S04.E03: Bob & Carol & Ted Jr & Alice

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

A new roommate complicates Daniel's adjustment to group living. Meanwhile, Amantha's reexamination of her past leads her to reconnect with a former classmate from high school.

[Primetimer]

Ranking the show's relationship prospects.

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[AuntiePam]

I really, really hate the type of conversation Daniel and Chloe were having.  It's good that it ended with some honesty, but listening to Chloe try to be mysterious, or cryptic, or arch, or cool, or whatever the hell she was doing -- very annoying.  If I were Daniel, I would have been "Life's too short, bye now."

Liked Amantha and Billy Bob or whatever his name is -- they connected.  Liked Amantha sitting down to listen to Janet. 

Don't like Tawny's therapist.  She's useless. 

[bmoore4026]

Oh, good.  I'm not the only one who can't stand Chloe the Shithead.

[Stella]

14 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

I really, really hate the type of conversation Daniel and Chloe were having. 

I agree with this statement. This is the first scene in the entire series which felt forced and false to me. Hopefully the more honest ending propels any further interactions between Daniel and Chloe, but for now I have no sense of why they brought in this character nor do I look forward to seeing her again.

14 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Don't like Tawny's therapist.  She's useless.

Really? I thought she was providing some balanced space for both Tawny and Teddy to gain insights. I also don't really have clear understanding for what a solid therapy session should be so maybe she is useless.

I loved Jon coming into Carl's office with his fight mode in gear. Looking forward to more of this.

[AuntiePam]

24 minutes ago, Stella said:

Really? I thought she was providing some balanced space for both Tawny and Teddy to gain insights. I also don't really have clear understanding for what a solid therapy session should be so maybe she is useless.

 

My problem with the therapist is that her responses are all along the lines of "And how did that make you feel?"  And she seemed to be nudging Tawny toward dumping Teddy, which might be the right thing for Tawny, but she discounted Tawny's statement that Teddy is basically all she has. 

[Stella]

The therapist seems to be walking a very fine line of affirming all her feelings as valid which includes both Tawny's fear of and acceptance that she basically wants a D-I-V-O-R-C-E. I think in a way the therapist is an audience stand in, at least for me. Because I just don't see how the marriage can go on. At least now. I think Tawny and Teddy both need to be truly on their own and separate. It's unlikely but not impossible that they would come back together eventually.

It was at once comical and touching that divorce is like a bad word for Tawny.

[kieyra]

Hmm, I agree Chloe was grating. It's definitely not the actress's fault; she does a lot of nicely restrained work on Masters of Sex. I assume she was directed to bring that anger to the table, and that they were trying to create a slightly different skew on the nihilistic artist pixie dream girl thing. I think we are used to the show's off-kilter characters resonating with Daniel on some level, but their scenes were all conflict without chemistry. I think? The rhythm of the dialogue was off. The repetition of the word "hormones" was odd. I don't know. I suppose it could be argued that their connection is that they have both been thrust into scary new situations that make them uncomfortable. 

I did love drunk Janet, and Amantha's studied patience with her.

Either way, I am grateful to the episode in that it was compelling enough to distract me from reality for a short while. :/

[peeayebee]

I love drunk Janet, too. The actress does a very good job at seeming drunk.

I like Chloe fine, probably because I like the actress.

I liked the scene with Teddy and Melvin. It was good to see Teddy get that Daniel is a positive in some people's lives.

I haven't checked IMDB yet, but is Amantha's friend Billy played by a relative of Ray McKinnon? He looks like him.
(Just checked... Nope, not related.)

Edited November 11, 2016 by peeayebee

[Portia]

I still can't believe that's Meechum from House of Cards.

This show is so very real in so many ways, but one tiny thing that drices me CRAZY is Tawney completely dropping the g on every damn one of her -ing words. No one does that universally. Who's her dialect coach?

Chloe's the worst, and I hate her whimsical, janky-ass apartment too.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Portia

[The Mighty Peanut]

I really enjoy Avery and I was glad that another guy in Daniel's group stepped in to say to let Daniel have his art thing. I hope Daniel gets treated for his PTSD, but more than that I'm glad someone used that term to describe his experience. Same with Melvin angrily calling the prison a hellhole. It's just a great mark of progress from season 1 when people either didn't talk about what he went through or marginalized it whether intentionally or not.

Chloe. Meh. I don't dislike her but I feel like I'm watching a teenager talking to someone in late middle age. She's just not at Daniel's level of life experience and emotional awareness. Tawney was around the same age as Chloe and very naive, but I believed she and Daniel connected through mutual hope and pain. Chloe doesn't have that depth.

I want drunk Janet to be my friend. I loved how she pretty much said who gives a fuck about tires, anyway? It was always just a job. Meanwhile, Teddy LOVES tires. As much as I want to continue resenting Teddy, the guy has been assaulted, lost his marriage, lost his baby, given up his house, gone through a major upset in family dynamics...and now they want to take away his tires! Give him a break.

Edited November 12, 2016 by The Mighty Peanut

[Kathemy]

Whereas all other shows handle their final season by speeding up, Rectify, the slowest of all slow shows, handle it by... slowing down. You can't argue the series isn't going out in style, but I'm not sure if this is the right move. We're three episodes into the final season and some stunning character work aside, practically nothing has happened.

