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butterflyDead Men Don't Throw Rice:
Wow, I hadn't remembered how slashy this episode was. "That was a beautiful paragraph, Ray." And Ray continues to be the essence of polite and articulate as much as possible during the episode -- including offering sodas to the guys in the cells and prompting Fraser about the speech to the crooks. This is the episode before the double-date (Fraser&Ray, Thatcher&Turnbull -- Or, we could call it 'Ray goes out with the Canadians') and Fraser saying that he believes in love at first sight (Say Amen) and only two episodes before the season finale. Tellingly, this is also right after Good for the Soul, so Ray may, in some way, be using his vocabulary as a way to show Fraser that he's always going to be on Fraser's side and never let him down (again).
This is also an episode where Fraser is decidedly uninterested in Frannie, by both word and deed. He's so willfully oblivious of her interest -- and it's definitely willful, because he knows that she wants him (The Deal would've confirmed that, no matter how he wanted to deny it). But he's never been interested in her (at least not that I've seen -- are there any episodes where he welcomes her touch?) for whatever reason and he has a decided inability to tell a woman to stop pushing (see: Inspector Thatcher, Elaine, and most of Chicago's female population...). He has a hard time dealing with women at all -- the only time he shows any skill at it is when he's totally playing Denny. Both Victoria and Janet suckered him big-time and he's never successfully put off female-interest that I've seen (are there any episodes where he manages that?). Hmm. Possibly related to being raised by his grandparents, who were big on the old-fashioned stuff?
The comfort level between Fraser and Ray grows in each episode (especially if they're placed in the order that was on the official site, which appears to have been yanked -- and I mean the whole site, not just the list).
I would say that Fraser accepts that he wants Ray before Ray does the same. It's from Fraser that we get expressions of belief in love (both at first sight and that it can last), and it's Fraser who isn't terribly interested in the opposite sex. Maggie's his sister (and he only admits to protective feelings for her), he gets kissed on the cheek by Tracy Jenkins in Mountie Sings the Blues, allows himself to be kissed by Denny Scarpa in Odds, and may or may not actually kiss Thatcher in Mountie on the Bounty (ambiguous, considering the random romantic interludes combined with the sun setting at noon -- the kiss with Thatcher in Call of the Wild is also ambiguous, since it was shown only in some viewings (Canadian or American? I can't remember.)) His last true romantic interest is either Thatcher in Perfect Strangers (still debatable, as it was engineered by a misunderstanding and his father) or Janet in Bounty Hunter, whom he definitely liked.
One unambiguous female love interest in twenty-four episode (including two two-parters). Two if we count Inspector Thatcher, who is the ultimate hot-cold love interest. She wants his body and resents him for it. She never wanted Fraser, that nut under the gorgeous skin and incredible skill.
Now look at Ray -- he loves Stella (Strange Bedfellows, various other episodes) and shows interest in:
a) Frannie (I Coulda Been a Defendent -- where he's partially upset that she's working there because he plays her brother and thinks she's hot)
b) random blonde (Seeing is Believing, maybe? -- she walks down the hall, he stares, Fraser does the 'Ray, Ray, Ray' thing?)
c) possible on the blonde Mountie chick (see: Fraser explanation above, also Ray saying in Hunting Season that he's never met a girl Mountie before)
d) random check-bouncing chick (probably blonde, if Ray's pattern holds -- Doctor Longball)
e) Luanne Russell (A Likely Story)
f) Maggie (Hunting Season)
Which leaves him with four women that he liked enough to actually chase and three partials. As Ray says, "At least I still think about women. Is that better or worse?" which is A Likely Story. And Fraser doesn't disagree, merely says that it's an interesting question. I'd say Mountie on the Bounty is when Fraser falls hopelessly -- that's when he fully trusts in Ray's instinct, chooses to stay in Chicago to be Ray's partner (and RayK always made such a big deal about the partners thing, whereas with RayV, it's about the friendship thing). And the buddy breathing was a lifesaving technique, but they were both sure worked up over it (especially Fraser, compared to his normal). So I'd say that Mountie on the Bounty is when Fraser realized that he was 'in love' with Ray.
