We left James filling in Amanda about what he’s been investigating..so she can look at it with ‘fresh eyes’..
The next thing we see – Amanda has tracked down Lee to plead James’ case. Seems she’s looked at the evidence and thought it worth pursuing.. I think she would have known that Lee would not just jump at it just because she says so – and she would need to fight for this.. She’s really stepping out here! What do you think?
Lee and Amanda are standing on the street in front of an impressive looking high rise.
Lee: Amanda I am booked solid for the next three days with ICEP. I have got diplomats, kings, earls…
…And you run this preposterous story by me…
…about some Russian agent who’s going to single-handedly destroy capitalism?
Amanda: Right.
[See comments below]
Lee: ha! (Lee points over to the steps of the building where James is in conversation with someone.) And where did he get that outfit huh?!
…Last time I saw him, he looked like a light-bulb salesman. [Gee Lee maybe he realised how superficial agents like you are and that in order to get you to listen to him, he needed to buy a new suit??!! see my comments] James finishes up his conversation and begins heading towards Lee and Amanda..
Amanda: Lee, James has evidence, seven years worth of research.
Lee: ‘James’ has evidence? huh??
[ha haaa! yes Lee he has a name! Yes pay attention Lee! 
Interesting that out of that sentence from Amanda “Lee, James has evidence” Lee chooses to focus on ‘James’ not ‘evidence!!!’ ]
Lee spits out: … Amanda, James is a pencil pusher!
[and therefore we shouldn’t know his first name huh?! Pencil pusher?! worst crime – ever!! ]
At this, Amanda makes a face and turns to James as he is approaching.. she 
knows Lee is not receiving this well..
tread carefully Amanda- hang in there!
IMHO – Lee needs to be reminded that he owes her!!!
Lee continues as James joins them: besides..
…besides, who is going to do all this, huh? How? when?
[Lee is being far too smug here.. ugh!]
James: If I knew precisely how or when, Mr Stetson I wouldn’t be asking for your help.
[good answer.. I wouldn’t be asking for Lee’s help either when he’s like this if I had another option! ]
Lee lets out a sigh…: Let’s start with who then.
Ohhh Lee you will never guess who!!!
Lee is agitated, and a bit condescending here.. but in the end.. he doesn’t walk away.. He doesn’t tell them to go push pencils.. he does (eventually) actually ask questions! Good one Lee!
Starting with the ‘who’ -right on time the man in question exits the building behind them!
James: Fair enough.
[James is tenacious and isn’t swayed by Lee and his attitude.. good for him- sound like someone else we know and love? 
]
James moves to the side so he doesn’t block the view and continues: He’s the tall man there in the dark blue suit.
… his name is Kenneth Clayton- Dobbs, the seventh earl of Twickensham. [Looks like James was talking to Dobbs’ staff to see what time he would be coming out]
Get out of here!! but that’s the VIP that Lee was assigned to ‘dump on’ haaaa.. whatever the heck that means!
The look on Lee’s face here when he hears this is incredulous.. no Lee- I can’t believe it either!
Back to IFF for a little slideshow.. a whole lot of exposition about Clayton-Dobbs (I’ll call him Dobbs or scoundrel.. depending on my mood ) .. with a joke thrown in to keep us interested..
So.. we left the last scene hearing he’s an earl.. but.. apparently not so! 
James: Actually, he’s the first son of a Welsh coal miner named Glendower.
…That’s him on the right.
…A bright little bugger [lol can they throw anymore British stereotypical language in there?! jolly stupid! I guess we don’t find subtle stereotypes in smk! ]
… He wangled himself a rugby scholarship to public school,…
…pulled some strings…
Of course, Lee has to comment on this flub of James’
Lee: ohhh nice strings.
James I think believes Lee is complementing his research until he turns and realises Lee is referring to this holiday snap which has found it’s way into the slideshow.. [see comments below!] LOL he doesn’t seem fazed by this slip up..
James: Oh! That’s me in Torquay with the Muffly sisters!!
