Agnes and Amanda have a heart to heart in Agnes’ bedroom..
Agnes: We, uh… We met about six months ago. I… stopped off at Kelsey’s after work…Agnes adds: You know, just to be with people…
[why the need to explain?! Amanda doesn’t react much other than with a quiet smile.. does she interpret this as disapproval?] … Well, everybody does that sometimes, don’t they?
[Agnes seems pretty defensive about going to Kelsey’s.. Agnes didn’t do anything wrong]
Amanda: Sure, Agnes, everybody gets lonely.
[Very true… Everybody.. even superspies 
]
Agnes: He told me he loved me…
We see Amanda react.. wordlessly – like this is a terrible thing Nicky did.. what do you think?
[I think KJ has white pencil on the inside of her lower lid here.. what do you think? I think this is a bit of a new look.. makes her eyes very bright.. sorry I digress!]
Poor Agnes, She sobs a bit and struggles to get her story out. It’s all sinking in – six months of her life and her heart has been invested in this man..
Agnes continues: He didn’t love me. It didn’t have anything to do with me…
…It was just my job. ugh..
…Oh. Oh, Amanda, I never knew. I never… I never abused my clearance…
[Not only does Agnes have a broken heart, she has to worry about what her work will think of her 
You know.. Amanda knows what this is like.. Alan Squires was only using her for her job too! though okay, she didn’t love him! I think it must be so much worse – Amanda had the comfort of knowing she hadn’t really given away her heart to him, something had held her back. Agnes doesn’t have that comfort at all – she’d fallen for Nick completely. I think that would do a real number on your belief in yourself.. and you would feel very lost ]
…But I should have suspected…
[I don’t think she should have.. I think any reasonable person who has been in love and with a man for six months would not jump to the conclusion he is using you! what do you think?]
….The other night I was sick, and… I thought he might have looked at my homework. And now it’s too late.
Amanda: No, it’s not. It’s not too late, Agnes. You can talk to Lee, and you can talk to Mr. Melrose…
…and we’ll see what kind of trouble we’re in…
…I know it’s not enough to make up for what he’s done to you, but-
Agnes: Oh, Amanda,…
…I don’t want revenge…
…I just want Nicky.
Agnes starts crying again, overwhelmed with the hurt, and IMHO the great loss that she’s experiencing.
I see Agnes as going through the grieving process here and throughout the rest of this episode..
Anyone who has had their heartbroken can’t help but feel for Agnes, I just feel so sad for Agnes. She couldn’t have know. Nicky put a lot of time and effort into grooming her.. and she fell for a man who she thought loved her – Love is a risk.. and sadly, Agnes was duped. She’s possibly never felt more alone than in this moment when she realises that Nicky was telling her he loved her when he didn’t really want to be with her – the humiliation.. it wasn’t real.. but it had been very real for Agnes – I don’t think we can switch off these feelings so quickly. It’s going to be a process for Agnes.. and that’s all I’ll say on that! for now!
I wonder if Amanda’s character felt that kind of deep pain when her marriage ended? Man, I wish we could have discovered more about that. Ending a marriage is probably never easy.. it does make me wonder if Amanda felt this lost when her marriage ended.. and things didn’t turn out as she had hoped.. 😦
Anyway- looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this everyone.. a little sombre this part of the episode no?!
Amanda, may have a few things to learn about love too.. maybe.. I think Amanda misunderstood Agnes a little here, her sense of betrayal and need for revenge..her wanting to protect her job – none of that mattered – Agnes just missed Nicky. Poor Agnes! Nicky does not deserve this kind of love from a woman – it’s a precious gift.
I hope Lee gives him a few right hooks and then turns him into a Eunuch! though.. given this show is PG.. I might have to use my imagination and fill in the blanks!
I like that Amanda doesn’t perfectly understand Agnes- she can’t always right.. but she does listen, and she is sympathetic.. bless her..