Ray's a little more complicated, because I think he was experiencing quite a bit of denial -- he and Fraser would get really close and his immediate reaction would be to try to hook up with a chick (he goes after check-bouncing chick post-Mountie on the Bounty, Luanne the episode after he crashes through a window to save Fraser in Easy Money and Maggie the episode after he and Fraser go to the movies and talk about love -- and Fraser mentions that he believes that it can last). Then, after Ray has his chick-related freak-out, he's more attached to Fraser than ever (Easy Money, Odds, and Call of the Wild all feature very suggestive things). He thought he'd always love Stella, and then he meets this crazy guy who is so incredibly different than anyone he's ever met. Someone who complements him.
Early on, he complains about Fraser talking to Dief, but during the later episodes, he's begun to do the same. He accepts Fraser's talents and instinctively believes that, for example, Fraser smelling Dief is enough reason to search a place (Mojo Rising). Ray adapts so throughly to Fraser that by Call of the Wild, he can't imagine who he'd be without Fraser -- much as he probably felt when he and Stella got divorced. I'd argue that Ray doesn't truly realize how much he loves Fraser until he's faced with the idea of losing him in Call of the Wild. When he realizes that Fraser now means as much to him as Stella once had. By that time, he's already so couple-y with Fraser that the realization was probably a relief. I'd say that he definitely knows when he's telling Fraser that it would be all right with him if Fraser partnered with Vecchio -- he's learned from Stella, he's doing the 'whatever makes you happy' thing. The one that unselfish love does. To use Pacey Witter's words, he's letting Fraser off the hook. And, like Joey Potter, Fraser doesn't want to be let off the hook, and he takes Ray with him when he leaves.
Wow, I hadn't remembered how slashy this episode was. "That was a beautiful paragraph, Ray." And Ray continues to be the essence of polite and articulate as much as possible during the episode -- including offering sodas to the guys in the cells and prompting Fraser about the speech to the crooks. This is the episode before the double-date (Fraser&Ray, Thatcher&Turnbull -- Or, we could call it 'Ray goes out with the Canadians') and Fraser saying that he believes in love at first sight (Say Amen) and only two episodes before the season finale. Tellingly, this is also right after Good for the Soul, so Ray may, in some way, be using his vocabulary as a way to show Fraser that he's always going to be on Fraser's side and never let him down (again).
This is also an episode where Fraser is decidedly uninterested in Frannie, by both word and deed. He's so willfully oblivious of her interest -- and it's definitely willful, because he knows that she wants him (The Deal would've confirmed that, no matter how he wanted to deny it). But he's never been interested in her (at least not that I've seen -- are there any episodes where he welcomes her touch?) for whatever reason and he has a decided inability to tell a woman to stop pushing (see: Inspector Thatcher, Elaine, and most of Chicago's female population...). He has a hard time dealing with women at all -- the only time he shows any skill at it is when he's totally playing Denny. Both Victoria and Janet suckered him big-time and he's never successfully put off female-interest that I've seen (are there any episodes where he manages that?). Hmm. Possibly related to being raised by his grandparents, who were big on the old-fashioned stuff?
The comfort level between Fraser and Ray grows in each episode (especially if they're placed in the order that was on the official site, which appears to have been yanked -- and I mean the whole site, not just the list).
