27/29 Season Three, Episode 11: Wrong Way Home–Scarecrow and Mrs King

47 thoughts on “27/29 Season Three, Episode 11: Wrong Way Home–Scarecrow and Mrs King”

1. (I’m sure there’s already another post discussiong all this somewhere, but I haven’t run across it yet, so I’ll just chime in here.)
   This last scene with Lee and the King family looking at each other is definitely pivotal, and with a little episode order tweaking, I think it makes the season make a bit more sense.
   After reading everyone’s comments back on Utopia Now, I have to agree with the camp that puts it right before Sour Grapes. Then in my mind, those two have to move down just ahead of Fast Food for Thought. After a situation-driven “almost” and a situational excuse-driven “almost”, Fast Food’s hallway scene shows Lee & Amanda apparently trying to CREATE a situation (ending up in another “almost”, of course, thanks to Francine). But then what’s the plausible reason for everything being dialed back for the 2nd half of the season? Answer: Move this episode right after that. As Lee looks at that family and has all his emotional realizations, I think he ends up with the double whammy of:
   1. After watching all that goes on in this episode, he’s GOT to have some doubts about what direction Amanda is headed in now that Joe is back. From his perspective, they would have looked awfully cozy! Has he just lost his chance with her?
   2. With Lee’s background and with what he saw in the course of this episode, I think he would want to be very careful not to be the cause of destroying the family of those two boys or of Amanda. His look here at the end tells me he’s in full-on protective mode, not just of Amanda, but of her family, too.
   The natural result of that would be for him to immediately bring his tentative pursuit of Amanda to a full stop and step back to see where she wants this to go. And so it takes them most of the rest of the season to kind of sort through all that, better solidify the deeper relationship Season 3 has brought them, and then finally get back to the romantic side of their relationship on much surer footing than they had here at mid-season.
   And now, boom. The season isn’t so ridiculously jumpy and stop-and-go anymore! 🙂

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   1. Geobear9 – this is the perfect summary of how shuffling these around makes much more sense for the season arc. Brilliantly summed up and this shall hence forth be the order of the episodes in my head!

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   2. I really like this but would throw in some other possibilities too – Move Flight to Freedom to just after Sour Grapes so that you get that little echo of the “one match” fire in the argument over the candle, there is SO MUCH handholding and they finish in such humour with each other as they have a romantic cruise that when he asks her if it matters what the business is in Fast Food for Thought, and she says it doesn’t and they both laugh, it’s because they are in such harmony and know they want to spend that time together. Also if you move Playing for Keeps directly after Joe’s return, then you can read the tag of Lee saying he misses working with her as a feeler on his part to say he’s interested and she essentially tells him she is too. Then Dotty’s comment in One Bear Dances… could be because she saw how Amanda reacted to all those phone calls from Lee during that case.

      For those keeping score, that would mean this order:

      Utopia Now
      Sour Grapes
      Flight to Freedom
      Fast Food for Thought
      The Wrong Way Home
      Playing For Keeps
      One Bear Dances, One Bear Doesn’t

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      1. Oooooo…now I see some more rewatches in my future! 😊

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      2. Woah… there’s a lot to digest here! You are clearly very well studied on this topic! LOL! As long as we’re reordering the whole darn season (why didn’t they consult you when they were originally airing these!?) – where would you put these episodes? I bow to your expert analysis!

         Reach for the Sky
         J. Edgar’s Ghost
         Pharaoh’s Engineer
         The Triumvirate
         The Eyes Have It
         Wrong Number

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         1. I don’t want to screw up Iwsod’s comments timeline with it, so will PM you. It’s very complicated. LOL

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            1. Awh thanks clagjanet!

               If you like, you can also discuss at Nedlindger’s.

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         2. I think there’s a thread on Nedlindger’s forum about episode order. I love this stuff but just don’t have time for it right now.
            I can’t remember if I got back to pondering Season 3 ep order.. I figure I can come back to this and season 4 ep order once the whole walk is complete.
            But I look forward to catching up then with what everyone has said about it in the meantime.

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2. BJo, I LOOOOOOOOVE your summary of this scene and the looks from everyone. I think you hit all the nails on the heads! And Iwsod, I totally agree with what you said about this monumental moment for Lee. His look at the end of this scene is so completely amazingly done.

