Episode 209--"about last night"

Story

Tammy Ader

Teleplay

Ann Lewis Hamilton

Director

Gary Sinise

Air Date

2/14/89

It's Blue
Sound wavs from this episode - All sound names starting with "30"
Guest Stars

Patricia Kalember as Susannah; Lyman Ward as Jack Bronstein; Charles Noland as Alex; Lynne Thigpen as Rosie; Courtney Gebhardt as Carla; Rosalyn Sidewater as Clinic Woman

Synopsis

Susannah discovers that she is pregnant.

Summary

After having sex, Susannah bolts from bed to organize Gary's spice rack (something about excess energy) and he follows, bemused. They talk and she's obviously determined to keep their own spaces separate and sacred.

Nancy is struggling to deal with the children and Hope helps out by taking Ethan (who was apparently trying to saw his little sister with a plastic toy saw) and Britty off her hands as Jack Bronson the publisher has called back and wants to talk to Nancy about her book.

Susannah and Gary have settled into a relationship, though she is still very determined at times about keeping her own space. She seems to be living at his place most of the time despite this. As Gary is fixing dinner for her, he tries to help her relax after a rough day, first with a neck rub (which is ill-received) and then by washing her hair, which he has to dare her into, but it works and they end up having sex again..

The meeting with the publisher goes well, but the higher-ups want to see three more illustrations by the end of next week in order to consider the book for the Christmas list. Nancy says no problem, but she's obviously still pondering it.

Gary comes home from work to find Susannah making dinner and off-handedly announcing that she's pregnant, but is going to take care of the matter so he doesn't have to worry about it. Gary numbly goes along with it, still too stunned to know how to respond to such a matter of fact statement.

They attend one of Hope and Michael's dinner parties during which everyone segregates, Gary tells Michael what's going on, and it slowly spreads back through the group. Nancy chips in her own survival story of having had an illegal abortion (not Elliot's baby) before Roe v. Wade. Melissa takes the news fairly hard and is obviously still not over the notion of having a baby with Gary. Susannah, perceptive as ever, picks up on this through the group's little glances, and blows up at Gary in the car.

In the midst of all this, Nancy's deadline is approaching for having the book ready and she is continually distracted by the children. She resolves some of the plotline problems by having the prince travel under the lake to rescue the sun, but this involves more artwork and there just isn't time. She ends up slipping off the book list and leaving Jack Bronstein.

Meanwhile, Susannah is moving much of her stuff back to her own apartment and finally agrees to let Gary accompany her to the abortion clinic only after he violently insists on it. However, once in the waiting room they sit uncomfortably for a while before Susannah bolts out and Gary follows her to the parking lot. It seems that she's actually quite unsure about what to do and has been debating keeping the child since she knows her time is running out and that she might not get another chance. She simply didn't know what to do and since Gary was for the abortion when she brought it up, she didn't know how to get out of it. Gary is stunned and points out that she never gave him a chance to feel any other way about it and if she wants to keep the kid, that's just fine with him. They embrace, still terribly confused, in the parking lot.

Notes

  • Opener clip of Gary staring at Susannah across the table
  • Gary used to wash hair in college in the dorms and currently owns dark blue cotton sheets with ducks on them.
  • Susannah likes beer.
  • Fashion

    Susannah dresses like a social worker. Good job on the part of costuming. I do feel bad for her at times.

    Quotes

    "What's in the oven?" Gary, just before finding out just how prescient his question was.

    "I can't do this." --Susannah, bolting from the abortion clinic

    "I was feeling sorry for you for not getting tenure; I didn't know you had this other profession." --Susannah regarding Gary's hair washing.

    Analysis

    Sound wavs from this episode - All sound names starting with "30"