The Being Erica BS Detector: Season 3, Episode 12
So there we were, basking in the afterglow of Ma and Pa Strange belting out Buffy Saint Marie on karaoke (we knew we were in for a good episode when we got goosebumps), when all of a sudden…whaaaaaaa??? We have paused this week’s episode halfway through so that we can weigh in before we find out what in the name of Goblins is going on. Question 1: Are we the only ones having a Bobby Ewing flashback? Question 2: What does all this mean? Have the past two years—the time travel, the multiple failed relationships, the publishing career, that horrible outfit at Pride—been nothing more than two weeks’ worth of coma dreams? And, for that matter, what is a Code White? OK, back to the show.
Following a brief visit from our number one BE crush (don’t be a stranger, Leo), Erica concludes that even if the experiences haven’t been real, the impact they have had on her is. She is a changed woman. And then, poof! She passed the test. So now Erica’s a doctor (albeit a doctor with limited design imagination: Shakespeare and IKEA—no thanks), and we’re guessing this means a whole new past to dissect. More high school hijinks, more terrible dates and more time travel. Hooray!
So who is her new glove-wearing student? Let’s just all pray together that it’s Brent, and maybe our dream will come true. They’re obviously trying to tweak his character a little bit (note the new-found heterosexuality and the leading man hair), and the guy’s obviously got regrets. Here’s hoping, chickens!
Leave your own guesses for who Erica’s new patient is below.
I thought it was Ethan straight away! But Brent seems like a good guess too! OMG I CANNNOT WAIT yet I also don’t want it to be the last episode :(
An intense episode. Not sure what’s up with Brent, but he’s been upfront about being hetero for a long time – after Erica nearly lost her job at Riverrock on her first day he asked her out. I think he’s in love with Julianne.
I assumed the first patient is someone we don’t know, but I could be wrong.
You know who it’s probably going to be? Judith. They’ve been leaning on her problems for a while. That being said, I hope that it is not. I really want it to be Brent, he is by far the only thing I watch this show for anymore. It used to be good with the Ethan/Erica relationship, but since that’s over, my interest has been waining. Although I do like the Dr. Tom centric episodes. And always nice to see Leo. Anyway, hoping this show gets better!
Highlights from ep #12:
-Julianne’s new phrase “Pronto Toronto!”
-The star trek matching shirts of Samin – ick-a-roodle!
-Eriadam supposedly taking it “slow”, nice tat on Adam.
-Erica, a doctor?!? Really!
-The egg chair reminiscent of Mork & Mindy – all she needs now is a matching bean bag.
Crazy, big gloved hands at the end – I thought it was Hastings or Adam’s dad.
Judith is a good guess, but that kind of looked like a man hand. Agree that brent has undergone a hunk makeover this season. still not really a hunk, though.
My guess was Dr. Tom’s daughter, but now that you mention it, that hand did look pretty manly.
What a fantastic episode! This season has really turned it on the last few weeks. I was thrown for a loop for most of the “doctor test” part. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was really worried it had all been a dream.
I’ll be very interested to see who the hand is. (Also, good job to whomover does the promos over there: they’ve given nothing away these last few episodes!)
The hand is Ethan’s hand. First of all it is manly. Secondly, the person is taller than Erica, b/c she was looking up at him. Therefore it’s not Brent’s hand b/c she’s about the same height as he is. Next she obviously seems to know him and regretted the run-in, esp. since she is on her “promotion” to life high. What a buzz kill!
Next, Ethan has been completely in the dumper for the last season. I believe the writers wrote him out for this reason, that he would come back at one point. I mean, a drama wouldn’t be anything without further complications and confusion on love + live. Ethan would definitely be a catalyst to her & Adam’s relationship.
Lastly, Erica’s “test” seemed also a little too easy to me: oh, here’s a hard thing to deal with for a couple of days and then Poof! you passed, you’re a doctor! Personally, I would think she should have been put through more trials. Dr. Tom is no sissy, tippytoeing, bleeding heart kind of guy. He’s going to teach her to put her personal feelings & issues on the side to learn about life. All to often she’s self involve..”oh sorry, I forgot about that b/c I was too wrapped up with my own…” Anyways, to wrap up my rambling, I believe that she will need to work hard to keep her new therapist status. That is just what the “doctor” ordered…er, Dr. Tom that is.
Oh honey, the pieces in her new office are certainly not IKEA. IKEA rips of design classics and contemporary design all the time and with their mass market following, people are tricked into believing that it is an IKEA creation.
