S01.E10: The Hand You're Dealt

[Tabbyclaw]

A continuation of the full-series rewatch we've been doing on the TWoP thread, picking up where we left off with "The Hand You're Dealt."

 

This episode, obviously is a major pivot in Duke's story. It's our first indicator that he's got a direct connection to the central mystery, one we still don't know all the details of. Why did Lucy give him that necklace? It's also the launch of his fear of/hunt for the tattooed man, which ended up being the catalyst for so much else.

 

And let's talk about Vanessa's death visions for a second, yes? There's something very important about them that the characters are glossing over: They don't necessarily tell you what kills you, just the last thing you see. Other than the fact that it's obviously not going to happen, there's nothing saying that this can't be Duke dying in his bed at age 94 and seeing his husband Nathan reaching out to stroke his cheek before he falls asleep for the last time. A tattooed man may be involved in Duke's final moments somehow -- assuming that there isn't something even more complicated going on with the connection between his death vision and James' (which you know there is, because Haven) -- but right now I'd lay good money that that's not what or who will actually kill him.

 

On a smaller note, there's one thing I love about this episode: Vanessa's calm certainty that her visions are a "terrible gift" from God. It's not something they hammer on, but it's still good to see it acknowledged that the Rev doesn't speak for all the religious people in town.

[pcta]

Tell me how you see this thread going. I am in the middle of gorging on the old episodes but am somewhat farther along. Should we stay discussing in order or are thoughts from random episodes OK.

Like the insight that the last thing you see may not be cause of death. This prediction has been niggling at the back of my mind - particularly since this last season where there has been such a drastic change in focus. Now I have a more satisfying way of putting that niggle to rest. Much better than my current "who said TV shows remember what they said 4 seasons ago"

[Snarkette]

I had major issues with S01. I didn't like or understand Duke during that time and really didn't get the whole Nathan/Duke thing. This was the first episode for me where I had a glimmering of Duke's larger role. The earlier dukecentric ones with Consumed/Ball and Chain didn't do anything for me and while I rather like As You Were on rewatch, I didn't on first watching. But when it came to The Hand You're Dealt, that was the one that started humanizing him for me. And no, it didn't hurt that the very next episode was the Trial of Audrey Parker with its gratuitous fan service.

[Tabbyclaw]

Interesting

 

But when it came to The Hand You're Dealt, that was the one that started humanizing him for me.

Interesting. As much as this is a plot-essential episode for Duke, I never really thought of it as being personality-heavy. Now that you mention it, though, it very much is, considering his opinions on fate and the "plot" of life, and how those have since been tested. And speaking as someone who's done a lot of (fanfic-related) thinking about Duke's teenage years, his delivery on "No one was cool in high school" has probably informed a lot of my theories.

[BlueJay81]

Ball and Chain was actually the episode that got me watching Haven, the ending was very poignant and the song at the end was haunting. S1 wasn't serialised and I think that's why some episodes felt a bit random, but I still enjoyed the S1 finale more than most others so far. The Hand You're Dealt did bring the whole issue of fate to the fore and both Nathan and Duke were keen to fight it.

I do think the last thing before he dies vision for Duke and the Colorado Kid will have implications in the conclusion of the series. I just feel there's a connection between the two or at least what happened to them or will happen. The hand coming towards the face may indeed not be the cause of death, it may be the opposite or something else entirely, some kind of spirit transference? Vince and Dave are still my prime suspects in the CK's death. They were convinced he was dead and they buried him.  Their conversation in the fishing shack about who's turn it was to kill etc Vince has the tattoo, Is it his arm in the vision, what is his power or 'trouble"?

 

 This prediction has been niggling at the back of my mind - particularly since this last season where there has been such a drastic change in focus. Now I have a more satisfying way of putting that niggle to rest. Much better than my current "who said TV shows remember what they said 4 seasons ago"

This series had done very well in dropping small hints that were later expanded upon, less so in S4 in my opinion, a lot of stuff just seemed rather random, ( the idea of Cabot's journal, Wade and Jordan's return, the idea that some families were not originally troubled i.e Rev's family) I even have doubts that William was part of the original blueprint but was introduced to boost ratings or attract a wider audience. If they do connect all these threads, then I'll be happy because I still have so many questions from season 1 onwards.

