Episode Discussion 103

[jekesta]

103 - Jennifer of Troy


TV Rage - "An unremarkable woman seeks representation when she believes she was wrongly dismissed from her job at a men's magazine for being too attractive. Elsewhere, Franklin and Bash's epic technology-laden man cave causes the server to crash."





Let's have any thoughts, feelings, questions or comments! Squee or despair, love or annoyances.

What's your favourite bit of the ep, or the thing that makes no sense to you? Are you very cross that Peter, Jared and Carmen go to a pool party and stay fully clothed? Is there anything that makes you long for fic, or wish for icons? Could Peter and Jared actually be more in love? What do you think of Jennifer's whole case/storyline and how it's handled?

(Sorry I got late with this post, today tried to kill me.)

Comments

[rogoblue.livejournal.com]

For whatever reason, I didn't like this ep. That woman grated on my nerves. I don't know why. Did like Damien's expressions of horror when Stanton seemed charmed by her and that he did pony up his guitar as promised. But ...

[jekesta]

I really like Damien giving his guitar up, because I like Hanna taking pity on him and leading him away because she loves him and their love is somehow very important to me.

[matchsticks-p.livejournal.com]

I can't remember--do we ever get to see Carmen in her bikini at any of their parties? There's no way to make this question not sound completely lecherous, so I'll just own that it does. :P

I've decided that as wonderful as Pindar is, I'm not entirely comfortable with how this show portrays Asian characters. The "tech geek" trope is relied upon a bit too much (although later the show is self-aware enough to have Damien's "you must be able to deal with my computer problem because you're Indian" plan blow up on him) and the way Infeld treated the whole Chinatown business association thing as an exotic oriental game made me really uncomfortable.

That aside, I really liked Damien in this ep. And Peter and Jared ~learning a lesson~*~ about their shallow taste in women's looks. And Breckin's faces.

[jekesta]

I have total memories of Carmen in a bikini but ... I can't think when, so I'm possibly just confusing reality with my imagination.

I agree about Infeld, I think it's very in character for him to act like that, because he is clearly meant to come from an age when the world was just a playground and other people's lives were, like you say, just an exotic adventure to him. But usually it's very much just passing comments, and in this episode he's just rubbish. I think the show did sort of mean to call him on it more, but somehow didn't quite. Like when he turns up to the 'council of elders' they're all 'we're just the merchants committee' and I think there is meant to be a sense that he's exotifying everything because he's old fashioned and a bit weird. But it definitely seems to me to fall on the side of not really caring that he is.

[vic-amy-z.livejournal.com]

I can't remember seeing Carmen in a bikini and now I really want to. And I want to see Hanna in a bikini too. With Carmen. And touching!

Okay, that's quite enough out of me... [g]

[jekesta]

Okay, I'm more awake now, so I'm going to reply to my own post.

I *adore* Hanna in this episode, I love how much everyone who meets her loves her. Jennifer flirts happily with her and Hanna falls a bit in love, Carmen notices the hell out of her when she comes to flirt with Jared, as does Jared. She gets to have sex with Jared - unless he's impotent, who knows? - and Damien just loves her with his entire being whenever they are near each other. I love how cross she is with Damien for being more important than her and not as good as her, and I like their sort of relationship issues. I love her telling Peter and Jared to man up, and then melting because Jennifer smiles at her. I very much appreciate her turning up at the cave in a red vest thing and glasses.

We get to see Peter and Jared with other friends! Which I logically know they must have, but which seems odd to me somehow anyway. I love Jared's quiet 'but then we'll be alone together' when they're leaving because the internet crashed. It's the least sincere thing anyone has ever said. (Unless they're having difficulties being alone together because something has happened to make that awkward. Which is quite sweet.)

I love Jared's face when Peter is suddenly a bit hypnotised by Jennifer, just a sort of 'oh really? pleasedon'tactuallyloveher' thing. And Peter's face when Jared does his whole speech about daddy issues, aljsdlfkjiueosf. OH. He is just made of love and care and LOVE.

[vic-amy-z.livejournal.com]

Hanna is just a tiny bit awesome in this episode, isn't she? And I'd like to think that after delivering the best legal lesson ever she grabbed Jared and dragged him off to bed where they absolutely did not get interrupted by Pindar this time!

But I still don't get how there's possibly room for any other friends in their lives? They have everything they need in each other. Although I do want to read about the awkward thing that happened to make them invite other people over in the first place!

[jekesta]

I think this must be when Hanna and Jared have sex, which they're all talking about in the next episode and which I was always a bit 'huh, when?' about. But then Jared also says next episode that he couldn't get it up, but Hanna says it did happen, or she says he can say it happened, and I sort of assume that his impotency was a lie to make the man tell him stuff, but I think it's nearly sweeter if they didn't ever quite manage it. Even though it makes a lie of Hanna's nineteen orgasms and flying unicorns.

