The "Go On" episode "Bench-Clearing Brawl" focused on crying. Lauren (Laura Benanti) tries to get a good cry out of everyone but finds that Ryan (Matthew Perry) is just too dead inside. Actually, he just doesn't like to cry and is good at holding out until a perfectly inopportune moment.
The sewing machine
Ryan decides to give away Katie's old sewing machine. Lauren thinks it may be too soon to make this move, but Ryan seems fine with it. He gives it to Sonia (Sarah Baker), the "cat lady." Lauren tries various tactics of getting him to admit that he wants the sewing machine back but just can't crack that nut. His shell is just to hard.
The hockey game
Ryan becomes overjoyed when he's invited to a professional hockey player's private celebrity pick up game. It was a game he had wanted to play for years but could never get invited to. Unbeknownst to Ryan, Steven (John Cho) sets it up as a sympathy invite because of Katie's death. Not only that, he also manages to get the other players to go soft on Ryan out of sympathy. As a result, Ryan wins easily. As Steven puts it, Ryan just wasn't "looking for clues that he's not awesome."
Anne and the wedding
Anne (Julie White) is invited to a wedding but laments the fact that she no longer has a "plus one." Anne and Ryan bond over this sad fact, then he sweetly offers to be her plus one. When they show up at the wedding, Ryan realizes that a woman keeps looking at Anne, and that Anne is looking back. He takes the initiative on behalf of Anne and gets the two together at a table.
Unfortunately, Anne is just not ready. When she goes on a date with the woman, Sasha, she freaks out when Sasha tries to kiss her. Anne shows up at Ryan's place for help. When Ryan says she just needs to get the first kiss out of the way, she plants one on him and says that it worked! Then she takes off again, ready to go get that kiss from Sasha.
Lauren finally gets the cry
Lauren gets Sonia to send a picture of herself with the sewing machine and little items of clothing she has sewn for her cats. Unfortunately, Ryan receives the picture and breaks down while on the air, causing everyone to begin calling him "Crying King."
Ryan gets the cry, too
Lauren tried to get everyone to create collages of their past and future, but Ryan couldn't be bothered to do it. That is, until he became the "Crying King." He then realizes the hockey team was letting him win and tells them not to be so kind to him, so they aren't. In fact, they attack him with extreme prejudice, leaving him in a beaten and bloodied lump by the end of the game.
Ryan is finally ready to create his collage with everything Katie in the past, and ice hockey in the future (he wants to continue improving his game, for real this time). He proudly holds it up in the group, causing Lauren to cry. Ryan finally realizes how good it feels to "get the cry out" of someone. And it's Ryan for the cry! Score: 1-1.
More from this contributor:
'Go On' recap: Ryan King copes with change (and uninvited guests)
'Go On' sneak peek recap: A quirky dramedy that grows on you
'Partners' series premiere recap and review: A cliched waste of great talent
