#even when I’d prefer the righteous vengeance of Roy hitting James tartt at with a rope dipped in red paint instead

[violet-witch-6]

In general I agree with everyone who thought that Jamie reaching out to his dad this episode didn’t sit right because that’s not what forgiveness should really mean in this context. We the viewer know that James Tartt Sr is in rehab which could potentially open up the possibility of Jamie resuming contact with him in a healthy manner (although even that’s deeply fraught) but crucially Jamie doesn’t know that.

That being said, what I don’t agree with is that this is a misstep of the show, because by no means is it ooc for Jaime to want to reach out. Does it muddy the themes of the show somewhat with regards to forgiveness? Yes, but they already demonstrated their point with Rebecca and Rupert. She was able to move on from that relationship and accept the good parts as well as the bad without giving any ground on letting Rupert back into her life. We already have that healthier, more linear model of healing from an abusive relationship. Not every character, and certainly not every person is able to do that perfectly on the first try, and given that Jamie is still young, not angry for probably the first time in his life, and has at least some reason to worry about his dad (with him not being in the stands I certainly thought he was dead until the rehab reveal) it makes sense that Jamie would want to reach out and see if he’s okay.

This show has demonstrated time and again that it’s not about perfect people. Sometimes they misstep or do something stupid and unhealthy because they’re people. Roy was insensitive and selfish when Keeley’s sex tape was leaked, Issac lashed out when what his friend needed was support. These were all dealt with by the show as natural character flaws that arise in moments of conflict or stress, even for our “good guys”. Jamie texting his dad is in the same vein. Hopefully that means the show will address it as such in the finale.