S01.E19: Punk Is Dead

[attica]

No, because unwashed, drug-addled thrash-band musicians, roadies and fans actually smell worse than a rotting human corpse...

 

Whereas I have no doubt you're right, since the body mummified, it didn't rot, and therefore wouldn't have smelled. Too dry. That's why they were able to rehydrate it and get so much good info. (Whether that environment could possibly have been dry enough to mummify a body, well, I leave that up to the Contrivance Fairy.)

[zannej]

I don't dislike Isaac and I actually like the way he interacts with Jo. 

 

I missed some scenes in this one because I had to get up and do stuff. I finally convinced my brother to come watch it with me. The hooks were "Marshal Mann" and "the 'I hate your face' guy from Gradma's Boy). So he sat and watched with us and really loved the show.

 

I loved when Hanson tried to show himself in the band picture and they only had his ear. LOL. That's something that would happen to me-- in my high school yearbook they decided to make the photo off-center slightly and put the seam of the two pages right on my face (because if they had done it on-center, it would have been on the face of a student on the yearbook staff).

 

Interesting that Abbigail just disappeared. Poor Henry was freaking out so much he wasn't even thinking about the fact that he might give away that he was immortal. Loved when the cops looked at the photo of her, looked at Henry and were like "Uh.. How old is she?" and he says "64!" without a beat and no concern that they would think that was odd. They probably thought he was some kind of freak back then.

 

I do wonder if Abbigail left to try to participate in some sort of medical experiments to prevent aging and something went wrong, or she ended up being held hostage. I can see her not being able to deal with being around Henry anymore to an extent, but I can't see her totally abandoning Abe as well. Maybe she actually encountered Adam.

 

I loved when Henry told Lucas to turn around and he muttered "I hate this part" but he still did it. I also loved how, when Henry was being thrown out of the club, Lucas was saying "Don't hurt him! Hurt me, not him!" Love how protective he is of Henry. And the high-five and Lucas being so ecstatic was great. Loved Hanson singing karaoke.

 

Also loved the Lt saying that the cops weren't allowed to touch the case, but that she couldn't give orders to the medical examiner. I really love the cast on this program.

 

When they said they would charge the guy and add more years to his sentence for the crime for which he'd already been convicted, everyone in my family was saying "they can't do that!" because of double jeopardy. 

 

It was interesting that the real murderer was a nice guy and that it was actually an accident-- and they noted that, but I liked that they kept it in perspective by mentioning that he also hid the body and let an innocent man go to jail for it.

 

It was nice when Marshall (can't remember the character's name in this) said the son didn't need him and Henry commented about the father needing the son, and then that flashback.

 

I was wondering what was going on when Abe suddenly rushed off and it was revealed that he didn't get rid of the stuff and that he'd also been trying to figure out what happened to Abbigail, but he knew that the search was destroying Henry, so he managed to get Henry to move on somewhat. I do wonder what Henry said to Jo about Abbigail. If he said she was missing, Jo might have wanted to try to look for her for him. So I think he just told her that Abbigail left him. There's no way that Henry could explain how long ago Abbigail disappeared without getting side-eyed.

 

I do hope the next episode will reveal more info-- and I hope we find out what really happened to Abbigail.

 

The body in the wall thing is pretty common-- although I doubt insulation would have mummified the body. If he'd put lime on the body, it might have sapped out the moisture and mummified it though. They did that on X-files in an episode called "Small Potatoes". There was also a body in the wall in an episode of "Criminal Minds". And in the movie "Stir of Echoes". I'm sure there are more examples. I know the Bones one has already been mentioned. I liked some of the supporting characters on that one, but the lead actress is really awful. I can't stand her line delivery and its just painful to watch. Plus, eff those guys for killing off Sweets. I wasn't still watching because the romance crap was awful, but I still caught some episodes from time to time. Not anymore though.

 

This show has better acting and writing than Bones, IMO. Well, better writing than the later seasons of Bones. 

Edited April 2, 2015 by zannej

[shron17]

Since Abigail loved Henry and knew how much time he'd spent on his own I can believe she would leave Abe so Henry would have family as long as possible.  As fixated as Henry was on her staying, there would have no way to see him or let Abe know where she was without Henry finding out too.  Though, I agree, still very sad.

[orza]

Her son was a middle-aged man at the time, as we saw. It's OK for parents to put their own needs ahead of their adult children, who should be living their own lives.

[WendyCR72]

Her son was a middle-aged man at the time, as we saw. It's OK for parents to put their own needs ahead of their adult children, who should be living their own lives.

