S05.E05: The Old Switcheroo (1)

[thewhiteowl]

 

Vince and Dave journey to North Carolina to investigate the mysteries of Dave’s past, but their probing unearths a body swapping trouble that hamstrings their hunt-and affects our people back in Haven.

 

 

 

[kat165]

I really liked this one. Not the Mara stuff, I'm sick of her. But I liked the trouble. Enjoyed watching Duke trapped in Nathan and also the Dwight/Gloria switch. The two brothers I always enjoy. Funny how Dave trapped in Vince kept bumping Vince's head. It's been a long time since I've been intrigued about a possible myth storyline - like Dave's background and what's going on with the Croatoian (sp?) Inn. I'd never heard that Roanoke story before until it was mentioned here on the board last week. It sounds very interesting.

 

I enjoy the Gloria character and wish they would have given Eleanor as much screen time as Gloria is getting. So nice NOT to see the guard.

 

Wondering if everyone forget to watch with the day/time switch.

 

Shallow thoughts: do not like Duke's haircut. And Eric Balfour looks very tired.

[AudienceofOne]

Are we really going to spend the entire season having the "treat Mara like Audrey!", "she's still in there", "we need Audrey" conversation. Over and over and over again.

 

Because... yawn. Mara is unbelievably boring.

 

Other than that I liked the episode. I liked the Trouble and Dwight and Gloria swapping was gold. I just feel like this season is treading water and I wish they'd start swimming.

[Eneya]

I enjoyed the episode, I enjoyed that Mara is onto them and manipulating them (at least now everyone who was irritated she sucks at impersonating Audrey should be a bit more happy. no?).

 

To be honest, I liked how Duke and Nathan acted when switched, also, Gloria and Dwane... so far, so good. :)

[Tabbyclaw]

Well, they got me with Mara pretending to be Audrey. I spent most of her scene with Duke going "this feels off somehow," but I was still sticking to my original thought that Mara wasn't going to try faking it because she doesn't have the patience to feign vulnerability when she considers herself so above everyone else. I bow to Emily Rose for knowing exactly what she's doing. (Is she overacting sometimes as Mara? Yeah, and sometimes it works with the character and sometimes it doesn't. But she's doing a bangup job on the whole "not being Audrey" thing even when Mara isn't being a brat and a ham.)

 

And not only does Emily get to play someone else, so does everyone else this week. Words cannot express the glee I felt upon seeing the trailers for this one, because bodyswap is one of my favorite sci-fi tropes, and I was not disappointed by the performances here. It was a great mix of "that's an excellent subtle shift of your body language" and "God, you giant comedic dorks." Hard to choose an MVP for this one, but since I spent the entire episode praying to see Lucas as Duke that's where I have to cast my vote. The facepalm, the repeating it when he realizes he can't feel it, the vocal cadence, the excessive gesturing (all of it left-handed!), it's all gold.

 

And yeah, the arc-plot stuff was pretty decent, but you give me a bodyswap episode and I'm not going to focus on anything else the first time around.

[anstar]

Did they not get the Colorado "secret" out last week? I thought Nathan and Duke already worked past the whole delicious taco.  I loved the switch, and knew it had to happen at some point. Eric and Lucas are either great actors (duh) or pretty good friends off screen as well, because they did each amazing jobs with each others characters.  "Duke" kept mentally tripping over that 'can't feel anything' trouble Nathan lives with, and doing it so overtly, in a very Duke fashion.  I wanted to see "Nathan" in a subtle Nathan way, realizing that he can feel.  There's always part 2 I guess. 

I'm really interested to know what kind of secret is between Dwight/Gloria.  Does it have to do with his daughter? I really hope it isn't something that will cause a rift.  I love their sort of mother/son vibe.  Or at least favorite aunt/nephew. 

I felt bad for doing it, but I laughed every time poor Dave slammed Vince's head into something.  Adjusting to being a foot taller will surely take a little bit of time.  So...The Lost Colony was sucked into an open Thinnie? Looks like the Mi'kmaq weren't the only Native tribe to have trouble with that 'great evil' on the other side of the door.

 

 

Are we really going to spend the entire season having the "treat Mara like Audrey!",

Something I read...and interview with a writer somewhere I think...made me think that the first 13 (!) episodes are all about trying to find a way to get Audrey back "if it can be done". <sigh> 

Edited October 11, 2014 by anstar

[ABay]

Gloria needs to be on every show on TV.

