1/12 Season Two, Episode 18: Car Wars-Scarecrow and Mrs King

Hello! I can’t wait to get into this episode!
I’m covering this episode and A Relative Situation straight after Spiderweb, deviating a little from the airing order:  it’s ridiculous to have Amanda have long hair then short hair then long hair then short hair!! Winking smile I believe both these episodes come before Spiderweb-  I’ll explain fully in a post on the episode order later!

Also, a huge thank you to Jaemie for transcribing this episode and contributing to Operation Sandstorm! Hooray!!!!! Smile Makes blogging a lot faster and easier!! Smile
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So.. on to the episode! It opens with magical music and a few nature shots of Niagara Falls..[A nice view of the American Falls!]  then, a very ordinary looking street with a little booth on it saying it is the United States/ Canadian border..
A rather grand black car pulls up and the border guard asks for the driver’s ID.
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Border Guard: May I see some identification please?
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Driver:
Oh man! what is this stuff?

Shocking! Being asked for ID at a border crossing? Just what is the world coming to! Smile Maybe he was taken by surprise driving down this ordinary street and didn’t realise it is a border crossing?
Border guard: Mr Gustafsson?
Driver: Yo!! 1rofl
Haaa haaaa.. The guy is from Sweden? too funny..

The border guard isn’t buying it and goes to check it out.. The driver takes the opportunity to drive off, through the wooden border gates- Okay.. call me crazy but if you are going to do something against the law- don’t do it in a very distinctive car like that! Smile 

The chase is on.. and the Swedish bloke who probably isn’t Swedish gets busted..Thanks to a road block!
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This is all seen by a car nearby.. Two baddies are watching.. and one notes: Mr Falcone ain’t gonna like this.

Whoa.. these baddies must be students in English Literature.. ahem.. It is too weird seeing Kramer be a bad guy!! 1confusion
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On to a scary concrete building.. Which is the baddie HQ! haaaa.. Love the mafia style music theme! Ahhh SMK and it’s stereotypes! Seems the baddies are giving their boss, Mr Falcone a mafia update..
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Only it seems Kramer whose name in this ep is ‘Benedict’ [edited to correct: Kramer’s character is Petronus or Petronius-I have no script for this episode.. the other baddie is Benedict]  – has stopped off to change his outfit before meeting with his boss – the other guy didn’t though! 207Oh I know.. they decided to stop  off at Lee’s house and borrow his jacket from the tag of Service above and beyond so Benedict would look more snazzy.. 1rofl Lee needs to move apartments.. his place is becoming baddie central!
LOL at the Blue Leather!!! Smile [Funny, when Lee wore it I didn’t mind what colour it was!! It looks soooo good on Lee!!!1more drooling]

2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000246312Falcone ain’t impressed or nothin.. he’s in a bad mood because he has too much  eyeliner! Winking smile well..it seems they’ve tracked their guy  Mario down, (who was not Swedish)  to Washington.. and the car has been shipped down there too.. so the baddies are off to Washington to find the car.. Falcone says Mario can rot – just find that car!!
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Is it just me or.. does Falcone’s phone cord go nowhere??!! Winking smile 

