Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
I'm thinking that it may be over the question of either Whit's punishment to them, or else because, as has been suggested, Morrie and Suzu are causing trouble with more of their games. Or it could be both! Here's an idea: Maybe in the beginning of the episode, Whit, Morrie, and Suzu have an argument/disagreement over whether or not they deserve the punishment. They do not come to a conclusion. This would add tension. Then, as the episode progresses, Morrie and Suzu can cause problems, adding on to the tension.
This circles back to the question, what does Whit consider an appropriate punishment? I myself have no idea how *I* would discipline and punish Morrie & Suzu if I were in Whit's shoes. When listening to "A Sacrificial Escape", in particular, I assumed Morrie's punishment would be JD, and that made his actions easier to digest knowing that he would be held legally responsible. But knowing that the writers will try to wiggle their way out of this, how would be the right way to punish them? Let me know because I have
no idea. Being grounded? What? How do you deal with what they did? At the end of part 3, Whit says, "Now about those consequences..." and Morrie and Suzu groan. They groan in a joking way that suggests, "Yeah, we saw this coming, it's still kinda annoying, but I get it."
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
Yes, this is something I've been wondering. Especially the legal issues. I don't know how the Odyssey team plans to deal with it. It's a very complicated situation. As far as us trying to figure it out, I would say we should just keep it simple: As ASmouseInTheHouse suggested, perhaps Whit is keeping them busy working at Whit's End (fixing everything they ruined in the basement with the escape room, maybe?) as punishment. I don't know how much further we want to go with it. I'm willing to discuss this issue further.
I like the idea of them working at Whit's End.
On the legal issue, I did a little research and Ohio laws (and probably
most laws in the States) would condemn Morrie & Suzu for committing crimes. The writers may try to wiggle out the legal ramifications of their actions. Or, they may not. Who knows? Maybe next episode is mainly about them going through the legal system. Idk. But the Rydell kids committed grievances worthy of criminal charges. Under Ohio law (and I assume
most if not all laws in the States), they are technically guilty of kidnapping, which is a first-degree felony. They are also guilty of breaking & entering in regards to Whit's End & the school. And threatening to kill someone (death threats) is a crime, right? Dang, Morrie & Suzu. Are we going to mention at all how they did or did not get out of the legal mess? Part 3 suggests that the legal issues might not be a problem, so I don't know if we necessarily need to. It would make sense if we did, though.
I think it would be realistic if Morrie & Suzu still kinda went by their gaming ways (but not to the same extreme as before), but I have a few concerns with how it would play out. First of all, if they are nothing but little terrors, it wouldn't make sense narratively or realistically that Whit would put up with that unconditionally. If punishments don't work and they continue to act against Whit's rules, what would be Whit's reason to keep them? There must be conflict, but we have to present ways to show that they are redeemable & worth Whit's current life investment.
Also, regarding the last scene of "The Rydell Revelations." Morrie says, "Look, our father sent us to Odyssey because he thought our being around the people here...and around you...would push in the right direction. Well, I definitely think I'm heading that way...at least a little." To which Suzu enthusiastically responds, "As do I!" I think they would at least try to behave themselves in the beginning (although Morrie may morally try to challenge Whit on his beliefs) and perhaps habitually slip into their scheming ways (again, probably not to the same caliber at the escape room or anything).
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
I like it! Morrie and Suzu can be up to their old tricks at Whit's End. They most certainly aren't going to change right away, and Whit's End is the perfect place for them to cause trouble! That sounds interesting.
Again, we, as the writers of this script, cannot let the characters go
too far. There is a delicate balance that must be maintained. What do you suggest they do as their little games?
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
That sounds good. Throughout the episode, we can have Emily run into them all and be cold to them. This can result in Morrie and Suzu wanting to do something to make it up and become friends with Emily. The part where Whit finds out about them "gaming" things close to him and "gaming" things to become friends with Emily would be halfway through the episode, I suppose.The question is whether or not Morrie and Suzu will accept Whit's correction if they don't think they are doing anything wrong.
