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selenakYou know, I had a perfectly good rant going, full of complaints about lost subtlety in Carnivale's second season, and then I saw episode 2.05. The name of the writer, Tracy Tormé, rings a bill - didn't she use to write for DS9? (Or was it BTVS, but I think the writer of Something Blue was Tracy Something Else.) In any case, this person, for it now occurs to me that Tracy is one of these English androgynous names which could be female or male, made me a happy watcher. More doppelganger imagery! Great Sofie development! An actually unclichéd guest star! And, which I have to confess adressed my biggest peeve about season 2 - Return of Conflicted Justin And Sibling Angst. A content woman I, for the moment.
Don't get me wrong, Carnivale still holds my attention, and there were several things about the first four episodes I liked and admired very much. Ruthie and her post-mortem ability to see dead people, for example. The ongoing prickly and afffectionate relationships of the Dreyfus family. Management revelations, and the fact it's now canon you don't inherit goodness or evilness (see: the Scudder clan). But. The show lost something in its second season, and that something, other than Ron Moore moving on to heading Battlestar Galactica, is subtlety.
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smashcj wrote an excellent post on the subject of Southern stereotypes and the presentation of the Klan, so I won't go into this, safe to say that even I, a non-American and European viewer, was so familiar with the debile murderin' Southern white trash cliché that when I spotted the Scudder clan I thought "enough already". I'm all for the implication in the larger scheme of things, see above, but really, would a litte subtlety have hurt? It would have been far eerier and sharper if Ben had found, instead of being nearly buried alive and threatened with male rape (even that cliché made it into the show), welcoming friendly folk looking as if they had just escaped a Norman Rockwell picture. And then found out that they occasionally sport white robes on their Sunday meetings.
Also, if I were a Southerner, I'd start feeling insulted. When was the last time we actually saw some nice Southern folk? I can't help but contrast and compare with, say the pilot episode, and the way people not belonging to the Carnivale were presented there. We saw poor migrants and moderately well-off people and rich people. We had glimpses at their own tragedies, like the mother with the dead child and the man (husband? brother? friend? doesn't matter) who wanted to help her but couldn't. It's not that they got much screentime or lines, but they contributed to the feeling that humanity didn't just consist of diverse Carnivale people and homogenous clichéd Southerners.
Another of my fears and growing complaints has actually been soothed by episode 5. It was this: I recognized the tendency in several of Justin's sermons. "Rich industrialists and bankers" who "gluttoned themselves on Europe" and now were milking on the US? Yes, that's a favourite antisemitic cliché alright. I was just waiting for him to say the word, which he hasn't so far, admittedly. Now obviously antisemitism was a big issue in the 30s, and it's perfectly legitimate to work it into the show, but I was afraid that, just as we learned Grandfather Scudder co-founded the Klan, Justin would be shown to be responsible not just for antisemitism in the US but - via radio transmissions that somehow make it across the Atlantic - for the increasing power of the Nazis in Europe. I even had horror visions of an epilogue, after the inevitable Justin-Ben showdown ending with Justin dead, showing Hitler as the new champion of darkness. Because I really, really hate stories which put the blame for the Third Reich on demonic sources. It wasn't the devil that made them do it, people.
However, by showing some of the carnival workers and a sympathetic regular like Stumpy make casual antisemitic remarks (along with casual racist remarks) - which happens in ep 5 - the series set this fear somewhat at rest. They weren't presented as being influenced by Justin (or any other demonic source). Which establishes that in the Carnivale universe, too, racism and antisemitism is a an ugly symptom of the times but not something inserted into the people by an outside supernatural source.
Another big regret I have about season 2 is that by and large, we only get very brief flashes of Justin as something other than gleefully evil anymore. I can't help but having a vision of my own, of Daniel Knauf and his writing staff on a storyboarding conference after Ron Moore's departure declaring, "okay, we're aiming for a great battle between good and evil here, not between maybe good and reluctant tormented evil - out with this sympathy-inducing angst and in with the employment of serial killers and the rapes of maids, so people can see Justin is now well and truly evil (tm)". As opposed to the Dukat fiasco on DS9, here it can be framed into an organic development as the first season ended with both Ben and Justin accepting their "calls", so it's not that I think it feels false to the story. I suppose Babylon 5, which managed to keep Londo ambiguous and the viewers hoping for his redemption even when he was busy getting the blood of millions on his hands in the middle of a great apocalyptic scenario, spoiled me once and for all. Even if we go by strictly villains without any redemptive storyline only, Alias which is hardly the epitome of depth, managed to keep Arvin Sloane as both a villain and a three-dimensional human being for three and a quarter seasons now.
