New Dimensions for Daniel

You make some good points about the “feel bad” episode. I felt the rush to move things toward closure hampered some of the scenes. Daniel’s reluctance to dredge up the trauma of his imprisonment in therapy is understandable, much more so than his pushing Janet away. She has been bereft over his absence for nearly two decades, so a bit more patience with her need to “know he is real” would have been reasonable. He is a son, not a symbol, to his mother. It’s just lunch.

That said, the larger issue of bondage was apt. The use of the Nashville Parthenon was inspired. I have been there and the replica is impressive, the Athena within delightful. Daniel is hidden by one of the massive pillars, trapped by the past, as it were. Janet appreciated Daniel’s words, grasping the larger implications.

“I’m glad you said it. It needed to be said. I’m glad I heard it.”

Honest communication is risky but necessary. It never assures a desirable outcome, yet is clearly preferable to the alternative. I like the "stained glass" window at Chloe's. Sans dogma and ritual, they break bread and struggle to speak and hear.

Teddy and the tears of a clown. He takes aim at “the devil” and ends up shooting himself. Ironic, yet comedic. He’d better have pulled that belt tight. Plenty for Teddy to contemplate as he convalesces. The inventory of the store is his, should he be up for the challenge of making a go of it on his own.

To me, Daniel's speaking to his mother about letting him go was intended as a kindness, and I thought it was clear enough that she saw that herself. Janet's in a very strange position... essentially she has a child who died, yet he's alive. He's letting her off the hook of feeling responsible for him. It doesn't mean they'll never speak again, this isn't Old Yeller, it's about the burden.

It's also for him of course. She is in many ways a stranger to him now and he could do without the pressure of being expected to know how to behave with her, too. He's entitled to feel that and to want it. I'm pleased to see him begin to figure that out and do some self-determining. That's excellent progress under the circumstances.

I don't feel sorry for Teddy. I thought the shooting was hilarious.

I think Jon will go into the prosecution side of things, and we're seeing that begin for him.

I didn't like Daniel's argument with Chloe only because I didn't need this spelled out, and I found it hard to believe that she was truly so lacking in empathy and imagination that she required it. Increasingly, she is not so much a character, as a painfully obvious device to get Daniel expositing aspects of his character. Aspects that I thought were stronger when shown but unsaid.

However, it did provide the opportunity to witness Daniel allowing himself to be openly angry with a woman he likes, and I liked how reassuringly normal his anger was. It could have been anyone, having that spat. Nothing about his behavior there said "dangerous." So now he knows that about himself.

"It's JUDGE Bitch!"

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