Episode #587

[Michael]

Episode #587 has been posted!

In this episode: Lauren and Josh's business trip bears a striking similarity to an event from their past... Tim confides in a sibling about his relationship troubles... Claire and Brent prepare for their arrival in New Hampshire to take on Loretta... Tempest makes plans to leave King's Bay for good.

Thanks for reading! I'm trying to keep the episodes coming at a quick pace right now, because we're ramping up toward Loretta's big masquerade ball.

The link above goes to the Current Episode page. Here is a permalink to the printable version of this ep.

[Allan]

You really are keeping these episodes coming fast, Michael!

I'm really liking this Josh/Lauren storyline you're setting up. Romance blossoming against a backdrop of seduction and power games is always a win.

As for Tempest, I really am finding it hard to feel sorry for her. Obviously she's got self destructive tendencies and I can see why she might be so hesitant to fully embrace Claire as a mother figure in her life, but something about her just doesn't click with me.

I am so full of admiration at how you're able to keep bringing episodes so regularly, and so well written. I look forward to seeing what you've got up your sleeve as things heat up for this masquerade ball!

[Dallas]

Michael,

I loved the twist with Lauren and Josh. Josh wanted to bang "some hot cougar" was priceless. I actually laughed out loud. You know that I have been wanting these two reunite for some time now, so I'm thrilled that things are at least taking a physical turn. I'm curious to see how this pans out.

It was so nice to see Tim and Jason catch up over lunch. I love their relationship and it's so real. Actually, it was great just to see Jason again. He's been missing in action as of late; well deserved since he was so heavily featured last year.

Like Allan, I find it hard to root for Tempest. Still interested to see what happens when she calls Claire and Claire is at the ball.

Nice read!

d

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Allan

You really are keeping these episodes coming fast, Michael!

They'd be coming faster if I could do it! There's so much story ground to cover right now.

Originally Posted by Allan

As for Tempest, I really am finding it hard to feel sorry for her. Obviously she's got self destructive tendencies and I can see why she might be so hesitant to fully embrace Claire as a mother figure in her life, but something about her just doesn't click with me.

I can understand that. The best response I can muster is that I suppose I don't care if you feel sorry for her at this point -- as long as you understand why she's behaving the way she is.

Originally Posted by Dallas

I loved the twist with Lauren and Josh. Josh wanted to bang "some hot cougar" was priceless. I actually laughed out loud. You know that I have been wanting these two reunite for some time now, so I'm thrilled that things are at least taking a physical turn. I'm curious to see how this pans out.

Those scenes were a lot of fun to write. They're removed from the complex mash-up of stories that's sort of dominating the series at the moment (this whole Claire/Brent/Molly/Philip/Loretta and Tim/Cassandra/JD and Tempest business is all going to tie together even more very soon), so it was a nice change of pace to just pull their stuff out of the air and run with it. The two characters still have an enjoyable chemistry, and what happened in this episode will certainly change their dynamic as we move forward. And hey, who didn't know it was gonna come to this, even if they kept denying it?

Originally Posted by Dallas

It was so nice to see Tim and Jason catch up over lunch. I love their relationship and it's so real. Actually, it was great just to see Jason again. He's been missing in action as of late; well deserved since he was so heavily featured last year.

That was one of those scenes that wasn't especially necessary -- that is, the story didn't move in it, and we didn't get much in the way of new information -- but it felt important to show Tim reacting to recent events, and it allowed me to slip in some hints about how Jason is getting by. The focus will shift back to him fairly soon, but he's keeping a low profile in his life for the time being.

Thanks for the quick commentary, guys! Much appreciated.

[Andy Eckles]

Some delicous things going on in this episode, and I'm not just talking about the menu at Sue Casa's. I just adored the twist with Lauren and Josh. It was ridiculously well-played. Josh was totally in his element, and cocky as ever when he and Lauren were talking about the seduction of the owner's wife. He's so flip and casual about things and Lauren is the voice of reason. But then by turning it around and having her do most of the initiating in the hotel room was genius. It was also a nice way to bring up some of their past, like the cancer scare and the lipstick account. It feels like they've come full circle.

Tempst continues to interest me, if only for the believability in her situation. Getting into the truck with that bearded guy and then jumping out when she realized she couldn't prostitute herself out anymore was a nice touch to her character. I do feel sorry for her and this episode really made me care for her as a character as opposed to just being interested in how she'll affect the rest of the cast. I think she'll call Travis, btw. Just my prediction.

