Touched by an Angel

View by Season

View by Episode

Episode 519: “Jagged Edges”

Episode 519: “Jagged Edges”
Original Air Date: March 28, 1999
Written by: Jennifer Wharton & Burt Pearl
Directed by: Gregory Harrison
Produced by:

Martha Williamson
Jon Andersen
R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:
Natalie Arabella Field
Amanda Linda Lavin
Doug Drew Snyder
Comedian Joey Miyashima

Andrew helps an older man, Doug, clean out his garage, searching for a box he wants to give to his daughter, Natalie. Doug has a heart attack, and as he is dying, Andrew assures him that God’s angels will be on hand to deliver the box to Natalie. When Natalie, a stand-up comic, hears of Doug’s death, she returns home with her infant daughter Lily to organize her father’s things. Natalie begins to have flashbacks about her deceased mother, and how when Natalie was young, she would play the piano incessantly. Andrew tries to persuade Natalie to help him clean the garage and find the box, but she is unwilling to go into the garage. To get a break from her intense memories, Natalie goes to a comedy club to perform.

Meanwhile, at a local hospital, Monica and Tess talk about how Natalie will react to learning her father’s secret — that Amanda, her mother, is not dead, but has been institutionalized for many years. Natalie, indeed, is shocked to learn this and that Amanda, after a slow recovery from mental illness, is almost ready to return home. Natalie goes to the hospital to meet Amanda, who convinced herself Natalie was dead, and, though she doesn’t realize Natalie is her daughter, the visit makes her very nervous and she begins to play the piano feverishly. This frightens Natalie and she quickly leaves the hospital. Back at the garage, Natalie discovers the box, which contains a metronome. As the metronome begins to tick, Natalie accidentally closes the garage door, triggering a horrifying memory about how, when she was seven, Amanda locked Natalie and herself in the garage with the motor running. By the time Andrew arrives Natalie fully recollects that her mother tried to kill her.

Monica explains Amanda’s illness — how after she lost a baby Amanda blamed herself to the point of illness, and how she wanted to die, but didn’t want to leave Natalie behind. Natalie returns to the hospital and with the angels’ help, convinces Amanda that she is still alive. Overjoyed, Amanda moves to hug Natalie, but Natalie, unable to handle the emotion, flees to the comedy club. While onstage, though, Natalie has a nervous breakdown. Monica reveals herself to be an angel, and comforts Natalie, telling her that God loves her, and that she must break down the fake life she has created to protect herself, before God can help her build a new life. Natalie admits her fear — that she inherited her mother’s illness. She was scared to love her own baby — now she knows why. Later, Natalie, recuperating at the hospital from the breakdown, performs her stand-up routine for the other patients while Amanda watches proudly. Natalie introduces Amanda to her granddaughter and tells her mother that she inherited something very important from her — her sense of humor.

 

(); ?>