So you can imagine how utterly delighted I was when lo and behold, episode 5 gave us that conversation between Justin and Iris on the veranda. Because Justin is a much more interesting character when he's conflicted about something (doesn't have to be about being good or evil, which it definitely isn't in that case), and it's a shame to waste Clancy Brown's acting talents on moustache twirling. Now the previous episode had made it pretty obvious (to me, at least) that Justin deliberately goaded Tommy Dolan into finding proof against Iris. The follow-up could have simply been Justin getting rid of Iris this way, in an Evil Overlord - Not So Trusted Lieutenant manner, as an obstacle on his path to Antichristdom. However, we got something richer and far better connected to their season 1 development. He did set it up, but the subtext here is that he never managed to forgive her for the death of the children, and the fact he still feels these deaths as wrong means he might have decided to be solely evil but somewhere has something of his old set of values left. And he still both loves and hates Iris. Who has her best scene since her confession last season when she tells him "you have to ask". (Incidentally, there you have the reason, I think, why Justin and Iris despite their obviously mutual feelings for each other never physically consumated their relationship. She wants him to admit he wants it first, and he just can't bring himself to do that. Other than the one time with the kiss, and that wasn't verbal.) And he says "I can't". That's my OTP of Complete Wrongness.
The follow-up scene with dictating her confession was good as well. Presumably he didn't ask (we would have seen it otherwise, no?), but she did it anyway. Now we have heard Iris address her brother as Alexsei at various emotional moments, but in this scene, for the first time, we hear him call her by her old name. "You did the right thing, Irina. You are forgiven." Does he mean it? Does he just want to end it? Don't know - though I tend to the first variation, but even if he didn't, the ambiguity is back. At least for this episode.
Nowsmashcj pointed out to me that if Scudder was the tattooed man who raped Apollonia, that would make Ben and Sofie brother and sister. The Light Side counterpart to Justin and Iris. Which would also explain why Samson went all "don't romance Sofie" on Ben. And would neatly tie with Sofie pretending Ben was her brother in the first season episode when she lost her virginity.
One of the things I was puzzled about when watching 2.01 was Sofie apologizing to Jonesy. Because at that point I hadn't seen the season 1 finale. Now I have, and understand why she did, but wish she had apologized to Libby instead. Who arguably did not wrong her at all and definitely hadn't deserved being set up the way she was in the finale. Other than that, though? I'm very happy with Sofie's development this season, and not just because my "Sofie is supernaturally gifted, too, but not yet aware of it" theory came true. The discovery that the precognition talent resides in her, and that she just projected it into her mother is stunning, but fits. (I wonder whether she has Apollonia's telekinesis as well?) As does the fact she realizes after Ruthie has given her the confirmation Apollonia is still around her, as a remnant. Which means that instead of the classic two champions scenario, we have three members of the younger generation, and that's far more interesting.
Oh, and my other prediction for the future: the vision of Sofie and Ben kissing will come true, and then Samson will shock them by the revelation of Scudder as Sofie's father. Cue much guilt and angst, and it might be that which drives Sofie temporarily away from the carnival. (And to California?) Because right now her allegiance to the good side is the obvious choice to make, especially given her increasing closeness to Ben, so there needs to be some complication.
In other news: as much as I thought the Scudder clan was horribly clichéd in episode 4, I thought the mask maker was an excellent guest star. Also a lesson in subtlety. His mild manners throughout, even when he was dosing chained-up Ben, the fact that we were left as uncertain as Ben as to whether or not the entire mask-making had been reality or dream, and the simple but effective moment of him sitting down next to the radio - now that is classy and elegant again in terms of chill-inducement. Plus of course it lead to the scene with Justin putting Ben's mask on, which is the reverse of his earlier vision of Ben emerging under his own face. Ben shattering his father's mask in 4 because of shock, Justin shattering Ben's mask in 5 because of shock, and the visual of the broken mask on the floor, to which in the case of 5 blood is added - this almost makes me believe I wasn't completely on the wrong track with my Wilfrid Owen poem and the two of them as doppelgangers. More, please.
