The show opens in Karen's kitchen. Karen, Jessie, and Leo are talking about Jessie's upcoming birthday party, which is happening at a bowling alley. Karen is being her usual overbearing self, telling Jessie to figure out who's going to bowl with whom, and saying that she "doesn't want the boys hanging out in the arcade," and if anyone even so much as thinks of having a good time, she'll be sure to put a stop to it. Jessie's in favour of a more laidback approach, no doubt because it's embarrassing enough having a bowling party in high school without having a totally co-ordinated bowling party. Karen continues with the rundown, wanting to know what'll happen at 3:30, when everyone's finished bowling. She suggests that's when they should have cake. Jessie protests that no one wants cake, and Leo chimes in that he hopes it's chocolate. "And who says you're invited?" Jessie wants to know. But she says it playfully. Leo pretends to beg her for an invitation and throws her in a headlock to dish out some noogies.
Eli pops in as Karen's just finished putting dinner on the table. He's bitching about some musical mumbo jumbo, problems with his equipment, blah de blah. Like any six-year-old, Leo's instantly intrigued and starts offering suggestions. He follows Eli out as Karen watches with an exasperated sigh. Alone with Jessie, she confesses that she likes planning Jessie's birthdays. Jessie wants to know why. Apparently it's slipped her attention that her mother is a neurotic control freak who would love planning her underwear schedule for the week. Oh wait, Karen did admit to doing that, didn't she? I rest my case. Anyway, as they talk, Karen starts dishing out the meatloaf. She approaches Jessie's plate with a particularly nasty-looking heap of meat and Jessie waves her away. Karen looks crestfallen. She comments that Jessie never wants to eat, and Jessie disagrees. Karen looks really uncomfortable, as if she's searching for a way to broach an unpleasant conversation, and then she just jumps right in. She tells Jessie that she and Rick "made an appointment, for [her] to talk to someone." Jessie wants to know what she means. Karen fidgets with her fingers and wiggles on her seat, trying to readjust herself around The Pole in her ass, and finally says that Jessie needs to talk to someone about her eating. Jessie looks stunned and softly insists that she's not anorexic. Karen assures her, "This is not a punishment." Jessie smiles the smile of the mortified, runs her fingers through her hair and basically looks like she's trying not to scream. Karen tries to remove the stigma, saying that if Jessie had trouble with her "knees or with [her] eyes, [they'd] take her to a doctor." Jessie's fighting back major tears. She pushes herself up from the table and angrily refuses to "see a shrink." Karen's right behind her, trying to soothe her by saying, "Leo says he's really nice," which only sets off Jessie. She's totally pissed that Karen told Leo about it. Karen assures Jessie that it's not going to be "a big deal." "Mom, it's already a big deal!" Jessie snaps, shrugging off Karen's hands and making for her room.
Cut to a very angular, very shadowy city that looks like something out of a comic book. I'm half expecting to see a tiny Spider-Man hanging off one of the walls. The camera flies over the rooftops, meandering around the buildings. David's voice-over wonders, "You ever wonder if the earth's crust is strong enough to hold up all that weight?" "Certainly out-of-town visitors will have no trouble finding it," Miles drones, I guess by way of response. "I think it'll have its own weather system," Rick says. Miles insists that rain is not allowed. I bet he can make the necessary arrangements. As the camera swoops around, we find ourselves -- dear god! There's an enormous monster lurking over the city. Oh, wait, it's just Miles, looking at a model of the Atlantor development. Okay, the model is huge. It spreads across half the conference room, at least. How much time has passed since the last episode? How did they build this tiny city so fast? Miles brings up the opposition they're facing from neighborhood groups and pulls out a few articles to show Rick. He's taken the trouble to mount them on black cardboard. Is anyone surprised? "God forbid people should want to defend their own property, right, Miles?" David snides. "God has generally shown a reluctance to get involved in local politics," Miles counters. David leaves to "work on one of [their] other several now minor projects." Miles lays out his strategy in dealing with the protestors, saying he thinks it's "time for corporate America to show some compassion for those they displace." I wonder if "compassion" was the word of the day on Miles's calendar? You can tell by the way his lips curl around it that he's never uttered the word before, and it tastes a little off. And then it all makes sense: "Preemptive strike," he adds with a smirk. I don't think people are going to like Miles's definition of "compassion" at all. He suggests that they "befuddle the competition with their concern," and his smile becomes positively reptilian. Rick says he has no idea what Miles is talking about. "Oh, but you shall," Miles promises. Cue the tingles running down my spine.
We see Rick slouched in a waiting room chair with Karen and Jessie. The parents are sitting to each other while Jessie sits off on her own, leafing through a magazine. Karen says they "saw [him] in the paper this morning," and Jessie looks up from the magazine to say "yeah." Karen wants to know if "they're really going to build this thing." She rhymes off the boundaries, which of course, mean nothing to my ignorant Canadian ass. I'm assuming it represents a fair chunk of the city. Rick confirms that that's the development, all right. Karen looks less than impressed. In fact, she looks personally offended, as she shakes her head disgustedly and gets out of her chair. Rick snaps that he's got to pay the mortgage somehow. Jessie lifts her head to watch the exchange. Rick wisely changes the subject to the upcoming birthday party and boasts that he's a good bowler. "We know, Dad," Jessie tells him. He asks if Jessie's given any more thought to inviting Grace or Zoe. Jessie hedges. Rick tries to act like it's not a big deal, and Jessie wants to know why he keeps mentioning it, then. This gets Karen's attention, as she and Rick simultaneously turn to look at Jessie. Rick says that it's just that if Jessie does want to invite them, she should give them some notice. Karen actually sides with Rick, saying, "He's not pressuring you, he just doesn't want you to be inadvertently rude." Jessie sulks that only Zoe would want to come, anyway. Rick says he should just invite Zoe, then. Karen quickly quashes that idea.
