Recap: Jo is gussied up in a skirt and sweater for her first college weekend, which Mrs. Garrett and the rest of the Facts gals seem overly excited about. When Blair applauds Jo for not dressing herself in her usual grubby wear, Jo gets irked and threatens to go upstairs and change - but Blair forbids her to be seen on the Yale campus looking like her usual sloppy tomboy self. Mrs. Garrett gushes about what a milestone this weekend is in her life, but Jo downplays it and says she's really just visiting her friend Jason for the weekend. Mrs. Garrett's like, "Uh, about you spending the weekend with a boy.." and says they should probably have a discussion about "certain pressures" she may face, and Blair blurts out, "Give in to them!" - bwahaha! - then explains that she was referring to societal pressures so she could blend in well with the uppity Yale students. Tootie asks Mrs. Garrett if she was referring to sex, and a red-faced Mrs. Garrett mutters something unintelligible and scurries out of the room. Jo remarks to the Facts gals how super awesome her life has been lately, and Natalie cautions her to keep it to herself 'cause she could jinx things if the fates hear her expressing her happiness out loud. A young blonde woman enters the cafeteria - hey, it's Eve Plumb! - and Blair greets her warmly and introduces her to the Facts gals as her sister Meg. When the gals point out that she doesn't have a sister, Blair explains that her mother was briefly married to Meg's father. The step-sisters spend a few gushy minutes getting caught up...and when Blair offers to whip up a snack, everyone heads over to the kitchen. Meg says she's been really busy lately, then presents Blair with her belated birthday present: her bank book and the keys to her car. Weird. She reminds Blair how she always used to bounce from one thing to another and could never focus on any one thing, then says she's finally found something that feels right to her - but that it requires lots of training and a willingness to relinquish all of her worldly belongings. Blair chuckles and says, "It sounds like you've joined a convent!" and Meg solemnly replies, "I have." As Blair stares back at her in complete incredulity, Tootie remarks on how romantic it is to become a nun (?) while Natalie presses Meg for more details. Blair asks Meg how her fiancé (Paul) feels about this decision, and she wryly says he's now her ex-fiancé and that he refuses to talk to her. Blair tells her she's out of her mind, and that this decision must be killing her parents...and Meg concurs that, yep, her parents have had numerous freakouts, and have gone so far as to accuse her of being a liar and a lesbian. Yeesh, they sound like mean-spirited dickwads. She sadly tells Blair she thought she'd be way more hip about her life decision, but Blair's like, "Mmm...not" and calls her life decision stupid and selfish. When Meg argues that she feels a strong calling to devote her life to the church, Blair snarks that she's throwing her life away, then runs upstairs to throw herself face-down on her bed and weep bitter tears at her step-sister's insanity. Tootie and Natalie tell Meg that Blair is too distraught to come back downstairs, and Meg says she'd better head out to her weekend nun retreat...but that she's planning to return on Sunday night, by which time Blair will have had time to digest the news and hopefully be more open-minded. Before she gets a chance to leave, Mrs. Garrett and Jo return unexpectedly 'cause apparently the car broke down on the way to the train station. Natalie informs them that Meg just announced her plans to become a nun, and Mrs. Garrett calls that career choice "off the beaten path", but that if it makes her happy then who gives a shit. Jo gets all reverential and says that a nun is the best thing a person could ever be, and explains that she attended a Catholic school in the Bronx and admired and respected all of her nun teachers. Meg lights up at that and says that since her retreat venue is located near New Haven, she could drop her off at Yale, then pick her up again on Sunday evening. Jo eagerly accepts the offer. When Sunday evening arrives, Blair is upstairs reading when Mrs. Garrett drops by her room for a schoolgirl-housemother heart-to-heart. Blair grumbles again about how Meg is ruining her life, then wonders if perhaps an evening at the local country club and/or a satisfying doink with a good looking high society man could get her head on straight. Mrs. Garrett urges her to try to see things from Meg's point of view and says she's merely making a life choice for herself. Blair argues that Meg is running away from living a normal life and is pretty sure she can reason her out of wanting to become a nun - but Mrs. Garrett points out that a calling like this comes from a deep well of faith and that it's unlikely Meg can be reasoned out of her decision. Tootie suddenly bursts into the room to announce that Jo has just returned from her college weekend and is ready to divulge all the juicy details...along with an unexpected announcement of her own. Natalie begs Jo to regale them with stories of her Yale visit, so Jo tells them that Jason unexpectedly came down with the mumps and had to spend the weekend in the infirmary...so she decided why not spend the weekend at Meg's nun retreat? She gushes about how terrific it was, and that she really enjoyed slowing down and taking quiet walks in the woods. She then adds that something has been bugging her lately - especially as she's been waxing on and on about how super awesome her life has been going - and this weekend she finally realized what she had been neglecting: God. She chides herself for failing to thank God for her good fortune and says, "It's about time I did." Blair looks alarmed and asks her what in blazes she means by that, so Jo declares that she wants to be just like Meg...and by just like Meg, she means become a nun. 'Cause, yeah, that's not completely out of character and near impossible to envision. Blair stares at her in horror while Tootie widens her eyes and is all, "Wha-a-a-a?" And that's where the shocking Part 1 cliffhanger leaves us. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
1 Comment
I have a suspicion Lisa Welchel might have been wearing a wig during a couple of these episodes. Her hair looks a little too clean, bright, blonde and fake here... (Especially since Welchel herself admitted she hated doing hair maintenance. That would make sense).
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