Pathways 2x08 'The Great Debate'

by Brian L. Lamkin

Gabe and Parker are pitted against one another in a debate assignment at school, but can they overcome their own issues? Sam and Julie ponder over their precarious future, and Parker makes an astonishing choice.

Pathways has been a funny old show so far this season - some good plots and some fantastic characters, but annoyingly patchy episodes that seem determined to cram in as many different plots as possible, instead of concentrating on just one or two and giving them the screen time they deserve. 2x06 was an improvment but 2x07 was back to old habits, so let's see how episode 8 fares.

Parker is doing a Ferris Bueller and having a little trouble getting out of bed, and from the looks of things won't be calling Anna 'mom' anytime soon. He's snapping at James and Anna over breakfast, while Gabe is just skulking around silently and both boys' actions are cause for concern. Seems like another Tuesday night in Sunnydale, as the saying goes...

At Brighton Academy, Sam and Julie meet up with Sam still twitchy about running into Parker - given the illicit snog these two had last week that Parker caught them in - and Julie obviously a little confused about what either of them are supposed to do now. Hey, you and me both, sister. Mark runs into Dom, managing to put his little Comedy Sidekick mouth in it, bless him, as he lets slip that quite a few people now know about Gabe and Dom breaking up (not that a huge amount of people knew they were actually together, but... oh, never mind), and as Dom frets Mark tries to reassure him that things will be alright. Hey, this is Pathways after all! Sorry. Breaking the fourth wall there. So who does Parker go and see? Yup, Alanna. Lovely, ginger Alanna. Mmm. She's doing her best to remain aloof whenever he's around, but it's pretty clear he's doing the guy thing and falling back into old habits, namely heading straight for his ex for some solace. Remains to be seen how long she can keep her defence shields up - there's obviously still something there between them both, so it's just a matter of time before hormones get involved and the mess gets even messier. Parker's day is about to get worse, though, as he gets teamed up with Gabe to write a history presentation on Thanksgiving! Cue comedy trumpet sting...

Gabe tries to get Dom to speak to him, but he's got nothing to say to him - and rightly so. Gabe's screwed up here, and Dom has every right to make him feel shitty about it. I'm not one for all that 'better man' thinking myself - that's just giving people a licence to walk all over you, so bravo to Dom for maintaining his indignant sense of honour after what Gabe's done to him. Over at the amusement arcade, Parker spots Kaia hanging out with Bailey, one of Parker's buds, which Parker's none too pleased about. He confronts them in classic 'Angry Ex' manner, not knowing that Julie's watching the whole thing. Bailey rightly yells back at Parker for having been so distant lately, but as Julie wanders over to try and talk to Parker, his surprise reaction is to order Kaia and Bailey to leave him alone instead! However, all Parker wants to do is tell Julie that's it. It's all over. Can't help but think he's blowing this up more than he should so he can cover his own tracks for whatever his feelings towards Gabe are, though. Back at Chez Jones, Anna comments that it's quiet - too quiet. Upstairs in Gabe's room, he gets a call from Jacob, who Gabe appears to have been avoiding since last week's flamboyant display at the Halloween ball, but Jacob's also taking no prisoners. He tells Gabe to make his mind up or it's all over, and as he ends the call, poor old Gabe's finding his island getting smaller with every passing moment!

Charlie waits with Sam out in the Academy car park, where Sam continues his comedy, Seth Cohen-like fretting about the terrible things Parker's going to do to him when he catches him. Charlie asks him an honest question - is he really gay? It's a fair point - surely he wouldn't get so flustered about Julie kissing him if he was 100% gay? The fact that it's thrown him into such a tizz is interesting character development - doubts over one's sexual orientation coupled with the permanent sense of confusion brought on by adulthood appears to be a recurring theme in Pathways, and it's handling the subject pretty well so far. Charlie drops another bombshell - is he in love with Julie? Sam's inability to give a straight answer to either question is great stuff, and sets up some very interesting drama potential for future episodes! Julie catches up with Gabe on the premise of checking up on him, but all she really wants to do is launch into her 'Parker hates me' moan, but Gabe's got plenty of troubles of his own. United in their miseries, the two cut a typically folorn silhouette as we catch up with Parker again, this time talking to Charlie. The episode's focus on Parker is working well - it's tying all the scenes together and showing him from a variety of perspectives, so good writing on that front. We finally get a mention of what happened to Eric, the guy who tried to date rape Charlie, but frustratingly it's just that Parker 'chased him down.' I want blood and death, damn it! Anyway. Back at Chez Jones, Parker and Gabe start their research, but it isn't long before their respective emo clouds kick in and they're bickering again, Gabe's anger getting outfoxed by Parker's smug veneer. He always seems to be able to turn other people's anger back at them, and use of the skill here means we end Act III on another slammed door as Parker exits Gabe's room. How do the doors stay on their hinges in that house?

Mark finds Sam attempting to drown his sorrows (with virgin daquiris, natch) at the Blaze, and Mark manages to nudge Sam towards a better resolution with Julie. He's the glue that holds this show together most of the time, and he's doing his job here again, bless him. The next day, it's time for Gabe and Parker's presentation, but Parker spaces out and Gabe drags him outside to find out what's going on - and Parker hasn't done his half of the assignment. Quelle surprise! Gabe gets into his typically preachy mode, but Parker cuts right through it and hits the nerve of his breakup with Dom head on. Of course you realise this means war. Sam and Julie meet up, awkwardly tip-toeing through an attempt at clearing the air (which feels more realistic and works a lot better than other make up talks the show's had), before we get our musical moment - a nicely-placed blast of classical music signals the clash of the titans, as Gabe and Parker descend into a blazing row in front of their whole class, forgetting the presentation and forcing Mr Greyson to escort them both outside. Sadly, we don't get to see the aftermath of that, instead fast-forwarding to the evening as a sulky Parker calls on the lovely Alanna. And yes, I'm going to call her that every time I mention her. That's what you get for casting Lauren Ambrose, guys. She's being a lot calmer with him than she has in previous episodes - maybe this is all part of her plan? Whatever the motive, it seems to work - Alanna's bluntness prompts Parker to do what we've been building up to, and we end on a surprisingly tender moment as he finally kisses her.

Much better. Focusing on Parker means we tie in all the little scenes and plots, building towards a satisfactory conclusion and a real sense of character development. While I would have liked to have seen more of some moments (I still think we should see Parker vs. Eric at some point, and the aftermath of Gabe vs. Parker in the classroom would have been pretty fun), there's lots of good stuff here, making this one of the better episodes of the season. So good work, Brian - the dialogue may not have been as witty as last week, but the coherency of the show more than makes up for that. More like this, please!

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