S02.E04: Between You And Me

[Meredith Quill]

Quote

Jen and Judy try to dig their way out of trouble during a trip out of town, but their cathartic weekend away comes to an abrupt end over tragic news.

 

[leighdear]

16 minutes in and I'm so F'kin tired of F'kin Jen F'kin saying "F'k every F'kin second that I had to F'kin turn the F'kin thing F'kin off. 

And I swear, they've got Linda Cardellini looking exactly like McKenzie F'kin Phillips.  And they've taken her quirks and made her a F'kin freak. 

I'm F'kin out. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by leighdear

[Kel Varnsen]

I liked how in this episode they made a specific point that it took 6 hours to bury the body and both of them were super sore. In so many shows they make digging a body sized hole look super easy.

Plus it is always awesome to see Mark Evan Jackson.

[chocolatine]

Does Netflix pay extra for every f-bomb? Even the teenage son is dropping them left and right. (BTW, wasn't he 14 last season? And now he's old enough for a learner's permit? I guess the actor has had a growth spurt since last year so the show ret-conned his age.)

I'm glad this show is back, but I'm not liking this season as much as the first. What drew me to the show initially was that all the twists and shenanigans were balanced out by the emotionally honest portrayal of grief. The first three episodes of this season barely touched on the grief at all, and Judy's sudden outpour in this episode rang a little false.

My speculation is that Jen getting a ticket after she and Judy buried Steve and staying at the hotel (for which it looks like Jen used a credit card) is going to come back to bite them.

Edited May 10, 2020 by chocolatine

[Blue Plastic]

I think I'm out. I couldn't even make it all the way through this episode due to a combination of annoyance and boredom.

It feels like they're trying to retcon the Steve character and make him out to be nicer than I remember him being. The whole scene with Judy crying over Steve's death and telling Jen that Steve felt terrible about the hit and run that killed Ted just rang false to me. Probably someone like Judy would feel bad about Steve's death, but it felt like a total retcon to make him out to be a super sweet guy when I don't remember that AT ALL.

On top of that, oh surprise Steve has a twin brother! That is too over the top and just a cheesy way to keep the actor around. Meh!

Plus NOTHING HAPPENS.

I really enjoyed the first season, and the ending gave me the feeling that the twists and turns would continue for a second season. But it's just boring! I don't care about the nursing home scenes at all. It's very all over the place, as if they don't have much plot (just Jen hiding something from Judy) so they had to pad it out to keep the season from being done in one 1-hour episode.

[Ms Blue Jay]

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Does Netflix pay extra for every f-bomb? Even the teenage son is dropping them left and right. (BTW, wasn't he 14 last season? And now he's old enough for a learner's permit? I guess the actor has had a growth spurt since last year so the show ret-conned his age.)

I'm glad this show is back, but I'm not liking this season as much as the first. What drew me to the show initially was that all the twists and shenanigans were balanced out by the emotionally honest portrayal of grief. The first three episodes of this season barely touched on the grief at all, and Judy's sudden outpour in this episode rang a little false.

My speculation is that Jen getting a ticket after she and Judy buried Steve and staying at the hotel (for which it looks like Jen used a credit card) is going to come back to bite them.

I admit, I didn't really notice Jen swearing, but I REALLY noticed the teenage son doing it and then I noticed Jen doing it in front of her two kids a lot.  It is weird.

[MsJamieDornan]

After about the 2nd episode I started to think they must have different writers than last year.

[tennisgurl]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:57 PM, leighdear said:

I'm F'kin out. 

"Theres just one thing Dude. Do you have to use so many cuss words?" 

"The fuck you talking about?"

[scowl]

At this point it looks like they're going to have exactly one significant plot-related thing happen in each episode, then pad the rest of the episode with twenty minutes of Jen and Judy sitting around being freaked out. All the energy and tension from last season is gone. Was I supposed to care about the bird?

