S03.E01: Hoorah

[radishcake]

[metalchik]

I can not wait for this!  I've binge watched Season 1 and 2 the last few days and I love this show.

 

I did see someone post that it's only going to have 6 episodes in Season 3 - that's a bummer.

[Kathemy]

I'm very, very happy the show is back. It's astonishing to me how it seems like virtually nobody watches it.

 

As a side note I know this show never does fanservice but if Daniel and Tawney ever actually kiss I might die.

[Bcharmer]

I believe I have exactly one friend in real life who watches this.  I do what I can to get people to watch quality television, but sometimes it takes a while for something to catch on. I turned several friends on to Justified, who eventually became die-hard fans.  Rectify is a harder sell, for some reason. Saddens me.

[Kathemy]

I've managed to convert every friend I showed it to.

 

Random observations:

 

From what I can understand we're going to get a few Daniel/Teddy scenes. I wonder if they're going to keep up or even intensify the hate or if they'll come to some sort of understanding. I really look forward to these interactions since both actors are so good.

 

I can't wait  to see how they'll resolve Tawney and Daniel's situation, if it's even resolved. The way I see it... I don't think Tawney can go back to Teddy and her normal life. What the narrative has shown us thus far is really... Once she met Daniel, her marriage was basically over. It was scary how good the pair managed to sell that "hit-by-a-freight-train" love at first sight thing. Not a teenager in your face infatuation, rather a very subtle but really, in a sense, frightening feeling, like "I talked to you for five minutes and now I'm changed forever." It happens right away. They have one single chat and suddenly she doesn't want to sleep with her husband, doesn't want to have his children, finds no solace or truth in their conversations, and it's not because Teddy has changed. It's her.

 

Tawney has a real problem. What the show drives at is how both these characters affect each other and make each other question their own beliefs, and that's a two-way street. The idea of marital infidelity and divorce is alien to Tawney, but I think in her mind she already is unfaithful to her husband, and it's equally immoral for her to keep married to a man she no longer loves, someone who really has taken the second-seat in her heart... Which is what broke her up so badly in "Until You're Blue." Daniel isn't necessarily a good influence on her or even someone who brings her joy in the ultimate picture but their connection is impossible to get away from for them, even if she tries. It's a recurring theme. "-Why do you care so much about my soul? -I care about everyone's soul", "-We can't be together - I know". Denial, denial, denial.

[Bcharmer]

Daniel is an anagram of denial. Hmmm.

[The Mighty Peanut]

Aggggh, go away Erin Brokovich and make way for the world's introvertiest introvert! I am so eager to be 19 minutes older than I am right now.

Edited July 10, 2015 by The Mighty Peanut

[Primetimer]

Whose life is in the severest tatters as Rectify returns?

Read the story

[Armchair Critic]

I hate to say it senator, but karma is a bitch!

 

Tawny and Daniel both take so long to get a sentence out, they do deserve each other.

 

Just when I start sympathizing with Teddy he goes and acts like a jackass again. Now Ted Sr. is being a jerk to Daniel too, though I can understand his dilemma.

 

The mother is such a nice person, hope she doesn't change. And I do feel bad for Amantha and Jared.

 

So John is leaving the show to be on that ABC astronaut show? Good luck because the ratings are not good.

[The Mighty Peanut]

Capital punishment so fucking surreal. No wonder the guard was so nice to Daniel when he was being released from prison. He would have strapped down and helped kill an innocent man in front of his mother had it not been for what amounted to a lucky procedural fluke.

Has to mess with his mind.

That gurney scene was so affecting, IMO, because of the people left alive after an execution. I kept thinking about Janet and Mrs. Whitman. Meanwhile, I just want to hug Tawney and tell her she's not evil for being secretly glad she had a miscarriage.

AND I WANNA MEET CHRISTOPHER

Edited July 10, 2015 by The Mighty Peanut

[Fisher King]

Karma most certainly is a bitch, and it couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Fisher King

[justmehere]

Right before the senator's speech became garbled, I said out loud (to myself): "Does he still have to be on?" Kinda laughed a couple of seconds later.

