#greater gatsby screenwriter's blues

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

THE CASE OF THE GREATER GATSBY EPISODE NINETEEN: SCREENWRITER'S BLUES

Wow. What a last minute stunner in this episode, huh?

Full stunned reaction under the cut.

After nineteen episodes, we finally locate the eponymous Greater Gatsby… in Wilhelmina’s book club book? Who’d a thunk? The fact that the script showed up in there implies that whoever had the script had access to the Grapes set. And if the person who stole the script is the same as the murderer—a HUGE “if”—that clears both Vivian and Barnaby of the murder. It could also potentially clear Mo Beats, though Mel does let him onto the production lot.

But let’s put aside the “who” in favor of the “why.” Fig says that whoever gave Willy the script likely wanted to frame Wilhelmina, but I’m not sure I buy that theory. Anyone who’s ever met Willy would know that there’s absolutely no way she was involved with any of this. I think the real question is whether or not the person who gave the script to Willy actually wanted to pass it off to Fig. Giving a highly suspicious item to Fig’s air-head best friend would be a good way to make sure it ends up in her hands without risking direct contact. And everyone on the lot apparently knew about Wilhelmina’s bookclub, so it wouldn’t take a huge leap for someone to realize that Fig would be presentthe next time Wilhelmina pulled out The Beautiful and Damned. But if someone is trying to give the script to Fig, why? Is the script thief/keeper a different person than the murderer, and hoping to bring the true bad guy to justice? Or is it the murderer trying to send her down the wrong path? Was there more symbolism than the obvious behind putting the script inside The Beautiful and Damned?

And then there’s the question of timing Does the discovery of the script mean that Fig and Ford are getting close, so close that either the bad guys are panicking or a mysterious benefactor is willing to slip them a final clue? If so, how would the anonymous script-dealer know? The most recent suspects to interact with Fig and Ford are the Nightingales, who likely didn’t have access to the Grapes set, the Farnsworths, who I really can’t see having anything to do with anything, and the Hammermeisters. The Hammermeisters, or at least Mel, probably have the best sense that Ford is making progress, but either of them secretly holding the script simply doesn’t make any sense. And we can’t overlook TD’s reaction to Willy and Fig’s discovery—he certainly reacts the most out of everyone else in the room, so either he was overacting to compensate a lack of genuine surprise (unlikely), or he was truly shocked by this latest development. Is he just excited to tell Mel that the script has been found? Or is he afraid of what the script will reveal?

On the Ford sign of things, he gets to match wits with two very different sparring partners: Mo and Vivian. We don’t get too much from Vivian, but Mo has an interesting reaction to Ford’s various guesses about his relationship with Mel. He understandably laughs off Ford’s attempts at silly distractions, but then gets genuinely angry when Ford calls him Mel’s puppet. While this could be due to injured pride, may Ford also be right on the money? I mean, that’s more or less what I’ve been assuming this whole time.

And how about Vivian’s song? “Adapt Or Die,” the perfect sultry tune for a show deeply preoccupied with Hollywood’s adaption preoccupation (same, Persauds, same). It gives further insight into Vivian’s relationship with Barnaby, and a melodious look into her potential character motivation. But how and why is she adapting to survive? By framing Barnaby for murder to get around the pre-nup? Or does Mo perhaps have something on her? Did F. Scott’s death ruin some plan of Vivian’s for the future? On a less speculative note, Mary Kate Wiles genuinely has one of my favorite voices EVER, and I’m so so so happy every time she sings in this show. She always knocks it out of the fucking park. More numbers for Vivian, please! Please!! PLEASE!!!

And Fitzgerald was apparently strangled by two different items. What does this mean? Was the first item not doing the job, so the killer had to switch? Was he strangled unsuccessfully by one person, and then successfully by a second person mere minutes later? Did two people strangle him at the same time? Or was he strangled with an item that would look like two separate things (a necklace with two different types of chains latched together, for example)? I’ve been trying to think of a plot relevant item that would fit that description, but so far I’ve come up empty…

Stray thoughts: -TD’s thoughts on grief—his passive aggressive way of telling Rex to shut the hell up, made me laugh and filled in a lot about how he and Mel became an item in the first place. He’s capable of just as much bitchery as she is, it turns out -Once again, Dash shows up at the same place as Wilhelmina. I might be wildly off base, but with every passing episode I’m becoming more and more convinced that he’s doing something involving her.