random thoughts on S4

[wren_kt7oz]

I was lucky enough to get to watch 410-414 on Friday night, and I was rewatching the earlier eps of S4 yesterday, so some random thoughts have cropped up.

Some will be spoilerish, so I'll put them behind a cut, but some aren't so ...

When Brian goes to drag Ted from his meeting to make him find the money to pay for the Remson's ad, Ted is saying that he's been 6 weeks clean ...

which would seem to mean that Brian has wooed and won Remson's, got the money from them, found his new office premises, had them redecorated, got furnishings and recruited staff all in six weeks - way to go Brian!  (You know how I love C/L's timelines!)

I'm still miffed that in order to have Brian encounter the doc on his own the writers constructed that little fiasco at Deb's.  I'm still majorly pissed off with Deb (please don't bother telling me about her guilt and all that shit, that's what I'm pissed off about - that it was all, all about her).

I'm even more pissed off that she never even comes close to apologising.  Ms "you're an animal because you hit my son" seems to think that those same standards don't apply to her.  Well, sorry, but in my view of the world she had far less excuse for lashing out than Brian did, and if Brian hitting Mikey was so bad, then so was her not-so-little love tap.  Brian had every right to react when dear Mikey basically said Brian should have left Justin there to die - spiteful hardly begins to cover it.  But all that Brian did was say that for someone with this illness, that his recovery after his last hospitalisation gave him unexpected extra time and that there could have been way worse ways to go (Vic, after all was not just positive - Vic had full blown AIDS).  No spite, just Brianesque truth.

Can you tell that Deb is simply no longer on my list of favourite characters?

One of those little thoughts that puzzle me - after Vic had moved out of Deb's, where did he and Em do their cooking?  It doesn't seem likely that it was Deb's - there's no indication that she's seeing all that much of Vic.  And there's sure as hell no sign that Em has been spending much time at Vic's new place or that he's all that familiar with Vic's new kitchen.  So where? (And wouldn't the whole Deb/Vic thing have made working with Vic and moving in with Deb more than a little awkward for Emmett? ???

Okay, spoilers coming up so I'm cutting now ...

413 - the conversation - you know the one - between Mikey and Brian about the big M.

I thought it was so oddly handled.  Ben proposes to Mikey in the middle of the bus.  Mikey looks pained and confused (clearly it was something he had to think about and one understands that that's painful for him).  He doesn't discuss it with Deb (and one wonders how he avoided that!).  Or with Ben.  Or even with Ted and Em.  No, no, we don't get any indication as to why dear Mikey is not leaping all over Ben saying yes, yes, yes!

We just get this conversation with Brian. 

Now, from Brian's perspective, I think that conversation was all about "oh my God, don't you get it!  How can you even think about falling into all that hetero bullshit."   If he's pained at all, it's not about Mikey marrying.  It's about Mikey buying into the marriage myth (as Brian sees it).  I didn't sense any anvils here (could be wrong, but didn't).  I think what Brian said to Michael is an exact statement of what he feels about marriage.  And I suspect that C/L in fact agree with him.  What shut him up, and what he had no answer to, was Michael articulating what I suspect C/L wanted said ... that it's about gays having  the same rights that hets have, including the right to marry.   Brian was unable to argue with that, so he just shrugged and said, effectively, it's up to you. 

However, from Michael's point of view, I think there was a whole lot of other stuff going on.

To marry Ben would mean finally letting go of his fantasies about him and Brian.  So he doesn't answer Ben right away.  And he can't discuss his reasons for not answering, and his reservations with anyone else.  The problem isn't that he's not sure if he loves Ben, it's not whether or not Ben loves him, it sure isn't that he's not sure about the point of getting married (you don't really sense that at all in the conversation with Brian).  The problem is that he just can't let go, doesn't want to.  Until Brian turns up and makes it very clear that a) he doesn't care about Michael marrying someone else;  he's sure as hell not going to be rushing up to the altar and snatching Mikey away with him.  And b) there is no way that at some point in the future he's going to be looking for a house with a picket fence.  If it's cozy domesticity that Mikey wants, then he might as well take up Ben's offer, cos he sure isn't going to get it from Brian. 