I was glad to see some action at the Harbor Boulevard. And again, the menu was making me hungry (speaking of - is it dinner time?). I'm glad that we're seeing some constant attention to the Tim/Cassandra/J.D. situation. I imagine at this point with the ball coming up it could be easy to let it fade to the background for several episodes, but I'm glad that you are't. By having it brought to Brent's attention it keeps it in the forefront which is good.

Anyway, great episode, great food, and snappy dialogue. Glad to hear you're going to be power-posting in the coming weeks!

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

I just adored the twist with Lauren and Josh. It was ridiculously well-played. Josh was totally in his element, and cocky as ever when he and Lauren were talking about the seduction of the owner's wife. He's so flip and casual about things and Lauren is the voice of reason. But then by turning it around and having her do most of the initiating in the hotel room was genius. It was also a nice way to bring up some of their past, like the cancer scare and the lipstick account. It feels like they've come full circle.

This whole arc was definitely designed to bring their story full circle, something I wish I'd gotten to a year ago. Better late than never, though. So much of it was contingent upon the timing of the Sabrina tale, because that trip to Iowa to check out The Real Sabrina Gage was important to bringing them closer again. Anyway, it was also important to me that Lauren be a very equal participant in the sex, because otherwise I think it could've had a gross air of Josh forcing herself into it. I really adore these two together, and I'm thrilled to have reached this point in the story at last, so it's a delight to know that you're enjoying it, too.

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

Tempst continues to interest me, if only for the believability in her situation. Getting into the truck with that bearded guy and then jumping out when she realized she couldn't prostitute herself out anymore was a nice touch to her character. I do feel sorry for her and this episode really made me care for her as a character as opposed to just being interested in how she'll affect the rest of the cast. I think she'll call Travis, btw. Just my prediction.

Awesome! I know she's sort of a divisive character at the moment, but as we get more hints about what she's been through and where she comes from, I hope more people will understand her, if not actually like her.

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

I was glad to see some action at the Harbor Boulevard. And again, the menu was making me hungry (speaking of - is it dinner time?). I'm glad that we're seeing some constant attention to the Tim/Cassandra/J.D. situation. I imagine at this point with the ball coming up it could be easy to let it fade to the background for several episodes, but I'm glad that you are't. By having it brought to Brent's attention it keeps it in the forefront which is good.

That Tim/Jason scene wasn't originally in the outline for this episode, but I felt it was necessary to show Tim's reaction to what has been going on. In trying to up the pace, it's easy to lose those in-between beats, but if I'm being true to the daytime nature of the series, they need to be included. And I always enjoy writing and reading them. Guess I was hungry when I planned out this episode, too!

(Actually, the whole Sue Casa thing was some ridiculous bit I thought up and then deemed too stupid to include, but I decided it could be my slight homage to April Fool's. Sue Casa. Ridiculous.)

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Andy!

[Andy Eckles]

No, Sue Casa's is hilarious. Do you mind if I have one of my characters eat there? lol

[Michael]

They are expanding all over the west coast! It could happen!

[kira]

Hey Michael. This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

Tim and Jason's scene was great to see, no matter that it wasn't moving the plot forward. As you said above, it's the sort of family- and character-based beat that's important to play, especially on serials influenced by daytime drama, which used to take the time to show family dynamics like this. I was a little surprised that Tim was so ambivalent about the status of his relationship with Cassandra, at least when talking to Jason. When we last saw/heard him, he seemed much more certain that things were kaput. Anyway, I'm glad to see the brothers together, though something felt odd in their dialogue. Feels weird for someone to ask "how are you managing?" to a brother who lives in the same city. That's a question you ask when you haven't spoken to someone for several weeks. Maybe that question was for our (the audience's) benefit, since we haven't seen Jason for a while? But Tim, presumably, has been in more frequent contact with the guy. That's always a toughie, isn't it -- imparting info to the audience without having your characters say stuff they'd already know!

Tempest (I can't read this name without thinking of Vanessa on The Cosby Show) makes a little character progress! Very cool. She's either calling Travis or Samantha, right? I thought it was touching that she's able to compare bus station smells. BTW, was anyone else wondering what Beardy was doing inside a bus depot in the first place? I mean, it's not like he'd just hopped off a bus himself, since he had a truck in the parking lot and was about to start his own journey. Quel suspicious!