Some guy in a sweater vest pops his head around the corner. I guess he's the therapist because that's what they always seem to wear. He introduces himself as Daniel Rosenfeld. He's really Edward Zwick, the show's executive producer, and one of the forces behind My So-Called Life. Dr. Rosenfeld asks if it's okay for him and Jessie to talk alone at first, just to get to know each other, and then time they'll all sit down together. The parentals agree, and Jessie looks like she's being led to an appointment with an eighteenth-century dentist's drill.
As soon as her ass hits the chair in Dr. Rosenfeld's office, he's saying, "So, you don't like eating." He twirls his glasses in his hand and stares at her confrontationally. "If you have to look at one more leafy green vegetable or one more piece of meat, you'll kill yourself." Jessie, arms folded, looks at him like he's mental. She denies that she's suicidal over vittles. "So you love eating. This is all a conspiracy," Dr. Wise-Ass says . Jessie raises her eyebrows and gives him another disdainful "no." "So what are you doing here?" he demands. "They made me," Jessie answers, her eyes shifting toward the door.
"They," meanwhile, are camped out in the waiting room. Rick asks about the doctor, and whether he's a friend of Leo's. Karen, thumbing through a magazine, says they just worked together, and Leo said that "he's really good." "Leo is...uh..." Rick says lamely. Karen shuts her magazine firmly and says, "An epidemiologist." There's an edge in her voice, like she already knows where Rick's questions are headed. Rick's drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. "But he knows about therapists," he says. Karen's voice is hard as she informs him, "If you wanted a different therapist, you could have found one." It's a good point. They both stare straight ahead.
Dr. Wiseacre, meanwhile, is commiserating with Jessie about how hard it is to be thirteen. He remembers that his parents forced him to take piano lessons, and he "had no discernible talent whatsoever." He concludes by saying that he thinks "if you make it to your fourteenth birthday, they should just give you a medal." Jessie's eyeing him with her head tipped back, resting on the chair. The doctor snagged her attention with the last comment. "I'm almost there," she says, fighting a little smile. He congratulates her then asks what she "likes to do, to read, to play." She says she likes lots of things, and his approval encourages her to keep divulging. She tells him about her black belt in tae kwon do. "Very cool," he says before asking what her grades are like. She tells him, "A's." "Excuse me," he says, "all A's? Nobody gets all A's. There's not a little B in there somewhere?" Jessie confesses that she got a B in Science last year, but her "mom went and spoke to the teacher and there was this whole big thing so [she] got an A for the rest of the year." "Well, I guess if you got a C you could never show your face again," the good doc muses. "Why would I get a C?" Jessie asks, looking at him like he's grown another head. The doctor mocks her, saying that he's "never met anyone who's gotten a C." Jessie says she's just lucky, she guesses. The doc agrees that she's "very, very lucky" and then switches the subject back to tae kwon do, asking how long it took her to get a black belt. "Four years," she says. He asks how long it takes most kids. She says she doesn't know. "Yeah, you do," he counters. Man, he's good. He suggests, "Like six, seven years? Most never do?" Jessie says she guesses so. The doc goes for the arm cross, which means he's about to challenge her some more. "So you're a very motivated kid," he says. Jessie says not really. "And a very modest kid," he says. Jessie hesitates until he tells her it's okay to say she's modest. Blushing, she admits that she's modest. "And you demand a lot of yourself," the doc notes. "That's sort of my family," Jessie says. A-ha! The doc's ears perk as he eyes her levelly and asks what she means.
We cut to a shot of Rick wandering in the waiting room as Jessie voice-overs, "Everybody is, like, successful, or whatever." The office door opens and Jessie joins Rick and Karen. Dr. Rosenfeld pokes his head into the room and asks if it's okay for all of them to meet time. Karen and Rick quickly agree and dive for their daybooks. Jessie's discussion with the doctor continues as voice-overs. "Well, my dad's an architect, and he's working on this big project downtown that's in the news." "Whoa, and your mom's the President?" Karen peruses her schedule and asks how Friday is. The doc says he was hoping for something sooner. Rick taps his Palm Pilot, and Karen thumbs through her book while Jessie watches them, looking apologetic. "She's a public-interest lawyer," her voice-over tells the doctor. Karen and Rick continue trying to juggle their appointments. "You're right," the doc agrees, "that's a very successful family."
And we're back in time and back in the office again as Dr. Rosenfeld asks whether Jessie has any brothers or sisters. She tells him about Eli. "And he's the President?" Dr. Wise-Ass quips. Jessie smiles and says that Eli is a great athlete. The doctor brings up grades. Jessie fidgets with her hands as she admits that Eli has a learning disability. The doctor pretends to be shocked and disappointed by the news. Jessie jumps to Eli's defense. "Well, it's not like he's not smart," she says. The doctor's frowning a little as he says, "Well, that's not very successful of you brother, is it?" She wants to know what he means. The doc says that Jessie claims her family is "so successful, so how come [her] parents are divorced and [her] brother has a learning disability?" "Well nobody's perfect," she snaps. Her voice is a little choked. The doctor has hit a nerve. "Ah," he says sagely. "Except you." "I'm not perfect," Jessie says. "You're not?" he asks, as if issuing a challenge. "I'm not. I'm a slob. I'm a million things," Jessie confesses, picking at her cuffs. "I'm not popular. I'm just this dork."
