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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 10:26:20 GMT
I remember an episode in which Murdoch applies for the Inspector position at another station and interviews with the Chief, the one before Giles, and when he finds out Murdoch is a Catholic he tell Brax in no uncertain terms that a Papist will never rise to the rank of Inspector in the Toronto Constabulary. And yes, that was strong enough reason to keep him from advancing back then. Toronto was heavily Protestant at the turn of the 20th century. Anyway, Brackenreid tells Murdoch that being Inspector is mostly political in nature and William would not like that. Murdoch would hate all the political crap. He loves solving mysteries and that's what he does best and he knows himself well enough to appreciate how important it is to do what you love. That episode is Glass Ceiling. It's true William would not like the politics of the job, but he has now been stuck in the same position without a promotion for a decade. Perhaps longer. And he's supposedly "the greatest detective in the King's Realm!". I think Inspector Brackenreid's remark was intended to convey that William expected to move up to the Inspector's position - at least temporarily. He has to grow somehow, but he has nowhere to go as it is. I still think it will resolve with William finding ways outside the constabulary to build a career - such as writing books and giving lectures. |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 10:29:21 GMT
It's almost like so long as he's slightly uncomfortable and completely buttoned up, he's respectable and proper. But when the tie come off....  Yes indeed. My psychologist friends tell me that a man's tie is a phallic symbol so when I take that into consideration all of that by-play (I am so proud I didn't go there) takes on a new and more compelling significance. Please go there. The rest of us certainly are. The fanfic is already abounding. |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 10:34:29 GMT
I was wondering that too but figured she was amused at William's usual sense of prudence. I guess we'll soon find out, but I thought it was her laughing that he failed to respond to her hint to set a date (our bright boy isn't so bright at reading romantic/sexual subtleties). She knows something's bothering him, but he won't discuss it. My money's on her confronting him about the lack of a date/time frame next episode-they brought up the lack of a date too many times for it not be an issue, IMHO. I'll also place a bet on the date being set next episode. There was far too much discussion of the date not being set this episode for it not to happen. Such a big deal has been made of it, that I also think there will be some sort of chat as to why all the "dallying" has occurred. I also think they will settle on where they will live, and William will be very relieved once that's out of the way, whether he's paying for it or not. And then they will go to some private place to celebrate... |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 10:40:46 GMT
I just watched On the Waterfront P1 again, and this time I paid more attention to Julia during the "expensive neighborhood" scene. She does issue a derisive laugh - almost a snort! At first I thought that this was a sign of miscommunication - Julia must not understand William's anxieties about money. However, in the context of the rest of the episode, I began to see Julia engaging in a larger of strategy of making fun of or dismissing William for old-fashioned or cautious thinking. She's basically training him via little rewards and punishments not to be a "stick in the mud". In this context, Julia would view Williams wish to be a provider as part of his old-fashioned thinking, so she will try to address it by laughing at the very thought. It remains to be seen whether this approach will backfire. Laughter is a very dangerous weapon. "Laughing with" easily segues into "laughing at". And male egos are very fragile. But people laugh out of frustration too (that bitter laugh/snort that Julia does-I know I do). I think she's dropping hints about setting a date and he's not picking up on them. I agree she's dropping hints about setting a date. But people can be doing multiple things at the same time. I don't think the laugh was actually bitter. I think it's part of a larger patter of Julia trying to "make a laughing stock" of William's traditional ways so he will eventually come to regard them as silly and fully join her in the modern world. |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 10:52:53 GMT
IMO he appreciates nice clothes and doesn't mind paying for quality. I think William got the evening suit, top hat and all, because he enjoyed going to formal affairs. Since I don't know what the property laws were/are in Canada at the time so I can only speculate that they were similar to those of England and the US which would mean that her fortune would most likely become his when they marry unless legal arrangements to the contrary are made. In the first case, an expedition such as William imagined would not have come cheaply and he knew that then. In the second instance it looked like they were pretty well off there, too. I had a lot of theories early on based on the idea William would gain control of Julia's money, but it turned out that British and Canadian law had recently changed in ways that would allow Julia to retain control of her own fortune. So this isn't going to be an issue after all. I'm kind of bummed - this would have been a great angst set up. But it still is an angst set up in a way because now Julia is a wealthy woman with a proclivity toward independence, and William is a man getting along on a fairly low salary. I will grant you that William has a taste for the finer things in life. The question is whether he has the money to pay for them, or whether he will allow Julia to provide them. Your point about William's dreams is excellent. No one has brought this up yet. In his dreams William has an extremely prosperous future. How does this happen on a detective's salary? Something has to happen for William to pursue those dreams. |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 10:57:21 GMT
