Anna/Lindsay #6: Baby on Board!

Discussion in 'CSI: New York' started by Top41, Mar 13, 2009.

  1. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    ^ It really would be :lol: I think it would take a lot for Lindsay to surrender her walls. Like, king-sized efforts here. They're such an ingrained part of her. I know that therapy involves a certain level of commitment, but I really look at the way Lindsay is now. (And especially, the way she was in Seasons 2 and 3.) I can only conclude that either her parents didn't take her to therapy after the diner shooting at all; or they did, and she somehow convinced both the therapist and her parents (and anyone else concerned) that she'd already achieved that goal they were aiming for...even if she so didn't. She might've convinced them by doing exactly what she always does even now on the show -- shoves problems away, pretends they're not affecting her, disappearing completely until she's sure she can pretend she's not affected -- and then becomes all upbeat and demonstration-giving whenever people are around, so they'll really think she's okay.

    It's fascinating :lol: Because from what we've seen, this strategy -- her walls, I think -- really does seem to work for her, at least as far as other people are concerned (she, on the other hand, is always going to have trouble dealing with problems if she doesn't get rid of those walls fast). The other characters (except Mac in "Like Water for Murder", and Danny a little in "All Access" and later in parts of Season 4/5) almost always seem to be surprised/taken aback/etc whenever Lindsay slips and it becomes obvious that she's not okay; which means she must be entirely convincing them on "normal" days. So I think she could've gotten that good at convincing people by using the same strategy on her parents and/or therapist after the shooting.
     
  2. Brinchen

    Brinchen Pathologist

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    Wow, I think that's really one interesting topic. And it really would explain her behaviour when she has problems; that she pushes them far away and tries to make people believe she is fine. There are moments when she seems to be so far away with her thoughts, and when someone comes in, she smiles and pushes it all aside. I think she might have been pretty affected in Stealing Home as she was watching all those pictures and when Mac came in she told him she can't handle not knowing all the questions but still she didn't show how affected she really was. I like that there are still moments that show she can't always keep those walls up. Like in All Access when she could barely push it aside and completely focus on the case while Stella was injured. Danny asked her twice if she was okay. So did Mac in Stealing Home. And then in this episode from season 3, she started to cry in front opf Sid and Stella. She can't always hide behind them completely, but then she tries to build them up again immediately. I also think she's been dealing with the shooting of her friends like that; convincing everyone she was okay so they wouldn't send her to a therapist or so people would stop asking her if she was okay. I wonder how she tried to make this happen- just convince herself until she believed it or if she tried to distract herself.

    Yeah, I think someone once pointed that out and so I paid more attention to it. There pictures of the landscape, which I think is so very cute. I bet she stands there sometimes, looking at them with a smile and thinking of being in the country. You know what would be awesome? If the team had to work a case in Montana. So she would have to work with her old co-workers, we would maybe meet her family and the team would have to be somewhere else but New York. I like that idea.
     
  3. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    I think her walls are actually paper-thin...they tend to cave at the slightest provocation (and that's when she cracks and acts erratic, IMO). But they're all she seems to have as far as defense mechanisms go, which is why I think she hangs onto them so tight. And that's probably why it'll take massive therapy to break them down...I'm of the opinion that she does convince/force herself to believe she's really alright. And then utterly refuses to let go of that belief even when it becomes very obvious (even to others around her) that she's not alright :lol:

    I like the idea of Lindsay possibly being called back to Montana to work on a cold case from her days there -- though I'm not sure the rest of the team would be able to go either, at least not officially. No jurisdiction, right? Unless it's a case that crosses state borders...like that Philadelphia detective who came to investigate on Stella in "Cold Reveal", or ..lol, the three-way CSI crossover:lol:
     
  4. Brinchen

    Brinchen Pathologist

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    Yep, me, too. She has those walls she wants to hide behind but they're not as strong as she wishes and sometimes we get to see that (like when she got the freak out in All Access, like when she briefly snapped at the father of Sarah in Stealing Home, like when she started to cry in this season 3 episode). I really would like to see how she would act if she had to go to therapy. At first she surely would act like everything was fine until something would be said that would touch her again and she would let it out. I would love to see that as it would show so much of her as a character.

