B.A.

"Chess Lessons", Episode #108.



Cast: Matthew Long, Logan Lerman, Christine Lahti, Edwin Hodge, Jessica Par‚, John Slattery, Ed Begley Jr..
Director(s): David Petrarca.
Producer(s): Greg Berlanti, Vanessa Taylor, Mickey Liddell, Thomas Schlamme.
Writer(s): Jonathan Lisco.

Original Airdate: November 10, 2004.

Patman

The previews make this episode to be like a really bad Scooby Doo episode in terms of Grace having the munchies at Missy's house at dinner.

Patman

I had a good time laughing at Grace drilling Missy's dad a large new one at dinner.

Marcus is just getting a taste of Courtney's mental health issues when he feels that Courtney is playing him so that news of her being busy with the college boys will get back to Jack in order to elicit some form of interest/jealousy from Jack. So what did she tell the bouncer to get into the dorm?

Jack sets Grace in her place pretty well after Grace's propensity of having to be "right" all the time causes the dinner with Missy's parents to spiral out of control. Time will tell if Grace is really serious about leaving pot behind and embracing reality all the time.

Grace has her plate full with Tom, and let's hope this doesn't get too messy for her since it's a sexual harassment timebomb lawsuit waiting to happen unless some arrangements are kept (like Tom keeping the other professor as his advisor).

Bobby learns the lesson of not capitulating to appease someone else for fear of loneliness and companionship as Peter challenges Bobby to play chess to the best of his abilities, lest he deprive his opponent the best game Bobby has to offer, it becomes a matter of respect. Bobby learns the lesson, though Peter does whip him on their "for real" chess match, but Bobby gains Peter's respect and a weekly match with Peter because of the promise Bobby shows in his game play and his observation skills.

The future story has Bobby having to deal with the Chinese leader in a position where the US doesn't have the usual upper hand in the situation, and it all comes down to Bobby suggesting a game of chess to relieve the tension of the situation, and Bobby doesn't capitulate to appease the Chinese leader, and beats him in their match, even though it risked rankling the Chinese leader, but instead it gained Bobby a measure of respect which alleviated the 2nd Cold War during Bobby's presidency.

I can't decide if I like the present history or the future history lessons more, but they are usually both interesting to me.

Tracer Bullet

I felt horrible for Grace this episode- Jack has basically one mode around her, which is bitchy and irritable. I don't think her tirade against the Reverend was unjustified; she graciously declined his invitation several times, but he kept pushing.

boredsilly

Word! I'm having a serious problem caring about Jack's character. He's just coming off as a pain in the ass to me. Maybe this can also be because I don't see pot as being that big a deal (I don't smoke it or nothing). Maybe if she was smoking crack or something.

charlie bucket

Grace is just too much for me. I feel like I can't watch anymore. Too annoying.

Patman

Pot's a big deal when it interferes with a parent's ability to handle a crisis that befell her child (losing his inhaler and suffering breathing attacks).

Tracer Bullet

Sure, but Jack didn't even know about that until the end of this episode. He just comes across as one-dimensional right now.

Patman

Jack pretty much assumes the worst for Grace nowadays, so if she's gone disappeared, he assumed she's tokin' up somewhere. Jack knows that she's been high before when bad things happen and he's the one that has to be the grown up to handle the situation.

movieking

I really dislike Grace more and more every episode. It has nothing to do with her pot smoking, just her holier than thou attitudes and her way of forcing her points on everyone.

I wonder what Courtney said to the bouncer to get them in?

B.A.

I'm in the same boat as you. I actually felt Jack was a bit justified flipping out on her.

