STATE OF THE #SHEA Part 3: "Love" and The Ultimatum (Plus a "Mutations" Wish List)

Don’t you love the simple, often dual-purpose titles of TGD episodes? “Apple”… “Empathy”… “Take My Hand”… About the only title I really didn’t like was “Burnt Food” (the pilot episode for the series). I know why it had that name; I just thought it was a somewhat unappealing first impression. Shows what I know; people obviously tuned in everywhere anyway! But I digress…

Here’s what I liked about Shaun and Carly’s closing scene in “Fractured”… and yeah, despite the overall theme of it, a few minutes in the company of TGD direction and production are almost always going to be highly worthwhile:

+     Over the 6-week hiatus, I re-watched the entire series. One of the interesting things I discovered was that the character of Carly was actually introduced ahead of the character of Lea; in fact, she was introduced to Shaun in exactly the way Carly described it last week. Shaun brought something to the lab that needed a rush job (leave it to Shaun to recall exactly what that “something” was 2 ½ years later!)… Carly initially told him they’d get to it when they get to it because they’re very busy, and then Shaun had a brief flashback to a time with Steve—this was the episode where they were trying to raise money for themselves by telling people about a (non-existent) school trip to Mt. Rushmore—and the flashback ended with Shaun and Steve throwing a rock through a man’s window, then running like hell. This memory is what prompted modern-day Shaun to tell Carly if she didn’t tend to his sample right away, he’d throw a rock through her (pathology lab) window. She looked momentarily taken aback, then chuckled and said something like “Well! We can’t have that, can we?” and then fulfilled his request. (For those keeping score, Lea’s debut episode came the following week.) ANYWAY, hearing this recollection in “Fractured” pleased me because I’ve seen times in scripted shows where backstories and events are described as if viewers should recall them… but we can’t, because they never happened. Ugh!

+      Something I did NOT like: Carly telling Shaun “You told the truth… and that’s a good thing!” in reference to him telling her the truth about what happened in Wyoming with Lea. It was incredibly patronizing… like praising a child caught in a tough situation. But, arguably, that’s one of the flaws in this relationship. (What would LEA say if the roles were reversed? Something along the lines of “I’m glad you told me the truth.” Period.)

+      What I liked, relatively speaking: Carly’s request of Shaun to move out and leave Lea behind (which was pretty much the only part of “Fractured” that I called correctly). Why? Because like the “Friends & Family” episode in its entirety, it contributes to momentum building towards this triangle’s climax. Do we want to see him and Lea living apart? Hell no. But Lea appears to need her eyes opened. THIS—sad as it will be if fully executed—might be the only way to do it short of Shaun completely losing his mind and asking her to help him pick a ring for Carly. (Don’t worry; I went there because it’s not. Going. To. Happen.)

+      What I also liked, relatively speaking: the way Carly made her request. She wasn’t super-dramatic about it, and she seemed to be willing to give him time to think about it, acknowledging it should not be a snap decision. I suppose it could be more of a calculated strategy on her part, but she’s not aware of Shaun’s “everyone’s going to leave me” talk with Glassman. I guess I just don’t think her claws are fully extended… yet. (Let’s re-evaluate that statement by the February episodes, shall we?)

+     What I had very mixed emotions about: the hand grab. From a storytelling perspective, it was pure gold… he’d made a big decision in that moment, and given his and Carly’s long and twisted road to just this one physical sign of affection, it was what he needed to do to convey the seriousness of his next words to her. (The “mixed” part of my emotions, of course, was the same part that wanted the scene to end with her walking away… him going home… and saying “Carly wants me to move out, Lea,” and see where things went from there. But the drama gets better when the stakes get higher, so there ya go.)