    :lol: Maybe they could just create another spinoff with a CSI: Montana, or Bozeman or whatever. It would be interesting to see her there and interact with this team.

    But even more I'd still wish to see her lead a case. A bit ago we discussed our ideas for her getting intp trouble. I think if we could combine both of it, it would have a fantastic storyline. If Lindsay had to lead a case that would also affect her a lot and which she possibly couldn't solve immediately could make her become obsessed with it again. Lindsay would show this determination again and she would have a major role in that case. The others could support her; Danny as her husband, Stella as her friend, maybe also Hawkes, or even Adam. Wouldn't that be cool?

    Yesterday I got to see the first part of the Medical Investigation finale. I have to say it's impressive when you compare to Eva the way she was in the first episode (and the way she looked like back then) with the way she is in the finale. I think in that episode she really looked a lot like Lindsay. And I love the storylines Eva got in the finale.
     
  5. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    Okay, that? That scene would have so much potential for Lindsay, because IMO it'd be a huge turning point in her character. From what I can see, she lives her life by running from her problems (until/unless she's forced to face them), directly because of her friends' dying. If she was made to realize that by a therapist, and accepted that she needed to fix that about herself; then I think huge parts of her character/personality would change. That'd be fun :lol: But so weird, because I'm kind of used to Lindsay as she is now.

    I remember that CSI Vegas episode where Brass went to Los Angeles and worked with his former LAPD coworkers because his daughter was in trouble -- one of the best CSI episodes ever (although it bugs me that I don't remember the name :alienblush:). I agree, a Bozeman-ish episode like that for Lindsay, coupled with a similar type of story (I definitely think that either personal trouble or a case she's obsessed with, would be the main things that would ever bring Lindsay back to working in Bozeman)...I would so buy just this episode on DVD, watch it every day and all :p

    I really love the episodes where the CSIs work outside of their jurisdiction. "Thing About Heroes" was an awesome one, just 'cause we got to see Chicago. And yeah, I think it'd be awesome to see the others support Lindsay, even just from the NY lab while she's on her own in Bozeman. Because ...*counts* that'd be Lindsay working a solo case, Lindsay being obsessive and getting in trouble for it (most likely -- even Mac caught trouble for disappearing to Chicago on his own), a personal storyline for her, plus being a case outside of NY . That's like my entire wish list right there :lol:

    *fights temptation* Hate November so much :shifty: I can't believe I still haven't gotten around to the finale yet...still four episodes to go. Not that they're not worth it. I thought she changed a lot even in the episodes directly after "Little Girl"...especially when it came to the team, and to other patients. She made a lot more effort to be more involved emotionally with them.
     
  6. Brinchen

    Brinchen Pathologist

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    I agree that it would be a huge potentital as we would see a lot of insight into her character. I think such scenes are perfect for that. Plus we could learn a lot more about her past. I still really hope we'll get to see or hear about her parents. I mean, Lindsay and Danny have a baby and are married and still her parents didn't meet the husband or the grandchild. :lol: Maybe her parents could bring some country girl clothes for her. :p

    So would I. CSI:Montana sounds funny to me. :lol: I think that would be some awesome episode, and she could show how good she is in her job.

    I agree. I love how she showed this side of her. I think Eva is a very interesting character, also with a lot of different sides, which I really enjoyed a lot. I think Anna is fantastic with portraying characters with many different sides. ;)

    Oh, I think tomorrow they'll show a rerun of All Access here again. I'm so curious to see that as I really love how Lindsay dealt with what happened to Stella. I like how they dropped little hints in season 2 about her past. And I think in All Access I just love how she couldn't hide behind her walls but had to show her real emotions in front of Danny twice. It's what we discussed before. She can't always hide behind them. She wants to, but the emotions are stronger.
     
