The Honourable Amy is standing posed with a clipboard in the middle of a bunch of running kids, counting laps. A sign near her says "Jog-a-thon." Amy gets slightly distracted when she notices an attractive father giving her the eye, and then her pencil breaks. She darts about -- one eye on the kids -- asking all the other parents (while avoiding the attractive father) whether they have pencils or pens. For some reason they don't, so she is reduced to using lipstick. After letting her suffer with Revlon for a bit, the attractive father walks over and offers her his pen. And strangely enough, I'm not being euphemistic about his ball point. He makes some comment about "creative use of materials" and then tells her that the Carnival Committee could use her services. Amy fobs this one off, saying, "No, definitely not. Trust me, you don't want somebody like me." The attractive father introduces himself as "Tom Gillette" and offers his hand. Amy shakes it limply and says "Amy Gray" in a very case-closed tone of voice, which I don't get since she was totally giving him the "come hither" eye not ten seconds ago. Tom doesn't give up that easily and asks her if she's a "Jog-a-thon groupie. Or does one of these belong to [her]," while gesturing at the running mass of children. Amy's face lights up and she says, "That one's mine," pointing at a child who's tripping over her impossibly long and unkempt hair. "She's pretty," Tom comments. Oh, now wait a minute, does he really mean Lauren or does he actually mean Amy? Let's puzzle that one out. Tom continues, saying, "No wonder my Zach is sticking so close. That's him, the little guy with the freckles," pointing out his pride and joy. Amy couldn't possibly look less interested as she glances at Zach and keeps writing on her clipboard. Tom asks why he wouldn't want her on the Carnival Committee, and Amy tells him she's "terrible at things like this." Tom tells her it's because the kids get to have all the fun and then says it "doesn't have to be like that." The thing you know, Tom has challenged Amy to a race; she tells him he wouldn't want to race her. "Why not?" Tom asks. "Because I'm good," Amy sauces back. That little bit of modesty doesn't deter Tom, so instead of doing her job, Amy races Tom. All the kids cheer (although, if I were Lauren, I'd be annoyed that my mother couldn't even do this one little thing without having to command the attention of everyone in the room). Of course, Amy wins this little sexual-tension race and allows her dinners to come popping conveniently out of her previously zipped-up sweatshirt at the end. She sticks her tongue out at Tom and resumes being the responsible, dedicated parent that she is.
My thought during the credits is that Amy wanted to become a judge just so she could run down a hallway with an unzipped robe billowing behind her. And wearing heels? Give me a colossal break. In the Harvard Law Bulletin's photos of Brenneman's real-life robe-clad judge mother, Judge Brenneman is wearing hiking boots under her robes. That's sensible. Unless, of course, Amy's heels are those Easy Spirit heels you can play basketball in.
Amy is brushing Lauren's hair in the kitchen. Looking beyond the obvious unsanitariness of the scene, it reminds me of when my mother used to braid my hair every morning. There is a slight difference, however: Lauren isn't whimpering in pain as her snarls are yanked out. Amy asks about Zach Gillette. Lauren tells her that Zach just moved there from New York. Amy asks what she knows about Zach's dad. "He just moved here from New York, too!" Lauren exclaims with exaggerated gestures as she states the obvious. Jessica's reason for living walks in and asks how their mother can be out of Frosted Flakes and Pop Tarts. Maxine makes her entrance, saying, "Frosted Flakes are on the list. No one eats Pop Tarts but you, Vincent, so I stopped buying them. Did you run out of food at your place, or did you just come here to spread sunshine?" Vincent says, "Donna likes to talk in the morning, I don't [yes, because in a house with Maxine and a Judge Sister, you don't have to worry about talking. Just being talked at], and her snake stares at me." Maxine takes this opportunity to give everyone a lesson in reptiles: "Snakes do not stare, they just can't blink. They don't have any eyelids." Vincent crabs about that interesting if unhelpful information. Maxine suggests that Amy stop by the grocery store that afternoon and holds the grocery list out to her freeloading daughter. Yet another subtle nudge that Amy doesn't pull her weight -- just throws it -- around the house. Amy quickly says, dismissively, "No, not today. I've got a committee meeting after school." Maxine wonders why, since Amy just did the Jog-a-thon, and Amy shrugs (something my mother told me was rude to do when speaking to elders) and says she thought it would be interesting to be on the Carnival Committee. Maxine beams proudly that her single working daughter is trying to be PTA president as well, and Vincent says that he'll do the shopping. Maxine blanches at this suggestion and an argument ensues about whether or not Vincent can go back to a grocery store after being shot outside of one. Finally, Vincent ends the conversation with an angry "Just give me the damn list!" Maxine turns to Amy for support; Amy just looks at her and continues to yank at Lauren's hair.
