That’s what I was thinking, too, that she was going to blame the scars on the wife, but when it turned out the mother had died, and Will saw her after she was dead, I thought it was more like she was coming back (as a ghost) to show them that the wife was bad. They all thought the wife was fairly innocent and the mother was a bitch, but it turned out to be the other way around.
See, I started thinking that at first, too, but as I watched, the more irrate Joan was getting with God, and the more she was questioning him, the darker they got. And it wasn’t just on those by the window, it was all the Gods in the room. Then, with the mother’s speech about desolation and the comment about being lost in the darkness, or trapped in shadows, or something, it drew the connection there.
I haven’t seen the entire episode yet (fortunately I have it on tape), just the last 30 minutes. WOW!!! The show, the cast, the writers, everyone connected with Joan of Arcadia just ROCKS! I so love this show (and yes, I’ve said that probably every week it’s on); it just integrates so well on so many different levels. I was in tears at the end (again!), yet Will and Helen seem to be coming out of their desolation even as Joan enters one of her own. There will definitely be story de-luxe for next season to draw upon. What saved me from totally dissolving to tears was CuteGuyGod coming in at the end, giving what looked to be a blessing on Joan’s forehead. God hasn’t left her, even if she’s in a dis-believing state right now–it reminds me of the Footprints story, where the person is looking back on their path thru life, and points out to God that there is only one set of footprints during the most difficult times, wondering why God wasn’t walking by their side then, only to have God explain that those were the times God was carrying them …
And a huge SQEE!! to the Grace-Luke kiss–thank you!!! 
There is a lot of story to explore there too.
Severe WX here also, so I missed most of the talk between Joan and Aadm about God- AARG! And it was some flodding info. A tornado I can understand, but flooding couldn’t wait till a commercial?*
Brian
*I’m not very serious.
You know what occured to me after watching the season finale? God has never once told Joan to go to church.
I like that. It’s saying you don’t need organized religion to find God.
I think god (or God?) is covering his tracks. I got the distinct feeling that there was a need to cover up all those crazy things Joan has done during the past year, give her a fresh start, so to say. I predict that the first episode this fall will end with god showing up again, giving new spin to the story.
Is it actually the Christian God we’re seeing? I get the feeling that s/he is just god and it doesn’t matter what church we attend, if any. Seeing that god shows up as five characters in a room and on tv, having god be a burning bush and Thor at the same time, doesn’t seem like such a stretch.
I do hope there are fewer cringe-inducing moments next year.
Yeah. This is my favorite epsisode so far. There’s usually a lot I don’t like in the show (mostly everything that isn’t god/Joan), but not this time. More episodes like this will make me a big fan instead of the lukewarm fan that I am.
Did you tape this show, viva? I was in Salem until about 10:00 last night and missed it. If not, anyone else have a tape they’d be willing to send my way? I’ll gladly send an MO to cover shipping charges.
I finally decided how it is I feel about Adam. He’s not bad looking for a young guy, but that’s not it. If he were a real person, I think he’d make a perfect youngest brother. Some how, he reminds me of my real little brother, but less (overtly) funny.
Kevin on the other hand… 
This was a perfect season finale. If, God forbid, the show didn’t have another season for some reason, it would have made an interesting series finale as well. That’d be an interesting end, it was probably all a delusion, don’t you think? Series seldom end on such a dark note.
elfkin477 - You really thought it meant it was all delusion, at the end? I got just the opposite feeling. Especially that last scene, with god coming in even after Joan disavowed any belief.
“(God) looks like the Gorton’s fisherman.”
StG
My SO is going to kill me for having forgotten to tape this episode! (We have seen every episode so far!!!)
Please tell me it will be repeated soon…if not, put me on the list for gladly paying anyone the postage and cost of a video tape copy!
I missed the first 10 minutes because I was talking to an old friend of mine, but it was well done and well acted. I’m rather hoping that God will break Joan of the habit of assuming everyone who says something odd to her his Him, simply because obeying random strangers is a rather dangerous habit for an attractive teenage girl to have. I like Adam, too. He has a nice amount of wisdom and honesty for someone so young, and I like his fear of Joan losing all the things he loves about her. When I was a teenager and in my early 20s, one of the reasons I was reluctant to get treatment for depression is I was worried I’d lose all the things about me which make me different which I like about myself, so I identify with his fear.
I also like the way God is shown in this series. He’s not an easy Entity to work for, and it is difficult to understand why He’s doing things. He’s not operating on a conventional plane with Joan, much as she’d like to be conventional. He is also eminently practical, saying such things as “You’re sick, Joan. You need to see a doctor” and pouring water for her. At the same time, I also got the impression she was very much loved.
I don’t know if anyone else caught this, but the gesture God makes at the end of the episode, where He draws His thumb across her forehead, struck me as almost identical to what priests in my Episcopal church do when they baptize someone. I’ve seen it done the same way in every Episcopal chuch I’ve been to a baptism in, and given the similarities between Episcopalianism and Catholicism (I’m assuming the Girardi’s are Catholic), I suspect it’s the same in the Catholic church. Hang on a second while I get my prayer book. When a person is baptized, the priest makes the sign of the cross on his or her forehead, says their name, and says, “you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever. Amen.” I was half-expecting to see God finish making the sign of the cross on Joan’s forehead, indicating to me that while she may have rejected and denied Him, He did not reject or deny her.
