Episode 404:
Jerking Off and Job Offers
The opening shot is of glass doors with the words “KINNETIK” engraved all over them. Obviously this is the new and improved abandoned Everhard Spa. Very cool. I like.
Brian and Justin come through the door and I hate to say it, but their height difference is really noticeable in this scene. Don’t know why it caught my eye this time, it usually doesn’t. A part of me wants to say it was on purpose, I mean, in reality they are what, six inches apart? That’s hard to make go away, but they usually do it. Not this time… hmmm. Could it be that they’re using this to magnify the different points in life that they’re at? They’ve been establishing for the last three episodes how equal they are emotionally as far as the relationship goes and that they’re in this thing together, no matter what… so now maybe it’s time to put their careers in perspective and what they’re dealing with in the outside world, separately, but as a couple. Twelve years is a lot. Justin is still a teenager with school and part time jobs to contend with and Brian is embarking on starting his own business. That’s a world of difference. Different set of stresses. Different set of responsibilities.
But anyway… Justin looks around, smiles…
J: The last time I was here, it was “No Towels Night”.
B: And a hundred guys must have touched my stiffie.
J: Mr. Popular. And I’m the only one you fucked.
B: Lucky you.
Justin’s feeling a little nostalgic… recalling fond memories of his time spent with Brian at the bathhouse. Hee! That’s so sweet. He’s such a romantic. Brian’s thinking about himself and being snarky... bragging in a sense, like he always does. See? He’s not pod-Brian, there’s still some of the old Brian left in him. And at least we get to see that this whole Pink Posse thing hasn’t completely taken over Justin’s mind. He can still have some sweet moments with Brian without so much anger and the need for a power rush. But to cut into Brian’s bragging, Justin reminds him that HE was the only one who got up close and personal with Brian’s stiffie. This scene just feels like the old Brian/Justin from late Season 1. I can almost hear Justin saying…”You soooo care about me,” and Brian trying so hard not to show it. Give it up, man, you don’t go to the baths and then only have sex with your boyfriend without there being something behind it. We all know who the lucky one is here.
And just to show us that he knows how to manage the little people, we see Mr. Kinney toss some praise at one of the workers.
B: Nice work, Tommy.
Tommy: Thank you, Mr. Kinney.
Is this Peacock-Brian spreading his tail feathers in front of his desired mate? Yes, I watch too much of the Discovery Channel.
As they work their way through their old stomping grounds, Justin’s still checking everything out, grinning and shaking his head.
J: Leave it to you to turn a bathhouse into the worldwide headquarters of Kinnetik, Inc.
He’s amused and thinking that this is so like Brian. And it really is. It’s just perfect. Remember last season when they were at Woody’s for the strip show? Justin said, “You’re twisted,” to which Brian replied, “I’m sweet.” I tend to think it’s somewhere in the middle and consider Brian to be… um, sweetly twisted? Yeah, that’s it.
Back to twisted as they round the final corner and the infamous wall of glass blocks to enter the office with the drain in the floor. Brian’s dream, come true. Hee! And more memories for Justin, the romantic, who’s laughing. It’s just so Brian. And Justin reminding him of their “first” is just so Justin. Plant that visual seed… Brian will never be able to shake that image now as he sits at this desk… all day, everyday… Justin on his mind…
J: The old steam room. It’s the first place we ever fucked in public.
B: There’s nothing like performing in front of a live audience.
J: Who said some of those guys were alive?
Could be true… I said last week that it was like their ghosts were still there. ;) Cynthia barrels in with an ad layout for Mr. Kinney’s approval.
C: The art department wants to know if you’ve seen the mock-ups. (He has an art department? Already? But we’ll talk about that a little later…) Hi Justin.
J: Hey Cynthia.
I sort of spazzed for a moment because for all the time that Justin has spent with Brian, we’ve never seen him and Cynthia in the same scene together and we’ve never heard Brian even mention him to her. That in itself is no big deal, Cynthia wasn’t in a lot of scenes, but it’s still kind of neat for them to show us that not only have they met, but they’re comfortable with each other as well. Not to mention the fact that Brian is comfortable with it too. Maybe “Mr. Keep Your Personal Life From Mixing With Your Business Life” has left the building now. Brian ignores their pleasantries… notice Cynthia nor Brian said hello to each other, they just got down to business. Cynthia is fully aware that Brian is not big on small talk…
B: Can you tell Manny to use a 300 DPI tip and shoot it back to me for my approval… fast. Deadline’s at six.
C: Also Brown Athletics called. Asked to meet. Said they hate what Vangard did with the new campaign.
B: Wonder why. Um. Tell them I’m in meetings and I’ll call them tomorrow. Make them squirm.
That’s right. Brian knows how to play the game. I love that he’s holding back on him. I’m sure he wants the account bad, but he’s too cool to let it be known, especially since Brown turned him down when he asked him. Brown should’ve known that Vance wouldn’t deliver. He’d tried to get his account numerous times over the years and Brown was never interested in what he had to offer. Why in the world wouldn’t he realize that? Oh well. Better late than never, and this way, Brian gets to negotiate a higher fee. Woo Hoo!!
C: Oh, and your accountant left a message. The check for the Endovir ad will definitely be wired to Heat Magazine by the end of
the business day tomorrow.
B: It better be. Our lives are depending on it. Well? Move!
C: God! I love my job!
Camera pans to Justin, who’s been really quiet, letting Brian go on about his business duties as head honcho, the boss, the man in charge... and I’m sure secretly loving every minute of it… LOL.
J: I love it when you get bossy.
See? I think it was Peacock-Brian. He knows what turns on Justin. And don’t take this the wrong way, Justin is an independent soul, no doubt about it, but I think he really does like the “take charge” way Brian is because Brian takes charge over him without treating him like he’s weak or insignificant. It’s like a little kink with Justin… remember in 121, he asked Brian, “What do I want with some kid who doesn’t know shit?” So it’s a thing with him for sure… and Brian fits the part. A know-it-all that doesn’t treat him like he’s stupid. Someone talented that appreciates his talent as well. Someone successful that believes Justin can accomplish the same success. So yeah, I believe that sometimes, Justin just wants to be bossed around, pushed around, manhandled, if you will. It’s a thin line to walk but they do it and that’s what makes them work so well together. And this may be partly why he keeps jerking away from Brian during those times when they are arguing over his posse involvement. Those are not the moments when he wants the “take charge” Brian telling him what to do or tugging on him even if it’s done with affection.
Brian gives him a wicked, seductive grin…
B: Well, what do you say we christen my new office? I have fifteen minutes before I have to approve ad copy.
J: Always the romantic! (Oh, I just love Justin. Poo-poo on those people who said Justin gave up his romantic tendencies to go back to Brian… he still has them… they’re just more realistic this time.) But I have a strategy meeting with the Posse. (Oh, and sometimes I just want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him to his senses.)
He’s been talking non-stop about all their memories of this place and then his boyfriend, his partner, his Brian! wants to make some new memories (ahh, **sigh**) and he has more important things to do? I’m shaking my head at the lost opportunity. Why, oh why? He gives his bossy partner a quick peck on the lips and leaves. No sex. No new memories. No christening of the new office.
So… since Justin’s exit has left me without a sex scene to decipher, let’s talk about the worldwide headquarters of Kinnetik, Inc. for a minute. I’ve read the boards and there’s a lot of ranting about how unrealistic it is that he’s able to put this all together so quickly. Well, because it appears that I’m the last remaining Cow/Lip cheerleader, I had to try to prove otherwise. I can’t help it. I had a nice little chat with our marketing director and found out some of how it all works. Kind of an Intro to Advertising with Cliff’s Notes.
