Way behind in these, I guess the excitement of FINALLY SEEING HIM BACK has gotten to me. But we cannot neglect the facts, we need to know his history and keep it alive as well. Thanks to JUJU for these great moments we can cherish. Chime in guys about your fave parts, greatest lines, moments you love. That was the original purpose of the blog in the first place!
Love the whole "Free Todd Manning" campaign that the kids came up with! It's really a great way the writers got Todd out of jail. Powell talks about Todd as if he himself never did anything wrong.
I love Zach's behavior here. He's so good, too. He really did get the shaft.
Todd did not commit suicide, after all, he thought about it but did not do it. He got a letter from the kids and changed his mind. Actually, he's in debt to them for his life following this escapade.
This is a great "ep." I love all of it, except for Powell's crappy attitude and his ridiculous over-acting regarding Todd's villainy and his own innocence. Gag. I guess we will never get over the fact that Powell was just as guilty and we will never be able to accept that he just felt like he was special.
"Rebecca please help us with the genie!" LOL. The little voice and cheeks on Sarah!
"Would you let three people die?"
"Depends."
I always said Zach was more of a sociopath than Todd was. LOL.
I love how he wants to "stick around and see what that feels like!" concerning Sarah and CJ's devotion. So great.
Are you friends with Todd Manning? We're his BESTEST friends!
The newspaper is next for these two. LOVE IT.
Todd gets Zach to call Rebecca to tell her that the letter is false and that he's not dead. This is a good twist anyway, because it leads to her finding out that he was thinking of committing suicide. Hee hee. She's SO UPSET when she thinks he was going to kill himself. Love it. Powell walks in. He's SO AGGRAVATING. GET LOST.
Powell is starting to seethe. And it's a pretty good twist the writers are leading up to. Mr. Perfect and....well, you all know what he does.
And Zach, brings me back to him, I still say he's the worst of the three - never had a bit of remorse and Todd's right, he never knew what he'd done, but Todd was starting to find out slowly but surely, what he had done and what it meant. Oh by the way, just love him with the little strand of hair falling.
I am putting this one up also, it's like a third piece of this whole little plot, so I included it today. Todd becomes upset when he sees that the kids are campaigning for him. He calls the kids, a little farfetched, but he does. And lets them know they should not continue the petition. "I'm not worth it."
He sits a lot with the little man in his hand. Poor Todd. The show was REALLY MILKING IT.
He gets visited by Llanview Live, and also, the assistant to the District Attorney. But Todd's not buying it; he's not a hero in his own eyes. He's starting to accept the things he has done and see their implications. He wants to protect the kids and accept himself as a "bad guy." A big step for him. This whole saving Marty story was the turn around in a major way for this character.
FAIL: Powell. My goodness, did they WANT us to hate this guy, because it's working!
SOUND OFF ALL!
I love the fact that the Kids love Ali unconditionally and that no matter what the grownups are saying they are doing their darndest to get their friend free. I wish that JuJu hadn't lost the vid where Todd received the letter from the kids just after he stole the pills. but we still know the letter stopped him from committing suicide.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's interesting that Zach comes in as Todd is sleeping and tells him they're moving him to his cell but a day later he's still in the infirmary after the kids start getting their picture in the paper and everything. Todd 's reaction on the phone when CJ says Todd saved him and now he was going to save Todd is terrific. He knows that CJ is going to continue to work for his cause and he realizes he's helpless to stop it. He really doesn't want to get the kids involved in his mess. When Zach says that Todd doesn't have any power over him and that he's gone soft, You see a little of Todd the Bully come forth as he grabs Zach's ear forcing him to listen and keep the reporter away from the kids. Of course there's really nothing Zach can do to stop that. so much of these vids showed that Todd really was changing and had had a lot of time to think about what he had done and how it affected his life. His contact with Rebecca and the children made a definite impression and through their eyes he was able to see someone tht might be redeemable.
Let's talk Zach for a minute. This guy was a hoot and yes I believe the most amoral of the three. When Todd asked him if he would let three people die and he said it depends, you've got to thank your lucky stars he never became a Doctor. Eww talk about cold hearted
AS for Powell he really was dense when it came to Rebecca and Todd. When it finally becoomes clear that Rebecca has been lying to him and herself about her feelings for Todd that's when he totally loses it. but Powell wasn't all there to begin with. His denial to accept his wrongdoing and trying to pretend he was better than Todd and he could live a normal life was simply a bandaid hiding the cankerous sore lying underneath.
Strangely the one who suffered the most and the most hated of the three rapists turned out to be the one who ended up clawing his way out of the dirt to some semblance of a life . Of course to this day he's never felt like he truly deserved that life but that's what makes him Todd.
Looks like we're missing part 238...where Todd receives and reads the letter. I always tear up at that part as he's reading it (well, C.J. and Sara saying what they had written in his head).
ReplyDeleteZach being the "worst" of the three is debatable, but I can see the argument for it. And that in itself is ironic, given he's also the only one of them who truly both serves his time AND plays by the rules. He's doing everything he's supposed to, yet he's stuck in there as Powell goes free in a matter of a couple months and Todd is pardoned after being on the run for months and only serving, in total, a few months.
I do think there's more to Zach that we see, but they never fully explored it. We're supposed to wonder exactly what it is with him. On one hand, he was obviously worried about what Todd would think of him (like Powell)...but on the other, he also clearly was enjoying himself and thought the idea of rape was "fun"...so there was something really missing with him.
And yet, you see in other scenes he's not proud of it. So what is his deal? It's a hard thing to really piece together. One thing is clear in this scene: "I was drunk." He so WANTS that to be the excuse for what he did...but both he and Todd know that's simply not a sufficient explanation. There's something else, and Zach doesn't want to go there.