some rambly thinky thoughts on one shaz granger [SPOILERS FOR A2A S3]
so. shaz. turns out she's pretty important in the grand scheme of things. but then, i think she's always had some significance...long before S3. so let's go back to the beginning...
when alex arrives at CID in 1981, she is carried in by gene. however, it's shaz who is the first to attempt to comfort/assist her. even if it's just getting her a can of tab.
later on, who are the ones who listen in on alex's speech about what happened to her? chris and shaz. this has to be important. after all, "everything is significant," right?
then, in an undercover mission gone wrong, shaz is taken by one of layton's baddies and, eventually, is held at gunpoint by layton himself -- a mirror of what we see earlier in the same episode, in 2008 (just substitute shaz for molly). shaz is later rescued by alex and co. if you believe molly died on the embankment at layton's hands (as i do), it's the outcome alex wished/imagined happened, only she's repressed the truth (it's out of necessity, but i digress).
in at least series 1, as with everyone else, shaz is considered a construct, a product of alex's imagination. while she manufactured gene, chris, and ray from sam's notes, shaz is unique to the A2A world. in most cases, she is a representation of a twenty-something-year-old alex, just starting out in the police force. she's naive, a bit aloof, maybe emotional at times, but she's smart and driven to do well and be recognized. but in other cases -- like the aforementioned scene in 1x01, and the following sequence from 1x07 -- shaz is a mirror of molly.
1x07 ~ shaz sees gil hollis with a gun in his hand pointed at gene and alex.
1x01 ~ molly, defying her mother's instructions, leaves the car and goes to the scene of the hostage situation and sees layton pointing a gun at her mum.
1x07 ~ shaz prepares to make her bold move.
1x01 ~ molly appears from behind the police barrier. alex and layton take notice.
1x07 ~ shaz is stabbed.
1x01 ~ molly is taken down the embankment by layton. a stray gunshot is heard. molly is, quite possibly, killed.
but then, something really important happens: SHAZ SEES THE BOWIE CLOWN...AND ALEX KNOWS IT. (alex: "come on, shaz! it's just some stupid clown!") no one else there sees him. coincidence? i think not!
it is shortly after seeing the clown that shaz's heart stops. alex performs CPR on her and brings her back to life (something she couldn't/can't do for molly?). however, shaz is left in a 48-hour coma (she's awake and feted at luigi's at the end of 1x08). what did shaz experience in those two days? did she go backwards or forwards in time? did she, like alex would in 2x08, enter a coma-within-a-coma?
3x01...
SHAZ: Who you talking to, ma'am?
ALEX: Erm... Whoever might be listening, Shaz.
SHAZ: What was it like? Being unconscious all that time?
ALEX: It looked like home. But it wasn't. It didn't feel at all real.
SHAZ: This does, though, doesn't it? I mean, you're awake now.
ALEX: Yeah. It's the strangest thing, because now I'm not awake and it does feel real.
SHAZ: Oh. Well. Halfway there.
surely shaz, at this point, would've pounced and compared notes? i mean, three months is a lot longer than two days, but still! it was a perfect opportunity for two women to come together and consider both their experiences in (double) coma land. but it didn't happen. WOE.
let's fast forward to 3x02. shaz is experiencing mood swings like no one's business. she's annoyed that there's a crew trying to "drag this place into 1983" (quite possibly a mirror of gene's reluctance to eschew his old school ways of policing, but -- again -- i digress), and she's distant from everyone else, including alex.
a bit later, there's one particular scene of two that raises some eyebrows...
as shaz is heading home, another, similar figure is coming toward her. shaz's other self? or someone totally random? consider that, shortly after this, alex comes to the end of the alleyway and sees nothing but stars.
shortly after, she and alex have a conversation by the river thames. shaz is considering quitting the force.
SHAZ: I don't know what's up with me, ma'am. I just... I know I'm letting the team down.
ALEX: You're not letting anyone down, Shaz, we're just worried about you. You're not your usual happy, battling self.