Most companies use 4% of their annual sales for advertising. That’s the budget the ad companies are given to work with. Of course, if sales go up due to their efforts then the budget dollar amount goes up which means their fee increases, but the percent stays the same. Out of the 4% budget, 10% is the allowed fee for the agency. The rest is for print space, media airtime and production costs. Remsen is a pharmaceutical company and we all know that’s big bucks. Let’s be conservative and say they report $200 million in annual sales. With 4% set aside, that’s 8 million for the ad budget. That’s the amount that Kinnetik would get to work with while taking a 10% cut or $800,000 annually for themselves. That’s a lot of muh-lah.
It’s also normal practice for an ad agency that just signed a new deal to take a retainer at the time of the contract signing. Retainers can be anywhere from 10-30% of their fee, upfront. So if Brian took a 25% retainer, that means he could have been handed a check for $200,000 right away.
Now, why did he have to be the one to send the check to Heat Magazine? Because his agency has control over the $8 million dollars. Big companies don’t want the hassle of paying for all the little things, so the agency cuts the checks as things are paid for and submits the expenditures to the company on a monthly basis for their financial reporting. So since it was Brian’s responsibility to pay for the ads in Heat, then him missing the deadline means the Remson ads wouldn’t have ran in the issue that Remson expected. Big time no-no and would surely have cost him the account.
So that’s the basics and it does prove two things… The retainer plus what was given to him by the community in 401 would have realistically been enough for him to set up shop. The imperative nature of deadlines and money movement realistically shows his need to have someone he trusts (Ted) in control of his account’s checkbooks.
He can’t relax obviously because that’s just one account and when you’re paying rent, salaries, benefits, unemployment insurance, taxes, and all the loads of other stuff that an owner has to pay, that $800,000 wouldn’t go too far, but yes, it’s a good start. And it’s a big nationwide account, which will of course will get his name out there and bring in more clients. It’s all more realistic this way. All of us fic writers had Brown Athletics as his saving grace after being fired. I’m glad that Brown turned him down at first and that he had to “earn” his first big account. It humbled him. But I can’t help but be ecstatic for him that Brown wants him now.
Strategy meeting, huh? Poppy-cock. The Pink Posse is at a gym, but this isn’t the normal gym we see the guys at, it’s a boxing gym with punching bags hanging from the ceiling and a big boxing ring in the middle. Justin and Cody are in the ring, bobbing and weaving with wrapped, taped and clenched fists. This is serious. Cody means business. He’s coaching Justin on some moves.
C: Block your body with your forearm then execute a jab, right, left hook combination. Like this…
He does it. Justin actually takes the hits. I’m peeking through my fingers like I do when I watch Holyfield fight. I just hate it when he gets punched. Yeah, I know, you’re wondering why in the world I’d watch boxing then. I have no answer. It’s just one of those things. **shrugs**
C: Now you try it…
Justin does it. Cody takes the punches. **eek** This just squeaks me out, but it’s easier to take when Justin’s doing the punching.
C: Not bad. Now if you want to really take down the motherfucker… grab him like this… (He grabs Justin around the neck, flips him over and onto the ground, then squeezes his arm tight around his neck) …choke the shit out of him then kick him in the balls.
The rest of the Posse have been watching with dropped jaws. They don’t like what they’re seeing at all. Cody releases Justin, quite harshly, practically pushing him into the mat, and walks to the side the ring to address the troops. Justin gets up, walks off the abuse then joins him.
C: Who’s next?
Posse1: I thought we were supposed to be protecting people.
This is the same thing that Justin asked Cody last week, but now Justin is totally into it and stands next to Cody in the ring. There’s a clear separation between Justin and Cody and the rest of the Posse.
Posse2: Not train to be an elite killing squad.
C: We need to be able to stop trouble before it starts.
J: Find them before they find us.
Posse3: I’m not going out picking fights.
Posse4: That’s not what I signed up to do.
Posse5: This is fucked.
C: What’s fucked is waiting around for someone else to get bashed. We need to stand up to them to show we’re not afraid.
Posse1: Show ‘em yourself.
The Posse all get up and walk out. Justin tries to explain. He gets it, why can’t they? **rolls eyes** But okay, let’s look at how Cody and now Justin are looking at this. I mentioned last week about how superheroes don’t stop the bad things from happening, they just rescue you from them when they do. In order to stop it in advance, you’d have to have a crystal ball or some kind of machine that tells you about future crimes. Wasn’t that a Tom Cruise movie? Anyway, I think that in Cody’s warped mind, he thinks he can go out and by setting traps, beating the bushes, he can flush out all the homophobes in the world, one at a time. He’s doing it for the good of the community, saving victims from future bashings. But the thing is this… the guy that walked by last week… he probably never would have physically bashed anyone. He had an attitude, yes, but that didn’t mean he would have physically ever acted on that attitude. So there was no future bashing foiled because they beat him up first. In fact, I would say that that guy is more of a homophobe now then he was before. He was disgusted before, but now he thinks they’re all crazy psychos too. Not good for the cause at all. That’s what’s wrong with his theory. The attitude towards gays does need to be changed but you can’t beat that into people with fists.
J: Look, Cody’s right. We can’t sit around and wait for something to happen. If we want to be effective, we have to take the initiative.
C: Fucking pussies!!! Let ‘em go! Who needs ‘em anyway? (Uh, hello… you do. Cody nudges Justin’s arm for them to continue sparring.) Come on.
Justin watches them all walk away and he still doesn’t get a clue. They didn’t get seduced with the power and feeling of invincibility that he did, but then again, they’ve probably never been hit in the head with a baseball bat either. That tends to jar a person’s way of thinking. He goes back to “training” with Cody.
Sexy music and Brian’s face of ecstasy can only mean one thing. As the camera pans down Brian’s chest, a hand emerges, reaching upwards. Brian covers it with his then we see what’s going on. Just what we all knew… It doesn’t last long before Justin crawls up Brian’s body and they’re kissing. In what is probably a routine move, Brian rolls them over so he’s on top. I must say, the hand thing… pretty darn cool, or I guess I should say… hot! Who says you need the graphic stuff?
Brian makes a move but Justin rolls them back over, pinning one of Brian’s hands above his head. He doesn’t fight it thinking Justin’s just out for more foreplay. Justin kisses up his face to his ear and whispers…
J: Tonight it’s your turn. (Brian laughs)
B: That’s what you think.
That is what Justin thinks and he works to keep Brian pinned down. Brian’s trying to fight him off. It’s all very playful and kind of cute until Justin quits wrestling with him and hovers over him.
J: Okay, I’ll tell you what. We’ll fight for it. (He jumps up out of bed… naked!) C’mon.
B: Would you get your ass back in bed? (Brian’s nonchalant, even has his eyes closed as he speaks. He’s not in the mood for games and doesn’t realize that Justin’s not really playing anymore.)
J: Why don’t you get yours out? (He sounds dead serious and this gets Brian’s attention. Brian opens his eyes, raises his eyebrows and looks at him. Justin continues to taunt him.) What’s the matter? Are you scared?
B: Yeah, I’m incapacitated with fear. (He smirks, clearly thinking that Justin’s lost his mind.)
J: Then what’re you waiting for?
