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Review:
I liked this episode, despite its occasional high doses of cheese. Though it mostly took place in the present, I’ll start with the flashbacks.
 Jameson Parker is undeniably boyish-looking, but at age 36 or 37,
playing a 17-year-old is a stretch. Not as much of a stretch as it ought to be, but still a stretch. During the scene between the A.J.’s, the teenage A.J.
looked older than the 32-year-old A.J.. If he’d had longer hair as the younger A.J., he probably could have pulled it off.
 However, I do understand the reasoning, even if it
surprised me. Evidently, the high school A.J. was a driven, conservative young man set on becoming a lawyer. We know from What’s In a Gnome? that A.J. protested the
Vietnam War with a peace sign, which would suggest hippy leanings. I don’t have trouble believing this change occurred only after he went off for college. Especially
since hippy leanings didn’t easily lend itself to a law degree. So, though the conservatively short hair destroyed some of the illusion of youth, it makes sense.
 I love what they did with Rick. Bury him in hair and he becomes
an Easy Rider-esque young biker.  I'd thought he voluntarily
enlisted, but evidently there was a scene where he says he was drafted that was cut by A&E. I hate it when that happens.
The scene where he tells A.J. about his enlistment is well done. Rick’s promise to
be back is so poignant. It made me infinitely grateful he was able to keep that promise and gave me a pang of sorrow for those who weren’t. Nicely done, Mr. McRaney.
All of the flashbacks just bring home the fact that Rick has seen a lot more of life than A.J..
In many ways, Rick is lifetimes older than his brother, and this episode shows some of the reasons why.
 I really enjoyed watching Rick’s smooth moves when he
first sees Anita. Even though she outright tells him she knows he’s lying about remembering her, he never misses a beat. A girl’s gotta watch out for a guy that quick.
A.J.’s initial response to Anita is interesting. He doesn’t hug her, he barely kisses her – he’s very awkward. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just interesting behavior from
a man who doesn’t think twice about hugging a damsel in distress.
 Hugging Anita is too close to home, perhaps?
 It certainly doesn’t take long for the old feelings to come
back. I enjoyed watching A.J.’s struggle as he dealt with his old love for Anita, his current (and apparently less exciting) love for Liz, and his growing realization that he
has grown up. Scary stuff for the ‘somewhere between young and middle-aged’ Simon. I was glad they addressed the conflict, though. For a minute there, I was
afraid A.J. might just cheat on Liz without a second thought. I don’t think the boy’s a saint, but I’d like to believe he’s more responsible than that.
The plot was chock-full of coincidences that allowed for them to solve the case – A.J. picking that gas station, Carl happening to be in the office just then, the doctor who helped
Anita being in the same place twenty years later. It was a pretty big reach, but the fun of the flashbacks and learning more about the Simons’ as children was worth it.
4 out of 5 Camaros
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