(Season 2, Episode 13 – “Nothing to Fear” 
)
“We’re two of the most emotionally stunted people I’ve ever known … and we’re just growing all over the place!” – Violet to Cooper, as they’re sitting in the closet together laughing over the dismal state of their lives
My favorite storyline this week involved Cooper and Violet. It was good to see them come back together as the best friends they are – her telling him she’s pregnant and him telling her he’s getting married (or so he was at the time). At first, I was bummed out when they didn’t get together as a couple, but now it all makes sense. They really belong together as best friends, and in their crazy world, they really NEED each other as best friends.
And I really hope Pete turns out to be the father of Violet’s baby. He’s the main character here, and while I like Sheldon, I still don’t think he belongs with Violet. She and Pete have some serious sparks going, something that just doesn’t seem to be there with Sheldon. As I’ve said before, Sheldon seems more like a father or brother to Violet. I can’t say why exactly. It’s just a feeling.
And I think many of us can sympathize with Violet’s semi-maniacal laughter at the current disarray of her life. Those were some great scenes – when she was sitting on the floor of the bathroom trying not to let Sheldon hear her laughing, and when she and Cooper were sitting in the closet laughing. Sometimes you’ve just gotta laugh. Sometimes it’s way better than crying.
As usual, there were a few moral-ethical dilemmas of the week:
The surrogate mom-adoption case that Del engineered. I sort of understand the adoptive parents wanting to flee. It all seemed quite daunting at the moment, but really, if I was Judy, I don’t know that I could have given the baby to them at that point. Who’s to say they’re stable enough to stick around for all the bad things that will inevitably happen as the baby gets older. I’m not talking medically. I’m just talking about all the crap that life throws at people. Life is not for wimps, and at that point, the adoptive parents sure seemed like wimps.
The end-of-life issue that Sam and Pete dealt with. It was a heartbreaking spin on helping terminal patients to die peacefully. But boy, I’m glad I’m not part of the trainwreck of lawsuits headed down the track towards Oceanside Wellness. What with Cooper jabbing vaccinations into a kid last week without the mom’s consent, and Pete stealing morphine to help a patient die this week … I just hope they’ve got some cash set aside for legal issues.
I liked the sweet storyline of Violet helping the agoraphobic mom get to her daughter’s wedding. And it juxtaposed nicely with Violet’s own impending motherhood. Violet seems like a great therapist. She’s so thoughtful and loving with her patients – and I don’t mean that in a weird way. I just mean that in a human way. I think most of us can identify with Violet’s words when she told the mom, “Maybe your life didn’t turn out the way you thought it would, but you can embrace this and create the next step.” Life is truly messy.
Your thoughts on this week’s episode?
Clacked by Jane Boursaw 
on Jan 24, 2009 @ 08:00 EST5EDT