Justin crooks his fingers at him, ‘come on’. Not one to be called a chicken, Brian huffs a loud sigh like he just can’t believe he’s actually going to give in and get out of bed. But he does with a groan and some dramatic growling. He’s also naked, I might add! He approaches Justin as if to say, ‘Okay, I’m here. Now what?’ He still thinks it’s all a game. Justin shows him that it’s not… he pushes him hard in the chest. Brian takes a step back then starts slapping at Justin. Justin is blocking all his movements with his left hand, his right hand curled into a fist, poised and ready to strike. Brian continues to slap at him, Justin continues to block, doing exactly what Cody taught him. They’re smiling.
B: Where’d you learn to fight?
J: Cody taught me. The other night I took out a straight guy.
B: I’ve dated a couple of those myself.
Justin laughs, Brian smirks at his own joke. Justin takes advantage and throws a left jab to Brian’s face. It didn’t do any damage but Brian is stunned. He can’t believe Justin really hit him… and in the face at that.
B: Hey, watch the face, asshole!
J: C’mon, old man. (Justin mocks him, egging him on for a real fight. Brian’s placating him and he doesn’t like it. He means business.)
B: What’d you call me?
J: You heard me. Geezer.
I really hate this part of the dialogue. I’m extra sensitive to Brian’s insecurities, and well, I don’t like Justin taunting him about his age. And it’s evident that Brian doesn’t like it either, so it bothers me even more. Knowledge of things to come I’m sure play a big part in why it bothers me. I’m not explaining myself and I really can’t… I just don’t like it and we’ll leave it at that.
They continue sparring. Justin gets another left in, this time to Brian’s chin. Brian retaliates with a right to Justin’s nose. Justin backs off and turns to walk to the living room, holding his nose, groaning and sniffing.
Brian seems remorseful. He follows him, rubbing his chin. He approaches to undoubtedly offer comfort. This is actually a mistake. What Justin is trying to do in this scene is show Brian that he can take care of himself. He’s not some weak twink… Part of Brian’s argument about the Posse is that Justin will get himself in trouble, so I think Justin is attempting to show him that he doesn’t have to worry, he knows how to fight, he knows how to punch. He’s trying to show off his new skills. So for Brian to approach him, offer comfort and act as if Justin’s really hurt by his punch, well, it’s the worst thing he could’ve done. He puts his hand on Justin’s shoulder.
B: Careful, sonny. You’re gonna get hurt.
Justin turns around in his arms and wraps his arm around Brian neck. Justin’s been beating the bushes… luring in his prey so he can attack. Brian falls for it and goes to hug him. Justin flips him over, just like Cody taught him, and Brian lands flat on his back on the hardwood floor. Justin pounces down on top of him, pins Brian’s hands down. They struggle against each other.
J: I don’t care if I get hurt, as long as I hurt them more.
B: They’re not all assholes.
J: That’s a laugh coming from you. You’re the biggest fucking heterophobe of all time.
Brian gets a good hold and flips Justin over, pinning his wrists above his head. Justin tries to break free, wraps his legs around Brian’s waist. They’re still struggling for the upper hand and they’re still naked. I don’t mention that because it’s erotic, it stopped being erotic at ‘geezer’, I mention it because it actually makes the scene more intense and I have to watch with one eye closed. I mean, there’s THINGS hanging out, sensitive things, so it makes it more dangerous, someone could really get hurt… by accident, if not on purpose. I fear for not only Brian and Justin but for Randy and Gale as well. There’s a reason why boxers and wrestlers wear jocks, you know.
J: You always said there’s only two kinds of straight people in the world, the ones that hate you to your face and the kind that hates you behind your back and you know what?
B: What?
Justin lifts his leg onto Brian’s shoulder and Brian seems to let him or he’s oblivious to it being anything he should worry about. Maybe he thinks it’s just an invitation for sex, a sign that Justin has given up on the whole “it’s your turn” idea. After all, Brian is still working with the knowledge that Justin was extremely worked up the other night from his dominance on the street. Why wouldn’t Brian think that this little boxing/wrestling match had gotten Justin all hot and horny again? But whatever Brian’s thinking, he doesn’t respond to the change in leg position; he’s still struggling to keep Justin’s hands pinned down.
J: You were right!
Justin punctuates his statement by using his leg that is strategically placed around Brian’s neck to flip him over. Hard! Brian sails through the air several feet and lands with an astounding thud right on his ass. Ouch! Justin is now free of Brian, he moves to get up. The scene ends.
I find it very symbolic that the ending statement… the one that Justin used when he flipped Brian over… was one of Brian’s own sayings. Just like last week when Justin threw his words back at him and left him speechless… not once, but twice. This was the same thing only this time they showed it to us physically. Brian being weakened and taken down… AGAIN, by his own words. Every time Justin has done this, we’ve seen Brian at a loss for words. Brian, who always has some creed or motto for every occasion. Justin spouting these things at him makes Brian listen to himself for a change. This is part of Brian’s growth. He has to see himself through Justin’s eyes, listen to himself through Justin’s voice. They are checking these “the world according to Kinney” mantras off a laundry list of things that’s still wrong with Brian. Of course, he’s screaming inside “That’s not what I meant,” but it’s too late, Justin’s already absorbed it and taken hold of it in the way he wants to. So at this point, what Brian meant doesn’t matter anymore. And here we have the exact opposite of what Michael said to Justin in 309, “It’s always nice to be right,”… because now, whatever may happened to Justin in the story arc, those three words, “You were right”, probably don’t feel so nice to Brian at the moment.
Tying the sex into this scene, at first glance, seems easy. It’s all about Justin fighting to get Brian to roll over. But that’s not it. It’s a little more complicated than that. Sure, that’s how it starts but I don’t believe that’s why Justin got out of bed, wanting to “fight for it”. The “it” is not really topping. It’s about Justin asserting himself, period. Not sexually. Just overall. And it goes back to Brian’s worry about him. He just wants to show Brian that he can take care of himself because he doesn’t believe that Brian believes that when it comes to his involvement with the posse. In the bathroom last week, Justin snapped at him, “I can fucking take care of myself.”
Now in this scene… Justin says, “Tonight, it’s your turn”. The way he says it leads me to two possible things… one, that this happens more than most think. He wasn’t asking, he was telling and if this wasn’t something that happened every now and then, then Justin wouldn’t be telling. The other… that it doesn’t happen often and Justin knew what Brian’s reaction would be. In a sense, Justin picking a fight, setting him up to react the way he knew he would. Either way, what did Brian do? He laughed. “That’s what you think.” It was rather condescending and patronizing if you ask me.
When Justin asked him if he’s scared, his answer was also a mockery of Justin’s ability. The sparring was playful on Brian’s part and he wouldn’t fight for real. Again, he was patronizing him with those bitch slaps and that’s why Justin threw the first punch and egged him on where it would hurt the most. His age. Then Brian furthers it later in the scene when he told Justin to watch it or he’ll get hurt. Like Justin couldn’t hurt Brian, but Brian could hurt Justin. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. It’s that fine line of ‘being in charge’ and it was being crossed. Justin had to put him back on the other side of the line. But because it was established in 401 that Brian “being in charge” means he has to be on top, they chose to use the dialogue of who was to be on top to establish the scene even though that really had nothing to do with it at all.
Please don’t get me wrong here, it’s not really about their relationship either. They’re fine. Brian’s teasing of Justin being a bottom and Justin’s teasing about his age. This type of banter is usual for them so I’m not saying this was a “real” fight, just Justin asserting himself with his newfound strength, a spreading of his tail feathers, if you will. But the undercurrent of him trying to get Brian to understand why he’s doing what he’s doing and that he can take care of himself is really there.
