Episode 77
Embraceable You (05-01-05)

Brief Synopsis: When the charming daughter of a local jazz legend is caught in a deadly round of lovers’ quarrels, Garret is quickly ensnared in her web. Elsewhere, Jordan, Woody and Nigel uncover a secret of biblical proportions when a young, pregnant nun is found dead in a cloistered convent.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.  Both A and B story were great.  Both stories seemed more like A stories.  They were both strong and carried their own weight.  Neither was filler for the other.  Garret’s case was more a test of smarts whereas Jordan’s was more a set up for the emotion upheaval between her and Woody.

Woody and Jordan: Opening scene—my hearts melting at how sweet Woody is.  Two minutes later I’m yelling at my TV screen—more specifically Jordan.  Talk about knock the guy down and beating him while he lays there helpless…   The only conclusion I can come to is that Jordan’s terrified of a relationship with Woody. (Woody = commitment, which means Jordan's gonna run)  It’s not her typical personality to be that cruel.  Jordan doesn’t have it in her to be mean and heartless like that—but fear can make you say and do things you regret.  She was backed into a corner and reacted.  Panic alarms must have been blaring in Jordan’s ears when she opened the box from Woody.  She didn’t handle the ring situation well.

Woody got his digs in all throughout the episode—which he deserved to do. (see quotes section: I’ve got a lot of them there)  As sorry as Jordan was about how she treated Woody, she had to suck it up and take it.  Poor Jordan, she was really bothered by it.  She knew how much she hurt him.   Jordan’s comment about the Nun hiding from life and Woody’s responding comment about the kettle and the pot was priceless—and dead on.

I loved the talk she and Nigel had—hypothetically…  Nigel hit the nail on the head and confirmed what Jordan already knew.  She needed to talk it out with someone—interesting that she always seems to go to Nigel.  She can trust him, and he adds a great bit of humor to the whole scene.  And how about his advice!  I agree 100%.  She needs to ‘step up to the plate!’

What was Jordan going to tell Woody before he cut her off?  It was a touching scene.  I almost felt Jordan was trying to open up.  She was taking small shaky steps, but Woody stopped her.  I can understand how he thought she was just going to say something he didn’t want to hear.  Poor Jordan looked so crush.

So what WAS Jordan’s birthday wish?  Something along the lines of Woody??

This episode was suppose to air before the last two new ones (Locard’s Exchange and Sanctuary).  I just point this out because a lot happened between these two in this episode.  It (so it seems) should have either cemented or broke apart Jordan and Woody’s dance – but (because we’ve seen the other two episodes) it seems they’ve gone back to playing the dance—a more comfortable dance.  Though Jordan hasn’t seem quite so edgy in the past two episodes.

Now I also mention this because if we remember back to Skin and Bone and the last scene between Jordan and Woody.  Jordan in her round-about-way told Woody he had her to count on.  And I can see how Woody took this as positive encouragement to move forward (he admits it was a kind of test as well as a gift). 

Woody just can’t move on—and Jordan despite her running away at Woody’s every attempt wants Woody in her life…what a mess!

Garret:  He was the focus of the second story line.  Garret’s love of old classics has him (right from the start) drawn to Charlie.  He walks into the bar/club and he’s hook from the instant his eyes land on Charlie.  He doesn’t even know who she is or that she’s Framus’s prime suspect.  How much of it was the atmosphere and Garret’s respect for Charlie’s father’s work?  Well that’s the question.  Garret gives her the benefit of the doubt at first. (Hilarious scene when Jordan and then Lily walk in on Garret and the ‘Black Widow’.) 

Charlie plays up on Garret’s weakness.  She knows she’s innocent, but it sure doesn’t look like it.  So she plays with him, getting him on her side.  She needs an alley.  She lies though to cover up other truths and ultimately the evidence starts to pile up against her and Garret’s faith in her waivers.

Then we get distracted in the morgue as the ‘killer’ breaks in and dumps acid on the dead corpse to cover up something—but what?  It turns out to be bite marks.

What’s up with the bite marks?  I don’t get how they ended up on the victims.  Why would the cousin bite his victims?  And Bug’s comment about teeth earlier seemed a little out of place…that should have clued me in.  Truth be told the coroner crew probably wouldn’t have picked up on the teeth marks.  The bite marks were just weird and unexplainable.

The writers need to work on their endings.  We hit the climax and all is going well then wham we get let down.  Though this one had enough momentum to carry us through to the end.  It wasn’t until the episode was over and my mind had calmed down that I suddenly realized he bite marks didn’t make sense.  Why would he bite his victims?  I know it conveniently proved Charlie innocent.  I figured she was innocent—call it gut feeling, but I just didn’t believe she’d killed them all.  And when Garret turned his back on her I knew she’d end up innocent.

Bug: I love Framus.  She’s that mix between hard a** cop (that we saw in earlier characters like Det. Cruise) and doing what's right/following the ‘letter’ of the law (like Woody and Det. Capra—to an extent).  Add in her dry sense of humor and she’s a great addition to the cast.  The interaction she and Bug have is wonderful.  Bug needed Framus.  She’s opened up a side of Bug that’s much more interesting to watch.  She manages to irritate Bug even when she’s not trying.  And how adorable is Buggles?  It just has a different ring to it when she says it verse Nigel!  Love it.

Side Notes: Lily! Who’d have thought she’d be the one to kick some a**.  I was laughing through the whole exchange.  I know it was meant to be serious, but it was so amusing.  She wins the award for ‘Best Scene’ no questions asked.  It was a wonderful character break for her.  Every now and then we need to see the characters break out of their habits.

4 1/2 out of 5 Dead Bodies.  Guess it’s obvious I really enjoyed this episode.  It had me laughing and worried, intrigued and guessing, and best of all yelling at my TV (i.e. Jordan).  Yes it had flaws but both stories were compelling and interesting and insightful (to our characters).  If it weren’t for a rushed climax/ending I would have given it the 5 stars I wanted too.

P.S. It was nice to see Jordan replaying scenes in her head like she did with her father (only this time she’s doing it by herself)