Anyway, I think both Ethan and Judith would be boring choices. Brent would be interesting…But let’s get a new character in there to liven things up!
Maybe it is Leo?
I’ve watched one awkward sex scene in each of the last four episodes of Being Erica. If I wanted this much fake sex in my life, I’d take up Harlequin paperbacks. Ew, enough already!
Have you forgotten all about the rock singer/gobblins waiter?? He is the one behind the gloven hand…He change therapist..
Oh, wow, I was totally thinking Bobby Ewing too! BTW, wasn’t Jana Sinyor in a cameo? And I agree about Kai….
The best part about the “romance” scene was the Imogen Heap song. As for the mystery hand, an Adam connection is plausible; his dad, someone related to Beatrice – would make sense to develop his character if he’s sticking around as hunk numero uno. I miss Kai and his song “Alien”.
Ah finally some cool comments about Being Erica.
Anyway some thoughts on the season and the episode — hope it’s okay that these are a bit long:
I’m not a fan of Adam and Erica. Their chemistry strikes me too much like brother and sister. It seems as if there are two camps of thought on them. I know some people love the pairing but I don’t. Also, while I have no idea if dating someone you meet in group therapy is considered bad, for this particular type of therapy it definitely strikes me as bad. I am surprised Dr. Tom didn’t discourage them. Instead he threw them on an island together.
That said, I thought “Erica, Interrupted” was great. The writers are probably left at each season’s end having to write a show that could potentially be a series finale as well as a season finale. And they did it again. Yes, Erica advancing in the program all happened fast, but I guess it had to be that way. And I suppose you could argue her relationship with Adam was necessary (in the writers’ minds) to set up her totally turned-around life, needed before the test.
Anyone who hasn’t should go back at watch the pilot episode again. The scene of Erica jumping out the window was repeated identical to the pilot (right down to the pajamas, slippers and the song playing while it was happening!). Very clever. Also: Leo, while on the bridge, recites Erica’s opening voice-over from the pilot, almost verbatim. It was a way of bringing her life full-circle. And while Leo claimed he was voicing Erica’s own thoughts, I believe we were really hearing Dr. Tom’s thoughts during their encounter.
As for the hand: I hope it’s none of those mentioned in the previous comments here. Therapists don’t ever seem to work with people they knew previously, and this would seem like a bad idea. Erica did smile knowingly at whoever it was, so we’ll see. Of all her friends, Jenny would need it the most.
Final thought: What happened to the juicy subplot involving Dr. Naadia and Dr. Arthur — and Naadia’s criticism of Dr. Tom — that started in the season premiere? It was briefly addressed mid-season then buried. I’d liked to have seen a few episodes focus on that, instead of Adam’s tortured upbringing. But that’s just me….
Reactions welcome. There really are no decent BE blogs that I can find anywhere!
I definitely agree with Pillbox that I would like to have seen more of the Dr. Nadia/Dr. Arthur conflict, which seemed so juicy at the start but was never fully explored.
I’m also glad Erica’s moved on from group, because although it felt ripe with opportunity in the beginning, by focusing only on Erica and Adam it got kind of boring.
Finally, I think it’s pretty obvious that Brent was in fact in love with Julianne, and when she broke his heart by having a relationship with Friedkin, he decided to get revenge. I’d say he’s still in love with her, and my guess is that Julianne will eventually fall for him when he inevitably confesses his feelings.
I too was fearful that it would be a dream. That would have been a major disappoint for me. And what of Dr. Naadia and Dr. Arthur?
Hmmm, interesting episode. But I do agree that Erica got to be a doctor too easily. She doesn’t seem ready yet as she still keeps asking Dr.Tom what she should do. Can’t she make a decision on her own? I’m not sure who the hand could belong to. But it would be interesting if it was her ex-friend Jenny! She seems to have a lot of things that she regrets doing. Though Jenny wasn’t taller than her so it probably isn’t her unless she’s wearing super high heels. LOL. Kidding. As for Adam & Erica, I don’t really feel chemistry between them. Not like Kai & Erica.
This episode really threw me for a loop. It does seem like Erica became a Dr. a little too easily, but I guess the whole point was to make sure she and the others were able to hold on to their ‘solid foundation’ and not crumble under the weird experience. I don’t care about the Brent/ Julianne story and as for Adam/ Erica, I’m not crazy about it, but I still like Adam well enough. Has a decision been made as to whether or not it will be returning for Season 4?
who ever said there should be a new character to liven things up is crazy. this show has more characters than the Y & R. the last thing we need is someone new where there are so many existing characters who could benefit from therapy. isn’t it kind of odd though if erica knows her first patient socially? not really appropriate.
