"Secret Service"
A review by Jenni:
I chose to start the weekend with this episode since it is now
(thankfully!) the final weekend before Election Day. I am so
psyched not just to vote but to also have my mailbox not be clogged
with political junk. Yay!
What I love about this
episode:
I like
all the talk in this episode about the point of fishing. No
matter the point, I'm not a huge fan of fishing. But if I were to
go fishing, I'd much rather just sit by a lake and NOT have any fish
bite. So I agree with Tess and Ulysses' views.
I like the dynamics between Monica and Marty. Just makes you
think about how far we've come as women but how we need to build each
other up, not tear each other down. Course, same thing applies to
the guys. They shouldn't be tearing each other
down,
either. Just wanted that clear.
Andrew is consistently adorable through out this episode.
Elaboration later.
I am a sucker for shows and movies about unconventional families so I
love the relationship between Ulysses and Marty. I think it's
awesome how he not only helps Marty put her father's coldness and
disrespect behind her but actually becomes the sort of father she
should have had. When he tells her to celebrate life, not
achievements, it was like God was using him to repair all that Marty's
father broke in her. And then when he so light-heartedly and
unselfishly tells her he's lived his life and she needs to pursue
her dream even if it costs him that life... that's the best kind of
father. I'm glad Marty found him and I hope she continued to make
peace with her father's behavior.
Speaking of Marty's father, this episode made me grateful that I had
family members who took me fishing, tried to teach me to
swing a bat, etc. I may not have really gotten into any of that
and do prefer the more stereotypical girl things but it was nice that I
had the chance to try all of that. There's still some sexism
shown
by some members of my family but nothing like that throwback Marty had
to deal with growing up.
I think it's amazing how current this episode seems 12 years
later. When Hammond's attacker rants about jobs being given to
foreigners... when did I last hear that? Right, it was this
morning. I love that TBAA can still seem new at times.
I love Monica's quote about how God made us *all* in His own
image. It's a good thing to remember. Especially during
election years when people are sniping at each other...
Unlike Andrew, I'm glad Ulysses doesn't learn that Marty was his
anonymous kidney donor. Imagine how indebted he'd feel. I'm
just not sure that relationship woulda been as balanced had that came
out.
What I didn't love about this
episode:
I'd be bummed in this episode if I were Monica. She has such a
lovely rose print dress with a really cute shrug and then she needs to
trade it in for a boring suit. Blah. I'm glad I'm not a
secret service agent!
I'm surprised Andrew doesn't get the whole fishing for
the sake of
fishing thing. Seems a lil dense. But Monica and Tess musta
clued him in as Tess suggests at the end. Cause while my memory
of "Lady of the Lake" is shaky, I think in that he's totally Mr. Fish
for the Sake of Fishing.
Lingering questions:
How do
you think angels feel about politics? Do they have preferred
candidates ever? In the TBAA-verse do you think they could
vote? Because if they could get called for jury duty then I would
think they could on a legal level. But I'm not sure God would go
for that. Cause they're not actually citizens of any
government. At the same time, they would be pretty heavily
impacted by the politics of a given area so you'd think they'd have
opinions and even want a say. Hmm.
Parts that made me feel
swoony:
I think Andrew's especially cute here. My first giggly/swoony
moment comes when he teases Monica saying "Oh, I work for you?"
And it's also nice in that scene when he tells her she's "lookin'
good." And before any lurking shippers think they have a convert
or evidence to back-up their cause terrible... let's remember that
Andrew seemed pretty impressed by Adam's beard in
"Sign." So... let's just agree that compliments and
appreciation from Andrew do not a romantic relationship make. I
thought the lil compliment and the faux-indignation with Monica was
super-cute in a completely asexual, platonic way.
Andrew seems to have nervous hands or something. Here he, for
reasons unknown, has a football during a meeting that he just
taps and
bounces from hand to hand. Why? I wanna know cause it could
be a really cute personality tick. Or maybe it is a sign of
nerves in which case... someone help him! I'd be happy to
volunteer but there is a TV screen in my way. Regardless, Andrew
with a football is boyishly cute.
Andrew informing Monica that it is "very scary" that someone guarding
the would-be president also converses with Mr. Machine is very goofily
cute. I want an Andrew by my office vending machine...
It needs to be said: I love gentle, loving, warm and cuddly
Andrew. That being said... Andrew getting a would-be assassin to
the ground and cuffing him... it does make one's heart race a
bit. So I guess I also like strong, tough and protective Andrew.
But when Andrew shows up in his AOD white suit... it's a welcome
return. I love how he just sits by Ulysses. It's comforting
to think the dying are never alone.
At one point when the trio are fishing at the end it looks like Andrew
is looking right at the camera. Eeeee!!! He sees
us!!! ;-)
Random thoughts:
It's really hard for me to watch this episode and not think of Seinfeld. The actress
who plays Marty was George's fiancée who died of envelope glue
poisoning.
I got really thrilled about 10 minutes into this episode because my
coffee
arrived! I order it online and kept forgetting to do that.
So I was down to my last lil bit and was really sweating it. But
then the mail lady showed up right then. So I spent part of this
episode gleefully unpacking Dean's
Beans French Vanilla Kiss Whole Bean. Coffee: the TBAA legacy
that keeps on giving.
Tess' and Ulysses' comment that it's "funny how two people can see the
same thing so differently" makes me think of "The Journalist."
Grrr, Monica. I should probly point out that I don't actually
growl at my TV screen... usually.
St. Andrew was a fisherman so seeing Andrew with a fishing pole makes
me think of him. And it's a lil weird.
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