tracing one warm line

[aria]

4x12 & 13 Call of the Wild

...I forgot how incredibly wacky this episode was. I mean, I haven't seen it very many times simply because it's the last one and I'm terrible at bringing myself to watch the endings of things, but wow, you got your grenade launchers and flame-throwers and Fraser MacGyvering the hell out of stuff with Ray's chewing gum and, well, Buck Frobisher, and I knew all of these things, but still. And this coming on the heels of a really wonderful and perfectly serious scene with Mort about Auschwitz and fishing; it's not quite whiplash but it's still weird.

I don't think the problem with the episodes Paul Gross writes is necessarily that there is emotional dissonance between the serious and the ridiculous, because all of due South has this tendency to, for the most part, do a reasonably sane cop show with flashes of silliness (or romps of silliness with flashes of a reasonably sane cop show); rather it's that he wants to do too much. I'm always pretty much uniformly delighted with the Fraser-and-Ray character stuff (see: Red White or Blue, Mountie on the Bounty), and I am somewhat less delighted with his apparent desire to do as much ridiculous slapsticky comedy as possible, but whatever floats your boat; the real problem is that between these things, the plot kind of gets lost in the shuffle. I mean, yes, "Muldoon, terrorists, huge threat of disaster, Fraser's past and Vecchio's reappearance conveniently tangled up with these problems!" is actually a pretty awesome plot, but it feels kind of ... connect-the-dots? Most of the scenes individually are wonderful, but a lot of the getting from scene to scene is cheerfully handwaved -- in fact it is occasionally even lampshaded, hi, Buck Frobisher admitting that Bad Things Will Happen but he has no idea what they are -- and I am glad Paul Gross is willing to admit in-script the things that he's rubbish at, but now and then I am tempted to eye CotW narrowly and demand more drafts before filming. (Stay tuned for me doing this again when we reach the epilogue, dear god.)

Leaving those things aside, though, Fraser and Ray go to the Hotel California to pick up the guy who turns out to be Vecchio, and I suddenly don't care about logistics and absurdities. Even before we get to Vecchio, though, there's a wonderful moment: Fraser's running up the stairs listening to Ray call floors; Ray says, "Breathing kinda hard there, Fraser," and smirks, thus:



As always it is better in motion, but, uh, damn. Of course the perfectly innocent explanation is that Ray thinks it's funny that even Fraser can get a little winded, or ... something, but I do know that the first time I saw it, I actually had to pause in order to go, "Wow. Wow, they are absolutely doing it." I don't know why exactly this pings me when nothing else did as meaning Fraser and Ray are actually together rather than obliviously subtexty, but if I was asked to get them together at some point in show continuity before the end, it'd be just prior to CotW.

And the really fun part is that even if Fraser and Ray are together, it doesn't really change Kowalski's reaction to Vecchio, because as we all know he is ridiculously insecure no matter what. (Although before I start talking about the bucketloads of tension, I have to say: Raaaaay. Oh Ray Vecchio, I missed your face. ♥) Re: the bucketloads of tension, though -- somewhat to my surprise, Vecchio insults Kowalski before Kowalski has a chance to do much besides do a quiet impression of a kicked puppy. This tells me something I hadn't thought of before, which is that Vecchio is just as scared he won't get Fraser back as Kowalski is he's going to lose him. (Which in turn makes me kind of wince, because, hey, Kowalski wins. Help, I think my OT3 is showing.) Part of all the aggressive tension the Rays have around each other, of course, is just sheer uncertainty; you're me and you're not you and where the hell does Fraser fit into this? Fraser, meanwhile, is delighted they get along, which is either the dumbest thing Fraser's ever said or possibly the smartest. They do have the potential to get along fantastically, and in fact at the shootout at the mall, after Kowalski stops being twitchy, they're able to do some damn good synchronized policing courtesy of their common Fraser-language. On the other hand, Fraser obviously really wants them to get along, and is going to be cheerfully and determinedly oblivious in an effort to make it so. Oh Fraser.

Jesus, I really cannot stop grinning at the Rays. "It feels like you died and you didn't get everything done." Can I please give them both hugs? I want them to bond for hours about being undercover. And then, heh, "Undercover's lonely. At least you had Fraser." They share the oh that wacky Fraser laugh, and I know that scene is about them being adrift and uncertain and kind of freaking out a little and attempting to find a point of connection, but I'm also mostly convinced it's about them being in love with Fraser and carefully not using that as a point of connection, because oh, the epic mess that would result. (Again my OT3 is showing! I'm not sure why I should apologize for equal-opportunity shipping in the middle of my meta, but I guess it's because there's a lot of good stuff to be had out of this show even if you read it as entirely gen. Anyway, I'm sorry; all subtexts are my friends.)

