by Brian L. Lamkin
Tensions build between Anna and Gabe as they prepare to merge homes with James and Parker. Sam is thrown for a loop when Mark and Julie both question the future of their friendships with him. Gabe and Dominic's relationship takes another twisting turn.
And so we're back with Pathways. The drama series is still a big hit on MZP, so after a season opener that spent most of its time re-introducing everyone instead of having any real plot per se, I'm interested to see where we go now. Some great characterisation in 'The Boys Of Summer Are Gone' means I feel I know the regulars pretty well already, which is a big bonus given that I'm an entire season behind the loop on this one!
Gabe and Anna are still on very tense terms. She's dealing with his vanishing act in the most human way possible - ignoring it and letting her anger simmer over. Lamkin's eye for sharp dialogue brings a lot out of this scene, even if you can't help feel some vocal direction would have helped the atmosphere even further (you know, just a (tense) or (snaps) before the lines here and there).There's some handy 'In case you missed last season...' dialogue that covers the story of Gabe's dad making his unexpected comeback, before we switch to Mark and Julie. Julie's still moping about Sam not calling her (and I'm guessing here that she doesn't know he's bisexual, because she seems like quite an innocent girl all round), and despite encouragement from Mark is still putting off calling him herself. It's refreshing to have characters in a drama behaving like actual humans - The OC can capture this sometimes, but mainly accomplishes the awkwardness of teen years by having its four leads mumble all their lines. Here, we get some very human dialogue with people back-pedalling, stalling, avoiding subjects and getting their words completely wrong, all of which helps you relate to each character a great deal.
Act I, then, and Gabe and Dominic go for another Cutest Couple award as Gabe sneaks away to the park to see him, before we switch to the local arcade to find Mark and Sam getting their video game on, with Mark playing Devil's Advocate over the whole Julie thing. He's clearly stuck in the middle of two people he cares about here, but Sam's pride is too hurt to accept any kind of reconciliation with Julie. Maybe deep down he's seeing this as a chance for some freedom? Anna seems to be stuck in a similar dilemma as James asks her again about moving in together, and although she says 'yes' it's clear she's far from sure yet. She knows there's a lot of baggage to get through with Gabe yet but doesn't want to risk losing James because of it. Parker seems similarly unimpressed at the prospect of the move - but that's more through his intense dislike of Gabe than anything else. And I've just noticed how I'm analysing these characters - I'm going to put that down to the intelligent writing here. The storylines are all rattling along at a fair pace but there's stacks to read between the lines of each one.
Act II has Charlie trying to cheer up a glum Sam at The Blaze when Julie shows up. Uh oh! Insert dramatic musical sting here, especially when Julie says they all need to 'talk.' If that isn't girl code for 'drop some crazy postal ravings on your unsuspecting arses' then I don't know what is. True to form, Julie explodes at Charlie who stomps off in a haze of indignation, and a tearful Julie has to watch a less-than-impressed Sam get up and leave. Kids, eh? The Sam Bashing doesn't stop there, as Mark is the next to lay into the loveable rogue with a well-administered rant about Sam's somewhat selfish focus on his own problems. I imagine Mark was lacking in backbone for most of Season One so this is a good moment for him. Sam leaves, presumably to lock himself in his room and listen to some angsty teenage music or other, and we switch back to the Jones household, as Gabe awakes to find the move of the McMann family in full swing. Gabe is clearly less than happy about it, given that he doesn't feel like he's had a say in things, but when James tries to assuage Gabe's fears he makes the mistake of using the phrase 'I won't try to be your father.' James obviously means well, but the 'f' word is bound to make Gabe more than a little twitchy at the moment, and the conversation ends as Gabe 'clumps' up the stairs. And what a well-chosen word 'clump' is in this instance! You can almost hear Gabe pouting from here, and it's no surprise when Gabe shows up at Dominic's, looking for some kind of sanctuary.
Act III, and Anna rings Sam and terrorises him into helping locate Gabe, who is busy tucking into some pie over at Dominic's place. Parents away for a few days, eh? Hem hem! A guilty Sam manages to get Julie and Mark along to help with the search, Sam believing that his bad influence on Gabe may be having more serious consequences. Seems to me more like he's just scared of what Anna's going to do to him if he doesn't track Gabe down, but from the sounds of what Anna tells James I'd be more worried if I was Gabe at the moment! Still, over at Dominic's, Cutest Couple 2006 look like things are about to progress to the next base...
Act IV brings us back to the aftermath. That's right, kids, Gabe and Dominic have done The Deed. The beast with two backs. The horizontal tango. Et cetera. And what follows is some brilliantly awkward dialogue between the two of them, so full marks to Lamkin for capturing the mood of the scene so very well. But uh oh, Sam's shown up to come looking for Gabe - this can't end well! Sam thankfully is only moderately surprised instead of fully wigged out, and so the drive back to Chez Jones seems to clear a lot of the air between them. And, luckily, Anna is also just glad to see him again, saving any bottled up anger she has over Gabe skipping out again for another time. And love is in the air as Sam, Mark and Julie have a big old Group Hug. Everybody saw 'aww' then. Meanwhile, back at the Blaze, Sam's ex Shawn is approached by a character called Dylan, the two guys both having a beef against Sam over recent events. We leave Crestview for another week as the two begin to plot their revenge against the show's resident Lothario...
So! An oddly underwhelming episode this time round. The Gabe and Dominic moment at the start of Act IV was genius, but throughout the episode things just seem a bit too... nice. For want of a better word. Potential conflicts between Anna and Gabe and Sam, Mark and Julie are all settled and wrapped up with gift-wrapped hugs without any real fuss or drama, and you feel as though you've spent the whole episode watching through rose-tinted glasses. After all the promising set-up of 'The Boys Of Summer...' it's something of a cop out to have so many of the juicy, conflict-ridden storylines smoothed out and fuzzied up so quickly. The return of Shawn and Dylan right at the end adds some promise, but overall this is an episode that feels like something of a missed opportunity. A lot of the dialogue seems to be missing the sparkle of the opener, too, so the episode overall falls a little flat. It's a shame - these are still an engaing bunch of characters, and I'm intrigued by what Dylan may be plotting for Sam, but I hope some more dramatic tension is injected into the next few episodes to take advantage of the strong writing and characterisation.
ZPM RATING:
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