At the courthouse, Amy walks into her office, where Bruce is sitting with a beautiful woman. Bruce jumps up and apologizes for losing track of time. Amy stares at the woman while juggling her armload of files. The woman stares back. No one says anything. "Well, I guess I'll come back," Amy offers pointedly, which really means, "I don't know who you are or what you're doing with him but you better get the hell out of my office before I hold you in contempt!" The woman doesn't get the subtle nuance of her tone and says, "Thanks, we'll only be a minute." I don't know who this chick thinks she is if conducting personal business in a judge's chambers takes precedence over the judge herself, and her wish to use said chambers. Bruce says, "No, we're through," and the woman looks at him and says, "We are?" Bruce ushers her out and says he'll call her later. They brush past Amy, who's still struggling to keep all her papers from slipping (has this woman never heard of a briefcase?), and the woman embraces Bruce in the hall, who just stands there, not really reacting. The woman leaves, and Bruce walks back into the office. It's obvious that Amy is just bursting to know who in the Sam Hill that woman was, but Bruce just tells her she's got a full docket and walks past her without offering to help her with her armload.
Vincent is on his shrink's plaid couch. He's telling his shrink (who used to be on Barney Miller) that he's been depressed and he thinks it's because his book is being published in paperback. "And that's bad?" the shrink asks. Vincent says he just expected the whole process to be different. "You expected it to make you different," the shrink fishes. Vincent fixes him with a gimlet eye. "No," he says firmly, knowing exactly what the shrink is getting at but being unwilling to admit to it at this time. The shrink sighs and questions Vincent about his insomnia. Vincent tells Shrink that it's because he can't get the thought of this mysterious woman -- who writes witty satire about him and his family every week -- out of his head. Actually, he just says that his insomnia isn't any better and that he's irritable all the time. Shrink asks him if he knows anything about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Vincent, who was alive during the Gulf War and should have remembered how often they were talking about PTSD on every news station, says he doesn't. Shrink explains that people exhibit "certain behaviours" following a violent event. Vincent snaps that he doesn't have a disorder and that he's just having trouble moving on after he "got in the way of a bullet." Shrink tells him it's only been a couple of months. Vincent says that Lisa's the one who should be affected, not him. "Lisa?" Shrink queries. "The woman I helped," Vincent explains. "You mean the woman you saved," Shrink corrects him. Vincent tells him not to make him into a hero. "Why, because heroes wouldn't be published in paperback?" Shrink asks, dryly. I like this Shrink 'cause he's got a sense of humor, and as Shrinks go, he's not too shrinky. Shrink asks him if he's talked to Lisa since the shooting, and Vincent answers in the negative and then asks why he would talk to her. "Just a question," Shrink says. "Nothing's ever just a question," Vincent tells him pointedly. Shrink gives him a touché kind of look.