Don't get me wrong, Carnivale still holds my attention, and there were several things about the first four episodes I liked and admired very much. Ruthie and her post-mortem ability to see dead people, for example. The ongoing prickly and afffectionate relationships of the Dreyfus family. Management revelations, and the fact it's now canon you don't inherit goodness or evilness (see: the Scudder clan). But. The show lost something in its second season, and that something, other than Ron Moore moving on to heading Battlestar Galactica, is subtlety.
smashcj wrote an excellent post on the subject of Southern stereotypes and the presentation of the Klan, so I won't go into this, safe to say that even I, a non-American and European viewer, was so familiar with the debile murderin' Southern white trash cliché that when I spotted the Scudder clan I thought "enough already". I'm all for the implication in the larger scheme of things, see above, but really, would a litte subtlety have hurt? It would have been far eerier and sharper if Ben had found, instead of being nearly buried alive and threatened with male rape (even that cliché made it into the show), welcoming friendly folk looking as if they had just escaped a Norman Rockwell picture. And then found out that they occasionally sport white robes on their Sunday meetings. Also, if I were a Southerner, I'd start feeling insulted. When was the last time we actually saw some nice Southern folk? I can't help but contrast and compare with, say the pilot episode, and the way people not belonging to the Carnivale were presented there. We saw poor migrants and moderately well-off people and rich people. We had glimpses at their own tragedies, like the mother with the dead child and the man (husband? brother? friend? doesn't matter) who wanted to help her but couldn't. It's not that they got much screentime or lines, but they contributed to the feeling that humanity didn't just consist of diverse Carnivale people and homogenous clichéd Southerners.
Another of my fears and growing complaints has actually been soothed by episode 5. It was this: I recognized the tendency in several of Justin's sermons. "Rich industrialists and bankers" who "gluttoned themselves on Europe" and now were milking on the US? Yes, that's a favourite antisemitic cliché alright. I was just waiting for him to say the word, which he hasn't so far, admittedly. Now obviously antisemitism was a big issue in the 30s, and it's perfectly legitimate to work it into the show, but I was afraid that, just as we learned Grandfather Scudder co-founded the Klan, Justin would be shown to be responsible not just for antisemitism in the US but - via radio transmissions that somehow make it across the Atlantic - for the increasing power of the Nazis in Europe. I even had horror visions of an epilogue, after the inevitable Justin-Ben showdown ending with Justin dead, showing Hitler as the new champion of darkness. Because I really, really hate stories which put the blame for the Third Reich on demonic sources. It wasn't the devil that made them do it, people.
However, by showing some of the carnival workers and a sympathetic regular like Stumpy make casual antisemitic remarks (along with casual racist remarks) - which happens in ep 5 - the series set this fear somewhat at rest. They weren't presented as being influenced by Justin (or any other demonic source). Which establishes that in the Carnivale universe, too, racism and antisemitism is a an ugly symptom of the times but not something inserted into the people by an outside supernatural source.
Another big regret I have about season 2 is that by and large, we only get very brief flashes of Justin as something other than gleefully evil anymore. I can't help but having a vision of my own, of Daniel Knauf and his writing staff on a storyboarding conference after Ron Moore's departure declaring, "okay, we're aiming for a great battle between good and evil here, not between maybe good and reluctant tormented evil - out with this sympathy-inducing angst and in with the employment of serial killers and the rapes of maids, so people can see Justin is now well and truly evil (tm)". As opposed to the Dukat fiasco on DS9, here it can be framed into an organic development as the first season ended with both Ben and Justin accepting their "calls", so it's not that I think it feels false to the story. I suppose Babylon 5, which managed to keep Londo ambiguous and the viewers hoping for his redemption even when he was busy getting the blood of millions on his hands in the middle of a great apocalyptic scenario, spoiled me once and for all. Even if we go by strictly villains without any redemptive storyline only, Alias which is hardly the epitome of depth, managed to keep Arvin Sloane as both a villain and a three-dimensional human being for three and a quarter seasons now.
So you can imagine how utterly delighted I was when lo and behold, episode 5 gave us that conversation between Justin and Iris on the veranda. Because Justin is a much more interesting character when he's conflicted about something (doesn't have to be about being good or evil, which it definitely isn't in that case), and it's a shame to waste Clancy Brown's acting talents on moustache twirling. Now the previous episode had made it pretty obvious (to me, at least) that Justin deliberately goaded Tommy Dolan into finding proof against Iris. The follow-up could have simply been Justin getting rid of Iris this way, in an Evil Overlord - Not So Trusted Lieutenant manner, as an obstacle on his path to Antichristdom. However, we got something richer and far better connected to their season 1 development. He did set it up, but the subtext here is that he never managed to forgive her for the death of the children, and the fact he still feels these deaths as wrong means he might have decided to be solely evil but somewhere has something of his old set of values left. And he still both loves and hates Iris. Who has her best scene since her confession last season when she tells him "you have to ask". (Incidentally, there you have the reason, I think, why Justin and Iris despite their obviously mutual feelings for each other never physically consumated their relationship. She wants him to admit he wants it first, and he just can't bring himself to do that. Other than the one time with the kiss, and that wasn't verbal.) And he says "I can't". That's my OTP of Complete Wrongness.
