My Sister’s Keeper: 12. Wednesday: Campbell Summary & Analysis

Campbell gets in an argument over the phone with the principal of a local high school over a politically incorrect basketball team name. Tense from his encounter with Julia, he loses his temper but seems to talk the principal out of litigation. He looks down at Judge, asleep, and thinks back to a moment when he and Julia watched a puppy together. Just as he’s thinking this, he’s shocked to see Julia enter. The two of them have the conversation that concluded Julia’s chapter, but it continues on, with Julia apologizing for her cold remark. Campbell observes that Julia’s hair isn’t pink anymore, which she says is because it takes away from her authority in the courtroom. Campbell asks her when she started caring what other people think. Julia doesn’t take well to this and suggests they focus on Anna.

Julia asks about Judge and attempts to pet him before Campbell tells her that he’s a service dog. Before she can ask for details, he turns the topic to Anna. Julia expresses her concern that Anna is being influenced by her mother. Campbell agrees and proposes getting Sara removed from the house, an idea that Julia balks at due to the trauma it would inflict on Anna and her family. Campbell argues that it’s necessary due to Sara’s influence on his client. Julia counters that his client has a name and asks him if he’s even gotten to know her. She accuses him of using Anna to bolster his own reputation. Campbell says she knows nothing about him, and she suggests that’s his fault. Campbell abruptly takes an agitated Judge and leaves the room.

In a flashback, Campbell describes his high school: The Wheeler School, a private academy largely full of rich kids, with a few exceptions, such as scholarship kids. Campbell is an upperclassman when Julia enters the school. She’s rebellious and literate, wearing punk clothes and an eyebrow piercing, and she has plenty of rumors circulating about her. Eventually, she dyes her hair pink. In the cafeteria one day, a girl asks her if it hurt to fall into the cotton candy machine. Julia responds by saying that she can’t afford to get her hair done at “Wash, Cut, and Blow Jobs ‘R’ Us.” Campbell laughs at her along with the other kids, but secretly, he’s intrigued by how she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her.

One day, Campbell skips sailing practice and follows Julia to a cemetery. She quickly senses his presence and tells him to come out, then asks him what he wants. Not wanting to admit he followed her, he tells her he wants tutoring. He takes out their English assignment, which asks if one has an ethical obligation to stop and help at a terrible four-car accident. He argues that you shouldn’t stop, since hurting someone in an attempt to help them could get you sued. When Julia refuses to tutor him, he asks her if she would stop at the car accident. She says yes, since even if it’s not legally required, it’s the right thing to do. Campbell asks her how, if she really believes that, she can walk away from him.

In the present, Campbell comes out to the reception area. Kerri informs Campbell that Julia has left a harshly-worded message asking for all the medical records he has. Campbell takes the address Julia left for the records to be delivered. In a brief flashback, he recalls being with Julia in the cemetery a week after first encountering her. He undresses her and kisses her for the first time on the collarbone.

Campbell goes to the Fitzgerald house. He tries to tell himself his decision to do so has nothing to do with Julia’s criticism of him, but he knows she’s right deep down. When he arrives, Anna is the only one home. He tells her that Julia is worried Sara is talking to her about the case, and Anna says there’s not much else to talk about besides Kate. The two sit in awkward silence for a minute until Anna asks Campbell if he has kids. He laughs and says no, which Anna says is probably a good thing, since he doesn’t really look like a parent. Campbell asks her what a parent looks like. She says it’s like a tightrope walker trying to fake confidence. Campbell admits that getting to know a client is new to him, and Anna responds it’s new for her to hope.

Campbell goes to visit Julia. She opens the door a crack and appears to have been crying. He attempts to apologize to her, and she asks him who he is. He initially thinks this is a slight against him, until the door opens fully and he’s faced with two Julias: the first is actually Izzy. Julia introduces the two of them, and Izzy clearly recognizes Campbell’s name—and not in a good way. After Campbell hands over the medical files, Izzy tries to get him to leave, but Julia chastises her, leading to an argument between the two sisters. Izzy storms off, telling Julia she’ll regret talking to Campbell again.

Campbell tries to make amends with Julia, but she’s still furious with him for abruptly leaving. When he claims he left due to an “emergency,” she asks again what Judge is for; he doesn’t answer. Instead, he comes inside and tells her that he visited Anna. He admits that she was right and that he needed to visit her before making any decisions about her living situation. When Julia asks him his thoughts, he tells her that the two of them are on the same page. She doesn’t respond to this.

The two of them have some wine. Julia explains to Campbell that he never met Izzy because their parents could only afford to send one of them to private school. The two of them catch up about their current situations; both are single (although Campbell jokes about having six wives). Julia asks him how he knows where she went to law school, and he lies that Judge DeSalvo told him. He says that he never expected her to become a guardian ad litem and admits that he imagined her as a married mom with a husband—which he still hopes would be him. Julia tells him that he made it clear that he never wanted that, which Campbell thinks to himself is untrue. She tells him she remembers everything, and he is full of regret that he hurt her.