 

Sure, adult children should certainly be having and living their own lives - but if Abigail is not dead (and we really have no idea about her fate now), adult or not, it would still be hurtful if one's mother vanished and didn't even attempt to keep in contact, the issues with aging and Henry aside.

[Sakura12]

I'm wondering why Abe's not more mad at his mother or wondering what he did. I know he was an adult when she left, but she just left without bothering to make any contact with her son. 

[sinkwriter]

Didn't he say in one of the flashback scenes that she'd been gone a while now (maybe even a year or longer?) and it was time for his dad to let go of the obsession to find her? I think Abe does care, which is why he saved all the research his dad had done and kept working on it privately. He just didn't want to see his dad suffering so much to the detriment of his health. Just because Henry can't die doesn't mean he can't hurt himself in any number of ways, both physical and mental, and Abe didn't want him to torture himself half to death over losing her.

[vavera4ka]

That was David Krumholtz who played Judd Hirsch's son for several years on Numbers. Genius casting.

yup when i saw it i immediately thought "I see what you did there, show"

[slothgirl]

 

The body in the wall thing is pretty common--They did that on X-files in an episode called "Small Potatoes". There was also a body in the wall in an episode of "Criminal Minds". And in the movie "Stir of Echoes". I'm sure there are more examples. I know the Bones one has already been mentioned.

 

Miami Vice: "Out Where the Buses Don't Run"

 

Featuring 2 amazing underappreciated actors: David Strathairn and Bruce McGill (and Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits). I've loved both actors ever since.

Edited April 3, 2015 by slothgirl

[partofme]

What took me out of this episode was their saying more than once that the guy who played Marshall Marshall had been in jail 35 years. How old is the actor? Also the guy who played his son didn't look anything near 35. It felt like casting got a different script.

Edited April 3, 2015 by partofme

[Sakura12]

Frederick Weller is 49. I'd assume we are supposed to go with he's playing a little older, but I could also go with him being 18/19 when he was in a band. The son was born in 1984, so he'd be 31. I don't look my age, so I don't ever have a problem with people looking younger. 

[theatremouse]

What took me out of this episode was their saying more than once that the guy who played Marshall Marshall had been in jail 35 years. How old is the actor? Also the guy who played his son didn't look anything near 35. It felt like casting got a different script.

I don't remember them saying 35 years. I thought they said 30, or possibly just "over 30 years". If it happened 31 years ago, and murder trials usually take a bit to happen, then it'd make sense for him to have been in jail 30 years. Although I thought the son looked more like early 20s and acted like he was more like a college student. Edited April 4, 2015 by theatremouse

[ElTVaddict]

Hats off to the casting department. The actor playing Young Abe nailed the mannerisms and the speech perfectly.

They worked together as father and son in a show "Numbers"

[smiley13]

I think I need to re-watch this one, so much of it was confusing to me.  How did the guy get put in jail for murdering the girl if there was no body?  Was he convicted only based on blood on his guitar?   And supposedly the girl had been gone for months off having the secret baby, so why didn't people just think she took off again?  Did she leave the baby with the photographer while she went back to New York?  And how did he come to adopt him?  

 

On the other hand, there were moments that had me laughing so hard, like Henry and Lucas and their night out.  And Henry making Lucas be the stand in for the victim once again.  I like that Abe kept all of Henry's research on Abigail.  It appears that she did indeed just leave them never to be heard from again.

 

I don't know anything about the guy playing younger Abe, but he did a good job.  Poor Henry was so upset about Abigail and Abe was the one who got him back on track.   I really like the relationship between the two of them.

 

Jo and Isaac are a good pair IMO.  I like that he knows about her husband and understands the need to take things slowly.  I also like that it is taking Jo being in a relationship with someone else to get Henry to look at her in a new light.

[snuffles]

I thought they did a really good job casting an older Abigail who looked a lot like the younger one.

I'm confused as to when Henry decided to trust Abigail and tell her he is immortal. Seems like her reaction when she was young was that it was no big deal, but when she got older she no longer had the carefree attitude about him not physically aging. She said something about "poor Henry, you'll be around long after we're all gone" when they were at the USO (?) dance. Another time she joked about liking older men when Henry was making his hair grey.

The timeline continues to be shaky. As mentioned before, were they on vacation when they crashed the museum party? Where was Abe? They weren't married yet (he proposed after Gloria encouraged him), so I doubt Abe could be adopted at that time. Also, what did they tell Abigail's parents about Henry's appearance or did they cut all ties as Abigail started to get older?

Finally, I hope they clear up the mystery about what happens to Henry's clothes and belongings after he dies. The watch doesn't always stay with him (left in cab). The watch could be like "The One Ring", though. Oh, and in 200 years and numerous deaths, NO ONE has seen Henry die and disappear except for the priest and Abe?