  7. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    Gah, and this is why I hate November. Too much stuff to do :scream:

    I have finally done it :D Finished watching Medical Investigation from beginning to end -- I'm so going to process before coming back and leaving the review about Eva Rossi's development, but lol, now I definitely see what everyone's raving about in regards to her in the finale. The way she was with that little boy? And oh my gosh she was like a completely different person than she was in the pilot -- I love her, but she was a little on the nasty side then. But was extremely sweet in the finale. That? Is character development. A ton of shows could learn a thing or two :shifty:

    The emotions are stronger, I definitely agree...the really interesting thing about Lindsay is that she's not one of those aloof people who actively pretend not to care, even as they do. I don't think I'd like her half as much if they'd just gone that route with her.

    She cares a lot; what she seems to struggle with is actually showing it. I think a lot of characters on the show miss that she does care about them, because she rarely (if ever) goes up to them and lets them know that. Like, throwing a random example out there -- in "Page Turner" she came to Sid's bedside "as soon as she'd heard", and was visibly concerned; but he was unconscious, and I kind of doubt she came back after he'd woken up. That's usually the way it was with her -- especially Seasons 2-5, whenever someone was in trouble we'd usually see her express her concern; it's consistent with her in a way it's not with the other characters. We haven't seen much of it in Season 6 (chalk this up to Reason # 9085 I'm fed up with said season)...but previously, I know I kept seeing her care a lot about the rest of the team and some victims in her cases. And it's long since occurred to me that someone who cares that much about anything shouldn't have a problem being close to people, unless there's some huge damage there.

    *crosses fingers* Hopefully only a week till I finally get hold of the Handler. :lol:
     
  8. Isla

    Isla Prime Suspect

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    I was busy too the last weeks. Learning:scream:
    Excuse-moi, but where was Lindsay in the last epiosde? And again not mentioning where she was. Urg :scream:. She´s a main character and just disappears for an episode as if she doesn´t exist.
    I mean it´s totally understandable if the actress needs some free time but the writers should at least explain Lindsay´s absent. Just a sentence. Hopefully she won´t be disappearing for every second episode. Ok, rant´s over :D
    OMG, how, where, when, what :D Is it on DVD? I´d so buy it, too.
     
  9. Brinchen

    Brinchen Pathologist

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    Welcome back, my friend! I missed you around here already. Nice long post again. ;)

    I so totally agree with you. It's impressive how much Eva changed during this one season of Medical Investigation. I love how you can see such a huge change from the premiere to the finale. How she was so cold at the beginning, how she was flirting with that guy to get information. And how in the finale she wanted to adopt the boy to give him a home and how she promised to him to save for a house and that he would have a Daddy and siblings. Anna played that so well. And I really wanted to hug her as she realised that the boy still had his uncle (?). She was brilliant. In all the episodes. And even though Eva didn't have the most screentime (actually everyone had more than her), she got some amazingly well done storylines. And Anna did amazing work.

    Oh yes, she always cares, for everyone. She cared for Stella in All Access (very much as she could hardly handle not being there for Stella). She cared for Danny every time he got into trouble (Run Silent, Run Deep, the Ruben thing), especially with him being in the wheelchair of course. She cared for Flack in the season 2 finale. She cared for Hawkes in Deep. She cared for Sid in Page Turner. She cared for Hawkes in season 3. She cares for everyone and I love that. She's not that extreme with showing it, but usually she always lets it shine through. I love that about her. No matter how long she knows the people, she cares for how they are. I'm also happy she clearly reached out to Danny this time and didn't let him get away with saying what he said. She stayed at his side and made him talk. I like that a lot. Maybe in the future she will do that more often? Would be awesome to see!

    I have to say I just realised how bored I am by episodes where she doesn't have much screentime. I watched Stealing Home yesterday. That was a great episode! She had so much screentime- is it a surprise it's one of my favourites? I don't even know how many times I watched it and still I love it and don't get bored of it. I really would like Sid making a comment like the one he did again. LOL Like we said before, there is just something funny about them interacting. I love how she got to do everything in this episode. She worked with Danny, Flack and Sid. She did the interrogation, in the field and in the interrogation room. She talked to the father. She took care of the evidence. Can't we have something like that again?! I mean, like we said before, I don't believe that she's not going after getting answers anymore. It doesn't always have to be a multichapter episode. An episode like Stealing Home would be cool already. One where she gets to show all her different skills and practically leads a case. Man, I would be so excited. I'm really glad we get to see all the season 2 reruns here. There was such a great balance- all the characters got loads of screentime and storylines and cases. I so want to see Lindsay interrogate again! Or in the field. Btw, how many times did we see her chase a suspect? I love that we got that in 604! I want it again. But didn't we hear in that interview that we'll see her do some action again? I'm so curious to see that! She's awesome with those scenes. Maybe we could also see her awesome knife again.

