Grade 'Brooklyn 'Til I Die'

[MacsLady]

I have only seen the Mac/Christine scene from this ep (which I really really liked).

Even if Stella did know Claire, I think it would have been in a 'she's my partner's wife' way. Like maybe if they had work parties at Christmas or whatever, Claire would be there.

Anyway, Christine knew Mac and Claire way before Stella even existed in Mac's world, and from that last scene between Mac and Christine, I'd say Christine knew Claire through hanging out with Mac, her brother, and Claire. They were all friends. I actually think maybe Claire took that pic of Mac, Christine, and her brother. Christine mentioned 'losing touch with you *both*' meaning both Mac and Claire, so from that I assume they were friendly but not best friends or anything, and that they spent time with and knew each other via Mac and Christine's bro being partners and friends.

And to go briefly off topic here, I will say this:

Mac and Stella were close *friends* and partners. But that's it. Stella is not, and never was, the be all and end all of Mac's life. He had and has a life entirely separate to her. He was friends with Christine before Stella even 'existed' in his world. Mac has a life outside of Stella. And in my personal opinion, he seems a lot happier now she's gone.

And that, as Kent Brockman would say, is 'My Two Cents' (or pennies I guess 'cause I'm English?)

 

[Mac&Adam Fan]

I have only seen the Mac/Christine scene from this ep (which I really really liked).

Even if Stella did know Claire, I think it would have been in a 'she's my partner's wife' way. Like maybe if they had work parties at Christmas or whatever, Claire would be there.

Anyway, Christine knew Mac and Claire way before Stella even existed in Mac's world, and from that last scene between Mac and Christine, I'd say Christine knew Claire through hanging out with Mac, her brother, and Claire. They were all friends. I actually think maybe Claire took that pic of Mac, Christine, and her brother. Christine mentioned 'losing touch with you *both*' meaning both Mac and Claire, so from that I assume they were friendly but not best friends or anything, and that they spent time with and knew each other via Mac and Christine's bro being partners and friends.

And to go briefly off topic here, I will say this:

Mac and Stella were close *friends* and partners. But that's it. Stella is not, and never was, the be all and end all of Mac's life. He had and has a life entirely separate to her. He was friends with Christine before Stella even 'existed' in his world. Mac has a life outside of Stella. And in my personal opinion, he seems a lot happier now she's gone.

And that, as Kent Brockman would say, is 'My Two Cents' (or pennies I guess 'cause I'm English?)

That's the way I look at it too. Until you mentioned that Mac seems happy Stella is gone, I didn't really think much of it but I thought maybe Jo just loosened him up a bit.

I do think it was Claire who took that picture.

 

[talkingtocactus]

I'll say this loud and clear for even the dimmest TPTB STELLA GOOD ANYBODY OR ANYTHING ELSE BAD there that should be simple enough shouldn't it?

it disgusts me to see something the wonderful george orwell wrote being bastardised like this to justify what would've been a horrible storyline and worse that is 3 years out of date but apparently still festering at the back of some tiny minds like rotting eggs. if orwell isn't spinning in his grave, he should be :scream:

i've not seen the ep yet as i'm back to watching on uk time, but.... i'd like a round of applause for jade_nolan

smacked people need to move the hell on. it was a pipe dream at the time, and now it's 2.5 seasons in the past. just get over it people! (not to mention stella was the most annoying character ever, she makes lindsay seem palatable)

And that's all I'm going to say about SMACKED IS THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD EVER HAPPEN.

I'm intrinsically skeptical of any 'love interest' they bring up for him. ...because I don't trust the writers not to make it totally contrived

but does it have a chase scene?!

i'm also very sceptical of romance plots, just because i don't believe romance belongs on a crime show (or anywhere really) and as jade said they're usually painfully put together. but i quite like the idea of mac meeting someone from his past with whom he has shared interests and knew the same people - that happens in everyday life all the time, so why not?

 

[MacsLady]

That's the way I look at it too. Until you mentioned that Mac seems happy Stella is gone, I didn't really think much of it but I thought maybe Jo just loosened him up a bit.

I didn't mean that he's happy *that* she's gone, I just meant he seems happ*ier* since she left. Just my opinion. But Jo definitely loosened him up, and she and Mac have a very different interaction and friendship than Mac and Stella.

 

[taylorgirl]

Wow,Jesus , if Mac is happy, i am happy, what is wrong with seeing him with someone? I personally think that this is the one to be honest, and i don't know how people can form a bad opinion on someone from their first meeting but i think she seems really nice, as long as it isn't a soppy love story like D/L then Mac's love life should not bother anyone.

