S01.E02: Requiem

[Whimsy]

Quote

With the anniversary of 9/11 approaching, all three Joes grapple with the emotions that come with the day. Cop Joe and Amy pursue a romance, but Music Joe and Amy’s marriage is clouded by a big secret. Nurse Joe and Jenny have a breakthrough.

Original air date 9/27/21

[Cloud9Shopper]

I enjoyed this episode. It’s a nice light watch for me, so I can pick up my phone and browse without feeling like I’m missing too much.

I appreciated Amy’s speech to Music Joe about not wanting kids right now and coming to peace with it. It seems like every female lead on every show needs to have a baby and be married, and as a woman who doesn’t want kids myself, I was glad a show I watch finally did it. (In cases where an actress is pregnant I understand why her character is too, but if she’s not and is just wearing a prop belly…well I’ve seen some ill-advised pregnancies by characters who really should’ve never had kids.) 

I think the 9/11 stuff was well done, but the 20th felt too recent to have a reenactment of the reading of the names. Even after all these years, it still moves me, and seeing it in fiction not long after the real thing had impact but I wish they had just alluded to Joe participating rather than showing it. 

[Crs97]

I really liked this episode.  They still need to explain why Jenny decided one missed dinner was enough to deny Joe knowledge of his son, but they added some new issues that actually felt more organic.

[LittleIggy]

What an awful thing to live with the belief that your decision led to your father’s death. ☹️
The boy who plays Chris/Lucas is awesome. This is his first acting gig!

[magicdog]

First, I think it would have been better to have had the character of Joe have two alternate lives rather than 3.  I think it would have made more sense to have a person who had to choose between following in the family business (cop) and following his lifelong passion (music). 

Since it's been revealed that Joe's college gf never in fact gave their child up for adoption and instead raised him with her current husband, what was the point of lying now?  She really didn't have to tell him about "Lucas" at the reunion, and did she not think a guy with his contacts and resources wouldn't find out the truth???  Stupid!

2 hours ago, Crs97 said:

They still need to explain why Jenny decided one missed dinner was enough to deny Joe knowledge of his son,

Agreed. 

 

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

What an awful thing to live with the belief that your decision led to your father’s death.

True, but I can't help  but think 2001 Joe was put up to the decision by his friends/bandmates.  This would fit into the character's issues with decision making and the guilt of the events of 9/11.  

[saber5055]

33 minutes ago, magicdog said:

Since it's been revealed that Joe's college gf never in fact gave their child up for adoption and instead raised him with her current husband, what was the point of lying now?  She really didn't have to tell him about "Lucas" at the reunion, and did she not think a guy with his contacts and resources wouldn't find out the truth???  Stupid!

I got confused about this and which timeline was which. So Rocker Joe's son wasn't given up? So she has two daughters AND a son somewhere else? Was it Cop Joe who met the boy at the reunion? So that boy was Cop Joe's son (maybe) but not Rocker Joe's son?

GAH!

[ally8620000]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

I got confused about this and which timeline was which. So Rocker Joe's son wasn't given up? So she has two daughters AND a son somewhere else? Was it Cop Joe who met the boy at the reunion? So that boy was Cop Joe's son (maybe) but not Rocker Joe's son?

GAH!

I thought it was in the Rocker Joe timeline Jenny gave up the baby and has the twins. The Cop Joe timeline was the one where she kept him and is raising him with someone else. The father of the twins was a different guy than the father of Lucas.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, ally8620000 said:

I thought it was in the Rocker Joe timeline Jenny gave up the baby and has the twins. The Cop Joe timeline was the one where she kept him and is raising him with someone else. The father of the twins was a different guy than the father of Lucas.

Yes, it is two different timelines. 

In the Cop timeline, Jenny apparently didn't tell Joe because she met someone else and wanted to raise the baby with him. This seems like a pretty crappy reason to me. If Joe was a deadbeat dad, it would be nice of other guy to step in and help raise Lucas. But Joe never knew about the kid. In that universe, Jenny did not tell Joe about the pregnancy at the reunion. He thinks Lucas is her son with someone else. 

In the Rocker timeline, Jenny gave the baby up for adoption, met a guy and had twins. Her current husband doesn't know about that baby she gave up. I have no idea why she told Joe if she was then going to refuse to help him find him. However, I think Joe's search is going to blow up his wife's campaign for Congress. Which will then blow up their marriage. Rocker Joe is kind of a jerk

With all the 9/11 talk, I figured that football game was going to be on 9/11. How awful for him to blame himself for his dad dying like that. I was surprised Uncle Frank didn't seem to know that Joe blamed himself, or why he had been given those tickets.

[DearEvette]

Rocker Joe storyline-

Rocker Joe is still kind of an asshole.  He is hiding a big secret from his wife and is passive-aggressively trying to convince her how important it is to him to populate her uterus.  