    You have to make super detailed summaries then. ;)

    ETA:

    Oh, I agree! I have to say it bores me when she's not in an episode, or doesn't have enough screentime. I think we could at least have heard an explanation why she wasn't there. Sure, she surely took care of Lucy at home. But it would have been nice to hear that. Or to hear a statement that she's still working part-time- that would explain it as well of course. But hearing either of that would be good.
     
  10. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    Yes, I definitely get that! Reason # 9086 I'm fed up with Season 6 :shifty: Seriously, how hard is it to add a three second sentence explaining her absence? (Preferably toward the beginning of the episode, so we know right off that she's missing.)

    It is on DVD! :lol: Well, you can find it through a site called IOffer, if you just type the Handler. And lol, I can't wait. I've been sitting in agony for a while now, just waiting for it. I gave up looking through the old DVD stores :p

    I think she had the most interesting story, and growth in general. I mean, the other characters got more screentime overall throughout the show; understandable because they were doctors, she wasn't, and the show was primarily about medicine. But with the exception of Stephen (Neal McDonough's character -- and I'm still iffy on him), she's the one who had the most defined growth. Miles had growth in the sense that he learned to be a more confident doctor; Natalie and Troy were cool but remained fairly uniform throughout. Eva grew as a person. That was extremely impressive, especially considering her job. She was a tad of a b*tch in the first few episodes, but all things considered (especially with how many people throughout seemed to be trying to screw over the NIH), she probably needed to be. And I liked her a lot even in those episodes. I actually think she might've been more entertaining back then than she was in the finale, even if I get how necessary her change was. But ack, more detailed review later :lol:


    [List of Lindsay-caring: she was concerned about Flack even in "Consequences"; Dead Reckoning of course. The Hawkes example, lol, I have to admit I was looking more at "Raising Shane", but "The Deep" definitely works too. Mac, "Veritas", "Thing about Heroes". Stella, "All Access"; Danny speaks for itself; hmm..Adam seems to be the only one out.]

    I'd rather see her do that with people other than Danny, definitely -- it's nice and all that she was able to really be there for Danny this time, but even so it still really feels like she's taking the "easy" option with him. He's her husband, of course it's expected that she'd care about him, and she's not really putting much of herself out there by doing so. Whereas I think it'd be much harder for her to help out one of the others. That's the level I think she needs to reach next.

    *:( because I lost my Stealing Home dvd* I definitely need to watch that episode again, really get back the feeling of what it was like when Lindsay was allowed (well, more allowed than she is now) to stand on her own... I don't know if "bored" is what I'd say I am during episodes where she's not present, but they definitely lack something. "Point of No Return" is one of my very favourite episodes, and Lindsay wasn't there; and I still love Season 1 like nothing else. And I even liked "Cuckoo's Nest", though that's mostly because Flack saved the episode :lol: But they're definitely missing something without her. Like a huge part of the entertainment value. Argh!

    I'm way too peeved about the character absences lately, so I refuse to be satisfied by anything less than a Lindsay-story :p Or at least Lindsay-character-development. Either would only take about a single episode to create. (So long as they remember to remain consistent with the things established in that one episode, throughout the season(s)). It'd be cool and all to see her whip out her knife and chase down suspects and be all that in interrogations, but for me, getting too much of that would be overkill, and would probably remind me of all the reasons I actually really disliked her when I first saw her on the show. We already know she's awesome, let's see them actually do something with her awesomeness.

