“Saturday Wait, And Sunday Always Comes Too Late”

So most of the family is off on a “Wine Weekend” tonight, but Alex won't be there. If you've read my updates leading up to tonight, you probably have a good idea where this is going.

Anticipation Level: Very Low. Even if I'm totally wrong and Alex does appear, I doubt much is going to happen. Barring an unlikely hidden story, the only real chance to see her is if they start with everyone leaving for the trip (instead of starting with their arrival) or if we see them returning in the closing credits. And that would mean a one-and-done or two-and-done at best.

Emotional Moment Potential: Extremely Low.
Game Changing Potential: Extremely Low.

Chance Of An Alex-less Episode: Extremely High. Even apart from the fact that we already know Alex isn't part of the trip, there is at least one other reason why I'd be pessimistic about Alex showing up tonight (absent any evidence otherwise, of course): Alex has been a part of a story each of the last three episodes, and she's potentially a big part of the story next week. So, in a sense we would be due for an Alex-less episode in almost any case.

So what percentage chance would I put on tonight being Alex-less? I could almost make a case for 99 percent, but I won't quite go that high. I'll say about 80 percent, which is still about as high as I've ever gone.

In Which Story Do I Want To See Alex Be A Part? Well, I did say at the beginning of the season I wanted a story about Alex mentoring a newly discovered to be smart Lily. Maybe, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, it happens tonight?

(Hang on, one second: I think I hear my alarm clock going off...)

Never mind – I think I just woke up.

Are There Any Other Questions? Is there a silver lining about tonight? Well, I suppose the fact that Alex can't get into trouble at a wine tasting she won't be attending is something. But I'd still rather see her than not.

And we do still have next week to look forward to.  Hopefully that will be one of those "big things happen to Alex before/after an Alex-less episode" nights.

I'll have something to say later (maybe even more on what I just said). I'm just not sure what.