Jadzia

Grace is usually annoying but I agreed with her in this episode. She told Jack she didn't feel comfortable going to dinner at the Reverend's house, but he made her go. She was pretty good at holding her tongue for awhile, but I don't blame her for going off on Ed Begley, Jr. She is an accomplished career woman and he was acting like she was some young unwed mother, pushing her to go to a support group or whatever nonsense she was pushing. She politely told him several times she was too busy, but he was just being a dick about it. And then Jack got all pissy at her, when she didn't want to go there in the first place.

calhoun07

I don't care for Grace's character because she strikes me as a stereotypical liberal. I don't really care for stereotypical characters in anything.

As for the Rev pushing to get Grace to come to his church, I do think he took it too far and was far more pushy than he should have been. Can't he take no for an answer? He was coming off as a pushy sales man.

movielib

I'm still enjoying this show and I think it is mostly well done. However, I think some of the "future" stories are pretty unrealistic. Particularly, the stories in the 8 second silence debate episode and this Chinese chess episode do not ring true.

In this last episode I think the Reverend was being most annoying and rude to Grace and even though I could see he was not undeserving of her retaliation I think she would have shown herself to be a bigger person if she had refrained. That said, I think Jack was way too hard on her.

B.A.

I definitely think that dim-girl's father went too far, but it would have been nice to see Grace hold her tongue for once and take the high ground, and in doing so not embarrass Jack. I just think they could have handled the scene differently. The Grace character is too predictable - every episode she goes off on a preachy liberal rant. It would have been nice to see her take another approach to the situation.

DJLinus

Just caught this episode. I missed the last couple, due to the time slot change (my WB affiliate is also a UPN one and I just found out that they air it at 6 pm on Sundays now). Why is Courtney isolating herself from the group?

Patman

Courtney has mental health issues, plus she still struggles with her mother's suicide, and letting people in, lest she be hurt again by them emotionally in terms of abandonment, a la her mother.

DJLinus

Cool, thanks. I remember the show mentioning her mental health issues in one of the future segments. Just didn't know if I missed some bombshell event that caused her to isolate herself.

Actually, now that I think about it I have another question. Maybe I misheard it, but tonight's show made mention of Missy (or somebody) reading Courtney's diary - or did I imagine that? What happened there?

Patman

Missy read Courtney's diary at Marcus' dad's place (I think the diary was in Courtney's bag which was placed in the employee locker area) after suspecting that Courtney and Jack were more than just friends, and in the diary, Courtney confessed to having feelings for Jack, but didn't know what to do given the situation. Can't remember if Missy read the part about Courtney kissing Jack when she got a little out of hand at a faculty event and Jack had to take her upstairs in a room to get her settled. Courtney kissed Jack, as he didn't make the first move.

DJLinus

Thanks again. I think I'm pretty much caught up now.

MrX

I just got around to watchthis and I thought it was pretty good.

I enjoyed Grace going off on the Rev. She could have refrained, but I think this is them laying the groundwork for Jack and Missy breaking up.

Bobby's scenes with Benedict were good.

Still don't like the Grace and Tom pairing

movieking

I hated Slattery on Ed, but I am starting to like his smugness on this show. He is a great foil to Grace, and looks to be a good father figure for Bobby.

rkndkn

The last episode didn't seem to flow right from the previous one.

Previously, we had seen Bobby tell Missy in retaliation about Courtney kissing Jack. Missy also read the revealing passage in Courtney's diary that said she thinks Jack has feelings for her, too, because she's seen Jack looking at her while kissing Missy.

Yet, why is it that in last week's episode, Missy was Miss Sunshine, everything was OK with Jack, and Courtney was the outcast? One would think Missy would have been upset with Jack, knowing he had lied to her earlier when she asked if anything had happened with Courtney that night. (The kiss he neglected to mention, regardless of who instigated it.) Jack and Missy were generally behaving as if Courtney had done something wrong. Since when is it OK for Missy to read someone else's private diary -- out loud, at that?

bothanspy

I was thinking the same thing as the previous poster. I thought I had missed an episode somewhere. What, do they expect the audience to be intelligent and think that time has passed and things have happenned off--screen week-to-week????

calhoun07

Missy is hotter.