SHAZ: I know I'm not.
ALEX: Is everything all right at home?
SHAZ: Yeah.
ALEX: Is it Chris?
SHAZ: I miss Chris a bit, I guess. But I know it's right we're not together.
ALEX: So what is it then?
SHAZ: I think it might be the police force.
ALEX: The police?
SHAZ: All I'd ever wanted to be was a copper and I was so proud when I made it.
ALEX: Shaz, you're such a good cop, and you're getting better by the day.
SHAZ: I just don't feel I belong, ma'am, if truth be told.
ALEX: Of course you do.
SHAZ: You're amazing. You take all their insults and sarcasms and you turn that into energy. I just don't know how to do that.
ALEX: It's because, deep down, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want a strong CID.
SHAZ: I think you lot would be better off without me.
ALEX: No, Shaz.
SHAZ: I think I might be a lot happier without you lot, too.
(interesting side note: the end of this exchange, to me, sounds like the opposite of the now-infamous "ashes to ashes" lyric heard in S1: "i'm happy, hope you're happy, too.")
she later has an exchange on this subject wtih DCI keats...
JIM KEATS: Why did you join the police force, Sharon?
SHAZ: To make a difference. Sounds stupid, don't it?
JIM KEATS: Not to me.
SHAZ: I had big dreams. Um, I knew it wouldn't be easy, being a woman and everything, but I thought if I put my head down and worked really hard...
JIM KEATS: Well, the police force is changing. Women will increasingly hold sway. I mean, look at Alex Drake.
SHAZ: I do. She's the most amazing woman I've ever met. She's also the one that's got me thinking that maybe this job ain't for me.
JIM KEATS: What, because you can't compete with her?
SHAZ: Not with any of them. I just don't think I'm cut out to do this for the rest of my life. I'm not strong enough.
JIM KEATS: What would DCI Hunt say to that?
SHAZ: He wouldn't understand. He's as brave as a lion and he don't have time for anyone who ain't.
JIM KEATS: D'you know what I think, Sharon? I think it takes enormous courage to realise you might have taken a wrong turn. That maybe this job isn't for you.
SHAZ: D'you think I should leave the force, Sir?
JIM KEATS: I think you know exactly what you should do.
i imagine, as a young PC, alex also felt she couldn't compete with everyone, that she wasn't strong enough. on the one hand, alex reassures her she is more than able to cope (after all, shaz had dealt with gene and co. for at least three years); on the other hand, keats is implying that leaving the force (read: cutting ties with gene) is the right move.
alex's encouragement nearly mirrors the following bit she told her future-ex-father-in-law in 2x05...
ALEX: You know, when Pete left me with Molly, you were the one person who made me believe that it wasn't the end of my life, the end of my career.
bryan drake encouraged alex and informed her that just because she was a single mother, it didn't mean she couldn't pursue law enforcement. alex later passed this information on to shaz -- someone she feels motherly towards.
back to shaz...
finding a dead woman's severed hand in a shallow grave triggers her and sends her running away in a panic.
screwdrivers are also a trigger. reminder of small knife = weapon = her own stabbing in 1x07, perhaps? i've read a theory suggesting that she was meant to die that night. but because alex saved her, history may've been changed, and now there are consequences to be had. i'm not entirely sure about this, though. (any other thoughts?) in any case, having a screwdriver pointed at her is the last straw, and she announces her resignation.
on the other hand, for the viewer, the screwdriver close-up is a clever bit of foreshadowing for when shaz goes on her final assignment (or so she thinks)...
success! baddie mcclean = stabbed. shaz = celebrated.
cue the first two lines of "life on mars" (the song) and everything around shaz fading to black as the camera zooms in on her. (some fans said they could hear nelson saying "welcome!" or "wake up!" at this point.) this has to be important. could shaz be in a coma at some point in the future, even 2008? if she followed through and left CID for good, would she have been able to return to her own time? was stabbing graham mcclean her "definitive step"? yep. she's very important. how important? we'll soon find out, i'm sure.
