About:
Last week, Meghan changed her lewk (love it), Ben’s dad got admitted to the hospital because his liver went kaput, and oh yeah, NOEL TOLD BEN THAT HE SLEPT WITH FELICITY. Suffice it to say, I was dreading these next two episodes–but fear not, there are some bright(ish) spots!
Fair warning, though. The plinky, depressing piano music is back. AS IF WE NEEDED THINGS TO GET WORSE.
The Felicity Season 4 Drinking Game Rules
Drink once every time:
You cringe during the “New Version of You” credit sequence.
Felicity is endearingly earnest.
Ben smiles sheepishly.
Noel is adorkable.
Elena is a better friend than anyone deserves.
Meghan is mean and it’s awesome.
Javier butchers a word or figure of speech.
Richard freaks out (in a good or bad way).
Drink twice every time:
Felicity stresses you out.
Felicity says, “Dear Sally.”
Sean invents something.
Javier refers to Ben as “Benjamin.”
And now… let’s just get through this together.
4.7 “The Storm”
The episode opens with Ben angrily playing basketball as Felicity bravely approaches the fence. Honestly, I can’t believe she has the guts to face him but I’m proud of her I guess? She tries to apologize, but Ben tells her that he doesn’t want to talk to her, and the scariest thing is that he’s so calm about it. That does NOT bode well. Poor dude is also dealing with his mom being in town, because his dad made it back on the transplant list and now Mrs. Covington wants to take care of him… like, for forever. That’s right, Ben’s parents are getting back together, and Ben is worried that the cycle he grew up with will repeat itself yet again. “It’s not so easy to let go,” his mom confesses, and in that small moment, you understand where she’s coming from (even though I also totally get Ben’s concern).
Meghan and Javier try their hardest to comfort Felicity (friendship!)–Javier with ice cream, Meghan with classifying Belicity as a fairy tale, i.e. they’re destined to be together. Felicity’s not nearly that optimistic, and neither is Javier, as he says to Meghan: “When you’re the most romantic one in the room, I know we’re in trouble.” Over in Ben’s corner, Sean is being gently supportive and cool in a way that Sean never is, and it’s sweet to see how much Ben appreciates it.
Ben comes to the girls’ apartment to get his stuff, and he continues to be so calm and business-like which is the most heartbreaking thing for poor Felicity (and us!). She ends up writing him a letter, which he doesn’t read until after a few key things happen. First, Meghan, MVP OF THIS EPISODE, confronts him about how much Felicity cares for him (“She loves you so much it’s disgusting.”) and convinces him to meet Felicity for dinner so she has the chance to explain. Then he goes to the dinner, where he kind of awesomely (and not unkindly) tells Felicity to cut the small talk and say what she came there to say. Girl is NOT PREPARED and, though she starts off on the right foot (“I wish I could take it back.”), she quickly veers into sharing details of what happened on the roof with Noel which is NOPE. NOPE DE NOPE NOPE. Ben stops her right there (thank you) and, saying that this is too weird, leaves. She runs after him outside in the rain and professes her love for him, but the l-word has lost its meaning to Ben, mostly due to his dad’s empty promises but also, let’s be honest, because Felicity cheated on him. He simply can’t get over it, though later we see him confiding in Sean that he wants to forgive Felicity, but he’s not like his mom–he doesn’t know how. That night, he reads her letter while we see clips of Belicity’s Greatest Hits (best montage EVER), and what Felicity wasn’t able to say at the restaurant, she expresses so beautifully in this letter. Let’s just hope it made the same impact on Ben’s heart as it did on mine (full to bursting!).
Meanwhile, Noel is looking for a new place to live, because he’s not an idiot. Richard hilariously invites him to move in (“You always have a home over at Casa Coad”) though I’m thinking that’s gotta be pretty close quarters since his parents won’t let him live off campus (I LU RICHARD). Noel wisely passes. He also has a new gig at a graphics firm, where he immediately hits it off with Zoe, a cute blonde in print media. Zoe is also, it should be mentioned, the boss’ daughter. She eventually asks him to dinner, since they’re both working late, but he politely declines–then changes his mind once he and Richard walk into Epstein and run into Ben, Sean and Trevor. He brings back pizza and a bottle of wine, and before you know it, these two are totes making out! I’m actually pretty happy for Noel, until they run into Zoe’s dad, who promptly fires Noel. Womp womp. Later, Felicity drops by Noel’s office (thankfully, he didn’t give up his advisor position yet!) and asks him why he told Ben the truth about that night on the roof. He doesn’t know, but he admits that he’s been doing things he knows he shouldn’t–i’s called self-destruction, Mr. Crane.
