Tout le Monde
Leo and Ava have dinner, but she’s confused about his sudden change of heart.
Donovan House – Kitchen
Shana and Stacey talk about Leo’s plan. Shana expresses some worries that it may backfire on her, but Stacey thinks it’s going to work. And why not? If there’s one person you can count on to not screw up a plan, it’s freakin’ Leo.
Jeremy suddenly shows up. “Did Heather let you in?” Stacey wonders. Jeremy starts lamenting about Ava going back to Leo. “If it wasn’t love, it was a hell of a good imitation,” he declares and then, noticing Shana, his face falls.
Buck’s Bachelor Pad – Exterior & Interior
Gwyneth shows up with dinner, but Buck tells her that he has other plans. When he mentions that he’s going to the Forbes’, she starts to get catty, which is totally the way to Buck’s heart and isn’t going to push him away at all.
Rodeo Bar
Trucker and Tess have that dinner after all. “You were right, I do have to start living again,” he tells her. Then they lean in and begin kissing.
But, alas for Tess, it was only a fantasy. A moment later, however, the real Trucker does walk through the door.
Rodeo Bar
Trucker apologizes to Tess for jerking her around earlier and she correctly guesses that he was feeling bad about Trisha. He admits that she’s right and she assures him that that’s only natural. The conversation turns to Mac, whom Trucker doesn’t want Christopher to get attached to, just in case he splits.
Buck’s Bachelor Pad
Buck tells Gwyneth that he’s not going out with Stacey, he’s going to hang out with JJ. They talk about how JJ has been longing for a father figure and Buck talks a little bit about how difficult it was growing up without his own father.
“If anybody can raise a child alone, it is Stacey,” Gwyneth says and then implies that Buck has an interest in the mother as well as the son. Not mentioned at all in this exchange is the fact that Gwyneth is Heather’s grandmother, something the show rarely acknowledges for some reason.
Donovan House – Kitchen
Jeremy apologizes to Shana, but she tells him that she knows about Leo and Ava’s reconciliation. Shana makes her excuses and leaves and Stacey decides to tell Jeremy the truth, but he doesn’t want to hear anything else about Ava. He asks Stacey if she’s free for dinner, but she tells him that Buck is coming over. “Oh,” he says, but she insists that it isn’t romantic and then tells him about what’s been going on with JJ. “The only person he seems to be able to talk to is Buck.”
She goes on to tell Jeremy that she asked Buck out, but got turned down. She then worries that it looks like she’s using JJ to get a date with Buck.
As she’s lamenting, Buck walks in with Heather. Feeling embarrassed, Stacey suggests that Buck hang out with the kids by himself while she goes out with Jeremy. Jeremy generously plays along, while Buck looks less than pleased to suddenly be in charge of two kids.
Tout le Monde
Ava tries to suss out what happened between Leo and Shana and he insists that it just “wasn’t right.” He starts talking about their relationship prior to their break up and goes on to describe his ideal vision of their future, with her playing homemaker and him being the breadwinner.
She becomes increasingly disappointed in what she’s hearing.
Tout le Monde
As Ava tries to figure out how to play her conversation with Leo, Jeremy and Stacey walk in. “I want whatever you want,” she finally tells Leo. She then decides to double down on how much she wants Leo in order to show off to Jeremy.
Meanwhile, Jeremy is annoyed at having found Leo and Ava at the restaurant. Stacey makes another attempt to tell Jeremy what’s really going on, but he doesn’t want to hear it. She begins to feel guilty about leaving Buck with the kids and asks if he would mind if she went home. He sends her on her way and watches Leo and Ava dancing.
Ava pretends to be having a wonderful time with Leo, who continues trying to find the magic words to turn her off.
Donovan House – Kitchen
Dinner has devolved into a food fight. “Your mom is going to kill us,” Buck says, trying to get the situation back under control.
Heather begins telling Buck about a play that’s being put on at camp and how JJ wanted the lead role, but that it requires dancing. Buck decides to teach JJ how to do a two-step and Stacey walks in to find the three of them dancing around.
Donovan House – Kitchen
Stacey gets everyone’s attention, bringing the dance party to an end. Buck explains what they were doing and then JJ talks Buck and Stacey into dancing together.
And I don’t like Buck, but this actually is a very charming scene.
Rodeo Bar
Trucker and Tess talk about how he misses Trisha, with her insisting that he could still find someone else. “It could be somebody that gives you some warmth, it could be someone who cares about Chris without trying to take his mother’s place.” He wonders if she knows of such a woman and, of course she does. Without naming herself, she throws her hat into the ring.
She asks him to dance with her, which he does.
Gwyneth walks in just in time to see them together, which makes total sense because Rodeo is totally the sort of place where Gwyneth would choose to hang out.
Shana’s Apartment
Shana thinks about what Jeremy said to Stacey and wonders if she’s made a huge mistake.
Tout le Monde
Leo tells Ava that he wants them to pick up where they left off. Ava has Leo dip her for Jeremy’s benefit and then tells him that she wants him. “Any time, anyhow, you got it?”
She kisses and then hugs him. Over her shoulder, he looks a little bit sick. It’s all working out, right Leo?
Episode Cast:
- Buck Huston – Philip Brown
- Leo Burnell – James Carroll
- Tess Wilder – Catherine Hickland
- Shana Vochek – Susan Keith
- Jeremy Hunter – Jean LeClerc
- Ava Rescott – Lisa Peluso
- Stacey Donovan Forbes – Lauren-Marie Taylor
- Gwyneth Alden – Christine Tudor
- Trucker McKenzie – Robert Tyler
- Heather Forbes – Hallee Hirsh
- JJ Forbes – Geoffrey Wigdor
Loving (1983-1995) 