just one person but a composite of Portia de Rossi, Amy Smart, Teri Polo, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. While those women are all somewhat attractive individually, put them together and you get someone who looks remarkably like a drag queen. Avery is wearing a scarf over where her Adam's Apple would be. I'm just saying.
Meghan stomps into the girls' apartment to rant to Sean -- who is in the kitchen making a sandwich -- about her work-study assignment. She complains that she's "working with midgets." Sean corrects, "They're called 'little people.'" Meghan clarifies that she's a "teacher's assistant for the university elementary school." Sean wonders what could possibly be wrong with that. Meghan replies that she isn't a "kid person," and that she doesn't like children because "they're loud and smell weird." Like no one has ever said that about her before. Sean tells her to quit, but she whines that she can't because "they're part of [her] lame-ass requirement." She attacks Sean because he doesn't "get it." He takes it in stride and gets her to calm down, and then he suggests that she might even have fun. Meghan isn't convinced.
Felicity walks into the loft to find Knoll still ensconced on the sofa. She asks what he's doing and he says, "I'm eating Ding Dongs. Taking solace in Ding Dongs." You are what you eat, of course. Felicity turns off the television and tells him to "scoot over." She sits down and shows him some new characters she's created. They're brother and sister cats, George and Georgia, who have been locked in the same cage forever until one day when someone comes in and purchases Georgia. Felicity explains that George sits around feeling sorry himself all day. At this point, Knoll interrupts, "Until he realizes that he has, like, eighty brothers and sisters, so what does it really matter?" Knoll claims that he isn't feeling sorry for himself, but he can't be like "you guys." He says he thought that Avery would understand. Felicity is surprised to hear that Avery was there, and asks how she was. Knoll states that "she was cuter than [he] remembered." So sorry that when she wasn't up to your aesthetic standards when she was, oh, I don't know, fighting for her life, Knoll. I really hate Knoll. Anyway, in between stuffing Ding Dongs into his fat head, he tells Felicity around his full mouth that he sent Avery to Dean & Deluca to find Ben. Wordlessly, Felicity runs out of the loft. After she's out the door, he mumbles, "Don't we have work to do?"
Through the front window at Dean & Deluca, we can see Ben working and serving customers in slow motion. He looks up and notices Avery looking in at him. She notices him, noticing her. They blink and smile at each other, and exchange a tentative wave.
Establishing shots of a school playground. Kids are making merry while Meghan sits on a bench, with headphones on. A small girl runs up to Meghan and breathlessly squeals, "Miss Rotundi! Miss Rotundi!" Meghan removes one earphone to hear the girl report that "they're making fun of [her]." Meghan replies, "So what? Wait until junior high." The girl runs away and a teacher approaches Meghan. The teacher says, "About your attire --" Meghan interjects, "It's King's Dungeon on Greenwich." However, the teacher, who I'm going to call Ms. Sensible Shoes, wasn't looking for shopping tips. She's come to tell Meghan that some of the children and all of the faculty are frightened of "the leather." Ms. Sensible Shoes reminds Meghan that college is one thing, but that, at school, she's a professional. Meghan offers to wear her bra under her clothes; Ms. Sensible Shoes is appreciative.
Sean is at the girls' apartment reading Us magazine when Meghan storms in. I guess he can't stand to spend time in his own home with Knolla Lugosi haunting the place. Sean asks, "So, it went well?" Meghan announces that the kids weren't so bad, but that the teachers "suck." Ms. Sensible Shoes's name is Ann Kring, and Meghan describes her a witch. Ha, that's funny coming from her -- an actual witch. Meghan explains that she was sent home to change her clothes. She predicts that the kids will all become "robotrons" just like Sensible Shoes. Sean jokes that she could get her back by teaching the kids witchcraft. Meghan appears to take the suggestion seriously.
After a pounding on a door, Tracy opens it to find Elena, who demands, "Who was that girl?" Tracy says, "What girl?" Elena elaborates, "The one I saw you put your arm around." Tracy says, "Oh, you mean Rose." Elena asks whether Rose is the reason he came back from Africa a month early. He says that Rose was there with her church group, and that they worked in the same village. Rose's group returned early, so he came back with them. Elena asks whether he and Rose are seeing each other, and he admits that they are.
