Following the Intervention, considered by some people as the best episode, I find this one, Hitting Bottom, as much better and one of the best of the whole series. I liked more, maybe because the last one had no much results and no much action, it didn't reach the extreme. But this episode has all of it.
The first minutes were not amazing, were building something great slowly. Bailey disappointing his coach Russ after not showing up for the wrestling divisionals (and the coach refusing to hear his excuses in the parking lot), pushing Callie away (who just now realized that he has a problem), the family arguing about not calling Bailey (only Sarah did), Claudia regretting her last words of the last episode, Griffin's limping that caused his firing of the Merchant Marines, etc. But since the moment when Charlie learns that Bailey picked up Owen from daycare, the episode is at the top. All the scenes between Bailey and Owen were great, he talking to him and giving him cotton candy, glad that the kid doesn't understand the situation. I could even smile despite the dramatic situation. He carrying and playing with his little brother, putting him in the Jeep after drinking a beer, that was a critical moment, especially the first time you see this. And then, when he goes to the house to leave Owen, the scene was outstanding: Julia taking Owen inside, the fight between the siblings (Charlie vs Bailey, with Julia, Claudia and Sarah stopping them), deeply intense and sad, and the heartbreaking moment, when Sarah chases Bailey to save him. Because here, wasn't Claudia or Charlie or Julia who took the risk, was Sarah the one willing to sacrifice her life to save Bailey of killing himself. She went to the dorm, desperate to find him, and she accompanied him to the car, to save him from driving drunk. And she did it, she saved him, despite all the horrible things he did to her this season and all the horrible stuff he said to her in The Intervention. Sarah was the true hero. She proved how much she loves him, in a way that only few people could. Which girl would be able to do this for a guy who cheated on her? Not many, I'm sure. But that's something great of this series, it shows the most greatest acts of love between people, specially now with Bailey-Sarah and in the past (and future) with Charlie-Kirsten. And then Bailey drove her to the hospital, called her parents and left, wanting to drink to death after looking at the broken windshield of the Jeep. But at some point he couldn't. The last scene was also touching, in the hospital bedroom, a Bailey full of guilt and regret, in tears, finally able to leave his addiction behind, only for Sarah, looking at her bruised face.
As for the rest, the three siblings went back to their normal personalities. Julia, saw Griffin again and had no doubts in reaching him and updating him about the situation. He became once more her confidant and then her lover. Because overall, this is who she is, Julia is more selfish than her siblings, she wants to protect herself, so she went to Griffin looking comfort and a way to escape of her troubled family. And that's ok, she has been mostly this way since the Pilot. Claudia, the youngest before Owen, as the moral compass who thinks in the whole family, can't stop blaming their father, for all the bad things he did to their mother. Avery told her some of this stuff only because Claudia doesn't want to live a lie, she always speaks and acts with the truth and the reason. Also, while taking care of Owen (who had a lot of scenes here), Claudia refused to go to the restaurant, because it's their dad's place. And Charlie, without Grace's presence, returned to himself, at least in the last part of the episode. He rushed to the hospital to check on Sarah (her parents called him) and Bailey's status, and then recognized that he handled everything wrong (were Grace's instructions), there's people involved like Owen and Sarah, and his passive actions almost got them killed. He acted like the Father again, blasting Julia for disappearing with Griffin and comforting Claudia while defending Nick Salinger (I missed the real Charlie Salinger all the last episodes, now I finally saw him again). The last scene between him and Claudia was wonderful, he deeply regrets all his mistakes that hurt the family and wonders if Owen one day will hate him for it (for losing Kirsten, Owen's adoptive mother). He first yelled at her for blaming and hating their dad, but then he apologized and convinced her that Nicolas was a great father despite his mistakes. He kindly gave her a kiss in the forehead, comforting over Bailey's situation, hoping that he will be ok. That's the Charlie I like to see, the Man, the Father that their parents and Kirsten would be proud of. To finish, probably the soundtrack wasn't perfect (I didn't felt the ending song as totally adequate), but still the whole acting and all the rest were amazing, all worth it. Every actor and actress did an excellent job here, besides the rest of the crew.
