| Reviews -- Lucky in Love |
| The thing I appreciate most about this episode is the way the random reshuffling of relationships gives minor players a chance to shine and provides many enjoyable peeks into the students’ thoughts and motivations. Ripped away from their normal places in the social strata, each person flails around for reassurance and connection, and in the process, two-dimensional caricatures become full-fledged characters.
Thrown off-balance by the unexpected revelation of his secret and mesmerized by Paulina’s sudden affection, Danny is torn loose from his close friendships and forced to maneuver in the popular crowd. This welcome to the A-list is neither grudging tolerance or cruel manipulation, as he experienced in Attack of the Killer Garage Sale and Parental Bonding. Kwan, unexpectedly bereft of status, is filled with uncertainty about his place in the universe and gladly grasps for companionship wherever he can find it. As the popular girl’s best friend, Star takes it as a given that if Paulina is dating Danny, she should be dating Danny’s best friend. “Where have you been? You should have made your move on me hours ago.” The clunker in this symphony is Dash. While it’s not unexpected that he would accept that any boy fit enough to date Paulina is fit enough for the A list, there’s little sign of his own longstanding animosity toward Danny or his own affection (or at least, sense of entitlement) toward Paulina. These freshmen are young yet, and it’s probably too soon for Dash to be worried about the inevitability of the quarterback/homecoming queen relationship, but it did seem odd that Dash’s only expressed concern about Danny’s elevation to the A list was to make sure that Kwan was demoted to even out the seating arrangements. The social shuffling isn’t limited to the kids. Johnny 13 and Kitty are caught up in the dance, too. Kitty’s skill at playing Paulina’s role—and her skill at “playing” Danny—indicate that, while she probably didn’t fit in with the popular crowd when she was a teen, she was a keen observer of the tribal customs. And Johnny is left to stew in his jealousy and humbly endure a beating at the hands of the ghost boy in order to win back his love. I wasn’t very impressed by the characters Johnny 13 and Kitty in their eponymous episode; Lucky in Love is a much better vehicle for them. I particularly enjoy watching Danny fight Shadow, since it’s a totally uneven fight. Shadow can pretty much beat Danny to a pulp but Danny fights back creatively with elemental weapons: water, ecto-energy, light. But Johnny is a wimp and Kitty is a dear; their obsession is for each other so what’s to hate? Kitty’s flashback scene, as she brought Danny up to speed on how she ended up in Paulina’s body, reflects her ghostly indifference toward humans. “Johnny’s furious, I’m pretty, you’re popular—everybody wins!” It’s up to Danny, the bridge between ghost and human, to demand Paulina’s rights in this equation. By: bluemoonalto Rating: none given |
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