"Unidentified Female"

A review by Jenni:

So this is my first review of a non-Andrew episode.  At first I planned to only cover episodes that featured an AOD.  However, that left so few episodes (some quite good) that it seemed a shame not to eventually review them all.  And I've liked this episode for a while so... every episode it is!

What I love about this episode:
I think I just really like Jennifer.  I can relate to her.  Obviously there's the name thing.  And I'm also an assistant (though not at a magazine).  And I pray that I'll make a positive difference in the world.  I don't know that my friends consider me a hermit as Jennifer's friend Cookie does her but I think they'd definitely agree to "homebody" and "shy."  When she marvels that Clay, who is so accomplished, is the same age as her... yeah, that's a me thing, too.  I even grieve like this lady.  While I generally will cry for a lil bit after a tragedy, I don't tend to process it until weeks or even years later.  And once I do I start down the "if I'd only done/not done this..." road.  So when Jennifer suggests that if she'd not given him sarsaparilla Alex wouldn't have died... I cringed.  Because I knew that would be my own thought in her position.  One big difference: I do not and never have smoked.  Yuck.  But otherwise I can definitely see myself in her. 

This episode is like an indie movie!  But without an awesome soundtrack, unfortunately.  Just the way they tell the story (in medias res, again!) and the dramatic lighting and the theme of twentysomething angst...  Screams indie movie to me.  So rock on TBAA for that! 

It's literary!  One of these days I should read Look Homeward Angel.  The parts the characters quoted sounded good.  But I doubt I'll be reading it during a road trip.

How diverse is Alanna Ubach???  Cookie bears absolutely no resemblance to Lydia from "Redeeming Love."  It's hard to believe the characters are played by the same actress.  So kudos to her.

I'm fond of non-linear timelines and this one was all over the place.  I'm sure that wasn't everyone's cup of tea but I really liked it.

Something about Monica and the cop saying in unison "It never gets easier," referring to random, senseless violence, gets to me.  I guess it makes me remember, for all my angst over angels of death, there are many, many humans who see a lot more junk than they should ever have to.

What I didn't love about this episode:
I can't really put my finger on it but something about the interrogation scenes didn't seem right. 

It's traumatic to see the poor, wounded dove!  Sad...  But I'm glad it was healed.  Although... Tess saying that the kids "didn't know what they were doing" kinda irks me.  On one hand, it reminds me of Jesus' "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" which is a welcome thing to remember.  Yet...  The kids aimed a slingshot at a bird.  A guy pounded a nail into another guy's hand.  Sure, they may not have been thinking "I am going to wound this divinely sent bird/person!" but they darn well knew their actions could cause pain.  So I'm all for forgiving kids and ancient Romans but tend to think they should take a lil responsibility.

Lingering questions:
I, like Jennifer, am bewildered by Alex and Clay going from screaming at each other to being all buddy-buddy.  They tell her that "it's a guy thing."  Apparently.  One of my dad's closest friends now is a guy he got into a big fist fight with in school.  How's that happen?!?  I can still feel hurt looking back on things friends said or did to me and I have a hard time trusting them afterwards.  So what exactly is this "guy thing" and how does one develop it cause it sure looks easier.

Parts that made me feel swoony:
Betcha thought that since Andrew's not in this episode I couldn't possibly get swoony.  You would be wrong. 

So at the end of this episode Tess tells Monica "It's good for a caseworker to have an experience as the angel of death.  Makes one mindful of the whole picture."  Hmm.  You would think, right?  So Monica played the AOD and said "it never gets easier."  So then why's she oblivious to Andrew's pain sometimes?!?!?  Why?!?!  Why!?!?!  Why!?!?!   He's lovely and deserves some attention!

Random thoughts:
So Brandon Douglas who played Clay also played Dr. Andrew Cook on Dr. Quinn.  And I remember thinking CBS definitely had the market cornered on cute, nice characters named Andrew.  Of course, I did not think Dr. Cook was anywhere near as adorable as Andrew.  Which is good cause JABB sounds so much better than BABB.

A Word from Travis:
Maybe I need to watch this episode again, but I just didn’t like it (the back and forth narration and the story line). I recognize Alicia Coppola (Ava) as she played Lorna on a daytime soap called “Another World.”

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(The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)