Anyone disappointed we didn’t get to see Lee attempt to do some girl talk?!! Lee could tell stories of how Eva had used him for his job too.. and tried to shoot him
The scene ends with Amanda giving Agnes a bit of a ‘fair enough.. this sux!’ kind of look.
Heartbreak flat out sux.
[but.. finding love is worth that risk!! I wonder if this is something Lee and Amanda are grappling with at this point?
I think we might more readily see that Lee is afraid to get his heartbroken – due to his difficult past and his history of protecting his heart ferociously.. but what about Amanda??
if divorce left her heartbroken – she might need to grapple with taking the risk on love too. Even if it is with her (now bestie) Lee – she risks losing her bestie if things don’t work out!… Does Agnes’ heartbreak remind her of her own? What will Amanda decide to do with this reality? That sometimes the search for love is painful.. but.. ‘everybody gets lonely’ – Amanda too! ] Sorry I ramble! I am really looking forward to hearing what you all make of this..
Anyone still out there?? I know I’ve been very slow lately.. RL has been too busy, more than I’d like.. but.. hopefully things will calm down soon.
Anyone who stops by – I am thrilled to hear from any smk fans.. whatever your view might be.. all opinions are welcomed here.. explored here even! 
so feel free to discuss away.. we all love this show.. and know there’s more than one way to view the show oops.. me on tangent.. again!
One more tangent! Thanks KC for transcribing this episode!!!!! You Rock KC!!! I don’t know what I would have done without you!! – It would have been a veeeery long time between posts!!! phew!!
Okay! finally.. moving on with the episode..
Next thing we see the officer with Lee’s haircut searching…
and finding Nick Cross… Nick smokes? lol.. that’s an smk warning sign that he’s a baddie!!
Oh dear.. Nick is bringing the overall into disrepute.. Lee does them oh so well.. no no this is a coverall that Nick is wearing.. Definitely not a blue jumpsuit.. they are sacred!!!!!!! 😉
What’s with the towel?!
Nick: Sorry to keep you waiting; I’m Cross.
[So am I! Cross that you broke Agnes’ heart!!! you snake!!]
Ronson: You’ve been watching me? [someone should.. seems the agency isn’t! ugh!]
Nick: Well, I had to check things out. I’m a careful man. I know what I want, when and where. Today, I want the missile launch codes for that atomic sardine can you skippered-
Ronson tries to physically attack Nick.. oh dear Hey Ronson! Nick has the affect on people – a lot!!!! he’s well practiced in fending off angry lunges!
Nick: Cool it, Captain. The name Mary Austin mean anything to you? Huh?
So blackmail is it?? Nick is beyond contemptible.. I loathe that he seems to find this fun!
Nick: You know that story about you boys dropping trou on the Potomac? Well, I placed a few articles in the press just to whet everyone’s appetite. I got a lot more ugly stuff. I can get that story about Mary Austin in the paper, too. But… … my next customer’s gonna be the Washington Post, unless I get what I want.
I can’t wait to see Nick get his comeuppance! So the newspaper stories are just to get the ball rolling.. the real deal is blackmail.. He didn’t romance Agnes for six months for a few smalls stories to give to the press.. he wants the big stuff.. missile codes!
Ronson: Where’d you get this information?
Nick: I thought you’d guess by now. J. Edgar Hoover—may he rest in peace.
Nick walks off, and raises his hands to the sky as he pays his respects the JEH. Oh my.. with the towel around his neck he almost looks like a priest! Maybe that’s why he has it- by having access to those files, he hears all kinds of confessions!!! Ugh!!!
[I find it strange that Nick would say where.. and confirm their existence.. still maybe he is cocky enough and smug enough to not care]
Ronson: You found them? All his files?
Nick: The whole shooting match, Ronson. The whole shooting match. ha ha. He may be dead, but his dirty old files live on. I can work this gold mine for years. Your missile codes are just the first nugget. Wait’ll I go to work on Congress… the White House…
[More religious imagery?
