7th Heaven: Season 1 - Episode 13: America's Most Wanted
Eric comes home from a boxing match. He is in a bad mood because people do not know the Star-Spangled Banner." He doesn't understand how people that have lived in the United States for their entire lives do not know it. (Me either). He also is upset with people not knowing the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ruthie and Simon go to their room. Ruthie wants to know the National Anthem because she thinks her dad will make her leave the country if she doesn't learn it. Simon tells her he can teach it to her.
Ruthie: Who's José?
Simon: What José
Ruthie: You said, "José can you see?"
The next morning, Annie is making the family pancakes for breakfast. Matt and Mary come into the kitchen, followed by Lucy. The kids ask Annie if she and their dad had a fight. Annie tells them he went to a boxing match, and Matt figures out no one knew the words to the National Anthem. Matt asks permission for him and Mary to go to dinner with John and Keisha Hamilton. Eric says they can go.
Eric: (Hands him the money, then stops) Do you both know the words to the National Anthem?
Annie: Give them the twenty buck hun; they both know the words.
Lucy is upset she can't go because she has a paper due for school.
Simon is working on teaching Ruthie the National Anthem.
Ruthie: "What so proudly we" (pause). I can't say that word. It's a bad word.
Simon: No, hailed isn't a bad word. And neither is Hell unless you say something like, go to Hell. (Probably not the best example he could have used),
Eric: What did you say?
Simon: Um, I was just trying to explain Hell is not a bad word, it's just how you use it like if you say something like there's a Heaven and Hell, that would be okay, right?
Eric: That would be okay, but that's not what I heard you say.
Simon: I'm guilty of using a bad example...and a bad word. Sorry, Dad. (Oh good, Simon agrees with me).
Eric tells Simon that he's still mad about the National Anthem, and then Simon leaves for school when Matt calls him to go.
At school, Lucy tells the teacher, Mrs. Penn (Carol Locatell), that she's behind on her math homework, and she wants extra time on her paper. The teacher asked her why she had waited to research the day before the paper was due. Lucy tells her she's been busy. The teacher refused to give her an extension.
Outside the classroom, Jimmy (Matthew Linvill) tells Dwight (Jason Davis) to stop flirting with Lucy. Dwight has told Jimmy that he is in love with her. (Okay, I don't care if you have feelings for her, she's your best friend's girlfriend, dude. Don't you know there are rules)?
At the high school, Matt asks another teenager where Mary is. She tells him his sister will be right out and that Mary still hasn't stolen anything from The Varsity. She tells him the "coveted item is the glass." Matt thanks her "for the tip." The banquet is next week, so Mary's time is running out. (There are good ideas, and there are bad ideas. Guess which one this is).
Matt talks to John (Chaz Lamar Shepherd) and Keesha (Gabrielle Union). He thanks them for being the cover for him and Mary and tells them they don't have to go, but they insist they want to see it.
That evening at the house, Lucy tells Mary in their room that she (Lucy) will never get her paper done. Mary gives Lucy the paper she wrote for that teacher. She tells her to use the quotes and references from the report and write a new essay. Matt comes in to get Mary, and they leave. Eric comes in and tells Lucy that dinner is ready, and she tells him she is going to eat in her room to finish her paper.
Matt and Mary are at The Varsity, a restaurant, with John and Keesha. Matt tells Mary she doesn't have to steal anything. But Mary tells him she's the only one that hasn't stolen anything. (Matt, you are so right, but you can't force her to listen, you're just her brother, not her father).
Mary: Okay, I want everyone to go to the car. If anyone is going to get caught, I want it to be me. (At least she recognized they could get in trouble too).
The others stay with her. Matt tells her to "take it now." Mary grabs the glass off the table and puts it in her bag. They get up and leave.
Back at the house, Annie gives Matt a box to give to Lucy after cheerleading practice.
Eric comes into the kitchen with the glass that Mary stole.
Matt: That's a glass. (Smart alec).
Eric: Did you buy it at The Varsity?
Matt: No, I didn't buy it.
Eric: Did you take it without paying for it?
Matt: Look, Dad, everyone takes something from The Varsity. It's like a school ritual.
Eric: It's like stealing. No, it is stealing. Take it back.
Eric informs Matt they will discuss the consequences later.
Mary comes into the kitchen and asks what's going on. Matt covers for her, saying he stole the glass.
Lucy is half asleep at school, and the bell rings. The teacher talks to her after class. She tells her that the paper was very good, "especially since you didn't start writing it until yesterday."
