IMHO "United States of Tara" (1.10): Betrayal

My initial reaction--I saw it on OnDemand about a week ago--was total dislike; but I guess I'll wait and see how it develops.  Maybe Tara is shocked into «normality»?  But then, there'll be no show.  And...is that a bad thing?

The characters on this show are all operating, in one way or another, from extreme positions. Marshall's a perfectly nice normal everyday gay boy. But MAN does he ever "have issues" with his plural mother. And they're not of his own making. But when he gets pushed he pushes back -- which by my lights is admirable.

 

While some I'm sure will say that a big blinking "Kids -- Don't Try This At Home!" sign should have been flashing throughout the shed-buringing scene, I'm sure the show's audience got the point being made just fine.

OK, I've been waiting for this since I watched it OnDemand last week.  I completely loved this development.  I can totally believe that Jason was questioning.  I find that completely normal for a boy that age.  And despite how screwed up T is, if I was a confused 14yo boy and Toni Collete threw herself at me like that, I would have totally macked on that.  It seemed normal for an exploring kid, even in a rather unusual circumstance - if you accept the DiD character of Tara, you can accept the circumstance.

A couple of gripes with snicks analysis here - I found Marshall's walk to the shed with the matches to be anything except nonchalant - that was one shattered kid, and that was a lifetime of rage at his circumstance bubbling up.  And he went after the shed, T's only physical manifestation, is telling.  I mean Buck has been horrible to him, but it's T that snaps him and he lashes out at.

I may be reading way too much into this next part, but I couldn't help but notice that he left his bike in the shed when he set it on fire.  The same bike he had plans to ride home from school with Jason the next day, the same bike T used to lure Jason back to the shed.  He set fire to a lot of things, and not all of them belonged to T.  This wasn't a teenager lashing out, this was a teenager breaking with what was left of youthful innocence, and if the writers are as smart as they seem to be, this is a major turning point not just for Marshall, but for the whole family.

 And yeah, the optimist in me thinks that Marshall and Jason actually have a future after this.  A weird, uncomfortable one, but a future nontheless.

about Marshall and Jason's storyline has been obvious and what T did to Marshall is horrible. Then to have his dad so completely blow it off also indicated how much Marshall has had to put aside his own needs/wants because of his mother's illness. And the fire indicated that those days just might be over. I know some have worried this means that Marshall has become a crazy or possibly evil gay, but it doesn't feel like that to me. This is simply one ticked off kid who has had a lot of anger building up for a long time. So glad this show has been picked up for a second season.

I also very much appreciate Jason's not being freaked out by making out with Marshall. It seems many younger folks do have a different approach to sexuality these days and I was glad to see USoT acknowledge that. 

 Burn the mother down!!!.... I'm kidding, could not resist,... but, I find it, a logical progression for the character. Hi seems to have been hold hostage by his mother illness, it seems like a braking point. Here is his mother illness interfering in such a direct way with his first brush with love. 

I saw this as the first time that Tara and her alters have had any real consequences for their actions. Max bends over backwards for her ("I called the day spa and smoothed it over" - or words to that effect); the kids try to pass it off as "cool"; the sister is just kind of resigned.

I think Tara, for better or for worse, has had her free pass revoked, at least for a little while.

I saw the next show last night. (They run one week ahead on demand.)

*** Spoiler Warning ***

Marshall's sister makes an excellent point: Tara's alters are Tara's way of protecting herself so she can get things done. Marshall's sister further explained to Marshall that even if Jason ever did have sex with him (which implies they haven't done that), Jason was not gay. Jason was simply curious. He was experimenting, but Jason was ultimately a heterosexual, Christian boy who would end up marrying a woman. Marshall's sister said T saw that and did what she did to protect Marshall from future heartbreak over Jason, who was, in T's mind, using Marshall to satisfy his curiosity and make himself feel edgy and cool.

That analysis rang true to me, and it hadn't occurred to me before Marshall's sister explained it to him.

As far as a future with Jason, I won't give away the interaction between Marshall and Jason the next day at school, but I will say it made me wonder what will happen next between them.

 

You can count me in the "thought it was brilliant" column.  I'd heard that there was some sort of drama - and I was almost afraid to watch it after the perfection of the Max & Marshall kitchen scene the week before.  I thought there was no way they couldn't ruin it - one of the alters would out Jason, or crash the church rehersals, or do some other kind of emotional gaybashing - but I'm so glad I was wrong.  It was horrible, and messed up, and crushing for Marshall, but it was great writing.

Overall, the show has held my interest. Sometimes it's been a bit over the top, and I actually find Tara's family more interesting than Tara, but on the whole, I'd say the show has some potential.

Marshall's character is my favorite, but not because he's gay. I like his personality. I like that he's different from his peers. He's bright, he dresses well (even when he's in pajamas), enjoys cooking, and listens to Billie Holiday. I also like that he is normally compassionate and patient with his mom, gets on well with his dad, loves his aunt, and seeks advice from his sister (so he looks up to her) while at the same time being fiercely protective of her.

Great episode. I love me some psychology, and this episode of USoT was chock full of it. I mean, it's a terrible idea to take Tara to a massage parlor, between the "strangers touching me thing" and the fact that massage can unlock doors of memory inside you really easily, of course Gimme came out! The show seems to be changing direction a bit. When it started, Tara's whole MP deal was almost a joke, or at least fairly humorous, but the show is moving to a darker place, and I wonder if we'll see the light at the end of the season. As for Marshall and his reaction? Spot on. Kids act out, and kids who have to spend as much time and energy on their mother as he does would act out even more. It's about time he broke down and let some of what's inside him out, and I really want to know what the effects of burning the shed could be on Tara. The preview from next week shows Jason and Marshall talking almost civilly, so maybe there's still hope there? The family already accepts the bizarre as normal, so Marshall's first boyfriend making out with his mom might top the scale but not break it.

 

Question: do we know if any of the family been inside the shed before? Because there were some pictures in there that I think Max would have found pretty interesting.

I saw the episode on demand this past Wednesday and thought it was absolutely brilliant. As much as I found it shocking about what Marshall did to the shed, I found myself cheering him on, especially as he sat in that lounge chair looking on at his own piece of chaos.

There's one other interpretation of what he did I'd like to run by. In addition to the anger that Marshall definitely held towards his mother and T, I think Marshall also felt angry with himself. Marshall had always been really guarded with himself and with Jason it seemed that for the first time Marshall let himself appear to be vulnerable to someone. When he saw Jason kissing T, my guess is that he felt stupid for possibly thinking that what he had with Jason could be something real. I may not be making any sense but I was wondering if anyone else had that perception of Marshall's anger.

I cannot wait to see the next episode on demand and am hopeful for Andy Lawrence's continuing portrayal of Jason since we saw him and Marshall talking in school in the preview for the next episode.

Let's face it, the chances of either kid growing up without major issues is nil.  I'm glad the show is finally recognizing that Tara's problems have a direct effect on her children.  So far, they've taken the whole thing much too much in stride. 

When i saw marshall burn the shed, even with his bike still in it, i found myself thinking, of course, that is the logical response for someone in his situation.  But when i saw him sitting in that lawn chair and watching the whole thing burn down, i applauded diablo cody once again. I think this show is brilliant.