Episode 112
Sleeping Beauty (04-11-07)
Okay, my thoughts finally. I liked this
episode, but I didn’t love it. Truth be told I thought
last weeks was the better episode. I felt this episode
had two problems with it.
First—it
was anticlimactic. There was so much build up to this
point (Jordan’s surgery) –to the point where you
expected the entire episode to focus on Jordan, and then
we ended up with only a portion of the episode focused
on Jordan. I actually didn’t have a problem with the
format of the episode. I think the build up to this
episode was misleading and hence I didn’t get what I
expected which is why I say it was anticlimactic.
If the preview for Sleeping Beauty had
been about the case, with just a small mention of Jordan
I think my reaction to the entire episode would have
been completely different. It (probably) would have
been a much more successful episode. If you give a
person more than they expected chances are they’ll walk
away happy. Hype up something and then you don’t live
up to it and ‘anticlimactic’ is what you get—and you
leave us with this uneasy feeling of disappointment.
Second—Woody’s
case. I actually really liked the case, and that was my
problem with it. The case was too good, too strong to
be a B-plot line. This case should have been the focus
of its own episode. I felt we had two A-plots competing
against themselves in this episode. And
unfortunately Jordan's story won out (for my attention)
but it (in my opinion) happened to be the weaker of the
two. A lose-lose situation.
What interested me most about this
episode was how the four men in Jordan’s life each
reacted to her surgery. I loved the way everyone's
story line really revolved around how they were handling
Jordan's surgery. MJ and I were talking about this
throughout the episode and a little afterward. And I
saw one post on the CR that mentioned this too (sorry I
don’t remember whose post it was…I was tired Wednesday
night, and I never got a chance to read through all the
responses either).
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When I look at this episode on a whole what really pops
out at me—we could call it the theme of this
episode—is ‘How each individual deals with tragedy.’
Everyone deals differently and that was really well
portrayed.
Garret:
Garret takes the bull by the horns (if I may use such a
cliché). He faces the problem head on. If he could
physically do the surgery my bet is he would. He wants
to be active—needs to be active in helping Jordan.
Garret feels completely helpless (they all do, but it’s
most evident in Garret and Nigel’s actions) and what
makes it worst is the only thing he can do is sit and
wait.
Bug:
You know Bug cares, but he doesn’t wear his emotions on
his sleeve. He’s quiet/pensive dealing internally with
Jordan’s situation. He doesn’t display his emotions and
he has a hard time dealing with Nigel who is a complete
wreck. There’s no doubt that Bug is worried, but he’s
able to remain calm (or at least give the outward
appearance that he’s calm).
Nigel:
Nigel is a doer. He wants—needs to do something for
Jordan. Being active, keeping positive helps him keep
the panic at bay. However once he’s done everything he
can think of doing he can’t hold back the panic. The
initial bad news about Jordan and returning to find the
fish dead push him over the edge where he then lashes
out (deservingly so) at Woody.
Woody:
Avoidance. He does everything he can to not think about
Jordan. The irony of it is he’s reminded about Jordan
constantly (Renee, Tracey, Jordan’s office and the
flowers, Nigel…). If he doesn’t see how sick
Jordan is, then he doesn’t have to accept that
she could die. I don’t think Woody
could handle Jordan dying. He can barely handle her
being sick. Going to the hospital opens those flood
gates that he’s trying so desperately to keep close.
I also wonder how much guilt comes into
play. I’m sure he still vividly remembers his own stay
in the hospital and the visit he had from Jordan.
While, Jordan probably wouldn’t tell Woody to get lost,
you do wonder if she’d shrink away from anything more
than a ‘caring friend’.
I can’t say I was mad about how Woody
acted. Last week when he let Jordan walk away it showed
just how shaky the ground they stand on is. If Woody
had shown up before Jordan’s surgery I think at best we
would have gotten an awkward hug that neither would know
how to deal with. I’m more interested to see where he
goes from here. He did show up at the hospital. The
real test comes in what he does during her recovery.
Kate—I’ve said it countless times and I’m
saying it again. I love the addition of Kate. It was
so funny when she smiled at Nigel early in the episode.
I had this urge to go up and demand why she was
smiling. Our Kate doesn’t smile (usually). What I
loved about the smile—it was another sign that Kate is
starting (in very small baby steps) to find her place
within the morgue dynamic. I think she will always be
contrary and difficult (but hey, can’t we say that about
Jordan—yet we still love her) but she’s starting to find
her place, fit into the rhythm of the morgue.
The mention of Max completely threw me
off; the mention of Emily completely shocked me.
Surprised they’d bring up Max—though there are probably
many new viewers who know enough about Max to catch on.
Broke my heart the way Jordan mentions her mother. She
wants to be buried by her mother. Simple enough that
old fans understand it’s meaning, new fans understand
that Jordan’s mom is dead (and if they don’t know the
why or how behind it it’s okay because it doesn’t need
an explanation to still be effective.)
I can’t claim these words, that right
belongs to Ellen, but I had to share them. This sums up
the morgue staff so perfectly: “They're all products of
screwed up homes and she fits in perfect with them.”
This is a comment that doesn’t just apply to this
episode. It applies to every episode—to the series.
I’m writing it here, so that it doesn’t get lost or
forgotten. This is part of the dynamic of Crossing
Jordan that makes it so great.
Things that made me smile:
- Renee guest staring.
-
“Have a wonderful Brian Surgery” card.
-
The ending shot—all four of Jordan’s men
there for her.
There were many moments I liked in this
episode, but it fell short of my expectations. 3
1/2 out of
5 dead bodies.
Lara's Review -
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