I agree that Chloe seems a detour the show can't afford at this stage, but I'm willing to give the creators the benefit of the doubt. That said, Daniel and Tawney must face each other. Last season we only got one single conversation and that wasn't even a real one. If we only get one final meeting at the end of the show as a bookend of that relationship, or if they do not even meet at all, I will be bitterly disappointed.

[Superpole2000]

If you google someone and discover they were in prison for raping/killing someone, do you really go and immediately invite them over to your place? That took me out of the show.

[Eeksquire]

Well, in Daniel's case, he was released from prison - maybe not exonerated, but the idea that they had wrongfully been in prison for rape and murder might change my mind.

[nodorothyparker]

The most recent articles would probably be about his pleading guilty a second time for the time served/parole arrangement he has now, as well as stuff about how he wasn't recharged with the rape after the non DNA match vacated his original sentence.   Depending on how well read Chloe is on the criminal justice system (and I think we're supposed to assume she also reads a fair bit), she may have drawn her own conclusions about Daniel being emotionally unwilling to risk a second trial and thus taking his Alford plea-like deal to avoid it.  A lot of stuff about the original trial would have been before the internet really took off, but some of it might also still be out there depending on how long she was willing to look.  I think it was in the first season that we saw Jared's scrapbook of Daniel's press clippings that included headlines about how his case was a miscarriage of justice, so we know they do exist.

Or maybe we're just supposed to see it as her having some innate ability to "see" that that's not really who he is.

I don't dislike Chloe the way some do, but you would think any thinking woman who lives alone would at least keep it to public spaces until she's had a chance to know and read him better.  But if I have one complaint about her as a character it's that we've never really gotten a clear sense about what she thinks about any of it or why.

[pasdetrois]

Moved to correct episode

Edited December 8, 2016 by pasdetrois
Wrong episode

[deedee]

I just realized that I get Sundance channel and don't have to wait for this to come on Netflix! Yes I'm a dumbass.
I liked the Chloe character the first time we saw her, but now I feel like she is the first character misstep the writers have made so far in this incredible series. She just seems like a retread of characters we have seen many times before.

[MaryPatShelby]

On 12/17/2016 at 3:58 PM, deedee said:

I just realized that I get Sundance channel and don't have to wait for this to come on Netflix! Yes I'm a dumbass.
I liked the Chloe character the first time we saw her, but now I feel like she is the first character misstep the writers have made so far in this incredible series. She just seems like a retread of characters we have seen many times before.

I thought Lezley with a Z was another character misstep, or at least the amount of Lezley we got.  That could be just me.

[SusanSunflower]

A strange thing happened to this show which is that Teddy's story/saga became as important, even more important (in terms of writing/screen time) as Daniel's.  Teddy was recognizable, relatable, articulate and connected with all of the other character -- if inconveniently least of all with Daniel whose reintegration "might" have been considered the entire show's reason for being. 

Having exiled Daniel, with only a season to wrap things up, I think Chloe was an emergency intervention to give us (and the writers) some frame to bring the inarticulate, isolated Daniel into the emotional "heart" of the show.  From comments I've read elsewhere, many were so involved with Teddy, they could have (almost) just as happily said goodbye to "stuck" and largely silent Daniel. 

Rather like Downton, when a show keeps getting extended the various threads and arcs take on a life of their own.  Teddy reminds me so much of my younger brother who has repeatedly and largely inexplicably "thrown it all away"  I was compelled, but also (as in real life) felt somewhat resentful of the character who seemed unable to appreciate what he had and meaningfully fight for it. 

[Jax7917]

On 12/20/2016 at 2:07 PM, SusanSunflower said:

A strange thing happened to this show which is that Teddy's story/saga became as important, even more important (in terms of writing/screen time) as Daniel's.  Teddy was recognizable, relatable, articulate and connected with all of the other character -- if inconveniently least of all with Daniel whose reintegration "might" have been considered the entire show's reason for being. 

Having exiled Daniel, with only a season to wrap things up, I think Chloe was an emergency intervention to give us (and the writers) some frame to bring the inarticulate, isolated Daniel into the emotional "heart" of the show.  From comments I've read elsewhere, many were so involved with Teddy, they could have (almost) just as happily said goodbye to "stuck" and largely silent Daniel. 

Rather like Downton, when a show keeps getting extended the various threads and arcs take on a life of their own.  Teddy reminds me so much of my younger brother who has repeatedly and largely inexplicably "thrown it all away"  I was compelled, but also (as in real life) felt somewhat resentful of the character who seemed unable to appreciate what he had and meaningfully fight for it. 

I'm watching the seasons on netflix now, and I have to say, I am more invested in Teddy's story than Daniel's. Yeah, the first few episodes the show made Teddy into an evil cartoon character.. but as his story is playing out, I feel really bad for the guy and can't stand Tawney. He said exactly what I was thinking in the last episode I watched. She doesn't want a husband, she wants a saint. Tawney gets so bent out of shape and scared when Teddy is anything other than happy and bubbly. When he shows sadness or frustration, she resents him. He has been much more patient than I would ever have been with her. Teddy and Tawney were married for years and Daniel gets out of jail (someone she's never met before) and all of a sudden she wants to end her marriage and is in love with Daniel? And she still loves Daniel after what he did to her husband? She didn't even care about her miscarriage and somehow Teddy is seen as the bad guy after he's done everything to try to change and make himself a better person. I know we don't know what went on in their marriage before the show started, but from what I'm watching, Tawney is the one who has treated the marriage as a joke.