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« John From Cincinnati
Episode Recap: "His Visit: Day Five"
Wow! I'm not exactly sure what to say. That was some weird television! So apparently John can be in more than one place at a time, and apparently he can orchestrate events so that others can travel with him (Bill and Vietnam Joe arriving at the hotel, despite being in the van). Oh, and he can also remove dead people from hotel rooms. The Shining would have played out totally differently had John been around!
OK, consider my brain officially twisted. I know Milch is supposed to be going somewhere with all of this, but I would like for the road map to be a little clearer. Just a little bit. Is that too much to ask? It certainly seems like the religious angle is the one to focus on, though, what with John continuously mentioning his "father" towards the end of the episode, and his ability to heal/help those around him. I have to ask though, did Cissy really molest Butchie? That's certainly how it sounded to me! Man, these people are even more screwed up than I thought!
I have to say, as murky as the plot has been so far, the dialogue and acting have served as beacons of hope for what this series could become — or, at the very least, rocks to cling to so as not to get dragged too far away by the cloudy waves.
The previews for next week looked good. Milch sure likes casting old teen heartthrobs for some reason. And yes, I understand that Mark-Paul Gosselaar also starred in NYPD Blue, but I will forever remember the guy as Zach Morris from Saved by the Bell. I grew up in the '90s. What can I say?
Also in the near future, a morose Freddie sits by what looks like Palaka's deathbed and tells his minion he doesn't want him to go. Could it be gangrene or might Freddie have simply beaten his lackey a little too badly this time?
Oh yeah, and apparently, according to John, Shaun's going to be "gone" again. The kid's already been gone twice, what with the surfing incident and his running away from home — if you can call a trip to the skate park running away from home. Then again, I ran away from home as a kid, and the farthest I got was the front porch. And as long as we're drawing comparisons, my mom didn't have anything to do with "Moist Thighs, Pink Bottoms 3." Ugh! It pains me to even mention those two in the same sentence!
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Jul 16, 2007 12:32 AM
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"I'm a child of the 90s..."
You poor yung 'un. Instead of Reynaldus Magnus ennobling the Presidency, you had William Jefferson Blythe Clinton disgracing it. Oh, well, can't help it if you had the misfortune not to come up in the 80s. 
Back on topic...
Are my wife (posts as Pisces228) and I the only ones who noticed the rather glaring absence of Mitch during the the episode's concluding John-narrated diorama?
It seems unlikely that Mitch is gone for good. He obviously needs a vacation from Cissy--but who wouldn't? The fact he's put up with her for 31 years is remarkable enough.
As for the Oedipal angle between Butchie and Cissy, I don't think you can take what John said as anything other than that she committed incest with her son.
Of the few times I dropped acid in my wasted youth I don't remember any amorous inclination toward relatives. But take a couple thousand mics and who knows...
I was glad to see Milch abandon linear narrative structure for a trip into the surreal. So far he's fed us only dribs and drabs of the "paranormal" (as Garrett Dillahunt's Dr. Smith put it to Butchie two eps back...); most remarkably, of course, being Shaun's Lazarus-by-bird return from the living dead.
Tonite he plunged full-steam ahead into weirdness and we loved it. The Judaeo-Christian symboism was all over the place during John's speech (whatever ya wanna call it), with the constant refrain of "my father" (or should that be "my Father"?).
Obviously the people around the motel's empty pool are the keys to whatever "cataclysmic" event that Milch has in mind.
Can't wait to see what it is.
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Jul 16, 2007 3:21 AM
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I was a child in the 80's, but I still had some growing up to do in the 90's, yes.
And I hear you about Mitch's absence. It was palpable; most specifically because of the gathering at the hotel towards the end of the episode. Whatever it's supposed to mean, I couldn't tell you, but I'm sure it wasn't without reason.
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Jul 16, 2007 9:54 AM
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WOW
I found myself saying that several times during last night's episode. I think it started with John showing up in pot camp. Then it happened again when John went comotose and ended up in front of Cissy's window talking about Cissy and Shaun. But that was not at good as when John took Bill and Vietnam Joe on his strange trip out of the bushes and down to the motel.
This show is almost impossible to comment on, but fairly easy to question:
Did Cissy REALLY molest Shaun when on a LSD trip?
What the hell with John and the dead body? Obviously this was what had drove Barry nuts?
What the heck was Cassy doing in the motel room?
Who is John's father?
Why is John's last name listed as "Monad" on IMDB?
One other note - obviously Milch is loyal to all of the actors he has worked with. I can name at least 12 of the actors on JFC that have appeared in either Deadwood or NYPD Blue. When do we get to see Dennis Franz? It's a safe bet that David Caruso will never be in JFC!
