Recap / My So Called Life S 1 E 16 Resolutions

Resolutions

Directed By: Patrick R. Norris

Written By: Ellen Herman

Though he's been staying with the Chases since Christmas, Rickie decides he can't stay with them anymore, even though they've been nice to him and love having him around. He tries reaching out to his uncle, only to find out his uncle moved. Mr. Katimski tries, with the help of Ms. Krzynowski, to help get him into a place called Pride House, but there's a waiting list. We find out Mr. Katimski is reluctant at first to take Rickie in because he's a Closet Gay and he doesn't want the truth to get out, but when Rickie comes by at the end because he has no other place to go, Mr. Katimski decides to let Rickie live with him and his boyfriend.

Graham tells Hallie he wants nothing to do with the restaurant, but she continues to nag him about it, and eventually, he decides he wants to open a restaurant, which Patty decides to support.

Meanwhile, Jordan decides since he and Angela have broken up, she shouldn't be doing his homework anymore, so instead she signs him up for tutoring, and he gets paired with Brian. Brian at first wants nothing to do with tutoring Jordan, but when he realizes Jordan can talk to women better than he can, he changes his mind.

Finally, though Sharon had sex with Kyle on New Year's Eve, and even though the sex was better for her than when they were together, she decides to no longer sleep with someone unless she loves them. However, Kyle makes it clear he wants Sharon back.

