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Blind
Season 5, Episode 5
Blind
Air date October 30, 2000
Written by Sue Tenney
Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff
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"Blind" is the fifth episode of the 5th season and the 93rd episode overall of 7th Heaven.

Synopsis[]

Julie and Hank reluctantly decide to let an unemployed Mary earn a little extra money by watching their daughter Erica for the evening. Against her better judgment, Mary later lets her friend Frankie into the house, agrees to babysit her baby, and finds herself tempted by a bottle of beer that Frankie accidentally left behind. Elsewhere, Lucy creates headaches for herself by offering to take care of the twins and chaperone Ruthie's sleepover. Simon goes to great lengths to change his image; Matt pursues a girl who wants nothing to do with him and a romantic afternoon out takes an ugly turn for Eric and Annie.

Plot[]

Matt is in the library studying and introduces himself to Kim, a girl he remembers from when she used to work there. Kim starts to get uncomfortable when she realizes that Matt used to date Heather and when Matt asks her out on a date, she declines and puts her earphones back on, leaving Matt confused. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ruthie is begging Annie to let her have a sleepover with her friends Sarah and Rachel, but Annie says no. Lucy then offers to help out and Ruthie gets excited and runs off. Annie tries to warn her that it's a far bigger task than she realizes, but Lucy remains confident and leaves the kitchen. The phone then starts ringing and when Annie answers it, it's Julie who needs someone to babysit her baby while she helps Hank move his office. Annie then turns to Mary and asks her if she wants to help, to which she is excited, as she is broke, and agrees to help. Julie is unsure if Mary can handle the responsibility, but Mary insists that Julie gives her a chance and eventually agrees. When Mary hangs up the phone, she is upset at Eric and Annie because she thought they said something bad about her, but they tell her that they didn't say anything to Julie. Eric then asks about the comment about her being broke she said earlier and she just walks away without saying a word.

Simon is preparing for his first day of 9th grade, but he's having trouble styling his hair. He tries various products like hair gel without much success. Mary receives a call from Frankie asking her to babysit Mercy as their mother won't do it; however, Mary declines the offer since she already committed to looking after her niece. Frankie tries to get her to just not tell her aunt but Mary once again says she can't. Ruthie runs into Annie and Eric's bedroom exclaiming that their friends are coming over for an all-day sleepover, instead of just coming at night. Annie gets concerned that Lucy won't be able to handle everything but Lucy tries to tell her that she can handle everything, remaining confident. Simon steps out of the bathroom asking Annie and Lucy if he looks okay and although Annie says he looks nice, he expresses disappointment and wants instead to look cool or manlier to fit in with the other ninth graders. When asked by Lucy if they can get help setting up everything ready for Ruthie’s sleepover, Simon turns her down. Annie is in the twin's room picking out their clothes and tells Eric, who just walked in, that they are leaving for the day since Lucy is going to babysit and take care of the sleepover. Eric questions how Lucy can just "take care of everyone" but Annie reassures him that she has Simon helping her if needed and promises to page them if they need anything.

Hank and Julie, who are in their house, ask Mary a lot of questions about hypothetical situations that might happen before leaving for the hospital. Mary becomes a bit agitated and upset, but they reassure her that they trust her and are just worried. They tell her to not have any visitors over. Meanwhile, Matt tells John about the girl from the library and wonders if Heather said something negative about him to Kim. John reassures him that Heather would never do something like that and she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. John says that Matt cannot cope well with rejection. Matt denies this and tells John he is going out. John tells Matt to not do anything stupid and something he'll regret later. Simon is in his room talking on the phone with his high school friend Jim about his desire to be seen as more mature and changing his image. Jim suggests changing his hairstyle, but Simon reveals that he has already tried that without any luck. Jim then proposes getting a tattoo, but Simon feels that would be too extreme and they should look for more simple solutions. Meanwhile, Mary is still babysitting Erica and answers the door to Frankie, and tells her she can't allow her inside as she isn't allowed any visitors. However, after some pleading from her friend Mary allows her entrance but only for a short while. She then begs if she could leave Mercy there with Mary to babysit as she wants to follow Johnny around the town and check whether he has been cheating or not; though initially hesitant about it, eventually Mary agrees on taking care of Mercy for a few hours. Frankie goes out to get Mercy from the car which Mary is taken aback by how careless leaving her in the car alone was but Frank reassures her that the window was left down. Frankie once again thanks her profusely once more and calls her 'the best friend ever'.

