Major Crimes S4 Homebase

[congo]

Yeah, it's that time again. This is the

MAJOR CRIMES SEASON 4 HOMEBASE POST!



Welcome back, or welcome newbie, make yourselves comfortable. If you're not sure why you're here because you don't watch the show, go get started immediately. If you're not sure you should, go look at this primer and then get started immediately. Because season four is upon us!

(PSA: I can't actually watch the episodes until Tuesday morning (GMT) but I'll definitely be around after.)

Oh, and stealing from Tash, if you click the above, you'll get emails whenever there's a new comment on this post!

SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS, OBVIOUSLY.

Comments

Re: 4x07 Targets of Opportunity

[quarantedeux]

They agreed to give it a go, but also to be careful not to let it interfere in their work relationship. Exhibit A: Them calling each other by their ranks all through last week's episode. Exhibit B: Sharon needing to talk to Taylor about ~something. I don't even feel the need for more evidence.
Yes, they've clearly taken their relationship up a notch from wherever it was before. There has been enough subtext this season to show that they are involved in a real way.

This is why avoiding showing their relationship on-screen (and maybe even going out of the way to avoid showing their relationship on-screen, which is what it feels like at this point) makes zero sense. Just enough has been shown to make it clear that it's happening. It's obvious. The will-they-or-won't-they stage is past, but TPTB still want to play by that rulebook. It seems like a play to build tension, but without some kind of conflict there is none. It's like... Why build it up for three or four episodes and drop it? That's been the pattern for how many half-season blocks now?

It's frustrating for so many reasons, but mostly because the potential conflict is ready-made and built into the freaking plot! It's right there for the taking!

Why not SHOW Sharon dealing with her hesitation to get into a relationship in general or in a relationship specifically with one of her detectives vis-a-vis her regard for rules/privacy? Why not SHOW any of the apparently many times that Andy has had to awkwardly come up with a pretense for spending time with Sharon outside of work? Why not bring up the fact that they pretty clearly have some kind of history, and how that makes it messier and sweeter at the same time? Why not SHOW the two of them hanging out like adults so that the audience can have a sense of, I dunno, how they talk and behave around each other in these situations (especially considering that we're supposed to believe that they went how long without realizing that they were basically dating? even after their kids were like 'you're totally dating'?) If the dating/not dating distinction isn't important to them at this point in their lives, hmmmm maybe SHOW THEM DISCUSSING THAT?

I honestly want to know the writing logic behind the decision to keep it all off screen, because the longer we go without seeing any of it, the more I suspect that the answer is just that they're dragging it out for the sake of dragging it out, and that's just stupid. Will-they-or-won't-they loses its magic when it stops being believable. Give me a reason as to why they're not progressing (though at this point they are), because there are plenty of valid reasons that I would accept should those reasons actually be shown, or show what's actually happening instead of throwing random mentions in every three episodes.