At this we see Amanda kind of grits her teeth here.. 
come on James.. you’re testing Lee’s patience here!! Don’t push it!! [I think she worries these surface strange moments will detract from what James has actually found out.. so she quietly laughs to cover how this is a bit strange IMHO! What do you think? ]
Amanda gives Lee a smile here.. as if to say – I know he’s a bit strange but hear him out! Hang in there please!!! and Lee gives her an unimpressed look.. 
but turns back to James with a slight smile..
yeah! the guy is strange! but.. oh alright!
he’ll listen a bit more because Amanda asked maybe?? do share what you think they are saying!! 
James: I’m terribly sorry. Uh where was I?
Uh oh.. come on James! get back on track here or your done! [and Amanda won’t live this down in a hurry either!]
… Umm.. here we are… oh yes.. Now he cheated on his entrance exams and got into Cambridge…
[that guy looks nothing like Dodds?!]
…where he hobnobbed with the upper crust..
…lied about his background…
[we see Amanda smile here.. gleeful now James is back 
on track.. she gives Lee a 
quick glance but quickly returns to the slide show.]
We see Lee is still impatient.. He’s 
struggling with this humouring Amanda and James business
[In the script Francine was in this scene.. can you imagine?!]
James continues: …joined all the right clubs…All part of a very carefully considered plan. After Cambridge the earl entered the Foreign office.. [Lee’s paying attention now! ]
…where he started mucking things up wherever he was stationed. The Suez in ‘56, the Congo in ‘60, Rhodesia in ‘65, and so on…
[wait a minute.. just how old is this Dobbs suppose to be??!!!! He’d have to be at least 50 no?]
… Last year he was in Luxembourg.
Lee: Luxembourg? What, the default on the World Bank loan?
[I don’t think Lee is buying it.. ]
James: Precisely. You see, his speciality is economic chaos.
At this, James turns off his slideshow and turns on the lights.. oh looky.. a random hat stand is suddenly in IFF conference rooms very James Bond
Lee is thoughtful..
[Okay, this Dobbs is the chairman of the International Conference for Economic Prosperity! that alone is a red flag no??!!! I mean how did that happen when the guy wrecks everything?! ]
James continues:… and his very next target is the U.S.
At this, James gives a huge smile and leans back on his chair, nearly falling off and hitting the wall but managing 
to stop himself in time.. Oh dear.. this bumbling gets in the way of Lee taking him seriously..
Amanda cries: James! (worrying about him)
Lee gives Amanda another look here – the guy is a clumsy pencil pusher!!! Come on Lee.. don’t be swayed by the superficial.. hear him and Amanda out.
Amanda: uh, James. why don’t you show Lee the new pictures that you just took?
James: oh yes, thank you. Of course, I want you to see these, yes.
…Aha, here we are. Do you recognise this bloke?
James hands Lee some photos.
.
Lee: uh uh.. (as in no)
James gives him another photo: what about that bird?
[Hey-Lee hands fans- is this his hand???)
Lee: Wait a second. That’s Karla Krulnikov, KGB at the Soviet embassy.
… what’s Clayton-Dobbs doing with her?
What a good question! 😉
Iwsod’s comments
– ‘Lee: Amanda I am booked solid for the next three days with ICEP’
ICEP being the International Conference on Economic Progress. The chairman being: Clayton-Dobbs! I think a theory about destroying capitalism rings true when this conference is taking place and he’s chairing it! And so Lee should listen anyway.. the guy does work for MI6.. so I don’t think it’s unreasonable.. but maybe it’s must me!
-‘Amanda: Right!’
love Amanda’s response to Lee pointing out the story is preposterous.. she doesn’t even try to argue it’s not. She’s good at this! She totally takes the wind out of Lee’s complaining here haaaa.. I love that she is so direct here. yes it does sound ridiculous. but.. it might be true!
Hey Lee! it’s no more ridiculous than some of the other smk plots buddy! Amanda had baddie go get plastic surgery to look exactly like her, and take over her life just so she could assassinate Lee, I think Amanda deserves a bit of a break on the preposterous front don’t you?!! whahahaaa!! [plus it seems to be forgotten that Stetson owes her one! ]
-‘and where did he get that outfit huh?!’
I love how Lee determines if he should listen to someone based on their outfit!! He did the same thing in Car Wars – when the internal finances guy (LaRue, another pencil pusher) was wanting spending cuts – Look at the guy!! Lee said.. as if to say how can you trust a guy with no fashion sense???!!!