I think that's what was going on in that conversation. Nothing much from Brian's side, except that he recognised and respected the 'rights' argument. But from Michael's - a whole damned lot. Hope that he's finally got the message and made the choice and won't keep on hankering. (Which, of course, means that I hope C/L finally abandon their little teasers - which hopefully also means new opening titles in S5.

414 - had a couple of trivial and not so trivial thoughts about this.

Trivial number one was that if Mel was in labour for 14 hours, surely they could have got through to one of the cell phones to let Mikey know what was happening.  14 hours would probably put it before the riders even left their last camp site. 

T2 was how totally unbelievable the 'welcome home' conversation between Deb and Justin is.  Does Deb blurt out that she's a grandma, or even that Mel is in labor?  Nup.  Does she demand to know how the meeting about her son's movie went?  Nup.  She more or less asks Justin if he had a good trip and welcome home.  It's bizarre.  This is 'my mouth is bigger than Texas and everything is my damned business' Deb for goodness' sake!   On the other hand, Justin seems every bit as reserved, suddenly.  It's damned weird.  The kid has just had a studio pick up his movie, to be made by a major director and is he shouting it from the rooftops.  Nup. 

Weird I tell you.

Whcih brings us to not so trivial number one - the 'just when the hell was Justin planning to tell Brian he's taken a job in Hollywood?' question.

He gets home.  Brian's missing.  Turns up, totally train-wrecked, so okay, Justin doesn't drop it on him right away.  But at least a whole day later he still hasn't told him.

Doesn't he remember the shit with Ethan?  How he lied to Brian then, and the train wreck that followed?  From more recent times, doesn't he remember how hurt and pushed away he felt when Brian tried to hide his illness from him?  And the shit that they both went through as a result of that?

Apparently not.  Because here he is failing to tell Brian something that is fairly important to their relationship; lying to Brian again.

And sorry, but that's what it is.  Every hour that he's been home without telling his partner this piece of information, is an hour he's spent lying to him.  Lies of ommission are just as devastating as any other ( just like the cancer thing). 

So now he's booby trapped himself and Brian because Brian has opened up to him more than we have ever heard him ... not just in asking him to move back in, but in the stuff he said before that.  In talking about his need to re-evaluate his life, and in putting getting his relationship with Justin on a more permanent footing right up there with getting his relationship with his son on a better footing.  This is major stuff from Brian. When have we ever heard him have this kind of conversation with anyone? Even Mikey. Especially sober. He's really laying himself on the line here. And now Justin is going to have to shoot him down in flames with 'well, actually ...'.

Why do I sense Brian might not be impressed?

Now, knowing C/L, this could all be resolved in the first 5 mins of S5.  Or it could blow up into yet another major drama.  Who the fuck knows?  (It's certainly going to provide some fodder for the fic writers, isn't it?)

What annoys me about it though, is that in order to give C/L their pathetic little moment of drama and teaser for next season, Justin is once more put in this position of being underhanded and less than honest with his 'partner'. As if he's as clueless as Brian about what being a partner actually means. It pisses me off in a major fashion when they pull this shit just to meet their plot requirements. They could give me the way they wanted the damned season to end and I could figure out something better than this shit. And if I couldn't there's more than a few fanfic writers would could do way better than this and give them drama without totally betraying the characters to do it.

And while I'm ranting about C/L let's take a moment to cover the distaste I feel for the clumsy way they used the last two precious episodes to present their thougths on gay marriage. Aside from anything else, talk about preaching to the converted! That was bad enough. But my real complaint is that it was so badly done. Deb's staged little tantrum at the border and the stock 'what about Britney Spears' lines. Yes, I know we all thought them at the time. And I know they were discussed on a lot of QAF lists. But we were venting and shooting the breeze. These guys are getting paid to write this shit. Surely to God they could have done better than this. As for the final shot of the series - how damned cheesy is that?

