"Doodlebugs"



A review by Jenni:

What I love about this episode:
The whole deserted church plot made this episode seem really timely to me, over 10 years later.  I realize the church in this episode wasn't closing for financial reasons but that's what's happened around here so it made me think of that.  Also, with people thinking of leaving town because of the lack of financial stability...  Yeah, it definitely made this episode seem current which I think says a lot of TBAA. 

I like that Monica was assigned simply to read.  Not only does it stress that reading's important, but it really gave Tess a chance to shine for once.  I wish TBAA woulda given Tess and Andrew more spotlight episodes.

Tess commanding the ants was pretty amusing!  I wish I had that gift!

I thought the way they did the phone calls was good.  I could totally see why people fell for it.  Even when the boy wasn't offering answers, he was telling people that he knew their lives.  He saw their struggles.  He knew what was in their hearts.  Sometimes I think that's what we want from God more than anything.  I guess that's probly what we want from anyone: just to be understood and have someone empathize with us.

Good continuity with Andrew seeming to order orange juice at the bar here and yet again in "Sign of the Dove."

I really like what Tess had to say to Andy about how God lets people make their own decisions, even bad ones.  And how He stands by them even after those bad decisions.  TBAA really made me think about free will and what an amazing gift that is.

What I didn't love about this episode:
Coulda used some more Andrew.  ;-)

 Seriously, I'm not bothered by anything in this episode.  It's not a personal favorite but it's fine.  It's hard to see Tess fail and struggle with that.  I don't like seeing it for that reason but it was really good for character development.  So definitely not a fault.  I was worried they'd have Monica swoop in and fix things.  That I would have seriously disliked.  But allowing Tess to finish the assignment with Monica's inspiration (appropriate for the Angel of Truth) was great.

Lingering questions:
Are there not doodlebugs in Nebraska?  I don't think I've ever heard of em til this episode.  Huh.

Where did the names Pearhead and Vinegar come from?

Parts that made me feel swoony:
Three words: tool belt AND jeans!  Andrew was simply adorable in a very manly way in this episode!  And his hair seemed different in a good way.  I liked it.  And I thought it was so cute when he was kinda paranoid and looking over his shoulder cause Pearhead kept staring as he worked.  And the beige shirt Andrew wore with the tool belt and jeans reminded me of his beige shirt from "The Journalist" so, yeah, I was pretty sappy about him in that scene.

I was also a lil swoony and jealous after the fire scene when he caressed some woman's face.  Is that bad?

Random thoughts:
Tess is like my sister in this episode: an equal opportunity bug hater.  I could never understand how my sister could rank a caterpillar the same as, say, a bee.  But I'm thinking Tess is like that, too!

Someone with TBAA clearly likes Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" since it figures in here and C.S. Lewis' take on it made its way into "My Dinner with Andrew."

I wish people did revitalize old buildings more often.  Too bad it didn't work out here but definitely a good idea.  We have so many empty buildings where I live.  I really wish someone would fill those before continuing to build and build and build new stuff.


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