[pcta]

None of the switches were as good as I had hoped for - except Gloria and Dwight (their lines may have been written better than the rest - or perhaps it is their wildly different physical attributes that made the switch easier to write).

I am definitely more interested in the Dave origin story than the Mara/Audrey dilemma.

[shapeshifter]

Best episode of the season for me. Not great, but I'm in completionist mode with this show anyway.

[anstar]

Just watched the episode again.  The "psych ward" has something to do with the secret Gloria is keeping from Dwight.  That's my call.  It looks like the swaps are triggered by the 'secret' being referenced in some way by one party. When Vince said the word Croatoan, he and Dave swapped. When Dwight talked about being surprised the psych ward didn't do bigger business in Haven (and Gloria had a guilty look on her face), they swapped.  Then Maudrey and Duke talked about the kiss in Colorado and Nathan and Duke swapped. Now I wonder if a resolution of some sort is how you swap back. I hope so, because that means we'll get some kind of answer about Dave.  It will probably only lead to more questions, but an answered question is a rarity in Haven.

eta:  Nope.  Finished the episode again and got the answer to my resolution question.  Duke and Nathan got their secret out in the open and didn't switch back.  Clearly that isn't the solution. 

Edited October 11, 2014 by anstar

[Shanna Marie]

I was going to be very, very disappointed if they did a body swap episode and Duke and Nathan didn't switch, and they didn't disappoint me.

 

Hard to choose an MVP for this one, but since I spent the entire episode praying to see Lucas as Duke that's where I have to cast my vote. The facepalm, the repeating it when he realizes he can't feel it, the vocal cadence, the excessive gesturing (all of it left-handed!), it's all gold.

Yes, that was amazing. He totally nailed it -- the voice, the gestures, the mannerisms, the body language, plus remembering to react to everything he couldn't feel, as well as it taking him a moment to even figure out how to walk without feeling, and the way he talked to "Nathan" was exactly the way Duke plays Nathan Whisperer. It was almost uncanny. The other swaps were fun, but I have to admit that I kind of kept forgetting they were swapped unless there was something in the script that called attention to it. Lucas Bryant was flat-out playing Duke, 100 percent. In fact, when I remember those scenes, I'm actually picturing Duke in them. However, I think Eric Balfour also did a great job with a possibly harder role, since Nathan's a lot less demonstrative and showy. Nathan is more of a negative space, defined more by what he doesn't do than by what he does do, and when Duke became Nathan, you could just see him shut down entirely. He took on that stillness Nathan has, where the only thing showing any feelings is his eyes. Those guys have obviously been paying attention to each other over the past five years.

 

Next week could be lots of fun if they have to pretend to be each other. How would Duke go about pretending to be Nathan? How would Nathan go about pretending to be Duke? And can they convince MAudrey?

 

I really don't care about the plot of this one, but I will definitely be rewatching just for the character stuff and to notice all the fun little details of the switches. I was curious what would happen with Vince and Dave, since apparently both actors auditioned to play both characters, and I'd always been curious to see what would have happened if the casting had been reversed. But other than the head banging, I didn't notice much difference, since the two characters are more alike than either of them would be willing to admit.

[Elsinore]

Oh, show, never change.

 

I thought it was an amazingly solid episode where stuff was not repeated or drawn out or shoved in.

 

Loved the Dwight/Gloria switch. I'd quote everything they said but I'll leave it at "Meh, it's Haven, but the day is young."

 

Not so enamoured with the Colorado reminiscing because I was wondering if I was the one remembering it wrong. I seriously wanted to slap eh, Mara, I guess when she started talking about their connection. Before Nathan said she was pretending to be Audrey. Also, old cows much? I didn't think for these two that should have been the penultimate secret.

 

Of course Duke and Nathan should switch bodies. It's probably in the show bible.

 

Mara stays on full time until episode five, thus this one and then appears randomly throughout the season. Dixit Emily Rose, I think.

[ElleryAnne]

Words cannot express the glee I felt upon seeing the trailers for this one, because bodyswap is one of my favorite sci-fi tropes, and I was not disappointed by the performances here. It was a great mix of "that's an excellent subtle shift of your body language" and "God, you giant comedic dorks." Hard to choose an MVP for this one, but since I spent the entire episode praying to see Lucas as Duke that's where I have to cast my vote. The facepalm, the repeating it when he realizes he can't feel it, the vocal cadence, the excessive gesturing (all of it left-handed!), it's all gold.

