SILVER LINING: EOTW

[Patcat]

Will air March 21 at 10pm(EST) and March 22 at 2am(EST) on the Bravo Cable Network. First aired November 14, 2004. Eighth episode of Season Four.

Written by Marlane Gomard Meyer and Rene Balcer. Directed by Kevin Dowling.

Guest Actors:

Callie Thorne as Sheila Bradley

Beth Dixon as Mrs. Kenderson

David Harbour as Wesley Kenderson (Mr. Harbour returned to give an excellent performance as Paul Devildis in FAMILY VALUES)

Synopsis: The murder of a silver appraiser leads Goren and Eames to an exceptional thief.

Possibly based on the Blane Nordahl case. Mr. Nordahl was an exceptionally effective thief, who used the magazine ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST to find his targets. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blane_Nordahl

Quotes:

Eames:”Wesley’s into one thing. He’s like my partner, who just wants to be left alone to do what he’s good at—catching bad guys. It’s the same with Wesley. Stealing silver’s all he thinks about. All he’s going to think about.”

Eames: “The side of the track I never got invited to.”

Goren: “You have another peanut on your pants.”

Eames: “Sloppy like a fox.”

Deakins: “Take plenty of coffee.”

Eames: “Don’t you ever sleep?” Goren: “Too much to do.”

Deakins:”Pennsylvania’s nice this time of year. Bring me back a smoked ham.”

Hotel guy: “She said the smell of electricity made her sick.” Goren: “Electricity?” Eames: “I thought I could smell moonbeams.” Goren: “Oh, when you were pregnant.”

Eames:”He’s making fun of us.” Goren:”Well, I would too, if I was this good.”

Deakins:”That’s four nights in a row our Silver Surfer’s been out of action.”

Goren (to Wesley and holding up his ID): “When a man finds his calling…”

Goren (to Wesley about his marriage): “Well…Hell…Congratulations…”

Goren: “Well…geez…I…I don’t know how to break this to you, Wesley, but, uh, you killed her.”

Goren (to Sheila): “I hope you really don’t think of yourself as meat loaf.”

Goren: “You can’t fight your nature.”

Wesley: “This is the last time we’ll meet like this, detective.” Goren: “Hope so.” Mrs. Kenderson: “Hope is for suckers, detective.”

Queries:

What will happen to Victor?

Did Wesley and the appraiser have an affair?

Did Wesley love the baby enough to try to have a normal life?

Does Sheila want the baby, or is it just a way to hold on to Wesley?

How did Wesley wind up in the prep school?

What did happen to Mr. Kenderson?

Mrs. Kenderson has obviously been through all of this before. Why does she continue to support Wesley?

Much of the initial discussion centered on parallels between Goren and Wesley, and as I watched this episode again I was fascinated by the interaction between the two, and by the great performances of David Harbour and Vincent D’Onofrio. Are both of them only “into one thing”? How are they alike? Different? Do they both want a normal life?

Could Wesley stop stealing? Could he find another way of life? What could it be?

Is Wesley the most appealing of LOCI villains? Is he even the real villain of this story?

Goren’s dropping of the files in Deakins’ office also attracted much discussion. Some saw this as a sign of incipient mental troubles for Goren, others as a sign of Goren’s enthusiasm for the case. Comments?

And if Goren is prone to mental illness, would it be schizophrenia? Depression?

Has Goren found his calling?

Do Goren and Eames both believe that all he wants to do is catch bad guys?

I confess I liked the moment when Goren waved the coffee under Eames’ nose. It seemed a familiar gesture. Something he’s done before?

Comments:

Some LOCI episodes get better with repeated viewings. My first encounter with SILVER LINING left me confused—I got lost following those spoons. But this is an episode where the crime really isn’t the focus. This episode is very much about the criminal and his intent, and Wesley Kenderson is a fascinating character, especially as David Harbour plays him. I found myself liking this gentleman thief a lot. I enjoyed the respectful interplay between Goren and Wesley.

There were also some wonderful touches through the story, starting with Goren’s efforts to invade the crime scene and his frustration and admiration at discovering that the detective on the scene had all the bases covered. Then there were Goren’s effort to get up the stairs past the son, and Goren and Eames’ tagteaming of the hotel clerk.

