Sam arrives home to find Duke crying, with Frankie telling her that Duke is faking and Max freaking out about her friend being pregnant. So obviously, everything is normal in the Fox house. Later on, Sam takes the girls to visit Lester and Jarita, who they haven't seen in awhile. Sam asks Lester about Jarita's health, and he tells her that she's doing well. He then asks about Phil, and she tells him that Phil wasn't informed of the trip. Lester gets a kick out of this, but asks her to promise to send her to visit before the year ends. Sam agrees to this, likely due to an equal mix of wanting to get rid of Phil for awhile and making Lester happy. The girls are playing in the ocean when Duke notices someone standing there. She tries to get Frankie's attention, but she gets ignored.
Jarita tells the girls about the Sad Lady on the beach, who "killed herself to death" there. Everyone but Lester is enchanted by this tale. While he tells a tale, Lester reveals that he and Phil had a sister, Marion, that she has never known about. Marion was mentally unstable, and she's been in a mental institution for a very long time. Sam storms out, feeling betrayed by this information that she's just now learning. Frankie goes out to talk to Sam, and tells her that families fall apart, and that Sam shouldn't be upset that she never sees Aunt Marion, since she's not upset that she never sees some of her family. Max then comes out and blames Sam for her friend being pregnant. Please shut up, Max. Later, Lester comes in to show Sam pictures of Marion and gives her the name and number of the place Marion is.
Sam tries to call England, but she isn't getting very lucky with that. Lester is teaching Frankie how to fish with a net, while Max talks to Jarita. Sam finally gets ahold of the place Aunt Marion is supposed to be, and Lettie, the worker, tells her to call back the next day and she'll help her. Woo hoo! Everything's coming up Sam! Duke sees the Sad Lady of the Beach, and Jarita asks her to come back over. Frankie catches a fish for dinner, which Sam wants to eat immediately.
Sam calls Lettie up, who apologizes for how she acted the day before and tells her that Aunt Marion died in 1983. Unfortunately, Marion was kinda forgotten by everyone, including the folks at the mental institution. Sam then tells the family that Marion is dead, and Lester wonders if Marion has been haunting him. Max then asks to come back to White Rock in the Summer, because she loves it there. The girls are ready to head home, but Lester and Jarita have to say their goodbyes to everyone first. And of course, Duke has to go say goodbye to her ghost friend. Later that day, the girls all get home, and when Sam sees Phil, she acts pretty hostile towards her. She then tells Phil that they went to White Rock.
This was another great episode of Better Things, introducing us to two wonderful characters in Jarita and Lester. I really enjoyed those two, who really helped make this week's episode special. I also loved that Duke actually got something to do this week, as she's been criminally underused this season. The Aunt Marion story was also wonderful, and Pamela Adlon was great with ir, especially after she learned of the news of Marion's death. I missed Phil, but it was very understandable that she wasn't there this week and it looks like she'll be pretty front and center next week. I really dread next week's finale though, because I'm going to miss this show so much. At least we're getting a season three though, despite its poor ratings.
My Score: 9.5/10
My Grade: A
