Episodic: 2006 September 7th

Not only the J/J/F triangle, but now Jack's tets results, continue to be dragged out ... Meanwhile Jack and Jennifer have one last adventure ...

Back in the black

• A little relationship double-talk? I wonder if their little discussion of Abe and Lexie's relationship was Jack and Jennifer's way of setting the groundwork for the resolution of their own: "You know, Jack, sometimes people do crazy, irrational things when they're hurt." Liiiiike ... marry their high school boyfriend a mere months after the love of their life dies? And did I spy Jack giving her a wry, knowing look after that line? I wonder if that is how they're going to spin it, Jennifer married Frankie at least partly out of pain and grief. You know that crazy irrational Jennifer!
• Oh when the saints go marching out. I liked how they allowed Frankie to be more concerned about Jennifer finally making her decision than about Jack. For example, when he said "I'm just as anxious to hear about the results as you are" we were allowed to see that it was because he wants to know what Jennifer will do, and we weren't given crap about how he loves Jack. Of course he doesn't want Jack to die, but I cannot fathom anything else being in the front of his mind but Jennifer. Jack and Frankie are not best friends no matter how they push it, she is Frankie's big investment here and that's how it should be. Again, that doesn't mean he wishes Jack ill, but come on, don't insult my emotional intelligence. This situation should be awkward, it should bring out a bit of the selfish in both men, because that doesn't negate that they're good guys. This is a problem I have with JER's characterization, any time somebody thought of themselves they were automatically Bad People. Hello, it's called realism!
• Frrrrriction! Speaking of realism, thank goodness Jennifer's angry at Jack, at least it shows the emotional investment we would expect. Too bad it wasn't (and seemingly won't be) given a nuanced exploration, but that's what happens when your storyline is so truncated. But the point is, where there's friction, heat soon follows...
• The course of love did never run smooth. And I especially liked when she said "I know the story of him wanting to protect me, that's why we got divorced in the first place, because he has secrets and then he abandons us all to protect us. I know all this about Jack. But I love him." Emphasis mine. Because that sums it up. Jack and Jennifer belong together not because either one is perfect and thus is "worthy" of the prize, but because despite everything they love each other. That's a supercouple. Now if only this line was given more of a dramatic Moment in the scene.
• Yay, humor! I liked how Jack snarks "Greeaat!" to Jennifer in the hospital, in fact wish it was a bit snarkier. I liked the look on Jennifer's face when she goes "Did I hear you right that he wants you to meet him?!" That's classic Jennifer coming through a bit there. I liked the look on Jack's face when he tapped Jennifer on the shoulder in the warehouse, and on hers when she spun around. And aahhhhh, the bickering. Can't say they transitioned well into this, I don't think newer viewers ever saw this Jack and Jennifer, they must be wondering who these people are. But personally it warms my heart, the bickering does. I can appreciate it out of context of the storyline, because, gosh darnitt, I've missed the real J/J so! I loved the "I'm feeling a little remission creeping up right now" line, Ashford's delivery was spot-on perfect, it was subtle and spontaneous like Jack's humor used to be. And I loved their little tug-of-war for the photo at the end, cute touch.

