Episode Recap
As Missy drives her father’s stolen pick-up truck, she notices the fuel gauge is dangerously close to empty. After Missy goes to a gas station and eventually manages to put the nozzle in the car’s gas tank, she sees another customer pay the cashier and ask for $10 at pump #2. Missy walks over to the cashier to say $10 in pump… whichever that one is. After the cashier suggests she’s too young to be driving, Missy claims she’s just pumping gas while her dad’s in the bathroom. After Missy returns to the truck and waits for it to fill up, she makes small talk with a middle-aged customer. Later, Paige answers her phone. Missy quickly explains she stole her dad’s pick-up truck and is running away. “Want to come?”, Missy asks. After Paige says it sounds dangerous, Missy stammers as she tries to explain her dad taught her to drive and… Paige tells Missy she’s messing with her. “Come and get me.”, an eager Paige insists.
Paige waits on the street as Missy pulls up, awkwardly bringing the pick-up truck to a halt. Paige tosses her bag onto the flatbed and hops in. With a jerky start, Missy drives off.
As George snores in bed, Sheldon wakes him up to say they have a problem. It’s Saturday morning and nobody’s cooking bacon. When George tells him to cook it himself, Sheldon points out his mom usually does it. George says Mary’s at his meemaw’s. “Which is why I’m waking you up.”, Sheldon explains. George tells Sheldon he’s a very intelligent boy, he can handle cooking bacon. When Sheldon decides to go wake Missy up, George says Missy is mad at the world right now and he should leave her alone. After Sheldon says he’ll call his mom instead, George begrudgingly gets up to cook Sheldon bacon. “I'll make your stupid bacon, happy?”, George asks. “I’ve been better.”, Sheldon says.
As they eat breakfast at a roadside diner, Missy tells Paige this is the best day of her life. “First time running away?”, Paige asks. “Pretty much”, Missy answers. When Paige asks Missy if she thinks her parents even know she’s gone, Missy says they barely know when she’s around. Meanwhile, George knocks on Missy’s bedroom door hoping to talk to her. Cutting back and forth between George trying to talk to Missy, and Missy with Paige in the diner: As Missy and Paige plan their next move, Missy wonders about heading for a California beach. Paige points out they’ve already driven east for five hours. Paige suggests going to a Florida beach, mentioning it’s almost Spring Break. After they agree on a plan, Paige proposes they leave without paying. The pair dash out of the diner. Back home, George tries to tell Missy he’s there to talk, acknowledging the previous night’s yelling. Met with silence, George tells Missy if she expects him to apologize she can stay in there forever. “Fine, ignore me. I'm eating your bacon.”, George tells her door.
Back home, as Sheldon works at the kitchen table, he tells George there's a more spatially efficient way to load the dishwasher. When George insists it's good enough, Sheldon wonders if that's the attitude he takes with his football players. George replies that he makes them run laps for insubordination, asking Sheldon if that's what he wants. Sheldon chuckles, telling his dad he enjoys their weekends together. When Mary enters the kitchen, she is surprised to see George since she didn't notice his pick-up truck outside. There's still an awkward tension between them. After Mary asks Sheldon how he's doing, he says he’s all good except for the way the dishwasher was loaded. George wonders what Mary meant when she said she didn’t see his truck. Mary says it’s not out front. George insists it is, until he looks out the window and wonders “The hell’s my truck?”
As a police officer takes George and Mary's statement in the living room, George provides the make and model of his truck—an '86 Ford F-250—and says he didn't hear anything unusual. When Officer Rodriguez asks Mary if she heard anything, she is reluctant to admit she wasn't home. Sheldon helpfully interjects, informing the officer that his mom hasn't been there for days and was just collecting her belongings. Since George mentioned having a daughter, Officer Rodriguez explains they would like to ask her if she heard anything. Mary leads the way to Missy's room. When there's no response, she opens the door to find the room empty and the window open. "Huh, your truck's gone and she's gone? What are the odds of that?" Sheldon wonders. George tells him the obvious explanation: Missy stole his truck. "Oh, more chaos. Got it," Sheldon says.
As they drive along a country lane in the stolen pick-up truck, Missy tells Paige they're breaking so many laws right now. Paige remarks that she feels like Thelma and Louise. "Me too," Missy says, before asking Paige if she's seen that movie. "No," Paige answers. "Me neither," Missy says with a chuckle.
