Yes, I’m doing this. I’m dragging this thread up
In my defense, I did read all 19 pages of this thread, but yesterday I got my first glimpse at TWAH, and this really is an ep I feel I have to talk about. I already know that I won’t be able to convey every thought that’s running through my mind, and I need to see this ep more often, still. I still feel like I need to feel in blanks…
First off, it was less character-centered than I thought it would be. I abstained from this thread before seeing the ep, but there’ve been comments in other threads. Also, I do quite often watch fanvideos, maybe I shouldn’t in order not to spoil anything, but I still went away with the feeling “better than expected”.
Well, the actual crime. I didn’t think it did take backstage to the Goren-story. I guess one could feel different about it if this was highly anticipated (with my watching the eps in such a disorderly manner, that effect definitely wears off), but I just didn’t feel like that. The story itself seemed a little contrived, like they tried to fit in more than they could. I think they should’ve concentrated on one aspect, the “warcrime” angle or the “affair”-angle (I would’ve preferred the first, but they delved into the second a lot more!). I was surprised that Goren didn’t play the suspects with his experience in the army, but I guess it could be a sign of him not being on top of his game at the time.
Off course this story suffered from something (or rather the lack thereof) that many other character-driven stories of LOCI do well – they tell us about a character because it’s relevant to the crime story, for example when Bobby can relate to someone, much like in Suite Sorrow and similar eps. This is probably what enhances the feeling of the crime being overpowered by the Goren-Story. The same thing happened in “Brother’s Keeper”.
Unlike Techguy, I wasn’t this much appalled by the way the military was portrayed (but then this doesn’t hit home as close for me, either – I guess I could get angry at them if they picked up and mistreated something that was dear to me, too). I think the whole veteran-issues weren’t addressed because she was only on leave, she was going to go back, or at least she had to. I did feel though that especially the affair angle seemed to ridicule the military a little. Then, around where I live, many people my mom’s age (born 1948) never knew their “American-Dad”. So in a way, it does ring more true to me than I might want to admit. I guess together with the warcrime angle it was just tooooooooooo much, because neither story was fleshed out enough.
Somewhere on the first pages someone suggested this would’ve profited from being an ep with all 4 detectives. And I think I have to agree. This would’ve been a good ep for all four and make it into a two-parter.
I was a little bothered by the fact that the Commissoner was allowed to poke around crime scenes. At that point they didn’t know anything and he was a possible (!) suspect. He should not have been there.
I was a little surprised that Goren would touch & move the body before CSU got there. But I liked Erbe in that scene. She does wonderfully in showing that Eames is still suffering in the aftermath of Blind Spot. She did it in Siren Call, too – just the way that Eames can’t look at dead bodies.
While I liked and was surprised by Fran Drescher in the ep, I felt that her reaction to the dead body was a little bit toooooooo much for me. Other than that it’s nice to see her doing something else besides comedy. I also very much enjoyed Leland – his last scene was great, but in all he did a good job portraying the concerned dad. And I noticed with surprise that when he nearly faints at the sight of his dead daughter, it’s Ross and Goren (!) who catch him.
I really would’ve liked the timecards on this one. Outfit-wise it spans four days, but I think when the decision was made to drop the timecards, something was lost… Also, ever since the timecards are gone, you really get the feeling the eps take place in sequence, which they didn’t do before - at least if one pays attention (for example, “The Good Doctor”, “Crazy” and “The Extra Man” all take place around the same time).
I liked and disliked the aria. I thought the guy opened up fairly quickly, what didn’t ring true with me. It would’ve been more understandable if Goren had baited him with his own army experience, but he didn’t. Yet I liked that Eames, inspite of her anger, put her vendetta aside and did what she and Goren are good at. Credit to the Eames character development there. And that’s what ultimately cracked the suspect, too!
I liked Ross in this ep. I didn’t get a snarky feeling at his “glad you could join us, detective”, but that could be the dub. And inspite of Gorens outburst he’s ok with him coming back after “cooling off”. I also like how they portray him as a caring dad and as a good friend. This is the “second” time (along with Betrayal) that we’ve seen him helping a friend of his. I guess that’s why he stayed fairly visible during the whole ep.