The scene changes to the underground parking, where Rick and Karen are walking with Jessie. Things switch back and forth between voice-overs, the session, and the scene in the garage afterward, so just bear with me. In a voice-over from the session, Dr. Rosenfeld voice-overs the question of how Jessie's parents feel about her being a dork. She says she doesn't know. Karen tentatively asks Jessie what she thought of the session. Jessie says she doesn't know. Karen asks what they talked about. "Just stuff," Jessie answers. Back in the office, the doc wants to know why they had Jessie come to see him. "They think I'm anorexic," she says. Her face falls. In the garage, Karen asks if the doctor talked about Jessie's eating. "Sort of," Jessie evades. "And they're upset about that," the doctor asks Jessie. "Oh, yes," Jessie says regally. She has an odd expression, like she thinks the parentoids are overreacting and being ridiculous, but at the same time she's sort of enjoying it. Karen gives Jessie a mini-lecture on how "we owe it to ourselves to try" to fix problems when we can because there are so many things "we can't control." Man, she's annoying. Like Jessie hasn't had enough to deal with -- now she needs a lecture, too? The doc says, "If your mom went to your teacher over a B, I can imagine how upset they'd be if you were anorexic." Jessie gives him an emphatic "yeah." He suggests it'd be "kind of like a C...or a D..." He lets it hang there for a moment before saying that he'd like to see Jessie again. He tells her that he doesn't want to see her to make her parents happy; he only wants to see her if it's what Jessie wants, too. Jessie agrees. "So what grade do I get?" he asks mockingly, throwing his arms up in the air. Jessie chuckles, but we cut away before we get to hear her answer.
Karen's assistant is chasing her down the hall to her office, where she's just arrived. As she shrugs off her coat and plunks down her attaché, he yammers at her about some case. "Long lunch," her associate interrupts. "I wish," Karen answers. He comes into her office to tell her about an "interesting call" they just had from a neighborhood group. Unlike the rest of America, Karen doesn't register what group he's referring to. She guesses incorrectly that it's something about a mall. He tells her it's "more like Disneyland." Nice plug for the parent company, that. Karen's rifling papers on her desk and still not cluing in. He finally makes it clear: it's the Atlantor group's development down by the river. Karen looks up slowly when she hears this. He asks if she wants to take it on: "It's right up your alley." She's conflicted. She's rattled. She blows him off with a "maybe," saying she has to see how it "fits in with everything else [she's] trying to do." Her associate tells her they need to know by Friday. He leaves, and Karen's assistant sidles up, asking, "Isn't that the...what your husband..." Karen confirms it. Her assistant nods knowingly, effeminately clutches his notepads to his chest, and starts rummaging on her desk for something. Karen makes a froggy face as we go to commercial.
We return to find ourselves in the girls' locker room at high school. Jessie's sitting on a bench, looking around uncomfortably and trying to make herself invisible as she unbuttons her shirt. She's dwarfed by the clamor of lockers slamming and girls talking excitedly as they get ready for soccer practice. Grace comes up to her locker, which is very conveniently located behind Jessie, and grabs her cleats. Grace spots her and makes a point of saying hi and asking, "How's the freshman team?" They make a bit of soccer small talk. Jessie gets bold enough to tell Grace about her party on Saturday, letting her know that it's lame and Grace can just come and bowl a few free games if she wants. Grace, brushing her hair, looks like she just farted in church as Jessie gets to the point of inviting her. You can see her silently begging Jessie not to say it...not to say it. Jessie does say it, though, and since there's no avoiding it, Grace says, "I guess. You know, I don't really know what's happening on Saturday, but I could give you a call." She starts walking away and, over her shoulder, adds, "It sounds really cool, though." She sprints for the door like she can't get out of there fast enough. Jessie visibly shrinks two sizes and thanks her.
Cut to Rick clambering out of his truck in what appears to be the same parking garage we were in earlier. His cell phone rings. It's everybody's favorite business droid. Rick is less than thrilled to hear from Miles -- who, by the way, is seated at his desk wearing a headset and crafting a fishing lure. Anal-retentive hobby #2. Remember the first one -- clipping bonsai trees -- from last season? Anyway, he's got this clampy contraption rigged to hold the lure under a light and a magnifying glass, turning the lure while he slowly, deliberately adds one strand of thread at a time. Rick asks if he can call Miles back in an hour. "Certainly," Miles says, but of course he doesn't mean it. He just plunges in, telling Rick that he called to relay a "piece of intelligence that came [his] way." He doesn't mention how many agents he had to torture to get it. He asks if Rick has heard of the law firm Harris, Reigert, Sammler. Rick, who's been walking, stops dead. He looks like he just got kicked in the crotch. Miles informs him that the firm has agreed to "take up the cause" of the neighborhood fighting the development. "You're kidding me," Rick says. "Oh, yes, I love to kid," Miles says flatly, "when millions of dollars are at stake." He knots something on his lure and bares his teeth in a death's-head smile. As he fiddles with the lure, Miles asks whether "the Sammler in question is indeed [Rick's] ex-wife." Miles remarks on how amusing the "strange workings of fate" are and asks, "Might you have a word with her, or would that just make things worse?" Rick tells him he has a meeting and he'll call him back.
Dr. Rosenfeld is showing Karen and Jessie into his office just as Rick comes through the outer door. Rick apologizes for being late. Karen karens that she thought he might not make it. She asks if there's a problem at work. Rick says tersely that he'll talk to her about it later. They head off-camera, and we watch Jessie watch her parents, looking worried.
The doc kicks off the session by asking Rick and Karen to talk a little bit about their lives together. As he sits, he pulls a stuffed animal from under his ass and then settles in. He asks them to "fill out the picture of this clearly difficult and unattractive young person here." Jessie smiles shyly. Rick and Karen stumble over each other, as usual, in their rush to prove that they're good parents. They sing Jessie's praises unabashedly, which clearly embarrasses the kid. The doctor nods and squints as they ramble. When there's a pause, he tells Jessie, "Parent propaganda. Don't believe a word of it." He turns his attention to Rick and Karen, saying, "Okay, We agree that Jessie's perfect." His mocking tone elicits another smile from Jessie, who seems to enjoy seeing the parentoids in the hot seat. The doc asks them to describe some details about their day-to-day lives. He asks if either of them is remarried. He then asks if they're seeing anybody significant. Bueller...Beuller.. Jessie visibly inhales and holds her breath. Finally, Rick slowly says that he has been seeing a woman for just over a year. "Do you live together?" "No, not -- no." Rick says, catching himself. "Thinking about it?" "Not really. I mean, not exactly. I mean, not actively." Rick stammers. Uh-huh. Veddy intereshtink. Jessie watches him with terror in her eyes as he squirms. The doctor wants to know how Jessie feels about "this person who, so far, remains nameless." "Lily," Jessie answers. "She's okay, I guess. She has two daughters." The doctor picks up on that, saying, "Ooh, now that's an adjustment." "I guess they're okay," Jessie says.