But Rocker-Joe-Jenny was kind of passive aggressive as well.  He is right, why tell him now? 

Those two little twins immediately recognized him. Would kids that young really know about Joe and his music?  So far from what we've heard of his music it feels a little easy-listening-pop and off-brand for their age group.

 

Cop Joe's storyline -

Man his family is all up his business.  Why are they so pressed about him getting married? Also does he live with them?

A hey, brand new person who is Eric's wife.  That's nice.  New face!

I liked the scene with Cop Joe-Jenny and her husband.  Good to know a little about them.  Still wondering why she never picked up a phone in ten years.

Oooh, Cop-Joe-Amy is having an affair with the Congressman is he married do we know?

 

Nurse Joe's storyline -

{Chandler Bing voice} - Could this be more depressing?

[Back Atcha]

Here's another "miracle."   We meet Little Joe when he's trying on suits for his confirmation.  He has DARK BROWN EYES.

The three BIG JOES grow up to have light eyes ... bluish.   WHY don't casting agents consider this stuff?

[saber5055]

Wow, I need a score sheet full of notes to watch this show.

I did think Rocker Joe's wife (is that Amy w/the dark hair?) was pretty much of a jerk to invite everyone over to their house for some party she's hosting but neglected to tell her husband about. So I guess they are both jerks in that relationship, just for different reasons.

I sort of hope telling Rocker Joe about his somewhere son does blow up her marriage because she was a horrible person to dump that on him at the reunion when she had 10 freaking years to make a phone call, write a letter or gee, maybe stop over at his house.

Thanks for all the above help with who is what in these timelines. Note pad, here I come!

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Those two little twins immediately recognized him. Would kids that young really know about Joe and his music?  So far from what we've heard of his music it feels a little easy-listening-pop and off-brand for their age group.

I thought the same thing, kids that young would be unlikely to know him. Maybe if their parents were big fans they would pick up on who he was, but seeing as their mom is his ex-girlfriend, I doubt she or her husband would be big fans.

[Crs97]

Jenny’s husband knew Rocker Joe and was excited to meet him;  I wonder if he knows at least his wife and Joe were friends in college and thought it was cool enough to get into his music.  Girls said they had just seen Joe on tik-tok so could also just be they had just seen him there.

[nilyank]

Episode 2 Scorecard

So we find out what caused Joe to become indecisive and a whole lot of trauma. He is carrying aroung the guilt about something he should never feel guilty about. Poor kidJoe

NurseJoe - actually took a big step by participating in the 911 memorial. Biggest step of all three Joe. Jenny mentioned something about her father being able to help Joe change his schedule at the hospital, so I guess Joe works with him. I think from CopJoe's story, he learn why he didn't become a cop in this version. He never wanted what happens to his mom after 911 to happen to who he loves. So with a wife and a baby on the way, he wasn't going to become a cop.

 

Rocker Joe - I thought he was lying about Jenny being married and having twins, but I was plesantly surprised that it was true. Jenny decided to give up the baby. She apparently married someone that she met in law school (I think) but he doesn't know about the baby. I wondering why she married this husband and not the one in CopJoe. Is because Joe became serious about Amy in this timeline so she decided to give up her baby and pursue her dreams, then meet future hubby/father of twins, Amy is going to run for office and I don't think that she had the affair with the congressman. I wonder if the dirty business in CopJoe is going to still be in the background here>

 

Cop Joe - my favorite of the Joes. He becomes a detective and is starting to date Amy who has been sleeping with her married boss the congressman. We also find out that there may be something else fishy with the congressman. Jenny met her husband in law school and he agrees to be the father of Lucas. But why this husband and not the one in Rocker Joe?

[Crs97]

1 hour ago, nilyank said:

But why this husband and not the one in Rocker Joe?

Maybe she met rockerJoe husband at the law firm, which she doesn’t work at in copJoe land.  Or she could have gone to a less prestigious law school in copJoe land.  I like the idea that the decision in his life changed hers.

[AzraeltheCat]

ugh, i just don’t think i can do this show.  I don't really like any of the timelines.

Cop Joe is 32 and still lives at home, where his annoying family/friends are way to up in his life. And love how his uncle says "no, you don’t have to be married/have kids to have a fulfilling life" and then immediately takes it back. 🙄 I do feel bad that he carries that guilt about his father going to work on 9/11 because Joe didn't want to go the game [which would be the same for all Joes].  I don't know exactly how to articulate it but it is one thing to honor and remember your father and it's another to kind of wallow [that's not the right word I can't think of it] and try to re-live his life (down to the same badge number!) and I feel like Joe here is doing the latter.

