After last week’s bad news we learn that this is one of Brenna’s last days at Charton. Understandably she is angry at her mom for pulling her out just as soon as she was enjoying school. She’s found a group of friends and found her place within the film club. When you consider how far she’s come since the beginning of last season, you can’t help but feel bad for her. Haley Ramm has done a phenomenal job portraying Brenna’s evolution into a responsible young adult. It has been a diverse and inspiring journey to watch.
Brenna is hanging out with her friends and they are not making things easier for her as they tell her how bad public school is. They do not paint a very pleasant picture of public school which only serves to freak her out even more. Just then Margo shows up and learns about Brenna’s impending exit from Charton. She seems genuinely let down that Brenna is leaving and upon seeing Brenna’s frustration of not being able to finish her film, Margo steps in and volunteers to help Brenna figure out how to finish the film on time and get it submitted while she’s still considered a student. Margo is going out of her way to help Brenna and everyone, especially Ford, seems to notice the connection between these two. They have amazing chemistry, so I look forward to watching the evolution of their romance.
For her first task on wedding duty Brenna has to go and pick up April’s invitations. Ford tags along with her and provides some much needed comedic backup. The printer is taking forever to get them and when they do April’s last name is spelled wrong. Brenna is already anxious because she is missing her last day of film club. She snaps at the guy behind the counter and gets the invitations to be reprinted, but she’ll have to return to pick them up later.
At Charton, Brenna and Ford rush in only to find film club already over for the day and a note from Margo. Brenna looks gut punched when she finds the note and finds out that Margo had been waiting for her.
After a stressful day Brenna shows up at Natalie’s to try and commiserate with her half-sister. They are bonding in a way that Brenna is having trouble doing with April right now. I really like this relationship, but I hope that the show will allow Brenna and April to heal the problems standing between them. Brenna has become a much different person then when we first met her, but to a degree I think April still treats her like that same troubled girl that she has to look after. I have a younger brother, and there is a good sized age difference between us, so I can understand where April is coming from in just wanting to protect her little sister. Personally, my relationship with my brother only grew stronger as we got older and became more of equals. Sibling relationships are complicated, but at the core of every fight or disagreement is unwavering love, so I have a feeling these two will find a way to reconnect and stand on more equal ground.
April is getting ready to go out for dinner with Dominic and his mom, but Sara tries to stop her out of concern for April only just starting to adjust to her new meds. Leo shows up and agrees with Sara, but he promises to take care of her. To try and make the whole marriage thing less awkward Leo asks Sara to teach him how to dance. April saw how good her mom is at dance, so she encourages the two of them to work together. I support this because I think Leo and Sara could both benefit from spending some time together.
At Dominic’s dinner with his mom April shows up to support him and they are so at ease with each other that it seems like they are still together. The way Dominic looks at April and talks about her work as a writer is a telltale sign that he is most certainly not over her. Even his mom picks up on the vibes and seems disappointed to find out that April has to leave to go wedding shop dressing.
After picking up the revised invitations Brenna gets a text from Margo to meet her at Charton. She really wants to finish her film, so she goes without hesitation. It’s not just about the film though, by now it’s blaringly obvious that Brenna has a serious crush on Margo.
At Charton, Margo helps Brenna finish up her film project in hopes of being able to submit it before Brenna official leaves private school. This scene serves to give us some basic background information on Margo and we learn about Margo’s ex, who is an alcoholic. They’ve been broke up for several months, but are still friends. The moment gets awkward when Brenna makes a move on Margo. Trying to be noble Margo shuts down the advance, but it’s obvious she is into Brenna too. Despite her best efforts to diffuse the situation, Brenna grabs her stuff and takes off. In the process she leaves April’s invitations behind. It is nice to see Brenna being the aggressor this time instead of waiting for someone to come to her she’s actively looking and pursing her interests.
In Dominc’s apartment he is having a lovely conversation with his mom. He seems to be really trying to give her a chance this time around. She gives him her sales pitch and he seems quite proud of her. I think they just need to give Dominic reasons to keep smiling to highlight his dimples. Come on, I know I’m not the only one who gets drawn to those dimples every time they show up! Anyway, less about dimples and more about this interaction, his mom is now trying to push him to buy a house soon. They get into a conversation about Dominic’s love life and he confesses to his mom about the Natalie breakup. He tells her that Natalie broke up with him because she felt he was still in love with April. To be honest, he still is and his mom kind of agrees. Dominic is most certainly not over April.
It doesn’t take long for April to show up and Brenna is afraid she’s about to be fired as maid of honor. As has been obvious all episode, it is Sara pushing the pressure on Brenna, and April doesn’t want Brenna worrying about it. April says it’s no big deal and she can just get the invitations on Monday when she says goodbye to her friends. After the Margo incident Brenna’s kind of hesitant to go back and tries to find another way to get the invitations. Trying to reclaim her title of cool sister April suggest a little sisterly bonding while performing some breaking and entering at Charton. They invite Natalie along and let the Carver family criminal activity begin!
