Mark Watches ‘Dead Like Me’: S02E12 – Forget Me Not

In the twelfth episode of the second season of Dead Like Me, George’s family has two interesting coincidental run-ins, while Daisy and Mason cope with Ray. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Dead Like Me.

THIS EPISODE WAS TOO MUCH. HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS.

• Holy shit, this episode provided a lot of narrative energy to this season, and THERE ARE NOW THINGS THESE CHARACTERS MUST DEAL WITH, AND VERY SOON.
• So let’s start with George, who surprisingly gets the least shocking story in “Forget Me Not.” At times, I felt that the way the writers wrote the tone of George’s scenes with Nina was too whimsical for my tastes. My father had Alzheimer’s, and he suffered from dementia in the weeks before his death. He forgot most of his family, most of his life, and nearly everything about us aside from who we were to him. But then, at the same time, he was gut-wrenchingly funny about it. Which is one of the things that survived the whole degradation of his mind! My dad could level a witty observation or an insult in a brutally deadpan manner, and he never lost that, so there’s also a part of me that appreciates the same sense of humor and joy to Nina’s loss of sanity and memory. In the end, the bad taste was very minimal because I didn’t feel like this was making fun of her. If anything, it showed us how impatient George was initially, how creative Mason and Daisy could be, and that in the end, all George needed to do was empathize with Nina. She had to go to her level to get her to understand her own death. And that was a real lovely moment for me to see.
• This also allows us to meet our first reaper not part of the core group in a long time! “Forget Me Not” introduces Penny, who was assigned a more pleasant reaper job: natural deaths in a hospital. I’d forgotten that long ago, Rube mentioned the fact that there were different divisions of reapers. Oh god, what other ones are there? I just want more world building from this show. Is that so much to ask for???
• Anyway, through Penny, Rube finds yet another clue to his long-lost daughter Rosie. A clue that he is actually pursuing. Y’all, even PENNY knows that this is not a good idea, but Rube cannot resist. Oh shit, it’s going to happen. And he’s still managed to keep it a secret from Daisy, Mason, and George. I have a feeling he’ll be able to do this through the end of the show. He’s such a private person in general, and this is the most personal thing he’s ever done. I’M SO EXCITED.
• There are a lot of HOLY SHIT moments in this episode, but the casual reveal that Joy is sitting in the Happy Time office was some real shit, y’all. Just the very idea of her being there made my heart race. WHAT IF MILLIE WORKED THAT DAY? WHAT IF DELORES FIGURED OUT WHO SHE WAS? WHAT IF ANYTHING. That alone kept my interest. Then Crystal is weird and wonderful. She’s great. But this whole episode is worth it just for Delores and Joy’s conversation, which quickly turns to talk of George’s days at Happy Time. It’s a bittersweet sequence. Joy was clearly unprepared to have to deal with her daughter’s death in a job interview, but the two women navigate an awkward situation as best they can. God, I really enjoy Delores, y’all. Watching her bond with Joy over organization and labeling? It’s a treat. It’s the best gift I could ask for. It’s also fascinating because it leads Joy to a wonderful revelation about what she can do as a job: PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZING. Good for you, Joy. You label those jars for exorbitant fees. I support you.
• Reggie also has a weird coincidental “run-in” with George, too. This episode opens with a flashback about George’s bookworm past (WHICH IS TOTALLY THE SAME PAST I HAVE), in which she writes about Reggie disappearing into a library book. When Reggie manages to find the exact copy of the book in her library, it’s yet another sign that George still haunts her. I kind of wanted more out of this, but the writers introduced the coincidence and then never really did anything with it.
• The bulk of “Forget Me Not” deals with Mason and Daisy’s “fight” with Ray. Ray is endlessly creepy, I despise him, and I’m forever thankful for all of Mason’s playful trolling of him. IT’S GLORIOUS. Ray’s so easy to piss off, I don’t like him, and I’m happy that Daisy stood up to him. He’s gross! He’s an entitled asshole who has always gotten what he wants, so it’s pleasing to me when he doesn’t get that. (Which is why it’s also fantastic that Rube and George don’t give him the time of day, either.)
• And then this episode takes one dramatic and horrifying turn for the worst. When Ray finishes the line of the song Mason and Daisy are singing as they walk into Daisy’s place, I WANTED TO CURL UP INTO A BALL AND NEVER RETURN. NO. NOPE. NO, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THERE??? PLEASE GO AWAY. I DON’T LIKE YOU.
• (Spoilers for Friday Night Lights: I can’t ignore the similarity between this plot and Tyra’s story on the show. Holy coincidence, y’all.)
• It was frightening enough to have to think of the consequences of a reaper killing a person. How does that happen? How is this dealt with? Was it scheduled? Did Death always know it was going to happen?
• AND THEN A GRAVELING CRAWLS OUT OF RAY’S BODY
• WHAT THE FUCK
• WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!
• DAISY HAS SEEN THIS HAPPEN BEFORE?
• WHY IS THIS SHOW DOING ALL THIS TO ME AT THE END OF AN EPISODE
• I NEED TO KNOW MORE
• HOW ARE GRAVELINGS CREATED? ARE THEY ALL PEOPLE MURDERED BY REAPERS OR SOMETHING? I AM SO CONFUSED
• WHAT THE FUCK Y’ALL

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Mark Links Stuff

– I have been nominated for a Hugo in the Fan Writer category! If you’d like more information or to direct friends/family to vote for me, I have a very informational post about what I do that you can pass along and link folks to!
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- Mark Reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is now published and available for purchase! It’s available in ebook AND physical book format, and you can also get a discount for buying the ENTIRE SET of digital books: $25 for 7 BOOKS!!!
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