Rocker Joe apologizes to his wife for being an asshole….and then acts like an asshole again. However, Jenny wins the jerk prize in this timeline. She tells Joe about his son ten years after giving him up but won't help find him. Her excuse is that her hubs doesn’t know and then acts like Joe’s failure to tell Amy is the same thing. Ummm, no.  Jenny has had YEARS to tell hubs, Joe found out LAST NIGHT. 😡 I think he gets some  time to process.  However, if he really is going to look for the kid, he needs to tell Amy ASAP.  Also, Jenny, WHY THE HELL DID YOU TELL HIM in the first place? I don't even believe Jenny from Cop Joe timeline who says he needs to know for his future children...ummm, what if he'd had children a year after you? or 2 or 5 years?  Ten years later is long time to wait to tell someone they might carry a gene that could cause muscular dystrophy in their kids! But this Jenny didn't even spout that excuse.  What did she think he would do? "Oh, you had my son ten years ago, gave him up with out telling me, but it's cool, I don't need to see  him or know anything about who is raising him. So you wanna another drink?" We REALLY need more info from both Amys on why she didn't tell him. 

Also, I was thinking about some previous comments that there is no way Amy's pregnancy would not get back to him from mutual friends, but I could see it.  She could've moved and gone to law school far away where she knew no one [and presumably having told no one but maybe her parents].  By the time she comes back, she's married with a kid in Cop Joe timeline & no one thinks anything about it. I doubt that many people would count backwards and suspect it was someone else. In Rocker Joe timeline, same thing about law school, and then when she comes back, no one questions where the baby is because no one knew she was pregnant.  And if her law school classmates knew, if the school was far away, most of them probably don't live near her now or wouldn't know her old friends so the secret wouldn't get out. 

Nurse Joe is sorta depressing.  Can't get over grief/guilt so holds everything in; causing problems with his marriage, which probably won't be helped if wife moves for law school.  Amy seems happy with his friend Eric in this timeline so I guess they won't have a Joe-Jenny-Amy triangle.

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by AzraeltheCat

[Crs97]

Uncle is way too creepy controlling in copJoe storyline.  

[saber5055]

One redeeming thing about this show for me is that the actor who plays Joe has a resemblance to my former teevee boyfriend Kyle Chandler. So there's that.

Rocker Joe's hair tamed down in this second episode. I liked his more punk look in the pilot. Now if he shaved, he'd look like Cop Joe.

[ICantDoThatDave]

20 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

With all the 9/11 talk, I figured that football game was going to be on 9/11. How awful for him to blame himself for his dad dying like that. I was surprised Uncle Frank didn't seem to know that Joe blamed himself, or why he had been given those tickets.

This threw me a bit at first because 9/11/01 was a Tuesday & the planes hit in the morning. But I checked & the Monday Night Football game on 9/10 was Denver vs the NY Giants in Denver, so it checks out since they'd have needed to stay the night.

[bybrandy]

20 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I thought the same thing, kids that young would be unlikely to know him. Maybe if their parents were big fans they would pick up on who he was, but seeing as their mom is his ex-girlfriend, I doubt she or her husband would be big fans.

My parents were huge Billy Joel fans.  If he'd rocked up at the house I'd have known him.  But my mom never dated him so yeah,, I can't see my dad being a big fan knowing that... but then I guess it depends on how Rocker bio mom told the story.  Joe and I were friends maybe we went out a couple of times is a different level of connection to worry about than Joe was the father of the child I had before we met and that has pretty much constantly secretly been in my thoughts our whole life together.   We know she didn't tell him that version.  

I was at an Elton concert in college and next to a lovely gay couple about my parents age.  And they asked how I knew the old stuff and I was like, "I have parents."  Those girls were young but I swear I was a small, small child watching Elton shows and Simon and Garfunkle in central park over and over with my dad... Although I don't know if youtube would have given him the opportunity to show me even more stuff or if it would have given me the opportunity to watch something else... hmmm.  

I think the family is it at different levels of closeness in the various timeline and I haven't quite picked that apart, yet.  But like Uncle Frank is all over Joe's life but he doesn't seem to basically live at his sister-in-law's house.   Have we seen Uncle Frank at all in Nurse Joe's life?  And Uncle Frank isn't all over her house either.  But Uncle Frank and his wife seem to spend LOADS of time with cop Joe's mom.

 

[Shanna Marie]

8 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Rocker Joe's hair tamed down in this second episode. I liked his more punk look in the pilot. Now if he shaved, he'd look like Cop Joe.

I think they're all three merging. The only things really keeping them apart are Nurse Joe's glasses and Rocker Joe's beard. When Cop Joe was getting dressed in a suit for his first day as detective, I first thought it was Nurse Joe getting dressed up and he hadn't yet put on his glasses. Cop Joe's hair seems to have loosened somewhat, is less perfectly neat and slicked down. With him not being in uniform, that's going to make telling them all apart even harder.

