Splendor

Felicity and Ben are in major trouble after breaking into the university's pool under the influence of alcohol. They are told the university has a zero tolerance policy and they must begin alcohol counseling immediately to avoid being expelled. Felicity and Ben think the alcohol counseling is stupid. Ben says he's not going to do it and he's thinking about leaving.

Felicity explains to the counselor that she was just blowing off steam - she doesn't drink - she drank -but she doesn't drink. She asks the counselor to look at her record - she's never done anything like this before. The counselor shows Felicity her credentials and tells Felicity to come back when she's ready to talk.

Felicity has dinner with her parents. It's a complete disaster. Everyone is tense. Felicity starts to cry. Her mother asks what's wrong. Her father blurts out that he accidentally told Felicity that they're separating. Felicity's mom us upset because she wanted to tell Felicity in person.

Felicity goes to visit the counselor again. She says she doesn't know who she is anymore, she doesn't know why she's here, she's been in relationships that she doesn't understand, and she hates her new haircut. She never realized how much she depends on her parents even though they're usually 3,000 miles away. She feels responsible for what's happening. She says she's pretty sure her moving to New York disrupted things. Felicity thinks she's been pretty selfish. The counselor asks Felicity why she came to New York. Felicity tells her at first she came because of Ben Covington, but then she thought she'd find herself. She says her parents looked happy @ thanksgiving and Christmas.

Ben has been neglecting the alcohol counseling. Felicity tells him he's going to get expelled if he doesn't go. Ben says he's thinking about dropping out. He wants to travel to Europe - he'd do it if she would.

The counselor tries to get Felicity to express her true feelings about her parents separation. Felicity denies feeling any anger. The counselor doesn't believe her. She says Felicity's politeness is all an act. She's been put in the middle of her parents crisis. She tells the counselor about a time she returned from ballet camp and discovered her mother had been sleeping in another room - not with her dad. She pretended not to notice and no one said anything. Her parents were both embarrassed. Felicity hated ballet camp and only told her parents she loved it in attempts to hold things together. She ended up going to ballet camp for for years and hating it.

Felicity's mom tells her there is no other man - that there's no horrible secret - she's just trying to find out who she is. Felicity asks why she can't do that with her father. Felicity's mom explains that she's always been in Felicity's father's shadow. Felicity asks why they got married in the first place. She finds out that her mother was pregnant. Her mother insists that wasn't the only reason.

Felicity tells Ben they should drop out.

Ruby tells Noel that she's late - 5 days late. She explains that she's never late - it could be nothing. Noel tells her that they're going to be okay no matter what.

Felicity goes to see the counselor to thank her for her help. She's going to leave New York and go to Vienna. The counselor asks Felicity if she wants her to talk her out of it. Felicity says 'no.' The counselor says she's not going to talk her out of it. Felicity says 'good, because I don't want you to.' The counselor asks how things are going with her parents. Felicity tells her it's bad. The counselor tells Felicity it's a hard job - keeping the family together. Felicity says she thinks that may be why she came to New York - to get away from it all. The counselor asks why she's decided to go to Vienna. Felicity says she feels lost. The counselor tells her she can be lost anywhere.

Felicity's parents stop by her room. They'd heard she was packing for Vienna. Felicity tells them she thought about going, but she's going to stay. Felicity's mom says they wish it didn't have to be so hard. She tells Felicity they love her. Felicity tells her parents that she loves them too.

Felicity finds Ben on the basketball court. She tells him she can't go. He says he figured. She asks what he means. Ben says he just had a feeling , so he didn't buy the tickets. He could tell her heart wasn't in it. She says she doesn't think it would be a good time for her. She asks if he's still going. Ben says he's not going - not without her. He suggests maybe they go on their trip during summer vacation.


'Felicity' Episode#34 - THE SLUMP - Air Date: 2/6/00