Matt returns the glass at The Varsity and apologizes. The manager tells him he is pressing charges. (That didn't go the way Matt expected).
Lucy returns home, and Annie tells her that Jimmy called, and Dwight called three times.
Eric tells Annie that Matt didn't drop the refreshments off. She tells her husband she is worried about her oldest son since he's not home. Eric tells her he will be fine. (Or he got arrested, it could go either way).
Lucy comes into her room and tells Mary that Matt didn't bring the refreshments. Mary is upset, and Lucy asks her what's wrong. Mary tells her she's thinking about quitting basketball because it's too much pressure. (Considering what you do later in season four, maybe you should have quit). Lucy tells her to hang in there.
Lucy: Actually, I'm thinking about dropping cheerleading.
Mary: Why? Because I'm quitting the basketball team? Can't you do anything by yourself/
Lucy tells her she has a confession to make. Both of them are crying, so Mary says they can't cry at the same time, so she stops. Lucy tells her sister that she just paraphrased Mary's paper and the teacher didn't recognize the paper and gave Lucy a B+. She tells her she feels guilty.
Mary tells her she also feels guilty about something.
The phone rings and Lucy doesn't answer because she thinks it's Dwight. She starts crying again and hugs Mary.
Annie answers the phone, and it's Matt. He's at the police station. He was arrested for petty larceny.
Eric tells Annie he wants to talk to Matt alone.
Matt: You wanted to teach me a lesson, and I got a lesson. You should be happy.
Eric: I didn't know that was going to happen. I'm gonna go down to The Varsity and talk to this guy. I think he's taken this a little too far.
Matt: Forget it.
Eric: I'm trying to be on your side here; I'd appreciate it if you'd cut me a little slack.
Matt: Like you ever cut me any slack.
Matt leaves the room angrily. (Gee, I hope they make up).
Lucy and Mary are talking about Matt in their room. Mary tells her it's all her fault. Lucy asks how, but Matt comes in before Mary can answer. She wants to tell their parents she stole the glass. Matt won't let her because he doesn't want his sister to get arrested. She tells Matt she wants to quit the basketball team. Matt tells his sister not to quit, then assumes Mary's going to quit to avoid looking bad. She tells her brother she doesn't feeling pressured to do things like steal the glass. She decides to stay on the team and not give in to pressure. (I'm telling you, Mary, you can't handle the pressure. It's going to get you in trouble when you're older. You should quit the team now).
Matt: Don't worry about it. I'm in trouble all the time anyway. (I feel bad for Matt here, he's so down because he thinks his dad's got it in for him).
At the Hamilton's house, Eric has called Morgan (Dorian Harewood) about the glass. Morgan asks John and Keesha what they know about the theft. Their father tells them he knows Matt didn't steal the glass. Their dad knows from being the chaplain at the banquet every year that the basketball and football teams always steal things from The Varsity. Therefore, Rev. Hamilton has figured out Mary stole it because Matt doesn't play football or basketball. He grounds the two kids because they went along with the stealing.
John calls Matt to warn him that his dad might tell Matt's dad that Mary stole the glass, not Matt.
Annie has read Lucy's report and recognizes it from Mary's paper. She tells Lucy that perhaps she's taking on too much. Lucy tells her mother broke up with Jimmy because of Dwight. Lucy tells her mother that she likes the fact Dwight likes her. Annie tells her she's not being fair to either Jimmy or Dwight since she's not interested in Dwight. Lucy tells her she will tell Dwight she's not interested.
Lucy: Couldn't I just never do it again?
Lucy asks her mother not to tell her father. Annie agrees since Eric is so stressed out.
Lucy: I'm so stressed out.
Annie: You know what I do when I feel stressed out? I prioritize what I need to do and tackle what task at a time.
Lucy: What do you have to be stressed out about?
Annie: Do you think it's easy taking care of five kids, a house, a husband, and three dogs?
Lucy: Well, yeah. (Lucy, you haven't got a clue. But someday you'll get it. I would say around season nine).
Ruthie is in the room with Simon, still working on learning the National Anthem. She asks Simon what "perilous" means.
Ruthie: Why don't they just say that?
Simon: That's the way they talked in the olden days...
Ruthie: "Through the dangerous fight."
Simon: You can't change the words. It's our National Anthem.
Ruthie: But nobody understands it.
Simon: It's not meant to be understood. It's like opera.
Ruthie: I understand, Oprah; I watch her on TV.
