[Episode Update] #4.45: Frozen, Part I

[kira]

Traps of all kinds, from literal to figurative to emotional, have our Skyfalls citizens encased in virtual ice in Frozen in Episode #4.45, "Frozen" Part I.

• Jonnie takes a stand with Nick and nearly gets his legs kicked out from under him
• An immobile Rena is pleased to see a dear friend on her doorstep
• Ross plays hardball with a potential suspect, but gets some tough questions of his own
• ... and Clark gets a shock when Noah turns up where he's least expected.

This is a relatively short episode (and Part II is even shorter), but that's because it was too long for a single episode, so I ended up splitting it into two shorties.

A teaser:

Spoiler

The warmth of the old Victorian house practically slaps Clark Durand in the face when he enters from the frigid outdoors, and he takes a deep breath, hoping to thaw out his lungs.*He can smell something bready baking in the kitchen—despite the breakfast still sitting in his stomach, it’s a tantalizing scent and he hopes he’ll be able to mooch a slice or two of whatever-it-is later.*But the real purpose of his visit isn’t food. Once he deposits his coat on the ornate cherry wood rack, he heads straight to the parlor.

As soon as he enters, he’s filled with sympathy pain by the sight of Rena Carlson lying with a cast on one arm and bandages both on her forehead and visible beneath her bathrobe.*Though Clark tries to hide his reaction to her awful appearance, Rena knows him too well.*From her position on her parents’ brown velveteen sofa, she raises her good arm in a weak wave.

"Uh oh." She smiles weakly, watching Clark as he walks further into the room. “That bad, huh?”

ASF's URL is http://www.skyfalls.com. As always, there's a printable version of the episode available on the site, and both a detailed previous episode recap and a quick summary that will remind you of stuff you need to know for this episode. And of course, we have easily accessed character bios so you can learn more about everyone you come across.

Please let me know your thoughts either here, on our mailing list, or via our feedback form. And don't forget to follow ASF on Twitter: @aboutSkyfalls. Thanks!

[Michael]

Finally got around to reading this latest episode! Visits to my parents' for the holidays never seem to have as much free time as I imagine they will...

I always sort of forget about Jonnie's role in the series, because since I've been a regular reader, he has never been a very prominent character. But I find his scenes with the Nichols family and their lackeys incredibly engaging. The tension is so palpable, as Jonnie struggles to balance the reality of what he's doing with the "reality" that his bosses know. I'm eager to see how this blows up -- and I know it will! -- as Nick decides how to proceed. I also have to say that you do a great job of writing the Nichols men with the necessary edge. They read like actual mobsters, not some knockoff TV version. I get frustrated, wanting to reason with them and shout, "Why are you doing these things?! It's horrible!", but it's true to who they are.

I'm also finding myself more drawn into the complicated Clark/Noah/Tom/Ross/etc. debacle. The David Reilly murder was the main point of interest for me for a long time, because it had that feel of a standalone story, but now I'm just as invested in the emotional lives of the people mixed up in it. Ross's denial plays very believably right now, though I do feel like he's right on the edge of mustache-twirling with his need to, erm, nail Clark out of some poorly repressed gay panic. But the encounter between Ross and Tom was rich with internal thoughts clashing with what was being spoken, and it really worked. I look forward to more of this complicated dynamic. (It's also nice to see Tom again! It's been a while since he had any significant screen time. And I feel like we usually "see" him through Clark's eyes, so this was a welcome change of pace.)

I look forward to the second part of this episode! Will it be a continuation of these stories or feature entirely different ones?

[kira]

Hiya Michael, thanks so much for taking the time to read the episode. It's very rewarding to know that the Jonnie/Nichols stuff is working for you. I guess you must've started reading ASF during the end of the third season? Dude was all over the place prior to that (when I was setting up the undercover investigation ages ago. I think you were in elementary school back then! ). But yeah, as you noted, his situation is clearly about to boil over! In fact, Jonnie'll be very prominent throughout most of the upcoming episodes.

If the mobsters come across as believable, I'm thrilled! I try to keep in mind real businessmen I've known--not white collar folks but manufacturing types. My father owned a wire factory, and some of his business associates were incredibly blunt, no bullshit guys. Though they weren't mobsters or anything like that (as far as I know!), they had a toughness to them, an edge, that used to scare me a little as a kid -- only 'cause they were so far removed from men like my father and our own suburban upper middle class community. That's what I hope to channel with characters like Nick, Dean and Lou -- that kind of down-to-earth, realistic, hard-as-nails guy who's involved in a gritty, gruesome business in an almost scarily banal way. Not a showman trying to act like a gangster.

Ha! to your comment about Ross's mustache-twirling. I'm just glad he has any personality! I admit I'm painting his resentment/vengefulness on a bit thick. Let's be generous and just say he's pushing himself harder because he's insecure in this particular role of aggressive prosecutor. I guess he is actually an example of a showman trying to act like a gangster, relatively speaking. You make a really good point about this being a rare instance of seeing Tom through someone else's POV. I think he's only ever been seen through Clark, Beth and Mike's perspective. And in this instance he's not even the biggest jerk in the scene! I wonder if Tom seemed sincere in his distress about possibly causing problems for Clark? His motives are certainly up-in-the-air so I'm curious to see how people are reading him. Anyway, these four guys and others will be mixed up in some ugliness, as you can probably imagine.

The 2nd half o' the episode is connected to the 1st through Jonnie's storyline, but the other storyline involved is new. It's a real shortie, too. I would've posted it already but I am swamped with trying to finish a novel in record time (ten days, basically) so my eyes must be on that particular prize.

Thanks again for the encouraging feedback and have a wonderful New Year!