by is cleaning out the fridge for Grandma, who is sitting in her rocking chair, when there is a knock at the door. Shelby opens the door to find two soldiers who greet her, "Mrs. Saracen." And part of me wonders if there is a literary term for this, when the very existence of something like this -- two men in uniform at your door -- communicates everything you need to know. You know, like synecdoche? Or metonymy? One thing standing for another thing? But really, the only term we need to know is sorrow, or pain, or heartbreak, because that's what goes down on the screen right in front of us. The men's explanation is muted, the camera catches Grandma at first from behind, her head blurred but shaking back and forth, but then from the front, just the quickest glimpse of her on the bottom left of your television screen, in her rocking chair, her face crumpled and hurt, hurt, hurt like a wounded animal. Matt and Tim pull up in Tim's truck, in front of the Taylors'. Matt walks up to the front door and knocks on the door. Julie answers and Matt, looking down, immediately starts to apologize for stopping by unannounced. But he looks up and is greeted by Julie's face, streaked with tears. She asks, "Have you talked to your mom?" Matt thinks something happened with Grandma, but Julie says "I'm sorry. It's your dad. He was killed." Matt's eyes go blank, his mouth sort of searches for some kind of shape to take, and Julie leans forward to embrace him. His face, above her left shoulder, is blank.

Once again, this show: 275. Me, not crying: 0.

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