 

I understand Ted's anger at Daniel, but I do wish that Daniel would explain the circumstances -- for perspective at least. Even though it wouldn't make what he did all right, it wasn't a random cruel act. But he'd rather have Ted (and Tawney) think poorly of him than tarnish their views of Teddy, I guess. He already thinks poorly about himself, so what's the difference?

 

I also understand Teddy's several levels of pain, including not wanting Daniel with Tawney. Still, the way that he threatened to press charges came across as really shitty.

 

With 30 days until Daniel has to leave, this season and next could take place before that deadline. I could really use some level of good news somewhere in there though.

[Kiss my mutt]

I guess I may be missing an important element but is banishment that bad other than having to admit guilt of course. It would have been understandable if the family moved after Daniel was imprisoned. It's not like the tire company is thriving and they would have had a more expansive market if they moved somewhere else. Plus less stigma for Amantha and Jared to have grown up with. I'm just not getting why they all move out of that corrupt hell hole.

I'm from Georgia so I know a lot of my relatives would never think to cross a state line to live (they look at me askance for moving to nc)but in this case I think it would be doable.

Does anybody else think that Teddy could have sent those texts to Jared? Just crossed my mind.

I love Daniels character even though I sometimes just want him to spit it out. Also love Adelaide Clemons from Parade's End as Valentine Wannop. She is so adorable.

Just on a pickier note: I'm not buying those Georgia accents.

[MorbidPet]

Usually when my expectations runs this high I get disappointed but nope. Definitely not disappointed with the S3 opener.

I'm not a fan of Tawney though, she just bores me to death, but obviously it is sad what she's going through. I was kinda hoping she had sailed off in to happier times though but I guess I have to deal with her sticking around.

Daniel is just oozing melancholy he gets me through the screen every time. Aden Young is just amazing.

I get Ted Sr and where he is coming from but knowing what an ass Teddy is I just feel sad that his dad has to stick up for him and get dragged down with him so to speak. Ted Sr & mama Holden deserves some happier times in their life.

I'm gonna keep hoping Jon & Amantha get back together. I find Amantha hilarious. That look around the room when the manager at Thrifty Town said there are worse places to end up *lmao* I was thinking just the same, no their ain't.

I can't believe we're only getting 6 episodes. Why does this feel like when Mad Men split their last season in two? :(

[AuntiePam]

Just on a pickier note: I'm not buying those Georgia accents.

Almost all the actors are southern, although some have spent time in other parts of the country.

 

Are there lots of differences in southern accents?

[Bcharmer]

When the Senator's speech first became garbled, I actually thought, "What the hell did he say? Is something wrong with my closed captioning?"  I leave it on all the time, as I find it helps in many ways, though my hearing is perfectly fine.  I replayed it, and re-read that line a few times, then gave up. Then came the second garbled line, and it became immediately clear he was having a stroke. Yeah, Karma. 

 

Great episode. I am so grateful that this show exists, as there really is nothing airing right now that's anywhere near as good as this.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Bcharmer

[justmehere]

I guess I may be missing an important element but is banishment that bad other than having to admit guilt of course. It would have been understandable if the family moved after Daniel was imprisoned. It's not like the tire company is thriving and they would have had a more expansive market if they moved somewhere else. Plus less stigma for Amantha and Jared to have grown up with. I'm just not getting why they all move out of that corrupt hell hole.

 

 

 

I've wondered, too, why they don't all move (of course Jared is finishing high school now), but for Daniel, carrying the label of convicted murderer is pretty big. What kind of work can he get? Now that Ted Sr. wants nothing to do with him, he couldn't work in the store even if they did move the business.

 

I can't see them splitting the locations (or, am hoping they don't do it) with Daniel in Alabama and then the rest of the family's stories. A lot can happen in 30 days though. I'm not even sure Daniel has been out for very long, really. Anyone know how much time has passed to this point? A few months total?

 

Separate note: I love that the sheriff and the DA both now seem to have the senator pegged and aren't quite ready to let everything rest, especially with discovery of George's body. I have no idea where the story is going, and I love that too.

[Kathemy]

I don't think more time has passed than six weeks.

 

As for the episode in question...

