Okay so most of the things I love about the show Pretender are unique to me. Are because of my upbringing, the certainly about my conditions and how for years how I was living at the time never entered into anyone's minds as being a possible reason I was like that. I mean I was disassociatve. But that wasn't part of my condition. I was disassociatve because I was isolated, and because I had to compartmentalize in order to function. Also Schizophrenic, TRUE schizophrenia is putting two things together that should not go together at all but for the individual it makes perfect sense that they go together. The only type of schizophrenia that has Dis-association has disassociation and complete detachment from reality. Which is something that was obviously never true with me. My LIFE not my brain made my emotions so subdued. Jarrod is a Savant, that's like high-functioning autism. Which it turns out is what I have. And I can say with belonging, joy and pride is what I am. It's what and who I have always been.
The Pretender (1996)An AMAZING series ... Until the last 8 episodes
Back then the term 'savant' didn't exist. It's like high-functioning autism. And that's what Jarrod is. The main character is guileless, compassionate and when it comes to popular culture, ignorant. Not saying this to disparage but rather the laud the series. Jarrod is driven by empathy and altruism. I only discovered the show this year and I think it is GOLD. For approximately 4/5's of itself. Ms. Parkers transition from all business and cold to a woman searching for answers with what other characters call an infuriating moral compass was a delight to watch. She would do anything for Broots and goes out fo her way for Sydney. They are seriously like the three musketeers and Jarod just keeps crossing thier path. Sydney the caring, guilt-ridden soul who once he dealt with his feelings of guilt and culpability - being part of keeping Jarrod locked away in the Centre all these years-- was the closest thing to a father Jarrod ever knew. Which I suppose he had always been. He practically raised Jarrod since he was 4. It was heart-warming.
When Sydney learned he had a son during season 3 and Jarrod found his father and then lost him again at the end of season 3, the bond between the two of them seemed to dissolve. Well it didn't dissolve like implode the characters just didn't interact anymore. Instead almost everything was about Ms. Parker and the other two musketeers (Sydney and tech-geek Broots) trying to solve the ever vague riddle that was Ms. Parkers father, the 'truth' if such a thing exists about Bridget and Mr. Raines (which by the way there isn't any), the increasingly sickening behavior of Parkers brother Mr. Lyle. The utter lack of consistency in the characters in season four was matched only by the utter lack of contact the trio of characters at the Centre have with the titular character of the series...the man they'd been chasing -- then helping, then being helped by and finally just generally collaborating with -- for the past 3 years.
It became a convoluted mess full of smoke. And however interesting the individual missions Jarrod assigned himself, the main thru plot of the series, or the lack of one, made it hard to watch. Hard to take very seriously even.
The Pretender season 3 ep 1 Crazy. Brilliant; A Harbinger of better things to come.
Speaking as someone who could legally be considered crazy, schizophrenic and disassociatve, I love this episode. In high school and college I did personal research on the different kinds of schizophrenia and other related disorders, for both Gen Psych and for myself, so I knew that The Pretender was doing research in order to blend in among people with these problems, not to deal with problems that had manifested. But he wasn't being deliberately misleading like he sometimes is. He was always, in every episode doing research not for his own sake but to pull of whatever he had to professionally pull off in that episode.
At the end of last season Sydney finally took a stand and cast aside all other considerations. His loyalties to The Centre no longer trumped his doing the right thing. He couldn't fix what happened to Jarrod but he could help now. And that is something which allows for such growth for the change in Jarrod and Sydney's relationship. He's had this attitude but now he flat out says "I'm not interested in saving myself. This may be my last chance to help Jarrod... or you." Talking to Ms. Parker. It was pretty brilliant Also, I laugh as Jarrod is telling his life story in such a way that he knows it will be dismissed as his delusions. Everything that is built here is destroyed in season 4 but so what, now right now things are growing. All our charters are in thier prime. It's bleeping amazing.The Pretender: Parole Jarrod learns Two Things
Jarrod has a journey of discover in this episode. That is he discovers and learns one important, surprising and touching thing after another, and not along the same path. Jarrod's genuine surprise at the seediness and exoticness of the criminal or even blue-collar world is a nod to his innocence as well as his inexperience. He learns how easily people can be taken advantage of and fall into the trap of 'making the most of life', and most importantly, by listening in on Sydney's conversation with his son, learns how Sydney TRULY feels about him. Sydney has kept his parental feelings about Jarrod inside as best he could for the last 2 years. He was always his protector, friend and guilt-ridden over the part he played in keeping Jarrod locked up. Sydney previously flat out lied to Jarrod, denying any parental feelings. And now through eavesdropping Jarrod learns the depth of his feelings and how Sydney really feels, all at the same time. Sydney was always the closest thing to a father Jarrod ever knew and for the first time Jarrod learns that Sydney felt and feels the same way. No one could call it a conflict of interest or dis-barrage Sydney about the emotional umbilical cord he has with Jarrod -the main reason he keeps those feelings to himself most of the time. It was a heartfelt declaration trying to convince Nicholas that the man who raised him is every bit his father as if they shared the same DNA. It's the first truly open conversation Sydney has with well...really anyone except Jarrod. My original title “How they discovered something worth knowing” was taken from a chapter of C. S. Lewis the Silver Chair. I finally realized the word “they” didn't work. Sydney doesn't really learn anything he didn't already know. Rather Jarrod learns two things he never knew before.
