Speechless – F-O– FOLLOW T-H-R– THROUGH

By: Taylor Gates

Maya (Minnie Driver) and Jimmy (John Ross Bowie) brag about how on top of things they are for buying a Christmas tree the first week of December. However, JJ (Micah Fowler) points out they still haven’t built him his mancave after ten months. Jimmy says it’s one of those things he always meant to take care of but never got the drive to like Ray’s (Mason Cook) charity, Dylan’s (Kyla Kenedy) Christmas coupons she refuses to honor, and JJ’s lack of college preparation.

Ray begins browsing slides and other equipment in order to build accessible playgrounds for all kids. He bribes Dylan to help him get permission to build one from the state by turning in his “do something sweet for Ray” coupon.

Ray and Dylan go on a wild goose chase, navigating the complicated city departments and filling out numerous forms. They finally submit everything and are about to break ground, but they are soon interrupted by a zoning person saying that he’s denying Ray’s request after all. Ray lays in bed and stares at the ceiling, upset he couldn’t finish what he set out to do.

Dylan violently threatens the permit man, who eventually gives her the go-ahead for the park. Dylan surprises Ray by showing him the caution tape surrounding the future playground site on a walk but tells him it was just held up because one of his forms was misplaced. Dylan allows Ray to believe he did it all by himself and even lets him keep his coupon.

Maya goes to gloat about always finishing what she starts while Jimmy cleans out the garage. While she’s there, however, she finds old pictures of the two of them and gets sad. She realizes they never spend time together anymore even though she’s always saying she’s going to carve out time for them to do so.

Jimmy wants to focus and get the garage completed, but Maya is adamant that they get their connection back and go out even during the week. Jimmy reminds her they have kids and their life can’t be like it used to be. Maya realizes he’s right and gets discouraged, but Jimmy finds a way to cheer her up. He tells her to pretend the garage is the apartment where they first fell in love.

Maya and Jimmy have a relaxing day of watching 90s shows and sitting on the futon where they had their first kiss, and they decide to make more time for themselves. Dylan finds them asleep on the futon, telling them it’s weird they look so calm. Jimmy realizes this means it’s time for them to leave, plugging in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The carbon monoxide detector reads as high, and Maya realizes they weren’t relaxed–they were dying.

Jimmy and Maya make a plan to reconnect in seven months when they have more time again. However, they realize that’s not going to work and that they need to find the time even when it’s not convenient. Maya brings Jimmy to the beach and makes him a cocktail they always used to drink. Jimmy steals someone’s guitar and plays her the song he wrote about her but never finished before.

Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough) tries to help JJ get ready for college and pushes him to do things on his own since he won’t be there to help him the whole time.

JJ struggles with all the obstacles he endures while trying to make coffee. First, he drops the coffee pot and pops the tire of his wheelchair on the glass. He needs to get the tire sealant back from the neighbor that borrowed it, but the neighbor’s cat runs out of the screen door, and they have to go find it first. Next, JJ tries to contact a wheelchair repair service, but the wifi is out. The router is under the sink in an unreachable spot for JJ. Realizing this challenge is a bit extreme, Kenneth tells JJ they’ll pick up where they left off the next day. However, JJ refuses to give up, lunging out of his wheelchair and into a pile of laundry.

JJ scoots himself across the floor to plug the router back in, but he ends up plugging the coffee grounder machine in instead. Kenneth celebrates anyway, saying he accomplished exactly what he set out to do: make coffee. Kenneth’s laughter turns to tears, and he cries when he realizes everything is coming to an end. He loves helping JJ, and he’s good at it—-he has no idea what he’s going to do once he heads to college.

JJ tries to give Kenneth an inspiring speech but ends up just quoting Taken. He apologizes for not having Kenneth’s gift for pumping people up. This gives Kenneth an idea: he could be a coach. He grows excited at the idea and encourages JJ not to stop trying until he makes that cup of coffee. Eventually, he does though there are tons of grounds in it.