Now this really makes no sense.. why tell Ronson this is his first bite of the apple? and why tell Ronson about the big evil future plans? it only gives Ronson one more motivation for not giving in and giving over the codes! Wouldn’t a smart baddie say give me the codes and I’ll go away? Why tell a solider give me the codes and then I’m gonna destroy your country?! lame..]
Ronson: Shut up. I’d rather take my chances than listen to that kind of crud. Just tell me what you want. I’m about to change my mind and break your neck.
[do! do!!! why not? It’s… defending the country!]
Nick: Oh. Please… don’t, don’t make that mistake…
…Please don’t. Think of Mary.
[Yes! don’t do it Ronson! If you kill Nick, the first thing he will do is leak the story about Mary to the paper whwahahaha]
…Get the missile codes—I’ll be in touch.
Ronson: With those codes, the Russians can neutralize our entire sea-based nuclear deterrent… [Now that is squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube!!! 😉 ] …Who the hell do you think you are to give them that?
Another awful line of dialogue-
Nick: I’m the worst nightmare this country has ever seen!..
…I’m J.Edgar’s Ghost!
LOL.. Nick is the quintessential bad guy.. He gives a maniacal laugh and walks off..
Oh boy.. This officer needs to tell Lee what he’s up to! Don’t you kinda wish the officer punched Nick?? with that smug look on his face?? Bragging about being J.Edgar’s ghost??
So Nick has found all J.Edgar’s files? Hmm I guess we will find out.
Well I can’t finish here.. there isn’t a scene with Lee in it in this post.. no no that won’t do!
I’ll continue till we see Lee!!!!!
Back in the Q bureau. Amanda is reassuring Agnes she has nothing to be embarrassed about, and Francine is looking at a printout..
Ahhh finally!
Lee enters with bad news.. he can’t find Nick. Nick has well and truly Nicked off!
And with this Lee sighting (sigh).. I shall sign off on this episode for now.. Thanks for your patience in waiting for the continuing story to unfold.. very sorry about the delays..and not being able to respond much to comments 😦 booo! I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this part of the episode.. and the episode so far.. and heck.. the tv show so far! lol! byeee everyone!!
"Just walk with me.." 
(It’s so weird that I am commenting a lot on this episode…it isn’t one of my favorites. But going through Iwsod’s posts and everyone’s comments/insights can help an episode grow on me for sure!)
I love everyone’s back story thoughts on Agnes. Not all women can relate to all women perfectly, no matter how kind and friendly, because we are all not the same. You know, I think just because Amanda is a kind woman, it doesn’t mean she will be able to perfectly or flawlessly relate to or comfort Agnes in these emotionally challenging moments, because she has a uniquely strong personality. I would have crumbled a million times throughout the series where she keeps a brave face and keeps on going. She only cries like twice the whole series! I cry like twice a day! (Not really, but you get where I’m going…) Anyway, I see her as just being Amanda when she is with Agnes – she is changing in a lot of ways right now, emotionally and professionally. I think she’s just doing the best she can with Agnes throughout the episode, and doesn’t do a bad job at all! And, as I have noted before, we really don’t see her with any close close girlfriends throughout the show, despite her wonderful friendly heart, so it may have been awhile since she has been a position like this.
On a different note, Iwsod, thank you so much for noting that white eye pencil!!! I think you are right!!! I have always thought her eyes start to look whiter at some point in the series but could never figure out why!! I’m going to have to stay on the look out in future episodes!
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I do think Agnes is defending her choice to go to Kelsey’s here. At least that is the sense I get, which leads me to believe that Agnes is a “good girl” that played with fire one time and is now getting burned. I think that is what is meant to be portrayed here anyway because of all the stereotyping going on. And I don’t think Agnes suspected anything until she saw clues that Cross had been looking at her homework.
I like what you say, iwsod, about Agnes having to go through a process. She doesn’t want any of this stuff that she’s found out today to be true! She just wants to be with the man she loves. Poor Agnes! I do feel sorry for her too.
