Dead Like Me 2x01-2x05
Fri, Apr. 6th, 2007 07:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI'm continuing to enjoy this show a whole lot.
Spoilers for all five eps.
One of the interesting things is that George seems much more angry this season, possibly because she's moving on in the five stages of dealing with death (or grief). Of course, I never quite thought about the five stages as applying to dealing with your own death, but it works. And to go on with that metaphor, the first season is a lot of George dealing with denial; she keeps trying to test the boundaries of what being a Reaper means, much to Rube's grief. She keeps trying to communicate with her family, again, much to Rube's grief. I think the final episode of the first season really is about George not being able to deny that she's dead anymore, that she can't have the same ties that she did when she was alive, that she can't keep functioning in the same way she did when she was alive (namely: not caring about anything).
I suppose this applies to the Lass family as well, though more for Joy and Clancy than for Reggie. I don't think Reggie really denied George's death, so while she grieved, it wasn't nearly as unhealthy (imho) as Joy's continual insistence that they move on and pretend that nothing was wrong. Going forward with the metaphor, I don't see Reggie dealing that much with anger in this season either. She is a grumpy pre-teen, yes, but she doesn't seem to have the same anger at the world that George does.
George really seems to be concentrating on all the things that she coulda/shoulda/woulda done; she's never had a boyfriend, she never got her license. And oh, I hurt for her, because of course it sucks to finally find out the joys of living and connecting only when you're dead and you can't ever connect that much. I love the conversations and confrontations she has with Rube, and oh, I love Rube so much.
Random snippets from random episodes:
- I adore George finally seeing a chink in Rube's armor; usually he's the one who's there for her, no matter how detached he seems to be. And I love their father-daughter relationship, particularly how you can't tell if Rube's talking about his own daughter or about George in the clown episode with such regret. And so much love for Rube sticking a post-it saying "Drive safely" on George's windshield.
- I am rather amazed by this, but I think Daisy is my favorite Reaper (not counting Rube, because Rube is in a class of his own). She's not only stopped being quite so superficial, she's actually been really kind to a number of people, from Mason to George to the assorted people she reaps.
- Of course Roxie is a cop. Hee! I wish she had more of an arc going, but hopefully we'll get to see more of her, like we did with her dealing with her own death day in S1.
- Oh Mason. He's still such an ass, but he's falling apart under all of it and drinking a lot to boot. I think after forty years or so, he's finally started to really think about his job as a Reaper, possibly after the one-two punch of the clown episode dad and the death of the gay men in the first season.
- Ouch to the divorce. I really do feel bad for Joy, but sometimes I just want to slap her as well. The actress is great; I can tell that Joy has moments when she really doesn't want to be snippy and she means well, and then she goes and says the exact wrong thing. I bled in particular when she yelled at Reggie after Reggie nearly got run over by a car, because oh, how could she have stopped that reaction? I was glad when she gave Reggie some space in the new clothes episode, possibly finally realizing that Reggie is growing up and won't always be her little girl. Of course, I am completely and irrationally biased when it comes to overbearing parents giving their children space, so YMMV.
On a side note, I just realized that I'm still not sure where this is supposed to be. Obviously, it's supposed to be in America, and probably East Coast, but I continue to think that it's in Canada, because of course every genre show is set in Vancouver ;).
Also (you knew I was going to say this), more people of color, please! Roxie is good, but she doesn't get much screentime or character development when compared to Daisy and Mason, and nearly all of the people we see being reaped are white. And male, I think.
So has anyone else written up DLM episode commentaries? I'd love links! *hint, hint*
Spoilers for all five eps.
One of the interesting things is that George seems much more angry this season, possibly because she's moving on in the five stages of dealing with death (or grief). Of course, I never quite thought about the five stages as applying to dealing with your own death, but it works. And to go on with that metaphor, the first season is a lot of George dealing with denial; she keeps trying to test the boundaries of what being a Reaper means, much to Rube's grief. She keeps trying to communicate with her family, again, much to Rube's grief. I think the final episode of the first season really is about George not being able to deny that she's dead anymore, that she can't have the same ties that she did when she was alive, that she can't keep functioning in the same way she did when she was alive (namely: not caring about anything).
I suppose this applies to the Lass family as well, though more for Joy and Clancy than for Reggie. I don't think Reggie really denied George's death, so while she grieved, it wasn't nearly as unhealthy (imho) as Joy's continual insistence that they move on and pretend that nothing was wrong. Going forward with the metaphor, I don't see Reggie dealing that much with anger in this season either. She is a grumpy pre-teen, yes, but she doesn't seem to have the same anger at the world that George does.
George really seems to be concentrating on all the things that she coulda/shoulda/woulda done; she's never had a boyfriend, she never got her license. And oh, I hurt for her, because of course it sucks to finally find out the joys of living and connecting only when you're dead and you can't ever connect that much. I love the conversations and confrontations she has with Rube, and oh, I love Rube so much.
Random snippets from random episodes:
- I adore George finally seeing a chink in Rube's armor; usually he's the one who's there for her, no matter how detached he seems to be. And I love their father-daughter relationship, particularly how you can't tell if Rube's talking about his own daughter or about George in the clown episode with such regret. And so much love for Rube sticking a post-it saying "Drive safely" on George's windshield.
- I am rather amazed by this, but I think Daisy is my favorite Reaper (not counting Rube, because Rube is in a class of his own). She's not only stopped being quite so superficial, she's actually been really kind to a number of people, from Mason to George to the assorted people she reaps.
- Of course Roxie is a cop. Hee! I wish she had more of an arc going, but hopefully we'll get to see more of her, like we did with her dealing with her own death day in S1.
- Oh Mason. He's still such an ass, but he's falling apart under all of it and drinking a lot to boot. I think after forty years or so, he's finally started to really think about his job as a Reaper, possibly after the one-two punch of the clown episode dad and the death of the gay men in the first season.
- Ouch to the divorce. I really do feel bad for Joy, but sometimes I just want to slap her as well. The actress is great; I can tell that Joy has moments when she really doesn't want to be snippy and she means well, and then she goes and says the exact wrong thing. I bled in particular when she yelled at Reggie after Reggie nearly got run over by a car, because oh, how could she have stopped that reaction? I was glad when she gave Reggie some space in the new clothes episode, possibly finally realizing that Reggie is growing up and won't always be her little girl. Of course, I am completely and irrationally biased when it comes to overbearing parents giving their children space, so YMMV.
On a side note, I just realized that I'm still not sure where this is supposed to be. Obviously, it's supposed to be in America, and probably East Coast, but I continue to think that it's in Canada, because of course every genre show is set in Vancouver ;).
Also (you knew I was going to say this), more people of color, please! Roxie is good, but she doesn't get much screentime or character development when compared to Daisy and Mason, and nearly all of the people we see being reaped are white. And male, I think.
So has anyone else written up DLM episode commentaries? I'd love links! *hint, hint*
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