I think at this point, we need to define gaming in this context. Are they basically doing Emily's "Operation: Regain Trust" that she used in "Square One"? Are they being super manipulative to try to become friends? If we create a false dichotomy between those two options, I vote we stay closer to the former rather than the latter. Of course, I don't want the Emily/Morrie/Suzu part of the episode to be too close to "Square One", so I don't exactly want them playing as Emily did in that episode.
Polehaus, I'm going to take your general outline and go through it by sentence, so we can get more clarity, elaborating on points and also asking questions:
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
As you can see, I'm suggesting that perhaps we can combine all of these things: Whit, Morrie, and Suzu get into a disagreement over their punishment, but they do not come to a conclusion, this adding a layer of tension.
I think Whit gets the final say in their punishment and Morrie pushes back. Morrie continues to morally push Whit, perhaps even going so far as to suggest Whit is a hypocrite because he punishes Morrie for doing things that Whit can do unquestionably. This creates an interesting dilemma for for Whit and he must not only examin Morrie's actions & positions, but his own, too. There is some back and forth between Whit & Morrie in the episode, not so much differently than their conversation at the end of the TRR, part 2. And meanwhile, Suzu kinda just caught between the two.
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
As part of their punishment, Whit is keeping Morrie and Suzu busy by helping him with Whit's End.
I like this idea and I'm cross I didn't think of it before
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
However, Morrie (and maybe Suzu, too) gets bored and start messing with things they're not supposed to. They start "gaming" things again.
Perhaps, perhaps. But I'm curious to see what your definition of "gaming" is. Is Morrie programming the cobble box again without Whit's consent? Is he setting up scenarios for others again? I say that whatever he does should probably be on at least a somewhat smaller scale than before.
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
It is then when the three of them run into Emily and notice how unfriendly she is to them. They want to be friends with Emily again, and they try manipulating things to do this. Between gaming things at Whit's End and gaming things to get Emily to trust them, problems arise.
Emily is likely avoiding them as much as possible and it is only when she is forced to talk to them that her bubble to the surface and they realize how truly upset she is with them. I'm kinda getting lost at some of the terms being used, so I guess we need to also define "manipulating" if we want to understand the episode's plot and trajectory. But I assume they take shortcuts and it backfires and there the problems arise.
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
Halfway though the episode, Whit finds out everything they've been doing. He gives them further punishment, but there is now an even more serious disagreement.
He
at least gives them a simple talking-to depending on the gravity of their actions. As I mentioned before, I like the idea of Morrie pushing back on Whit and drawing paralells between his actions & Whit's and not understanding the differences between them. It may challenge Whit, which I personally like.
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
Morrie and Suzu do not think they have done anything wrong. "It is all
good, isn't it?" they complain.
Refer to above. I think Morrie will push back harder on Whit than would Suzu. This is going to sound harsh on Morrie, but I think Suzu has a better informed-conscience than him and is more likely to take the advice of Whit.
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
The tension between them is now worse than before. Raymond Rydell calls them and there is a feeling that they will be sent back to Japan. Maybe something dramatic can happen (maybe as a result of one of the things they have gamed) so that at the end they decide to work everything out, resulting in the Rydell kids staying in Odyssey.
I don't think Raymond Rydell wants them back tbh. He make act similiarly to how he did in TRR (part 2) and say, "I quit, I'm a bad dad, I'm not taking them, bye." He isn't an overly sympathetic character (and Phil Lollar says that's purposeful lol). And yes, they'll stay in Odyssey. The show isn't dropping these fascinating characters and neither are we lol.
Polehaus53 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:42 am
Emily is also less cold towards them.
When writing, we need to provide a reason why she has changed her attitude, even if the change is small. I can't think of a reason that Emily would reform her opinion of them (even just a little) at the moment. Emily needs to work through some of her feelings and rethinking her actions if she acts hostile. But really, Morrie & Suzu have to give her a reason to get any bit closer to reconciliation. And if the episode's focus is how they are struggling to change their ways, I don't know if that'd work quite yet.
I have written so much, so
please push back on any or all points of mine if you disagree.
Be the reason someone smiles today.