And now to the main storyline. Some fun, fizzy stuff with Lauren/Josh in the first scene; Sue Casa was ridiculously amusing, and I love the focus on people doing their jobs, and apparently doing them well, too! (At least, to start with...) Quick typo quibble:

partner--neither of whom bares any resemblance to the cartoon Hispanic

Heh. I think you meant bears. Unless Lauren is revealing her one-track mind, already thinking of the sexytimes ahead...

So let's talk about this clientele Willis has. Is this tiny PR company existing in the same pocket of universe as Entourage? The plethora of skeevy types who keep asking Josh to do crazy things in order to gain their account reminds me of the studio execs or would-be investors who ask Vinnie Chase and the boys to acquire drugs or sleep with their spouses. Who knew a company in sleepy King's Bay would be hooked up with such fast operators?

And now a more serious nitpick -- no, not a nitpick, really, but a more serious "calling foul." I was genuinely astonished and disappointed when, after Josh compared his coke-dealing/self-pimping with Lauren keeping her breast cancer scare a secret, Lauren "knows he has a point." Are you effin' kidding me?! He's comparing an agency's whoring and drug-dealing with Lauren's personal decision to keep her health crisis to herself, and Lauren -- moral, strong-willed Lauren -- thinks this is a legit argument? That's nuts!

I just don't understand the huge amount of shame she's feeling, and I can't believe she's letting him add to her guilt trip. This reaction just strikes me as off. He's not her husband, and wasn't even that serious a romantic partner at the time -- when you're going through a terrifying scare like that, it's perfectly understandable to turn inward. She had to take care of her own needs at that time. I have to say it's borderline ... well, not offensive, but bad-taste-in-the-mouth-y ... that Lauren's being made out to be the baddie in that scenario. (And worse, that we as the audience are seemingly meant to agree with this mindset.)

Hell, Josh should still be apologizing for being the kind of flippant arrogant ass who didn't seem trustworthy enough to earn her confidence at the time she was going through such trauma! Very disappointed that she let him get away with that, and worse, that she then goes from shame to turned-on in the space of one sentence.

Now I am all for a Josh/Lauren pairing, and I'm rooting for them, make no mistake! They're my favorite couple on canvas. I don't mind that Josh is a playa and that he and Lauren are very different. That's why they're such fun together. But this scene squicked me out. I just didn't buy the rapid transition from "you're whoring yourself" to "sorry about being so evil as to not share my personal cancer scare with you" to "let's fuck," all in a few scant paragraphs.

So in summary: 90% of the episode was fun; 10% angered me up. I'm probably alone on this (as I usually am!), and maybe I'm taking it too seriously. Well, what can I say, that's how I roll -- my remit is to suck the fun out of everything. But more to the point, FP is high enough quality that it inspires serious thought, and it matters enough to me that I like to mull this stuff over. In other words, my bitching is totally a compliment!

[Michael]

Okay, first of all:

Originally Posted by kira

Heh. I think you meant bears. Unless Lauren is revealing her one-track mind, already thinking of the sexytimes ahead...

!!! Thank you for pointing that out, although "typo" is too generous. Just a flat-out effing error. "Bear"/"bare" and "reign"/"rein" are two that I have to be vigilant about. Eek. Corrected!

Originally Posted by kira

Tim and Jason's scene was great to see, no matter that it wasn't moving the plot forward. As you said above, it's the sort of family- and character-based beat that's important to play, especially on serials influenced by daytime drama, which used to take the time to show family dynamics like this. ... Anyway, I'm glad to see the brothers together, though something felt odd in their dialogue. Feels weird for someone to ask "how are you managing?" to a brother who lives in the same city. That's a question you ask when you haven't spoken to someone for several weeks. Maybe that question was for our (the audience's) benefit, since we haven't seen Jason for a while? But Tim, presumably, has been in more frequent contact with the guy. That's always a toughie, isn't it -- imparting info to the audience without having your characters say stuff they'd already know!

Nah, I will say that was very intentional. The lines immediately following that dialogue talked about how Jason never gives an actual answer, and Tim doesn't know what to do except continue to ask the question in as "regular" a manner as he can. It's more direct than "How are things?" or "How are you doing?", because it implies that Tim expects his brother to be struggling without Courtney.

