Ch – Ch – Changes
Life is never what you think it will be, and around every corner there’s a possible new destination. This cliche is even more true for fictional characters: Their existance is unpredictable and uncertain to an even greater extend than what a boring girl like myself can expect in real life. Knowing this, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Necessary Roughness turned everything upside down to create a whole new life for our Dr. Dani Santino. I’m not going to lie though. It was to me.
With Marc Blucas leaving the show to star in ABC’s Killer Women, there’s no doubt that plans made for this season had to be changed, and plots had to be rearranged. Had he stayed for the third season, I am sure we would have seen the pregnacy drama played out to its full potential. It is because of this, why I will be forgiving the show for their fast forward into an almost complete new universe. I won’t rant about how much I dislike being thrown into the deep at the beginning of a new season, and having to rediscover how to swim again. Instead, I’ll just praise the resourcefulness of the writers, and compliment how nicely they managed to tie up all lose ends.
It’s always convenient to have a best friend, who happens to be vacationing in the area, swing by to catch the viewers up on all what they’ve missed. “Matt knocks up Noelle just as you were about to get back together, marries her to boot, your son runs off with an heiress, and you get fired from the Hawks.” When such a shameless update is followed by a line implicating that the writers are aware of their short cut and, I imagine, might even be slightly embarrassed that they had to resource to it, I can’t help but smile: My day is made.
V3 will be Dani’s new home away from home. And what a place it is to spend your days too! Their culture may not be mine (I can smell the ocean of fakeness from miles away), I certainly do appreciate their sentiment for wanting to seem transparant and equal. The company-wide applausse for new hires and contracts may seem like a great welcome, but it could be skipped on my account. Not everyone is comfortable with being in the center of such an excentric display, and actually, I cannot wait to see a backfire to this well meant procedure. The huge amount of trades under the V3 name, assures a season with more than just athletes on Dani’s coach. The company is not only focussing on sport management, but in the words of founder Connor McClane, they are a “global leader in fashion, media and entertainment,” which promises quite some variaty, and I for one am looking forward to that!
Something I had been looking forward to since the season Two finale, was to find out what happened to our national man of mystery.
As it turns out, Nico never made it to Dallas after two agents flashed their badges to him in those last few minutes of the episode. Just when I thought I was starting to understand the enigma, more mystery showed up on the doorstep. That’s the thing though about men like Nico: You’re never done peeling back the layers. Which is why I guess they are so attractive!
I’ve been shipping NiNi .. or DaCo .. (or just Nico and Dani) from the pilot, so now that Matt is no longer available and Dani will be working closely with the professional problem-solver again, their romance might be nigh. That is, if Connor McClane, in the gorgeous shape of John Stamos, won’t throw a spanner in the works! There wasn’t really a sign of that potential in this episode, but it’s no big secret that men, and especially the successful businessman type I peck McClane to be, enjoy to explore all options they might have with any attractive female in a ten yard radius. I would be surprised if Dani didn’t at least have a fling with her new, charismatic employer before finally settling down with the one she’s supposed to be with. According to me. Or maybe I’m off and the hostality from Troy will change into a much more romantic feeling. After all, what fun is romance if there are no obstacles on the course?
Back to Nico though.
She slapped him in the face! I sincerely believe it’s the (secret) desire of all women to do this to a man in their lives at some point, and Dani is one of the lucky ones. Although with her Sicillian passion, it was only a matter of time and opportunity–and it’s actually surprising that we didn’t see her slap someone before (I’m thinking of her cheating ex-husband, Ray.). The slap caught me by surprise, but after her rant on how ‘Sir Sneako’ disappeared on her and how much she’d worried about him, thinking he was dead even, I can say nothing other than that Nico deserved a hell of a lot more than what he got. And from her body language, not to mention her facial expression, she was ready to give him just that if they had not been interupted by the arrival of her car and Nico’s phone ringing. Saved by the bell!
Boy wonder Darryl “Zeus” Hutchinson reminded me of Henry Skrimshander a lot. Both boys, obviously, were gifted at baseball, excelling in one particular part of the game. Where Henry was the shortstop King, Darryl threw a 100 m/h fastball. Both suffered psychologically after a traumatic event, their minds getting in the way of their performance and potential career in the game they love so much. Dale was lucky enough to be guided by Dani though, where the hero of The Art of Fielding was left to work through his problems all by himself.
I’m not saying that Darryl got it easy. Unlike the fear of flying, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD) is one of the hardest conditions to treat and no matter how much progress one makes, it will always be part of a victim’s life. It is usually assosiated with soldiers or victims of violent crimes, but in reality, anyone who witnessess anything that can be considered traumatic to the person in question, is vulnerable. With thousands of undiagnosed cases in the US alone, I am glad that Necessary Roughness decised to shine some much needed light on the condition. Not by showing a person who served in the military, but someone the viewer can relate to. If you would like to know more about PTSD for yourself or a loved one, make sure to check out this site for symptoms and help (note that it is advisable to find a therapist to help you through it.).
Change was a current from the very start of the episode. Beloved Coach Burnell was replaced by excentric Coach Tom Wizinski, winner of four championship rings. His methods may seem rigorous, but it seems like he’s just what the Hawks need. What they need is discipline above all else, and while the symbolic new start reminds me more of a group of girlfriends burning pictures of their untrustworthy boyfriends, than anything a football team would do, there’s sanity to the method. Actually, it was interesting to me that Wizinski wasn’t more open to Dani’s practice of psychology, because the literal burning of the past is a proven therapeutical method. However, in sport’s true fashion, this bonfire might have been more ‘supersticious’ than ‘ therapeutical’, which of course makes much more sense for this chauvenistic yet surprisingly insightful character. I hope we’ll see more of him this season, maybe even, in an unexpected turn of events, on Dani’s couch!
TK’s passive agressive, one man rescue mission to get Dr. D. back with the Hawks was both amusing and adorable to watch. He’s like a child whose candy was taken away–literally, since the new doc didn’t do jelly beans. No matter how immature his games are, TK never fails to make me laugh. Sure man, you’re a zombie. Do you want me to behead you now, or after the session? I honestly felt bad for the earnest therapist sitting opposite him, even though I shouldn’t: He was recommended by coach Wizinski, which means he’d worked with football players before, and TK can’t be the first difficult client he came across.
The Hawk’s star wide receiver had a point though (being mad with Matt) for not even putting up the pretence of fighting for Dani’s job. And I’m glad that Matt realised that too in the end, just before he packed up and left for his new GM job in Boston. It’s the principle that matters in these cases; trying is more important than the result. The fact that you’re married to someone else, while you may feel conflicted about being around your ex for whom you may still have feelings Matt, sticking up for someone important (to the team), is the right thing to do. To quote one of the wisests men in the history of wise men: “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Dani’s speech to TK about him coming so far in the past two years, and that therapy is not supposed to be a forever thing, that maybe he’s ready to fly solo… it makes me fearful that this episode was a sweet goodbye to my favourite Hawks player. She may have reassured him that she’s not going anywhere, I’m not so easily comforted. With her exclusive new job at V3, with a contract that forbids her to take on other clients, I don’t see much of a future for Terrence in her life. It seems like the writersreally did break up the band, and even though ch-ch-change is good, I’m not so sure I’m going to adjust quickly.