   Now, that all being said, this whole gym scene DOES cause my brain some problems (in addition to trying to keep up with all of the stunt doubles and figure out what notShamba is smiling about…):
   1. How on earth do the boys recognize Joe so quickly!?!? When was the last time they saw him or a picture of him?
   2. Who on earth do the boys think this man is saving the day, and who does Amanda explain him to be to them and Dotty?
   3. I mean, the boys are staring at Lee Stetson for A LONG TIME….Iwsod, I am with you. Surely they would remember that man, right???🤔 Maybe the Men In Black are around the corner with their little memory rod thingy…

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   1. Yes, I agree. Everyone has said so many good things. Lee is amazing. I don’t know how Amanda keeps from running into his arms, but then I guess she hasn’t had a crush on him since she was a teenager like I have. Lol. I love BB. I always have. I also like KJ, and,as others have said, their chemistry and performances make this show so much more enjoyable. Amandarambler, you had me laughing hysterically at your Men in Black comment.

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      1. I don’t know how Amanda keeps from running into his arms, but then I guess she hasn’t had a crush on him since she was a teenager like I have. Lol. I love BB. I always have.

         Hahaha! I 100% can relate! I would speak nothing but gibberish if I ever met him. 😍

         Glad you liked the MIB comment. 😁 I figure it had to either be that or maybe one of the packs of gum Leatherneck gave Shamba had a “forget everything you just saw” flavor, and they had a piece.

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         1. oh yeah I’m with you two Audra and Amandarambler! I really don’t want my teenage crush Lee Stetson joy to be changed in any way! So, I don’t want to meet BB in real life and risk ruining it!
            lol.. but good on you if you want to meet him all! I’ll wait out in the hallway while you meet him I think. lol..

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3. “IIIIIIIII’m pretty sure I’m not suppose to be laughing throughout this heroic routine.. judging by the music this is super heroic stuff.. but.. I can’t help it! whahahahaa.. or is it just me?!!”

   No, it’s not just you. I’m laughing so hard, I’m literally in tears – and I’m at work….eek!

   I thought reading this post on a short coffee break was a good idea…well, it was not!!!

   Your comments made this – totally over the top even for SMK standards – action finale so much more enjoyable.

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   1. Haaa I got Christina into trouble at work? best compliment ever! 🙂
      haaaa thanks Christina!

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4. I know that I am wayyyyy late to the party on this episode, but I had to comment b/c I am ROTFL at your commentary here:
   Parallel bars, SMK Style…
   “I’ll give that a 6 out of 10”!
   Joe in the back, face down!
   Trampoline competition!
   The dismount!
   The boxing cat…
   notShamba (I laughed throughout the entire walk-through of this ep, every time you called him this, as well as all the screen-caps of his hilarious facial expressions…)
   Seriously, ROTFL!! Thanks for making my day. So funny, iwsod!!
   PS… The swooooooony scene at the end… that is what I’ve been waiting for during the whole walk-through of this ep!! Swoooon-central, all the way! Hero Lee, at his best ❤ The look he gives her… be still my heart!!

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   1. Swoon, indeed! BB really shines in this episode. 🙂

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5. Lee may have won the rope event, iwsod, but you win the award for best play-by-play commentary of this scene ever! notShamba wins for best facial expressions while watching the fight and tuckered-out Joe just takes the cake 😉

   I haven’t read all the comments yet, and I know you want us to share what we see on Lee’s face, but being in the “I Like Joe” club, I’m going to start with Joe and Amanda. Plus his look comes first in the thread anyway as I scroll down and I have to do things in order or else my eye will start to twitch. And I’m sure that whatever I have to say about Lee’s look has already been said and in a much more eloquent way.

