Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Eli Stone - Recap & Review - The Path

Eli Stone
“The Path”

Original Air Date: Oct 14, 2008

Brittany Wells – TwoCents Reviewer
brittanyw@twocentscorp.com

I suppose I should start this review off by confessing that I’m not a religious person. At times I’m not even much of a spiritual person. Yet I fell in love with Eli Stone in the middle of last season because I could understand what Eli was going through. His confusion had been mine, even if I wasn’t seeing George Michael or visions from God. And the show not only made me believe in Eli Stone but it made me also wonder about what I believed or didn’t believe. Having hoped for the show to return for a second season, it’s good to see that it hasn’t lost the charms and heart that inspired me and a whole lot of other people.

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[photo: ABC.com]

3 comments:

  1. Eli Stone
    “The Path”

    Original Air Date: October 14, 2008

    Brittany Wells – TwoCents Reviewer
    brittanyw@twocentscorp.com

    I suppose I should start this review off by confessing that I’m not a religious person. At times I’m not even much of a spiritual person. Yet I fell in love with Eli Stone in the middle of last season because I could understand what Eli was going through. His confusion had been mine, even if I wasn’t seeing George Michael or visions from God. And the show not only made me believe in Eli Stone but it made me also wonder about what I believed or didn’t believe. Having hoped for the show to return for a second season, it’s good to see that it hasn’t lost the charms and heart that inspired me and a whole lot of other people.

    It’s six months after his successful surgery, and Eli is talking to a shrink (played in our first bit of stunt casting by Sigourney Weaver) about how his life has changed. He insists it’s because he misses being in the courtroom and tells her he’d really like to get back to practicing law. She isn’t so convinced it has anything to do with that, and needles him about Nate. Telling him he’s looking for something more than he thinks, she nonetheless signs off on his going back to work. Meanwhile, Nate goes to consult a patient…and ends up in a bank just as a giant crane crashes down on it. It looks like Eli’s visions have just decided to visit his brother instead.

    Things are vastly different at Wethersby, Posner and Klein. In fact, they kind of suck. Martin Posner is leading the board meeting and he’s a real jerk; you have to wonder how Jordan stands him long enough to not punch him in the face, let alone found a law firm with him. He’s more annoying than Marcie Klein from last season, gloating over how they’re winning back some of the corporate clients Eli alienated. Eli heads for his makeshift office in the law library to find his brother there and soon susses out that Nate’s had a vision. But when he starts pressing for specific details, Nate balks, obviously having a hard time reconciling science and faith.

    Yet a crane does fall on a bank, namely the one that Jordan was having his corporate meeting at, and Jordan’s still trapped in the building. Eli wants to comfort Taylor, who is pretty cold to him, insinuating that her father wouldn’t have been there if Eli hadn’t gotten the corporation to drop the firm. Matt is an even bigger jerk, and apparently he’s actually gotten Taylor to be quite cozy with him. Both give him the brush-off in a very atypical way; I don’t remember them being quite so cold last season. Nate is shaken by realizing that he’s right, and turns up asking for help; Eli’s response is to drag him to Dr. Chen. And when Chen makes him ride the needle (leading to the best line ever: “If I end up being haunted by the other guy from Wham…”), Nate goes back into his vision to realize that Jordan isn’t in the conference room but had in fact left the meeting and is trapped in a stairwell. The search-and-rescue teams are looking in the wrong place.

    The problem is no one wants to listen to Nate. Or to Eli either. Jordan and Matt dismiss him as crazy. Eli needs a family member of one of the victims to get them legal standing for an injunction against the city, and he gets it when Maggie convinces Jordan’s wife Eli knows what he’s doing by telling her about how he predicted the earthquake. They go to court only to be blindsided when Posner, Matt and Taylor show up on behalf of the city. The legal wrangle is going badly when Nate collapses outside the courtroom. Surprise: he’s got an aneurysm.

    I really love the dynamic between Jonny Lee Miller and Matt Letscher, who have played the Stone brothers exceptionally well. This episode hits the nail right on the head. Eli visits Nate in the hospital and Nate jokes that he might be able to sue himself. That’s when Eli gets a call from his shrink who says he can’t be back in a courtroom until his paperwork is signed. Taking a look down at the form he got signed that morning, Eli realizes it’s blank. And when he goes back to find his supposed shrink, there’s nothing but an empty office…at least until he steps into it. And that’s when it hits him.

    Yes, Sigourney Weaver is God. Or at least God’s emissary. (I was always hoping God was kind of like in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) She tells Eli in no uncertain terms that when he chose to have the surgery, he made it pretty clear that he wanted his life back. Wish granted, but it came with consequences for more than just himself. It hits Eli then exactly how much he changed everyone’s lives. Jordan has a new sense of purpose for himself and for the firm. His friends and colleagues are different people than they used to be. And Eli, in realizing what he’s done, realizes what he has to do. Jonny Lee Miller proceeds to rip our hearts out and crush them as Eli pleads with her to give him back the visions in order to give Nate the normal life he should have because he feels Nate is better than he is. He’s in tears and so am I. She relents, telling him that it’s going to be different now. He’s going to have to lead, and he’ll find out what that means.

    Eli’s first act is to admit to the court that he’s seen visions and throw himself on the proverbial sword. The judge has no choice but to rule against him, but once Taylor sees that he believes himself, she believes in him and decides to help him. The firefighters, thus convinced, search the stairwell and recover Jordan. Nate discovers his MRI has come back clean, and once Eli convinces him that his own head needs to be checked, he finds out that his aneurysm is back. And most importantly, when Eli goes to see Jordan, Jordan drops a bomb on him: he was coming to see Eli when the bank imploded. Apparently, much like Iron Man, he finally knows what they have to do.

    I’m so glad that Eli Stone had a chance to come back for a second season. It’s a thought-provoking, heart-poking show that really brings a breath of hope into a cynical world. While I wasn’t happy to see some characters become equally cynical I hope that maybe they’ll become their usual selves as the season goes on, and I’m intrigued to see what Jordan (and the higher power) has in store for Eli. What did you think? Do you still have faith in Eli Stone?

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  2. OMG! so let me just say: THANK GOD, ELI IS BACK!! I had to tivo this and just watched last night. First of all, when we found out that Nate was having the visions, I was like "what?... you mean all year Eli is going to be going thru Nate's visions?" But long and behold it was cleared up. Second, was it not the most heartwrenching moment when Eli and "God" were talking and Eli proclaimed he wanted the aneurysm back and that his brother is the better person. Tears welled up. I am so glad this show is back!

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  3. Personally, I think Eli is the best choice for a prophet. Historically, prophets are not usually well liked, and neither are most lawyers - especially pre-aneurysm Eli.

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