A Matter of Responsibility:
My thoughts:
As The Man Who Came Back was so damaging to Virginia, so was The Responsibility Seat to Ed. But unfortunately this is the bane of a low budget TV series that seemed to have little regard for character continuity.
The Responsibility Seat was an episode that I do not watch much, for some reason seeing Ed out of HQ, chasing down this woman didn’t appeal to me. And that is too bad for Paul, because this is one of the episodes that made him look good. In order to write this story I spent an hour reviewing this episode with a critical eye and the biggest problems I came up with are as follows;
1. Why did Ed handle this himself and not just send security?
2. What was he thinking about that allowed him to become emotionally involved?
3. Did he really just throw this woman out, forcing her to walk back to town?
Before I tackle these questions, I’ll share my overall thoughts on the episode. There seems to be a lot of discussion about whether Ed had become emotionally involved with Jo Frasier. To answer that question you have to view the episode as a whole. Straker is very good at hiding his feelings and it is almost impossible to tell what he was thinking at any given moment. I think he did, in fact allow himself to become emotionally compromised and I think that moment was at the bar when he asked her to have dinner with him. While he may have been intrigued by her in his office, the fact that he just wanted the tape from Frasier when he tracked her to the hotel and was just going to leave seems to support that conclusion. Even in Straker’s home you can’t really tell what he is feeling; to me the real clues came after the fact. The first clue was when Keith Ford says to the Commander, “Her kind never change.” Ed’s response is pensive as if he is wondering whether she had been sincere. The other clue, and this one is the biggest, is when Alec says that he would have gotten all tangled up with her. Ed’s response is again contemplative. He says, “I can see where that could happen.” It wasn’t so much what he said here but how he said it. As close as Alec and Ed are this is something that he would never admit.
Let’s look at question two; since I’ve established that Ed was emotionally involved I had to answer as to why. In my story Best Friends, Ed and Craig are discussing Virginia Lake. Collins has just seen her for the first time and he wants to pursue a relationship with her. From the story we learn that Ed has feelings for her as well but he chooses not to act on them.
In A Matter of Responsibility Ed has just learned that Jo Frasier has been killed in a traffic accident and this knowledge brings back an unpleasant memory. Virginia, now his fiancée, senses that something is wrong and Ed begins to tell her the story. Note that he mentions that this knowledge may lower his standing in her eyes, and that is important for later. Ed begins by explaining all the events that had transpired just before he met Frasier including learning that Virginia has started seeing Collins and while he is happy for them he realizes just how lonely he is. Jo Frasier shows up just at a time when Ed is feeling particularly vulnerable. In my opinion this is why Ed allowed himself to become emotionally compromised. It’s important to note that other scenarios could have worked here as well. Anything would have worked that made him vulnerable. To me that is the answer to the second question.
In his conversation with Virginia, which takes place almost two years later, Ed shares his innermost feelings with her, after all they are engaged. Note that while he would never tell Alec, he has become quite comfortable with Virginia. His bride to be asks him why he didn’t let security handle the situation, which is, as she points out, standard procedure. She’s not being judgmental here; she is just trying to understand his motive. While Ed gives her a reason, it is not the real one. But Ginny knows him very well and she voices the real reason. Ed is not the kind of person to leave his problems for someone else to solve. In this way his choice to take the matter into his own hands is shown in a positive light and answers the first question.
The last question, to me was the most disturbing. Ed Straker is a gentleman through and through. And a gentleman does not allow a lady to walk home. (Okay it’s questionable as to whether Jo Frasier could be considered a lady, but a gentleman would not make that distinction.) While I could see Ed reacting that way out of hurt and anger, I don’t think he would have made her walk home. I had some fun with Ginny’s reaction to this as well. Even though the episode doesn’t show it, I have to believe that Ed either called her a cab or brought her home himself.
In this story Ed is reflecting about his actions and shows concern that others, especially his fiancée would think ill of him if they were to learn the truth of what had happened. But Virginia runs to his rescue, reassuring him that he is seen as being larger than life, and not just by the woman of SHADO, but by everyone. Everyone makes mistakes, even Ed. And Ginny shows him how his commitment to his people and to SHADO are the mending medium that more than fill any chinks that might show up in his armor.
This story demanded to be written and I hope I was able to show Ed’s actions in a new light.
