So-Called Angels
Directed By: Scott Winant
Written By: Winnie Holzman and Jason Katims.
The Christmas Episode.
Rickie gets beaten up by his uncle, who also throws him out of his house for good measure. Angela is concerned for him when she sees his condition, but neither Rickie nor Patty think it's a good idea for him to stay with the Chases. Jordan ends up dropping off Rickie at a warehouse for homeless kids who need a place to stay, but after they overhear Angela talk about the warehouse (after she goes in a futile attempt to talk Rickie into coming home with her), Graham and Patty tell the police about it. Meanwhile, a mysterious girl (Juliana Hatfield) seems to be keeping track of Rickie as well, guiding both Angela and Patty towards finding him. Meanwhile, Sharon is trying to get someone to cover the Teen Help Line with her on Christmas Eve when Brian, whose parents have gone away for Christmas Eve, tells her he's backing out. She manages to get Rayanne to help her out, and the call Rayanne takes is from Brian, so Rayanne decides to come up with a creative solution to Brian's problems.
This episode contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: In Rickie's case, his uncle - we first see Rickie falling on the snow, bleeding and crying. Later, Jordan reveals his father used to beat him up as well, until he through a chair at him.
- Answer Cut: Patty comes home to find Brian helping Graham set up their Christmas tree. She basks in how good it looks, and then asks, "Where's Angela?" Cut to Jordan bringing Angela inside the warehouse.
- Berserk Button: Patty gets very angry when Angela compares herself to the girl:Angela: This girl...she could be me.
Patty: Oh, don't say that! She couldn't be you! How can you say that?!
Angela: [voice breaking] Because it's true. - Brick Joke: When Jordan agrees to drive Rickie to the warehouse (see Pet the Dog below), Rickie tells him he's going to light a candle for Jordan on Christmas Eve. Jordan scoffs at the idea that would change anything, but near the end of the episode, he's lighting a candle himself.
- Call-Back:
- When Angela finds Rickie in her back yard, she invites him in and serves him leftovers. When Rickie compliments her on the food, she mentions how Graham is now teaching a cooking class and coming up with amazing recipes.
- When Sharon asks Rayanne if she knows Brian, Rayanne, having a little fun with Sharon, replies, "Not really. We slept together once."
- Chekhov's Boots: When Angela first meets the girl, she's wearing boots with holes in them (as the girl says, she had a decent pair of shoes once, but someone stole them). Later, when Angela sees the girl sleeping at the warehouse where Rickie is staying at, Angela gives the girl her own brand-new boots (the ones Graham and Patty bought for her earlier), and takes the boots with holes in them. Later still, when Patty is trying to find Angela, she sees the girl wearing the boots and follows her, which ends up leading her to the church Angela and Rickie have been brought to.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Angela compliments the girl on the song she was playingnote , she says it's just something she's working on, and adds, "I'll probably be working on it forever."
- Sharon pleads with Brian that the help line is necessary to help people who are feeling depressed, even with a lack of appetite, and then offers Brian a cookie, to which he replies, "I'm not hungry."
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Especially a problem when your sister gets the gifts you want but can't get because they're considered too expensive for you:Danielle It's not fair. Angela got a new bike when she was eleven.
Graham: What do you do, keep a running tab of everything we bought for Angela?
Danielle: Well, yes. - Got Volunteered: When Brian refuses to do the help line with Sharon, she goes in the bathroom and complains about all her problems to Rayanne. Then she realizes Rayanne's a pretty good listener. When Rayanne complains about how she doesn't want to be with Amber and her new boyfriend, and might as well be somewhere else for Christmas, Sharon responds, "I know where you could be on Christmas."
- Hypocritical Humor: When Graham and Patty are trying to answer Angela's question about why they don't go to church:Danielle Do we have to keep talking about religion? It's Christmas!
- Intimate Telecommunications: When Brian calls the help line and Rayanne realizes how depressed he is, she decides to help him by pretending he's called a 900 Number and reached a sex operator instead, knowing that will get his mind off how depressed he feels.
- Lame Comeback: Rayanne reacts to Sharon's closing line of their Snark-to-Snark Combat (see below) by laughing, grabbing the fliers (for the teen help line) out of Sharon's hand, and throwing them in the air.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Once again, Danielle.[as Brian gives her a questioning look when Patty leaves the house] Don't ask me. I just live here.
- Meaningful Echo: After she and Angela have a huge argument, Patty tells Graham about it, and describes it as type where "the fighting is having you." Later, when Patty sees the girl (when she's looking for Angela), the girl tells her the last time she saw her own mother, they had a fight, and describes the fight in the same way.
- No Name Given: We never find out the name of the girl Juliana Hatfield plays (she's billed as "Angel" in the credits).
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Patty is so upset when she realizes Angela has left the house after their argument, when Brian comes over, instead of greeting him warmly, she yells at him when he can't quite reveal why he's come over, though she immediately apologizes.
- Our Angels Are Different: Here, they appear as homeless teens who look like they could be a Street Musician. Also, as with Clarence, they have to earn their wings.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: A voice version - when Brian calls the help line, he gives his name as "Steve", but Rayanne immediately recognizes him.
- Pet the Dog:
- When Jordan sees Rickie alone on the street, he not only offers Rickie a ride, he also takes him to the warehouse so he'll have a place to stay. Later, when Angela expresses concern about Rickie, Jordan takes her to the warehouse.
- While Rayanne's way of trying to cheer Brian up while they're on the help line is unconventional, to say the least (see Intimate Telecommunications above), she is sincere in trying to cheer him up:
Rayanne: Look at it this way, "Steve" - you still feel like crying? - Reveal Shot: As the Chases, along with Brian and Rickie, leave the church at the end, the girl is watching them from the roof. She turns away, and we see her wings right before she flies away.
- Rule of Symbolism: When Angela comes home after the rest of her family (with Brian's help) has decorated the tree, Danielle tells her, "We saved you the angel," and hands the angel ornament to Angela.
- Serious Business: Sending Christmas cards (which is Truth in Television). Patty freaks out when she gets a card from someone she hasn't heard from in years, because she never sent them a card, and if she sends them a card now, it'll look like she only sent the card because they sent her a card.
- Shout-Out:
- When Graham and Patty are talking about Rickie, It's a Wonderful Life is playing in the background.
- After Graham and Patty hear about the warehouse, Patty says, "We have to do something, Graham. We have to Do the Right Thing," to which Graham replies, "Who are you, Spike Lee?"
- When Patty comes home to find Angela setting the table, Danielle is watching Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.
- When Brian calls the help line, A Christmas Carol (1938) is playing on the Chase television.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Once again, Rayanne and Sharon:Rayanne: Teenage help line?
Sharon: Yeah! What about it?
Rayanne: I don't know, just...making depressed people talk to you. Couldn't that like, I dunno, push them over the edge?
Sharon: Over the edge - that's, like, your address, right? - Wham Line: When Patty and the girl are talking near the end:Patty: How did you die?
Girl: I froze.
