Finale Discussion! 2 X 23 "Closing Arguments"
Putting this up early if anyone wants to chat, speculate and/or flail.
Keep in mind, if you haven't seen the show yet, this will NOT be a SPOILER free zone!
And if SPOILERS don't bother you, check out this Kalinda info:
Kalinda Sneak Peek VID
Kalinda Sneak Peek PICS
Keep in mind, if you haven't seen the show yet, this will NOT be a SPOILER free zone!
And if SPOILERS don't bother you, check out this Kalinda info:
Kalinda Sneak Peek VID
Kalinda Sneak Peek PICS
The scene in the conference room: Kalinda's eyes, as so often, say it all - it's not quite pity, but more a deep desire to get rid of the extreme discomfort Alicia's in. This week it's Alicia who's put on a stoic face, staring at Kalinda as if trying to prove that she no longer has the power to hurt her, all while Kalinda's eyes are an open book and bleeding raw.
Sofia very much takes the initiative in pursuing Kalinda, beginning with inviting herself to share a drink with Kalinda after work and presumably progressing from there. Kalinda's dominant position in the bedroom scene (as rhyfeddu pointed out, she's still clothed, and she's sitting, whereas Sofia is lying down; later she literally tops Sofia as well) is a remnant of her usual m.o., but she's still clearly rattled by Sofia's marital status - and now we know exactly where her head wasn't when she visited the SA's office with Sofia last episode.
The two scenes related to the questioning of the judge's daughter are filled with similar body language. Mommy!Diane and Daddy!Will won't take any excuses, despite Kalinda's attempt (again) to bail Alicia out. The questioning scene itself very much reminded me of Will and Grace when they lost their "mojo" (or "homojo", as they put it): funny and sad at the same time.
The scene in Alicia's office where she cracks the case and beckons to Kalinda with a very stilted hand gesture is a nice parallel to the glove scene at the beginning. Kalinda's reaction is the same: she freezes, as if warily startled that Alicia would voluntarily interact with her, then she comes to see what Alicia wants. It ends the same way: Kalinda sees what has to be done and does it. Perhaps she has slightly less gusto than usual, but she does seem energized that the end is in sight - and I'm sure it doesn't escape her that said end includes making sure Alicia doesn't get into any hot water over the glove.
I'm not really keen on the end scene with Will (suffice it to say he makes a piss-poor substitute for Kalinda), so I'll end (finally!) with a bit about the great scene with Cary. This is clearly a parallel to Kalinda's scene with Will at the end of the last episode: Kalinda side-steps Will's question if she's leaving because of Alicia ("I'm not leaving"), and she does the same with Cary ("You're freezing me out because you talked to Alicia?" "I'm not freezing you out."). More revealing is her reaction to Cary's initial guess that she had talked to Alicia in the first place, because he expressly assumes that Kalinda "told her" about the ONS with Peter - that's the bit that really bites, and it shows. To be fair, Kalinda was basically playing a monumentally f---ed up game of "Damned if you do, damned if you don't", and she lost miserably. Cary's comment really hits home that if she had to get gored by one horn of a dilemma (pardon the mixed metaphor), she probably should have chosen the other one.
As much as this all was rushed/premature, it was a serious progression from last episode's dynamic, and I think it's meant to set us up for the beginning of next season. It seems clear now that despite her best intentions, Kalinda can't escape Alicia, and even her attempts to ignore her (e.g. walking past her office obliviously) are thwarted by men sending bloody gloves. I don't think Kalinda can keep wearing her emotions on her sleeve; it's clear her character is changing as a result of Alicia's effect on her, but she must find some middle ground between the defiant self-isolationism she sought last week and the sidelong glances at Alicia this week.
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AWESOME.
And (I'm absolutely serious here) would you consider going back and starting at season one and doing Kalinda centric reviews of the show and posting them here??
I know you're busy getting educalated an' stuff and having a life and all, but I would love to hear your take on her character from the beginning. *nudgevergingonashove*
Really. Ponder. Then do it! LOL
Okay, longer response later...