As the lines are drawn for Team Ben vs. Team Felicity, Elena and Trevor get into a debate on cheating, with Trevor stating that it’s harder for a guy when a girl cheats, because sex is just sex for dudes, but sex means emotions for women. Elena immediately sets fire to this garbage argument, citing her own experience of cheating on Tracy and how she’s like the “man” in his argument–there was no emotional need that drove her to cheat. Eventually, Trevor asks her if cheating is why her wedding was called off. She says no, but Trevor insists that, after all of their discussioin, Tracy still had it worse… because he lost Elena. I’d think that gesture was way more romantic if Trevor hadn’t spent the whole episode being a sexist dumbass. It worked on Elena, though, and they kiss, and I’m cool with it, because Elena needs a little fun in her life.
There’s also a C (D?) plot involving a student in Cavallo’s art class asking Felicity for an extension on the midterm–he didn’t turn it in and is now in danger of losing his athletic scholarship. Felicity, distracted by the whole Ben thing, forgets he asks, and then after he brings it up again, asks Cavallo, who says no. Okay then!
How many times do I have to take a drink?
6
Never Change, Meghan
Meghan: I came over because I thought you’d want some female solidarity or something.
I love that Meghan can be, like, the greatest friend to Felicity while also unabashedly enjoying the juicy drama surrounding her hook-up with Noel.
Sean: YOU told him?!
There’s also a STELLAR moment when Meghan is being the best kind of mean to Gabby (one of the new roommates) and Felicity says, “I remember that,” with a smile on her face that made me awwwww. I CHERISH THEIR FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH.
Ben’s Mom Is So Totally Ben’s Mom
She’s sweet and worn down and fragile yet also surprisingly strong, and you can see why Ben feels so protective of her. She is also definitely not the mom from the pilot, which is a-okay with me cos I’d never want to hug this lady like I do the real Mrs. Covington.
Cameo
Noel certainly has a type–Sarah Jane Morris, as Zoe Webb, does look a bit like Amy Smart–but unlike some of his previous interests, Zoe is a grownass woman who seems to have her shizz together (aside from making out with her new coworker). What I’m saying is, I’m Team Zoe. You may recognize Sarah Jane from Brothers & Sisters and, like, all of the crime shows.
4.8 “The Last Thanksgiving”
It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and Meghan is doing a spell (with unicorn root!) to get Felicity and Ben back together. It’s the same spell she used to reunite the Spice Girls, who at the time of this episode airing had not gotten back together but eventually they did, so yeah, Meghan is one powerful witch. Felicity, pessimistic about the spell working (does she not remember freshman year?!), agrees to host Thanksgiving at her apartment, though that means that Ben obviously won’t be joining. Except psyche, he decides to go… with Lauren, who basically invites herself along. UGH Lauren. “It’ll be fine,” Ben says, and NO IT WON’T AND YOU KNOW THAT.
Rounding out the world of tension is Javier, who has decided to leave Samuel for good (I’m so sad about that!), Sean and Meghan, and Elena, who is convinced that Trevor is too dumb for her to date. She decides to give him this test that Meghan developed to sniff out dumbbells–it features questions like, “What planets are between the sun and the Earth?” and Trevor blows all of them. I mean, yes, the test isn’t exactly nice but dude, you’re a senior in college and you don’t know the order of the planets?!
As they begin to gather in the apartment, Felicity, our earnest girl, reflects on how nice it is to be together, in spite of everything. “It feels like we’re family,” she says. “A divorced family,” Javier mutters. Ben and Lauren arrive, which NO ONE is happy about, but Felicity, who is “strong, like Joan of Arch” (such a great Javier-ism), is incredibly nice to Lauren. Ben, on the other hand, is a dick, which Javier won’t stand for. He and Ben have an AMAZING exchange in the hallway, with Javier mostly responding, “Uh-huh,” because that’s what he says when he doesn’t have anything nice to say. You better check yourself, Benjamin!
