Hi everyone,

Welcome back for another discussion about "A Million Little Things."  We've only got two episodes left in season one.  (Or is it already season two?  More on that in a bit.)  This week's show gives us a little stalking, a look at the power of faith (however you define it), and a number of people feeling invisible.  Let's jump right in...

Warning: Spoilers ahead

Observations:

• Rome gets the opening voice-over this week.  It seems like whoever gets this spot gets a lot of attention in the episode, so we're off to a good start.

• We're assuming Drea de Matteo is Barbara Morgan until proven otherwise, so we start with Barbara stalking the Dixon house again, which is still creepy.  She then lies to Sophie Dixon about who she is which doesn't make us feel any better. 

• For those of you who have been with us all season, you know we're compelled to point out that everything in this opening scene is blue:  the car, jackets, earbuds, sweatshirts, overall lighting:  all blue.  We're not done obsessing over this yet.  Oh, no, we are not done yet.

• Given that everything is blue, it feels like it means something that Delilah's wearing a red top.  We associate red and blue with hot and cold.  Is there something about this all being two sides of Jon Dixon's life?  Hmm, maybe that's not it, but we're on to something here, folks.

• Annnnd Barbara disappeared.  Not off to a good start.

• The "Someday" restaurant gets a great review, but Andrew Pollock gets most of the credit.  That's not going to help Regina's self-confidence, which has been an issue all season.

• Maggie's going in for surgery.  She and Gary sort of dance around whether either of them believes in Maggie's mom's rosary beads, because mom says they get the family through every crisis.  Gary, meanwhile, won't wash his Bruins hat because he thinks it's his own lucky charm that got him through his breast cancer battle.  We're not a religious crew here, but when push comes to shove, everyone turns to something that they think will help them make it through the bad times, and the power of that positive thinking can do wonders.

• The Suicide Prevention Lifeline gets a spotlight via a flyer on the hospital wall.  We just recently directed someone who was looking for resources for a friend to the lifeline.  If you need help or know someone who does, please click on that link.

• Not loving Andrew Pollock at this point.  He's bossy to Regina, and that may be the personality type required to be a restaurant king in Boston, but we find those people boring.  He's clearly being set up as Delilah's next love interest, and we're already counting the days until that falls apart.

• Of course Maggie's mom Patricia (also known as Jan from The Office) is the woman Gary argues with in the parking lot.  There was never any chance it could be someone else.

• The follow-up scene where Rome and Eddie are trying to help Gary keep his cool with Patricia (which is clearly not going to work) is pretty funny.

• We forgot how high-strung Theo can be.  Between the meltdown at the aquarium and the night terrors, are we building to some story for him down the road?

• Katherine and Eddie share a nice little moment when she lets him know his song is playing at the aquarium.  These are the little spots the show does well.

• How did Rome misplace his script, and why is he so calm about it?  Obviously he's got it saved on his computer, but wouldn't you be a little anxious if you left your project just sitting somewhere in the hospital?

• Oof, Delilah's line about, "It's great we have someone in our corner who knows what they're doing," may have been innocent, but you can understand why Jon was the one Regina turned to when she was having self-confidence issues.

• Enjoyed the scene between Gary and Patricia in the hospital chapel.  Like we said, everyone needs some kind of help in a crisis.  Now, is Patricia coming back again at some point, or is she one of the 300 side characters  who did a one-and-done this season? Guess we'll have to wait to see.

• The conversation between PJ and Rome about Rome's script feels a little forced, but the message is important.  Everyone feels invisible at some point or another, and it's important to realize both that and the fact that you're not alone.

• That was a nice little moment for Regina with the customers and the risotto. 

• Glad to see Maggie survived the surgery.  Guess it would have been too much to save as a cliff-hanger, but it's also clear she's not out of the woods yet, so that story continues.

• Continuing our theme of the week, Katherine says she needed to feel noticed, and she recognizes she also didn't do that for Eddie.

• They're not really going to sign the divorce papers, are they?

• Seriously, look at Theo's room - everything is blue.

• This might be the most we've ever liked Eddie.  It might be because this is probably the quietest he's been all season.

• Oh, our bad - they did sign the papers.  So Eddie's getting divorced, Delilah is carrying his baby (which is a secret), and her attentions have shifted to Andrew.  We can see this story is just getting started.

• Of course Barbara Morgan was in Jon's photo albums.  How many years of Jon's life are a mystery to Delilah?  Shouldn't that have been a red flag for her?

Final Thoughts: 

We really liked this episode.  Much like last week,there was a nice flow to everything,  all of the stories carried some weight, and we feel increasingly invested in all of the characters.  In some ways, it feels like we've already started season 2.  Episode 12 felt like a finale, and we've moved on to the next chapter over the past four episodes.  It's a little awkward, but if the powers that be can bring everything together for a smooth landing next week, there's reason to be confident that they'll straighten things out during their break.  In the meantime, can we please finally just find out who Barbara Morgan is, and why the show is so blue?

See you next week for the finale!

Everyone needs to be seen now and again.  (pic via abc.go.com)