21/29 Season Three, Episode 11: Wrong Way Home–Scarecrow and Mrs King

Back to Amanda and Joe waiting for Lee in Joe’s old frat room.
Amanda: Yeah. It’s really a mess, huh?
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[A mess…their weird super friendly relationship?!
Or.. the case? Winking smile Is it just me or is Amanda’s hair suddenly ummm much bigger?!]
Joe: Yeah.
Amanda: What happened Joe?
Joe: It was a fluke…
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…Nine hundred metric tonnes of wheat arrived TWWH.avi_002052752_thumb[1]in Estoccia – only it wasn’t 900, it was 700. So I did a little investigating and I found out that it wasn’t the first time. Somebody’s been doctoring the TWWH.avi_002056656_thumb[1]paperwork. I was on my way to see the Prime Minister when all hell broke loose.
Oh Amanda, those people are starving and somebody’s taking the food out of their mouths. Somebody here!
Amanda: Joe, where’s your evidence?
Joe: It’s all right there, only I’m all dressed up and no place to go….
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…I’m a lawyer, paper-pusher, I should’ve stayed out of it.
[whooo Lee doesn’t like paper pushers!!! Winking smile tee hee..]
(Joe sits on the bed.)
[Hmm.. I don’t like them both sitting on the bed- I reckon they would have gotten up to some backgammon way back on that bed! Nooooo!!!]
Amanda: No you shouldn’t….
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…You did what you thought was right. That’s who you are.
(it cuts back to Joe here – looking at Amanda)
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[I think Joe looks like he is admiring her.. remembering what it had been like to hear Amanda’s encouragement, and have her support. I wonder if he has missed that.. I think so. Funny I don’t see Joe thinking of how great Amanda is, only of how great Amanda is for him.. hmm..]
While on the close up of Joe, it looks like Joe reaches for Amanda’s hand here.
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We cut to the wide shot and they have clasped hands.. Amanda looks down at their hands smiling quietly – while Joe beams at Amanda..
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Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I’m getting the vibe that Joe is enjoying this trip down memory lane a lot more than Amanda! Amanda seems to be thoughtful here.. and not totally in the moment enjoying Joe (ahhh maybe there’s hope!). I think Amanda is not lost in the moment here this says something! [Maybe it says something to Amanda too?]
There’s a knock at the door.
Amanda calls out: …Yeah?
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[Joe doesn’t seem to notice the door knock- too busy beaming at Amanda!! ohh boy.. can’t wait to hear what you all make of this!!] Hmm!!! I think this screen cap says it all!!! Mr Grandpa clothes misses what he use to have with Amanda… and maybe.. he wants to rekindle the flame?!!
The door opens.. It’s Mrs McDragon!
Mrs McDonald: Company. Or would you two rather be alone?
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[we see Lee start to poke  his head around the corner here.. ]
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Amanda: Oh no,…
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…come in,…
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…uhhh, Mr Stetson – please.
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See what Amanda did with her left hand here? Squeeeeee!!!! She actually wipes the hand that Joe was holding on the side of her pants there – like she doesn’t want his touch on her hand anymore.. Or.. maybe.. it’s her separating herself from her past??!!! either way.. it’s a big squee from me!
[ohhhh so that’s how it is huh.. pretend you don’t know Lee.. after he called out your first name in the library? oh whatevs!]
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What do you make of Mrs McDonald here?
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…Thanks Mrs McDonald.
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Mrs McDonald gives Lee a look and then leaves.. lol umm what’s she thinking is going on here a threesome?! [why am I reminded of Mr Stetson’s doorman in Remembrance of things past?!]
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Lee: Bye.
Lee closes the door on her. Hooray.. Kiwiwsmh has shared the script differences on this Joe/Amanda scene.. check it out:
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Kiwismh’s script notes- At the boarding house, before Lee comes back.
Amanda – I don’t think so. You wanted to do the right thing. That’s who you are.
She takes his hand. It means a lot to him.
Joe – It’s been a while. Funny what it takes to get people back together.
Amanda – Yeah.
There’s a knock at the door. Mrs McDragon sticks her head in.
Mrs McDragon – Company. Or do you two want to be left alone.
Amanda opens the door. Lee is looking over Mrs McDragon’s shoulder.
Amanda – No, please, come in Mr Stetson.
There’s a prolonged silence. Mrs McDragon finally takes the hint and leaves them, shutting the door quietly.
Lee looks from Amanda to Joe to Amanda.
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‘funny what it takes to get people back together?’!! Hmm seems the writers toyed with the idea of having them explicitly consider getting back together – I think they’ve gone for a more subtle suggestion of Joe and Amanda considering getting back together.. but.. I think it’s there in the way Joe treats Amanda here – he’s thinking about it.
Funny though, I don’t think Amanda is from the way she didn’t respond to him.. it was more like just friends..I’m feeling much better about where Amanda’s at! lol!!
What do you all see? think?

