Julie's Review of Holy Water 

Ten year old Marie Finnegan is dead, and her autopsy is all over the map. She's been sexually abused, has poison in her system, and has had an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts. Topping it all off, she's received her emergency adrenaline syringe, but it didn't help. Woody's on the case, but he's having difficulty being up front with Jordan, because the last person to see her was Father Paul.  Meanwhile, at BPD, Framus, Seely, and Capra are in a childish (and perhaps overdone) game of deceipt, sabotage, and kissing up, as they try to score points with the captain, and more importantly, score Carvers' recently vacated office.

Mecedeme penned this episode that once again focused on a tough time for Father Paul and brought difficulties between Woody and Jordan. Woody initially tries to keep the truth from Jordan because he fears she can't be objective. Then he's edgy and jealous when Jordan flat-out indicates that Paul is not responsible. Jordan and Paul have some interesting discussions about God, and a nice reference to Embraceable You regarding a "problem with the institution" (the church) slips into the dialogue.

The fighting about Paul that ensues between Jordan and Woody lets the viewer know that just because Jordan and Woody are engaged doesn't mean it's all going to be smooth sailing (and thank goodness for that. The viewers would hate to see Jordan dissolve into a doting, agreeable wife). Though they argue through much of the episode, Jordan and Woody have progressed to a point where instead of leaving things badly, they discuss their issues and apologize.

The characters in this episode pretty much seemed on point. Framus and Seely were remarkably well written. It was easy to picture Framus delivering the lines that were written for her and her attitude while she delivered them. But Capra…it was hard to imagine her participating in the kissing up and hoopla that went along with the "contest" for the office. It was good to see that the office was turned into a storage closet.

BigCJFan's artwork truly added to the episode. The banner was wonderful, especially with the daffodils in the background. When I initially saw the banner, I paused on it for a few minutes, wondering how a daffodil could be an important "player" in the episode. There were other great touches such as the depiction of Carver's office with a janitor standing outside the door. The details in the shot (the shield, the nameplate, the janitor), were all very good and were a clue to the amount of time and effort put into these virtual episodes by the artists. The other picture that was really interesting was the picture of Jordan, Woody, and Paul while Jordan is watching the interrogation. Her reflection superimposed on Woody's face was fascinating.

The song Holy Water was a completely appropriate musical selection for the episode, and the fact that it carried through the episode was very interesting. It almost became its own character.

This virtual episode had its quirks. Boston Garden was demolished in November of 1997, so Woody's plans would have been for TD Banknorth Garden. And the fighting over the office storyline was a bit too front-and-center. But the episode's strength was that Jordan and Woody are getting better at facing issues that anger them and they are learning to apologize, indicating that the future for them could be very good.