I have absolutely no problem with the message, or with using whatever medium is available to get this message across. But for goodness' sake do it in a way that is worth doing, if you're going to do it at all. Let Ben and Mikey get married by all means, but you don't have to hit your faithful viewers over the head to get this message across, dammit! You certainly don't have to subject them to another Debbie rant. Or to that last scene with Mikey looking for all the world as if he was in serious need of some Metamucil, apparently agonising over whether it all meant anything.

Which, apparently, it really didn't. Cos, you know what? If they only got married because they could, and now that they're back in the US that all seems pointless, then their "marriage" is already in deep shit trouble. You're supposed to get married as a statement of love and commitment, not as some sort of exotic souvenir of your trip to Canada which, like so many souvenirs, actually looks a bit tawdry when you get it home. And that's exactly how Mikey seemed to be feeling about their marriage certificate. LOL

While we're on the subject of plot lines that I found less than thrilling or convincing, let's talk about Drew.

Two things with that one, for me. One was that I find it really really hard to take when they keep giving Emmett, who I love to bits, these idiotic plot lines. I know that in the end he took the high ground and remained out and proud and yes, yay! love him for it. But it's hard to believe that Em would ever have let it get to that point. Aside from a quick fuck, it's hard to believe what Em would ever have seen in this guy to make him keep coming back for more in such a sleazy and unsatisfying way.

Which brings me to my other problem with this story line ... this is a serious subject for gays in professional sports. They are placed in a position where they have to choose between the dreams and goals that they have worked towards all through their school years and beyond, and their most intimate inner selves. They can either give up the dream, or live a lie. Most must go through agony. They must live in constant fear that any casual trick could blow their dream out of the water by going to the tabloids. They have to live in a culture that is homophobic to the extreme, and deal with the self-loathing that has to result from that (either due to the disgust they are taught for their own nature, or to the cowardice they see in themselves for not having the courage to come out). I don't even like to think about how hard it must be for them.

But instead of dealing with any of that, we get Drew. Who is, in fact, apparently quite content with how things are. He's not just in the closet because he's afraid to come out. He doesn't want to come out. He loves his girlfriend and wants a wife and kids just like everybody else. He doesn't seem to feel any particular angst at his situation, he's just having' a bit of fun on the side.

My point is, that if C/L didn't want to really deal with any of the issues here, then why the hell include this plotline? IMO all it did was a present great disservice to the gay guys in sports who are going through hell, and do have real problems, to paint their situation in such simplistic and unrealistic terms. It was shoddy and disrespectful to the gays who are in that situation, and IMO C/L should be damned well ashamed of themselves for indulging in this little fiasco.

And here's my final thought.  I don't want Justin to go to Hollywood.

And not solely, or even mainly, because of Brian.

There's been a lot of talk about 'well, Justin could go, it would only be for 6 months, and that's nothing, really, then he could come back and all would be like before'. 

Except that's crap.  IMO.  Yes, I know lots of people have long distance relationships, or periods where they are separated from their partners for periods of time and everything's fine.  That, to me, isn't the problem.

The problem is that we're not talking about him going to Phoenix to work in some magazine's art department. 

We're talking about him going to Hollywood.  And Hollywood changes people.  Changes them profoundly.  And not always for the better.  He said it himself.  "It's going to be hard going back to the Pitts after this".  And he'd been there one damned day.  After six to eight months ...

Remember, this is Justin we're talking about.  The same Justin who fell for Ethan's bullshit.  And then for Cody's.

I'm not saying Justin is weak.  I am saying that part of his charm is his openness to new experience, his adaptability.  Except that is not necessarily a good thing when you're talking about him going to Hollywood.

Do I want him to stay with Brian?  Of course.

