War and Peace

Summary
Celebrations with vodka, borscht, and Chris' radio reading of War and Peace are in order when Soviet legend Nikolai makes his annual appearance, bearing gifts and itching to challenge archrival Maurice to a chess match. Meanwhile, torturous dreams keep Holling from much-needed sleep and Chris' poetic lines help Ed woo a lusty farm girl.

Plot
It is morning in The Brick, and Holling is yelling at Dave the Cook because he didn't get any sleep the night before due to bad s. Shelly tells Holling to go see Dr. Fleischman. When he goes in, Holling asks Joel about his bad dreams, and Joel prescribes to help him sleep.

Back at The Brick, Nikolai shows up, a Russian gentleman who is familiar to everyone. He brings gifts for all his friends and tells them that he decided to make his trip to Cicely early this year. Maurice enters and tension fills the room. Maurice's hatred for is obvious and he is barely cordial to Nikolai. However, Nikolai is unfazed and sings a song which does not amuse Maurice.

At Ruth-Anne's store, Ed runs into a young woman named Lightfeather and is immediately smitten. She forgets her but Ruth-Anne alerts him and he goes running out of the store after her to give it back. Ed later seeks out Chris for advice, who tells him that he should write her a explaining how he feels. Ed agrees completely, but asks Chris to write the letter for him.

Joel stops by The Brick to check on Holling and meets Nikolai. He is very impressed since he and Elaine saw Nikolai perform years ago in. However, Joel finds Holling in much worse condition. He is groggy and incoherent and decides not to avoid his dreams anymore.

Several days later, Ed visits Lightfeather in her father's barn and brings her a which she accepts and wears in her hair. Lightfeather says she was hoping for another letter since she read the first one over and over again. Lightfeather is a very blunt person and is extremely turned on by the she thinks was written by Ed, comparing her to a. She begins kissing him and pulls him down into the.

At The Brick, Maurice and Nikolai are engaged in their annual match. Joel sits with a bored look on his face, while Maggie, Shelly, and the other townspeople while watching  and speaking as if they are chess experts. After Maurice makes his move and hits the timer, Nikolai hits the timer and then moves his piece. Maurice is upset at this breach of regulations and Nikolai accuses him of trying to weasel out of the game. Maurice finally challenges Nikolai to a.

Back at Lightfeather's barn, she and Ed are laying in the hay naked and covered in sweat after having just had sex. Ed has a smile pasted on his face and they begin again after Lightfeather asks him to recite more lines from "his" poem.

Everyone at The Brick is talking about the impending duel. After hearing about Holling's trouble with bad dreams, Nikolai tells him how got rid of his  by working ceaselessly out in the fields for a whole day. He tells Holling to do something crazy and reckless in order to regain himself.

The next night, Ed is having dinner at Lightfeather's house while listening to Chris' radio reading of . Lightfeather's father, a, seems to take a liking to Ed, but when Lightfeather hears Chris recite a line similar to one from Ed's poem, she realizes that he didn't really write it and glares angrily at him.

Maggie and Joel are at a table in The Brick discussing the upcoming duel. Maggie tries to explain the and glamour of the whole event while Joel sees it as simply. Shelly goes upstairs to find Holling and she sees him packing his that just happens to be aimed at his face when she walks into their bedroom. She screams "no!" but Holling reassures her that he isn't going to kill himself. He exlains that he needs to go out into the wilderness and kill an animal to rid himself of his nightmares, despite having given up hunting long ago.

Chris shows up at Ed's place, where Ed is lying on his bed watching  and crying. Chris apologizes for starting the chain of events, and Ed feels like he'll never get over the pain, but Chris knows that he will.

Outside in the snow, it is morning and the duel commences. Maurice and Nikolai march nine paces but, before they can turn, Joel steps forward,, and says that the television audience would never accept such a duel. The other characters follow suit, complain about Joel stopping the scene, and then finally decide to go to the next scene, back at The Brick.

Later that night, Maggie and Joel are at The Brick and Maggie tells him how impressed she is that he took charge of the situation. Joel accepts her compliments and believes she is with him. Holling shows up with a on a  and explains how he went out in the wilderness, fell asleep, and woke up with this deer next to him. His nightmares are gone and the episode ends with Nikolai singing and Maurice watching and smiling.

Quotes
Lightfeather: I want the words. Chris: The words? Lightfeather: 'Hot, roaring machinery... Swelling fuel tank.' Chris: Oh, you like the words. Lightfeather: I never knew you could get all that from a. I thought a motorcycle's just a motorcycle. Chris: No, no, no. Writers have been doing it for years. It's called. From, the to. There's even a French poet named who did a lot of interesting stuff with wet cat fur. Lightfeather: Wet cat fur?

Music

 * "I Don't Care" by
 * "" by
 * "" by
 * "" by
 * "One More Kiss, Dear" by Vangelis from 
 * "Lara's Theme" from 
 * "" by
 * "" by

Trivia

 * Joel saw Nikolai at a couple of years ago with Elaine and her mother.
 * Joel interned at.
 * Holling's a.
 * Ruth-Anne has had two husbands.
 * Nikolai was a.
 * Lightfeather worked at the Dairy Delite.
 * Chris doesn't like s.
 * Chris' first "trip into the realm of the senses" was at age 7 in a in Wheeler near the.
 * Nikolai gives Ed a that belonged to 's grandfather, Cantor Konigsberg.
 * Ruth-Anne, Maggie, Shelly, and Chris seem to know the game of quite well, but Joel is baffled.
 * Ed doesn't have a.
 * Ed as a kid.
 * Ed's 's husband's name is Roy.
 * Ed has almost graduated from, has no plans, but wants to be a.
 * Shelly's earrings: slices (Holling yells at Dave and Dave quits), s? (talks with Joel about the groggy Holling), s? s? (finds Holling cleaning his gun)
 * Joel breaks the in the duel scene: "We play to a very sophisticated audience here..."