Back at the agency..IFF’s street is tree lined..[unlike in Spiderweb] and Ms Walker is on Border Patrol! Smile
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The bullpen is about to get a lecture from  ‘Internal Finances’ (as opposed to External Finances??). As the guy enters the bullpen, we see Francine and Lee are unimpressed by this guy and the message he is about to deliver. They are dismissive..
So, we’ve had to wait 4 and a half minutes to see Lee in this episode- and he’s being bratty?.. ugh!
Francine: I knew things were going too well today.
Lee (with sarcasm): He’s a fun guy.
Francine: oh yeah, right up there with root canal work.
Lee: Mmm Hmm!
Billy introduces him as Mr LaRue – Ahhh SMK loves to play with names!!! ‘Rue’ meaning: to bitterly regret.. as in you will rue the day you make fun of internal finances Francine!!! Smile
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It is clear the whole bullpen rues the arrival of LaRue! They are unenthusiastic in their attention to what he has to say (Billy can empathise with him!) but.. I find Lee and Francine to be particularly rude here in this scene.
LaRue: All right, I will make this brief.
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Lee under his breath: here here.
LaRue : How many times have I looked out over these same faces and made this same speech?
Francine [under her breath to Lee]:
Waaay too many.
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Lee sniggers at this – it is obvious they are talking while LaRue is trying to address them all- sooo rude!
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2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000316916We cut to Billy looking none too pleased. I interpret Billy here as being unimpressed with Lee and Francine’s conduct- I’m interested to hear what you guys think!
LaRue: Your agency is funded by the federal government and that means taxpayer money, and that, 2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000321588in turn means a demand for fiscal responsibility and accountability, hm?.. Let’s talk expense accounts… Abuses, abuses.
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[Everyone looks miserable.. Billy included..]
La Rue continues: I am here today to announce that a sixty day internal audit has begun on expense accounts…[we hear lots of groans from the bullpen!]
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….Every penny will be scrutinized and we expect costs to come down. Is that clear, Mr Melrose?
Billy nods to confirm it’s understood..
Lee: Ahhh excuse me….
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….but ah.. what if they don’t come down?
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At this, LaRue gives Billy a look.. and Billy seems embarrassed by Lee’s questioning and attitude here..
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LaRue: Well, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s day with talk of reprimands, fines and pay cheque adjustments …hmmm?….
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At this Francine and Lee looks suitably chastened!!
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LaRue finishes with: ….Good day!
LaRue has a job to do, and Lee and Francine making things unpleasant isn’t helpful! The kids don’t like to have boundaries I think!! LOL it’s like he is hanging out with ‘the wrong crowd’ here and he’s being influenced by Francine! I wonder if this ep should come right before Brunettes Are In.. now I’m watching it I’m beginning to wonder..

Wow.. after watching Ship of Spies and Spiderweb, I find Lee to be back to his old immature ways here! I am not sure if this is what the writers were aiming at, but I find myself feeling sympathy for the accounts guy! I think it is fair enough that agents be accountable for the money they spend.. they don’t have a blank cheque here.. Lee and Francine are unbelieveably rude – this definitely feeling like earlier smk to me.. I also think that Lee and Francine are making things harder for Billy – not good teamwork here.

Oh and LOL at Francine’s Bow in her hair – just like she had in 3 faces of Emily.. and she has that perm back again that she had back then also (and in Brunettes)!

La Rue leaves, and Lee complains to Billy..
Lee: Boy, that LaRue is a real pain in the you-know-what.
2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000374641Billy: Well, all of our you-know-whats are going to be in a sling if we don’t start showing that man some results.

Wha??? I’m sorry.. my mind just went totally blank.. did they just say something about Lee’s you-know-what?? wabhaobyasaebha! Come on Iwsod!!! focus!!!

2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000376643Lee: I know, I know.. the guy is just doing his job but look at him Billy, the guy is a joke.

What does the way he looks have to do with anything?! Lee!!! It sounds like a Francine sort of thing to say!!! I’m not happy Lee!! and… neither is Billy!
2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000381648Billy: I’m not laughing. Did you know he’s making me personally responsible for all field agent’s accounts?!

Lee manages to quit his bellyaching.. he admits they’ll be able to make some cuts… (The Taxpayers thank you Lee!!)
2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000393660Love how Billy asks Lee what he is currently working on and Lee boasts he just handed in the report on the 2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000405672Lebanese affair -ON TIME’! whooooo… isn’t that an achievement.. Lee is super clever!! 😉
I agree with Billy’s point here.. it is dumb that Lee would be running files
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I would have guessed  the Lee I know would be annoyed at this pointless grunt work and much rather be out there in field lookin good and catching bad guys?! and besides.. Err isn’t all that paper stuff Francine’s job? Winking smile

2.18 CAR WARS.avi_000426693Aha! Lee gets given a folder of homework to work on..

Billy: It’s a report from the Latin American Bureau on our Bolivian terrorist friends, Los Lobos. Seems they’ve gone commercial.  [Los Lobos? rofl!!]
Lee reads aloud: Evidence linking them closely with American crime syndicate headed by Nick Falcone… Falcone. Well that makes sense, they’re all in the same line of work: kidnapping, extortion, murder.
[Okay.. these baddies mean business!]
Billy: And drugs. We suspect that the Bolivians are supplying Falcone with narcotics. He sells them here for a price, and sends the rest of the profits back to the terrorists…bankrolling those maniacs!

