Self-appointed teacher's pet Laura rang the bell to signal the end of recess, mainly to make a good impression with their substitute. She got everyone to sit down and shut up, and just as Albert was about to except a fishing invite from Willie, their sub showed up. And she was a babe! For Albert, it was love at first sight. Miss Elliott. He even made an ass of himself right in front of her. That's the way to get her, Al. Anyway, let's join a nervous Caroline pacing Doc Baker's office. He'd been examining Mary for some time, and finally, he'd reached a diagnosis: Mary was pregnant! Three months along. Charles was on cloud 9 at the prospect of finally being a grandfather. But how would Adam react? She broke the news over dinner, a lovely chicken casserole, his favorite. When all the excitement died down, Mary decided to go behind Adam's back and write to his estranged father. It seems after Adam's accident that caused his blindness, his old man gave up on him. This could get really awkward. A few days later, Giles Kendall came to town. They have a lovely family dinner at the Ingallses', Carrie makes a terrible joke about the wine Giles brought, and then the Kendalls retire to their room back at the school. So far, so good, I'd say. Next day, Giles offers to have Adam and Mary come back to New York with him, where Adam could enroll in law school and he even guaranteed him a position in his firm. It all sounded good, but what about the school? Speaking of school, Albert has joined the girls in weaving baskets. He said it was for his new niece or nephew, but it's obvious he's trying to impress Miss Elliot, and he almost succeeded.
Giles decided to go to Charles and have him help Adam warm up to his proposal. He talked about how city life was bigger and better, none of which impressed Charles, who turned him away. I think it was Giles mentioning the fact that his grandchild wouldn't be blind like his parents, but as Charles later admits, it's because he doesn't want them to go away because he'd never see them again. So while Charles, Adam and Mary wrestled with this dilemma, Albert carried his humongous basket over to Miss Elliot's house to help him finish it. As he sat and ate her cookies, he tried to hit on her. Seemed like it was meant to be, until Miss Elliot utters the 'F' word: fiancée. She's got one. Forlorn, Albert left, dragging his basket full of broken dreams with him. Meanwhile, Mary sat out on the stoop with her little friend Eli, regaling him with tales from her youth, and told him that although she and Adam were going to New York, she would always love him no matter what. That's so sweet. I hope nothing happens to jeopardize this heartfelt moment. Suddenly, Mary began experiencing severe pains and had to go inside. Hester Sue ran for Doc Baker, and that night, as Adam and their concerned parents waited for the news, the doctor sadly informed them that the baby didn't make it. Mary was beside herself, and you know, I don't blame her. Seems she ALWAYS gets the shaft on this show. First the award, then she got jilted, then she went blind, and now this. Why does God hate Mary so much; what did she ever do? At least Eli was there for her. The poor neglected, abandoned boy. He made a perfect surrogate son for her. So Adam tells his father that he still wants to go to New York, but now the old man seems to be making up excuses about why he shouldn't. Adam realized his dad was still a douche and was only doing this for their child, and not them at all. Giles left later that day, and good riddance. On the upside, Mary was feeling better. She took the news of them not going to NY very well, and so everything worked out in the end.
While this is a sad episode, it's not entirely depressing. It has several high moments, and the ending isn't so bleak. Sure, Mary lost her first baby, but as I said, Eli is her surrogate son, and I think she and Adam should have formally adopted him. I mean, why not? He's here, he's healthy, he's loyal. He's ideal. Fabulous performances by Melissa Sue Anderson and Linwood Boomer, and Phil Abbot was good as Adam's weaseling father, but then the man is a lawyer so you can't expect him to be 100% honest. He bites the big one at the end of Season 6 which ends up putting the school in a financial bind. One final "up yours" to his son, I guess. Dain Turner was good as the adorable Eli, and Matthew Laborteaux was good as Albert, trying to put the moves on an older woman. You really feel bad for him. I do recommend this episode, as I said the scene of Mary losing her baby and nearly going to pieces is tough to watch, but at least the story has a happy ending, and Mary will become pregnant again next season, and sadly, that too results in tragedy. So if you like Adam and Mary and you want to see how their first pregnancy experience went for them, check out The Sound of Chidlren.
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