I agree with Pillbox re the buried storyline concerning the Dr disagreements. I agree with EF – there are enough characters already! See what you think of my review of season 3: http://thinkoutsidethevortex.blogspot.com/2010/12/seeing-erica-again-review-of-being.html
Could the gloved hands be Dr Fred’s? He seemed to go off the rails. Or Josh’s?!
It’s been too rushed – 2 whole seasons in solo therapy but only a half season in group? And it’s a shame that the only thing group really did was bring Erica and Adam together. Erica didn’t really seem to learn much from it. It was more like co-counselling between Erica and Adam than group therapy. What about the others’ stories? Would’ve been great to have had a whole season exploring the group properly.
No way can her patient be someone she knows, that would be unethical. It has to be a new character :)
I think the hand has to be somone connected to one of the existing characters, but not someone Erica knows per se. You know that her being a dr. and all will get in the way of love life with Adam (do we really trust the guy anyway?) If I had to take a wild guess for Season 4, Samin (Sam & Lenin) will have a baby. An even wilder guess is that at the end of Season 4, Adam will get knocked off by a Hastings connection – how is that for drama? – and then she’ll move onto someonse else.
Well it can’t be Dr. Tom’s daughter, if she would have a pair of leather gloves she would be selling them for heroin, although there’s already plenty of unbelievable material on this show. Brent doesn’t need therapy, he needs a pair of balls to tell Julianne he’s in love with her and if they put Erica’s ex as her patient I will stop watching the show because that’s just stupid. I want to believe that even though it’s time travel therapy that there’s still some sort of code that doesn’t allow you to psychoanalyse your ex at a professional level…because if that can be true, I so want to have the right to do that to my ex, and cure him so no one else has to deal with that… yes I’m that altruistic!
I agree with the last comment. Better if it’s someone new. After all we all already know what’s wrong with all the other characters of the show life and will be boring to have to walk them through therapy. Also, in the end of the day, the show is called Being Erica, not Being Brent, or Dr. Tom’s heroin addict daughter, or… ah you got my point.
I object to the turn of direction for the Being Erica show, i.e. that she’s really supposed to have been dead all along. What a downer of a storyline.
I agree with those who were reminded of previous television episodes in other series, such as the Bobby Ewing “miracle”–except that this reminds me more of the Roseanne show where at the end of the series, her husband has died of a heart attack, and previouse episodes showing her family winning the lottery and so on were nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of Roseanne.
I think this plot twist gives Erica Strange’s character a look of weakness rather than strength–almost like she’s some trainable circus animal or something rather than a real woman moving forward in her life. Is it Dr. Tom or Pavlov, eh?
And the Barbie doll style of her “office”?! Please! Someone help this woman wake up from her coma/nightmare now!
I dislike “gotcha” style plot tricks and would prefer to see the Erica character living and growing in what most people think of as the real world.
If this “dead Erica” plot line continues, I won’t be watching any more episodes, and I bet the show won’t last long either.
Okay okay Ryunyo, slow down!
Erica is not dead, the episode (and season) was not a Bobby Ewing dream and the test was not a plot trick!
The great thing about Being Erica that separates it from many other shows — for the better — is that things happen that you have to play close attention to… that will help explain OTHER things that happen later on.
We’ve already seen alternate realities not tied to any specific timeline. That is what Erica was placed in, in “Erica, Interrupted.” We saw her face the essential reason for her therapy again — as was explained to us in the first few moments of the pilot episode! Careful viewing is rewarded!
Dr. Tom called the test “inelligent” (great word, and sorry if I misspelled it) but that it had always been done that way. There is no question, by the end, what happened to Erica and why. The test was another alternate reality but Erica realized that, for her, it didn’t matter WHAT her reality was: the things she learned from Dr. Tom would always be a part of her life.
The episode was a means to an end. Whether or not it succeeds in jump-starting new storylines remains to be seen, but you have to credit the writers for setting up a new circumstance, moving forward.
They have limited episodes to tell their stories, so it probably helps to accept that it happened fast.
We’ll see what happens next season, if there is one.
Okay now I’ll agree with you on her office! Here’s hoping she gets some interior decorating sense!