 

The Teddy/Daniel scene was magnificient and I also... sort of think it might serve as foreshadowing of things to come. His threat against Daniel, I believe, means that it will probably play out that Daniel and Tawney do get together at some point, at which point Teddy will retaliate by making good on it, or at the very least be forced to, for one time in his life, really evaluate what comes first in his life - is it revenge for a sleight where he was the initial aggressor, or is it his Christian upbringing of forgiveness? Can he do such a thing and ruin Tawney and his chances to get back with her forever?

 

I don't know.

[Fisher King]

Almost all the actors are southern, although some have spent time in other parts of the country.

 

Are there lots of differences in southern accents?

 

I'm from Ga. as well and yes, there are various southern accents. It depends on location and the poverty level. I grew up halfway between Atlanta and the Ala. line. People there had slower drawls and every other word was a mispronunciation. I was determined NOT to speak that way and fortunately had a couple good English teachers. South Ga. talkers are faster-speaking but tend to shorten every word. Of course in metrol Atl. there is a vast array of accents but better pronunciation, along with transplants from other states adding to the mix.

 

I've really admired the authentic-sounding accents on this show, even Aden's. He sounds exactly the way a cousin of mine talks.  Sen. Foulkes talks like he's faking his accent although I'm not sure where he's from.

 

I found last night's premiere a little slow, but had to remind myself that this is how the show is. As someone stated above - maybe my excitement of a new episode had some bearing on that.

 

I am a tad disappointed but understand completely how Ted Sr.'s patience is worn with Daniel. For all those years, he's had to deal with his wife and step-daughter's preoccupation with Daniel. Daniel is finally released, Ted welcomes him with open arms, even defends him against the townspeople who are convinced of Daniel's guilt. Daniel acts out - drinking, drugging, tears out the kitchen in the middle of the night, then he finds out that Daniel assaulted Junior and THEN Daniel decides to plead guilty to the crimes. I believe I would have had enough as well.

 

I need to do a rewatch because I'm a little confused about Jared and the texts. Tawny and Teddy both kinda still annoy me.

 

I know this is a too-short season but with all the critics still raving, I believe we're in for a few good episodes. I'm glad the show's back and I'm in til the bitter end.

[Kathemy]

It's just a case of having to survive for a year after the sixth episode has aired before we get new ones. :-)

[suomi]

I LOL'd at the instrumental version of Alley Cat in the background during The Senator's stroke.

 

He goes on the prowl each night,
Like an alley cat.
Looking for some new delight,
Like an alley cat.

 

You know, she can't trust him out of sight,
And there's no doubt of that.
He just don't know wrong from right,
Like an alley cat.

[Armchair Critic]

Does anybody else think that Teddy could have sent those texts to Jared?

 

I hadn't even thought of that, interesting. That's why I like to read sites like this after a show.

[AuntiePam]

I remember nothing about texts.  Can someone refresh my memory? 

[Kiss my mutt]

When Daniel was first let out, Jared started getting obscene texts, some of them threatening to slit his sister's throat. He hid it from his parents but his friend Claire convinced him to talk to Jon, the lawyer and his sister about it. I'm not sure if his parents ever found out but it was weird that it was never mentioned again or followed up on. Just kind of my take on it.

[Madding crowd]

I was happy to see this show back on the air. The most prevalent theme right now seems to be how everyone is stuck. Daniel is stuck in a limbo where he truly has no place to go, yet he is still free. Amantha is stuck working in a job which is not fulfilling , Tawny is stuck in a loveless marriage and Teddy is stuck with his inability to see things how they really are.

 

I really enjoy the actor who plays Daniel and his mother Janet. Tawny kind of bugs me, mostly because she is facing the same problems many women have and I don't think she is handling things well. At times I wish something would just happen (with we did get the Senator with the stroke), but it's a good, slow paced show.

[Kiss my mutt]

I agree, I see Tawney as living the life she feels she is supposed to as a Christian wife. She decorated their house in a typical fashion with the cross and inspirational quotes on the walls, she stays at home, serving her husband, always deferential and soft-spoken, she meets his physical needs by cooking and sleeping with him and dresses modestly and unassumingly in non-descript dresses and skirts. But it all feels hollow. Her need for security replaces her yearnings for freedom and to develop her inner self. Daniel appears to be the impetus that makes her want to ask more from life, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. I'm looking forward to seeing her metamorphosis, at least I hope there is one.

