Saturday, April 17, 2021

Watching the Detectives, #SHEA Style


 

The three-week wait for “Gender Reveal” is almost over, #Shea fans! 


What have you done this month in the meantime? Anything fun, anything noteworthy? Go include it when you leave a comment, if you’re so inclined. Noteworthy or not, here are my contributions:

  • Accompanied my daughter on two college campus tours

  • Got immunized part 1! (Pfizer, minimal side effects, 2nd shot next month)

  • Picked up my son (already a Purdue student) for a brief stay at home since they are not getting a regular spring break this year (Thanks, COVID)

  • Baked an apple pie from scratch for said son, since his birthday was this past Monday and he prefers pie to cake

  • Went skating again, though I didn’t get as much accomplished as I hoped. (I only posted it to Facebook this time; look me up @ Kelli Lawrence-Bordenkecher)

  • Signed up to audition this weekend for a play at a very small theater in my area; first time doing that since the pandemic hit. Unless I get into the show, this “noteworthy” event never happened, okay?πŸ˜‰


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So we’re excited about Gender Reveal… we find out boy or girl, we get pregnancy progress, we get a #Shea kiss (!!) in what appears to be a more lighthearted episode than we’ve seen in a while (whew).


Coincidentally or not, 4.15 is called “Waiting”... which describes #Shea fans’ most common activity as this last arc reveals itself oh-so-slowly. Good Housekeeping even did a little article devoted to the TGD wait, but it was just filler-- all Tweets from fans (were you among them?), and nothing from any TGD showrunners.


Certain thoughts linger in the back of our minds during the waiting…


  • What will trigger the Shaun “meltdown” that we feel is certain to come yet this season? Season four has only brought relatively minor ones, such as his rant in Glassman’s front yard during “Frontline Pt.2,” and his crisis of confidence during “Teeny Blue Eyes” (after his patient/fellow autistic doctor chewed him out and prompted him to question his ability to parent a child). I think we’re all a little afraid his inevitable upset will be triggered in some way by Lea’s pregnancy, meaning something heartbreaking may be on the horizon.


  • On the other hand, will we be treated to any more “light moments” after 4.14? A hormonally horny Lea? Shaun recoiling in disgust from her sudden pickle cravings? (hopefully not in the same episode, though that would be our luck, huh?) Will we see them shopping for cribs… or at least putting one together in Lea’s old bedroom? Will we be privy this season to whatever decor/theme is decided for the nursery?


  • Will there still be a Road Trip this season?


  • Will there be a place for the “traditional” karaoke scene this season?


  • How far will the storyline advance in the final arc-- will Lea deliver BabyShea by season’s end?


  • And hey, what about that “hospital fundraiser” that had Lim scouting locales back in early January? Are we supposed to have forgotten it by now, or is it still to happen? (Sadly, I suspect the former… and that Shaun and Lea’s attempt at dancing in the apartment during “Spilled Milk” is as close as we’ll get this season.)




Whatever comes at us in the remaining weeks/months, we all know that the final arc usually carries the highest-caliber drama where Freddie Highmore/Shaun is concerned. Since the “we” I speak of covers a lot more readers than I had at this time last year (thank you very much!!), I feel the need to display here what the fabulous women behind SheaEndgame created and have pinned to the top of their Twitter account:


"As a fan page we will respect the hard work the writers, actors and crew are making to create a great finale so we won't be posting anything that can be considered a spoiler. We don't care about the "likes" or have the first-hand information... we want to respect the production and also the fans that don't like spoilers. We are saying this because we are sure that information will be leaked... so please let's create a great environment to enjoy what is coming, but also have something to be thrilled about when the episodes air. It's up to us."


My adaptation of this for State of the #SHEA: Please continue to speculate to your heart’s content in the comments, but-- just as I’m editing my own content to steer clear of any spoilers I pick up along the way-- I ask that you do the same. 


What AM I considering spoilers? Definitive plot developments: the fate of the baby, a major change in #Shea such as a proposal or a breakup, news that an actor is leaving the show (unless it’s already been announced by a reputable publication). Also there’s at least one blog out there that has been known to post things like scene rundowns from future shows… while not all that stuff is outright spoiler-iffic, I may delete a comment that comes too close to the line. Fair enough? 


