Flashpoint
Flashpoint just broke me. It's nearly 2 o'clock and I have class in the morning and I really should go to bed, but they broke me.
Spoilerific cutting.
I cannot believe they killed Lew. With a landmine, of all things. I didn't see any spoilers at all, so the little click came as a huge shock to me. I had thought up til that point that it was Spike who was going to end up in trouble - a reasonable assumption since the episode was about multiple bomb threats and Spike is the bomb guy. My assumption was also fed by Greg's hesitation over sending him in, the "oh, shit" moment when he first saw the second bomb and the difficulties with the schematics. When Lew wanted to get a headstart on the third bomb I had a twinge of misgiving, but the landmine was a twist. And even then, I couldn't quite believe that they would go through with it. It wasn't until Spike actually saw the landmine that I thought, oh. so that's how it ends.
I assume Mark Taylor wanted out, to do something different, something in which he was not so underused, because let's face it, there are quite a few episodes where Lew just sat in the truck dictating and being oh-so-awesomely pretty, but when he was used he was fantastic. And I loved him. Mostly because of his friendship with Spike, because they were the sweetest TV buddies in any of the shows I watch. They didn't have the angsty troubled souls bond that Ed and Greg have, the spiky, contradictory, argumentative vibe of Jack and Daniel, the fucked-up codependent friendship of House and Wilson. They were just friends. They went on holiday together, joked around, were understated and sweet and very, very lovable. And the writers really played on that, and that made an already excellent episode all the more effective. I especially love hate that it took Lew reminding Spike that the job is to save lives to make Spike leave him, just for long enough to secure the other explosives. Just for long enough for Lew to call home, and then shift his weight. Long enough to save Spike's life.
I foresee much grief and guilt and anger, and I pity the new team member. Greg will be beating himself up for letting Lew near the bomb in the first place. Ed will be angry and brooding and prone to scary outbursts. Jules won't be able to keep being tough as hell. Wordy and Sam will probably be prickly and argumentative (and speaking of Sam, why couldn't it have been him instead?). And Spike...oh, Spike.
There's an episode somewhere in season 2 when the team get a call late in their shift. Ed and Wordy call their wives, Sam calls to cancel a date, and Spike phones Lew, standing a couple of meters away.
"Hey Lew, sorry bud, I might be held up a little at work."
"Oh, that's okay, man. At least you called."
Spoilerific cutting.
I cannot believe they killed Lew. With a landmine, of all things. I didn't see any spoilers at all, so the little click came as a huge shock to me. I had thought up til that point that it was Spike who was going to end up in trouble - a reasonable assumption since the episode was about multiple bomb threats and Spike is the bomb guy. My assumption was also fed by Greg's hesitation over sending him in, the "oh, shit" moment when he first saw the second bomb and the difficulties with the schematics. When Lew wanted to get a headstart on the third bomb I had a twinge of misgiving, but the landmine was a twist. And even then, I couldn't quite believe that they would go through with it. It wasn't until Spike actually saw the landmine that I thought, oh. so that's how it ends.
I assume Mark Taylor wanted out, to do something different, something in which he was not so underused, because let's face it, there are quite a few episodes where Lew just sat in the truck dictating and being oh-so-awesomely pretty, but when he was used he was fantastic. And I loved him. Mostly because of his friendship with Spike, because they were the sweetest TV buddies in any of the shows I watch. They didn't have the angsty troubled souls bond that Ed and Greg have, the spiky, contradictory, argumentative vibe of Jack and Daniel, the fucked-up codependent friendship of House and Wilson. They were just friends. They went on holiday together, joked around, were understated and sweet and very, very lovable. And the writers really played on that, and that made an already excellent episode all the more effective. I especially love hate that it took Lew reminding Spike that the job is to save lives to make Spike leave him, just for long enough to secure the other explosives. Just for long enough for Lew to call home, and then shift his weight. Long enough to save Spike's life.
I foresee much grief and guilt and anger, and I pity the new team member. Greg will be beating himself up for letting Lew near the bomb in the first place. Ed will be angry and brooding and prone to scary outbursts. Jules won't be able to keep being tough as hell. Wordy and Sam will probably be prickly and argumentative (and speaking of Sam, why couldn't it have been him instead?). And Spike...oh, Spike.
There's an episode somewhere in season 2 when the team get a call late in their shift. Ed and Wordy call their wives, Sam calls to cancel a date, and Spike phones Lew, standing a couple of meters away.
"Hey Lew, sorry bud, I might be held up a little at work."
"Oh, that's okay, man. At least you called."