 

[Rena]

I still have one question that is related to the ongoing discussion in the spoiler-thread:

Christine's brother, the one we saw in that flashback scene, is listed as "Stan Whitney" on several webpages for 813. As far as I know there was a(nother) Stan Whitney in a previous episode (such as 224 "Charge of This Post") that showed Mac during his military time, but who had fallen in battle. He is listed as "Corporal Stan Whitney". So what I don't get is that we saw Mac as a police officer during that flashback, which was at a time when he had already left the military and joined the police (?) So this Stan Whitney could not have been alive when Mac was on patrol, ergo he and Mac could not have been friends or colleagues, ergo Mac and Christine could not have known each other?! I just don't get it...

...or did the writers just mess things up?

 

[Mac&Adam Fan]

I still have one question that is related to the ongoing discussion in the spoiler-thread:

Christine's brother, the one we saw in that flashback scene, is listed as "Stan Whitney" on several webpages for 813. As far as I know there was a(nother) Stan Whitney in a previous episode (such as 224 "Charge of This Post") that showed Mac during his military time, but who had fallen in battle. He is listed as "Corporal Stan Whitney". So what I don't get is that we saw Mac as a police officer during that flashback, which was at a time when he had already left the military and joined the police (?) So this Stan Whitney could not have been alive when Mac was on patrol, ergo he and Mac could not have been friends or colleagues, ergo Mac and Christine could not have known each other?! I just don't get it...

...or did the writers just messed things up?

The writers have a tendency to screw a lot of things up. I bet they screwed that up.

 

[Jade_Nolan]

I still have one question that is related to the ongoing discussion in the spoiler-thread:

Christine's brother, the one we saw in that flashback scene, is listed as "Stan Whitney" on several webpages for 813. As far as I know there was a(nother) Stan Whitney in a previous episode (such as 224 "Charge of This Post") that showed Mac during his military time, but who had fallen in battle. He is listed as "Corporal Stan Whitney". So what I don't get is that we saw Mac as a police officer during that flashback, which was at a time when he had already left the military and joined the police (?) So this Stan Whitney could not have been alive when Mac was on patrol, ergo he and Mac could not have been friends or colleagues, ergo Mac and Christine could not have known each other?! I just don't get it...

...or did the writers just messed things up?

The writers have a tendency to screw a lot of things up. I bet they screwed that up.

Unless Christine had another older brother (this being Stan), her last name is just a coincidence. The writers have a fondness for "re-using" names, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even think of the connection to COTP. They don't exactly have a stellar reputation when it comes to paying attention to continuity. That said, 'Whitney' isn't exactly an uncommon last name.

 

[rahkira]

Finally got to see the episode; Comcast added it to its On Demand just after my rant (sorry, guys...*blushes*).

I loved the way the authorities all thought the kidnappers were pros who then turned out to be not-so-bright common criminals. I thought the look on the face of the kidnapee's father at the end indicated he was reconsidering his opinion of his son's abilities; before, all he seemed to think was that his son was not just like him, so not worth his time or money. In the end, he saw his son was pretty smart and that he understood his father very well. Had the innocent schoolteacher not been killed, it would have been a rather fun episode. I liked the way the son reminded us of that by mourning her pointless death in a way the CSIs, who've seen kidnap scenarios play out like this many times before, could not have done and made it seem realistic.

Surprisingly, I didn't respond negatively or positively to Christine. It's nice that she shares a little of Mac's past with him, but she didn't seem to know him that well. I, too, wondered what happened to her brother, the cop. Although, in real life, a great number of police officers died in the twin towers' collapse, a majority of NYPD members didn't, so I would have liked some clarification. Perhaps that's a storyline they're holding onto for another episode. Although I've been surprised in RL to learn how many marriages started in the workplace, I'm not sure how I'd feel about Jo and Mac as a couple. Mac is very shy when it comes to affection (not surprising, given his backstory of loss), while Jo seems to have so much love to give , she could seem overpowering to him. I do love their chemistry, though. But that’s probably because both Gary Sinise and Sela Ward are gifted actors. Given the character development, Jo will always be aware of Mac’s emotional state because she’s a caregiver by nature, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s going to fall in love with him, or he with her. Many people are happy as loners, but I always sense Mac would like a personal life, but is not sure how to trust that life will not devastate him again as it did with Claire’s sudden death. That makes me think Christine’s brother probably died suddenly, too, likely on the job, whether in the towers or elsewhere. That would give them a common starting point for helping each other trust that love might be okay. And Mac’s personal life would not always be in our faces as it would be if his love interest were someone in the office.

