"Remembering Me, Part II"
A review by Jenni:
This week was much, much calmer for me. Well, barring a spat
of vertigo. So here's hoping I don't get completely weepy
this time around. Also... big news... I am not drinking
chai. Or coffee. Or really much caffeine at all.
Just cocoa. I just really think I need to try to get more
sleep so... we shall see.
What I love about this episode:
Once again, it's Gloria who asks after
Andrew. Maybe I do like her... ;-)
I'm not crazy about flashbacks to previous
episodes as I feel cheated outta new scenes but... I do like
George's "You don't get over it, you just get on with it" quote so
much that I don't mind hearing it again. It's a quote that
has become even more true to me the older I've gotten.
Yay, Gabriel! And so lovely and polite and humble. I
love what he says about Tess, too. "Her music left her but
God never will. He speaks to her spirit and she knows His
voice." As hard as it would be to replace Tess... I'd rather
like him as my supervisor. And I like that he reminds Monica
that she works for God... not Tess.
I'm glad they finally gave Jacob a proper name.
"Everything is connected." I love that simple quote from
Gabe.
"Life is not fair sometimes but God always is." From Monica
to Kevin. This episode has some beautiful lines. I
just wish the plot measured up...
That "bad things happen" scene with Phil is more hard hitting the
older I get...
"There are no coincidences with God... all of this is somehow
connected." Monica again. Another thing about getting
older... you really do start to believe that.
Monica's outfit when Kevin and Jacob are
singing "Hand It Over" is super awesomely groovy. Especially
those jeans.
"Sometimes God asks us to do things that seem impossible, that go
against everything we feel is right. But He promises, if we
trust Him, that it all will be okay." Yep, Monica
again.
I think Monica advising Kevin to let go of Nathan borders on being
irresponsible. (Admission: I have personal
baggage attached to the whole parents
abandoning their children then returning subject. I go into
that more in the next section.) However, out of context this
is a really nice quote: "Letting go doesn't mean that what we want
has been taken away from us. It means that we trust God to
do what is best. If we can hand it over, God promises that
He will open all the windows in Heaven for us and pour out a
blessing so great that there isn't enough room to take it in."
Kevin's prayer thanking God for the years he had Nathan made me
tear up. And then saying he's ready if God ever chooses to
give him back... Wow. Great performance.
I do like that Kevin ends up playing the angel role. Nice to
see that flipped.
Nice to see Tess back. And this... "We all get lost in the
darkness sometimes, baby. Even angels. And when you're
so lost no one can find you... even those who love you the most...
God can. And He's lighting a candle for you. And He's
preparing a place so you can be with Him." That made me
really cry. So beautiful...
Truly, I could have done without the Hannah plot which just grates
on my nerves. But... to paraphrase Tess... it's all been
worth it for Ruth. I really love that it all came down to
Tess helping that woman who was really struggling with
Alzheimer's. And Ruth's response... priceless.
I also love that Tess assures Monica she heard every word. I
hope there are a lot of scenes like that in Heaven. I'm sure
there are.
What I didn't love
about this episode:
As I mentioned last week, I'm just not
crazy about how in its final season TBAA revisited past
assignments and, really, pretty much just made their lives
miserable. Granted, everything turns out all
right-ish. But wouldn't you really rather believe Kevin
contentedly raised his baby and Wayne and Joey were still comfy in
their old town and Audrey found happiness sooner rather than
later?
Having worked with foster kids and seeing negligent parents
reunited with them... at least once with an absolutely tragic
result... I have a really hard time being sympathetic to
Hannah. You don't just get to be a parent when you feel like
it. You don't get to take years off to get your life
together and then waltz back in. Her justifications for
her actions are pathetic. There was no
hospital with people present? No police station? No
fire department? No church? I might want a kid in 7
years but I don't want one now so maybe I'll just get pregnant,
leave the baby somewhere, and then come back when I'm ready!
It's the perfect plan... if you're selfish. And Hannah being
snippy about Monica being Kevin's friend is ludicrous. As is
her insistence Nathan is Danny. This woman needs to clue in.