   I’ve never thought this before, but with these awesome caps by iwsod, I’m noticing for the first time that when Joe is looking at Amanda (where she almost reaches for him then doesn’t) I think all the pieces are starting to come together for him. It’s over and now his brain can really start to process these last few days. He’s realizing that Amanda has changed – significantly – and that she does have some sort of relationship with this agent who just saved their family. She is not the woman he remembers, she has clearly upped her game. I think he’s looking at her wondering how? What? When? And is feeling a bit awestruck and humbled maybe. I think he also realizes just how close of a call this was with his family involved. I think he’s also thanking her big time with his eyes for saving him and their kids. I think he may also be realizing what a fool he’s been. A fool to think that he needed to be in control of this “investigation” of his instead of letting Amanda help him and maybe even a fool for leaving to go to Estoccia in the first place. But that second part is water long under and I don’t think he focuses on that long – I think he is more in awe of all that his ex-wife has done in the past few days.

   I think Amanda’s look to Joe also says a lot. Now that this is over, I think her first look at Joe (as he’s looking at Lee) is wondering what’s going through Joe’s mind at this moment, but I think she is also wondering if he is starting to figure things out. I think she may be worried a little about what he’ll think when he realizes that Amanda’s got some sort of relationship with this agent – a potentially dangerous thing for her and her boys. As he turns to look at Amanda and she almost reaches out to him, I think she is trying to tell him that it’s alright, everything is going to be alright. The boys and I are fine – we’ve been fine – and I’ve got it good and am happy. I think she doesn’t touch Joe because he is not part of her life right now. He’s had no part in her changing these past couple of years – she’s her own woman and is strong and confident. I also think maybe she is trying to tell him that she always knew things would be fine because Lee was there and he would make it fine – he always does. Of course she can’t tell him that, but I think in her mind that is what she may be thinking and expressing with her eyes.

   For Lee, monumental is right, iwsod. I think this is Lee at his super-agent, selfless best. I think he would have gladly taken a bullet for Amanda and her family here. I think he is fully realizing that all of what he’s been feeling for Amanda is love. He loves this woman whether she loves him back, whether she’ll hop in the sack with him, whether she falls for his charm, whether anything. I think there is no going back for Lee after this. I also think I see a little sadness/regret there because he may feel like he’ll never have this – never know what it’s like to be a husband and father and have a “normal” life. He’s just preserved that for Amanda, and he’d do it again a million times over for her. He’s happy and proud about that, but I think this marks a turning point in Lee’s personal life.

   When Amanda finally does look up at Lee, I think I mostly see gratitude and love. I think she knew Lee would get the bad guy and rescue her sons, and she is profoundly grateful. I also think she it is not lost on her that Lee and her sons are seeing each other. He is seeing ALL of Amanda and what a relationship entails with her. Her sons are real and if they are to have a relationship, Lee and her sons will have to interact. In a way Lee is meeting her sons for the first time. I don’t think they did introductions, I think Mrs. Dennis stepped in and took Joe, Amanda and the boys out of the gym so the menfolk could deal with Prescott. I also think notShamba stepped in and did his thing. He is a PM, so surely he’d step in to do or say something. I bet he met the boys and wished that all their future wives would be pregnant 🙂 I think Amanda and Joe took the boys back to the house and Lee went to work. So back to Amanda, I think because Lee is seeing her with her family, she is just looking at him as if she is telling him that if you want me, you need to want my family. I am not me without my family – not even for you. Do you want this? Could you want this? I think she bites her lip there at the end because she is wondering what the answers to those questions could be, and given the look on Lee’s face, I think she may think that perhaps Lee could someday answer yes to both those questions. Or maybe she is just hoping that.

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   1. BJO, I really love what you wrote here. 🙂

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   2. I so agree, especially about Lee’s expressions. I always took it one step further. I also thought the look was that he would be willing to give Amanda up if her family being back together is what would make her happy. It leaves us to think now what is going to happen with the two of them now that Joe is back in the picture. This is the spot that they would go to commercial before the tag, so we had to wonder for a little bit.

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      1. I remember saying “Don’t worry Lee — if the writers know what is good for them Amanda won’t get back together with Joe.” LOL. I was worried at this point during the commercial that Amanda having to make her choice was going to be a very l–o–o–n–n–n–g drawn out multi-episode story arc.

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         1. amen Cindy! If this show were on today.. it probably would have been played that way.. makes me grateful the show was made in the 80s.. and it’s worth having my eyes see the 80s fashions 😉

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      2. Yes!!!! This is how I’m seeing things too.. there are hints.. but really things are very much in the air here as far as the audience is concerned (IMHO!)