I know Cross is despicable, but I find his words and delivery here hysterical! I don’t loathe his humor, I find him a breath of fresh air for an SMK baddy. He’s a smart baddie and good with words. I appreciate that in a baddie. I think Cross is just bragging. Ronson would know that if Cross from JEH’s files, that he has access to all kinds of dirty underwear. So to me, he’s not being stupid, maybe just a tad arrogant to think he could get away with it.
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ROFL everyone! so no one is interested in discussing the second part of this post?? !!! I thought it was hilarious when Nick said don’t kill me think of Mary! whaahahahahaaa.. lame!! so lame it was funny 🙂
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Second part of the post reminds me of Bo Hopkins in American Graffitti as the leader of the Pharoahs Gang. He had an amusing turn of phrase in that movie – a much less evil version of NIck. 😀
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I’ve never seen that movie.. but have always wanted to!
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Well alright. Who wants to play mental gymnastics with Morley. First of all, I was wondering about the towel as well.
But, what I really liked, Iwsod, were all of your religious comments, the upward looks that Cross made, his references to Mary (good grief, his name is even “Cross”).
Maybe it is because it is Christmas time and I keep hearing songs about Mary and the gift of love that we celebrate at Christmas time, but I keep wondering if there isn’t a bit of a theme about true love and every other manipulated and or out of the context of love type of relationship there could be. We have Ronson and the naked sail resulting in a child out of wedlock, we have Cross using Agnes, we even have Lee’s past trolling on M Street and we have Lee and Amanda discovering that they may have a real, true love growing between them that requires patience… Hmm?
But I think the actor who played Cross must have had alot of fun with his bad guy roll. His faces are hysterical.
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There’s a lot to play with there, Morley. There are a lot of literal religious connections as you point out. I wonder if this episode is supposed to get at the general idea of confessing ones sins in the past to get the slate wiped clean so you can move on with newness in your life is an overall theme in this episode. After reading your comment it certainly makes me think that. Does Amanda need to be patient as Lee goes through the process of dealing with his past womanizing ways so he can move on to be the kind of man Amanda could truly fall in love with? What about Lee? Does he need to be patient for anything?
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Oh, I’m a thinkin’ that Lee has a lot of things he is deciding to be patient for 😉 And I think he is choosing to be patient, not just because Amanda forces him to be. And in a few episodes we get to watch Lee really practicing patience… but, oops, I will be quiet now 😉 But when we are talking about love, you have to be patient, right?
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I wonder how the religious imagery is a follow-on from Wizard – where Lee saw Paul (the Wizard) as his “saviour” (eg he would would walk on water for him).
Ronson is certainly forgiven by his wife (about Mary and what led to her conception). Not sure what Cross is – the thief that doesn’t confess his sins on the cross?? He certainly doesn’t seem to feel any need for forgiveness or redemption, whereas Lee (eg in Wizard with the now-infamous black books) does seem to feel the need of forgiveness. I remember someone (I think it was you, Morley) mentioning redeeming love somewhere in an earlier post (maybe in season two) and I think this ties in really well in the Lee/Amanda story – her unconditional forgiveness and his redemption through her love for him.
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Sounds good to me Learjet.. I didn’t manage to make a coherent story out of my observations.. so this is sounding good to me!
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I like this Learjet. Viewed against Wizard this is a good next chapter for that part of their story. No more black books, no more M street. And this is the real kind of love, not the kind that puts people in a situation like Ronson finds himself or Agnes finds herself. This is the slow steady kind of love that requires patience and time and builds and encourages the best in each other. I do think they become more aware of that reality in this episode.
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I see Amanda as having quite a different history to Agnes. Amanda has suffered through the death of her marriage and her divorce but she was (I suspect) one of the ‘popular’ girls at school (cheerleader), she’s very attractive, has considerable charm and lots of men like her (ref: the repeated pick-ups through the early seasons of SMK!) And she has her mother and kids living with her.