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Jul 16, 2007 11:44 AM
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The episode wandered into more murky waters this week. Still not sure what Cassie is looking for on the camera, not sure why Bill and Joe were sitting in the van, not sure what really happened with Bill's wife, and on, and on. Although, we did learn a bit about why Sissy is so insane. Glad to know there is an explanation, but what an explanation - Sheesh!
However, I have to admit I was taken aback at Butchie's repeated use of the N-Word. So, my confusion as to what happened in this episode may have been compunded but the minutes of shock after Butchie's tirade. I don't know what to think of it. I know that they say off the wall things constently, but I just don't understand that choice. Having that epipthet thrown around was unpleasantly unexpected.
So, I'm torn as to whether to keep watching. Although I do want to see how the season ends & if Shaunie ever 'goes'. Fortunately I have a few days to decide.
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Jul 16, 2007 11:46 AM
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I LOVED THIS EP!
what a great episode my wife told me she didnt understand the episode and i said i didnt understand her either but i still loved her.was that paula malcomson as the waitress in the cyber cafe ?
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Jul 16, 2007 12:42 PM
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I think John finally gave a plausible explanation as to why Cissy is so freaked out all the time; this woman is just one HUGE raw nerve. Carrying the guilt of what she did to Butchie has definitely taken its toll on this woman. I'm leaning toward John being a Jesus figure, with the "word of his father" obviously being the word of God.
And yeah, how great was it seeing Paula Malcomson last night as the waitress? A modern day version of Trixie maybe?
I continue to love this show and I'm enjoying just kicking back and letting the story unfold in its own time.
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Jul 16, 2007 12:53 PM
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@Tom:
My comments were in jest. No offense intended (and none given I hope; my mother would argue I was still growing up in the 90s myself...).
I was a child in the 70s; a terrible decade in everyway compared to both the 80s & 90s. My Old Man had the green leisure suit with the butterfly lapels and the six inch wide ties. "The horror! The horror!"
QUESTION:
Does anyone know the name of the song and the performer of the show's opening song? Thanks.
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Jul 16, 2007 1:02 PM
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None taken, Pain_Man, I assure you! By the way, I appreciate your comments every week. They've been very insightful and have helped clue me in on things I might have missed.
As for the title song, it's "Johnny Appleseed" by the legendary Joe Strummer. It's a gem!
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Jul 16, 2007 2:17 PM
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Thanks, Tom.
Flat text can be so easily misinterpreted.
I'd never heard of Joe Strummer. Learn something new everyday.
For anyone interested, the song can be downloaded from iTunes. Unfortunately, it's non one of the "DRM"-free songs.
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Jul 16, 2007 4:06 PM
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Sorry, Mitch was present during the John "speech" at the end of the show. I played it back scene-by-scene to count who was there. In one shot, the dead guy was in the foreground with Butch and Kai, and directly behind them was Mitch, Butch (a second time!), and the rest of the family.
Take another look.
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Jul 16, 2007 4:48 PM
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Thanks jahgreen
I could've swore that I saw the entire Yoast family standing side-by-side, Mitch included, during John's sermon but I wasn't home when I watched it so I didn't have access to my DVR and I didn't want want to post anything without proof.
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Jul 16, 2007 6:29 PM
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Ditto, jahgreen.
Unfortunately, my PC's TV Tuner card can't process digital signals so I can only record the "regular" cable channels with my Media Center PC(something I didn't realize when I bought the machine) & we don't have a Tivo.
We didn't see Mitch in the scene. You said you had to slow it down frame by frame to see him?
Hmmm. That's odd. Why not let the camera rest a moment on one of the principle characters?
Perhaps I'm attaching too much to what maybe trivial.
In any event, good eyes, jah. Pisces228 & I will watch closely when the next HD broadcast comes on. And tape it with the VCR.
(Of course, if I buy a digital tuner card then my PC will be a DVR and I'll actually have something to use Media Center for. What I found even sillier is that Media Center is in Vista Home Premium on our Toshiba laptop with no way to connect it to or process a TV source; just taking up hdd space.)
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Jul 16, 2007 9:42 PM
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I just want to say that this is my all time favorite show. My daughter thinks my husband and I are crazy because we talk to each other with our John sayings..
"I got my eye on you"
"see God Kai"
etc...
Thanks for the blogs luv it every Monday
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Jul 17, 2007 1:38 AM
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You might also recognize Joe Strummer as the frontman for The Clash.
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Jul 17, 2007 11:10 AM
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