Still in Missy’s room, Mary asks George how didn’t realize their daughter was missing. George explains he thought Missy was just giving him the silent treatment. After Officer Rodriguez questions when George last saw his daughter, he admits he doesn’t know. They had a lot going on. Sheldon’s eidetic memory comes in handy as he lists all of his interactions with Missy the previous night: her eating at 6:15, trying to use the restroom at 7:22, using the restroom at 7:45, telling him to go to hell at 9:15, and finally being uncommunicative via Walkie-Talkie at 11:06. Mary wonders how Missy even knows how to drive. George recalls teaching her in a parking lot, but instead he tells Mary, “I bet your mother taught her.” Mary worries that Missy could be in an accident, lying in a ditch by the side of the road somewhere. Elsewhere, Missy and Paige are cruising down a country road, as they sing along to “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes.
As Mary gets off the phone with another one of Missy’s friends, Meemaw and Georgie come to see if there’s any news. Nobody’s heard from her. George says the police are looking for his truck, but there’s still no sign of it. After Georgie wonders how his little sister could do this, whether she even thought about how worried they would be, Meemaw remarks that Georgie became a dad real fast. When Mary says she doesn’t know who else to call, Sheldon suggests Paige. Sheldon reveals Missy saw Paige a few weeks ago and Paige was quite inebriated. “Drunk”, he explains, even though they know what it means. Sheldon says Paige has run away before, so that’s certainly who he’d contact if he was “going on the lam”. Mary calls Paige's mom, Linda, and explains the situation. Though Mary insists she's not accusing Paige, Linda admits it's exactly the kind of thing her daughter would do. When Linda goes to Paige's room, she finds it empty.
As their journey continues, Paige asks Missy if she could drive for a while. A sensible Missy says no, noting her dad would be pretty mad if something happens to his truck. “Like what, if somebody stole it?”, Paige wonders. “Oh, my God, I'm a criminal.”, Missy realizes, anticipating she’s going to be in so much trouble. Paige says that’s only true if they go back. If they make it to Datona, everything’s gonna be great. Paige ponders whether they should change their names, admitting she doesn’t like her name. After Paige settles on being “Ginger”, Missy opts for Susan, before deciding Suzie sounds cuter. After they pinky-swear on their new names, Missy wonders if it’s too late to become Brandi.
As the family gather in the kitchen, Mary says she can’t believe their last interaction with Missy was yelling at her. George tells her not to blame herself, but Mary points out she was blaming both of them. “So we weren’t supposed to punish her?”, George questions, arguing “Kids do stupid stuff, parents yell at them”. George points out Missy snuck out and stole his truck, so how are they at fault? Mary thinks Missy might be right that she gets ignored around here. After Sheldon enters with a map on a board with colored pins, he says they need to get the police back on the phone as he knows how to find Missy and Paige. Sheldon has narrowed down where they could be, based on the time they’ve been traveling and the average speed. The red pins show places of interest to teenage girls. “The big four: malls, beauty salons, horse stables and roller rinks.”, he explains. The blue pins are places of interest to him, which they can swing by after they find Missy and Paige. Mary says this isn’t about Sheldon, but Meemaw tells him it’s a good start and asks him to try narrow it down further.
Back in the pick-up truck, Paige asks Missy if she thinks her parents are freaking out. Missy says they’re probably having a party, joking that Sheldon will then complain about the party and they’ll stop, since he gets everything he wants. “Try being the golden child. Everybody's always expecting big things from you 'cause you're a genius.”, Paige tells Missy. When a police siren chirps behind them, Missy doesn’t know what to do. Paige tells her to pull over as it might not be for them. After Missy brings the truck to a bumpy stop, the police car pulls up behind them. Paige tells Missy they need to get their stories straight. Paige quickly concocts a lie: “We're cousins, you're 16, you forgot your license at home, and we're on our way to the hospital to visit our grandma.”. “Okay.” Missy says as the female police officer approaches. After the officer taps on the driver’s window, Missy calmly lowers it. “I'm only 14, I stole my dad's truck and we didn't pay for breakfast at the diner. We just left.”, Missy confesses. “Okay, and who’s this?”, Officer Larson asks. “My cousin, Ginger.”, Missy lies.
Back home, Mary offers to make sandwiches but everyone is too concerned to eat - except Georgie. Sheldon comes in to say he’s figured it out. “Based off the pictures she's ripped out of magazines, she's a big fan of actor Luke Perry.” Georgie tells Meemaw he plays a bad boy on Beverly Hills, 90210. “The show not only takes place but is also filmed in Los Angeles, California. That's obviously where she's heading.”, Sheldon declares. Suddenly, the phone rings and Meemaw answers it. Mary gasps as Meemaw relays that Missy and Paige have been found and are fine. When George asks where they are, Meemaw says they’re an hour east of Baton Rouge. A confused Sheldon says that’s not where Luke Perry is, and demands to speak to them.