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

I still have one question that is related to the ongoing discussion in the spoiler-thread:

Christine's brother, the one we saw in that flashback scene, is listed as "Stan Whitney" on several webpages for 813. As far as I know there was a(nother) Stan Whitney in a previous episode (such as 224 "Charge of This Post") that showed Mac during his military time, but who had fallen in battle. He is listed as "Corporal Stan Whitney". So what I don't get is that we saw Mac as a police officer during that flashback, which was at a time when he had already left the military and joined the police (?) So this Stan Whitney could not have been alive when Mac was on patrol, ergo he and Mac could not have been friends or colleagues, ergo Mac and Christine could not have known each other?! I just don't get it...

...or did the writers just messed things up?

The writers have a tendency to screw a lot of things up. I bet they screwed that up.

Unless Christine had another older brother (this being Stan), her last name is just a coincidence. The writers have a fondness for "re-using" names, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even think of the connection to COTP. They don't exactly have a stellar reputation when it comes to paying attention to continuity. That said, 'Whitney' isn't exactly an uncommon last name.

Exactly. They named Danny's daughter after the woman who shot and killed Ruben - and Danny's the one who thought of the name - so coming up with unique names is not their forte.

 

[GregNickRyanFan]

Exactly. They named Danny's daughter after the woman who shot and killed Ruben - and Danny's the one who thought of the name - so coming up with unique names is not their forte.

"Friends" did something like that and it still annoys me to this day (because I've been watching old eps of Friends). Ross had annoying wife named Emily who didn't treat him very well if I recall. Then he and Rachel later have a baby together and name her EMMA! Grrr! I know Emma and Emily are different names, but they're way too close. And Rachel couldn't stand Emily, so why on Earth would she agree to name their baby something so close. Writers don't pay attention to those details sometimes. Because of this, I try to when writing my fics (no matter what show they're for). No matter how much I like a name, I won't use it for a couple's kid if there was a character in their history who was bad or whatever with that name. I wish tv show writers would pay attention to details like that. Even a small detail like that annoys the crap out of the viewers LOL.

I like Christine so far, she seems nice. I do kind of still wish the writers had kept Aubrey though.

 

[Rena]

I still have one question that is related to the ongoing discussion in the spoiler-thread:

Christine's brother, the one we saw in that flashback scene, is listed as "Stan Whitney" on several webpages for 813. As far as I know there was a(nother) Stan Whitney in a previous episode (such as 224 "Charge of This Post") that showed Mac during his military time, but who had fallen in battle. He is listed as "Corporal Stan Whitney". So what I don't get is that we saw Mac as a police officer during that flashback, which was at a time when he had already left the military and joined the police (?) So this Stan Whitney could not have been alive when Mac was on patrol, ergo he and Mac could not have been friends or colleagues, ergo Mac and Christine could not have known each other?! I just don't get it...

...or did the writers just messed things up?

The writers have a tendency to screw a lot of things up. I bet they screwed that up.

Unless Christine had another older brother (this being Stan), her last name is just a coincidence. The writers have a fondness for "re-using" names, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even think of the connection to COTP. They don't exactly have a stellar reputation when it comes to paying attention to continuity. That said, 'Whitney' isn't exactly an uncommon last name.

Well, there are two "Stan Whitney"s listed as characters. One being the former Corporal, one being Christine's brother. I myself think the writers just messed things up and re-changed the background history of Mac and Christine so that they could create this connection between them. I don't believe in coincidences like that. I mean, they didn't even re-use the name "Whitney", but even the first name "Stan"... :wtf:

 

[Jade_Nolan]

Yeah, but what websites are doing this character listing? Unless it's an official CBS source/website, all it is is fans making stuff up. As bad as the writers can be, I guarantee they wouldn't come up with two identical names. Plus, since her brother's name was never revealed in any of the spoilers or the episode, how can any website possibly "list" it?! I mean, for all we know at this point, she could have been divorced even back when Mac was a beat cop and Whitney was her married name. Maybe that's why she and her brother were living together at the time of the flashback. All I'm saying is, we know next to nothing so far, and I'd distrust any website that lists more info than what's specifically in the actual episode.

 

[Rena]

...I read it on imdb.com. They list the actors and actresses for each episode as well as the characters they played. So, no, it's not an official cbs site, but still a more or less reliable source.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395843/epcast

 

[Jade_Nolan]

...I read it on imdb.com. They list the actors and actresses for each episode as well as the characters they played. So, no, it's not an official cbs site, but still a more or less reliable source.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395843/epcast

Well considering they typed 'Dr. Sheldon Hawkes' as 'Dt. Sheldon Hawkes', I wouldn't trust that list for anything. And if they meant 'detective', that is a) not the abbreviation, and b) Hawkes is not an actual detective. Again, until we find out Christine's brother's name within the actual show or info CBS puts out, anything else is pure conjecture.