Eric and Annie are downtown walking, and Annie mentions they need to try to savor their free Saturday together but Eric starts to see Johnny walking with another girl who isn't Frankie. Eric explains that as a condition of their being released from jail, they were supposed to go into drug rehab each Saturday at the same time. Eric says he's going to ruin his Saturday, which is a remark that he is actually going to follow them and find out what's going on. At the house, Ruthie and Sarah try on high heels while Ruthie tells her that Rachel is going to be spending the day with them. However, Sarah tells her that she doesn't like kids except for Ruthie, but likes adults, as they have certain privileges such as driving to places. Despite this, Ruthie expresses her desire for her to meet Rachel and for all of them to be friends. As Ruthie says this, Lucy and Rachel and Lucy show up. Ruthie introduces Sarah and Rachel but they instantly don't get along. The girls start yelling about how the others don't know what Ruthie likes or dislikes and Lucy tries to calm them down by offering cookies but they just keep arguing and ignoring her. They both try to claim Ruthie as their best friend and that they know her better. When Ruthie nods her head that she does in fact like the things Sarah claimed she liked, Rachel runs off and Sarah reiterates that she doesn't like kids. Simon comes downstairs with the arms cut off of a good church shirt and asks Lucy if he looks good. Lucy tells him that Annie is going to kill him and he's going to have to pay for the shirt when Annie finds out. Mary receives a call from Hank while babysitting who asks if everything is fine and Mary assures him that everything is perfectly alright. However, when she hangs up, she starts having difficulty managing the two toddlers as they are pushing their food on her when she attempts to pick up their bottles on the floor.

Eric and Annie arrive at the pool hall Johnny entered following his movements; wearing a black hoodie over himself, Eric sits at another table observing what they may do next. Eric explains to Annie that he promised the court that Johnny and Frankie would go to drug counseling and put his reputation on the line. He tells Annie if they want to leave so it won't ruin her Saturday night but after looking around one more time decides that staying to find out what he might do is for the best. Matt enters his apartment, explaining to John that Heather was not at home so he went to the library and he had obtained Kim's number and address from the head librarian. John accused him of being a stalker, but Matt denies it, insisting he just wants to talk to her. Matt calls Kim while she is at her home, making her feel uneasy about how he had gotten her number. He explains that the head librarian gave him it, but Kim tells him to leave her alone. Matt starts to make excuses on why she keeps rejecting him such as she thought he was still on the rebound from Heather. Meanwhile, Annie is calling Mary from the pool hall phone and asks how everything is going. Mary says everything is fine but accidentally slips and says that "the babies are fine" instead of "baby". Annie gets suspicious but Mary lies to her and tells her there is no other baby there. Mary says she has to go and quickly ended the call, and upon reaching into Mercy's diaper bag, she finds an alcoholic beverage. At the house, Simon is talking to Jim on the phone, feeling discouraged by his inability to change his appearance. Jim tells him he knows how to change his image for good and instructs him to go to his cousin's house alone but not to tell his parents since they wouldn't like the idea. At the pool hall, Eric and Annie were still watching Johnny and the girl he is with, with their free refills having been cut off by the waitress due to being there for so long. Eric was unsure of how to approach the situation, telling Annie that timing was everything and he wanted to wait for the right opportunity to confront Johnny. Mary is laying on the couch, looking at the beer bottle she found in Mercy's bag and contemplating whether or not to drink it. She questions herself before ultimately deciding that it would be wrong to waste the beer and reaches for it.

Eric finally approaches Johnny and when Johnny recognizes him, Eric reintroduces himself as Mary's father and the guy who got him out of jail. Johnny thanks him for bailing him out of jail and Eric reminds him about his drug counseling session but Johnny tells Eric that he doesn't care about the counseling nor does he really need it. At that moment, Frankie walks in and sees Johnny with a girl, but Johnny quickly sent her away. Frankie accuses him of cheating and they started arguing. Johnny tries lying but Frankie doesn't believe him. Johnny grabs Frankie's jacket, at which point Eric steps in and tried to stop the fight, but he was punched in the face by Johnny, who actually meant to punch Frankie but Eric got in the way. The bartender quickly walked to Eric and asked if he wanted him to call the police, but Eric refused. Meanwhile, Lucy is at home cleaning and Ruthie walks downstairs and tells her that her sleepover was going terribly since her two best friends were fighting. Lucy realized she hadn't seen Simon for hours and was worried about him. Simon is at some shop to revamp his image. Someone puts a mirror in his face and asks if he likes whatever the guy did to him, and nods his head and says yes, not really saying what happened. Matt shows up at Kim's apartment and is greeted by her brother, who told him to back off. Her brother tells Matt that Kim is scared of him and asked for him to be there in case Matt comes by. Kim's brother asks Matt why he couldn't leave her alone and to stop harassing a blind woman. Matt is surprised and confused to discover that Kim was blind. The brother explains that Kim has Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and can't see, which leaves Matt with a disbelieving face. Meanwhile, Eric sits down with Johnny and tells him that he promised the court that he would turn his life around and needs to stop doing destructive things. Annie is on the other side of the pool hall talking to Frankie about the abuse that she has endured from Johnny and that Frankie needs to think about her baby and herself. Annie tells her that if Johnny hit her or if someone called the police for skipping drug rehab, they would both be in jail and Mercy would have to be alone without her parents. Johnny explains to Eric that he didn't want a baby or marriage but Eric tells him that he did want to have sex though but without any responsibilities. Both Eric and Annie talk to Johnny and Frankie about how their relationship is going and that Johnny needs to get help and Frankie needs to leave him.