    LOL; I've already got my notepad and about three pens and pencils ready :lol: I can't wait to see how Lily compares to Lindsay. Especially since they look soo weirdly alike (I guess that means light-brown and wavy really is Anna Belknap's natural hair? Since I don't see why else they'd just repeat the look.)
     
  11. Brinchen

    Brinchen Pathologist

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    This one sentence sums it up perfectly. You could really watch her grow. The show had what...20 episodes? And like you said, the others had more screentime as they were doctors and she wasn't. Still, also like you said, she got amazing storylines. I like how she was at the beginning- clearly had to be that way with her job. But how she softened with the time. I liked her determination in the episode where we found out she was adopted. This determination reminds me of Lindsay. She was determined to make the mother help her child. And it broke my heart when Eva said she made this step and tried to visit her mother and she didn't even open the door. Very powerful episode. But the finale really topped that for me. She was so sweet and caring with the boy, she was willing to adjust her whole life so she could raise him and she was willing to have a real family for him. Anna played this so impressive. I love the finale a lot and I have to say her character developement was by far the best of the whole show. The writers did an amazing job with turning someone who seemed to be a cold character into someone like the Eva from the finale. That was brilliant writing for her character and brilliant acting by Anna.



    So apart from Adam she had many moments in which she cared for people. For pretty much everyone. I love that a lot.

    Oh yes. I hope they keep on working on the caring side of Lindsay. She's shown it in all those scenes you mentioned in your list. She shows it a lot with Danny now. I agree with you, now it would be great to see her this kind of support offering to the others as well. I think she really wants to but something is holding her back. Would be really great to see!

    I think that describes it pretty well. It's just always great entertainment when she appears on screen.

    I think there is a lot of potential for them showing it. Like in season 2. A little interrogation scene here, a chasing scene there. Maybe she could do a mistake like we discussed before. Maybe she could get this 'being obsessed with a case' thing we talked about. Not everything in one season though. :lol: But here and there some things for her would be nice. It also doesn't have to be a giant storyline. Like I said, the way she acted in Stealing Home I liked a lot. I mean, lets look at Eva again. She didn't have that much screentime in every episode, still there was a lot of character developement. The chasing scene in 604 was a fantastic start. A new reconstruction would be cool as well. A nice balance would be really cool.

    Speaking of Stealing Home again, in the scene with the father I found it interesting how she snapped at him for a moment. I like it when a case/situation affects her so much. Maybe she could have a discussion with someone about a case again where she and the other one have a different opinion about it?

    Man, that's a long wish list. :lol: Like I said, I don't want to see everything of that in one season, but adding such moments here and there would be really cool as it gives us a chance to see different sides of her.

    Yeah, that could make sense. Didn't she have such a hair style also while she was playing theatre? I definitely also think her hair is light brown. Whether it's curly or not...no idea. It's really difficult to say. Looks good though. I'm really curious what you'll tell us about Lily.
     
  12. carminelove15

    carminelove15 Rookie

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    I'm happy your going to get the Dvds soon I got mine a few weeks ago I just have not had the time to post anything school has been driving me crazy.

    Anyway I think that Anna Belknaps character Lily in the handler is not like Lindsay at least I don't think so. Lily is the new girl and she is very eger to learn from others. Lily works alot with Joe and Darnell, Anna and Hill are a very funny when they play being a couple. I like the Handler it has great writing great actors. Anna does a great job in it and I cant wait for the rest of you to get the show!!!

    There is an episode where Anna has to have an Irish accent which I never thought I would here Anna do so that was really cool.

    I hope to be back posting after Finals, but I just wated to post this little post about The Handler and I cant wait till the rest of you get the Dvds so we can talk about it:):)
     
  13. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    She had brilliant storylines in that show, and I can't believe that's the only CBS show she's ever worked for that knows how to write well for characters. It's almost unbelievable, how they were able to do so much with Eva's character despite how minor a role she really played in comparison to the rest of the team. I mean, there were some episodes where she barely got three minutes of screentime, but she was still a very rounded character (both with writing and performance). It doesn't seem like rocket science to me; I think it'd be very simple to do a lot with minimal time, if TPTB put the thought into it. It really bugs me now, that MI ended so soon. I'd love to see what they would've done with a second season, maybe even a third or fourth one.

