Joan of Arcadia

S01E21: Vanity, Thy Name Is Human

Joan takes a cosmetics class, per God's request, and Kevin doesn't react well to crossing paths with the last girlfriend he dated before his disabling accident... Glynis' flattering makeover attracts a great deal of positive attention at school, which only adds to Joan's disappointment when Adam fails to notice her own new look. Meanwhile, Kevin, who remains bitter with the belief that he had been dumped by Beth because he had become a paraplegic, harshly rebuffs her efforts to make peace with him.

Overview

Joan Girardi has begun acting a little strange since her family moved to the city of Arcadia. No one knows that various people keep introducing themselves as God, and then giving the teenager specific directions to do things. Unsure of what God wants, and if she's even sane, Joan tentatively begins to follow God's cryptic directives, all the while trying to retain a "normal" teen-aged existence.

Episodes

Pilot

S01E01 Pilot

September 26, 2003 4.5 45 min
16 year old Joan Girardi is approached by someone claiming to be God. He gives her a mission, get a job. Will Girardi, Joan's dad and new chief of police for Arcadia, is trying to...
The Fire and the Wood

S01E02 The Fire and the Wood

October 3, 2003 6.0 45 min
Joan enrolls in advanced-placement chemistry, after God asks her to stop being an underachiever; Will ruffles feathers during an arson investigation.
Touch Move

S01E03 Touch Move

October 10, 2003 6.0 45 min
God encourages Joan to learn how to play chess; Will must work with a psychic on a missing toddler case; Helen hopes a miracle will enable Kevin to walk again.
The Boat

S01E04 The Boat

October 17, 2003 6.0 45 min
Helen fears Joan is becoming eccentric when she enthusiastically tackles her boat-building project; Will encourages Kevin to join a wheelchair basketball team.
Just Say No

S01E05 Just Say No

October 24, 2003 45 min
Joan learns from God that she's holding a garage sale on Saturday, which doesn't leave her much time to sort through her family's unwanted belongings. Among the items she unearths are paintings created by Helen...
Bringeth It On

S01E06 Bringeth It On

October 31, 2003 45 min
Joan gets a lesson in popularity when God tells her to try out for the cheerleading squad, and her efforts to impress two pom-pom girls pay off with an invite to hang out together outside...
Death Be Not Whatever

S01E07 Death Be Not Whatever

November 7, 2003 45 min
Joan baby-sits for a 6-year-old boy who is obsessed with death; officers assault a black man at a gas station.
The Devil Made Me Do It

S01E08 The Devil Made Me Do It

November 14, 2003 45 min
God's mysterious ways once again bewilder Joan, when He asks her to volunteer at the high-school art show, so that she can keep Adam Rove's sculpture from being exhibited. Elsewhere, Will feels pressure from the...
St. Joan

S01E09 St. Joan

November 21, 2003 45 min
God wants Joan to score an ""A"" on a test about French saint Joan of Arc. As the teen hits the books, she draws comparisons to the life of the young heroine who claimed to...
Drive, He Said

S01E10 Drive, He Said

December 5, 2003 45 min
Each of the Girardis deal with crises of varying seriousness, the worst of which puts Will at the mercy of a crazed gunman. The day also finds Helen reacting with mixed emotions after getting a...
The Uncertainty Principle

S01E11 The Uncertainty Principle

December 12, 2003 45 min
God instructs Joan to ask a troublemaker to the winter formal. Will uncovers secrets that could prove unfavorable to the former Chief of Police and other members of the city's government.
Jump

S01E12 Jump

January 9, 2004 1.0 45 min
Joan is saddened when she learns Rocky (Death Be Not Whatever) has passed away, causing her to further question God about life and death. Will loses his job when his discovery, and whistle blowing, of...
Recreation

S01E13 Recreation

January 16, 2004 45 min
At Helen's insistance, she and Will take a getaway to a spa, but all does not go well when Will cannot forget about his job. And with the parents away, the kids are up to...
State of Grace

S01E14 State of Grace

February 6, 2004 45 min
God tells Joan to join the debate team, where her partner has a stuttering problem. A new security system is implemented at Arcadia High School. After the art teacher quits, Helen wonders if she would...
Night Without Stars

S01E15 Night Without Stars

February 13, 2004 45 min
Joan's newest mission from God is to work with kids, so she volunteers to help babysit children of abused mothers; Joan becomes jealous when Adam falls for one of the volunteers; Kevin starts to get...
Double Dutch

S01E16 Double Dutch

February 20, 2004 45 min
God tells Joan to learn to jump rope with a group of inner-city teens, one of whom Joan discovers is homeless. Kevin goes on a date, but not with who you think.
No Bad Guy

S01E17 No Bad Guy

February 27, 2004 45 min
After Joan stands up for one of her classmates being bullied, an embarrassing picture of Joan, taken with a picture phone, is rapidly spread around school. God instructs Joan to join the band. Will must...
Requiem for a Third Grade Ashtray

S01E18 Requiem for a Third Grade Ashtray

March 12, 2004 45 min
God instructs Joan to help out with the a chaotic Girardi household; Adam has his first art show; Will and Toni witness a carjacking. Will and Toni, while making an arrest, get stuck in an...
Do the Math

S01E19 Do the Math

April 2, 2004 45 min
God tells Joan to take piano lessons; Joan helps her piano teacher deal with her past; Joan learns a painful secret Will and Helen have been keeping from the family; Iris becomes suspicious of Adam...
Anonymous

S01E20 Anonymous

April 30, 2004 45 min
Joan joins the yearbook staff, per God's request, and decides to use this assignment as a means of impressing Adam... Feeling threatened that Iris and Adam continue to share a bond over their passion for...
Vanity, Thy Name Is Human

S01E21 Vanity, Thy Name Is Human

May 7, 2004 45 min
Joan takes a cosmetics class, per God's request, and Kevin doesn't react well to crossing paths with the last girlfriend he dated before his disabling accident... Glynis' flattering makeover attracts a great deal of positive...
The Gift

S01E22 The Gift

May 14, 2004 45 min
After God tells Joan to give Adam a gift, she finds something that leads her to wonder if God's suggesting she have sex with him... While secretly searching through Adam's backpack for gift ideas, Joan...
Silence

S01E23 Silence

May 21, 2004 45 min
When the hospitalized Joan is diagnosed with Lyme disease, she begins to question if she's been seeing God or merely experiencing the hallucinations that can be symptomatic of her condition... Upon hearing that Joan may...

Cast

Amber Tamblyn
Amber Tamblyn
Joan Girardi
Joe Mantegna
Joe Mantegna
Will Girardi
Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen
Helen Girardi
Jason Ritter
Jason Ritter
Kevin Girardi
Michael Welch
Michael Welch
Luke Girardi
Christopher Rodriguez Marquette
Christopher Rodriguez Marquette
Adam Rove
Becky Wahlstrom
Becky Wahlstrom
Grace Polk

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