Aha! Soooo baddies of the greedy variety this week! Smile Nick Falcone..wait a minute-now.. you don’t think that.. umm.. sometime soon Amanda is accidentally going to ummm bump into this Falcone and become sort of involved do you? accidentally collect his mail? have him run into her car? errr.. pick up his book by accident at the local bookshop? hmmm.. just what will happen in lovely smk land??!!! Maybe Amanda will recognise Lee’s blue leather jacket! gah!!

Love BB’s deliver of this line.. whooo tough guy!
Lee: Yeah, it’s a neat little package. Two groups of garbage make money at the same time they’re filling our streets with more of that damn dope. Okay. I’m on it today.
BB sounds so convincing! Smile
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Yeah Lee.. just hang around Amanda long enough and she’ll somehow accidentally solve the case!
1HaHaHa

Billy tells Lee to get a civilian to deliver the boxes as he leaves Lee to actually do some work.. Lee calls after Billy, asking who could he possible get at such short notice at this hour of the morning?
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Billy silently turns and gives a little smile!!! heeee… We know who!! 🙂 That’s the Amanda smile!! Smile
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Again!- this feels like earlier SMK to me.. not after Spiderweb.. or Billy would not be needing to suggest Amanda at all IMHO!
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Do you think the light shining on Lee’s head like a halo was deliberate??!!!1ha haaaaaaa
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Lee doesn’t object to the idea of contacting Amanda.. but he doesn’t look thrilled either.. why? thoughts anyone??
I could put this down to it being before the previous two episodes, so the tone is different.. also, it could be because he is annoyed at the cost cutting and thinks it would be less trouble to run the records over to the facility himself – ahem.. he’s going to be proven right there!!! Smile but.. this way is more fun!!!

One thought.. if the agency is now under pressure to keep better track of expenses- it fits with Amanda later working on the accounts/Lee’s receipts in Spiderweb Smile

Okay guys I shall finish up there! Hope you are all well!! I’m travelling a bit at the moment so may not get to respond to comments much at the moment- but I’m monitoring and reading as always! feel free to chat amongst yourselves about this episode!! byeee for now!

27 thoughts on “1/12 Season Two, Episode 18: Car Wars-Scarecrow and Mrs King

  1. Historically, this has not been one my favorite episodes (I don’t hate it, but just not one I love), but I just watched it in revised Season 2 order after Brunettes, and I laughed out loud so much!! It was so enjoyable! Perhaps after the intensity of Brunettes, it brings some comic relief. And I do see Lee handling himself more in “we” mode than “me” mode some in later scenes. I think Lee is really starting to embrace Amanda’s world, and love how he handles the space creature story and insists on getting a car for her, taking ownership of everything that happens to it, etc. He is certainly subtly switching gears through this part of the season to me (in revised order).

    Also, I love Kramer, and so it is also just funny for me to see him try to be a bad guy. He’s still a funny bad guy – he can’t help it. I keep wanting him to come in Amanda’s kitchen and start eating her cereal.

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  2. Hi Everyone! The photos on A Little Sex, A Little Scandal and Car Wars are so awful, I’d love to replace them all!!! but.. It would take me forever to take the pics out of the blog post and put the clearer ones back in.
    I would simply redo the posts and delete the original posts- but I would hate to loose everyone’s wonderful comments.. they are very precious!!!
    Soooo I am thinking what I might do is add in a few posts for A Little Sex, A Little Scandal and Car wars which are just picture galleries from the episode. that way you can see some clearer pics. I think it’s the best I can do for now..I’ll try and work on this over my summer break [being in Australia- January is my summer break!] Hope this is okay! byeeeeee

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  3. Oh dear, just picked up the Los Lobos connection. And I so enjoy their music. Sigh, everyone’s into making money anyway they can I guess! (Bad Jule! Be nice!) Okay, back down the SMK bunny hole….

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  4. The casual border crossing reminds me of how easy it used to be to go from the U.S. to Canada. Recently, on a business trip with a colleague, my co-worker was asked for his passport at the border. He was indignant: “Why do you need a passport? I’m just going to Canada!” To which the border guard replied, “Yep. And we’re our own country, not an American colony.”

