Venice the Series: Season 4, Episode 8

Oh, look, me doing something in a timely manner. No one faint from the shock. Sadly I feel like I’ve already used that joke before in these recaps. At any rate, let’s do this.

We open to Owen and Gina in heaven and/or the great big waiting room in the sky. Gina is delighted to be there. Owen is delighted to see Gina. Owen and Gina do the quick catch up. Gina is so very delighted to see him, but has an awkward moment when she has to say that Owen is dead. Owen’s had time to adjust though, so he’s totally cool with it. He does have a minor freakout about Gina’s current state of liveliness though. Teddy reassures him that Gina’s not actually dead...yet. She still has a choice to make. ...which rapidly dissolves into the best kind of sibling bickering. Teddy has a headache already. I can’t blame him, but it’s awesome and so the Brognos. All this picture needs to be complete is some booze.



Back on Earth in the other waiting room, The Colonel is trying to give everyone a pep talk. Sarah has rejoined the gang while Ani has dissapeared.

Meanwhile in his office, Brandon racks his brain about who Sami could have been with the night Owen died. It seems like a weird question that he should probably already have the answer to...or perhaps should have been in that security tape he was reviewing last episode? I trust more will be revealed later.

Ani is wandering outside the hospital. Logan zooms up, recognizing her and demanding to know if Gina’s okay. Ani is obviously not okay mumbling something about finding her car, so Logan offers to help Ani find it. Ani remembers her car isn’t at the hospital. Logan offers to help again, but Ani just walks away. She can’t deal...with anything.

Owen’s still trying to kick Gina out of The Waiting Room in the Sky. Gina’s still pissed at the way Owen's acting. Owen offers Gina the tour and suggests she try the water slide back to her body. Crazy as hell but it sounds awesome. I’d take a water slide. The argument is still stalled. The waiting room looks great to Gina. She doesn’t want to leave Owen again, while Owen is so very against the idea that there aren’t even words. Teddy isn’t helping and the stalemate continues.

We learn that part of Ani’s freakout is because she blames herself for Gina getting hit by that car Lara was drunk driving. Of course she does. We learn this because Ani tells it to Logan as Logan is chasing after her. And okay, I don’t necessarily like Logan after this conversation-slash-argument but I think I’d like to buy her a drink. Logan’s getting used as The Truth Teller a lot this season. It gets mixed in with Logan’s own personal brand of bullshit a lot because Logan is a flawed character with a lot going on of her own, but it allows Logan to work as a voice for the audience too. In this instance it’s Logan telling Ani that this mess with Gina and Lara is of her own making and that she needs to stop being the victim of circumstance - with both Gina and Lara, and the Colonel - and to fix her mess. She doesn’t do it in a very nice way and she doesn’t do it without her own agenda, but it doesn’t make the things that Logan is saying any less true. Even if Logan has taken the theory that she’s pushing on Ani to an extreme and is making her own brand of crappy life choices. It is interesting to see that Logan does care about Gina in her own fucked up way as she falls back against the retaining wall and just kind of sags with exhaustion as Ani walks away.

Teddy clarifies the rule of this whole in-the-Waiting-Room-In-The-Sky-but-not-dead-yet thing for us and for Gina. Gina does not care. Didn’t I mention that booze was the only thing that would make this better? Funny because Teddy has cocktails for everyone. Everyone except Owen who’s still being a buzzkill and trying to kick Gina back down to Earth. Gina is arguing that no one needs her down there. Guya has Brandon and Van. The Colonel’s good now and she doesn’t want to be responsible for fucking up her daughter any more than the kid may already be. Oh so selfless and such a bullshit cop out. Oh and Gina recognizes Teddy but doesn’t tell us who he is...yet.

