Sentinel 4x8: The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg

[zelempa]

Huh, that didn't take as long as I thought it would. It's obscenely, pornographically long, too.

"With flourish and gusto (and some unnecessary Powerpoint-esque sound effects from the bored foley guy), he types, 'THE END.' Just a killer ending for your academic opus there, Perrault. Incidentally, I have it on good authority that Blair's is the first doctoral thesis to be set 'once upon a time, in a faraway land...'"

THE SENTINEL BY BLAIR SANDBURG

So that's it! What's next for this intrepid recapper? If I get up the energy I might just redo season 1 in the current meticulously detailed style. But, I also have some of the kind of work people get paid for which I should really stop neglecting... Nahhh.

Comments

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

I know I make a big deal about how every little shoulder-touch means they want to bone each other and I guess that probably cheapens this, but, and I am having a fleeting moment of seriousness here, whether you believe their relationship is sexual in nature or not, you have to admire the bond of love between them. Here we have the proof that it's unbreakably strong, surpassingly important, and entirely unselfish. For me, the depth of that bond is the perpetually-surprising quality which takes this lame semi-supernatural cop show with problematic plots and makes it something more, something worth devoting time and thought and creative energy to.

That and Blair's mouth.

Okay, I think I lost the strand of seriousness somewhere, there.

Mega huge quotation there but I couldn't bring myself to cut it because, WORD and ::loves you::

I've enjoyed these recaps so much and our discussions following them.

And you should totally redo S1 with more detail not work! Goodness me.

This episode breaks me into bitty bits. I know it'll work out in the end but I wallow happy and tearful in the Slough of Despond nontheless.

Jim's so hurt and I love that this isn't coming out of nowhere; that we've had 4 seasons of canon about trust issues to back this up.

The reconciliation scene; oh, man. Notice how they can't look each other in the eye; fleeting glances. They eye-lock and they'd have burst into freaking tears, I tell you.

I don't think Blair could have changed Jim's name; it's all about the cop he rode around with and so many people know that it's Jim. If he changed the job, too, and the city, well... still dodgy. Because if this mysterious Sentinel isn't Jim, then who the hell is he? Blair hasn't had TIME to study anyone else; he and Jim are joined at the hip and have been for years.

I agree that I don't think Blair wanted to do anything but write it and know he had. He'd got the message that anything else would hurt Jim and the near death experience had shown him where his priorities lay.

I wish they could have, you know, DISCUSSED THIS and Blair's future before it all blew up in their faces, but, eh; men.

And you're kinder to Naomi - they all are -- than I feel. She might have had good motives but she didn't give Blair space and she didn't listen.

And Sid's pure slime. Back off, mister!

Blair's speech has me choked up and sniffling every time. That's how you prove to Jim that you love him (any way you want to view their love); you give up everything for him; you put him first. I'm not saying that's all that healthy a basis for every relationship, but it works for them and Blair's had three/four years practice at it after all.

I can't see Blair a cop and I know the actors weren't that happy with it (realistically, it wouldn't happen, but we can wave that away as it's the finale).

And I think Simon murmurs the very last words; something about 'we've got to go down to the woods' which makes little sense but it's nice to go out on. Blair squirming in a headlock isn't my favourite bit, either; it's a bit undignified (I'd have preferred the Once More With Feeling one: 'the curtains close on a kiss, God knows, we can tell the end is near...') but it lets Jim get his hands all over him in an acceptably manly way, I guess.

[zelempa.livejournal.com]

It's true that, if Blair publishes as himself, for anyone who knows anything about him or does even cursory research, there is no way his subject could be anyone other than Jim. I mean, I'm guessing it's integral to the case study that the Sentinel is a cop, and here is a cop who Blair lives with and works with and spends all of his time with ever since, oh, just when he was starting his research! How convenient! Blair did say he was going to change his own name before publication, but he would at least have had to have his paper reviewed by the committee in order to get his credentials, no?

At this point I think it was just a matter of time before Blair made some kind sacrifice--the circumstances in this episode just forced it into a high-stakes one. Notice how shifty he was about having done the paper, putting it in a strongbox, like he was just going to lock it up and leave it in a closet and some day in the next year or two Jim might say "Whatever happened to your thesis?" and Blair would say "Oh... you know... I kind of decided not to go in that direction..."

I really don't understand what Blair could possibly have been planning on doing--but that's part of the point, isn't it? He didn't think things through or didn't want to or did but decided to continue on this dead-end path anyway because even though he knew there was no way to make his current work and living arrangement and partnership permanent, he wanted to ride it as long as he could. It went on ridiculously long only because both of them were so wholeheartedly invested in keeping the status quo. Because they loved that status quo!