Now onto the more “meaty” or let’s just say – more discussed stuff. I loved Rita Moreno, she did so well in this episode. I now think that in this ep, when she’s afraid, that’s pretty much the only time that we really see her suffering from her illness. In Brother’s Keeper and Endgame, she’s more or less lucid, but I would think that in TWAH, she not on medication because of the chemo, so that’s why she’s suffering from paranoia. Yet I’d say at the start of the ep she’s good, because she seems very much aware of herself. It’s heartbreaking to see her cling to Bobby, she’d need him, and he can’t be there. She’s clearly challenged when it comes to communication, and that’s so typical of this illness from what I’ve read. It also seemed to me that it’s not the first time that Bobby leaves her side when he should be there. It seems to me that he’s put his job first at other times… also this whole back and forth, enhanced by them cutting back and forth, and all the guilt that Bobby feels are so true. I’ve seen a lot of it with my mother, because my grandfather was in a very bad state for almost two years, to the point that he had to be made to move into an old people’s home. And my mom really chewed on this, badly, also because my grandpa was very demanding and needy. We, especially my dad, had to walk on eggshells with my mom for weeks. She was very thin-skinned and I did see so much of this in Bobby… I think whoever wrote that, wrote the interaction between a child and a parent, in which the roles of who gives and who receives care are reversed, pretty well.
And of course I cannot not talk about the Bobby’s famous outbursts. Let me start by saying that I think the second, the one at the end of the ep, was a little bit too much for me. It seemed uncalled for, like coming out of nowhere. Much worse for me, because the networks like to mess with me, they’ll jump back to Season 7 next week. So I’m left “in the air” on that one. No, don’t anybody tell me what happened next, I’m just saying.
I thought Eames handled herself pretty well in the ep. She offered Bobby help at various times and he refused, and refused... I thought her reaction at the elevator was exactly in character and I understand why she was angry with him after that. Or let’s just say I understand that she didn’t want him to just switch back to “professional” mode and go about stuff as if nothing happened. And it adds even more to her character that she still is professional during the aria, even inspite of her anger. If I think about that “self-inflicted” comment she makes later – it makes much more sense. Self-inflicted in the sense that he never accepted help.
I did get the sense that Bobby filled Eames in on some stuff, because she asked about Frank when he got the message. Now I wonder whether Bobby got a message from Frank, saying that he’s not in town. That would explain Bobby’s surprise in “Brother’s Keeper”. It also makes one wonder how much he really told her… The way I think off Bobby he’d just give her the hard facts without much else…
As for the desk sweep – I liked that scene. Bobby is on the edge the whole ep. He’s short tempered, twitchy, not involved in the case. He doesn’t want to be there. Clearly, Ross should’ve listened when he pleaded not to come. I think you can see what Patcat labelled” as his “compartments clashing”, and he just can’t deal with that.
I also don’t think that it was OOC. Bobby shows his anger physically, this is certainly not the first time that we see him vent his anger like that. When Bobby is really hit by something, he acts out physically. Also, I don’t think he ever meant to do the desk sweep when he walked up to it. He gets so very angry at the Commissioner, because that guy would not realize that other people suffer, too, and that other people have problems. So he walks out of there, all worked up, and all he wants to do is pick up his binder and leave to cool off … and watch closely – then something gets tangled up on his desk and that’s when he looses it. I think this scene played out so well, so true. Bobby never meant to act out like that, certainly not in a public place, but he was so on the edge the whole ep, and then Lelands attitude and just that little detail, the little book that gets caught on his binder and BANG! He bursts. I thought this was absolutely true to life. I vent my anger very similar… I bottle up, keep all emotions inside, and then just some little detail will throw me completely off kilter.
I also liked that there was no screaming, no over acting cheesy, just that motion of him sweeping the desk. Powerful because I still felt it seemed restrained. And then Eames calls him upon it, and he’s clearly so ashamed by this, and just wants to run and be alone…
Also, in that vain I should add that this scene was considerably toned down on the dub. Eames sounds more angry in the original version, but what’s more significant is what Bobby says. He says it quietly in the original version, too, but his “back off” to me sounds like a “None of your business” and “You’re overstepping a boundary” or “I can’t talk about this right now.” Well, the dub is different. He says – very quietly – “Leave me alone” (if I were to re-translate). Now that’s interesting, because it fits in with the rest of the story so well. You really get the feeling from that line that he just needs some time alone to cool off.
On the whole, I liked this episode. Great acting all throughout, a joy to watch. Not the best crimestory, and definitely a little contrived on the whole, but still an interesting ep that offered some character development for Ross and Eames and a lot for Bobby.