Of course, that’s just my take and it could very well have been just Justin trying to get him some, but I doubt it; it’s never that simple on this show when sex is involved.
Cody and Justin at a bookstore. Cody is walking around, moving books, restacking them, etc. He either has a “thing” about stacking books or he works there. Justin is there with him, following him around the store. Obviously he has nothing better to do with his time… you know what they say about idle hands… he really needs to go back to school. Cody picks up a copy of Huckleberry Finn.
C: Did you ever read this?
J: When I was nine.
C: You should try it again. Especially the part where Huck frees Jim from slavery. He knows he’s going against everything that society and religion have taught him, that he’ll be condemned to hell, but he doesn’t care.
He shoves the book in Justin’s chest and holds it there until Justin takes it. A little confused at Cody’s insistence that he read it.
C: You gonna bail too?
J: No, fuck, no! It’s just that maybe we went a little too far the other night.
C: That guy was a raging asshole. He deserved to get the shit beat out of him.
J: I don’t know. When I told Brian, he kind of -
C: What the fuck are you telling other people for? The posse business stays between us.
J: Come on, he’s my boyfriend. And he thinks what we’re doing is crazy.
C: Crazy. You wanna see crazy?
I like the fact that Justin is of the mindset that he should be sharing these activities with Brian even though Brian is against it. A far-cry from Brian not telling Justin about selling the loft or that he had a meeting with Vance to get his job back. Hopefully, Brian is taking notes… this is how you communicate when you have a boyfriend, partner, person in your life. And you know what else I like? That his comment of “I don’t know,” shows us that Justin “heard” Brian and all his ramblings about how they’re behaving. The “crazy” seed was planted, that is GREAT news. He’ll recall it again when the time is right. And it kind of shows that Brian is still doing the right thing, letting Justin make his own mistakes, but at the same time saying his peace so that Justin has something to stew over. We know from all the “mantra spitting” that Justin’s been doing, that he does listen when Brian speaks.
So moving on to the craziness… their words, not mine. A minister preaching behind a pulpit… interesting that he just happens to be preaching on the “sins of homosexuality” during the one service that Cody drags Justin to. But I guess if this church is in the Liberty Avenue area, then it would make sense that this would be a common sermon topic.
Minister: A man who lies with a man will burn in hell. “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind… it is… an abomination.” Leviticus 18:22. I didn’t make this up folks. This is God’s holy word. And if you are here tonight, guilty of the sin of homosexuality, you are on that broad and winding road that leads to eternal damnation.
LadyInCongregation: Amen!
The whole time the preacher was preaching we saw bits of Justin’s reaction. He looks sick to his stomach and seems to feel very out of place, unwanted, uncomfortable for sure. He glances at Cody, maybe in understanding of what he was saying earlier about Huck. The teachings seem to be quite a shock to him and lead us to believe that his parents never took him to church as a youngster. Cody, on the other hand grew up in the church, knows it all too well and is very well-versed in all the teachings. He even happens to have brought his bible with him. Very interesting. And maybe for the first time Justin is starting to see that homophobia isn’t always bred out of dark, angry hatred, it is simply taught in the houses of the Lord… or at least some of them. Justin leans over to Cody, whispers…
J: Does this go on every night?
C: Just Wednesday and Sunday. It’s his favorite subject.
J: I can’t believe you’d even come here.
C: Know thine enemy.
J: Is that in the bible?
C: It’s in the front of mine!
Lady: Sshhhh!
M: Because Jesus loves you, my children, and Jesus can change you…
Lady: Oh, yes he can!
M: It’s all right here in God’s holy word.
Lady: Praise Jesus!
Right when the minister held up the bible and since they had already established that Cody obviously uses his bible as a weapon and a reminder of his deep-seeded issues, I knew they were heading for the great Leviticus debate. It is a doozey and does tend to leave some well-meaning Christians speechless and without an answer (I shut one up last week with the same argument. Hahaha.) but it’s also a very old debate based on the Old Testament. I would have liked to have seen a more modern argument born out of the New Testament, but anyway… Justin and Cody start to leave the church…
M: So good to have you young men in our service tonight.
J: It was very… inspiring.
M: Give God the glory
Justin raises his finger as if to say “yeah, right” and turns to leave, he really just wants to get out of there. When Cody engages the minister in conversation, Justin stops and dramatically whips his body around like he’s put out and wishes that Cody would just shut up for a change…
C: Mind if I ask you a question, Pastor?
M: Please.
C: This book… You have to believe all of it, not just some of it. Right?
M: That’s right.
C: So do you like shrimp? (Justin looks bored with this conversation.)
M: Well as a matter of fact, I do.
C: Because in Leviticus, a few scriptures before that man lying with a man is an abomination one, it also says it’s an abomination to eat shellfish and shrimp are shellfish, aren’t they? (Justin smirks now realizing what Cody was getting at. The minister, however, seems still clueless.)
M: What’s your point, young man?
C: I believe the point is, if you can eat shrimp, we can eat cock! (Justin practically cracks up.)
M: Son, you need the Lord. You need to accept Jesus.
C: Oh, I accept Jesus. It’s assholes like you I have a problem with.
And with that, Justin grins really big as if to say, “Cody, you’re my hero.” LOL Cody then wraps his arm around Justin’s shoulders and they practically skip out of the church.
So this is twice now that the hypocrisy of the church has been addressed. First one being the catholic minister that Brian had the pleasure of “running into” at the baths in S2. But I like that Cody at least has the presence of mind to say that he does accept Jesus. It tells us that he hasn’t thrown the entire Bible out the window because I don’t think that’s the message that they are trying to get across with the storylines. It’s just the hypocrisy in general. If Cody still believes in Jesus and religion as a whole then this shows that he’s just grappling with the whole abomination thing that is preached because he knows he is just the way God made him. A message that is now front and center during the new opening sequence. Now if he could just get past his anger and violent tendencies…
Brian and Michael are playing pool. Brian is talking on his cell phone.
B: I want the ^something^ comps on my desk first thing in the morning then set up a conference call with him at ten so he can sign off. (He clicks his phone off.) When it’s your own business, the sign on the door says, “We never close.” Come to think of it… that’s what it used to say on the old bathhouse door. It’s your shot.
Michael aims and shoots… he completely misses the ball. (Insert snarky comment here if you wish.)
M: Shit!
B: Off your game?
M: Waiting for the social worker to arrive is making me nuts.
B: You’ve got nothing to worry about. You and the Professor are the world’s greatest foster parents.
M: Thanks, Brian!
B: Besides, who else’d want the little fucker?
Shouldn’t Michael know better by now? Bwahahaha. Emmett strolls in with a new trick.
E: Michael, Brian, I’d like you to meet Kent.
T: Trent.
Gee, Emmett’s as bad with names as Brian used to be. But then he stutters and we realize why names just don’t mean anything to him right now. He’s still got Ted on the brain. Ahhh.
E: Ted-Trent. Would you, um, excuse me just a nanosecond while I talk with Brian? Brian, I’m, um, kind of in a spot. See, uh Trent-Kent is this really interesting person… very deep.
B: Ha ha. I bet.
E: And uh, I can’t take him back to Mel and Lind’s. Wouldn’t be kosher.
B: Guess you’ll have to dip the dill somewhere else.