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  5. All right, I’m going to play devil’s advocate just because…. well, to quote Lee, “it’s what I do” (although hopefully not too obnoxiously). I do love this episode. I guess I see Amanda as flustered rather than ditzy. I too would cringe at driving a car like that. I too would no doubt rear-end someone who cut me off. I don’t think I would have the 10 foot long wallet insert but I like the gag, reminiscent of SBTBells. It is far from unheard of to run over a kid’s bike coming in the driveway as we will see later (and in fact someone on yuku wrote that they did exactly that). Dropping the slippery dry cleaning … yep, been there, done that! The space creature ramble? Love it! OK, I’ll quit giving away all the upcoming scenes, sorry.

    I agree that Lee and Francine are rude, and I won’t excuse that behavior. However, I am so familiar with that same kind of lecture at my workplace. We are trying our best to do our technical service jobs to the best of our ability, and the bean-counters keep adding more processes and asking for more accountability of hours. That’s offensive to the many of us who are already voluntarily giving 10% overtime or more. The only reason my eyes don’t roll is because I keep the firmly locked into place. It’s not the message of saving money that’s offensive; it’s the implication that one is not already trying to do so. LaRue should have acknowledged the office’s good work (even if it stinks, you find *something* to highlight) before tying into them. This is professional common sense. But if he had done this and if Lee and Francine had behaved, the scene would have been less interesting and the subsequent cost-saving actions by Lee and what’s-his-name at the car lot would have been less justified.

    I do agree this episode seems like it could come before Spiderweb, but I don’t see it before Brunettes. When one is “growing up”, it doesn’t happen in a nice smooth line (unfortunately!). There is plenty of backsliding and inconsistency. So while I do enjoy examining and questioning the episode order because there are definitely inconsistencies, both physical and logical, little regressions don’t bother me in the least In fact, it seems very human and realistic to me!

    Melissa R — “ROTFLMBO” — I *love* that! I don’t use the more popular version because I just don’t use the “A” word (stuffy person that I am, I know!) so I LOL’d when I saw your abbreviation … ah, a kindred spirit!! 🙂

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      1. Hi Everyone!

        So far this episode seems to be stirring up a few debates! Interesting! 🙂

        Paula, I’m right there with you.. I didn’t like Lee in the blue leather either – but I still really liked Lee 🙂 so happily put it out of my mind! Yes.. The ‘Kramer’ actor does a great job at ‘greasy’ – haaa love how you put it!!
        Sure what you say about border crossings make sense. I was exaggerating about the ordinary looking street – but still.. if you meet a border guard, don’t be shocked if he asks for your passport 😉 Ahh you did the Luxemberg stamp thing too?! There use to be an smk fan online who was from Luxemberg.. but I can’t remember now who that was – if your out there- do say hi! 🙂

        Hi Melissa R– yeah.. unfortunately to us it does seem like fiction. Maybe I am mistaken, but I do see the agents as being a bit loose and free with their spending – never worried about what things will cost- Francine’s wardrobe and her upcoming reduction has probably informed that view of mine. So I don’t see LaRue as being out of line. Ahhh so Melissa R thinks before Brunettes is possible.. maaaaybe- yes Lee is confused around then very true.. this is why I don’t base the conclusion I come to on just one thing – ie. how Lee is treating Amanda.

        Thanks for the encouragement Cindy! Glad the season 1 order made smk even better – that is why I do it I suppose.. BTW- I got Benedict’s name wrong by the way.. the Kramer character is Petronus – I’ll fix that in the post! oops! ROFL! Yes.. it was a stretch that I guessed Amanda might get accidentally involved!! Don’t you love smk coincidences! 🙂

        Hiya Jenbo – you liked the blue Leather? Fair enough! 🙂 you must be sad Petronus stole it off Lee!! 😉
        Me? not so much – but Lee was being so sweet and good towards Amanda in that tag (of SAAB) that he looked to me adorable anyway! 🙂 I think you’ve hit the nail on the head Jenbo with your insights on Lee and pencil pushers – spot on.. that and men who are a bit dorky looking ( he says something about Mr Brand and why should he listen to him because look at him! ) – Lee does mature, but he has his ups and downs in maturity – which is great characterisation isn’t it! 🙂 I figure this attitude of Lee’s fed into how he viewed Amanda too no? and his view of her work at the agency?? [that is up till Brunettes] It’s consistent..
        Lee has some immature attitudes – but to me being an adult means controlling yourself in the workplace – and Lee and Francine were screaming ‘nasty incrowd’ to me as I watched this – right there with you Cindy on this moment!!! But.. I’ll move on..