Yeah, her office is horrendous. Couldn’t she come up with something more interesting & not so little girl? For a woman with her own business Erica doesn’t seem that mature. I imagine if Julianne were the time traveler she would be handling things much better & not hanging off Dr.Tom’s coattails for advice all the time.
I agree that the office doesn’t really seem her style – compare it to her apartment or business. She would definitely have chosen timbers not white veneers.
This episode ROCKED! Love the egg chair all we need now is a lava lamp – LOL! Can’t wait to see who is “the hand” tonight. Bring back Kai he worked better as a love interest for Erica…agree with above Erica and Adam like brother and sister.
OK, Being Erica made a quick come back as a result of a turn-on-a-dime plot twist and twist back… Brilliant!
As for the black gloved figure, could it be Dr. Tom? He’s kind of a black glove guy and a patient to doctor switcheroo would be interesting. Or Dr. Tom’s daughter? Why? Because I think that Dr. Tom and Erica have anchored the show and if Dr. Tom is no longer Erica’s therapist, he has to be involved in the plot line some how.
If it is Brad, I will be pinch lipped disappointed as I think he and Julianne really need to go on a date to Swiss Chalet and order a whole chicken dinner for two.
They’ve got to bring back Kai… Maybe they could give him a boyfriend to stand in contrast to the stereotypical gay characters they’ve created – it would show diversity as a context in which to place and dilute a very nearly insulting stereotype in play.
He’s hoping they get a few more things back on track so the show doesn’t tank and it has global relevance in syndication.
– I heart you chickens.
BTW
If we’re at episode 12 then the season finale must be around the corner…
Hopes for next season? Numero Uno that Goblins goes out of business and the bumbling stereotypes (no offense to the actors who play the characters) go with it…
Erica’s parents and sister? Annoying as all get out and I hope they do something to give the characters some depth to up them as stakeholders in the plot line.
And most importantly, I’d like to know why Julianne’s coffee order isn’t a little more realistic and something like “a skinny, non-fat, lactose free, venti triple organic orange Borghese mocha with a measured dash of non-irradiated nutmeg on the side, double coffee cuff and 3 napkins, to go, pronto”…
Agree about Julianne´s coffee…
Also hope her sister stops being so superficial… I mean… she´s a surgeon?? really?
and her boyfriend is too understanding and smart and maybe he´s in therapy for a while to be so resolved himself…
Erica is too self absorbed to be a doctor already in my way of seeing it and it was to little time for group therapy.
Even so I can´t wait to see the nest season…
The first patient of Erica could it be Dr. Tom himself? :-)
As a long time viewer of Being Erica, I’ve speculated who Dr. Erica’s first patient will be and I realize it’s obvious:
It’s Dr. Fred (Dewshane Williams) – Kai’s therapist
He is the only therapist who doesn’t have a back story ( that we know of )
He’s from the future
He know’s Erica from somewhere and if he is to look for help ( with Kai ) , wouldn’t he contact the same person who helped him
This is the nice thing about time travel stories, you can go back and meet someone before they know you
Of course, I figured out the Bruce Willis was dead the first five minutes into the “Sixth Sense” , but don’t let that influence you …
I think Chris has a good point with saying Dr Fred.
I hope it isn’t. And don’t think it will end up, but I guess it would be a good way to tie things together…
Personally, I think it will be someone she maybe recognises from time-travelling, or an acquaintance.
Maybe… Seth Newman?
Heh, I have no idea, but I think the most likely suspect is Ethan. He seems the type to wear those gloves.
And as much as I’d love Kai to come back… “sigh…”
whoevers hand it was, it wont be her new patient, she wouldnt know them, that would never work, it will probably be dr.tom showing her who she needs to help since patients are pre-determined not chosen by the therapist
I am the only person I know that watches this show and I absolutely heart it! I started watching it on netflix one night outta complete boredom and feel in love with all the characters! But enough about that! My opinion on who her first patient is going to be is… JOSH!!! Super excited for the 4th season to find out! Ahhh!
Who sings the song when Erica & Leo on the the bridge & the song at the end on episode 12 Erica interrupted?
I think the hand belongs to Dr Tom.
Either he is just there to guide her to her patient or he will be the patient himself.
I would prefer a new character, but I’m sure either way the plot will be really though out, it always is.
I like how her office is coming along, I knew she would start with a book shelf.
That scene, and time travel therapy in general, reminds me of The Matrix. Dr Tom is Morpheus of course. :)