E: I was um, wondering and I know this is a really huge favor for which I’ll be eternally grateful, if I could use your place for just an hour… (Brian gives him a look, Emmett puts his hands on top of Brian’s hands that are wrapped around his pool cue.) …half an hour? (Brian gives him a sterner look and Emmett keeps playing with his hands.) …ten minutes, tops? (Brian’s making no effort to give even a nanosecond.) No? Okay, well uh, don’t worry about us we’ll be fine.
And Emmett saunters off. Personally, I don’t think that Brian was worried at all. But I do feel for Emmett. His life has been turned upside down by this Ted thing, so yeah, I’m feeling his, um, ‘pain’. If this had been any other character on the show asking to use Brian’s loft as a fuckpad, I would be disgusted, but Emmett, he’s got an excuse. Where do you think he got the idea? Why in the world would he think for one minute that Brian would say yes? Ted, of course. He’s the only one that knows that back in S2, Brian loaned not only his loft to Ted but his bracelet too. But there’s a difference. He didn’t give all that to Ted just so he could get laid. It was to fix his immunity problem by fulfilling his kinky little fantasy of being Brian. It was a desperate situation which called for desperate measures. Brian can’t have his gay friends unable to get a hard-on. Wouldn’t be kosher. He had to react. It was Rage coming to the rescue, an act of saving Ted’s life, not Brian feeling generous. What I can’t figure out is why Emmett can’t just go to the backroom of Babylon… Brian and Justin seemed to get it on just fine back there in 401. Does he need instructions?
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, yet another line recycled from previous episodes… Emmett’s “ten minutes, tops” line that was said by ‘backroom Brian’ in the beginning of 101. Thank goodness Brian didn’t use the whole ten minutes or he never would have met Justin. It’s fate, I tell ya.
Brian’s cell phone rings again. The money that had to be transferred never was.
B: What’s up? What do you mean it didn’t get there? They were supposed to transfer it this morning. Well, call Wershafter and tell him to… What? Shit! Fuck!
M: Good news, dear?
B: My goddam accountant was supposed to wire the money for the Endovir ads to Heat but it never arrived.
M: Call him in the morning and have him straighten it out.
B: They’re out of the office till Monday and the deadline’s tomorrow night. I’m gonna lose my one big account. I’m gonna get so fucked!
Guy: You and me both, honey!
M: Wait a minute… Wertshafter’s your accountant? You know who used to work for Wertshafter?
Ding, ding. Lightbulb! Of course, it seems odd that Brian didn’t think of this himself but I guess they have to give Michael some lines every now and then that have significance to Brian’s life. We all know that Ted used to be Brian’s accountant, so it stands to reason that it was at Wertshafter’s agency and Ted was the one that handled his account. So when Ted got the boot, Brian’s account stayed but with some other accountant handling it. So it makes sense that he would then use the same firm for his business accounts as he has his personal affairs for so long. People have said that Brian using Wertshafters was one of those “bullshit” things that Cow/Lip does to set up the next plot. Well, I disagree… in this case, they didn’t have to make it up. The history was already established. This makes perfect sense to me.
Well, I was wondering why Cow/Lip’s most tortured soul hadn’t shown up yet this episode. I was beginning to think he’d fallen off of the wagon and just disappeared like Blake did in S1. But he didn’t. He’s just been keeping to himself like he told Michael he wanted. Trying to get his life back. Ted’s at a podium of his 12 Step meeting about to tell his story and I’m just about to hit the fast forward button. I like Ted, but unlike those sitting in the audience of his meeting, we already know what happened to him. We saw it and then were tortured with it again as he told his story at the rehab in 401. But my remote is saved! Brian enters and I get all excited. No, not because of that… I love Brian and Ted scenes so I just know this will be good.
T: I’m Ted, I’m a crystal meth addict.
Audience: Hi Ted.
T: This is my sixth week of recovery. It all started about a year or so ago. I was having feelings of…
He’s cut off when Brian enters and strolls up to the podium grabbing his arm. But before moving on, we need to make note of the timeline. In 402 Ted had just gotten out of rehab, so it is now 6 weeks since then. Justin has been messing with Cody for six weeks, and six weeks is how long it took Brian to renovate the bathhouse. But the bothersome thing is Ted’s, “It all started about a year or so ago,” line. He didn’t lose JAW until around 306, right? And I don’t recall that more than a few months past from 306–314 so I’m thinking his demise and subsequent addiction was like 3-4 months, tops. Which is exactly why I thought it was so easy for him to detox… he wasn’t that far into it. He didn’t have years of abuse to dry out from. It should’ve been an easy stint in rehab. But anyway, the timelines always get me confused when they aren’t B/J’s timelines so we’ll just make note of the six weeks and leave the year thing alone.
B: C’mon. I need you.
T: Geezus Brian, can’t you see I’m sharing?
Ted is just so nerdy… I love him. “Happy pride. How’s it goin’?” BWAHAHAHAHA. Brian realizes that he’s right, something needs to be said to the people waiting for this remarkable story of Ted’s journey to the dark side. He turns to the audience and pretty much sums everything up in one sentence.
B: It’s nothing you haven’t heard before.. did drugs, fucked around, hit bottom, regrets it deeply. Let’s go.
T: My counselor said…
B: Shut up! Let’s go!
Brian ignores Ted’s protests and just physically drags him out of there. To bad Justin wasn’t around to see this since he loves it when Brian gets bossy. Hee!
They arrive at Kinnetik and Ted is still balking. Do you think Brian had to listen to that all the way from the center to the bathhouse? Poor Brian!
T: How could you do that? The rule is you never interrupt someone when they’re sharing!
B: It’s not my club, not my rules.
T: You are un-fucking-believable! (Yes he is!! Ted stops, looks around, feels an aura of familiarity.) Why do I feel like I’ve been here before?
B: Drop to your knees and imagine a cock in your mouth. It’ll come to you.
Ted doesn’t drop his knees but he does seem, just for a second, to imagine a cock in his mouth. That was a vision that I didn’t need to have, thank you very much. He grabs Ted, jerks him over to the computer and forcibly pushes him down into the chair in front of it. I swear, I’m about to pee in my pants. This is like Abbott and Costello, only with hot guys. I haven’t laughed this hard since they got pulled over by the cop in 214. Have I mentioned that I love Ted and Brian scenes?
B: Here’s the deal. My idiot accountant, the same dick that fired your ass for jacking off at your computer…
T: Wertshafter?
B: …was supposed to transfer twenty grand from my account into Heat Magazine’s account but they fucked it up.
T: As if I’m surprised. But what do you want me to do about it?
B: Find it. And fix it. And get it to them by midnight.
T: By midnight.
B: Or sooner.
T: Simple request. Only I can’t do it. I’m out of shape. I haven’t crunched a number in years! And besides, I’m a singer now.
He starts to sing but Brian stops him… Thank goodness!
B: Listen to me. Are you listening?
T: Yes, I’m listening.
B: You may be a pathetic drug addict who lost everything, your dignity, your livelihood, your lover, your good name, the respect and trust of everyone you know…
T: No one gives a pep talk like you, Brian.
B: But there’s one thing you haven’t lost. You’re still an accountant. That’s who you are. Not even the lowest form of degradation can take that away from you. Now, let’s live in the solution, not the problem.
