Joan of Arcadia Season 2 thread (merged) (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

2/18/05

Wasn't too crazy about this episode:

Joan defies her mother because she wants to spend a night away from home to attend an out of town concert with Adam. Joan sneaks away by saying she's hanging with Grace (why would Helen buy that?), and finds that she isn't ready to go all the way with Adam, for one thing, she didn't want her first time to be in the back of Adam's caravan/truck. Adam's disappointed (probably just one of many things that he has to contend with with Joan and her wacky ways, and spurious decisions).

Friedman has Haley Duff hot for him, and he keeps pushing her away, and Luke wants to know why. Friedman gives a lame excuse about her not being his type, but Luke rigs up a situation and gives Haley an opening and she squashes Friedman's objection to stoke the fire of the unlikely pairing of him and Haley's character.

Kevin and Andy's storyline is finally picked up again, and Andy has been living at the YMCA all this time, and didn't accept the offer to live with the Giraldi's. Kevin finds out that Andy can't drive ever since the accident, and that limits his employment options. Andy decides to leave, and walks to the Giraldi's house, where Joan is in turmoil over her night with Adam, and how lying to her mother closes off an avenue for her to talk with Helen. Joan tells Andy that Kevin was at the high school doing a "why you shouldn't drink and drive" talk. Joan discovers that it's her decisions that brought about her happenstance, and decides to open up to Helen (though Helen does ground her for her insubordination). Joan also convinces Andy to go to Kevin, and there at the high school, Andy gives his side of the story of the night that robbed Kevin of the use of his legs because of his drinking and driving. Andy can't believe Kevin forgave him for his transgressions.

 

[Henry Gale]

Is there a Joan site that lists the cast for each show?
I'd like to know who played God this evening.

A Vatar

 

[Chris]

Thought that was cute. After a couple "downer" Joan eps (IMHO) this was a pretty good one, and I enjoyed the story.

 

[Patrick Sun]

2/25/05

I couldn't believe how overt the central message was at the end.

Stevie's story was bit convoluted, but Joan's conversation with the repair guy left the viewing with little in terms of interpretation. But the subplot was fairly engaging.

I actually liked Kevin's subplot a little better, especially after he regained his wits and was able to squeek out a byline at the end of his "report".

The subplot between Adam and Helen was also good, and heartfelt, though Helen's being somewhat of a mother surrogate, while also being Joan's mother, and having Helen know that he was that close to a home run the other night had to be an uncomfortable place.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Kevin's first steps were, in my opinion, the highlight of the season thus far. I loved the joy in his face when it worked. A close second for best moment of this episode was the Helen/Adam moment. I didn't realize the painting was of his mother until the end.

Tying for third was the moment between Joan and Will outside the interrogation room, and the whole "I thought the one rule was to always pee before you leave." "That too." It's a side of the cop procedurals one rarely sees.

 

[Garrett Adams]

I thought last nights episode was great. The viewer and Joan go through the show not seeing any good coming from her efforts. At the end though, unlike Joan, the viewers see that all sorts of good things happened. Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Indeed. It seems good things CAN happen to the Giardi family, from time to time.

 

[Patrick Sun]

That's the Joan we knew and loved, Joan, the catalyst!

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I have a question - Does anyone know anybody that can get Stargate on a Friday night with just "tin foil enhanced" rabbit ears?

Ok, I admit that saying they had to watch "Joan of Arcadia" would have been a stretch too, but she could have said "JAG"!

Glenn

 

[Lee Jamilkowski]

Well... she must be talking about the Sci Fi Channel broadcasts, then. If the rabbit ears with tin foil can pick up Sci Fi Channel, and get good enough reception, I may have to give up cable.

Loved Kevin's line about Netflix and how, "They just keep coming." That is so true.

 

[Patrick Sun]

4/1/05 "Trial and Error"

For a slow-going episode featuring Joan in a mock trial, the final scenes between Joan and Adam were heartbreaking and sad. Will Joan ever trust Adam again, or is it truly over between them? Joan's going to have a hard time giving her heart to another person in the foreseeable future.

Some lessons have to be learned the hard way, no matter if we know it's a bad idea, the consequences always seem so far away, but when the truth comes out, it's like it would be common sense to not want to touch the flame, but people still do it, at least once, and get burnt. Telling them not to touch the flame has no effect and it's only after getting burnt does the message sink in, but by then it's too late, the damage is done.

Joan finally sees the self-destructive side of human nature up close and personal, she pays the price of allowing another person inside her heart, it the very same vulnerability that allows humans access to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in terms of the romantic notions of love, and the need for the foundation of trust required for it to flourish. Joan will struggle with learning to trust and to open her heart again after this unexpected turn of events.

 

[Chris]

I liked the episode a lot, especially the ending.

 

[Natalie F]

Adam is a piece of shit.

That is all.

 

[Evan M]

I so never saw that coming. Aside from the "Adam becoming a bastard over night and cheating on Joan" angle, (if you could swallow that) the episode was a very good one. There were so many subtle things in the trial scene ... Joan and Adam interweaving the Jack and The Beanstalk Q's with real life answers/Questions... Grace sitting quietly and just letting it go, despite the cause for an objection in her trial (Bravo, Grace.. ), Joan's surprise when Adam tells her "it was just Sex" and the differing views on it... Adam thought that made it not as bad, Joan thought it made it worse... The conversation with God on the bus and God just putting Joan's head on her shoulder and letting her cry at the very end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. *two thumbs up*

 

[Chris]

I don't know, I thought this was a long time coming, actually.. and pretty fitting.. Adam had previously said that he thought they were having trouble, and didn't know "where to go" from where they were. It seemed to match up with the kind of things I witnessed in HS.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Damn, that was an hour of drama right there. Beautifully done. The Adam thing did feel like a stretch, but only because it's been like a month since they gave us the hints. The way Joan handled herself was excellent, as was Will taking a deeper look at the case. God, once again came through for the tearjerker moment of the episode.

 

[Chris_Morris]

From what I've read, Joan of Arcadia is going to end very strongly this season, leading into next season.

Spoiler below:
They bring in a fallen angel who becomes Joan's nemisis
.

Sounds promising.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Actually, it sounds like what they tried to do in Tru Calling at the tail end of last season with the Jason Priestly character, but the cat-n-mouse aspect doesn't really interest me in a Joan of Arcadia setting.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Indeed, let's hope they don't go too literal with it. Once they start getting into theological mythology, it'll start seriously distorting the focus of the show.

 

[Chris]

Yep, that's my concern too..