Privileged: All About The Ripple Effect

In an episode that was particularly notable (I thought) for some fraktastic dialogue and realism, we had a surprising number of laughs in what I went into thinking would be a heavy, drama-laden hour. Megan’s mom is back, dad’s okay with it, Lilly’s married(!) and Megan’s going insane. Megan’s dad is on board with good ole’ Mom, leaving Megan to feel like she’s alone in crazytown for not wanting to give her mother a chance. Luckily she has Charlie to confide in – he knows all the players, he’s an interested party who doesn’t have to be caught up, but yet he isn’t her boyfriend. Her actual boyfriend on the other hand…well, frankly he’s a little pissed.

Sage and Rose battle it out to bust each other on their feelings for a couple of boys. Rose gets wind of Sage’s raging crush on Louis (thanks to a little encouragement from Marco) and sets out to match the two up. Sage quickly realizes what’s going on and tries to throw her off her game by inviting Rose’s crush over the house. The dialogue was great, the humour was humourous and the real stars of the night had to be wingmen extraordinaire Marco and Rami!! The chef and the butler each teamed up with a twin in the elaborate game of matchmaker and it was deelish (and as much as I love me some Marco, I have to give the edge to Rami because I think I laughed every time he opened his mouth).

Lucy Hale had some fabulous moments in the kitchen while trying to “flirt” with Louis in front of Sage. Watching her talk up the aromas wafting up from a pot of boiling water? Saucily licking sour cream off of her finger? I was fully in guffaw mode during that scene! She’s an excellent comedian, that one. At one point in the episode, Sage admitted that she knew what Rose was up to right away, and she knew it wouldn’t work, but it was so fun to watch her try. I couldn’t agree more – I would say those were some of my favourite moments of the episode.

Sage was also “on” last night, getting in some great quips (calling Rose a nympho and likening her to David Duchovny was pretty funny). I also loved her bossing around the boy (forgive me – I’ve completely blanked on the character’s name and IMDB is no help) who she invited over to set Rose up with. He was also terrific – so natural and funny! He was very goofy and likeable; I hope he and Rose make it past one date because I would love to see him back. Anyhow, of course it all worked out in the end and Sage has now admitted to her feelings for Louis (not to Louis mind you, but at least we know what direction we’re headed in). Frankly I’d be all right if the two kept sparring for a bit because I’m digging the chemistry between them.

In the young adult world of Megan and Friends, things aren’t going as smoothly. Let me first say yay!! Beverly Leslie is back! To those who didn’t watch Will and Grace, I am referring to Lilly’s boss at the hair salon who can’t be in a scene without stealing it. See him in his glory here:

Love the shout out to the Jessica Simpson hairpieces! Anyhow, Lilly’s married (whatever, at least she’s gone) and Megan is losing it because her mother has just returned, acting as though she’s been gone for a few weeks instead of sixteen years. I thought Joanna Garcia and the writers did a great job of conveying her feelings about the situation. I would have reacted exactly the same way – grudge all the way, my friends. I would have been pissed that my dad so easily accepted her, and pissed that Will wanted me to pretend things were fine just to appease her. I probably also would have spoken mostly to Charlie about things as well, because he understands. Will was rightfully concerned that Megan wasn’t sharing with him, but it doesn’t change the fact that a lot of people would have handled things in much the same way. That’s what I love about the show: it’s a glamorous fantasy but it’s also very down to earth and true to its characters. All throughout watching I kept thinking, “That’s exactly what I would have said!”

We then had a very realistic and well-handled confrontation between Will and Charlie while waiting for their girlfriends after dinner. Will, still pissed that Charlie was acting as Megan’s confidante, asked him if he had any feelings for Megan. Did anyone else note that instead of saying no, he pointed out that he had a girlfriend? Hmmm…classic avoidance technique. Charlie also commented that Will was throwing out advice about a situation he didn’t know a lot about, just to keep the conversation moving. Loved that! How often has someone been giving you advice, saying “just do this” or “just do that” and you feel like they’re trying to push you into a decision so that they can change the subject? Looks like there’s going to be some tension between the boys for a while.

Megan and Will had a nice reconciliation later including a very mature but also funny “relationship talk”. Again – very realistic. Things appear to be smooth sailing for now. The next new episode is January 6th – boo! I love the holidays but they really suck for tv fans. There are only so many times I can watch A Christmas Story, ya know? I’m going to miss my tv friends!! We’ll all have to rally around GMMR to keep ourselves sane over the next few weeks as shows dwindle down before picking up again in the new year. I think my Take 5 for Arrested Development will finally pop up in the next few weeks, so watch out for that. Since both of my shows are now over for 2008, let me say to everyone: Have an amazing holiday season and a very happy and fulfilling New Year in 2009!!!

Nicole is wondering if perhaps she’s too dependant on the tv world for entertainment but is looking forward to spending some quality time with her REAL friends and family over the next few weeks. She is also trying to resist the urge to buy antlers for her dogs, because she knows it would cause a mutiny. Maybe she’ll just stick with buying lots of good red wine for herself instead.