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So, Numb3rs last night. Wow, what a muddled mess. Edgerton returned, which was awesome because Edgerton is the kind of cool Don Eppes wishes he was. However, I'm getting sick of ObliviousAsshat!Charlie.
I realize that he's always been a bit thick when it comes to emotions, which cannot be defined by math, no matter how much he wishes it were so, but I did expect more of a reaction to the burglary. After all, that was his home, too, and he supposedly loved it so much that he bought it from his father to keep it in the family. Yet when its sanctity is violated by beer-swiping hoodlums, he blithely traipses off to Don's scene and leaves his father to deal with the mess and the police. Nice, Charlie.
Maybe it's just me, but Charlie becoming a conscienceless asshat coincides perfectly with the consummation of the Charlie/Amita relationship. Prior to getting his winky waxed, Charlie was at least peripherally aware of other people's feelings and needs and cognizant of the fact that the universe did not issue from his ass. Now, though, he has Amita as his personal Jiminy Cricket, dispensing the Life Lesson of the Episode in horribly awkward chunks of expository dialogue that makes me feel like I'm watching an after-school special.
What happened to the strong, independent Amita who had concerns and goals beyond the prize in Charlie's pants, and what happened to the Charlie who could find his pecker without Amita's roadmap? This is what happens when you foist a ship onto a show not originally designed to carry one. It detracts from the characters involved in the pairing, and it distracts from the purpose of the show. It's a frank disservice to the actors, who likely were told something entirely different when they accepted the project.
Another thing I've noticed about Charlie is his increasing sense of entitlement when it comes to the FBI. Now he doesn't wait to be called. He just shows up and puts on his superhero protractor. Don didn't look all that thrilled to see him there, and if the preview for next week is any indication, Don resents Charlie's growing comfort in what used to be his area of expertise-crime-solving.
Moving on...
Why was Don waving his FBI-Peen at Agent Edgerton? Yes, I saw and heard the circle-dancing around the Hoyle shooting, but I still don't get the one-sided animosity from Eppes. Edgerton didn't make him take that shot; as Don admitted to the shrink, he took that shot because he has a martyr complex the size of Cleveland. And Edgerton lied to the shrink in his evaluation to keep Eppes in the clear, so why all the broody looks in the coffee room?
The scenes with Colby and the female ranger were perplexing. They struck me as weirdly inappropriate for some reason. Colby has come into contact with victims' families before, so why the sudden affinity? It was a cack-handed attempt at humanizing Granger, I suppose, though I thought they'd already done that rather well with "The Mole".
Alan Eppes was fabulous, as usual, but sadly, his screentime has been severely curtailed in favor of the Charlie/Amita sludge and the addition of Kathy Najimy, who functions as an annoying version of Dr. Fleinhardt. Why do I suspect that Larry is going to die upon re-entry, prompting Charlie to spend two episodes trying to find out why and Megan to "retire" in grief?
C-
I realize that he's always been a bit thick when it comes to emotions, which cannot be defined by math, no matter how much he wishes it were so, but I did expect more of a reaction to the burglary. After all, that was his home, too, and he supposedly loved it so much that he bought it from his father to keep it in the family. Yet when its sanctity is violated by beer-swiping hoodlums, he blithely traipses off to Don's scene and leaves his father to deal with the mess and the police. Nice, Charlie.
Maybe it's just me, but Charlie becoming a conscienceless asshat coincides perfectly with the consummation of the Charlie/Amita relationship. Prior to getting his winky waxed, Charlie was at least peripherally aware of other people's feelings and needs and cognizant of the fact that the universe did not issue from his ass. Now, though, he has Amita as his personal Jiminy Cricket, dispensing the Life Lesson of the Episode in horribly awkward chunks of expository dialogue that makes me feel like I'm watching an after-school special.
What happened to the strong, independent Amita who had concerns and goals beyond the prize in Charlie's pants, and what happened to the Charlie who could find his pecker without Amita's roadmap? This is what happens when you foist a ship onto a show not originally designed to carry one. It detracts from the characters involved in the pairing, and it distracts from the purpose of the show. It's a frank disservice to the actors, who likely were told something entirely different when they accepted the project.
Another thing I've noticed about Charlie is his increasing sense of entitlement when it comes to the FBI. Now he doesn't wait to be called. He just shows up and puts on his superhero protractor. Don didn't look all that thrilled to see him there, and if the preview for next week is any indication, Don resents Charlie's growing comfort in what used to be his area of expertise-crime-solving.
Moving on...
Why was Don waving his FBI-Peen at Agent Edgerton? Yes, I saw and heard the circle-dancing around the Hoyle shooting, but I still don't get the one-sided animosity from Eppes. Edgerton didn't make him take that shot; as Don admitted to the shrink, he took that shot because he has a martyr complex the size of Cleveland. And Edgerton lied to the shrink in his evaluation to keep Eppes in the clear, so why all the broody looks in the coffee room?
The scenes with Colby and the female ranger were perplexing. They struck me as weirdly inappropriate for some reason. Colby has come into contact with victims' families before, so why the sudden affinity? It was a cack-handed attempt at humanizing Granger, I suppose, though I thought they'd already done that rather well with "The Mole".
Alan Eppes was fabulous, as usual, but sadly, his screentime has been severely curtailed in favor of the Charlie/Amita sludge and the addition of Kathy Najimy, who functions as an annoying version of Dr. Fleinhardt. Why do I suspect that Larry is going to die upon re-entry, prompting Charlie to spend two episodes trying to find out why and Megan to "retire" in grief?
C-