Overall, this ep was weak IMHO. Some things I liked: Friedman's vain attempts to move on after Judith's death, Joan's amazing astuteness as compared to the rest of her family (that is something has always endeared me to her and made me amazed at her depth of perception of the world around her), Helen's no-nonsense attitude when it came to Joan and Price (and it's about freakin' time too).
Some things I didn't like: The parents being so wrapped up in this deposition that they're still ignoring the rest of the family at large (lessons SO not learned from before the accident until now), Lt. Preston's really pathetic attempts to be laid back to impress Helen (that whole thing just grated on my nerves) and Price's sudden change into thinking Adam is now a genius. So his attitude toward Joan can remain set in concrete but his attitude towards Adam has now done a complete 180? I didn't buy it. What bugged me somewhat was that Adam would've never done many of the things that he did to get a career if Joan hadn't encouraged him, helped him or told him about opportunities. Although I know Adam loves Joan and means well, we don't see him doing the same for her. She's pretty much left floundering around, trying to feel her way out of many bad situations alone, helping other people instead. I'm sure she's feeling very much like a failure when she shouldn't. And blast it all, I'm as irritated as she is that it seems everyone has forgotten Judith...like she was a mere blip on the map. Apparently, this showing that Joan is the only one who really cared whether or not Judith existed (well except for Friedman). It's sad.
I found myself deeply moved by Joan's deposition. While all of her other family members remember all of the self-absorbed tripe in their lives (i.e. petty arguments, countdowns to birthdays, etc), only Joan seemed to realize that important things were going on around her that could affect her life and other lives forever. Her observations (other than the otherwise mundane watching television with Luke) were very profound for a teen, very sensitive to what was going on around her. When she finally got that "Aha!" moment about God's double entendre, it was amazing to see her put the final pieces of the puzzle in place. What I hope the writers do is show Joan how to use her particular brand of intelligence to her advantage. These are things that you can't learn in college or read in a book. Yet, they can be so helpful...I wonder if that is ultimately God's intent. To show Joan her own usefulness.
Helen's flashback was not unexpected to me...most mothers that share a deep bond with their children almost have a sixth sense when it comes to their well-being. No magic, just love. I still wanted to strangle Kevin....this ep didn't change that for me. His character has always irked me right down to my socks mostly because I don't think much has changed for him other than his permanent wheelchair dependency. He still treats women the way he did in High School, he still has a giant chip on his shoulder. *bleh* And what is this whole ridiculous business Will Girardi was spouting about how to teach his son how to be a man? Puhleez. Kevin had it right...all he was doing was continuing the cycle. How to teach a son how to hate his father.
Helen still feels the need to ship Joan off to her soul-destroying shrink every time Joan has a crisis. How utterly sad. I kept wondering, "Did Helen even bother to talk it out with Joan to help her through this before sending her back to Dr. Doom?" Heck, I'm an atheist and even I thought this guy was over the top, telling Joan "I took God away from you." I was screaming at the TV "You can't take faith away from someone like you take away their ink pen, you dolt!" I was waiting for Joan to say the same thing but then I don't think she really understands that her seeing God on a regular basis means she does have faith on some level.
Overall impressions? A good episode but could've been better w/o the Kite scene and if they had addressed some other weaker points to make it a stronger ep.
Time flies by when the Devil drives.
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, it's the sudden stop at the end.
over the fact that Judith was starting to grow on me. But nevermind my 2 cents. Sad ending to an episode that I thought was going to end differently. Yeap, that's my 2 cents. Nite Nite. =) 
Man, I would love nothing better than never hearing about Grace/**** again, but it is kind of hard with having them suck face every episode. Judith being the new character usurping Grace´s place and then getting killed is a natural reason why she would be discussed a lot. Joan´s relationship with god has all but disappeared this season, or so it seems to me, everything is just so different from last year. I don´t know what to talk about anymore. Well I do: nothing, I won´t watch anymore until I trust that things have picked up. I am just very disappointed because last year this was show I really liked. I like Amber Tamblyn, Becky Wahlstrom and the rest of the cast, I loved the humor and originality of this show I loved the characters. I would gladly love them again. Here´s hoping. 
What the hell's my excuse?! 
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): you never can tell exactly what will become of one's creation, after you "give birth" to it. To some extent, you need to learn to let go: if one's creation becomes unrecognizable, just move on.
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(Not that I think such a disclaimer in the thread title was necessary in order to offer critique) Out
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IMHO, of course.
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And Kieli will edit. Sound like a plan? 
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