Episode Report Card Deborah: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Joan of Ark
By Deborah | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 10.16.2003
Joan looks confused, asking if he heard someone come in. Well, someone should be in this wonderful bookstore, for heaven's sake. Does no one in Arcadia read? More to the point: Hey, I know that voice! The woman calls out that she's in the large print section. Joan wanders through the aisles until she finds the woman, apologizing for not realizing that there was a customer back there. It's Mrs. Landingham! Too cool. And once again, a shout-out fake-out. She tells Joan, "You need better lighting in here." Bwah! Okay, how can that not be a shout-out to me? I've been complaining bitterly about the lighting on The West Wing for I don't know how many seasons. Yeah, yeah, I know it was taped long ago. But she's God, man! She's arranged for a shout-out to me that violates the rules of space and time as we know them. My worlds are colliding in one of the best possible ways. Let me just mention that she's wearing a purple floral dress and a purple cardigan and carrying a purse covered with large pink plastic beads. Joan says she's not in the large print section; she's in sports. She leads her to the large print section. Mrs. LandingGod smiles, thanks her, and calls her a "very sweet child." Then she says, "You were about to tell Adam." Joan realizes who it is, glances to see if Adam's around, and asks quietly, "Did you give me a boat-making mojo and then take it away?" Mrs. LandingGod tells her, "You know what I'm going to say." Joan guesses: "What, that you never gave it to me in the first place so you never took it away?" Mrs. LandingGod smiles proudly and says, "Excellent learning curve! Now what did I tell you on the radio?" Joan says that she's not supposed to let anyone talk her out of pursuing her project. Mrs. LandingGod gives her a significant glance. Joan whispers, "You mean Price? Was what Adam said true? Is Price, like, evil?" Mrs. LandingGod asks if she's afraid of him. Joan says every kid in her school is afraid of him. Mrs. LandingGod explains, "The thing about fear is, it doesn't leave room for anything else, like beauty or purpose. Your large print section is pitiful!" Joan asks, "So...did you just pop up to stop me from telling Adam about you?" Mrs. LandingGod: "I don't pop. I abide. I am eternal. There's no popping." Hee! Joan: "So...I can tell him?" Mrs. LandingGod says it's totally up to Joan: "Free will. Just remember that it's a burden asking people to believe you." Joan says Adam will believe her. Mrs. LandingGod says, "Yes...but you don't know Adam that well yet. For example, you don't know how many burdens the boy is already carrying. And I'd like you to consider the possibility that it is you who should take on some of his burdens...not vice versa." Joan: "Adam has burdens?" Mrs. LandingGod starts to leave, saying, "Sometimes they look a lot like gifts." Joan wonders about her boat. Mrs. LandingGod: "You'll know when to let go."
As Mrs. LandingGod walks out, she pats Adam lightly on the shoulder. Adam reminds Joan that she was about to tell him some kind of secret, as Nick Drake's "Things Behind the Sun" plays. Joan just gently tells him she has to lock up and that she'll see him tomorrow. He doesn't cover his disappointment very well. He barely chokes out a "yeah" and leaves as Joan watches.