As soon as forks hit plates, things go rapidly downhill, with Meghan digging into Lauren about her previous dating experience and Ben being straight up rude to Felicity. Felicity actually defends Ben’s behavior, saying he didn’t do anything, to which he responds, “You’re right, I didn’t do anything except waste the last year and a half of my life.” UM NO YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT. Everyone gets a bonus drink during this scene because it’s THAT hard to watch. After a hasty exit, Lauren tells Ben that obviously, he and Felicity still have some kinks to work out, and that he should focus on that. Related/unrelated: how old is Lauren?! Ben decides to heed her advice and returns to the apartment, where he apologizes to Felicity for bringing Lauren. He admits that he did it to hurt her, because Felicity hurt him, and then he takes her hand… and then they start kissing WHAAAA. And then there’s totally a sex fade-to-black! But after Felicity wakes up, Ben is already heading out the door. He tells her it was a mistake–he can’t make himself forget what happened with her and Noel. He loves her, he admits, but he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on, and this is definitely the mature, thoughtful conversation I wish they could’ve had sooner.
Back to Elena and Trevor, Sean overhears one of the questions and realizes that Elena is using Meghan’s test, which he then blabs about in front of everyone, because dude cannot help himself. Trevor is understandably upset, but the next day, Elena gives the greatest apology ever by showing him her med school application… which has a big fat blank underneath extracurriculars and hobbies. She admits that she spent so much time studying, she forgot to have a life, and that Trevor was right–grades aren’t everything. He graciously accepts her apology by confessing, “I felt stupid way before I met you,” and gosh darn it, I kinda dig this new odd couple (Trelena?).
Finally, we have Noel, who’s been missing from this whole Thanksgiving situation because his brother Ryan is in town! They’re supposed to spend the holiday together, but after Noel spills the beans about getting fired from his graphics job, Ryan tries to get him to admit that things aren’t perfect, which immediately sends Noel on a spiral that lands him, alone, in a bar. A woman named Dana offers to buy him a drink, and then all of a sudden they’re getting a hotel room (!!). It’s not quite the adventure Noel hoped for, however, seeing as how Dana robs him and leaves him handcuffed, naked, to the bed, where Ryan finds him and asks the question we’ve all been wondering: “What’s the matter with you?” Later, when Noel has clothes on, he confesses that things aren’t going very well, and it’s not really because of the Felicity situation. Ryan brings up his own struggle with depression (which he apparently got from their dad) and encourages Noel to see a therapist. Because he is a GEM of a big brother. And then Noel calls–who else–Dr. Pavone, for a referall! That small detail made me incredibly happy, but not as happy as I am to see Noel taking steps to get out of this rut.
How many times do I have to take a drink?
13
Meghan’s Thanksgiving Outfit Is 💯
As is Javier’s “You brought Lauren?” face.
The Truest Thing Anybody Said This Week
“Sean hasn’t been right in three years.” – Meghan
Let’s Give Thanks for Javier
Honestly, I don’t know how we would’ve gotten through this episode without him.
Hey Mommy
The world’s most fabulous cat is back! Did anyone else catch themselves wondering which celebrity would be the voice of Mommy on the Javier spin-off show? Because of course Mommy would have a voice-over.
Oh, Noel
We can count this as adorkable, right? Because I need a drink.
Okay, a few questions:
I get why Felicity is mad at Noel for telling Ben, but the truth had to come out some time! Was she just going to live her life and be with Ben and always keep this secret? That would have suuuucked.
How much did you love the moment when Sean gets mad at Meghan for siding with Felicity, and then Meghan is INSANELY mature and reminds him that this is not about them, and their relationship is great, and then Sean chills out and all hail Shmeghan!
Is anyone else sort of glad that Felicity and Ben didn’t get back together? I mean, yes, I want that to happen so very badly, but it would have felt unrealistic. Related note, these two are WAY too comfortable with having sex while people are in the next room.
Finally, and most importantly, why wasn’t Richard invited to Thanksgiving?!!
Join me for a convo below, then meet Meredith here next Wednesday as she covers “Moving On” and Fire.”
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