“She Needed To Come Back Down To Earth” (“Integrity” Recap)

Tonight was that “every once in a while” episode that we had really not seen this season – an episode where even Alex's biggest fans (like me) are left to wonder “just what the heck got into her?” as she does and says things that even we can't defend (e.g. like her manipulation of Claire in "Benched").

I mean, Alex has every right to feel proud of her accomplishments, even to the point of bragging even a little more than a little bit. And, given how things have gone this season, it was about time that Alex had a win or two (or five or six). But, in spite of that, tonight I felt she was too full of herself about getting all those awards, especially that line about Sanjay – that was below the belt on a few levels and may come back to haunt her next week.

Given how insecure she's felt lately, maybe to a degree it was just a case of Alex wanting to release some pent-up ego, although Claire said she was like this every year when they hand out school awards. You would think this would be old hat for Alex, and even a bit ho-hum (I'm surprised she even wanted to get out of bed for some of those medals).  And it just seemed so much of a 180 degree turn from the past few weeks, going from low confidence to overconfidence.

At least as far as Alex's story is concerned, tonight felt like part one of a two-part episode, with next week's “Patriot Games” and its epic clash with her and Sanjay as the conclusion. I'm even more convinced now Alex isn't going to win, just because after tonight karma might come into play.

There's even a small part of me (despite all the times Alex has gotten the short end of the stick this season) that wishes she was runner-up to Sanjay for most of the awards she won, to put her in the position of “plucky underdog” next week when the big prize is on the line.

Alex's Line Of The Week: (when Manny and Luke are fighting over a girl, well, sort of) ”And the award for the Saddest Brawl goes to...”

Next week, the big one, and I'm not talking about 1) the Kentucky Derby, 2) that $100 (seriously?) pay-per-view boxing match or 3) the huge wreck that almost always happens in a race at Talladega. They did not air a promo for next week's episode tonight, so no idea yet how much of a focus ABC will put on Alex's story.