Pathways 2x06 'The Slip'

by Richard Gentile

Charlie learns the hard way that overworking yourself can lead to consequences. But when she decides to let her hair down and have fun for once, things take a turn for the worst. Alanna fears her brother Brandon might be turning to bad habits again, and Gabe makes a stunning decision.

And we return to Crestview, California. Is it in California? I should really know these things. Anyway. I'm enjoying this show despite what I've been saying about it - there's a host of well-rounded, well-written characters at the show's disposal, so all that's been lacking so far is an episode with one solid, central plot to tie the other secondary stories around. Too many episodes have been a mish-mash of bite-sized scenes that struggle to build any real momentum, so here's hoping that the more powerful story for this week will get out of that trend.

We open in Dean Overmeyer's stately office, with lovely little Charlie in to see the Big Cheese himself. Seems people have been complaining about Charlie running the school yearbook like it was Nazi Germany, which she clearly disagrees with. Swallowing her anger for now and stomping out of the office, we switch to find Alanna Cooper, everybody's favourite nutcase-in-waiting, and we meet a new face - her brother Brandon, a preppy lad talking to a bunch of ripped-jeans wearing rocker kids. Alanna seems less than thrilled about this for some reason, but we'll have to wait to find out more.

In the cafeteria, Julie delights in gossiping about Charlie's meeting with the Dean (much to Sam's annoyance), before Gabe scoots off the second the bell rings. The others are still treading carefully around his troubles with Dominic, it seems, but Sam's more concerned with settling things between him and Julie - which she does. Man! Sometimes, I just wish these kids would fight more. They make friends again too darn easily for my liking. Over in the yearbook office, Charlie is trying a new approach with the staff as they start picking photos, but it's clear the atmosphere isn't likely to change any time soon. Seems Charlie's taken most of the photos so far, as highlighted when she comically struggles to pick one out that isn't by her. Meanwhile, Alanna and Mark are by the stage. She's worried about the company her brother is keeping, and good old Mark gives her a friendly man hug to try and cheer her up. Alanna flinches at the contact (hmm! subtle hint to something there?), but then seems genuinely touched by the gesture. Mark's a little sweetheart, really, and while Alanna obviously has plenty of walls up to stop herself being hurt again, Mark's honesty is doing a good job of working through them. Parker shows up just as Mark leaves - but unknown to either of them, Julie's listening in just round the corner. Uh oh. At Sam and Charlie's latest GSA meeting, Charlie's surprised when a new guy, Eric, admits he's used the meeting to hit on her, and Sam channels his inner Jack from Will & Grace to practically order her to say yes to him. She does, to a chorus of whoops from the crowd. Aww.

Gabe's in the newspaper office, taking a quick meeting with Mr Greyson before Jacob sneaks up, and quite saucily blindfolds him before the two get their snog on. Thing is, Gabe thinks it's Dominic! D'oh. Dom shows up and Gabe manages to get away with it this time, but from his smug look it's clear Jacob's going to go all out to steal Gabe away from under Dom's nose. Ooh, the bastard. Gabe and Dom make an awkward attempt to patch things up, and this feels much more natural than the usual 'let's be bestest friends again!' moments Pathways has an annoying habit of doing. At chez Charlie, she's busy picking her clothes out for her date (yes, several days ahead of schedule. Good character moment there - tells us a lot about the way Charlie works!) when her mother walks in, and her excitement shows that Charlie having a date is clearly a rare occasion indeed! Gabe and Parker cross swords on the dorrstep of the Jones home (and could Parker be any more obvious about his crush on Gabe? if Gabe had ponytails, Parker would be pulling them!), and Anna's brave attempt to get the three of them talking ends in the expected stomping off upstairs. You have to wonder just how long a fuse Anna has, really! Over in Brandon's room, Alanna pops her nose in and reveals a startling piece of history - Brandon used to deal drugs! Dear, dear. The plot thickens with Alanna, currently waving the 'Most Development Potential' flag very proudly, Brandon angrily assures her he isn't, and as we check in on Charlie she seems like a changed woman. Humming to Kelly Clarkson (tch) as she shows off her new, democratically-friendly selection of yearbook photos as Eric pops in to see her. Charlie wants to go out and have some fun (gasp), and he's only too happy to oblige her.

