Episode 102 (Circle of Life)

**Sun and Moon** is the second episode of the first season of NBC's *Circle of Life*. It premiered on September 28, 2015 and is the second episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

In 1968, Bonnie deals with her first crush and Mark gets in trouble at school. Meanwhile, in 1988, Wilma visits her daughters, and in 2008, more about the future is revealed.

## Recap

### **1968**

#### **September**

At school, Bonnie discovers Peyton Harmon, the coolest kid in their class, has a crush on her and wants to ask her out. Bonnie gets Deborah's advice and asks him out first, leading to a rejection. Bonnie learns Peyton never had a crush on her and it was just girls playing a prank on her. Bonnie talks to Wilma about it, and she helps her see that this has given her the experience of rejection and will know how to deal with it in the future.

Elsewhere, Mark gets in trouble for calling a girl at school fat. Larry comes in and is forced to deal with it. Larry talks with the girl's mother and learns that the girl's father always looked down at her for her weight before he disappeared. Larry apologizes and they see Mark and the girl being friends.

### **1988**

#### **September**

Bonnie is excited that Wilma is visiting, though Karen is worried as she never told her that she got married, because it happened so soon. Bonnie drops the kids off at school, where Billy meets up with his friend, Phillip Carlson. Returning to her apartment, Wilma reunites with her daughters and meets Eddie. Bonnie helps Wilma get over Karen's "betrayal" and they all have dinner together.

An unnamed man begins a journey to Murphysboro and when he arrives there, he finds a picture of Bonnie and smiles, preparing to call the number.

### **2008**

#### **September 24**

The family celebrates Ann's thirty-third birthday, which introduces Vanessa and Audrey, though it is not immediately explained how they know the family. Bonnie sees Michael lashing out at Hunter for something simple and talks to him, which reveals Michael has had anger issues since his teenagehood. Ann and Vanessa talk, in which it is revealed that she is Billy's wife and Audrey is their daughter, but Billy is not there. Dan is seen to be close to Michael and Ann's kids, but has trouble connecting with Audrey, partly because Vanessa is very protective of her. Eventually, Vanessa comes around and lets Audrey play with Dan, while Michael agrees to begin working on his issues. Bonnie has a picture of her, Michael, and Billy, when the latter two were kids, and when looking back on it, begins to shed a tear.

## Cast

### **Starring**

#### **1968**

* Lizzy Greene as Bonnie McDaniel
* Peyton List as Deborah McDaniel
* Noah Jupe as Mark McDaniel
* Jeté Laurence as Karen McDaniel
* Charlie Weber as Larry McDaniel
* Judy Greer as Wilma McDaniel

#### **1988**

* Maggie Grace as Bonnie Sander
* Kyle Schmid as Ricky Sander
* Analeigh Ashford as Karen Ruth
* John David Washington as Eddie Ruth
* Asher Angel as Michael Sander
* Nico Dowd as Billy Sander
* Ian Chen as Phillip Carlson

#### **2008**

* Maggie Grace as Bonnie Newman
* Paul Reiser as Dan Newman
* Zachary Levi as Michael McDaniel
* Gal Gadot as Ann McDaniel
* Alexa PenaVega as Vanessa Sander

## Trivia

* In Live+Same Day ratings, the episode averaged 9.81 million viewers and a 2.8/13 18-49 rating/share, representing only a 5% and 3% drop, respectively, from the premiere. In DVR ratings from the next seven days, the episode acquired 3.73 million viewers and a 1.2 18-49 rating, so overall the episode was viewed by 13.54 million viewers and received a 4.0 in the demo.
* This is the first episode to have Kyle Schmid, Alexa PenaVega, and Ian Chen credited as series regulars. All three were absent from the first episode.