 

 

All of this.  But I think if I'm going to give a vote for MVP, it goes to John Dunsworth.  I never realized just how distinctive Vince's walk is until I saw Dunsworth imitating it.

 

I was impressed with the Duke/Nathan switch more than I thought I'd be.  Kudos to both actors for keeping the comedic gold of bodyswap while still playing the more serious notes well - i.e. Duke warning Nathan that Audrey isn't Audrey - and sounding authentic to the character.

 

Did they not get the Colorado "secret" out last week?

 

 

I thought so, too.  I wondered if maybe there was a detail that hadn't been revealed that I wasn't aware of.

[Tabbyclaw]

Last week they established that no sex happened in Colorado. Duke allowed Nathan to think that this meant that nothing at all happened in Colorado. It was a nice look at how well they know each other. Duke is lying by omission about something that he doesn't consider a big deal, but he knows it would matter to Nathan and that's enough to make him feel guilty and evasive. Nathan knows that if Duke is lying about something, it's because he knows he's going to be in trouble when the truth comes out, and how bad must it have been if Duke is experiencing guilt about it. They were both making it seem worse than it was by applying each other's standards.

 

interestingly, I found Vince and Dave a lot more distinct when they were alone, but once they started having scenes together they started to blend. I imagine it's harder keeping to the "new" characters when so much of both brothers' characterizations is based in the way they play off each other and the rhythm the actors have found.

[ElleryAnne]

Last week they established that no sex happened in Colorado. Duke allowed Nathan to think that this meant that nothing at all happened in Colorado. It was a nice look at how well they know each other. Duke is lying by omission about something that he doesn't consider a big deal, but he knows it would matter to Nathan and that's enough to make him feel guilty and evasive. Nathan knows that if Duke is lying about something, it's because he knows he's going to be in trouble when the truth comes out, and how bad must it have been if Duke is experiencing guilt about it. They were both making it seem worse than it was by applying each other's standards.

 

 

Ah.  That makes sense.  I didn't realize they didn't discuss the kiss.  Thanks, Tabbyclaw.

[shapeshifter]

...Now I wonder if a resolution of some sort is how you swap back....

Nope. Finished the episode again and got the answer to my resolution question. Duke and Nathan got their secret out in the open and didn't switch back....

But did they really get it "out in the open"? I suspect the real secret Duke may be hiding even from himself: That he does have feelings for Audrey.

Plus, resolving personal, psychological and/or emotional conflicts has always been how the troubles have been resolved, right? Audrey's special snowflake quality was that she could calm down the freaking out troubled person and get the person to figure out what the conflict was, for example: Mom always loved you best. Or: It was all my fault the parakeet died. Or: If I hadn't been knitting with metal knitting needles on the porch, lightning wouldn't have struck and burned down the house and everyone in it.

(Note: these are my own family's issues, not Haven's, and no house fires were involved.)

Edited October 11, 2014 by shapeshifter

[anstar]

Good point.  The secret is out...there was a kiss in Colorado. Maybe more needs to be divulged before Freaky Friday ends. Just saying, "yes we kissed" doesn't really say much, does it?  That could span anything from, "It's good to see, friend" to "The earth just shifted and I can't feel my legs".  Duke loved (and still terribly misses) Jennifer and Nathan knows Audrey loves him as much as he loves her, but I can see him needing every painful detail.

[Shanna Marie]

But it's calming down the person with the Trouble that ends the Trouble, not calming down people affected by the Trouble, so Duke and Nathan's secret coming out doesn't change anything. It seems to involve the guy at the Freddy (callback to season one!) and his brother in North Carolina. It seemed to be the one in North Carolina who triggered Vince and Dave and the mental patient who triggered both Gloria and Dwight and Duke and Nathan, as well as the orderly and other patient who died. So the secret that will have to come out into the open to end the Trouble is whatever secret one of those brothers is keeping from the other. The idea of the Trouble seems to be to stir things up when the body switch allows one person to learn the secret the other has been keeping. That must have been what Mara was trying to do with it.

[shapeshifter]

But it's calming down the person with the Trouble that ends the Trouble, not calming down people affected by the Trouble, so Duke and Nathan's secret coming out doesn't change anything...

Good point. But maybe:

They've been emphasizing over the past couple of episodes that Duke is about to explode with stored up troubles--that he has to "release" one in order not to explode. So maybe they are using this development to turn the old trouble resolution method on its head. Maybe now Duke also has the power to stop troubles that he is affected by.

