#PA 2x27 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

biinanzas · 6 months ago

Text

i'm so glad you talked about this!!!!!

i think adam was lying to adah and was just trying to get her to make a move on him so he could go "aha! see pa, i told you she was bad news!", but as to what actually happened with him and adah... i don't really know lol. it's probable that adam was really attracted to adah but i'd like to think that he was just embarrassed about adah seeing through his trick, which is why he seemed so freaked out and just... disappeared. (also, where was he when he found out about joe's attack???) weirdest of all, ben didn't even seem mad?! he was amused more than anything!

i love everyone hovering over joe, particularly how tender and caring ben is with him. we need more vulnerable cartwright moments!! i also like adam immediately wanting to know who did it because it would give him something to do and help get justice for his brother. but unlike his father and brother he's not in a blind rage, as later on we see him hesitating to give his own gun to regan because he knows his father isn't thinking clearly. it's interesting to see ben and hoss in revenge mode with adam acting like the worried father.

then, i like how when regan challenge the cartwrights to a fight we see adam's focus flit between ben and hoss as he weighs up what the best option is, which is of course letting hoss fight regan. then you see him use all of his strength to hold back ben whilst still being frankly scared as hoss is nearly being beaten to a pulp. thank goodness for his well-timed advice!!

it is a real shame about adah. even though it's likely realistic it's still depressing to see a victim return to their abuser. i imagine that she didn't know about joe by the end of the episode although i'm sure she found out some time after, probably overhearing conversations from people who were at the hotel (or something that that effect) as i doubt john would have told her that he beat up a teenager. i imagine even when she found out she still stuck with him because she was so used to that toxic, abusive cycle.

as to what happens next in their relationship, i don't know what to think. in real life, adah and heenan (who regan is based on) have a messy divorce and adah dies at a young age... so i still don't see a happy ending. :(

now, i have some fics that explore more of this episode to recommend, if you were at all interested!!

here is an extended version of the episode that also deals with the aftermath of the attack:

and here's a sequel story that explores what happens if john and adah returned sometime later. the fic focuses on how john's brutal attack affects joe in the long term, the huge responsibility adam feels over his little brother, how ben still feels about adah, adah's own feelings about john and john himself wanting revenge against the cartwrights. it's very good!!

i will say, however, that it does contain major spoilers for the end of "the gift" (2x27) and i'm not sure if you're up to there yet!

The Magnificent Adah really is one of the episodes ever.

Oh yay! It's Younger Brother Hijinks - wait Adam is doing hijinks too? This is heaven - okay. that took a serious turn.

("They never kill off the hero"... Adam, you're the educated one. I'm sure you've read Shakespeare. I guess he's referring to his experience of the less-highbrow fare on offer in Virginia City?)

So I guess now the episode is an honestly terrifying depiction of stalking and Ben isn't telling the boys what's going on so they jump to conclusions and make things worse? Abrupt transition from farce to tragedy, here we come!

I'm still not sure what to make of Adam's attempt at confrontation. "Please don't date my father because I find you attractive myself"? He's supposed to be a man of honour, someone who can put others' happiness before his own impulses. Maybe this scene makes more sense to others, but it feels rather OOC to me.

JOE NO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING YOURSELF INTO

"Adam, now, he's the dependable one. He's a worrier." So you do get him sometimes!

And we show just how ruthless our violent stalker antagonist is by having him half-kill a teenager for messing with "his" woman/because his father is dating her. As if things weren't dark enough already.

Not that I'm complaining though! Everyone is so upset and worried and they actually let him be scared and in pain and crying for his father, really good emotional decisions here!

"Pa?😢" (heart breaks) (but in a "this is good angst" way)

YES! VENGEANCE! DRAMATIC SHOWDOWN TIME!

Adam restraining Ben because he realises Hoss is better equipped to handle this... Such an interesting choice, I love how protective Adam is of his father but also it's another weight on his shoulders and nobody should have to be that strong...

But oh no! Even Hoss can't handle it because Antagonist has superior technique! Good thing Adam has proficiency at Insight checks and figures out his weakness!

So we get a happy ending, right?

Oh. No. That happened.

I won't say it quite comes out of left field because we've seen that Adah, while she knows this guy is dangerous and abusive, does remember good times and feel conflicted about him. Which, while tragic, is, I think, sadly often the case for people trying to leave relationships like that.

It's just a shame the story ends with her unable to break away. I won't say it's bad storytelling, everything makes reasonable sense logically and that gut punch is an interesting departure from the classic "and they deal with him and he never bothers her again and she's free to live as she chooses" windup for a plot like that.

It does make me sad, though.

I guess a question is whether she knows what was done to Joe or just sees the fight and assumes things escalated for other reasons? Because "I know this guy's awful but I don't want him hurt" isn't quite on the same level as "I know this guy nearly caused permanent injury to someone I see as little more than a child, but I'm going to take his side and comfort him".