+     Which brings me to “I love you, Carly.” Did you see that coming in that moment? (I didn’t.) Were you more than a little deflated by it all? (I certainly was.) But now that it’s been a few days, I’ve… processed it better. And the main reason for that is what happened in the final seconds, right after he said it: Carly giggled, as if to say “Oh, how cute!”, then went in for a… very tepid hug. (I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall as the director steered this scene.) We know physical affection has been challenging for them, but we all know Shaun can now totally give (and sort of receive) a hug under the right circumstances, and of course they’re capable of a kiss (though… I know I’m biased, but… all the kisses they’ve delivered this season still can’t equate to the feeling delivered in just those TWO kisses with Lea from season 1. Something to talk about another time…)

+      I say all this to say to YOU (and not the #Sharly fans, many of whom seem so blinded by the love words they are under the impression that Carly has professed her love as well—she hasn’t) because I don’t think even Carly believes he loves her. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe it’s because, deep down, she’s thinking Well, he’s autistic so he’s not really getting what love is yet, but that’s okay. Maybe it’s more Uh-oh, I’m nowhere near ready to say the L-word to this guy. Maybe it’s OK, I don’t believe it but I’ll take it if it means he’s ditching Lea. Maybe it’s a little of all three. But she sure as hell didn’t react like a woman who was thrilled to hear those words. Oh, and while Shaun’s facial reaction to anything is difficult to read? I saw at least one review of  “Fractured” that interpreted it as Shaun looking like he already regretted saying it (before the scene was over). I’ll allow that there was probably a lot of relief for him in that moment as well, for he thinks this bump in the road of love is over. Heh. You might want to buckle up, Shaunie.

The 1/20 episode, “Mutations” (see? They’ve done the double-meaning title again, since Shaun’s living situation is reportedly about to C H A N G E…) is written by Liz Friedman and Tracy Taylor, who also worked together to bring us the “Claire” episode from earlier this year. Friedman has also collaborated on several other TGD scripts, but perhaps most notably was the scribe behind season 2’s “Carrots”—the episode that started with Lea rebuffing Shaun’s suggestion they move in together, and ended with them jumping around squealing “We’re gonna be ROOMMATES! It has a fireplace!!!” etc. And I must admit, that gives me a little added boost of hope as to what we might see this time around. Here’s my wish list for “Mutations” (keeping my expectations kind of low):

1)   As much of Shaun and Lea discussing the movin’ out situation as time allows. Assuming they open the show with such a scene, we know it’s going to run less than 2 minutes and then Shaun’s gonna say “I have to go to work” somewhere in there. If I were writing it with that under 2 minutes goal in mind, I’d start it about five seconds after Shaun breaks the news over breakfast. And I’d end it with a decent amount of time on Lea—enough for us to know, once he goes out that door, that she’s seriously shaken by his news. (I’d say “she was shook”, but my teenage kids will come across this post and make fun of me for trying to sound like a hipster or something.)

2)   At least two doses of Glassman: one with Lea (that will, I pray, start to tip towards revelatory regarding Lea’s possible feelings), and one with Shaun. In that order. I think. But I’m not sure. Probably doesn’t matter. (Considering they’ve never really spoken, I’d like to see him engage Carly in a little chat too… but first, I’d rather see…)

  

3)   Carly and Lea have a little chat. Presumably they’ve at least met a time or two offscreen by now. But considering the sneak peek some of you may have seen from “Mutations”—the one where Shaun and Carly are “working towards intimacy” again, but this time have taken things all the way under the covers—it looks to me like the scene might be taking place in Shaun’s bedroom of the #Shea Shack. If that’s the case, I’ve gotta wonder if Lea’s anywhere around. With earbuds in. Wishing she had a sick friend she could go visit… But I’m probably getting ahead of myself with this entire wish.

4)   Oh, and since the concluding scenes are perhaps the most critical these days on TGD, my biggest wish is that Lea is somewhere in said scene. If not seen or heard from directly, then at least spoken of.

By the way, I realize I haven’t said word one about the “medicine brought them together…will medicine drive them apart??” question posed during all the promos of late. We know that whatever the Argument-of-the-Week proves to be as Shaun and Carly work together on Case A, they’re not going to break up over it. But let’s see what additional lessons can be learned for the #Sharly file.