As much as I love the show, I have to say that it is starting to spin into "As In Plain Sight Turns". To heck with the WitSec part of the show, now it has become all Mary, Ralph and Marshall all the time. No matter what happens with the Wit-Of-The-Week, we can't (and don't want to) get away from the soap opera that has become Mary's life.
I don't think (of course, I don't know) this was the original intent of the show. If there are changes afoot, maybe TPTB want to the writers to get out of those muddy waters that surround Mary's life and re-focus on the original(?) premise of the show?
The show is successful you say. Yes, but is it hitting the demographics every show (and sponsors) crave?
Full Version: Mary, Marshall and Raph
We didn't get the Mary/Marshall/Raph thing really until these last few episodes, and I think it is just part of the storyline cycle concerning Mary's engagement. Once it is resolved, then I'm sure things will simmer down.
It feels like they are building up to something that will cause Mary to call the engagement off, but I don't know how it will be resolved now with all the changes going on behind the scenes on the show.
I like Raph, but I do hope that they end the relationship and the engagement. Raph, in theory, is a nice guy who would be a nice break for Mary, but it has never been portrayed that way on the show. He's been more a source of stress for her than anything else. I'd rather that relationship end and move Mary in a different direction and let her be single for a while and concentrate on her work. Raph has always been better with Brandi anyway and I'd like to see him with her more often. Not necessarily in a romantic sense, because they seem to be pretty good friends (they certainly seem to have more fun together than Mary and Raph ever do).
I don't mind the show moving in a different direction, as long as they keep the elements on the show that work and develop them. Even though I like the emotional depth, I can see why the network might not like the level of darkness this season because Mary has been so unhappy and it seems very few good things have happened to her. And I do think that her relationship with Raph has been something that has been causing a lot of stress for her and making her unhappy. So I'd much rather they end it and allow both characters to move on than to keep it and try to reshape it and fix it.
It feels like they are building up to something that will cause Mary to call the engagement off, but I don't know how it will be resolved now with all the changes going on behind the scenes on the show.
I like Raph, but I do hope that they end the relationship and the engagement. Raph, in theory, is a nice guy who would be a nice break for Mary, but it has never been portrayed that way on the show. He's been more a source of stress for her than anything else. I'd rather that relationship end and move Mary in a different direction and let her be single for a while and concentrate on her work. Raph has always been better with Brandi anyway and I'd like to see him with her more often. Not necessarily in a romantic sense, because they seem to be pretty good friends (they certainly seem to have more fun together than Mary and Raph ever do).
I don't mind the show moving in a different direction, as long as they keep the elements on the show that work and develop them. Even though I like the emotional depth, I can see why the network might not like the level of darkness this season because Mary has been so unhappy and it seems very few good things have happened to her. And I do think that her relationship with Raph has been something that has been causing a lot of stress for her and making her unhappy. So I'd much rather they end it and allow both characters to move on than to keep it and try to reshape it and fix it.
Seems to me the original premise of the series was -- and the whole point of the show is -- the evolution of Mary Shannon. (It's working title was "Mary's World".) Mary is the key to the show.
The WITSEC platform is an over-arcing device used to advance Mary's story. Every episode/witness story has something in it that either reveals Mary's background and the cause of her damaged psyche or enlightens her to some part of her life that needs changing -- and it's commendable that she's taking action, sometimes only in little steps since she's so averse to change, but she's doing it nonetheless. How many episodes/witness stories have boiled down to Mary thinking about the concept of family versus what she had, a father-child bond ("Hoosier Daddy") -- particularly father-daughter ("Iris Doesn't Live Here Aymore", "Jailbait", "A Fine Meth", and especially "Who's Bugging Mary" 's balcony scene with Marshall and final scene when she cuts the wire on the listening device, underscored by the song's lyrics), the mother-daughter relationship versus the nightmare she endured ("Stan By Me", "A Fine Meth", "Gilted Lily"), her desire and search for an enduring, loving relationship in which someone takes care of her for a change ("Rubble", "One Night Stan" monologues, even "Jay Arnstein"). In how many episodes has she turned to Raph or gone back to him, as her refuge of sanity in all this?
