Being Erica - Season 3

[Owain Taggart]

^ Thanks. I thought it was Upper Canada Village.

That's what I thought at first, but my Dad explained that Black Creek was indeed a real place. I thought it may have been a cover name to avoid saying the real one.

And Jenny didn't seem all that destructive. I can imagine worse.

That's my problem with this episode too. Its not as if Jenny is a drunkard or a drug addict who is constantly getting Erica into trouble. Besides, I see Judith as Erica's responsible and proper shoulder angel while Jenny is Erica's wild and sexy shoulder devil. And loosing Erica's devil makes Erica boring.

While I agree that things have to change between Erica and Jenny, I believe there are better solutions than totally breaking off their friendship. For one, I would have mothered Jenny with tips, advice and even warnings without directly helping Jenny by giving her a job.

Ok, well, I know we have different perspectives on this, but the way I see this is this: Throughout the episodes we've seen of Jenny, Erica's always been giving her advice and helping her, but nothing much was ever gained from it. While she may not have been specifically destructive, to Erica, being around her was only reinforcing the negative. When push comes to shove, something's gotta give, right? In this case, Jenny comes back hoping for Erica to solve her problems once again. And it's not that Jenny's a terrible person, because I believe she's only got good intentions, but it's obviously not working for them, and she causes yet again more trouble for Erica, just after she's helped her and covered for her. That in my opinion is not a good friendship. She's leaching off her, so there comes a point where she had to make a difficult decision. She decided that Jenny just wasn't a very good friend to her after all that she'd done for her.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Good episode tonight, if somewhat disappointing, for reasons I can't seem to pinpoint. There was a lot of revelatory stuff in it, and Dr Arthur is in this one a lot. Maybe what disappointed me was the lack of going back in time.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ I quite enjoyed it. I thought it was one of this season's best.

When I saw the episode title a day or so ago, "Physician, Heal Thyself", I igured it would focus on Dr. Tom and Erica's sister. Never knew we'd learn so much about Dr. Tom though. His daughter came back and we got to see what happened when he jumped off the building. Those were some good unexpected treats. Same with having more of or Graham Greene Dr. Arthur. And it looks like Dr. Tom does have a normal day to day life afterall. He's not dead or an angel or anything. I wonder what he does for a living though. Being a time-travelling "doctor" doesn't strike me as a legitimate paying job.

 

[intrinsical]

I enjoyed it. Instead of the usual "time travel learning" episode, we essentially have a "move the plot forward" episode. So many things were happened!

Spoiler: For those who have watched Physician, Heal Thyself

As anticipated, Adam is soooo upset over Erica making out with Kai that he even attempted to persuade Erica from doing it. I'm pleasantly surprised Adam did not physically attempt to stop Kai, I really thought he would. Good for Adam!

 

[Worf2DS9]

I liked the episode as well. It was neat to see Dr. Tom's first encounter with Dr. Naadiah (oh, so that's how you spell it!). Also, that scene where Dr. Tom followed Erica into her apartment and exploded in rage was pretty intense!

And I'm with Erica: I don't like Kai's manager either.

PS: Is the shorter, red-haired co-owner of Goblins the same guy who plays Todd's friend in the show "Todd and the Book of Pure Evil"?

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ Yeah, it's him. I only noticed last night.

 

[Owain Taggart]

^ I quite enjoyed it. I thought it was one of this season's best.

When I saw the episode title a day or so ago, "Physician, Heal Thyself", I igured it would focus on Dr. Tom and Erica's sister. Never knew we'd learn so much about Dr. Tom though. His daughter came back and we got to see what happened when he jumped off the building. Those were some good unexpected treats. Same with having more of or Graham Greene Dr. Arthur. And it looks like Dr. Tom does have a normal day to day life afterall. He's not dead or an angel or anything. I wonder what he does for a living though. Being a time-travelling "doctor" doesn't strike me as a legitimate paying job.

Oh, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was an emotionally charged episode, that's for sure. What I love about this show is that it shows a good acting range. It can be silly, it can sad, and, and it does it all believably, to the credit of the actors. Erin Kerpluk makes a realistic drunk.

And yeah, seeing Dr Tom as Dr Naadiah's patient was neat. It's all starting to fall into place now. Looks like Dr Tom was nurtured by Dr Naadiah to become a therapist, much the same way he's doing to Erica. So, now it makes me wonder if Dr Arthur is the therapist of all of them. It's funny, but I half expected Dr Arthur to take over the group session after he was telling Dr Tom he was taking on too many patients. It would of been funny seeing him waltz in to take over when Dr Tom was late.

Hah, Worf, I noticed the same thing about the actor while seeing commercials for it. Makes me wonder if they'll somehow slip in a reference.

Spoiler: Kai & Adam

I didn't really see it that way. Sure, he was getting upset, but I think moreso as a friend to Erica, making sure she was making the right decision since he's been involved a lot in her decisions. We can hardly be sure though, as this show tends to really flirt a lot. I mean, Kai & Dave? Whoa, didn't see that one coming. Was it just me or did everyone see more than a hint of something there? It didn't just seem to me like Dave was glad to see Kai being back. It seemed to hint at something more. One thing that confused me though is, did she really sleep with Kai during that musical montage? I couldn't really tell if Erica was imagining it after the kissing, considering it had dream-like qualities to it.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Well, that was quite interesting. For the first time, we actually see Dr Tom manipulating time. I think he's maybe felt tempted to do so many times, but that the credo prevents it.

 

[intrinsical]

Wow, in just one episode everything's become a mess for everyone. Everyone, including Tom. Good move by the writers!

