"Private Eyes"

A review by Jenni:

I seriously considered skipping this week as "The Christmas Watch" seemed like a good way to end my pre-Christmas TBAA viewing.  However... John narrating this episode made it awfully hard to wait.  So here I am, as usual, with my chai.  And even though this is not a Christmas episode, I'll be enjoying leftover Christmas cookies from the office.  Yay.

What I love about this episode:
I'd watch way more film noir if John narrated.  In all seriousness, I do like the way they adopted something of the look and style of that genre.  Fun to do something different for a change.

"A man wants to see a last ray of sunshine before dark."  I love how Andrew says that.  Ditto for women.

I can relate to Delphina in that I go through phases in which the only thing I crave is pie and the like.  Normally I eat pretty healthy, though.  I think it's when I don't really feel like eating at all.  But the pastry group is so good I'll push myself to eat them.  Maybe her diet pills were suppressing her appetite to the point where she only craved what she really, really loved.  Or she just had a sweet tooth.  No idea why I'm psychologizing this!  In any case, I'm glad Tess gets her to eat real food.  And I'm glad that later, Maury makes it clear she does NOT need to lose weight.

I love Tess' reaction when Delphina recalls her father's abuse.  Love her assurance that she would never hit her but still with putting the kibosh on the pie AND totally knowing that she stole the money.  Ha.

Delphina is making me miss the early millennium fashions...  The hippie vibe is still out there but it's not as strong as it was then.  Anyhow, great costumes in this episode.

Gotta hand it to em...  In telling Delphina her dad had died, Maury does one of the lowest things I've ever seen a protagonist do on TBAA.  It's proof the show didn't take the easy way out lotsa times.  God loves everyone, so should we... even the people who do awful, awful stuff like this.  Although probly the best example of that theme on TBAA is Carl in "Full Moon" who I still can't manage compassion for but know I should.  And Carl wasn't the protagonist, either.

"You can't hide anything from the One who knows you the best, the One who created you.  God was with you on those nights when you couldn't stop crying.  And He was with you on those mornings when you couldn't face yourself in the mirror.  He forgave you when you couldn't forgive yourself.  He loves you and He forgives you now."  Awesome quote from Monica that we should all take to heart.

"You tried to work out your own plan rather than letting God work His plan through you.  And God's plan is always better!  You're standing in the valley, looking for the way, and God is sitting above the mountain and He sees the best and the only way up."  Another from the same scene between Monica and Maury.  It's sometimes really hard to see God's hand in what happens in this world.  But I do believe that some day this will all make sense.  We just may not see it til we're above the mountain, too.

Yep, started crying when Maury broke down about not being able to let Delphinia go.  I really can't relate to that relationship at all.  But I do know how hard it is to let loved ones go. 

"God Himself is light.  He's the light of all the world and He's inside of you.  He wants you to know you will never have to work alone again."  Monica gets a lotta good quotes in this one.

I love it when Maury tells Delphina "God loves you, kid, and so do I."  Then when he calls her Violet...

I really like this exchange cause Andrew hits on one of the most difficult... but most true... aspects of prayer.  It goes back to the "sometimes the answer is no" quote from an earlier episode:
Maury: You don't ask, you don't get.
Andrew: And sometimes you do ask and you don't get.

"The most ordinary day for some people is the most extraordinary day for others.  Broken hearts are healed, broken dreams restored, broken families reunited, and ya never know when your miracle may arrive on the wings of a dove."  Lovely closing voiceover from Andrew. 

What I didn't love about this episode:
The whole idea that Maury uses Delphina to entrap men is rather creepy.
Lingering questions:
So I wonder why it's okay for Andrew to basically lie by omission here?  He obviously put on the bogus gas company jacket.  He didn't try to set things straight when Maury made that story up.  So is lying okay if it's an established part of the job they have taken on?  Must be.

In the coffee house there's a sign reading "TWO FOLDED SPECIAL 2.99."  What is that?  Never heard of a "two folded."

Parts that made me feel swoony:
I loved that voice...  Still do.  I just always hoped one day I'd get to hear it in person.  But I know I will.  And when that time comes, I'll know that "good byes" are a thing of the past.