[Kel Varnsen]

56 minutes ago, scowl said:

Was I supposed to care about the bird?

No, I am pretty sure that the bird was just a stand for Steve as a way that Judy could give a proper burial and say good bye.

[Stats Queen]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:57 PM, leighdear said:

And I swear, they've got Linda Cardellini looking exactly like McKenzie F'kin Phillips.

OMG - it was driving me crazy, but that is exactly what she looks like!!!

[Cassandre]

On 5/12/2020 at 6:39 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

No, I am pretty sure that the bird was just a stand for Steve as a way that Judy could give a proper burial and say good bye.

You are right. It was pretty obvious when Jen asked her is she wanted to say something for the bird. I liked that scene to be honest because of that double hidden meaning. 

[Blakeston]

I'll admit I felt bad when the bird died - because it meant that Henry had to truly deal with his father being dead.

I don't buy that Steve was a sweet guy. But he was good at seeming like a decent guy when he wanted something, and I wouldn't be surprised if he deliberately turned on the waterworks at the beach, knowing that Judy would see it.

Am I the only one who finds Christina Applegate's frozen face to be very distracting? She's had too much work done.

[Paloma]

On 5/13/2020 at 12:21 AM, Stats Queen said:

On 5/8/2020 at 6:57 PM, leighdear said:

And I swear, they've got Linda Cardellini looking exactly like McKenzie F'kin Phillips.

OMG - it was driving me crazy, but that is exactly what she looks like!!!

The resemblance didn't occur to me during the episode, but now that you mention it I wonder if that is why they had her sing the Mamas and Papas song (because Mackenzie is the daughter of Papa John). Also, does anyone know if the song that played over the scene (not Judy's voice) was the original Mamas and Papas version? I thought the musical arrangement sounded like the original, but my husband didn't think the female voice was powerful enough to be Mama Cass.

[Cheezwiz]

On 5/14/2020 at 7:45 PM, Paloma said:

o, does anyone know if the song that played over the scene (not Judy's voice) was the original Mamas and Papas version? I thought the musical arrangement sounded like the original, but my husband didn't think the female voice was powerful enough to be Mama Cass.

"Dream A Little Dream" actually wasn't done by the Mamas & Papas - Cass Elliott did it as a solo release after they broke up (probably very early 70's). I assumed this was the original version that she did - it sounded like her voice to me, but now that you mention it, it did seem a bit muted. I'm way too lazy to look it up on IMDB at the moment, so I'm gonna say it was Cass Elliott's version.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Cheezwiz

[CrystalBlue]

On 5/9/2020 at 9:16 PM, chocolatine said:

Does Netflix pay extra for every f-bomb? Even the teenage son is dropping them left and right. (BTW, wasn't he 14 last season? And now he's old enough for a learner's permit? I guess the actor has had a growth spurt since last year so the show ret-conned his age.)

No retconning here:  In California you have to be 15 years and 6 months old to apply for a learners permit.

[CrystalBlue]

On 5/12/2020 at 9:21 PM, Stats Queen said:

OMG - it was driving me crazy, but that is exactly what she looks like!!!

OK, so it's not just me who thought this!

[Avabelle]

Agreed with whoever upthread said it’s like they’re retconning Steve completely. It’s so annoying.

It feels like both actresses and the writing are just constantly mugging for the Emmys. 

[Cheezwiz]

3 hours ago, Avabelle said:

Agreed with whoever upthread said it’s like they’re retconning Steve completely. It’s so annoying.

I don't think the show is actually attempting to rehabilitate Steve - I think Judy the character is attempting to retcon him in her mind. After she had waxed nostalgic about him in one of the scenes, there was a very brief flashback of him yelling at her abusively following the car-wreck. I don't think it's an attempt to repaint his character, I think the writers are just doing a poor job of demonstrating what Judy is supposed to be feeling, and how it's at odds with who he actually was.