Leo and Sara have a nice bonding moment in the wake of Brenna’s breakdown. He proves to Sara that he is a good man by promising to look after April. No matter the circumstances that brought them together her really does love April. I think Sara is beginning to see that the more time she spends with him.
At Charton the Carver sisters are trying to gain entry into the school. Natalie is busy checking out the janitors butt, so April and Brenna have to get her focused. When a door is opened she runs ahead to keep it from shutting so they can get in. If nothing else works out for them they all have a future as criminals. Granted, not very good ones, but it’s always good to have a backup plan.
Dominic’s mom’s house didn’t sell, but they do have a nice moment of reconnect. She wants him to find the right girl to marry and for him to look at her like he does April. Even his mom can see how stuck he is on April. I predict a lot of drama coming in the not so distant future.
The girls gained entrance to the school and are trying to make their way to the film room. Somehow, even given all the noise they are making, they get to the film room undetected. Happy moments don’t last too long in dramas and the moment of sisterly union is cut short when Natalie and Brenna brag on each other’s breaking and entering abilities and share a hug. It makes April feel out of the loop and she reveals that she asked Natalie to look after Brenna. Finding this out annoys and angers Brenna as she feels like both of her sisters are now treating her like someone they have to protect. I hate to break it to Brenna, but that’s just an older sibling thing that will never stop. Any respectable older sibling will always be looking out for their younger sibling. Both Natalie and Brenna tell April that everything is always all about her and their annoyance is palpable. In the midst of secret revealing Brenna finds out that April knows about the abortion thanks to Natalie. She snaps at both her sisters and they all decide it's best if they end this drama and go home, but before they can leave the security alarm is set and they are all trapped in the room. This might actually do them all some good.
The next morning Brenna wakes up first and gets her sisters moving. She tries to make an escape but is met by Margo as soon as she opens the door. Some of the things Natalie and April told her about their encounters seem to have stuck because Brenna chooses to stay and deal with the awkwardness with Margo to finish her film.
April finally gets home, much to the relief of Sara, and enlists her mom to help prepare the invitations. Based off of how excited Sara is by this prospect I am betting this was part of the reason she was so hard on Brenna. Sara may still be struggling with the idea of this marriage, but she certainly does want to be more involved. Being able to help April with the invitations is a way of her feeling like she is still involved in April's life.
Finally Brenna confesses things to Margo and she shows her true strength which leads to Margo’s turn to kiss Brenna. Just like that we have a new relationship for Brenna. I like Margo, but this budding relationship just makes me miss Greer that much more. It’s going to take someone truly extraordinary for me to want anyone else with Brenna other then Greer. But, until Greer’s return, I’ll settle for Brenna just being happy for now. Margo seems to make Brenna happy, so for now she gets my seal of approval.
At home, Brenna is trying to finish her email to Greer when April comes in with a copy of their dad’s manuscript. Once they have both read it they’ll decide if they should tell their mom about it. What else is hidden within the depths of this book? I have a feeling we’re destined to find out very soon and it’s got all the hallmarks of a great dramatic story.
After April leaves Brenna changes her email to Greer to exclude all the ranting stuff about April. It was nice to see this episode come full circle from the start of the hour. Brenna has been consistently maturing as the series has evolved, and in this episode alone she matured a whole lot, as is evident by her email edit. She’s no sooner finished with that then she gets an email from Margo saying that she misses Brenna. First Greer and now Margo, Brenna is apparently just an easy person to miss. Brenna smiles then starts to reply to her new love interest. I don’t want to call them girlfriends just yet, but I have a feeling in next week’s review I won’t have any choice.
At Charton we see what the girls got up to during the night. They defaced anything relating to Jake and it was a brilliant show of sisterly solidarity. Ford instantly knows who was behind it, mainly because Brenna tagged it with her initials, but also because she’s a good friend and stood with Brenna through that horrible time. I look forward to seeing if Jake reappears in the future, and if he does, how Brenna will handle him now. I don’t think she’ll run away next time.
I just want to take a moment and comment on Jessica Meraz. She was introduced as a secondary character and through her charismatic performances she has taken the stories written for Natalie and enriched them with so much personality and heart. Incorporating her into a more permanent place within the Carver family and giving her a prominent storyline was a great choice by the show. The show has a gem in Jessica and I hope they keep giving her bigger storylines because she has proven she can handle whatever the show can throw at her.
This was another outstanding episode of Chasing Life. The episode addressed several storylines that were set up in the premiere and those storylines have now been broken open for further evolution. Will Dominic start his fight for April? What will the Carver sisters do with their dad’s book? Was the book really a recount of his own life? Then there is the most important question of all, can Leo learn to dance well enough to not embarrass himself or April?
Tune into ABC Family every Monday night at 9/8C to continue following the journey of April and her friends and her family. Then be sure to return to SpoilerTV for my review of the episode.