Agnes, on the other hand, is quiet, unassuming and hard-working, probably never a big part of the social scene at school or university, and not the type of woman who is surrounded by men (so probably relatively inexperienced with men). And she lives alone. I think this explains why she is taken in by Nick and why Amanda can’t understand her completely.
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Yeah! this sounds good to me.. they have some similarities.. but are also very different! 🙂
Thank goodness Amanda doesn’t wear pearls 😉 [well okay she wore them when meeting Lee’s uncle didn’t she?! oh and in CBAH!] but.. well she doesn’t usually wear them when at home baking an apple Pie! 🙂
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I agree Learjet, and I want to take the thought a bit further. If I had to write what I thought was Agnes’s backstory, it would be the story of a lonely woman who was consistently overlooked by men due to her timidity. In desperation, she decided to do the unthinkable (in her mind) and hang on M-Street. There Nick recognized her for what she was, and used her to the hilt. I doubt he even really had to work at it — he just had to notice her, make her feel like she had someone special. Agnes would interpret any attention as love. This is a formula for disaster.
I do feel sorry for Agnes, perhaps even more for who she is than for what Nicky has done to her. And as she realizes what Nicky has done to her, she sees all her old desperation and inadequacies coming back to her, and she cries that she just wants the imaginary world that she was living in to be restored.
I have a friend who, for 3 and a half years now, I have been helping through this exact same situation, only the betrayal was after a marriage of many years. After all the painful things the ex did, she would still have taken him back in a heartbeat because of her neediness, an incredibly sad and painful and frustrating thing to watch. Now she is in a much better place with herself, but it has been long and tragic, and has required copious amounts of sympathy and tough love from her friends. I find this experience really influences how I feel towards Agnes, and it is true, I need to let her get through the grieving process, but she’d better also be trying to figure out how to get a grip on reality because lack of self-confidence, and neediness and fantasy romances do not a happy future make!
Oh, I hope I don’t sound horrible and insensitive! I am always more about the solution to make things better than I am about the emotional undercurrents. I’m sort of a “cry all you want, but don’t just wallow in it” kind of person! And with my experience with my friend, warning lights went off for me with the body language and needy tone Agnes used as she climbed out of bed. No doubt I am reading too much into this, although on the other hand, I suspect this was meant to be conveyed in this scene, at least in retrospect.
OK, now I will climb of the psychiatrist couch and resume my normal day!! Thanks for listening 🙂
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Wonderful insight Raffie!
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I’ve always been drawn to strong, independent female characters (don’t get me started what I think about that whole Twilight series.) and Agnes is really hard for me to take but I am working on being more sympathetic. 😉 I guess I still get triggered by needy people in my past who emotionally leaned on me really hard.
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Yes it’s so interesting how our own experiences in life colour how we interpret the characters..
I must say first time I saw this I was all cranky with Agnes for her neediness.. but now I am walking through it – so far I feel very sad for her.. where I find I start to get frustrated with Agnes’ behaviour? well.. I’ll see!
I see Nick’s treatment of Agnes as different Raffie. I don’t conclude he didn’t treat her well – yeah he was drugging her.. lol.. but she didn’t know that was what was happening.. and they had been drinking champagne (hints at a bit of wooing there to me) and I think telling Agnes he loves her means he was pulling out all the stops to win her over. At the same time, Agnes was ready to be won over.. and jumped in with both feet to take a chance on love – so far for me, I don’t conclude from this that she was accepting his bad behaviour- so far.. I think she fell for a man who she thought was good.
What she will do now?? ohhhh well.. wait and see what I think about that!! 🙂
[I can’t wait to hear your take on it too raffie! and.. everyone!!! )
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I am really enjoying everyone’s insights on Agnes — it’s giving me a new perspective. I could never really warm to her because I thought she was weak when she found out she was betrayed she just wanted Nicky. My first instinct would be incredible hurt and rage and then need for revenge — I guess my reaction to Agnes says much more about me than her, eh? I have also reinterpreted her statement of wanting Nicky as her wanting the man she thought she had fallen in love with.