[camom]

What was in the package that Judy had at the end of the episode?  And what did the note say?

I'm with those who aren't enjoying season 2 as much as season 1.  I can only take so much of otherwise intelligent people making stupid decisions.

 

[Avabelle]

It’s all the crying for me. It’s literally every scene and full on balling. 

[chitowngirl]

nm

Edited May 22, 2020 by chitowngirl

[Racj82]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:57 PM, leighdear said:

16 minutes in and I'm so F'kin tired of F'kin Jen F'kin saying "F'k every F'kin second that I had to F'kin turn the F'kin thing F'kin off. 

And I swear, they've got Linda Cardellini looking exactly like McKenzie F'kin Phillips.  And they've taken her quirks and made her a F'kin freak. 

I'm F'kin out. 

On this board is literally the only reason why I'm aware there are too many f bombs. I barely notice. People curse. Some people curse a lot. I don't care one way or the other. 

[Racj82]

On 5/21/2020 at 7:37 PM, Cheezwiz said:

I don't think the show is actually attempting to rehabilitate Steve - I think Judy the character is attempting to retcon him in her mind. After she had waxed nostalgic about him in one of the scenes, there was a very brief flashback of him yelling at her abusively following the car-wreck. I don't think it's an attempt to repaint his character, I think the writers are just doing a poor job of demonstrating what Judy is supposed to be feeling, and how it's at odds with who he actually was.

People are capable of good and bad. Someone can be an asshole and also be a good person at times.

It's like Bill Cosby (or insert any disgraced celebrity here). He is a disgusting person who deserves to be locked up. He was also a great comedian, by all accounts a good father, he did a lot for people. A lot of people also wouldn't be able to believe they were capable of whatever they wanted if it wasn't for his drive to make Cosby Show and Different World what they are.

People can be two things. It's not retconning to say that he wasn't an asshat all the time or to everybody.

[tvfanatic13]

I will sit at my table of 1 since I am enjoying this season just as much as the first. Mileage varying and all. 

[Ellaria]

20 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

I will sit at my table of 1 since I am enjoying this season just as much as the first. Mileage varying and all. 

Can I join you? I’m enjoying this season as much as the first, too.

[tvfanatic13]

Only if you socially distance Ellaria! The more the merrier!

[Totale]

On 5/22/2020 at 10:01 AM, camom said:

What was in the package that Judy had at the end of the episode?  And what did the note say?

I'm with those who aren't enjoying season 2 as much as season 1.  I can only take so much of otherwise intelligent people making stupid decisions.

 

I had to go back and rerun that myself.  She was anonymously returning the rock she and Steve swiped from the Petrified Forest with a note saying something like "I knew somebody who stole a rock from your park".

[Ashforth]

9 hours ago, Totale said:

I had to go back and rerun that myself.  She was anonymously returning the rock she and Steve swiped from the Petrified Forest with a note saying something like "I knew somebody who stole a rock from your park".

Steve took the petrified rock; Judy didn't know. When she asked him if he had, he lied. She believes that taking the rock brought bad luck and returning it will turn that around.

Odd, though, that he had the rock for years in kind of a display case in the home they lived in and she never noticed 🤔

[Anela]

The gay or bi cheating husband, has to come back into play at some point.

I don't mind the swearing so far. I thought it was funny when she finally asked her son if he could say fuck outside instead, instead of telling him to stop. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I watched Deadwood so F bombs flying left and right don't bother me at all. I barely notice them.

I know Jen was tired and sore and dirty but even if you're in BFE, you should never say you don't need to know how much the presidential suite will cost! And if you're trying to hide your shady activities, don't use your credit card to pay for things like out of town presidential suites.

I was relieved they finally agreed that they couldn't keep Steve's body at the house anymore, but taking his car was a huge mistake. There are traffic cameras EVERYWHERE these days so even if they hadn't been pulled over and given a ticket, it would definitely be possible for someone to find them driving Steve's car from Laguna to the Angeles forest just by checking the street cams.

