7th Heaven: Season 3: Episode 13: The Tribes That Bind

 

Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman) complains to Simon and Mary about Bobby Tripp. 

Ruthie gets into the car and asks Simon and Mary where Lucy is. Mary tells her their dad picked Lucy up at lunchtime. Simon says the camp Lucy is going to is just a dating game. Mary tells him what Lucy said, and then Ruthie starts complaining about Bobby Tripp, a neighbor. 

Mary: Why do you hate him?

Ruthie: Because he saw my underwear and won't shut up and say he's sorry.

Simon: Well, if you think about it, there really is no way he can shut up and say he's sorry.

Ruthie: Don't make me crawl over that seat and sock you.

She says she wants to hit Bobby, but Mary reminds her their parents don't let them solve problems using violence. Ruthie tells Simon that he may also have to fight Bobby's older brother.

Annie is at the market and is struggling to get a gallon of ice cream. Mrs. Beeker (Edie McClurg) tells her that the ladies at the church are throwing her a baby shower at Annie's house. Annie is frustrated.

The opening credits come up, and the theme song plays.

Eric is with the kids in the living room going over the "pre-baby delivery drill." Matt is in charge of cooking and washing bottles, Mary is in charge of carpooling and transportation, Lucy will be in charge of lunch (unless she's at camp, then changes will be made to cover that), and Simon will do breakfast, and Ruthie will water the plants. 

Annie comes home with the groceries.

Eric: You know what to do. Make me proud.

The kids get up and head back to what they were doing before Eric rounded them up.

Eric: No, no, get the groceries.

Annie tells her husband the church women want to throw her a baby shower. He doesn't understand why she is upset.

Annie: Because those women are difficult, nosy, gossipy.

She goes to their room and calls Patricia Hamilton to come to the shower so she will have at least one person she likes at the shower. 

Ruthie is getting a jump-start on the plant watering. Simon has also taken a lot of stuff out of the cupboard to get ready. 

Eric comes in with a bag containing mayo, hamburger, and eggs that Matt forgot to bring inside. He asks them if they have any thoughts, fears, or concerns. When they don't, he says if they want to talk, they know where he is, and he leaves the kitchen.

Simon: Dad wants to talk.

Ruthie: Real bad.

Matt, Simon, and Ruthie discuss the two babies that will be coming soon. Ruthie is anxious now that she won't like them. 

Ruthie goes upstairs to her parent's room and waters the plant there. She tells her mom about Bobby Tripp. Ruthie doesn't see why she must suffer because of how the boys act. She leaves their room and goes to the bathroom to refill her watering can.

Eric is in the bathroom looking at the bath towel and asks her if they are all using the same towel. 

Ruthie: No, I use the hair dryer to dry off with. 

She asks her dad about the babies, and he says they will have to get used to them. Eric goes into his younger son's room to drop off Simon's laundry. Simon shares his concerns about having two extra kids in the house. 

Eric goes into the attic (Matt's room) with the laundry. He asks Matt if he's been telling the younger kids about life after the babies. Matt says he was and feels weird because he is nineteen, which means he could have been the father of the babies as he's now old enough. Eric realizes he could be their grandfather and tells Matt to take over passing out the clean laundry. 

Mary sees her father in the hall and tells him she put gas in the car. She has packed her mother's hospital bag, and he tells her to put it by the door. 

He enters his bedroom and questions Annie about her bag but then concedes she knows what she's doing. 

Lucy calls from Camp All By Myself. She is miserable because she's all alone at the camp. Eric tells her to give it a chance. She is also concerned about being in such a big family when the twins arrive. He hangs up the phone, and Annie asks him how everything is with Lucy, and he tells his wife everything is fine. 

Annie: And you?

Eric: Great, just great. Even if you meant 'you' in a plural sense, we're still just fine, couldn't be better. Couldn't be better. Well, you know, probably could be better, you know, like if my life depended on it, my being better, but otherwise, no, no. Everyone and everything is fine. 

Mary is talking to Lucy on the phone and complaining about the camp. Mary hands the phone to Matt. Matt tries to give the phone to Ruthie, but Ruthie runs. Simon comes into the kitchen with Nigel (David Netter). Matt tries to give his brother the phone, but Simon informs him he's got company and can't talk. 

