Roots

Summary
The widow Elaine shows up unexpectedly and gets a cold reception from ex-fiance Joel, until Maggie unintentionally plays matchmaker. The arrival of Chris' brother Bernard conjures up dreams of in Chris, who declares himself to be a "person of color". A new chef makes a culinary impression.

Plot
In the middle of the night, Chris wakes up to the sound of outside his trailer. He peers out and sees many s and s in native African garb, dancing in a circle. After watching for a minute, Chris begins to feel the rhythm and dances along with them. Suddenly, they disappear and Chris is left dancing alone in the middle of a field.

As Joel takes his morning, he screams as pieces of from his  fall on him. He jumps out of the shower and is greeted by Maggie who is working on his roof. Joel complains about the hole in his roof and then decides to run into town. Along the way, he is passed by a car carrying Chris' half-brother Bernard who has returned to see Chris at KBHR. The two of them greet each other warmly and their strange mental connection is apparent as they simultaneously go off to The Brick. Bernard has come to Cicely to bring Chris $36,000, which is half of their father's, plus. Chris refuses the money, saying that his father, who was spiritually a different man from Bernard, would never have left him any money. Bernard is confused, but accepts Chris' decision.

In Joel's office, Adam walks in and demands that Joel lend him a hundred dollars to pay his. Joel refuses, and their argument is interrupted by Marilyn's announcement that Elaine, Joel's ex-fiancee, has arrived. Joel is speechless as Elaine enters, and informs him that Dwight, who she left Joel for, has suddenly died. Joel kicks Adam out of the office, and Elaine and Joel are obviously both uncomfortable with the reunion. Elaine tells Joel that she wanted to see him, but was afraid to call, because he might have told her not to come. Joel says that he definitiely would have told her not to, and says that it was a mistake for her to come. Elaine leaves in, and Joel sits down in disbelief.

Joel and Adam are having lunch at The Brick, and Joel is pouring his heart out to Adam about Elaine, while Adam appears more concerned about how terrible the food is. of the food causes Holling to challenge him to do better, a ($100 for his insurance premium) which Adam can not refuse. As Adam retires to the, Maggie runs in to tell Joel that Elaine is in her truck. Joel obviously does not care and is angry and bitter at Elaine. Maggie sees his behavior as, and convinces him that Elaine is reaching out for a friend to talk to. Joel relents and the three of them ride up to Joel's cabin together. Things are still very uncomfortable between Elaine and Joel but Maggie does her best to keep Joel acting civil.

At his cabin, Joel finds Elaine crying in the because she forgot her. He offers to let her use his toothbrush but Elaine refuses, knowing that Joel doesn't really want her to. As Joel lays on the, he talks to Elaine, who is laying in Joel's bed. Elaine apologizes for their whole breakup and says that part of her wishes she had never met Dwight. Joel is still, and does not accept her apology.

That night, Chris and Joel are cooking s over a outside Chris' trailer, and Chris asks Bernard about his dreams. While Chris' dreams have been vivid and colorful, Bernard's have been rather bland and mundane. This difference between them piques Chris' curiosity, and he ponders Bernard's situation. As they fall asleep, Chris' dream of African dancers now includes Bernard, who merely stands by watching. Chris and Bernard stand watching the dancers, and speak casually in. When Chris awakens, he realizes that he must go to Africa.

The next morning, Joel awakens to find Elaine standing by his bed. The bedroom is freezing because of the hole in the roof, and Joel invites Elaine into his bed so she can keep warm. Lying back-to-back, the two of them reminisce about their past relationship, and Maggie bursts in to find the two of them lying in bed together and laughing. She is suddenly uncomfortable and quickly leaves. Later, she talks with Shelly at The Brick, where everyone is thrilled by Adam's culinary expertise. Maggie's jealousy is obvious and she tries to explain away the fact that Joel and Elaine were in bed together. However, Shelly is unable to offer any reasonable explanation.

On KBHR, Chris declares himself to be a "", and he announces to Cicely his intent to travel to Africa using the money provided by Bernard. Meanwhile, Maggie enters Joel's office with a hurt wrist, obviously a to get attention from Joel. However, Joel is uncaring and merely asks how the injury will affect his roof work. Maggie is enraged and Joel misses her innuendos that he and Elaine slept together. Maggie's departure leaves Joel in confusion.

That night, Elaine and Joel are having dinner at The Brick, joined by Maggie who is obviously out of place. She tries to convince Elaine to join her at the dump to watch the s, but Joel and Elaine say they are tired, and Maggie uneasily watches them leave. Returning to Joel's place, Elaine finds her "" and they begin kissing passionately, dropping to the floor.

Chris again dreams about tribal dancers, but they are joined by a who turns out to be Bernard in a. Bernard tells him that Chris has been having his dreams and the two wake up simultaneously. Chris hypothesizes that, somehow, the two of them "got their ", and so Bernard is actually the one who needs to go to Africa.

The next morning, Maggie is sitting at the bar in The Brick,. Adam serves her a and tells her to go home,, and she will feel better. Playing the role, Adam begins  Joel using information which he cannot possibly know about Joel. Maggie argues his analysis and Adam turns to analyzing her instead. Not only does he know her full name but he also knows personal facts about her childhood and her father, to Maggie's confusion. He concludes that Maggie will end up old and alone, with lots and lots of s.

At Joel's place, Elaine and Joel talk about how great the sex was, and Joel realizes that they finally have to their relationship. At the same time, they both know instinctively that the relationship is over and Elaine appears ful.

At Joel's office, Maggie finds him staring out the window, deep in thought. Maggie tries to convince Joel that Elaine is, but Joel responds by telling her that Elaine is gone. In a rare moment of total honesty between them, Maggie asks Joel if he's okay, to which Joel replies, "I'm fine...thanks for asking." He smiles warmly and the two of them leave the office and walk down the street together.

Quotes
Chris: said " doesn't play dice with the ", but I don't know...maybe not as a whole, but I think he gets a pretty big kick out of messing in peoples' s.

Music

 * "Mandjane" by
 * "" by and
 * "" by
 * "" by
 * "Dede Priscilla" by
 * "" by
 * "" by
 * "Emabhaceni" by (on Music from Northern Exposure soundtrack)

Trivia

 * Chris' dad was a "bum" (deadbeat) but Bernard's dad was dependable, solid, and . It's been three years since their dad died.
 * Joel got an in.
 * Joel's truck isn't working and Maggie's re-roofing his cabin.
 * Eve is in getting 's  since her  count is "all screwed up".
 * Dwight died of a and had history of.
 * Joel's not-to-be forgiven category: dismemberment of emotional well-being, annihilation of any hope of future happiness.
 * "Milt" is Elaine's dad here (in "Russian Flu" it is Charles Schulman; maybe it's really Milton Charles)
 * The State of Alaska pays Joel's.
 * Bernard is driving a wagon because he sold the  as it "just wasn't [him]".
 * Shelly's earrings: and  (Shelly and Maggie discuss why Joel and Elaine were in bed together)
 * lessons: kesho (KAY-sho) "tomorrow", jambo (JAH-mbo) "hello"