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Danny goes home to Billerica to be with his family and to attend his mother's funeral and burial. Nehemiah starts to regret the fact that he's not that close to his mother -- an addict who's currently in rehab. He worries that their past will lead to resentment. Melinda misses Danny and worries that he won't come back. Lacey's boyfriend Ryan, who uses a wheelchair, comes to visit and everyone loves him. And then Ryan goes home, and Danny is still in Billerica, and Nehemiah misses his mom, and everyone is sad. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
First of all, thanks to everyone who emailed or posted condolences to me last week. At least I didn't have to go through my loss on national television. And also, I'm sorry I screwed up and said that Neil was on the Boston season, when clearly he was in New York. Ha! Kidding. It was London. And finally, no Most Awesome Thing this week, because again, it doesn't really fit in with the subject matter of the episode.
Danny arrives in Boston, and his father and sisters meet him at the airport. Everyone is sobbing and hugging. It's just the kind of sobbing where your whole body shakes. Danny voice-overs that it's hard to prepare for something that you don't want to deal with; boy, do I remember that feeling. I anticipated being sad, and depressed, but no one told me about the dread, and the feeling that you know you have to do something, and you don't want to, but you can't exactly call in sick or make up an excuse to get out of planning a funeral. Danny voice-overs that he was close to his mother, but that he feels like he has to hold everything together and be there for his sisters.
Back in Texas, Nehemiah and Wes talk about parents. Wes says he's close with his parents unless he gets in trouble. Then he feels like an asshole when Nehemiah reveals that he never knew his father, and that his mother is in drug rehab. He never had a mother-son relationship with her. Wes tries to save it by saying that it's made Nehemiah a strong person. Wes adds that he tried to remember the last thing he said to his mother, which also made him realize how fleeting life is. Nehemiah can't really get in touch with his mother; he tried to call her, but she can only use the phone for ten minutes a week. Nehemiah interviews that he just wants to call his mother and say that he loves her. Nehemiah waxes philosophical about telling family you love them.
Danny rides home in the car with his family. He mentions a photo of him and his mother that he wants, and his sister says that she got it. Danny puts his arm around his sister and they both cry. Danny voice-overs that he feels guilty for being away from home when his mother died, and he wishes that he had been with her. He tells his family that he should have called his mother on Valentine's Day. His sister, clearly the pragmatist in the family, says that their mother died early in the day. Danny doesn't want to let rational thought get in the way of his grief, as you do, so he says that he was too busy getting drunk the night before, and that he feels like a disappointment. He holds onto the cross around his neck and cries.
Melinda goes out to eat with her roommates and says that she misses Danny. Lacey is sympathetic. Melinda says that she thought she would be okay, but that she's not. Lacey interviews, "Melinda is so used to catering to what Danny needs, it's like she almost feels inadequate in that way because she can't be there for Danny." Is it me, or was that kind of snarky? Like making fun of Melinda for being a doormat or something? Maybe Lacey didn't mean "catering to" so much as "nursing back from a broken eyeball." Someone asks when Danny will be back, and Melinda says that he might not come back. Rachel thinks that once Danny takes care of his business at home, he'll realize how much he misses the house. Melinda interviews that she has her own selfish reasons for wanting Danny to return, but that she also understands that he needs to take care of his family.
Danny, meanwhile, is sorting through photos of his mother. God, it's incredibly sad to watch. Danny puts his head down and sobs. He voice-overs that a lot of people take family, and kissing or hugging their mom, for granted, and that he would love to be able to go back and do things differently. Danny sees a car drive up, and he walks outside and finds his friends there. They surround Danny in a hug as he says that it's not fair, and that he should have been there, and that he's never going to forgive himself. His one friend just silently hugs him and doesn't try to assure Danny that everything's going to be okay. Instead, he just says that none of them know how they'll get through it, but that they'll all get through it together. He's a good friend. Danny's other friends reach out and rub Danny's back and shoulders as he cries.
Lacey talks to her boyfriend Ryan on the phone. He's coming to visit shortly, and they're both excited. Nehemiah asks Lacey about Ryan. Lacey says that he gets his hair cut in her salon, and he's been paralyzed since he was seventeen. Lacey interviews that Ryan uses a wheelchair because he was in a car accident in high school, and that it broke his back. Nehemiah asks why Lacey thinks Ryan is the one when they've only dated for three months. Lacey says she just knows. Lacey interviews that her friends think she's crazy because if she married Ryan, and she's a virgin, she could end up never having sex. Well, assuming Ryan's junk doesn't work, I guess they can't have intercourse. But there are a lot of other things that they could do, sexually. Shut up, Lacey's friends. Lacey tells Nehemiah that she and Ryan make each other better, and that she doesn't see any reason why that should end.
Cut to Danny getting dressed in a suit for the funeral. The whole family goes through the usual morning routine. Even the dog looks sad. They walk out and get in a car and drive away.
Rachel asks Melinda if she's heard from Danny. Melinda hasn't, and Rachel remembers that the funeral is today. Rachel thinks it might give Danny some closure. It kind of bugs me how Rachel seems way more interested in Danny and Melinda's relationship continuing than in Danny's dealing with his grief. Melinda thinks the four days will be the toughest for Danny. Melinda interviews that Danny is constantly in the back of her mind, and that she worries about him.