Eric goes to The Varsity to speak with the manager. He refuses to drop the charges because he says the kids need to learn.
Back at the house, Annie tells Eric the judge shouldn't be hard on Matt cause he's never been in trouble. Eric tells her Matt's always in trouble. (Yep, I can see why Matt feels like he does).
Matt comes in and tells them he needs to talk to a counselor at school because he needs to talk about his father.
Eric doesn't understand where he went wrong with Matt. Annie tells him he didn't do anything wrong. Matt's just a teenager.
Matt goes over to the Hamilton's house to talk to Rev. Hamilton. He doesn't want him to tell his father that Mary stole the glass. The Reverend tells Matt that Matt and Mary should tell his father what happened. He also tells Matt he has a plan to help him with the court hearing.
Lucy tells Mrs. Penn that she copied Mary's paper. Mrs. Penn tells Lucy she is proud of her for being honest and gives her the chance to write the essay again or take an F for plagiarism. (That was nice of her because plagiarism is a big deal. I had to take two quizzes on it in school because they wanted to make sure the students understood the seriousness of it). Lucy leaves the class and sees Dwight and Jimmy and informs them she only likes Dwight as a friend but Jimmy as a boyfriend.
Annie asks Lucy why she didn't go to cheerleading practice. Lucy tells her she wants to be at court with Matt. Annie agrees Mary and Lucy should be there, so she will get a babysitter. After the others leave, Matt tells Mary not to say anything at the court hearing. Mary says that she is telling their parents that she did it because she can't take the guilt any longer. Matt tells her that he will be the one to tell their father.
Matt: Well then, I guess I don't have to talk to Dad for a long time. (Matt, you're getting a little bitter. Perhaps you should talk to your father, let him know how you feel).
At the hearing, Eric tells Matt that he's on his side.
Matt: Then how come I never feel that way? I always feel like you're waiting to yell at me, just waiting to bust me on something. I'm really not as bad as you think I am.
Eric: I don't think you're bad; I think you sometimes exercise bad judgment. There's a big difference.
Matt: It doesn't feel any different. It feels like you've been mad at me my whole life.
Eric realizes he is doing to Matt what the Colonel always did to him when he was a child. Matt lets his dad know he has to tell him something later that will make him very angry.
Back at the house, Mrs. Romero (Yolanda Lloyd) is watching Ruthie and Simon. She offers to help Ruthie learn the National Anthem. Then she tells them the story about how the National Anthem was written. (This was my second favorite scene in this episode).
Back at the court, Judge Julie (Nancy Moonves) calls Matt's case. The judge asks Matt if he's ever stolen before. She calls him " such a bad example to the community." (I didn't like this judge, she was rather nasty and judgemental). Mary can't take the guilt and tells the judge and everyone in the courtroom that she stole the glass, not Matt. The football and basketball players all come in with the items they all stole from The Varsity. The manager tells them he wants all of them in jail. Eric suggests the teens help out with cleaning the restaurant instead. First, the manager refuses to drop the charges, but then the judge informs him if they go to trial, he won't get the stolen items back for a long time because they would be held as evidence. The man relents and drops the charges. The judge tells the teens to sign up to volunteer and she never wants to see any of them in court again.
Eric apologizes to Matt for jumping to conclusions. Matt tells him that it was Reverend Hamilton he went to talk to, and Eric is happy that's who he talked to. His dad approved of his choice of talking with Morgan.
Eric sees Morgan and thanks him. He tells Morgan about the conversation he had with Matt.
Matt and Mary both sign up to volunteer at the restaurant.
Lucy asks her mother if they should tell her father about the paper. Annie tells her instead to sign up to help clean the diner. Lucy agrees.
Annie tells Eric she is proud of Matt for taking the wrap for his sister. Eric asks if he can tell Matt because he's new at it. Annie agrees.
At the house, Simon tells them he and Ruthie have a surprise. Eric tells him he doesn't think he can any more surprises. Annie tells him that he can.
They go into the living room, and there is a flag behind Ruthie, who is standing on a chair. Simon starts the music, and Ruthie sings the National Anthem to her family. Eric has tears in his eyes as he hears his youngest child knows all the words. Simon has sparklers; he waves as she sings. They all clap for her. (This was my favorite scene. I was in tears).
The closing credits come up.
(This was a great episode. I loved how Matt tried to protect Mary, but then Mary decided to protect Matt. I also like that Ruthie, who is only five learned the National Anthem, plus the story the babysitter told them about how it was written).
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