S02.E13: Fight or Flight

[Stella Rose]

This was brutal.  I was sobbing and could barely breathe through the whole hour.  I lived with a Doug, and this brought it all back - 14 years later, it still wrecked me.  Beautiful, honestly done.  Well played Miss JLH.  You were brilliant.  I had nightmares, but it was actually cathartic.  So well done by a show that sometimes goes a wee overboard.

[Demian]

How in Hell did her fake eyelashes stay attached to her eyelids during all of that shit? J.L. "Juggs" Hewitt's got some god-like glamour power going on...

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Demian said:

How in Hell did her fake eyelashes stay attached to her eyelids during all of that shit? J.L. "Juggs" Hewitt's got some god-like glamour power going on...

oh jeez really?  

[jhlipton]

5 hours ago, Stella Rose said:

I lived with a Doug, and this brought it all back - 14 years later, it still wrecked me.

I am so very glad that you escaped your "Doug"!

[methodwriter85]

And that, my friends, is why Jennifer Love Hewitt was the Final Girl of her two horror movies.

No, seriously, it did give me flashbacks to I Know What You Did Last Summer and it was kind of awesome seeing JLH channel that Final Girl instinct again.

I hope this gets Brian Hallisay some more gigs. I've liked him since his Cold Case episode in 2006 and he's been mostly a "Hey, It's That Guy" since. I did think the fact that he's most played bland nice guys really factored well into his casting here. He just looks the part of a genuine nice guy, and you would never think in a million years he'd be abusive. Which seemed to be how Doug was playing.

I thought of this like Sleeping with The Enemy with a little bit of The Revenant, as the bear is actually Doug.

[Irlandesa]

9 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I hope this gets Brian Hallisay some more gigs. I've liked him since his Cold Case episode in 2006 and he's been mostly a "Hey, It's That Guy" since. I did think the fact that he's most played bland nice guys really factored well into his casting here. 

Oooh.  His episode of Cold Case is one of my favorite/most memorable episodes. It just reaired on Start TV yesterday and I thought the actor playing Jimmy was good at looked familiar but I couldn't place him.  Now it makes sense.

All I remember hearing about him is rumors about how he got jobs because if his relationship with JLH.  I'm sure it put him on the radar of some producers but at least he's decent and he certainly acquitted himself well as Doug.  But at least he's dead so we don't have the spectre of him hanging over us.

[tvgoddess]

11 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I hope this gets Brian Hallisay some more gigs. I've liked him since his Cold Case episode in 2006 and he's been mostly a "Hey, It's That Guy" since. I did think the fact that he's most played bland nice guys really factored well into his casting here. He just looks the part of a genuine nice guy, and you would never think in a million years he'd be abusive. Which seemed to be how Doug was playing.

I've never seen him in anything before. I thought he did a pretty good job at playing creepy. And on a shallow factor, I thought he was pretty hot. Like a poor-ish Josh Duhamel. 

[sempervivum]

I agree with the previous posters who said they don't care for JLH, but that she really sold her character this episode.

I did laugh at her taking off running through the snow, since she's got short li'l legs and a giant booty and I'm pretty sure she couldn't outrun a toddler.

[Ohwell]

5 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

I did laugh at her taking off running through the snow, since she's got short li'l legs and a giant booty and I'm pretty sure she couldn't outrun a toddler.

I was just hoping she had on a good, sturdy bra.  My boobs were aching just watching her run like that. 

[Clanstarling]

59 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I was just hoping she had on a good, sturdy bra.  My boobs were aching just watching her run like that. 

Lord yes, gravity is no friend to those of us endowed. One of many reasons I'm not a runner.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Lord yes, gravity is no friend to those of us endowed. One of many reasons I'm not a runner.

Yup.  I'm a walker.

[TaurusRose]

I don’t get all the JLH hate.  She’s a competent actress and did excellent work in this episode. I’ve liked her since “Ghost Whisperer” and no cries better except maybe Sarah Michelle Gellar. Oh, those Buffy tears.  

Edited April 6, 2019 by taurusrose

[Blackbird999999lol]

2 hours ago, taurusrose said:

I don’t get all the JLH hate.  She’s a competent actress and did excellent work in this episode. I’ve liked her since “Ghost Whisperer” and no cries better except maybe Sarah Michelle Gellar. Oh, those Buffy tears.  