There is a knock on the door. Mary answers it's Bobby Tripp (Jake Sakson). 

Ruthie: Well, well, well. It's Bobby Tripp. Showtime! 

She heads outside with Simon and Nigel. 

Lucy is still trying to get someone to talk on the phone with her. 

Outside, Simon, Nigel, Ruthie, and Happy stand on one side. Bobby, his brother Darryl (Richard Taylor Olson), and their dog Sid Vicious are on the other side. The two sides are facing each other. Darryl says if Ruthie has a problem with Bobby, she has a problem with him. 

Simon: Ditto.

They are ready to fight, but Nigel stops Simon.

Nigel (holding Simon back): Dr. King had peaceful ways of resolving violence, son. Violence isn't the way.

Darryl: What's that, Poindexter? So I guess once I take on the peroxide kid, you'll jump in. I know how you sons of ministers fight. 

Simon (holding Nigel back): What was that about Dr. King again?

They decide to fight at another time, and Ruthie calls Simon and Nigel "yellow." 

The following morning Ruthie is sitting on Mary eating a pop tart. 

Annie and Patricia (Olivia Brown) are in the kitchen. Annie is on the phone with Lucy. Lucy asks her about the baby shower the ladies are throwing for her mother but then gets angry when Annie asks if she wants to come home because she "can't hack camp." 

The doorbell rings, and Eric answers. It's Mrs. Hinkle (Peg Phillips), who is two hours early for the baby shower. She was actually hoping to be late and avoid the games. She enters the living room and sees Matt, Morgan (Dorian Harewood), and John (Chaz Lamar Shepherd).

Mrs. Hinkle: I didn't know this shower was co-ed. I didn't bring a date. Not that I couldn't have gotten one. I just didn't know. 

Eric reminds her she is early and that he and the other guys will be leaving. 

Mary joins Simon, Nigel, Ruthie, and Happy to go after the Tripps. Tripp's older brother Mark (Brian Presley) joins them this time. However, Mary and Mark find each other attractive, so they are not in a hurry to fight. 

The ladies arrive for the bridal shower. Mrs. Beedle and most others head to the kitchen carrying bags of groceries. 

Mrs. Beedle (to the other ladies,  but loud enough for Annie and Patricia to hear): You know, I have never been in here. Must be nice to just have a church give you a house. 

Patricia calms Annie down.

An older woman (Amzie Strickland) sits in the living room and asks Patricia to get her a drink. (They should have given this poor old lady a name). 

Matt, John, Eric, and Morgan eat lunch at a restaurant. John is playing pinball, and Matt is talking to him. He tells John he thinks he needs to find his own place now with the babies coming. He believes if he can find a place, he will be motivated to get a job. Eric is talking to Morgan about his fears of having twins. Eric and Matt's food come, Matt sees it, and he and John return to the table with their fathers. Morgan tries to get the waiter's (Beau Baxter) attention but is ignored. 

Simon and Ruthie are upset with Mary because she didn't fight. They are in the kitchen with Nigel, Keesha (Gabrielle Union), and Lynn (Camille Winbush). The nosy ladies are also in their looking through cupboards.

Mary (to the ladies): Can I help you find something.

The ladies all close the cupboard they have one at a time.

Mrs. Beeker: No, no. It's just this house belongs to the church; we'd just like to look around our property. 

Mrs. Beeker continues gossiping, and Annie continues growing angrier, but thankfully Mrs. Hinkle is there and tells her that they once made Tom Jones cry. (This may have been the best line in this episode). Mrs. Hinkle drinks some cough syrup and tells Annie she doesn't cough because it's working.

The older woman asks Patricia for another glass of punch. She tells Annie that Patricia is "so helpful."

Morgan and John still have not received their meals, and Morgan complains.

Waiter: If you're not happy with the service here, maybe you should go somewhere else.

Morgan: Next time, I will. The only reason we're trying this place is because I won some coupons in a raffle, but the fact is, we are here trying to try it out, and I'd like the meals my son, and I ordered. And when you bring back our order bring the manager with you.

The waiter leaves, muttering about having to track the manager down. The ladies led by Mrs. Beedle are snooping around. They go to Mary's room and say they are looking for the restroom. When they go to the bathroom, they are surprised to see Ruthie and Lynn, who are playing dress-up, sitting n the tub. After the ladies leave, the girls talk about the babies and how Ruthie will get to finally boss someone around. 