[odannygirl7.livejournal.com]

I heard that they aired the eps out of order and Bro Bono was supposed to be right after the pilot, which would explain Hannah and Jared sleeping with each other in the pilot, and I guess managing to do it before Pindar interrupted them... or maybe after the crisis. Maybe. Perhaps Pindar's interruption was a welcome distraction.

[jekesta]

Oh no! I can't even really think about them airing the episodes out of order because that makes things *too* complicated in my brain. I hadn't even thought of that. (And why? How could they think She Came Upstairs to Kill Me was going to draw people into the series more than Bro Bono? Bro Bono is *brilliant*. Hm.)

[odannygirl7.livejournal.com]

I think it's the only one that's out of order. :)
(I have no idea... maybe BroBono was too epicly full of man love? Or they wanted to start off with Fred Willard? Because he's a ratings magnet? *big shrug*)

[vic-amy-z.livejournal.com]

There's a lot to like and a lot to dislike in this episode - kind of a mixed bag, I guess. This is what I loved:

~ Jared and Peter trying to pursuade their friends not to leave so they don't have to be alone together. Yeah, 'cos that's such a hardship!
~ The very real giggle from MPG at Breckin's reaction to the eels.
~ The way that Damien totally plays them into taking the Stirred case.
~ Jared's 'little kid' voice when they goad Damien into taking the bet. It should be very wrong but somehow it's not!
~ Hanna's lecture on what they need to do to win the case. Damn... [fans self]
~ The way that Jennifer charms everyone she meets - such a beautiful character.
~ The way that Peter and Jared CANNOT stop staring at all the hot women in this episode.
~ Peter's 'end zone' speech to Jared. Could they be any cuter?
~ Jared's poorly concealed jealousy when Peter kisses Jennifer. And the way he whistles at him to get his attention.
~ Damien's 'fluffing' line - dude, that's sick but also hilarious!
~ The way that Jared calls Peter a guitarist and is totally okay with winning a prize that he can't use himself. And the way they both talk to the guitar!

I may not have outright hated, but I was certainly less keen on:

~ Peter and Jared's initial reaction to Jennifer. A tad too close to being frat boy assholes for comfort.
~ The fact that Infeld got a bit too crazy in this episode.
~ The way that they resolved the case without fully having to commit to the idea that all women are beautiful.
~ The sidelining of Pindar in this episode.
~ Peter's use of the word 'burqini' - we get it, she's not "Hollywood" pretty, enough already!

But the good does seem to outweigh the bad so overall - yay!

[jekesta]

Oh, his little boy voice comes as a surprise to me still, even though I know he can do it, it's just WEIRD watching him and hearing someone entirely different. And whistling Peter is just the best thing EVER. And yes, the guitar being for Peter still being a totally great prize. Also I love them 'joking' that sometimes their office seems too big, because it is totally too big for them, they can be anything up to a few METRES AWAY FROM EACH OTHER. It's like hell.

Yeah, 'cos that's such a hardship!

I know! Because if there's one thing I've learned from Franklin and Bash it's definitely that Peter and Jared HATE spending time together. Dude.

Peter and Jared do skirt really close to being total dicks in this episode and I was really worried that it was going to make my love for them weaken. But it's just about okay with me because they are actually always polite/nice to her, and don't say anything really really horrific even away from her. It's like they're just sad that they think she's delusional, and then eventually they work out that she's a little bit wrong but not properly wrong, and I'm glad that Peter does fall for her a bit in the end. And like we were kind of saying in chat, I like that the show comes down on the side of her sort of being right, she was fired for being too popular, and men are clearly drawn to her. I was so so so relieved that it wasn't just her being deluded and laughable.

[vic-amy-z.livejournal.com]

Oh, the gif... [cannot. tear. eyes. away]

[fobmarwi.livejournal.com]

Jared's little boy voice is so ADORABLE, I want a ringtone out of it!
Pindar's "I'm going to masturbate now" was inappropriately hilarious.
I loved Damien in this ep. I loved how he played Jared and Peter into taking the case, the fluffing joke, how sad he was about his guitar, I LOVE HIM in present time now.
Also, I DO WISH MORE ICONS,PLEASE, of Jared and Peter being really close to each other,because if they're too far apart, their souls die a little...

[jekesta]

Sometimes I watch his little boy voice on a loop for a little while because it is just extraordinary.

Hurrah for Damien love! I agree, it's a pretty great episode for him.

if they're too far apart, their souls die a little...

Yesssssssss! Oh. They're so much happier the closer they can get. I'm definitely going to try to make some icons at some point, although so far I've found them quite difficult to icon. Something about how they're shot, and their height difference, all makes it a bit tricky.