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Post by BeastieBoy on Feb 4, 2015 14:33:34 GMT -5
This episode is a favorite of mine as well. So sad when Catherine blows out the near fully melted candle because Vincent never showed up at the end.
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Post by alwayscrazedbatbfan on Feb 4, 2015 14:47:24 GMT -5
And I admit to being torn about Evan as well as Joe. I loved the camaraderie in this episode between Catherine and her co-workers. You get to see them as both friends and on the job in this episode. I liked that aspect of the relationship. You can tell that both Joe and Evan clearly respect Cat at her birthday party and are there for that reason (at least in part, as to Evan. He always had his ulterior motives just below the surface as he was not willing to give up pursuing Cat even while pursuing someone else. I admit that I would have liked to see if he and Clair had made plans before finding out about Cat's party or whether he specifically asked her to the surprise party as an attempt to make Cat jealous. I also think Clair may have had a hand in securing the invitation to the party in an attempt to see the various co-workers and begin her tasks on behalf of minding the precinct for Muirfield. I wouldn't have minded seeing a little of Muirfield's plot to get a foot in the door in the precinct more than what they showed us, but I recognize that there are only so many minutes to each episode. And I certainly would rather the time be spent on VinCat and their budding relationship.)
And I admit that I don't just like the message that so often gets used in tv that the co-workers are there only as potential love interests rather than just as friends and co-workers. I couldn't stand Evan while he was pursuing Cat, and I certainly lost my respect for Joe when he started dating Tess and acting the way he did of almost abusing his power by telling her what cases she could and could not do. But in this episode as co-workers, I found Joe and Evan tolerable, even likable. Joe opens a case based on Cat and Tess' concerns regarding Amy potentially being murdered by her boyfriend because he trusts his detectives' instincts. He even authorizes a tail on Michael when they actually have very little to go on. And Joe and the team come up with a plan together to search for what has happened to Michael. So I liked seeing the efficiency of the precinct team in this episode. Gave you respect for their jobs and what all they have to do independently and separately. Wish they could have just kept it like that.
I could appreciate the case-of-the-week in these first episodes of the series. It made sense in that Vincent really DIDN'T have a life outside the warehouse all that much at that point, AND it gave us insight into Cat and her world. And seeing how Vincent became drawn into her world and vice versa just made it work initially, at least for me.
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Post by alwayscrazedbatbfan on Feb 4, 2015 14:52:20 GMT -5
BeastieBoy,
I , too, loved the way Cat looked when she blew the candles out on her birthday cake. It was just that little bit of sad that Vincent was not there with her. And you could tell that what she really wanted and wished for was that Vincent could be part of her life in the way that she wanted him to be.
I felt the scene in the warehouse where Catherine admits that what she really wanted for her birthday was to spend it with Vincent was really brought about by Cat's epiphany moment of blowing out the candles and realizing that she just wanted to be with Vincent in that moment, actually living her wish to be with him.
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Post by BeastieBoy on Feb 4, 2015 15:49:18 GMT -5
BeastieBoy, I , too, loved the way Cat looked when she blew the candles out on her birthday cake. It was just that little bit of sad that Vincent was not there with her. And you could tell that what she really wanted and wished for was that Vincent could be part of her life in the way that she wanted him to be. I felt the scene in the warehouse where Catherine admits that what she really wanted for her birthday was to spend it with Vincent was really brought about by Cat's epiphany moment of blowing out the candles and realizing that she just wanted to be with Vincent in that moment, actually living her wish to be with him. The birthday cake was a great scene too. But I was referring to the very end when Catherine had prepared a candle lit dinner for two at her apartment and had to blow out the candle when Vincent never showed.
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Post by ArwenFan on Feb 4, 2015 20:38:39 GMT -5
I loved the camaraderie in this episode between Catherine and her co-workers. You get to see them as both friends and on the job in this episode. I liked that aspect of the relationship. So did I, but they had to go and change the dynamics of these relationships. That's fine that you lost your respect for Joe because of his relationship with Tess, but be fair. The only case Joe kept Tess from pursuing on the front lines was the "vigilante" case and that was fresh on the heels of losing his brother. He was not reacting as Tess's boss, but as her lover.
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Post by alwayscrazedbatbfan on Mar 6, 2015 18:42:54 GMT -5
Just watched this episode yet again. Trying to figure out just WHY I love this episode SO much. Which naturally actually leads to why I love BATB so much. I expect this will be a long post, but this episode somehow manages to have all of those elements in it which so naturally seem to draw the Beastie viewer in. And explains WHY we consider ourselves "Beasties" in the first place (and what I think that label actually may say about us AND our love for VinCat).
First up: Catherine and Vincent themselves. These are two people that are CLEARLY wonderful individuals. BOTH of them would sacrifice their own happiness for their friends and loved ones. Catherine would rather be with Vincent on her birthday and REALLY doesn't want a party. But she goes along with it graciously to make her sister happy. You see from that Birthday Party JUST how much her friends and co-workers think of her and value her presence in their lives. Catherine is DEDICATED to her profession and helping people. She takes a case that even Tess doesn't want to take because she sympathizes with a hurt individual. And then becomes determined to find out what really happened to the girl. Catherine gives the non-investigation the SAME dedication that she gives an already confirmed murder. She is empathetic to the guy's situation BUT won't deny where the clues seem to point.