Just edited to add: I really love the subtext of this show. It's not always the things that are said but unsaid.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Kiss my mutt

[Sienna]

Something struck me about Teddy. When he was talking about the first time he went to the BBQ place, how it was a family excursion with Ted, Janet, and Amantha. He seemed to truly remember it fondly.

He was suppose to be what? 11 or 12 when Ted married Janet? An age most kids would easily rebel against the idea of a step-family, let alone the small town poison the Holdens would have been after Daniel's conviction. But Teddy never comes across as angry that he was saddled with that. Just the opposite, really. His primary fear was that Daniel would take it all away from him. Teddy genuinely seems to have had a loving relationship with Janet, he seems to relish being a big brother to Jared, and I think he would give his eye teeth for Amantha to actually like him, or even just be nice to him.

It makes me wonder what his back story is that gives him that vulnerability and neediness. Have we ever heard anything about his biological mother?

[Kathemy]

It is true that the relationship between Amantha and Teddy comes across as her being unreasonably hostile and intolerant of him rather than the reverse. It's one of her many less endearing qualities. 

[candall]

Just spit it out, indeed.

 

Ted Sr. has ousted Daniel from his one sanctuary, so he goes and sits silently in his sister's backyard while she downs a whole bottle of wine and watches him sit there, needing help, not asking, willing to wander off into the night if she tells him to.  Aarrgh.  I suddenly understand her frustration and why she has to land a few supplementary punches before she drags out the air mattress.

 

And there's the whole kitchen cabinet metaphor for making a big mess, ignoring it, then finally addressing it, only to find peoples' patience has run out.  (Wouldn't Daniel have jumped into that kitchen repair at dawn the next morning?  It was a discrete disaster of his own creation, that surely grated on everyone's nerves constantly, that he was entirely capable of fixing.  Why wouldn't Ted or Janet have said, "Daniel, stop riding away on your brother's bike and fix this kitchen"?    Aarrgh.)

 

This show frustrates me no end.  One or two simple declarative sentences from any number of characters would save so many metric tons of angst.

 

I binged the first two seasons and the only time I saw Daniel have a genuine happy spark was with Frances Fischer at the museum.  I don't know why signing that confession isn't Daniel's ticket to ride.  30 days?  Pfft.  Pack your gym bag, give your mom a big hug and scoot.

[pasdetrois]

Glad the show is back, although my need for story is frustrated by the slow pace. Tawny and Daniel realistically portray what depression and despair look like in real people, but on television it's a bit hard to endure. It was almost bizarre to watch an animated, wisecracking Daniel on the gurney.

 

I know so many small-town southern women like Tawny - sweet and unassuming, devoted to family and church, determined to live a certain kind of life. So it's interesting to me to watch her struggle with the choices in front of her. I like that she's not being portrayed as a mindless simpleton, which is what Hollywood thinks of small town southern Christian women.

 

I'm still fighting my Amantha-hate, but I enjoy all the other characters and actors.

 

 

Daniel is stuck in a limbo where he truly has no place to go, yet he is still free.

 

Great description. Although - good luck trying to find a job as a convicted murderer.

 

Southern accents - they are all over the place. It's a bit of a hobby for me to try to pin one down when I first hear it. Appalachian accents are very distinct, as are south Louisiana accents, and they don't sound a thing like each other. I'm glad these characters don't speak like cartoon hillbillies, a pet peeve of mine.

[molshoop]

How old is Jared ?  It seems that Mr. Holden's death, Janet's remarriage and getting pregnant with Jared happened within a relatively

short period of time.

[Kiss my mutt]

I think Jared is 15. How long was Daniel in jail before his dad died I wonder?

[The Mighty Peanut]

Add me to the list of people who doesn't know why the family didn't sell the tire shop and move after Daniel's arrest aside from it being better fodder for a TV show. It didn't have to be far, just anywhere that literally everyone didn't personally know both the murder victim and the family whose son was awaiting execution for the crime.

