"With God as My Witness"

A review by Jenni:

What I love about this episode:
Yet again we have an all too current seeming TBAA episode featuring unemployment.  While I know that our current unemployment rates are much higher than usual, sometimes watching TBAA you get the feeling it's always been this way.

I thought Tess made a good point when she helped Monica to see how humans so closely identify with our jobs.  That being said, if someone asked "Who are you?" my job title would not be my first answer.  I'd probly say my name as Monica does.  Or just stare strangely at them depending on who they were.  :-)

I'm writing a story which is making me soften a bit towards Monica.  Which is maybe why I was so impressed by the way she shot down that flirty limo driver.  Yuck.  What a loser.  Go Monica!

Monica as a federal marshal is fun just cause of the layers of masquerading.  She's an angel pretending to be a federal marshal pretending to be a limo dispatcher.

I just can't imagine the pain of having to leave everyone I loved behind.  I think the writers and actors did a good job of portraying how awful on so many levels that would be.  And how surreal and scary would it be to have your new identity simply handed to you in an envelope as if it was as simple as opening a letter?

Tess was very sweet using the geese analogy to help the youngest girl cope with the upheaval of her family.

I felt awful for Carl.  There he was already pretty confused and his granddaughter is greeting him with a completely different name.  Again, great job showing how disturbing this scenario would be.

It's so Tess when she tells Shawn they'll have a "discussion where I do all the talking."  Love it.  I should use it.

And speaking of Tess, I actually liked her marriage talk.  Sometimes I'm bothered when the angels go on about marriage.  Like they'd know.  But this one worked for me.

I liked that Monica assured Jim that there's strength in asking for advice.  Even though I don't always follow that guideline when I should, I do believe it.

I really, really love how the revelation scene revolved around Psalm 23.  I was just posting to the YG about how I wish TBAA more often reflected the beliefs of the assignments in their revelation scenes.  Like how in "Elijah," the Passover becomes an integral part of what the angels do.  Here we have Jim reciting Psalm 23 repeatedly and Monica uses his love of it to get through to him in much the same way.  This is maybe my favorite line from it "That's the best thing about a good Shepherd.  He doesn't ask if you deserve His love.  He only asks that you'll accept it."

Total warm fuzzies when Andrew appears at the end and then ya see Carl's heart on the window.  Aww. 

What I didn't love about this episode:
Maybe I've just completely forgotten what money looked like before the big face makeovers but... I thought the money the gangster gives Jim looked really, really fake.

Otherwise, this episode didn't really excite me enough to draw a strong dislike reaction at any point.  Actually, with the exception of Carl and his heart, I never had a very strong reaction of any type to this episode.  It just is what it is.

Not enough Andrew... never is.

Lingering questions:
Would the government make an arrangement for Carl like this?  I hate to think that in the event where one lone family member would be left behind, they wouldn't have the option of taking them.  Especially someone infirm.

Has TBAA ever done an episode where a woman lost her job and had to worry about supporting her family?  I'm trying to think.

Parts that made me feel swoony:
Andrew has spiky hair.  I kinda forgot about it.  I mean I remembered it being short, just not spiky as it has been these last couple eps.  It's cute.

Here I go on an angsty tangent...  I've always rather liked this photo of Andrew through the fence following the shooting.  Watching just now, it kinda hit me why.  It's very symbolic of what Andrew does.  He sees so much, he's saddened by what he sees, but he's kept at a distance that forbids interference.  Free will is the fence that keeps him from intervening.

Andrew's very cute at the retirement home, talking about fishing.  If he had to choose a permanent human job, he'd be really good at that.

He's also very adorable when he seems so shocked by Carl's ability to beat him at Checkers.  I wanna play Checkers with Andrew...  I'd let him win.  He probly just plain would since I haven't played in years and years.

It's really touching when Andrew assures Shawn that he will be there with Carl no matter what.  Although it made me a lil sad, too, cause Andrew wouldn't always be there in the flesh.

Random thoughts:
Music: I thought I heard something soft and instrumental in the limo office but am unsure.  Monica and Jim played "Hearts and Souls" on piano.

Watching how excited Jim and Shawn were about their daughter's homecoming, I felt kinda bad.  I could have cared less about boys in HS.  I went to an all-girls one so there was no reason to.  Now I wonder if my parents felt a lil cheated.  I doubt my dad cared.  But maybe my mom did.

TBAA really likes that "Evil thrives when good men do nothing" quote.

Scenes Hallmark cut:
-In the CBS version, after Jim leaves the gangster, he returns to the office where Monica greets him.  He asks if Marco is around and Monica tells him he's on a date.  She asks how the evening went.  Jim says he just drove the guy around and never even spoke to him.  Monica picks up on his being rattled and Jim dismisses her concern, saying he's just tired.  It then moves to...

-Jim counts money for her dress into his daughter's hand as she beams and hugs and thanks him.  Shawn is suspicious but Jim explains his windfall by saying he got a big tip.  Then it goes to them sleeping which THC shows.

-A segment begins with Shawn walking around outside the nursing home, pushing her father.  She's talking about her girls and he asks if the eldest has started Kindergarten.  Saddened, Shawn explains that she's 15.  Then it goes to the scene with Andrew that THC starts with.

-There's a scene where Monica enters the family's hotel room.  The adults are zoned out but she quizzes the girls about their new names, birth dates, where they're from, etc.  When she asks why they moved, the little one answers "Cause we're gooses" which causes Monica to laugh.  Very sweet.  But sad.  Meanwhile, the mom draws a heart on the window which moves into the scene of them visiting their grandpa/father for the "final" time.

Further on down the road...
Well, it's Good Friday and I want to finish watching Jesus so getting an early start with this. 

While I like the point being made, Tess' thing about when you ask humans who they are they say their job and not their name is ridiculous.  I've never met anyone who if I asked "And you are???" said "A dentist."  Pretty sure most people say some variation on "I'm John Smith and I'm a..." and at that point they say their job.  But I've never met anyone who gave their job title and not their name. 

That other driver is such a sleaze.  Yuck.

I've just realized I totally cheated my parents out of the experience of eavesdropping on my phone calls with boys.  Sad for them. 

Right around the 13:45 mark is when Andrew finally makes an appearance.  Sigh...  Loveliness. 

Monica as a federal marshal...  Assignments like this make me wonder exactly how much finagling happens behind the scenes when an angel works an assignment.  I imagine background checks for federal marshals are pretty extensive.  So are we talking fake birth certificates and fake educational backgrounds and fake tax returns, etc. and etc.?  I really don't care.  It's just fun to think about sometimes. 

Andrew comes back briefly looking adorably casual at the 22:00 mark.  I'm not trying to be a nerd.  It's just easier to screen cap Andrew-scarce episodes when I know when I need to clickety-click.  29:10 is the next bit.

Okay, really what is the regional breakdown on "program" v. "progrum" usage?  And am I just hearing things or does Tess use both pronunciations?

Now I want to find out more about the Witness Protection Program.  Like who were the first protected witnesses?  What would initially prompt the creation of such a program? 

"A discussion where I do all the talking."  Ha.  I still love Tess' attempt to nice-ify "lecture."

Maybe this is proof I should never get married.  I'm sure I would have totally meant "til death do us part" (although, actually, I don't like that line) and "for better or for worse" but if he screwed up so badly that I could never see my parents...  I really think it'd be morally permissible for me to not want to have anything to do with him.

And then there's our awesome AOD again at the very end.  Yay.

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