Date: October 25, 2020 04:54 pm Title: Couples Discount
I like the reimagined JAM plot line. It seemed like the dual therapy session did more good this time around rather than the forced "Speaking my truth" stuff that we got in canon. I like that they're there to fight not with each other but for each other. At least that's how I read it. Nice touch.
Let Andy have it Erin. He was being a selfish prick. She's come quite a way in figuring out what she really wants and doesn't want. Loved her blow up as a volcano moment.
Author's Response:
Many thanks! Yes, that is precisely what I was going for. The in canon ending of this episode hinted at both "with each other" and "for each other", but the events of the AU have it strictly point towards the latter. And, yeah, I didn't like that "Speaking my truth" thing either, it honestly just felt like buildup to the umbrella moment (which is, admittedly, flawless).
And yeah, Andy had that coming. Bad. I wanted Erin to finally stop accepting things the way they were, because Lord knows she deserves better at this point.
Thanks for the review, as always!
Date: October 25, 2020 10:30 am Title: Couples Discount
Having Erin give Andy presumably a final shot is a really interesting call. I'm interested to see where you go with this - feels like it could add some weight to the next stage of Erin/Pete.
I appreciate you addressing the sheer painful awkwardness of Brian's actions during that lunch. I think the changes with Jim and Pam's story are paying a lot of fruit here - they still have issues to address, but they are in their very Jim and Pam way taking stabs at actually doing it.
Dear Lord, I'd forgotten how obnoxious Andy was this season. ::shudders:: His comeuppance cannot be strong enough. I thought Pam's reaction was spot on, although that might be because it mirrors my own.
Looking forward to seeing Moving On. I wouldn't worry about it not meshing with canon that much. Ultimately you've been trying to address some issues with canon, and from my memory of that episode the changes you've made to do so are going to make major shifts in the plot natural.
Author's Response:
Appreciate the compliments! I'm actually warming up to my own "Moving On". There were a lot of moments that I just enjoyed writing, and some of them I feel pay off. Still, it's mostly my own doubts as a writer if anything, which I need to get over.
Andy is still an oblivious jerk in this chapter (although nicer this time), but I figured someone needed to step in and help him understand the sheer weight of his decision, something I felt was kinda glossed over in-canon. And this will definitely shape how he acts the rest of the story, because Lord knows he needed some sort of redemption that wasn't covered in a single episode.
Erin's choice to stay was always going to be there, but it's not going to last too long. They've been out of sync for so long that it's become customary, and she wants a life with him where they genuinely are. But, like Pete said, neither are at fault for them being out of sync.
JAM are, at the very least, still around each other to understand what they need to address. Fighting or not, they're gonna address everything and never look back, because everyone knows what happened when they didn't. And yeah, Brian's life is a wreck and they (and myself if I'm being honest) are sympathetic, but he does overshare to the point where it's overwhelming and puts others on edge, to both Alyssa and JAM.
Thanks for the review, as always!