Back to the episode.. they’ve closed the door on Mrs Nosey McDonald.
Lee: ..The inspector has two grains of zonomethol in him, he should sleep well into the next century, unless we wake him up. Now what’s the plan?
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Joe: I was just explaining to Amanda, the only chance I had to prove my case was to match my invoices against the Prime Minister’s Relief Schedule, show the discrepancies.
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Lee: Well, he’s dead and the invoices are in Estoccia.
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[This camera angle is interesting.. and quite poorly lit. Looks like a face off! But.. Lee and Joe are being pleasant enough maybe it’s a contrast to show Lee and Joe are not enemies here?]
Joe: Right, so what I need now are the State-side invoices out of EAO
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Lee: Okay. You know what you’re looking for, right?
Joe: Yah.
Lee: Let’s go.
Lee is on the case! And on to the next thing.. no time to dwell here! They head off to try and get the evidence they need..
I can’t wait to hear what you all think!!! You think Joe wants to get back together?? You think Amanda knows this?? You think Amanda is still considering it?? Do you think Lee thought anything was going on there???!!!
Byeee for now Smile 

33 thoughts on “21/29 Season Three, Episode 11: Wrong Way Home–Scarecrow and Mrs King”

  1. Mr. Grandpa Pants ALMOST made me spray my coffee!!! Though I know Lee is almost in Grandpa Pants season in future eps, but he makes anything, even much beige, look good.

    Oh, this little sinipt that Amanda says: “You did what you thought was right. That’s who you are.” I think that gives us sooooooo much insight into her conversation with Lee about the divorce. There, Amanda said Joe went with the EAO “because he felt he had something to give”, so for her to follow up here with that comment really makes me feel like she is totally moved on and has fully accepted their divorce, because she seems genuinely at peace with Joe’s desire to do what he thinks is right. I’m not saying she was saying that she thought it was right, but that she has accepted that Joe thought he made he right decision to go with the EAO, and then again here…wanting to do what was right by reporting the food shortage. (This seems to be an important way Amanda sees Joe to me because of something else she says to Joe in late season 4 which I will not disclose.)

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    1. lol… Yes, be careful with the food and beverages while reading. I’ve done the same. 🙂

      Enjoying your posts, by the way!

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  2. I haven’t commented in awhile, but this is one of my favourite episodes in terms of Amanda’s character development…I really think it’s this scene that puts into sharp relief the difference between her life in the past (with Joe) and the person she’s become now, leading to some of her later comments to Joe in the tag that I won’t get into here. I love the observations about her wiping her hand off after Joe was holding it! I think she’s finally realizing just how far she’s moved on.

    Something I really notice here is that as soon as Lee comes in to discuss business, Joe totally turns his back on Amanda like he’s excluding her from “men’s stuff” or something. I think he still sees her as the little housewife, to be protected from anything too upsetting or mentally strenuous. (Like, “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”) He’s a good guy, sure – I don’t think Amanda would have married him otherwise – but I think she starts to see here that if she were still with him, he would have limited her so much.