Does that make sense?

Narratively it makes sense to me, because I can see them wanting to have Duke admit his own feelings for Audrey in some dramatic way (maybe on his death bed in the series finale or the penultimate episode), especially with Jennifer out of the picture and his mourning for her now apparently over.

So maybe in the next episode the original owner of this trouble will resolve it, but not without Duke beginning to recognize his secret (even from himself??) love for Audrey.

Edited October 12, 2014 by shapeshifter

[Enigma X]

I loved this episode and liked all of the switches, but LB as Duke was my favorite.

 

I figured out the Mara/Audrey thing too. 

 

I find the brothers' story interesting but wonder how it ties in to the overall story.

[anstar]

I really, really don't want to see them fire up the triangle again.  Duke knows that Nathan and Audrey are/will be (belong?) together.   The only reason any of this is coming up again is because Mara wants to drive a wedge between Nathan and Duke and this is the easiest way to do it.  Duke is onto her, though and he's doing his level best to keep Nathan from falling for it.  (Nathan has always been prone to jealousy, especially where Duke/Audrey were concerned.)

Edited October 12, 2014 by anstar

[Mia Nina]

I've always thought that the writers realized early on that Duke/Audrey has always been the better couple/friendship/relationship in every sense of the word. Their chemistry is wonderful and whenever they share a moment, romantic or not, it's pretty memorable. IMO that's why the 'triangle' hasn't gone away completely, because whenever Mara/Audrey and Duke interact in any capacity everything comes alive.

 

I don't know if the show will ever convince me that Duke isn't in love with Audrey, because even when he was with Jennifer it seemed like his heart still belonged to Audrey. As far as I'm concerned they can keep going back to the Audrey/Duke well until the show's final episode when Nathan/Audrey will inevitably be together for good, if they both survive the finale.

 

I was so glad when Duke told Nathan it was all an act. I love Duke knowing Audrey so well that he can always tell what's up with her. Yes, I'm a huge Duke/Audrey fan. Haha. Can't help it, was hooked from the moment they met in S1.

 

Bryant and Balfour were delightful!! They had each others voices and mannerisms perfectly calculated. Beautiful job, really. I was impressed and it was a too much fun to watch. Bravo!

Edited October 13, 2014 by Mia Nina

[dargosmydaddy]

Well, that was awesome! I thought everyone did a fantastic job with the switches, but especially Lucas and Eric.

 

 

The only reason any of this is coming up again is because Mara wants to drive a wedge between Nathan and Duke and this is the easiest way to do it.

Eh, I'm hoping not. As an immediate awkward situation, this worked, but the fact that Duke was immediately able to talk Nathan down (OK, maybe not completely, but still...) makes me hopeful that they're not headed down that path. Personally I love the relationships between all three characters, and hope they continue to strengthen. The Duke/ Nathan weird history/ friendship is one of my favorite relationships on TV, let alone Haven. The Duke/ Audrey friendship is similarly awesome. I love their chemistry together, and I don't see why that has to be romantic. I'm sick of male/ female relationships on TV only being seen in terms of romance. Let them be friends; they're awesome friends. And I love Nathan/ Audrey, even if I don't always love the way the relationship is portrayed and how it affects each of them. But I like how it's been going this season.

[Cardie]

I had the feeling the "Cincinnati file" had something to do with the secret Gloria is keeping from Dwight.

 

Loved LB channeling Eric Balfour. Although Nathan is not a character who showcases an actor's range, Bryant seems to me to have the widest one of any of the regular/recurring actors on the show.

[Hanahope]

Agreed that the body switching was great by all the actors involved, and it does seem to be a trouble caused by both the brother and sister.  I also thought that something seemed a little "off" with Audrey so it was nice getting some confirmation from Duke that it was Mara pretending to be Audrey.

 

 

Wondering if everyone forget to watch with the day/time switch.

 

It was weird, my DVR, which is supposed to record all "new" episodes no matter the day/time, didn't have this episode on its schedule.  Thankfully, I noticed it in time and manually set it up to record.

[shapeshifter]

Agreed that the body switching was great by all the actors involved....

--and kudos for not having them do anything icky like on SGU and other shows with people having sex and getting drunk in other people's bodies.

[MarkHB]

What was SGU?

[Hanahope]

Star Gate Universe.

[MarkHB]

Thanks.

[BlueJay81]

I'm thinking the secret between Gloria and Dwight might be work related.