Being Erica Recap – 4×09 'Erica's Adventures in Wonderland'
November 29, 2011 by tvangie
Courtesy of CBC
It's time to start the countdown folks. With only three more episodes to go in the series, this week's episode of Being Erica attempts to clean up the sloppy mess the show has created for itself for the better part of this season.
Let's break it down…
This week's episode tackled a pretty simplistic subject – and arguably what's at the heart of Being Erica: relationships. Looks like we're finally going to get some closure to some loose ends that were unraveling rapidly (along with my patience) in last week's episode.
I'm talking about Kai (Sebastian Pigott) and Adam (Adam Fergus). The majority of the episode transpires amidst the wedding of the lovable Ivan (Michael Northey) and Dave (Bill Turnbull – who's curiously been absent for a good part of the season). Weddings in television shows are always a good platform to work out some deeper relationship issues. What is it about two people vowing to love each other forever that brings out the honesty in us?
But I digress. In preparation for the wedding, Erica (Erin Karpluk) decides to play bride dress-up in a local boutique. This is another formula that we've seen time and time again, and usually it spells DANGER to the unlucky guy the mock-bride is with at the time. Kai shows up and the two check themselves out in the mirror. Although they look amazing, the idyllic frame of the mirror pretty much foreshadows that this will never happen beyond the borders of fantasy.
And my prediction holds true. After going on a pointless "what if" scenario, brought on by Kai proposing to her at Ivan and Dave's wedding, Erica realizes that she can't keep holding onto a fantasy. She finally catches up to the rest of us (when this was spelled out in SEASON TWO), telling Kai she has to end it because it's an impossible relationship. He's from the future! Talk about the world's worst long distance relationship ever.
Kai is heartbroken, and with the help of Dr. Fred (Dewshane Williams) comes to grip with the fact that he really wasn't back in the past on a regret, but that he needed to play out the relationship with Erica in order to have a real one in the future. And they materialize back to the future together. (I'm hoping the egregious Ford product placement last week helped pay for the cool special FX for blasting them back.)
Aside: I liken Kai's presence this season to a bad sequel. You know when you see a really good movie, and the ending is so poignant and bittersweet that you're satisfied even though things didn't end up happily ever after? That's how I felt when Kai left in season two. Take a look here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sxvjwYDgzY&]
So lovely. I think the Kai storyline should have ended there. I'm sorry that this can't be my last memory of the two of them. End of Aside
So Kai never had closure and had to come back and get it in the past before really living in his own time. I will say that although this is a mighty convenient way to explain why Kai has been able to spend so much time in the past and it glosses over the lessons which he was supposed to have learned back in season two, I'm okay with it. I'm okay with it because now that Kai is gone, it cleans things up and sets the stage for a satisfying send-off to the series in the remaining 3 episodes to come.
At least this is what I'm hoping for. Fingers crossed!
Loose end number two, Adam, also gets tied up quite neatly in this episode. After Erica's trip to alternate reality where her "perfect man" turned out to be an arrogant mulleted dink, she makes a passionate plea (with a napkin list and everything) for Adam to take her back. I admit, when I saw her writing on a napkin after her breakup with Kai, and making eyes at Adam, I was whining to my television – "Oh please, no. Don't do it Erica!" When Dr. Tom (Michael Riley) told her to "surrender" to how she ended things with Adam, I took it to mean "learn from that experience and move on." I still remember how Adam freaked out on her when she merely suggested he think about things before dropping out of school. This is not a relationship you want to "surrender" to. I don't think these two can make it long term.
But, despite my aversion to hokey romantic comedy clichés, I couldn't help but root for Erica as she clumsily fumbled through a very heartfelt napkin speech. The episode's theme of 'living in reality' doesn't really seem to hold true because this kind of stuff would never fly in the real world. Alas, I couldn't let my bitterness toward relationships taint what really is an adorable and endearing scene. I was happy that Adam took her back, even if it is right on the heels of a breakup and is generally just a bad idea. Oh well, at least he's from her time-space continuum.
Some other observations that are still percolating:
Erica tells Kai that she can't go to the future with him because she has her own business that she doesn't want to give it up. Then how is she expected to be a doctor AND have a social life on top of that? No wonder Dr. Tom was all about his work! How could he have time for anything else?
Speaking of Dr. Tom, how inconvenient is it for him to constantly hear his patients when they enter his office, even in the midst of foreplay?! I can understand why he'd want to retire and ASAP.
I did love the scene with Dr. Tom and Erica sharing a dance. These two have such an amazing chemistry. I think this season has been a bit off because there hasn't been enough screen time between these two.
The 'secret relationship' thing between Brent (Morgan Kelly) and Julianne (Reagan Pasternak) has gotten really tired, really fast. I'm revoking the MVP awards I gave out last recap. Move on to something more interesting please.
So now that almost everything has been tied up in a neat little bow, can we get to the real meat and potatoes? PLEASE? Why is Erica going to be a doctor? What the heck is the doctor thing about anyway? Why are some people picked to be patients, and eventually doctors? If you fail the test to get into doctor training (ala Adam) what happens to you? No more funky time-travelling journeys?
What do you think viewers? Are you confident that the series will end as poignantly as we've seen in season finales, or have they wasted too much time this season for a proper send off?