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I have to admit that when I first saw this and Agnes started to say “I just want Nicky” I was surprised when she didn’t finish it as “I just want Nicky’s head on a pike!” That would have been the first thing out of my mouth in that situation.
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whahahahhaaa Jestress I love this! 🙂
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Women tend to be very forgiving (which men know and take advantage of) and when you give your heart to someone and are completely open and honest with them, it is so hard to believe when the evidence begins to mount up that they are only pretending, or are dishonest, or are just using you…or all of those things and worse. For a while your common-sense is overridden by your desire to believe in this person no matter what. Eventually you have to accept what is obvious.
Of course, that’s only got to happen once or twice in your life and you don’t make the same mistake again.
For me, now, if I was Agnes I’d want to put more than a “nick” in Nick – in fact, a knife between his ribs seems a very satisfying solution to me 😈 … but then I’m not Agnes. I’m sure she will find a more genteel solution.
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Make that a blunt, rusty knife… it’ll hurt more. Me bitter and twisted? Not at all… 😡
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Well, it does seem to me that a bad relationship can be a learning experience. For example, I just learned that if you’re making a pike, you should use “a strong wood such as well-seasoned ash for the pole.” 😉
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_%28weapon%29
Not that Jestress is taking up a new craft project.
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Hmmm, verrrrry interesting. Best not to give me any ideas. 😈
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I think your reinterpretation is right Cindy. That is what makes it so sad. I think Iwsod is right when she says she is going through a grieving process. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and then acceptance hopefully with truth illuminating it.
But because I always look at how the main plot influences or highlights Lee and Amanda’s journey I wonder what Agnes’ plea about just wanting the relationship she thought that she had with Nicky to be real does to Amanda, especially as she just had that dialogue with Lee about love and all the subtext and current it carried between them…
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Perhaps this conversation with Agnes highlights to Amanda that she does know the “real man” that is Lee Stetson – that she would be safe to trust her heart to him. Maybe this helps Amanda get past one of her last internal barriers to moving forward confidently into a deeper relationship with Lee.
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Perhaps… It will be interesting to watch Amanda. Do you think she is ready to move forward? A relationship with Lee would have to be a serious one, involving her family. Otherwise she would either have to live a complete double life or it wouldn’t be able to be a lasting thing which would probably lead to a broken friendship and a complicated if not impossible working situation. I know Amanda has been living a compartmentalized life, but to add a real romance into the mix might be a bit hard for Amanda the woman who hates to lie to her family.
I know how the story goes… but I think Amanda would have to be very sure that it was worth it before she jumped into this very complicated relationship and when/if she does she would do it with her whole self.
I am just being the devils advocate here… kind of fun 😉
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I’m not suggesting Amanda is now determined to forge ahead with a relationship with Lee, it’s just that the interpretation of the scene by some seemed to suggest what has happened with Agnes might make Amanda more wary of getting closer to Lee. I just thought if Amanda were to reflect on her relationship with Lee in light of Agnes’ plight, she might actually contemplate how lucky she is to be able to have absolute trust and confidence in her friend. This would in turn make it easier for her to eventually take that next step with Lee.
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Hey Kiwismh. Yes I think at this point of the episode, and of Amanda’s journey – her reaction to the issues raised in this episode could go either way.. it could make her more certain of moving forward.. or.. it could make her want to slow down and be as sure as she can…
at the very least – it could make her stop and question what she’s doing.. and the risks..
All great ideas everyone! 🙂
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I think the stop and question part is what I see happening in that little exchange about love and patience, for both of them. I think after UN they recognized that there was an elephant in the room with them. It was the same elephant that they had been trying to NOT look at for years, but it is as if they acknowledged that it was in the room with them. But now, here, they maybe stopping to really look at it and decide how they want to respond to it. Oh geesh, I just added another SMK analogy 😉 I guess it feels like they had just been going along with the “not exactly” and now they are going to stop and each one of them has been presented with the question, “so what is it exactly?” Not that they are going to have a definitive answer, but they do have a to the point question.