         I agree LAAL with this whole comment 🙂

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   3. Great post, BJo. And I too especially loved Iwsod’s description of “monumental”.

      Lee is seeing the family tableau, and I think he is realizing he is ready to be a part of it, not just the Amanda part of it, but everything that goes with it. I doubt he fully recognized this thought in its entirety at this point, but I do think this is what was brewing in his emotions. And sadly I would guess that he is also thinking of family moments lost from his own childhood. I am quite sure he didn’t sleep a wink that night.

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   4. Thanks for the lovely feedback BJo! Had to do something to take the focus of Lee’s loss of dignity here 😉

      I often experience what you’ve described here.. watching the scenes cap by cap it’s amazing what little discoveries can be made. I like to think that watching at normal speed we see these things and form a big picture, but we are not aware of all those little clues that we have perceived that inform our overall view.. walking through, I’m now fully (or should I say more) aware of what is happening, what can be seen.. and how the story has been told..
      It’s like I unconsciously saw many of these things.. and enjoyed the overall story..
      now I am more conscious of the things I saw – and I’m enjoying the journey and the overall story..

      I’m not sure what Amanda would make of that look on Lee’s face! I’m looking forward to seeing what happens the next time they see each other 🙂

      Loved all your comments BJo on Lee seeing Amanda fully.. so beautiful! 🙂

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6. Thanks for the tournament, iwsod. You have indeed turned lemons into lemonade 🙂 I vote for Phillip getting gold as well. For some reason, I love Lee swinging from the rope: maybe because it makes me laugh so much, maybe because it means the action scene is finally drawing to a close and I get to see “the look” soon. Anyway, I find myself expecting Lee to leap off and land with a delighted shriek into one of those foam pits they have in indoor play centres around here 😀

   I love the word “wistful” regarding Lee’s “Look”. The other words I can come up with are: quiet joy, sadness, satisfaction, envy, tenderness, possibly a twinge of regret. It’s a poignant moment. Much replaying and freezing of Learjet’s dvd of this one.

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   1. Hey Learjet, I’ve been meaning to ask.. what do the mini jets think of this fight scene?!!

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      1. The minijets were horrified by Jamie’s performance on the trampoline and not impressed by Phillips (“That’s dead easy”). They laughed at the fight scene up until Lee started swinging on the rope and then punched Prescott (“That looks like fun”). I may need to reassess my parenting….

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         1. LOL!! I love it!! they were laughing at the fight scene.. I think that’s brilliant! 🙂 did they notice Joe face down in the distance? I find that hilarious..lol I guess my parents would be ashamed 😉

            Oh get this.. remember how I bought a brand new computer? I’ve had it less than a month.. and a couple of days ago it crashed.. yep.. I have to wipe the whole thing and start again.. sooo tried to get a few smk posts under my belt today – I’m only watching FFFT up to where I’ve blogged so I have no idea what’s coming up!! I am now off to wipe everything and start over as soon as my emails have finished backing up… I HATE computers.. fingers crossed I’ve backed up everything I need to!

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7. That whole SMK gymnastics routine is soooo lame I simply block it out. Didn’t happen. The whole scene would have worked just as well, in fact, better, if Lee had dealt with Prescott quickly and efficiently.
   So, the boys (especially Jamie) have now got a pretty good look at Mr Super-Secret Super-Spy.
   Now would have been a good time for SMK to introduce Lee more fully into their lives. But that of course would have required a huge shift in the show as although having never been seen by the family to this point, Dotty and the boys assume Lee is someone Amanda works with at IFF. Lee is supposed to be a film-maker, not a cool-as kick-ass law enforcement dude! as he is so clearly in this scene (particularly obvious to anyone who might be observing, when he calls Francine to tell her to get Foster because he’s “nailed Prescott”).
   But as it is, now the boys can never see Lee as they will know he’s not a film-maker but that dude!
   What a conundrum! The SMK writers sure have written themselves into tricky corner here.

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8. This is such an over-the-top fight scene, even for smk. I wonder whose idea it was? “Let’s have Lee jump all over the kiddie gym equipment!” Morley, I didn’t notice before that Lee needed a minute to pull himself together — that’s the best touch of realism about the whole fight.

