{"id":6976,"date":"2018-09-13T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T20:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6976"},"modified":"2018-09-12T16:25:44","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T23:25:44","slug":"mark-watches-slings-arrows-s03e02-vex-not-his-ghost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/09\/mark-watches-slings-arrows-s03e02-vex-not-his-ghost\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Slings & Arrows’: S03E02 – Vex Not His Ghost"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the second episode of the third season of Slings & Arrows,<\/i> various characters seek out surprising means of support. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Slings & Arrows<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of drug use, cancer, mental illness<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m blown away at how this show has sort of looped back around to the first season with the arc of season three. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve commented on this probably more on video than here, but I do love that Oliver works as both a literal ghost and a metaphor. In terms of a manifestation of Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mental illness and creative process, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliant and evocative. But I like interpreting this show as if Oliver is also<\/i> just a ghost, one that only Geoffrey can see. (And maybe Brian. MAYBE!!!) And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that second lens that makes this so compelling: Oliver has to accept that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dead, that his legacy is what it is, and the he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever change it. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done<\/i>. And while Geoffrey struggles with this notion of a higher purpose, we watch as a ghost struggles with the exact same thing. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point of it all? Why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Oliver just be dead<\/i>? Why does he feel so awful about everything?<\/p>\n

Over the course of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vex Not His Ghost,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d multiple characters struggle with deep, existential problems, and they do so by reaching out to unlikely people. We see that as Geoffrey finally finds a therapist\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 in a priest at the Anglican church. The show could have played this for laughs\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand there are certainly some humorous moments, like Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrival and the squeaky toy. But instead, Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s therapist is stunningly insightful, eager to note Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bullshit, and willing to provide him with information he needs<\/i> to hear. And that sincerity makes all the difference! For the first time in his life, Geoffrey has a disinterested party interested in what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going through. McTeague is just so piercing<\/i>, and it makes perfect sense that Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u201dghost or delusion\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwould be drawn to this process. Of all the people that are chosen in the midst of these crises, I think Geoffrey chose best. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed this for so long, but the real question is: Will he stick with McTeague?<\/p>\n

I hope so. Richard needs a therapist, too, but his outlet is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 oh god. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not good. His interest in musical theater could be better if he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dealing with Darren Nichols, who continues to be just as terrible as he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been. It also doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help because Richard often lacks the courage to stand up to other people, and Darren is a loud and aggressive bully. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something there! Richard clearly has a calling here, and this might be his way of getting involved in musical theater without<\/i> performing! But Darren always stands in the way, and thus, Richard chooses his person to confide in: Anna. While he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredibly drunk. And then he forces himself on her. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S A DISASTER. No, Richard, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t kiss your coworkers when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re their boss<\/i>, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get drunk and ramble on about how drunk and horny you are! Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do that!<\/p>\n

Before I move on to Charles, though, I did want to talk about one other aspect of this episode that I found charming. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to assume that the musical is included here for humor, and I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot to laugh at in those scenes. East Hastings<\/i> is exaggerated, self-important, and absurd\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 like a whole lot of musicals are. (Seriously, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like this show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weirdo cousin version of RENT<\/i>, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?) But younger actors are attracted to it. And they believe<\/i> in it. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so excited to stage this musical, and that exuberance is part of why Richard sees potential in the production. The obvious contrast, of course, is that the musical is too on-the-nose and in-your-face, while the Shakespearean production is more of a serious, respectable creation.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, right at the end, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shown that the musical is talking about something\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddrug addiction\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat another character is currently dealing with, and that person has been in theater longer than any other character in Slings & Arrows<\/i>. So maybe the musical isn’t<\/i> bullshit; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the artificial divide between these two casts that is making it impossible to relate to one another. The younger cast thinks the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153traditional\u00e2\u20ac\u009d one is stuffy and obsessed with ritual; the older cast thinks that the younger one has no respect.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That divide still exists in the King Lear<\/i> cast, too. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no denying that Charles is incredible, but that does not excuse his monstrous behavior. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bold choice in terms of writing because it would have been so much easier to have him just be this beloved actor dealing with mortality. Instead, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another layer: he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a complete asshole. Like, seriously, if Ellen is lecturing you on behavior, MAYBE YOU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE BEING TERRIBLE. He is just so insulting and abusive, particularly to Sophie, who is doing a fine job and also: IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S JUST REHEARSAL. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dismissive of Barbara and Ellen, he charms everyone with his little stories, then lashes out if things aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t perfect.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not until the end of the episode that we find out why this is, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another example of the show looping back on itself. Both Oliver and Charles are innately obsessed with their legacy and what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re leaving behind. Or, rather, in Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, what he left<\/i> behind. Charles, now in the final bit of his life due to a cancer diagnosis, wants to go out performing the roll he loves. And what a thing to ask of your director! He knows that this role might actually<\/i> kill him, and Geoffrey knows that he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do something like this. How would that affect the festival? The other actors? And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s influence means so much, because now Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got it in his head that this could be some greater purpose<\/i>, that perhaps Geoffrey can grant this dying man his last wish.<\/p>\n

But at what cost???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vex Not His Ghost\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"