State of the #SHEA part 14: That's Great, The Season Finale Starts With an Earthquake

(Apologies to R.E.M. And to Talking Heads for the last post title. I’ll try not to make lyrics-as-headings a habit, but this one was… well… Simply Irresistible.)

(With additional apologies now to the late great Robert Palmer.)

(OK, NOW I’ll stop.)

The more the #Shea arc built over these past few episodes of TGD, the more apparent it became that it was going to take something drastic to get Shaun and Lea onto a more positive track. When Jasika Nicole (Carly) said something in an interview several weeks back describing the season finale as “mindblowing,” I started brainstorming (which sounds a little like “mindblowing” but isn’t at all). And in the notes section of my phone I had a note that read:

“Seven words: Shaun and Lea get stuck in the elevator”

Actually, I was thinking the “mindblowing” season finale of which Ms. Nicole spoke involved some sort of massive power outage affecting San Jose (and St. Bonaventure) in countless ways, including THE elevator—the one that provided the setting for a couple of awkward or difficult exchanges in S3—heading for a doozy of difficulty if Shaun and Lea were trapped inside it… with nothing between them except some extremely painful recent moments… a whole lot of time… and every consequence (general fear, claustrophobia, anything additionally triggering for Shaun) the situation might allow.

BUT, hospitals have backup generators, and “stuck” elevators may be the exciting plot devices they once were, and, well, suffice to say I like the earthquake idea a whole lot better.

Metaphorically speaking, it’s rather perfect for Shaun and Lea. Their relationship, on the surface, is in tatters. A chance at a romance beyond their early, flirtatious days failed to launch thus far; their enduring friendship feels downright irreparable after the “Heartbreak” episode two weeks back. How could they make amends after all that? Should they make amends without some sort of commitment on Shaun’s part to start dealing with his aggressive impulses?

I’m thinking of things in terms of layers. Consider S1 & much of S2 #Shea as the grounding layer (or “laying the groundwork”, if you prefer). Then Shaun glides past Lea at the end of S2, asks Carly on that date, and for the first half of S3 Shaun builds layers on his love life by way of his budding romance with Carly… only to have it all pinpricked by Lea’s “Friends & Family” consoling (and selfless, and necessary) embrace, leaving us to muse at the possibility that Shaun and Carly’s foundation was anything but solid.

By the end of “Fractured” (3.11), Shaun was committed to building something stronger with Carly. But by the end of “Unsaid” (3.15), Carly was committed to getting out of the relationship. Shaun’s love life layers still existed, but at that point they were bruised and dented and unsteady. None of that really mattered when it came to Shaun admitting his love for Lea—we all knew it was there long before he did—but with her complicated-yet-simple reasons for declining a romantic relationship out in the open by the end of “Autopsy” (3.16), her own battered love life layers now co-mingled with Shaun’s. And, consequently, there was nothing but trouble going forward.

Watch the end of “Fixation” (3.17), and you see Lea fusing her “layers” into something fierce enough to finally drive Shaun away. Watch the end of “Heartbreak” (3.18), and you see Shaun do something similar, but with arguably more painful results.

Enter the earthquake that comprises “Hurt” (3.19) and “I Love You” (3.20), and you’ve got the very ground beneath them shaking all those shoddy love layers into rubble. And—oh, I just thought of this!—there’s even something metaphorically lovely in there about a fault line (where “fault” may fall between Shaun and Lea, perhaps?)… but I bet one of my trusty COMMENTERS can work on that-!

Anyway, my most expected hopes to come from this two-part finale are 1) Shaun, and especially Lea, to come to some sort of reconciliation…even if it’s the kind only borne of a life-threatening situation “making two people question what really matters to them,” as Paige Spara (Lea) said in this TV Insider preview of “Hurt”… (Andreas, this is your cue to remind us via the comments what the technical term is for this!) 

And 2), as an extension of any such reconciliation… #Shea 2.0. Layers building anew. A fresh start. Much of what we loved about #Shea 1.0, but a little older, a little wiser, and a lot of dedication to figuring out what each needs from the other and how to get it.

What about a “Hurt” wish list? Well, let’s start with what most of us have learned so far, via promotional materials and preview articles:

1)  A major earthquake strikes San Jose; it appears most principle cast members are either at St. B’s (Lim, Park, Morgan, Claire, Shaun) or at a fundraiser at a local brewpub (Glassman, Lea, Melendez) when it hits.