And while the sex of the baby doesn’t quite rank as a plot development per se, let’s try to keep that news under wraps too until after Monday’s episode. How might you find that out in advance? More on that later...


What ARE NOT spoilers in my book? Episode titles, synopses, published guest star lists. Even if an episode title is unofficial (hasn’t yet been released by ABC), it’s OK with me, especially with hints often coming from the scripts/social media accounts of the actors/writers themselves. And general hints about upcoming scenes/episodes-- like the ones I’ll be discussing shortly-- are OK too.


Again, speculation about upcoming possibilities is great! Dropping information ahead of its time-- not so much. 


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Speaking of speculation and information...

WHAT DO WE KNOW AT THIS POINT?


4.14 “Gender Reveal” comes at us Monday; directed by Tim Southam & written by Debbie Ezer (who co-wrote “Fixation” last year).


4.15 “Waiting” is slated for 4/26 and is directed by Gary Hawes (last sat in the director’s chair for “The Uncertainty Principle”) and has a script attributed to David Hoselton and David Shore (teleplay) and Oren Gottfried (story). The official synopsis references no characters from the show; it simply states “After a political protest turns violent, the team races to save two young gunshot victims.” I presume, then that “Waiting” involves the on-location protest scenes that we discussed here previously (in the comments I think).




It would appear, based on several “Waiting” photos showing Lea in a large holding area alongside very distressed-looking co-stars of the week, that the episode title is mostly about the agonizing time during which loved ones await the fate of those receiving emergency care (gunshot victims, in this case). Why is Lea there with them when her “loved one” is busy trying to save lives? Don’t know yet. But since everything is done with a purpose on TGD, I know I want to pay close attention to whatever gets said (or remains unsaid) during those scenes. Especially since both the co-stars of the week I mentioned are women.


Promo pics have been released for both episodes but as I write this, no sneak previews are out yet for “Gender”... those tend to drop Sunday and/or Monday depending on how generous ABC is feeling (maybe more generous this week due to the longer wait?)


As for the CTV promo for “Gender Reveal”... I haven’t seen it yet. Apparently some have, AND THEY ARE SAYING THE GENDER OF THE #SHEABABY IS STATED WITHIN THE CTV PROMO… so if you want to try and wait until Monday to watch and find out when Shaun and Lea do, BEWARE!


*** And if you DO watch the CTV promo, again, PLEASE avoid discussing spoilers in the comments.***


The airdates for the five episodes beyond “Waiting” haven’t been announced yet. Episode titles I’ve heard (unofficially) include “Letting Go” and “Forgive or Forget”. The latter was seen on a script held by Sheila Kelly in her IG post; it looks like it was for 4.18. It also looks like Thomas L. Moran, who I tend to think of as one of the #Shea specialists, co-wrote that one with one of the Davids (I’m guessing Renaud since Hoselton is involved with the “Waiting” script).


We also know that somewhere along the way, Lea is going to be hospitalized (temporarily, we assume) because Paige Spara posted shots of "Lea" in a hospital gown--posing with some of the other great women of TGD-- on her IG page a few weeks ago. I say "temporarily, we assume" because it seems very unlikely that she would share a major spoiler of her own (e.g. Lea and/or the baby are in jeopardy). Maybe it's for 4.16? 4.17?


And finally, we’ve been blessed with the awareness (via the “What’s Filming” account on Twitter) that TGD spent a LOT of time this past week shooting scenes in the 220-acre Central Park, located on the Vancouver-Burnaby border. And since we are further blessed with reader Pamela-- a Vancouver-based #Shea fan who has “stalked” on-location TGD shoots before-- we get to know a little bit more about this week’s efforts… 


  • The Striped Tomato was in attendance (meaning at least
    some of what they shot there was #Shea-related). And a photo that circulated on Twitter earlier this week seemed to indicate one of the locations was made to look like a campsite. Given that one of Lea’s “likes” (according to the “Fault” episode) was camping, perhaps this will turn out to be that Road Trip 4.0 I mentioned earlier? At least, sort of? (Though having done a lot of camping myself, I shudder at the thought of trying to sleep comfortably in a tent during the second or third trimester of pregnancy!)