Did anyone else kind of get a vibe from Nurse Joe Jenny and her co-worker? When Joe surprised her to take her out for a picnic lunch, it struck me like he'd interrupted more than co-workers heading out just to grab a quick lunch. It would be really nasty if the real reason she wanted a divorce was because she had something going on with a co-worker and not really because her husband wasn't good with his emotions, in spite of what she told him. I guess she could have turned to the co-worker because her husband was emotionally closed off, but then it's still crappy to make it sound like it's all his fault their marriage is failing if she's looking at someone else. I did wonder why a New York firm would give a "finish law school" fellowship that required the person to go to law school in Atlanta. Don't they have law schools in New York? The fact that she started and didn't finish law school fits a little better than that she never went to law school and just became a paralegal.

I could buy the little girls being Joe fans. I used to do volunteer work with kindergarteners, and it's amazing how much pop culture they absorb. They knew about current singers I'd never heard of. He's not exactly a hard-core rocker. He's in that Billy Joel range, probably getting airplay on the kind of mid-range adult contemporary station that would be played in the car during car pools, and if they liked those songs, they might have found his videos on YouTube. Or he's the kind of person who'd get interviewed on the Today Show, which might be on while they had breakfast. I'm in a very different generation, but I'd have recognized Cher if she'd come to my door when I was that age (though she did have a TV show at the time).

I'm still on the fence about sticking with the show. I was hoping there would be more of a fantasy element with the multiple timelines, but it's really more of a soapy drama with a twist, like their next attempt at a This is Us sort of thing, and that's not really my jam.

[saber5055]

6 minutes ago, Shanna Marie said:

Did anyone else kind of get a vibe from Nurse Joe Jenny and her co-worker?

Yes, definitely. It was all sorts of creepy ... "Surprise, your husband just busted us."

I'm sticking with it (for now anyway) since I only have three networks via my antenna, so pickings are slim. I did quit This Is Us a year ago though, so it can happen.

[bybrandy]

10 hours ago, Shanna Marie said:

I think they're all three merging. The only things really keeping them apart are Nurse Joe's glasses and Rocker Joe's beard.

Well, I hope they don't merge too much we should be able to tell our timelines apart.   But also cop joe at least for now has the injury on his temple and the tape.  I'm hoping it scars.  

I did get a vibe from nurse Jenny and her co-worker but unlike co-worker if Jenny moves to Atlanta for a year that is something nurse Joe is going to have to work all the way around and figure out how to co-parent.  He can get nursing work anywhere but that's a huge ask and moving and disrupting Chris is a big ask.  

Easier probably for co-worker to do the long distance thing, but like also not a lot of incentive for him to do so.  Loads of married women in New York he can move onto while Nurse Jenny persues her dreams.

But Nurse Jenny also said when Joe was trying the, "but I have to work" excuse for missing the meorial that her dad could pull some strings to get his hours changed that day... who is her dad? If her dad is a nursing supervisor that's one thing but if he is some sort of bigwig at the hospital shouldn't he be able to help her finish school?  I get being proud but sucking it up so your whole family doesn't have to relocate has some merit.  

[AzraeltheCat]

17 hours ago, bybrandy said:

On 9/28/2021 at 6:30 PM, KaveDweller said:

I thought the same thing, kids that young would be unlikely to know him. Maybe if their parents were big fans they would pick up on who he was, but seeing as their mom is his ex-girlfriend, I doubt she or her husband would be big fans.

My parents were huge Billy Joel fans.  If he'd rocked up at the house I'd have known him.  But my mom never dated him so yeah,, I can't see my dad being a big fan knowing that... but then I guess it depends on how Rocker bio mom told the story.  Joe and I were friends maybe we went out a couple of times is a different level of connection to worry about than Joe was the father of the child I had before we met and that has pretty much constantly secretly been in my thoughts our whole life together.   We know she didn't tell him that version.  

I could believe that the kids knew him.  My friends' kids LOVED all sorts of rock/pop music when they were little and wanted her to turn it up loud in the car [and they were only 3!].  And her hubs probably got a very sanitized version of "I was really good friends with Joe in college" so he probably thinks its cool that his wife knows/knew someone famous, so I could see them playing his music a lot.  

[TV Anonymous]

Why did Uncle Frank only give Police Joe his father's badge number when he got promoted? Joe already had his own badge number by that time. If he wanted, Uncle Frank should have given the number when Joe joined the force, as it is much difficult to change one's number than to issue it for the first time.

[Shanna Marie]

3 hours ago, bybrandy said:

Well, I hope they don't merge too much we should be able to tell our timelines apart.   But also cop joe at least for now has the injury on his temple and the tape.  I'm hoping it scars.  

