"Lost and Found"



A review by Jenni:

What I love about this episode:
First, this one features a lot of who I came to know as Andrew.  There are still some odd moments (calling Monica "baby," for one) but for the most part this is the guy I'd later spend 10 years writing about.  So that's nice.

On a personal level, this episode is important to me because I once watched it in a hotel room after escaping a troubling situation.  This, "The Man Upstairs," the film "Ella Enchanted,"and calls to friends and family kept me sane!

I think this episode does a great job of bringing honor to a profession we probably don't think about every day.  Frank and Don no doubt typify many of the people who give their all to help return children to their homes.  As this episode shows, it's a difficult, haunting job.  Thank God for the people who do it day in and day out.

This features one of my favorite "angel magic" incidents.  I'm using that term for any minor miracles like suspending gravity, freezing time, or cheering up an entire elevator as happens here.  I just think it's cute how Monica gets in the elevator with a sullen crowd and steps outta a party!

I don't love the lil glimpse we get into the world of AODs here.  Cause it's a little depressing.  But I appreciate it so that's why I'm putting it in this section.  While it makes me feel sorry for the AODs to learn from Andrew in this episode that they take shifts at the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it is comforting from a human perspective.  That bad things happen to children is a terrible, heart-breaking thing.  But to know there are angels just waiting so they can be there at the very moment they're needed, that's inspiring.  What I basically take Andrew's words on this to mean is that no AOD likes these assignments but they'd rather deal with their own heartache then leave a child to deal with theirs any more than they have to.  It's a sadly beautiful idea.  I also like that there are measures in place, like taking shifts, so no one AOD gets walloped.

I like the bit where Frank thinks Monica is trying to gain his affection but she answers that she has all the love she needs.  Given that she and Andrew had barely met at the time, I'm taking that to mean that Monica clearly is not interested in Andrew and would never be interested in romantically being with him because she "has all the love she needs in her life."  I hope that put the kibosh on the happy dance shippers may have started after Andrew's "baby." 

I'm pleased to have learned that when the copiers at work act up it's not because I screwed up but rather that a demon is sitting on it.  That makes me feel oh so much better!  Thanks, Kathleen!  ;-)

Those big ol' honkin' puters they have at the Center also make me laugh.  Good thing since one could really use some light moments during this rather disturbing episode.

One of my favorite quotes in this one comes when Monica is comforting Frank and tells him that he'll carry some children home in his arms and that God will carry the others Home in His.  While nothing can nullify the sadness and anger we feel when a child is abused, believing that they eventually felt only love with the Father makes it easier to go on.

On a much lighter note, I love that Tess actually praises Andrew at the end of this one!  I hope he recorded the moment forever in his memory.

What I didn't love about this episode:
I think Kathleen is just too creepy in this episode.  Especially when she calls Frank "my man."  Gag me.  The idea of a demon being romantically involved with someone... gross.  Cause now what if Kathleen does turn back as definitely seems to be a possibility in "Clipped Wings"?  Now we have an angel with a romantic past.  That creeps the heck outta me given TBAA's habit of showing angels watching humans in romantic scenes.  I can just barely stand those scenes as is.  So if it turns out angels aren't always 100% asexual... not sure I can deal with that.

This just makes me feel terrible for Frank.  Imagine finally starting a romantic relationship and then finding out your girlfriend was a demon bent on destroying you!  Not only is Frank out a girlfriend but now he has a whole series of tarnished memories.  Poor guy!

But Frank kinda irritates me at one point, too.  It's when Kathleen comes to the office with the rug.  She acts downright snotty about his job.  Why is Frank so accepting and even light-hearted about this?  If I had a boyfriend and they came to my workplace and belittled what my co-workers and I do... so long, boyfriend!

But going back to Kathleen...  She's as dumb as a box of rocks in this episode!  To be honest, Satan himself comes off as pretty stupid.  So I think this episode may be the most poorly done for me in its treatment of demons.  For them to be effective they'd have to make ya think "Gee, maybe they're right..." So why the heck was Kathleen glowing blue during the confrontation between she, Monica, and Frank?  Doesn't that sorta scream "I'm not human and rather freaky looking!  Don't trust me!"?  If Kathleen wanted to keep Frank and continue to ruin his life, she shoulda stayed in human form, looking like his normal, human girlfriend.  Given that the angels' light comes from God, I assume Kathleen's light comes from Satan.  So what the heck was he thinking making her glow at the absolute worst time?  And then Kathleen just completely shoots herself in the foot when she reminds Frank how he said she was "too good to be true."  Good job, Genius!

