Beacon Hill: I've Got Your Own Happy Ending Right Here

So let's dig in to Season Two, Episode Three, shall we? (Watch it first if you don't want to be spoiled, of course!)

First things first: a moment of silence for another week without Tipsy Claire. (Don't pour one out for her, though, she would be very offended by the waste of booze.)

I love all the Boston establishing shots in the opening credits. Boston is a gap for me, pretty much the only major East Coast city where I've hardly spent any time (this is a minor lie, in that I have Floridian gaps as well). I think I went twice as a teenager, once for college visits and a second time for college auditions. One of these days I need to get up there to see it as an adult (Fenway's on the bucket list, though I suppose I'd be treated as the enemy there!).

But I digress.

Andrew's bringing Katherine information and it's something the Walsh Amendment and open roads and taxes and vague political something-or-other, but she's distracted and he's squirrely.

Evelyn finds a brooding Eric and asks him what's wrong, which Melissa Archer does in that Archer-esque way she pronounces "wrong" as ending with a Hard G, and I don't know why but I have tremendous affection for that. She wants to know why he's so distant with her, and it sure as hell sounds like the two of them used to be an item. (Unless I've forgotten something, I don't recall this information being introduced last season, which is a relief for this One Life to Live viewer because that would've meant REX AND NATALIE, boinking.)

Am I your favorite grandson, Nana?

Evelyn is very pissy that Eric married Susan to please his grandfather, and he didn't even tell her. She found out from his grandfather while Eric and Susan were on their honeymoon.

Eric: You were off on your honeymoon after you married him a month later, Grandma.

Touche, Evelyn. 

Her defense is a simple "that was a mistake," which, yeah, you're not exactly hiding it well, woman! She wants to know if he's happy, and he wonders if a Preston could ever be happy. "We were," she insists, but the key word is "were." So they retreat to their presumably loveless corners.

Sara brings some takeout dinner to Kate (remember going to other people's houses? so long ago....).

Sara: I remember when we were AT HARVARD you used to forget to eat all the time.

Damn, these ladies even name-drop their alma mater with each other!

Kate digs for information on why Sara's not with Diane at the moment, but Diane had to go back to New York. Conveniently! And naturally Sara brought Kate food from a place she remembers as her favorite.

Wasn't Lulu's your favorite place for salads while were at Harvard? You know, the TOP IVY we went to?

They chat about the length of Sara and Diane's relationship (NO REASON) and Sara wants to know if Kate's seeing anyone. "Yes and no, it's complicated" is the answer, which: TELL ME ABOUT IT. Poor Laura, y'all. Anyway, we naturally get no additional explanation of that confusing relationship.

Sara again apologizes for bailing on Kate and moving away so abruptly. Basically, she felt like she was being controlled and manipulated by her family and she had to liberate herself, and she wishes she could turn back time and make Kate understand. Kate is not entirely amenable to forgiveness...yet. Insanely cheesy saxophone music pipes in, just in case we forgot what genre we're living in at the moment! Kate invites Sara to stay to re-watch The Way We Were, which Sara mocks her for always weeping at when they break up. Excuse me, Sara, a SPOILER ALERT would've been nice for that 46-year-old movie! Rude.

Meanwhile, at the cafe, Emily and Louise are bickering. Emily doesn't understand why they still can't "do it" after forty years of waiting to "do it." What is "it?" You tell me! Maybe they're extremely prudish and have never gotten it on? Perhaps they're talking about marriage, but they both appear to be wearing wedding bands? Perhaps we'll find out, but it won't be today, because Isabel shows up with her accent I'm still trying to figure out! 

There's our girl, lighting up the room!

She flashes that big beautiful Hillary B. Smith smile we all miss so much. She fills Louise and Emily in on her little visit with Tipsy Claire, and we learn that Jason is Isabel's ex-husband (I don't think we knew that before?) who is now safely and happily living in Chicago.

Did you know we've waited forty years to "do it?" Do you know what "it" is?

So he's not stashed away or on the lam or anything, but Isabel just wants to keep Tipsy Claire and Jason from having a conversation because she doesn't want him to know "what they did" all those years ago. What did they do? Perhaps we'll find out, but it won't be today because Isabel remains vague and announces she has an idea of how to distract Tipsy Claire.

Tom Wesley marches into Andrew's office and chastises him and demands to know what game Senator Preston is playing. He doesn't trust Preston and wants to make sure Kate stays out of the line of fire. Andrew admits he can't quite figure it out, so Tom reminds him he's blackmailing him over his "little problem." What is his little problem? Perhaps we'll find out, but it won't be today because Tom storms out leaving a nervous Andrew to make an urgent phone call to a mystery person.

Sara is lying in KATE'S BED watching the movie while Kate sleeps next to her, and look, these two are both too smart to think this is the appropriate way to watch a movie with your ex (especially when you have a current partner), so nobody gets plausible deniability here! Poor Diane. Poor Laura (evergreen). Sara flashes back to Kate bawling over The Way We Were back when they were together, and crying apparently turns them both on so they get down to business. (In the flashback, in the flashback!)

Did somebody say "Harvard?" GET OVER HERE, PILGRIM.

Sara's so excited by this memory that she goes in on Kate's face when she rouses from her slumber. Kate responds with her whole body at first, but then pulls away. They can't do this! They can't go back! Sara definitely thinks they should do this, but Kate stands her ground.

Diane? Diane who?

Sara reluctantly skedaddles, and takes a phone call from her editor telling her she has twenty-four hours to submit her story or she's out of a job. Like so very many of us!

Fun episode. I'm all for political, but I definitely prefer the episodes where that's secondary to the personal drama. That said, we better get Tipsy Claire back on our screens soon!

What did everyone else think? Who else is watching? Am I screaming into the void? (I'll probably continue to do so even if the answer is "yes," let's face it.)

Be well, y'all.