Court is in session, the Honourable Judge Amy presiding. Case on the docket is about a baby being shaken to death, and the eight-year-old brother stands accused. Comment on the Nanny/Matthew Eapan trial? I think so. ["And so timely! Not." -- Wing Chun] The lawyer for the defence tries to get the case dismissed on the grounds that it was an accident, not murder, and that the family has suffered enough; prosecution stands firm. Judge Amy asks the mother to describe what happened the day of Baby Molly's death. Mrs. Shepherd gets up and tearfully relates the situation as it happened. She went to do the laundry, leaving her eight-year-old son, Dylan, in charge. Dylan was watching his favourite show, Rugrats. Judge Amy questions Mrs. Shepherd about her leaving Dylan alone with the baby, and Mrs. Shepherd responds that she wasn't gone more than three or four minutes. Mrs. Shepherd continues that she went to check on the baby and discovered that the baby wasn't breathing, so she called 911 and tried CPR but it was too late. "I'm sorry," Judge Amy says, in a tone that implies this is one of her stock phrases. Mrs. Shepherd says that when she questioned Dylan, he told her that Molly wouldn't stop crying, so he gave her a little shake. I'm sorry, but I highly doubt that a child of eight would have the force to shake an infant to death. Mrs. Shepherd also tells Judge Amy that Dylan didn't understand that his sister was dead until she explained it to him, and then Dylan got really scared. Mrs. Shepherd pleads with Judge Amy to understand that Dylan would never do anything to hurt his sister, and that he just didn't understand what he was doing. Judge Amy thanks Mrs. Shepherd and concludes that she finds probable cause for the issuance of the complaint and rules that the case will stand trial. Mrs. Shepherd looks distraught. Judge Amy bustles about her papers, glancing once at the Shepherd family, but keeps a poker face.
Black and white stills of kids playing on a Merry-go-Round.
Vincent shows up at Lisa's work. He doesn't know what to say to her when she addresses him, so he asks her what she is doing there. "Um, I work here," Lisa answers. Shrink didn't say anything about PTSD affecting Vincent's neural pathways, did he? Vincent asks her what she does there at her place of work. Lisa tells him she's a systems analyst and gets into a more technical explanation of the position until she realizes just how technical she's getting. "Basically, I analyse systems," she concludes. Vincent tells her he'd like to learn more. "No, you wouldn't," Lisa says, and asks, "How did you find me?" Vincent answers that he picked up the police report on the day of the "accident," and asks if that's "a little creepy." Lisa admits, "Sort of." Vincent asks her if she's "been okay." Lisa starts to tell him she has but then admits she really hasn't. Vincent tells her he hasn't either. Lisa starts to explain but Vincent stops her because of where they are, and asks, "Do you want to get together and talk about how not okay we are?" Lisa joyfully agrees.
Maxine visits one of her past cases at a current foster home. A girl, Jodi, who was beaten by her drunken stepfather, was taken away from her family by DCF. Maxine tells Jodi that she understands that Jodi visited with her mother that weekend and wanted to know if Jodi's mother mentioned that she had filed a "motion for custody" with the courts. Jodi tells Maxine that her mother told her that soon she wouldn't be living with the Tanners (her foster family) anymore and could move back home. "Well, the courts will make that decision, but yes, that's what your mother's asking for," Maxine tells her and then asks, "You remember why you were placed here with the Tanners?" Jodi answers that it was because Mark, her stepfather, hit her. Jodi turns away from Maxine and continues playing her videogame. Maxine asks if there was anything else Mark did to her that she has remembered since the last time they spoke. Jodi shakes her head. "He never did anything that made you feel scared or uncomfortable -- never did anything that you didn't understand?" Maxine pursues. Jodi won't look at Maxine and gives a nearly imperceptible shake of her head. Maxine asks if Jodi understands that if she is allowed to go home, Mark will be there too. "I'm older now," Jodi tells her, still not looking at her. "I can take care of myself." Maxine looks very worried.
Amy leaves Lauren's school and is greeted by Tom, who's leaning out of his car window. Amy whips off her sunglasses and returns the greeting. "I hear you joined the carnival committee," Tom says. Amy tells him she didn't have a choice because they were going to cancel the cakewalk if she didn't join. "Nice save," Tom comments. Amy thanks him and asks what he's doing. "Pie toss," Tom tells her. "Nice gig," Amy says. 'Gig'? What is this, Lollapalooza? The conversation lags at this point, so Tom says he has to be going. Amy nods understandingly as Tom drives off, then says to herself mockingly, "'Nice gig,' sheesh." My sentiments exactly, your honour. Then we see that Tom has braked in the middle of the road and is backing up to Amy. "You know, I was thinking: You're doing cakes, I'm doing pies; maybe we should get together and try out some desserts this weekend. Unless you're married or seeing someone. Probably be a bad idea," Tom concludes. Amy tells him it wouldn't be a bad idea. "Really?" Tom says, overjoyed. Amy nods. Tom smiles, tells her he'll call her and drives off. Amy and Tom sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Lauren fighting Zach for the baby carriage. Judge Amy walks into work smiling to herself, but that smile is wiped right off her face when she sees Bruce saying goodbye to the mysterious woman and his daughter. Bruce walks by Judge Amy again, knowing that she is dying to know the scoop, and doesn't say a thing.
