And this episode is all about how people deal with their pain.
Its not always pretty.
Sometimes it has to take place in Detroit.
Credit: John P. Johnson/HBO
Lets start with the gentlemen.
After the barfing incident Alex chases down Brett, who is acting more wild animal than man.
But that is just the first stage.
The next is Zombie Brett.
Alex drives him around while Brett says things like, I want to die.
Alex looks worried and asks whether they should head back to LA or what.
Brett is in the awful zone where you cant actually handle being inside your own skin.
He wants to be gone.
Alex has a thought: He takes him to a (suspiciously relaxed and uncrowded LAX ) airport.
We can go to the beach or go home, he tells Brett.
Also, its funnywhenyou start talking about your hometown as home again, right?
He wheels a barely conscious Brett to the gate just as its closing.
Then they hug, and its very sweet.
They drive around Detroit (which this whole episode kind of puts in the most terrific light!)
and pull up to Bretts parents house, where his dad itsFamily Ties Michael Gross!
is taking out the trash.
Brett hides because he cant face him.
He suddenly realizes hes back where he grew up.
Alex drives alongside him, with the worried look of a devoted Collie.
(I mean this in the best way.)
They eat pierogi and talk about the path not taken in this case living in cool lofts in Detroit.
They enter the bar looking like a couple of loons, in promwear from the early 80s.
Isnt that just always the way.
Her name is Kennedy.
But of course it is, every town has a Kennedy.
(She is played to perfection by Hilarie Burton.)
For Brett, its flirting hard with hot Kennedy.
Alex watches this all unfold.
Its magical, and I think about moving to Detroit.
Kennedy does not slow her roll, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.
They work it out pretty quickly and hug and suddenly remember the time capsule they buried.
Thats when Michelle texts him: kindly come home.
Did he eat vomit and vomit up the vomit?
Michelle, meanwhile is in tatters in a chair.
Tina is excited to be the totally together one and for Michelle to be the mess for a change.
Of course, Michelle does point out that it was only hours earlier that Tina drove into a tree.
In the morning Sophie comes screaming in hot and Tina tries her best to deal with that.
Tina is panicking when she hears a throaty voice saysheknows how to change a diaper.
Yay, its Christy!
Tina is not as overjoyed as I am to see her.
Tina is shocked and asks if Alex knows that Christy doesnt want kids.
Tina laughs in her face.
Later she flops into bed with Michelle and tells her sincerely she doesnt know how Michelle can do it.
No wonder you went crazy.
She tells Michelle that shes heard from Alex and the boys are in Detroit.
Michelle grabs her baby and looks sadly out the window.
Ugh, this is hard.