"Do you ever feel like you don't know who you are? Like, uh, if you weren't around somebody, or if that somebody wasn't around you, you wouldn't be you, or at least not the you that you think you are?" Ray. I think he really underestimates himself, not least because he's definitely himself from the word go, even in Burning Down the House and Eclipse, but I think the point stands: he was Stella's Ray from the age of thirteen, and when he lost that -- we're never given an actual date for their split, but the general assumption is that he becomes Fraser's Ray pretty soon afterwards. I don't know if he really needs another person in order to be Ray, but he does have a need for confirmation, I think, for someone to tell him he's doing okay. Of course Fraser is in the main wonderful at that, so of course Ray's panicked at the prospect of maybe losing him.

I love that Frannie gets some Fraser closure. "Frannie, he likes you," Ray says, in order to just get Fraser to stop babbling and have his touching scene already. "I know," Frannie says, which is ... wonderful, really, that even under all the pining away and the ill-conceived bids for Fraser's attention, she knows that he genuinely likes her and they might somehow be friends. I hope that in future they keep up a long and ridiculous correspondence.

And oh god, the scene with Fraser and Vecchio. This time through I'm kind of wildly broken up that Ray got shot and can't go off adventuring, partly because I still have a silly unfounded regret with no basis in the plausible and really wish there'd been a whole season of Fraser and both Rays, but mostly, damn, you managed to get David Marciano back for a whole two-parter, use him in your second part also! Mostly, though, I love the hospital scene anyway; Ray's amused Benny still talks to himself, it's just a flesh wound, I really, really adore Ray. The sheer love he has for Fraser makes me feel just as warm and fuzzy as it did way back in the misty past when Fraser was in hospital and Ray brought him a big bouquet of flowers. And "Do you Mounties still always get your man? Go get him, Benny." I am absolutely aware this means Ray's just telling Fraser he still has faith in him, so Fraser should go out and get Muldoon, but a tiny part of me sees the camera cut straight from that to Kowalski and thinks, hey, maybe that's Vecchio's blessing. I'm allowed to think that, right? It makes me much happier for everyone.

"We still partners, then?" "If you'll have me." As always I love that little exchange; as always I am perhaps unfortunately reminded of the, uh, outtake for that scene. (The scene in question starts at about 1:54; I am really desperately fond of the whole blooper reel, not least because the cognitive dissonance of hearing Paul Gross say "fuck" while wearing Fraserclothes is kind of epic, and, well, it's just lots of fun to watch him and CKR crack up and fumble lines at each other. <3) Anyway, even without the blooper reel the subtext is great.

Also, okay, sometimes I am fond of the really ridiculous things.



Mm, the scene on their first night, with the campfire. Ray wants to know if Fraser ever gets lost, doesn't know who he is -- and while Fraser's answer tells that his situation isn't quite the same as Ray's, I think the point is that he does understand. Ray's problem is that he doesn't know who he is without context; Fraser's problem is that he always knows who he is, but often the surrounding context refuses to understand him, if that makes sense -- I think the alien planet analogy works well. Of course being friends with the Rays gives him the context he needs for alien environments; it's that symbiosis again. I think that means Ray always needs Fraser more than Fraser really needs Ray -- he would have withered in Chicago without a friend, but he'd be able to at least survive well enough in the Territories without, since he seems to have managed for thirty-some years already ... although the show makes enough of his loneliness that he probably does need companionship, even if he doesn't realize it. Ray, meanwhile, really did need Fraser in Chicago to define him, and that's one of the reasons he follows Fraser up to Canada, where he literally needs Fraser to survive. Despite this, I think their relationship is pretty balanced.

I love how Bob tells a story of being out in the wilderness and nearly dying with Caroline, and how they kept each other going, and that's partnership, whereupon Ray basically repeats what Bob just said. A partnership is like a marriage, son! This isn't even trying very hard to be subtext.

Hee, meanwhile Welsh and Frannie are bonding over Ray Vecchio and Stella being saccharine and flirty with one another. It occurs to me that I am less bewildered by the pairing since I have decided that Stella is a lot like Ray Kowalski, which certainly says something about me. More than that, though, it's kind of nice to imagine that Stella is worried about Kowalski and that Vecchio is worried about Fraser, and neither of them are really saying anything but they get that about one another. And, yes, there is a certain symmetry to the Rays kind of partner-swapping at the very end. Look, I wouldn't necessarily have put Vecchio and Stella together, but since the show does I might as well try to make some sense of it.

No, Fraser, no, don't tell Ray touching stories about how Bob and Buck still knew they were partners when they were hundreds of miles apart and didn't see each other for months! I mean, since he thinks he's going to stay and that Ray will go back to Chicago, it is the best he can offer, but oh my heart. Meanwhile, Meg doesn't need Fraser, and they have a moment of understanding a lot like unto Fraser and Frannie's. I'm glad the show does let Fraser say most of his goodbyes.

I, um, I always get a little choked up at Fraser's "I thought you were permanent." Of course nothing's permanent. <3 And of course the scene is so damn touching that I can't even be bothered to be disturbed at Martha Burns playing Fraser's mum. Bye, Bob and Caroline! Wow, I love Fraser's family.

