About:
Young Americans S1.E08 “Will Bella Scout Her Mom?”
Young Americans S1.E00 “Pilot”
Total Tallies
Rowing: 5
Ending Up in the Lake: 3
Shirtlessness: 18
Coca-Cola Product Placement: 2
Nick Drake Songs: 3
Previous rewatch: “Winning Isn’t Everything” and “Gone”
We’re down to the last post of my rewatch of Young Americans. I’ve really enjoyed sharing it with y’all, and I hope you have too. It wasn’t quite as awesome as my 16-year-old memories had me remembering, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
(In case you missed a post, you can read the whole rewatch here.)
1.7 “Free Will”
It’s nearly Bella’s 16th birthday! Sean is teasingly questioning Bella about what she wants when Scout brings over a package mistakenly delivered to the diner. Turns out, it’s a birthday present for Bella from her estranged mother.
Will gets a job as a tutor for the school’s English department and his first tutee is Caroline. She tells him that she’s just returned from a trip to a castle in Rome—where another guy “kept her warm” since the castle didn’t have electricity. Lo and behold—Ryder is her new gentleman friend.
Everyone takes a break at the lake (lots of dudes without shirts and people in the lake!) and Ryder tells Will he’ll give him $100 to help him write a love sonnet. After making the deal, Ryder tells Will and Scout that he caught Hamilton and Jake making out in the library. (Note to Ryder: If almost kissing equals making out in your mind, you’re doing it wrong.) Scout and Will look confused. They knew something was going on between the two “guys,” but nothing official. Will mentions that he thinks it’s brave. (Hello year 2000.)
Hamilton asks his mom if he can move into the dorms. When he tells a bunch of the other guys, he says he’s moving in with Jake. Everyone, including the extras, look at each other. When Hamilton leaves the room, everyone laughs and money is exchanged. (I wonder what the over/under was on that deal.) When Hamilton tells Jake that he’s going to move in with her, she is not OK with the idea.
Sean takes Bella on a romantic picnic on the lake, and when he questions Bella’s relationship with Scout, she tells him that they’re half siblings, or at least, she’s pretty sure they are. In a moment borrowed from Will’s book of deep thoughts, Sean says that if it was him, he wouldn’t be content with “pretty sure.”
Will gives Ryder the sonnet, and Ryder turns around and gives to Caroline … who Will actually wrote it about. When she reads it to him, Will feigns illness and goes to confront Ryder. Basically, Ryder’s only using her. He tells Will, “she’s yours as soon as I’m finished.” (BARF.)
Jake pulls into the garage to get gas and Bella reveals that she knows Jake’s secret. The two have some girl bonding time, reading girlie magazines and discussing both Hamilton’s pushy ways and their mom issues. Jake questions Bella about Scout and her, and Bella assures Jake that the two are just friends.
Scout finds Bella sunbathing at the lake and reveals that he took Bella’s mother’s address off of the birthday present. He gives it to Bella, explaining that he really wanted to contact her, but he didn’t, and he’s leaving it up to her.
Ryder makes a crack at Jake and Hamilton, and Hamilton punches Ryder in the face. When Hamilton storms off, saying “it’s not worth it.” Jake goes through the motions that she’s going to leave and tell everyone that she’s a girl, so that she can stop pretending and Hamilton can have a clear reputation. Hamilton apologizes, telling Jake that his reputation doesn’t matter and that he will stop pushing.
The episode ends with a surprise party for Bella and a kiss between Will and Caroline.
Exam Time!
How many times do you see someone rowing on the lake?
2
How many times does someone end up in the lake?
3 (Aw, yiss!)
How many times is someone seen without a shirt on?
8
How many times does someone drink a Coke/is a Coca-Cola logo seen?
1
On a scale of 1–10, how adorably awkward does the flirting between Hamilton and Jake get?
7. The pair had a rough time of it this episode, but the moment they made up at the end was genuine and sweet.
On a scale of 1–10, how uncomfortably awkward does the relationship between Scout and Bella get?
6. When Bella is complaining about her crappy summer vacation and the myriad of things that went wrong, one of the things she mentions is “falling in love with her brother.” (There was a another moment or two of Scout staring uncomfortably at her, but that’s kind of the norm for him.)
Essay Questions
What was the most obvious rich kid vs. poor kid moment?
When Will gets excited about being accepted as a tutor, Finn asks if it’s all for the love of poetry. Will responds, “And the $20 an hour.”
What was the best example of Finn trying to pull a Dead Poets Society?
At the start of the episode, Finn teaches the boys about the unchangeable nature of life.
What familiar faces appeared in the episode, and in what else have they appeared?