2) {Note from me: Ah, clever writers, taking the two most prominent (potential) couples of the show and splitting their locations…}

3) Lim assembles a team of doctors that’s been assigned to go directly to one of the hardest-hit locations—the aforementioned brewpub—and assist in search-and-rescue efforts. While gathering the St. B staff to make

this announcement, Claire notes that Glassman and Melendez were guests at the brewpub that night.

4)  Glassman is the only one we see escaping the brewpub early on. Lim asks him to return to the hospital (where surgeons are in short supply). On his way out, he sees Shaun and informs him that Lea was in the building along with him and Melendez.

 5)  When Glassman can’t account for her current whereabouts, Shaun heads on into the building, determined to find her on his own.

6)   Additionally, by seeing the CTV (Canadian) promo and/or reading the list of guest stars in “Hurt,” we’ve learned that Shaun gets a visit during the search-and-rescue from brother Steve (played by Dylan Kingwell). The last time long-departed Steve “visited” Shaun was before and during Shaun’s first lead surgery (later aborted) in “First Case, Second Base” (3.5).

So that’s what we know. Here’s what I’d like to know by the end of TGD season finale pt.1:

1)   What’s the timespan on the show between the parking garage scene in “Heartbreak” and the start of “Hurt”? Typically it doesn’t seem to be much more than a handful of days between TGD episodes in general (at most), but the fact that Morgan is seen in all of the “Hurt” promos with bandages on her hands—

presumably from that risky surgery that Glassman urged her to reconsider last episode—I was curious if a little more time had passed than usual.

2)   The timespan question is there because I want to know if Shaun has told Glassman (or anyone else) what he almost did to Lea’s car. If Glassman knows, perhaps he has re-planted the idea of Shaun benefiting from some sort of therapy prior to the evening of the earthquake. If Shaun has told someone else (Claire, Park), maybe one of them brings up the idea and it has a better chance of “sticking” than it would coming from Glassman. It might be especially meaningful coming from Park, who was there when Shaun’s lack of impulse control got himself arrested (“Autopsy,” 3.16).

3)    How are Shaun and Lea doing, individually, prior to the earthquake? Is Shaun showing signs of remorse? Has he returned to his more genial self at St. B? Does Lea show any visible signs of her own heartbreak? Have they successfully steered clear of each other? Is there any chance Shaun *has* to steer clear of Lea because she got a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) after the parking garage incident? It seems unlikely, but hey, it also seems justified…

4)   Are we privy to any conversation, pre-earthquake, between Lea and Glassman? I know I keep asking for this and not getting it, but at least this time we’re certain they are in the same location in the same episode… what I’m wondering now, I suppose, goes back to the question of Glassy knowing about Shaun’s baseball bat moment and if/how he discusses any of that with Lea. Would he try to explain it away? How much concern does he have for Lea’s well-being coming out of that situation? (My guess is that we won’t really find out, as it will all get pushed aside when the tremors begin.)

5)   What is Shaun’s new encounter with GhostSteve about? “You’re not her hero,” Steve advises him in the CTV promo. Which is exactly what Shaun does NOT want to hear when he’s halfway through the demolished basement of a strange building, looking for one of the most important people in his life… so… what the hell, GhostSteve?? (I’m sure it’s all for a good reason, but still...)

6)   Does Shaun actually find Lea and/or bring her to safety in this episode? My guess is no, due to all sorts of obstacle potential (including his responsibility to care for any other victims he encounters along the way). In fact, some of us have noted that the shot of Lea now included in the ABC promo looks like it could be her sitting on the tailgate of an ambulance… could it be that she gets out, either on her own or with assistance, while Shaun’s still deep into the crumbling structure looking for her?

7)   And if so, what happens when she realizes Shaun is

still in there? (I want her to go in after him if that happens. Just putting that out there now.)

8)   And exactly when should we expect those dreaded aftershocks to jumble everything up? (Answer: the moment we think we’ve got this episode figured out. Of course!)

9)   Finally… how will this latest preview (featuring intriguing-if-not-all-that-revealing quotes from showrunner David Shore) go down after we’ve taken in part one of this two-course entrée?

So hold on to something this week, #Shea shippers… looks like everything we’ve watched these two deal with these past few months was merely a warm-up for the intense-a-fest starting this Monday night.

Don’t forget to jump into the comments and/or tag me on Twitter @KLBSt8ofSk8) with your own thoughts about the “Hurt” to come!