(S01E11) Wow! What an episode. Well, not the whole episode; the last two minutes. For the first time on Eli Stone, we got a glimpse of where the visions may be taking Eli. Also, if the vision of the future he had is on target, then the thing in his head, the aneurysm, is either not fatal as we've been told, or -- perhaps -- Eli will have the surgery and live many more years. At least until 2018. That's if we're to believe that the vision he had is the real future...But first let's talk about the "Patience," this week's episode. I'm not really loving that title, but I guess it makes sense when you think about the totality of the show. Eli has one of his sensory hallucinations and finds himself in Times Square, New York City, in the middle of a huge rally. People are chanting a theme, "Live Brave," and there are signs and banners promoting the Live Brave movement. The man at the microphone is named David Mosely and he's being cheered.
Eli follows the clues in the vision and discovers that David Mosely is a prisoner in Tipton Bay, a correctional institution rife with organizational abuses. Teaming with Keith Bennett, the WPK criminal lawyer -- who happens to have been Mosely's attorney ten years ago when the prisoner refused to heed his advice and wound up doing hard time -- Eli takes on David's case. The bad man in the center of all this is Warden Brown and with the help of Maggie and the unnamed legal clerks in the firm, as well as another clue from the vision, Eli finds the one man who can expose the warden's abuse of power and tyranny, Daryl Rhodes. In the end, however, David's parole is denied by the Governor, so he has to have patience and wait another year for a new parole review. Hence the title.
Eli is pulling all kinds of long hours working on the Tipton Bay Prison hearing, all pro bono which ticks off Marci Klein -- Klein as in Wethersby, Posner and Klein. She appears from the London office to needle Jordan about how he's running the office, in particular, letting Eli do all this free legal work and scaring off the big money clients. Jordan refuses to be intimidated by Marci, but she announces that she's taken office space on the 20th floor and plans to monitor the situation more closely. Oh goodie.
Meawhile, Patti coaxes Eli who connives a way to get Matt and Taylor to represent the rights of two gay chimpanzees -- Steve and Pete -- who have been forced to live apart at the zoo by anti-gay-chimp activists. Silly storylne; cute chimps. 'Nuff said.
The real kick in the head was the last two minutes, as I said. Eli sees the vision one more time and discovers that David Mosely is not the speaker at the event. He is there to introduce Eli Stone as the man behind the Live Brave movement. It's Eli who's the prophet. Eli kisses Maggie and their child, then takes the stage to thunderous applause. Oh my, does this mean, is this true? Is Eli meant to change the world? Who can say -- we're left to speculate. Wow.
Other Points of Interest
-- The warden was played by Glenn Morshower, who was Aaron on 24. Good scene when Eli gets to put the screws to him at the end, forcing him to resign or face criminal prosecution for his actions.
-- The silly chimp story was kind of sweet, and they acknowledged that it was silly. Still, Matt vamped a very funny defense, citing Chimpanzee Torte Protection (CTP).
-- Chemistry between Eli and Maggie is definitely brewing, but I liked that he tried to push her away and back to her Ohio fiance. You gotta love a guy that noble.
-- Keith is a character with mucho integrity. He reaches out to David Mosely, offering to help him get the parole by teaching him the law.
-- For a guy who's worked 36 hours straight, Eli should have looked a little bedraggled, maybe in need of a shave. Unbutton that collar, man.
-- Taylor was impressed by Matt enough to give him a chance to take her out to dinner -- at the most exclusive restaurant in the Napa Valley. A ballbuster till the end, that girl. Matt was less smarmy this week.
-- No George Michael music. No brother Nate.
-- Dr. Chen is feeling neglected.
-- The first shots of David Mosely (David? Moses? Biblical connections to leaders) were done in silhouette, so all you saw was an African-American man being cheered by a huge throng. It looked a lot like Barack Obama at his rallies.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-11-2008 @ 10:09AM
Hank said...
I've been really enjoying Eli Stone up until now. Particularly the only lawyer with a heart or soul is brain damaged angle. But this episode really left me cold. The main story with Eli was preachy and, imo, over wrought. The chimp storyline actually had potential but was pretty much treated as a one line sight gag. And I'm not sure I like the direction of Eli having some long term Messianic vision of himself that he's working towards. I like him as the confused seeker trying to figure out what is real and doing some good along the way. And I like the musical numbers!
