"Playing Caitlin"
Episode Summary
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Written by: Therese Beaupre
Directed by: Nicholas Kendall
Aired on Nickelodeon: August 13, 2000 at 8:00 p.m.
My Overall Opinion of the Episode:
Lindsay Felton again does a great job balancing the sensitive side of Caitlin's character with the more aggressive side.
The Cast:
Cynthia Belliveau -- Dori Lowe
Julianna Enciu -- Annie
Lindsay Felton -- Caitlin Seeger
Brendan Fletcher -- Eric Anderson
Jeremy Foley -- Griffen Lowe
Jessica Harvey -- Girl (2)
Mitchell Kosterman -- Officer Pete Maggert
Nancy MacDonald -- Older Lady
Valerie Planche -- Ms. Resnik
Tania Saulnier -- Taylor Langford
Ken Tremblett -- Jim Lowe
Stephen Warner -- Brett Stevens
Anna VanHooft -- Girl (1)
The Music:
"Walk in My Shoes" -- A is A
"Ashes" -- Amanda Clemens
"Wishing for a Sail" -- Dig Circus
Episode Summary:
Caitlin writes a play that is based on her own life. It focuses on many of the dark experiences that she had in Philadelphia before she arrived in High River. Griffen, Brett, and Eric want to put together a public presentation of the play, but Caitlin is hesitant about letting them because she doesn't want her "dark" feelings presented on stage for all to see. However, she lets them do it. Taylor gets the lead role of Nikki, the character that is based on Caitlin's life. Eric gets the role of Trent, a character that is based on a Philadelphia cop named Pete Maggert. Taylor and Eric, however, do not perform to Caitlin's satisfaction. Their acting is overly comical. They add lines. They make changes to what Caitlin wrote. Caitlin becomes frustrated, especially because Taylor's interpretation of feelings and events do not line up with what Caitlin knows from experience. A major confrontation erupts, and Caitlin tries to cancel the play. However, Caitlin realizes that Nikki doesn't make sense as a character, and she rewrites the play. Taylor, however, doesn't want to learn new lines. She drops out. Caitlin takes over the lead role, and everything works out well. Many people even relate to the feelings that Caitlin expresses in the play. Caitlin says in her closing epilogue, "I was afraid to show my feelings, the dark ones, the messed-up ones. But it turns out, those are feelings everyone else has, too."
Episode Highlights:
1. Taylor adds her own ideas to the play. When she makes it look like Nikki is attracted to Officer Trent, an argument between Caitlin and Taylor occurs. Caitlin says, "Stop hitting on Trent! He's a cop! And he's old!" Taylor responds, "No! You're wrong! Nikki does have a thing for Trent! Her need to be loved is what makes her so troubled!" Caitlin responds, "No, it's not!" Taylor asks, "Then why is she so messed up?" Caitlin says, "Because stuff has happened to her." Eric jumps into the conversation and says, "Well, 'stuff' has happened to millions of kids, but they're not all juvenile offenders." Griffen adds, "Yeah, Nikki is sort of hard to get. Like, why does she let herself get caught?" In the play, Nikki steals a camera. Caitlin tells Griffen that Nikki allows herself to get caught because she wants the camera. Griffen responds, "That's not a good reason." Caitlin snaps back, "It is to me! Look, why can't everyone just do the play the way that I wrote it." Taylor responds, "Because Nikki doesn't make sense!"
2. Caitlin later goes riding on her horse Bandit. This gives her plenty of time to think. She says to herself, "They're right. The play stinks. Nikki doesn't make any sense. How can she? I don't make any sense! I let myself get caught!" She thinks back to the time when she stole the camera and Officer Pete Maggert caught her. Pete said to her, "You risked everything to prove to the world that you can take pictures!" Caitlin said in response, "No! I don't have to prove anything to the world!" Pete said, "Your foster parents are going to be ticked off." Caitlin responded, "Well, at least they'll know I'm home! Maybe they'll turn off the stupid TV for five seconds!" Pete said, "Is that why you did this? Just so they'll pay attention to you?" Caitlin said, "You know, they call me by the wrong name sometimes. I got my report card yesterday. My grades were pretty ugly. I came here to hide from them. I figured they'd freak! I spent the whole night out here! When I got home this morning, they didn't even know I was gone!"
3. Caitlin has always been a rather tough and unyielding character. She is generally not one to openly express her true feelings, as she tends to hide them behind her blunt personality. A turning point occurs in this episode, however, as Caitlin drops many of the fears that she has about revealing to people who she really is. Caitlin will continue to hold on to her toughness throughout the rest of the series, but she will become increasingly open to talk about her feelings. Other episodes that highlight this transformation in her character include Belated Birthday, Beautiful Dreamers, and The Promise.