[SusanSunflower]

I think pride and stubbornness would encourage them to stay put -- refusing to be run out of town, particularly if they believed Daniel is innocent . Why take a loss, pull up stakes, just to put down roots somewhere else. Sometimes the losses are just too great to make leaving the familiar worth it. They may not have been able to afford such a move after Daniel's legal fees. I suspect the case was notorious enough that they would have needed to leave the state. Who knows what other ties and/or friends they have in the community (though we have not seen much of that). I'm more surprised that Amantha isn't going back to college NOW (and did not do so before).

[Sienna]

I'm more surprised that Amantha isn't going back to college NOW (and did not do so before).

 

I think that all goes back to the idea that Amantha no longer has any idea of who she as a person, other than being Daniel's advocate. I remember the comment she made about how she never made any real friends in Atlanta (other than Jon, Daniel's lawyer), because she viewed her time there as temporary. She said that she dropped out of college (after only a year, I think?) to move to Atlanta, and that she's now 32 years old, so she spent more than 10 years deliberately avoiding deep attachments, and possibly a social life in general. That's a long freaking time.

 

Even her bookshelf seemed entirely devoted to reading material about wrongful conviction, Georgia law, etc. I think Daniel, ironically, probably has a better idea of who he is at his core than Amantha does.

 

I like Amantha, though. Probably because she reacts to everything exactly the same way I believe I would in that situation. Sarcastic, and pissed off.

[Armchair Critic]

Probably because she reacts to everything exactly the same way I believe I would in that situation. Sarcastic, and pissed off.

 

Me too! Also I have a mother like hers who is sweet and holds back what she thinks and would prefer me to be that way too.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

What Remains / Whose life is in the severest tatters as Rectify returns?

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

Southern accents - they are all over the place. It's a bit of a hobby for me to try to pin one down when I first hear it. Appalachian accents are very distinct, as are south Louisiana accents, and they don't sound a thing like each other. I'm glad these characters don't speak like cartoon hillbillies, a pet peeve of mine.

I lived in Mobile, Alabama for five years and still have many relatives and friends all over the south and visit quite often. Indeed, Southern accents are ALL over the place - the further south, the stronger the accent. Some people from New Orleans sound like they are practically from New Yawk. The more north you go, the softer the accents and the closer to the city, the softer they are, unless you're really in the sticks and all bets are off. 

 

I'm breaking with the pack - I love Tawny's character. She's trying to be the perfect wife and she was broadsided by something that most likely makes her feel shameful - falling for her husband's stepbrother (particularly as a Christian woman who has been dedicated to living her faith). Like many characters in this drama, she's many shades of grey, not a stereotype - which I enjoy. 

[Cabarb]

I disagree with most of you as well - I like Tawney.  I think she is a character that comes off as genuine and conflicted.  She clearly married young and had very little life experience and everything for her was kind of ticking along quiet and slow. She had a nice relationship, a nice home, nice friends, nice church, nice family, etc. And then there's this explosion in her life and chaos comes knocking.  The quiet, nice life is sort of pushed aside and she encounters Daniel who has had experiences she could never even dream of.  I think she felt drawn to him in a number of ways that she was never drawn to Teddy - she wanted to "fix" Daniel and heal his soul.  I think it really did start as wanting to share her Christian faith and see him "saved," but it has gone much deeper for her.  The main complaint that I do have is that we didn't see any kind of "relationship" develop between Tawney and Daniel.  We were supposed to just understand that they were connected in some deep spiritual way without having it shown to us.  The brief snippets of conversations and encounters at family gatherings didn't really show me why and how they developed into whatever they feel for each other.  I don't fully trust Daniel, and I still don't know if he is guilty or not.  But what I do know is that Teddy, despite his faults, loves his wife and loves his family.  I can understand why he would feel threatened by Daniel's return.  He has lived one life with his father and step-family since he was a child, and now that is being usurped by someone who may or may not be a murderer.  Janet tells him to stop calling her "mom" which had to stab him right in the heart.  Teddy makes total sense to me and I hope that he and Tawney can actually get to know one another and develop the kind of marriage that I don't believe they've really had so far.