I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away 6/10

Wow, this episode opens up right away with dialogue. Doctor Burke is reiterating that Mary is going to go blind. Then Mary freaks out and starts screaming about the darkness. That was fast. Almost immediately Mary calms down, sits in the rocker downstairs and has to listen to her Ma tell her that she is getting shipped off to Iowa to go to a school for the blind. Despite the choppy editing so far, all this action seems eerily familiar, like I've seen it before.

We now see a wagon approaching what looks like a school. Pa and Mary are passengers in the wagon and disembark once they reach their destination. Before heading inside, Pa tells the driver that he will need to return to the train station to catch a four o'clock train. Inside the school, the headmaster invites Pa from the lobby to finish up the paperwork. Mary just stays in her seat and tries to get absorbed into the background. A few moments later, a male voice from off screen calls out "I'm looking for a Mary Ingalls." Mary takes a moment before declaring herself Mary Ingalls. The man introduces himself as Adam Kendall AKA Mary's new teacher. He also says that he is there to escort Mary to her room. That doesn't sound sketchy.

The headmaster and Charles head upstairs to check out Mary's room. Before going in, the headmaster tells Pa to keep things brief. Pa was hoping to spend the afternoon with Mary, particularly since his train doesn't leave for a few hours. The headmaster poo poos this, saying that the longer the goodbyes get drawn out, the more painful it will be for everyone involved. The headmaster opens the door and we can see the reflection of Adam and Mary in the mirror. There doesn't appear to be any hanky panky going on, but having the door closed seems entirely inappropriate. The headmaster gets Adam out of the room then starts the clock on Charles' goodbye. Pa breaks the ice by saying the room looks nice, but Mary's response is more "oh! Pa is here!" Before she gets too excited, Pa lies and tells her that he was able to catch an earlier train. Dude, that's cold. Granted, telling Mary you have to leave because the school told you to would make your last moments together turn into a negotiation session, but this lie makes it seem like you couldn't get away from your handicapped daughter fast enough. Boo! Mary is about as unimpressed as I am and when she and her father hug she begs him not to leave her there. Pa just says "I love you", pries Mary off his torso and scoots out the door. The headmaster only told you to be brief, Charles, not be an asshole. After Charles goes down the stairs, the headmaster tells Adam "school begins."

Adam knocks on Mary's door before barging in. He tells Mary that her bag is on the bed and she can have some down time to rest and unpack. "Unpack?" Mary asks, horrified. "I...can't." Adam is not phased by this and tells her she has to. Adam tells Mary that supper is at six and then departs. Mary stands there for a moment, then tries to feel her way through the room. Mary slowly works her way around the bed until she gets her bag in her hand. She then turns around and gropes, er, blindly for the dresser. Mary feels around the surface of the dresser so she can set her bag down and then starts to feel the mirror, which must be there strictly for dramatic effect. This school thought of everything. Mary and her reflection burst into tears.