Catherine is readily able to establish rapport and trust with individuals. You see that in how she questions people. Cat has faced her own trauma and seemingly lives by the Golden Rule--she treats others as she would want to be treated. Same with Vincent. He still helps out people even to the point of risking capture or death--hence how Catherine is even alive to fall in love with him in the first place. And Vincent is willing to push Catherine away so that she will have a full life of friend, family and career.
So Catherine is empathetic, dedicated to her profession and career, puts the needs of others often above her own. These same characteristics define Vincent as well. Vincent, too, was attracted to a profession that is about saving lives and helping others. Vincent tries to put Catherine's need to remain involved in the world and loyal to her profession above his own need to have her in his life. Each is willing to sacrifice for the other and values those traits in the other person. And each feels somehow unworthy to have the other make sacrifices for him or her.
Yet both Vincent and Catherine have faced extreme Trauma and Alienation/Isolation as a result of what happened to them. And both uses said trauma and alienation to motivate them to keep others from suffering the same fate rather than just isolating themselves and becoming dark and forbidding. YET BOTH suffer from SERIOUS feelings of inadequacy, lack of self-esteem, and not feeling Worthy of Love.
Which probably explains just WHY Beasties are attracted to the show. If someone was to profile us Beasties, I imagine that the following would more than likely be true of the average individual: 1) bullied in childhood and/or suffered medical condition that made one feel "different" 2) encouraged by parents or other authority figures to depend upon oneself and not be dependent on others. May mean that had far fewer friends. 3) most likely not in the "in" crowd--so you understood either real actual alienation or had a sort of self-imposed isolation due to a dedication to books and or other things internal to the self/activities you appreciated on your own 4) adversity made you stronger 5) adversity also made you more sympathetic to the plight of others 6) strong work ethic/sense of self (yet somehow feeling somewhat inadequate due to #3 since didn't have a lot of peer praise, etc.)
So there is more of a REASON why so many Beasties are professionals drawn to the industries vested in the caring for others--I imagine that a lot of us are teachers, doctors or nurses, or lawyers or otherwise attracted to professions dedicated to making other's lives better.
So this episode really shows you why Vincent and Catherine would appeal to Beasties. You see in this episode how Catherine feels unworthy when she meets Clair. She (and Tess and Heather) naturally talk about how great this woman is and how they feel inferior. Any why? Because Clair seems to have travelled and experienced "life" by climbing Mount Everest, has great shoes and sense of style, and a sense of humor. Catherine has ALL of this in spades in addition to being a truly good person (which we learn that Clair is not). So there was no need for Catherine to feel inferior. Yet she thinks she LACKS all of these things. And she is preoccupied at her own party by thoughts of Vincent and the issues facing him (and them as a potential couple). And yet it never occurs to Catherine that VINCENT may be experiencing these same self doubts (which is revealed in "Worth" when Catherine states that it never occurred to her that Vincent didn't know how much she valued his everyday presence in her life).
It really is the main couple of VinCat that draws one to the show. The characteristics of Vincent and Catherine make you genuinely root for them and actually LIKE them as characters. I mean, you can't like so many individuals that are on today's shows, either because of their morals or values. Here, you are free to just love Vincent and Catherine despite their flaws (which are really there due to the sheer amount of trauma each has faced. It has made BOTH characters overly-protective and wary of giving away their hearts due to life lessons and and intrinsic need to depend upon oneself alone). Both characters can appear selfish at times when it is really just a retreat from pain and an attempt to protect oneself from certain emotional harm rather than real selfishness.
And poor Vincent thinks he has nothing to contribute because of his "beast" issues and being basically in hiding. Yet he fails to see that everything about him is what attracts Catherine to him and willing to risk everything for him. So Vincent hurts Catherine in this episode in trying to "protect" her from becoming isolated like himself. But the way Vincent handles the situation in the warehouse makes it appear to Catherine that he doesn't really care for her or need her to spend time with him--like he didn't really care if they spent time together on her birthday. Which leads to Catherine hurting Vincent likewise since she is trying to find a way NOT to be hurt so badly as a result of what seems to be rejection from Vincent (so she kisses Evan back--a need to believe that someone wants to be with her and that she has something to fallback upon and not suffer from a broken heart). So you LOVE them despite their own self-worth issues and flaws which lead them to unintentionally withhold just how much it means to be with the other person. For Vincent and Catherine, it is actually so much MORE for the two of them to commit to each other BECAUSE of their past issues and need to protect their own individual hearts. So the show just seems that much more Romantic and EPIC.
So the above explains why I think those identifying themselves as Beasties are so drawn to VinCat and to BATB. We love that Epic struggle because we understand the need to overcome and to better ourselves through helping and loving others. Which can be harder for those that experienced bullying or other hardships that cause one to depend upon oneself more than want to trust and depend upon others. Just appeals to us more than some soapy melodrama that other shows produce with characters that you just can't help but despise.
Just my theory and why this episode has so much that draws you to the individual characters of Vincent and Catherine and why you root for their epic love.
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