chrisg02

A moving and generous tribute, Wolf, heart-warming to read it. Also earlier comments show some big strong generous hearts here on GA.

Mended. Moved on. :)

Yep, I agree with mmike (except for how to spell 'discreet' ) . Also it looks like a neat new twist, as if (with Wade's help to keep his mother at bay) Nana and the duke will solve it somehow ... and may even get on well together?

Will remembers what Stef said to him back in July and presses Tony to see a shrink on the family's dollar. Nice. Has Ethan really been like an orphan since age seven? So his mother couldn't legally visit with him either in the US or in Cuba. What about a neutral third country like Mexico? If that was a way to visit with her child, what would stop her relocating to Mexico and fixing up for him to see her there?

I love your portrayal of Wade's and Matt's level of comfort now with the aggressive power of Matt's sluttiness -- so confident, that they teamed up to use it as a tool to help Wade's efforts to organize his life-events and out-maneuver his mother. They are using the resources they have. Too funny!

Thanks for the great plot development, Mark. Puzzling family reaction to Will's announcement -- is it a bit surprisingly flat, or are they just used to not reacting strongly to his antics? Along the same lines as a previous reviewer I wonder about what, realistically, a judge would do about the emancipation request from such a 14-year-old. The shrink's testimony might help to persuade the judge that action is necessary to remove the rights of Will's mother, but that's one thing, and emancipation is another -- maybe the judge would think an alternative guardian safer for the child than emancipation? But who would be up to being Will's guardian?? Wade's reaction to hearing the outline of Will's activity was interesting, but why was his reaction 'dread'? Does he think he might end up as the guardian? :0

Hi Mark: my reaction is not far different in spirit than PrivateTim's. I like the storyworld that you paint. No matter that it's a world where seemingly improbable psychological miracles happen for turning abusers around to see the light of a better way. (Fwiw, I rather like the good and optimistic feeling that comes from that, even though (or maybe because?) I was once a victim myself, and the abusers I saw were too obstinate ever to move by as much as a psychological inch (new unit of measurement .) I just wonder if the latest developments don't begin to demand something too much in the way of miracles to resolve them in an interesting way. I feel that you painted a believable representation in Will's explosion: part regression to the rage of a 4-year-old or so, part retention of the intelligence and sophistication of an exceptional but believable 14-year-old. Like some others I don't quite 'get' the believability (in these developments) of Brad and Robbie's blindness after they showed a whole lot of caring in past stories, or of 'Martin'. But what of the outcomes? If 'Martin' is still alive, he'd need to feel the force of the criminal justice system: this isn't something that looks resolvable just by throwing money at it, he'd be a menace to other kids. If it turns out that Will overdid the drugging and gagging and Martin doesn't recover, then it's hard to see how Will himself would escape the justice system entirely: ok that his reaction to Martin's violence was self-defence and unpremeditated, but he already 'roofied' Martin with premeditation before the violence began. In either case it looks like a bigger miracle than usual would be needed to rebuild Will's relations with his dads. But maybe you already planned a way through all of this!

Enjoying the series -- thanks. Seems to me (fwiw), the Will -vs- Brad (Robbie) fight looks just right for the plot and didn't take too much space. Maybe its flames would also shed light on a whole lot of the relationships of the father-types in the series? The characters here are so vigorous that they bring up all kinds of questions. Has Brad been so much hardened by the scars of the 'Omega' battle and by the busy fruits of seeming victory that he can't let up enough to take part in his own family life? Could it become a late success, in a way, for the Omega bad-guys, even though now practically disappeared from view, that after they failed to trash Brad's personal relationship with Robbie or the business success of both of them, the scars of battle they left (and maybe the ruthless streak Brad found for solving parts of the conflict) could eventually break Brad & Robbie's relationships with their son? Can Brad and Robbie manage to tell Will anything about what was at stake there, explaining their absence and distance and attitudes, and start some healing there for all of them? Would Brad and Robbie come to see that they can't always keep hold of all of the reins in their business life, and start to let go some to free up time to try and keep alive the vigor and cohesion of both their family and business organizations? How does their succession-planning go -- given that they already showed some weaknesses in picking people? Could they maybe come to see not only Stef but also Wade as shrewd judges able to help on that? What does all of this do to the choices facing linchpins JP and Stef as they grow older and their energies grow less? Will Brad and Robbie become able to take their place? Could some of it need to skip a generation and maybe involve Matt and Wade? And how about Will -- and his amazing strength and insight on some aspects of life at only 14-y.o.? Has he suffered in the middle of plenty to develop all of that so soon & so young, and what are its costs for him? And all of the rest -- thanks Mark for showing & painting this broad canvas.