        Bjo, you need not worry about getting behind – I’m too busy these days to post so often! grrrrr… [If that gives people more time to discuss- then maybe it is a good thing: I’d rather go slower and give people a chance to contribute to the journey- what do you guys think? ]

        Hi Morley thanks for sharing your thoughts on the order of this ep and Brunettes! I am finding this one a tricky one. I can find reasons to put it either side of Brunettes so far – Lee’s consideration towards Amanda could be because it is post Brunettes, but it could also be him being nice to his friend – to me it could be either and it doesn’t help me form an opinion [this is only an opinion, we can come to different conclusions] I still haven’t decided yet. Though I suspect I may be able to form an opinion based on whether or not Amanda is Lee’s partner, and how assertive Amanda’s character is- maybe! we’ll see! I haven’t watched ahead in great detail so learning and thinking as I go!
        You are so right Morely – they did a fab job nuancing the characters! good point!! whoooo I like your idea about Lee spiffing up his clothes – like putting on armour perhaps?! You should post that on the Lost and Found thread so it doesn’t get lost! 🙂

        Yeah Lost and found was not easy to watch ( but soo worthwhile) – I have Cindy to credit for getting me through my blogging that ep!! 🙂

        Allofakind– I always love to hear your thoughts!!! 🙂 wow! you have some strong feelings about this ep! And it seems to be traditionally a well liked episode – I’m really glad you shared your thoughts with us!!! I hope you’ll keep reading through this ep – I’d really like to hear which bits in particular bugged you.
        For me, the one scene (in post 2) with Amanda blathering on and the playful music was annoying- it went a tad too far towards ditzy for my tastes.. so I hear what you mean! We are all different – I see others don’t mind the scene and see it as another lovely Amandaramble.
        After reading everyone’s thoughts on it- I think what bugs me is the ramble has the ditzy music AND no point- usually Amanda’s rambles are to offer up a clue eventually, or to solve the entire case. Here? It is just Amanda being ditzy [and it’s a plot device to explain why she doesn’t have a car in an interesting way] The one thing that I can like about it is Lee is so lovely in response to it. And the fabulous line: And the rest is Amanda King history!!! – love it!!
        This reminds me very much of the scene in the kitchen in 3 Faces of Emily (only it didn’t have ditzy music to go with it so it didn’t bug me so much) – you know where Amanda rambles about her leaving him to it and how she is going to Wilson’s paint shop because it has the best paint selection? https://justwalkwithme.com/2013/01/22/7-season-two-episode-11three-faces-of-emily-scarecrow-and-mrs-king/
        Lee listens (ok he is a little exasperated), and then she leaves and but he affectionately says to himself ‘ oh Amanda!’ [and again it was a plot device: Amanda needed to tell Lee where to find her so Walter and Madam could come rescue her 😉 and to me, they acknowledge that by Lee being a little exasperated] Anyway, having my own iwsodramble hey! The point is: Lee was not gruff in response, and that is great to see – and it was before Brunettes are in. Just an interesting thought..

        Hi Raffie! ROFLMAO is offensive to you? then I’ll stop using it! 🙂 there’s plenty of other ways to express you are in pain at laughing so much! 😉 ROLFMBO stands for Raffie on floor laughing her butt off?!
        Devil’s advocate Raffie? so is this what you think? or are you just presenting an alternative view? Or is it part of both? I’m a little confused..
        I think upcoming posts of mine will address what I think of the situations you mentioned Raffie– so I won’t respond to specifics- though I will just briefly add – I found the one scene of Amanda’s ramble in the car in post 2 annoying- but that doesn’t mean I find all the other Amanda parts ditzy.. generally I think there is more going on than that – though I acknowledge others do find the ditzy Amanda qualities to be over the top in this episode, for me I don’t see the whole episode that way- at least not at this point! LOL!