I don't think the timelines are actually merging. It just seems that post-pilot (which was probably filmed separately, before the series got picked up), they don't seem to be making the distinctions as clear. The different hairstyles were really obvious in the pilot, but less so in this episode. I do wonder how they handle the logistics of this for shooting -- do they shoot all the stuff from one timeline at once, then switch? Is Rocker Joe's beard fake, or do they schedule shooting so that he has a chance to grow some scruff, shoot his scenes, and then he shaves to film the others?

13 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I'm sticking with it (for now anyway) since I only have three networks via my antenna, so pickings are slim.

I just have an antenna and then Amazon Prime and Disney+, and then all the various stuff you can stream for free, but that means there's a wealth of stuff that I really like that I can watch whenever, so I've become even pickier about network TV. I've dropped just about everything on network TV other than whatever's on PBS. I have to really like something if I have to remember to watch it or set my over-the-air DVR. Most of the major networks don't let you stream a show until more than a week later if you're not a cable subscriber, so network TV is harder to watch if you just have an antenna. I don't know that this one is worth the effort for me. I like the cast, and I like exploring different timelines, but it's awfully bleak so far. I guess Cop Joe might be moderately happy, but there's the looming bombshell of the son he never knew about and the fact that his new girlfriend is having an affair with her boss. The other versions are fairly miserable and having their lives upended. The bits of happy seem to be immediately wiped out. Nurse Joe had his breakthrough in being able to do the 9/11 thing and is starting to open up to emotions, but he's about to learn that Jenny is leaving town. Or she won't leave town, but she'll be miserable and he won't know why and may blame himself.

[tennisgurl]

Joe's backstory with his dad was really sad, what a terrible thing to live with and bottle up for so long. Obviously his dad dying on 9/11 isn't his fault in any way, but I can see how he would feel like he is the reason his dad died, especially as a kid, and he would go onto internalize that as an adult. He can know, intellectually, that this isn't his fault, but emotionally its a hard thing to deal with. Its also an interesting way to further explore the theme of choice in the show and how one choice can affect your life. 

Cop Joe is my favorite Joe, Nurse Joe makes me really sad and Rockstar Joe can be a dick, especially with him hiding this secret search for his long lost son from his wife. However, I was totally on Rockstar Joe's side when he confronted Jenny about her dropping this huge bombshell on him. She drops this huge revelation on him in the middle of their college reunion, and then she acts all shocked and annoyed that he wants to follow up on that? He's right, why we should tell him this if she didn't want him to do anything? Obviously its just to make herself feel better and get this off her chest, which is a really selfish reason to tell someone this huge thing you hid from them. Cop Jenny and her husband aren't much better, I have no idea why they thought that they could never tell Joe the truth, its not like she and Joe had to be together romantically, and now they're acting like he's some monster who will blow up their perfect life and not a perfectly nice person who was previously Jenny's best friend. I also definitely caught a vibe between Nurse Jenny and her co-worker, especially when Joe went to get her for lunch, it felt like they had been caught doing something. I don't I love any of the Jenny's so far. 

I continue to enjoy the show so far, even with the soap opera baby daddy drama.

[Bumblebee84047]

22 hours ago, ICantDoThatDave said:

This threw me a bit at first because 9/11/01 was a Tuesday & the planes hit in the morning. But I checked & the Monday Night Football game on 9/10 was Denver vs the NY Giants in Denver, so it checks out since they'd have needed to stay the night.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who Googled "Denver Broncos 2001 Season"!

[Shanna Marie]

45 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Joe's backstory with his dad was really sad, what a terrible thing to live with and bottle up for so long. Obviously his dad dying on 9/11 isn't his fault in any way, but I can see how he would feel like he is the reason his dad died, especially as a kid, and he would go onto internalize that as an adult. He can know, intellectually, that this isn't his fault, but emotionally its a hard thing to deal with. Its also an interesting way to further explore the theme of choice in the show and how one choice can affect your life. 

That might have made a more interesting turning point to base the different lives on than who he went out with after graduation. If he chooses to go to the game with his dad, his dad lives, but it seems like his uncle might have died if he'd been in town that day. How would he have been different growing up with his dad? Would he have felt guilty about going through with the plans so that his dad was safe, but his uncle died, or would he have blamed himself for that? Or there's the way it did work out, with his dad dying and him blaming himself.

I guess they're going with the idea that a seemingly minor choice can change your life, so it's not something so momentous as 9/11, but the truth was that a lot of seemingly minor choices made big differences on that day -- the people who were late to work that morning and lived, the people who were visiting an office in one of the buildings and died. A kid deciding whether or not to go to a football game is as minor a choice as a college graduate deciding who to have dinner with after graduation.