[zannej]

I think the blood may have been enough evidence if there was a large amount of it-- but I'm not sure. People have been indicted when there was no body, but I think nowadays they require more evidence. And its possible for a person to be indicted and police try to bully the person into a confession, but generally they can't get a conviction without a body or enough blood to convince a jury that the person was dead-- but its iffy unless there is a body that can be examined and cause of death can be determined. Although, people have been convicted on circumstantial evidence when there was no clear cause of death. 

 

I had no idea that Frederick Weller was that old (not saying 49 is old mind you). He looks so much younger to me.

 

I think it is possible that people saw Henry die and disappear but that they couldn't prove it. I think early in the series they referenced him having to move when his secret was somewhat discovered. I imagine people who saw it and reported it were considered loons. Which makes me think of a true story involving Andre the Giant. Some drunks in a bar antagonized him until he finally got angry enough to chase them out of the bar and flip their car over. When the police arrived, there were a bunch of drunks telling them that an angry giant picked up their car and flipped it over. At first the cops thought they were just so drunk they imagined it.

 

I wonder if Abigail actually had any family members.

 

I also find it interesting how she was totally ok with his immortality and felt sorry for him that he was going to outlive her in the beginning, but later on she couldn't deal with the differences in their appearances and such. I think that is something natural that comes with time though. Nobody can really know how they will feel about things in the future. I think that is one of the reasons why there is so much divorce now. People used to die much younger, and current generations grow up watching happily ever after Disney films. They don't know how hard things are going to be.

[kassygreene]

I think the blood may have been enough evidence if there was a large amount of it-- but I'm not sure. People have been indicted when there was no body, but I think nowadays they require more evidence. And its possible for a person to be indicted and police try to bully the person into a confession, but generally they can't get a conviction without a body or enough blood to convince a jury that the person was dead-- but its iffy unless there is a body that can be examined and cause of death can be determined. Although, people have been convicted on circumstantial evidence when there was no clear cause of death. 

 

I had no idea that Frederick Weller was that old (not saying 49 is old mind you). He looks so much younger to me.

 

I think it is possible that people saw Henry die and disappear but that they couldn't prove it. I think early in the series they referenced him having to move when his secret was somewhat discovered. I imagine people who saw it and reported it were considered loons. Which makes me think of a true story involving Andre the Giant. Some drunks in a bar antagonized him until he finally got angry enough to chase them out of the bar and flip their car over. When the police arrived, there were a bunch of drunks telling them that an angry giant picked up their car and flipped it over. At first the cops thought they were just so drunk they imagined it.

 

I wonder if Abigail actually had any family members.

 

I also find it interesting how she was totally ok with his immortality and felt sorry for him that he was going to outlive her in the beginning, but later on she couldn't deal with the differences in their appearances and such. I think that is something natural that comes with time though. Nobody can really know how they will feel about things in the future. I think that is one of the reasons why there is so much divorce now. People used to die much younger, and current generations grow up watching happily ever after Disney films. They don't know how hard things are going to be.

It's abstract vs concrete.  I can, have, and no doubt will continue to think inside my head that my reaction to X would of course be Y, but sometimes things have, do, and will turn out differently, to where my reaction is in fact Z.  And usually Y is a more honorable response then Z, so I get to scramble to rationalize or justify it...  So the attitude of saying appearance doesn't matter usually changes after prolonged experience that the appearance does in fact matter.  Or in my own case, of course dining out in places where my diet requirements can be met (gluten-free, diagnosis, not fad) doesn't matter, until usually about the third time I have to say I can't eat there, or spend time getting wait staff and sometimes the cook to understand what I mean by gluten-free....  I don't get asked out to restaurants much any more.

[snuffles]

I wonder if Abigail actually had any family members.

I believe Abe stayed with Abigail's parents when they went on the train ride for their honeymoon.

I thought the girl who got killed looked pretty darn good for someone who just gave birth :)

[TobinAlbers]

Lucas loves his Henry so much. He was hanging off that bouncer's arm determined that he wouldn't dare strike Henry.

 

The shot of Ioan holding the knife over the skull and looking up with the magnifying glasses to Lucas was creepy and menacing. And a little hot. IG could do a great serial killer.

 

Not excusing what he did, but I get why the guy didn't come forward about killing Lucy.  In his mind he had a son to protect (since Lucy left the boy with him, he was all the kid had as a guardian) and bio dad really wasn't in any condition to take on the kid at that time or if he had tried that kid's life would've been rocky at best. But then again you never know; drummer dad sure went suburban complete with baby harness.