Secret Diary of a Call Girl • Domestic Dispute [3]
Hannah/Belle's (Billie Piper) biggest strength is maintaining her distance from people through a series of lies, having become very adept at the art of constant role play by living her life as a girl that never was. As Belle she has every opportunity to cut loose and take chances that she would never do as Hannah, and it's a very liberating form of expression for her.
Here she is asked to live a normal life, to allow herself to have an emotional relationship with Alex (Callum Blue) without understanding how to navigate the line between her life as Hannah and her life as Belle. Alex expects her to be a girlfriend, to tend to his emotional needs while giving a part of herself in return, and it's a concept so foreign to Hannah that she grows scared; scared that he will hate her should he learn about her role as Belle, and scared that she will come to resent him should he interfere with her work.
Forced to consider what she wants in life, Hannah thinks on her future, wondering if she would be happy as a wife, as a mother, and questioning whether or not she could ever truly give up the glamor inherent in Belle's business. Ultimately she decides to try living in both worlds, despite knowing that it will all end in tragedy, and simply hope for the best.
Daria • Road Worrier [3.5]
Jane's (Wendy Hoopes) brother Trent (Alvaro J. Gonzalez) has long been the subject of Daria's (Tracy Grandstaff) desire, though she would never admit as much to her friend. Daria has a certain idea in mind of what she thinks Trent might look for in a woman, and while she feels that she likely doesn't live up to his ideal, she can't control her feelings when it comes to him.
Agreeing to go with the Lane siblings to a music festival, Daria worries that she might have to change who she is in order to get into Trent's good books, and goes as far as to change her wardrobe and wear makeup in an effort to impress him. Worse, she begins censoring her words, deliberating in her head about what to say and choosing instead to say something else entirely benign to ensure that she won't find herself saying the wrong thing.
Daria's attitude only reverts to normal when she relaxes enough to take her mind off of things, and immediately she comes to regret it, slapping her mouth shut and believing herself to have lost whatever chance she might have had with Trent. Instead she learns that he prefers her personality when she's not trying to impress him, when she's simply saying what's on her mind and acting as though she isn't worried about what he might be thinking of her. Daria has always had a strong sense of self, and the lesson she takes away from this experience is that she should never try to change herself for anyone, as they will accept her for who she is should they be worth her time..
Buffy the Vampire Slayer • Out of Mind, Out of Sight [3.5]
Marcie (Clea DuVall) only ever wanted to fit in, going out of her way to add to Cordelia's (Charisma Carpenter) conversations on the off chance that she might experience a moment of popularity. Despite choosing the right things to say, the right people to say them to, she finds that she has become something of an outcast, a try hard that tried too hard, and is largely ignored by those around her because of it. In trying to be something she isn't she becomes nothing in the eyes of those who are important to her, and it drives her insane.
Cordelia, too, experiences what it is to live through other people's expectations, hinting that she acts out and bullies her peers in order to maintain her level of popularity, not necessarily because it's what she wants anymore, but because it's what's expected of her. Cordelia doesn't know what it is to be ignored or forgotten, and has grown so used to being in the spotlight that she doesn't know how to function out of it. Her image is so important to who she is now that she can't escape it, and being known for her good looks and polished image, Marcie's revenge of scarring her face beyond recognition is Cordelia's worst fear.
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), too, is forced to consider her position in life, as she once was the Cordelia of her former high school, the popular cheerleader without a care beyond her appearance. Having been chosen as the Slayer Buffy lost all of that, instead forced to live in the night and fight back the darkness, becoming the subject of rumors of gang activity and dangerous liaisons. Buffy wants nothing more than an opportunity to revisit her former life, but, at the same time, she doesn't want to give up on the person that she's become.
Life on Mars • The Bombing [3.5]
Playing the hero is not something that Ray (Dean Andrews) is accustomed to, but when he and Sam (John Simm) get into a pissing contest, Ray ends up on the wrong side of an explosion. How he's viewed by his peers is incredibly important to Ray, especially in light of his somewhat recent demotion, and he can't stand to be seen as less of a man than Sam. Were it not Sam who was mocking him, had he not felt that his rival was one-upping him, Ray likely wouldn't have walked toward the bomb because he would have had nothing to prove.
