Discuss - Ep #0068

[Watching Project]

Robservations #68

[IluvBarnabas]

David goes on a real rampage when he thinks Vicki deliberately set out to betray Burke, knocking things violently over, throwing a real major temper tantrum here. And he still denies trying to kill his father. Something tells me that maybe Roger wasn't so far off the mark when he suggested that David should be sent to a place where people could help David deal with his emotional outbursts. But of course Elizabeth won't hear of it.

At any rate, David does need some kind of help, but he certainly isn't going to get it from his father. All Roger is doing at the moment is manipulating the boy on to his side...they both want to get rid of Vicki.

Roger is cleverly playing both sides, trying to be friendly with Vicki one minute, the next be nice to David for once and uniting with him in their common cause to oust his governess from Collinwood. I underestimated how slimey Roger really was in these early episode.

But should Roger really have made that comment that if he was going to hire someone to do away with Burke, he wouldn't have hired Matthew, to Sheriff Patterson? What if something had happened to Burke by chance....this could have come back to haunt him. Frankly, it would have served Roger right if for once he had ended up getting wrongly accused.

And of course he sweet talks Carolyn into believing his side over Burke's. Can't really fault Carolyn for wanting to believe
her uncle...but nevertheless I still sense that her loylalty to her family over Burke isn't 100 percent absolute.

I thought she had some nerve expecting Joe to be on her beck and call all the time. Joe's life shouldn't have to revolve around hers 24 hours a day. It's clear she only wanted to hang around him to get over the fact that she feels Burke has betrayed her by accusing her uncle of murder. I'm surprised Joe hasn't washed his hands of her by now at this point.

[MagnusTrask]

I don't know how many of you see the director's chalkboard intros, but in this one we see Louis E behind his cannery desk, getting ready to act.   Then he gets a bit more time to gear up, as stock film is shown of amiable, Sears catalogue model Roger with coat over shoulder, waving hi to underlings.   He walks a long way like that, which appears silly and uncomfortable to me.

Carolyn sends Roger on a "charming" spree.   The scene where he speaks Maniac with David is one of the strangest and most interesting of DS's, especially since it's still a real-world drama, and still 1966 at this point.   TV's been full of irresponsible fathers, crossing lines you just aren't supposed to cross with your kids, for years, in fact to an extent it's "normal" now (such as on sitcoms where the father is like an overgrown kid)-- but this scene crosses the line in a weird, original and (over-used word) disturbing way, and in the time of "safe" family shows.    Their relationship crosses that line all the time, but I'd never seen something like this before...

It's unclear how far Roger expected David to go with Vicki.   He's probably inducing willful ignorance in himself, by making the conversation be more about driving her away.   Roger, though, is one person who can never claim ignorance of how far David is willing to go, when he hates someone.

 

[Lydia]

I pretty much thought Vicky couldn't do anything right today.  No point in going into details.

David was great fun, telling a fascinating story about fights between his parents, and then saying he didn't remove the bleeder valve from his father's car and he didn't throw the tantrum we had just seen him throw.  We believe that he did remove the bleeder valve, but once again I say: we don't have irrefutable proof.  But assuming that he did, that means we know of two whopping lies that David told today, which leaves very little reason to believe that he was telling truth about his parents fighting about Burke Devlin.  I tend to think he was indeed telling the truth - but how can we know?

And I also enjoyed seeing Roger finally stop sniveling with fear over Burke's return to Collinsport, and start a charm offensive.  Will his next target be Burke?

[Janet the Wicked]

Then he gets a bit more time to gear up, as stock film is shown of amiable, Sears catalogue model Roger with coat over shoulder, waving hi to underlings.   He walks a long way like that, which appears silly and uncomfortable to me.

Why is it uncomfortable? I have walked on that dock several times with my jacket slung over my shoulder. The one time I was uncomfortable was when it was drizzling. At any rate, it's supposed to show Roger on his way to the cannery. He waves. At whom? Does he have friends at work? I doubt it. Now that's uncomfortable.

[IluvBarnabas]

David was great fun, telling a fascinating story about fights between his parents, and then saying he didn't remove the bleeder valve from his father's car and he didn't throw the tantrum we had just seen him throw.  We believe that he did remove the bleeder valve, but once again I say: we don't have irrefutable proof.

That was probably one of the reasons Carter chose to drop the matter of the bleeder valve, not just Elizabeth's conveniently telling him that the valve simply fell out of the car. No one actually saw David tamper with the breaks, and the valve being found in his room could have ended up in his room for any dozen of reasons. Carter did see David pick up the wrench once, he could even have done it again, before the accident but not necessarily to remove the valve. The evidence against the boy would have been purely circumstancial.

Regardless, I still say David was responsible for the accident. We may not have seen him remove the valve, but let's face it, he hated his father well enough at the time to have wanted to see him dead. And later on, [spoiler]Carolyn mentioned that David ended up drowning a cat that he loved.[/spoiler] At this point of time David is capable of ANYTHING.

[DarkLady]

David tells Vicki that his parents threw furniture at one another when they were fighting. Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

More spoiled-brat behavior from Carolyn when Joe can't take her to lunch.

I like the scene of Roger strolling along the dock. Then we see him (1) go into his office, which is surprisingly un-ostentatious, considering his sister is the Mistress of Collinwood; (2) put on a pair of glasses, which I think we never see again; and (3) actually do some work.

Then again, he's pretty awful at the end of this episode when he asks David, Who would you rather be rid of? Me or Miss Winters?

[alwaysdavid]

Roger walks and waves along the docks and into his office like so many deluded bosses who think that the workers love them. 
David looks at pictures of Josette Collins probably thinking how great it would be to be dead and have no lessons with Miss Winters.
He reveals that he went to a school in Augusta were they had recess.   He accuses Miss Winters of trying to get him into trouble and trashes the drawing room revealing that some lessons he learns well.  His loving father comes home and encourages him to take steps with Miss Winters.

[MagnusTrask]

Roger walks and waves along the docks and into his office like so many deluded bosses who think that the workers love them. 

I liked this remark...