 | It was staring us in the face the whole time. |
"Well I am a former Expeditor for the competition---maybe I can help?"
If you've taken in the international clips from Lost Without You, then you probably remember this line was part of Joe and Oliver's campfire chat. What you probably didn't take away from it was a massive revelation about Joseph O'Toole that stems from his occupation.
In Truth Be Told we discovered Joseph O'Toole was a Senior Expeditor at FedEx prior to his very recent retirement, breaking 200 years of O'Toole family tradition---much to Oliver's disapproval. But what if Papa O'Toole's position wasn't just his occupation, but a commentary on his function in the series as well?
If you've taken in the international clips from Lost Without You, then you probably remember this line was part of Joe and Oliver's campfire chat. What you probably didn't take away from it was a massive revelation about Joseph O'Toole that stems from his occupation.
In Truth Be Told we discovered Joseph O'Toole was a Senior Expeditor at FedEx prior to his very recent retirement, breaking 200 years of O'Toole family tradition---much to Oliver's disapproval. But what if Papa O'Toole's position wasn't just his occupation, but a commentary on his function in the series as well?
 | To answer that, we first have to know what it means to be a Senior Expeditor. The long and short of it is that someone with this occupation is extremely skilled at facilitating processes, and getting things where they need to be, when they need to be there, troubleshooting along the way if needed. The word "expedite" itself encompasses "speeding up the process of" something. |
It's easy to see how Papa O'Toole fulfilled this in Lost Without You even as early as this conversation with Oliver---he not only remembered interacting with the little boy, it was a major break in their investigation.
But on a much larger scale, Papa O'Toole has expedited and helped facilitate the delivery of a much more precious "package"---his own son, as he played a key role in Oliver's transformation into the man we see before us at the end of Lost Without You.
But on a much larger scale, Papa O'Toole has expedited and helped facilitate the delivery of a much more precious "package"---his own son, as he played a key role in Oliver's transformation into the man we see before us at the end of Lost Without You.
Truth Be Told
| As if Oliver wasn't already experiencing an incremental deconstruction---initiated only just the previous week with Holly's return and subsequent departure---Papa O'Toole had to come in like a wrecking ball, challenging Oliver to his very core with the revelation he wasn't born an O'Toole. In his House Rules check-in, we determined that God has been pulling Oliver towards Him by taking away every fickle and fleeting thing in which Oliver placed his identity until there was nothing left but God in whom Oliver could---and should---identify, a process which Joe's revelation expedited. |  |
In this film Papa O'Toole not only began his own process of reconciling with his son, but placed Oliver on a new trajectory that would find him more sensitive to, and in touch with, his feelings, and much more willing to express them in some form. We begin to see this in Impossible Dream through Oliver reassuring Norman that Rita won't forget him if she wins the pageant, and in his purchase of the land on which Shane's childhood home once stood. Though, of course, there were some sentiments he was still particularly hesitant to express...
One In A Million
The irreverent plundering of mail from official receptacles and it's connection to the O'Toole's provided an excellent opportunity to bring Joe back into the mix after a two-film absence. After further consideration, however, it's clear that wasn't the only reason Joe was "called in."
The Expeditor he is, Joe didn't waste a second troubleshooting---and attempting to resolve---ShOliver's failure to "click" after witnessing a single interaction between Oliver and Shane. We already know Papa O'Toole thinks highly of Shane, in fact, he's Team ShOliver's MVP, and apparently even suggested Oliver take her to dinner long before the Valentine in From The Heart ever materialized.
The Expeditor he is, Joe didn't waste a second troubleshooting---and attempting to resolve---ShOliver's failure to "click" after witnessing a single interaction between Oliver and Shane. We already know Papa O'Toole thinks highly of Shane, in fact, he's Team ShOliver's MVP, and apparently even suggested Oliver take her to dinner long before the Valentine in From The Heart ever materialized.
 | Yet as he takes in Oliver's recounting of their disastrous evening at Montaldo's, he finds a way to confront Oliver with his pain, reminding Oliver that at his core he possesses "love, power, [and] a sound mind." Joe even offers a solution to move past the pain, telling Oliver he "has what it takes to try again...[he] just has to try again." These words seem to not only influence Oliver's interaction with Curly, but provide the courage he needs to ask Shane for a second-chance dinner within the week. |
Lost Without You
He couldn't have known it at the time, but it was Joe's own bet that, by extension, served as a primary catalyst for Oliver's growth in the latest installment, sacrificing himself to help complete the process of delivering Oliver from the debilitating fear and insecurity that have plagued him over the course of the last few films in particular.
There's nothing like death to cause one to reflect deeply on life. And no doubt Papa O'Toole's near-death experience had a profound impact on Oliver's perspective on the state of his affairs. But it was Joe reminding Oliver of his first time in the mountains that provided the context for Oliver's prayerful introspection on the heartbreak he encountered as a child, and its lingering influence on his life and love into adulthood. Throughout the course of a single night, Oliver's heart was transformed.
There's nothing like death to cause one to reflect deeply on life. And no doubt Papa O'Toole's near-death experience had a profound impact on Oliver's perspective on the state of his affairs. But it was Joe reminding Oliver of his first time in the mountains that provided the context for Oliver's prayerful introspection on the heartbreak he encountered as a child, and its lingering influence on his life and love into adulthood. Throughout the course of a single night, Oliver's heart was transformed.
 | The fruit of this soul-searching is evident in Oliver's words to his father about there being "a lot of leaving in [their] family" and his desire they end the trend. Similarly, it's revealed in Oliver's words to Shane, "hoping [their] first date isn't [their] last," his commitment to expanding his beverage pallet, and even resolving to accept Shane's level of faith as it stood, only to find she, too, had been expeditiously brought to a new place in that regard. |
It's also important to remember that from a timeline perspective, From The Heart, One In A Million and Lost Without You take place within the span of three weeks, making Oliver's transformation in the 2016 films particularly intensive---from struggling to ask Shane to Montaldo's and hesitating to calling his evening with her a date, to pouring his heart out to her in the chapel, and even making peace with the past---talk about "expedited"!
We already loved Papa O'Toole for so many reasons, but now we can also love him from the pivotal role he played in the nature and quality of his son's personal development. And to think this new perspective came from thinking just a little bit harder about his scandalous position with FedEx!
Arriving On Time,
~C
We already loved Papa O'Toole for so many reasons, but now we can also love him from the pivotal role he played in the nature and quality of his son's personal development. And to think this new perspective came from thinking just a little bit harder about his scandalous position with FedEx!
Arriving On Time,
~C
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