Roses Red, A Valentine Blue
But what about Shane? Between his grand gestures over the past year (porch swing, house) and the almost 7 month gap between Impossible Dream and SSD4, it wouldn't be too crazy for Shane to think the upcoming holiday an apropos time for Mr. O'Toole to express his obvious affection for her, right?
I'm inclined to agree. But what if there's something still preventing Oliver from stepping up in that way? |
Quite The Quandary
Oliver has been very careful to conduct himself within the confines of his marriage vows from the very beginning. And while Holly returned to Paris at the end of From Paris With Love, his marriage vows, legally, were still intact. What if they are still intact by the time SSD4 rolls around?
Hold on tight, because this part of the story is going to require a bit of time travel! |
Whatever the reason, it's forcing Oliver to remain in quite the relational quandary. This is becoming an unfortunate pattern for poor Oliver!
Perhaps, as a way to show Shane he cares, Oliver stops by her house and offers to plant that rose bush he took a cutting from her home in D.C. for? Granted, a cursory Google search and some common sense will tell you it's probably not the right time of season for that. He should definitely receive credit for effort!
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Oliver has always avoided discussing his wife as much as possible with Shane. Let's remember that Shane still doesn't know that Oliver canceled their dance lessons because the showcase fell on his and Holly's anniversary. Shane's response, therefore, was born out of asymmetric information. Oliver likely wouldn't discuss the status of his divorces with Shane because he wouldn't want to get her hopes up--- he's a gentleman like that.
Despite his intentions, planting roses in my garden would definitely be a step down from whatever grand declaration of affection and intent I might have expected from Oliver if I were Shane in the same situation. I can almost guarantee that Shane will be hurt, causing an unspoken tension between she and Oliver. Alas, a perfect opportunity will pass them by once more---Shane's secret Valentine's Day wish denied.
Damage Control
Here's the fun thing about all ShOliver relational tension---it always gets resolved. Remember, Lynne Stopkewich is behind the camera, and she weathered ShOliver through their roughest patch. Much like Oliver had to be the one to re-engage Shane after the fallout in "The Edge of Forever" & "The Future Me," so he will have to do now.
My theory is that, before the end of the film, those aforementioned divorce papers will show up signed by Holly. Oliver will probably have one of those moments of complete clarity, much like he did as he bought Shane that porch swing, and start planning an evening she'll never forget. He'll make dinner reservations for the nicest place in town, take her to the dinner he owes her from Impossible Dream, and he may even make a request of the string quartet, asking them to play "Moon River," the first song to which he and Shane ever shared a dance. And, if I'm interpreting her facial expression accurately, this might be the exact moment Oliver reveals to Shane that he's officially divorced: |
Not sold on the first possibility? There are other ways could Oliver could get Shane to dress up. What if he joined some civic or charitable organizations now that he's got some funds to spread around to worthy causes, one of which held a formal event? Perhaps he held a formal event for the O'Toole Foundation and required a plus one.
Regardless, where ShOliver goes from here is anyone's guess at this point. But I can guarantee one thing:
THEY WILL NOT KISS.
Still FAR too soon in my opinion! Let's at least have Oliver tell Shane about his summer's on Boulder Creek first, people. They still have much to learn about each other. I would definitely support hand-holding at this junction, however---be honest, it would be beyond adorable. And yes, I know I'm talking about adults here! Haha
Well that's it, POstables---those are all my official SSD4 predictions! Feel free to come back and reference these posts to see how close I came to the real thing as information becomes available. Now the hard part---waiting!
As always, any of your ideas are welcome in the comments!
By the way, did you hear that SSD4 officially has a title?
Daydreaming Like No Other,
~C