From too many wardrobe changes, to series-induced timeline restraints, this installment is the exception to the rule.
April 28, 2013
June 25, 2013
June 26, 2013
Monday, June 22, 2014
Two strangers meet at a coffee bar, and trade brief banter over "working from home" and "theoretical" payment. Soon, Shane and Oliver meet formally when she becomes his latest employee after a "merry mix-up" finds her at the wrong branch and at the mercy of challenging supervisor Andrea, and a transfer request with a six week processing period. Along with new colleagues Rita and Norman, Shane receives a basic education in the concept of the dead letter. |
Later that same evening, the four visit the Mailbox Grille where Shane is revealed to have stolen the letter from the office, an opportune incident that results in the continuation of Kelly and Charlie's story as they seek new clues after their initial one results in a dead end.
Seeing Washington Park as a viable lead, Shane lobbies Oliver to pursue it the following day during their lunch break.
Tuesday, June 23, 2014
As agreed upon, Shane, Oliver, Rita and Norman venture to Washington Park to see if walking in Kelly and Charlie's footsteps leads to anymore insight. After a little swinging, the four locate Charlie's house, yielding an address to which they can send the revived letter. The situation becomes even more urgent when they read that Kelly set a date with Charlie in the letter that is only three days away. Shane disagrees with Oliver about mailing the letter, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. |
Wednesday, June 24, 2014
Frustrated by news of her transfer request being further delayed, her own birthday card being mailed to her care of the DLO, and still upset over sending Charlie's letter from Kelly through the mail, Shane quits and walks out. Oliver manages to catch up with her at Charlie's in time for them both to see the letter delivered, only to watch the neighbor pick it up. Upon further investigation the pair discover Charlie is jail for allegedly killing baker, Roger Piperson. |
That same evening, Rita intercepts and delivers Shane's birthday card, which remains unopened.
Thursday, June 25, 2014
Barely sneaking by supervisor Andrea, Shane and Oliver visit Charlie in jail. The two attempt to glean more information from Charlie that might help exonerate him in time to keep his date with Kelly. His mention of his first encounter prompts Shane to investigate the building in which they met to track Kelly down. A Google search determines Kelly was taking part in an experimental treatment for Hodgkin's disease, and that all the patients who participated didn't survive the trial. Heartbroken, Charlie returns the letter to Oliver and Shane. |
It's here that Oliver reveals his marital status and the situation with his wife, who we come to know later as Holly. Shane asks him to dance, eventually revealing her own heartbreak, which explains her strong desire to see Kelly and Charlie's date kept. The discussion triggers an idea that finds the pair, plus Rita and Norman, back at the DLO in the dead of night tracking down the evidence needed to finally exonerate Charlie.
Friday, June 26, 2014
The intrepid quartet track down Charlie's public defender on the gold course and confront him with their findings, engaging in some creative persuasive tactics to get him to follow through. Later that day, as they wait for Charlie's release, Shane shares about why she hasn't opened the card, leading Oliver to make an interesting observation. Charlie is released from jail, and the five venture to the park so he can make his 6pm date with Kelly, whether she is there or not. To everyone's surprise, Kelly arrives, proving that not everything one reads on the internet should be so easily believed. |
Saturday, June 27, 2014?
Oh, but Chandel, couldn't it just be Monday of the following week?
No, here's why: "Time To Start Livin'" begins the following Monday with Shane and Oliver trading witty banter over how their weekend was spent, right up until Oliver tells Shane she hasn't work with them long enough to know their comfort level sharing personal details, to which Shane replies frankly about his uncommon openness "last week."
Either way, Shane finally has the courage to open her delayed birthday card, finding healing inside. She decides to stay with the Dead Letter Office and her new-found friends.
But that doesn't mean I didn't notice the unexplained inconsistency...or a few other things...
Questions and Errors?
Oliver: "This postmark is May 22---this letter is almost a year old." Shane: "It didn't enter the system until a week ago?" My chronological gripes start early on in this film. First of all, how does Shane know it "entered the system" a week prior? If we accept that to be true, then this film begins on May 29. As established above, that's completely impossible. And then there's the matter of Friday's wardrobe change. How is it that they had time to not only intercept the lawyer at the golf course, that whole process result in getting Charlie freed, and change clothes before they picked up Charlie to take him to the park---Oh, and all before 6pm? I went ahead and said it all went down on Friday, but they were seriously pushing it for sure! |
While I may not have started out loving the Pilot, it certainly didn't have anything to do with the messed up chronology. In fact, it was my growing love for the Pilot and the canon that prompted me to begin asking these critical questions. Incidentally, the answers about chronology reveal some pretty interesting quirks.
Loving It Anyway,
~C