Ruthie: You can come over sometimes and boss them around if you want. (She's too kind). 

Lucy is in her room at the camp making shadow puppets. Then she lays down on her bed, trying to convince herself she likes being alone.

Nigel and Simon are in Simon's room talking about the babies. Lynn and Ruthie are in Ruthie's room, trying to get into Simon's room, but Simon and Nigel are blocking the door with their chairs. 

Mary and Keesha catch the ladies snooping in the hallway upstairs, and they clear their throats. The ladies hear them and go downstairs. Mary and Keesha sit at the top of the stairs, talking about the babies. Mary says she wants to have a big family, but Keesha says she wants one kid, or maybe just a puppy. 

Mrs. Beeker hands out toilet paper rolls for the ladies to guess how much will be needed to go around Annie's pregnant belly. Mrs. Hnkle offers to let Annie borrow her pepper spray. The older woman asks Patricia to get her some more cookies. 

The owner comes over and asks Morgan what the issue is, and Morgan tells him they haven't been served. The waiter gives them food.

John: This isn't what I ordered, and it's cold. 

Owner: I have a feeling that no matter what we do, my staff and I probably won't be able to make you happy. Perhaps you should take your business elsewhere.

John says it's hard not to conclude things that are illegal, and the man says he has the right to refuse anyone. John and Morgan say it's their fight, but Eric joins in as well (and I would assume Matt, but he didn't since he's there but didn't say anything).

Eric: You know there's that saying:'All that evil needs to take over is for good men to sit and do nothing.' I'm tired of sitting.

Morgan and Eric stand up, and Morgan tells the manager they're not leaving until they get their food, so he can call the cops if he wants. 

Seargent Michaels (Christopher Michael) and another officer come to the restaurant. Morgan tells them they "have a service problem." 

Michaels: I just read something in the newspaper about a restaurant with a service problem. It took them a lawsuit and a couple hundred thousand dollars to fix it. Can you afford to keep this restaurant open and be a racist? 

The man apologizes and agrees to serve them. Morgan and John say they will tell their friends and parishioners to visit the restaurant, then Michaels warns the owner not to do anything "ugly and illegal habit" again. Then he and the other officer decide to eat at the restaurant too.

At the party, Patricia asks the older woman why she keeps asking for help. She thinks the woman believes Patricia works there. The woman explains she just noticed Patricia knew her way around the house and was friendly. She tells her that in 1938 she married a black man, back when it was still illegal. 

Patricia: Now, what can I get for you?

Woman: Whatever goes with cough syrup. 

Bobby comes to the door with his mother (Susan Krebs). Annie and Mrs. Tripp get into an argument about whose child was right and whose was wrong. All the women are listening. Annie slams the door sees them and pretends to be in labor, and they all leave. Patricia says she and her kids will be gone in a minute too. 

Ruthie and Simon ask Matt to help with the Tripps. They tell him that all Mary did was make a date with Mark. The Tripps arrive at the house, and all the kids (minus Lucy, who is at camp, and Mark and Mary sitting down and chatting) line up facing each other. The oldest Tripp brother, Steve (Jason C. Morgan), and Matt are discussing Economics class. The younger four children are fighting. Steve tells Bobby to apologize, but Bobby says Ruthie should also apologize because threatening people is wrong. Matt agrees, and they each go their separate ways. Matt grabs Mary and Steve holds Mark as they go. But then Steve makes fun of the Camden's for having two more kids on the way. All the Camden kids (minus Lucy) and Tripp kids start fighting. 

Lucy is mediating at camp, reciting, "I am the only me there will ever be."

Eric asks Annie about the baby shower.

Annie: Well, it didn't require police involvement, but that's as much as I'm willing to commit to.

Eric tells Annie about his fears, and Annie tells them they have the same conversation before each child. It only strengthens their bond with each other. They kiss.

Eric: Why is it so quiet tonight?

The camera goes back to the kids who are still fighting.

The closing credits come up.

(Most of this episode was rather dull, I thought. I liked the restaurant scenes the best. I also loved Ruthie's war cry noise before getting ready to fight each time).