[Crs97]

1 hour ago, Shanna Marie said:

I guess they're going with the idea that a seemingly minor choice can change your life, so it's not something so momentous as 9/11, but the truth was that a lot of seemingly minor choices made big differences on that da

I’ve always said that I am not afraid of the big decisions for my kids, the ones that are huge but you have time to research and weigh outcomes before choosing.  It’s the million little decisions that can weigh on me, the ones that are split second but can have lasting ramifications.  I liked the flashback and adding that layer to the show.

[bros402]

The episode was decent - it was easier to tell which reality was which from the coloring.

When Amy was talking about not having kids, I was expecting Rocker Joe to bring up having a surrogate and Amy to reject it. Rocker Joe is rich, he could afford a surrogate very easily.

So, uh, at the end of CopJoe reality in this episode.... so Amy is dating the Congressman? For some reason I was thinking he was her brother and I was like "UHHHHHHHHHHHH"

NurseJoe's timeline with having the wife (Jenny?) need to go to Atlanta for law school - tbh i'm surprised that school will accept her 10 year old credits and start her as a 3rd year law student. I am sure they could swing her coming home 1-2x a month - a flight from EWR to ATL is only an $84 round trip. I bet they could swing that as long as Joe's mom is willing to babysit so he can keep working the night shifts to bring in some extra cash.

[Crs97]

6 hours ago, bros402 said:

tbh i'm surprised that school will accept her 10 year old credits and start her as a 3rd year law student

Ten years ago she was just graduating college.  I assumed she has been recently taking night classes, either online or at a different school (I don’t know if the different school would fly IRL, but the firm’s grant covers the cost so I assume enough firm bigwigs have connections with the school’s bigwigs to fanwave the  Issue).  I have a cousin who got his law degree that way - worked while taking night classes and then quit his job for his third year.

[bros402]

17 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Ten years ago she was just graduating college.  I assumed she has been recently taking night classes, either online or at a different school (I don’t know if the different school would fly IRL, but the firm’s grant covers the cost so I assume enough firm bigwigs have connections with the school’s bigwigs to fanwave the  Issue).  I have a cousin who got his law degree that way - worked while taking night classes and then quit his job for his third year.

I think the lawyer friend said "Well now it's time for you to finally finish that degree" "It's been ten years!"

[magicdog]

On 9/29/2021 at 12:26 PM, bybrandy said:

I think the family is it at different levels of closeness in the various timeline and I haven't quite picked that apart, yet.  But like Uncle Frank is all over Joe's life but he doesn't seem to basically live at his sister-in-law's house. 

It would make sense since Joes' dad and uncle were brothers.  When Joe's dad died, his uncle stepped in as the male role model in his life.  Of course they'd have a special bond. 

On 9/29/2021 at 4:48 AM, AzraeltheCat said:

Cop Joe is 32 and still lives at home, where his annoying family/friends are way to up in his life.

As someone who comes from NYC and with a family dynamic not too far off from Joe's, I don't see anything too out of the ordinary here.  NYC is extremely expensive to live in and it's not uncommon to live at home until marriage - and sometimes even then, you're still there saving for a home of your own.

 

What I think is interesting is that in the Rocker Joe timeline, is that the uncle mentioned he wasn't working as a cop anymore. Makes me wonder if because Joe was a rich singer, he hired his uncle as a member of his entourage or offered to have him retire earlier.

[bybrandy]

My comment wasn't about Uncle Frank being close to Joe.  I get that.  I'm curious as to the difference depending on the timeline.  Cop Joe and Cop Frank are clearly constantly in each others lives both professionally and personally.   Uncle Frank has had Sunday dinner with his sister-in-law each week.   With Rocker Joe he is clearly part of Rocker Joe's career.  He's a manager?  A head of security?  Whatever but he's not having a daily dinners at Joe's mom's house.  I could be wrong but I don't recall seeing Uncle Frank in Nurse Joe's life at all.  I could be wrong about that but he certainly isn't as profoundly connected to Joe as he is in the other timelines.

[bros402]

15 hours ago, bybrandy said:

My comment wasn't about Uncle Frank being close to Joe.  I get that.  I'm curious as to the difference depending on the timeline.  Cop Joe and Cop Frank are clearly constantly in each others lives both professionally and personally.   Uncle Frank has had Sunday dinner with his sister-in-law each week.   With Rocker Joe he is clearly part of Rocker Joe's career.  He's a manager?  A head of security?  Whatever but he's not having a daily dinners at Joe's mom's house.  I could be wrong but I don't recall seeing Uncle Frank in Nurse Joe's life at all.  I could be wrong about that but he certainly isn't as profoundly connected to Joe as he is in the other timelines.

In the first episode, it seemed like Red Frank was head of Rocker Joe's security - he was standing at the edge of the stage and said something like "Joe's here"

[shapeshifter]

I finally watched this episode when it re-aired Saturday night.

