There is not much going on with Jack and Jennifer right now, since we’re still in a period of stasis (that is going to change very soon, however!). But here is a nice little pair of scenes. Soon after Marina’s death, Jack is trying to figure out how to get Isabella out of Bayview, and Jen is trying to figure out what Jack is up to.
We get a little silliness when Jack is creeping out of Bayview and Jennifer scares him, and then when he fake-cries to try to convince her this is about Harper. And I like how this sets up Jen’s motivation for wanting to help Jack. At first it seems to be mostly because she’s a reporter with a nose for a story, and she doesn’t like being left out of a possible adventure. At the end of the first scene, she smiles at his denials and says, “Yeah, I got it, Jack,” seeming to relish the opportunity to find out the truth regardless. And I love seeing that, seeing her spirit and determination.
But in the following scene, things take a more serious tone. We see the hurt poke through as she pleads with Jack to let her help. She did help him before, when he was trying to track down Steve in Italy, so the way he shuts her out now feels like a rejection. But more importantly, we see the underlying concern for Jack’s safety. Seeing the gun he is hiding in his desk makes her truly worried he’s involved with something dangerous and he could get hurt or killed.
That danger, of course, makes Jack all the more determined to keep Jen out of this. He keeps his mask firmly in place as he fends her off, making snarky remarks. When Jen accuses him of being in trouble, it is both a deflection and a shot at himself when he says coolly that according to people in this town, “I am trouble.” And when Jen gets upset and says she’ll just have to read about his death in the papers, I love his line about “as long as it’s the Spectator.” Hee. Then after she goes, we see the mask fall away.
There’s a little comedy, a little adventure, and an underlying seriousness that taps into their feelings for each other—all in what is mostly a filler scene. Ah, Days of old. So good, it almost seems effortless. And didn’t we all just take it for granted?
May 8, 2009 at 7:15 am
This is all kind of fun and entertaining and definitely shows off the wonderful banter-y vibe that Jack and Jen always had. It also accomplishes the goal of keeping Jack and Jen in occassional proximity so that we can see those feelings are still there/developing.
As you say, it seems almost effortless and yet without this type of scene so much is lost.
May 8, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I really like the emotional continuity here. Even if the show wasn’t 100% sure they were going with Jack and Jen yet, they know that in case they do they have to throw these scenes in there. Otherwise, what they’ve established so far is lost.
The banter is really nice to see here too, because we really haven’t seen it for awhile.