At DCF, Maxine is trying to convince Jodi's attorney that Jodi has been sexually abused and should not go home. The attorney will hear none of it, even when Maxine cites such suspicious behaviour as Jodi's being twice found by teachers in the bathroom undressing younger students, which happened shortly after the stepfather moved into the house. "The foster parents told me that Jodi masturbated regularly for the first few weeks she was with them," Maxine continues. The DCF attorney say that he's read the file but that the psychiatrist told him the behaviour had stopped. Maxine raises her voice saying, "What about the cause of the behaviour? Will he stop?" The DCF attorney says that nothing has changed and she'd have to introduce new evidence. Frustrated, Maxine says, "Don't you think I'd like to? Don't you know how frustrating it is to know something, to know it and not be able to convince anyone else," Maxine goes on to say that she's seen a "staggering" number of sexual abuse cases in twenty-eight years and that very few of the victims offer the information, "because they've been threatened or they feel guilty or they are too young to give it a name. How can you report sexual abuse when you don't know what sex is?" Maxine asks. She says that she's trained to recognize the symptoms; it's her job. "And you're never wrong," DCF attorney states. Maxine pauses. "Not this time," she finally says. DCF attorney states DCF's same old, same old: "We're all overloaded with cases. We have to focus our time and energy on the ones that we at least have a prayer of winning. Jodi wants to go home; that's the bottom line."
The kid on the Merry-Go-Round is starting to look sadder and sadder. Presentiment of things to come?
In Judge Amy's court, a doctor explains the physicality of Shaken Baby Syndrome: "When a young child is violently shaken and the unsupported head is whiplashed back and forth, the brain literally ricochets around inside the skull. That's why we try to warn people: 'Three shakes is all it takes.'" The prosecution asks the doctor if, based on her evaluation of the evidence, Baby Molly's injuries were consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome? The defence objects -- though based on what, I haven't a clue. Judge Amy overrules it. The doctor confirms that they were. The prosecution asks if, in the doctor's medical opinion, an eight-year-old could cause that kind of injury. The doctor says it would take effort, but yes. Judge Amy asks her to be a little more specific. The doctor explains the difference of forces between an adult's shaking a baby, and a child's: It would take much more effort and time for a child to inflict the kind of damage on a baby that an adult could. The doctor also says that the percentage of siblings and children being responsible for SBS-related deaths is less than 1%. Prosecution asks if someone with "Dylan's history" and ADD would have the strength to shake a baby to death; here's a question: what does ADD have to do with it, and what is Dylan's "history?" The doctor confirms that is possible. Judge Amy looks at Dylan, who stares steadily back.
Chez Vincent, Lisa notes how nice it is to be chilling with him, and Vincent agrees as he prepares dinner. They both agree that they are uncomfortable in restaurants because of the noise and for that reason can't really deal with going to movies. Lisa comments rather unnecessarily that anything violent is out of the question. Vincent sits down with two plates and asks whether tuna scares her. (Mmm, tuna sandwich; gotta put that on my grocery list, I think I gave the last can to my cats.) Lisa laughs and says she is fine with mushy food because her trachea was damaged and it's been hard to swallow lately. Vincent and Lisa both share that they have problems sleeping and that when they do sleep, they have nightmares. Lisa confesses that she dreams about Vincent saving her. Vincent comments that he was "just in the wrong place at the right time" and that if he had seen that the guy had a gun, he would've run. Lisa tells him, "But you didn't. You saved my life, Vincent. And I'll never forget that, how could I?" Vincent looks freaked. Maybe it's because Lisa's in urgent need of a 'stache wax.
