Recap: It's exam time at Eastland, and the Facts gals enter their bedroom loaded down with snacks for an all night study-fest. Jo snipes at Blair for losing her book about World War II, then wails, "I have a history exam tomorrow!" ... and a frazzled Blair tells her to lay off the sniping 'cause she too has been busy and is tense about her exams. As Natalie unpacks the bagfuls of food and milk, Mrs. Garrett drops by to frown disapprovingly at their plans to stay up all night cramming [while over-snacking on junk food] - but Jo insists that cramming [and over-snacking] is a necessity on Exam Eve...and is something the writers have chosen to structure the entire episode around. Mrs. Garrett urges them to just get a good night's sleep, then lets out an exaggerated yawn to try to get them yawning. Blair chuckles and says, "Nice try, Mrs. Garrett", and Mrs. Garrett shrugs and heads off to bed. For a little while, anyway. Natalie tries to get the girls pumped up for their all-nighter while Blair admonishes herself for always waiting until the last minute to start studying. And speaking of procrastinating, she asks the girls if they'd like to warm up by playing a game of cards, and they snark at her to shut it...but then agree to delay their studying until after they're done chowing down on banana bread. At 10pm, Tootie has her headphones on and is singing along with the music. Natalie, who's wearing a funny looking blue baseball cap with yellow energy bolts on either side, glares in Tootie's direction ,then grabs her pencil and breaks it in two. Tootie glares back at her and snarks about how much she hates her energy bolt hat, and Natalie snaps back that it's her exam hat, and "explains" that the yellow bolts function like brain wave conductors. She then moans about her chemistry exam and how hard it is to remember the symbols for each element. Tootie grumbles about how all this studying is a waste of time, then questions the importance it's going to have in their lives - so Jo points out that the purpose of homework and studying is to force them to use their brains. She then marvels about how she once thought she'd like to be a race car driver, but is now thinking about becoming a teacher...'cause what the hell's the point of going to a fancy fictional college if you're just going to race cars?? Natalie goes to get herself another snack and gasps when she realizes that all the food has been eaten...and just as they all start panicking about their no food situation, Jo suggests they order in a pizza, 'cause I guess the cookies, Ho Hos, and banana bread hasn't been enough to sustain them. At around midnight, Natalie stands by the window and anxiously awaits the delivery of their pizza while Blair reads aloud from a romance novel...then sighs and says it reminds her of the non-hetero feelings she's harbored for Jo since Season 2 - I mean her boyfriend Chad, who's apparently an expert kisser. Mrs. Garrett drops by to see how the four of them are holding up...and when they do their best to suppress yawns, she suggests they turn the lights off and rest for a few minutes. Tootie agrees that a short nap might do them some good...and they all retire to their beds while Jo sets the alarm on a clock that isn't plugged in. Jo wakes up at 2am, is all, "Ooooh noooo!", and wakes everyone up. As Natalie blames Tootie for unplugging the clock when she made hot chocolate earlier, Tootie giggles at one of her energy bolts, which is limply hanging off the side of her hat. Mrs. Garrett drops by to deliver the pizza they ordered hours earlier and bewilderedly asks what happened to their many bagfuls of food...and they all just shriek, "Pizza!" and stampede toward the desk and ravage the pie as if they haven't eaten in months. Mrs. Garrett tells them that when she was in boarding school, she and her roommates used to blow off steam by having pillow fights...and once that seed has been firmly planted, she heads back to her room. Tootie mulls over the idea of a pillow fight, decides she likes the sound of it, and smacks Jo with her pillow...and before long, all four gals are pelting each other with their pillows. At 5am, Blair and Jo are studying side by side at the desk...and Blair looks over at Jo and solemnly confesses how apprehensive she is about the writers taking Facts beyond the Eastland years and filming on an entirely new set next season. Jo says it's normal to be scared about taking the next step in life, and assures her she's going to loooove the show's transition to the college years while the writers figure out a way to explain why in blazes the four of them would still be living together - under the same roof as Mrs. Garrett. Jo confesses what's been wigging her out lately: her parents and all their Bronx friends/neighbors are counting on her to not screw up 'cause no one in their gritty orbit has ever attended college. Tootie, meanwhile, helps Natalie as she tries to memorize the element chart for chemistry. When she gets the symbol for gold (AU) wrong, Tootie suggests the word association technique: a mugger steals her gold watch, and she responds by yelling, "Aye! You! (AU!) Gimme me back my watch!" Bwahahaha!! That's actually not a bad way to remember that particular symbol. By 8am, the girls are dressed in their uniforms and ready to take on their exams. They agree to meet back at the cafeteria for lunch just as Mrs. Garrett drops by with some orange juice. After they quickly down the juice and rush off, a wistful looking Mrs. Garrett picks up Natalie's bolt hat and chuckles at its goofiness. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
3 Comments
Shannon Reed
2/14/2021 03:28:17 pm
This Mark I'll be 49 and Nancy McKeon off The facts of Life Joe you were my favorite I even named my dog after you named her McKean we called her Kiki I love you guys all of you no matter what always and forever have another reunion dang man miss you guys all of you
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Shelley
7/15/2021 11:06:14 am
I've been rereading all of these. The way Tootie remembers the symbol for gold, I remembered that through 3 years of high school chemistry. No matter what others I remembered, anytime someone asked the symbol for gold, I heard Tootie's voice "Aye You!"
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Matt
7/3/2024 12:56:24 pm
Actually, at the end of the episode, the girls didn't drink their orange juice. They sounded thrilled that Mrs. Garrett had brought it, but they barely even sipped it at all.
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