But far more than his relationship with Brian, I am concerned about Justin himself.  I could see us losing the Sunshine we know and love completely, because I think that if he goes to Hollywood for any length of time he will be unrecognisable when (and indeed if) he ever returned to Pitts.  More than most, I believe that Hollywood holds great personal dangers for Justin.  And I don't want to see him exposed to them.  I love him far too much.

Just MO, on a few things, for what it's worth.

Comments

[stillife.livejournal.com]

I really like your interpretation of the Brian/Mikey marriage discussion in 413. I thought it was obviously filmed like a sort of "Point/Counterpoint" debate. Looking at it from Brian's POV, it's not personal; it's clearly about his beliefs (which even he doesn't believe quite so fervently anymore). But I hadn't really thought about it from Michael's POV and I think you're right. He had to give Brian one last chance to declare his undying love *snort*.

A Ben/Michael shipper who reads my WLM recaps was asking me about the proposal. After reading the 412 recap, he was concerned that it was spur of the moment since they get married in 413 and there's no mention of any marriage proposal in 412. And you know, he's right. I never look at things from anything other than a B/J standpoint (LOL) but it just goes to show that B/J aren't the only characters affected by Cowlip's sloppy storytelling. I don't think it's meant to be a "marry in haste, repent at leisure" kind of deal, either. It's just Cowlip. ::shrugs::

I agree that Justin not telling Brian about the job offer looks bad. Logically speaking, it is a deception and it should give Brian pause but I bet they're not going to handle it that way. I was even more chilled by the alacrity with which he accepts the offer from Keller without even qualifying it by saying, "I have to talk it over with Brian." Of course Brian's going to tell him to go, but that's not the sort of decision you make on the spur of the moment. Where's that commitment he mentioned in 409?

I was quite discouraged by all of this, especially in comparison to Ben/Mikey. An unconventional, nondefined relationship is one thing. But this is just shallow.

[wren-kt7oz.livejournal.com]

... he was concerned that it was spur of the moment

I agree that it all did seem extremely spur of the moment ... except that Ben somehow manages to come up with the rings that he offers to Mikey on the bus. I know before they leave for the race, there's a moment when something that is said (I confess I don't pay all that much attention to this pair if I can help it) might have triggered the thought, but it was like the day before the race! He just couldn't have found the rings, had them sized, etc in the time. Well, in C/L's world, of course, time is, shall we say, flexible. LOL

However, I wonder about the marry in haste thing. Surely it's time that they gave this pair some real angst. I mean, there was a brief hospital scare and the steroid thing, but apart from that they've had a couple of spats, and Ben got a bit miffed about the Hollywood thing and that's it. Hardly angst on a bj scale. You know, bashing, leaving for another guy, losing everything (well, not everything, LOL), cancer. That sort of stuff.

Of course, I'm ambivalent about this, since more angst may well equate to more screen time. But I want to see Mikey suffer! LOL No, I take it back... I really don't.

The last thing I want to see is Hal with that constipated look on his face whining on more than he does now. (Sorry, just not a Mikey fan.)

And I agree with this:

I was even more chilled by the alacrity with which he accepts the offer from Keller without even qualifying it by saying, "I have to talk it over with Brian." Of course Brian's going to tell him to go, but that's not the sort of decision you make on the spur of the moment. Where's that commitment he mentioned in 409?

But of course, that's just more of the bad writing I get so frustrated with. They wanted to set up the 'oh, no! what will he do now?' thing and for that to work it had to be clear that Justin really wants the job. So first he has to say 'yes' to the job ... all excited and enthusiastic, no buts ... and then Brian has to ask him to move back in. That way they have the only real interest in the end of S4 (because I have to admit that I could simply not care less whether Mel and Lindz get back together, I just don't want to hear about it.)