I'm reminded regularly of that kitchen scene in "Good Cop, Dead Cop", when Mary tells Marshall that her life -- of being single, the monotony of going to and from work day after day (WITSEC work, hello?) -- isn't working for her and she wants more. Buying the house marked the beginning of the tumultuous stage of her life we're watching now -- her alcoholic/child-like mother shows up, she meets Raph, Brandi appears with the little black suitcase. She's no longer just shuffling witnesses. She's being forced to take a good hard look at her life -- at warp speed -- and realizes this is the moment to radically alter what has been her reality. This is her chance to reach for a slice of happiness or fall back into a miserable existence.
I (for one, apparently) see a nice balance between the WITSSEC segments and the personal storyline. Unlike others posting on this message board, I don't see the series veering off into a soap opera at all. So far, it's stayed true to its original premise, and we are watching one woman's growth into a better human being.
The WITSEC platform is an over-arcing device used to advance Mary's story. Every episode/witness story has something in it that either reveals Mary's background and the cause of her damaged psyche or enlightens her to some part of her life that needs changing -- and it's commendable that she's taking action, sometimes only in little steps since she's so averse to change, but she's doing it nonetheless. How many episodes/witness stories have boiled down to Mary thinking about the concept of family versus what she had, a father-child bond ("Hoosier Daddy") -- particularly father-daughter ("Iris Doesn't Live Here Aymore", "Jailbait", "A Fine Meth", and especially "Who's Bugging Mary" 's balcony scene with Marshall and final scene when she cuts the wire on the listening device, underscored by the song's lyrics), the mother-daughter relationship versus the nightmare she endured ("Stan By Me", "A Fine Meth", "Gilted Lily"), her desire and search for an enduring, loving relationship in which someone takes care of her for a change ("Rubble", "One Night Stan" monologues, even "Jay Arnstein"). In how many episodes has she turned to Raph or gone back to him, as her refuge of sanity in all this?
I'm reminded regularly of that kitchen scene in "Good Cop, Dead Cop", when Mary tells Marshall that her life -- of being single, the monotony of going to and from work day after day (WITSEC work, hello?) -- isn't working for her and she wants more. Buying the house marked the beginning of the tumultuous stage of her life we're watching now -- her alcoholic/child-like mother shows up, she meets Raph, Brandi appears with the little black suitcase. She's no longer just shuffling witnesses. She's being forced to take a good hard look at her life -- at warp speed -- and realizes this is the moment to radically alter what has been her reality. This is her chance to reach for a slice of happiness or fall back into a miserable existence.
I (for one, apparently) see a nice balance between the WITSSEC segments and the personal storyline. Unlike others posting on this message board, I don't see the series veering off into a soap opera at all. So far, it's stayed true to its original premise, and we are watching one woman's growth into a better human being.
I agree that the show is more about Mary than about the Witness Protection Program. And in order to follow her path in life we need to see the people in her life that help to shape who she was, is and is becoming. The witnesses and their stories are a nice bonus and some of the issues they are facing in their lives coincide with issues that Mary faces in her personal life. I enjoy the voice overs at the end of the shows that wrap up Mary's thoughts and allow us to understand her growth process.
QUOTE (JEVAFSO @ Aug 9 2009, 04:12 PM) 
Seems to me the original premise of the series was -- and the whole point of the show is -- the evolution of Mary Shannon. (It's working title was "Mary's World".) Mary is the key to the show.