Danny's family arrives at the cemetery for the burial. Danny is surrounded by family. Danny does an interview in which he says that his only comfort is knowing that his mother isn't in pain anymore. I know I said this last week, but I just can't believe that something this real, and painful, and raw is being shown on such a trifling show. And you can argue that the show didn't used to be trifling, and I'd probably agree, but the last four or five seasons have been pretty trifling. I don't know what the contract said, but I have to assume that unless Danny agreed to leave the show for good, he was required to let the cameras film everything. I just think that people would get that Danny had regrets and was grief-stricken without seeing him WALK THROUGH THE CEMETERY. I'm surprised they didn't park a camera on the altar for the services. Shut up, Real World. You're kind of grossing me out lately.
The other roommates are all out on the town. Johanna interviews that Ryan seems nice and is easy to get along with. Ryan takes his chair out on the dance floor and gets down. Lacey interviews that Ryan wishes he could surf, but that he doesn’t live his life thinking about what he can't do. Lacey sits on Ryan's lap and announces, "Lapdance." The other roommates come over and start pretending to grind on Ryan. Melinda interviews that Lacey and Ryan's relationship seems deep, considering that they've only known each other for four months, and that it's nice that Lacey has a guy that cares about her. Melinda refrains from adding, "Unlike me! Danny doesn't care about me! He's so busy being with his stupid family that he hasn't called!"
Back in Boston, things are still sucky. Danny logs onto the computer and reads Melinda's email. Danny interviews that he misses Melinda and thinks about her, but that he needs to be with his family right now. He adds that he knows his mom would have liked him to have the experience of being on the show and living in Austin, but that he's having conflicting emotions and doesn't know what's best right now.
Danny calls Melinda, and she sprints to the phone. They talk about how they miss each other. Danny says his day was pretty rough and asks how Melinda is doing. She says she's not okay, because she misses him and wants to be there for him. This puts Danny in the position of comforting her, which seems wrong somehow. Melinda thinks this is a good time to bring up the fact that she doesn't think he's going to come back. Really? Is the day of his mother's funeral the best time for this conversation? Danny says he doesn't want to abandon his family again. I maintain that when you experience the death of someone that you were close to, especially when it's unexpected, the world should just give you a month. Just a month to wander around, stunned, eating ice cream straight out of the carton, drinking beer at noon, staying up late at night and watching reruns of Match Game on GSN, hugging your family members every five minutes, not showering, and crying. And someone else comes in and pays your bills for you, and takes care of your job, and cooks you meals, and does your grocery shopping, and walks your dog, and cleans your house. And then after a month, you pull your shit together and take care of your business again. Unfortunately, our society doesn't work that way, but damn, I wish it did. Because Danny needs that month. And so do a lot of people. So did I.
Anyway, Melinda tries to convince Danny that he never abandoned his mother. Danny says that he wishes there were more that he could have done, and Melinda assures him that there wasn't. She says that she does want him there, and he says that counts for a lot. They say their goodbyes and hang up.
Nehemiah comes into the phone room and asks what Danny said. Melinda cries that she doesn't want Danny to keep blaming herself, or feel like a failure because he wasn't there. Nehemiah hugs her and says that he would feel the same way if his mother died, because he hasn't been there for her. Nehemiah interviews that he feels like he could have pushed more for her to get clean, instead of turning his back. Dude, that's rough. Because no matter how hard he pushed, she wasn't going to get clean until she wanted to. Melinda asks if Nehemiah has ever talked to his mother about this. Nehemiah says that he has, but that drugs were always first in her life, and he was second. Nehemiah interviews that his mother has missed a lot of things in his life, and that he's not blaming her, but he's used to it. Nehemiah tells Melinda that he's never seen his mother sober. Melinda thinks this might be a fresh start for them. Nehemiah hopes so, but says he'll always remember all the times when he needed his mother and she wasn't there.
Ryan gets ready to go home, and Lacey is sad. Lacey interviews that having Ryan there has made her enjoy her roommates more, and that she wishes that he could stay. Lacey takes Ryan to the airport. She kisses him a few times, and then sits on his lap and hugs him. Lacey interviews that she hates saying goodbye to Ryan, and that she always cries like she'll never see him again. They hug and kiss some more, and finally Ryan has to go. Lacey stands and Ryan wheels away. A guy walks up and gives Lacey some balloon animals. He tells her that she looked sad, so he wanted to cheer her up. Aw. That was so random.
Nehemiah calls his mother, and she sounds happy to hear from him. They talk about his roommates and his prayer. His mother tells him not to drink, and Nehemiah reminds her that he's been looking after himself for a long time. She says that she knows he makes good decisions. Nehemiah interviews that his relationship with his mother is better now than it's ever been, and that he really hopes she stays clean. Nehemiah tells his mom that he loves her, and they hang up.
I'm not sure when the two shows I'm recapping right now (this one and Rescue Me) merged into one, but suddenly there's an episode-ending montage. Lacey takes a cab home from the airport, crying, and hanging onto her balloon animals.
Melinda lies in bed, looking sad.
Danny sits in a recliner in his dad's house, crying.
Lacey's crying.
Melinda's crying.
Danny's crying.
I hope there's no more crying at all this season, because that was enough for the whole season as far as I'm concerned.