Wonderfalls: episode 9

[osprey_archer]

So, themes of Wonderfalls. Number one: Get over your fears and connect with people. Number two: Try to be a good and compassionate person.

It’s quite impressive that this has become clear in the space of just nine episodes.

It probably helps that Wonderfalls, while wonderful in many respects, is not the master of subtlety. Sometimes this works out okay (episode 4) and sometimes, as in episode 9, it creates problems.

A whole host of things occur in episode 9. The one that bothers me is the scene where Jaye tells the zookeeper woman, Penelope, that she’s using her beloved birds as a way to keep the human world at arms length so it can’t hurt her.

As psychological projection this works fine, because Jaye clearly is using the birds (as she uses most of the world) to keep the world out. But it it isn’t at all clear to me that this piece of advice applies to Penelope. Some people just aren’t very interested in people. It’s entirely possible that Penelope is one of them.

The problem with Wonderfalls “connect with people” theme is that, in coming down so rock-solid on the side of opening up and letting people in, it pretty much pathologizes introversion. It’s not a big enough problem to ruin the theme, which is basically sound; I just wish that the show would acknowledge not connecting as an occasionally valid choice.

Comments

[sanginmychains.livejournal.com]

Ah Wonderfalls, one of the (many) great tragedies of TV land. Dead before its time. I was loving it when it got cancelled.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

i think FOX just has it in for Tim Minear (the producer). He produced both Firefly and Wonderfalls there, and both died horrifying premature deaths.

[sanginmychains.livejournal.com]

He's responsible for that one about the piemaker who can raise the dead too, right?

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Pushing Daisies, you mean? No, Wikipedia tells me that's someone called Bryan Fuller. There's also the fact that it's been renewed for a second season, which is kind of an argument against Minear's involvement. :/

However, there is a connection between the two shows. Lee Pace, who plays Jaye's brother, is the main character in Pushing Daisies.

This is part of the reason why I really, really want to see Pushing Daisies.

[sanginmychains.livejournal.com]

Pushing Daisies has a lot of the same feel as Wonderfalls. I'm sure it has a buffy person on it...maybe I'm thinking of somethign else. But if you catch it on reruns, I think you'll like it. It has that same sweet mad sensibility.

[visualthinker11.livejournal.com]

And Byran Fuller did both shows! And Sharon's going to be on Pushing Daisies next season! And now I'm done butting in on your conversation, sorry!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Hey, don't apologize. It's a beautiful thing when comment threads involve more than two people.