If Rock Star Joe meets his son who was adopted at birth and learns that his son has an inherited disability, would Rock Star Joe  get genetic testing done to discover if he carries the gene? Or is it a (male) sex-linked gene, so testing isn’t really necessary? And will/would the discovery that he carries the gene make Rock Star Joe realize that Amy’s miscarriages were due to non-viability of the fetus (due to the genetic anomaly being more severe) rather than it being a problem with just her body as she states more than once? And, lastly, will Amy in the Cop Joe scenario get pregnant by her boss and have a healthy baby that she and Cop Joe parent much like Jenny did with Lucas and her husband? But the boss (played by Adam Rodriguez) has Parkinson’s? This too can be hereditary.

I really wish James Wolk was just doing a show where a cat brings him tomorrow’s news today, because this show is not only too much drama (the 9/11 guilt too!) but it’s too confusing.

 

[KaveDweller]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

If Rock Star Joe meets his son who was adopted at birth and learns that his son has an inherited disability, would Rock Star Joe  get genetic testing done to discover if he carries the gene? Or is it a (male) sex-linked gene, so testing isn’t really necessary? And will/would the discovery that he carries the gene make Rock Star Joe realize that Amy’s miscarriages were due to non-viability of the fetus (due to the genetic anomaly being more severe) rather than it being a problem with just her body as she states more than once?

From what I gather, the condition the kid has is the result of both parents having a recessive gene. So we know Joe has the gene, but his kid with Amy would only be at risk if she also carries it, and it sounds like those odds are low. It's still pretty crappy not to tell him.

I wonder if Jenny in the Rock Star universe knows the child she gave up has a condition, or if it didn't become clear until later? Also, lots of TV shows portray children with disabilities not being adopted. I am thinking of Life Unexpected where Shiri Appleby's character gave up her baby thinking she went to a good home, but the baby ended up in group homes because of a small hole in her heart. Joe and Jenny's baby seems to have a much more serious condition. Is it possible Rocker Joe will find his son and he isn't with a family at all? I have no idea what is realistic in these scenarios.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

From what I gather, the condition the kid has is the result of both parents having a recessive gene. So we know Joe has the gene, but his kid with Amy would only be at risk if she also carries it, and it sounds like those odds are low. It's still pretty crappy not to tell him.

I wonder if Jenny in the Rock Star universe knows the child she gave up has a condition, or if it didn't become clear until later? . . . Is it possible Rocker Joe will find his son and he isn't with a family at all? I have no idea what is realistic in these scenarios.

What screening tests are done at birth depends on what state you live in. I don't know why the same testing isn't mandatory throughout the US.

Some types of muscular dystrophy are included in the newborn screening in some states, such as genetic spinal muscular atrophy. However, that still leaves a lot of types that aren't tested for initially.

Some types of MD are apparent very early on: the baby doesn't start holding his head up when he should, his muscle tone is very "floppy," he doesn't grab and hold your fingers, etc.

In other types of MD, the milestones are all reached on time for the first year or more, then there starts to be gradual reversals: he doesn't sit up as well as he used to, he goes from walking normally to walking like a drunk sailor and falling a lot, etc. Other types can go as far as the teen years or even later before symptoms become apparent.

The most common types of MD are Duchenne's and Becker's which are X-linked recessive, so the defective gene would just come from the mother. Other types are ordinary recessive genes, so both parents would have to be carriers. Still, other types of MD are not hereditary at all. Somehow, a gene gets damaged during replication that causes it.

With over 30 types of MD there is a lot of variability as to when you first see symptoms and how far and how fast symptoms will progress. There are some types that allow you to live a relatively normal life with a normal life span. Unfortunately, those types are the rarest. 

[nexxie]

After the first episode, I was tempted to think passion was the way to go - but, of course, it couldn’t be that simple. In that scenario he gets the career but perhaps no kids. Still interested!

[Bookish Jen]

I did like the fact that Rocker Joe's wife, Amy, isn't so sure about having children. As a childfree woman this means a lot to me.

But seriously, I think I might need a spreadsheet to keep up with the three stories. I think two vastly different lives for Joe would work better. Be a cop just like his dad, or following his passion, and become a musician.

I'm still bothered Jenny never revealed her pregnancy. Joe and Jenny may have been friends with benefits, but they were friends. Tell Joe and let him own up to the situation. Hopefully, we'll figure out in further detail why Jenny withheld this very major development from Joe.

And I have to admit, I did tear up a bit when Nurse Joe mentioned his father's name at the 9/11 memorial.

[Jillybean]

39 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

I'm still bothered Jenny never revealed her pregnancy. Joe and Jenny may have been friends with benefits, but they were friends. Tell Joe and let him own up to the situation. Hopefully, we'll figure out in further detail why Jenny withheld this very major development from Joe.