At Dom's place, he and Gabe have gone for the 'make out instead of studying' option, but Dom can sense something's up in Gabe's over-enthusiastic 'we're okay... right?' dialogue. Gabe's signposting his anxiety pretty well (and again, some good writing to show that), but luckily for him Dom's more concerned about the kissing than anything else. Charlie and Eric are down at the Bronze - sorry, Blaze - and slow dancing (to Emeinem?), Charlie clearly throwing herself into letting her hair down. Always the way with these repressed, workaholic types! Jacob intercepts Gabe on his way back from Dominic's, and manages to steal a kiss out of him before Gabe does the Indignant Boyfriend routine and pulls away. Jacob tries again, getting a lot saucier this time, and it's with some degree of willpower that Gabe manages to get away. Jacob's clearly using Gabe's own emotions against him here, probably revelling more in the hunt than anything else, but Gabe's too inexperienced to realise that yet. At the Blaze, Alanna tries to speak to Parker about her brother, but is interrupted by Julie showing up. Being the possessive, neurotic girl she is, Julie now looks like she's put Alanna down on her Shit List as well, but Alanna's not too fussed about what anyone thinks of her. Ever the smooth talker, Parker manages to win Julie over again by assuring her things are a long way past over between her and Alanna, but there's about to be an unwelcome surprise - Charlie's KO'd on the dance floor!

Mark races over and gets an ambulance calls as Julie shows a surprising degree of tenderness as she tries to rouse Charlie (so she can't hate her that much after all, then!) - but where's Eric? Parker intends to go and find out, asking Mark to cover for him as he leaves. Back at Alanna's place, her neat and tidy room a contrast to her brother's (and I'll save my 'why a person's room reflects their state of mind' monologue for another time), and as Brandon comes in the subject of his potential dealing comes up again. Brandon manages to convince her he's still clean, but something tells me he's using her concern against her, making her doubt her own conviction so she'll stop asking him about it. We'll see if I'm right. A frantic Sam arrives at the hospital to find Charlie (with a neat bit of direction as he misses a prime chance to eye up a hunky male nurse), but her mother's with her and has asked for no visitors. Julie tells a horrified Sam that Charlie was slipped a roofie in her drink, and while Sam feels partly to blame for encouraging Charlie to go out with Eric, he knows that Eric is the real culprit here. An emotional Sam goes in to see Charlie, putting on a typically pragmatic display for him despite Sam being on the verge of tears. Sam hugs her, the bon between these two getting even stronger, before we switch to Gabe going to see Jacob (with a line of stage direction marking the purposeful parallel back to an earlier episode, only back then it was Gabe and Dom). But uh oh! What's this? Gabe's given in to his libido at last and gone round to get some loving off Jacob. Tsk tsk. What will the neighbours say?

See? That's what I was talking about. A much more coherent and structured episode, with the focus on the two lead stories (Charlie's night out and Alanna/Brandon), with occasional cutaways to show what the rest of the cast are doing, and it really works. Pathways has characters strong enough to carry long scenes without breaking a sweat, and the show needs more episodes like this to take advantage of that. Thing is, the central event of the episode, namely Charlie getting drugged, happens too late in the day to make much of it, and no sooner has it happened than we're almost at the end of the show! It's a real shame, because it was a good story to show Charlie trying to come out of her shell and meeting the suckiness that is real world head on as a result, and it could have done with making more of either the actual collapse itself or Charlie trying to deal with it afterwards. However, with the unresolved element of Parker going looking for Eric, I'm guessing parts of this will bleed into the next episode, so that should help round this story off. So while it feels a little incomplete, this is a strong episode, well written and showcasing the real strengths that are making Pathways such a hit.

ZPM RATING: