I’m so glad that Misha was there for Jared when he got back to the shelter. Oh my gosh, my heart is breaking here. It’s easy to empathize with Jared’s anguish as I don’t have any idea what Jensen is going through right now. How he’s dealing with all this, and if he does blame Jared.
It’s hard to know who to trust here. Jared brought up some good points about what the motivation is behind Jensen being ordered for observation. Good for him for wanting to get some information! And again, thank God for Misha!
And Joel. I laughed out loud when he told Chad he was Mayhem.
But then, oh no, Jensen has to be held for two weeks!
And jeez, I can’t believe this just hit me… Jensen was previously in a facility in Detroit (when Jeff said that Countyview wasn’t Detroit City). How did I miss that reference to the Show. Duh. That’s a nice touch.
Whew, I’m so glad that Jared has so many friends willing… no, wanting to help. I think Joel and Alison might be the ones that help the most though. They can both get inside, although I hope Joel will be careful if he’s able to get inside. I don’t want anything to happen to him, either.
Oh my God, I hate that I was right in my suspicions. Jensen did try to kill himself. I can’t even imagine what Jensen must have been going through then. So much pain and helplessness.
I liked Tom. He obviously did care about Jensen or he wouldn’t have stayed with him for so long, but the hurt was still there, which is understandable, I think, because the last he’d seen Jensen, it had ended on an argument. And this made me so sad for Jensen, because I still think the loss of his parents was the beginning of his downward spiral:
“… But you’ve got to have a heart to be able to care back. Maybe his died with his parents, who knows?
And now we know that there was a witch and a curse. I admire Jared for keeping it together and for telling Tom this:
“Tom. I understand that the man … the boy … you knew wasn’t always … didn’t behave as he should. And he hurt you. And others. And I feel bad about that. But he’s changed. And deserves a second chance. He’s paid for his mistakes.” God, has he paid.
I agree with Jared wholeheartedly. Jensen has paid dearly.
Ah-ha, the last puzzle piece. Jensen’s mom.
“Oh my … “ Jared’s eyes opened wide. “This … Jensen’s illustrations … all fairytales. And then he’s cursed right before he sustains a head injury. It all gets jumbled together.”
And Joel most definitely sees things that others don’t. I was so glad that he’d seen Jensen, even though I felt bad that he said Jensen growled when Joel mentioned Jared. But Joel is right, the key to the story is that Jensen fall in love and have that love returned.
I hope they can get Jared in, that Jensen will accept his love. At least Jensen isn’t on too many drugs and they are trying to help him. Speech therapy I think is something that will definitely help Jensen since he does have a brain injury.
And jeez, I can’t believe this just hit me… Jensen was previously in a facility in Detroit
Hee...I'm glad you noticed that. Nothing against Detroit and I'm sure their mental health facilities are fine. Just like doing Show tie-ins if I can because they make me giggle. I actually excused a lot of broad strokes in terms of mental health by telling myself this is a fairy tale and so I needed bad guys.
I also romanticized schizophrenia but I have read some on the subject and there is something 'magical' about certain delusions.
Discovering that Jensen wasn't very nice as a teenager is probably the least surprising part of the story. Clearly something make him feel that he was 'ugly' and such. But you are right ... he was incredibly lonely and wasn't dealing with his grief in a healthy way. I implied drug and alcohol abuse. Saddly we read so much about youthful rich folks tanking their own lives. Felt like that might be the most realistic part of this story!
But I believe he went through a life-altering experience that somehow enabled the 'real' Jensen to emerge. It's this swap that I find interesting in the story. He was beautiful before but acted ugly. Later he feels ugly but acts beautiful.
This was such a rich theme to mine in a story. Especially as far as Jared is able to see beyond it all to the truth.
I can't wait to read your thoughts on my conclusion.
It’s hard to know who to trust here. Jared brought up some good points about what the motivation is behind Jensen being ordered for observation. Good for him for wanting to get some information! And again, thank God for Misha!
And Joel. I laughed out loud when he told Chad he was Mayhem.
But then, oh no, Jensen has to be held for two weeks!
And jeez, I can’t believe this just hit me… Jensen was previously in a facility in Detroit (when Jeff said that Countyview wasn’t Detroit City). How did I miss that reference to the Show. Duh. That’s a nice touch.
Whew, I’m so glad that Jared has so many friends willing… no, wanting to help. I think Joel and Alison might be the ones that help the most though. They can both get inside, although I hope Joel will be careful if he’s able to get inside. I don’t want anything to happen to him, either.
Oh my God, I hate that I was right in my suspicions. Jensen did try to kill himself. I can’t even imagine what Jensen must have been going through then. So much pain and helplessness.
I liked Tom. He obviously did care about Jensen or he wouldn’t have stayed with him for so long, but the hurt was still there, which is understandable, I think, because the last he’d seen Jensen, it had ended on an argument. And this made me so sad for Jensen, because I still think the loss of his parents was the beginning of his downward spiral:
“… But you’ve got to have a heart to be able to care back. Maybe his died with his parents, who knows?
And now we know that there was a witch and a curse. I admire Jared for keeping it together and for telling Tom this:
“Tom. I understand that the man … the boy … you knew wasn’t always … didn’t behave as he should. And he hurt you. And others. And I feel bad about that. But he’s changed. And deserves a second chance. He’s paid for his mistakes.” God, has he paid.
I agree with Jared wholeheartedly. Jensen has paid dearly.
Ah-ha, the last puzzle piece. Jensen’s mom.
“Oh my … “ Jared’s eyes opened wide. “This … Jensen’s illustrations … all fairytales. And then he’s cursed right before he sustains a head injury. It all gets jumbled together.”
And Joel most definitely sees things that others don’t. I was so glad that he’d seen Jensen, even though I felt bad that he said Jensen growled when Joel mentioned Jared. But Joel is right, the key to the story is that Jensen fall in love and have that love returned.
I hope they can get Jared in, that Jensen will accept his love. At least Jensen isn’t on too many drugs and they are trying to help him. Speech therapy I think is something that will definitely help Jensen since he does have a brain injury.
And what an end to the chapter:
Jensen defied all explanation.
Reply
Hee...I'm glad you noticed that. Nothing against Detroit and I'm sure their mental health facilities are fine. Just like doing Show tie-ins if I can because they make me giggle. I actually excused a lot of broad strokes in terms of mental health by telling myself this is a fairy tale and so I needed bad guys.
I also romanticized schizophrenia but I have read some on the subject and there is something 'magical' about certain delusions.
Discovering that Jensen wasn't very nice as a teenager is probably the least surprising part of the story. Clearly something make him feel that he was 'ugly' and such. But you are right ... he was incredibly lonely and wasn't dealing with his grief in a healthy way. I implied drug and alcohol abuse. Saddly we read so much about youthful rich folks tanking their own lives. Felt like that might be the most realistic part of this story!
But I believe he went through a life-altering experience that somehow enabled the 'real' Jensen to emerge. It's this swap that I find interesting in the story. He was beautiful before but acted ugly. Later he feels ugly but acts beautiful.
This was such a rich theme to mine in a story. Especially as far as Jared is able to see beyond it all to the truth.
I can't wait to read your thoughts on my conclusion.
Reply
Leave a comment