Brian gives him an encouraging pat on the shoulder like he did in 402. It’s strange pep talk but one that makes perfect sense in an odd sort of way and it starts with the famous, “Listen to me. Are you listening?” line. The ones that are followed by that phrase are usually the best ones. He reminds Ted that he’s still an accountant, and it does ring true that this was how Brian looked at his life in 401/402. He’s an ad-man and no matter what, that couldn’t be taken away from him. This positive attitude is the exact difference between Brian and Ted. When Ted lost his business and his way of life, he decided to live in the problem by turning to drugs and belittling his boyfriend. Brian, (after smoking a few joints and hosting an orgy) decided to live in the solution and pulled his boyfriend closer. So unlike those disposable mantras that Justin’s been spouting off to him all the time these days; this one’s a keeper.
Ted is still trying to hack into the Wertshafter system, Brian is pacing back and forth adding to the stress of the situation. Oddly, I’m on the edge of my seat.
T: Let’s try this. Nope. Let’s try this. Nope. Shit I don’t know how to get into the goddamn system.
B: You have to know, you used to fucking work there!
Pathetic Ted is giving up, not believing in his own abilities. Confidant, can-do-anything Brian believes otherwise. Hee! Brian’s cell phone rings.
B: Kinney. Yeah, the money’s being transferred as we speak. It’s as good as there.
T: No, it’s not!
B: You want to make a liar out of me?
T: Look I’m not supposed to have any stress in my life. My program specifically states…
B: …that with divine power and fear of death, you can accomplish anything.
Ted’s about to have a coronary, but Brian’s pep talk works again. Ted goes back to hacking, or attempting to hack. He talks to himself as he tries different password possibilities. Brian watches, still pacing.
T: Okay now, let’s see… The last password he used was his daughter’s birthday which was 9/15/74. After that it was his wife’s… 11/21/46. After that it was his mother’s… 6/28/33…
B: You remember numbers the way I remember… numbers.
Brian pauses as he has the revelation. He’s not quite sure how he feels about them having a common trait. But I know how I feel about it… Ahhh, is Brian making a connection with Ted? How sweet! But all kidding aside, he’s impressed with what he’s seeing. For all Brian’s negativity towards Ted, he did use him as his accountant before, and I just have to believe that he’s always thought Ted was good at his job, just not in the sex department. And the other odd thing is that Ted remembers numbers the same as I do… could this be why I like Ted? Oh gosh!
T: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… he had a granddaughter, uh, it was Valentine’s Day 2001, I remember because I didn’t have a date.
Brian rolls his eyes… when did Ted ever have a date for Valentine’s Day? And he’s probably thinking, “My whole life hangs in the balance of this loser.” Ted enters the date and the computer bings!
T: Oh my god. We’re in!
Brian turns around, stunned. I get chills. Woo Hoo. Ted’s a hero! Don’t think he’s a hero? Check the preview for this episode… “An unlikely hero emerges”… Ahhhhh….
After the greatest computer hack in the history of QAF, Brian and Ted are relaxing on the couch enjoying their “after” cigarettes. This whole conversation mirrors a conversation that lovers would have after a very steamy bout of sex. I can’t help but think that if Ted is into these kinds of numbers the same way that Brian is into his kind of numbers, then this little tryst of money finagling was definitely orgasmic for Ted. And orgasms with Brian in the room… well you know.
B: You were fucking amazing.
T: Yeah, I was pretty good, wasn’t I?
B: The way you were going at it, there was no stopping you…
Now imagine those same three sentences being said by Brian and Justin instead. Hee!! Chair sex, anyone?
T: Well once I figured out where the mistake was, you know they took the money from your account, put it into their account but never sent it on to Heat Magazine’s account before they left for the weekend…
B: Assholes.
T: …it was easy enough to finish the transfer to meet the deadline.
B: It was genius, sheer genius.
T: Nothing a conscientious accountant with a knowledge of the system couldn’t have done.
B: It was YOU, Theodore Schmidt, that did it. And you can keep on doing it starting Monday morning.
Ted’s shocked. Did Brian Kinney just ask him to go steady?
T: What are you saying?
B: That I want you to come work for me.
T: Jesus, Brian, I never dreamed that you, of all people, would ask me, of all people…
B: That makes two of us.
Well, they never dreamed of it, but there are tons of us fans that have been secretly wishing for this for over a year now. It just makes sense. We also want Justin running the art department… maybe Season 5? Cow/Lip – put that on your story board, pronto. Don’t the writers convene in July?
T: I can’t tell you how much your offer means to me.
B: Then don’t. Just say yes.
T: I…
B: …will
T: I…
B: …accept
T: I can’t. I’m not ready. I’m sorry.
Brian’s shocked. Did Ted Schmidt just turn him down? Now again, think about Brian and Justin saying these same words… I hope the next time Brian makes a grand gesture and has this same conversation with someone, coughJustincough, he gets a better answer. “I can’t. I’m not ready. I’m sorry.” Would just absolutely kill me and probably Brian as well.
###############
Rigolatto’s Restaurant
Not a B/J scene but it transitions the next scene so this is the exception. Besides, it’s Ted. LOL
Ted is singing his heart out but he stumbles up on a problem. It’s a job for Theodore Schmidt, The Amazing Numbers Man! He swoops in and saves four little old ladies from having to use a calculator.
In their gratitude, one of them says, “You’ve got a nice voice, young man, but if you ask me, you should’ve been an accountant. It’s in your blood.”
DingDing
Funny how things Brian says to people just permeates their brain and sits there until something recalls it and confirms that he was right. I think that’s why he always says, “Listen to me, are you listening?” He wants to make sure they hear him. Justin is the only one he doesn’t do that to but we know he listens to everything Brian says, and these things about the anger and wrong-doing will surface in Justin’s brain eventually. If these people would just really listen to him when they answer his question with a yes, then things would go a lot smoother, but I guess then we wouldn’t have a show, would we? And I find it interesting that Brian’s always been the voice of reason for everyone else but never for himself… obviously Justin repeating them back to him will make him “listen” for a change.
Brian’s hunched over his desk, writing out checks. He’s obviously fired Wershafter, however it’s still the weekend so I guess he hasn’t told Wershafter that yet…LOL. But I like that they’re showing Brian working late into the night to get his business going. For all his playing around, drugging, drinking, tricking, he’s never lost sight of how important his job or career was. He’s had to make tough choices along the way (meeting the guy at the hotel in 105, canceling his plans with Justin to go to Vermont, etc.) but he’s always chose what was right for his business and his career. Maybe it’s his drive to be more successful than any straight or his drive to be better than his parents told him he would be that’s pushing him, but whatever it is, he’s held to it and never lost sight of his ultimate goal. Things may seem like they always go easy for Mr. Teflon so I like these times when they show him working hard for the things that come his way. They aren’t just handed to him; he works for them. It says something about his overall character.
Ted shows up after his epiphany…
T: Putting in long hard hours in the old steam room?
B: Not the way I’d like to.
T: Doing your own books, I see.
B: It’s someone I can trust.
Ahhhh, he just told Ted he’d offered him the job because he trusted him. Huge!! I tell you!! Huge!! Wasn’t he the one that was judging him in 403?
T: Look Brian, I’ve reconsidered your offer and if the position, make that opportunity, is still available, I’d like to take you up on it.
Let’s see… how did Justin put it in 214? “So I’d like to take you up on your offer, if it still stands.” Interesting parallel. And I just adore the fact that Ted changed from “position” to “opportunity”. He’s learning how to avoid the Kinney tongue lashings. Good for him!
B: What made you change your mind?
T: Ida Friedman’s 80th birthday. And the albeit, obvious but nonetheless, belated realization that my true calling is not to decimate _____. As you said, to be what I truly am... an accountant.
