Eagles and Angels (PB 4.04 Spoilers, discussion)
Type your cut contents here.There were small moments in Eagles and Angels that actually *shock shock* didn't work for me (at all) but by and large this one is a full on fangirly heart-a-flutter all bottled up and ready to drink.
First of all, I really don't know where the writers are getting this stuff. I mean, seriously? I know they brought us season 1, but after the emotional stuntedness that was season 2, I rather thought they had lost the 'loving feeling' with this complicated thing they had created called the Michael/Sara 'ship.
Anyway, excuse me while I wax poetic but that opening scene was so lovely, I almost forgot to breathe. What I love -by far- the most about it is that it manages to blend a bit of that dreamy (we're thinking of the future) vibe with such humanity and realism that I'm seriously getting butterflies and a knot in my stomach somehow all at once. It is exhausting being so inspired by a television show...
While we're here, I'm definitely not tired -at all- of seeing Michael Scofield make Sara Tancredi laugh. In fact he can really do it every single week, if you ask me. Also love the part where she has to swallow really hard before she talks of her dream of living on a yacht and having the ocean as her front yard as though just speaking the words aloud of dreams (or sharing them with him?) is difficult for her. I also love the frank way she mentions the alcoholism, it is like drinking castor oil, tastes awful, but feels better in the end...
I didn't really love the whole "One day" element - (perhaps because it feels over simplified?) initially, but loved how it evolved in that phone conversation at the end, so I can see how it was needed... loved loved loved the evolutionary aspect.
Sidebar here: It is so obvious watching this episode that the writers love both Sara Tancredi the character and SWC the actress. Her material in this episode is pretty killer. Also she kills it!
The scene in the bar is by far my favorite (stand alone) scene SWC has ever done. She's awesome and 100% real and I believe every minute of it. I love the girlish smile that creeps across her face as she's talking about going to Annie, how she just had to go, her mother's recent death, her new dress, her father letting her down, the whole thing... and then the way she loses it when she talks about Bruce and what he has sacrificed (ultimately) for her... the whole scene is so beautifully done. The bartender is even heartbreaking. I'm so happy, after wards, by how the writers handled this. I love that she struggles, I also love that in the end she's stronger than her addiction. This is so so Doc (Awesome) Sara to me. At the end of the day she's still a pretty damn strong woman.
I didn't love the scene between Michael and Sara after she finds out Bruce is dead. It just didn't work for me. I don't know if it is the writing or the distance between them but I didn't feel it at all. Like when he discovers the scars on her back, physical distance and proximity matter, and he needs to be closer to her to provide emotionally viable comfort. I can see that they are trying to rev up the angst level but I just don't see how it is necessary. These two characters seem more comfortable than ever and I don't see the point of making that particular scene feel so disjointed.
Anyway, having said that, how about the phone call at the end? I love how Michael is such a guy and wants to come pick her up, and I really love how she realizes that she's okay, like she is really on the other side of the almost slip up in the bar. I also love that she needs to talk to him about how she is feeling, about how he is the only thing she has left - well duh! No kidding! I also love the breathy smoky way she answers the phone, it almost sounded post-coital! I also love Michael in this scene, with his blue steel and wistful romanticism. He really sells it imo. The way that he says, "I know that the circumstances are a little less than ideal, but we are together," reminds me of the phone conversation they had in First Down, and rather calls back to angsty heartbreaking Michael of S1-early S2. You really get that sense (again) of how he wears his heart on his sleeve with this woman. I remember it taking me by surprise in First down, and the feeling here (although slightly less dramatic) is similar.
Finally, I didn't like the cliffhanger at the end - I mean, we know based on the preview that she makes it back fine and we know she's going to be fine period, but still, STILL... *sighs* I don't think I can take any more torture and life threatening to Sara...