On the season-two premiere of ABC Family’s hit original series, Chasing Life, April and Leo move forward with their engagement, Brenna prepares to donate her stem cells, and tensions flare between Natalie and Dominic.
The episode opens with April returning to work. She’s made senior political writer at The Post and is dating Dominic again. A few moments later, when April wakes up, she realizes it’s all a dream. April is still in the hospital for treatment and Leo is keeping her company. Dominic also eventually shows up to visit, which seems to surprise April, and Dominic soon learns that April and Leo are engaged.
Cue opening theme.
One month later, Sara and Emma prepare for April’s homecoming by disinfecting every inch of the Carver house. April and Leo make an early arrival and everyone is happy to see them. Unfortunately, April can’t get too cozy yet; she has to return to the hospital the following day for blood work and test results, but still that doesn’t stop her from thinking about the wedding and sharing some alone time with Leo.
When April and Leo run off to be intimate, Emma expresses her concerns about the wedding to Sara. Emma thinks it’s a bad idea, while Sara feels that the idea of marrying Leo is a good thing to keep April happy for the time being. Sara isn’t too worried, because she doesn’t see April actually going through with anything.
After sharing some intimacy, April and Leo discuss their wedding some more and Leo presents April with his grandmother’s engagement ring. The ring is a welcome gesture, since Leo had previously given April a fake ring made out of biohazard tape.
Later, April and Beth catch up. They chat about wedding plans, Beth’s new beau, and April’s concerns about maintaining her friendships with her old co-workers from The Post since she hardly sees them anymore. She also mentions seeing Danny that night.
Danny and April grab a meal together and Danny offers to pay the bill, because April saved him from getting laid off at The Post. They also make plans to find April a new job.
The next day, April returns to the hospital with Leo and Sara. He brings up their engagement party and April shows Sara the ring he gave her. Sara still isn’t convinced the wedding is really happening, but can’t get into an in-depth conversation with the pair, because Dr. Hamburg enters with April’s test results. April’s chemo didn’t work, so she’s not in remission. April is scared she’ll die prematurely until she and Leo share a heart-to-heart on the hospital’s rooftop and she realizes she needs to live on the edge.
April and Brenna watch a home video Brenna made of their family wishing April a “Happy Engagement” and discuss their life’s changes. Brenna also has to prepare to donate her stem cells.
Later, April goes to see Dominic to smooth over the sudden news of she and Leo’s engagement. April doesn’t want to lose Dominic and Dominic feels similarly, so they agree to remain active in each other’s lives. April’s half-sister, Natalie also shows and April informs her that since she’s not in remission, she can’t have a bone marrow transplant, leaving Natalie off the hook for the present. Since neither of the two sisters have other plans, they spend the day hanging out and being carefree.
Soon enough, April is back at the hospital for a blood transfusion. She encounters a fellow patient named, Vanessa and when Vanessa tries to make conversation by asking April who she is, the exchange becomes awkward.
Meanwhile, Sara has lunch with Leo’s parents to go over details about their children’s impending nuptials. Their ideas about the wedding are very different, as Sara expresses that April isn’t usually the “impetuous” type. The Hendries insist that this is what cancer has the tendency to do, remembering how Leo behaved when he was sick.
Danny was able to help April score an interview with a journalism company called Sitegeist, so she goes off to learn more about the new potential job. The position seems flexible and April can come and go as she pleases, so she accepts without hesitation when the interviewer offers her a position.
Later, April, Leo, and their friends celebrate her new job on a party bus with music and champagne and tensions seem to flare between Leo and Dominic. The next morning, April and Leo discuss the previous night’s events and Leo says the only way he’ll know having Dominic around isn’t a problem is if he sees there’s nothing to worry about.
At school, Brenna chats with a girl named, Erika, who seems interested in dating her while hanging out at her new after-school activity, film club. Brenna doesn’t return the girl’s affections and shuts her down when Erika invites her out. Soon enough, a new girl named, Margo who’s visiting Charton upon graduation from film school catches Brenna’s eye. When Brenna and Margo talk, they discover they have similar interests, leading Brenna to seek Margo’s help in making an engagement party video for April and Leo.
Meanwhile, April runs into Vanessa again at the hospital and apologizes for their strange encounter. Vanessa understands, saying she used to be an EMT until she got cervical cancer. Since then, Vanessa lost most of her reproductive organs and has spent her time traveling and focusing on her self. Developing cancer led Vanessa to realize that work was only one aspect of her life and shortly afterward, April latches onto this idea, too.
At Sitegeist, April’s boss isn’t thrilled by her work, stating that it should be more fun and less fact-driven. When April objects, she gets fired.
The next day, April and Beth talk about regrets before April’s engagement party. April says she’s been trying new things—including getting fired—because she wants to do the things that matter to her before it’s too late.
At the party, everyone mingles and drinks champagne, but all is not well for Natalie and Dominic when he refuses to sneak off so they can be intimate. Similar problems arise when Sara confronts April about her new carefree attitude and the two clash over their conflicting opinions. April has accepted that she’s going to die at some point and doesn’t want to live in fear anymore. She also wants Sara to support her choices.
Later, Brenna shares the engagement video she made for April and Leo, Natalie continues to fume at Dominic, and Sara makes an emotional toast.
After the party, Natalie picks a fight with Dominic accusing him of still being in love with April. When she forces him to leave, Dominic says they’ll continue their conversation in the morning.
The next morning, Brenna heads to the hospital to donate her stem cells. Meanwhile, Beth checks in on Natalie, who decides to stay at their apartment and look through old boxes she retrieved from her father’s storage unit. Among Thomas’ things is a novel manuscript, titled, “Chasing Life.” The manuscript details a male protagonist’s two families who are unaware of the other’s existence as well as the measures he takes to plan his own death.
End of episode.
Image Credit: Walter McBride/INFphoto.com
Chasing Life airs every Monday at 9 p.m. on ABC Family.
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