Sophie’s rebellion continues, this time in the form of drinking. Sophie’s downward spiral of bad choices from disobeying curfew to avoiding her mother is to her own detriment, as she makes life harder for herself. She wants to punish her mother, and possibly Eddie, but she’s only destroying herself. That’s the stem of Delilah’s pain, watching her child throw her life away and not being able to do anything about it.
Regina’s performance deserves a shoutout in “We’re the Howards.” Not only are she and Rome spending the entire episode trying to perfect their video to send to people looking at couples wanting to adopt, but she makes time for Sophie and Delilah. Regina is proving to be a significant maternal figure for Sophie at a time when Sophie needs it the most, just not from her own mother. Plus, she’s being a good best friend to Delilah, reassuring and supporting her when Delilah’s confidence as a mother has been shattered.
Not many people would willingly stay with a drunk teenager, but Regina never leaves Sophie’s side. She gets a taste of the harder side of parenting in doing so, but it doesn’t scare her off, signifying she’s ready for motherhood. Her love for Sophie is prominent, and when she told Sophie that they (she and Rome) were tough on her because they cared, and that Sophie mattered, it was the perfect surrogate mother-daughter moment, and Sophie reciprocated.
Regina also forcibly holds Delilah back from entering the apartment to check on Sophie, as doing that would only allow Sophie to win. Sophie is rebelling and making bad choices, and wants the attention for it. Delilah wants to be a mom and take care of her daughter, but sometimes that means staying away, and Regina was wise in that moment by helping her best friend realize that. Though, Regina does make up for it by sending Delilah a picture of Sophie eating her favorite soup, which seems to ease Delilah’s pain, if only for that moment.
Rome’s performance is equally noteworthy. Not only in how he interacts with Sophie, but in his depiction to Gary of how he and Gary live in “two different Bostons.” He outlines the differences between white and African-American lifestyles, of all the different habits he has to conduct just to stay safe. When Gary endangers him at Sophie’s softball game, leading to both of their arrests, Rome has to paint a picture for Gary, and it’s not pretty. Rome’s performance was strong and direct, and a sad reminder of the way the world can be.
Gary’s self-destruction has only continued since the previous episode. While Rome was released from custody, Gary wasn’t so lucky. It’s Katherine that serves Gary a reality check, especially when Gary is particularly nasty to Maggie. Clearly he hasn’t learned anything from staring death in the face in “The Kiss”, and it’s sad to see that Gary continues to figuratively shoot himself in the foot. He’s actually worse than Sophie is at this point, and that’s significant. He and Sophie might do well by talking to each other, as they’re the two most likely candidates to understand the other at this point.
Maggie was Gary’s undoing. At least after Katherine’s reality check, Gary seems to understand that and purges the box of things that remind him of Maggie, except for the Post-It that has “I’m In” written upon it, which meant something to them both. Will it bring about a turn in his life for the better? It’s hard to say, considering he appears to still be on the warpath when it comes to outing Eric. Gary could’ve been arrested at that point too, but his confrontation with Maggie’s potential new beau seemed to spook Eric more than anything, as he should be. Eric’s got a lawsuit for wrongful death pending against him, after all.
The whole Eric fiasco is aging, and not like fine wine. Just when it seems there’s nothing left to tell, another rabbit is pulled from the hat to reveal a different aspect of Eric, this time being that everything we’ve known about Eric thus far is a lie. If Gary can see through the guy in his own bedraggled state, why can’t Maggie see through him? Eric’s some kind of coward. Instead of being open with Maggie, he chooses to run and avoid his demons.
Maggie is focused on writing a paper about life after loss, and Delilah offered her insight. I liked that this is something the two connect upon, and that despite Maggie’s break-up with Gary, the gang still include Maggie and consider her their friend. Maggie doesn’t really know anyone in Boston, and it’s nice to have people to back you up in the same zip code. Plus, it’s helpful for Delilah, as the two can relate on certain emotions and experiences that other members of their group can’t.
I wasn’t surprised that Theo reached a breaking point and pushed another kid at school. It’s revealed that he’s been holding some things back, and I completely understood why. Change is difficult, especially when it’s radical or sprung upon. He’s gone through a lot with his parents and with the addition of Charlie to the family, there’s certainly a shift in dynamics.
I thought his performance could have been a little deeper and more vulnerable, but Theo hit the nail on the head when it came to childlike emotions and tendencies. He doesn’t know how to handle his emotions, so he lashes out when he reaches his limit. Eddie’s new job may also affect him in the future, but for now Theo seems comfortable enough, though it could be a guise, given his previous actions of bottling things up.
Given the intensity of last week’s episode, this episode has more lighthearted moments in contrast. In shows dealing with serious content like this one, it’s difficult to find a balance so the audience doesn’t always feel drained after watching a single episode. A Million Little Things manages to do that, seemingly on a rotating basis from week-to-week.
My favorite part of the episode was watching Delilah put on “Who Let The Dogs Out” and dancing for Charlie in the kitchen. There couldn’t have been a better song for that scene, and I thought it was hilarious that that same song was used to wake Sophie from her hangover, courtesy of Rome and Regina. Sophie learned the hard way the consequences of drinking, and with “Who Let The Dogs Out” on full-blast, it had to suck.
I also loved the way Katherine supported Eddie’s new career venture. They’ve come back stronger and wiser, and being there to support one another is a big deal after all they’ve been through since day one. They’re becoming #relationshipgoals, and for good reason. Not to mention it could mean big things for Eddie’s career, and open up the potential for storylines both good and bad, from facing old demons (like alcoholism) to helping a fellow musician juggle the music industry.
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