The Greens of Jericho

Reviewer: Skyrose Signed [Report This]
Date: 19 Jan 2009 3:41:37 PM Title: Part Six: Leader of the Pack

Although I was sad to see the changes in Stanley in this part, I was also glad that despite what he had been through I was able to see glimpses of the old Stanley. Although this may sound a little strange, I felt oddly comforted by the fact that he had Bonnie for company, if only spirit.  I think the resentment that Stanley has toward the town for abandoning him is justified.  Despite how he feels about the town, I got the sense when he was talking to Jake that he felt a little guilty that the Green's maybe one of the ones not eating because his farm was no longer a food source. I felt a little hope in Stanley when he asked Jake if he saw Mimi and then wanted to know if she was okay. I especially liked how Jake couldn't bring himself to destroy his hope by telling him the message that Mimi asked him to deliver.

Nice job!

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Author's Response:

I think you're right about Stanley. As tragic as it is to see him reduced to talking to ghosts of family members not there, in a strange way, he is a little better off than some of the other characters who haven't given up their grip on reality, and so, see it for all its grimness. He has cut himself off as a survival mechanism, a little bit like Emily does in the next chapter, but he does feel guilty when he thinks of those friends of his in town. He usually tries not to picture them, however, knowing their present is probably bleak.

He definitely wants to ask, yet doesn't want to know, how badly off Mimi is. Jake just couldn't bear to give him that dose of reality.

Thanks for your review! 

Reviewer: Marzee Doats Signed [Report This]
Date: 14 Nov 2008 9:09:59 PM Title: Part Six: Leader of the Pack

Oh, Penny!  There's just so much going on here!  Impressive job as always.  The hints that you give us that tell the story for you as much as your actual story-telling really come to the front in this one.

First, I just have to say that I'm glad that I was wrong about Stanley.  Apparently he isn't so changed that he's stopped giving bear hugs.  This was a relief to me, even if the rest leaves me a little sad. :-( 

The dogs from the hunting trip!  I'm glad that they're no longer abandoned on the prairie, but it did leave me sad to realize that Stanley likely went on that hunting trip alone.  Jake wasn't in Jericho, and Mimi had already left him for the safety of life within the town's borders.

Is it odd to admit that I'm shocked that Bonnie is dead?  I believed Stanley (at first) when he said she was "around".  My heart was literally in my throat when he was forced to admit that she'd died.  And, what a way to go.  Unfortunately, I think it's too much to hope that Emily understands or appreciates the sacrifice -- Bonnie's or Stanley's.

Stanley seems more broken to me than even Heather.  I'm left profoundly sad by the changes in him.  He does seem giddy as he asks Jake about the food in town and makes the point that he has things that you can't get in Jericho.  How sad that he's left so hurt by the town's abandonment of him (and, sure, he has a right to his anger) that he literally revels in having "one up" on them. 

The last thing I'm going to comment on is Mimi.  She appears to miss Stanley a lot more than he misses her.  That took me by surprise, much more so than the implication that they got together earlier in this universe than on the show.  But, I suppose Stanley, reeling from his sister's death, didn't let himself fall in love with Mimi.  It's just very sad to me since they turned out to be such an amazing couple on the show.

Well, there's revving engines on the highway.... Mary did say that Emily was off with Jonah.  So, any chance we're going to run into that particular road gang next?

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Author's Response:

Thanks Marzee!

You're right, Stanley is still there under all the ways he's chosen to deal with the new world. He's actually quite desperate for human interaction, so the bear hug just fit in naturally here. I always wondered about the dogs myself, and I think Stanley felt a kind of kinship with them, since they were abandoned out in the deserted prairie too.

I had hoped to keep the fact that Bonnie was dead a bit of a mystery until Stanley was forced to face the reality he normally avoids, so I was glad to hear you believed him/me at first. As for Emily's reaction...you'll see in very good time.

Stanley's giddiness over the food is partly influenced by his skewed view of the town that abandoned him, but also, I think, he's trying to offer everything he can to his first human guest in months. He's already thinking about how Jake will leave and go back to the town, so he's trying to impress Jake, to get him to stay for a while.

About Mimi- Stanley did get very attached to her, and does miss her very much, but he hasn't been able to find a place for her in the alternate reality he sort of lives in. She's not part of the 'family' who stayed with him, nor is she really a part of the 'town' he's come to hate. When she first left, he was determined to hate her, but he's had a lot of time to think about it, and a lot of lonely nights by himself, so now he just really misses her. He worries about how she's doing in town, but doesn't really want to bring her up with Jake. If he knew just how badly she's coping, he'd be pretty distressed, but as it is, he tries not to think of her too much, it's just too painful.

You are, once again, very insightful, so to keep myself from giving away too much, I'll say nothing more about the engines.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and insights. I really appreciate it!