Yep, there goes Lee judging based on appearances.. discounting James and his story before he has even heard the evidence.
I think Lee is annoyed that the guy is not the bore Lee thought he would be.. he even had the nerve to smarten up his outfit! How dare he!! That’s… misrepresentation! tee heee..
Then, to top it all off? Amanda actually didn’t find him to be a bore!! She wasn’t suppose to like the guy!!! IMHO Lee is annoyed because Amanda isn’t doing what he wanted her to do!!
-‘James has evidence huh?’
Why do you think Lee notes Amanda’s use of James’ first name?? I think it relates to what I was just talking about – Amanda isn’t suppose to be on a first name basis with this guy!! I’m not thinking this is jealousy though- there is no hint of anything like that as far as I can see… but this is not going the way Lee had planned when he tricked Amanda into the dinner suffer Lee!
Interesting.. this reminds me of Service above and Beyond – where they are fighting and Amanda says she thinks Jim is sincere – and Lee says Jim????!!!![though I do think Lee was jealous then!]
In exactly the same way.. Lee may at times seem a bit dim when it comes to relationships (tee hee) but he is sharp, and picks up on where Amanda is at lightning fast Curious that this is with another ‘James’.. James Delano.. James Brand.. ahem..
-interesting that at first Lee didn’t give him a name – he was ‘an accountant’ .. Amanda has gone further.. going beyond ‘Mr Brand’ to ‘James’ I like what this says!!! A nice touch..
– ‘Amanda, James is a pencil pusher!’
Lee’s temper rises with this observation.. Again, we see Lee highlighting this guy is a nobody. He hasn’t even heard any of the evidence. Plus, Amanda has and has brought it to Lee – IMHO this doesn’t speak highly for Lee’s view of Amanda as well as for James.. he has a ways to go before he respects her work and her ‘fresh eyes’. [Lee is this cranky and he hasn’t even seen how James tries to be James Bond yet! LOL!] Boy am I looking forward to hearing what you make of Lee’s anger here.
-Freud says there are not accidents!
You know this photo of the Mufly sisters which accidentally makes it’s way into the slideshow? I don’t really buy that it’s an accident. I think James put it in to enhance his James Bond persona he is going for.. See! I’m great with the ladies! but.. it doesn’t really work because –he risks putting off Lee with this unprofessionalism (hard to take seriously so bad mistake) and – in person this doesn’t seem to mesh.. or at least it doesn’t to me.. maybe James is different off duty huh! to me he doesn’t seem ‘the type’ but then.. this whole episode is about questioning these assumptions we make – so who really knows?!
What do you think?
-I’ve given above my ideas on what is being said non verbally by Lee and Amanda during this slide show..what do you think is going on??
I think Lee is not really interested until he sees the latest photo of Dobbs with a KGB agent – in broad daylight.. rofl.. as if!!! How did this Dobbs manage to stay so secret for so long meeting KGB agents during the day in public like that?!!
I’ll finish up here for now.. and pick up where we left off.. lots of exposition here.. but the silent struggle between Lee and Amanda here to me makes it interesting to watch.. it’s like Lee is fighting with himself – he fights getting up and walking out- he stays for this long IMHO for her- awh!! He isn’t perfect.. and he is being difficult.. but he does stay at least!!
Back with more soon! Really love to hear your thoughts! Byeeee!
"Just walk with me.." 
Did James just show Lee a photo of someone Lee didn’t recognize? Lee always seems to know everyone, so even before Dr. Pain appears we have here an example of our ideas about Lee being challenged. And I wonder if Lee was a little shocked by this, too.
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Absolutely! It’s captivating with tremendously engaging characters, just full of magic and immensely riveting. Hmmmm, sounds like SMK 🙂 (Can you tell that I am totally hooked?!! Yep, absolutely bewitched!)
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Oops, that was a reply to BJo and Harry Potter. Obviously my wand is broken 😉
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Books or movies? My daughter wants me to watch The Hunger Games movies too. Me, I’m just trying to finish up my latest audible book so I can start on The Hobbit and then the LOTR trilogy, hopefully to follow those up with the movies.