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Thanks for the comments, and the suggestion. It's very appealing, not least since Kalinda is a serious contender for the title of most intriguing character I've seen on TV. Fair warning: It might take me some time to get my hands on the episodes and then figure out exactly how cuts and tags and all that work.
There's also the "second reader" effect to consider - whatever we see now is affected by our knowledge of what's to come, and we can't help that. That said, I still think it would be a worthwhile project. **sigh** One down, forty-something to go...
Looking forward to the longer response!
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So, still on the fly, but in regards to the practical side of posting here (tags, cuts and whatnot), I'll be happy to help you out there. I at least have that mastered, tho I'm hardly a tech whiz generally...
And are you a member of Netflix? That's where I rented the S1 discs and got caught up recently. And Amazon probably has a used set, if you wanted to actually posess them (I think I'll go that route soon, actually). And also, CBS has full episodes on their site (I believe it would extend back to the beginning), but those never played well for me, so, see for yourself...
Aaaannndd, yes - no way to un-do all our S2 knowledge. We have nibbled on the apple there. But. It will make you feel all omniscient and powerful. lol
Longer response still to come!
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I like how the glove delivery echoed the scene from S1 where Alicia comes back to her office to find a big bag of cash and she immediately looks for Kalinda to help her figure out what to do with it. That time seemed so effortless, like the first thought in her head was naturally "where's Kalinda?" and here it seemed like she was fighting that impulse tooth and nail, until she realized it was the smart thing to do, not just what her first instinct was or would have been before.
I agree that Alicia's words and deeds here are dismissive and cold, but in the way it's played, there's a lighter tone, cuing us that it's supposed to be slightly funny (and it was). I still quibble it was too early for that, but if I just go with it and wank it to my selfish fannish benefit, I can say it's because Alicia's fundamental fondness for Kalinda is already tempering her desired cold attitude, despite her best efforts, and leaving her with annoyance, not hate or its cousin emotions. Hey. Works for me. lol
Right, the "a friend" comment... I took Alicia's eye rolling as overtly cynical that Kalinda is capable of having a (real) friend, and covertly simple jealousy. Like, right, I'm replaced already?
Yes, I would think (esp. if you buy the OTP canon-ness of Will/Alicia) that Alicia would know Will's number by heart. Forget about talking work-related stuff upteen times a day. But hey, she was distracted...
I find Sophia very interesting. I think it was well played and the most convincing of Kalinda various hook ups and flirtations (tho I would've given the nurse a chance), and it suggested to me that those two were very similar creatures in the past - no strings, no fuss, no conscience kinda gals - and that's why it worked before. But Sophia hasn't changed and Kalinda is...at least starting to. Sophia is almost a "Ghost of Kalinda Past" here. A mirror image of who she was.
"Mommy!Diane and Daddy!Will". Hilarious. Now I'll be watching with that dynamic in mind..
I still have a few holes in my S2 viewing, but from what I've seen, Cary has gotten himself into Kalinda's confidences, rather than Kalinda offering up a whole lot of information, choosing to share. Circumstances made him a confidante of sorts. It will be interesting to see if she keeps him as a friend and actually seeks him out for more than just practical help, in Alicia's "absence". (But another piss-poor substitute! lol)
I don't think Kalinda can keep wearing her emotions on her sleeve; it's clear her character is changing as a result of Alicia's effect on her, but she must find some middle ground between the defiant self-isolationism she sought last week and the sidelong glances at Alicia this week.
Yes, I'm very curious where Kalinda's aspect and attitude will be falling as we pick up next season. I suspect she'll bounce between these poles depending on how strong her shields are up that day and what's being thrown at her. I doubt it will be static.
I'm really curious as to her reaction to the Will/Alicia hook up. After all she's been nudging that to happen for awhile. It has the official Kalinda stamp of approval. But somehow I suspect she may be a little ambivalent about it. Both for any hypocrisy on Alicia's part of marriage vows and cheating, worry for how much trouble this could bring down from Peter if it comes out right now and (in my lil head, at least) a touch of jealousy, perhaps.