Suddenly, it's later, and we're in Lily's foyer. Zoe's dragging Jessie upstairs to get her a CD while Lily nags that Zoe's got homework to do and so does Jessie. She and Rick discuss the session. Rick says it was "fine, if you don't mind dredging up everything you've done wrong in the past fourteen years." "Oh, it would take a very long session for me," Lily deadpans and then laughs at her joke. Honey, don't even get me started. The Queen of Denial tells Rick that she thinks it's "brave and wonderful" that he's "confronting this head-on." She goes on, saying that she doesn't know, "even if it were [her] own daughter, if [she'd] have the courage to sit there with Jake --" We don't hear the rest of it, since the camera shifts to Grace, who's just stepped into the doorway. If only it had panned away thirty seconds sooner, I wouldn't have had to confront my hostility toward Lily this week. God, she's on-screen for less than two minutes, and I'm in danger of bursting something from rolling my eyes so hard. Way to admit you're too selfish to sit through therapy for your own kid's well-being. Anyway, Rick says hi to Grace, and Lily turns around, looking like Grace just walked in on them naked or something. To ease the awkward silence, Rick asks about Grace's homework. Jessie starts to come down the stairs, and she actually looks really happy. She says goodbye to Grace with a smile, and Grace answers her solemnly.
After they leave, Grace leans on the banister and conspiratorially asks whether Jessie's in therapy. "Oh, Grace honey. Please, you didn't hear that," Lily says, putting her hands on her hips. Grace asks if Jessie is anorexic. "Grace!" Lily pouts. Grace doesn't see what the big deal is, since "half the girls in [her] school are." "Honey, stop it," Lily says, as if Grace is poking some little fuzzy thing with a sharp stick. Whether Lily knows it or not, she is her mother. Grace stands up and says, "Okay. We won't talk about it." She makes a boogie man sound to mock Lily's horror, and throws her mother a disgusted look as she heads upstairs.
"The oldest one does not like me," Jessie says, resuming the session in Dr. Rosenfeld's office. Rick tells her to stop saying that, and Jessie clams up and looks sad. "Oh, I get it," the doc says. "I have a stepbrother. I get it." He turns his attention to Karen and asks if she's seeing anyone. She's thrown. She still seems to have trouble admitting she's with the young doctor. Jessie looks amused and says, "Mom, Leo's your boyfriend." Rosenfeld wants to know if it's weird for Jessie to see her parents with other people. Jessie sucks it up and says with a shrug, "Sometimes, but I'm...I'm sort of used to it."
We see a clip of Jessie, Leo, and Karen in Karen's kitchen. Jessie and Leo are juggling hot casseroles and trying not to crash into one another or Karen as they make for the table with a whole lot of hoopla. Jessie looks towards Leo's pot and disgustedly asks what smells. "You can't have any anyway, so that's okay," he says. I'm not sure if he's just bantering, or if it's a crack about Jessie's eating habits. I really hope it's not the latter. Karen complains (is that redundant?) that Leo put a whole stick of butter into whatever he cooked, and he tells her, "If you wanna be the chef, feel free." She moans that she'll be seeing it on her thighs the morning. "That'll be the day," Leo says, taking the words right out of my mouth. ["Plus, nice responsible conversation to have in front of the child you suspect to have an eating disorder. Eat some butter, Karen. It won't kill you." -- Wing Chun] He grabs at her lecherously, saying, "Here, let me see those thighs." Karen gives him a "hey" and a killer mom look that would shrivel the mightiest of oaks, let alone hard-ons. She moves to the table, changing the subject to "an obvious conflict of interest." Leo tells her not to worry about what other people think; if she thinks "it's" wrong, she has to fight it. "Well, of course I think it's wrong," she grumbles, spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate. Jessie figures out that they're talking about Rick's development, and she asks if Karen is mad at Rick. "No, not him. Just at the project," Karen answers. "But he's on the project," Jessie says, looking confused. Leo glances at Karen, and Karen tries to scoop potatoes onto Jessie's plate. Fat chance, lady. Jessie scrunches up her face and pushes the starchies away, telling Karen that she hates potatoes. "Well, are you gonna eat salad?" Karen demands. Jessie looks at her. "Sweetie," Karen says, trying to coax the kid to eat. Jessie rolls her eyes and grudgingly agrees to have some salad. Karen glances at Jessie, Leo, and her plate, looking slightly ashamed. She's still scooping potatoes, by the way. For someone who's so worried about her thighs, she's not too shy with the spuds.
