Flashpoint : The Other Lane
Show, you disappoint me.
You know, I really liked Sophie. I liked that we got to see bits of Ed's home life; I enjoyed their banter; I thought Sophie was a great, believable character; I liked that she sometimes got angry at and sometimes scared by Ed's job; I liked that they didn't have a perfect, effortless happiness but kept working at it anyway because they really loved each other. I was looking forward to a little Edlet and seeing Clark as a big brother. And now this.
The problem is, I know I'm supposed to feel sorry for Sophie, but I honestly don't see Ed as the villain of the piece. He's married to his job and sometimes he really messes up at home, but he tries. He talks to Sophie about the job (Haunting the Barn, Between Heartbeats), he does (occasionally, with much prompting) take time off to spend with his family, he does his best to understand his cello-playing, basketball fan son. And yes, he loves his work, but he's not doing it purely for kicks, and I can't imagine he was all that different when she married him. I also can't work out exactly what she wants from him. Help, she says. Ok, he says, how? She wants him to be around more, she doesn't want him to do night shifts or overtime. That would be fine if he were volunteering for all these hours, but he's not. That's the job - shift work, late nights, don't clock off until the situation is resolved.
Actually, the real problem is that the writers have consistently shown Sophie as being supportive and proud and patient with Ed, and now she's making demands he can't meet and leaving when he doesn't meet them, and she's not the same character anymore. Which means Ed isn't the same character any more, either, and glancing through the CBS website it would appear that other characters will soon be disappointing me as well. Because Jules is still hung up on Sam, apparently, and Wordy is keeping a secret and Spike has to make a choice.
It's such a shame, really, because the rest of the episode was excellent. There was tension and drama and personal revelation, and fantastic showcasing of just how well the team work together even when they can't talk or when what they are saying is not what they mean (Parker : "Officer Scarlatti, we are not to follow." Spike : *officer who? oh, right, I get it*), and at the end, when I was twitching slightly and thinking no, Ed, hug him, he's your brother and he's incredibly messed up right now and he just got shot, HUG HIM, they hugged. It was lovely. And I like Ed's brother (Major Davis from Stargate, hello!), and they were both so good.
But the Sophie thing....it puts me off entirely. Show, I love you. I love the teamy goodness and the not-always-bad bad guys and the shoot last approach to policing. I love when things go boom. But you've got one week to make this right or I walk.
You know, I really liked Sophie. I liked that we got to see bits of Ed's home life; I enjoyed their banter; I thought Sophie was a great, believable character; I liked that she sometimes got angry at and sometimes scared by Ed's job; I liked that they didn't have a perfect, effortless happiness but kept working at it anyway because they really loved each other. I was looking forward to a little Edlet and seeing Clark as a big brother. And now this.
The problem is, I know I'm supposed to feel sorry for Sophie, but I honestly don't see Ed as the villain of the piece. He's married to his job and sometimes he really messes up at home, but he tries. He talks to Sophie about the job (Haunting the Barn, Between Heartbeats), he does (occasionally, with much prompting) take time off to spend with his family, he does his best to understand his cello-playing, basketball fan son. And yes, he loves his work, but he's not doing it purely for kicks, and I can't imagine he was all that different when she married him. I also can't work out exactly what she wants from him. Help, she says. Ok, he says, how? She wants him to be around more, she doesn't want him to do night shifts or overtime. That would be fine if he were volunteering for all these hours, but he's not. That's the job - shift work, late nights, don't clock off until the situation is resolved.
Actually, the real problem is that the writers have consistently shown Sophie as being supportive and proud and patient with Ed, and now she's making demands he can't meet and leaving when he doesn't meet them, and she's not the same character anymore. Which means Ed isn't the same character any more, either, and glancing through the CBS website it would appear that other characters will soon be disappointing me as well. Because Jules is still hung up on Sam, apparently, and Wordy is keeping a secret and Spike has to make a choice.
It's such a shame, really, because the rest of the episode was excellent. There was tension and drama and personal revelation, and fantastic showcasing of just how well the team work together even when they can't talk or when what they are saying is not what they mean (Parker : "Officer Scarlatti, we are not to follow." Spike : *officer who? oh, right, I get it*), and at the end, when I was twitching slightly and thinking no, Ed, hug him, he's your brother and he's incredibly messed up right now and he just got shot, HUG HIM, they hugged. It was lovely. And I like Ed's brother (Major Davis from Stargate, hello!), and they were both so good.
But the Sophie thing....it puts me off entirely. Show, I love you. I love the teamy goodness and the not-always-bad bad guys and the shoot last approach to policing. I love when things go boom. But you've got one week to make this right or I walk.