The Pretender: Road Trip Incredible camaraderie exceptional acting
Speaking of the Wizard of Oz plotline it was a beautiful romp with all three of the main characters from the center perfectly happy to be following Jarrod's clues and jumping through his hoops. Despite her complaining Ms Parker seems to trust that whatever they will find at the end of this yellow brick road will be worth the mystery. And Sidney seems more than a little amused as he goes running around like rats in a maze. “Perhaps Jarrod wants us to run around like rats in a maze” And he's actually excited and jumping through those hoops. Maybe he feels that he owes Jarrod this after keeping so many things secret for so many years. They are the 3 musketeers and it's beautiful. Broots shows the most emotion he has ever shown outside of talking about his daughter. And by the end the three of them are just standing there like “Jarrod has a point.”
The one time Jarrod assumes something other than the best about someone – the one time he goes with what makes sense rather than what is right in front of his face – he is 100% wrong and you can see real regret in his eyes. He's always really good at reading emotional cues and micro-expressions but the one time he makes a conclusion based solely on the facts and the evidence- rather than the person or his own perceptions he is seriously almost disastrously wrong. He jumped to the same conclusion about 'the cop' and about Zoe that almost anyone would jump to when they meet a woman trying to get out of a bad relationship, especially when it is with a man protected by a badge. Zoe and Jarrod seem to be each-others first honest and deeply committed relationship. Which makes it the most meaningful thing in the world. There is another revelation at the end that I will NOT spoil.
The Pretender: The Inner Sense: Part 2 Too many things out of Nowhere
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...with no actual answers or closure. There are so many people and secrets in this episode that were never even hinted at in the episodes leading up to it. In fact the one thing that is consistent with previous episodes is Ms. Parkers intense and inexplicable hatred and mistrust of Jarrod. The heart of the story, other than Ms. Parker and Jarrod both searching for the truth was Sydney's relationship with Jarrod. This was especially true in Road Trip and Junk earlier in the season. But Sydney and Broots barely say anything to Jarrod the entire episode. Catherine Parker having that extra-normal sixth sense and Sydney already knowing she faked her death were never even hinted at the entire series. No one could ever have imagined Catherine Parker HAD faked her death since who Killed her had been driving motivation for the characters the entire series. And all the sudden she hadn't even died that day? This 'revelation' and betrayal was the biggest part of this episode. Well biggest part besides having 2 people who can barely stand each other sharing a sibling in common that we'd never heard of. Which would be pretty powerful if done believably. This was anything but a natural unfolding of events. Jarrod never says goodbye to Sidney and in fact Sydney had been fading further and further away from him for at least 6 episodes. There was no mystery, no event destroyed their relationship, just a lack of interaction. I don't think they had spoken since Junk.
Weirdly this was a fitting end to what the show had become recently. The plot line which was the heart of the show was minimized to allow more time for the various Parkers to become enigmatic characters with unclear motivations. A mystery the characters at the center spent thier time trying to solve rather than finding Jarrod or communicating with him on the phone much. If you know the series you know what a big part of the story that was. A series finale should wrap up the series, not take things from across the most recent season, make them center themes, try to create further mystery in the twelfth hour. When there will not be time to address it. Ms. Parker's search for answers to her families mysteries - a recurring theme since near the end of season one - ultimately went nowhere with very few answers ever found. There should have been at least one goodbye between the four main characters.
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