Back in Dr. Rosenfeld's office, the conversation turns to custody arrangements. Karen explains that "they're with [her] most of the week" and then with Rick on the weekends. "With a lot of exceptions," Rick adds. "We're very flexible," Karen translates. "So it varies," Dr. Rosenfeld asks, looking serious. Karen tells him what she thinks he wants to hear, saying they try to make it as predictable as possible, because "children need stability." Good girl! One gold star for you. Doc R. turns his attention to Jessie, saying it may be "a loaded question, but is there one house [she] prefers over the other?" Jessie carefully says no. He asks the parentoids if they've ever sensed resistance in Jessie, and Rick says no. Karen points out that, in the beginning, Jessie was a little scared to stay at Rick's place. Rick quickly points out that Jessie got over it fast. "We all helped her get through that," Karen races to add, lest Rick mistakenly think he accomplished something with the children all by himself. Rick says that these days, things come down to "life issues," like who's going to "handle carpool, soccer practice, that kind of thing." The doc is very sympathetic about their busy schedules, but he knows there's more than that going on: "If there are issues between you, it's not helping if you don't get into them." Karen and Rick are stunned speechless for a moment. Rick starts to stammer about how busy Karen has been lately, and how he's had to fill in quite a bit. "Yeah, but that's happened literally twice," Karen says. Jessie watches them with a pained expression. Karen says that Rick has been very busy as well, and he overlaps her, saying it hasn't had an effect on the kids. "You're an architect," the doctor says. "Yeah, and Karen's a...a wonderful public-interest lawyer," Rick says. Jessie looks upset and watches them closely. Karen says they're both busy, but "this project has absolutely had an effect on the children." Rick demands to know "in what way." "How many times has Jessie called me for help on her homework when she's over at your house?" Karen asks. "Mom," Jessie pleads, not wanting to be responsible for the fight that's sure to come. Karen says that their son has problems at school. "He has a learning disability," the doctor says matter-of-factly. Rick and Karen stare at him like he's otherworldly. "She's a very good reporter," Dr. Rosenfeld says, glancing at Jessie. She glances back with the smile of a co-conspirator. Karen takes a second to clamber up on her high horse, and then says that it's been a problem for Eli to get his work done at Rick's house. She acts like it pains her to say it, but it so doesn't. She loves being a tattletale, and she's dying for the doctor to validate her position. Rick points out that it's Eli's senior year, and he's not getting a whole lot done at Karen's place, either. The doctor watches them closely, his eyes looking slightly amused. He interrupts their bickering to suggest that maybe time they could come in alone, without Jessie. Rick makes his "O" face (think "Oh no! It's Mr. Bill!") while Karen just sits there stumped. They dazedly agree.
Cut to the three of them in the parking garage. Jessie hops into Karen's minivan, but before Karen can climb in, Rick asks if he can talk to her. Jessie watches them in the passenger-side mirror. Rick asks if she's been hired to fight the Atlantor development. Karen's eyes slide around guiltily. "My...my firm's been hired," she reluctantly admits. "And you're not involved," Rick demands. She glances around and stammers some more before admitting that she hasn't decided yet. "Oh, I --" Rick starts to shout. His arms wave angrily, as we can see in the passenger-side mirror. Jessie looks miserable. "At the very least, it's a conflict of interest," Rick continues, his voice subdued now. Karen tells him that's for a judge to decide. "I think it's up to me to decide," Rick says. I think he's been spending too much time with Miles. Karen is insulted, telling him that she didn't seek out the case, and that it isn't personal. He disagrees. "What am I supposed to do?" she demands,. "Sacrifice eighteen years of legal practice just to spare your feelings?" Rick turns his back to her and folds his arms, declaring that he can't talk to her about it right now. Rick says, "Our daughter has a problem. Our son has a problem --" but Karen interrupts to warn him not to bring the kids into it. Jessie can see their body language becoming increasingly tense and animated. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't put their interests first?" Karen demands. Jessie turns in her seat to look at them through the rear window. "If you go to war with me in a courtroom, you don't think that's going to have some sort of effect on them?" Rick counters. Karen looks at him for a moment, weighing what he said, then says she hasn't decided things yet. She's trying to keep things in check and tells him that she can't talk to him about it right now. Jessie looks like a kicked puppy.
We return from commercials to find Rick face down, hugging his pillow, with his hair all scrumpy. Lily comes in and leans over him, trying to wake him up by saying his name repeatedly. How is it that no one has killed her yet? She's the most irritating morning person ever. Oh, but we get to see her with her shirt open and her black bra hanging out, so I guess that's supposed to make it tolerable. "Oh, my bed is warm, my pillow's deep; today's the day I'm going to sleep," Rick mutters groggily. Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new mantra. Lily tells him he has to get up -- "up, up!" -- and again, I wonder how it is that she's still breathing. She heads for the bathroom, asking what Rick is avoiding. "I have to go to therapy with my wife," he sighs. Hello! Lily pops back in from the bathroom. "Your what?" "My ex-wife." "You said 'wife.'" "I said ex-wife," Rick insists. "No, you said 'wife,'" Sela and her angry abs insist. She crawls onto the bed and leans over him, taunting, "You made a sli-ip!" But her voice doesn't sound too amused. "I want you to discuss this with your therapist," she orders. Shut up, Bossy McShirtless. He's in therapy to help his kid, not placate you. "Just not in front of Jessie," she adds and goes into the bathroom. Rick groans that they're going alone. She pops back out from the bathroom. "You're going alone with your ex-wife to see a therapist?" she demands. Rick tells her that Karen may be representing the opposition to Atlantor. Lily can't believe it. "And you have to go with her to therapy?" She swings around disgustedly, with enough force to send her wet hair flying, and sweeps back into the bathroom.
And, speaking of therapy, we cut to Rick and Karen alone with Dr. Rosenfeld. He solemnly informs them that he realizes "[they] couldn't agree enough to stay married, so [he doesn't] expect [them] to agree on everything [there], but [he] needs to know what [their] disagreements are, and how vehement they are." Rick brings up the legal battle. Karen clenches and cuts him off because she doesn't think it's the appropriate place to discuss it. She blindly tells the doctor that the "political situation" has "nothing to do with Jessie." Aside from the fact that Jessie gets to see her parents argue frantically, that is. They bicker and snipe while Dr. R. sits there, Buddha-like, watching them. Only his eyes move, following the volley of their argument. He finally interrupts to ask if they can give him some hint as to what they're talking about. Reluctantly, Karen fills him in on the particulars of the situation.
