"Visions of Thy Father"

A review by Jenni:

I'm not as nervous about this episode as last week's.  However... I saw the old CBS promo for it and Andrew was no where to be seen.  So that concerns me. 
 
What I love about this episode:
I would just like to make it known that sometimes it's hard to understand the decisions angels make.  Like not to follow their weeping friend out of a newsroom...  So it's nice that we have mutual dumbfoundedness in common based on the intro scene.  :-)

I love that Andrew gets to be behind the camera for part of this.  He always seems so, if not joyful, then at least really content when he has a camera.

Well, I'm not quite half-way through but thus far Andrew's made a pretty good showing.  In fact, the episode is fairly well-balanced among the three with Tess lagging a bit.  But, really, it's been good screen time-wise.

Aww.  I like that the mom comes up with the picnic idea.  I was worried it was going to lead to a scary scene.  But it's such a sweet idea. 

Ack!  Whatta way to do a commercial break!  Jason opens the door, pan to a concerned Monica and Andrew, and then make people wait!  Well done with the suspense!  And, bonus, when it resumes Tess is there.  Yay.

I like that they show how much Will's transgression and cover-up impacts Jason.  I think sometimes parents don't realize how much their behavior and what they say affects their near-grown and grown children.  I would totally freak out if I found out one of my parents was having an affair and it would even change something of how I feel about myself...  It shouldn't because it wasn't my mistake.  But it would.  Like Jason tells Monica, I would feel like my life was a lie.

I also applaud the show for often depicting how much pressure kids sometimes put on themselves to protect their parents.  Like Jason does here to protect his mom.  He'll carry this burdensome secret rather than hurt her.  I imagine there are many children out there doing the same thing to one extent or another.

"Yes, people will be hurt for a while by the truth.  But they'll be damaged forever by a lie."  A good and all-too-difficult quote from Monica.

Really, Renee is awesome.  She lets Will have it but only in a limited way and keeps the focus on doing what's best for their son.  I'd like to think, in her place, I'd be like that, too.  She's also very good at compartmentalizing Jason's father and her husband.  Not everyone can do that so well and children suffer for it.

"More than anything else, He wants you to know that He loves you."  From Tess to Will.  I like the phrasing.

"There can be no 'buts' when you ask for forgiveness, baby.  No conditions."  Amen to that, Tess!

"The light of God's love can penetrate any darkness."  Monica speaking to Jason.  I do believe that.  Even when it sometimes seems really dark.

"He created you.  He knows your heart because He made it.  He can see the anger and the pain and the betrayal and the fear that's in it.  But He can also see that love that's still there [for your father]." 

"He can give you a heart like His.  A heart that sees failure and betrayal and mistakes and yet still loves, still hopes."  Both those are from Monica to Jason.  I especially love this last one.  Maybe the point of life is to grow a heart like that.

I love that Tess had an appointment with Sherri.  She needs an angel to straighten her out!

What I didn't love about this episode:
Have to say... I find myself with zero patience/sympathy with a fortysomething year old guy bemoaning that half his life is already over. 

After this episode featured really well balanced screen time for quite some time, Andrew basically disappeared for a long while... 

Lingering questions:
When can doctors treat family?  I always thought that was a no-no.

Do many schools wrap their semesters in June?  I have never been in a school that was in session past the last week of May.  But Jason said he was graduating in June.  Further, do most people apply during their senior year?  Was my school just zealous?  I thought we had to do all of that during our junior year... maybe it just seemed that way.

Is it believable that neither parent would ride in the ambulance with Jason after his accident?  I thought someone was usually able to ride along.  No?

Parts that made me feel swoony:
I love Andrew's sweater in the opening scene.  I also love how unmodern his jeans look.  Remember the days when jeans were really blue and not almost navy?

I wish I could tag along with Andrew...  Lucky Jason.  I love how encouraging he is with him.  And eager to help him get his career going.

What does Andrew know and when?  Something about his demeanor upon first meeting the doctor seems... knowing.  I've always liked when he was quietly perturbed with people who hurt others selfishly.

He's so handsome in the shots after Jason's accident...  Yes, I realize my focus should be elsewhere then but... he's beautiful.

He looks lovely in light blue.  And any time he laughs, I'm happy.

Random thoughts:
Music: None that I picked up.