Finally, one minor gripe about Andrew.  Yes, hard to believe.  When he's trying to assure Monica that it's okay to run the computer aging program and she doubts him he says "You are always like this."  It's kinda like in "The One That Got Away" when Monica complains that Andrew keeps telling her how to do her assignments.  They just met!  There's no way they can have a concept of "always" and "keeps" yet.  We know by "Face on the Barroom Floor" that the writers either forgot or disregarded that Andrew and Monica first met in TOTGA.  But this is just weird.  Five episodes later and they're acting like old friends?

Lingering questions:
Why did they remove all the PSAs and special introductions from the DVD versions of the episodes?  I coulda swore Roma Downey gave the Center for Missing and Exploited Children number at the end originally.  Why remove it?  I'm pretty sure it's still the same number.

Parts that made me feel swoony:
This is too serious to be swoony but I definitely feel something when Andrew talks about his cases involving children being murdered.  His voice breaks a little and then he goes silent.  Then he cheers up and changes the subject.  He seems so brave and I admire him.  Yet it's so sad cause you can almost see him drift back to those cases but he pulls himself back.  And given a later comment made by him about how often he's been waiting when Frank arrives, I get the feeling those cases are numerous.  I think one could definitely draw a parallel between the AODs and Frank.

Andrew is absolutely and devastatingly lovely in the scene with the little girl.  I just melt when he calls her honey and comforts her.  He handles such a tragic passing with such grace and gentleness.  When he assures the girl that while her mommy and daddy will miss her, she can go to Heaven first and later meet them there... it's painful to watch but you know he helped that little girl a lot.  The scene all at once makes me incredibly glad he's an angel but also more than a little sad that he can't have kids.  He would have been a wonderful father.

There are a couple truly swoony moments.  The first comes during the age progression debate between Andrew and Monica.  Andrew's just kinda rebellious and so sneaky!  Assuring Monica that she's not running the program, she's just watching him do it.  Even though she provided the materials.  Rebellious Andrew's pretty attractive!

Finally, at the very end after Tess praises him, Andrew responds very humbly.  He stresses that it was a team effort.  Even though part of me wants to scream "Take the credit!  You won't get the credit you deserve later!," the truth is I love him because of that sorta consideration and goodness.  So... swoon!

Random thoughts:
Apparently demons can't see angels when they're in angelic form.  That's nifty.  Although I guess we learned that in "In the Name of God" before this episode.

Andrew points with his middle finger.  It's when they do the montage of everyone at the Center trying to find the little boy and he points to a computer screen.  Just got my attention cause usually people point with, well, their pointer finger.  And, yes, I do pay waaay too much attention to Andrew.


Now a review by Nicole:

What I love about this episode:

The mall was very beautiful, I thought. I don't know where that is, but it sure is nice! I loved the little carts on the side. And I also liked the usage of the carousel in the beginning of the episode. There was something about it that was sorta... haunting, but I still liked it. It did make me think a bit of BatB though. ;-)
 
Well, first I just really like Frank. He's a pretty awesome guy and you can just really feel that he cares a great deal about what he does. No wonder Satan was siccing a demon on the man! I really like Frank's co-worker, Don, too. There's just something about him, I think he's good for Frank to have around.
 
I loved when Monica and Tess go inside the elevator and it's all sullen and quiet. Then when they come out, it's crazy like a party in there! People are chattering and talking with others they don't even know! I'm too shy or that, but it was fun to watch. ;-)
 
Tess' comment about computers gave me a chuckle: "Give me a fine quill pen and hand pressed parchment any day!" I'm not sure I would go that far, cause I love computers a lot. Maybe too much. But they can be frustrating at times. Still, it's a funny line. Very Tess-like. And we do need some comic relief in such a dark episode.
 
And on the note of computers, it's funny seeing those 1996 computers. I remember playing games on ones just like that when I was a little kid. Before I even knew what email was... ;-)

It was awesome when Monica showed up at Frank's apartment with that IRS letter that Kathleen burned up with her hand!
 
And that is another thing I like about this episode: I actually like Monica in this one. I don't really get as ticked off or annoyed or disappointed with her as I do other times. It's very refreshing. ;-)
 
What I didn't love about this episode:
 
Kathleen. Augh, she is sooo creepy in this and I really don't like it. I mean, sure, I get demons are bad and we're not supposed to like them. But this goes beyond that. As a small Kathleen gripe, she is just too "sweet" and sugary. That rubs me wrong. But the bigger issue about her, for me, is how she acts with Frank with the whole romance thing. The idea of a demon being able to do that just really freaks me out. Cause... she used to be an angel. And the idea of angels having that possibility sends me running into a corner with my flannel blanket to hide! It's just a really bad, gross, and basically a completely unwanted thought.
 