Cut to Karen walking along a sidewalk and taking notes while some guy points out the history and significance of every building they pass. They reach an alley and notice a bit of a commotion. It's Miles, surrounded by a camera crew (and Rick). Miles is making a pitch to the camera. Karen recognizes the players and excuses herself to confront them. Rick sees her coming and moves to head her off. "What's this?" Karen asks. "Electronic press kit," Rick says. Karen tells him that she's there "fact finding." Miles notices them talking and breaks for a minute to join them. "Why do I think I know who this is?" he asks. Rick makes the proper introductions. Miles says it's a pleasure to meet her and, "believe it or not, [he's] heard the nicest things about [her]." Karen doesn't look entirely convinced. Miles expresses his wish to meet again under "more peaceful" circumstances, and Karen says she hopes he's right before excusing herself. Turning away, Miles observes, "She seems somewhat formidable," which for whatever reason, makes me want to see Karen kick his ass up and down. Rick informs him that he has "no idea."
Back in the therapy session, Dr. R asks if they can tell him how many struggles they get into. Karen's quick to answer that "it's not like [they] argue all the time." The wise doctor points out that "argue isn't the same as struggle."Arms folded, he watches them levelly and asks what their disagreements are. Rick admits that they're "not necessarily in agreement on how to handle this whole eating thing." Rick says he knows it can be serious, but he doesn't think it's helpful to Jessie to make a big deal out of it. Implying, of course, that Karen is making a big deal out of it. She gets what he's saying, and doesn't like it. She sets her deflector shields on maximum and says he doesn't know how she handles things -- is he at her house all the time? Rick says he knows because of what Jessie says. Karen pooh-poohs that, saying, "Jessie thinks I make a big deal by saying good morning." The doc intercedes before they can degenerate into yet another round of verbal boxing, asking Karen to describe her thoughts about food and eating. She admits to wondering whether she caused Jessie's problem, or if she's making it worse. She tells him that she tries to keep a healthy perspective on foods by not letting too much junk food in the house. "Well, forgive me for noticing, but you do seem to be in remarkably good shape," the doc notes. Rick perks up noticeably at this comment. The doctor asks if Karen works out a lot. Karen admits that she's "kind of compulsive" about running. He asks if she's ever had an eating disorder. Karen's expression makes it clear that she's insulted and she resents the question. "Why would you ask that?" she snaps. He suggests that she does "think a lot about what" she eats. "Every woman worries about what she eats," Karen says defensively. Well, now, I don't know about that. I worry about running out of Ben & Jerry's, if that counts.
We see Karen with Jessie in the bowling alley, popping a Cheeto or something into her mouth. Jessie's hitting the junk food, and Karen warns her not to eat too much of it because they're getting pizza. Jessie pops more crap in her mouth and smilingly says she hates the bowling alley pizza. Karen wants to know what she's going to eat. Jessie says it's okay. Karen snatches the munchies bowl away from Jessie and holds it out of her reach. She tells her that she can't just eat junk food all night. Jupiter Christmas, at least the kid's putting something in her stomach. And it's not like she eats bowls of crap every day. Oh, and it is her birthday! "Honey, it's wonderful to have a party, but you've also got to take care of yourself," Karen lectures. Man, she's a blast. Grab Karen and a box of Ritz -- you've got yourself an instant partay. Don Leo starts mugging for Jessie, doing his best Godfather and saying he'll "make [her] a pizza [she] can't refuse." He play-wrestles with her and everything's cool until Jessie spots Rick walking into the alley. She immediately tells Leo to stop and, when he doesn't, she gets sharp with him. Jessie runs to greet Rick, and Leo turns to Karen with a tiny wounded look. Karen watches Jessie and Rick very closely.
"Karen, this isn't about establishing blame," we hear Dr. R. saying. We're back in his office. Karen's being hyper-defensive and wants to know what it's about, then. He reminds her that it's about helping Jessie. He says he needs to figure out if Jessie can talk to them, and to do that, he needs to know "the unwritten rules of [their] family." They both clam up. The doc tries to get things started by asking about their "involvements with other people. How does Jessie feel about that?" Karen looks guilty.
We cut to the bowling alley, where Jessie's seated to Karen. They look like they're having a good time. We pan over to see Rick helping Zoe bowl. She gets a strike (or something good), and Rick lifts her triumphantly into the air. Karen turns after rolling one to find Leo filming her. She laughs into the camera. Grace is sitting down, watching the hilarity, and actually smiling. We cut back to Jessie, who's munching sadly on her pinky nail.
Cut to a videotaped clip of Jessie blowing out the candles on her cake while everyone sings. A little later, we find Jessie watching as Grace bowls one. Grace sits behind Jessie and leans over the seat. She wishes Jessie a happy birthday and commiserates with her over how annoying and embarrassing parents can be when it comes to parties. Grace confesses that she's "actually starting to like birthday parties again, now that none of [her] friends have them." She says she wants pony rides at her birthday. Which provides a segue into, "You know, I have this weird feeling that growing up is overrated." Jessie says that, at least when she's grown up, she can decide things for herself. Grace observes, "It's like your parents want you to be grown up in the really boring ways, like school, and in the cool ways, like being on your own, they try and keep you a kid." Jessie says, "That's totally my mom," and wins the prize for understatement of the year. "I guess all that's hard to figure out," Grace says. Jessie asks what she means. "Nothing. It's just hard for anybody to talk about that stuff," Grace says. "It would be hard for me." "To talk about?" Jessie asks, uncertainly. You can almost feel her stomach sinking. Stop there, Grace. Seriously, swallow a bowling ball if you have to, but do not go any farther. Oh, Christ. "To talk about with somebody," Grace says. Jessie's face falls. She looks at Grace suspiciously for a few seconds, then stands up and says it's her turn to bowl. Grace watches her leave, closes her eyes slowly and looks like she wishes she'd taken my advice and swallowed that bowling ball.
Karen's telling Dr. R. that Jessie's always been very sensitive and very aware of the interactions between people. He asks if that's a good thing. "Well, yeah, as long as it doesn't get taken too far," she says. "Who gets to decide?" he asks.