Lingering questions:
I wonder how much time is supposed to have passed between the
first and second part?
I'm really not sure what message the writer is wanting us to take
from Monica letting go of Tess... I understand that Monica
was focusing too much on Tess but... for the rest of us I don't
know that letting go of our sick is really the message to be
sending. I just wonder... had Tess not come around soon
after... what would that "letting go" have looked like?
Parts that made me
feel swoony:
Andrew holding out his hand to stop
Nathan from running into the street is the only shot from this
episode I clearly remembered all these years later. Of
course it would be an Andrew shot. ;-)
I love that Andrew wore lotsa green in these episodes. John
looked especially stunning in green.
Oh, yay, he's back. Was starting to get panicky... I
especially miss Andrew in episodes that otherwise don't intrigue
me. He makes everything better...
Lovely boy gave me a much needed laugh with his "Yeah... I was
there" and the look when Gloria is telling him about Monica going
blind. Duh. Apparently her research wasn't very
thorough.
When Tess is telling Ruth about another angel coming to take her
to "where the light never fades"... I think about John. And
wonder if maybe those lines will be true for someone, some day.
Random thoughts: 
Music: Tess
is singing "This Little Light of Mine" at the start. It's
really sad... You can hear Keb' Mo's "Just Like You" during
one of the "Inherit the Wind" flashbacks. As Gloria plays on
the piano, the people at the retirement home sing "A Bicycle Built
for Two." In another flashback we have Tess and Jacob
singing "Hand It Over." Then he sings it solo in Tess' room
in the present. Jacob and Kevin also sing "Hand It Over" in
Tess' room.
Joseph Wells is in Texas. Would not have guessed that.
Scenes Hallmark cut:
- The "Previously on Touched by
an Angel" scenes at the start were cut. So
hopefully that means THC cut less of the actual show. They
were really quite lengthy.
- As with previous clip shows, I will not be able to tell if
flashback scenes were shortened. My memory just doesn't seem
to work that way. And as I didn't notice any cut scenes...
I'm thinking maybe this was the case. Unless the preview
scenes were it.
Further on down the road...
Okay, I'll be honest. I've been putting off watching
this episode. If it weren't for doing these, I'd probably
skip it. Between plot elements that annoy me (Hannah) and
Phil flashbacks (permanently damaged), this is right up there with
the finale for me as far as being the least fun to rewatch.
So it's a Monday morning and I'm already nervous about some stuff
happening this week so... piling on, I guess! Ha!
Still love that line from George...
When did they change the opening credits font?
Gosh... I forgot the flashbacks were sooo extensive.
I don't think modern day Andrew would be cool with this
assignment. If Belle's birth mom came waltzing back with
some sob story... too bad! Being a nice person who is good
with Alzheimer's patients really doesn't excuse leaving your kid
for dead. I can accept that Hannah made things right with
God but that doesn't mean humanity has to give her what she wants.
Yay, Gabe! Funny-sad story about him. I was thinking
of who I could mentally recast Phil as and my first thought was
"Ossie Davis!" And then I was like... wait. Mr. Davis
already has two roles in the TBAA realm so... Nope.
Although... I could just tell myself that it was Gabe the
whole time. Taking away the being directionally challenged,
Gabe could handle the role just as well.
I can totally understand Monica's distress but how cool to have a
saint and archangel and biblical persona as your supervisor!
Sigh... Even the way Hannah handles her claim is ridiculous
and awful. She waits until THE day... the moment... with
that little boy excitedly awaiting the decree that he's
adopted? Honestly, she's an awful, selfish person. I
don't understand why the TBAA writers thought this was remotely
okay. You don't get 7 years to decide whether or not you
want to be a parent. Unless Hannah is divine (nope), she
can't have *known* her baby would be found.
Anyone else troubled by Kevin being open to co-parenting without
any evidence that Hannah even can parent?
When Gloria is listing off the litany of things that happened to
Monica, I can't help but think that, in later years, Andrew had to
face a lot, too...
Tess' closing words to Ruth are beautiful. That's the one
plot element in this episode that I really liked.
Aww, Andrew's hug looks so nice... Sigh...
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