Maxine pays a visit to Jodi's real mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt. Mrs. Pruitt ushers Maxine into an unfinished room that we can assume to be the nursery since Mrs. P. appears to be preggers. Just great -- bring another innocent into the world to be abused by that monster, why don't you? Idiot. Mrs. Pruitt apologizes for Mark's being out, but he went to get more paint. What is she doing around wet paint anyway? Aren't the fumes really bad for an unborn child? God, this mother is so responsible, I can't stand it. Maxine asks Mrs. Pruitt to withdraw her petition for custody because she thinks it would be a "serious mistake." Mrs. Pruitt curtly says that Jodi belongs at home, and Maxine says that she belongs somewhere safe where Mr. Pruitt can't "molest" her. Jodi's mother gets all upset and says that they've been through all this already. Maxine tries to get through to the stupid mother, who says something along the lines of "how dare you suggest that I would allow something like that to happen to my own child?" Well, she allowed her child to be beaten until the court took her away instead of kicking the asshole out of her house right off. Just then, Mr. Pruitt walks in and attempts to smooth things over in a reasonable tone of voice: "If I did what you are suggesting, why would Jodi want to come home? Why would she want to live here? You may not believe this, but I appreciate what you are trying to do. That you care. I let her down -- we both did, mostly me ['scuse me, 'let her down'? it's not like he missed her school play, he beat her for crying out loud]. I was stupid and cruel and I drank too much and Jodi suffered for it --" "Yes, she did!" Maxine asserts forcefully. Mr. Pruitt goes on that he's in AA and they are both in counseling: "My wife's forgiven me and so has Jodi. Isn't that enough?" That would be a no. Maxine doesn't say anything and Mrs. Pruitt says they've done everything the court told them to do and they just want Jodi home. Maxine's lips tighten, which is a sure sign that they are in for a fight.
Bruce is briefing Amy about her case and they proceed to court. Before she can leave her office, Donna stops her. "Are you seeing someone?" she asks, wide-eyed. "Excuse me?" Amy asks, flustered. "You're glowing!" Donna exclaims. "No, I'm not," Amy says, trying to get out from under Donna's eye. "Oh, yeah, ya are!" Donna insists. "Donna!" Amy barks, "I'm not glowing." "Sorry," Donna says, chastened, but she and Bruce exchange amused looks. In the courtroom it appears that counsel hasn't shown up yet. Suddenly the door flings open and there he stands in golden glory: Tom Gillette! Okay, it wasn't that dramatic but they both stare at each other and say "You?!" Bruce and Donna exchange another look.
Commercial break shows me all the fireworks.
Lawyer Tom and Judge Amy confer out in the hallway. "You didn't tell me you were a lawyer!" Judge Amy hisses. "You didn't tell me you were a judge," Lawyer Tom notes fairly. Judge Amy tells him she was saving it for their date because she wanted to impress him. Lawyer Tom asks whether they are still on for that, and Judge Amy tells him that it would be a conflict of interest. Lawyer Tom suggests that maybe she can recuse herself this once: "You might find out that you hate me." "Yeah, that's true," Judge Amy says, "then it wouldn't be a conflict." Lawyer Tom smiles winningly and Judge Amy amends that she's not going to hate him. She continues, saying that he's a child advocate lawyer and for that reason is going to be in her courtroom a lot and she can't always recuse herself. Lawyer Tom tells her to disclose to everyone that they have a social relationship but it won't prejudice her in any way. "Would you believe that if you were opposing counsel?" Judge Amy asks. "No," Lawyer Tom admits. Judge Amy sighs and says, "Why couldn't you have been a doctor?" Oh, he better not say, "Why couldn't you have been a nurse?"
Maxine appears in court and gives her opinion of reunifying the family. She tells them that it is her belief that Mr. Pruitt has sexually abused Jodi. Objections are raised and the judge tells Maxine that he's read the case report, where it is documented that Jodi has repeatedly denied that she was ever sexually abused by Mr. Pruitt. Maxine tells the court that Jodi also denied at first that Mr. Pruitt was beating her, but that she knew the truth because she could see the physical evidence of the beatings, and that furthermore, it wasn't until Mr. Pruitt admitted to the abuse that Jodi felt she could tell anyone. Maxine continues that the scars of sexual abuse are more difficult to see, "but they're there if you know where to look." Maxine pulls out stats on abuse cases that go unreported for all the various reasons and that when she asked Jodi if she was still afraid of her stepfather, Jodi didn't deny anything, she just said she was older and could take care of herself. Maxine's voice gets hard: "This is a ten-year-old girl. Ten-year-old children cannot take care of themselves. They need their parents, but if their parents betray them, they need us!"