    Or maybe I just wanted to see more Stephen/Eva or Miles/Eva interaction :p Or just the whole team; that was really a team that had fabulous chemistry. I'm missing them already. *emo tear*

    Yeah...I know everyone says "Mission La Roca" was their favourite episode, and I totally agree it was a great one, but I still love "Little Girl" more :lol: By Mission La Roca, I was already kind of used to seeing Eva's vulnerable side, even as rare as it was. "Little Girl" was where I felt it appeared for the first time, and that episode really was heart-wrenching, in large part thanks to the surprise of that vulnerability. Plus, that's the episode where I really started to like Stephen as a character, too. That final scene? And the one where Eva's visiting the girl in the hospital? Perfect.

    I agree, the determination when she was pulling strings all over the place to find the girl's birth mother, was very Lindsay. Especially S2 and S4!Lindsay. Hm, Reason # 9087 I'm pissed with S6. Have we actually seen that determination again since maybe the beginning of Season 5?

    I'm always cheering for her in those moments -- she's pretty much a person who can always be counted on to care if someone she knows is in pain or in trouble, and things would be -- well, so much easier for her if she could just let those people know she cares. But getting to that:

    For someone who cares that often, and generally that much (well, at least in the cases of Danny, Stella, Hawkes, and some of the people in her cases), it really doesn't seem like she should have trouble getting close to people. It's a huge puzzle for me -- I'm working on the assumption that there's some deep insecurity in Lindsay, and that's what's holding her back. That, or a fear of getting close to people...given what happened to the last group of people she'd presumably been very close to. Either theory works, I think, because there's really few other ways to explain her social awkwardness. I'd get it if she simply didn't care -- I'd think she couldn't be bothered to make the effort. But we usually see that she does care, and she makes misguided efforts all over the place. Which means the desire to make the effort is there, which makes her sympathetic to me when her efforts simply aren't enough.

    And if that's an aspect of Lindsay's character that the show deliberately created and/or have played with, then they'd better follow up on it. I actually thought throughout S5 and the beginning of S6 that they were following up on it (because that's when she's experienced the most growth, although she had some key moments of growth in S4 too). Until she was basically relegated to Danny's left crutch :shifty:

    LOL, she was so judging him when he said he hadn't spoken to his daughter in a year. What's interesting is that I can't remember another time when she's ever been that judgmental. Not even in cases that affect her personally, or situations that affect her personally. Closest I think might come was the whole not-telling-Danny-about-the-baby-drama in "The Box". And it wasn't like she was being blindly judgmental with that, she was judging based on self-preservation (either from him, and/or the train-wreck that was their S4 relationship). She's harsh with the skeevier suspects, but she tends to be fairly understanding when they explain their perspectives (the way she was with the dad from "Super Men", and the guilty girl in "All Access" come to mind).

    So can we assume she's had personal experience with her dad not speaking to her for ages? I'm iffy -- she seemed a little too shocked when the dad told her how long he'd been giving Sara the silent treatment...maybe she was identifying more with the whole "moving out to New York" thing.

    I know she had the same hair colour when she was playing that girl in "Law and Order"...only it was the same dark colour in Without a Trace as it was in MI (and in at least one of her theatre productions, if I'm remembering the pictures correctly). I'm not really sure which it is! I think the only hair colour she hasn't covered is red :lol:

    I am seriously wired about these DVDs now! I ordered them weeks ago, and I'm dying of curiosity -- I love the idea of Lily being the new girl. In all the summaries I've read, it usually seems to be her they're sending into undercover situations, which made me think she was the more experienced one. But lol, maybe Anna Belknap just screams "new girl"? :lol: That'd make it twice she's played that part. Ohmygosh, I cannot wait. I might be pretty busy too when December hits, but I'll help you with posting summaries of the eps, if you want. It'd be like episode reviews :)
     
  14. Brinchen

    Brinchen Pathologist

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    Girl, you should become a fic writer. With the length you wouldn't have a problem. ;)

    First off, thanks to much for the information, carminelove15!!! Sounds very interesting to me!

