Hello everyone! I am pinch hitting for the regular reviewer this week and what an episode it was! First, we saw a big milestone for Gary that was met with extremely mixed emotions. Elsewhere, Rome's father found out about his depression, Kathryn was offered a promotion and the rest of the group took some steps forward. Let's discuss.
Jon went to Harvard
After last episode's ending of Gary going home with Ashley, it was going to be interesting to see the morning after. In typical Gary fashion, he used his humor and charm to make the getaway less awkward and even divulged to Ashley that this day was no ordinary day because it was his one year anniversary of being in remission. Armed with that knowledge, the viewer now gets to take a trip down memory lane of Gary's journey through Chemo and how Jon was with him, almost annoyingly, every step of the way (I had FINALLY stopped hearing that Macklemore song every 5 seconds on the radio but, now the ear worm has returned!). Now, we have heard and briefly seen the effect Jon had on his group but this is the first time we got to spend significant one-on-one time with Jon and one of his friends. Through each chemo session, Jon continuously reminded Gary he would beat this and would be there long after him. Maybe without realizing it Jon was warning him what was to come, but I don't think it is ever that simple when it comes to someone eventually taking their life. Gary did beat the cancer, but in a devastating twist of fate, it was Jon who wasn't there to celebrate. All Gary has to remember of that time is the picture Jon put up of the boats from Cambridge which symbolized a promise to one day go out on the water, a Bruins hat and the most important thing, a clean bill of health.
As Gary navigates the rest of the episode, he is ditched for the scheduled hockey game by Eddie and Rome, realizes that Jon may have been trying to tell him something when he said he would be around long after him and finally, surprised by his friends in his apartment for a remission celebration. It turns out that Rome and Eddie weren't ditching him, but rather throwing him a party. This all seems to overwhelm Gary and it leads to him finally unloading his feelings about Jon leaving after promising to be there. You see that Cambridge picture of the boats was a small motivation that Jon gave Gary to live and now that he has, Jon isn't there to follow through. This moment again showed the absolute powerhouse that is James Roday and he made you feel every fiber of anger and pain coming from his character. But, despite feeling abandoned, Gary is not alone. An entire room of people is there celebrating the fact that he is still there, and they are there to comfort him in a painful yet beautiful moment. Perhaps now that Gary has entered the anger phase of grief, he can begin to heal.
The Sink
It took a simple clogged bathroom sink for Rome to speak his truth to his father this week, and the result was extremely bittersweet. When Regina's sink is clogged, she calls her father-in-law over to help unbeknownst to her husband. Rome had tried earlier this year to broach the subject of his depression with his father, but the opening he was hoping for was not extended by the man whom Rome deeply respects and admires. This time however, the door is swung open because when his dad is in the bathroom helping his son learn some household maintenance, he happens upon Rome's antidepressants. Rome finds his father holding the pills and there is no turning back. He tenderly explains to his father that he gets sad and he doesn't quite know why and he is in therapy for clinical depression and takes the pills to help to feel better. Rome has nothing to be ashamed about, but he thinks he does because he has built himself in his father's image. Rome's father asks a few small questions and instead of embracing his son like I desperately wanted him to, he does not and quietly departs with the only thing 'fixed' being Regina's sink. Later, Rome tells Regina of the encounter and she again is his rock.
A Mother's Dilemma
Kathryn is on the precipice of professional glory all while her personal life his crumbling. She is doing all she can to make the best of her time with Theo, but the job she has fought so hard for is getting in the way. She must find someone to help with Theo for the afternoon and refuses to ask Eddie. Her reason for this is completely sincere, it is her time with Theo and hers alone. Now in time she may get to a place where she can call upon Eddie without feeling her time is infringed upon, but now isn't it. In the end, like most single working mothers, Kathryn must make a quick choice and leaves Theo with Hunter to wait with him until her mom can take over. When Eddie drops in unannounced, he finds Hunter watching his son and is angry. He storms over to Kathryn's work and wants to know why she wouldn't call him to which she tells him it is her time with him. Eddie cools his emotions and tells her that if she can't be there, he would like to and that is when the guilt Kathryn pushes down bubbles to the top and she emotionally tells her ex all she wants is to be with Theo. While she feels like she is losing in motherhood, she is winning in her career and is offered partner at her firm. While overjoyed, she has a request, to be off the grid for two hours every evening to spend time with her son. This seems like such a simple request, but to the partners it is not. Later on in the episode, they reject her request and in a surprise turn, Kathryn is happy. She won't be partner but she will have her time with Theo and that is a victory worth celebrating.
Complicated Bereavement
Maggie and Delilah hit the road this week to attend a speaking engagement Maggie had to committed to about complicated bereavement. This is a loaded subject for both women, and as Maggie tries to keep her talk inside the lines of her profession, she realizes she is losing the room and decides to open up about her brother. She speaks to feeling guilty at being relieved when her brother died because he wasn't out hurting anyone or himself any longer. She opens up about the guilt that brings and how she is still processing that and the room is very much back as she bears her soul about her own experience with the topic at hand. Last week and this week Maggie confronted the most painful chapter of her life and that realization may have just been the push she needed, because by episode's end she is texting Gary from the same chemo chair he occupied a year ago with his favorite nurse Kevin looking on. Will Maggie share this information with Gary, her friends? Let's hope so because this group may take shifts being what Jon was to Gary.
Odds And Ends:
* Eddie agrees to go on tour again with his former band.... This is not a good idea, his sobriety while intact could be very fragile with all the stress of the life changes he is experiencing.
* Ashley is still in the shadows with more knowledge about Jon. From mysterious phone calls about a deal he was trying to close, to trying to figure out who Barbara Morgan is, this woman is a wildcard.
* Delilah wrestles with removing her ring as she reveals to Maggie she lost Jon two years ago emotionally and physically seven weeks ago. What happened? What was he hiding? Hopefully we get an inkling next week.
* Best exchange of the night goes to the guys when Gary reveals he slept with Ashley. Eddie tries to act high and mighty about Ashley being off limits.... Rome and Gary's retort is that, ya know, Eddie slept with Jon's wife!
So what did you think? Let me know in the comments!