Child on Merry-Go-Round looking accusatory.
"So, you're going to recuse yourself?" Bruce is asking Judge Amy as they walk into her office. "Yep!" Judge Amy says decidedly. "I see," Bruce says. "What?" Judge Amy asks, taking off her judgely robes. "Nothing," Bruce answers. "If you have a question, you can just come out and ask it," Amy says flirtatiously. "I don't want to ask a question," Bruce tells her. "Oh, right, you have absolutely no interest in the nature of my relationship to Mr. Gillette," Amy states. "That's right," Bruce says. "No, it's not!" Amy insists. "Yes, it is," Bruce says in a case-closed tone of voice. "No, it's not!" Amy insists. "It's none of my business," Bruce says. "Oh, I see, you're afraid if you ask me about my business, then I'll ask you about yours," Amy says, tipping her head at him. Bruce tells her that's not the nature of their relationship. Amy says that some colleagues actually talk about things other than work. "We don't," Bruce states. Amy corrects him: "Well, you don't, I do. You never tell me anything." Yes, but Amy, not everyone appreciates diarrhea of the mouth where your personal life is concerned, okay? "Her name is Mia," Bruce says. "Mia?" Amy asks, acting as though she has no idea to whom Bruce is referring. "That's what you wanted to know, isn't it? The woman I was talking to in here? Mia's my daughter's mother," Bruce tells her. "Mia is a pretty name," Amy says tonelessly.
Bruce explains they were young when they met. They had a baby; Mia wasn't ready for the responsibility because there were things she still wanted to do like have a career. So Mia went off to Paris and became a model and now she's returned, ready to try being a family. Gee, I wonder if this will become a custody case that will come before Amy. Guess she'll have to recuse herself from every case when a man she loves is involved. Amy perches to Bruce on the desk and asks him how he feels about that. Bruce says he doesn't know: "I carried the torch for a long time, didn't expect this day to come, though. So how do you feel about Mr. Gillette?" Amy tells him that she's a judge and she's a lawyer so it's probably best for her not to feel anything. Way to open up, Amy, when Bruce finally got personal. Could you be less forthcoming? They both stare musingly off into space. Bruce breaks the silence by saying, "It doesn't really help to talk, does it?" Amy agrees.
Vincent returns to his pad as Lisa is leaving what appears to be yet another message. I say "yet another" because her message is saying that it's Lisa "again" and she leaves her number again in case he lost it. Vincent makes no move to pick up the phone as she's leaving the message.
Dylan takes the stand and tells the story of what happened the day Baby Molly died. His story matches his mother's perfectly, right down to the mention that he was watching Rugrats, his favourite show. The lawyer for the Shepherd family asks where the baby was when Dylan went to get her. Dylan says she was in her crib. Shepherd Lawyer asks Dylan to demonstrate how he shook the baby. Dylan does so and looks at his mother. Judge Amy asks Dylan how he reached into the crib. Dylan doesn't understand. Judge Amy asks if he lifted Molly out from above or from the side. Dylan is confused. He repeats his story word for word that he was watching Rugrats, his favourite show, and Molly wouldn't stop crying. Bruce looks suspiciously at the mother, who looks uncomfortable. Judge Amy tells Dylan he already told her the story but she wants to know how he got his sister out of the crib. Dylan is quiet and then tells her he forgot. Mr. Shepherd give his wife a strange look. Judge Amy looks pissed and the lawyer for the defence asks for a recess. Judge Amy says, "Yeah, this court's in recess until tomorrow morning. Counsel, I'd like to see you in my chambers." In her chambers, Judge Amy tells the lawyers that the boy has obviously been coached and that his statement in the brief is almost identical to the mother's. She tells them she thinks Dylan is covering for one of his parents. The lawyer for the prosecution reminds Judge Amy, "Dylan admitted to the crime, Your Honour." Judge Amy tells him she's "well aware of that," and that she'll have her verdict tomorrow. Both lawyers look mystified and leave. Bruce asks Judge Amy what she's going to do. "Even if one of the parents did do it, it's not like they're going to confess," he tells her. Amy nods and doesn't say anything.
