Spring and Summer of 1997 are over and life goes on for the Salingers. Seems like in April-May-June, Julia still lived in the house for a while but spent married time with Griffin without living together. She left in July with Justin to Europe and now it's time to return. Charlie, Claudia and Owen spent the last five months alone, with Bailey living there but also spending time with Sarah and other friends. Bailey helped Charlie to do some painting in the house, while also he stayed sober the last 5 months with the help of his siblings and Sarah. Charlie spent lonely months, watching Bailey go out, and taking care of him to prevent any possible relapse. But mainly, he took care of Claudia and Owen, being the true father he wasn't in the 2nd half of season 3. Also, the three (especially Charlie), missed Kirsten, or in any case felt her absence, considering that she was there the last two spring-summers. And Griffin spent the last two months working on his shop.
Claudia, with a slightly shorter hair, is starting a new stage at highschool and wants to change, be popular and become a cheerleader. Seems that she once again left behind the violin, to be a normal teenager. In the mall, Charlie is surprised by her new self, because she left orchestra, and though he knows who she really is, he lets her try new things. At school, she is accepted in the cheerleading team, but as the mascot, the possum. Anyway, thanks to the possum, she meets a guy, Reed, who exchanges lockers with her, and develops a crush on him. It's strange to see this new Claudia, but well, it's common because now she is a teenager, she is 14. In the meantime, Charlie's big mistake in season 2 still chases him now that Owen's teacher from daycare, Jenny, tells him that the kid is wearing dresses because he needs a "mother" in the house. When asked, he tells that Claudia and Julia haven't been around much (this imply that Claudia wasn't always in the house during summer, probably she spent time with some unknown friends, and with Ross and his daughter), they and are not what Owen needs. Jenny tells that the kid has become a little attached to her, and is calling the attention for the absence of a mother at home. Also, Claudia practicing for cheerleading in the backyard when Charlie wanted to teach Owen to play baseball, didn't help much as the kid wanted to play with her instead of Charlie (funny scene, and Bailey arriving questioning Charlie's parenting but also surprised for the dress stuff). He is obviously worried about Owen's behavior (I agree with Charlie), so while driving back home, he promises him that he will find the woman they need, as soon as humanly possible (the kid had a doll in his bag!). This story was good, Charlie is worried as any father would be. I know that in current modern times things are different, and a kid who behaves that way would be let be who he wants to be, but if it's kind of sudden, out of nowhere, and is a response to a problem at home, it's fine for the parent to talk to the teacher, or even a pediatrician. So in this case, what Charlie did was great, he knows more than anyone who is Owen, he raised him, so he knew he had to talk to Jenny to figure out what's going on with him, what his "son" needs. And it's great to see him acting responsible unlike his immature behavior in most of the second part of season 3. Still, it's sad his story here, you can see it on his face (he basically couldn't smile in the whole episode), the memory of losing his wife, Owen's adoptive mother, is still there, chasing him everyday.
Julia's mistake chases her now that she has to get used to live with Griffin in a rented loft, away from her family. Charlie acts cold towards her to remind it. By the way, in the airport, Griffin is the only one there to welcome her. In the apartment they now share, Claudia was the only one waiting for her, happy to see her after 2 months. Bailey, busy with Sarah and her parents, didn't go, while Charlie, hurt for what she did and because she left the house, wasn't there either. When she visited the house to see them, they gave her a hug, and she learned about Bailey's case. Anyway, Charlie sent her with Griffin, still hurt because she "left the family" in the wrong moment.
And Bailey's previous accident now turned out into a D. U. I. Because Sarah's parents wants him really out of the picture, in jail if it's possible. Turns out that Sarah and Bailey spent all these months together without being a couple and her parents didn't know, because she somehow managed to lie to them. So Bailey decides to confront Mr Reeves, to say he is sorry, that he is sober and doing well, but he needs Sarah for this purpose. But Mr Reeves made him confess that he can't promise he will never have a drink again, so he can't let him be near Sarah. Bailey says he won't stop seeing Sarah, and that makes Mr Reeves to push for his arrest and DUI. He didn't do it before because Sarah never told him she was seeing Bailey, but now, he is sure. Charlie calls Emmett and they work things out to help Bailey. They bail him out, but Bailey will be prosecuted for drunk driving, and Charlie can't convince the prosecuter to drop the case. Emmett discuss the options with Charlie, Bailey and Julia in the house, and they hope he can avoid prison. At the end, they all meet on court (Julia goes later), and Sarah chooses to be with the Salingers instead of her parents, she forgave Bailey and now is mad at them for not trusting her. The last scene of the episode was emotional, again shows how much Sarah loves Bailey, standing up for him, even after all the terrible things he did to her last season. To finish, I highlight that Emmett, the family's lawyer, had an important role for the Salingers, and has been present since the beginning.
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