The follow-up scene with dictating her confession was good as well. Presumably he didn't ask (we would have seen it otherwise, no?), but she did it anyway. Now we have heard Iris address her brother as Alexsei at various emotional moments, but in this scene, for the first time, we hear him call her by her old name. "You did the right thing, Irina. You are forgiven." Does he mean it? Does he just want to end it? Don't know - though I tend to the first variation, but even if he didn't, the ambiguity is back. At least for this episode.
Now
smashcj pointed out to me that if Scudder was the tattooed man who raped Apollonia, that would make Ben and Sofie brother and sister. The Light Side counterpart to Justin and Iris. Which would also explain why Samson went all "don't romance Sofie" on Ben. And would neatly tie with Sofie pretending Ben was her brother in the first season episode when she lost her virginity. One of the things I was puzzled about when watching 2.01 was Sofie apologizing to Jonesy. Because at that point I hadn't seen the season 1 finale. Now I have, and understand why she did, but wish she had apologized to Libby instead. Who arguably did not wrong her at all and definitely hadn't deserved being set up the way she was in the finale. Other than that, though? I'm very happy with Sofie's development this season, and not just because my "Sofie is supernaturally gifted, too, but not yet aware of it" theory came true. The discovery that the precognition talent resides in her, and that she just projected it into her mother is stunning, but fits. (I wonder whether she has Apollonia's telekinesis as well?) As does the fact she realizes after Ruthie has given her the confirmation Apollonia is still around her, as a remnant. Which means that instead of the classic two champions scenario, we have three members of the younger generation, and that's far more interesting.
Oh, and my other prediction for the future: the vision of Sofie and Ben kissing will come true, and then Samson will shock them by the revelation of Scudder as Sofie's father. Cue much guilt and angst, and it might be that which drives Sofie temporarily away from the carnival. (And to California?) Because right now her allegiance to the good side is the obvious choice to make, especially given her increasing closeness to Ben, so there needs to be some complication.
In other news: as much as I thought the Scudder clan was horribly clichéd in episode 4, I thought the mask maker was an excellent guest star. Also a lesson in subtlety. His mild manners throughout, even when he was dosing chained-up Ben, the fact that we were left as uncertain as Ben as to whether or not the entire mask-making had been reality or dream, and the simple but effective moment of him sitting down next to the radio - now that is classy and elegant again in terms of chill-inducement. Plus of course it lead to the scene with Justin putting Ben's mask on, which is the reverse of his earlier vision of Ben emerging under his own face. Ben shattering his father's mask in 4 because of shock, Justin shattering Ben's mask in 5 because of shock, and the visual of the broken mask on the floor, to which in the case of 5 blood is added - this almost makes me believe I wasn't completely on the wrong track with my Wilfrid Owen poem and the two of them as doppelgangers. More, please.
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Tracy Tormé
Date: 2005-02-09 11:24 am (UTC)If I remember correctly, Tormé (rather unsure about the gender myself) used to be very involved with the early seasons of TNG (Haven, Big Goodbye, The Royale)
B., who will be off to the post office in a couple of minutes to send you the BSG-DVD. Do you still need any Carnivale episodes, or has your alternate source already provided you with everything you were missing?
Re: Tracy Tormé
Date: 2005-02-09 11:48 am (UTC)http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0868124/
Re: Tracy Tormé
Date: 2005-02-09 12:40 pm (UTC)And no, I got all of the Carnivales through the alternate source.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 01:03 pm (UTC)Remineded me of the weird and creepy old man/halfwit scene where (apparently) he induced the guy to never do that again.
If Iris goes to jail, will that have the effect of increasing Justin's flock, drawn to the martyr whose sister betrayed him? There's a new housekeeper, it appears, in the home, so is the second maid gone like the first? Will Justin continue that trend, or turn to other sources for release? Will he become even more tightly self-contained without his sister's unwavering support, or begin to embroil Tommy Dolan further?
The Klan bit bothered me.
It's never occurred to me that Scudder is the Tattooed Man, since he is still alive somewhere, and I have the image of the tattooed man as a dark-haired, wild figure. If it's a generational thing, Justin is much older than Ben, either of the previous generation or in between.