We're back at the party, where Lily's just arrived to pick up the girls. She thanks Karen for having them, and Karen says they had a great time having them. Blah blah blah forcedpolitenesscakes. They all wish Jessie a happy birthday before leaving, while Jessie tries to hold her face together. It's falling by the nanosecond. As soon as the Mannings are out of earshot, Jessie turns on Rick, demanding to know whom else he told. "What?" he asks. "Do you have to tell the whole world I'm crazy?" she asks, tears welling. Rick wants to know what she's talking about. "You know what I'm talking about!" Jessie snarls through clenched teeth. "How did Grace know I'm seeing a shrink?" Rick admits that he told Lily, but he didn't expect her to tell Grace. "Rick!" Karen snipes. Jessie starts walking away, and Rick follows, trying to convince her it's not such a bad thing for people to know. Karen joins in, telling Jessie she's got nothing to be ashamed of, and that Grace isn't going to do anything to hurt her. "Sure, she's probably already told the whole school," Jessie cries and then storms away. Karen turns and eyeballs Rick.
"Okay, I think I see what you're trying to do here, and I appreciate it," we hear Karen saying, and once again, we're back with Dr. R. Karen cuts right to the point: she wants to know how she can tell if Jessie is sick, and what she can do to help. The doc points out that "anorexia's not like the measles." Karen asks if he thinks that the problems between her and Rick caused it. The doctor says they may be part of it: "I know this isn't easy. But something happened when you walked in here and sat down today. And I know you tried to make it okay, and I don't think it is okay." She doesn't know what he's getting at. He says that Rick knows. Karen the brown-noser doesn't like that one bit. The doctor mentions the project, and Karen says that she was hired to represent the opposition to Rick's development. Rick says that that isn't it. "You're afraid of how it's going to look," Karen says. Rick says he's concerned about the impact it'll have on the kids. "Then drop out of the project," Karen says stonily. Yeah, because that's fair. She wants to know why she should change what she's doing just to spare Rick embarrassment. Rick's incredulous, wanting to know how she can think he'd drop out of a project he's been working on for eight months. "You shouldn't be doing it to begin with," Karen mutters bitterly. "What?" he snaps. She looks at him like "you know...oh, you know" and gives a little head toss. He tells her that it's none of her business. She snaps that it is her business when it affects her children. Except...the only reason it's affecting them is because you're taking on the case. Right? Rick snaps that he will drop out of the project, and he'll go back to art school. Karen mutters that he'd be happier. Rick's all over that, sniping that he just won't worry about who pays for camp or tae kwon do or birthday parties or the mortgage on the house that Karen lives in. Whooee. That gets Karen's skirt in a knot. But she doesn't get a chance to snarl, because Rick's still on a roll, asking her how she thinks she can afford to lead such a noble life. He tells her that it's because he's out there making money that she's able to do what she wants, so she shouldn't "freakin' tell [him] how to live [his] life!" Someone pointed out in the forums that it doesn't look like Rick said "freakin'" and, you know, I think they're right. Hee. Karen, for once, has nothing to say. She just sits there, her mouth agape, wondering where the hell the backbone came from. Uncomfortable silence descends for a second until Rick wearily rubs his face and apologizes. The doctor, who's been watching them with a bemused expression, says, "Know what, guys? You may not want to hear this, and you may have a piece of paper claiming the opposite, but from where I sit, you're still married." Can you say "dumbfounded"? "Who gets angry like that?" the doc continues, and I really hope he's not looking for an answer from these two stupefied individuals. He's not, apparently, because he answers himself: "Married people." He continues, "People who've gone on and created new lives just don't have that kind of investment. What I see is a family that's holding onto the past because the present is just so upsetting. When a girl her age doesn't eat, it means she's trying to stop the clock in her own body -- literally trying to stay a little girl. We need to help her make that leap, but if you're so busy hanging onto the past, you're not helping her." Karen points out that they're her parents -- they have to have some kind of relationship. The doctor suggests they develop a "new kind."
We return from commercials to find Karen on her couch and Leo hanging all over it, trying to get her to smile. He suggests that she "clean up a room. That always makes [her] happy." Hah! Well, now she's welcome Chez Niki anytime. Karen rolls her eyes and tells him to stop trying to cheer her up. Leo tells her that they caught Jessie's problem early, which is good for her recovery, and then he kisses Karen's ass by telling her that it's good that she's really sensitive to it. Karen makes a froggy face and whines that she "can't do this case." Leo nuzzles her neck and tells her she's being ridiculous. He tries to burrow his head under the blanket on her lap and she gets really short with him. Dude, take the hint, already. Karen complains that taking the case will "keep [her] in a relationship with Rick," and we all know how much she'd hate that. Leo keeps wriggling under the blanket, and Karen almost shoves him off the couch. Leo says she could help thousands of people. Karen whines that she's talking about helping her daughter and she just doesn't think he understands that. Leo figures out that Karen thinks he's just a kid, and the two sit on the couch looking sad.
Cut to the interior of a fridge. Luckily, someone opens the door immediately, before it gets tedious. It's Rick, looking for some midnight -- no doubt post-coital -- snack. Lily appears over his shoulder to continue perpetuating the myth that she eats. Sure she does: yogurt and a grape. As they pillage the fridge, they talk about Doctor R.'s assertion, and Rick admits that he's right. He's still involved with Karen. "Well, duh," Lily replies. She asks if he thinks that she's "the only one who has an unhealthy attachment to [her] ex-spouse." Rick asks if that doesn't make her mad at him. "Do I have any choice?" she asks popping a grape. I'm shocked. Not just because she's eating with a little gusto, but also because, for the first time in a really long time, she's being mature and unselfish. The fridge door closes, and that's all we get.
Cut to Dr. Rosenfeld's office. "Okay, so everybody knows," he says to a tearful, teeth-gritting Jessie. He asks how bad it is, really. Jessie stops chewing her pinkie to inform him that it's "really bad." He concedes that it is, "particularly if you're fourteen." He starts goading her, saying she probably "can't stand the prospect of going back to school and facing all those people lined up to laugh" at her. "That's not funny!" she snaps. Jessie says it's hard enough facing all those people as it is.