I don't see any JLH hate?? she's ridiculously overrated. Angela, Connie and Aisha have more talent in their little finger than JLH has in her whole (not very small) body.

JLH just doesn't have the heart to pull off a role like this one. There's no empathy in her acting. She cried during the whole episode and not once, not for one second did I believe her tears were real. There's no emotion in her eyes, she would be better at playing a psychopath. Next time she should switch roles with her husband, she's bringing him with herself everywhere she goes.

[thewhiteowl]

Well, it's definitely subjective. I find JLH's eyes to be one of her best features and I see them as very expressive. Mileage varies.

[Machiabelly]

Mileage certainly does vary. I agree with you on JLH

I also think that calling someone ridiculously overrated and then taking a shot at their weight, come pretty close to what passes for hate in a message board sense. But I guess mileage varies there too.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On 4/3/2019 at 12:17 PM, llewis823 said:

IF the gas station guy had a fully loaded gun, there were two shots left. Two to kill the gas station attendant, 2 at Maddie and then he shot twice at her, hitting the tree once. I said, "And that should be it..." and the next thing was "click, click".  I was so proud of myself for thinking that. LOL  And even more impressed that they didn't just have him shooting way more than 6 shots all willy-nilly and stuff. : )

I was on the same page as you but attributed the shots wrong ... I thought he shot the gas station attendant THREE times (the first one didn't kill him and Maddie was trying to help him, then Doug shot two more at him quickly which killed him) and then shot AT Maddie once there and twice while chasing her later ... but DID think at first when he pulled trigger and nothing happened that they had seven shots fired so glad I was wrong. I would be disappointed if they screwed up something that major. 

RIP Gas Station Attendant. One of the world's most dangerous jobs (I'm not being facetious). 

[Chaos Theory]

As much as I love Chimney I hated last weeks episode. There was nothing of note learned about him that we didn’t already know or that was needed to know.   Now this episode might be my favorite episode of the season so far because we learned just how bad things really were for Maddie.  It was also a really good “thriller” episode for me.   Say what you want about JLH but she does do these kinds of episodes well.  

[Blackbird999999lol]

19 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

As much as I love Chimney I hated last weeks episode. There was nothing of note learned about him that we didn’t already know or that was needed to know.   Now this episode might be my favorite episode of the season so far because we learned just how bad things really were for Maddie.  It was also a really good “thriller” episode for me.   Say what you want about JLH but she does do these kinds of episodes well.  

Chimney is the inventor of snuggies.

He lost his brother early in his career, I find this pretty notable. We learned about his family. Chimney's episode was beautiful and poignant. I find 2x13 to be a waste of an episode. We already know poor maddie has it so bad.

If she fought back the day Chimney was stabbed, there would've been no need for this episode
2x11 ending:
~Doug shows up
~stabs Chimney
~says "hi" to maddie
~maddie fights back because she's such a tough b*
~Doug dies
~maddie rushes outside
~calls an ambulance for Chimney
~the Chimney Begins episode happens while he's in the hospital fighting for his life
~no need for 2x13

They dragged out Chimney's death for weeks in an attempt to make people watch 2x13 (JLH's episode). No one would've watched 2x13 if they made it known that the episode is about her. Most people watched it to know what happens to Chimney. While promoting the episode there was barely any mention of her, the biggest question was "Is Chimney going to live?". They knew what they were doing.

[Jillybean]

This is getting ridiculous.

[Aliconehead]

 I like JLH well enough.  I felt she did a great job with the material, should be interesting to see where the storyline goes.  I am hoping 911 does not change the focused 911 operators each year.  That could get tiresome.  Connie Britton is great but she wanted to move on, which had nothing to do with JLH. Would i like to see her again, sure but I am fine with JLH.  I just want the writers to write good stories.

 I think some people have opinions about actors and actress that they just can not let go of.  For many that is hard to understand as most just don't care enough about people we do not know to have this level of hatred.

Edited April 10, 2019 by Aliconehead

[Moose135]

9 hours ago, Blackbird999999lol said:

He lost his brother early in his career

It wasn't his brother, he was the son of that couple they showed - old family friends or relatives.  Chimney's father is back in Taiwan, his mother has passed (I think) and these people were helping to keep an eye on Chimney after he moved to the US.

