Monday Dec 6th Spoiler
The show starts with hot surfer guy, Sean, coming to the house to pick up Sommer. He's going to teach Sommer and a friend how to surf. Sommer asks Denise to join her. Denise is excited, but Sommer is scared, it's a big risk. At the beach they put on wet suits and Sommer is happier, it's better than being at the pool in her bathing suit. Sean (ooooh, yummy) leads them in some stretches, then gets them in the water.
Dr Stan arrives to meet with Rachael. She talks about her brother, Jason, who is 31 and lives on the east coast. She says he blew all their parents money, and left two days after the funeral. She feels like he abandoned her. Rachael had counselling after her parents died, but she didn't talk about it, she was in denial. She's afraid to grieve since she's afraid she won't be able to pick up the pieces. She contemplated suicide since she wanted to be with her parents.
Back to the surfing. Sommer is trying hard and seems to be having fun. She's doing better than I did my first time, surfing is hard!
Back to Rachael and Dr Stan. She tried to comfort herself by sneaking out at night and meeting boys, so people didn't see her as hurt. She doesn't understand why they didn't see through that. She repeats that her aunt didn't have the "tools" to look after her, Dr Stan thinks maybe her aunt just didn't want to. Rachael is still in contact with her aunt, but has never confronted her about this. She has never been assertive with her brother either, she's afraid it would push them away.
Sommer and Denise get back, and Denise says in confessional that she did better than Sommer. (as far as I could tell, she wasn't) She also says this to Cassie, who sort of reprimands her, saying it was Sommer's assignment. Denise says she can't help being better.
Rhonda leads group, and Sommer tells her about surfing. They discuss the first trip to the beach when Sommer wouldn't even get in the water. Rhonda introduces the "stretch, risk or die" excercise. A stretch is "something kinda scary, but not too scary, so you'll do it" a risk is "something way scary, you're going to do it, but you're nervous about it" and die is "absolutely not, you don't want to do it because you're going to die".
Rhonda asks Sommer what her die zone is, and Sommer says she thinks she's been there a lot lately, and comments that she seems to gain more confidence with every risk she takes. Rhonda announces that tonight there will be a "I lost 100lbs" celebration. Sommer doesn't like the party idea. She understands it will allow her to own the 100lbs, but she just wants them gone.
Rhonda asks Renee what her die zone is, and she says seeing her father again. They haven't spoken for 9-10 years. She admits it wouldn't be okay for him to be happy and proud of her, she wants him to have suffered without her in his life.
Rachael's die zone is admitting to her brother and aunt how abandoned she felt, and how angry she is about it. She's scared they will push her away and then she'll really be alone. Rhonda praises her for being able to admit her anger.
Iyanla and Renee meet. Iyanla talks about choices, and says that thinking could be hazardous to Renee's healing. She tells Renee to get her six-year-old. Renee's father was the authority figure, her mom she was very close to, her brother was nasty and mean. She says she inherited her father's bad temper. Iyanla senses some deep pain in Renee that she's not ready to discuss, so Iyanla assigns her to do some role-plays. Renee starts out as herself at 6, Cassie is her mom, Denise is her dad, and Rachael is her brother. They really get into it, and Denise says in confessional that it was really easy for her to be mean and angry, like her own dad.
Towanda and Sommer go shopping for party supplies, and Sommer just keeps saying she doesn't want to make a big deal out of it, she not into the idea of a party at all.
Dr Stan meets with Renee. (BTW, she's 28) She knows she has anger issues, she thinks it's because she didn't have a father "growing up", then she corrects herself and says "after high school". Dr Stan says she didn't have a father for her transition to adulthood, so she feels stuck in adolescence(sp?). She had a great boyfriend for a long time, he treated her like a baby, she had him wrapped around her finger, but she broke up with him because she got tired of it. Dr Stan points out that she saw him as a father figure. Renee cries about being stuck as a teenager and not "getting it" in the house. Dr Stan tells her he and Iyanla don't expect her to get it yet.
Towanda is having fun shopping, and says in confessional she's on a mission to make sure Sommer has a good time, even though she gets in a "mood" sometimes when she isn't feeling it. Sommer just keeps saying she doesn't want a party.
Rachael and Iyanla meet, and Iyanla asks her what it was like role playing the brother. Rachael says it was uncomfortable and hilarious. Iyanla comments that maybe Rachael's brother had to back off, in order to deal with their parents death, and wasn't able to be there for her, maybe he knows she's angry with him about it. Rachael agrees that could be the case.
Renee does another role play, as a teenager this time. She was a real party girl, and didn't care about school. She says in confessional that this role play is bringing back the memories, and it's hitting her hard.
While driving home, Sommer decides she needs to take a risk, and at a stop light she jumps out of the car, runs all around it, then jumps back in, laughing. In confessional she says taking a risk is like a rush of adrenaline.
Renee talks to Iyanla about what she has learned today. She's aware she disrespects her co-workers, and she manipulates boyfriends. Her father made an attempt to reconcile, but Renee didn't want to.
It's time for Sommer's party. In confessional, Rhonda says that Sommer told her that she gains an insight with every pound lost, so Rhonda wants her to come up with 100 insights. The HGs order pizza and sit outside with party hats on. Sommer reads her insights and they light a candle for each one. One "insight" is that Sommer has quit smoking!
Rachael calls her aunt and says there are still things between them they need to talk about. Her aunt doesn't have anything, but says if Rachael does, that's okay. Rachael says she felt abandoned, and everyone at the house wonders why she wasn't taken in by family. Her aunt says she's not going to feel guilty about it, she's just Rachael's aunt, not her mother. She says that there wasn't anyone who could cope with Rachael except in a theraputic environment. She says taking Rachael in would have disrupted her whole family. She says she's not trying to hurt Rachael, or be mean, that's just the reality. She points out that Rachael's mom didn't want to die, she tried all kinds of treatments, and as her sister, Rachael's aunt was grieving too. She has to go, but tells Rachael to call whenever she needs to talk.
Previews for Tuesday:
The women have a terrifying night: We see group with Rhonda and Iyanla, and Towanda says "The alarm went off and it sounded like someone entering the house."
And what the scare reveals could spell disaster for one woman:
(okay, I'm going to describe this bit fully, and you can draw your own conclusions)
First shot: Rhonda has her head turned to the right and says "This is grounds for dismissal."
Second shot: We see Towanda, Denise and Rachael sitting on the couch to Rhonda and Iyanla's left. We hear Rhonda saying "You should not be in the Starting Over house.." and Rachael is nodding.
Third shot: We see the whole group, Sommer, Renee and Cassie are sitting on the couch to Rhonda's left. Sommer is closest to Rhonda, and Renee is in the middle. I can't see the expressions on their faces. Rhonda seems to be looking out at the group as a whole and continues "...because you're not here for the right reasons."
Denise makes a heart-wrenching connection: We see her talking to Towanda, saying "It makes sense, why I hold onto anger."
And Towanda explodes: We see her sobbing, and Iyanla holding her, then Iyanla encouraging her, saying "You can do this."
So Tuesday's the big day, I think it's Sommer Rhonda was talking to, but who knows? The editing leaves it very unclear.
Posted by inthestars at December 3, 2004 10:05 PM
