Bree (Catherine Missal) is on the eve of her wedding in 2015, and she is telling an unnamed source to leave her alone. She has the chance to live a normal life and wants to be left alone. Evan (Branden Cook) comes in just as Bree hangs up the phone. Telling her soon to be husband she won’t be long, Evan leaves, but Bree has many secrets on the fringe of their forthcoming marriage.
Lucy (Grace Van Patten) is pacing through the restaurant pondering her bridesmaid duties for the morning when Max (Edmund Donovan) interrupts her worry. Lucy asks Bree if Lydia (Natlie Linez) is coming as well, and Bree tells her friend that she will be there in the morning at the wedding. When Diana (Alicia Crowder) arrives, the two are shocked at her appearance. They witness Pippa (Sonia Mena) greet and kiss Diana and brings her over to the group.
Both Lucy and Bree are surprised when they are introduced, but they welcome her to the group. When Diana leaves, the friends want to know how long the relationship has been, and Pippa asks them to be cool about the situation. At dinner, Max asks Diana and Pippa how long they have been together, and Diana says it depends on who you ask. (If this episode turns out to be a Diana and Pippa episode, I will be very happy. In fact, get rid of the rest of the characters and let’s focus only on Diana and Pippa.)
Stephen (Jackson White) interrupts the group to give a toast. While praising Evan, Stephen takes the time to insult Lucy and Diana, to which the girls are not surprised by his awful behavior. Stephen cheers the happy couple and sits down. (The way Lucy looks at Stephen as he sits makes me think she still has feelings for him. Why would you like this guy. He’s as toxic as Chernobyl.)
That night in the room, Lucy texts Stephen to meet, and he agrees. (Oh god, why Lucy? You have Max.) When Stephen walks out to meet Lucy, he sees her and Max in the pool having sex. (Nice one Lucy!)
In November 2008, Lucy is having sex with Leo (Thomas Doherty). With the snow falling outside, Lucy is thrilled to be spending Thanksgiving weekend at school and not with her mom and her boyfriend. Leo get’s a text from his mom, and he doesn’t want to talk about his family situation, but Lucy wants him to tell her. Leo tells Lucy that he is sorry about what happened to her dad, but it’s not the same with his parents.
Oliver (Tom Ellis) is talking to Bree and tells her he may not be able to talk to her this weekend since he won’t have much privacy where he’s at. As she hangs up on him, Wrigley (Spencer House) and Evan enter the same theatre room with Evan whining about how he needs to break up with Molly (Katherine Hughes). Evan sees Bree and wants to say hello, even though Wrigley says they shouldn’t.
The thanksgiving dinner is sold out at the school, and this allows Evan an opening to talk to his former girlfriend. (Evan is giving off the desperate to get back together vibes.) The two laugh and joke, and when Bree leaves touching Evan on the shoulder, the former boyfriend almost faints from the excitement of being touched by Bree. Evan tells Wrigley that Bree was so nice to him that he thinks she wants to hang out. (Umm no, that’s not how the conversation went buddy.) Wrigley is even astonished wondering how he made that deduction from such a short conversation. Evan wants to have a Thanksgiving celebration, and he plans to invite Bree.
Back at the dorm, Bree is talking about Oliver to Lucy, and we learn that he and Marianne (Gabriella Pession) have gone away for the weekend to visit friends. Bree assures Lucy that she is okay, because she knows the rules of the relationship. (Bree is not okay. She’s going to become a serious problem for Oliver.) Pippa enters and tells the group that they are all invited to Evan’s for Thanksgiving. Bree, despite Lucy’s concern, is okay with going, and when Pippa tells Lucy that Stephen isn’t going, she agrees to go to.
Bree questions whether Pippa’s relationship with Wrigley and Pippa promptly puts her friend in her place. Diana walks into the apartment and meets with Stephen. He thinks they are still going to Connecticut for dinner with her family, and Diana does not want to go. Since failing the LSAT, Diana is tired of the criticism that her father has. Feeling like she is a failure, Diana sees that her dad is talking to her like he talks to her mother. Stephen is having nothing of this and tells Diana that if she feels her father talks to her like her mother, maybe that’s because she is acting like her mother. (If looks could kill, the way Diana responds with her look would put Stephen six feet under. Well done Alicia Crowder.) Diana’s father doesn’t want her to come home.