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, it was very interesting to see that. When Dr Tom went and rewound time and changed the timeline, with 50/50 having picked up The Fixer Upper instead of The Purple Door, I was kind of sad yet excited at the same time, as, at that point in time, it almost looked like it could be a season finale. I love the writers for this series though. They're not afraid of trying things to really shake things up. Which is why I feel this is one of the best dramatic series on TV right now

 

[Agent Richard07]

After a shakey start, this season is really getting good. Only four episodes left.

I enjoyed 3x09 as well. Great story for both Dr. Tom and Erica, and I loved the time travel bits. The way these doctors move through time and space is pretty cool. I especially liked how Dr. Tom came off like some omniscient mystery man when he confronted Seth, but we the audience were in on how he knew what he knew. Answers to seemingly surreal mysteries really do have mundane answers don't they. Also, I'm still trying to work out whether or not Erica is aware of both timelines, the one Dr. Tom created and the "real" one.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Well, I may be wrong, but it seemed to me she wasn't aware until Dr Naadiah told her. Or do you mean if she'll be aware now that she knows? And maybe steer herself towards getting The Fixer Upper as their next goal? That seems like it might be possible considering they don't know what to do now.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ I meant, does she actually have memories of having lived both timelines? She's back in the timeline where they were about to publish The Purple Door, but does she also remember the timeline where they were about to publish The Fixer Upper? I was just wondering about that. Probably not, but the scene where she was zapped back to sitting on the bench with Julianne made it seem like she was aware of another timeline and that things were put back the way they were.

 

[Canadave]

^ I think she does. She pretty clearly came back to the bench from Dr. Tom's office, and seemed to undergo the usual disorientation, so I'd say she at least remembered the confrontation.

 

[Owain Taggart]

^ I meant, does she actually have memories of having lived both timelines? She's back in the timeline where they were about to publish The Purple Door, but does she also remember the timeline where they were about to publish The Fixer Upper? I was just wondering about that. Probably not, but the scene where she was zapped back to sitting on the bench with Julianne made it seem like she was aware of another timeline and that things were put back the way they were.

Oh, I see what you mean. This episode adds interesting consequences. Like Canadave says, she's likely remembered the confrontation, but now, if she does anything about it is another thing entirely. Seeing that they no longer have a book to publish though, I think the likely thing that will happen next is that they'll try to go with The Fixer Upper, as in the second timeline. You're right though that it did seem like she was aware of it the same way she is when she gets flung somewhere. On the other hand, it could simply be the effect of the timeline going back and forth, and feeling that there was a change, like some kind of tremor in the timeline. Sheesh, this stuff is getting complex! At least this show doesn't have complex editing processes like LOST and The Event.

 

[intrinsical]

Hmm isn't The Fixer Upper with Brent right now? And don't forget there's still Brent's fall from grace at Riverrock to look forward to. So, it seems Brent will play a central part in 50/50's survival.

I think Dr Naadia somehow made her aware of both timelines. Perhaps Erica first lived through that alternate timeline, then Doctor Naadia sent her back to re-live the last new months as it was supposed to be in the original timeline. So Erica now knows for sure that Doctor Tom thinks of her as Sarah, the daughter he wishes he had. That's bound to have serious consequences.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Hmmm, I'm not sure. I could have sworn that The Fixer Upper ended up going to no-one. The only reason Brent wanted The Purple Door was because he saw that they wanted it, that they saw value in it, and wanted to have it before they did. In fact, wasn't it two episodes ago, when he and Jenny were having that fling, that he saw that title on the table? Or was that The Purple Door? He seemed rather surprised by it.

Either way, the writers have us chomping at the bits

 

[danellis]

^ I meant, does she actually have memories of having lived both timelines?

I'v been wondering about that for the whole series: she often seems unaware of the new timeline when returning from a session.

Alternatively how could her life function if she wasn't aware of her previous life (how could she function as someone who's been friends with Cassidy for ten years without having the memories of being friends with Cassidy for ten years)?
dJE

 

[Owain Taggart]

^ I meant, does she actually have memories of having lived both timelines?

I'v been wondering about that for the whole series: she often seems unaware of the new timeline when returning from a session.

Whenever Dr Tom sends her back, it's for her to see how changing something would change by making different decisions. She regrets something, she goes back and sees how changing something can affect her, sometimes the new decision being for the worse. Whenever she returns from a session, she returns back to her own time and nothing has changed, but she takes those lessons learned to help her forge her path ahead. There's no new timeline involved as nothing actually changes. The effect of being aware that we see, I see it sort of like a fish out of water, readjusting to her surroundings because it's done so abruptly.

 

[intrinsical]

^ I meant, does she actually have memories of having lived both timelines?

I'v been wondering about that for the whole series: she often seems unaware of the new timeline when returning from a session.

Whenever Dr Tom sends her back, it's for her to see how changing something would change by making different decisions. She regrets something, she goes back and sees how changing something can affect her, sometimes the new decision being for the worse. Whenever she returns from a session, she returns back to her own time and nothing has changed, but she takes those lessons learned to help her forge her path ahead. There's no new timeline involved as nothing actually changes. The effect of being aware that we see, I see it sort of like a fish out of water, readjusting to her surroundings because it's done so abruptly.

I'm not trying to be a spoilsport, but I remember at least two incidents where there have been changes to the timeline.

1) Erica's first time - In the original timeline, the guy barely noticed Erica at their school reunion. Erica went back in time to fix a regret and ended up making love with that guy. Fast forward to the altered timeline, the guy remembers Erica.

2) Cassidy - In the original timeline, Erica and Cassidy never spoke again after their University days. In the altered timeline, Cassidy continues to keep in touch with Erica.