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Lights Out
Original Air Date: May 9, 2010
Farrah Kaye – Sr. Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com
Ojai is done. The family (and Holly) has tried to save the company any which way they could but couldn’t. The Narrow Lake drama, Rebecca using her William money … none of it mattered.
Mix that with the secrets Robert is keeping and this episode should make for great Walker family drama.
The show starts with Sarah talking to a camera about how Ojai got its name and how it began. She keeps saying “your grandpa” so I’m assuming it’s Paige or Cooper. Kevin is up next and he says it’s Paige. Kevin says he’s not the right person to ask since he was fired. Saul is next and Paige asks him what Ojai means to him. He’s visibly upset (as is everyone else in the video). The video cuts off. Now it’s time for Sarah to tell everyone that Ojai is being shut down. The entire company listens as Sarah tells them thank you and what benefits they will receive. The entire family is there and they are just as upset as the employees. Saul, Holly, Tommy, Nora and Sarah discus the logistics behind the closure. There’s a buyer for the building, a liquidation company coming for the furniture and Kevin will be in charge of running a job placement program. This is all just so sad. In other news, Kitty is rehearsing a speech by talking into a remote control and while she’s trying to be funny, she’s failing miserable to her audience of one: Kevin. She has to be funny. Nora meets with the man who Sarah has planned to sell the building to. He runs a family business and understands what Nora feels. She mentions the buildings being sold in the neighborhood are being turned into lofts and she gets the impression he is doing the same. Wrong. He plans on buying the building and all the land it comes with and turning it into a parking structure. Nora sends him away and explains to Sarah the building is the only thing that will be left of the company and will find someone herself. Sarah gives her two days.
Sarah and Tommy are on the phone with a competitor to hire some of their employees but he can’t help. Sarah is all up in arms while Tommy stays calm. Sarah feels horrible and wants to help all of the employees but she can’t. Tommy tells her to calm down and take a breath. Saul is at Holly’s picking up boxes of Ojai stuff and she is heading out for a job interview. She’s super nervous and they discuss old times (like when they dated…EW!). I do like their friendship now though. Robert finally makes an appearance and is talking about his secret project on the phone when Kevin walks in on him packing a briefcase to go somewhere. Kevin asks him to stay and help with Kitty’s confidence for her speech and also asks him about his super secret job. He tells Kevin to drop the subject. Considering Rob Lowe starts on Parks and Recreation this week, they better get this storyline going already. Holly is at her interview and the first thing the interviewer tells her is that she is way overqualified. She says she wants to try something new. Kitty is reading her new speech, written by a professional joke writer, but nothing is funny. However, the lame jokes are bringing out the smart-alecy funny side of Kitty while she’s hating the speech. Robert meets with creepy guy from the tennis match in a limo. He offers Robert $7 million a year to join his team for whatever he’s doing. Robert agrees to his terms but if I remember correctly, Robert is working for that Joe guy to catch creepy guy (Stanton) in doing shady things. Oh Robert’s shadiness is confusing me.
Kevin is running the job placement program and hearing the stories of the employees they let go. Justin comes home to Rebecca with yogurt and an idea. He wants to join a group on campus that is going to Haiti for a year. It’s for medical students but he says Rebecca can come along and take pictures to work on her photography. Really? Rebecca is obviously not on board and she has a second-round interview to go to but she never told Justin about the first round. It’s obvious they are on different pages, yet again. Back to Paige’s video, Kevin is asked what is something good he remembers about working at Ojai. He recalls a time when William asked him to look over contracts a month after he got out of law school. It was a proud time in his life. Sarah is on the phone with the same guy as before (Sergio) and finally makes a deal with him to hire his guys after throwing in three of the trucks. Luc comes by to feed Sarah who isn’t eating. She still doesn’t understand Nora’s sentimentality about the building since she is being practical. Tommy tries to talk to Nora about it. The building is Nora’s history more than the family’s. She has an idea to sell the building back to the architect, hoping he would keep it in one piece.
Remember Roger the architect? Nora dated him for a bit but he was married (in the open marriage). After a bit of talking, Nora runs her idea by him. He hates the idea and wants the building to be torn down. It’s time for Holly to answer Paige’s questions. Question one: So, you were my grandpa’s girlfriend? Rebecca comes in to announce she is now the AVP of some food place. I’m pretty sure it was the same job that Holly interviewed for. Uh oh. One of the drivers comes in to tell Kevin the drivers have jobs now and should ask Sarah about how they got them. Saul is back on the video about working at Ojai and how maybe it became too big a part of his life. Justin finds out about Rebecca getting the job from Tommy and while they’re discussing it, Kevin comes in yelling at Sarah, having found out about the “deal” she made with Sergio to hire the Ojai drivers. It’s completely illegal and when Tommy asks her how she was going to pay the money back to replace the worth of the trucks, she tells them she was going to sell her house. Tommy tells her she is so far gone and she needs to let go. Paige has overheard the entire thing.