In the aftermath, Ray finds himself fighting against a post-traumatic stress disorder, shaking uncontrollably and still very affected by what had happened to him. Though he surely isn't fit for active duty, he returns to the roster in the hope of finding once more who he was, in becoming the man he thinks they need him to be, and has no time for recovering in silence. Though their animosity is as strong as ever, and their conversations are likely to continue devolving into arguments, Ray and Sam appear to have found a grudging respect for one another and are surely going to keep watching each other's backs in the future.
Better Off Ted • Father, Can You Hair Me? [3.5]
Ted (Jay Harrington) has always considered himself a good father to Rose (Isabella Acres,) and it's the troubled relationship he had had with his own father that keeps him determined to do better by his child. This determination, unfortunately, displays itself as a constant competitiveness in anything that might be viewed as a competition, and he has to force himself to show restraint even when he knows he can gain victory.
Veronica's (Portia de Rossi) relationship with her father (Geoff Pierson) is somewhat more complicated than that of Ted's, having evolved into an intense rivalry that threatens the welfare of two respective companies. The competitive spirit inherent in both father and daughter is kept alive through dirty business tactics, including sending moles into the other's office, stealing information on secret projects, and trying to finish development on a product before the other has a chance to. The rivalry between the two is so strong that neither is sure how to relate to the other without it, forcing both to realize that they haven't been much of a family to one another.
In trying to bond as they feel a father and daughter should, the two learn that they simply have nothing in common outside of their work, leaving Veronica wondering what they are to each other if not enemies. In the end Veronica reignites the rivalry, accepting that, as competitors they have something to talk about, and their love of the fight will keep them bonded far stronger than their inability to throw a frisbee.
Firefly • War Stories [4]
Wash (Alan Tudyk) is determined to show the crew that he's just as capable of running a mission as Zoë (Gina Torres,) not in an effort to prove that he can, but in order to understand why his wife is so blindly loyal to Mal (Nathan Fillion.) Even though he knows that forcing himself onto the mission will cause a great deal of strife in his relationships with both Zoë and Mal, he's also keenly aware that doing nothing will only cause more problems between he and his wife.
Wash makes every attempt to do as Zoë does, to understand what it is about Mal that makes her so fiercely determined to defend him at every turn, and his inability to connect with Mal as his wife does frustrates both parties, leading to an ever-growing argument about how they should be relating to each other. The argument isn't so much about why Wash and Mal aren't as close as Zoë and Mal, and it's not even about Mal's tendency to lead Zoë into dangerous situations, but the friendship that Mal has with Wash's wife has, in a way, tainted the relationship that Wash has with Zoë, leaving him always wondering if Zoë actually agrees with what Wash says or if she only says she does in order to appease him.
Through their shared experience of torture, Wash learns exactly how much Mal cares for him and the rest of his crew, and he comes to realize that there's nothing between his captain and his wife beyond a sense of family. It's certain that the bond between Mal and Zoë is a strong one, but the love between Zoë and Wash is greater, and in voicing her disagreement with Wash's opinions Zoë is, in a way, showing him respect by being honest.
Winner of the Week • Firefly
Fillion and Tudyk play off of one another very well, and while they've had a few moments here and there to have their characters interact on screen, this is the first time that they've really been alone together. What makes this series interesting is that the characters all have very real relationships with one another, each unique in its own way, and here we're shown a flaw that we might otherwise not have noticed.
The stories on this series are certainly interesting, but every episode is made by the characters, through dialogue or body language, in how they work with each other, and it's great to see different characters paired together as the scripts keep coming. Wash has been shown as somewhat quirky but almost always level-headed, and his jealousy here, while unwarranted, is completely understandable, and is a great addition to who the character is as a person. So often a show will create a conflict that will be resolved at the end of the hour, usually feeling very forced and unnatural, but the progression of Wash's argument with Mal is very real, and while it does come to a close at the end of the episode, it does so in a convincing manner.
Firefly proves that it can be exciting and adventurous without neglecting the development of it's characters, and I find myself looking forward to each new episode.
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