"A
Time for Every Purpose"
A review by Jenni:
I'm going to pretend I'm not running out of
episodes...
What I love about this episode:
I like how Monica has been in the family's
lives for a while. It just makes you think of your life in a
different way to consider maybe those folks who pop up repeatedly
just when you need em are angels.
"God sends angels to people for all sorts of reasons." I
like that Gloria quote.
I love that because I, for whatever reason, never watched this
episode much... possibly only once or twice... I totally feel like
I'm watching a new show.
I like that Pepper's initial reaction to learning of his brother's
ALS is complete denial. I think it's that way for a lot of
us. And we start to search for support for our theory that
all is well... but there isn't really any.
I like the jumpiness of the storytelling. I think I've
mentioned before that I'm rather fond of non-linear story
lines. Plus this has the added bonus of making it kinda seem
like old school TBAA with the trio together. Gloria's off
doing her own thing.
"Strength comes from all sorts of place. You just need to
know where to look." So true a quote from Monica. And
I like how she can lift Rob. It's amazing but not so much so
that it immediately gives her up as supernatural.
Beautiful. Sad. Surreal. What Gloria says about
funerals seems to be true of the grieving period in general.
I'm glad Monica insisted on giving Rob his medication. It's
pretty obvious why he wanted to keep the whole bottle. I
sometimes wonder when angels can act versus when they need to
respect free will and be still. I always suspected they
could act when a reasonable person would act. I think this
scene gives that impression. Monica couldn't force Rob not
to commit suicide. But she could act in such a way to make
it more difficult.
I like that Monica tells Rob, who has just denied believing in
angels, that deep inside he knows it's true that she is one.
I do often think that even those who deny the existence of God...
at least some of them... really believe at the depths of their
souls.
"Almighty God, Creator of all things, has heard your cry.
He's here with us right now and He wants you to know that as alone
and frightened as you may feel, you're not alone. Because He
is with you. And you have no need to fear because He
promises He will provide for you... if only you will trust
Him." Monica assures Rob of this and that God didn't give
him ALS. That was another thing I loved about TBAA.
Cause I don't believe God strikes us down with diseases. I
believe He can use our infirmities for good. But I don't
believe illness comes from Him. I believe it's the
consequence of free will run amok for too long.
"God will see you through it. To the end of this life and
into the next." Monica says that of Rob's ALS but I think it
applies to a lot.
"When you fall down, the Father wants to pick you up and carry you
Home. And heal you in His own time, in His way."
Another from Monica. That one made me cry. Sometimes
that's hard to remember when He picks up someone you weren't ready
to have go Home even when you know it's best for them.
Loving the brotherly hug. And how amazing would it be to
suddenly meet an uncle you never met?
"Every moment on this earth is precious, baby. But some
human beings never learn that. For those who do, life is a
miracle." Tess speaking the truth.
What I didn't love about this episode:
More Andrew woulda been
nice. But, really, I can't complain about much here. I
do feel as if something was missing... beyond more Andrew
scenes... but can't say what.
Lingering questions:
How do you know when hand trouble is something more than just a
fluke or low blood sugar?
I wonder how many men are in love with their brother's wife?
It's an awfully popular trope.
Parts that
made me feel swoony:
The facial hair... He looks so
stunning. Honestly, it's not fair that Andrew looked at his
best right before he left. But then John was always
lovely. I'm not sure there ever would have been a time that
would have seemed fair.
Oh... and in a lab coat. I just love him. If I had to
get bad news, I'd want to hear it from Andrew. Cause I know
he'd stick around to deal with the aftermath.
I'm watching the scene where Andrew is showing Rob the computer
program that will speak for him. And I find myself thinking
"Gah, I can't imagine if his voice was ever silenced..." And
then I kinda freeze and realize what I've just said to myself and
how there's really no imagining about it. But, thankfully,
then I remember that John's voice is still there as much as
ever. Maybe, in some ways, even more so. And where he
is now nothing can ever, ever happen to it or to him.
And then... I think "He's got facial hair... is wearing glasses...
and is sounding exceptionally intelligent... this is
dangerous." ;-) 16 years ago tonight is when I first
really saw John. "The One That Got Away" had its original
airing and while it's possibly I'd already seen him in Young and the Restless, Jack's Place, or Tour of Duty, I don't
remember them. But TOTGA I remember. And I don't think
I could have imagined how happy that guy on the screen in the
dorky shoes was going to make me. Even now he does.
I want to hug him when he comes to tell Rob
about his wife... Rob deserves a hug, too, of course.
But a strange woman hugging him then would be odd.
So I guess I want to hug Andrew *after* he gives the bad news.
Jealous of Monica at the end... the way he's stroking her
arm. Lucky her... And in the next scene
Gloria gets an arm around her shoulders... I think I need a
new Commandment. "Thou shall not covet those ladies' angel
of death friend."
I love Andrew but at points found myself wanting to believe I was
watching Doc Hock all grown up...
Random
thoughts:
Music: Didn't notice
any the first time. Nor the second.
Rob is so familiar to me but I can't figure out why...
Scenes Hallmark cut:
- If there were any, I think they were minor. And I don't
think they involved Andrew as I probly woulda noticed. Then
again... I was tired. As always. But for now I'm gonna
say there weren't any. Even parts I thought THC may have cut
(like maybe a scene with Tess and Sam) just plain don't exist.
Further on down the road...
It's hard to believe I went a whole Christmas season with no
TBAA but I did. Despite my best efforts, this season ended
up as rushed as usual. But I guess there's nothing like
hearing a police helicopter so close to your house that the walls
shake to make ya think that watching TBAA would be nice.
Still not sure what that's about...
Part of why I couldn't watch TBAA is I was down to the wire
writing JABB's Christmas story. So watching this just seems
odd. I've spent vastly more time with the Dyeland version of
these characters than the TBAA ones over the last few years.
I think I've crossed some sorta threshold...
Maybe not the best episode to watch after I spilled part of my
dinner, dropped a glass bottle, and have generally not been very
coordinated. But I'm gonna blame the six hours of Christmas
undecorating and caffeine in place of food during that.
This episode does seem very of the moment... disregarding the
technology... with the right to die movement being much talked
about this past year.
I still don't get when they can intervene and when they
can't. It sure looked like Monica resealed that pill
bottle. Yeah, she did. How is that okay? I mean
it's good that she did but it doesn't seem different than other
times the angels had to just stand by. Maybe it was just
that it was a normal thing to do. If you helped someone with
their meds, you'd likely reseal the bottle just outta habit.
I appreciated, and still do, how TBAA was so anti-Calvinist.
Bad things don't happen cause God's mad at you. Bad things
just happen... even to God. Sometimes there are human
causes... lots of time... but sometimes things are just random.
Sigh... Poor touchy, feely Andrew. He did not get
affection as often as he gave it...
Huh. Apparently the last time I watched this episode was
also early January. TOTGA Day, to be exact. Another
"holiday" I didn't get to watch TBAA on. Really hoping I can
get control of my schedule more in 2016.
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