B: That was a lovely testimony, it’s worthy of AA… Accountants Anonymous.
That’s right. Acceptance is always the first step. Admit it to yourself and feel the pressure release. “Hi, I’m Ted and I’m an accountant.” “Hi Ted!”
B: And you can start first thing Monday morning.
T: I’ll be here, boss.
He starts to leave but Mr. Kinney has one more thing to say...
B: Oh, and Theodore, if you fuck up, I’ll have you murdered.
Ted smiles and starts to laugh but then stops when Brian looks up at him with a face that can only be described as deadly serious. Then it dawns on him that Brian isn’t kidding or making jokes at all. And considering that Brian’s got a boyfriend that has a friend well versed in the fine art of firearms… this is scary! LOL But I think this was Brian’s way of telling Ted, he didn’t ask him to do this because they’re friends, this is Brian’s business. He doesn’t mess around with that. He’s serious about the job offer and expects Ted to take it that way.
I’m more than thrilled. We get to have more Brian and Ted scenes this season. Woo Hoo!!
Justin and Cody are again patrolling, ur, scouring the streets looking for potential homophobes. Make note that they are no longer wearing their pink shirts. The Pink Posse has been dissolved and it’s just Cody and Justin now and they’ve given up on the protecting the innocent theme and moved on to “bigger and better” things.
They approach a night club and you can tell by the mixing of men and women, this is on the straight side of town. They see a guy and a girl leaning up against a bike rack, making out. They decide that’s a good place to start so Cody holds out his hand, Justin takes it and the illusion of them being a couple is put into place. They walk up next to the kissing couple, lean against the bike rack on the other side and start kissing with their arms around each other.
I’m going to interject something here… I noticed it last week and refrained from comment, but seeing it again, I just have to say something. Randy kissing anyone else besides Gale is just not hot. I know it’s not supposed to be in this scene or in the scene from last week, but it got me thinking. Ethan and the college virgin weren’t hot either. I don’t know what it means, if anything, but it’s the truth. So there, I said it… now we can move on.
The couple stop kissing, sensing they are no longer alone, the girl looks over and sees the two gay boys going at it. She scrunches up her face…
Girl: Eck! That’s disgusting.
Now if she’d seen Brian and Justin kissing, she might have a different opinion. See? Shows like this are important. Eh! Justin and Cody stop kissing, look at them. Justin raises the stakes and beats the bushes harder.
J: You mean this?
He turns them around, pulls Cody closer to him and they go at it again. It works. Macho straight guy’s had enough.
Guy: Fucking faggots! Let’s go.
And he grabs his girlfriend and they head to their car. Justin and Cody look at each then back to the couple. The game is on… a homophobe has been trapped.
I have to say, this is the most disturbing part of this whole “beat the bushes” act. They were just kissing. Cody knows this will invoke commentary and in a way it just creeps me out. It shouldn’t bring about this crap, it just shouldn’t. If I were to make out with my husband on any public sidewalk anywhere, no one would say anything about it. (Unless of course, it’s sloppy and really nasty or something, but normal kissing like they were doing… No.) So it’s like part of me wants to be mad at Cody and call him crazy for instigating this violence, but damn, they were just kissing. And an odd thing flashed before my eyes thinking about this and Justin’s healthy fear, as I keep calling it. When Brian and Daphne told him that Brian kissed him on the dance floor at the prom, Justin was stunned, “You did?” Do you think he was stunned by Brian showing public affection at all or because Brian showed him public affection in front of a bunch of straight people? Isn’t that display of public affection the exact reason for Brian’s guilt over the bashing? I remember people saying… he shouldn’t have kissed him. What?? Aaaah, it makes me sad. It all just sucks, you know.
I’m so mixed up about it. If I go into a “bad” neighborhood and wave money around, I should expect to be robbed. Doesn’t make it right, but it’s expected. So I use my healthy fear and choose to not go into those “bad” neighborhoods to keep myself out of harms way. But if I load myself up with a gun to protect myself, go the same neighborhood, wave the money around then shoot the person who came out to rob me… Am I to blame? Am I now an evil, crazy instigator? Isn’t the robber still to blame? Public opinion would blame me for doing something foolish when I know better, just like we’re blaming Cody and Justin here.
But turn all that around to rape, where they tend to put the victim on trial. Where you wearing a short dress? Did you go to his house? Alone? What did you think would happen? Blah, blah, blah. In this case, the rapist is blamed and punished because we’ve created laws to protect the scantily clad women who go to men’s homes. On one hand, they acted foolish and instigated the rape by putting themselves in harm’s way. On the other hand, the rapist is to blame and the victim is exonerated for their lack of judgment. Why is this different?
So Justin and Cody are acting foolish by kissing in a straight neighborhood, the same way I would be by waving money in a “bad” neighborhood, or the scantily clad woman who goes to a man’s home all alone… they are the same thing… but yet bring about such different reactions from people. Is there a line between just doing your thing with faith that you won’t be victimized and doing something stupid because you know you very well could be victimized? Healthy fear tells us to stay away from these situations… but should we have to? I guess in a perfect world.
I want to dislike Cody because these scenes are just all kinds of wrong. But I have trouble getting past the part of “they were just kissing”. It sucks and I don’t like it one bit. Okay enough of my ranting…
C: Hey asshole! Maybe it’s you and you’re fat ass bitch that are the freaks.
Guy: Fuck you faggot!
Guy pushes Cody hard. Justin steps up and wallops the guy right in the kisser. While he’s regaining his footing, he pulls out a knife. Justin freaks.
Guy: You wanna mess with me? Huh? Huh?
J: Hey, hey, hey.
Justin holds up his hands and backs away. There’s that healthy fear again. I’m glad to see that’s it’s still there. It means he hasn’t completely lost his mind to the power of invincibility. He still has his sense of self-preservation in tact. Thank goodness!
Cody pulls out a gun and presses it against the guy’s temple. Justin double freaks – eyes wide – jaw dropped open.
C: Yeah, we wanna mess with you! Drop the knife!
J: Cody!
C: Drop the fucking knife! (The guy drops it.) How tough are you now, asshole?
Guy: Please man.
C: Don’t say please. Say you’re sorry. Say, “I’m so very sorry.”
Girl: Do it!
Guy: I’m so very sorry.
C: Yeah, you bet you are, you straight piece of shit. Now, politely excuse yourselves. (Cody removes the gun from the guy’s head and they run to the car.) I said politely! (They get in the car and drive away. Cody turns to Justin who is obviously in shock.) Come on!
They run and find a dark alleyway. Justin should know better. Good things never happen in dark alleyways. Oh wait… unless you’re with Brian, of course. They round a corner and stop under a street light.
J: I didn’t know you had a fucking gun! Where the fuck did you get a gun?
C: Where I grew up, everyone had one.
J: If it would’ve gone off, you could have killed him!
His mother raised him right. Guns are dangerous – accidents can happen with the simple twitch of a finger. But Cody puts his mind at ease by aiming the gun across the way and pulling the trigger, six times. Each pull only causes a quiet snap of the hammer. It’s not loaded. Justin’s relieved and releases his held breath. The fear obviously had gripped his chest like a vice.
C: It was just meant to scare them.
J: Yeah, well, it worked. It also scared the shit out of me. I’ve never even held a gun before.
Justin’s actually already breathing hard. Partly from the encounter and subsequent running, but also from the fear of the gun. The danger… the excitement. Cody turns the gun around in his hands and holds it out for Justin to take it. Justin hesitates to take it at first but Cody encourages him.