At the apartment, Felicity holds her back and groans, as she walks to the door. Avery is there with her neck uncovered, revealing nothing. She apologizes to Felicity for flipping her, explaining that she took a single karate class "years ago." Felicity makes light of it and invites her in. Avery has brought Felicity a purple turtleneck. Felicity tries to decline the gift because she doesn't "need another top, especially one that costs more than rent." Again, Avery insists that she accept it, and then asks whether Ben likes his watch. Felicity tells her that he loves it. Avery asks how long Ben and Felicity have been going out. Felicity says that it's been a year, but that they've known each other since high school. Avery very phonily bleats that they're "made for each other." Felicity tries to give the sweater back, but Avery says that in the class Felicity can flip her, and then give her a gift. Hey, Felicity, why wait for the class? Do it now.
At the loft, Richard, Ben, and Sean are playing a Playstation game while Knoll sits like a lump at the end of the sofa. Richard declares, "She's a trustafundian." Ben cries, "She's a what?" I think Richard means trustafarian, which is the term I've heard used before. Sean explains, "She's a trust-fund baby. They all hang out together: the Rockefellers, the Phipps, the Swansons." Ben says, "So she's rich. I don't care if she's rich." Richard asks if he's a Communist. Knoll drones that he agrees with Ben, and that money can't buy anything important. Sean snorts, "Money gave me this Playstation 2." Ben asks just how rich Avery is. Sean explains, "You know how ambitious I am right now? I would be totally satisfied with my life if I were her dad's butler." Ben laughs at the thought. Richard says, "Her dad's a banking magnate." Knoll says, "No, he owns a magazine. Richard shouts, "Guys, he owns a publishing empire. He was on 60 Minutes." And don't forget about the frozen-food division. Richard exhorts Ben to get more out of her, but Ben declares that he doesn't care how rich she is, he's not asking for anything. Avery Swanson: I can't help thinking of laser labels and TV dinners.
In a corridor, Ben is exclaiming over a pair of tickets for courtside seats at a Knicks' game that Avery is showing him. She's urging him to come. He's grinning like a fool, and accepts the invitation.
In his room at the loft, Ben is changing his shirt and telling Felicity that he couldn't turn down courtside seats. Felicity, who is wearing her new purple sweater, thinks it's weird that Avery offered him tickets but wouldn't allow him to decide whom he wanted to bring. Ben points out that she doesn't like basketball. She suggests that he could have taken Sean, Tracy, Knoll, or Richard. Ben laughs at the suggestion of going anywhere with Richard. Felicity thinks it isn't a case of Avery doing something for him, it's that she wants to do something with him. Ben invites her to come, because he's sure Avery could get another ticket. Felicity says she's sure that Avery could get another ticket, too, but that she can't go anyway because she has to work on Loser Pet Store with her loser pet. Ben reassures her that it's just a basketball game, and that they should feel sorry for Avery because the "only way she knows how to make friends is by buying them things. It's kinda sad. Isn't it? Dontcha think?" Felicity glumly agrees. ["I need to make some friends like that." -- Wing Chun]
At the girls' apartment, Felicity is sitting on the sofa with a laptop, and Knoll is at the counter eating spray cheese. Felicity cautions him against the cheese because it'll kill him. If only. Knoll mumbles, "Something will. Might as well be spray cheese." Felicity sighs. Knoll asks what Ben "decided to do about Avery." Felicity informs him that they went to a Knicks game because she had courtside seats and he couldn't say no. Knoll wonders whether "just the two of them" went. Felicity says yes, and tells him not to say it "like that." She adds, "It's just a basketball. Besides, she's not that cute." Knoll says, "Okay." Felicity asks him whether Avery is cute. He replies, "From a guy's point of view, for what it's worth, she isn't an ugly person." Felicity wonders if she should be worried. Knoll unconvincingly says, "No."
Sean is sitting at the kitchen counter in the loft, with a meal laid out. Meghan walks in; he looks at his watch and says, "Morning." She apologizes and tells him that she's finally figured out what she wants to do with her life. Sean guesses, "What -- the transvestite designer clothing?" Nice try, but it turns out that Meghan loves teaching; she discovered it while she was working on a "pooping and peeing spell" with Leslie. Sean is aghast that she's teaching witchcraft; he was only trying to cheer her up when he suggested it. He thinks that "teaching kids [sic] how to become a sorcerer of the black arts, that's insane." She takes offense, because this is the first time she's been interested in anything "remotely legal or worthwhile." She feels she's denied his support because she's not doing it in a way in which he approves. Sean ponders that; after a moment, he concedes that she's right, and apologizes. Furthermore, he thinks that she'll be a great teacher. Meghan thinks it's weird that they had a fight but didn't break up.
