In Dreams
Written by Jennifer Levin And Michael Foley
Directed by Tom Amandes
10
"Perfect"
Kevin: "Oh my God, look Scotty I can explain everything."
Scotty: "Great. How about explaining to me what part in sickness and in health means leaving me at home with your mother."
It turns out that doctors are not the only bad patients you can nowadays. Nope, former lawyers turned communication directors are also similarly troublesome as Kevin proves that sometimes, instead of TLC, space is probably the better remedy instead.
Given that he's had about thirty six years to know that Nora can really take her Mama Bear routine to extremes, I did wonder why on Earth both Kevin and Scotty elected to have the former stay and recuperate at the Walker mansion. Did Kevin just want trouble?
Recuperating from major surgery can be a handful but Nora herself actually made it a lot worse. I know it's in Nora's nature to get all overprotective and criticising anyone else who tries to pull their way but I actually did find it more annoying than usual here and so did Scotty.
It's because of Nora's attitude towards Scotty that irked me. In the previous episode, I could feel that some tension between the two was building up and this week, Nora seemed to do everything to egg it on. Scotty literally couldn't anything right in her eyes and it certainly irritated him to no end.
However unlike Robert, Scotty did actually manage to bite his tongue for a lot longer, which means that he must be the most patient man on Earth. I think anyone else would've snapped at Nora way before the first break.
In fact it wasn't until Kevin made a prison escape that Scotty did end up venting at Nora and even then he was incredibly calm. He didn't exactly say anything that no viewer themselves wasn't thinking when it came to Nora this week and her reaction was to make a tearful phone apology as a result.
Kevin's brief escape did put him in the dog house with Scotty for a little bit but Kevin did insist upon the fact that he bailed for reasons other than Nora suffocating him and I believed him. After all, Kevin pretty much had a lot on his mind and it played out during a series of dream sequences.
Dream sequences aren't exactly something the show has done at all in its first three seasons so the ones on board here managed to be funny, surreal and insightful all at once while staying perfectly in character.
It made sense that the common theme of all of Kevin's dreams was Elizabeth. He's just found that he's her bio-dad and there was no way that wasn't going to plague his subconscious in a big way.
Having Nora and a soldier Scotty fighting over fluids was certainly hilarious given that both were battling for taking care of Kevin in this episode. Then having the one dream where everyone was laughing at a pregnant Kevin is definitely something that would a lot of people wake up in a cold sweat.
Of course the sex dream with Julia was always going to be the one that would irk many viewers. The last thing viewers want is for Kevin to explore the possibility of having some sexual feelings for women, especially if the woman in question is Julia.
I don't mean that in a horrible way but given the tension between Kevin and Tommy, it would be a horrible plot. The only problem is that Sarah Jane Morris who plays Julia showed more chemistry here with Matthew Rhys in a fantasy sequence than she has done with Balthazar Getty. That's not a good thing when you think about it.
I have to admit that I did get a supremely immature laugh when Julia checking up on Kevin nearly scared the crap out of him. It was perfect comic timing and never did I see a TV character so desperate to get out of the same room. I am also glad as well that Julia didn't actually figure out that Kevin was having a sexual dream about her too though.
The other sets of dream though did seem to concentrate on Kevin's search for Elizabeth until he finally had one where he got to be a good father to her. You do wonder if this could foreshadow future events with Kevin wanting to take a more active role in Lizzie's upbringing but mainly it's just probably his brain trying to come to terms with everything that's happened.
The questions of what to tell Elizabeth about her parentage when she gets older did raise further debate. Julia had the point of mentioning that actually telling her truth would be the wisest option but Tommy seemed too determined to dismiss the idea.
Now I do feel sorry for Tommy a little bit (he couldn't help his child when it really mattered) but I do think that he overreacted as well in this episode. When Kevin tried to explain about his dreams, Tommy simply just stormed out, which is something that he can be a bit too fond of doing when things aren't going his way.
Then there was getting Kevin to sign a contract that would forbid him from telling Lizzie the truth of her parentage. What the hell was the point of that? Kevin might have expressed his dreams but not once did he actually imply that he didn't view Tommy as Elizabeth's true father, though him and Scotty did later discuss the idea of eventually starting a family.
Tommy's motives might have been understandable but they were also selfish and surely he shouldn't have tried to get Kevin to sign a contract like that while he was recovering. I did however like the scene with Kevin and Elizabeth at the end, which was cute and heart warming in its own manner.
Of course getting back to selfish parental behaviour, Nora did push the boundaries this week with wanting to take care of Kevin and even another outsider discovered that she does overindulge in the nurturing process and by that, I was of course referring to Roger.
Nigel Havers is a good actor and a surprise piece of casting for the show (can we have some British actors?) but I'm not really sure I'm all that sold on the character of Roger just yet. I'm gonna make an assumption that we'll have him for a few more episodes so by then I'll have more to form a better opinion.
