"Full Circle"

A review by Jenni:

I've decided to give writing the review as I watch at the computer another try.  But with closing out of Outlook and Firefox lest I get distracted.  I just hate handwriting notes which I can later barely read!  Also, I watched "Flesh and Blood" a couple hours ago in preparation for this.  Pried myself away from Masterpiece Theatre's Jane Eyre for that, actually.  Woulda been worth it if Andrew were around in that episode.  Sigh...

What I love about this episode:
Awww... that lil neighbor girl is adorable!  I love that she tries to leave her teddy bear with Kate.

The neighbor lady makes a good point.  If Tommy wanted to find his mom, he would.  Obviously she's getting publicity so no doubt her move would be covered in the press beyond the usual listings of sales/purchases.  Kate needs a bit of a reality check, too bad it didn't take.  And neither is Monica's...

I think it's nice that despite his myriad problems, Tommy still takes the time to thank Monica for supporting his mother during the trial.  Can't say I've ever thanked my mom's friends...

Nice of Monica to offer to pack Kate up solo.  Wish she'd been around when I moved!

The idea of Andrew as "Dew," the "imaginary" friend, was pretty inventive.  I can't really think of a similar device being used in another episode.

Dylan and Tommy bonding over "David and Goliath" is sweet.  If Andrew can't be Dylan's dad, it's good to see Tommy making an effort.  Too bad he shoots down his chance the next morning...

"You've made bad decisions in your life but God is offering you another chance."   Nice, encouraging quote from Monica.

Ah, the power of coffee!  I like that Tess employs it to appeal to the cops to give Tommy a moment with his mom.

I'm glad Tommy tells his mom that his screw-ups weren't her fault and that he chose wrong.  While I think bad parents certainly exist, blaming the parents can just as certainly be over-used.  Sometimes a person just behaves badly because of their own reasons, no matter how excellently they were parented.  It's good that TBAA made that clear with this episode.

What I didn't love about this episode:
Gah.  I get so annoyed with people complaining/commenting about how sad/ not fun/ pathetic cooking for one is.  I live alone.  If I feel like cooking... I cook.  There's no big emotional element to it for me.  Although I guess Kate's situation is different given she used to cook for two but still... microwave dinners are not code for "poor, depressed, lonely person."  Sometimes they just plain taste good.  It's really a cliche that writers should move on from, I think.

Maybe watching "Flesh" actually wasn't a good idea... the flashbacks are boring me since I *just* saw them.  Thankfully, there only ended up being one set.

While I get Monica's point, "There is no peace for a man who takes his own life" is NOT very gracefully put.  Imagine if you were watching this and knew someone who had killed themselves?  That's the last thing people in that situation need to hear.

Lingering questions:
Why do we still use the word "co-ed"?  Doesn't it seem super dated? 

I wonder why they chose to reprise "Flesh and Blood"?  It's a good enough episode but it's never one I hear cited as a big favorite.  Maybe it was simply liking that guest cast especially well?

Parts that made me feel swoony:
I want Dew, too...  And Dylan's right.  He's NOT trouble.  Okay, how is that I can get swoony even over invisible Andrew?  I'm crushing on a disembodied person now.  Crikey.

Well, this is torturous...  Dylan is unhappy and wants to go with Dew.  It's just sad on so many levels.  Andrew getting called to a child being abused.  Andrew bonding with the lil boy but not being able to stay even as Dylan pleads.  Geez...  Again, I find myself wishing TBAA God would have rewritten the rules on how one becomes a father.  Dylan even looks like he could be Andrew's....

Oh... he tells bedtime stories about God.

And, finally, we get to see Dew.  The lil boy just clings to him and he tries to protect him from seeing Kate wounded...  He's lovely.

That white shirt is very nice.  And when he crouches down to talk to people, especially as affectionately as he does with Kate, the fact that I'm still at this so many years later makes sense to me.  This is worth leaving Jane and Rochester for a bit.

Aww, Andrew's being all goofy and laughing and animated and cute before they play softball!  I love it when's he happy.

Random thoughts:
Music: I can hear some really familiar sounding cartoon music playing in the background during the dinner prep scene as the kid watches TV.

Every time I see Anthony Michael Hall these days I just can't believe he's the same nerdy kid as was in 16 Candles!  He really matured well!

Kate is slicing peppers.  Much like I do.  When I cook for *myself.*

Honestly, this is kinda depressing me.  It's making me remember when I started to let my imaginary friends go.  Even then I must have had a mystical streak going cause I was convinced some were real and that I'd meet them again.  Maybe in Heaven.  Who knows.  Maybe they were angels and spirits.  It could happen.

I've always thought it would be really hard to be an undercover cop and have to play at roles that are the absolute counter to what you do.

Scenes Hallmark cut:
- The first cut scene I noticed is that the breakfast scene between Kate and Tommy right before Mr. Cracker arrives seems lengthier in the original version but it's not super significant.
-The CBS version has a brief shot, I think right after Tommy's and Kate's heart to heart on the couch, in which Tommy looks in on Dylan as he sleeps and then closes the door.  Nothing is spoken.  I don't recall seeing that on Hallmark.
-And that's all I picked up on.  It's possible that something was cut out of the "Flesh and Blood" flashback.  That's something I would be unlikely to note.

Further on down the road...
Sometimes I still can't believe how much Anthony Michael Hall changed in three years!

I was wrong above.  Dew is totally trouble.  He took over my life for 17 years and counting.  ;-)  But he's good trouble!

I wonder if it's sad for angels when they have to go away in a situation like we have with "Dew" and Dylan here?  I'm thinking eventually Andrew would have had to leave Dylan, anyhow, as an imaginary friend seems normal at 6 but not so much in later years.

"God won't let ya down." and "Have faith... but not blind faith."  Nice, short quotes from Monica.  And we're now at 25 minutes with no visual of Andrew.  Sigh...

Finally!  At 32 minutes...  Lovely Andrew.

Sigh... white shirt and bearing cocoa and caring for a lil one.  *This* is trouble.  And now he's stroking Kate's hair.  He's beautiful and worth the wait.  Everything about these 17 years has been an exercise in patience.

"God will give you another chance... and another and another and another.  He will never walk away from you!"  Guess who?  I only caught part of it the first

"God the Father has faith in you!"  Yep, Monica again.

A Word from Travis:
I’m glad we were able to see mother and son reunite in this episode as the son ran away at the ending of the season 3 episode “Flesh and Blood.” It’s good that the actors playing the mother and son were available to reprise their roles.

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