I really don't understand this at all. He didn't go the lake that weekend, so he didn't deserve to know about his child and he never saw Jenny again? This makes no sense to me.

I agree with those who said two storylines would have been better a la Sliding Doors. It's confusing tracking three of them. I really don't want to have to think too hard during my primetime viewing. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Jillybean

[proserpina65]

I found this episode underwhelming at best, and really, the whole show is kind of meh.  I don't particularly like Music Joe and don't really care all that much about the other two, and I don't like Jenny in any of the three timelines.  I might give it one more episode to change my mind, but that's it.

[proserpina65]

On 9/28/2021 at 8:44 AM, Cloud9Shopper said:

I appreciated Amy’s speech to Music Joe about not wanting kids right now and coming to peace with it. It seems like every female lead on every show needs to have a baby and be married, and as a woman who doesn’t want kids myself, I was glad a show I watch finally did it.

That's one of the few things I liked about the episode.

[Shanna Marie]

On 10/2/2021 at 8:36 AM, bybrandy said:

I could be wrong but I don't recall seeing Uncle Frank in Nurse Joe's life at all.  I could be wrong about that but he certainly isn't as profoundly connected to Joe as he is in the other timelines.

I guess maybe there's less of a role for him there, other than as uncle. With Cop Joe, they work together and Joe still lives at home. With Rocker Joe, the uncle seems to be head of security. But Nurse Joe has his own family, so probably not home for dinner all the time, and has nothing to do with the uncle professionally. The uncle also strikes me as the kind of guy who'd think nursing is a "girly" profession and might be mad at Joe for being a nurse instead of a cop. There could have been some tension about pursuing music instead of police, but success there probably overcame the objections. But nursing isn't "sexy" or lucrative enough to make up for him not being a cop.

On 10/3/2021 at 12:46 AM, shapeshifter said:

I really wish James Wolk was just doing a show where a cat brings him tomorrow’s news today, because this show is not only too much drama (the 9/11 guilt too!) but it’s too confusing.

I could go for that. I'd like to see him get to do more comedy. A guy who more than held his own with Robin Williams seems wasted in a mopey drama.

[Whodunnit]

On 10/3/2021 at 12:46 AM, shapeshifter said:

I really wish James Wolk was just doing a show where a cat brings him tomorrow’s news today,

Lol Early Edition!

I did wonder if NurseJoe's Jenny was on a date with that coworker. I also wondered if he knew or not that she had a kid with special needs, giving that he is pushing her to move to Atlanta.

[legaleagle53]

23 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

And I have to admit, I did tear up a bit when Nurse Joe mentioned his father's name at the 9/11 memorial.

So did I. That was some really solid acting.

[Allison1]

On 9/28/2021 at 6:13 PM, saber5055 said:

Wow, I need a score sheet full of notes to watch this show.

I did think Rocker Joe's wife (is that Amy w/the dark hair?) was pretty much of a jerk to invite everyone over to their house for some party she's hosting but neglected to tell her husband about. So I guess they are both jerks in that relationship, just for different reasons.

I sort of hope telling Rocker Joe about his somewhere son does blow up her marriage because she was a horrible person to dump that on him at the reunion when she had 10 freaking years to make a phone call, write a letter or gee, maybe stop over at his house.

Thanks for all the above help with who is what in these timelines. Note pad, here I come!

I made a spreadsheet.   LOL!

[tribeca]

Was rocker Joe upset that Amy shared with everyone about the miscarriage?

   I can’t help to feel they are really making Jenny look bad right now to redeem her later and then Amy will take a hit on her character.  
Do  not remember who posted about getting bad cop vibes from uncle frank but I agree.   Hopefully it’s wrong because I like uncle frank and Joes relationship.  
   In all three timelines I feel like Jenny is still in love with Joe. 
   It’s interesting that Eric’s live changed so much in all three time lines. 

[wendyg]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:42 PM, Back Atcha said:

Here's another "miracle."   We meet Little Joe when he's trying on suits for his confirmation.  He has DARK BROWN EYES.

The three BIG JOES grow up to have light eyes ... bluish.   WHY don't casting agents consider this stuff?

Because they think people don't notice. I remain the only person I know who found DOWNTON ABBEY unwatchable in part because - among many other things - both Elizabeth McGovern and the actor who played her husband have blue eyes and Michlle Dockery has dark brown eyes. Also, Jennifer Connolly (dark brown eyes) played the child version of Elizabeth McGovern's character in ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. I spent half the movie going, wait, is that supposed to be the same person?

Quote

Shanna Marie wrote: I could go for that. I'd like to see him get to do more comedy. A guy who more than held his own with Robin Williams seems wasted in a mopey drama.

He was very good in MAD MEN.

Edited October 6, 2021 by wendyg