‘The Sleepover’ takes several big steps forward in its storylines. Steps that will change many of the lives of the group of friends and their families. Some steps are good, some are bad, but they all provide meaningful lessons and messages at the heart of it.
Rome and Regina are happily moving forward with Eve, only for their happiness to be thwarted by the sudden appearance of Eve’s abusive former boyfriend. Eve ran away from him prior to meeting with Rome and Regina, and the fear emanating from her was significant in her performance throughout ‘The Sleepover’. I could understand where she was coming from with more insight, based on the way she played it.
She wanted to run away again, but she can’t keep running forever. That’s why I was glad to see Regina use her women’s shelter connections to give Eve the help she needs. Not to mention Katherine’s added help from a legal standpoint as she would get a restraining order in the works.
Rome and Regina want to help Eve, but they also want to respect her boundaries. This is a very real conflict, especially in regards to the position they’ve been placed in. They don’t want to lose their baby but they also want to protect Eve. However, Regina finding a way to relate to Eve on a more personal level likely helped influence Eve’s agreement to stay in Boston. At first, I thought it was a little soon for Regina to be sharing her experience with her uncle with Eve, considering they still don’t know each other very well. Yet, afterwards I understood the value of that personal connection. Both women had been abused, and in a way, they understand on a certain level what the other feels.
When you make a connection like that, it makes it that much easier for both people. Having someone who gets what you’ve been through, without judgment, is a big deal. It’s a big step on Regina’s part, because it took her a long time to open up about her experience in the first place. It shows not only the amount of trust she has in Eve, but also how much she cares about both Eve and the baby.
Meanwhile, Gary ended up being a big help to Delilah and Danny, and not just as a handyman. He and Danny are relating on a level that no one else is, that being how they feel about losing the people they care about. With Gary having lost Maggie, and Danny now losing Elliot because he’ll soon be moving, they’re both afraid they’ll never find someone that understands them again.
I was heartbroken for Danny. It took a lot of effort on his part to make things work with Elliot, only to lose him. I’m sure they’ll stay in touch, but it’s still hard. If nothing else, Elliot was Danny’s first love, and he learned a lot from it. Part of why Elliot’s goodbye was so special was because he admitted that Danny had changed his life, in a good way. I think that meant more to Danny than he let on.
Gary admits to Danny that he wants to be there for Maggie, whether it’s to celebrate or to get her through whatever comes next. His reaction to hearing Maggie’s been given the all-clear was intense and heartfelt, as he looked close to tears. If Gary wants Maggie so badly, he needs to act upon it before it’s too late. Gary isn’t ready to move on, but he’s also not ready to face his issues, which are holding him back from a reunion with Maggie and the happy ending he craves. He can only play handyman to distract himself for so long. He’s doing good things for others, but he needs to do good things for himself, too.
Meanwhile, Maggie’s fear was palpable. Of course it’s terrifying, waiting to hear if the cancer you’ve beaten has made a sudden and unwelcome comeback. Maggie squeezing her plastic bottle to death while she waited was a perfect physical example of her fear coming to life. I was glad Delilah was there. Delilah, for all the mistakes she’s made, is truly a good friend and a good means of support.
However, instead of tripping over her words, I wish Delilah had told Gary the truth about where she was going instead of making excuses. She was probably trying to protect Maggie and avoid hurting Gary’s feelings, but honesty is the best policy. At least Gary understood what was happening and told Delilah to let Maggie know he was thinking about her.
Lately, Maggie seems to be wrapped up in storylines all about her. I get the meaning of it, I do, but sooner rather than later I’d like to see her involved in more storylines regarding the other members of the show. The show is about friendship and being there for one another. Maggie’s only been focused on herself lately, and it’s time for that to shift, at least a little bit. Plus, it was kind of creepy the way she kept staring at a fellow cancer patient. Not to mention rude. I got that it was because she was scared of her cancer coming back, but that doesn’t give her permission to stare and make someone else feel bad.
Delilah is a happy mom in ‘The Sleepover’, with all her kids under one roof. She’s worked hard to earn that “Best Mom Ever” mug, especially now that Sophie’s officially back in the house. Sophie’s still dating and talking to Jake, whom she was caught making out with in the last episode. That could pose further problems, but that’s for later.
Delilah was there for Danny when he was upset over Elliot leaving, and she was definitely a cool mom for allowing Elliot to sleepover, though she kept an eye on them in her own way. She is a good mom, though given Gary’s discovery of joints in a pink sleeping bag, it looks like Delilah has more to ground Sophie over in the near future. Her journey isn’t over yet. She may be forgiven for her indiscretions, but she still has to raise a teenage girl.
While Delilah’s rough journey to forgiveness and redemption with her kids seems to be on the mend, Katherine and Eddie’s journey with Theo is just the opposite. I knew immediately why Theo was acting so angry and upset during Eddie’s and Dakota’s rehearsal. Eddie and Dakota were just a little too flirty and friendly with one another. Theo could read that as well as the audience could.
His fear is logical. Theo’s afraid his father will fall for and have a baby with another woman, and that Katherine will again disappear to the “Grand Canyon”, which obviously makes her feel guilty, if Katherine’s expression is anything to go by. Theo’s fear isn’t dismissable, it’s a big deal and it makes sense. Watching Theo tell Dakota which coffee cup to use was his way of protecting both of his parents. I’ve been waiting for some kind of fallout with Theo after Katherine and Eddie told him the truth, and this is it.
Katherine and Eddie wanted to talk to Theo together, but when Theo insists only on having his mother, Katherine is left to her own devices. I thought it was a nice way to include Jon, as she explained that she and Jon were just friends. It was her way of saying it was possible for adults to be just friends without any extra relationship added on. It does suck that Katherine has to deal with certain things on her own, given Theo’s trust in his father is understandably diminished. Katherine having to clean up Eddie’s mess isn’t fair, but it is a part of what has to be done in order to heal and move on.
Plus, Katherine’s helping Regina and Rome using her own time. Unfortunately her firm doesn’t offer pro bono work, but she claims it does in front of Eve to reassure the young mother that she doesn’t need to worry about costs to defend herself. That’s the way it should be, protection shouldn’t require a small fortune. Katherine admits her firm doesn’t do pro bono work to Regina, but she wishes they did. I could see how much that meant to Regina, and how much Rome and Regina obviously mean to Katherine for her to do something like helping Eve on their behalf.
Katherine’s juggling of her son’s problems and still finding time to help her friends makes her one of my favorite characters on the show. She’s selfless and kind, and she’s the epitome of a good friend, devoted, honest and loyal.
Eddie, for his part, stepped up and talked with Theo directly, promising he’d never stray from him or Katherine again because he could see how badly he hurt them. Eddie appears genuine, but I don’t think it’s that simple.
Eddie was ready to quit working with Dakota for his family, but Katherine encourages him to keep the job. With his extra income, she can be home with Theo more, and the fact is, there will always be another Dakota. Katherine’s right. If they don’t face it now, they never will, and they could lose great opportunities and an extra income because of it. They have to teach Theo to not be afraid of Eddie having another affair, and the more Eddie interacts with Dakota, hopefully Theo will see that. That is, if Eddie keeps his word and doesn’t pursue anything with Dakota. I can see that dynamic potentially causing problems later on.
Catch up on our previous A Million Little Things reviews here.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