    It’s also interesting the way this show subtly comments on some of the social issues of the 70’s and 80’s – it was a significant period of women entering male-dominated professions, glamourizing women who chose to do so (often to the exclusion of having a family), but this show features a woman who is a mother first. This little peek into her past highlights the dichotomy of a housewife turned career woman. SMK is very different to shows like Charlie’s Angels, where all the kickass women are young and single and childless, and having a family was the death knell for having an adventurous life.

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    1. I like everything you wrote here, Danni, but your second paragraph is so true. I hadn’t notice that body language of Joe’s. But as soon as I read your comment it was too clear. Thanks for pointing that out.

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  3. This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands. My week is going to be a slow and short one as we have to cram in these standardized tests (the bane of my teaching existence) and we are soon to be on Easter break. I therefore have not been able to teach much, which leads to a lack of homework for the students and a lack of paperwork for me. So I decided to whip out my SMK DVDs and do a little drooling and swooning. So hard to function and do anything when that Lee Stetson is so brilliantly bold on my TV screen. I decided to peruse this episode again and noticed something that happened at Dooley’s just before Lee and Amanda were discussing her divorce. It comes up again in the tag, but I will hold off discussing it until we get to the tag as I think it goes best at the end.

    I also watched this scene again and noticed something else about Joe and Amanda and their body language, especially compared to the body language between Lee and Amanda. When Lee and Amanda leave Joe’s room at Mrs. McDonald’s they sit on a bench to check out Joe’s last used traveler’s check. They are very close to one another and touching as has been their usual MO. There is a huge gap between Joe and Amanda as they sit on this bed. Watching all of the interactions from the beginning between Joe and Amanda and Lee and Amanda you do see a difference in their connections to one another and their closeness to one another. Amanda’s whole demeanor and responses show how she is much more connected to Lee than she is to Joe. While she does seem friendly and solicitous towards Joe, there is a bit of a disconnect and a gap there. And some of it seems just a bit subconscious in a way. I think Amanda’s heart and body are aware of where she is, her mind is just now starting to catch up.

    And just when things are heading towards a peak we have another moment where Joe is between Lee and Amanda, except this time Amanda sort of has a front row seat and gets to see how these two men interact with one another. Okay, now it’s time for bed and maybe tomorrow I can swoon some more.

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    1. Great observation, valeriejw! It is so true about the amount of personal space between Lee/Amanda and Amanda/Joe. I think you are right when you say that Amanda’s heart and body are ahead of her mind when it comes to Lee Stetson.

      I had to laugh at your brilliantly bold Lee Stetson phrase. The first time I had the house to myself after we put up our new tv on the wall was to pop in an SMK DVD to see Lee on the “big” screen. It is so much better than the dinky-sized screen w/low res that I had to watch him on in the 80s. Brilliantly bold is right!

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  4. The part that always sticks out to me in this scene is Amanda’s line, “You did what you thought was right. That’s who you are.” I think that is the essence of Amanda. I get the feeling that one of the quotes she lives by is the one that says, “If you love something set it free.” I think she recognized that the EAO and helping people was who Joe was and so she let him free. Sometimes that is an admirable quality and sometimes it isn’t the best policy. But she seems to be able to do it with integrity. I think it is how she has approached all of these years with Lee as well.

    That handhold between them makes me think of the one in ALLA, and I bet Amanda is thinking about it too. No sparks here, I am guessing, and it looks like Amanda is noticing this. And I think she is not pleased that Lee saw it. I think here is where Amanda is beginning to become aware of the lay of the land for her and she is very aware of Lee and aware of how she views his place in her life and how he may be responding in this strange situation that Joe’s return has created. I think up until now she was so focused on Joe being in trouble and how she felt about having him thrust back into their lives, I think she was a bit confused. Not necessarily because she didn’t know which man she wanted, only because every thought she’d had over the years about her life and situation and decisions both she and Joe had made was probably crowding into her mind wanting sorting.
    I think having these two men standing facing each other discussing the case helps things to get sorted for her.