Edited April 4, 2014 by BlueJay81

[AudienceofOne]

The necklace annoyed me a great deal and in retrospect even more. Why did Duke wait so long to tell her he knew Lucy, that he was the boy in the photo and she gave him the necklace? Why did she give him the necklace in the first place? Why has this never been mentioned again?

[Shanna Marie]

I finally got a chance to get back to the rewatch (Hi, TWOPpers!).

One big thing that struck me about "The Hand You're Dealt" that I can't believe I didn't notice before: The people at the Colorado Kid crime scene who are in the photo don't remember that day at all, so presumably that means that they only know they were there that day because they were in the photo. And that implies that it's possible that there were other people who were also present that day but who have no idea that they were because they were out of camera range -- too far to the side, behind the photographer, etc. That photo seems to be of people coming to see the crime scene, since word must have spread in order for the photographer to have been there. If they lost their memories, was that because it was during that scene that James's body was taken away and put in the Barn, or was it just because everyone who was present for anything to do with the situation lost their memories? There could have been witnesses to the actual crime who left afterward and now have no memory that they had anything to do with it. And this could all become relevant if Mara has all of her Haven memories, including her time as Lucy. She may be the only one who remembers the scene.

Why did Duke wait so long to tell her he knew Lucy, that he was the boy in the photo and she gave him the necklace?

I figured it had to do with him trying to figure out why his dad wanted him to come back to Haven -- he was sticking close to Audrey to see what she learned, and if she knew he was there, then she'd want to focus on what he knew, which would have been the stuff he'd already covered. Going back to the pilot and the question of why Nathan didn't say anything, I figure he thought he gave her the most critical piece of info -- the fact that his dad was the one who investigated. She'd have got all the other information from the Chief (I don't think Nathan knew the Chief would pretend not to know anything because he didn't know at the time that the case was in any way significant). Who'd be more useful in tracking down someone in a crime scene photo, the cop who investigated the case or the 8-year-old kid in the photo? And then Audrey started forcing Duke to help her track down the woman soon afterward, so it was a safe assumption that she already knew it was Duke in the photo. Nathan didn't seem at all surprised when Duke was showing up in this episode to go meet with people in the photo.

One other question that came up for me this time: Vanessa was the guidance counselor at the high school, and the kids at the pool included those from her school. Why did they need a sketch artist to identify her? Matt (the firebug kid) had met with her and was one of the witnesses at the pool, and he didn't even know he was the one causing the deaths until the end. If the kids could describe her well enough to get a sketch Duke could recognize, why couldn't they have identified their guidance counselor?

[Tabbyclaw]

Why did Duke wait so long to tell her he knew Lucy, that he was the boy in the photo and she gave him the necklace?

Giving out personal information about something he can't explain to a total stranger (and a cop, no less) isn't Duke's style. He doesn't tell Audrey what he knows until A) he starts to trust her and B) Vanessa reveals that he's linked to the weirdness that Audrey is investigating, making Audrey a necessary ally.

 

One other question that came up for me this time: Vanessa was the guidance counselor at the high school, and the kids at the pool included those from her school. Why did they need a sketch artist to identify her? Matt (the firebug kid) had met with her and was one of the witnesses at the pool, and he didn't even know he was the one causing the deaths until the end. If the kids could describe her well enough to get a sketch Duke could recognize, why couldn't they have identified their guidance counselor?

For Matt, who we know met with her at least once, we can blame that weird blindness that seems to affect all kids when they see their teachers out of context. Or maybe he'd only met with her the once, and it wasn't enough to make an impression. But for the others, there's really no reason to assume they'd recognize her at all. I wouldn't have been able to recognize anyone who worked at my high school who wasn't a teacher I'd actually had, and I only know what my guidance counselor looked like because I got shortlisted for a very prestigious scholarship my senior year (didn't end up getting it) and she helped me apply.

[Lisin]

Nathan and Audrey investigate a series of murders, but the prime suspect insists that she's trying to stop the real killer. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Duke's revelation, Audrey continues to investigate the Colorado Kid mystery involving her mother.