*buckling up for the ride*
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The whole scene with Alicia, Kalinda, and Sophia is really hard to read because there are so many things going on. The fallout between Alicia and Kalinda, which results in Alicia's extreme reluctance to interact with Kalinda and then - I think - some degree of resentment that it was (as you rightly point out) "the smart thing to do." It's nearly a reversal from the pilot episode, where Kalinda starts off with a rather negative attitude towards Alicia and ends up liking her almost despite herself (I envision it as a sort of Darcy-like reluctance on her part). Alicia, who values Kalinda's friendship in no small part (I think) because it's so hard to earn, is still reeling from the Revelation, but she's in a very different state from the penultimate episode. (I agree that development happened a little too quickly.) So Alicia wants to ignore Kalinda - or rather, she wants to be able to do so, to stand on her own two feet without relying on this woman who perhaps she feels betrayed her in a sense. It has to annoy her a bit that circumstances won't let her ignore Kalinda, just like they won't let Kalinda escape Alicia. Determining how dismissive/cold/curt Alicia's words are meant to be is also hard because of that glove, which would put anyone on edge. That said, I can see something else in there, too - maybe it is her fondness for Kalinda, which even the Revelation can't kill, seeping through. Finally, Sophia's presence sort of throws a wrench in Alicia and Kalinda's already off-kilter dynamic. It seems to me that Alicia isn't especially keen on them flirting in front of her while she can't move - and yes, jealousy is somewhat rampant. Going with your idea of Sophia as Past-Kalinda, I can also see Alicia perhaps being a bit paranoid that Kalinda is going back to her old ways - or that she feels fooled for ever thinking she could have an effect on Kalinda in the first place. If she only knew...
Watching the pilot again, I was struck by how early the Mommy!Diane/Daddy!Will dynamic makes its appearance: Will going to bat for Alicia when Diane was threatened by her success felt very much like two parents arguing over a teenager. I'm trying not to take that analogy too far, though, given certain extra-curricular activities. **shudder**
There seems to be a whole lot of substituting going on: Will for Kalinda, Cary for Alicia. It's already led to a "closer" relationship (yes, I'm qualifying that adjective) in Alicia's case and may well do in Kalinda's. But given the interview bit that was just posted on this comm in which Alicia and Kalinda's was identified as the central relationship in the series, I'm eager to see how and when they admit to themselves (and to each other?) that substitutions are simply unacceptable. Like you, I'm dying to see Kalinda's face when she finds out about the Will thing, though she'll probably know by some uncanny instinct the second she sees either one of them; we might end up only seeing her discussing it with one or the other. Even if one sees them only as (best) friends - although I think it's been made all but explicitly clear that Kalinda feels something for Alicia - what they've gone through is very similar to a break-up in terms of mental/emotional trauma. In their case, however, it hurts more because they still care for each other in some unbreakable way and so can't move on.
I'll stop there (for now). As for the other episodes, I've managed to get my hands on two versions of the pilot script (neither the final), and I gave in and ordered the first season on Amazon. The analysis for the pilot is almost done - I'm just waiting to give the commentary a listen through for some insider thoughts. Would you happen to know where I can find other scripts? The stage directions include internal thoughts on the part of the characters which have proven invaluable in trying to figure them out, especially Kalinda. If not, I'll feel (more) justified in taking a blind stab at it.
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Yeah. "Have you been a bad girl?" And that was just a kiss!
Kalinda sees all and knows all. And can sense sexual energy. lol
No, I have no idea about scripts - in fact I'm somewhat impressed that you've acquired any already. And very eager to hear about any new insight from them. I imagine ol' reliable (?) ebay would be a good place to poke around for more.
Very happy to hear you're going through with this project! Again, just holler if you need any tips on posting.
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This is actually becoming somewhat addictive, especially since I can use it to procrastinate. The pilot's up over at my journal (it sure wouldn't fit in the comments here!), and I'm finishing up with the second episode now. Unfortunately, the others will probably follow more slowly, given that I'll be out of the country for most of the summer.
I'll keep an eye out on ebay and the like, but I have a feeling pilot episodes tend to be the most popular script-wise and that there tend to be more serious revisions than in later episodes. Shame, though...
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