More thoughts on Jurisdiction
So, I have an entire Sunday to myself and two storys half written. Instead of going somewhere with that, I am rolling around on my couch, feeling feverish and trying not to throw up. Grrr.
And because I need to feel like I got at least a little fannish something done today, I want to talk about some of the subtle touches in "Jurisdiction" that made me insanely happy. Some of that I only noticed watching it the second time around - and yes, that was the first episode in a long, long time that I rewatched in its entirety the next day.
So these are the things that made me squee:
The fact that Palmer is still dating Brenda. The utterly cute way that he is smug about it, and the way McGee tries to suppress a grin at that, as if he wants to high-five him. :D
The dolphin showing up and Ducky taking the time to watch it. (Yeah, according to the team it was really there.) And right after that the "Jaws" conversation? Priceless!
THAT look after Abby gets her "well done!" peck on the cheek from Gibbs. *giggles*
Right after Tony has unintentionally answered her question if he was so fascinated with Borin because she was attractive, Ziva rushes over to "mark her territory". Yeah, I know, it's probably for some boring shit like camera angles and such, but the way she clings to his side? Like she wants so say "He's mine!" ;)
I can't express how happy it makes me that not only her hair, but also her makeup are back to some lovely, understated level. The last few eps with her choosing bright colors and such, that just felt really off to me, like she was trying too hard to look like a good, pretty, decent American girl. And seriously, green eye shadow, that's just not Ziva.
I love the really soft way Tony says "How dare you", making it clear that he doesn't really mean it. And my head spins with all the implications of the way Ziva opens her mouth to say something...
... and then her gaze drops to Tony's MOUTH and she stares at his LIPS for a second and then doesn't say it after all!
Seriously, it is much more noticeable in motion, but watch where her eyes are going! *swoons*
Another thing that has maybe no deeper meaning at all, but what's with Ziva and the... I hesitate to call it nail biting, but during this season she has put her fingers into her mouth so often, and that never happened before. I wonder if that is intentional. O_o
The funkiest thing though in this episode is that to me, they actually put in anti-slash subtext. First the exchange with Ducky and Palmer about snails and oysters, coming originally from the 1960 movie "Spartacus", where a slave uses the euphemism that he does eat oysters (= girls) but not snails (= guys) to make clear that he won't respond to seduction attempts from his master. (If you have never seen the movie, here is the scene I am talking about. And actually the fact that Tony doesn't get the reference makes me really giggly and him just a touch more het.^^) Then Ziva's question if he is so obsessed with Borin because she reminds him of Gibbs or because she is attractive. So, based on his answer that he hadn't even noticed that, one could argue that she is like Gibbs and therefore at the very least sexually neutral to him. And I'd like to argue that way. ^^
Edited to add: The reason that excites me so much is yeah, I am used to shows trying to negate slash by having their heroes puff up their chests and bust a rib while trying to be macho at all cost, which regularly fails epically. But I have never seen one use subtext to get the notion across when straight characters were concerned. Gay characters, oh yeah, they are used to just hinting at stuff there.
For some reason, that made me giddy, especially the very subtle way in which they said, no, we don't do that. Don't get me wrong, I do like my slash, and there ARE a lot of shows where it jumps at you blatantly. NCIS has just never been one of those for me because almost all of the guys just seem to scream "heterosexual!" at the top of their lungs, and I just don't see THIS kind of attraction going on anywhere. And if you have to work to make it work... well, I am too much of a canon whore to bend characters in a way they weren't cut out for.
Now, the GIRLS on NCIS, that's a totally different thing. *points at the Abby/Abby screenshot*
;)
Edited to add: Gibbs/Fornell I could actually see easily. But I do not want to, really.
Okay, back to my couch now and back to being sick. Meh.
And because I need to feel like I got at least a little fannish something done today, I want to talk about some of the subtle touches in "Jurisdiction" that made me insanely happy. Some of that I only noticed watching it the second time around - and yes, that was the first episode in a long, long time that I rewatched in its entirety the next day.
So these are the things that made me squee:
The fact that Palmer is still dating Brenda. The utterly cute way that he is smug about it, and the way McGee tries to suppress a grin at that, as if he wants to high-five him. :D
The dolphin showing up and Ducky taking the time to watch it. (Yeah, according to the team it was really there.) And right after that the "Jaws" conversation? Priceless!
THAT look after Abby gets her "well done!" peck on the cheek from Gibbs. *giggles*
Right after Tony has unintentionally answered her question if he was so fascinated with Borin because she was attractive, Ziva rushes over to "mark her territory". Yeah, I know, it's probably for some boring shit like camera angles and such, but the way she clings to his side? Like she wants so say "He's mine!" ;)
I can't express how happy it makes me that not only her hair, but also her makeup are back to some lovely, understated level. The last few eps with her choosing bright colors and such, that just felt really off to me, like she was trying too hard to look like a good, pretty, decent American girl. And seriously, green eye shadow, that's just not Ziva.
I love the really soft way Tony says "How dare you", making it clear that he doesn't really mean it. And my head spins with all the implications of the way Ziva opens her mouth to say something...
... and then her gaze drops to Tony's MOUTH and she stares at his LIPS for a second and then doesn't say it after all!
Seriously, it is much more noticeable in motion, but watch where her eyes are going! *swoons*
Another thing that has maybe no deeper meaning at all, but what's with Ziva and the... I hesitate to call it nail biting, but during this season she has put her fingers into her mouth so often, and that never happened before. I wonder if that is intentional. O_o
The funkiest thing though in this episode is that to me, they actually put in anti-slash subtext. First the exchange with Ducky and Palmer about snails and oysters, coming originally from the 1960 movie "Spartacus", where a slave uses the euphemism that he does eat oysters (= girls) but not snails (= guys) to make clear that he won't respond to seduction attempts from his master. (If you have never seen the movie, here is the scene I am talking about. And actually the fact that Tony doesn't get the reference makes me really giggly and him just a touch more het.^^) Then Ziva's question if he is so obsessed with Borin because she reminds him of Gibbs or because she is attractive. So, based on his answer that he hadn't even noticed that, one could argue that she is like Gibbs and therefore at the very least sexually neutral to him. And I'd like to argue that way. ^^
Edited to add: The reason that excites me so much is yeah, I am used to shows trying to negate slash by having their heroes puff up their chests and bust a rib while trying to be macho at all cost, which regularly fails epically. But I have never seen one use subtext to get the notion across when straight characters were concerned. Gay characters, oh yeah, they are used to just hinting at stuff there.
For some reason, that made me giddy, especially the very subtle way in which they said, no, we don't do that. Don't get me wrong, I do like my slash, and there ARE a lot of shows where it jumps at you blatantly. NCIS has just never been one of those for me because almost all of the guys just seem to scream "heterosexual!" at the top of their lungs, and I just don't see THIS kind of attraction going on anywhere. And if you have to work to make it work... well, I am too much of a canon whore to bend characters in a way they weren't cut out for.
Now, the GIRLS on NCIS, that's a totally different thing. *points at the Abby/Abby screenshot*
;)
Edited to add: Gibbs/Fornell I could actually see easily. But I do not want to, really.
Okay, back to my couch now and back to being sick. Meh.