Ever since they switched Ed to Fridays, I’ve either forgotten to set the VCR or forgotten to change the channel back to NBC at 9. Could somebody tell me in some detail what’s been going on the past 2 episodes?
Thanks.
Unfortunately I didn’t see the 4/4 episode, but here’s what happened in the one before that.
Frankie gets mad because Ed didn’t tell her about his past with Carol. She has to hear about it from his gang one night. She starts to feel conflicted, as does Carol. Carol has just met a guy she would be perfect with, a new teacher in town (Chris Isaak), but she wants Ed, as she tells Molly.
Eli finds out that his old business (Captain Eli’s Fish and Chips?) has gone down the drain ever since he had to quit due to his accident. With the gang, it’s restored to its former high quality.
And Mike watches a video about becoming a better lover and Nancy loves the new moves, but “they’re hard,” as Mike says.
And at the end…
Frankie leaves a ‘romantic gesture’ in coded symbols on notecards left around the Stuckeybowl. The symbols spell out to be ‘I can be romantic too. Frankie.’ When Ed leaves the Stuckeybowl he sees a person in knight armor moving towards him. He thinks it’s Frankie, but it’s Carol.
4/4 Recap:
Ed is confused by Carol in the knight armor, thinking it’s a joke and not taking her seriously. She says that she may be late, but she’s now ready to do what Ed always wanted. Ed says that what she’s saying and feeling isn’t “real”–that’s she’s just reacting to the Ed/Frankie relationship. Meanwhile, Frankie meets Ed at home with a heart-shaped meatloaf (her romantic gesture).
Carol later leaves him a framed picture of the two of them dancing at the Prom from a season ago (or so). This was the night they almost got together except Bonnie (remember her?–cutie Rena Sofer) interrupted. Carol leaves a caption on the picture saying, to the effect: “Tell me this wasn’t real”. The picture has Carol genuinely enraptured with Ed.
Ed tells Frankie about the knight suit, but not the picture. Carol confronts Frankie saying that her actions aren’t about her (she actually likes Frankie) but she understands why Frankie might resent Carol. Frankie says that it is about her because Carol is trying to steal her boyfriend–a fact Carol doesn’t refute.
Meanwhile, Carol is on the verge of giving up, so Molly tells her she’s glad this Ed thing was only a whim. Carol says it isn’t just a whim, to which Molly responds it must be if she’s throwing in the towel. Molly reminds her about the video Ed made for Carol right after he got rejected in the knight suit. Later, Molly finds Carol reading her journal, where she shares how she was feeling from her first date with Ed back when the show started.
Ed tries to convince Carol that he’s been where she is and that this is all a game and fantasy, to which Carol takes hurt exception. Ed later apologizes and wants to stay friends, but Carol says that she’s not sure that can happen–that the warm hugs and false reconciliations are what’s “fake” about their relationship because it avoids the truth about what’s being genuinely felt between them.
Frankie decides to fly back to Houston to talk to Leo(n?), her ex. She’s upset about the Carol thing, and more upset when Ed wants to interfere with her flight when he constantly tells her not to worry about his friendship with Carol. He wants to sit down and talk things out with her and she asks: Don’t you get tired of just talking about things all the time? (Obviously, since this recap is turning epic!)
Ed tries to book a flight to Houston, but Molly steals Carol’s journal and reads segments to Ed that show that Carol’s been feeling things for Ed all this time. The episode ends–next Friday is the season finale.
(Needless to say, this recap didn’t include the part about Stella moving back to Boston, about the movie being filmed in StuckeyBowl, about Mike growing a mustache, about the actor Michael Winslow from Police Academy visiting, or about Cheswick nursing a heartbreak. Whew!)
Nice job, ArchiveGuy. I was going to jump in and try to help out but I see that you’ve done a much better job than I could have hoped to.
The movie/mustache/Cheswick subplots felt like filler, and where the hell was Eli? Do you think the writers (fearing cancellation, perhaps) will wrap things up nicely with next week’s season finale, or leave some loose strings?
Thanks, guys!
Chris Isaak is on the show now??
Damn Kinko’s for stealing my prime time tv.
Thanks Caesar and ArchiveGuy!
Chris Isaak was only on one so far. I was actually kind of surprised that he never showed up on the 4/4 episode.
I don’t watch Ed, but I wanted to brag: The town that is shown in the opening credits is the town where I live. Ain’t it purdy? (Don’t know where that bowling alley is, though.) Is the show supposed to take place in Jersey?