"Raul Runs Away" begins a two part storyline in a one hour time slot, marking the return of Chico's buddy Mando (Isaac Ruiz, his seventh and final appearance), not seen since early in the second season, resulting in our first look at Chico's van all year, presented to Raul as a birthday present, a saddened Louie confiding that Mando shouldn't have brought it out of storage (we are told that a full year has passed since his friend's death). When Ed returns to the garage and sees the van decorated with all of Chico's possessions (which Raul found in the closet while cleaning out the place), he goes berserk, tosses the kid out and smashes Chico's guitar into pieces. Charo demands an explanation for his actions: "first they get a van, then they decorate it, then they sleep in it, then they start living in it, it becomes a part of him, then it becomes a part of you, and then one day, suddenly it's all gone...the van is gone, Chico is gone, part of your life is gone." Charo: "this other Chico, where is he now?" Ed: "he's gone, he went away." Raul is convinced that his 'Uncle Ed' regards him like a dog taking the place of his predecessor, but not really in his heart. The sight of Jack Albertson actually breaking down on camera is truly sad, but it's the high water mark viewers had been wanting to see all season long, padded with footage of Freddie Prinze from the pilot. Raul's decision to return to Mexico is based on the false assumption that the other Chico might come back, unaware of the real truth.
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