Karen can be annoying but wow. She doesn't deserve a cheating husband who's (I'm assuming) secretly gay.

I don't think the show is trying to make us believe that Steve was a nice guy. Judy is idealizing him now that he's gone which is common. People do it all the time after a breakup, romanticizing how great their ex was and conveniently forgetting all the shitty things they did. It happens after people die. I think it's partly because people say you shouldn't speak ill of the dead but just good old fashioned regular guilt. Now they can't fix their relationship so they reminisce about the good times and either deliberately of unconsciously leave out the bad stuff.

I'm sure that Steve and Judy had some good times together. Relationships usually start out that way. He was capable of being charming and nice (so she's not making that stuff up), but that doesn't erase all the other things he did.

[Raja]

On 5/12/2020 at 8:40 AM, scowl said:

At this point it looks like they're going to have exactly one significant plot-related thing happen in each episode, then pad the rest of the episode with twenty minutes of Jen and Judy sitting around being freaked out. All the energy and tension from last season is gone. Was I supposed to care about the bird?

I remember a Law & Order episode, which given they were children would have been a SVU episode had the show started, where Dr Skoda was looking at a 10 year old girl saying we caught a serial killer early.  The bird is nothing, Shandy if they changed focus of the show on the other hand 

[Arcey]

I'm missing a lot of the details of the show, I think. I didn't know they were in Steve's car, for instance. And I don't remember them actually getting the body out of the freezer and into a car. How the hell did they accomplish all that? And what was that final scene about with the older son? Where was he, and what car was he looking at, and what did he say about his mother before it went to black? Obviously, I'm not paying very close attention. :) (I'm just watching season 2 now, kinda late to the game.)

[Paloma]

On 8/22/2022 at 11:25 AM, Arcey said:

I didn't know they were in Steve's car, for instance. And I don't remember them actually getting the body out of the freezer and into a car. How the hell did they accomplish all that? And what was that final scene about with the older son? Where was he, and what car was he looking at, and what did he say about his mother before it went to black?

My husband and I just rewatched the first 2 seasons in anticipation of the 3rd season, so I can answer part of this. First, I am pretty sure they were not in Steve's car when they took the body to the forest, because the answer to your question about the final scene with the son is that he had just opened his mother's storage unit (not sure how he knew where that was or how he got the key) and saw Steve's car there in apparently pristine condition. I think Jen (or Jen and Judy) took the car there after getting Steve's body into the freezer on the night he was killed in Jen's backyard. They moved the body from the freezer into Jen's car (I assume it was Jen's car, but it could have been Judy's/Abe's) some time later (days? it's hard to tell how much time passes in this show) but they didn't show that clearly as far as I remember.

Jen's son assumed that the car in the storage unit was meant to be a birthday present for him, and so he exclaimed something like "F--- yeah, mom"--but this assumption and exclamation weren't clear to me on first watch. 

On 7/24/2020 at 6:06 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I was relieved they finally agreed that they couldn't keep Steve's body at the house anymore, but taking his car was a huge mistake. There are traffic cameras EVERYWHERE these days so even if they hadn't been pulled over and given a ticket, it would definitely be possible for someone to find them driving Steve's car from Laguna to the Angeles forest just by checking the street cams.

As mentioned in my first paragraph, I don't think they took Steve's car. If they had, it seems unlikely it would have been sitting in the storage unit in apparently pristine condition. But I can't remember if we actually saw the car they were driving to bury the body. 

I agree with what you said about not asking the price of the presidential suite, but handing over a wad of cash (if they even had that) might have seemed suspicious and definitely more memorable than using a credit card. But I don't know why police would be looking at guests in this hotel anyway, even if they found the body--why would they think the person(s) who buried the body would have spent the night there, or at any other hotel in the area? 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Paloma
to clarify which car