        Sooo it’s going to be interesting as we continue on (yes at a snail’s pace- sorry!) to hear how people view Amanda’s upcoming behaviour in various scenes.. I’m starting to form a theory about all this..but I’ll get to it later!

        Raffie sounds like LaRue pushes a button for you! and for me.. Lee and Francine being nasty while LaRue is trying to talk? pushes a button for me!!! 🙂 Hmm Raffie you could write a post on what SMK teaches you about the workplace or something! You’d be great at it!! 🙂

        Lastly, yes Raffie I agree- growth is not a straight line- three steps forward, two steps back. My comments to Jenbo address this idea: I’m not looking for a perfect straight line when looking at the episode order, but an order that fits better in multiple areas of the show’s story… and it’s only my opinion – you could do your own episode order if you like – oranyone else like to? I would be happy to publish it! I agree little regressions are natural – like when Amanda corrects ‘we’ to ‘you’ when asking Lee about his case – after Brunettes are in – some old habits will die hard! 🙂

        I hope to get another post out in the next 24-48 hrs.. I’m nearly there! hope you are all well!!! byeeeee!!!

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        1. Thanks, Melissa! It’s nice to know I’m not totally out in left field with some of my ramblings 🙂

          Hey, Iwsod, no worries! … I’m not offended by others using the “A” form, but I don’t use it myself. But I never thought to substitute a “B” (duh!). Actually, I’m pathetically literal as well, so unless I’m truly rolling on the floor in hysterics, I’ll probably just use LOL anyway. (And yes, if I type LOL, I mean something really did cause me to laugh out loud.) Having confessed all this, I feel like perhaps I should be a case study in one of your psych classes 🙂

          Regarding what I mean by “devil’s advocate”, your “part of both” statement is about right. I won’t argue a point I don’t believe in, but mostly with SMK it’s a case where I see both sides and feel compelled to give equal representation to the side that is being maligned or under-represented. Sorta like rooting for the underdog I guess! (Yep, I do that too 🙂

          I felt a little silly re-reading my work place post. “It’s only SMK, raffie, don’t take it so seriously!” But that LaRue scene really is just another of those stereotypes that SMK loves to play up. The frustrated and unappreciated numbers guy and the equally frustrated and unrepentant employees…. based on the discussion here, it sounds like something we can all identify with!

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        2. I think you hit the nail on the head with the difference between Amanda’s typical babble and what I see in this episode. There is no point and she doesn’t draw some conclusion when she’s done. Usually her ramble gets here somewhere – almost like it’s how she processes her thoughts. But in this episode they make her out to be a complete moron. I will say that I went back and watched earlier episodes. I ended up watching A Class Act followed Car Wars and then the Playing Possum. For some reason that just seemed to make sense to me and the ditzy Amanda didn’t seem so annoying.

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    1. Interesting to hear people’s thoughts/experiences on what is considered acceptable/unaccepble behaviour on SMK. I’m constantly aware that much as I love it SMK represents a very sanitised version of life in a secret service organisation. As a self employed person working within a larger organisation I work all sorts of unsociable hours, often for weeks or months without a day off. I can appreciate the stress and lack of normality inherent in a relatively unstructured (and occasionally dangerous) job such as these people have. I mentally overlay in my own mind how a scene would really play out in real life. Some of the scenes in SMK of course just wouldn’t make it into real life, but that aside, hate to say it guys but, yeah, it would be overall a fairly “robust” work environment – disciplined but robust. Except for the fact that it is a bit childish the way it is played out, the scene with Francine and Lee digging at La Rue doesn’t bother me at all. Le Rue would be used to giving as good as he got.
      And, of course, the “you know what” would be articulated by Lee and Billy in a somewhat more straight-forward manner.
      When I’m watching SMK I’m very aware that its 1980’s American TV made to appeal to a universal audience, so I just mentally overlay more grittiness into it in my own mind. But good on you IWSOD for keeping the blog PG too so everyone can enjoy.

