Swimming With Sharks
To poach or not to poach, that is the question. There was more poaching going on in this episode, than in the combined works of Miss Julia Child. At some point I was confinced that ‘poach’ must have been the ‘Word of the Day’ on Modrovich’s calendar! This is how drinking games are created… Someone please give this otherwise great writer a Thesaurus for her next birthday, I’m afraid she may have lost her own copy–possibly while poaching a batch of eggs.
From poaching eggs to scrambled eggs (which I’m sure he’d like for breakfast):
Connor confuses me. He keeps taking Dani on dates that are not really dates, but maybe they are. Last week they went out to dinner, this week he took her to a basketball game, now he’s going to take her on a trip to Idaho… By this rate, they’ll be married before she even realises they were an item! It was apparent in this episode that the man is much less open and transparent than I believed he was. He let Dani guess what his motives were, and I’m pretty sure now, that he would not have told her why he brought her to the game if she wouldn’t have figured it out herself. I know, it’s obvious he didn’t get where he is, with a huge company like V3, with being honest all the time. In a business as competative as his, you have to steal clients from other companies in order to get on top yourself. I’m on the fence about his involvement in the shady operations Nico is investigating them for as of now. I’m ashamed to admit that he had me captivated, under his spell up until this episode. I won’t make that mistake again. (yeah.. right!)
Look, I get it. Connor wanted to hook the whale and Dani was the best hook he had laying around. That doesn’t explain his eagerness to spend more time than necessary for an employer with her, nor the fact that he was adament to dance with her, without seemingly flirting. Now, this could just be his character of course, or the fact that he sees those who work for V3 as his family. It’s not uncommon for people to just want to have a good time without having a hidden agenda. Some of these people do not abide to the rules of society, and are charming to just about anyone, without even thinking about how their behaviour might come across. If this is Connor, he’s not a shark, but a dolphin (and who wouldn’t like to swim with dolphins!). However, if his behaviour and charm are just a farce he puts up in order to get what he wants, with no concern for the people he’s using to get it: Dani is swimming with a shark and she should get out of the water before she’ll get devoured. It’s difficult to distinguish a dolphin from a shark immediately though, when all you see is the fin..
Once you dive into the ocean, chances are that you will come across a shark. Not all encounters are potentially lethal, and SBG Management’s Abigail Bruce is no tiger shark. She’s one that can do a lot of harm though! What can I say. Abby. You’re a disappointment to women everywhere. You really need to lead a potential client on, flirt with him, in order to get him to sign with you? Shame on you, lady.
Bruce seems like an intelligent, smart, and capable young woman who doesn’t need objectivying tricks to climb the corporate ladder. Although maybe she does need it emotionally. Her game with TK wasn’t the first time she used her sexuality to earn a man’s trust by deceiving them, after all. (To be fair though, it’s not certain that Connor’s version of the truth is actually what happened.) It’s disgusting to me that a woman who could reach high levels without betraying her gender, choses to do so still. Ironically, if she’d been open about her agenda to TK, he might have respected her, and who knows, maybe even decided to sign with her, in spite of that meaning the loss of Dani’s help. He might have ended up trusting her if she’d revealed her identity at the beginning of the date–that at least would have shown a softer side to her, and I would have found her to be more likable.
It’s not that I feel a grudge against Ildy Modrovich for creating a character like Abby Bruce; the opposite is true. In life, there are many Abby’s, and by showing them on tv shows, hopefully more people will see that it’s not something to be proud of. I for one cannot imagine a young girl who’s watched Necessary Roughness this week, wishing she’d grow up to be Abby. The character was not written to glorify, something that other writers are guilty of at times. Maybe Abigail will return – with her past tied to Connor’s, it wouldn’t surprise me. If she does, she may have redeeming qualities, and I’m looking forward to discovering them. However, and let me be very clear on this: nothing redeems the seduction of men in order to make money. Especially not if you demand to be respected (by men and women alike) at the same time.
Oh Nico, you smart, delightful man. What a deliciously devious plan to use the company rivalry between V3 and SBG Management to create a hack that allows you to break into V3’s system! “Agency wars seemed the perfect cover” indeed! It shows how cunning a man Nico is, for him to stand beside both Connor and Troy, not breaking a sweat whatsoever, and act like the entire crisis wasn’t his doing to begin with. I especially loved the scene (upon second watching, obviously) where he ‘caught’ the hacker and discussed with the men what to do with him. Sure, giving Stanzi Palmer up to the police – that’s easy. Why not give him a contract instead! A brilliant move, and one that allowed for another undercover face to investigate the company. What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man! This must have been what went through Dani’s mind when they shared that long gaze into each other’s eyes in her office, just before Paloma interupted them. Darn you, Paloma, that tension could have resulted in a hot, steamy kiss!
It’s interesting however, how much the assistent knows about fish!
When I think of basketball game food, I think of hot dogs, nachos, taco’s, chicken wings, and maybe even some pizza, but I would never associate Sushi with the game. (Maybe Sushi is something that’s characteristic to the Blizzards team?) Probably because it’s not the easiest of foods to eat, that is, unless you’re having temaki (hand roll). That’s not what was on the plate Connor offered Dani during the match though! Who knows what else is usual to feast upon during a game at the floor seats. Steamed Lobster? Filet Mignon? Beluga Caviar?
The psych-theme this week was rather unsatisfying to me. I understand that we cannot have clients with Bipolar Disorder or postpartum depression diagnosed every week; sometimes problems have much more simple solutions. I’m not saying that Devon’s mother’s Empty Nest syndrome, that lead into her almost taking her life when her son was in college is a light diagnosis. On the contarary, it is much more serious than it is often perceived. Yet in this episode it almost felt like the show didn’t really try to beat that home as much as usual. It didn’t seem to go as deep, the answer to ‘what’s wrong with Devon’ was much closer to the surface than I’m used to. I guess I just missed a scene with the couple on Dani’s couch where they were trying to resolve their problems, to round off their storyline, instead of a casual mention of them doing so.
“Swimming With the Sharks” was much more focussed on the continuation of the plot than on the characters. And that’s fine. It wouldn’t have felt like a cold shower treatment though if Devon Langer and his mother ‘Lana’ hadn’t been put in the spotlight as much, early in the episode. Lana was a typical ‘I’m not your mother, I’m your sister’ type, and manipulative as hell. I thought she was more interesting a character than her son. That could be due to Garcelle Beauvais’ shining performance as well: The woman is a goddess among actressess. Only a few weeks ago she played the part of Miranda Sherrod – a shrewd business woman – in Psych ’s ‘Dead Air’. I’m always amazed when actors can take on different roles so well they are hardly recognisable (unlike Nicolas Cage…), and I can now add Beavais to my list of chameleons I’ve spotted over the years.