The speech is so brilliant because it not only resolves the immediate problem, shows Blair giving up everything for friendship, and reverses three years of periodic mistrust, but it resolves Jim's fundamental uneasiness about Blair's feelings for him--does he care more about Jim, the Sentinel, or Jim, the man? You get the feeling, somewhat confirmed by the bit we see, that their relationship is going to be much less problematic after this (although... they possibly still have that 'just-friends' issue to work out... but maybe not. "Are you read to get busy?" Honestly.)

Blair becoming a cop... well, yeah, it doesn't really bear thinking about, but it's a fine end for the show. Of all the things in Sentinel which don't make sense, it's not a grave offender, for me. But maybe I'm just predisposed to think the academic butchering is worse than the policework butchering because I know something about academia and nothing about law enforcement.

Considering that they weren't going to end on a sappy moment (it's more precedented for them to end on a joke anyway) and they certainly weren't going to end on a kiss (although I'm sure Richard and Garrett would have been up for it), I'm glad they at least found a way to end with Jim and Blair in full-body contact.

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

Considering that they weren't going to end on a sappy moment (it's more precedented for them to end on a joke anyway) and they certainly weren't going to end on a kiss (although I'm sure Richard and Garrett would have been up for it), I'm glad they at least found a way to end with Jim and Blair in full-body contact.

::nods:: Where are the S3 and S4 bloopers? :;mourns:: You just know that would've been one place they'd have added to the Kiss Collection :-)

I recently read a long post from someone (on one of the Yahoo groups archives?) about how they'd spoken to a police friend about the possibilty of Blair getting in a tad of target practice and wham-bam-badge and got the expected Never Gonna Happen response. But they wanted to wrap it and give us a Jim/Blair future so I'm easy.

And, yes, Jim's always been touchy (and understandably so) about his doubts as to whether Blair's just there for the Sentinel thing; the conversation in Warriors spelled that out loud and clear. It's in so many fics; the idea that Jim won't make a move on Blair because he thinks diss done, Blair will be a puff of dust on the horizon and why risk breaking his heart?

[zelempa.livejournal.com]

To me, the speed with which he'll get the badge is an unnecessary detail--I would have been happy enough to end by having Simon essentially say "hey, if/when you decide to become a cop for real, you're welcome to come back and work with us" (although I'm not clear on to what extent officers are allowed to choose their assignments, but maybe Simon could request him). It's a little weird for Blair's friends to be railroading him into a career choice to begin with. On the other hand, Blair does like the work, and I think it's something he would certainly want to look into now that he's at something of a loose end. At any rate, whatever he decides to do, he's still living with Jim, and still loved by him, and they'll figure out something.

So many many reasons for both Jim and Blair to not make a move... and yet so many reasons for them not to not. :) It's a great universe for fic.

[laurie-ky.livejournal.com]

I snuck a peek at this at work and then was very glad nobody was in the room all us peons share as I had to keep wiping my eyes. You did a great job and I've loved reading your take on the show and the captions under the pictures.

I think Blair could have pulled off being a cop, he's so talented he could go many different directions, but he couldn't have just jumped into the detective's spot. Granted, he wouldn't have been your typical cop but I bet he'd have been great in something with community policing. And he'd already resolved the "should I use a gun issue a long time ago.' I checked the Police Academy near Seattle, and they have an excellerated program,if you've had some prior experience, but I think Blair would have taken all the classes or at least tested out of them. He would have tried to minimize the resentment of him cutting up to the top. And I don't think he could have been made detective that fast. Whatever union represents the cops would have been screaming. I do think he could have been assigned as a patrolman to Major Crimes. Testifying with a record as an admitted fraud, they'd have to work on that. As a hundred million fics have tried to do to make things right. I have an idea that I'm going to use in the sequel to A Fair Distance, my WIP, about how he could salvage his diss and the research he's put into it.
Again, really enjoyed your reviewing, the jokes and snark (everyone on this show has a partner)and the appreciation of a relationship we watched build into the love that was shown on this episode.
Laurie

[zelempa.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And thanks for reading and commenting.

Yeah, I agree that Blair couldn't--and wouldn't want to--make detective that fast. I'm willing to grant them a pass on the unbelievability of Blair becoming a cop at all because it's not really SO bad, and he has been doing the work, but you're right; I don't care what the extenuating circumstances, you don't go from 0 to detective.

I don't think Blair would have much trouble with the idea of having to go through the academy though. He likes classes! Taking classes is what he does! And he's got love and support for the endeavor.

ACTUALLY, he maybe could...

[darkladyz.livejournal.com]

I don't know the 'average' educational level of the (mythical) Cascade peace officer... so I can't be sure of where Blair would fit - BUT!