  • When Pamela got there on day 2 of the shoot, it was just in time to see Freddie and Paige arrive for shooting: “I saw Paige first in Lea's camp clothes as she waited for Freddie to join her before they walked together through the trail to the forest set. Very nonchalantly just the 2 of them amongst regular people also walking through the trails… They were talking to each other the whole walk to set. Easy to see that they get along so well.”


  • Pamela continues: “About 15 minutes later Paige came back with a crew member and she retrieved a drink from one of the food trucks.  A bit surprised by this as she could have easily just asked a crew person to get the drink and bring it back to the set for her. Obviously not a diva which is awesome to see!!!  I'm glad she did get her own drink because this time I could clearly see a baby bump. Definitely nowhere near full-term size, but maybe 5-7 months… “


  • “I am truly amazed at the hugeness of this TV show. From taking over 2 different parking lots (the other lot contained all the cars from crew members and mobile trailers for cast/makeup/hair), the vast amount of equipment all over the park especially at the big campsite set to the dozens upon dozens of people prepping and manning the sets, the circus area and filming itself.  They clearly have the $ to fund such an enormous location shoot.” 


So as you might guess, “which episode?” was another big question surrounding the Central Park shoot. Pamela received an indication that at least ONE scene was for episode 18… the “Forgive or Forget” one. But there were multiple shoots taking place for TGD over the course of three or four days, not all of which involved Shaun and Lea. Pamela thinks the showrunners were taking advantage of a long stretch of great Vancouver weather, which leads me to speculate that they may have been shooting out of sequence (meaning, shooting for earlier or later episodes than the one on which they were primarily focused).


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Finally… while I had room for it, I wanted to include some of the ever-interesting comments and observations that you guys have made over the course of the past few pregnancy-themed episodes! 


From Syl, regarding “Teeny Blue Eyes”: 

How the hell was Shaun able to not say anything about the pregnancy to others?! (I'm partly joking but it's also a real question!) It was on his mind all day, but he managed to keep it to himself, even hiding his notebook. He also stopped himself from blurting it out to Claire. Even though he has learnt to restrain himself, it's surprising to me. I thought that he would at least ask questions to a few people apart from Glassman.



I wondered about this too, especially since it happened at least once before. Obviously during “Teeny” we were still able to see the wheels turning via Shaun’s notebook and his visualized list of “reasons to have a baby.” But the only person he shared the pregnancy news with directly was Glassman. All of this reminded me of when Carly broke up with him last season… early in the “Autopsy episode, when Shaun revealed in front of Park and (I think) Melendez that he and Carly had broken up, I think Park’s the one who replied with “I thought things were going well with you two,” to which Shaun said “They were… until they weren’t.” Which was accurate enough, but kept him from divulging the whole “She says I have to tell Lea I love her” thing. Even in the scene that had Park trying desperately to pull Shaun away from the man’s car, thinking Shaun’s actions were driven by anger towards Carly… Shaun still only snapped back “It’s not about Carly!” rather than blurt out anything about Lea. In both cases, he wasn’t suddenly being dishonest but was instead keeping some sort of filter on his thoughts… seemingly uncharacteristically. Was TGD staying true to Shaun’s ASD tendencies in these cases? I asked Andeas. Here, in part, was his response: 



While autistic individuals like to stick to the truth, they don’t necessarily blurt out every though at once either, at least in the high-functioning section of the spectrum.


The key to the writers’ decision to have Shaun be more secretive about Lea’s pregnancy might very well be that other incident (in which) he acted uncharacteristically (breakup with Carly), and I might add his father’s death, which he did not discuss much with his peers as well. These are obviously issues that even Shaun regards as something to deal with more privately...


So, it is probably safe to say that the writers discern between minor and major events in Shaun’s life, for which they decided that the latter are something he deals with his trusted inner circle, namely Glassman, Lea and Claire.


--

From Daniela regarding “Teeny Blue Eyes”:

 I have to confess that I didn’t understand the reference to Shaun’s family of origin as a problem to consider. Is he supposed to think twice before having a child because he had a bad family the first time? I hope it’s not some sort of foreshadowing from the writers, maybe about the possible return of Shaun’s mother, as some fans have anticipated. As far as I’m concerned, she definitely lost her mom’s card the moment she decided to give up on her children and it wouldn’t be enjoyable (at least for me) to see her paying a visit and maybe reclaiming her grandparenting rights. DNA is a small detail in the grand scheme of things. It would be drama for sure, but not the kind I like.


