Re: Episode #609: 'Stand Your Ground' ***CONTAINS SPOILERS**
miamirocks said:
Hey Della - I totally agree w/you in that it's plausible that H is backing away from Calleigh b/c he's gone through so much trauma - but my point is that their relationship is non-existent now. I mean, he went through all that trauma in "Rio", and then two eps later in "Going Under" he's right there for Calleigh, telling her how happy he is she's OK (in his own way
) So for this "pulling away" to happen now ... when he should start healing ... it just is too much to swallow, especially considering the fact that they haven't interacted in 25 episodes. I mean, that's a looong time.
If TPTB wanted to show H's aversion to Calleigh, they should address it, not just avoid the issue. Cal should talk to somebody about it, just in passing, like w/Eric or something. Instead, it's like TPTB are trying to pretend that H and Cal are still close when they're obviously not. At least not on-screen.
I'm all for H grieving and withdrawing - it's definitely normal. But we're talking about 25 episodes w/out even working together - and she's on his team - she's the HEART of his team. It's just too much for me to believe, especially after H's comments in "Sunblock" - I'd think he'd start to turn it around.
Oh, and did you notice how H has actually interacted more with Yelina - which I think would be MORE awkward - than with Calleigh over the past year and a half. That's another reason this whole "he's grieving" thing doesn't wash. Cal works w/H everyday, while Yelina isn't part of the main cast anymore, yet he's been in more scenes w/her than he has w/Calleigh. It doesn't make any sense.
Hello miamirocks
I do understand what you’re saying, however, Horatio hasn't suddenly been pulling away, he's been pulling away since Rio, so his sentiments towards Calleigh during “Going Under” (the episode directly after “Rio”) was perfectly understandable to me because he hadn’t had the chance to completely back away at that point. I think Eric’s incident was the final nail in the coffin, because that’s when there was nothing like the interaction at all between Calleigh and Horatio that we’ve had before and he was rather curt towards her in “No Man’s Land” when she asked him what they were going to do. This too was an indicator to me on how affected Horatio was by it all.
I think Calleigh and Horatio do still have their friendship, only it's changed for the moment and I think definitely because both of them have
been changed by certain events that have happened to them both.
Also, if we were to take 25 episodes as being real time, it would be just over a year that has elapsed and so, in all honesty, things would still be a bit raw from Horatio in certain circumstances. However, having said that, there have been some glimpses of late that Horatio is making a slight return to what he was like before, such as his words to Ryan and what he did for him, his backing Calliegh in this episode and the promise he makes to Stetler about making sure that she is proven right and what not, but, in reality, it does take time.
You’re right, Horatio does show some amount of concern towards Yelena when she returns in the episode ‘Burned’, but, again, in my opinion, it is considerably diluted compared to what their relationship was like before and yet also, in all honesty, Y and H do have a stronger, perhaps deeper, certainly longer history than H and C has and it’s a lot more complicated too.
Still, having said that, to me, there were no undercurrent tones of a possible relationship brewing on the horizon for H and Y back then, though maybe that could be more to do with, in my opinion, a clear cut case of it seeming improper to want such a thing after Ray’s death rather than it exclusively being Horatio withdrawing emotionally.
And in “Dangerous Son”, H basically used Y to find out what she could about Kyle, because even their chat about Kyle and Julia was instigated by Y and H’s responses were to the point and lacked the same emotion I’ve seen from H in the past when it came to family – and I think this lack of real emotion when discussing Kyle and Julia should have been an indicator of just how far he had withdrawn. Was it also this episode where Yelena remarks that Horatio hasn’t visited Ray Jnr and her for a while? I’m not sure.
In my opinion, I don’t think Horatio has an out-and-out aversion towards Calleigh, but I do agree that he does have an aversion towards working closely with her, but I honestly think that’s all to do with his own situation rather than anything to do with Calleigh herself.
I do agree that it would be nice if the SWs did address this lack of communication between the two with a verbal chat between them, just to settle things once and for all, but, for me, it’s not completely necessary, not when I look at what’s happened to Calleigh, who and what has influenced her, (Jake, Delko, Hagen's death and her Promotion), and what not – and also when you take into consideration what’s happened to the team and also what’s happened to Horatio.
But, as said, I do miss their friendship and flirtations and good humour, but I also have faith that it will return, it’s just that it may take a bit more time to show because of what’s happening to Horatio and also what is now being shown concerning the Calleigh character.