Almost every governmental organization makes some provision for bringing in highly educated people at a higher-than-starting level. Sometimes ( actually, make that most often ) at the very top levels. (Think of how many Superintendents of Education were never teachers. )

Blair has at least one and maybe two Master's degrees, and WILL be able to get his doctorate eventually ( if not from Ranier - but while transferring is almost impossible it's not utterly impossible - and places like the University of Phoenix etc are more 'malable' - plus there likely will be some settlement with Ranier eventually)

He may well be able to 'skip' all but the formal legal requirements of the Academy ( which is a legal thing - like how the previous Chief of Police of LA had to take the written peace officers exam before he could carry ) and come in 'at the top'. Especially if Simon Banks requests Sandburg as a 'specialist' - like in Cultural Anthropology or Community Physiology - rather than just as a Detective.

[demeter94.livejournal.com]

I totally loved all of your recaps of The Sentinel. Reminding me all over again why I love the show - and, very inspiring. Thanks for sharing them!

[zelempa.livejournal.com]

I'm happy that I was able to do that--despite my constant bitching. Thanks for reading. :)

[liz6446.livejournal.com]

I'm one who thinks Blair would make a great cop and would love the job too. While everyone brings up the fraud issue as a possible obstacle to his being accepted, I actually think that's the least of his problems. Not to make Blair sound like a criminal, but he does have a lot of illegal activities in his past which could come to the surface in a background check. If Blair did participate in protests and chain himself to trees, he mostly likely has an arrest on file, which would probably disqualify him right away. The rest of his illegal activities that we know of: impersonating a doctor, stealing medical records, forgery, and illegal gambling are things only Jim knows about. While I doubt Jim would volunteer this information, any background check on Blair would probably include an interview with Jim and put him in a really difficult position. That brings up a good question: Would Jim lie through his teeth to get Blair onto the force? Would Blair allow Jim to lie and jeopardize his career to get on the force? How would Jim explain how he and Blair met without bringing up the Sentinel thing?

There's also the issue of Blair getting his observer position on the pretense of writing his thesis on a phoney subject. The PTB at the PD may feel that this is enough to question his qualifications. I also wonder if Jim might get into trouble too, because he went along with the whole non-existant thesis set-up.

I'm afraid I can't be as forgiving of Naomi. I know she was only trying to help her son, but even after Blair told her to leave it alone, she was still making things worse with her Nobel committee connection. Also, once she realized she'd made a mess of everything, it was still all about her. She only cared about whether Blair forgived her or whether he still loved her. She never asked if there was anything she could do to help Blair or fix the situation.

I'd love it if you'd continue the reviews. I've enjoyed reading them.


Liz

[zelempa.livejournal.com]

My impression was that she had called her nobel person before Blair told her not to interfere more, and that the extent of her crimes after Blair told her to back off is that when Lars called back and told her that, apparently, he DID have the clout to get Blair's paper considered for the science prize (for some reason), she was not strong enough to tell him "Never mind."

To be fair to Naomi, she knew not what she did. She thought that Blair was being reticent about his paper because of low self-esteem; she didn't know it was a privacy issue with Jim. Even when he told her not to get involved anymore, and he mentioned that Jim wouldn't be happy, he didn't explain it clearly enough to convince that Jim would really be hurt. My feeling is that Naomi became honestly regretful when she witnessed Blair and Jim's fight and Jim's speech about how his life is ruined. She likes Jim, and she never meant for any of that to happen. Sure, she should have trusted Blair and listened to him; he's an adult and it's his work, not hers. But she certainly doesn't bear the guilt for what actually ended up happening. She had no way of knowing what was at stake.

Interesting points about Blair's record. I don't think Blair would want Jim risking his career for him after he had gone to all this trouble to save it. It's not clear how the whole academy thing would have ended up playing out.

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't a similar background check have been done once the ride along continued past the usual few months? We saw Blair needing to do a drugs test at the start and in The Girl Next Door, he was booked; anything in the system would've come up then.

And I'm pretty sure Jim, thorough, cautious, suspicious Jim ran Blair's name at the start of their relationship when he still wasn't quite sure what was going on.

I don't see Blair having much on his record, to be honest and nothign that Jim would have any qualms about keeing quiet over.

The gambling thing always puzzles me; they're so shocked about Megan's dad being a bookie; is it totally illegal then? In the UK, it's not; everyone from maiden aunts to little kiddies bets on the Grand National horse race and there are bookmakers offices in every town. How come we see Simon and the others betting at the race course if it's illegal?

[liz6446.livejournal.com]

I admit that I don't know too much about joining the police force, but I'd imagine that a background check for a police officer would be much more thorough than it would be for a ride-along.

I don't know much about gambling laws either, but I do know that bookmaking is only legal in the state of Nevada. I don't know how the race track gambling works. Maybe they get a special license, similar to the Indian casinos. Just guessing though. :)



Liz