Matt Czuchry, Michelle Monaghan and Charlie Hunnam reprise their roles as Sean, Caroline and Ryder, respectively.
Extra Credit
How many times does a Nick Drake song play?
3
Final (Arbitrary) Score
75/100. I’m a little sad that so many things were left unanswered or unresolved during the penultimate episode. I’m not sure if the showrunners knew that they weren’t going to get picked up for the fall season, or if they just liked dragging everything out until the last possible moment.
1.8 “Will Bella Scout Her Mom”
The last episode of the series (*sniffle*) opens on the last day of summer session at Rawley. As the boys are packing up, Scout tries to get Will to go to Saint Martin with him for the rest of the summer. Will declines, saying that he’d feel like a moocher.
Finn arrives and gives Will some bad news—his scholarship has been withdrawn. He offers some other applications, but the dates on all have passed. Unless something miraculous happens, Will’s going have to go back to the public high school for fall semester.
Jake follows Hamilton into the bathroom to wait for him to shower and he asks her to join him. She balks at first, but then agrees. As she’s undressing—in the open—Finn walks in on them both. Jake books it out of the bathroom and then runs from campus.
Bella’s dad gets a phone call from someone alerting him to the fact that the garage will be going up for auction thanks to Bella’s mom never putting her dad’s name on the lease. Jake shows up, looking for her motorcycle (which she dropped off earlier for a tune up) so that she can get out of town, but Bella hasn’t finished and is in a rush to get to her mom’s, so Jake tags along. Hamilton shows up and decides to go with, and they spot Will on the way out of town and grab him too. He’s a little surprised when he notices that Jake’s in a skirt and has boobs, but he rolls with it. Sean shows up at the diner looking for Bella, and when Scout realizes where she’s gone, the two decide to hitchhike after the other four.
As the group of Bella, Jake, Hamilton and Will are driving along, a deer jumps out into the middle of the road. Bella swerves to miss it … but then runs into a tree. The group spots a cabin a little way into the woods and goes to check if there’s a phone. The cabin is empty, but they decide to stay there for the night. Scout and Sean see Bella’s truck on the side of the road and then find the cabin. After Scout gets over the fact that Jake’s wearing a skirt, everyone starts to argue. Scout, of course, thinks the whole trip is about finding out if he and Bella are really related, and she assures him that it’s not—that it’s about the garage.
In the morning, the group decides to walk to the town Bella’s mom lives in, which at that point is only 10 miles away. Instead of following the road, however, they follow the train tracks. (Weirdos.) When they arrive at Bella’s mom’s house, Bella goes to the house alone. She and her mom have a talk and discuss some of the reasons why Bella’s mom left their family 10 years ago. Bella eventually asks about the garage, and it turns out that Bella’s mom is the one who put it up for sale. Bella grows a backbone and tells her mom that she’s in for a fight and runs out of the house.
When Bella rejoins the group, a man walks up to the front porch. He asks Bella’s mom who Bella was, and she replies, “Your daughter.” (OH SNAP!) The group finds a ride back to New Rawley. While they were away, Bella’s dad finished with Jake’s bike, so she says her goodbyes and rides off to New York. After he leaves, Hamilton heads back to the school. Bella and Sean head into the garage, Scout leaves to catch a bus to the airport, and Will’s left alone in the town square, mailing his scholarship applications.
The episode (and series) ends with Will joining Scout on the bus … and Finn posting a note on Will’s dorm room mirror that his fall scholarship application has been approved.
Exam Time!
How many times do you see someone rowing on the lake?
1
How many times does someone end up in the lake?
0
How many times is someone seen without a shirt on?
4
How many times does someone drink a Coke/is a Coca-Cola logo seen?
1
On a scale of 1–10, how adorably awkward does the flirting between Hamilton and Jake get?
8. The shower scene could have been really sexy, but with Finn walking in on the two it takes a turn for the hilarious.
On a scale of 1–10, how uncomfortably awkward does the relationship between Scout and Bella get?
7. Scout and Sean get into a fight when Scout says that when Bella finds out that she has a choice between the two, she might not pick Sean.
Essay Questions
What was the most obvious rich kid vs. poor kid moment?
Scout plans to spend the rest of his summer in the Caribbean while Will plans to spend it in the Rawley dorms.
What was the best example of Finn trying to pull a Dead Poets Society?
At one point, Finn gets an “oh captain, my captain,” tribute that involves being hit with pillows and the whooping of young men.
What familiar faces appeared in the episode, and in what else have they appeared?
Matt Czuchry reprises his role as Sean.
Extra Credit
How many times does a Nick Drake song play?