Surprise, surprise, Vincent is talking to Shrink about the fact that he doesn't think he's going to pursue Lisa. "Sounds like you two have a lot in common," Shrink says. "Yeah, if you count irritability, depression, insomnia, flashbacks, outbursts of anger, but beyond that...." Vincent shrugs as he trails off. Shrink asks him if he's just looking for a reason not to be involved in a relationship and commitment. Vincent asks why he would say that. Shrink says it's an issue they've talked about already. "That has nothing to do with the fact that I got shot," Vincent says. "Exactly, just because you have a new issue doesn't mean the old ones have gone away," Shrink tells him. Vincent says, "Oh, so this isn't Post Traumatic Stress, this has to do with not allowing myself what I really want." Shrink says it's a little of both, possibly. Vincent says he doesn't think it's a good time for him to be involved with anybody. Shrink asks when a good time would be. Vincent tells him when he can get the nerve up to call Jessica up and ask her out for a Cream Soda at the drugstore. But beyond that, he doesn't have an answer for Shrink.
At Maxine's pet case, the judge says that it was never the point of the court to determine at this juncture whether or not Jodi had been sexually abused, but to determine whether her parents have complied with the court's orders to earn back custody of their child. The court feels they have and that Jodi is free to return to her parents. The judge asks Maxine to arrange to rejoin parents with child not any later than that afternoon. Maxine looks very upset. I just want to note that the judge's name is "Sweeter," which had me running around the house screeching "'Ain't nothin' Jeter, than my man Judge Sweeter!" That's for all the Yankee fans out there. My cats won't come near me now.
More scenes of fireworks in Boston.
Maxine returns Jodi to her parents. In the car, Jodi babbles about learning that her mom's baby is probably a girl and that she's going to learn how to take care of her: diapers, feedings, the whole nine yards. Jodi also says she's going to protect her. This makes Maxine stop short and ask Jodi carefully what her sister would need protection from. Jodi hedges and says, "I don't know, everything." They get out of the car and take Jodi's bags out of the trunk. Maxine gives Jodi her card and tells her to contact her whenever she needs anything, anything. Jodi takes the card and looks at Maxine. Mrs. Pruitt comes out of the house and Jodi runs to her. Maxine looks troubled.
Judge Amy tells the prosecution and defence that she's struggled with the facts of the case because she has a hard time believing that this was a crime an eight-year-old is physically capable of committing. "Yet in the absence of any other evidence or explanation," she continues, "I have no other choice but to take him at his word. Now, given the violent nature of this offence, particularly the degree of force required for an eight-year-old to commit such an act, I cannot adopt defence counsel's argument that Dylan be found guilty of a lesser charge. Therefore, Dylan Shepherd will be committed to DCF with his initial placement at Longlane until such time that he reaches adulthood." Bang goes the gavel. Defence attorney jumps up and says, "Your Honour!" as cuffs are slapped on Dylan (do they really need to cuff an eight-year-old kid?), and the mother shrieks that they can't take Dylan away. Judge Amy whirls on her, "Well, I'm sorry, Mrs. Shepherd." Mrs. Shepherd goes on to say that she thought the case would be thrown out because of Dylan's age. The defence lawyer leans over and attempts to caution her from talking. Mrs. Shepherd ignores him and says she thought Juvenile Court would be sympathetic to an eight-year-old boy. She admits that it was stupid and desperate what she did but she didn't know what to do because Molly wouldn't stop crying. She tried everything but nothing worked and it was too much. Judge Amy looks at her coldly. Mrs. Shepherd goes on that she never meant to hurt Molly, but she did it, she shook her baby to death. Mr. Shepherd looks horrified, Judge Amy looks sadly satisfied, Bruce just looks sadly at Amy. The cuffs are now slapped on Mrs. Shepherd.