The first minutes were not amazing, were building something great slowly. Bailey disappointing his coach Russ after not showing up for the wrestling divisionals (and the coach refusing to hear his excuses in the parking lot), pushing Callie away (who just now realized that he has a problem), the family arguing about not calling Bailey (only Sarah did), Claudia regretting her last words of the last episode, Griffin's limping that caused his firing of the Merchant Marines, etc. But since the moment when Charlie learns that Bailey picked up Owen from daycare, the episode is at the top. All the scenes between Bailey and Owen were great, he talking to him and giving him cotton candy, glad that the kid doesn't understand the situation. I could even smile despite the dramatic situation. He carrying and playing with his little brother, putting him in the Jeep after drinking a beer, that was a critical moment, especially the first time you see this. And then, when he goes to the house to leave Owen, the scene was outstanding: Julia taking Owen inside, the fight between the siblings (Charlie vs Bailey, with Julia, Claudia and Sarah stopping them), deeply intense and sad, and the heartbreaking moment, when Sarah chases Bailey to save him. Because here, wasn't Claudia or Charlie or Julia who took the risk, was Sarah the one willing to sacrifice her life to save Bailey of killing himself. She went to the dorm, desperate to find him, and she accompanied him to the car, to save him from driving drunk. And she did it, she saved him, despite all the horrible things he did to her this season and all the horrible stuff he said to her in The Intervention. Sarah was the true hero. She proved how much she loves him, in a way that only few people could. Which girl would be able to do this for a guy who cheated on her? Not many, I'm sure. But that's something great of this series, it shows the most greatest acts of love between people, specially now with Bailey-Sarah and in the past (and future) with Charlie-Kirsten. And then Bailey drove her to the hospital, called her parents and left, wanting to drink to death after looking at the broken windshield of the Jeep. But at some point he couldn't. The last scene was also touching, in the hospital bedroom, a Bailey full of guilt and regret, in tears, finally able to leave his addiction behind, only for Sarah, looking at her bruised face.
As for the rest, the three siblings went back to their normal personalities. Julia, saw Griffin again and had no doubts in reaching him and updating him about the situation. He became once more her confidant and then her lover. Because overall, this is who she is, Julia is more selfish than her siblings, she wants to protect herself, so she went to Griffin looking comfort and a way to escape of her troubled family. And that's ok, she has been mostly this way since the Pilot. Claudia, the youngest before Owen, as the moral compass who thinks in the whole family, can't stop blaming their father, for all the bad things he did to their mother. Avery told her some of this stuff only because Claudia doesn't want to live a lie, she always speaks and acts with the truth and the reason. Also, while taking care of Owen (who had a lot of scenes here), Claudia refused to go to the restaurant, because it's their dad's place. And Charlie, without Grace's presence, returned to himself, at least in the last part of the episode. He rushed to the hospital to check on Sarah (her parents called him) and Bailey's status, and then recognized that he handled everything wrong (were Grace's instructions), there's people involved like Owen and Sarah, and his passive actions almost got them killed. He acted like the Father again, blasting Julia for disappearing with Griffin and comforting Claudia while defending Nick Salinger (I missed the real Charlie Salinger all the last episodes, now I finally saw him again). The last scene between him and Claudia was wonderful, he deeply regrets all his mistakes that hurt the family and wonders if Owen one day will hate him for it (for losing Kirsten, Owen's adoptive mother). He first yelled at her for blaming and hating their dad, but then he apologized and convinced her that Nicolas was a great father despite his mistakes. He kindly gave her a kiss in the forehead, comforting over Bailey's situation, hoping that he will be ok. That's the Charlie I like to see, the Man, the Father that their parents and Kirsten would be proud of. To finish, probably the soundtrack wasn't perfect (I didn't felt the ending song as totally adequate), but still the whole acting and all the rest were amazing, all worth it. Every actor and actress did an excellent job here, besides the rest of the crew.
