The streets of Boston took an interesting and insightful turn in “The Perfect Storm.” Indeed, the perfect storm it was, with a cacophony of personal problems, revelations, and obstacles to crush coming to the fore. The constant rain was an ideal aesthetic to go with the downpour of each character’s emotions, some stronger than others. The rain was more than just the weather: it was a symbol of the characters drowning in their own despair.
Maggie literally walks through the rain, looking like a drowned cat as she deals with her mother’s secrets. What exactly is Patricia trying to do to her daughter, anyway? Is she really protecting Maggie, or just sending her on a nosedive? Why does Patricia always seem to make a bigger deal out of everything than she really needs to? Does she thrive on the drama or does she simply not know how to handle anything anymore?
Patricia’s approach and methods thereof are her biggest problems. Like a volcano, it erupts and leaves everything covered in lava and ash, waves of hot and cold and suffocating smoke making it impossible for anyone around it to breathe, let alone survive. Did she honestly expect everything to be okay right away? That’s either incredibly selfish, or terribly naive.
Patricia’s problems are now drowning Maggie. Her depth of grief was apparently lessened by Eric, who turns out to be involved with her brother. Just when we think we know it all, the show throws us in for another loop.
Grief isn’t easily defined because it impacts everyone in a different way. On that level, we can be sympathetic. However, the way Patricia handled things in “The Perfect Storm” could certainly use an improvement. Unable to let go of her grief, Patricia destroys her relationships with both her husband and her daughter. It takes an intense conversation with Gary, of all people, for Patricia to realize the error of her ways.
Still, the way Patricia left without really resolving things with Eric and Maggie is a selfish and immature move on her part. She’s obviously not completely aware of the damage she caused. She left Maggie to deal with some dark matters, and if anything, their relationship is going to take even more work to begin a course to healing from here on out.
Maggie always comes second, even to her dead brother. Nothing she does is good enough for her mother. The heartbreaking part of that is that despite Maggie’s or even Patricia’s best efforts, this may never change. At least, not as long as Patricia refuses to let go of her son, which may just be eating her alive.
I knew Eric was going to somehow impact Gary and Maggie’s relationship. While he seems genuinely good, he also now poses a danger. Maggie chose him over Gary. She chose him to confide in, even in front of a clearly hurt Gary. Eric is already driving a wedge into their relationship, and honestly, Patricia is to blame for bringing Eric in at the wrong time. Just when Maggie needs Gary the most, she makes the mistake of confiding in the wrong person, which obviously hurts Gary beyond measure. She’s choosing the wrong person over the right one, which, ironically, is exactly what Patricia did.
Gary deserves better. He’s undergone a significant transformation since his playboy party days and has overcome his own insecurities for the sake of his relationship with Maggie. He’s helped out Delilah, Rome and the rest of the gang with various things, having taken on more responsibility as time has gone on. In “The Perfect Storm”, he shares a touching moment with Katherine that basically established his support for her and his willingness to help with anything that he could.
Plus, Gary’s evolving relationship with Maggie is impressive. Did he really work so hard to change for the better and build a healthy relationship only for Maggie to grow distant, or else pull away? I don’t believe it, but with a show like this, you never know. That’s the suspenseful aspect of it all.
“The Perfect Storm” sees Katherine still clearly drowning in her own personal Hell. It takes a coworker for her to realize the ultimate decision she has to make. There is no halfway. The thing is, sometimes a person outside of the situation is the best one to consult with, as their outside perspective may contain the answers you need. Clearly, it’s what Katherine needs.
Watching her son unknowingly bond with his half-sister as he played the ukulele is a bittersweet moment for Katherine. His sweet gesture is also painful because he may never know who the little baby girl is to him, and Katherine is forced to confront her new reality for the first time. The baby plus Delilah is initially too much but she finds renewed strength as she makes her decision to move forward anyway.
However, Katherine is acting a bit too self-sacrificial. How much of her soul and her sanity is chipping away just to keep a straight face for Theo? How much is it draining her to work on her marriage with the other woman remaining in the same city? She swallowed everything to help Delilah keep her home, but that could very well come up in the future as a problem with Katherine conducting all the good deeds and Delilah simply acquiescing.
Approaching her group of friends who try to reincorporate her into the group also sends up red flags. She seems to be avoiding the past once more. Her coping mechanism is her undoing. The past can’t be erased. Sooner or later she will have to face her demons, and by building up more anguish to endure, Katherine could very well be setting herself up for obliteration.
Eddie is becoming submerged in his own torrent of despair over his miniscule relationship with his newborn daughter. Could it be for the wrong reasons? He missed certain things with his son, could he be trying to recreate that time by making it up to his daughter? Will those efforts throw his fragile relationship with Katherine off to the side once more? Will it affect his relationship with his son?
Eddie needs to make a choice on what is important to him. He’s simply asking for too much. He wants what he once had with Katherine and Theo, but he wants his daughter, too. With the circumstances changed, Eddie needs to create the best working reality in the present, not the past. Otherwise he’s just setting himself up to fail miserably. What are his goals for his daughter, and how will that affect his marriage? Will fixing his marriage cost him his daughter?
For all this drama, “The Perfect Storm” featured one of the funniest moments of the series thus far, which found Sophie capturing a shot of Rome and Eddie shirtless in a steam shower with the baby, providing a moment of comedic relief in the midst of all that emotional intensity. I wouldn’t mind seeing that photo pop up in future episodes as a recurring joke.
Rome and Regina are inundated with financial struggles. Learning to be more thrifty in a struggling business proves to be difficult for Regina, whose freak out nearly has her in a fight with Delilah. Regina is independent, but sometimes that’s her downfall because she takes on everything herself and refuses to allow herself to be helped.
Delilah needs the restaurant just as much. The fact is, she’s lost. She has motherhood, yes, but she needs something to work for, to strive for and be passionate about. Her late husband knew that, hence he left the restaurant for her and Regina to work on.
In “The Perfect Storm”, the restaurant seems more like a distraction for her, considering she has to face Katherine in person for the first time since the baby’s birth. Facing your mistakes is one of the hardest things a person has to do. Trying to balance her new role as a working mom only works for so long as a diversion.
Sometimes divinity interferes in a person’s weakest moments. A rainy day and a power outage are the answers to Regina and Delilah’s prayers. You don’t usually find yourself or the rest of your party sitting with complete strangers in a restaurant. This establishes a new meaning to the ‘family setting’ of a restaurant. Their distinct family theme will be what makes them unique.
Despite how much Delilah may need the restaurant, Regina needs it more. It’s more her calling than Delilah’s, and the reassurance of customers escaping the rain gives her the idea she needs to keep the restaurant from going under anytime soon. It’s kind of an homage to The Fast and the Furious, whose one major theme, other than heightened action sequences, is family.
Catch up on our previous A Million Little Things reviews here.
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