I’m going to be honest, this episode was a bit too cheesy for my liking.   I was hoping for something deeper and more creative but was left shaking my head in disappointment.  Let’s dive into the breakdown.

Rome and Gina

Rome wakes up in the morning with stomach pains.  Gina, having found his suicide note the night before, is concerned about this and feels that the something is up.  The morning progresses, as does Rome’s stomach pains.  When he falls over in pain, they call Maggie who instructs them to take Rome to the Emergency Room.

During the initial questioning to Rome from the doctor, Gina brings it out that Rome had suicidal thoughts.  Rome then clams up and doesn’t answer the doctor’s questions, so the doctor asks Gina to leave so that she can get real responses from Rome.

In classic MIllion Little Things fashion, everyone shows up at the hospital.   Gina is surprised that almost everyone knows about Rome’s condition, which only heightens her frustration.

The doctor comes out and asks for Gina to allow them to give him charcoal since they are concerned he might have tried to take too many pills again. She consents and Rome is forced to down the black sludge.

In the end, Rome is diagnosed with kidney stones, which Gary had predicted having had them before, and once Rome passes the stones he feels better.

One of the major struggles during this storyline was Gina and the fact that she feels out of touch with her husband. Everyone knew about the depression but she and Gina is an outsider in his life.  Rome tries to comfort her by saying that it would be too real if he told her.  Later at home, his last ditch effort to bring her into his world, he approaches her acting like he is in a bar and he is hitting on her. He introduces himself as a married man and invites her to go on a date with him.  She accepts and the episode ends with them leaving the house together for their grand adventure.

Eddie and Delilah

Previously, Delilah and Eddie determined that the baby that Delilah is carrying will need to be Jon’s baby, even though it is really Eddie’s.  Eddie also performed his first show in years and it was a complete success.  The day after his show, he gets a call from his old buddy that the other signer wants to purchase his song.  He immediately says it’s not for sale as he arrives at the hospital to give Rome support.

Delilah has her first doctors appointment and Gina is consumed with Rome so she can’t go, therefore Eddie steps up to go to the doctor with her.  While there he says that the two need to be honest with each other when alone, and once he sees the baby and hears the heartbeat he runs out of the room.  He tells Delilah that hiding the fact that he’s the father will be the hardest thing he will ever do.

Gary and Maggie

Their relationship continues it’s up rollercoaster ride this week.  They start off on good terms as the alarm clock goes off with Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.”  Gary starts singing and butchers the lyrics and Maggie mocks him for his version of the song. After that alarm clock is shut off, another one across the room goes off with a radio host that is a psychologist.  Maggie goes off on her, saying she’s a hack and Gary dares her to call in.  Yes,  this is where the dare game begins as well as where the episode goes downhill.

Dare two: Maggie dares Gary to make an old-school lemonade stand and to take a picture of it. he makes the stand but fails to get a picture before being called to the hospital to help out Rome.

Dare two amended and dare three: After the two help Rome out, they head out to the greatest noodle restaurant ever.  While there, Maggie alters the first dare and tells him that he has to grab the microphone that the hostess is using and to sing his version of “I’m Still Standing,” including the inaccurate lyrics.

He agrees and then dares her to join him in a duet.

And they sing.

And the restaurant loves it.

And the words begin to get real to Gary.

Dare Four: Maggie dares Gary to do something that breaks him out of his fears.   He has a fear of heights so writes “Maggie was here” on a billboard that is fifteen stories high. She’s thrilled that he conquered his fear.

Dare Five: Gary dares Maggie to face her fear and have the treatment.  She gets pissed at him and takes off, saying it’s not fair and the game is over.  Gary follows her and tells her that he’s sorry.  She tells him that the bruising she is getting will only get worse. She thought he knew what he was signing up for with her, but now she’s not too sure.

Gary finds himself back at the noodle restaurant, slurping up his favorite meal when Katherine walks in with one of her coworkers, on an apparent date.  She comes over to Gary and tells him that it’s just a work dinner, but he tells her that she deserves to be happy, contrasting the fact that he’s not.

Overall, the dare game was a bit too much and I the way it unfolded made my wife and me roll our eyes on a number of occasions.

After the two week break, we are expecting the drama to really dig in and get deeper.  Hopefully, we will see some better writing soon.