0
Final (Arbitrary) Score
80/100. I’m pretty sure the showrunners were hoping for a series pickup, which is why they revealed secrets like the fact that Scout and Bella aren’t related, but didn’t actually let Scout and Bella find out. Everyone also said their goodbyes on a hopeful note, like they’d be seeing each other again when school started back up in September. It was a bittersweet episode knowing that it was the end.
BONUS EPISODE: 1.0 “Pilot”
(If you want to compare the first episode that aired to the recap below, you can read the first part of my rewatch here.)
The unaired pilot for the series starts off with Will (still Rodney Scott) walking the streets of New Rawley, commenting on small town life. It soon cuts to a shot of Rawley Academy, which is totally different from the Rawley Academy of the actual series. He arrives at the school is dropped off at his dorm by his parents—different actors—and meets with his roommate—still Scout (still Mark Famiglietti). Hamilton (still Ian Somerhalder) stops by and does reassure them that he’s not a narc, but their conversation this time is disturbed by a bunch of scantily clad girls from Rawley Girls running through the halls: The “freshman hazing panty run,” according to Hamilton.
Their teacher is still Finn—this time played by Jeremy Sisto!—but it’s held in a classroom, not at the lake. We also learn of the affair between he and Hamilton’s mom—also a different actress—from the very beginning, as they make out in the classroom between the bells. This Finn will be teaching them history, in addition to literature, but still starts the first class with the “Who is the greatest writer that ever lived?” query. Will still says Faulkner, and Finn still says Shakespeare.
After class, Will, Scout and random extras are taken into town in their undies. They still head over to the garage and meet Bella, but her sister—different actress—is there too. Bella and Scout still flirt, and the two boys still walk back through the woods and make their confessions to each other in which Will reveals his cheating.
Hamilton still barges into Jake (still Katherine Moening)’s room, but instead of telling Hamilton that she’s there because of her absent mother, it’s because of her absent parents. Jake then shows Hamilton how she can hack into the school’s database. After Hamilton leaves, we find out that she’s a girl in the exact way we did in Episode 1. Finn also still overhears Will admitting to cheating, confronts him about it, and yells, but eventually gives him the same chance to make it right—only after, however, Will asks to be able to take the test again. He still writes the essay that inspires Finn to tell him he’s got a future as a writer, and a place at Rawley.
Scout and Bella still get all sorts of flirty right off the bat. Scout is still just as creepy right before their first kiss. Bella reveals that her mom didn’t leave, however, but passed away five years ago. Scout and Bella have the same conversation where they reveal they’re both falling head over heels for each other, and Bella’s dad—this time played by Mark Pellegrino!—still gives Scout the “she’s possibly your sister” talk.
Hamilton and Jake still head up to the roof to hack into the satellite feed and talk about sex. Jake still kisses him, and still runs away. (Hamilton also still totally liked it.) The both also still agree to forget about the whole thing.
The pilot ends with Will, Scout and Bella going … cow tipping.
Exam Time!
How many times do you see someone rowing on the lake?
2
How many times does someone end up in the lake?
0
How many times is someone seen without a shirt on?
6
How many times does someone drink a Coke/is a Coca-Cola logo seen?
0
On a scale of 1–10, how adorably awkward does the flirting between Hamilton and Jake get?
9. The first kiss is so, so great.
On a scale of 1–10, how uncomfortably awkward does the relationship between Scout and Bella get?
Still a 9. They still go from making googly eyes at each other to learning that they might be brothers and sisters.
Essay Questions
What was the most obvious rich kid vs. poor kid moment?
Bella makes multiple references to Scout being “the Fresh Prince of <blank>.” Since the last episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air aired in 1996, I think we can assume that the citizens of New Rawley weren’t really up-to-date on pop-culture.
What was the best example of Finn trying to pull a Dead Poets Society?
Still the “greatest writer” conversation, but this time Finn tells them that passion doesn’t come from the head, or the heart, it comes from somewhere below Finn’s stomach (and out of the frame). The boys laugh, however, so I think we can assume what he gestured at.
What familiar faces appeared in the episode, and in what else have they appeared?
- Jeremy Sisto (Finn) had roles on Six Feet Under and Law & Order.
- Mark Pellegrino (Bella’s dad) had roles on Lost and Supernatural.
Extra Credit
How many times does a Nick Drake song play?
0
Final (Arbitrary) Score
50/100. I’m so glad they made the changes they did to Episode 1. Plus, Ed Quinn is WAY better as Finn.
Thanks so much for joining me on this jaunt through the summer of 2000. If there’s another classic YA show you’ve been dying for an excuse to rewatch, let me know in the comments!