screencaps by nancherrow and tryingtorevive, modified by me. please visit these comms and download the original caps if you want any. thank you!
when alex arrives at CID in 1981, she is carried in by gene. however, it's shaz who is the first to attempt to comfort/assist her. even if it's just getting her a can of tab.
later on, who are the ones who listen in on alex's speech about what happened to her? chris and shaz. this has to be important. after all, "everything is significant," right?
then, in an undercover mission gone wrong, shaz is taken by one of layton's baddies and, eventually, is held at gunpoint by layton himself -- a mirror of what we see earlier in the same episode, in 2008 (just substitute shaz for molly). shaz is later rescued by alex and co. if you believe molly died on the embankment at layton's hands (as i do), it's the outcome alex wished/imagined happened, only she's repressed the truth (it's out of necessity, but i digress).
in at least series 1, as with everyone else, shaz is considered a construct, a product of alex's imagination. while she manufactured gene, chris, and ray from sam's notes, shaz is unique to the A2A world. in most cases, she is a representation of a twenty-something-year-old alex, just starting out in the police force. she's naive, a bit aloof, maybe emotional at times, but she's smart and driven to do well and be recognized. but in other cases -- like the aforementioned scene in 1x01, and the following sequence from 1x07 -- shaz is a mirror of molly.
1x07 ~ shaz sees gil hollis with a gun in his hand pointed at gene and alex.
1x01 ~ molly, defying her mother's instructions, leaves the car and goes to the scene of the hostage situation and sees layton pointing a gun at her mum.
1x07 ~ shaz prepares to make her bold move.
1x01 ~ molly appears from behind the police barrier. alex and layton take notice.
1x07 ~ shaz is stabbed.
1x01 ~ molly is taken down the embankment by layton. a stray gunshot is heard. molly is, quite possibly, killed.
but then, something really important happens: SHAZ SEES THE BOWIE CLOWN...AND ALEX KNOWS IT. (alex: "come on, shaz! it's just some stupid clown!") no one else there sees him. coincidence? i think not!
it is shortly after seeing the clown that shaz's heart stops. alex performs CPR on her and brings her back to life (something she couldn't/can't do for molly?). however, shaz is left in a 48-hour coma (she's awake and feted at luigi's at the end of 1x08). what did shaz experience in those two days? did she go backwards or forwards in time? did she, like alex would in 2x08, enter a coma-within-a-coma?
3x01...
SHAZ: Who you talking to, ma'am?
ALEX: Erm... Whoever might be listening, Shaz.
SHAZ: What was it like? Being unconscious all that time?
ALEX: It looked like home. But it wasn't. It didn't feel at all real.
SHAZ: This does, though, doesn't it? I mean, you're awake now.
ALEX: Yeah. It's the strangest thing, because now I'm not awake and it does feel real.
SHAZ: Oh. Well. Halfway there.
surely shaz, at this point, would've pounced and compared notes? i mean, three months is a lot longer than two days, but still! it was a perfect opportunity for two women to come together and consider both their experiences in (double) coma land. but it didn't happen. WOE.
let's fast forward to 3x02. shaz is experiencing mood swings like no one's business. she's annoyed that there's a crew trying to "drag this place into 1983" (quite possibly a mirror of gene's reluctance to eschew his old school ways of policing, but -- again -- i digress), and she's distant from everyone else, including alex.
a bit later, there's one particular scene of two that raises some eyebrows...
as shaz is heading home, another, similar figure is coming toward her. shaz's other self? or someone totally random? consider that, shortly after this, alex comes to the end of the alleyway and sees nothing but stars.
shortly after, she and alex have a conversation by the river thames. shaz is considering quitting the force.
SHAZ: I don't know what's up with me, ma'am. I just... I know I'm letting the team down.
ALEX: You're not letting anyone down, Shaz, we're just worried about you. You're not your usual happy, battling self.
SHAZ: I know I'm not.
ALEX: Is everything all right at home?
SHAZ: Yeah.
ALEX: Is it Chris?