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Ooo LOTR! When you read them please share at Ned’s, if you think I wax eloquent about SMK wait until I start with LOTR (or maybe then you won’t want to share 😉 )
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I’ll try! I’m in the middle of Diana Gabaldon’s “A Breath of Snow and Ashes”. It is a 55 hour long audiobook, so it’ll be a while before I even get to The Hobbit, let alone TLOTR. I like this series of hers, but I need a break from it.
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The Hunger Games are a good trilogy to read. The first movie was good. I’m hoping to watch the second one soon 🙂
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Actually, with LOTR, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games I would read the books first. The are rich and full of details that you can’t get in a two hour movie. That said, the HP and LOTR movies are visual treats and the actors bring whole other dimensions. Can you tell I am completely and utterly addicted to these wonderful series? LOL, yep you’d never figure that I was the addictive type would you, being so far down this SMK rabbit hole? unabashedly grins[
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Oh I absolutely agree…read the books first. Actually, I prefer to read the book first before watching a movie made on it. IMO 99% of the time the book is better than the movie 🙂
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Is it just me or is Lee looking mighty fine here at the beginning despite being a little cranky about Amanda bothering him with James’ evidence and all?
I do think Amanda is stepping out a little bit here, but why not? She’s comfortable with doing things on her own and stepping out – but usually to help Lee. This time she’s helping James. Her intuition must be sending her strong signals to push this with Lee. I think she believes in James’ research and that he really must be on to something.
LOL – Lee definitely does not have any respect for pencil pushers!!! Like that LaRue guy in CWars. But James does get his attention with the CDobs name. I think that opens the door with Lee because he’s got to watch him anyway as part of his assignment. He can give them an hour of his time based on that.
I love that JB doesn’t miss a beat with his photo of the Muffly sisters! You go, James!! But I agree with your take, iwsod, on what Amanda is thinking about it as she grits her teeth. But hey, if JB is going to bumble with Lee, then better a bumble involving hot babes and string bikinis. And yes, I also agree that he is listening to this slideshow partially because of Amanda’s belief in it and the fact that she asked. I do think Lee thinks Amanda has good instincts about stuff at this point in the series. The other part is that JB’s target is KCD, Lee’s assignment.
Those could be Lee’s hands, but the camera cuts off the hands and back to the wide angle view. I notice there is a little red scab on the thumb knuckle, so I’m guessing they are really Lee’s hands. If they were going to use a hand model, why use one with a red scab?
And I don’t see any jealousy here on Lee’s part. I mostly just see him annoyed because Amanda was supposed to babysit this boring pencil pusher so Lee didn’t have to deal with him. But now she’s come to him when he’s got a full plate with evidence that the pencil pusher has collected for 7 years. He doesn’t want anything to do with JB, he just wants him out of the way, but he knows Amanda will persist and so he gives in. He’s got to be thinking, why me? Just like he did in Savior after Amanda talked him into letting her drive the bomb to meet Ballon. There we even got to see him raise his hands to the heavens and maybe roll his eyes. At least here he doesn’t do that.
And when Lee sees the picture with Krulnikov, he is hooked for a little bit more. That is a real connection to trouble with KCD that Lee knows he should check out. Hmmm, maybe James is right?
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Poor Mr Brand. He’s bearing the burden of Lee’s unwarranted scorn of pencil pushers because he’s an accountant. After the penny pinching accountant in Car Wars Lee doesn’t seem to have much time for those in that profession. Thank goodness he’s got Amanda to plead his case for him.
I do snigger at the mention of Brand and the Muffly sisters in Torquay!!! It’s um….hardly the hotspot of the UK beach scene put it that way. And Twickensham…….LOL I do love these made up names 😉
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I don’t think it’s sexual jealousy on Lee’s part (he couldn’t seriously feel threatened by James in that way), but as others have mentioned, he is rather proprietary with Amanda. I think he still likes the idea that Amanda looks up to him and follows his lead, and seeing her in a quasi-partnership with another guy rankles him. Part of the reason he decides to placate Amanda and listen to this guy’s story may be that it gratified his ego to have her come to him, kind of an implicit “Lee will know what to do” that reasserts his position as the Alpha Male in her life.