   I’m with Cindy and Valerie in seeing some “wistfulness” in Lee’s look. I don’t know why it’s there, but I do see it. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he doesn’t have a family, and didn’t when he was the boys’ age. I also see that he is glad he kept them all safe. It would have been equally terrible to him for the boys to get hurt or to see their parents badly hurt or killed right in front of them. Of course, the love radiating from his look is almost tangible.

   I’m really impatient with all the good guys in this scene, except Lee and Amanda. And even Amanda could have done something, once all the other adults were watching over her boys. It wouldn’t have to be something that gives the game away — she could throw a ball, or something, and confuse Prescott. Oh, sorry, the props people didn’t give her one, even though all that other equipment was so conveniently placed. I think Joe was lame. I know, he’s not a fighting kind of guy. (Maybe that’s why they had Amanda stress this point so much). But really — when he wakes up from his knockout, he makes the highly strategic move of . . . running to a corner out of the way? So does Notshamba. The principal doesn’t even do a good job of calling for help. And there’s a door right there, but no one seems to think of getting the boys out of it. I suppose that would spoil the nice little family reunion.

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   1. I think I read that wistfulness as a wishing he could be a part of that family. At last connected is some recognizable way. He has a claim to attachment to a part of that group in the corner only his isn’t acknowledged. It kind of reminds me of Eleanor Dashwood who has to suffer in silence. Kind of, but maybe that takes it too far. Anyway. I wonder if Lee has found a road to home as well? Does the title of this episode have any reference to Lee at all? Maybe his isn’t the wrong way home, but it is a way home.

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9. Oh my goodness, Iwsod! That was the most enjoyable SMK climax! I cannot take those long, drawn out, unnecessary, badly done fight scenes. You did an amazing job with that mess!

   I do like the handshake between Lee and notShamba as it shows how they moved from that suspicion of each other into one of regard. Kind of a nice ending for those two.

   Swoon, swoon, swoon over that Lee look. Even Mrs. Dennis is checking him out. This look from Lee does say so much about his growth and maturity, and his emotions and feelings. He has definitely gained much more confidence in what he is feeling for Amanda and how she may be feeling about him. Remember all those looks of jealousy that he exhibited, from SAAB to OMIT to his reaction in ALLA. He has realized and accepted what he is feeling and he is not showing any jealousy at this point. It’s even different from the way he looked at Dooley’s earlier on and that look he threw at them when they were at the boarding house. I think he has somehow been able to reconcile everything that has transpired throughout this case. I think he and Amanda were able to reconnect at his apartment the night before.

   I also think that he is very happy that he was able to help this family and protect the boys, Amanda, and even Joe. He has always been a protector of Amanda as a mother with two small boys and that family unit. He has brought it up himself, time and again. I think part of it stems from his own issues and part of it stems from his feelings for Amanda overflowing to feelings for her sons.

   When I first saw this I was upset for Lee in that he had to watch this interplay with the family, but there isn’t any real interplay, especially between Joe and Amanda. And Lee seems to be content and wistful. I used to wonder if he wasn’t somehow for a brief moment picturing himself in Joe’s place.

   Amanda’s last look is for Lee and Lee alone. They do have that eye-speak thing as it is and I think she is sending him the message that she appreciates what he has done for her and the family. She has made sure they’re all safe and sound, and now she can re-focus back on Lee. That hand check that she makes is telling. She doesn’t need to comfort Joe, he’ll be fine.

   I wonder how hard it was for Amanda to stay put through all of this. She has been pretty proactive in so many of the cases this season, but she has her ex-husband and two children on the scene so she can’t show just what she would be capable of in helping Lee in this situation. When the boys run to Joe you can she her sort of looking past them to make sure Lee is okay.

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   1. Indeed Valerie!! Lee has grown so much! Content and wistful- love that description! 🙂 there is soooo much in ‘the look’!!

      Yes for once Amanda has to watch from the sidelines, I figured she was okay with it because she was comforting the boys at the time.. and could see Lee had a hand from Joe, notShamba and the rope! tee hee..