Still in the red

• Put the triangle out of its misery already! You know, I don't dislike Frankie, let me say that up front. But the way they had him come in to Jack's hospital room right after Jack mentioned getting back to his family ... the sight of him sent a pang of irritation through even me. I couldn't help it, I didn't want to but it just came. I mean, did they want that to happen? Did they do that on purpose? Because honestly, I know Jennifer has some things to say to Frankie, but having Frankie at the hospital on this day is pretty tacky. They must know that, right? That's so obvious, right? I'm really tired of the Jack + Frankie = Best Friends Forever routine, nobody buys it, they didn't pull it off in the paltry screentime given them, so why have Jack ask Frankie to be there? It was a bad idea to start this triangle after Jack crashed the wedding and it was an inexcusable idea to continue it after Jack came home from the hospital. It mandates these really ridiculous situations, in which Frankie happily munches sandwiches with his wife and her other husband, in which Jennifer guiltlessly kisses Frankie in front of Jack and guiltlessly calls Jack the love of her life to Frankie's face, in which Jack asks Frankie to be there and not not Abby, not Steve, not Jo. Frankie! They didn't intend to make Frankie look this way, I don't think, but it does make him come off as the third wheel. Maybe Jack asked him as a way to diffuse awkwardness ... But moreover I cannot believe that the hospital would allow Frankie to be there considering he is not family. Is it allowed if Jack asks him to be there? Can they do that? And if so, why did Dr. Berman ask Frankie to come inside Jack's room? Shouldn't Jack be the only one who can?
• A puzzling greeting. I'm going way overboard in my interpretations here but I don't know how to read Jennifer's "Hi" to Frankie ... is it "Ahh, you again, relief" or "Augh, you again, leave us be"? I think you could make it go either way depending on which guy you're rooting for. Maybe it's just, "Aahh, I keep realizing that having two husbands is not shaping up to be the swingin' time I had in mind" ...
• Same old song. Jennifer must've spent some time in the music business, she sure picked up on the fact that summer is the time to hit the waves with the same trite chorus over and over again ad nauseum. "Jack is the love of my life, but I love Frankie too. Jack is the love of my life, but I love Frankie too. Jack is the love of my life, but I love Frankie too." Surely she has something new to add to the equation by now? Problems won't solve themselves, and she has quite the problem on her hands.
• Why? What is the ostensible point of dragging out the results of Jack's tests? They leave in two weeks, they've been off screen for ten days. This is the best use of the remaining time?
  Edit: Wait, I just thought of a reason.
• Family connections. Why doesn't Jack say anything about Stephanie? Even when she finally comes up in conversation?
• Nurse or wife? I wish that there was a bit more of the selfish in Jennifer's asking to take Jack home. I wish she wanted to take Jack home not just because she is worried about his health but also in part because she just wants to be with him. I miss the Jennifer who just wanted to be around Jack no matter what he was doing. There was this line back in the scene where they find the Toscano key in Steve's house where Jack is denying an attraction between them and Jennifer looks right at him, tears in her eyes, and asks, "Do you just not want to be near me any more, Jack?" And your heart breaks in that moment because of how sheerly unadulterated her wish to just "be near" Jack is. I want that back. I know the situation is a lot messier now, but the time for the complications was a month ago. With just two weeks left we deserve the magic now.
• Thorns on the rosebushes. While overall I loved the bickering, there were a few things that raised an eyebrow. Jack's "NOW look what you've done" line, I think it didn't come off right. Partly because it is not in recent viewers' memory that Jennifer would often bumble in on Jack's operations. And even for those of us who remember, it hasn't happened lately, so it felt like it came back too easily to Jack. I also don't know how I feel about the "I feel alive" stuff either, it should a fairly big revelation in Jack's ordeals, given how long he's been sick, but when that line came it didn't feel like enough of a Moment. Just an excuse for him to pursue involvement in the story.

Odds and Ends

• Fashion forward ... almost. Hurrah for Jack's dress shirt! Nice collar, stiff collar, gooooood collar. But Jennifer, oh Jennifer, that dress ... what did she do, raid a Fran Drescher garage sale? Can't help it, though, like the hair. The bangs are adorable.
• Cue dramatic music! Did anyone else think that the phone call was a bit underwhelming? I mean, here's this sudden shift in the focus of their screentime, a totally random happenstance from the characters' point of view, and we didn't even get one of those musical Dunn DUNNs?! This is one of the rare times a Dunn DUNN is actually called for!
• Write it down? Write what down? Did the deep throat really say anything Jack needed to pull out a pencil and paper for?
• E for effort Why does Jennifer just stand there telling Jack not to walk out the door when she can just up and follow him? That line could've worked if there had been a recent pattern of Jack running off against Jennifer's pleas of caution, but there hasn't been. I was almost able to enjoy the seemingly classic Jennifer-ness of it, but no cigar.
• It's only a paper moon ... Why is it that all the one-off sets these days look so like sets? And not locations? I remember the factory scene from back when, where Jack gets beat up by the thugs looking for the diary pages, and I so believed that was actually a factory, whereas I look at this warehouse and all I think is "television set". I can't quite place why that is.
• One obviously positioned clue, coming right up. Couldn't they have made the photograph of the gun be fluttering on the floor somewhere? Because that's the only way I can buy them not seeing that the darn thing was there the whole time. It would be so easy! Just put it on the floor! And have them find it there! What's so hard about that?

Overall, it's clear they're throwing J/J fans a bone, but some of it actually worked. Outlook's pretty poor for a good storyline, but we've been surviving on just moments for years anyway, let's hope we get a few good moments in before curtain.