With Missy and Paige in the back of Officer Larson’s patrol car, she tells them their parents are on the way. After Missy asks if they’re mad, prompting Officer Larson to say, “If my daughter stole my car and ran away, I'd be mad.” Missy wonders what if she had a good reason. “Do you have a good reason?”, Officer Larson asks. “Well, my brother's really smart and my older brother had a baby and they were ignoring me.”, Missy argues. Paige tells her she might need a better reason. When Missy asks if she’s taking them to jail, Officer Larson says no. So they’re good to go, Paige asks hopefully. “No. But I'm not taking you in either.”, Officer Larson explains. After Missy wonders why not, Officer Larson says “I’ve got a kid your age. I get it.”. Paige admits she would rather sit in jail than have to listen to another parent say they “get it”, but Missy insists she’s happy right there.
As Linda drives George and Mary to pick up Missy and Paige, Linda apologizes for whatever Paige got Missy into. Mary thinks Missy is responsible for this one, and George insists she won’t be doing anything like this again. “Aw, bless your heart”, a slightly incredulous Linda says. George is serious. “School and home, that's it. No TV, no friends, no shoes. Let's see her run away barefoot.”, he says. Mary thinks that will make Missy hate them even more, but George points out he’s trying to be her father, not her friend. “What do you think I'm trying to be?”, Mary asks. “Oh, I don't know. Her neighbor?”, George snipes. Sensing the tension between them, Linda asks if everything’s okay. Mary explains she’s been sleeping at her mother’s, claiming it’s because she’s looking after their newly born granddaughter. George wonders how long she will keep using that excuse. Mary apologizes to Linda, saying it’s been a stressful week. Linda knows it’s not her place, but tells them, “Barry and I used to keep a bunch of stuff bottled up, and we know how that turned out.” Mary insists they’re not getting a divorce. “Over my dead body,” George adds. “Yeah, that's exactly how it's gonna end.”, Mary says.
Back home, as Sheldon and Meemaw sit on the couch, a puzzled Sheldon wonders why Missy was heading to Florida. Meemaw questions why it matters. Sheldon says he made a solid hypothesis backed by data, so where did he go wrong? Meemaw tells him he tried to predict the behavior of a teenage girl. Sheldon suggests taking Missy for a brain scan when she gets back. Meemaw tells Sheldon that what Missy needs is for everyone to be a little understanding. Meemaw says Missy is going through a lot these days: feeling overlooked, confused, angry and sad. Sheldon thinks it’s unfair he can’t scan her brain if she’s feeling all those things at once.
Back in the patrol car, Officer Larson asks Missy and Paige what their plan was. Paige says they were going to Daytona Beach. Like “MTV Spring Break”, Missy adds. What where they going to do for money? “I don't know. We would have figured something out.”, Paige claims. Missy agrees, saying Paige is a genius. Paige shoots Missy a look for mentioning that. “Don't get a lot of geniuses back there.”, Officer Larson admits, “Mostly stupid folk.”
In Linda's car, George complains he can't understand Missy's behavior, given his good relationship with her. He taught her how to catch and how to drive. "You taught her how to drive?" Mary asks as George realizes his slip of the tongue. George insists he only taught her the basics, before adding, "She made it all the way to Louisiana without getting into an accident. I think I did a pretty good job." Things get heated when Linda suggests they try her marriage counselor. George scoffs, pointing out that Linda eventually got divorced. As Mary tells George to stop snorting, he accuses her of wanting a female counselor to take her side. Linda insists it's not about taking sides. She explains that their counselor helped her and Barry realize they were staying together for the wrong reasons, and that separating was better for everyone. "I'm not sure it was better for Paige," Mary argues. When Linda insists their divorce has nothing to do with Paige's issues, Mary and George both scoff. "At least my daughter didn't steal my truck, and none of my kids are having babies.", Linda retorts.
As Officer Larson waits in her car with Missy and Paige, Missy is holding the officer’s speed gun as cars pass by. Missy is disappointed the passing car was within the speed limit. After Missy wonders how the speed gun works, Paige explains the science: “It calculates the speed based on the Doppler shift of the reflected radio waves.” “See? Genius”, Missy adds. When a car speeds by well above the limit, Officer Larson tells them to buckle up as she pursues the car.
Later that night, as George drives back with Missy and Mary in silence, Mary offers to drive for a while so he can take a break. George insists he’s fine. After Missy offers to take a shift too, Mary says it’s not a time for jokes. George tells Missy she may never drive again. Mary says she’s not to hang out with Paige anymore, which Missy feels is unfair as it was her idea, not Paige’s. George says if Missy was feeling ignored, don’t worry, they’re laser-focused on her now. Adult Sheldon explains this marked the beginning of what our family would come to call "Missy's difficult period." Despite his repeated assurances that he could solve the problem with a brain scan and some low-voltage electric shocks, he was never given the opportunity. “Such a shame.”