What frustrates me is that it's another example where character (usually Justin's) gets ruthlessly sacrificed to C/L's inane idea of plot. And in this case it really is silly, because it could just as easily have been done the other way, with Brian asking him and then Justin taking a phone call or getting an email or whatever from Brett with the offer. ( And in Randy they have an actor who can give them conflicted without looking constipated, so ... )

IMO that would have been far more effective. Either way is clichéd to some extent, but at least that way it wouldn't have relied on a) Justin taking the offer with apparently no thought for his partner and b) not even telling his partner that he'd done so. As you say, "shallow". And that's one thing that I don't believe for a moment that either Justin or Brian are. But it's sure as hell how they are being written at times.

[sandstorm63.livejournal.com]

Re: Brian's proposal to Justin. I felt as though Justin was taken aback, surprised, happy and at the same time obviously conflicted, since at that point he agreed to go back to Hollywood. I am certain he will tell Brian about the offer and in a way, I don't blame him for jumping at the opportunity to work with Brett, since he didn't know Brian was going to ask him to move in. Justin tends to do things on Brian's insistance and in this case he actually made a decision on his own. I know, even if they didn't live together, it's a big step that he should/might have discussed with his supposed partner but knowing Brian (and Justin knows him) he would have said the same thing. To go and not pass up this opportunity. As for changing once he goes to Tinseltown, I hope not and I just can't see he will. I know, there was Ethan and Cody but in both those instances something was fueling Justin. With Ethan, Brian's apparent non interest to give him what he thought he needed and with Cody, the whole Chris Hobbes rehash. Right now he has absolutely no reason other than to further his career and possibly experience something he couldn't have otherwise. I have faith in him that he'll be exactly the same, only he'll learn a lot more and become completely independent. I too, would like nothing more than for Brian and Justin to be together, of course. But just as Brian made it, Justin deserves to have professional success. Didn't Brian say "be the biggest fucking success you can be"? That doesn't mean they can't still be together and if they really want, to make the best of the situation. (I'm trying to be really objective here, since if it was me, no way I'd leave. But I usually make decisions based on emotional reaction and only sometimes rationally.)

[wren-kt7oz.livejournal.com]

I don't blame him for jumping at the opportunity to work with Brett, since he didn't know Brian was going to ask him to move in. Justin tends to do things on Brian's insistance and in this case he actually made a decision on his own.

Yes, and I didn't think him accepting without talking to Brian was all that bad (although hardly partner-y behaviour).

It's the not telling Brian about it straight away that I find truly objectionable. Just when was he planning to tell him? When he was asking for a lift to the airport?

See ... I find it difficult to find a rationale for not telling Brian about the offer that doesn't involve either Justin feeling guilty about having made the decision to go without discussing it with Brian or Justin wanting to continue leading Brian on (which is what he's doing while he's not telling him he's about to leave him for six months or more) because things are so good between them at the moment and he doesn't want to spoil it.

Both are shallow, self-serving and immature reasons, and I don't like what either of them says about Justin or about the relationship. This, to me, is exactly the way Justin behaved in the immediately pre-Ethan era. Don't rock the boat. Don't discuss your real needs. Just take every moment as it comes, and take whatever Brian offers, and don't go any deeper.

And look at the trouble that led to.

Now, don't misunderstand me. It's not Justin I blame for this now, any more than I did then. This is C/L's plot driven (rather than character driven) writing ... especially their 'getting close to the end of the season and this is how we want to end it so just make them get there' writing. (Made even worse by the short season and the amount of time they wasted on the Sam and Drew story lines ... so the whole Hollywood visit with all its possible ramifications had to be crammed into the end of the season willy nilly.)

I have faith in him that he'll be exactly the same, only he'll learn a lot more and become completely independent.

My problem is that I don't. Not after the Cody thing. And not after the "it's going to be so hard to go back to the Pitts" line. I can see Justin really getting sucked into Hollywood and really messed up by it. And I just don't want to see that happen.

Of course, this is C/L, so by the beginning of next season he could already be back in the Pitts, and behaving as if he'd never left. LOL

[sandstorm63.livejournal.com]

I certainly see your point. At this point I'm just really hoping things will work out, lol. We'll see in S5 I guess.