S05.E20: Fork in the Road

[LadyIrony]

4 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

It is out of character, yes. But he's not thinking clearly because he is grieving. I'm sure any psychologist would tell a person not to make major life decisions the day your mother dies.

If AJ really wants a kid, you'd think he'd have lots of options in going the traditional route. He's a rich, good-looking, successful heart surgeon. He's clearly smart too, didn't he write a book? He should not have a hard time finding a date.

No he's not thinking clearly. As someone above mentioned, his mother's funeral wasn't attended by many so maybe he is really scared no one will care for him. A lot of outwardly tough acting people aren't really that tough when it comes down to it. 

And yes, I thought the same thing. There would be plenty of women he could actually form a relationship with or even adopt which I know isn't common for single men but again, his status and wealth would open doors for him. Or maybe he is like Padma who wants the kid without the relationship?

But again, I don't think he really wants a kid. Maybe he should just go to a petting zoo every so often.

[circumvent]

6 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

His mom didn’t appear to be very old. I would imagine she has surviving friends.  I know that a lot of my parent’s friends no longer attend funerals.  Most services are available live on the funeral home site for both inside and graveside services. 

It does't matter. The doctors are not her closest friends, they supposedly work and cannot simply all at once take off to go to a funeral of someone they barely knew, even if it is a colleague's parent. In any case, TV relies in images, and imagination and, like it was said, they could have hired a few extras. In other shows or movies, a funeral that empty would signify that the dead person didn't have any friends. It is inconsistent if they don't present a clear context for the lack of people in someone "so loved"

[CarpeFelis]

On 5/1/2022 at 8:43 AM, statsgirl said:

Speaking of controlling, I got some of those vibes from Devon as he went over Leela's head talking to Padma about his offer to donate the sperm, trying to push Leela in to the direction that he wants.

It came up in that conversation that he thought Leela had already told her of his offer.

[LadyIrony]

13 hours ago, circumvent said:

It does't matter. The doctors are not her closest friends, they supposedly work and cannot simply all at once take off to go to a funeral of someone they barely knew, even if it is a colleague's parent. In any case, TV relies in images, and imagination and, like it was said, they could have hired a few extras. In other shows or movies, a funeral that empty would signify that the dead person didn't have any friends. It is inconsistent if they don't present a clear context for the lack of people in someone "so loved"

It is possible she didn't have any friends, either because she was reclusive or the few she did have either abandoned her/moved away or died etc. Anything could have happened. Seeing the lack of people at the funeral may have triggered AJ even more into wanting a kid to avoid loneliness which is silly because parents can out live kids and adult kids can walk away from their parents. There's no  guarantees in life. 

They could have provided some context though I agree as to why there were no friends there. Throwing a few extras in wouldn't have killed their budget unless they really did want to present the image of a loner type.

[circumvent]

10 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

It is possible she didn't have any friends, either because she was reclusive or the few she did have either abandoned her/moved away or died etc. Anything could have happened. Seeing the lack of people at the funeral may have triggered AJ even more into wanting a kid to avoid loneliness which is silly because parents can out live kids and adult kids can walk away from their parents. There's no  guarantees in life. 

They could have provided some context though I agree as to why there were no friends there. Throwing a few extras in wouldn't have killed their budget unless they really did want to present the image of a loner type.

Exactly. They didn't provide context for the empty funeral and all the little details we know about the character is that she was "loved by many". I mean, she could have asked that only AJ and his friends be present at the funeral to support him, or whatever reason they wanted but without context it just feel like the writers were lazy. Like I mentioned, it may be a cliche, but empty funerals in most shows either have an explanation or are intended to show how unpopular the dead character was. In this case, even if it was to trigger AJ's sudden desire to be a father, it wasn't include in the whole of the story

[LadyIrony]

3 hours ago, circumvent said:

Exactly. They didn't provide context for the empty funeral and all the little details we know about the character is that she was "loved by many". I mean, she could have asked that only AJ and his friends be present at the funeral to support him, or whatever reason they wanted but without context it just feel like the writers were lazy. Like I mentioned, it may be a cliche, but empty funerals in most shows either have an explanation or are intended to show how unpopular the dead character was. In this case, even if it was to trigger AJ's sudden desire to be a father, it wasn't include in the whole of the story

Lazy writing all round really. I don't buy AJ would want a kid all of a sudden especially with a woman he isn't involved with. It doesn't suit who he seems to be. I don't believe that he would allow any feelings of loneliness get on top of him like that. Nor do I actually believe he would get lonely. They at least have him wanting to be a part of the kids life which means Padma might just find someone else as she looked horrified at the prospect! 

Unless I'm getting shows mixed up I am sure his mother had people around her at one point. 

[Avabelle]

The FBI offering Conrad and Cade a job… I actually can’t with the fucking stupidity of this show. It has become unbearable.

[WinJet0819]

I must say this whole Mob/Prescription Drug storyline has gotten long in the tooth. It's not believable at all and it's getting tired. They make it seem like it's as big as the drug cartels.

I have to wonder what is Leela's deal. She doesn't think you'll ever want kids with Devon, but she can't handle when Devon offers to be the sperm donor to her sister so she can have a child? Does she simply want Devon to never spread his seed at all since she herself, doesn't want kids? That seems pretty controlling on her part. She can't have it both ways. And as Devon said, he never hid the fact he wanted a family with her, but she hid the fact she never wanted to have kids from him. That's not fair to him. Be upfront and let him know where you stand. But, of course, then there'd be no TV drama.

In terms of Padma and A.J., I can't say I care too much. At least he learned to compromise.

And quite interesting how Kit correctly does not tell the patient's wife about the severity of the near complication that Leela caused. But she paged her boyfriend, Bell, and talks loudly in front of the patient room with the door open about Leela's mistake. Only on TV could the wife not hear that. There's a private place to have that conversation.

[mythoughtis]

On 4/30/2022 at 11:44 AM, KaveDweller said:

His mother who died was his adopted mother. He met his birth mother a few seasons ago. I don't think we know how old he was when we was adopted, but if he was 8-10, that would be old enough to say you were raised in foster care and still be close with your adoptive parents.

They retconned his adoption age when they replaced the actress that played Carol.  The new Carol was shown with him being adopted around 10 or later.  The old Carol had holiday photos and memories of him as a young child. 
 

Regarding the funeral, TV weddings and funerals often seem to only have the show regulars attending.  It’s a definite writing flaw.   I’ve never forgotten the wedding of McGee and Delilah on NCIS- attended only by his team. Not a single friend or co-worker of hers. 
 

Edited April 9, 2024 by mythoughtis

[Paloma]

On 4/27/2022 at 12:32 AM, statsgirl said:

Kit/Conrad are the best and so cute with each other. Who knew that the best relationship story on the show would be the senior couple?

Being a senior myself, I like when a show includes senior couples in a positive way. Unfortunately, I don't find Kit/Randolph (Dr. Bell's first name--Conrad is a different character) a believable romantic couple. When Kit was first introduced, she and Dr. Bell had a good platonic relationship, and I still get more of a platonic than romantic vibe from them (despite some dialogue about love and plans for marriage). In the somewhat rare instances of physical affection shown between them, it's kind of perfunctory--a light kiss or touch. It's noticeable to me because my husband and I are in our 70s, have been married for 45 years, and still kiss and hug passionately on a regular basis. I wonder if the actors playing Kit and Randolph just don't feel comfortable showing sexual chemistry with each other.