The Gentle Art of Listening

Mark here...this episode was called "The Gentle Art of Listening" and I won't go so far as to call it a Very Special Episode, but it felt like it. Brenda teams up with Andrea (big mistake) in working at a helpline call center... and of course she ends up answering a phone when she's not supposed to...because she thinks it's Kelly. The funny part is that she thinks it's Kelly because Kelly called before to talk to her at the helpline...to tell her about Donna's latest crisis.

The episode takes us on a wild trip with this girl who calls Brenda about date rape...blah, blah.... On a side note, it seems like Cindy needs a project! After last episode's mid life crisis, it's hilarious to see her obsessively baking or suddenly working at the recycling center (and constantly finding crazy amounts of recycling to lay around the kitchen- did she raid the neighbor's trash?!). Meanwhile, Brandon is obsessing over a girl who used to work at the Peach Pitt. She's "older". 23. She is pushing Brandon to get some New Agey treatment, as she is a yoga/masseuse/acupuncture person (aspiring). Of course we know that despite her slutty overtures, she is just looking for work... And we find out she has a husband or boyfriend...wah wah....

Laurel here...so Brenda, although completely untrained in teen crisis management, ends up handing this girl's date rape case when the girl calls back repeatedly night after night about a new attack. Not to blame the victim, but this girl keeps putting herself in a rapey situation by sticking around after football games alone in the hallway and making herself vulnerable to the same attack situation night after night. Obviously as a modern lady I never want to blame the victim, but come the fuck on!! I feel like the writers took the easy way out of this by letting this girl keep putting herself in the same situation over and over again to serve the story line about Brenda and Andrea coming to her rescue, sort of a writer's cop out. To their credit the girls do thwart the next attack by calling the police and orchestrating a sting, but in reality I feel like a victim in this situation wouldn't recreate the same circumstances 3 nights in a row where this would keep happening to her. Also this is a circumstance where Brenda and Andrea are supposed to bond, but the circumstances are so fake and Andrea is so still so judgey that it doesn't quite sell. I'm curious to see if we ever see another mention of either of them working at a crisis hotline.

Also to add to what Mark mentioned about Cindy's new interest in baking and recycling...is it because of her guilt about her "emotional affair" from the last episode or is she actually inspired by Brenda's new found passion for volunteer work? Either way it comes off as phoney, her baking just seems like an attemp to build a wholesome force field / repent against the perils and pitfalls of Beverly Hills society.

Cocktail Moments:

Brenda to Andrea: " How can you get away with being editor of the paper when you have so much contempt for the student body?"

Andrea's self satisfied expression when the date rapists are caught in the sting, Andrea Zuckerman solves the case! Like she's on Law & Order! Laurel here...I'm not sure if Olivia Benson was a character or not at this point but if she wasnt yet she stole her "indignant" pose from Andrea.

No real style award from this episode but we have no doubt that there will be many more to come.