The dream of WWI, Russian soldier, Scudder, bear - and Management is meant to be the Russian soldier? Management sounds female or ambiguous to me, so I'm not sure I understand that. Was the bear the Tattooed Man?
The final scene with Sofie seeing her mother just scared the heck out of me. I am not fond of dead people visiting the living - read The Monkey's Paw too early in my formative years. However, the revelation that she's been reading the cards all along wasn't that much of a surprise, since her mother kept pushing at her in Season One to do so. I wonder if Apollonia had minor powers before she was raped, and if Sofie's presence strengthened them like a battery charger? As Sofie grew, refusing to accept that she herself had power, might she have pushed her abilities into her mother as you say, and now they are returning to her?
The Ben/Sofie kiss is the first time, I think, that the boy has been clean. I can go with them as siblings or not. Scudder seems to have left a trail of bodies and pain behind him, but at the same time, we keep seeing his old buddies, cohorts, acquaintances who recall good, or at least, not bad memories.
Ruthie and the carnies were comrades of Scudder, Ruthie his old lover, so how many faces did he have, how many phases of his life? If he's the soldier in WW1, and in the carnival after that, why did he leave? Where is he? What is the purpose of finding him? To confront Justin? To take an inheritance of some sort?
Rita Sue, Libby and Stumpy continue to interest me, with the Jonesy factor and the gambling and the angry Burly. This is probably a good reason not to roll with trade, as Stumpy put it. Rita Sue's admonition to her daughter is somewhat ironic, given her and Jonesy's encounters. She knows whereof she speaks, yet there's a sense of jealousy there, too. Libby is what Rita was, her replacement. She loves her daughter fiercely, but the resentment is strong, too.
What is the cost of Justin's power? Ben's demonstrate a cost ratio, act to consequences, but I've not seen that for Justin.
Why does Ruthie see dead people, and how will that impact events? Now that Sofie can see her mother, will she also see Lodz? It appeared that both Apollonia and Lodz appeared to Ruthie, not simply going about their business as the others she claims.
It's all quite confusing, and mostly I sit back and enjoy the creepiness factor.
I.
Date: 2005-02-09 01:59 pm (UTC)I don't think he can restore things that aren't alive, so presumably he saw the mirror as broken in reflection to Justin breaking the mask. There seems to be a theme of shattered masks and mirrors going on this season - Justin saw Ben in the mirror earlier too (emerging from himself).
If Iris goes to jail, will that have the effect of increasing Justin's flock, drawn to the martyr whose sister betrayed him?
That's one possibility, and I thought the most likely... until I stumbled, just now, across another intriguing theory. We saw in season 1 that Justin could influence his psychiatrist's writing. (I.e. the psychiatrist thought he was writing one thing but in reality was writing another.) And who was writing down Iris' confession? Tommy Dolan, in his handwriting, not Iris or a policeman. In theory, it's possible that Justin is going to frame Dolan for the murders by having induced him to write down what Dolan thinks is Iris' confession, but will read as his own. We'll see next episode, I presume. In any case, if Iris does go to jail I want my jail scenes. I'd miss her if she weren't on the show anymore.
There's a new housekeeper, it appears, in the home, so is the second maid gone like the first? Will Justin continue that trend, or turn to other sources for release? Will he become even more tightly self-contained without his sister's unwavering support, or begin to embroil Tommy Dolan further?
Three things: 1) If he continues to have sex with girls that drives them insane the morning after, it's bound to come out, and with Iris no longer covering for him, it could result in a big scandal before the church he's building is ever finished. I don't think Dolan would/could cover that up for him, either.
2) On the other hand, having the insanity inducing sex with helpless housemaid might have been the direct result of Iris being in his immediate proximity, either because having sex with Iris herself is the one line he won't cross, or because he wanted to punish her for the children. Which is now over, too.
3) And thirdly, it could be that he subconsciously behaves that way because he wants the news to get out, because he wants someone to stop him, just as he asked Norman to kill him before it's too late in the season 1 finale. Might be why he rubbed the housemaid sex in Norman's face, too. Assuming Norman will recover from the stroke one day, next time perhaps he won't hesitate.
I wonder if Apollonia had minor powers before she was raped, and if Sofie's presence strengthened them like a battery charger? As Sofie grew, refusing to accept that she herself had power, might she have pushed her abilities into her mother as you say, and now they are returning to her?
