Everwood and Me

I love Everwood. I don't know when I got so cheesy but I just think it is a well-acted show and the guys aren't even that cute so I know my love is real and true.

This year, Amy, the requisite gorgeous, clueless, Estella from Great Expectations-esque character, has struggled with depression. At first it was one of the most brilliant moves the show had ever made. Colin, her long term boyfriend, died after a long struggle with a brain tumor. On most shows, she would have been sad over the summer and eventually fallen in love with some other stud, conveniently introduced a few episodes before Colin's death so the viewers feel less betrayed. This time, Amy actually grieved ... for most of the season. She made a bunch of bad decisions, was kind of a brat, and just felt generally displaced throughout the season.

Eventually she began taking anti-depressants, something her doctor father did not want his "perfect" daughter to do. And the great thing was that the show did not play the drugs as the end all be all. Once she was "better" she still had to deal with her new life and try to make amends with all of the people she hurt along the way.

So, with all of this background, you can now see why I was kind of disappointed by Monday's episode. Amy's therapist, her aunt who is HIV positive -- more about that in another entry -- suggested that she go off of her Paxil.

I must interject here with a personal bit. Lately, I have been feeling depressed again. I've never been medicated for it but it's something that I've been back and forth about. I do have a history of mental illness in my family so I am more prone to depression than the average bear. Still, I've always been in that place where my therapist has said to me I didn't have to go on something but if I felt like I needed something to get through a particularly bad spell, that they would prescribe something. So I'm back in that place and kind of unsure whether or not to take the plunge.

But back to Everwood, Amy was freaked out about the idea of going off of her meds and then going back to the way she was, and being that way would upset her family again. Her doctor felt that wasn't going to happen. At the end of the episode, she was about to get her prescription when she ran into Colin's mother who was kind of frazzled and out of it. (Basically, the crazy person stereotype.) Colin's Mom made some comment about her Paxil keeping the store in business. Amy smiled politely and walked out of the store. Once outside, she threw her prescription into the garbage.

I was so disappointed because up until now Everwood was breaking such new ground. Now reverting back to the "crazy" person idea as something you don't want to be associated with and having this be reason to go off your medication is kind of troubling. It's clear that the writers wanted to end this storyline but couldn't really figure out a way to do it sensitively. I mean, the lead female character of a show like this one cannot be on anti-depressants forever. She has to be "normal" so that she can get with the lead boy. End of story.

I'll keep watching but again, I was kind of disappointed. I'll keep you updated on me. I am just kind of thinking about it all right now.

Comments

[Teresa]

OHMYGAWD! Another Everwood lover! And here I thought I was the only one. I missed this show because I'm getting too old to stay up past 8:30, but fortunately it is rebroadcast here on Sundays.

As for the anti-depressants, I hear ya. I don't know why they have such a bad rep. Clearly the people who are against them have never taken them. I took Prozac for a year and a half and I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I could have made. But, I also add that I know they are not for everyone.

My doctor put me on them for insomnia and I am not so naive as to admit that they only helped me with that affliction. My "ah-ha" moment came to me several months later (Prozac and similar medications take up to six weeks to work) when I caught myself humming a tune. Humming! Imagine that! I never, before that moment, realized that I had not hummed to myself in years.

I will look at that episode on Sunday. I expect that I will be disappointed, too.

[tuckergurl]

I too usually watch the show on Easy View Sunday. Let me know if you agree with my analysis.

[Lauren]

I don't watch "Everwood," however based on your excellent recap...I think there might be another way to interpret the episode.

I think the writers were agreeing with you in regards to other people's view of those who take anti-depressants: they are insensitive and a bit clueless. I don't know if that applies to Amy...she initially didn't want to go off the meds, right?

I see the act of throwing the pills away after hearing that comment as her acknowledgement that drugs like these are supposed to be temporary. They were not created to be lifelong treatments; they are supposed to help a person see enough light to get out of the darkness and then develop non-chemical coping skills. Perhaps Amy realized that it was time to let go of the crutch and stand on her own.

I agree that having this discovery after such an insensitive comment is problematic, but I think wanting not to be "crazy" (which I think is the wrong word to apply to this) or depressed is a good thing...whether it's to be with a boy or any other reason.

[Teresa]

*No spoilers*

Of course I totally spaced and missed the above mentioned episode, but I did see tonight's.

I was a little disappointed in the final outcome, but sense that this "storyline" is not quite over.

They did touch on Amy's situation a bit - I guess the writes are totally clueless that Zoloft treats a chemical imbalance and not just the everyday "blah" moments that we all have. On closer inspection, it seems that they portray Amy as having the "blahs". Television writers: what do they know?