Episode
Reviewed: Never for
Nothing
(698)
Writer: Kathy Buchanan
Director: Nathan Hoobler
Sound Designer:
Jonathan Crowe
Music: John Campbell
Theme: Love never fails
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:8
Original
Airdate: 11/19/11
Review Written by:
Ben Warren, Staff Writer
Rating (out of 5):
Episode
Summary
Grandma Lucia
recounts to Olivia her story of a childhood
friend, an event that taught her that love is
"never for nothing."
The Review
Never for Nothing is one
of the few Adventures in Odyssey episodes where a child dies. I don't
know whether or not I should be celebrating this but I admire their spunk.
Let's go through the history of children's deaths on Adventures in
Odyssey, shall we? Thankfully, not too many have died. Some have
almost died, like Cal Jordan, Jimmy Barclay and Mary Beth; others have
actually died, like in A
Lesson from Mike and Karen
and It Is Well; however,
very rarely do we hear children die "on air", so to speak. Either their
deaths occur before the episode, or the scene changes before it
happens. That said, Adventures in Odyssey always handles the issue
very well.
The most chilling and powerful death on Adventures in Odyssey took
place in Greater Love. Of
course, there are many similarities between
Never for Nothing and
Greater Love. Both are
told from the perspective of older characters looking back on their lives,
telling how God ultimately used the death of their childhood friends for
good. And yet, despite the similarities,
Never for Nothing never
reaches the same level of greatness of
Greater Love.
First of all, one of the main problems with
Never for Nothing is that
we are never introduced to the characters in Lucia's story very well.
Initially, I hard a hard time keeping track of who was Esperanza and who was
young Lucia. These actors didn't strike me as particularly interesting to
listen to. And then, the worst happened: my mind wandered. Oddly enough, it
kept wandering until Esperanza's death. The episode might have been
significantly better if these kids had a little more personality or
chemistry.
I'm not going to blame the actors, however. My lack of interest may have
been because of the story. I wasn't given a good enough reason as to I was
listening to Lucia's story in the first place. Olivia merely asks her about
the shell necklace and we are suddenly supposed to care about the story
behind it. With Greater Love,
on the other hand, I was hooked from the very beginning. I immediately
wanted to hear what happened to Timmy and wondered why Tom seemed so angry
at P.D. Up until the moment Esperanza dies in
Never for Nothing,
Grandma is essentially just telling a story about a boy who bugged her when
she was young.
If the child hadn't died, how special would this episode have been? The
death caught me off guard, I'll admit. I thought Esperanza was going to
break her arm or, at worst, become paralyzed. However, I'm not exactly sure
how Esperanza's death helps to illustrate ''love'' any more than if she
hadn't died. After all, the fall was an accident. Nothing more. Having
Esperanza simply going off to find an adult, or a ladder, or a rock to knock
down the shoe would have also been an example of her showing love to him
too.
Sacrificing your life, I imagine, is the greatest way one can show love:
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends" (NIV). Except in this case, Esperanza's death wasn't a sacrifice.
The fall really has nothing to do with anything. In contrast, Timmy knew the
risk of saving P.D Barnes. He showed selfless love by sacrificing his life,
like Jesus did. And since Esperanza's death wasn't a sacrifice, her actual
death doesn't seem to illustrate anything. It seems to be just a sentimental
addition to the story.
Must we do something foolish like climb a tree to show someone love?
Although I admit it would have taken away from the story, the episode never
acknowledges Esperanza's foolishness. Esperanza herself says "the shoe is
pretty high up", and Juan also admits how "crazy" of an idea it is: "that
side of the tree is hanging of Morelos ravine. I wouldn't want to end up
with a broken neck like Tomas did last year." Earlier in the episode, Lucia
says, "I was the sensible one and she was the adventurous one". Shouldn't it
have been "I was the sensible one and she was the crazy one"? Or at the end,
Esperanza tells Juan, "You will be brave like she was". It's obvious how
brave Timmy was, but how is Esperanza's act considered brave? It's stupid to
climb trees; especially, in this case, to retrieve a shoe. There's nothing
brave about it.
I think I liked Whit and Matthew Parker's scenes better. I liked hearing
Whit give a Bible study. I remember Hal
Smith's Whit doing something like that. The twist--Juan now works at the
halfway house--was also nice, and I did not see it coming. However, after
learning that Eugene's father lived in Odyssey, or Agnes Riley's pen-pal was
actually Joanne Allen, or that Joanne Allen was around for Mrs. Meltsner's
ultrasound, these ''it's a small World!'' surprises may have run their
course. The nice thing about this surprise is that no one except the
audience found out that Juan was the same man from the story. Not yet,
anyway.
As I write this, fans are praising this episode. They are calling it one of
the best of the season. Some are even calling it one of the best of the
series. I'm sorry I cannot be celebrating with you all.
Never for Nothing
certainly has all the ingredients of a classic, unforgettable Adventures
in Odyssey episode: a moving storyline, a dark tragedy, a nice twist at
the end. I think it falls (no pun intended) short with Lucia's slow,
uninteresting story and a somewhat sentimental plot addition.
That said, it's certainly nice to hear Adventures in Odyssey get
serious again. Did it move me? Yes, I'll admit felt a little something. And
that's why I'm giving it a positive review. Just another good episode in a
surprisingly good season.
Rating
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