Joan of Arcadia 10/1, Or Vengenance is Mine

Cafe Society
1

Joan isn’t listening to God anymore, and something bad happens to Adam.

Link

I shall be very interested in how Barbara Hall handles this. For God to punish Adam for something Joan did (or didn’t do) is, for me, the worst of Fundamental Christian* rationalization.

Although, considering how well the show is written, I’m sure this will be handled well. I have faith.

*I’m not painting all Christians with this brush, merely those who believe that the rape of a child is retribution on the parents for something the parents did.

2

I think Adam pretty much has already discerned changes in Joan that he really doesn’t like. I reckon that, after she turns wild with her friend, he won’t even recognize her anymore. I imagine that the metaphor will be that it wasn’t God whom Joan abandoned, but Adam. After all, He’s just one of us. :wink:

3

You’re assuming a causal relationship where, most likely, none exists. Remember last week when the priest observed that Mrs. G felt like Joan’s illness and Kevin’s injury were punishments for her, because she had been ignoring God. Fr. Ken (is that his name?) said “That’s really vain of you.” (I’m paraphrasing).

He also said that God doesn’t work like that; he wouldn’t work for a God who was such a jerk.

So, I very much doubt that anything that happens to Adam will be retribution from God for anything Joan has done. However, I can see Joan hurting Adam herself (without meaning to of course).

4

I’m hoping it’s more a Free Will type of thing. The thingy (what is that called? the show description?) on my digital cable says a “wired” friend of Joan’s from Gentle Acres (AKA Crazy Camp) now goes to Arcadia High and doesn’t fit in with her friends. I had to go back and read it twice to see if it was “weird” or “wired.” Definitely wired.
I think the friend has something to do with it, or Adam wants to do something possibly dangerous that Joan is supposed to talk him out of.
I can’t see God actually punishing Adam just for Joan not listening to him.
I see it more like the one from last season when he wanted to quit school to stay home and make his art and Joan had to talk him out of it.

5

I can only go off the promos, where there’s an ambulance and God telling Joan, “I told you to keep your eyes opened,” and Joan yelling, “You can’t blame me for this!”

You’re most likely right. We shall know in a few hours!!!

6

Huh - I guess we were wrong about something happening to Adam after all.

A good episode. What I really want to know is, who was that singing at the very end? “I think I’ll go / down to the river / and let that water / wash over me”? Allison Kraus maybe?

7

Skammer, before the end credits, it usually has featured music credits. Right now I’m taping BOXING HELENA, but I’ll try to remember to check that when it’s over.

Man, were we played by that commercial all this week or what? L

8

The “featured” music was… dang it, a common enough band that I can’t remember, but it definitely wasn’t that artist.

Unfortunately my TiVo stopped recording before all the text credits had rolled :mad: But if you find out, please post it… thanks.

9

I liked this one somewhat better than the season opener. It had a somewhat more familiar look and feel: Joan’s bangs are gone!!

Loved the ending.

10

The “featured” music was Korn.

Someone on the TWOP suggested the final song is “Rainbow’s End” by Celeste Krenz, but after looking at the lyrics I don’t think that’s right. Unfortunately I can’t find an audio sample online.

11

I’ll need a detailed summary of the first 20 minutes. Traffic for the goddamned Oakland A’s game delayed me (and I hope they get their asses kicked).

12

Well, I had predicted that something would happen to Adam because Joan ignored God’s warning and they would use that as an analogy of Kevin not preventing his friend from driving drunk. I got the “Adam” part wrong, but the rest right.
Very moving episode though…had me laughing and gulping at the right moments.

13

I generally love the show overall but I thought tonight’s theme – inaction has moral consequences – was a bit heavy handed and a little cruel.

Kevin has been punished enough without having to feel guilty he didn’t do enough to stop his friend from drinking. Joan’s only sixteen. That’s barely old enough to take responsibility for her own actions let alone the actions of her friend. The ending with God hugging her was very sweet.

14

I loved it. For me, the theme wasn’t moral consequences (although I don’t think that would be cruel), but rather moral choices. Joan kept talking about how she didn’t want someone controlling her life, obviously references to God. And yet, she invoked Doctor Dan at every turn. Doctor Dan said I should do this. Doctor Dan said I should try that. Doctor Dan said that what’s wrong with me is the other thing. All she did was replace God with Doctor Dan. I too loved the ending, with Mrs. LandingGod holding her and comforting her — something that, surely, Doctor Dan never did.

15

I hate misleading promos.

I was fine until the end, then I had to grab the tissues, with Joan crying, “I don’t want to mess up again,” and Mrs. LandingGod hugging her. Note she didn’t tell Joan she would never mess up again.

Poor Adam. He’s been so patient all along. I hope he and Joan are back on track now.

Judith kissing Friedman…ewwwww.

So, Grace has a secret passion for ABBA? When she was by herself she seemed quite flattered. I love that the song they both hate is “their” song. And Luke giving her the little head tilt when the song came on, and Grace trying to act all hardass, yet getting up to go make out with him was simply adorable. I’m glad to see Luke is finally getting a backbone with Grace.

I am also a bit uncomfortable with the Take Responsibility for Someone Else thing. I can see both points…Kevin was only 17, but he knew his friend was drinking. He was also a jock, with the accompanying self-confidence, but he was also cocky with the “nothing bad will ever happen to me.” Was Kevin responsible in taking the keys from his friend, who was obviously impaired? Legally, if Kevin was only 17, is he responsible?

I would submit that we are each responsible for our own actions. Kevin may not have had the responsibility to stop Andrew, but he could have decided not to ride with him, saving himself.

But Andrew would have still wrecked the car, and Kevin would have felt guility over that. Life really is an obstacle course, isn’t it? I think Andrew is being pushed by his parents into this lawsuit, and because I love the Girardis, I hope the judge stares at Andrew in disbelief, busts out laughing, and dismisses the case.

16

Yes, I want to know who that was, too. I don’t think it was Allison Krauss. It didn’t sound like her.
As you said, the “featured music” was Korn, and I don’t know anything by them to know if that was them. I guess not, huh?

Who played Judith, BTW? She looked familar.

17

She was Sprague Grayden. She’s appeared in Six Feet Under.

18

All right. According to http://joamusicguide.com/, the final song last night was “Can’t Be Long” by The Enablers. Also, "Joan of Arcadia creator Barbara Hall is the founding member of The Enablers. "

I can’t find anything else about The Enablers anywhere else, unfortunately.

19

That’s it! She played Anita. Thank you.

I also wanted to mention that the bit with the woman who turned in the shooters, and then had her house torched… something like that happened in downtown Baltimore a few years ago (Arcadia is supposed to be suburb of Baltimore).
The Dawson family was trying to clean up the block they lived on and kept calling the police on drug dealers. The managed to succeed to an extent, but one night some of the dealers came back and fire-bombed their house before they could testify, killing the husband and wife and six or seven children (some were the Dawson’s own kids and a couple were nieces and nephews they had taken in). Terrible tragedy.

20

Nice touch: Grace and Luke bond over their shared distaste for Kool and the Gang.

From now on, we shall pay very little attention to the promos, since they really misled a lot of us with this one.

I, too, was glad to see Joan pushing those bangs off her forehead!

May I say one more time that I dig Goth God?

And who is the lady playing the Old Woman God? She looks very familiar.