Given his opening monologue... should we be worried that Andrew drinks his coffee black?  Regardless, I love that Andrew... as innocent and as good as he was and as optimistic and hopeful as he could be... understood the darker aspects of life.  He understood regret and disappointment and how a person could become jaded.  That had to have contributed to why he was such an excellent angel.

I hope John realized how great he looked... 

"People don't always like to do what's good for them.  Sometimes it takes an angel to make those brussel sprouts more appealing."  For whatever reason, I just love how he said that.  Maybe just cause, in a roundabout way, Andrew got me on the right path with eating well.  When things were sketchy in a pre-anorexia kinda way, I'd think about how sad I'd probly make some lovely AOD like him if I really let that ugly voice take over.  One of the reasons I'll always love John, by the way.

"Sometimes even an angel has to get dirty."  Let's all just pause for a moment to consider that Andrew's idea of "getting dirty" involves grabbing the wrist of a violent drug dealer.  We need more Andrews...  Now let's all pause to consider if there's something wrong with me because I especially like Andrew in that mode...  And OMG he *carried* Maury.  I heart him forever...  Later he appears to carry Delphina, too.  Not so great for her under the circumstances but woulda been nice otherwise!

I really loved how cuddly he looked in sweaters and layered clothing so... I'm basically completely mad over him right now.

I love it when Andrew's perched on the couch, watching over Delphina.  He just looks so protective.

He's so cute when he declines to remove the boot from Maury's car.  :-)  Course, he's so cute, period.

This episode first aired on January 11th, 2003.  Eight years later to the day, I would find out that John had died.  Andrew was right.  Ya never know when your miracle may arrive.  But I know John was one.
Random thoughts:
Music: There was some bluesy song playing in the diner at the start but I didn't catch any of it as I was distracted...  Give ya one guess on who was doing the distracting.

Yikes.  Maury trying to get into Jim's house using the pretense of being with the gas company totally made me realize that last week I let a gas company guy in without asking for an ID.  However... he was driving a company van and I had set up the appointment so...  Still...  Bad of me.

I'd totally forgotten that Gloria was AWOL in this episode.  Probly says something that it took me a while to even notice.  Sorry, Gloria...

 Scenes Hallmark cut:
- I really didn't pick up on anything but that seems surprising...  However, this episode did seem to have about a minute more to it than the usual THC versions so maybe for whatever reason they just didn't take to editing this one as much as usual.

Further on down the road...
I'm back on my old puter.  It was just too much of a chore to cap on the new one.  So I guess I better hope I'm done capping by the time this puter totally dies.  Now just to hope I can find a workable mouse for it...  I don't to remove the one from my current puter.  It's a pain.

I can't believe it was July when I last watched TBAA! 

Still have no idea if I like brussel sprouts.

Sorry, Andrew, but I don't consider defense of others to be "getting dirty."  You're Andrew... not Doc Hock.  ;-)  Still, it is one of those traps I see pop up.  Unless someone is a stringent pacifist, nonlethal use of force when defending self or others shouldn't cause moral qualms.  Sometimes not even lethal force, IMO.  But only if there's no other way.

::has eaten pie for breakfast::

::also cake::

And now I'm hungry.  Took a snack break and also found a mouse.  Yay!

Yikes.  I forgot about Maury's big lie.  That's pretty awful. 

I'm kinda surprised Andrew went for taking Delphina to Maury's apartment to come down off her trip.  But I spose Andrew probably knows more about that than I do.  Just seems like a bad idea.

Starting to remember why I bought a new puter...  I can't use the Internet when a video is playing without it freezing up. 

Monica's tone makes it seem like she's surprised Maury didn't realize Andrew was an angel.  Nothing Andrew did really screamed "angel" from Maury's POV.  Weird.  Maybe it was meant to be more insistent than surprised.

So the mouse died but then I found another mouse that worked better.  Nonetheless, this all contributed to a rather distracted viewing experience.  Better luck next time!  Also, while I was capping, I noticed Maury take coffee grounds outta a plant and use them.  Gross!  I never got that before. 

As for the capping, I think going back to my old puter for that will be best.  It just took some adjusting but I think that'll be much easier than putting up with a subpar program on my new puter.  Just a shame how many upgraded programs actually aren't as useful as their older versions.

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