Sometimes I wonder if the age difference between myself and the TBAA writers makes some of these episodes a lil hard to swallow for me.  On the YG this week, I mentioned how I grew up knowing about AIDS.  That has nearly always been part of my worldview.  So it's really hard for me to sometimes swallow these episodes wherein adultery is uncovered and mere minutes later I'm supposed to believe things can be salvaged.  There's the emotional betrayal, of course.  But adultery has never been only that to me.  It's always in my mind that a philandering spouse could unwittingly expose their spouse to a fatal disease.  I have a really hard time with this episode and "Labor of Love" in light of that. 

Scenes Hallmark cut:
 -The segment after Jason discovers his father's affair begins with Monica checking a customer out at the photo shop.  Just as the lady is departing, Jason rushes in.  He doesn't say anything to Monica so she follows him into the dark room.  When she enters, he's looking at a photo he took of his dad and Sherri... as if hunting for clues.  Monica asks him if he got the shots he needed, Jason says that he was too late.  She asks if he minds if she closes up, he says no.  Monica leaves and Jason briefly examines the photos again.  Then he stashes the incriminating film in that glass (which now explains why he grabbed that glass and ran out in the scene between him, Monica, and Andrew).  It then cuts to the doctor arriving home and asking if Jason is back.  His wife responds with something like "Remember the good old days when you used to start with 'Hi, beautiful.'"  Clearly with a guilty conscience, Will asks what she means.  She goes onto say a hello would just be nice.  He smiles with relief, says "Hello, beautiful," and they tightly embrace.  Renee then answers him, saying Jason isn't home yet.  Jason enters just in time to see them kiss.  He looks kinda sick.  His mom greets him warmly and tells him dinner is almost ready, with peach turnovers for dessert (yum).  She says it's to celebrate her "soon to be famous men" and acing her chem test.  Jason says he isn't hungry and leaves the room.  Renee asks Will if something happened.  Will says Jason was fine when he left the office and maybe had a fight with Lisa.  Will says he'll go talk to him.  Then it goes to where THC starts.  This all takes about 2 minutes so I'm hoping it's the only cut they made...  And it was.

Further on down the road...
Sigh...  Monica's surprised that everything seems fine but is not?  Has she actually been living the life I've been watching since 1994?  Cause I kinda feel like at this point a calm facade over a brewing storm should not be surprising for her.

Ya know, I have just never been struck by the desire to dye my hair.  I don't think Roma's looks bad here but I certainly don't think it's as pretty or flattering as her normal color.  I've never really understood it.  Do people think they look better with a color they dye it to?  Or do people just like having something really different now and again?  Or maybe in some cases their hair was once a particular shade then changed but they miss the old shade?  When I was little, mine was practically bleach blonde.  I'm NOT going back to that.  I think maybe I'm just weirded out by my mental image of myself and a mirror image not matching and my mental image is pretty fixed as "dishwater blonde person."  I think I'll be fine moving into ash blonde eventually, too.  But I just can't imagine red or brown or black.  Okay, so this episode bores me a bit at times so I talked about hair for a whole paragraph.  Ha.  Andrew's hair, though... always lovely.  Well, except for this.  Just say no to the top notch!

This dad annoys me...  We all know affairs are totally fine if you don't care about the other person.  ::rolls eye sarcastically::  Yuck.  It's complicated because I think it would hurt terribly to hear your spouse loved someone who isn't you but I kinda think hearing "I don't love her" would make it worse.  An entire life together was worth risking over what... lust?  I think I could almost deal with total confusion better.  Who knows, though.  In any case, a married man making out with a woman he doesn't care about is disgusting.  Go skydiving if you need to feel alive.  Geez.

Ha.  I just realized the mom is wearing a top notch.  But it looks good on her.

I don't really think I'd feel right eating in a doctor's office.  Seems germy...  Although I guess an ophthalmologist's would maybe not be quite as likely to have contagious people in it.  Still...

Ya know, I don't have a single item of argyle clothing.  Monica's sweater is really cute.  Maybe I should give it a shot sometime.  Yeah, so this episode is one I tend to wander during.  Blessedly, my life's been pretty much adultery-free.

Kinda offended by the kid telling his dad that he's made a fool of his mother.  There's only one fool in the family and it ain't her.  I know that people whose spouses have cheated sometimes feel that way but I don't think other people should be saying that of them. 

Sigh...  Lovely Andrew.  His reaction shots really get me sometimes. 

I'm really glad Tess called the doc out on using "but..." during his apology. 

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