From Andreas, regarding the likelihood of Shaun’s mom trying to re-enter his life:

In the matter of Shaun’s mom, I would like submit that the show out of nowhere introduced Claire’s father just in the moment she had finally gotten closure on her mother.


Since Claire and Shaun’s story arcs mirror each other I see the return of Shaun’s mother as a real possibility in the remaining episodes. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how Claire and her father proceed and if the ill fate of biological parents in this Shore-verse continues… 😬


Something I wanted to add here: since presumably, the only way Shaun’s mom would get word of the baby is if Glassman told her… does anyone think he may feel compelled to do exactly that, perhaps due to his ongoing battle with the parenting demons? Or did he learn his lesson after Shaun’s ill-advised final minutes with his dad (ill-advised by Glassman himself)?


From Syl, regarding Shaun and Lea’s “connection” discussion in “Spilled Milk”:  

Something that bothers me: Lea keeps saying she's scared, but I wish we would see her expand on that and particularly say clearly to Shaun the things that make her scared the most. Shaun didn't seem to remember that Lea said she was scared in "Teeny..." as she had to repeat in this episode "I'm scared too", and Shaun's "what are you scared of?" makes it seem like they barely talked about their feelings regarding the pregnancy, which is odd given that they both are normally honest with each other.--Syl


For me, the mentions of being scared were in two different contexts in two different episodes. Back in “Teeny,” Lea’s fears pertained to having the baby at all. By the time fears were getting discussed in “Spilled,” they’d moved on to the reality of an ASD father-to-be struggling to connect with both his partner and the child she’s carrying. 


Still, perhaps it would have been better if both sets of scriptwriters from the two episodes had sat down together and worked on ways to keep conversations from even hinting at being a retread from another part of the pregnancy timeline…


From Mo, regarding “Spilled Milk”:

Lea was being so patient and tried so hard despite feeling like crap to give Shaun a connection with their baby which Shaun called a fetus despite Lea asking Shaun not to and Lea finally snapped, At that point, I threw my slipper at my TV hitting Shaun between the eyes as believe me I am a good shot


This just made me laugh and laugh… so thanks, Mo! 


Finally… from Tony, responding to the larger part of Mo’s post about “Spilled Milk”:

Thanks, Mo, for reinforcing the question of "do the fans give Shaun too much slack?" that was highlighted on this blog not too long ago. I asked myself: if the exact dialogue of the two Shea conflict scenes in this episode were between Morgan and Park, or Claire and anyone, would people be calling out the woman? I think not!


OK. Thanks for giving me so much to work with, y’all! 


I’ll be back as soon as I can after “Gender Reveal” airs!




8 comments:

Pamela said...

Thanks for another wonderful writeup Kelli. I know I've shared my appreciation for your blog privately but I just wanted to say publicly that this is the only place in social media where I feel comfortable commenting publicly so thanks again for creating and maintaining State of the Shea. Thank you also to your readers and those of you who regularly leave your comments here. I heartily enjoy everyone's feedback and insights regarding Shea.

During this latest hiatus, I was more relaxed about Shea than I was during that period between Parenting and Salad so I've readily caught up on all the wonderful content brought to us by what I call the Shea-superfans out there:

SheaEndgame with their beautiful posts and edits, their timely almost always first to post promo shots, and their enthusiasm and excitement in sharing their content and comments. Who can't relate to "OMG OMG OMG OMG. DEAD" when finally seeing a new Shea kiss???!!

Sheree-Lynn Blizzard- I hope you read this: your videos are simply stunning, gorgeous. I am amazed at the proficiency with which you create all these beautiful Shea videos. The way you capture the emotions to match the lyrics is breathtaking. You have literally made me cry with your latest works of art. I just saw that you created 2 videos in one day. Just when I thought you couldn't outdo your most recent beauties-I just love "Willow" and "Never Leave Your Side", you absolutely blew me away with the Shania Twain one. It had me sobbing as it was me and my husband's love song during our dating phase. With Shea on the verge of parenthood, I am sure you will continue to bless us with more Shea videos and I am here for it!!!