    I think Joe is admiring her, whether it is for selfish reason or Amanda focused, I can’t tell. It could be a bit of both. But I wonder if he isn’t asking himself, “and who are you, Amanda King? I don’t think I have ever known.” There is something that happens when someone lets another person be themselves, eventually the one who has been set free will be able to see the freer for who they are. Joe may have regrets, that may be good for him. But I think here, Amanda is truly free from her past. Free to move on. I think there is some of that feeling in the way she wipes her hand on her pants when she lets go of Joe’s hand.

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    1. I like how you put all of this, Morley. Amanda is starting to see her way more clearly and some things are starting to gel and solidify for her. I think Amanda has been taking those steps towards her own freedom for a while now and this was a roadblock that she needed to deal with to truly move on.

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    2. I was going to say that I loved loved loved your first paragraph, Morley. But then I read the second and felt the same way. Great thoughts! Y ou really cut to the heart of what makes Amanda herself. And your second paragraph brings me back to the camera angle that Iwsod mentioned where it looks like Lee and Joe are facing off. It would seem we are meant to see things from Amanda’s point of view here.

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    3. I like what you said about the hand-holding between Amanda and Joe. Joe does look like he’s feeling more at the moment than Amanda is, and Amanda is aware of it. She’s also very uncomfortable that Lee saw Joe holding her hand, something that she only does with Lee these days. I think you’re right that up until now, she was mostly worried about Joe and the dangerous situation he’s in. She just wanted to comfort and reassure him a bit, but at the moment, she’s feeling pretty uncomfortable herself herself.

      I think it’s fortunate for everyone that Lee came in and made everyone focus on getting back to business.

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  5. “Oh Amanda, those people are starving and somebody’s taking the food out of their mouths”
    This statement by Joe makes me like him so much more than I have up to now. IMO, it shows his heart is in the right place, even though I don’t agree with his work choices regarding his family.

    “It’s all right there, only I’m all dressed up and no place to go…I’m a lawyer, paper-pusher, I should’ve stayed out of it.” How did SM say this without cracking up????

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  6. “Oh Amanda, those people are starving and somebody’s taking the food out of their mouths”
    This statement by Joe makes me like him so much more than I have up to now. IMO, it shows his heart is in the right place, even though I don’t agree with his work choices regarding his family.

    “*It’s all right there, only I’m all dressed up and no place to go…I’m a lawyer, paper-pusher, I should’ve stayed out of it.”” How did SM say this without cracking up????

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    1. Agree, learjet, this provides nice insight into what makes Joe tick. As was noted earlier on the walk through this episode, each has their flaws — but each has their many postiive points as well. Guess we should think just a tad more kindly of Joe given his compassion.

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  7. Like the hand wipe Amanda does after releasing Joe’s hand. It reminds me of small children who wipe those sloppy kisses from older relatives. I agree with what several have said in regards to Lee not really having a reason to get upset about how Amanda is acting and dealing with her emotions regarding Joe. Lee has not made any overt declarations to Amanda regarding his own feelings and they have been sort of in a holding pattern and sort of taking baby steps at the same time.

    Lee has always been able to pretty much put the case first and deal with side issues and emotional baggage at a later time. But Lee has also taken his emotional cues from Amanda for quite a while. He is no longer the hot-head he once was and he is more patient and considerate of others. He has learned a lot from her by what she has specifically said to him or by how she reacts and responds to things. I think that he is just observing and not really processing right now because this case is uppermost in his mind at the moment. At this point he knows that Amanda is very loyal to Joe and he knows that Amanda views Joe as being innocent. I think Lee is being very cognizant and respectful of that while still trying to maintain his professional demeanor in working the case.

    What is interesting about this is how Lee directly engages with Joe. His whole conversation is with Joe while Amanda looks on. He seems to be giving Joe the benefit of the doubt and is letting Joe decide what they need to do in order to prove his innocence. He is not out to make Joe the bad guy, but willing to help him with what he needs.