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Silly Lee, thinking getting Amanda to help would ever make things easier for him. 🙂
It makes perfect sense that James inserted the photo of him and the sisters on purpose to make him more Bondlike – I must admit that one escaped me but I was desperately trying to make the math of Clayton-Dobb being established enough in 1956 to destroy the economy of Sudan.
It’s been awhile since I’ve watched classic Bond, but I thought Brand’s meandering slide show style was typical of 007 — doing a slow reveal until the pièce de résistance. Not exactly the most efficient (but you have to give James credit for his superior investigative skills — figuring out Dobb’s was a coal miner’s son, cheated on his entrance exams and stole candy from the neighborhood kid. 😉
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You’re right Cindy, silly Lee! You can fly Amanda half way round the world on a simple courier assignment and still she’d find a connection. He might as well just give in that this is how his life will always be and enjoy it!
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Lee’s attitude about so called pencil pushers does bother me. Seems to me there’s been lot of times the agency has used non field personnel to help solve cases and law enforcement agencies use forensic accountants all the time. I don’t think Lee is being condescending toward Amanda here, though. I think his temper is accounted mostly by the fact that he is in work mode and has his assignment on his mind. I’ve said before when Lee is in work mode he does not like to be sidetracked. I think that is part of the reason why Amanda has gotten on his nerves sometimes. Amanda dealing with Brand was suppose to make things easier for Lee, not harder, and in Lee’s defense I don’t think he’d even be listening if it were anyone other than Amanda pulling him away from work. Granted Lee is not taking her seriously at this point. He is humoring her, but really who else would he take the time to hum humor. At least it show he cares. It is a good thing Amanda made sure she could back the story up though. I think Amanda knows she can convince Lee to listen to Brand for her sake, but if she couldn’t back it up she’s never hear the end of it and good luck the next time she wants him to listen.
I for one don’t blame Lee for starting to lose patience during that film strip. It didn’t really get right to the point, and I do think he put the picture of the Muffy twins in on purpose. He’s definitely into the whole Bond persona. I can’t help but wonder how he really got the twins to take that picture. I think Brand is sweet and probably can get some women, but I can’t see him being exactly suave enough to have to beat them off with a stick even off duty. Good thing Amanda is there to keep Lee’s attention because at this point I think Lee is definitely unimpressed. What I don’t get is why James and Amanda didn’t start by showing Lee the picture of Clayton with the KGB and then go into the film strip. Why not start with your damning evidence first and then present your theory.
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I like your point, Misty, about Lee being in work mode. He does tend to get so focused on a case that he gets tunnel vision and doesn’t want to stray too much from the path he’s on.
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Even though Lee seems to be giving Amanda a hard time…IMHO that’s more for Lee to cover up that he will help because he just can’t help not giving Amanda what she wants 🙂 So he humors her until the pictures shows that Brand’s research fits with his case!
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Melissa, I like what you say about Lee giving Amanda what she wants. It took him a while, but he is certainly more than willing these days.
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I wonder if Lee isn’t just a teensy bit jealous here that Amanda is on a first name basis with James, also because it’s odd for Lee to comment on the way James is dressed as well. It’s like Lee is thinking, “Wait a minute, what’s this guy about and why is Amanda so pally with him already?!” Lee has always had a problem with other men showing an interest in Amanda, or even Amanda just getting on a first name basis with another guy. He thought James was such a dweeb that he didn’t need to worry about leaving Amanda in his company. I don’t think he’s particularly worried here, but it’s niggling at him a little.
I like how this episode demonstrates how well Amanda now knows Lee and how to get him to take James and what he has discovered seriously. In S1 and early S2 Lee would have dismissed both James and her out of hand, and probably got angry or annoyed to boot. She knows Lee will take it seriously if she handles the situation professionally and with a certain amount of assertiveness. To be fair, James does present as a bit flakey so she really is showing some excellent skills at getting Lee on board with this scenario. You can almost see her mind working a few steps ahead to keep Lee interested and keep James on track.
In short, I’m beginning to see this episode as showcasing the professional aptitude and skills Amanda has honed through her work at the Agency in the last couple of years. Lee should be impressed!