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  6. LOL – my first thought, too, was the obviously fictional comment about a fiscally responsible federal government. Looks like I’m not alone in that. However, I do think I’m alone in disliking this episode. There are some comical moments but in general I really hate how stupid and bumbling they make Amanda in this one. Hello – women can drive. I know it’s not the only episode she acts bumbling but often I feel it’s more her feeling out of place and uncomfortable in this new element. But this episode I felt like they just made her seem stupid. I do wonder if some of my feelings come from the fact that I usually watch it in broadcast order, despite the magic hair, and after a few episodes of her not being considered a moron, they pull out this one which makes not only her seem stupid but women as a whole stupid.

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    1. Word. This episode is better than some of the others (especially if viewed earlier in the season), but there are several scenes I would have rewritten or tweaked. But that’s just me. LOL.

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  7. Ack! I’m getting behind! We are away on spring break vacation for a couple more days….can’t wait to get back into a routine and have more time for reading and commenting and being on dimple patrol. And iwsod, I’m going to start season 1 again and watch it in your episode order and see what I think – wonder if I’ll notice a difference. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, bjop1 is the same as the former BJo. I had to change it when because of WordPress.

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    1. I found watching in the revised order really increased my enjoyment of the series. I felt Lee’s hot and cold attitude towards Amanda really off putting and had actually warned my girls about getting involved with someone like that!
      I am interested in seeing if your experience is the same.

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      1. Last time I watched season 2 I watched this one right after Brunettes and I noticed how well Lee had learned to show more consideration to Amanda. It was as if he was purposely trying to be considerate, but wasn’t very comfortable at it. I really think it is out of order here, even more so because I was surprised by his immature responses to Billy while reading this post and I don’t remember noticing his behavior before. I think he really matured over the course of season 2 in more ways than in his direct relationship with Amanda. The actors really did a great job with the nuances of their character developement and episode order does mess that up, I think.

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      2. Cindy, so far so good! I’m up through Remembrance of Things Past and find that there is such a nice steady progression Lee and Amanda’s friendship – none of that hot and cold you mentioned in another post. But ugh! Lost and Found is next and I don’t wanna watch it…I already know what happens….

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        1. yeah, but it does reveal alot about Lee to Amanda, and some of Amanda to Lee (I suppose parts of him notice her friendship in contrast to whatever it was that Eva was supposed to be).

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          1. So true, Morley. But I just hate to watch Lee get duped by evil Ava. Especially since he was thoroughly duped both personally and professionally.

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  8. I really liked Lees blue leather. Looked hot in it 😉
    Benedict actually manages to make it look cheap and nasty urgh 😦
    Lees attitude to LaRue smacks of a bit of superiority complex, he never seems to see the value in “pencil pushers”. He’s too busy being the hero and getting a kick out of it. Surely the tax payers should genuflect in humble recognition of Lee protecting National Security 😉

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  9. ROFLMBO…that the government wants to be responsible with tax payers money!!! Yep, this definately fiction 🙂

    With all the little details that you pointed out it seems that this would come before Spiderweb; but then later in the episode with the way Lee is concerned for Amanda it almost seems like it is later in the season. But hey why shouldn’t I be confused and not sure, when Lee’s confused and not sure himself 😉

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    1. “yep, this is definitely fiction” LOL! Too funny, Melissa R!
      ISWOD – I can’t wait to hear your order for season 2 — when I was watching this episode when I got the DVDs, it seemed out of place (and not just because of KJs magic hair).
      Awesome catch on Lee and Benedict sharing the leather jacket and Falcone’s phone cord. And I salute your powers of prediction — how ever did you figure out that Amanda would become involved in the case? I didn’t see that one coming 😉

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      1. Hot as Lee is, I never did like that blue leather, regardless of who’s wearing it. I think “Kramer” has the innate talent of making anything look a little greasier…no reflection on the actor personally, of course.;)

        In regards to the border crossing at the beginning, back in the 80’s, I think the American/Canadian border was so open it wasn’t regularly patrolled in many places. Similarly, I noticed back in 1991 there wasn’t even anyone home in the little patrol hut at the crossing between Germany and Luxemburg to stamp our passports.

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        1. Paula is correct. The Canadian/US border was much more open back then. Some of the crossings were smaller roads that may not have had much protection. One only needed a driver’s license to cross the border. There was no need of ID for children, not even a birth certificate.

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So what do you think??? :)

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