    As far as Joe admiring Amanda here I would agree. I don’t necessarily see it as him thinking how great she is for him, but I think he is processing how much she has changed, but is also still the same in her caring, concern, and support. She seems to still understand him and who he is. He has to be grateful for that as well.

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    1. love this love this love this! 🙂

      Especially enjoyed your description of how Lee is treating Joe.. Lee is being pretty gracious.. along with Amanda.. I guess he is taking his cues from her here in this way also.

      Me? I’m not nearly so gracious! Nor merciful! 😉
      Maybe I can find something Joe does in the rest of this ep that speaks to me as Joe communicating he is sorry for his leaving.. hmm.. Shamboga!

      hey, I might change my handle to ‘Shamboga’! hmm Nahhh I guess I can’t- it could get a bit confusing!

      But.. I’ll play a little game with you guys.. See if you can find ‘Shamboga’ on the home page of JWWM! 🙂

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  9. I agree with your assessment, iwsod. I think Joe is admiring Amanda here. Not sure that I think he is only thinking about himself here though. I think now that he’s not on the run alone and has a federal agent helping him and Amanda helping him he is starting to relax a little bit and able to think more clearly. I also think he is very impressed with her saving his life. He is just now starting to realize that Amanda has changed and that he likes this new Amanda. He’s maybe even a little proud of her?

    I also agree that Amanda does not appear to be sharing these same admiring feelings. I think she is happy to see him and wants to help him. She thinks he is a good man that always tries to do what’s right – a quality she has always loved/admired in him. It’s also a quality Amanda has loved/admired in Lee with regard to him as a spy.

    If Amanda is seeing these two in profile here, there is no way she’s even thinking about going back with Joe. I mean, come on! How could you choose Mr. Grandpa clothes on the right when you have Mr. Handsome on the left??? Mr. Handsome has such better skin! There’s no choice!

    I don’t know that Lee thought anything was going on here, other than conversation. I bet he’s veeery curious to know what they were talking about though. I think ever since Joe appeared in person, Lee’s been wondering in the background how Amanda will react and if she’ll feel the need to explore getting back with Joe out of a sense of duty.

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    1. I think that is why I was not worried about Amanda going back with Joe – Mr. Grandpa pants could not hold a candle to swoony Lee Stetson. At the time I could not comprehend ever getting back together with someone I had broken up with — what is done is done. Now I am quite a bit older and wiser — but swoony federal agent still wins every time (well, maybe not if we are talking cranky, spoiled season 1 Lee).

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    2. Okay BJo, I’ll go with your idea.. it’s better! Joe is noticing Amanda is not the same woman he use to know..

      I was laughing at myself for immediately thinking Joe is only thinking of himself – it’s because I struggle to think well of the man!
      Joe may be a good guy.. he may be helping feed starving people…but.. he left his wife and 2 little boys!!! He couldn’t have waited a few years to go help other people??!!!
      Sure, Amanda probably in some way contributed.. but.. he left! I don’t think she would have done anything that mean’t Joe had no choice here.. Meh.. don’t mind me guys.. Just glad they’ve gotten off that bed haaaaaa..

      I get that Joe isn’t a baddie here.. but.. I struggle to view him as a good guy – if he’d said to Amanda I’m so sorry for what happened or showed some kind of remorse or if he had a big redemptive moment where I thought he’d seen the error of his ways, I’d be more on board with this.. I haven’t seen this enough for my liking. ha! don’t mind me..

      okay smk writers.. Joe is a good guy.. Joe is a good guy..

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    1. Joe Cooties? 😉
      Nothing sensible to add as the World Cup Cricket Final is about to start. Expect no sense out of me for a few days regardless of the result. 😀

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        1. o_O It’s okay – there’s a lot of cricket to be played yet. More at Ned’s later… if I’m not curled up in a ball in the corner sucking my thumb. May need some SMK therapy. 😉

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          1. Yeah, I’ve been trying to convince them over at Ned’s that what they really need is a psychic animal of some kind because it worked for world cup soccer. Besides, it would be really cute. 🙂

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So what do you think??? :)

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