Matt
My thoughts:
As The Man Who Came Back was so damaging to Virginia, so was The Responsibility Seat to Ed. But unfortunately this is the bane of a low budget TV series that seemed to have little regard for character continuity.
The Responsibility Seat was an episode that I do not watch much, for some reason seeing Ed out of HQ, chasing down this woman didn’t appeal to me. And that is too bad for Paul, because this is one of the episodes that made him look good. In order to write this story I spent an hour reviewing this episode with a critical eye and the biggest problems I came up with are as follows;
1. Why did Ed handle this himself and not just send security?
2. What was he thinking about that allowed him to become emotionally involved?
3. Did he really just throw this woman out, forcing her to walk back to town?
Before I tackle these questions, I’ll share my overall thoughts on the episode. There seems to be a lot of discussion about whether Ed had become emotionally involved with Jo Frasier. To answer that question you have to view the episode as a whole. Straker is very good at hiding his feelings and it is almost impossible to tell what he was thinking at any given moment. I think he did, in fact allow himself to become emotionally compromised and I think that moment was at the bar when he asked her to have dinner with him. While he may have been intrigued by her in his office, the fact that he just wanted the tape from Frasier when he tracked her to the hotel and was just going to leave seems to support that conclusion. Even in Straker’s home you can’t really tell what he is feeling; to me the real clues came after the fact. The first clue was when Keith Ford says to the Commander, “Her kind never change.” Ed’s response is pensive as if he is wondering whether she had been sincere. The other clue, and this one is the biggest, is when Alec says that he would have gotten all tangled up with her. Ed’s response is again contemplative. He says, “I can see where that could happen.” It wasn’t so much what he said here but how he said it. As close as Alec and Ed are this is something that he would never admit.
Let’s look at question two; since I’ve established that Ed was emotionally involved I had to answer as to why. In my story Best Friends, Ed and Craig are discussing Virginia Lake. Collins has just seen her for the first time and he wants to pursue a relationship with her. From the story we learn that Ed has feelings for her as well but he chooses not to act on them.
In A Matter of Responsibility Ed has just learned that Jo Frasier has been killed in a traffic accident and this knowledge brings back an unpleasant memory. Virginia, now his fiancée, senses that something is wrong and Ed begins to tell her the story. Note that he mentions that this knowledge may lower his standing in her eyes, and that is important for later. Ed begins by explaining all the events that had transpired just before he met Frasier including learning that Virginia has started seeing Collins and while he is happy for them he realizes just how lonely he is. Jo Frasier shows up just at a time when Ed is feeling particularly vulnerable. In my opinion this is why Ed allowed himself to become emotionally compromised. It’s important to note that other scenarios could have worked here as well. Anything would have worked that made him vulnerable. To me that is the answer to the second question.
In his conversation with Virginia, which takes place almost two years later, Ed shares his innermost feelings with her, after all they are engaged. Note that while he would never tell Alec, he has become quite comfortable with Virginia. His bride to be asks him why he didn’t let security handle the situation, which is, as she points out, standard procedure. She’s not being judgmental here; she is just trying to understand his motive. While Ed gives her a reason, it is not the real one. But Ginny knows him very well and she voices the real reason. Ed is not the kind of person to leave his problems for someone else to solve. In this way his choice to take the matter into his own hands is shown in a positive light and answers the first question.
The last question, to me was the most disturbing. Ed Straker is a gentleman through and through. And a gentleman does not allow a lady to walk home. (Okay it’s questionable as to whether Jo Frasier could be considered a lady, but a gentleman would not make that distinction.) While I could see Ed reacting that way out of hurt and anger, I don’t think he would have made her walk home. I had some fun with Ginny’s reaction to this as well. Even though the episode doesn’t show it, I have to believe that Ed either called her a cab or brought her home himself.
In this story Ed is reflecting about his actions and shows concern that others, especially his fiancée would think ill of him if they were to learn the truth of what had happened. But Virginia runs to his rescue, reassuring him that he is seen as being larger than life, and not just by the woman of SHADO, but by everyone. Everyone makes mistakes, even Ed. And Ginny shows him how his commitment to his people and to SHADO are the mending medium that more than fill any chinks that might show up in his armor.
This story demanded to be written and I hope I was able to show Ed’s actions in a new light.
Matt
