I’m an agnostic too; in fact, I think it might be easier to accept the premise of the show if one doesn’t already have a “correct” view of the nature of God.
I’m trying to wrap my brain around this and I can’t get. it. Sex is not intimacy for men? But how would Adam feel if Joan had slept with Roger?
Sex is indeed different for males than for females, based on simple biology. Men can’t get pregnant, and their biological imperative is to spread their genes far and wide. Not to say they have to give in to this urge, but the urge does exist and it’s much harder to control it as a teenager. For men, sex is indeed a part of intimacy, but intimacy need not be a part of sex.
Perhaps – and I emphatically mean PERHAPS – Adam in moving from the shy, introverted, stay-at-home, earnest artist, to the hey, I’m good enough for people to steal my work, everybody says I’m the hottest guy at what I do, I’m making a living with my art guy hasn’t handled it well. In fact, there are few teenagers who could handle the kind of (albeit local) success that he has.
Heaven forbid if he should become some kind of Andy Warhol big buck artist. His ego has indeed gotten the better of him. I don’t feel the producers and writers have effectively conveyed it, or shown the growth in that direction, but I’m willing to acknowledge that that may be their intention. And I think that any proclamation that the situation is unresolveable is almost laughable. Teenagers get over this stuff better than we adults. I also find it doubtful that he would want his mother to see how he’s been behaving.
He is riding high on himself and, I’m willing to accept that I missed it until this skillet upside the head moment in which he took what he wanted without regard to anyone around him. But just saying that doesn’t square at all with the Adam I’ve watched for the last however many episodes. I said that when he wanted to have sex with Joan. Who is this guy and what has he done with Adam?
So, inconclusion, I’m willing to accept that the writer’s have been moving him in this direction in a very inobvious way that isn’t clear until viewed in retrospect, but I still have trouble buying the metamorphosis, because I don’t feel it has been executed well.
In addition, I don’t believe this is fixable – though I admit the hint that Adam wasn’t meant for Joan to spend the rest of her life with (face, people who go off doing God’s will in spite of everything rarely end well anyway) is contained simply in his name: Adam, the first man.
Sorry, stream of consciousness and all.
There was that early episode where Joan was ordered to destroy his entry in an art contest. Someone purchased his piece, he got a big head and was about to quit school. So I think some seeds had been planted quite a while back.
I am in no way excusing Adam’s behaviour. It was despicable the way he treated both Joan and Bonnie, and it will be a long time before I respect him again.
Damn you, Barbara Hall, for making me care so much about someone that doesn’t exist.
Blame the actor too. Without him, Adam could be nothing but an idea on the page that never gets anywhere.
Yes, and damn them for creating such fully realized people. I hope they keep it up.
You’re right. Christopher Marquette did a fantastic job.
OK, time to admit I watch Joan. It started as me keeping myself busy while sitting on the couch next to GonzoGal while she watched Joan, but over time, it became official. Now we both watch. I liked this episode a lot, even though I saw it coming miles away. (Don’t know why, guess I was good at catching clues from the previous episodes.)
I’m saddened because I really liked Adam as a character and I really liked his relationship with Joan. I thought his actions were starting to get erratic and out of character. But when I thought about it a bit, it does make sense. Television aside, high school relationships aren’t usually forever. Joan’s daydreams a few weeks ago forshadowed this. And even the most mature high school boy is still a kid that may make mistakes, and is vulnerable to be being led by his hormones. And that painfully helpless feeling of “I really screwed up and I have abolutely no way to make it right” is very familiar to me.
Mainly I just wanted to mention that Grace did some wonderful acting in this episode too, that might otherwise go overlooked. Her soft, dry-voiced objection during the trial scene spoke volumes.
I just watched this episode from our PVR. Once again I was deeply impressed. The scene where Joan cross examines Adam/Jack was brilliant.
I thought this episode was very well done. The acting was terrific. It is truly brave to make a very likeable main character do something rotten. Adam gets to be what he ultimately is – a teenaged boy.
I’m also glad they gave Joan enough gumption to break up with him. There aren’t too many teenaged girls who would have the guts to simply walk away from such a deeply felt relationship.
I’m not very good at figuring out what’s going to happen, even in formulaic TV, but I have to wonder, based on the theme of the show-- guilt and innocence-- whether or not Joan and Adam will get back togather. It would probably send the wrong message to the kids, but it wouldn’t be out of character.