Yes indeed. My psychologist friends tell me that a man's tie is a phallic symbol so when I take that into consideration all of that by-play (I am so proud I didn't go there) takes on a new and more compelling significance. I wasn't going to go there, but since you did  yes, I think the tie has taken those kind of proportions. And something that just occurred to me was that she's studied with Freud, so she knows exactly what she's doing.  Oh my! How scandalous, Julia! Wahahahaha, yes Julia does know exactly what she is doing. I've been thinking this since Julia analyzed William in Murdoch in Ladies Wear. She also knew just a little too much about how Eva Pearce was manipulating men. Even in Bloodlust, didn't Julia seem to possess an extraordinary knowledge of subtle sexual cues? By now she knows how to play William in every musical key! |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 11:06:20 GMT
I am kind of surprised that there has been so little discussion about YB's direction of this episode. I think he did a fantastic job. The gore at the beginning was certainly a surprise, but I've been watching the The Bridge so ... The way he shot some of the scenes made them really stand out. The shot through the barber's window as the four women walked around the corner coming back from their first trip to Queen's Park was lovely and the last scene in the morgue where Emily was sitting at her desk and William stood behind her was exquisite the way the light shone through the high windows onto the white tiled walls and then the camera moved in on the two of them was terrific, especially the lighting. But the best was the way he inter-cut the fight at the wharf and the fight at Queen's Park. That was genius and something you don't see often enough in television. I give him a pass on the CG stuff because most of it maintained the look and atmosphere they have established for the series. If it were a big budget moving the entire background would have been CG and the all of the action would have been filmed in front of a green screen. Oh, and the scene in his office when she called him a stick in the mud and Slorach comes in behind them--just lovely. This wasn't the one YB directed - he directed Glory Days, the episode after the Waterfront 2-parter. There was a lot of hype about how epic the waterfront eps were supposed to be, but I think most of the hype was being generated by the writer. It is good, but I do wish MM had kept up the tradition of the first ep involving some really big thing like a skyscraper or zeppelin or a submarine. Something that made it like a blockbuster movie. I guess the wharf fight is supposed to do that actually. It may have that effect once the two eps are put together. We'll see! |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Oct 10, 2014 12:41:06 GMT
But people laugh out of frustration too (that bitter laugh/snort that Julia does-I know I do). I think she's dropping hints about setting a date and he's not picking up on them. I agree she's dropping hints about setting a date. But people can be doing multiple things at the same time. I don't think the laugh was actually bitter. I think it's part of a larger patter of Julia trying to "make a laughing stock" of William's traditional ways so he will eventually come to regard them as silly and fully join her in the modern world. But that paints her as cruel-and I don't think she's being cruel-she's just starting to get annoyed/concerned that the man who's been waiting for her is now dragging his feet. |
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Post by Hodge on Oct 10, 2014 15:10:38 GMT
I remember an episode in which Murdoch applies for the Inspector position at another station and interviews with the Chief, the one before Giles, and when he finds out Murdoch is a Catholic he tell Brax in no uncertain terms that a Papist will never rise to the rank of Inspector in the Toronto Constabulary. And yes, that was strong enough reason to keep him from advancing back then. Toronto was heavily Protestant at the turn of the 20th century. Anyway, Brackenreid tells Murdoch that being Inspector is mostly political in nature and William would not like that. Murdoch would hate all the political crap. He loves solving mysteries and that's what he does best and he knows himself well enough to appreciate how important it is to do what you love. See, I always read that as Brax' subtle way of telling William that he didn't get the job or to at least discourage him for holding out hope. William (oblivious to romantic subtext) picked up on it and agreed as a way of telling Brax that he understood. That doesn't mean that he's given up on advancement entirely, just for that time. That's exactly what he was doing Fallenbelle. Brackenreid likes William even if he does exasperate him at times and doesn't want to see his feelings hurt. I thought it was a very subtle way of telling him and he gained a lot of respect from me for the way he handled it. |
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Post by Hodge on Oct 10, 2014 15:20:08 GMT
I am kind of surprised that there has been so little discussion about YB's direction of this episode. I think he did a fantastic job. Yannick didn't direct it, it was directed by Laurie Lynd. Yannick directed 803, Glory Days. Regardless of which episode it turns out to be Yannick always directs the first one filmed as he has to do all the prep before all filming starts, after that he's too busy. |
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Post by Hodge on Oct 10, 2014 15:30:33 GMT
