The Facts of Life - Season 8, Episode 24

"As completely implausible as it may be, I've been accepted into law school!"

"Rights of Passage Too"
Original airdate: 5/9/1987

Episode summary: Jo is offered an exciting job opportunity in California. Blair is accepted into law school.

---

Recap: Tootie is packed and ready to ship off to her summer stock gig. She haughtily tells Natalie she'll be far too busy to keep in touch with her during the summer 'cause she'll be spending every waking moment working behind the scenes of the production and "learning from the best". Plus, she's reuniting with her ex-boyfriend Jeff, who - now that he's learned how to read - received a grant to study marine biology all summer. She then gets extremely emotional as she bids the Facts gals adieu, and waxes on about how lucky she is to have so many besties...and once she's out of earshot, Natalie woots happily about having her own bedroom for the next three months. LOL.

Beverly Ann tells Blair she's soooo lucky to be spending her summer in Europe, but Blair just kind of shrugs and says it's "the same old thing" every time she summers across the pond, and that right now she's far more interested in learning how she did on the LSAT. Andy, meanwhile, seems less than thrilled about his/Beverly Ann's Winnebago journey to explore flowers and leaves, a sentiment that Beverly Ann somehow seems completely oblivious to. Jo, who's about to head out to a job interview, enters the room decked out in a quasi-dressy top and skirt, but also grungy looking sneakers and socks. A horrified Blair urges her to put on some decent footwear and hands her $50 to buy a pair of pumps, and Jo perks up at the freebie and readily accepts the cash. After Blair leaves the room, a chuckling Jo tells Beverly Ann she actually put a pair of pumps in her briefcase to change into just before the interview. 

Andy enters the store with his friend Jeremy, who lets it slip to Beverly Ann that Andy is not at all looking forward to their Winnebago vacation. Andy sheepishly explains to Beverly Ann that Jeremy invited him to stay with his family at their lake house this summer, and Beverly Ann says tells him she's A-OK with postponing their 'flowers and leaves trip' to the fall.

Later, when Jo returns home from her interview, Blair excitedly asks to see the shoes she bought...then is all 'the hell?' when she realizes that Jo had actually brought along her own pumps to wear during the interview. She irritably tells Jo she wants her money back, but Jo's like, "No can do" 'cause she used the $50 to buy herself a new pair of sneakers - but promises to pay her back as soon as she gets her first pay check. She then tells Blair that the interview went great, that she's optimistic about the job, and that the guy (Eric) who's in charge of the division seems like a very nice person. Blair grins knowingly and says she's impressed with Jo using her "mediocre feminine wiles" to get the job, but Jo insists that the interview was "all business".

"The guy who interviewed me seemed pretty nice."

"You're trying to make me jealous, aren't you?"

Natalie returns home and announces that she abruptly quit her taco restaurant job 'cause her boss wouldn't let her reduce her hours so that she could attend summer school...then explains that she enrolled in a creative writing course at Langley College. A few seconds later, Jo gets a call from Eric to offer her the job she just interviewed for - which, incidentally, is a developer position to create computer programs for elementary schools.

Days later, Jo returns home from work, gathers the mail, and bellows to Blair that her LSAT score has arrived. When Blair can't bring herself to open the envelop, Jo tears it open and tells her she got a 42. Blair's face falls as she explains that 42 is the minimum score she needs to qualify for law school admittance...and moans about how ordinary she suddenly feels, waaah.

Jo's boss Eric drops by to tell her that he quit his job today 'cause 1) he thinks his boss is "a pea brain", and 2) he intends to start his own company. He tells Jo he'd looooove to poach her 'cause he really respects her talent, then drops the bomb that his new company would be based in Los Angeles. Jo responds by staring back at him mutely.

"I'd love to become your pea brained boss in Los Angeles."

"Sorry, I can't bring myself to move out of this house, much less away from Peekskill."

Jo tells Blair about the job opportunity in Los Angeles, and Blair urges her to spread her wings and go to L.A. Jo glumly says it's not so simple for her to make such a big life decision, so Blair describes the kind of tie-breaking process she generally uses when having to make an important choice..

• if the phone rings in the next ten seconds, go to L.A.
• if the next person who enters the room is wearing anything blue, go to L.A.

A few seconds later, Natalie bursts into the room (not wearing blue) ... and when Blair asks her if she's wearing blue underwear, Natalie exasperatedly tells her to just flip a coin like a normal person. LOL. She then tells Jo and Blair that she's miffed at her professor for giving her a C- on her creative writing assignment, which she criticized as being wordy. She wonders aloud if maybe she made a mistake quitting Señor Sombrero's, but then decides to do a rewrite before doing anything rash. 

Jeremy shows Andy how to bait a hook, then tells him that when they're up at the lake house this summer, they'll be forced to go on lots of 5:00am hikes, will be using an outhouse 'cause there's no indoor plumbing, and that they have to keep a close eye out for the many snakes that inhabit the area. A wigged out Andy's all, "Wha-a-a-a?" and later tells Beverly Ann that he's seriously rethinking the lake house trip - but he doesn't want Jeremy to think he's a wimp for not wanting to hike at dawn, poop in an outhouse, and avoid stepping on snakes. Beverly Ann suggests they take their Winnebago trip as planned, but maybe stop by the lake house for a couple of days before continuing along their merry way. Sounds like a fantastic compromise.

The next day at breakfast, Natalie tells Jo and Beverly Ann that she just did a rewrite, thinks it's genius, and credits her professor's comments for the dramatic improvement in the quality of her piece. She then announces that she's decided to enrol at Langley full time this fall...and everyone's all, "Hurray!"

Eric drops by again to ask Jo to please please please take the job at his new company in Los Angeles, but Jo firmly says she can't leave her friends and family, who are in Peekskill (or at least Peekskill-adjacent). Eric turns his hands upside-down and uses his fingers to make it look like he has glasses on and says he's seriously begging her - but after chuckling at his clownish inanity, Jo firmly says she simply can't/won't move across the country. She assures him he'll do great with his new venture, and he shuffles dejectedly towards the door.

"Would you take the job if I acted more clownish?"

"Possibly."

Blair gets a letter from Langley Law School, informing her that she's been officially accepted. As everyone cheers this improbable outcome, given that she started studying for the LSAT the day before the test, Blair rushes upstairs to call her parents with the good news...and Jo reacts to this latest development by staring despondently into space.

Jo enters the communal bedroom just as Blair finishes the phone call with her parents and bitterly mutters, "Whoopee, you're going to law school." Blair asks her if she made a decision about the L.A. job yet, and Jo glumly says she's decided to stay put in Peekskill so that the show's formula of the four of them living together ad infinitum with a housemother could extend into yet another superfluous season...and is now pissed off about making the personal sacrifice. She angrily recaps..

• Blair has law school
• Tootie has her acting
• Natalie has her writing

..then self-piteously asks, "And what do I have?" Blair's like, "Uh, your first job???" - but Jo complains that she's playing it safe and would much rather take the job in California. An exasperated [or maybe that's just me] Blair's like, "So take it!" and Jo mulls that over and says that, yep, she's going to finally give becoming an emotionally independent adult a shot.

Jo and Eric are ready to ride their motorcycles across the country...and after pretending to give Blair, Natalie, and Beverly Ann a casual 'see ya!', she returns for a tender group hug, during which everyone tearfully wishes her a safe trip.

Before the end credits roll, the words 'to be continued..' flash across the screen (%$#@!!), so brace yourselves for the final season!

​Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

---