Review: ‘Every Year After Season 1, Episode 5 “I Choose You”

Our episode opens with Sam having  nightmares of Percy taking The Tavern away from him and Charlie. Jordie tries being a good friend and listens as Sam reveals that he and Charlie are going to fight for The Tavern. However, Jordie isn’t comfortable with talking about that subject. Then, Sam drops a bomb on him: he’s going to propose to Taylor. 

New Year’s Eve 2014.  Percy shows up with a new boyfriend who is also Delilah’s cousin. Delilah encourages her to show him off in front of Sam to make him jealous, and she does just that. Sam is very jealous, and when the three of them sit together, Sam goes all out by telling Percy’s boyfriend all about Percy. This makes her very angry. Nevertheless, the clock strikes midnight, and Percy shares a kiss with her boyfriend. After being rejected from Charlie, Delilah accepts a kiss from Jordie. 

Back in the present, Percy reveals to Chantal that she believes that Barry’s Bay could be good for her. There is a small part of her that thinks  she and Sam could get back together, and she has  to tell him about a huge mistake she made ten years ago. The two then run into Jordie, and can tell that he’s hiding something. Percy and Chantal immediately put two and two together and learn that Sam is going to pop the question to Taylor. Jordie reveals that it’s happening tonight.  

In a flashback, it’s now Summer 2015,  before Sam and Percy’s senior year. They run into each other, and, after learning that he has a girlfriend, Percy lies to Sam that she’s still in a relationship with Delilah’s cousin. She calls Delilah and tells her that she needs to get back with him. Percy then gets a job as a waitress at The Tavern, just like Sam, to be closer to him. They get closer and closer, realizing  that they really like each other.

Back in the present, Chantal’s fiancee shows up announced sick with a cold. He expects Chantal to take care of him. Jordie helps her get  snacks and soup, and even picks up her favorite ice cream. She’s heart warmed that he remembered. Chantal confronts Drew about her basically babying him. She wants them to act like adults, but she feels like their relationship is incredibly codependent. She doesn’t want that, and they have a serious talk about the next steps in their relationship.  

Charlie bursts into The Tavern from court; they lost the property to Percy. Delilah is there and lets him know that she’s still interested in buying it from him. Later, Percy shows up to Delilah’s house and expresses how she’s feeling. She doesn’t know what to do. Then Charlie arrives, he confronts Delilah about her opinion of him. He isn’t some selfish man child and reveals  that their affair was a mistake. When Percy learns about the affair, this makes him even angrier. Their big secret almost slips out, and Percy pulls him aside to tell him that nobody can ever know what they did ten years ago. It would destroy everything. 

At the end of the episode, Percy goes to her favorite spot near the lake. It’s not long before Sam shows up. He reveals to her that he broke up with Taylor. Then, there is a back and forth between flashbacks and the present. It’s a long monologue by Sam saying how he chooses Percy and how he is in love with her. Percy loves Sam. However, she tells him that there is something that he must know. Cut to black.

This episode was very interesting. We know that things will start to unfold in the last few episodes as Percy chokes  under pressure and Sam has ended things for good with Taylor. The relationship between Sam and Percy continues to break and blossom, and there is a cycle that is present. The big secret that has been hinted at in the previous episodes is finally apparent, and we learn that it obviously involves Charlie and Percy. Delilah continues to have good character development, while Charlie almost slowly turns into an antagonist. He is seen as shallow, and low when he speaks to Delilah and Percy. It also seems that maybe Chantal and Jordie will have a romantic storyline as they’re seen getting closer.   

7.5/10