SHAZ: I miss Chris a bit, I guess. But I know it's right we're not together.
ALEX: So what is it then?
SHAZ: I think it might be the police force.
ALEX: The police?
SHAZ: All I'd ever wanted to be was a copper and I was so proud when I made it.
ALEX: Shaz, you're such a good cop, and you're getting better by the day.
SHAZ: I just don't feel I belong, ma'am, if truth be told.
ALEX: Of course you do.
SHAZ: You're amazing. You take all their insults and sarcasms and you turn that into energy. I just don't know how to do that.
ALEX: It's because, deep down, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want a strong CID.
SHAZ: I think you lot would be better off without me.
ALEX: No, Shaz.
SHAZ: I think I might be a lot happier without you lot, too.
(interesting side note: the end of this exchange, to me, sounds like the opposite of the now-infamous "ashes to ashes" lyric heard in S1: "i'm happy, hope you're happy, too.")
she later has an exchange on this subject wtih DCI keats...
JIM KEATS: Why did you join the police force, Sharon?
SHAZ: To make a difference. Sounds stupid, don't it?
JIM KEATS: Not to me.
SHAZ: I had big dreams. Um, I knew it wouldn't be easy, being a woman and everything, but I thought if I put my head down and worked really hard...
JIM KEATS: Well, the police force is changing. Women will increasingly hold sway. I mean, look at Alex Drake.
SHAZ: I do. She's the most amazing woman I've ever met. She's also the one that's got me thinking that maybe this job ain't for me.
JIM KEATS: What, because you can't compete with her?
SHAZ: Not with any of them. I just don't think I'm cut out to do this for the rest of my life. I'm not strong enough.
JIM KEATS: What would DCI Hunt say to that?
SHAZ: He wouldn't understand. He's as brave as a lion and he don't have time for anyone who ain't.
JIM KEATS: D'you know what I think, Sharon? I think it takes enormous courage to realise you might have taken a wrong turn. That maybe this job isn't for you.
SHAZ: D'you think I should leave the force, Sir?
JIM KEATS: I think you know exactly what you should do.
i imagine, as a young PC, alex also felt she couldn't compete with everyone, that she wasn't strong enough. on the one hand, alex reassures her she is more than able to cope (after all, shaz had dealt with gene and co. for at least three years); on the other hand, keats is implying that leaving the force (read: cutting ties with gene) is the right move.
alex's encouragement nearly mirrors the following bit she told her future-ex-father-in-law in 2x05...
ALEX: You know, when Pete left me with Molly, you were the one person who made me believe that it wasn't the end of my life, the end of my career.
bryan drake encouraged alex and informed her that just because she was a single mother, it didn't mean she couldn't pursue law enforcement. alex later passed this information on to shaz -- someone she feels motherly towards.
back to shaz...
finding a dead woman's severed hand in a shallow grave triggers her and sends her running away in a panic.
screwdrivers are also a trigger. reminder of small knife = weapon = her own stabbing in 1x07, perhaps? i've read a theory suggesting that she was meant to die that night. but because alex saved her, history may've been changed, and now there are consequences to be had. i'm not entirely sure about this, though. (any other thoughts?) in any case, having a screwdriver pointed at her is the last straw, and she announces her resignation.
on the other hand, for the viewer, the screwdriver close-up is a clever bit of foreshadowing for when shaz goes on her final assignment (or so she thinks)...
success! baddie mcclean = stabbed. shaz = celebrated.
cue the first two lines of "life on mars" (the song) and everything around shaz fading to black as the camera zooms in on her. (some fans said they could hear nelson saying "welcome!" or "wake up!" at this point.) this has to be important. could shaz be in a coma at some point in the future, even 2008? if she followed through and left CID for good, would she have been able to return to her own time? was stabbing graham mcclean her "definitive step"? yep. she's very important. how important? we'll soon find out, i'm sure.
screencaps by nancherrow and tryingtorevive, modified by me. please visit these comms and download the original caps if you want any. thank you!