We Shea fans sure are blessed with all these creators, from Kelli and the two I listed here to some recent Shea video creators I've seen on YouTube. It's wonderful to see this fandom increasing and being more vocal out there in support of our beloved couple.

Syl said...

First, thank you Pamela for this precious scout work and the photos! And thank you Kelli for relaying all these information in your blog for us. I'm very grateful to both of you. It's great to have these tidbits of information as they contribute to the funny guessing game of what might happen in future episodes and they also give us a quick overview of behind-the-scenes moments.
And thank you for mentioning that Paige wore the fake baby bump for the shooting, because even if I couldn't believe that TPTB would have Lea lose the baby in 4.16 (because of Lea apparently being hospitalized), it's nice to have a confirmation that she's still pregnant after that episode!

I love that we'll get to see the red-striped-tomato again, even if it could be brief. It seems another meaningful, and hopefully joyful, moment will be tied to the use of the car.
It's possible that the shooting on this site was for multiple episodes, but as they have to plan where to shoot weeks in advance, I don't think they really can decide in the last few days based on the weather forecast. Also, don't they have to get a sort of approval from the municipality? But I really don't know much about how a shooting schedule works so maybe they can decide or change quickly where to shoot...
In any case, I think that it could the road trip of the season, and maybe a sort of Friends and family part 2, possibly involving Shaun's mother. Much time was spent shooting at the park, and a lot of means were devoted to this - as Pamela mentioned, 2 parking spaces were taken over, a lot of equipement, trailers, crew members, etc. - so there will be important scenes for 1 or 2 episodes. Moreover, one of the 2 writers for "Forgive or forget" is Thomas L. Morgan, who wrote "Friends and family"... Debbie will seemingly will have a big role, maybe more in "Forgive or forget", but her storyline could be independent from what is happening at the camping site.
I'm not sure Lea and Shaun will be sleeping in a tent; in a picture we could see a trailer kind of hidden behind trees, so it could be where they are staying. Or, maybe they are visiting someone...I have a crazy thought: what if Shaun's mother, filled with guilt and shame, isolated herself from everyone and went to live in a trailer? It's so far-fetched, but it's just something I thought about after remembering the storyline of Kevin's uncle in This is us who lives in a trailer.

Syl said...

As for "waiting", I'm really looking forward to seeing it. It seems it will be a riveting and emotionally-charged episode, that will have all the doctors working together, and will heavily feature Lea to allow her to reflect on what it means to be responsible of a child and to cope with the fear of them getting. I love that the writers found a smart way to include her in this episode.

I'm a bit anxious about what could happen to Lea and Shaun, even if I've no doubt they will continue to face challenges together as a unit, but I'm especially concerned about the event or situation that could cause Shaun's next meltdown...


As a second part to this comment, I wanted to thank you again Kelli, for including 2 comments of mine, and providing explanations about them. And thank you Andreas for explaining one of them! I can better understand Shaun being secretive about the pregnancy in "Teeny blue eyes". And as for Lea mentioning being scared, I can see the fact that it can be explained by the 2 different contexts so I agree with your point of view.

Lastly, reading Tony's comment which brought up the question of if we gave too much slack to Shaun made me realize I forgot to comment on that in the original post. And as far as I'm concerned, I think I do give too much slack to some extent. When there is a conflict between Lea and Shaun, I'm quick to defend Lea as to me her efforts and growth are not recognized enough by some fans who seem to think she's the only one who has to compromise and always has to support Shaun. I don't hesitate to criticize Shaun, however I think I also sometimes accept Shaun's attitude too easily, or criticize him less harshly than if it had been any other male character on the show. Tony is right, if it had been Morgan and Park having the same conflicts, I know I would have criticized Park very strongly...But it's difficult to know what to think sometimes, as Shaun still has things he needs to learn while in a relationship and his ASD does make it more difficult for him to understand some things right away, emotionally speaking. In any case, I think Lea is lucky to have Shaun in her life, but Shaun surely is also very lucky to have a woman such as Lea in his! As long as they find a common ground, can adapt and grow together, and continue to support each other, I'll continue to be happy supporting them together.