The WITSEC platform is an over-arcing device used to advance Mary's story. Every episode/witness story has something in it that either reveals Mary's background and the cause of her damaged psyche or enlightens her to some part of her life that needs changing -- and it's commendable that she's taking action, sometimes only in little steps since she's so averse to change, but she's doing it nonetheless. How many episodes/witness stories have boiled down to Mary thinking about the concept of family versus what she had, a father-child bond ("Hoosier Daddy") -- particularly father-daughter ("Iris Doesn't Live Here Aymore", "Jailbait", "A Fine Meth", and especially "Who's Bugging Mary" 's balcony scene with Marshall and final scene when she cuts the wire on the listening device, underscored by the song's lyrics), the mother-daughter relationship versus the nightmare she endured ("Stan By Me", "A Fine Meth", "Gilted Lily"), her desire and search for an enduring, loving relationship in which someone takes care of her for a change ("Rubble", "One Night Stan" monologues, even "Jay Arnstein"). In how many episodes has she turned to Raph or gone back to him, as her refuge of sanity in all this?
I'm reminded regularly of that kitchen scene in "Good Cop, Dead Cop", when Mary tells Marshall that her life -- of being single, the monotony of going to and from work day after day (WITSEC work, hello?) -- isn't working for her and she wants more. Buying the house marked the beginning of the tumultuous stage of her life we're watching now -- her alcoholic/child-like mother shows up, she meets Raph, Brandi appears with the little black suitcase. She's no longer just shuffling witnesses. She's being forced to take a good hard look at her life -- at warp speed -- and realizes this is the moment to radically alter what has been her reality. This is her chance to reach for a slice of happiness or fall back into a miserable existence.
I (for one, apparently) see a nice balance between the WITSSEC segments and the personal storyline. Unlike others posting on this message board, I don't see the series veering off into a soap opera at all. So far, it's stayed true to its original premise, and we are watching one woman's growth into a better human being.
The WITSEC platform is an over-arcing device used to advance Mary's story. Every episode/witness story has something in it that either reveals Mary's background and the cause of her damaged psyche or enlightens her to some part of her life that needs changing -- and it's commendable that she's taking action, sometimes only in little steps since she's so averse to change, but she's doing it nonetheless. How many episodes/witness stories have boiled down to Mary thinking about the concept of family versus what she had, a father-child bond ("Hoosier Daddy") -- particularly father-daughter ("Iris Doesn't Live Here Aymore", "Jailbait", "A Fine Meth", and especially "Who's Bugging Mary" 's balcony scene with Marshall and final scene when she cuts the wire on the listening device, underscored by the song's lyrics), the mother-daughter relationship versus the nightmare she endured ("Stan By Me", "A Fine Meth", "Gilted Lily"), her desire and search for an enduring, loving relationship in which someone takes care of her for a change ("Rubble", "One Night Stan" monologues, even "Jay Arnstein"). In how many episodes has she turned to Raph or gone back to him, as her refuge of sanity in all this?
I'm reminded regularly of that kitchen scene in "Good Cop, Dead Cop", when Mary tells Marshall that her life -- of being single, the monotony of going to and from work day after day (WITSEC work, hello?) -- isn't working for her and she wants more. Buying the house marked the beginning of the tumultuous stage of her life we're watching now -- her alcoholic/child-like mother shows up, she meets Raph, Brandi appears with the little black suitcase. She's no longer just shuffling witnesses. She's being forced to take a good hard look at her life -- at warp speed -- and realizes this is the moment to radically alter what has been her reality. This is her chance to reach for a slice of happiness or fall back into a miserable existence.
I (for one, apparently) see a nice balance between the WITSSEC segments and the personal storyline. Unlike others posting on this message board, I don't see the series veering off into a soap opera at all. So far, it's stayed true to its original premise, and we are watching one woman's growth into a better human being.
I enjoyed your thoughtful analysis, JEVAFSO. I also watch Burn Notice and part of what you say also applies to that show. The client stories are often illuminating, with issues applicable to the hero. I've said, on our board, that the real theme is: how does Michael Westen become humanized. To some extent, I think we are watching Mary deal with her troubled past, on her way to a more realized, happier life.
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