Felicity answers the phone at her apartment. It's Ben calling to invite her to a party to which they went after the game; Avery put Felicity's name on the list. She wonders whether Knoll may come along. Knoll doesn't want to go, but Ben asks Avery and reports that Knoll's also invited.
Felicity and Knoll walk down the street past a long line of people waiting to get into the club. They tell the doorman that their names are on "the list," but he can't find them anywhere. The doorman tells them to go to the end of the line. Felicity imagines that Avery purposely didn't put their names on the list. Knoll thinks she's being "paranoid," and tells her to let "Leon take care of this." He asks her for money before trying his luck...or, rather, Leon's luck. By the way, I'm still hating Knoll, or Llonk, or whoever he currently is.
Inside the club, Avery introduces Ben to a couple of her friends. One of the friends asks how he likes the watch. Ben says that it's heavy. The friend exclaims that he should watch out, because Avery is very generous. Avery brushes off her friend's comment with, "Please, who gave me these earrings?" Ben asks to borrow Avery's phone to call Felicity. Once Ben has walked away, one of the friends asks who Felicity is; Avery tells her it's his girlfriend.
Outside the club, Knoll/Llonk approaches the doorman, who tells him he won't check the list again. Knoll bores the doorman with some bafflegab about whether the list or anything at all really matters. After a few moments of this, Knoll hands over some money and the doorman lets him and Felicity go in.
Once inside, they spot Avery and Ben hunched together. Her TV dinners are practically sitting in his lap. Avery seems glad that Felicity and Knoll have made it, while Ben raves about what a great place it is. Felicity asks to speak to Avery privately. Knoll says to Ben, "So, wanna dance?" Ben shouts, "No." Knoll feels he has to clarify that he was kidding.
Felicity and Avery go into a lounge to talk. Felicity launches into a monologue about her name not being on the list and hating to feel insecure so she comes out and asks Avery whether she's interested in Ben. Without missing a beat, Avery admits that she is. Felicity is taken aback by Avery's honesty. Avery claims she's telling Felicity because Avery doesn't have a chance with Ben: he's "so obviously in love" with Felicity. She continues, "But I died that night in the ambulance...and his face was the first and last thing I saw." Apparently, she hasn't been able to stop thinking about him for months. She says, "Look, I know that I'm a rich brat and one of these days I'm going to learn I can't have everything I want. I guess." Felicity just stares at her. Clearly, she is no match for Avery's polished self-assurance.
At the apartment, Elena is telling Sean's camera that she realizes Tracy needs "to be in a relationship without sex," and that, since Rose is also religious, she must be good for Tracy. It was "too complicated" for Tracy with Elena. She says she's "okay with that," but it seems that she's trying very hard to convince herself. I think that she has bigger problems if she's spending so much time talking about her problems on Sean's Docuventary.
At Epstein Bar, Elena tells Tracy that she's "cool with" him and Rose, and that maybe Rose is a better match for him "at the moment." Tracy repeats, "At the moment?" Elena says that the "sex thing" would have been the end of them, and she just wants him to be happy. So, if Rose and the whole church thing makes him happy, he should be with Rose. Tracy thanks her, and then wonders whether she's hungry. He gets up, leaving his wallet and telling her to order something on him. Elena opens his wallet and discovers a condom. Insert joke about the missionary position here. Hee, "insert"!
In Felicity's bedroom, she's ranting to Ben about how Avery admitted that she was interested in him. Ben, who is stretched out on the bed in his underwear and black socks, tries to defend Avery from Felicity's claim that she's evil, by referring to her life-and-death experience. Ben -- and any other man out there -- here's a hint: black socks when paired with underwear are never, ever sexy. Anyway, Felicity doesn't think that Ben's argument holds water at this late date, and yells that Avery must take responsibility for her actions. Ben grins at her, and when she asks why he's smiling, he says, "Because I've never seen you actually hate somebody before." Felicity jumps up and down and denies that she hates Avery. Ben thinks she does and cites her lips getting "all tight" as evidence. She freaks out, calculating the six degrees of Avery: she determines that they'd never have met her without Molly, through whom came the James connection, which led to the shooting. , Felicity's ranting that Avery was "all over" Ben at the club. Ben tries to calm her down, and says that he only wants to be with her. Felicity is concerned that Avery keeps forcing things on them that they don't really want. Ben assures her that everything will be okay. They rub noses and start making out.