Daniela said...

Thank you, Kelli. Your weekly blog post is the only thing that makes this long hiatus bearable. I won’t stop repeating it.
And thanks to Pamela for the scouting information! It’s a relief to have confirmation that Lea is still pregnant in 4x18. Not that I doubted it, still…
Life has been busy for me too. Mainly, getting angry over a water leak from the apartment upstairs, that’s been bothering us for the last four years. Can you believe it? Four years and no one could fix it! It’s driving me and my husband crazy.
So, if any of you all over the world, knows someone very good at this kind of things, they’re welcome to come here and be my guest in Rome – LOL! As for the rest, as usual, a lot of work (both from home and at the office) and a lot of mom’s stuff. My son is approaching his middle school last year’s finals and I’m helping him studying, while my daughter has been following university classes online, thanks to Covid, so we’re basically all at home. I could certainly have used a break with a new episode of our beloved show. Luckily the waiting is almost over.

Now, back to the important stuff.
Sorry, again this is going to be a long comment.
I agree that ‘Gender Reveal’ will be a lighter episode and the best part of it is that we’ll finally get to know the sex of the baby. But I also think that very hard drama is ahead of us.
Judging by the promo pictures, ‘Waiting’ will be a particularly tough episode. It appears that Shaun and Lea will witness a shooting outside the hospital, and that Lea will be emotionally involved in supporting the moms of the two victims, in the waiting room. So, this story is obviously designed to address the responsibilities and the worries that come with parenthood.
Shaun looks equally distressed in the few pictures of him and Glassman, in Glassman’s office. Now, I don’t think that this will be the trigger of his annual meltdown, but Shaun seems very distraught and agitated, his eyes are reddened and teary. They are discussing the case, because there’s a scan of what looks like a head injury. So, probably one of the victims was shot in the head. Is Shaun upset because the victim is a kid and he’s unable to save them? Is he beginning to understand the pains of a parent?

And then, there’s the still untitled episode 16, where Lea will apparently be hospitalized. Will this episode offer the occasion of an emotional scene between her and Glassman? Syl and I are definitely going to fill a co-signed complaint, if it doesn’t. Could Shaun be stuck in a surgery and Glassy sits with Lea and comfort her? Would Lea bring up Glassy’s role as the baby’s grandad? Would Maddie come up again in their exchange (maybe, as a possible name if it’s a baby girl)? I can definitely picture Lea doing something like that. And what would be Glassman’s reaction in that case? Can his still present sense of guilt affect his judgement? Would he feel unfit or undeserving of such a role in the baby’s life? And, if this were the case, would Lea tell Shaun (obviously, she would), prompting further discussion between him and Glassy? Leas has become such a great facilitator in Shaun’s life, after all. And she’s become much closer to Glassman.
I don’t usually use all these question marks in my comments, but this time I felt compelled to do that. I have a very strong feeling that something like that might actually happen, and I would love it. But I’m usually wrong in my predictions, and it would be too good for me if my wishes came true.
Until now, I was only right about Lea being pregnant (but I was in the good company of all of you in that, so maybe it doesn’t count), and about Shaun not telling everyone about Lea’s pregnancy. Yes, even Shaun sometimes doesn’t wish to overshare, and it’s usually about things that have a deep impact on his feelings. Andreas’ examples are spot on. I also remember another instance (a delated scene from season two) where Shaun was asked by Park if he wished to talk about an argument Shaun had with Lea, and Shaun’s answer was “Not with you”.

Daniela said...