Wrigley calls his brother Drew (Benjamin Wadsworth) and leaves a message hoping his brother will call him back. Evan arrives with groceries, and there comes a knock at the door. Molly shows up because it’s impossible to drive home. In the kitchen, Evan and Wrigley are starting into the preparation of the meal, (These two in the kitchen would make a great cooking show.) when Evan asks if Wrigley thinks he should warn Bree that Molly is there. Wondering if Molly knows if Bree is coming, Evan admits to his friend that he is a mess. Wrigley takes the fall for Bree coming, and Molly is okay with it. When she leaves the room, Wrigley tells Evan that he is enjoying his panic now. (Spencer House is really an MVP for the show. I am so thankful to see him get more time in the story.)
Pippa, Leo, Bree, and Lucy arrive, and Molly introduces herself to Bree. As they determine how to thaw the turkey, Bree lets Molly know that she knows her way around Evan’s apartment. (The cattiness in this exchange is DELICIOUS.) The afternoon picks up with games and the arrival of Stephen and Diana. (Typical holiday episode. No one does it better than the Muppets though.) There entrance goes over as well as a bomb. The drinks come out, and Pippa goes to see Diana.
Lucy remarks to Leo that Pippa and Diana are acting so friendly and it’s weird. Stephen makes a comment to Diana about how they are not leaving the party because of her new daddy issues, which Pippa overhears. (I hope Diana leaves Stephen soon, he is a world class CREEP.) Pippa frees Diana from Stephen, and Bree starts to take pictures of the party. Lucy and Bree leave to get fresh air and head outside.
Lucy asks if she is crazy about how friendly Pippa is with Diana. Bree says that Pippa has been hard to talk to, and that there is something off about her. (Yeah Bree, Pippa was raped. God you are so self-centered Bree.) Lucy comments on how Evan is still drooling all over her, and Bree laments about how she can’t have Thanksgiving with her boyfriend. (Oh my, she considers Oliver her boyfriend. This is a disaster. He’s married Bree, he’s not a coed.) Pippa comes out and the conversation stops, when Bree throws Lucy under the bus by saying that she wonders why Pippa is hanging out with Diana.
This puts Lucy on the defense telling Pippa that it’s fine. Pippa tries to defend Diana, and Lucy is not very nice in her response. Leo is agitated by Wrigley and Stephen and heads to the kitchen, where Evan drafts Leo to help. Stephen joins them in the kitchen, and this is where Lucy finds her boyfriend when she walks in. Stephen tries to needle Leo about his ex, and Lucy tries to shut him down. (I sincerely hope Leo headbutts Stephen. Please for the love of God.)
To say that there is tension in the apartment is an understatement. Molly asks Bree why she and Evan broke up, and Bree tells her that she is seeing someone new. (Oh my god, Oliver is so going to get fired.) In the kitchen Wrigley informs Evan that Molly and Bree are talking, and it is probably about him. This causes Evan to leave the kitchen immediately. (Wrigley, you are my second favorite character,)
Evan tries to tell Molly that he doesn’t want to rub their relationship in Bree’s face, but Molly tells Evan that Bree is fine with their relationship and that she is seeing someone. This is a huge shock to Evan.
Wrigley enters the living room and proclaims the current situation to be terrible and calls everyone into the room. He wants to play a game called slap shots which involve slaping each other and taking shots. Leo doesn’t want to play it, but Stephen goads him into it.
Between the alcohol and violence, the night descends into controlled chaos. The shots are taken, and the slaps are given. Wrigley slaps Stephen, and the creep of the room chooses Leo next. (Could my wish be granted and Leo cranks Stephen unconscious? Pretty please!) First up is Leo, who Stephens slaps hard in the face. Next Leo chooses Pippa, and he refuses to slap her. Next Pippa must choose Diana, and Pippa can’t slap her either. (Oh, thank god for Leo and Pippa and Diana.)
Diana chooses Pippa, and she slaps her friend in the face. When Pippa is forced to go to Evan, she refuses to slap him because he is the host and asks who Evan wants her to slap. Evan nominates Stephen (Yes, I like when the violence visits Stephen.) Pippa unloads on Stephen, and it’s awesome to watch.