This wasn't the one YB directed - he directed Glory Days, the episode after the Waterfront 2-parter. There was a lot of hype about how epic the waterfront eps were supposed to be, but I think most of the hype was being generated by the writer. It is good, but I do wish MM had kept up the tradition of the first ep involving some really big thing like a skyscraper or zeppelin or a submarine. Something that made it like a blockbuster movie. I guess the wharf fight is supposed to do that actually. It may have that effect once the two eps are put together. We'll see! The problem was they had written themselves into a corner with the S7 cliffhanger. They had to deal with what happened to the inspector or fans would be up in arms. I didn't mind OtW, it slowly built to the clashes at the end and was well done even if it wasn't what many would have liked. |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 18:20:09 GMT
I agree she's dropping hints about setting a date. But people can be doing multiple things at the same time. I don't think the laugh was actually bitter. I think it's part of a larger patter of Julia trying to "make a laughing stock" of William's traditional ways so he will eventually come to regard them as silly and fully join her in the modern world. But that paints her as cruel-and I don't think she's being cruel-she's just starting to get annoyed/concerned that the man who's been waiting for her is now dragging his feet. I don't think it's cruel, but I do think Julia can be a tad manipulative, especially now that she has had all this psychology training. She needs to get William's head out of the (sexist) 19th century in a way that doesn't cause a lot of direct confrontations and arguments. Turning the old ways into something silly is a sneaky way to do it. By the way I have a new prediction about the way the "date" discussion will go down, and I'm moving my money to this number. William and Julia will make a date for dinner, and at the dinner they will start talking at once about how they need to set a date for the wedding, and the whole thing will resolve in mutual laughter. Neither will be sure who or what was causing the delay. They will order some wine and set the date already. |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 18:22:02 GMT
This wasn't the one YB directed - he directed Glory Days, the episode after the Waterfront 2-parter. There was a lot of hype about how epic the waterfront eps were supposed to be, but I think most of the hype was being generated by the writer. It is good, but I do wish MM had kept up the tradition of the first ep involving some really big thing like a skyscraper or zeppelin or a submarine. Something that made it like a blockbuster movie. I guess the wharf fight is supposed to do that actually. It may have that effect once the two eps are put together. We'll see! The problem was they had written themselves into a corner with the S7 cliffhanger. They had to deal with what happened to the inspector or fans would be up in arms. I didn't mind OtW, it slowly built to the clashes at the end and was well done even if it wasn't what many would have liked. That's true, and the more I think about it, the more I think the waterfront fight was supposed to be the "big cinematic thing". The problem was breaking it into two episodes. They should have made it a two hour premiere and made it an "event" that way instead. |
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Post by Fallenbelle on Oct 10, 2014 18:49:19 GMT
The problem was they had written themselves into a corner with the S7 cliffhanger. They had to deal with what happened to the inspector or fans would be up in arms. I didn't mind OtW, it slowly built to the clashes at the end and was well done even if it wasn't what many would have liked. That's true, and the more I think about it, the more I think the waterfront fight was supposed to be the "big cinematic thing". The problem was breaking it into two episodes. They should have made it a two hour premiere and made it an "event" that way instead. This is it in a nutshell. I liked the episode fine, but I think a cliffhanger on top of a cliffhanger is what's got some people riled up. I'm fine with the Gangs of New York avenging the inspector fight scene as the Big Bang, but having it split into two different episodes is what's got some people a bit annoyed. I agree that the story arch deserved a two parter, but yeah, perhaps it should have been a two-hour premiere. But, I've waited months for the season premiere, so I'm fine with waiting another week.  |
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Post by snacky on Oct 10, 2014 21:04:38 GMT
That's true, and the more I think about it, the more I think the waterfront fight was supposed to be the "big cinematic thing". The problem was breaking it into two episodes. They should have made it a two hour premiere and made it an "event" that way instead. This is it in a nutshell. I liked the episode fine, but I think a cliffhanger on top of a cliffhanger is what's got some people riled up. I'm fine with the Gangs of New York avenging the inspector fight scene as the Big Bang, but having it split into two different episodes is what's got some people a bit annoyed. I agree that the story arch deserved a two parter, but yeah, perhaps it should have been a two-hour premiere. But, I've waited months for the season premiere, so I'm fine with waiting another week. I'm fine with the waiting aspect of the two parter. It's just that I've realized breaking where they did undermined the usual "epic" feel of the premiere I liked. I had been struggling to put my finger on where the premiere lacked that certain "bigness", and I finally realized that the dock fight was supposed to be the blockbuster scene: but it was undercut by breaking it into a two parter. Oh well. Storywise, I'm enjoying it just fine and I can't wait until Monday! I'm scolding eclair for missing it!  |
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Oh my! How scandalous, Julia!