    Very true. Even when she didn't have much screentime there was a lot of awesomeness. I love the storyline she got and I love how they played her background storyline. It was great that they used one whole episode with this case about the girl to show us Eva's past and give her character developement. All of the characters had such an episode that was related to them. Even Miles did. It was fantastic to see them dealing with the persons they were.

    I cannot decide which of the episodes I like better. The finale was brilliant, but like I said above, so was Little Girl. All of those episodes showed us a lot of insight into Eva's character, which was just fantastic. I also loved this scene with the man who was the only one who didn't get the flu and how Natalie explained something to him and Eva translated it into something understandable. :lol:

    My fingers are crossed that we'll get to see this determination again. It doesn't have to be a repeat of what we got to see. But hey, they could use what they have; she has a family now. And so it would be understandable if she got the determination to answer questions about a case that maybe involved a family. Maybe she could also get into a discussion with another team member about her POV and the team member's POV, which would be interesting in my eyes.

    I also think she is very careful when it comes to people and emotions. One explanation could definitely be what happened to her in the past. I think she is insecure and she's nervous to reach out to people. She deeply cares for everyone who means something to her; for Danny, her husband, for Stella and the others, her friends and I think even for victims and their parents (like the mother of the girl from Oedipus Hex who she also showed support to). She cares, she just is careful with showing it. I'd really love to see her reach out to someone again. Lindsay does that with Danny all the time now. Now it'd also be cool to see her showing support for Flack. Or anyone else. It would be good character developement in my opinion.

    I really liked this scene because of her reaction. I like it when the team members show how affected they are. It makes them human. This was an intense scene and you could clearly see all the emotions she had. Very well done!

    That's at least what I'm thinking. I think she was quite close to her father she was a child (aka all the presents she got and the thing with the leather she mentioned) but obviously she knew what Sara's father was talking about. So I think somewhere along the line the relationship to her father has changed. Possibly really because she wanted to move to New York. I wonder how the relationship is now. Especially as she went to visit them in Montana twice.

    I think the 'new girl' thing really suits her well and she also plays it very well. I'm so curious to see what you guys will have to tell about the episodes. You really have to make summaries. And screencaps. And clips. Please? I'm so excited already! :lol: The show sounds interesting to me.
     
  15. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    I had to gush about it somewhere :p I finally got The Handler in the mail too!

    I've only watched the first half of it, though, maybe not even that...

    First off, I am so glad that I got this series, and I’m mostly still gushing because at the very least, I’ve had my curiosity satisfied.

    That being said, the whole experience of watching The Handler reminded me of my experience with trying to watch Defying Gravity when it first aired. I watched it wanting to like it as much as I like Grey’s Anatomy, because they were created by the same person – but it just lacked so much of what I enjoy in Grey’s, so I couldn’t ever really get into it. Same thing with The Handler vs. CSI: NY, or even The Handler vs. Medical Investigation. I knew from the beginning that it was about undercover investigations more than anything, but I guess I was kind of expecting a bit more crime solving in this show. I’ve been unforgivably spoiled by all the procedurals I watch. The Handler has tons of suspense moments and action, which I like; but it’s way more FBI-hierarchy and Mafia-esque than what I’m used to; it kind of reminded me of watching The Godfather, which I’ve never been able to get into (and have yet to finish). There’s rarely any mystery to the case, or surprising twists – they go undercover to confirm a theory, rather than to solve a mystery. Often, the culprit or the answer to the case is basically who/what they’d expected it to be from the beginning. I know that’s pretty much the point of the show; Joe Renato's (Pantoliano’s character) job isn’t so much to figure things out along the way as it is to know enough of what’s going on beforehand so he can convincingly play along with the people he’s trying to fool – and to teach his students/fellow undercover agents to do the same. But still.