This episode contains examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny: When Angela visits Brian and Jordan to see how the tutoring is going, she tells Jordan again she doesn't mind doing his homework for him, and Jordan tells her that's okay, but adds, "You could have sex with me, though." Angela laughs at this and says she'll let Brian and Jordan get back to work.
• Anger Born of Worry: A by-proxy version - when Mr. Katimski finds out Rickie is no longer at the temporary shelter he had helped arrange, he goes to the Chase house and yells at Graham and Patty for not insisting Rickie stay with them. Patty, who has been feeling guilty about that herself, starts crying, while Graham just asks, "Who are you?" For his part, Mr. Katimski apologizes, admitting he shouldn't have yelled and admitting he hasn't been the same person since he gave up coffee.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment:
  • When Graham tells Patty he wants to confess something and he admits not being honest with her, she thinks he's about to confess he's having an affair, and tells him, "Just say it!" Turns out he wants to open the restaurant with Hallie, and she promises to be totally supportive.
  • When Brian and Jordan are getting together for tutoring, but Brian is more focused on the girl who borrowed the eraser from him (see Clueless Chick-Magnet below) and how Jordan got her phone number:
  Jordan: Maybe we better get down to work.
  Brian: Oh, okay.
  Jordan: You can even ah, start with the, the basics, you know?
  Brian: No, okay.
  Jordan: I mean, even it seems too basic? Start with that. And then after, if you want, I can teach you how to get someone's phone number.
• Blatant Lies: Rickie tells Graham and Patty he talked to his aunt and uncle, and they want to talk to Patty and Graham, when in reality, he hasn't talked to them at all.
• Call-Back:
  • When Patty asks Neil if Graham has talked to him about Hallie, Neil thinks she's talking about a different woman.
  • Brian asks Sharon about Delia Fisher.
• Character Development: Graham and Patty have gone from being uneasy about Rickie to wishing, as Graham puts it, he had been around when Angela and Danielle were still young and impressionable.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: According to Jordan, Brian is this way - when Brian is trying to explain to Jordan why he doesn't want to tutor him, a girl comes up to ask Brian if she can borrow an eraser from him, and after she leaves, Jordan tells Brian, "She would sleep with you." Naturally, this stuns Brian, but it also makes him realize tutoring Jordan might not be a bad idea after all.
• Comically Missing the Point: When Sharon tells Rayanne about having sex with Kyle while watching A River Runs Through It, Rayanne can understand feeling horny in regards to Brad Pitt, but responds, "Is this that really dull movie with all the fishing?"
• Exact Eavesdropping: When Rickie comes back into the Chase's house to get his book, he doesn't hear how they gushed over him (see Character Development above), but how they want to know what's going on with his parents, and how they know he can't stay there forever, which is what makes him decide to leave.
• Hypocritical Humor: When Kyle asks if Sharon's avoiding him, Sharon claims he'd have to be self-centered to think people are spending their day trying to avoid him, all while she's trying to hide from him in a school closet.
• I Have This Friend: Subverted - Mr. Katimski thinks Angela is trying to invoke this trope when she asks about someone she knows who's smart but isn't doing well in school, but she's actually talking about Jordan.
• Malicious Misnaming: Subverted - Jordan doesn't mean any harm when calling Brian "Brain", it's just part of the trouble he has reading.
• Must Have Caffeine: Mr. Katimski makes a resolution to give up coffee. Needless to say, it makes him very irritable.
• New Year's Resolution: Each of the major characters makes one while they're watching the TV coverage of the Ball Drop on New Year's Eve:
  • Angela resolves to stop being introspective, though she changes her mind because she thinks that will make her shallow, so she instead resolves to stop doing Jordan's homework. Turns out Jordan makes the resolution come true for her when he tells Angela he doesn't want her doing his homework for him anymore.
  • Sharon resolves to only have sex with people she loves and respects. Kyle, in turn, resolves to spend more time with Sharon. Only Kyle manages to keep his resolution and be happy about it.
  • As discussed above in Must Have Caffeine, Mr. Katimski decides to give up coffee, which only serves to make him more irritable.
  • Brian resolves to stop obsessing over Angela. Needless to say, it doesn't work.
  • Danielle resolves to badger Patty into letting her wear makeup. It doesn't work in this episode.
  • Rickie resolves to find someplace where he really belongs. Luckily, by the end of the episode, he does, making him one of the few to keep his resolution.
  • Rayanne resolves to really stop drinking. The next episode shows how well she keeps that resolution.
  • Patty resolves to be more supportive and less judgmental of Graham. She keeps her resolution when she finds out Graham wants to open the restaurant.
  • Graham resolves not to let Hallie talk him into doing the restaurant. Needless to say, it doesn't work.
  • Subverted with Jordan, who's like, "Wait a second...isn't tonight New Year's?"
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations: When Brian asks Sharon if she could tutor Jordan instead, but Sharon is only thinking of Kyle because she can see him:
  Brian: This whole situation, see, it's like I can't even look at him, so, like, it really boils down to respect. You know, I have, like, zero respect for him so, you know, it's that simple. I mean, for me to tutor someone that I don't respect - wouldn't that be almost like using him?
  Sharon: [firmly] It is definitely wrong to use people.
  Brian: So you'll switch with me?
  Sharon: No, no, that won't solve it. That's like the coward's way out.
  Brian: Well, I mean, I can live with that, because I am kind of a coward, so, heh.
  Sharon: No. No, you have to be honest. You have to tell him it was a mistake, and that - and that you can't pretend anymore, and that...that whole using him thing that, and, you know, you just didn't want to hurt him!
  Jordan: I'm supposed to say all that to Jordan Catalano?!
• The Reveal:
  • Hallie broke up with her fiancee Brad.
  • Mr. Katimski turns out to be a Closet Gay.
• Reveal Shot: Mr. Katimski's boyfriend walking into the living room of their apartment as Mr. Katimski is turning the light on and off.
• Sex Equals Love: This is what Sharon is dealing with - she only wants to have sex with someone she loves, but as she admits to Rayanne, when Kyle comes over while she's watching A River Runs Through It, which is making her feeling horny for its star Brad Pitt, she has sex with Kyle and it was better than when they were together.
  Sharon: I'm going to Kyle. I'm going to tell him the truth. And then I'm never going to have sex again with anyone, until I know it's absolutely the right person that I am complete and in total love.
  Rayanne: I just hope Brad Pitt's available, and in the tri-state area.
• Shout-Out:
  • Mr. Katimski has assigned his class to read The Odyssey.
  • As mentioned above, Sharon has sex with Kyle while they're watching A River Runs Through It. Later, when Sharon decides to tell him they're calling it quits once and for all, he tells her he's rented Thelma & Louise, which makes her change her mind.
• So You Were Saying...?: When Sharon tells Kyle she needs to tell him something (that she doesn't want to have sex with him again because she doesn't love him anymore), Kyle mentions he's rented Thelma & Louise (see Shout-Out above), since he knows she likes Brad Pitt, tells her they should get together and watch it, and starts talking about Pitt in the movie, before asking Sharon, "What did you want to explain?" Sharon's response - "Nothing! How about seven-thirty?"
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Normally, Mr. Katimski calls Rickie "Enrique", to Rickie's annoyance, but when he's trying to explain to Rickie there's a waiting list to get into Pride House, he calls Rickie by his preferred name. Rickie notices this.