We see Jessie in the locker room again, where she's putting her shoes on after soccer practice. She's the only one there until Grace comes in, sweaty and grimy from her own practice. She plunks down to Jessie and says, "So, I'm really sorry about the other day." She admits that she heard Rick talking to Lily -- they didn't know she was there. Jessie softly says, "It doesn't matter," and moves to gather her stuff. Grace takes a deep breath and says, "You know what? It's just that, if I were you, I'd be embarrassed, too, if people knew I was seeing somebody. But there are a lot of times that I think maybe that wouldn't be so terrible...What I'm trying to say is, sometimes I wish I could see somebody, too." Jessie's eyes widen and a faint smile appears. "Really?" she asks. Grace gives her a big smile and says that "that's all [she] really wanted to say the other day." You can see by Jessie's expression that Grace's words have gone a long way toward making her feel better.
Back in the office, the doc suggests that Jessie's parents "must be walking around like [she's] one big egg shell." Jessie tells him he has no idea. He asks what their worst thought must be about her. "That I'm a complete loser," she says around her pinkie, which she's chewing furiously.
Cut to Jessie in her bedroom, where she's working on homework. Karen comes in wearing her running gear. She hassles Jessie over writing thank-you notes for her birthday presents. Jessie tells her that she'll do them. Karen says she just doesn't want Jessie to forget. Jessie snaps that she'll do them. Karen laughs and sits down, saying she knows that Jessie will. "Then why do you keep bugging me about it?" Jessie shouts, staring at the bloody stump where her mother's head used to be. Karen, of course, shifts into lecture mode. She's the antithesis of a motivational speaker. She tells Jessie that she's "not going to treat [her] like there's something wrong with [her]. If [Jessie] has responsibilities, she expects [her] to meet them." Jeez, just go for a run already and leave the kid alone. Maybe a nice jog will loosen The Pole a little. Jessie flips. She tells Karen that she doesn't want her to treat her differently, but Jessie doesn't understand why Karen always has to make her feel bad. Karen insists that she's "not making [her] feel bad" because she's an expert, you know, on what's going on in Jessie's head. Jessie says that by always nagging her, Karen's just letting her know that she doesn't trust her to do the right thing on her own. Finally, when Jessie's finished, she sighs and asks Karen just to leave her alone. Karen jumps up and whines, "Jess!" But Jessie won't look at her. Karen finally figures out that she's not wanted and leaves, but not before making a little guilt-trippy remark. Shut up and get out already!
The doctor's still working with Jessie. His confrontational approach isn't working so well, though, because Jessie's not in the mood for jokes. He says, "Okay, you're parents are very disappointed in you. What does that look like?"
We see Jessie at Karen's place, heading toward the front door where Rick and Karen are talking intensely. They stop when Jessie approaches. Karen oh-so-subtly glances at Rick and asks Jessie to give them a moment. Jessie says she'll be in the car. Karen says it's time for them to move past the anger (uh-huh...) and then says that she'd "be taking this case if [she] didn't know [him]." (Yeah...) Rick starts getting antsy because he knows what's coming. Karen starts talking more quickly, saying her decision is not about him or her -- it's about Jessie. (Ri-ight...) Rick starts to go off, but Karen stops him by saying the therapist was right: "In some part of [her] being, [she] still cares what [Rick] thinks. [She] cares much too much." She says that it has to stop, "for [her] and for Jessie." She feels like she needs to set a strong example for Jessie on how to be her own woman. She says she's "going to do this thing because it's right," and then apologizes.
And we get our first Soliloquy Session of the evening. Rick hops up on the stool to say that "she's still so beautiful to me." He admits that when he walks into "that house" sometimes, he's still "like 'Oh yeah, that's my wife.'" Oh, I don't think Lily's going to like that one bit.
Back in the hallway, Rick looks thoughtfully at Karen and softly says, "Okay." They're both getting weepy as Karen asks if he understands why she's doing it. "How could I not?" he asks. She thanks him, and for a split-second, it looks like they might kiss or touch in some way. Karen looks like she has to consciously restrain herself from it. Rick leaves and stands on the porch for a second, looking heavy.
On the Stool, he confirms that he's glad to be out and that he got on with his life. But then he wonders, "How is it possible I never realized I'd lose her?"
Karen closes the door behind him, turns out the light, and moves to the stairs. She hops on the Stool to reminisce about how Rick's big strong arms made her feel when they were first together. She couldn't admit how safe and protected she felt. She recounts what an impact he's had on her life, as we see her sink on the stairs and rest her head against the wall. On the Stool, she says, "When he held me in those arms, I never felt like that before. And I haven't since." On the stairs, Karen starts sobbing.
Jessie's still with Dr. R., crying and saying she wishes she didn't cause her parents so much trouble. He says they'll just have to deal with it, and she wonders why he's "so mean." He says it's important "not to take these things so seriously." "But what if it is serious?" Jessie asks. And then we finally get a breakthrough. She's talking about her eating disorder. She wants to know why she doesn't want to eat, why she's disgusted by it. He patiently says that they just need to take some time to figure it out. She worries that they can't. He assures her they "have a pretty good chance." He tells her that there's nothing about her that makes her worse or worth less than any other fourteen-year-old girl, and that "figuring out the world is really hard work." He suggests that she give herself 'til she's fifteen, at least, because "kids are still pretty stupid when they're fourteen." This gets a smile. He adds that people are still stupid when they're forty: "Look at your parents." This gets a laugh. He tells her that she's "just going to have to learn to tolerate stupid people." He asks her to try eating "just a little." She says she doesn't know if she can. "Just a little," he repeats. "That's all we ever ask."
Anyone know where I can get Dr. Rosenfeld's number?