So, my hypothesis about Glassman’s inner turmoil is based on the clues the show has been giving us so far. Clearly, Shaun becoming a father and wanting to be the best father possible, prompt him to look very often for Glassy’s advice in the matter, unintentionally making his surrogate father think a lot about his past mistake as a parent.
So, let’s just combine all these hints: Glassman’s guilt about Maddie, Glassy and Lea becoming closer, Shaun reflecting on becoming a father himself and looking for Glassman’s advice, the baby could be a girl. There’s a lot to work with in this mix.
And then we have ‘Letting Go’ and ‘Forgive or Forget’, that will feature Debbie’s character. So, obviously, Glassy will have an important role in them as well. I think that my guess is at least plausible.
Just to keep fantasizing, ‘Letting Go’ may be the sort of episode where the characters take a breath of fresh air after the past tough experiences of the last two episodes (something like ‘Aftermath’, back in season 2). It may be camping for Lea and Shaun (probably in a camper and not in a tent, considering the pregnancy), something else for Park and Morgan, Claire may spend some time with her father to get to know him.
I would love a family camping with also Debbie and Glassy (and maybe Lea’s parents too). I know this is very unlikely, and just the result of Sheila Kelley liking my comment on Twitter about the grandparents’ reunion πŸ˜‰
‘Forgive or Forget’ may involve Glassy finally forgiving himself, among other things (Claire’s father for sure; Park and Morgan…).
On the other hand, I don’t think we’ll see Shaun’s mother, at this point. There are already enough ingredients in this recipe! And her involvement in a camping scene would not have any sense.
That said, to answer your question, Kelli, I don’t think Glassy would ever tell Shaun’s mother anything about the baby, without Shaun’s consent. Maybe he could address the subject with Shaun, just to let him think about it, but surely without forcing the issue. Not after the Wyoming experience.
And I also don’t think that we’ll get to see the gala. Maybe next season, to celebrate the residency ending!
Okay, that’s all. Now that I’ve shared all my hopes for the upcoming episodes, I’m very ready to be proven wrong as usual πŸ˜‚

Amy D said...

Maybe Shaun and Lea camping is the Shea version of a babymoon?

"Spilled Milk"'s other big story besides Shaun and Lea adjusting to being expectant parents was Claire and her cancer-stricken father, and since they left things with those two with them wanting to try to reconnect, I'm wondering if "Letting Go" and/or "Forgive or Forget" might see Claire's father back, as Claire struggles with how far to let her father into her life, and how long his own life has left.

I don't think Glassman would say anything to Shaun's mother about the baby either. That would be a massive breach of Shaun's trust if he did without talking to Shaun about it first.

Since COVID is still a concern and social distancing is still going on, I don't see the gala happening this season either. Having that many people in one space would be difficult.

Looking forward to finding out whether the Shea Baby is a boy or a girl tomorrow night. And hopefully mom and baby will be okay. I think they already filmed the hospital gown scenes with Lea before the Striped Tomato in the big park scenes and the camping, right? Maybe Lea gets dehydrated or something.

Andreas said...

I like your theory about Glassman confronting his troubled past with Maddie again, Daniela. It has been a long time since Maddie’s vision in season 2 but Glassman’s heart is still sore.

I’m not sure though if the whole team would take a break – simply because it would be near the backend of the season and the plotlines have to start building to the season finale soon. Of course, time off might be a convenient occasion to start all sorts of interpersonal conflicts, as it happens so often with families at their holidays… πŸ˜‹

Syl said...

I'm often wrong too in my predictions Daniela! But it remains fun to speculate about what might happen. Regarding Glassman facing his past and Lea having a role in it, your prediction is very plausible, and since you're not the only one thinking (hoping?) that would happen, you also wouldn't be alone in having yet again a theory that didn't pan out!

I agree with you and Amy that Glassman wouldn't tell Shaun's mother about the baby, and especially not without his consent. Shaun now seems to be at peace with his past, and I don't think he hates his mother as he did his father, he simply doesn't care for her. So he wouldn't get angry if she were to show up, he would probably just act indifferent. And Glassman knows that Shaun doesn't need her in his life, so he wouldn't even ask him about contacting her to tell her the news.

As for "Letting go" being similar to "Aftermath" and so about the characters taking a break after the events of "still-no-title", I like that theory. The camping scenes could be in this episode and not "Forgive or forget". In that case, "Letting go" could refer to the characters, or some of them, letting go of their worries and the stress by literally taking a breath of fresh air. For Shaun and Lea, it would also be to have their last little road trip together and share peaceful and quality time as a couple before the arrival of the baby, or as you said Amy, it would be their "babymoon"!
As you said Andreas, not the whole team might take a break, but I hope most of them would because I love when we see the characters out of their usual environment that is the hospital, we get to see another side of them, and it's indeed interesting also for the interpersonal conflicts that may arise.