Originally Posted by kira

BTW, was anyone else wondering what Beardy was doing inside a bus depot in the first place? I mean, it's not like he'd just hopped off a bus himself, since he had a truck in the parking lot and was about to start his own journey. Quel suspicious!

In my head, he was trolling for hitchhikers, so I guess he'll be back soon!

Originally Posted by kira

So let's talk about this clientele Willis has. Is this tiny PR company existing in the same pocket of universe as Entourage? The plethora of skeevy types who keep asking Josh to do crazy things in order to gain their account reminds me of the studio execs or would-be investors who ask Vinnie Chase and the boys to acquire drugs or sleep with their spouses. Who knew a company in sleepy King's Bay would be hooked up with such fast operators?

I admit it's a bit of a leap. In retrospect, I regret setting everyone up in these very soap opera jobs: police commander, fashion designer, junior advertising exec, etc. I'm much more a fan of the type of job Jason or Bill has, running/working at a smaller local business that fits the community I otherwise see King's Bay to be. But hey, I've got Willis (and Vision, which also irks me) set up, so I need to play them out. It's one of those dramatic-license jumps that I'm asking people to take with me. I know it's kind of ridiculous, but I wanted this set of clients to ask for a "favor" so that I could parallel what happened between Josh and Lauren in 2007. No real excuse or explanation otherwise.

Originally Posted by kira

And now a more serious nitpick -- no, not a nitpick, really, but a more serious "calling foul." I was genuinely astonished and disappointed when, after Josh compared his coke-dealing/self-pimping with Lauren keeping her breast cancer scare a secret, Lauren "knows he has a point." Are you effin' kidding me?! He's comparing an agency's whoring and drug-dealing with Lauren's personal decision to keep her health crisis to herself, and Lauren -- moral, strong-willed Lauren -- thinks this is a legit argument? That's nuts!

I just don't understand the huge amount of shame she's feeling, and I can't believe she's letting him add to her guilt trip. This reaction just strikes me as off. He's not her husband, and wasn't even that serious a romantic partner at the time -- when you're going through a terrifying scare like that, it's perfectly understandable to turn inward. She had to take care of her own needs at that time. I have to say it's borderline ... well, not offensive, but bad-taste-in-the-mouth-y ... that Lauren's being made out to be the baddie in that scenario. (And worse, that we as the audience are seemingly meant to agree with this mindset.)

I'm going to take issue with this. I probably needed to provide more exposition, looking at the scene again, but I definitely didn't want readers to think Lauren should be ashamed she kept a health crisis to herself. The way events played out back then, she and Josh split up over the client/coke thing, then got back together. They were in bed together, and he was the one who first felt the lump in her breast. Lauren was embarrassed (understandably so) and ran out. When Josh questioned her about it later, after she'd been to the doctor, she lied that it was nothing (still okay). Then when he found out she'd been at the hospital and tried to be there for her, she lashed out, told him she couldn't be with him because his lie about supplying the client with coke was too much for her to get past, and shut him out. So really, the issue is that she essentially blamed him for her decision to shut him out of her crisis, not that she chose to keep it to herself. Maybe a subtle distinction, but that's what caused their final falling-out.

Not that Josh is in the clear by any means, and he did do something shady that made her question his character, but her decision came much more out of personal embarrassment and fear than it did any genuine concern that Josh wouldn't support her. Which is understandable, but it's a pretty shitty thing to do to someone you allegedly care about, and I can understand why Josh would be hurt by it, as well as why Lauren would be ashamed she acted in that way. I think it's very consistent with her character to feel shame over having behaved in such a manner -- unlike, say, Diane or Sarah or Courtney, who would have no problem justifying that behavior.

Sorry if I sound like I'm being defensive. I hope you know that I take all feedback seriously and, usually, don't try to "defend" myself against criticism or justify things that people feel don't work (or I just try to make it work in the story, rather than telling you what to think). But this was a very specific choice regarding a very sensitive issue, and I think your issues result more from my failure to communicate the history between the characters than the situation itself.

Thanks, as always, for your well thought-out, very helpful feedback, Kira.

[kira]

Hiya Michael, thanks for getting back to me! Fun to hear your expanded thoughts on this stuff.

