As Far As It Depends on Me

Penny Bassett gets a phone call she never expected: Dr. Trask, the professor who once deceived and kidnapped her, has died in prison, and his sister Elizabeth has found things at his house that belong to Penny. Penny arrives claiming she's "happily indifferent" - until a locked door swings open on a secret studio full of paintings stolen from Trask's own students, their signatures scratched off and replaced with his. Old wounds tear the house apart: Elizabeth stokes Penny's anger, Trask's mother Vera calls her riffraff and orders her out, and Penny even picks a fight with her husband Wooton. But when Wooton shares the story of his own buried hurt and what it cost him, Penny sees her anger spreading... and returns to the Trask house alone. Armed with an old photo album, she pushes a broken mother and daughter toward each other, winning an apology from Vera even if Elizabeth isn't ready to forgive. Left alone in the studio, Penny prays for help to forgive, leaves her paintings behind as a gift, and keeps just the wombat painting - because Wooton really likes that one.

Found on The Best Is Yet to Come Album 75 · 6 episodes

The run See every episode

0958 Reporting Live from Mount Sinai A skeptical TV reporter obsessed with history's tragedies steps into the Imagination Station and lands at the foot of Mount Sinai, where a restless nation on the brink of rebellion forces him to question what stories are truly worth telling.

0959 Dose of Virtual Reality When her best friend backs out of the school's parent-child video game tournament, Molly recruits her seemingly hopeless grandfather - a police detective whose odd habit of studying the game's mysterious signs might be more than a distraction.

0960 The Jacobs Report: Robert Smalls A slave and boat pilot in Confederate Charleston risks everything on an audacious plan to sail his family and crew toward freedom in plain sight.

0961 Survivor Boy A boy's plan to film helpful wilderness survival videos spins out of control when a fame-hungry classmate transforms him into a fake expert called Survivor Boy.

0962 The Fast and the Ridiculous When a teenager buys a fifty-dollar car rigged with pranks by a high school shop class, her scheme to hide its problems from her older sister puts more than the car to the test.

0963 Mile 151 After a storm leaves Odyssey feeling gloomy, Zoe Grant rallies her friends to adopt a mile of highway - but her simple cleanup project balloons into something far bigger than she ever intended.

0964 As Far As It Depends on Me When the sister of the man who once deceived and kidnapped her asks Penny to help settle his estate, sorting through his belongings uncovers far more than old paintings.

0965 Two's Company, Four's a Crowd When a nervous Suzu asks Emily to help investigate a popular classmate's stolen award, the mismatched detectives uncover clues that don't add up - and Emily must decide what kind of partner, and person, she really wants to be.

1 of 4 0966 The Best Is Yet to Come A world-changing memory breakthrough and a secret teenage romance both hinge on how much the people of Odyssey are willing to risk - and reveal.

2 of 4 0967 The Best Is Yet to Come Eugene's dream job in another city forces the Meltsner family to weigh a world-changing opportunity against the life their son has finally built in Odyssey.

3 of 4 0968 The Best Is Yet to Come With the Meltsners' move to Baltimore looming, Buck fights to hold onto Jules while Connie refuses to accept that goodbye is the only option.

4 of 4 0969 The Best Is Yet to Come As the Meltsners' farewell party fills Whit's End, a heartbroken Jules races against weather, distance, and her own hurt feelings to reach Buck before his family leaves Odyssey for good.

1 of 2 0970 Precious Lord When Trey's worries about an uncertain future bring him to Whit's End, a talking portrait of a legendary musician shares how a life that felt like "a song with no tune" found its melody.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 2 more roles

2 supporting roles

Elizabeth Trask Amelia Borella Vera Trask Joan Van Ark

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Abigail Geiger Writer Marshal Younger Director Zach Schneider Sound Designer Nathan Hoobler Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Penny Bassett receives a surprising phone call from a stranger named Elizabeth Trask, the sister of Dr. Benjamin Trask, the art professor who once deceived Penny, tangled her up in his counterfeiting crimes, and even kidnapped her. Elizabeth has startling news: Dr. Trask died in prison almost a month ago, and as the executor of his estate she has found some things at his house that belong to Penny. Penny and her husband Wooton drive over to collect them, and Penny insists the bad memories are behind her - today she is "happily indifferent."

At the house, Elizabeth kindly returns Penny's class assignments, her art portfolio, and a wombat painting Dr. Trask once bought from her as an encouragement. But the warm welcome ends when Elizabeth's mother, Vera, walks in. Vera is convinced her son was innocent and snaps at Penny, calling her "one of the riffraff who framed my son." Elizabeth apologizes for her mother and, learning that Penny has worked in art galleries, asks her to stay and help sort and value her brother's enormous collection.

As they work, Penny learns how deeply Ben's crimes wounded Elizabeth. She is a defense attorney whose promotion was shelved when the Trask name became infamous, and she has not forgiven her brother - or her mother, who defended him to the end. Whenever Penny remembers something good about Dr. Trask, Elizabeth pushes her to dwell on how he betrayed her instead. Then comes a shocking discovery: behind a locked door they find a secret art studio full of beautiful paintings, and Penny recognizes them. They are the work of Penny and her classmates, with the students' signatures scratched off and replaced with Ben's. Dr. Trask was stealing his own students' artwork. Vera refuses to believe it and orders Penny and Wooton out of the house.

On the way home, Penny admits she no longer feels indifferent at all - only "complete and utter betrayal." She wants to throw her wombat painting in the dumpster so she never has to think about it again. Wooton gently suggests that destroying things she loves isn't the right way to handle her hurt, and that Elizabeth may be feeding her anger. Penny snaps at him, and the two have a fight.

That evening, Wooton comes to finish the fight - by apologizing first. Then he shares a painful memory: before he came to Odyssey, his father told him that if he wanted to be a failure, he was fine having only one son instead of two. Wooton tried to simply forget those words, but the buried anger changed him, made him defensive, and even cost him a friendship over a broken mug. Penny suddenly sees the same thing happening to her - her anger at Dr. Trask has spread all the way to Wooton. She decides she must return to the Trask house alone, to "try to stop the spread."

The next day, using an old photo album as a visual aid, Penny shows Elizabeth and Vera pictures of themselves painting a dorm room together and riding a carousel - proof they were close before Ben came between them. She tells them that neither of them committed Ben's crimes, and that refusing to forgive is costing them each other. Old wounds spill out: Elizabeth accuses Vera of letting Ben get away with everything, and Vera finally says she is sorry. Vera is willing to try again, even just by sorting boxes in the same room, but Elizabeth feels betrayed by Penny - she was supposed to be on her side - and tells her to go home. Still, Vera quietly keeps the photo albums to look through, admits she treated her daughter badly after the trial, and thanks Penny for trying. She also tells Penny she may take any of her stolen paintings home.

Left alone in the studio, Penny prays, telling God she is ready to forgive Dr. Trask - or at least ready to ask for help forgiving him, which for now will have to be the same thing. She chooses to leave her paintings behind as a gift to the family, deciding that giving to someone who hurt you is good practice in turning the other cheek. But she keeps the wombat painting, because Wooton really likes that one, and thanks God for closure - and for Wooton.