On one hand, he did seem to deliberately goad Nora about the idea of her centre being similar to a womb and he wasn't particularly graceful in the way he accused her of being too close to her children either. Both of those assumptions would've made him into an utter prick if they weren't valid.
Something that was a lot more predictable however was the sort of romantic history between the pair of them. Nora's resistance in wanting to meet with him as well as her attempts to downplay his achievements were giveaways but even at her most frustrating, Nora does get a wealth of great moments.
Her drunken, tearful apology to Scotty over her treatment towards him on the phone was one thing but when Saul entered the fray, I think we got one of the best scenes with those two in the series history. I loved that Nora poured her heart about flirting with Roger in order to make William jealous.
I also loved that Saul tried to boost her confidence by suggesting that Roger might actually fancy Nora. I'd be incredibly surprised if nothing did happen with them and seeing as George didn't stick around long enough for something to happen there, I think it's fairly safe to assume that Nora will more than likely get some love action with Roger.
Also her grilling Saul about his boyfriend was priceless. Of course Justin wasn't going to keep that one a secret and now that Nora is aware that her brother is dating, it shouldn't be long until we actually meet Saul's mystery bloke.
Getting away from sickness and prospective new dates, I really loved Justin's plot this week. Thanks to Cooper's unintentionally shaming Show And Tell, Justin got backed into a corner and forced to reassess himself. I really did feel for Justin during that scene with Cooper at school.
Maybe Tommy and Sarah's career intervention wasn't the best timed but it certainly went better than expected with Justin even moving into his own place and Nora giving him her blessing. I liked that Nora did that, it showed some growth after the way she behaved for the majority of the episode.
Then there was Kitty and Robert. Oddly this plot didn't annoy me but it did emphasise that Kitty has moved on career wise from being Robert's right hand woman and no amount of brain sex is going to deter her.
It's also nice that we're back into the book plot as well as Kitty was going through interviews she had and clearly putting her foot down to Robert that her career also came first. I can't help but not love Kitty for that. Also in "A Father Dreams"
There was a lot of episode clips in the reprise segment of this episode.
Nora (to Scotty): "Does he know where he is?"
Kevin: "Yeah, I'm in my childhood bedroom with my mother and my husband talking about me as if I wasn't here."
When I saw the promos, I did think that Scotty dressed as WW2 soldier might have had more to do with Kevin's politic beliefs rather than a fantasy of theirs.
Scotty: "Your mother will think I'm hurting you."
Kevin: "You are and don't worry, I yanked the plug out of the monitor an hour ago."
Nora: "Scotty, don't be silly. It's nothing I haven't seen before."
Scotty (re Kevin): "Well hopefully, it's something you haven't seen in a long time."
That has to be the best comeback to the issue of a parent overstepping a mark with their children. Good one, Scotty.
Kevin: "Is it hot in here?"
Julia: "Not really but it could be."
Julia: "Were you having a bad dream about me?"
Kevin: "No. Why?"
Julia: "You said my name."
Kevin's sex dream with Julia reminded me of that episode of Dawson's Creek where Dawson had a nightmare about Joey and Jack hooking up again. That's not a coincidence given that Greg Berlanti was instrumental on that show as he is here. Robert (re brain sex): "You know you're right. It's been a long time."
Kitty: "Probably since I worked here." Roger: "I come bearing gifts."
Nora: "A gift for me about you."
Roger: "I knew you'd call. I just didn't think it'd take thirty years."
Saul did seem to be flirting with Roger quite a bit in this episode but still I didn't think Roger was the mystery boyfriend. I do think that Roger picked up on Saul taking a shine to him though.
Kevin: "Take longer next time."
Justin: "You can't ask me to be your getaway driver and **** about it."
Roger (to Nora): "You want to build a womb like this home. A natural space incapable of expelling its progeny."
This episode might have delighted viewers with neither Holly nor Rebecca appearing in it at all.
Kevin: "Have I been disowned?"
Sarah: "Yeah by me. Thanks for letting me be the one to tell Mom that's suffocating you. Really appreciated that."
Justin: "You're not gonna let me leave, Sarah?"
Sarah: "Hmm, sit down."
Justin: "This family's unbelievable."
Standout music: Gnarls Barkley's "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)" during Kevin and Justin's escape.
Saul: "Why are you mad at Roger?"
Nora: "Because I look at him and I see this pathetic, insecure woman and I hate her and I hate that's how he remembers me."
Kevin: "It's weird. I grew up thinking I'd never be a Dad."
Saul: "It's not weird. You're gay."
Kevin: "No, it's not just that. I just didn't think I'd be any good at it, always putting someone else's needs first all the time."
Chronology: I'm gonna presume that we're still in November/December 2008, though this is the first 2009 aired episode we've had.
"A Father Dreams" is another series high. I know this season is still having problems but with episodes like this, I can't see why it can't turn itself around. More interactions amongst the actual Walkers themselves, better service to Scotty and Julia and less Holly/Robert/Rebecca and we'll be fine.moreless