      Agreeeeee yes so glad Joe and Amanda don’t touch!!! 🙂

      You’ve made my day – so glad you guys enjoyed the smk Olympics! [Hey the Jetski from flight to freedom could be a water event! Yes morley.. good call – it could be an smk blog post in itself!!! ]

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10. SMK Olympics, LOL! That could be a blog post. And that picture of NotShamba laughing with his hands clasped in front of him… hilarious! So glad you could lead us in some good fun making over that action scene, because I can’t stand watching Lee jump and swing like that. It just seems so undignified for such a moment.

    But this moment, and this look? Yes, satisfaction and pride and just a little bit more. He has protected a family that he has come to care a great deal about. I wonder if Lee has tried to keep himself away from caring for family, especially one with small boys. Maybe it reminds him too much of the pain and loss that he went through. But from the very beginning of his acquaintance with Amanda he was drawn into caring for them. The clown, the action figure etc. And then he began to let himself fall in love with Amanda. I think that from SG on he has been trying to figure out what was happening between himself and Amanda. He had left his old ways, experienced a spur of the moment almost kiss with her in UN and then (I put SG after UN) tried again at the end of SG only to be interrupted by Dottie. After that I don’t see him trying again and I kind of interpret that as Lee slowing it down a bit because he was reminded that Amanda has attachments and taking their relationship into something more intimate and personal would include having to take that family into account. I don’t think he quite knew what to do, until now.

    I see that look as one of a real love for Amanda, and now he can include in the way he sees her as the mother in the context of her family. I think hat was already beginning for him during that conversation at Dooley’s. I think here Lee’s heart is opened to the idea of a family and I think there is a big part of him that longs to be the man in that family tableau.

    I used to think he was worried that Amanda would go back to Joe in this scene, that there was something of the lone agent out there sacrificing himself so that the woman he loves can have her family back. Maybe there is a hint of that, but I get the feeling that Lee is a bit more secure in his relationship with Amanda. I think he can remember her shoulder caress from the night before. I think he can tell that she can sense that she and Joe have moved beyond each other. I can’t say that there wouldn’t be a hint of that insecurity, but I just don’t see it taking him over here. There is more of a peace and a deeper reality that is dawning on him here than anything else.

    Amanda is a bit harder to figure out. I do notice how she almost reaches for Joe and then doesn’t and instead looks to Lee. I think she, too, is becoming very aware of where her life and heart are. But I don’t think she knows that Lee is ready to be that man that could stand next to her in that family tableau. She knows for certain that Joe is a part of their life, he is the boys father and he needs t be a part of their lives. But she knows that he doesn’t fit by her side. I think she would like to have Lee there, but she wonders if he is just content to be the hero to rush in and save the day but stay on that side of the gym.

    I love the way everyone is looking at Lee in that last picture. he boys have their heads nestled in their parents’ sides and are peering at this strange, heroic man. Joe is amazed and looks like she is trying to hide a myriad of emotions. I also love the way Lee seems out of breath and almost beaten as NotShamba approaches him after the fight. That took a lot out of him and he stands there alone trying to regain composure before he can turn to face the foursome in the corner. That is where my heart goes to him and yet I can also see the pride and satisfaction and love growing in him at the same time.

    Well, there goes another novel…

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    1. Love your whole novel, Morley!

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    2. A lovely novel!! I’ll need to be brief in how I respond though 😦
       I agree Satisfaction and Pride doesn’t begin to cover it 🙂 it was just a starting point.. and I think when I get to the end of the ep and look back, I’ll understand ‘the look’ better..

       I agree with everything you have written Morley, but I didn’t see all that in this moment in this look.
       In the interests of not jumping ahead, (I understand for you it is not jumping ahead because you see it here in this scene, but it is jumping ahead for me I didn’t see it in this scene- hope that makes sense!) I will just say that for me, at the end of this scene things were up in the air between Lee and Amanda for the audience – I’m not sure of where Lee stands in relation to his feelings for Amanda and if he is ready to act on them.. I just saw his love for her and her family…and an absence of fear or jealousy- doesn’t smk play this beautifully? shows of today? take note!!
       If the episode ended here and now, I would not have had a clear a picture of where Lee or Amanda were- and I would have been busting to get to the next episode to find out!! but.. then.. I had not seen this episode in a very long time..

