be my friend

[bantha_fodder]

So, those of you who have zero interest in The Pretender, I hope you've noticed how I am strictly restraining myself - I only post once a day about the Pretender, no matter how much I have to say or how excited I am!


Today, I would like to talk about Jarod and Miss Parker (yes, I know you're surprised).

I was just watching this vid by StuckHereWithNoTV over on youtube. It's a Miss Parker vid to Alanis Morissette's 'Everything,' and as it started I thought, what a terrible song choice, so slow and sappy and it's Alanis. I was so wrong - this vid is surprisingly perfect, and I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it.

I think the funny thing about Jarod and Miss Parker's relationship is that it isn't the sort of thing you can see; there are no hugs or kisses on the forehead, and there are no light touches or anything like that. Through everything, even though Miss Parker is driven to recapture Jarod; even though he hates the people that she works for and even though she's really mean, he still loves her, in his way. And their love is in the silence on the phone when she answers late at night, in the distance between them when they meet, in the things he leaves behind when he runs and the way he always comes back.

Sometimes I consider that their relationship is unequal. Jarod is always the one feeding her information; he's the one with the power to infiltrate the Centre and the one who could disappear at any moment. However, she has exactly the same power, she just chooses not to use it. She loves her father too much, and she fears what the Centre will do to her if she leaves, whereas Jarod fears what the Centre will do to him if he stays.

In my head, sometimes they meet where the Centre can't see them; footsteps echoing through a dark alley; nonsensical messages left on voicemail; hotels on the other side of the world. And of course, as the director told us, Jarod clearly had a key to the back door of her house. In my head there are scratches on his back and bite marks on her shoulder; he handcuffs her to the bed and she never, ever calls in sick. And one day he'll disappear and there'll be nothing left of him but a thousand stories with happy endings and her, bitchy and bitter and fighting with her brother, and it's then that she'll show them what she can do, because she'll disappear, too, and it'll be for her, and not for him.

And then she'll find him and they'll have wild monkey sex.


On a related topic, I think that Gar (the albino Sweeper) totally suspects that Miss P and Jarod are conspiring together.


Finally, remember that awesome BSG vid Breathe Me? I love it so much when I can watch vids using the same song in different fandoms, and this morning I watched this vid, also by StuckHere, using 'Breathe Me' for the Pretender and it's cool. Not as awesome as some of her other vids, but still good.



&hearts

Comments

[krazykitkat.livejournal.com]

In my head, sometimes they meet where the Centre can't see them; footsteps echoing through a dark alley; nonsensical messages left on voicemail; hotels on the other side of the world. And of course, as the director told us, Jarod clearly had a key to the back door of her house. In my head there are scratches on his back and bite marks on her shoulder; he handcuffs her to the bed and she never, ever calls in sick. And one day he'll disappear and there'll be nothing left of him but a thousand stories with happy endings and her, bitchy and bitter and fighting with her brother, and it's then that she's show them what she can do, because she'll disappear, too, and it'll be for her, and not for him.

*nods*


I've always felt that Sam's loyalty is to Parker first, the Centre a further behind second. If he found out something about Parker and Jarod, I think he'd keep the secret and protect Parker.

[hjsnapepm.livejournal.com]

It did seem like Gar suspected, now that you mention it. Turned out great for him, though, didn't it? ;) I swear he wasn't even really in SL-27.

...

Now I have to rewatch Bloodlines.

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

I think you should post about Pretender MANY times a day, because no one is talking about it any more and it needs to be talked about.

What drew me to the show-- still does-- was the feeling that the J/P relationship was like a deepwater current underneath everything that was going on. I always knew there were things happening that we weren't seeing. You mention voicemail, for instance; I've always thought he sends her silly postcards from odd locations, sometimes with a note, sometimes blank, but she knows who they're from and mostly doesn't turn them in to anyone to be analyzed.

I go back and forth on whether they were involved physically during the episodes we see (I have no doubt that after Scotland they hooked up and shagged like mink. Ahem.). I've always thought, though, that in the years between when we stopped seeing them as teenagers and when we started seeing them again as damaged, angry adults, something happened. I've never been able to pin down precisely what, but when we meet Parker in season one she's icy hard and cold towards him, and he's clearly angry. How did they go from teens who plotted together to that level of anger? SOMETHING happened. I have ideas but nothing that has ever clicked to the point where I know.

Honestly, the show's been off air for how long and I can still go on about it. I need help.

[piecesofalice.livejournal.com]

Brilliant summing up. Their relationship to me has always been about Parker struggling with her past, her present and future - as it is for him, too - and the only thing that seems to be constant is their communication with each other.

Almost like reaching out into the dark and hoping to touch something warm, really.

[eldritch-flame.livejournal.com]

And one day he'll disappear and there'll be nothing left of him but a thousand stories with happy endings and her, bitchy and bitter and fighting with her brother, and it's then that she'll show them what she can do, because she'll disappear, too, and it'll be for her, and not for him.

And then she'll find him and they'll have wild monkey sex.

Indeed. And he'll still want to help people all the time, and she'll be snarky and make condescending remarks about his guilt complex but she'll still go along with it cos she's secretly a nice person and mebbe sometimes she will wear high heels (like in that scene where Raines wants to wash her feet which causes me such mixed feelings because first of all omg squick, but at the same time damn Parker's got nice legs) and step on the bad guy's face and threaten to put her heel through his head the next time he does whatever it was he was doing, much like Niki did on last week's Heroes. And then of course, she and Jarod will go off and have some more wild monkey sex.

And do you know if the two tv movies are out in some form? Video or DVD, I mean, since I can't really do torrents :(

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I think this perfectly sums up their relationship. These two characters are so damaged that they can't seem to think beyond the roles they've described for themselves. Parker, in effect, lets herself be trapped inside the Centre, and Jarod limits himself to helping people in a very small way--not that what he does isn't important, but it seems to me that he could do a lot more if he ever got away from his "hunted" role.

I've always loved the MP/Jarod dynamic--and I've always been an optimist when it comes to their relationship/characters.