Knoll and Avery arrive back at the loft. She says she wasn't ready for the night to end yet. Knoll whines that he hasn't been out and had so much fun in months. He takes a bottle of gin out of the fridge. She tells him that he's a good dancer. When Knoll says he's going to get some tonic, Avery states that she doesn't need it, and proposes that they drink "to closing the club." Knoll blabs about the lights coming up when clubs close, and chokes on his straight gin. Avery accuses him of being a lightweight, and compliments the apartment. Then she wants to know whether Ben is coming back. Knoll thinks he's staying at Felicity's. Avery says, "Ahh," and adds that she no longer feels that her life is full of purpose, as she had told him earlier; now she feels lost. Typically, Knoll makes it all about him and how he knows what that's like because he's graduating in eight weeks. Avery stopped listening after Knoll said that Ben wasn't coming home, and she plants a kiss on him.
At the playground, Meghan is sitting with Leslie and showing her how to use rattlesnake root. Ms. Sensible Shoes crashes their party; she's heard that Meghan is teaching Leslie witchcraft, and threatens to report Meghan to the head of the Psychology department. When Sensible Shoes walks away, Meghan tells Leslie, "I hate her."
Meghan rants to Sean's camera that Sensible Shoes has ordered a psychological evaluation of her by the "school shrink." She's worried that she'll be deemed a "dangerous eccentric," and concludes that she's screwed. Then she yells at Sean to turn off the camera.
Felicity and Ben return to the loft to find Sean and Richard drooling over a shiny red Ducati motorcycle that Avery has had delivered for Ben. My esteemed partner tells me that the Ducati is worth about $15,000 USD. Avery's card reads, "I know this is too much, but I couldn't resist." Felicity can't believe Avery bought Ben a motorcycle. Ben says that Avery is crazy, and that he's not going to keep it. Richard advises that if Ben does keep it, he must name it; he suggests the name "Hellion," which was what he called his high-school car. Sean asks what kind of car it was and Richards tells him it was a Celica. Hey Richard, this is exactly why no one even considers inviting you to basketball games. Think about it, dude. Felicity walks away from the motorcycle. Knoll wanders out of his room, and drags her into to it. He tells her how he's going to resolve the Loser Pet Store George and Georgia problem. Felicity asks whether his existential angst is over; Knoll says it isn't, but allows that he's dealing with it. She asks whether he's seen the motorcycle. He admits that he was there when Avery picked up the phone and ordered it "like it was a pizza." Knoll seems kind of impressed for someone who doesn't think money can get you anything important. Felicity asks him just when he was around to hear Avery order the Ducati. He explains that it was when Avery came home with him last night. Felicity is incredulous that Avery was there, and Knoll points to his bed and says, "She and I, uh..." Felicity is doubly incredulous to learn that he slept with Avery. Felicity sighs, "Omigod." Knoll states that "when Avery wants something, she wants it." Felicity glares, and then walks out into the living room to discover Ben sitting on the motorcycle. When he notices her, he says, "I was just checking it out." Felicity contemplates just what else he's thinking of checking out.
At the self-defense class, Avery asks Felicity where Elena is, but Felicity doesn't know. She does mention that she saw "the bike." Avery says, "Isn't it gorgeous? I couldn't resist." Somehow, I don't think that Avery works very hard at keeping her impulses in check. Felicity informs her that Ben won't be keeping the bike; Avery begs to differ. The instructor calls them to the front to demonstrate a move. They continue talking all the while: Avery is sure that Ben will keep the bike, and Felicity is just as sure that he won't. Avery goes for Felicity's neck and Felicity handily flips her on to her back. Before turning on her heel, Felicity says, "By the way, I returned the top. They're going to credit your account." Avery doesn't look as cool and collected, flat on her back, as she usually does.
Elena walks into the apartment; Felicity runs out of another room and puts her in a headlock. Felicity is jubilant that she flipped Avery. Elena begs to be let go while Felicity raves about her empowerment. Elena mopes that Tracy doesn't love her, because he's sleeping with Rose. She starts crying, and Felicity comforts her.
Ben tells Sean's camera that he doesn't want to push Avery away because she's "been through a lot." He says he has to go and tell her to take back everything.
At Dean & Deluca, Ben tells Avery that he can't accept any gifts from her, and even returns the watch. She rolls out the "I died" gambit, adding that she could hear him implore her not to die, even though he wasn't speaking aloud. Ben takes the bait and believes that she found the will to live because of him. When she says that she belongs to him, Ben says that she doesn't, because he has a girlfriend. She says that she doesn't care whether he returns everything, because what matters is what they went through that night. She claims that she's never felt that way before and guesses that he hasn't, either. He gazes into her eyes and doesn't even notice the old fish hook through his upper lip.