Have we reached Sesame Street yet? This is the series' darkest episode.
Considering death and aging have been treated and the next is ‘So-Called
Angel,’ that says a lot. Katimski and that Hallie person were beginning
to be explored, but they are absent, although Jeff Perry (Katimski) directs.
It is fairly routine, though only compared to other Life episodes. Compared
to most television drama, it's exceptional.
Rayanne has been on the wagon thirty days. She teases Miss Crazynowski because Rayanne rarely takes things seriously. Mentions that mom couldn't have breastfed her because her breasts are so firm... "Lolly?"
Miss Krazinowski brings up Angela's distance from Rayanne since the incident, which Angela mentions later (to Patty and Graham, of all people). Feeling guilty, Angela invites Rayanne home after school, but never appears; she's with her ‘ex-boyfriend,’ Jordan.
It's Rayanne's second cooking session with Graham and she's separating eggs. Patty invites Rayanne to dinner, but Rayanne begs off saying, "My mom's making dinner." An exaggeration. Cut to Rayanne's house, where she and Amber eat cold Chinese food and discuss Jordan and Angela. Instead of pointing out that her daughter would be a third wheel, Amber advises her to foist herself on them. So during an intimate conversation in Red where Jordan wonders if Angela can imagine what it's like trying to figure out what someone else is, like, thinking, Rayanne plops in and breaks the mood. It's about her. "Me?" "What about you?" Angela asks. "I should be the new lead singer for Frozen Embryos."
It's a rather obvious plotline. Rayanne uses sex to join the band, literally, then freezes up when she's supposed to sing, making one wonder if she never performed before and had no inkling what would happen.
A cute scene back from the break. The phone rings. Angela teases her sister: "It's your boyfriend, Ryan." Danielle says he's not her boyfriend, they decided to keep it loose. Where would she get such a crazy idea? Angela and Danielle both resist cross-examination by Patty, saying they have to go to school. "There are laws."
Another great Sharon-Rayanne encounter. "I'm sorry. I didn't know this was your private recording studio."
Patty reaches a low point when she eavesdrops on a phone conversation with Jordan and Angela, right after telling Danielle to respect her privacy. Angela who is, of course, over Jordan says, "I'm glad you called. I mean, this is the first time you ever called me... on the phone." Jordan realises this is true and says, "I gotta go."
Meanwhile, Patty assumes Rayanne is drinking, which wasn't what Jordan said. (If you're gonna eavesdrop, listen carefully, Patricia!) Graham advises her not to say anything to Amber, but it's obvious she intends to "casually and non-confrontationally" mention her concerns. Amber says she's a good parent, which is debatable. After Rayanne sees dinner at the Chases, she goes off on her mom, asking to have a real meal just once. Amber's response: cold, leftover Chinese take-out. Tino could have done better.
Act III begins with a phone ringing at Amber's. "So Pat, what's up?" Obviously Patty couldn't keep her nose out of someone else's business.
Suddenly Angela is spilling her guts to Patty and Graham about the coolness with Rayanne. She also confirms that she and Jordan broke up, though it's "like the weirdest breakup in history," according to Rickie. The upshot is that Angela isn't sure why she doesn't want to go hear Rayanne sing, but there it is.
There's Afgan Wings singing about an "angel," sort of foreshadowing the next episode.
Then the big singing scene where Rayanne can't remember the words to "I Wanna Be Sedated" or come up with some. After she chokes, Jordan does a fine job, suggesting he should have sung lead in the first place. Of course, Brian is there, probably thinking this is all he needs. First Angela likes the way Jordan leans, then he turns out to be a musician, too. Of course, Jordan only plays one instrument; it just happens to be cooler than either of Brian's.
The phone rings in Act IV. Rickie calls Angela in panic about Rayanne. Contrast with how calmly Rayanne accepts Rickie's problems in the next episode. Patty gets involved and makes a fool of herself. Then she surprises everyone by being warm to Rayanne because they are in the same Karass. And Rayanne surprises Patty by thanking her "for my life."
There's a cute reunion with Rickie and Rayanne and Angela, the most telling thing being Angela saying, "So Rickie was really scared..."
"I mean I was, too."
The episode concludes with the threesome waiting in line for a movie. Rayanne breaks into a vampy version of Sesame Street and there's a slow motion shot of her swigging someone's beer and Angela and Rickie's reactions.
It's ambiguous and a bit irritating, perhaps intentionally.
MIDPOINT ANNOUNCEMENT - RAYANNE