And when Kathleen tells Tess "Tell my man his angel is here." ::shudder:: I hate that line. Calling herself an angel, no matter how the term is used, creeps me out big time.
 
I didn't like what she was saying about Frank's job either, making it sound all petty. Kinda annoyed with Frank too for letting her do that, as much as I like the character. Cause what Monica said was true, I thought. About how finding that one child already was inspiring. Monica was right and trying to get Frank to stay. But Kathleen squashed her efforts and Frank went along with it. And there was nothing Tess or Monica could do... just very sad. Have I mentioned I really don't like Kathleen? If not, I'm sure you've figured that out now. ;-)
 
Lingering questions:
 
Andrew says that the Angels of Death take shifts at the Center of Missing and Exploited children. So I'm gonna assume they take shifts at other missing children centers too, right? And how long and often do these shifts last? How much time do they get in between them?
 
I'm very concerned for the Loveliness' well-being, in case ya haven't noticed... ;-)
 
Parts that made me feel swoony:
 
Ahem. I have a lot to put down in this section today. Where should we start...
 
How about that first scene with Andrew! Even before he starts talking, his eye brows are doing some crazy awesome stuff! I love his oh-so-expressive eyebrows...
 
He gets so darn excited about that computer technology, doesn't he? And it's adorable. He can be my computer technician any day! He just needs to give me a heads up, so I can hide all my graphics. That could be a bit embarrassing... for both of us. ;-)
 
On a more serious note... when he starts explaining the whole idea of the AODs taking shifts and such, I just wanna hug him. When he picks up the photo of the little boy and looks at it, he gets such a faraway look in his eyes; like he was suddenly pulled back into a bunch of bad memories. Then he suddenly snaps out of it. Sometimes I worry that without more support, it might become harder for him to bring himself back outta that or something one day. Cause I think I can take just about anything and turn it into something to be concerned about Andrew with.
 
Another part that made me all sappy and angsty-ish is how he really seemed to keep using that computer as a distraction from the conversation he was having with Monica. She asks him what he's doing there and he says it's his shift. Then goes right back to computer talk. But she prods on, though I can understand her curiosity. And then he starts explaining about everything. Yet he kept going back to the computer talk. And of course, that's what he changed the subject to in the end; "So, how about those computers, huh?". It was so obvious that he was changing the subject. It was a tough subject though and I don't think he really wanted to talk about it much. Poor love...
 
But I love him to be able to do that job. It makes him seem so strong, admirable, brave and very comforting sorta. His voice kinda breaks when he's talking about being at the murder of a child and it's sorta... devastating. It's a hard scene to watch and does a number on me every time. He really has some of his own personal reasons to want Monica to get this assignment right, I think. And it then gives me personal reasons for her to do well too. ;-)
 
Then there's the scene with the little girl. Oh wow, it was so sweet and beautiful, it put tears in my eyes. Whenever I hear about a child dying, that scene is what comes to mind and I'm glad. I need it to. And when he calls her "honey" and kisses her cheek and hand, picks her up... I am completely gone by that point. The way he talked to her and made something so horrible seem so gentle and beautiful was amazing. I love him. Too bad Andrew doesn't have any children, cause he really has a way with 'em and it's so adorable.
 
As for something a bit lighter... when he says about Frank, "I don't know how he does it." and Tess goes "Sure you do."... he looks down and starts blushing just a bit and that was, of course, very cute. ;-)
 
I like the little mischievous and even tad bit rebellious act of doing something for Monica with that photo. I love it when he gets rebellious like that. Not bratty. But a little rebellion is definitely awesome! And when it helped her, he looked so pleased! Aww...
 
At that same scene, his line about "I'm doing something, you're watching" seems to fit very well into our Firstborn Theory. It was almost like he was somehow making it clear that he was the older, wiser one and that she was the younger, more impressionable one. Sort of setting it up like she should be influenced by him. Very older-siblingish, I'd say.
 
And to end this section... that sweater he's wearing then, I love that. Sigh. ;-)
 
Random thoughts:

The fish tank in Frank's apartment. Random, yes. But my brother has one just like it, so I noticed it. ;-)
 
Also, Frank tells Kathleen that getting that rug was the nicest thing anyone ever did for him. I'm sure he loved his grandfather, but still... really? Wow, that's really sad that a demon does him the nicest deed. Not fair.
 
And whenever the angels wear those IDs on their shirts... I always wanna see 'em close up. Am I the only one? ;-)


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