9 hours ago, Blackbird999999lol said:

No one would've watched 2x13 if they made it known that the episode is about her.

I would have.  I like her and her character, and I'm glad she's in the show.  I really like Connie Britton too, and miss her, but I'm good with JLH here.

[Blackbird999999lol]

11 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

It wasn't his brother, he was the son of that couple they showed - old family friends or relatives.  Chimney's father is back in Taiwan, his mother has passed (I think) and these people were helping to keep an eye on Chimney after he moved to the US.

I would have.  I like her and her character, and I'm glad she's in the show.  I really like Connie Britton too, and miss her, but I'm good with JLH here.

He was his brother not related by blood.

[Moose135]

8 minutes ago, Blackbird999999lol said:

He was his brother not related by blood.

So not his brother, like I said...

[Blackbird999999lol]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

So not his brother, like I said...

He was his Brother, like I said. Family is not defined by blood.

[Court]

On 4/2/2019 at 7:41 PM, Chaos Theory said:

Athena “Buck your sister is missing and probably dead”

Buck “O.K.  Well Chimnwy is laying in the hospital so I really shouldn’t  leave right now. “

Athena “Your Sister...”

Buck. “Chimney needs me “

Athena “you’re right no one cares about Maddie anyway.  Where’s Chimney?”

Chimney was already mostly out of danger.  Buck sitting in the hospital would have been a nice gesture but his sister was in very real danger.  I don’t understand how anyone would expect him to sit in the hospital doing nothing when he was literally doing something to try and save his sister.  I don’t even think Chimney would be upset at him,r

I agree with this. The poster you're replying too will always find fault in JLH, though. 

This episode was really difficult to watch for me but it was excellent. JLH did a wonderful job just with her body language and facial expressions showing all her emotions. 

[auntiemel]

On 4/10/2019 at 2:36 PM, Moose135 said:

I would have.  I like her and her character, and I'm glad she's in the show.  I really like Connie Britton too, and miss her, but I'm good with JLH here.

Same here. I really like JLH, have since the 90s. I even have one of her albums. 🙂 She's not one of my absolute top faves, but I always smile when I see her.

[talktoomuch]

On 4/3/2019 at 1:34 AM, Blackbird999999lol said:

He hasn't seen her or heard from her for years and his work family has been his real family.
I just hate how they made light of Chimney's situation to not take away the attention from maddie. When they showed both of them at the end you could see he was in much worse shape than she is. At the end I was waiting for her horny ass to jump on him and Chimney be like "hey i'm dying in case you didn't notice. actually, no one noticed".
I'm having a hard time believing that someone like Hen would take his best friend's stabbing so lightly and wouldn't be angry at maddie one bit.

I don't agree that Hen nor anyone else took Chimney's stabbing lightly. Besides Buck and Athena they were all camped out at the hospital waiting for news of his recovery. That was their focus.

Because Chimney was as stable as possible at the hospital, it made sense that Maddie's brother would be focused on trying to find out if she was still alive so he could try to help her. It also made sense that a friend/colleague who knew how impulsively wrong he could be in that situation (Athena, in this case) would volunteer to assist him.

Again, Chimney was safe and, hopefully, recovering. But Maddie was a question mark. It would not have been enough for Buck to stand by and hope the police got it right with his sister.

Further, it was established early on at Maddie's arrival that Buck had no idea that Doug was abusive. Maddie purposefully portrayed marital perfection to everyone, including her family. It was part of the "abuse theater" she had with Doug. 

[kwnyc]

We're binging this and just got through these episodes. We were riveted!

As for JLH, she does the best she can with what she has (which is boobs, eyelashes and decent acting technique for TV). People who work a lot get hired because they are easy to work with.

My thought during the binge thus far is because I'm a New Yorker, I find the shows shot in NYC to have much better supporting casts because of the number of trained actors here. The California shows cast for the prettiest ones, who sometimes don't have the most talent/technique. Not that I have anything against eye candy.

This is a pretty, pretty show with enough solid actors in the cast to do the heavy lifting (certainly more than in the OTHER 9-1-1 show).