"Flesh and Blood"

A review by Jenni:

What I love about this episode:
For starters, it's just plain fun to see Anthony Michael Hall!  This is a total 180 from the John Hughes films I first knew him from, though!  Here I can still physically see a resemblance to that nerdy guy.  Nowadays, I totally can't.

This, like "Fallen Angela" which I watched only a couple hours before, very much casts Monica as the angel AND friend.  Tess uses that word explicitly once again.  As I said on the previous review, I really like that.  And Monica's a very good friend to Kate.

I think it was a good storytelling technique to play Kate's voice, defending Thomas on the news, over the footage of him retrieving the jewelry he stole.  Very effective.

I like how Tess, when she first appears to Leonard, stresses that there is a difference between justice and revenge.  I wish it could have been explored more.

Valerie Harper does a great job in the scene where Kate finds the stolen jewelry.  It seems so much like a genuine reaction.  Devastated, horrified, betrayed, stunned.

It's really, really hard for me to hear Tess tell Leonard he needs to forgive the actual killer.  Part of it's because I think we're given reason to believe the guy's a sociopath with no remorse.  Nonetheless... I do believe forgiveness is important and what God wants.  So I'm glad it's stressed here even if I can't quite fathom it.

"We angels don't talk about never."  That's such a lovely thing Tess says when Leonard grieves that he'll never see his daughter again.  Then when she tells him that Megan is a part of him and that a part of him is with her at that very moment... beautiful.

I am touched when the two parents hug.  They've each lost a child in one way or another so I like to think that the hug brought them both some comfort.

What I didn't love about this episode:
Good writing and acting but it's really hard to watch Leonard's testimony about his daughter.  That's the kinda stuff that makes me glad I now believe in AODs.

I can sympathize with Kate and I do find it interesting to consider her comment about how juvenile hall affected Thomas given a recent spat of articles I've read saying juvie has the exact opposite effect of what one would hope.  However, I do wish one of the angels would have called her on making excuses for him too much.  Maybe they do in "Full Circle."  I don't recall.

This is soooo nitpicky but it totally bug me that Kate doesn't read the front of the card Thomas gives to her!  She glances so briefly at it, even though I can tell there's a fair amount of writing on it, and then skips to the inside!

I really hate the part where we learn that the murderer laughed as Megan pleaded for her life.  Even creepier, for them to know that he would have had to tell them after his arrest.  The guy had to have been a sociopath to relate that to the cops, knowing it made him look way worse.  I seriously wish there'd been an AOD in this.  Any AOD at all.

It does bug me that the angels really never say too much about how despicable what Thomas did really was.  Great, he's not a murderer.  But that's still pretty low to steal from the home of someone who was murdered.  As if the survivors won't have enough to work through emotionally!

Lingering questions:
Jurors aren't supposed to discuss the case amongst themselves?  In this the judge tells them not to.  But isn't that what juries do?  Maybe it means they're only supposed to discuss the case when all members are together, not chit-chat among a few of them.

I'll never get the mindset of people who shoot up houses (as happens here) or blow up buildings to protest what they consider an immoral act.  Because two wrongs make a right?  Are they just too stupid to consider that they, too, might take out an innocent?  I don't get those people.

I wonder if Megan's actual murderer was a wanderer?  Otherwise, it seems awfully stupid to keep ALL of that evidence of his crime in his trunk.  I mean it's good he did cause it led to him being caught.  But it definitely seems like a stupid criminal thing.  Or just the sociopath thing.

Mrs. Angeli confuses me.  Love the character but why *Mrs.* Angeli?  She's an angel so obviously not married.  Maybe the Mrs. was just supposed to give her a more motherly feel.  I dunno.  It also makes me wonder if every assignment has both an advance angel and a caseworker.

Parts that made me feel swoony:
Nothing...  Luckily, after this I only have one more AODless episode, I think!

Random thoughts:
In response to Monica's query: I'm a tea AND coffee person!  Monica should totally try some chai before she aligns herself solely with coffee.  I do love my coffee but chai is awfully great.

I feel behind the times.  Monica and Kate are carrying reusable grocery bags in this.  We've only gotten into that within the last year or two here.  But at least it is catching on.

I can't imagine what it must feel like to go to the news and tell them that you found proof your son's a murderer.  That's just got to be an awful, awful feeling.  I don't think I could do it. 

This episode does make me question double jeopardy.  Thankfully, in this case, Thomas is innocent.  But I just find it astounding that you can get found innocent then, say, a week later all sorts of evidence tying you to a crime could be found and nothing can be done.  Wow.

This part is so not funny, nonetheless...  I gotta smile when they find Megan's credit cards in that guy's trunk.  I almost wanted to rewind cause I saw a "Vista" card and so I'm thinking there were other made up names in there.  Maybe "Mistercard" or the like.  I love fictionalized products on TV shows.

Here we learn of the existence of advance angels who apparently show up before caseworkers to set things up.  Interesting. 

A Word from Travis:
I love this episode as it has so many twist and turns. All the actors were wonderful in their respective roles. I saw this episode several years ago, but after watching again, I realize I had forgotten (maybe didn’t pay attention) about the overall plot.

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