And now for the epilogue! I have terribly mixed feelings about the epilogue, mostly because it feels ... not tacked on, certainly, nor even really last-minute, although I think it was that; what it feels like is a story, something Fraser's telling us about what he wants to happen, even though it might not have happened yet -- because it seems like Ray and Fraser set out just after Muldoon's capture (presumably they'll be notified in time for the trial?) and this is what he's decided should happen to his various friends. As long as I treat it as a Story Fraser Tells, and possibly a suggestion about what goes on post-show, I can enjoy it.

Huey and Dewey playing at the One Liner I'll take as written. I don't know how long they'd actually keep it up -- hell, they might come slinking back to the 27 within a month -- but if this is Fraser's story, they're allowed their success.

Turnbull turning to politics I actually find kind of charming and inspired; he'd bewilder the hell out of everyone and he might even get something good done in the process. Whether he really is hit by his tour bus or whether Fraser is so horrified at the idea of Turnbull going into politics that he has innocent slapstick tour-bus-crash fantasies, I really have no idea, but I'm sure either way he'll be fine. I think he'd be just as happy staying a Mountie constable his whole life, and he really seemed to enjoy all the dog-sledding and running around up north, so I think my personal Turnbull-canon is nicely quantum and he can either go into politics or Mountie it up anywhere he likes.

I'm quite sure Ray Vecchio does not literally cough up a golden bullet, and ... really, I could see him moving to Florida, but I don't think I could see Stella doing it. I can mostly make it work in my head, though: Ray probably wants to be far away from mob land and getting a suntan, and he does canonically like Florida; maybe if Stella burned out too, she'd want to get in touch with her inner bowling-alley teenager and just have a good time being normal with Ray. Part of me suspects it's doomed because she's absolutely his out-from-undercover rebound and she's also quite serious about her career; part of me thinks that if Stella can put up with Ray whining and Ray can put up with Stella's exacting nature, they can have bowling competitions after hours and argue good-naturedly about funds and go designer-clothes shopping together and be wonderful. The Ray/Stella is also quantum; either they work and it's awesome, or they don't, Stella keeps being a splendid Chicago attorney, and Vecchio ... um, I'd probably shuffle him off to work out some arrangement with Fraser and Kowalski after they're finished with the quest, honestly. This is not to say that I think Stella's kind of the consolation prize; I'm happy to think of them living well together in Florida.

Frannie's ending is the only one I dismiss outright. Six immaculate conceptions? Raising babies? I am all for Frannie being independent and raising babies if she wants, but I know that was a last-minute joke thrown in for absurdity's sake. In my personal universe she goes to the Police Academy and becomes a really awesome cop. There will be no arguing, but there will be some rueful head-shaking for Fraser's sake, because if this is his story, clearly he thinks that what she really wants is a big Italian family, but since he can't put himself in that picture and doesn't know about anyone else she's interested in, he just goes straight to the raising-babies part. That's very silly, Fraser. Some day soon Frannie will become a great cop and get over you, and even get that respect she wanted back at the beginning of s2. She can also end up with anyone she likes; Welsh is my favourite option, but Turnbull or someone new or no one at all are good options too. Frannie/police work OTP.

Of course Welsh stays at the 27. That ending is quite correct and I will not argue with it in any way; it is where he belongs. <3

Thatcher the superspy really tickles me, although I'm not sure I believe it. It feels kind of like Fraser's upping her awesome in ways it doesn't really need to be? I am all for superspy!Thatcher, but I think I am more for her getting her promotion and transfer to Toronto, whereupon she goes to parties, dazzles diplomats, has lots of latte-drinking and good shopping opportunities, occasionally does brilliant fieldwork to the astonishment of the various officers under her, and is probably instrumental in overthrowing several world dictators, albeit from behind the scenes while wearing a snazzy suit. Thatcher is quantum also, but that is my alternate proposal.

Fraser and Ray, of course, are the most open-ended of all. They sled off together, and then ...? I don't think Fraser goes back to Chicago (although I've written that, for shame, self -- in my defense if Vecchio is also in the equation I think Fraser might consider it); I also don't think Ray needs to either. His parents are in Arizona, Stella's in Florida (or even if we're in a universe where she's not, she's also just not that important to Ray's identity anymore), his job is basically gone, and the one thing he believes he needs is staying in the Territories. I really do think that Ray could hack it, and more than that, after a couple hours worrying about who he is without Fraser, he explicitly decides to stay with Fraser; I think the 'indefinitely' is implied, even if it's open-ended. (Actually, how much is implied is astonishing. As I once explained rather laughingly to a friend, if the criteria for a ship being canon are writers' intent, the actors playing it, an on-screen kiss, a couple declarations of love, and the characters in question ending up together, Fraser/Kowalski is pretty damn canon.) I do unconditionally love Fraser and Ray's ending: they get to be together, and Fraser finally gets to return home.

I think that's it. I'll leave you with my required viewing for a retrospective once you've seen the whole series.

Now I have no excuse not to go write fic. :D