Raistlinsama

I liked the hin that things between Gathan and Zach may be changing. There is a lot of bad blood between them, and I am sorry to say that part of it is Wally's fault. I don't think he consciously played them against each other, but I have the feeling that that is what happened. Again, I'm liking that Will is showing more control on his temper. In the long term it's more efficient to have people know that he is angry at them and it is keeping things civil than chewing they heads off (look at the effect of JP disapproval on people!) I'm sorry to see that Zach got himself a beard, but as someone with hopes in a football career in 2001 I understand he probably does not have many alternatives, especially considering Will presence (having girlfriends may keep people from guessing what is the nature of his relationship with a gay guy that is "loosely" related ). The problem is that I'm not sure he and Will will be able to keep the charade working for an undeterminate amount of time.

I turn around for a few days and lo!, two chapters to read and review! The "let's take Zach measures" scene was really funny. Just a couple of thoughts: so Zach wears jockstraps under his jeans when Will is around, I wonder why ; and despite the minor freak out I think Isidore would appreciate the view, after all it seems to me that anyone in the family is into Hayes men (I wonder if they have some kind of special pheromone signature). It's nice seeing Frank being more active, he always seemed to stay on the sidelines after "Be Rad" and even more so while grieving for Robbie. Will seems to be maturing very quickly, now I can stand him ! Jokes aside he is becoming a very interesting character, if he really learns self-control (I suggest lessons from JP and Wade) he will be a force to be reckoned with even more than he is now. I hope the conversation with Wade works as a wake up call for Matt. I like him, but I felt like hitting him with a stick, repeatedly. The fact that he really seemed to be clueless on how REAL the break up with Wade is makes me really think that he needs to grow up quickly. There may still be hope for him, but he needs to work hard on it.

My first reaction to the chapter was anger, I really like Matt and I felt like he is being mistreated. After taking time to cool down, re-read and look at the broader picture I can only congratulate for the writing. I am still upset at what is going on, and I still feel that while the clan was very good at taking care of Will (and Wade) in the 9/11 aftermath the same can't be said for Matt. The impression I had is that his increasingly erratic behavior was mostly ascribed to immaturity and unwillingness to grow up on his part. I think Wade is right, Matt is scorching the earth around himself and I think he's on a self destructive path. What I'm afraid of is that everyone will be too busy being pissed at him (even though they surely are within their rights, Will especially) to gig help before it's too late. It's not the first time that the family does not notice that someone is going off the deep end until it hits them in the face, I think something similar went on with Robbie's midlife crisis, I clearly remember everyone, especially Brad and Stef, being almost constantly pissed at him because of his whining and not really bothering in trying to see what was hiding behind. Robbie may have been to emotional at times, but with his death I think a good chunk of the empathy the clan was capable of is gone.