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4-11-2008 @ 10:52AM
amazo said...
this was the first eli stone ep i've sat all the way through and i actually liked it. true it was very obama-esque but it's not necessarily a bad thing. mosely's ending speech did "steal" from obamas speech, but well delivered. i think the twist at the end was nice.
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4-11-2008 @ 11:31AM
Juan Herrera said...
At first, I was somewhat interested in this show. Once I saw the first couple a shows I was hooked. I enjoy what they have done with all the characters. Last night was probably one of the best if not the best so far. I like the chemistry with Eli & Maggie and of Taylor & Matt. Patti is kind and always makes me laugh. Jordan is tough and yet has proven compassionate. Regardng Keith, I like him better with each episode. Nate & Chen very important to lead Eli along the way. Let's keep this show on the air!
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4-11-2008 @ 11:52AM
Ryan said...
Great episode! I loved so many things about it except for the fact that we got no Nate. Then again last week was all about him so I guess I can live.
I love love love Ms. Klein. Perfect actress and a good "foil" for Eli (and Jordan).
I love the "twist" in the end that I definitely did not see coming with Eli being the speaker that everyone came to see. I was tearing up a little.
The only reservation I had with the future vision was with Maggie and the baby. Not that I don't love Maggie/Eli, but it felt off seeing them in the future together.
I definitely sense chemistry with Matt and Taylor. Their relationship should be fun if they stay the course.
And finally the gay chimp case was hilarious in a good way. The actresses who played the opposing counsel and the judge were fantastic and the chimps made me smile.
So overall, great episode. I do hope it gets renewed.
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4-11-2008 @ 2:03PM
Jennifer said...
Yeah, Maggie just acts too freaking childish and cutesy for me to WANT her with Eli. They end up married with child? Argh. He needs someone who's on his pro bono side, but with more brains- not necessarily Taylor or Beth Keller, but...anyway, argh. Other than that, Eli's future in 2018 is interesting. Too bad we won't see that play out sometime (or at least, it doesn't seem likely).
The chimps. Oh lordy. Cute, yet stupid plot. Oh well, more Matt & Taylor is cute.
4-11-2008 @ 4:05PM
Paul said...
Well keep in mind they are married in 2018, and their baby is a toddler. That means they could have just gotten married only a few years before that if not less...like 2016. That's still a good 8 years from now for Maggie to mature and become someone more fitting for Eli. Right now she is too cutesy for Eli. But we have seen her grow from the awkard lawyer in the first 2 episode to even now, a little more confident. So there's room for growth.
I loved the judge and the opposing consul on the chimp case. I laughed at the way it ended. It was silly, but then still believable and logical. The fact that the judge commented how her decision would be overturned and laughed at even made it more truthful. They weren't trying to preach a pov, but just give these chimps a chance at happiness which I thought was a great way to treat that topic.
As for the Obama/David Mosely thing...yikes...sorry, I am not a fan of Obama at all, and I really got a little turned off at that even though I liked the episode. I'm glad it ended up being about Eli himself as the speaker rather then this David Mosely guy.
However I do not think it's the definite future, but only a possible one. If it was definitely, I just felt like Eli would have looked in the direction of where he was standing years ago in his own vision and reaffirm himself that this is the future. Yes it's his vision, but he saw it himself, so if this was the actual future, then he would have looked for himself. So I think it's just a possible future that is guiding him towards something. But he has to accept it on his own.
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4-11-2008 @ 8:51PM
La-Di-Dah said...
What I really enjoyed about the eppy is how strong an actor the David Mosely character was, which made me believe completely that the noble Mosely was the center of the Live Brave event, so I was definitely wow'd at the end when Eli stepped on stage. I think this is a really strong episode. Loved it. I am even starting to believe Matt/Taylor and Maggie/Eli, and even Jordan/Klein and Patty/Posner. Heh. I think this show has improved a lot and I like that all the characters are really likeable, and as I said, the acting this week was strong.
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4-12-2008 @ 10:29PM
nattyff said...
love the episode, love the final twist, and most definitly LOVE THE CASTING!!!, was these the final episode of the season??? felt that way to me...
Hope in the future we see more of Posner with Patti, or at least see him in court!!!
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