Katherine is in the hospital and Guya thanks her for coming and apologizes for canceling their reading. Katherine tells her that's nonsense, then goes over to the Colonel. They speak for a moment about Gina’s condition and Katherine offers to make some calls to get Gina the best possible care. In return, The Colonel offers up his opinion that he doesn’t trust Alan. On paper, it sounds like a mean thing to say, and it is blunt, but the way the line is delivered it’s all about The Colonel offering something to Katherine in exchange and in thanks for what she’s doing for Gina. Or at least that’s how I took it.

It seems Lara did talk Jake out of taking her up to the hospital to see Gina. At least so far. She’s back at her place, pouring out her booze and commanding Gina not to die so that she doesn’t have to spend the rest of her life competing for Ani’s affection with Gina’s memory. It’s selfish as hell, but Lara’s determined to do whatever she has to, to fight for Ani now. Even if it is going dry. It’s just as bad of a reason for giving up drinking as it was the last time that Lara tried to do that and it will probably last just as long. I don’t mean to be cynical here. Sometimes I wish this triangle was a little less lopsided but the problem is Lara’s never willing to get clean for herself. It’s always about Ani and until it’s about her - Lara - then it won’t work and she’ll just keep repeating this cycle. Or it will if the writers’ of Venice stick true to the cycle of addiction.

Brandon sees something on the surveillance footage that makes his eyes widen. Eureka!

Teddy and Gina are catching up about old friends - and Alan. Owen remains less than thrilled. Teddy sobers up and decides to give the Brognos some space to sort things out. Since nothing else is working, Owen tries some good old-fashioned reverse psychology to get under Gina’s skin. Gina calls him on his blatant tactic so Owen goes for some heart-felt pleading next. Owen tells her that of course he wants her there, but she still has so much left to live for. Then he mentions that he’s still there waiting around because of this - to convince her to go back. He needs her to do that so he can go on. Gina saying that she needs to take care of him one last time is the line that hits the hardest. She’s finally dropped most of the bullshit ra-ra-good times attitude and now it’s getting real. Teddy offers to take care of Owen for Gina.

Owen starts to beg Gina to go back for him and reminds her that she loves life more than anyone else he knows. Gina starts to tear up and there’s a lot of dust where I’m watching this from too.

The Colonel tells Guya and Sarah to go home and get some rest. He’ll stay. Neither of them take him up on it. He gets up to...do something, when Ani storms up to him and says she is going to sit with Gina. He should just not make a scene and let her get on with it. Either The Colonel’s just worn down or it’s Sarah volunteering to go with Ani that makes a difference but at any rate Gina’s two favorite people get to go see her.

Brandon is still looking at the security footage. He sees proof that Sami has help but doesn’t recognize who it is. There’s a very prominent picture of Adrienne behind Brandon’s shoulder. It could be of major or no relevance whatsoever.

Gina doesn’t want to have to make a decision, but Owen keeps pushing. He reminds her that time runs out when it does and there’s no predicting it and no going back. Life is short. Gina decides to go back to her body, but she doesn’t seem very enthused about it. Owen thanks her for doing this for him - Gina teases him about how everything is always about him. It’s a sweet moment, but they both know they’re saying goodbye now. They share a lemon pie and Gina’s voice breaks as she admits that she doesn’t want to leave Owen. He tells her that she has to go. They share one last joke about hell and it’s messed up status as a scare tactic then Owen tells her to go already. Owen’s muted breakdown as she leaves kills me a little. Galen Gerring is knocking it out of the park. Both of them are.

Gina’s back in her hospital bed. She’s moving a little and Ani is right there with her, talking to her and calling for her. The Colonel goes to get a nurse.

Owen is watching her with Teddy and admits, just between them, that he really wanted Gina to stay. Teddy tells him he’s a better man than Teddy even thought for making Gina go back anyway.

Ani and Sarah are still by Gina’s side. Gina’s trying to say something. When she finally gets it out it’s simple: leave me alone. Ani looks stricken and so does Guya, watching from the sidelines. There is no magic fix for things or easy answers.

Ani should watch more Buffy, specifically season six.