Episode #216 "Enter Lucas"

     Pauline has written a one-act comedy for her playwriting class. The problem is, it just isn’t funny. Hilton has no problem playing the critic, telling Pauline that she needs to make her characters more real, because real is funny. Pauline does a rewrite, which her instructor, Jose, deems "fabulous." It’s so fabulous, he decides it should be performed in front of the class the following week. Now they must find someone to play the irascible main character, Luther Travis. Ruth is worried, since Pauline already told her that Luther is a very thinly disguised portrait of Hilton. Pauline assures Ruth that she isn’t making fun of Hilton, she’s just celebrating him. But Ruth isn’t buying it, and won’t allow Pauline to hurt Hilton’s feelings. Meanwhile, Hilton has read the play and has no idea that he is the inspiration for Luther. Thinking Luther is based on Pauline’s brother, Hilton insists that he’d be the perfect person for the role and wins the part despite Pauline’s objections. Even after a week of rehearsals and gentle hints from Ruth, Hilton is still in the dark about his character’s true "motivation." Only at the moment just before he’s about to go onstage does Hilton realize that he, in fact, is Luther Travis. He then tries to play the character as sweet, which only works until Griffin, who’s also in the play, along with Ruth and Erica, makes Hilton angry enough to get into the role. Pauline thinks her play is ruined, but Jose assures her that Hilton’s performance is brilliant.