C: Go on.
Justin takes it. Juggles it his hand a little, feeling the weight of it and how it fits in his hands. Because Justin has always had this healthy fear of guns, him holding this piece of forbidden danger in his hands is powerful. It’s like he has fear gripped in his hands and it’s not hurting him. That’s a powerful feeling. A little bit of invincibility creeping up again.
J: It’s heavier than I thought... cold.
C: It’ll heat up.
Justin laughs a little and the flashback to 101 does alleviate some of the tension in this scene at the moment and it makes you wonder why those words? Why give us a mental image of Brian and Justin’s first night together at a time like this? Because it’s the symbolism of what is happening with the gun. Those words were spoken before at a very tense moment for Justin back then. He was about to lose his virginity… and him telling Brian that the lube was cold, was little innocent Justin being honest in his nervousness. Same thing here. He’s tense about the gun. He’s holding one for the first time. And him telling Cody how it physically feels in his hands is him talking his way through the nervousness. So just like Brian’s words gave him reassurance so he could relax and not be scared, that is what Cody was trying to do too. He was telling him to relax and just feel it, that he didn’t have to be scared of the gun. More amazing parallel symbolism if you ask me.
Justin hands Cody back the gun. Cody notices the change in Justin’s demeanor.
C: Did it make you hard?
Cody already knows it did.
J: Maybe.
C: The same thing happened to me my first time.
Justin’s definitely got some ‘wild’ tendencies underneath that twinky exterior and desire for romanticism. But let’s not get too excited (as in negatively) about this admission from Justin. It’s nothing new actually. Is it about sex? Well, yes and no. Remember the choking scene in S2 (209?) after they had found dumpster boy. Brian explained this phenomenon to us back then. “It was the danger… the excitement… you’re hard just thinking about it.” That’s what the gun was doing to Justin. Guns were something that had always been taboo for Justin. Guns were the unknown, they represented danger and we’ve established already that Justin has the healthy fear that’s needed to distinguish what’s safe. The gun had also just been used to scare the shit out of some straight guy so the gun represented that power that he’d felt the other night. So when he held all that danger and all that power in his hands, he got excited. Not excited as in “yippee!” but excited as in tingling all throughout his body with accelerated breaths and heartbeats. The excitement then manifested itself by making him hard. So that’s what I mean by yes, it’s about sex, but at the same time it’s not about sex.
Justin’s hesitation and subsequent answer of “maybe” when Cody asked him if it made him hard was because he felt a little embarrassed that it had. But Cody put his mind at ease when he told him that the same thing had happened to him the first time. Again, it was just like Justin and Brian’s conversation in 101 when they were talking about Brian’s first time and how it put Justin at ease. In both cases, Justin was being told that it’s okay to feel what he’s feeling; it’s okay to let go. So he goes with it.
Cody starts rubbing the nuzzle against Justin. Justin tilts his head back then grabs the nuzzle with his hand… guiding it. He’s getting into it. All that danger and power rubbing against him… it’s intoxicating. They’re breathing harder.
C: Wanna play with it?
J: Yeah.
He says it with a whisper and a little poking out of his tongue just like he did in the New York hotel scene in 110. Dang! They unzip and a MUTUAL jerk off proceeds.
Now I have some things to say about the rest of the scene. First, I’m obviously a total perv, because this was damn hot. There is just something about heavy breaths, sounds of gasping, dropped jaws and tilted back heads with closed eyes, that just gets me going. I can’t help it. I am completely aware of what this scene is telling me and that it wasn’t supposed to have this effect on me, but sheesh, it did. Maybe it’s “the danger… the excitement”… I don’t know. But I can’t seem to stop rewinding.
**clearing throat** Okay, another thing. There is a tenseness to Justin’s face in the scene that leads me to believe that he wasn’t as into it as I was. ;) And this is my opinion as to why… Once he tried to connect the feeling he was having to actual sex with the hand job, his romantic tendencies kicked in, in a way. If he had been sharing that intense moment with Brian, it would have been explosive like the chair sex. But with Cody, who he doesn’t connect with sexually, romantically or otherwise… it was just empty and meaningless. It was almost as if he was having to concentrate to turn the feelings of danger and excitement that got him hard into feelings of ecstasy in order to finish him off. It wasn’t happening naturally. I think the closed eyes, tilted back head and occasional tense looks was him thinking about how the gun felt in this hand. Imagining the ‘thing’ in his hand now was the gun in order to keep alive the powerful feeling he had when he held it. That’s what Cody meant when he asked if he wanted to play with it ‘cause the second Justin said “yeah”, the gun was moved away to his shoulder.
And it’s this little thing that makes me see that in spite of all the things that Justin is doing to “be like Cody”; his inner qualities are keeping him from completely falling prey to Cody’s world. Yes, he’s getting a charge out of all the “new” things he’s experiencing, but you know, once it’s not new anymore, the allure passes. So he buzzes his hair off, grows a little scruff on his chin (which I really seem to like) and gets a “Don’t fuck with me” attitude… physically they are mirror images. But emotionally they are still different. Justin will never develop the same hatred that Cody has because he didn’t live his life. Just like Cody will never understand why Justin just needs to release himself from the bashing. Justin’s motives for joining the Posse really were to protect the innocent. It just got lost in the allure of all the power and sense of invincibility, but that initial motive is still there, underneath, nudging at him. “I don’t know.” Cody’s motive was never to do that, his motive has always been to kick some straight ass, payback anyone and everyone for all the wrongs that were done to him and physically scare people into being pro-gay.
So the episode ends with Justin… again. And just like every episode so far this season, it’s been with an eerie reminder of one thing. The coming attractions for 405 actually told us what exactly but we didn’t need them to tell us. It was already obvious.
401 – Darren’s bashing. Justin was bashed… by who?
402 – Justin joining Cody’s round discussion by saying, “It’s about not being victimized.” Who was he victimized by?
403 – Justin punching the guy in the alley because of the get AIDS and die comment. “Someone else once said that to me.” Who was that someone else?
404 – A mutual hand job that’s referencing power instead of pure sex. Who was the last person that he shared a mutual hand job with that wasn’t really about sex?
Who is the one person that Justin holds all this pent up anger for? Who was that jock with his dick shoved down his throat in that drawing in 402?
Hobbs, of course. He’s obviously coming and he’s going to come face to face with a Justin that is not only angry but having bouts of power euphoria as well. Power being the thing that Justin had over him in that locker room so long ago. Power being the thing that Justin had over him when he “outed” him on Liberty Avenue. That hand job started it all. Then the bashing and Justin was suddenly weak and helpless and no power at all. Power was the one thing that Hobbs took away from Justin. But the power is back and Justin hasn’t felt weak or helpless for six weeks now and I’m pretty sure he kind of likes the fact that he hasn’t. So a confrontation between Hobbs and Justin should be pretty explosive. Not to mention the fact that he’s got a psycho friend who has a gun.
But we have to focus on the fact that Justin hasn’t lost his healthy fear, that Brian has still been feeding him with words of “wisdom” and underneath all that anger and intoxicating power, his desire to protect the innocent and get his justice is still there. His main drive is that he hates Hobbs and the homophobes because they are bullies… that’s what he’s become… so we have to have faith, that Justin would never be able to accept the fact that he’s become like Hobbs… that he’s become the very thing that he hates.
A mirror can do a world of good at times like these. He just needs to take a step back, take a look at himself and see if this is really the way for him to be the best homosexual he can be.