Lemme clarify on the "how are you managing" question -- I didn't mean I had a problem with the wording of the question, which was perfect for exactly the reasons you mention (that it implies an acknowledgement that Jason's going through hell). It was just... hm, how can I explain it? Okay. If I went to lunch with my oldest sister tomorrow, she wouldn't have to ask me "how are you managing," because presumably we'd have spoken on the phone (or via email, whatever) in the past twenty-four hours in order to make the date, or just because she knows I'm going through some health issues at the moment. We'd just sort of pick up on the conversation where we'd left off. In medias res, you know?

The Jason/Tim dialogue, OTOH, sounded like they hadn't seen/spoken to each other for weeks and were catching up. Not what I would expect from a pair of brothers living in the same town -- I'd think that there would be a shorthand between them, like, "Did Sophie end up eating those peas, or did you give up on that?" Or--more to the point of finding out how Jason is-- "Did you finally get any sleep last night? I still don't get why you don't just pick up some Tylenol PM..." (Or whatever.) I know I'm rambling here. Just thinking aloud, really, on ways a writer could let us know that these two are in contact through hints in dialogue. Even if the audience doesn't "get" what they're talking about, stuff like that allows us to feel like we're overhearing a real conversation. People don't talk for the benefit of others who might be listening in.

Duh, I know you know this already... This is something I'm always struggling with, and you not so much, so maybe I'm just elaborating on this point to remind myself to do this, rather than you!

Anyway I don't mean to be so presumptuous, you're the writer here! I shouldn't be so churlish, anyway: I've been totally digging the greater emphasis on family relationships that you've been giving us since Courtney's death!

Not that Josh is in the clear by any means, and he did do something shady that made her question his character, but her decision came much more out of personal embarrassment and fear than it did any genuine concern that Josh wouldn't support her. Which is understandable, but it's a pretty shitty thing to do to someone you allegedly care about, and I can understand why Josh would be hurt by it, as well as why Lauren would be ashamed she acted in that way. I think it's very consistent with her character to feel shame over having behaved in such a manner -- unlike, say, Diane or Sarah or Courtney, who would have no problem justifying that behavior.

You're probably/almost certainly right; you know these characters inside and out, waaaay better than I do! What you say does make sense. Sometimes certain story elements cut pretty close and I've been through a teensy bit of what Lauren experienced (everything's fine) so I'm probably just empathizing more with her than I should. You may have been through something similar, for all I know. Hopefully not! Just meant that someone going through what Lauren went through is going to be 'selfish' and that is perfectly natural and understandable; I hate to see her accepting so much blame for this. I just don't see it as a 'genuinely shitty' thing for her to do, but a panicky reaction by someone facing the prospect of death. And what bugs is that Josh successfully turned the whole thing around and made it about him. I think as you say maybe if there'd been a little more exposition/dialogue that took us from "fuck you" to "fuck me" my slow, dull-witted mind would've been able to make the leap to wanting to see these two romping.

Sorry if I sound like I'm being defensive. I hope you know that I take all feedback seriously and, usually, don't try to "defend" myself against criticism or justify things that people feel don't work (or I just try to make it work in the story, rather than telling you what to think). But this was a very specific choice regarding a very sensitive issue, and I think your issues result more from my failure to communicate the history between the characters than the situation itself.

I don't think you're being defensive -- not overly or unjustly so, certainly. I know some writers who'd have been all "well that was my decision and I'm sorry you feel that way but I'm proud of what I wrote so fuck off," but you've never been like that, which is why I like to share my opinions on your work. You have the genuine curiousity of a talented writer, and are willing to discuss this stuff with your audience, even when your audience member is obviously wrong.

It's not so much the history that I'd want to have seen more of (though that would always be useful), exactly... I just personally disagree with Lauren's self-recriminations, at least the degree of 'em, and it's a gut reaction from me, probably not a fair and objective one. Also because I love this couple so much I want to see more of an emotional throughline in the scene... going A - B - C rather than from A right to C.

Thanks, as always, for your well thought-out, very helpful feedback, Kira.

You're very welcome! I figure everyone -- justly -- tells you FP is the most awesome thing that ever awesomed; amid the feast of enthusiastic feedback, I might as well scrounge up the few table scraps of nitpicking I can in order to bring something to the table.

(And my reliance on tortured metaphors like that are why you're probably better off not listening to my writing suggestions!)

I need to shut up and catch up on the two episodes I'm still behind on. Dang!