Are those slides all supposed to be of Dobbs or has James just cobbled together some generic stuff to go along with his commentary, e.g. the Oxford vs Cambridge annual rowing race. Maybe that’s why Lee is looking at Amanda like, Gimme a break!
I had to smile at the shot of James with the Muffly twins. Rather reminiscent of some of Lee’s wilder bachelor antics of times past perhaps? 😉
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I like what you are saying here, kiwismh. Yes, I think there is a bit of jealousy that Amanda has gotten friendly with James, I think Lee is thinking she isn’t supposed to.
Another part of what I see going on here is Lee taking seriously (or trying to) the role of partner. I think by the end of season 2 when he called Amanda partner he was really going to let that happen. As his partner he probably needs to give what Amanda brings to him at east some consideration. I think it is getting him that this information that he is obliged to look at is coming from a bumbling, geeky, pencil pusher who dreams big dreams, and Amanda has fallen for it. I wonder if it makes him question his trust in Amanda’s instincts. Kind of the “come on you aren’t falling for this? You aren’t still dreaming fantasies like in SAAB?” But he does stick with it and listen, kind of like he pushes through his initial desire to blow his temper in Car Wars.
I do think the picture with the Muffly sisters was put there on purpose. I am sure Lee has had pictures of himself like that taken and Brand does strike as the kind of man who would think having a picture like that of himself “mistakenly” inserted into a slide show would be impressive to other agents. Maybe Lee sees the immaturity of it now, I hope.
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Awww, love what you say here, Morley, about Lee trying to really think of Amanda as a partner. I think he has every right to question his trust in her based on James’ bumbling, pencil pushing status, and good for him that he does stick it out! What a guy! He has real potential! (damn duck!)
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I love the day when BJo gets caught up on the blog. I open my computer and it is full of JWWM comments. It is as good as when I get a new post notification!
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Well, don’t you just know how to make a soul feel good! That was very sweet of you to say, Morley. Thank you.
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I also wondered if Lee maybe was a teensy bit jealous and that accounted for a little bit of his attitude about James. I would say if not jealous, Lee is annoyed at Amanda’s sudden interest in James. When I watch this episode I don’t think Lee’s annoyance quite raises to the level of jealousy. I don’t think Lee sees James as enough of a threat for his feeling to quite rise to that level, but he is peterbed. Lee has never really cared for Amanda showing too much interest in other guys. Whatever, I hope he does suffer a little bit. Serves him right for thinking he doesn’t have to worry about leaving Amanda with a guy who is just a pencil pusher.
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I think “jealous” is the wrong word. Probably “bothered” is a better descriptive. I wrote my first comment at the end of a long day, and my brain just wouldn’t supply the right word so I went with “jealous”. I don’t think Lee sees Brand as competition in any sense of the word.
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I think bothered is a good work for it.
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Reminds me a little of to catch a Mongoose and Amanda’s affections for Connie. Lee didn’t really seem jealous in that episode either, Connie obviously not being a threat, but at the end when Amanda is straightening Connie’s tie it obviously gets under Lee’s skin a little bit. Bothered. good word.
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😆 !! I haven’t heard the word dweeb in a long time, but it’s perfect for James! 😆
And I completely agree, we are seeing a new professional side to Amanda here in this episode because she is working with JB and not Lee. She really has learned an awful lot while being Lee’s sidekick for the last two years. Hire her, Billy!
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Haha! Love “dweeb” and use it all the time along with “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” dashes back through the SMK rabbit hole to the Harry Potter room of requirement with a handful of chocolate in tow
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Oddment? That must be from HPotter. Never seen it or read it. Guess you’d recommend it?
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Those are the words Prof Dumbledore says to the first year students when they arrive for the first time 😉
I love the HP books and the films and recommend them but I am embracing my inner HP geek so am slightly biased LOL
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You are in good company ;). I am on a complete HP binge and love your photos at Ned’s which just enhance it all! (I answered Bjo up above coz my spell backfired. No slugs though LOL)
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I meant to say, “I am in good company!” furiously writes corrections in spellbook
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The scene of spewing slugs makes me gag every time!!!!
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I agree! I tend to view this episode as professional-Amanda-centric. I don’t really notice the lack of personal chemistry between her and Lee, because I feel like this episode is showing how their professional relationship has evolved.
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