Lisa arrives at Vincent's (gee, stalk much?) and is greeted by Donna. Lisa is taken aback and asks for Vincent. "Who shall I say is calling?" Donna asks, a bit primly. "I'm Lisa," Lisa says. Without moving from the door, Donna shouts out of the side of her mouth, "Vincent, it's Lisa!" Donna explains that she's Vincent's roommate, that they are only roommates and that she's married. Lisa looks even more confused. Vincent comes to the door and says, "Hey, Lisa. What are you doing here?" Lisa says she could ask him the same thing. "I live here," Vincent tells her. See, it's cute, it's like when he asked her what she was doing at her own place of work. Except that it's really not that cute. Vincent and Lisa look pointedly at Donna, who remembers herself and leaves them alone. In fact she goes as far away as earshot. Lisa tries to get out of Vincent why he didn't call. He doesn't really help her out. Lisa stammers over herself that she didn't want to freak him out the other night; she doesn't want a hero, she just wants a friend. Vincent nods. Lisa, flustered, tells him the move is his and leaves. Vincent lets her go. Donna comes up to the door, "Vincent," she hisses, "Carpe diem!" Vincent tries to shush her but Donna calls Lisa back and tells Vincent between gritted teeth to "just talk to her." Vincent goes out in the hall and tells Lisa he doesn't want her to get the wrong idea either, but he's distracted and doesn't know what he wants right now. "You have a commitment problem," Lisa states. "Well, that too," Vincent admits. Lisa nods and smiles. Vincent tells her that he likes her but he doesn't want her to get hurt, "especially after all [she's] been through." Lisa tells him mildly that she thinks she can take care of herself. Vincent suggests they get some mushy food that weekend and see a quiet movie. Well, not my idea of a party but whatever cuts your crew.
Judge Amy leaves work and is stopped by Lawyer Tom. He tells her not to worry, he's not trying to stop her and that he heard what she said and he respects her integrity. I guess this is an oblique way of telling us she decided not to recuse herself from the case. Judge Amy tells him she thinks she might be an idiot. You know Amy, we all... aw, too easy. Lawyer Tom babbles something about their never finding out what could've been. Then he kisses her. A lot. Right, like his tongue in her mouth isn't going to bias her at all. Some music about "why does my heart feel so bad?" starts and it sounds vaguely familiar, like it was on Ally McBeal or something. Al Green? Whatever, back to the plot. Lawyer Tom says goodbye and Amy gets in her car, looking teary.
Maxine is at work, closing up for the night. She turns around and sees she has a visitor. Jodi. Very calm in the face of certain crisis, she recovers from her surprise and asks Jodi to have a seat so they can have a chat. She's very natural, like they're about to chat about the weather. Jodi sits down. Her sweatshirt is zipped up to her neck. Maxine sits down as Jodi unzips her sweatshirt to reveal a blood soaked shirt. It's clearly not her blood. Maxine asks where the blood came from. Without a word, Jodi opens her backpack and takes out a gun and shows it to Maxine. Maxine asks her where she got it. She got it from the Tanners, her foster family. She found it in a box in the closet. Maxine asks how Jodi got there: "Did your parents bring you?" Jodi shakes her head and says, "My Mom went to the store to buy hamburgers for supper. She said I should stay home and rest." Maxine asks, "What about your stepfather? Was Mark at home with you?" Jodi tightens her lips, and tells her that Mark came into her room when she was lying down. "He told me he was glad I was home. He said he missed me," Jodi says, starting to cry. I start to clench and unclench my fists. Jodi continues, "He looked at me in that way. I knew it wouldn't be any different. Not for me and not for my sister." Maxine asks her gently what she did. "I -- I shot him," Jodi tells her and wipes her tears angrily, "I told you I could take care of myself." Maxine lets her tears escape. Man, all I can say is, I hope she aimed for that area right between his legs.
Well, I've had my say, folks. My hat's off to Jessica for having her emotions tugged and pulled like a taffy machine every week. I'm emotionally drained just after watching this show twice. By the way, although I never explicitly said it, I downed a bottle of Hooch every time I typed the word "and." Just didn't want y'all to think this show turned me into an alcoholic or anything.