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whoooo Morley’s going for it!!!! 🙂
I love this.. I love to explore what ifs and possibilities and the characters.. without taking for granted what we all really know is ahead – but pretend to not know! [okay half the time I don’t know 😉 but umm I do kinda remember whether Lee and Amanda actually end up together 🙂 tee hee]
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Interesting because Nick appeared to be the perfect guy for Agnes, sweeping her off her feet and taking away her loneliness, but he turned out to be cruel and false. Conversely, Lee has always appeared to be the fun-loving, superficial playboy but has morphed into (or revealed himself as) the kind of man that Amanda can trust, both with her safety and (hopefully) with her heart
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I like this idea, kiwismh. It is intriguing to me. I do think that Amanda knows she is one of a few, or perhaps even the only, people who know the “real man” that is Lee Stetson. And I wonder if she thinks at this point that if Lee could truly be this “real man”, instead of the Scarecrow persona that she could trust her heart to him. I also wonder if because of what is happening with Agnes, Amanda at all thinks she is playing with fire where Lee and her heart is concerned. I think she is an optimist, but he is also realistic and practical. I think this newness of their potential relationship right now, after all we’ve seen so far in S3, is exciting and Amanda is going with the flow. It feels like to me, anyway, the river they are in is moving a bit fast, what with all their closeness, touching, near-miss kisses, etc. It’ll be fun to continue to analyze this as we go through the rest of S3.
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Oh wow.. thanks so much for sharing your experience of this ep and the character Cindy! So Glad you are enjoying the journey with us 🙂
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I have enjoyed reading the discussion about the cliche characterization of Agnes. I keep asking myself why it doesn’t bother me and, honestly, why I didn’t notice it as odd. I noticed James as odd and over the top and I like the way you all described it as part of the humor. I agree.
Th reason I am putting this comment in this post is because this is where I realized why I don’t stumble over Agnes. I know women like Agnes. I recognize her. I lived upstairs from Agnes in my 20’s, down to the pearls and the apple pie. I even think I could have been Agnes save for a few interesting people who came into my life and drew me out. And I think Amanda may recognize her too.
I am not saying that Amanda was a woman like Agnes, but I bet she could be thinking… this could have been me. I think she had an opportunity too be reflective about her life after she encountered Jean in VM and here she has another opportunity. What if Amanda had shut herself away after her divorce. What if she hadn’t jumped into the adventures with Lee? Would she have tried to be content making apple pies?
I like the way you brought up the risk that falling in love is. I do think that both Lee and Amanda have many fears and hurts that they will have to choose to step over before they can give their hearts fully. I can imagine Amanda being very aware of the huge risk that falling for Lee would be. We haven’t discussed her ex yet. But I would think that a failed marriage for someone who values it so much would be a world shatterer for quite a while. I doubt Amanda will easily, willingly give her heart to a man like Lee, even though she actually can’t help it. This circumstance with Agnes must bring all of those insecurities to the forefront for her.
I do feel so sorry for Agnes here. The Agnes that I had known would have curled up into a ball and quit living if this had happened to her. It will be interesting to watch how resilient this Agnes will be.
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I said earlier that I see Agnes as a character that for once in her life stepped out, and against her better judgement played with fire and is now getting burned. I agree with what you say about Amanda giving her heart to a man like Lee, and I wonder if she sees that she is also playing with fire here. I think she can’t help it, but I do think she is playing with fire. Maybe because she seems to have a higher opinion of herself than she does Agnes (based on comments in an earlier post), she thinks she can handle it and not get completely burned like Agnes did if Lee doesn’t change his ways? Maybe Amanda just wants to have a little fun. I wonder is she’s really thinking about it alot or is just “going with the flow” with Lee.
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