Kitty is practicing her speech in front of Robert and she is not feeling so excited about it. Kevin comes by to get her but is not dressed for the gala and tells Kitty he’s not going but rather is going to help Sarah after her little breakdown. She decides she’s joining Kevin and not going to the dinner. Robert will go to the dinner in her place because, well, he’s funnier than she is. Nora shows up to Sarah’s house first to talk about why she feels the need to suffer alone. Sarah admits she’s ashamed because she failed and how she will live with it. Nora tells her to “lean in” to her feelings. Wait, didn’t we just watch this monologue on Private Practice? Come on writers, get with the program (or stop sharing phrases). Rebecca goes to Holly to apologize for taking the job and not knowing she was up for it. The company also tells them both they should’ve told them the other had applied. I disagree, but more about that later. Holly is happy to know Rebecca got the job, it’s the bright spot of the day. Tommy is on the video and finds an old business card he made when he was a kid, Walker & Son. He talks about bringing Sarah in the business and how different things may have turned out had he not been fighting so hard to prove himself. So, Tommy blames himself for the failure? Nora had a box with her from Roger and Sarah and Nora open it together. They were the original drawings he did for William when they were younger for the building. What else do they find? The plans for Narrow Lake! GASP! They are plans for a house just for Nora and all the things she would have loved.
Creepy limo guy confronts Robert in the bathroom at the dinner. He has figured it all out and tells Robert that if he doesn’t get rid of all the evidence he has, Kitty won’t get elected. Nora and Tommy are at Ojai putting price tags on all the furniture when everyone else comes to join them. Scotty mentions the space is and could be renovated (maybe for the restaurant??). Rebecca and Justin start to talk but are interrupted by Holly. Justin says they are miles apart. Sarah comes in and apologizes to everyone and has some whiskey with her (William’s favorite). Kevin announces that Pedro has bought the trucks and is starting his own business so Sarah doesn’t have to worry about the trucks. Saul toasts to Ojai and everyone is silent (weird, right?). Until Scotty starts singing (woah, he can SING!). Everyone goes into their respective offices and turns out the lights, one by one, while Nora and Sarah shut the lights to the building.
Next week, there’s a big “shattering” event and one member doesn’t make it out alive. Guess Robert finally dies?
So the Narrow Lake/Ojai Foods drama is finally over. Next week, hopefully, the Robert drama will be, too. Honestly, I’m so sick of Rob Lowe and his holier than thou attitude I’m glad they’re respecting his wishes and killing him off. Sucks for Kitty, but whatever. I really hope that I have the right thought about Scotty and Saul buying the building and making it their restaurant. Or I wonder if Nora will take the plans for Narrow Lake and make it some kind of center? Either way, I think the building will stay around. Watching everyone get new jobs will be interesting, too. First it was just Kevin and now it will be everyone. I hope Tommy sticks around, too. Justin and Rebecca are headed for doom, so I’m not sure why they bothered getting married to begin with. I can’t believe the finale is next week but hopefully it’s a good one!
What are your thoughts on all the drama from the episode? Looking forward to next week? Are you glad Robert is leaving? Leave your two cents below.
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TheTwoCents 
I don’t think the Narrow Lake drama is over because it still doesn’t explain why York wanted it so badly – there still must be something valuable about it.
I don’t get the whole thing about Rebbecca becoming an Associate Vice President or whatever. She has no college degree and she worked at Ojai for 2 years because her mom hired her – I don’t call that a glowing recommendation. And I don’t blame her for not wanting to go to Haiti. I’m sure it’s all volunteer, how are they supposed to live and make money. Justin needs to get his act together.
Do you think Dennis just wanted the Narrow Lake property so the Walkers couldn’t have it because it was William’s “love letter” to Nora and he still is pissed that Nora never gave him a chance? I’m still not 100% convinced there is truly a monetary value to the land.
As for Rebecca, I’m wondering if Holly actually did know (and lied about it) and she told them to hire Rebecca. I’m on the fence about the Haiti thing. Justin has been so confused for so long and he finally has something he wants to do and his wife isn’t on board with him. He has been there for her and she never seems to be there for him. It doesn’t matter, I see a divorce in their future any way. Or at least I hope because they are so not good for each other.
That could be the case about Dennis. They just seemed to build it up so much that it felt sort of anti-climactic.
My problem with Justin is that he was very excited about becoming a doctor and it got hard and now he’s giving up. So he goes to Haiti and after three months then he gives up there too? It’s just time for him to grow up and stick with something – anything! I’d like to see them stay together, but I don’t want to see this constant battle – it it’s going to continue that way, then they should get divorced.
I just think Justin doesn’t know where he belongs. Everyone else knows, but he doesn’t. He’s the baby of the family, signed up for the military because of 9/11, got hurt and never finished what he started (if you will) because of it. He never joined the family business, was a druggie, etc. So he didn’t really ever fit anywhere. He’s kind of like Tommy when all the drama went down, only Tommy still had a place when things got back to normal. But if you remember, he said the Haiti thing would go towards med school, so I think he still is thinking of finishing, he’s just trying to go a different route to figure things out on the way. Just my opinion but I guess we’ll find out soon! But I do think we’ll see them divorced soon. And what happened to Rebecca dancing? LOL.