Matt is in Kim's apartment and asked Kim what happened to her eyesight. Kim explains her diagnosis of RP and how it affects her eyesight. Kim goes on to say that she had a hard time seeing and went to the doctor, who diagnosed her with Retinitis Pigmentosa. She also says that she can still see in very bright lights but does have night blindness. Matt asks if there is any cure for RP or treatment, but Kim says not at the moment, but there is some promising research that may be valuable in helping make a cure. He asks her why she didn't want to have coffee with him earlier and Kim tells him that she thought that he was into women with disabilities since Heather is deaf herself. Matt tells her that he is just into women, not just women with disabilities. Matt then offers that they can be study partners but she still doesn't feel comfortable studying or being around him. Matt asks if he can at least still talk to her when he sees her around the campus and she agrees. Hank and Julie are at their restaurant and get concerned when they can't get in touch with Mary since the phone is off the hook. They quickly leave the restaurant to check on her. Meanwhile, Sarah and Rachel fight over who will be leaving and who will be Ruthie's best friend since there can only be one best friend. Lucy walks in and tries to intervene in their argument, but Rachel interrupts her and tells Lucy to shut up. Lucy suggests that they both go home and give Lucy an "adult time out" since she is overwhelmed and promises that she will have them both over at a later date but separately. Lucy yells upstairs for Ruthie that her friends want to talk to her. Johnny is at the pool hall apologizing to Frankie for cheating on her and almost hitting her and Frankie accepts his apologies. They decide that they will lie to Eric and Annie about what they are going to do so that they will leave them alone. Frankie tells Eric and Annie that they are going to sign up for counseling and going to show up for every drug rehab appointment. Frankie thanks them for helping them and Eric asks if they can stay away from Mary. Frankie accepts, saying she won't call Mary until Johnny and she is doing better. When they leave, Annie questions how Mary ever became friends with them and asks Eric if Mary has anything in common with Johnny and Frankie. Eric doesn't answer, not truly knowing the answer and worried that she in fact does share any of their bad habits.

Simon arrives up at home and is immediately scolded by Lucy for being gone so long. Simon explains what he did and reveals his newly pierced ear and that Jim's cousin does ear piercings. Lucy is stunned and tells him that their parents are going to kill him and her. Simon looks into a mirror as Lucy goes upstairs. Meanwhile, Hank and Julie appear and search the house for their daughter, finding her playing with a phone on the floor, another baby, and a beer bottle. Julie scolds Mary for leaving her daughter in her care but Mary explains the situation and who the baby belonged to. Hank begins yelling at her about drinking the beer but Mary denies drinking the beer and tells him that Frankie drank the beer. Mary apologizes and tells them that it will never happen again. Mary asks them not to tell Eric or Annie but they say they can't guarantee that they will never tell Eric and Annie. Mary tells them that they shouldn't worry about paying her, but Hank yells at her to go home. At the house, Eric and Annie show up and Lucy informs them of the housework she's done while they were away. Ruthie comes downstairs and notices Simon's pierced ear and then remarks that he looks like a girl. Eric and Annie are not pleased. Matt returns to his apartment and John jokingly questions how was his stalking, and Matt tells him that Kim is actually blind, leaving John in disbelief. Hank and Julie are getting ready for bed and discussing whether to tell Eric and Annie about the beer incident. Hank believes they should tell them about the beer and that she is still hanging out with Frankie but Julie believes Mary wasn't drunk and that she could be telling the truth. Hank tells Julie he doesn't want to regret not helping her later if she is actually in trouble. At the house, Simon attempts to convince Eric and Annie to let him keep his piercing but they won't budge, causing Simon to reluctantly agree to take it out. Lucy apologizes for not ensuring that everyone did the right thing. Eric explains that Simon is responsible for himself and he is not acting like a man but wants to be treated like a man. Annie compliments how great of a job Lucy did. Mary is at Johnny and Frankie's house and is shocked that Johnny punched her father and that they lied to her parents. Mary worries that Hank and Julie will tell on her but Frankie and Johnny try to reassure her. Johnny tells her to take a break every once in a while and offers Mary some marijuana, but Mary just stares at it uncertainly.

Trivia[]

  • Ashley Edner, who portrayed Sarah in this episode, was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Outstanding Performance in a TV Drama Series: Guest Starring Young Actress.
  • Ashley Edner's brother Bobby Edner appears as a guest star in the season 6 future episode, “Hot Pants” portraying the role of Frank.
  • Chyler Leigh and Nathan West wrap up their three-episode stint as Mary's rebellious friends in the show. However, Nathan West will make a brief return in the episode "One Hundred".

Opening Credits[]

Featured in the opening credits are:


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