Other People's Mothers
Directed By: Claudia Weill
Written By: Richard Kramer
Rayanne gets a birthday card from her father, but instead of any kind of gift, he just gives her money, and she decides to spend it all on having a party. Unfortunately for Angela, Rayanne decides to have the party on the same night that Patty is throwing a party for her own parents' wedding anniversary. However, Vivian (Barbara Bain), Patty's mother, informs Patty her father, just out of the hospital, isn't coming to the party after all, and Angela decides this is an good excuse to go to Rayanne's. When she gets there, however, she finds out Rayanne has gotten incredibly drunk (along with taking two hits of ecstasy) and after Amber orders everyone to leave, Rayanne ends up passing out. Angela calls Patty, who calls an ambulance and gets Rayanne to the hospital, which ends up saving her life.
This episode contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Angela ends the episode by reading in voiceover from the book Amber gave her about Tarot Cards:Each card has a name: The Magician; The Empress; The Fool; The Wheel of Fortune; Strength. They represent challenges and tests, twists of fate. No card is all good or all bad. Cards can be positive or negative depending on where they fall. When you read someone's future, they must think of a question. They must hold it in their mind. The cards are read in sequence, each card leads to the next. We move from terror and loss to unexpected good fortune and out of darkness hope is born.
- The Alcoholic: Rayanne, and it finally catches up to her in this episode.
- Back Story: Patty tells Angela she had a friend in college who was just like Rayanne, except the friend died.
- Bad Hair Day: Sharon comes into the bathroom suffering from this. Rayanne does offer to give Sharon something for the hair, but she ends up spilling all of the money her father gave her out of her purse.
- Blatant Lies: When Rayanne and Rickie are over at Angela's, Rayanne grabs a beer out of the refrigerator. When Patty comes home and catches them, Rickie claims the beer is his. Gets a Call-Back later in the episode when Rickie expresses sorrow about Rayanne's self-destructive behavior, and Patty, looking at him in a new light, says, "That wasn't your beer the other day, was it?"
- Brick Joke: Defying Graham's orders, Vivian puts oregano in the seasoning for the chicken, because as she says, "You can't go wrong with oregano." At the end of the episode, Rickie compliments Vivian on how well the chicken tastes, saying it tastes Italian, to which Vivian replies, "That's the oregano."
- Call-Back: When Rickie walks into the girls bathroom with Rayanne she reminds him he swore he was never coming in there again, to which he replies, "Never say never."
- Cathartic Crying: Near the end of the episode, Patty, who has been a Stepford Smiler most of the time, finally starts sobbing while sitting all alone in her car.
- Disappeared Dad: Rayanne's father just sending money for her birthday (and writing, "And maybe more" instead of "And many more" on her card) is what makes Rayanne decide to have a party in the first place, kicking off the plot.
- Freud Was Right: Lampshaded by Angela - when Rayanne looks through the Chase refrigerator, Angela says that according to Rayanne, everything is about sex, and Rayanne proceeds to analyze each piece of food as if it were about the sex Graham and Patty might be having.
- Gilligan Cut: Within the same scene, when Patty is trying to convince Graham to be with her mother:Graham: Patty, I am not going down there.
Vivian: (from the kitchen) Patricia, are you up there? Patricia! I'll just be in the kitchen, poking around.
Graham: Poking around?! (as he's walking downstairs) Vivian! I didn't know you were here. - Heroic BSoD: After Vivian buys a turkey for the party - even after Graham has said he's cooking chicken - and rearranged the food in the refrigerator, all Graham can do is hold the door open and stare numbly in the refrigerator.Patty (when she sees Graham) I'm sorry. I tried to reason with her. (Beat) Graham, please close the refrigerator. (Graham does, only to open it again after Patty leaves, and he continues to stare at it)
- I Want My Mommy!: As soon as she finds out Rayanne has passed out and Rickie has no idea what to do about it, Angela calls home, and when Patty gets on the phone, says, "Mommy, I really need you."
- Locked Out of the Loop: Once again, Danielle:Danielle: (when she sees Rickie holding a beer) You're drinking a beer? At four thirty?
Patty: Danielle, go play outside.
Danielle: Mom, it's not fair! My life is totally edited. - My Beloved Smother: Patty feels this way about Vivian - even though Vivian means well, she keeps forcing Patty to rearrange things (like having the party at her house instead of at Vivian's house as originally planned), and telling Angela she can go ahead and go to Rayanne's even though that is clearly not what Patty wants.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Graham feels this way about Vivian, especially when she's messing around with what he's cooking (see Serious Business below). When Patty tries to get Graham to come downstairs and be with Vivian so she can pick up Angela from Rayanne's, Patty tries to point out she'd do the same thing for Graham if his mother came over. Graham counters (a) his mother is dead, and (b) he loved his mother and always got along with her, so he wouldn't need to ask Patty to run interference for him.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Angela does this when she finds out her grandfather isn't even coming to his own party, deciding to go to Rayanne's against Patty's wishes.
- Serious Business: Graham's feelings about food. Lampshaded by Patty, who tries to warn Vivian, "Graham is very emotional about food when he's cooking it."
- Shout-Out:
- Amber shows Angela a tarot card of the moon, which she calls a deadly mother, comparing her to the Wicked Witch.
- One of Danielle's relatives tells her she looks like Pippi Longstocking when she has her hair in braids. Danielle is not happy to hear this.
- Stepford Smiler: Patty can be this in general, but this is especially her default mode during the party.