That would be my theory. Apollonia was gifted, but Sofie has the full powers, and now that Apollonia is no longer around to subconsciously channel them into, she has to deal with them herself. Which, btw, also fits with what the gospel-bringing guy told Justin - that the previous generation has to die before the new prophet can achieve his full power. Sofie, who had the prophet dream, too, is the only one of the three whose parent of the same sex (and that's apparently where the power lies) is definitely dead now. So she, as opposed to Justin and Ben, has come into her full power.
Why Scudder left the carnival - running away from Management? Because Management didn't always run the carnival, as Samson reminded us. Presumaly Management bought it specifically to track down Scudder.
II
Date: 2005-02-09 01:59 pm (UTC)Exactly what I thought.
Rita Sue's admonition to her daughter is somewhat ironic, given her and Jonesy's encounters. She knows whereof she speaks, yet there's a sense of jealousy there, too. Libby is what Rita was, her replacement. She loves her daughter fiercely, but the resentment is strong, too.
And vice versa. Plus it's not just a case of sexual jealousy. I think that when in the fallout of Dora Mae's death Libby and Stumpy both turned to each other and against Rita Sue, she resented the hell out of that as well. While Libby ultimately got the power demonstration of her father being unable to leave her mother, which might have contributed to her now flirting with Jonesy. (That, and what Sofie did to her in the finale.)
What is the cost of Justin's power? Ben's demonstrate a cost ratio, act to consequences, but I've not seen that for Justin.
Good question. It seems to be absolutely irregular. Because while the child-molesting owner of the Chinese place committed suicide after Justin exerted his power, the lady who threw up coins was just fine. The radio influenced people don't appear to suffer side effects, either. We don't know whether Norman's stroke is connected with Justin evoking the flashback to their first encounter for him. There might be a cost to Justin himself, i.e. the more he uses his power, the more he loses his own personality and becomes a vessel for the power.
Why does Ruthie see dead people
Because she is, in a sense, a walking dead person herself. She was dead, not in a coma, genuinenly dead. Like Lazarus, for two nights and a day, before Ben resurrected her via killing Lodz.
Now that Sofie can see her mother, will she also see Lodz? It appeared that both Apollonia and Lodz appeared to Ruthie, not simply going about their business as the others she claims.
I think there might be a connection to Lodz being the only one whom Apollonia told about Sofie before her (and his) death. Plus Ruthie of course is now in a position to confirm to Lila that Lodz is in fact dead, and not run away as Samson claims. Since Lila has been trying to convince others of this, it could be important.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 03:37 pm (UTC)And I agree about Sofie and Libby. I really want a scene where they finally talk again and don't fully understand just why Sofie hasn't apologized to her, since she wronged her very badly, and Libby was the most concerned in the premiere when Sofie was missing.
The funny thing is, though, when the show started, Ben/Sofie seemed conventional and not too interesting a pairing, so it was a nice surprise when the writers went with Sofie/Libby. At this point in the story, though Ben/Sofie is interesting, although I'm getting more of a brother/sister vibe from them than lovers. The fact is they may actually be brother and sister, and if they do kiss, it will make a wonderful parallel to Justin and Iris.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 05:30 pm (UTC)Exactly. I can see why they won't be lovers again, given what happened, but they should talk and clear the air.
The funny thing is, though, when the show started, Ben/Sofie seemed conventional and not too interesting a pairing, so it was a nice surprise when the writers went with Sofie/Libby. At this point in the story, though Ben/Sofie is interesting, although I'm getting more of a brother/sister vibe from them than lovers. The fact is they may actually be brother and sister, and if they do kiss, it will make a wonderful parallel to Justin and Iris.
And again we agree. Ben/Sofie at the beginning would have been dull; Ben/Sofie now can be intriguing. Incidentally, about that kiss - on second glance, I notice they're standing at a landscape like the Nevada testsite, and the flash is the one "brighter than a thousand suns" as Oppenheimer put it, from the atom bomb. Which ties to the vision of the bomb Ben is meant to prevent according to Management. And to the very first opening monologue of the show, mentioning the false Triniy. Hmmmmm....
no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 04:10 pm (UTC)[just idly passing through *g*]
no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 05:37 pm (UTC)Plus Justin doesn't really need Tommy Dolan anymore - the radio show is established. And with Dolan knowing so much, it would be an excellent opportunity to get rid of him while simultanously exculpating Iris. I wonder whether the fact Norman was present when Dolan told Justin he followed Iris, etc., will be relevant?
no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-09 05:55 pm (UTC)