Stephen now has a choice, and he heads back to Leo. (This might be the best chance for Leo to hit Stephen. If I had a magic lamp I would wish all three wishes for this moment.) Stephen slaps Leo, and after taking the hit, Leo offers to get Stephen a shot. (Can dreams come true? Also, this is bound to get out of control quickly. Who will bring peace amongst the college coeds?)
Leo pours Stephen his drink. Expecting a hit to the face, Leo pinches Stephen’s cheek, and tells him he is adorable. (Oh, that is a massive power move that is even better than assaulting Stephen. Leo essentially neutered Stephen in front of everyone.) Lucy is impressed with her boyfriend, and Evan jumps in to take a turn. He chooses Bree, and it’s clear that he still has a lot of feelings for Bree. Molly takes the next turn, and nails Evan right up the side of his head and leaves. Everyone leaves to get the food ready in the kitchen.
Humiliated, Stephen asks Lucy if she has ever met Becca. Leo comes clean and tells Lucy that Becca cheated on him with Stephen. Lucy wonders if Leo started dating her to get back at Stephen, and Leo is begging her to not feed into Stephen’s misery. (I bet Leo wished he had slugged Stephen when he had the chance.)
While Lucy tries to appeal to Diana with reason about how terrible Stephen is, Diana makes a crack that causes Lucy to slap her in the face. (Diana deserved that. Sorry, but you did.) In the parking lot, Lucy follows Leo, and they argue about what happened in the apartment. Leo admits to Lucy how his dad used to beat him. He describes how one day he couldn’t take it anymore and he hit his dad back. Leo describes how since that day, a pattern started of violence that he has tried hard to break. (This speech by Thomas Doherty is brilliant. Some of the best writing, with an absolute perfect delivery. Wow!)
He tells Lucy that she fight’s dirty using people’s worst attributes against them. Lucy tells Leo that she didn’t know that was what she was doing. Leo tells Lucy that it’s obvious her head is polluted with Stephen, and he can’t do this battle anymore. The two break up, and Lucy is left alone to cry in the cold.
Lucy leaves, and Evan asks to talk to Bree alone. He wants to know if Bree is seeing someone. She tells him yes. (Girl you are supposed to keep a secret.) Wondering who it is, Bree tells Evan that it’s someone older. Evan tells Bree that he is worried about her. He ruined things with her, and now a forty-five-year-old man is trying to take advantage of her. Bree tries to defend her forty-five-year-old, but Evan tells her that a normal man that age does not want to date a nineteen-year-old. (That is so true, and so well said Evan.)
This upsets Bree, and when Evan describes how her guy can probably tell that she is looking for a father figure, Bree tells him off and storms out. At the quieted table, with only a few guests left, Wrigley observes that he thinks the turkey is still raw. (Perfect timing.) Cleaning up Pippa asks Diana if she is okay, and she tells her that she understands why Lucy would have hit her.
Diana encourages Pippa to stay, and Pippa takes the time to tell her that Stephen is not very nice to her. Diana defends her scumbag boyfriend and the two agree to be friends because they like each other and not just because they worry about each other.
Bree enters Lucy’s room with some food, and Lucy is upset. She confesses that she did the worst things and is so sad. Pippa texts Diana in the middle of the night, and the two smile in the darkness to their late-night digital conversations.
Bree is stocking Evan on social media when Oliver calls. The next day, Lucy is walking through the school when she encounters Stephen. He wonders how the rest of her night went. Lucy tells him that he won, and can it be enough. Telling him that she loved him, Lucy wants to know why he is punishing her for that. (How could she have loved Stephen. Lucy needs help.)
Review:
A good episode that is typical with a holiday get together. It’s nice to see more of how Diana and Pippa started their relationship, but I need Diana to wake up soon to how awful Stephen is and dump him.
Losing Leo so soon is a bummer, I hope he comes back, but I fear he is lost to Lucy forever. Perhaps Max will be back in next week’s episode.
The winner this week was Wrigley. Funny, charming, and decent, Spencer House continues to be hilarious in his new-found part in the group.