December 7, 2006: With the Irish, Things Tend to Escalate
Tonight was chock full of surprises, but the biggest of them all was the return of the elusive Lynn - complete with her own "Jack" tattoo prominently displayed around her wrist. I wanted to dislike Lynn, but
Justine Bateman is so darn likable. She hardly displayed an ounce of maliciousness or craziness (and we all know she must be crazy to have left Jack). Although, it did definitely catch me off guard when she blurted out that she was pregnant. That scene just didn't feel right. Understandably, Lynn was scared, but to just blurt out "What if something is wrong with the baby?" Hello, what baby? Maybe explain that first. But all in all, it was a great twist to have Lynn show up and stir things up a bit. It would feel like cheating if Marin and Jack didn't face a whole set of complications on their road to eternal bliss.
On that note, the one couple that you could count on to be completely uncomplicated, Annie and Patrick, are facing the most problems. First it was a condom dispenser stuck to Patrick's arm, and then it was Annie's snoring problem. But never would I have thought that something like pent-up childhood issues would surface and destroy the most idealistic and pure relationship in North America. And what a surprise when the ring fell out of the pie after Annie threw it in Patrick's face. Now that is what you could call a botched proposal. That whole encounter was heartbreaking, but it was awesome that Patrick's ring actually ended up being Theresa's ring. In true
Men in Trees fashion, something positive came out of the most gut-wrenching situation. And it was reassuring when Theresa gave the ring back to Patrick - because you never know what's going to happen.
Just like you never know what you might find on a woman's nightstand. In Jane's case, it would be smut. All that "romantic fiction" must have fogged Jane's brain - she was absolutely dreadful to Plow Guy, but thankfully she came to her senses and was seeing as clearly as Buzz by the end of the episode. I had to work in Buzz and Mai somehow - despite the odd circumstances of their mail-order marriage, their relationship feels very real.
Tonight was all about "misconnections." Our Elmoians were filled with good intentions, but somehow everything ended up in one huge miscommunication. You have to love a show that can turn practically every main relationship upside down and still end with a feel-good message filled with hope. Here's to moving forward.
