Idle Thoughts--Bait 'n' Switch (Episodes 748-751)

Fashion notes first. . .

Yay! New dress for Judith. And it's a snazzy one too. Green--always a good color for Bennett. Nice rich looking fabric and a great cut. Liked the upturned collar with the white frills beneath. Very flattering. Hell, this storyline is noteworthy just for her clothes alone.

I love Beth's jaunty little pill box hat. Not as crazy about her striped dress. Terry Crawford's quite tall and thin as it is. The dress made her look even more long-waisted. And what is with that enormous black bow on her derriere? Yuck. I prefer the navy silk with the scotch plaid details.

Poor Jenny, she deserved better than what she got and poor Beth. Not only has she been feeling like trash for fooling around with Quentin, but he kills her charge and then takes off leaving her with a dead body in her bedroom. Classy.

Kind of interesting to watch Quentin deal with all this. He clearly believed his own press, because he's obviously shocked to discover he has a conscience after all.

Just a question, by the way. How do you "accidentally" strangle someone? I mean, it takes some time and effort to strangle a person. It's not like a gun went off or you were struggling with a poker and "oops."

I really enjoyed the whole panicked cover-up. Some good performances all around. Although even then it would have been very easy to distinguish a strangling victim from someone who died from a blow to the head.

The desperate Quentin. As good as Selby is doing this, I can't help but dread this side of his character, because I got such a huge kick out of the devil-may-care insouciant rake. It's also too bad he turns out to be as bigoted as his brother and sister--we'll offer the gypsies $$$ and they'll go away even though they know damn well I killed their beloved sister. Uh huh.

Edward is pretty tacky and very cruel here. I mean, c'mon, at the least, he could have let Magda and Sandor know when the burial was going to take place. I've never been overly fond of Edward. On the other hand, you know there's a part of him who's totally enjoying Quentin's torment

On the whole, the dream sequences in 1897 are excellent. No one tops the one approaching written by the incomparable Violet Welles, but this one wasn't too bad at all. They do a much better job for some reason here in incorporating unreality into the nightmares.

I never cease to be amazed at the speed at which the Collinsport stonemasons get gravestones up and on the plots. Also find it odd that given their attitude, Jenny rated a headstone. It would have been more probable for them to dig a hole in the woods and toss her in. You'd think too, that since she does get a marker, that someone doing their "research" (Barnabas and Julia, I'm looking at you) would have come across it somehow.

Beth, sweetie, you have all the dirt on the family. You know (literally) where the bodies are buried. You just helped them out with a major cover-up. This is where you politely remind Judith of this and suggest that either you still keep your job or that you deserve a hell of a lot more than two weeks severance.

I know this probably means I'm really petty and shallow, but I love all the family squabbling. Cracks me up every time.

Jenny's legacy is as pathetic as you will ever find: a rusty black dress (what did they bury her in?) and two baby dolls. Speaking of which, I realize Quentin's got a lot on his mind, but you would think seeing these would register as a bit odd, wouldn't you?

And now we have Dorcas, slut wannabe. I really have to admire the construction of the Gruesome Greg and his willing acolyte plot, because the 1800s were a time of ecclesiastical fervor and you can sort of see why someone like Trask would have all these attractive women falling over him. Both the culture and his manner would have encouraged it.

You know Beth is doomed when she turns to Rachel for help.

Okay, Rachel, you don't understand it, but really maybe it's time you admitted that you're not exactly bright and it's better not to strain your brain and try. You worked for the family for a month or so and you didn't notice they were hipped on keeping up appearances? That certain relatives had a propensity for misbehaving? Sure, it's not moral or admirable, but it's perfectly understandable: the people whose help you need and who paid your check don't want scandal. Either leave town or learn to deal. Stop shouting about it because columnists who can't find their remote and have to listen to your whining and screaming don't deserve this kind of misery

Once again, I marvel at 1897 technology. Gruesome Greg threatens Rachel over the phone. Now, you wonder why I question this? Well, hey, it would have been a party line and I cannot believe that in all of Collinsport, there weren't gossips picking up instantly when they heard the ring assigned for the Collins phone. Ya gotta love it.

Dorcas, we hardly knew you.

The whole werewolf thing bores me, but anytime we get to see Selby's bare chest is a good time, so bring on the werewolf!

Luciaphil

poor Beth.

Please.  Am I the only person on this forum who thinks Beth is completely devoid of sense, character or shame?

Beth loves Quentin.  She knows he married a gypsy girl, got tired of her and left her in the hands of his miserable family.  But Beth loves Quentin.  Poor Jenny lost her mind AND her kids while Quentin traipsed about with his brother's wife. But Beth loves Quentin.  He plots and stalks and swears to rid himself of this poor demented creature.  But Beth loves Quentin.  He murders Jenny in cold blood and then complies in the family-orchestrated cover up.  But Beth loves Quentin.

In my opinion, Beth is a simpering, hand-wringing twit.  She takes on the job of "caring" for Jenny while she screws Jenny's husband.  Where did she get the GAUL to ask Magda to have pity on Quentin?  Magda should have bitch-slapped the crap out of her for even asking.

Poor Beth?  Please.