All in all, an entertaining, well written, and thoughtful episode.

This will be the last EOTW for a while as the new season appears. Hope you’ve enjoyed them.

Patcat

[Techguy]

I don't have time to watch this again. However, reviewing my initial comments on the original episode thread refreshed my memory about what was most memorable about this episode for me.

The first is what appears to be Goren's frustration at, and admiration of, the thoroughness of the initial detective on the scene who "had all the bases covered."

Second, I posted on the original discussion that had Goren made different choices in life, and given his intelligence, he could have ended up like the master thief, possibly in the interrogation room opposite Eames and her partner the original detective. Someone else back then carried this thought further to suggest that Goren's choices could have been an attempt to supply some structure in his life that was absent during his childhood. I didn't say it then, but thinking about it now I have to wonder. Goren went into the Army which surely provided structure, but he also has a history of having problems with authority. These paradoxes in his life, the comparisons and contrasts between him and the perps he catches have always been one of the more interesting and fascinating aspects of watching CI.

Finally, I commented back then if the clumsiness Goren showed when he dropped the folders could be an effort by the writers to give him some Monk-like attributes. Given the state of where CI might possibly be headed, I had a LOL moment when I read it.

[DonnaJo]

I also found Goren's gentle way of rousing Eames from her slumber (coffee cup under nose) sweet and typical of their relationship. He knows her. I will miss that easy way they have with each other.

Callie Thorne (HLOTS alumni) was deliciously overbearing and callously stupid as the frustrated wife. Even though she committed the murder, Wesley is not blameless here. He made life for both women in his life miserable, especially his poor mother.

I definitely agree with Eames' assessment of Goren at that time. All he wants to do is catch bad guys. I will miss that overly dedicated Detective.

Thanks for doing these EOTW's Patcat. After "Loyalty" airs and is all talked out, we'll really need them.

[Patcat]

Thank you, DJ.

Did Wesley mean to make life miserable for the women in his life? And is Sheila stupid or selfish? I found myself regarding her as the villain of this piece. I don't think Wesley would've made it on the Major Case radar if she hadn't committed that murder.

Patcat

[Patcat]

Questions I just thought of--

Did Wesley marry Sheila because he loved her and the baby, or was it to keep her from testifying against him?
Why doesn't Wesley give Sheila money? Or does he and she spends it all?

Patcat

[alliehalliwell]

Just watched this episode again. I liked the part where the guy realizes the silver was stolen. He's freaking out about it being over a million dollar's worth. Eames stated 'is that guy for real'...I just like the little chuckle Goren gave.

Also, I don't think Goren dropping the files was mental-illness related and actually laughed when I heard that some people thought (in the past) that it was. I'm sorry, I just thought that was a GIANT leap. Personally, I think he was just too into discussing the case to look at what he was doing and made a boo boo by dropping the files.

As for Eame's assessment of Goren...she made it sound like he doesn't want anything else and will never want anything else. I agree that he's focussed on his work but I always felt that was because he liked it and it was a distraction from the stress of his family life. Plus, he doesn't have a wife/kids yet. I do think he'd be focussed on a family once he gets one.

[DonnaJo]

Mar 27, 2010 23:07:47 GMT -5 alliehalliwell said:

As for Eame's assessment of Goren...she made it sound like he doesn't want anything else and will never want anything else. I agree that he's focussed on his work but I always felt that was because he liked it and it was a distraction from the stress of his family life. Plus, he doesn't have a wife/kids yet. I do think he'd be focussed on a family once he gets one.

I agree with this, Allie. As far as we know, at the time Bobby was deep into caring for his Mom, and it seemed from his darker, quieter manner that it was a stressful time. Work (catching bad guys) was his release and a definite distraction from that responsibility.

Patcat, I do think that Wesley cared for Sheila. However, he only married her because of the baby. More to give the baby legitimacy than to prevent Sheila from testifying. But I'm sure that was also a consideration in the back of his mind.

Men like Wesley don't think about others. I'm sure he never really considered what his actions did to the women in his life. It was all about what he wanted. Only at the end did he apologize to his Mom. Too little, too late.