I would say that Fraser accepts that he wants Ray before Ray does the same. It's from Fraser that we get expressions of belief in love (both at first sight and that it can last), and it's Fraser who isn't terribly interested in the opposite sex. Maggie's his sister (and he only admits to protective feelings for her), he gets kissed on the cheek by Tracy Jenkins in Mountie Sings the Blues, allows himself to be kissed by Denny Scarpa in Odds, and may or may not actually kiss Thatcher in Mountie on the Bounty (ambiguous, considering the random romantic interludes combined with the sun setting at noon -- the kiss with Thatcher in Call of the Wild is also ambiguous, since it was shown only in some viewings (Canadian or American? I can't remember.)) His last true romantic interest is either Thatcher in Perfect Strangers (still debatable, as it was engineered by a misunderstanding and his father) or Janet in Bounty Hunter, whom he definitely liked.
One unambiguous female love interest in twenty-four episode (including two two-parters). Two if we count Inspector Thatcher, who is the ultimate hot-cold love interest. She wants his body and resents him for it. She never wanted Fraser, that nut under the gorgeous skin and incredible skill.
Now look at Ray -- he loves Stella (Strange Bedfellows, various other episodes) and shows interest in:
a) Frannie (I Coulda Been a Defendent -- where he's partially upset that she's working there because he plays her brother and thinks she's hot)
b) random blonde (Seeing is Believing, maybe? -- she walks down the hall, he stares, Fraser does the 'Ray, Ray, Ray' thing?)
c) possible on the blonde Mountie chick (see: Fraser explanation above, also Ray saying in Hunting Season that he's never met a girl Mountie before)
d) random check-bouncing chick (probably blonde, if Ray's pattern holds -- Doctor Longball)
e) Luanne Russell (A Likely Story)
f) Maggie (Hunting Season)
Which leaves him with four women that he liked enough to actually chase and three partials. As Ray says, "At least I still think about women. Is that better or worse?" which is A Likely Story. And Fraser doesn't disagree, merely says that it's an interesting question. I'd say Mountie on the Bounty is when Fraser falls hopelessly -- that's when he fully trusts in Ray's instinct, chooses to stay in Chicago to be Ray's partner (and RayK always made such a big deal about the partners thing, whereas with RayV, it's about the friendship thing). And the buddy breathing was a lifesaving technique, but they were both sure worked up over it (especially Fraser, compared to his normal). So I'd say that Mountie on the Bounty is when Fraser realized that he was 'in love' with Ray.
Ray's a little more complicated, because I think he was experiencing quite a bit of denial -- he and Fraser would get really close and his immediate reaction would be to try to hook up with a chick (he goes after check-bouncing chick post-Mountie on the Bounty, Luanne the episode after he crashes through a window to save Fraser in Easy Money and Maggie the episode after he and Fraser go to the movies and talk about love -- and Fraser mentions that he believes that it can last). Then, after Ray has his chick-related freak-out, he's more attached to Fraser than ever (Easy Money, Odds, and Call of the Wild all feature very suggestive things). He thought he'd always love Stella, and then he meets this crazy guy who is so incredibly different than anyone he's ever met. Someone who complements him.
Early on, he complains about Fraser talking to Dief, but during the later episodes, he's begun to do the same. He accepts Fraser's talents and instinctively believes that, for example, Fraser smelling Dief is enough reason to search a place (Mojo Rising). Ray adapts so throughly to Fraser that by Call of the Wild, he can't imagine who he'd be without Fraser -- much as he probably felt when he and Stella got divorced. I'd argue that Ray doesn't truly realize how much he loves Fraser until he's faced with the idea of losing him in Call of the Wild. When he realizes that Fraser now means as much to him as Stella once had. By that time, he's already so couple-y with Fraser that the realization was probably a relief. I'd say that he definitely knows when he's telling Fraser that it would be all right with him if Fraser partnered with Vecchio -- he's learned from Stella, he's doing the 'whatever makes you happy' thing. The one that unselfish love does. To use Pacey Witter's words, he's letting Fraser off the hook. And, like Joey Potter, Fraser doesn't want to be let off the hook, and he takes Ray with him when he leaves.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-13 05:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-07-13 06:37 pm (UTC)I really should go through and rewatch the series. Such a wonderful show.