You know, the more I see of Grace, the more I like her, and I love the way Luke deals with her. The confrontation where she called herself “anti” and Luke called her on what she means by that was wonderful. I suspect she’s probably terrified right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if next season starts with her cutting Luke dead, but there’s potential there, too.
I do have a couple of nagging questions. First, we saw God giving Joan water to drink. Did Joan really drink water during this time? It would be easy enough to prove or disprove. If it was real, there would have been less water in the jug when her parents came in; if it wasn’t, there would have been the same amount. Even if there was less water in the jug, to make an atheist’s argument, what she took to be God telling her she was thirsty and needed to drink could have been her responding to her own thirst and pouring her own water.
Second, when is someone going to slap Friedman? Please? At this point, I think I’d pay money to see it. Luke is a nice, highly intelligent guy. What on earth is he doing with a creep like that for a friend? Fortunately, if Luke and Grace do get together, I can see Friedman making some of his usual ignorant remarks to or around Grace. The results should be good!
CJ
I’ve seen the show through a couple of times now (as usual, fast forwarding through the cop stuff), and am still working on what I think about it.
While it may well be one of the “best” episodes in that the developments shown will prove to be essential to Joan’s growth and her future with God, it isn’t one that I am going to be spending a lot of time reminiscing about, unlike, for example, The Gift, Jump, and especially the ending of Do the Math (one of the sweetest, most romantic scenes I’ve ever watched).
But it had its moments. Thedetails are what make this show, especially the interaction between Joan’s family and friends:
The kids getting their varied breakfasts (day-old burito, fish sticks, corn chips) before Helen comes downstairs.
Joan, inquiring about Helen’s vision of God.
Joan applying Calamine to her leg, and Kevin observing that, “Take it from an expert, legs are overrated, you can still get laid”, and high-fiving Luke. Typical Kevin a-holish remark, with a possible reference to Joan’s misadventures of last week.
Grace, seeing Joan’s rash: “Wow, an STD already? Isn’t there supposed to be an incubation period?”
Friedman: “Way to go! Thanks for putting us subdefectives on the map!” (I knew this kid in high school, thirty years ago!)
Joan: “He was shampooing the rugs!”
Friedman: “I like it… and the rug is looking very shiny!”
At which point both Joan and Grace slap him. (About time!)
Grace, intervening between Luke and Adam: “Primates!”
(Interesting that both Luke and Grace assume that Joan and Adam had Done the Deed, until told otherwise. And that, when told otherwise, they accept the truth without question. By the way, we saw nothing to indicate that “The whole school” knows about the hotel… all we saw was Luke, Grace, and Friedman.)
Will and Helen in the hospital room, caring for their sick daughter. Joan crying. (Could there be the slightest doubt just how devestated she feels?) Adam not able to believe. God’s final appearance, blessing Joan, who, we can be sure, is in for a very rough time.
Grace and Luke. Last week’s episode showed just how caring Grace can be; this week’s showed how terrified she is of revealing that side of her personality. It is going to take her a long time to open up, especially to the point of revealing this new relationship to anyone else. I think Luke will be OK with that, but he is going to need an enormous amount of patience and sensitivity.
I hope that it takes more than the premier episode next fall for Joan to regain her faith. Ideally it should take the whole season, but the reality of series television is such that they probably can’t take more than three weeks or so without alianating the audience. I also think that, once Joan regains her faith, the assignments are going to become much, much harder.
VIIIIIIIIIIVA! Tape? Yes? No? Maybe?
(…can you repeat the question? You’re not the boss of me now…)
Stupid UPN having Oregon. :mad:
Best line-when Joan, upon seeing the creepy twins, says “I thought we agreed on mono-theism?”
I loved this episode, and agree that it probably the best one of the season. I particularly liked the fact that Wil’s case tied in with Joan’s storyline, but not in an overly direct way.
thwartme
There was a difference this time, though. In all the pre-disease episodes, God was just one of the slobs hanging around. Everyone else could see Him/Her and He/She was an appropriate character — someone browsing in the bookstore, a substitute teacher in the hallway, an old man walking his dogs in the neighborhood, a little girl swinging at the playground, etc. This time, the illusions of God were different. The twins didn’t seem to belong in the school, much less the bathroom. All the Gods at the hospital Who left her were out of place, and nobody else saw Them. Will and Helen walked right by Them and saw nothing. The only one that, to me, seemed situationally appropriate was Original God both in the church and the hospital.
That might have been a mistake, particularly in this episode. Will’s interactions with the old woman were immensely significant. I recommend that you replay it if you have it recorded, and watch the cop scenes right in line with the rest of it.
Watch the schedule. They’ll likely rerun it this summer. If I had a tape, I’d send you one, but we recorded it on DVR.
I watched the entire episode when it was first broadcast, but when I watch the tape, I generally skim the cop stuff. I am quite a bit more interested in the family’s interactions.
However, both last week and this week, the cop story had more to do with the primary story than usual.
That’s an interesting thought, one that didn’t occur to me. Maybe the avatars in the hospital were not God, but Someone Else. Or even products of Joan’s illness.