    Watching Anna Belknap and Hill Harper totally make the show worth it anyway; but what sucks is that they don’t actually get a lot of time onscreen. I can’t ever, ever complain about CSI:NY or Miami being All About Mac/Horatio again, because the Handler was all about Joe. Kind of the way Castle is largely about the title character. Which makes sense, and I certainly don’t resent the show for that, but I do find it disappointing that so far, there’s very little in the way of team dynamics, or team interactions that don’t involve Joe. That’s an element I generally find necessary to most, if not all, of the shows I enjoy; it’s a huge part of the reason I like CSI:LV and NY (and even Miami) and Medical Investigation, among others. The characters that do interact with each other seem to have a great dynamic; Joe and Darnell (Hill’s character) have an amazing friendship, as do Lily and Darnell, and Joe and Heather and Marcy (other female character), and Darnell and Marcy have crazy chemistry (that may be the first time I’ve actually seen such a thing onscreen). And Lily’s crush on Joe is cute too, although I’m going to have to wait to see how, or if, that even plays out to make a final call on it. But there’s no real sense of a team. Some of the characters haven’t even met the others. Again, this may be the point of the show – I’m guessing undercover work is easier or more convincing if the agent isn’t completely aware of who is on his/her team. But ...well, still.

    Then there are the stereotypes. Ugh, uck, uck, the stereotypes that are used on this show for the agents to play into ...I’m still twitching, it’s that annoying. Sticking to Anna’s character ‘cause this is her thread, but so far as I’ve seen (I’m about halfway through the series), 4 out of 5 times she’s the one sent undercover as the same stereotype. Sexy airhead waitress, sexy airhead hairdresser, sexy somewhat-airhead librarian, sexy (drunk) girl at the bar. Although I can forgive this last one, from the fourth or fifth episode, because I am LOLing forever at Lily and Darnell’s over-the-top fight scenes – they were undercover as a dysfunctional couple, to distract the bartender. Those are my absolute favourite scenes in the show to date.

    I know squat about undercover work, except for the very, very limited examples I’ve sometimes seen in other procedural cop shows; so I don’t know if stereotyping is a necessity that comes with the job. Maybe it’s important for the agents to fit as many preconceived notions that the perp might have about them. And I’ll totally admit it’s just plain fun to watch Lily go from vapid and wide-eyed when she’s undercover to cynical and edgy when the people she’s trying to fool have left. I have to say that Anna’s portrayal of the more annoying stereotypes does a lot to make those scenes palatable for me – she brings this kind of irony to those roles, along with a touch of over-the-top-ness that lets me in on the joke; which makes those scenes a little more fun as opposed to teeth-gnashingly annoying. But the stereotypes grated a lot (although admittedly, not as much as the stereotypes Hill Harper’s and Tanya Wright’s and Lola Glaudini's characters had to keep playing into), and I’m really hoping there are a few more episodes where she’s sent undercover in a different role. My second-favourite scenes in the show to date are from the first episode, ‘cause she was facing off against Joe as this grungy, emo-kid panhandler/drug-dealer, and I absolutely love the way she played that role. It got me hooked right away – although it ended up not getting much focus throughout the rest of the episode (turned out that Lily was being given an initiation by Darnell [Hill Harper’s character], without being aware of it).

    Btw, considering all I just said about stereotypes, I’m happy to report that Lily wasn’t the girl dancing on that pole in the opening credits of the show :p It was a character from the first episode who ended up dying halfway through.

    On Lily’s character herself.. okay, this, I think I need to see more of the show to really get figure it out.I haven’t seen a whole lot of screentime where she’s not undercover. She’s a little like S2!Lindsay, in that whole new-girl, eager-for-anything enthusiasm she has, but overall she’s a lot ...darker than Lindsay. Which is odd, because I see Lindsay as having one hell of a dark side, but Lily just seems more gritty, more used to the hardships of life. In her first episode I thought Joe found her on the street and “adopted” her, so to speak – later episodes have me questioning that assumption, but I still wonder.

    On the whole, it’s definitely worth a watch; and I’m loving seeing AB in a different part (yeah, again :lol:). If I had to choose between this and Medical Investigation, though, I'd go with Medical Investigation. I still keep rewatching that show.

    I will totally be back once I've watched the whole thing to do episode reviews. And mention more about, you know, Lindsay, 'cause she's who this thread is for, even if they're not letting her do much lately :scream:
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2009

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