 

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Beth loves Quentin.  She knows he married a gypsy girl, got tired of her and left her in the hands of his miserable family.  But Beth loves Quentin.  Poor Jenny lost her mind AND her kids while Quentin traipsed about with his brother's wife. But Beth loves Quentin.  He plots and stalks and swears to rid himself of this poor demented creature.  But Beth loves Quentin.  He murders Jenny in cold blood and then complies in the family-orchestrated cover up.  But Beth loves Quentin.

This is how it plays to me. Beth is Jenny's maid--probably came on board after the marriage, but I'm willing to bet, she liked Jenny. We know Beth was around before Quentin took off with Laura. So here's my guess. At first Quentin and Jenny are having a fine old time. He gets bored. Flirts with Beth. Beth would probably resist at first. At some point, falls for him, maybe sleeps with him and regrets it, maybe is just pining for him. If it's the former, I'll bet you money she felt guilty as hell. Meanwhile he's schtupping Laura. He leaves.

So Beth's left at Collinwood with a pregnant mistress (is Jenny insane by that point? I can't remember). Aside from the issue of her job security--servants made very little money and you didn't lightly leave any job, she probably is feeling like a fool and a guilty one at that. So the family offers her more dough to stay and that and her conscience keeps her there.

She falls in love with the babies (I don't think that's too much of a stretch for me to make) and she takes care of Jenny as best she can. Not perhaps the wisest choice to continue staying on, but I can understand why she would.

Quentin comes back and she resists him. I am the first one to say that Beth is pretty bloody weak, but she does try. And once she gives in, it's not like she luxuriates in what she's doing. She knows it's wrong. She tries like hell to stay away from him, but he persists.

I find it interesting that throughout it all she doesn't tell him word one about his kids either. It's arguable that she's more loyal to those babies than she is to him.

She doesn't want anything bad to happen to Jenny. All along she treats Jenny far more compassionately than anybody in that damn house. I'm not excusing the immorality of her screwing Quentin while she's being Jenny's caretaker, but I think it's worth pointing out that she continues to do her job and she's never happen about the situation.

In my opinion, Beth is a simpering, hand-wringing twit.  She takes on the job of "caring" for Jenny while she screws Jenny's husband.  Where did she get the GAUL to ask Magda to have pity on Quentin?  Magda should have bitch-slapped the crap out of her for even asking.

At the same time, what has Magda done? She's cursed Quentin sure, but she's also indirectly caused the death of how many other people? Plus, there are his children, which I grant you she didn't know about, but it was a bloody awful thing to do.

And again, those babies are always foremost in Beth's mind. Even when he was asking her to run away with him then and there and she had no reason to say no--she still wanted to see them one last time.

I don't find Beth particularly bright and she's weak, but I can't quite be so harsh toward the character, and in light of what's to come, she pays very dearly for things that arguably not really her fault.

Luciaphil

Luciaphil wrote:

Just a question, by the way. How do you "accidentally" strangle someone?

Thank You!!

On the whole, the dream sequences in 1897 are excellent.

Luc...what dream sequences?

and he writes:
"And now we have Dorcas, slut wannabe'

;DLOLOLOL!!  

Luc...what dream sequences?

and he writes:
"And now we have Dorcas, slut wannabe'

;DLOLOLOL!!  

There's that bit where Quentin is dreaming that Magda is going to curse him

BTW, you do know that I'm not a guy, right?

Luciaphil

Please.  Am I the only person on this forum who thinks Beth is completely devoid of sense, character or shame?

I dunno. I don't have a problem with sympathizing with her, and I think Quentin won't do any better, too bad he didn't appreciate her.

I agree with Luciaphil, except that I don't think Beth succombed to Quentin's charms until recently. You gotta realize this was hardly a time of Dr. Laura's judgements and advice. It was probably believed that the love of a good woman could turn a guy around. And, even in real life, it occasionally happens. I see her as resisting him as long as she could. Let's face it, that gorgeous hunk of man could probably seduce most anybody if tried hard enough. And he does seem like he would be, ahem, rather good in the sack. Just to bed him would tie her to him in those days, at least on her part, and then to actually be able to ENJOY it, well, that would be an infatuating factor! Then, once in love, of course, she is going to hope that her love will be enough for him. We have moments in which it appears to be too.

I think Beth tries to do the right thing, though yes, she is too weak sometimes to succeed. Compared to most of the other twits, self-centered egotists and sociopaths running around there, she is practically saintlike to me.

But that's just me.

Luciaphil Wrote:

You know Beth is doomed when she turns to Rachel for help.

ROTFL!!!!

And what kind of help did she wind up giving her? Nothing!  Funny thing is that during the whole 1897  storyline she's dying to find out just about any kind of gossipy information she can lay her hands on. And all the while, Beth wouldn't give her the time of day.  Then, when the opportunity finally comes along, she's too busy running around & being hysterical over the Rev.Trask!!  She hardly even blinked an eye lash when Beth mentioned that she herself might become a Collins someday when she and Quentin are married!!

Let's face it, that gorgeous hunk of man could probably seduce most anybody if tried hard enough. And he does seem like he would be, ahem, rather good in the sack.

THANK YOU!!!


Cassandra[/font]