       Glad you enjoyed the SMK gymnastics Olympics! 🙂

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       1. I do understand that some of us don’t see things that others of us do. Maybe I have been spending too much time with Lee and Amanda’s thoughts that I see things that aren’t easy to see. Plus I make their thoughts fit how I want it to go, so maybe others aren’t even following the same path that I am. Well, that is the fun of it. I am almost caught up to the blog in my stories so I am close to tracking where they are here. What will I do when I don’t have our discussions to inform my thoughts on the episodes?

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       2. “If the episode ended here and now…” — geesh, that would have been a killer ending, wouldn’t it? The next Monday night couldn’t have come fast enough in my household!

          Iwsod, I have to agree with other posts here. You handled the O-lame-pics scenes brilliantly with commentary far more worthy than the choreography itself. I find it one of the most cringeworthy scenes in the series.

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          1. Thanks Raffie- very encouraging to hear! yes let’s gloss over how cringeworthy it is. and just make it into something else 😉

             Ohhhh that would have been a killer ending alright! the fans would have been sending hate mail at the time!!

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    3. I think it really dawns on Amanda here that Lee is truly her hero in ways that Joe never was. Not just in the sense that he physically saved her boys from Prescott but I think she sees in Lee’s look at the end a total selflessness and an openness of heart that Joe never had for her and their children.

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       1. whooooooooo Love this!!!!!

          I don’t hate Joe.. but he did let Amanda down..

          I think he needed a big moment of redemption in this episode.. If I had seen Joe apologise for leaving her and the kids or the hurt.. I would like him without hesitation..
          He seemed to show regret a few times.. but.. never expressed it to Amanda or admitted his actions had caused pain to his family.. and this episode in a way is all about Joe’s actions coming ‘the wrong way home’ and once again bringing pain and literally danger to his family.
          I feel this element is lacking.. though I assume Amanda has already forgiven Joe (she is too healthy for me to think otherwise) – In terms of Joe’s character I would have liked to have seen him ask for forgiveness for his role in things.. meh..

          I’ll just fill in the blanks here, that he had that conversation with Amanda over pizza and beer.. admitted he was rash to run off and follow his dream right when the boys were so little and to not take into consideration the needs of his wife. He didn’t compromise.. he could have gone later.. he was selfish.. and through this whole coming home the wrong way? He has realised the mistakes he has made, the pain he has caused, and all that he has missed out on by losing his wife and not having his sons in his life – so much has changed.. Joe now sees he made mistakes.. he apologises for them..
          and because he is sorry – he begins to change his ways.. and aim to be in the boy’s life more.. and .. then we come to the part where he wonders if he could be in Amanda’s life more – but.. (hooray) she shoots down that idea and instead offers friendship 🙂 there.. that’s what I’m going with..
          now I feel Joe is a man who is deep down good… done!
          Oh dear.. where did this ramble come from?! Kiwismh your comments inspire me 😉 eek! I know.. it was that whole idea that Lee was selfless whereas Joe had been pretty darn selfish for years.. (though now he’s turning over a new leaf.. right?! ) thoughts??? anyone??

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          1. I like this interpretation very much! Too bad w had to see the lame-o fight scene in the gym instead of this.

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11. I can’t wait to read what you all are thinking about this scene (and not because of the gnarly fight sequence either).
    There is so much emotion on BB’s face I think I have to watch this again – such a hardship, I know. I definitely see wistfulness and a little sadness here even though he is happy for Amanda and the boys (and even Joe).

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    1. That’s how I read it Cindy. Oh and Arghlboglendjdishdkdflffn Iswod for those beautiful photos of Lee with his heart in his eyes. swoon thud-must immediately go down the rabbit hole and rewind many many times!

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    2. whooooo do report back please Cindy!!

       Yes I am relishing hearing what you all think!!

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    3. Yes, I agree Cindy. I always get a sense of wistfulness and a touch of sadness when I see Lee in this scene. I also see his love for Amanda is not selfish – he wants her (and the boys) to be happy, even if that means he cannot be part of that happiness. That emotion is stronger than the wistfulness and sadness for himself.

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12. I couldn’t resist.. swoony..
    
    If anyone else would like to have a go.. feel free to use images I’ve posted 🙂
    Hope you are all well! I’ll try and get back as soon as I can! byeee!!

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