Filed Under: Being Erica, TV Tagged With: Adam Fergus, Being Erica, CBC, Erin Karpluk, Michael Riley, Recap, Sebastian Pigott
Ruben says
I agree with almost everything you said.
I have to say that the show died for me. I don't like her to be with Adam for so many reasons. She is so desperate to have a man…
And the freaking moral of this episode was "don't follow your dreams, don't follow what's hard. Stay in your comfort zone." This contradicts the whole point of the series.
This show died for me. And it was my favourite for a very long time. It's so sad…
PS: And where the hell is Judith?? God -.-
tvangie says
I agree the show has defintely falled off the rails this season in comparison to before. I don't think Adam is quite right for Erica, but was willing to go with it because sometime we end up with people we really shouldn't be with. If they're able to give us some nice closure then I can live with the two being together. I am frustrated but I'm still hopeful that it the series will end well. Jana Sinyor has written some amazing episodes. I'm thinking that maybe majority of this season might have been filler to a big reveal. I hope I'm not disappointed!
starry118 says
Wow, you just summed up everything I was thinking. The whole breakup with Kai seemed forced. In a show where people can be in another place & time in the blink of an eye, was it so unrealistic for Erica & Kai to be together? They actually have chemistry… Erica & Adam? No. The writers killed Kai's dreams and mine… : ( The only way they can redeem this is if Erica ends up with Dr. Tom. They've got to do it right though…not just throw them together haphazardly…only three epis left, but there's got to be some buildup. Based on the writing this season, I don't think the ending will be satisfying, but we'll see…oh yeah, and where is Judith? I hope these final epis are more Dr. Tom, friends & family-oriented.
Looks like everyone is looking for Judith! I miss her too, but there has to be cuts somewhere. Another reason to get frustrated about all the time wasted on Kai and Adam. I'd also like to see more Sam. Erica is an aunt now! Why haven't we gotten more details on that? I'm guessing that there will probably be some huge reunion where we get everyone in the same place for some reason (maybe Erica finally writes her book? Maybe when she finally becomes a doctor? Who knows?) Dr. Tom and Erica? Really?! I never really thought of that pairing – I'd always thought he had more of a paternal relationship with Erica. Interesting…
el@wok says
@tvangie
same thing with Erica's older brother. you'd think they'd spend more time on that…
Indeed. I wonder how they're going to bring Leo (Devon Bostick) back for the finale – likely in flashback or as some ghost that only doctors can see. I have a strong feeling every (somewhat) major character that has ever been on the show will make an appearance in the finale. So that's Judith (Vinessa Antoine)(woot!), Sam (Joanna Douglas) and new son Leo, Barb (Kathleen Laskey – love! I still remember her when she was a voice actor on Sailor Moon!), Gary (John Boylan), and maybe even Cassidy! (Anna Silk)
I'm not sure if Ethan (Tyron Leitso), Jenny (Paula Brancati) or Kai (Sebastian Pigott) will be in that group as they've already returned this season. But then again, if my theory is right that they're all angels or in purgatory or something, then it's fair game for everyone.
You're spot on with everything you've said. This season started out perfectly, and then the writers went all Twilight on us – except that they didn't know how to do it properly. It's obvious from what we've seen that creating Team Kai and Team Adam wasn't their thing. Twilight was a huge success (and I'm a humongous fan) because the author wrote for herself, not others. This whole Adam vs. Kai thing felt unnatural, forced, a poor attempt to attract viewers. I wish that this whole season focused on Erica's doctor training, the way it had in the beginning. I am not even going to go into a discussion about why Adam is a poor choice for a boyfriend – you've done that properly enough. I was really frustrated with episode 9, and it would really take a lot for me to fall back in love with the show. I never thought Being Erica would become another LOST for me. While I am going to take Erica's advice and accept reality aka the show, I am not going to recommend Being Erica to my friends – something which I would do during the first three seasons in a heartbeat.
Yes this season definitely has had some major missteps in my opinion. But we still have three episodes left! If they're good enough it *might* be enough to save the entire season. We'll see. I've gotten hours of entertainment from this series throughout the years, so even with the limitations of this one season, I think I will look fondly on the show on the whole. (unless they completely muck it up)
atatteredrose says
Hey, don't diss Jent. They're stuck where they are because Erica is a judgmental, self-absorbed whiner who won't give Julianne one minutes of attention, even after Julianne has spent the evening rescuing Erica.
Last I heard, the show has 11 episodes this season. Did they pick up another when I wasn't looking?
There's been some chatter around about exactly how many episodes are in this season, but I haven't gotten any solid information anywhere. Last season was 12 episodes, plus a "bonus 13th" (Christmas one), season two had 12 episodes, and season one had 13. Assuming that the pilot doesn't count as an episode, I think it's a safe bet to say that there will be 12 episodes this season, leaving three more to go. Let's hope this is the case because the show needs as many episodes as possible if we want a satisfying ending!
apparently they have only shot 11 episodes, even though it was picked up for thirteen……find it hard to believe this will be wrapped up in two episodes, so many questions. Also surely the one time you can live the fantasy is as a time travelling Dr…………really sad for Kai, was never sure about Adam
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