After a last week's pure fun episode Route 66 comes back to it's roots of being a travelogue with drama. Robert Walker Jr. proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as he is introduced in the shadow of his great actor father as Michael. Buz and Tod arrive in Oregon City, Oregon and check into a rooming house. Right away, with the simultaneous arrival of Maggie, Michael's estranged aunt there is much tension. The house is a home splintered and Michael is five months away from being 21 at which time he is proclaiming he is evicting his guardian aunt, uncle, and their young daughter.
As the story progresses we learn Michael's parents are long deceased and he has an inner turmoil in which he has separated himself from all attachments save a young girl whose three brothers will stop at nothing to keep him away from their sister. The boarding house is a cauldron of animosity and fear. The episode progresses whereby the estranged aunt, reduced to admission of her failings, becomes a healing bridge. As a regular viewer of Route 66 it is this kind of "location" drama that rings true and involves the viewer. Milner and Maharris are, for the most part, sidelined as the excellent supporting cast propels the story. Dark, enjoyable,and in the end uplifting this episode delivers fairly well. It ends with Michael gaining a moral compass, opening up to his family, and facing his fears.
As the story progresses we learn Michael's parents are long deceased and he has an inner turmoil in which he has separated himself from all attachments save a young girl whose three brothers will stop at nothing to keep him away from their sister. The boarding house is a cauldron of animosity and fear. The episode progresses whereby the estranged aunt, reduced to admission of her failings, becomes a healing bridge. As a regular viewer of Route 66 it is this kind of "location" drama that rings true and involves the viewer. Milner and Maharris are, for the most part, sidelined as the excellent supporting cast propels the story. Dark, enjoyable,and in the end uplifting this episode delivers fairly well. It ends with Michael gaining a moral compass, opening up to his family, and facing his fears.