DON'T - STEAL - MY - STYLE

I'm having a break for a few days, but don't worry, I'm not going to disappear: I'll be back very soon and you probably won't even notice my absence. I just need to take care of a few things in the real-life. You know, my job, a wedding to get ready for (yes, I'm getting married in November) and, you know, boring stuff like that. Wait for me, I'll be back ASAP

What tP fans can't forgive the authors for

I know this may sound silly and anachronistic, but I'm going to write this post even if nobody will read it. There's so much to say about the incredible show that "The Pretender" was, its untimely ending was something that really destroyed the fans' expectations and hopes, especially for the Miss Parker and Jarod OTP. It still hurts, even if it's been almost 15 years. Whenever I think about Miss Parker & Jarod's last conversation, I can't help but feel...neglected, even distressed, like if I was still suffering for an unwanted grief.

1. The Third Movie

As we all know, the story didn't have a real conclusion. It's history, my tP fellows. I think we all agree when I say that one more movie would have been enough to give an ending to the show. Ok, probably they didn't do it for many reasons. Maybe there wasn't enough money, neither attention to the show, neither useful contacts with other producers. What I really can't stand is the fact that they didn't involve the fans BEFORE. Just think about it, what if S. and C. had started this little adventure *sooner* than 2013? I know, 12 years ago the web wasn't as evolved as it is today, especially in Europe (and the show was always more loved in Europe than in the U.S.). In Italy, for example, we hardly knew what surfing the web meant, in 2002. But within the years (and I think especially about 2007, when during an interview the creators asked the fans to be patient) things had changed. We were ready, and petitions were already traveling around the whole world. We could have made it. They really should have done something *then*, when the actors were still "young" and not so many years had passed. Let's face it: now, even if they are ever going to make it to tv or Netflix, we can expect a reboot at most, maybe with old actors appearing as different characters, or cameos, or not appearing at all - which I really wouldn't love. So tP would probably be like Nikita.

2. The Almost Kiss

That atrociuos-unbearable-almost kiss. I mean, what kind of sick mind would create such a lovely scene, such a lovely moment, such a lovely ambience, such a lovely mood...Just for an "almost-kiss"?! I'm sure that should you ask anyone used to watch the show back then what he remembers of it, he would answer something like, 'Oh, Yeah, Jarod, Miss Parker, it was such fun to watch their you-run-I-chase. They were the almost-kiss couple, weren't they?'. Once I read that it was probably the most frustrating "almost-kiss" in history. And as a shipper, I would *erase* the probably. Make it a *surely*. If only they had let Miss Parker and Jarod kiss, everything would have been different. Let me expose my POV. My guess is that the authors wanted to instill a very accurate concept in the audience, that Miss Parker would see that "almost-kiss" as a mistake, something to deny later, while to Jarod it would be like a starting point to change things, to make Parker understand that he'd always been in love with her and they could have a future together, if she wanted to. A moment of weakness to Miss Parker vs. A moment of revelation to Jarod. Well, I'm pretty sure that THIS CONCEPT wouldn't have changed, if the two of them had actually *kissed*.

They should have let the kiss happen, even for a few seconds, even a slight touch of lips would have been enough! And our beloved Ocee would have come in to interrupt it, as she did with the *almost* kiss. Nothing would have changed for the plot purposes of the show: the concept mentioned before would still be there, Miss Parker would still see it as a mistake and she would be even more justified, because she would have *done* it! What would have really changed is the VISUAL impact of the scene for the fans! We would have had a lovely wallpaper with MPJ kissing for real, it wouldn't have been "the most frustrating almost-kiss" in history, we would have had a very different image pictured in our minds. Just - a - KISS. They wanted to close the show with Jarod and Parker parted, calling each other in pain and sorrow? Well, ok, it would have been fine *then*, because we could at least have imagined that they would find each other again, that Parker would surrender to him, that she would decide to leave the Centre and stay with Jarod. It would have been ok, because at least we would have had THE KISS! You know when you search for videos on YouTube and you happen to find collections of the "best tv shows kisses"? Well, it's terrible when you realize the author put Jarod and Parker in the video - AND THEY DON'T ACTUALLY KISS! (I swear I found this video once, I don't know if it still exists, though.) As I said, it's just a matter of VISUAL IMPACT, this is why they really made the wrongest choice ever for a tv couple.

3. The last scene

When the authors (and producers, and actors, and writers...) found out that they were risking not to do a third movie (which I'm pretty sure they knew BEFORE IOTH), the should have taken a different direction and give IOTH a different ending. I read that this is what happened for Crossing Jordan: when the authors realized that the show would be canceled, they changed the script of the finale. They can't tell us they didn't know, the situation was risky and they *knew* it. That's why they should have chosen a different end. Ok, there wasn't enough time to answer all the unanswered questions (God only knows how many they are, still), maybe there wasn't time to destroy the Centre or to let Miss Parker and Jarod run away together, I'm aware of the fact that there weren't enough premises to turn the MPJ otp into a "real couple". Not so suddenly. Not in those 30 minutes of movie that they still had after the "almost-kiss". But what if they had chosen to end the show not without a phone call, but with an encounter?! A face-to-face meeting between Jarod and Parker, not in her office, but at her home. Instead of making Jarod say that suffering line, 'What about us?' at the phone, why didn't they choose to make him show up by surprise, one of his umpteenth Houdini-acts of appearance, just to ask her IN PERSON? I know, this show was founded on late-night phone conversations, which I'm particularly fond of. Come on, guys, who cared about Jarod's pretends when there would always be a phone call between him and Parker (or Sydney!) to be waiting for since the beginning of the episode? But in IOTH things were different. We had the first phone call (which is just *great*!) at the beginning of the movie, so we deserved at least a "live" conversation at the end. Jarod would have showed up, Parker would have asked, 'Why did you come?' and he would have answered with his question, 'What about us'. Try to picture it in your heads, tP fellows, isn't it TOTALLY DIFFERENT?! They should have made it *different*, there were premises for at least a last encounter! I can already imagine the scene: Jarod arriving, begging Miss Parker to get away with him, Parker replying that she can't because she still needs to find answers. Jarod making matters worse by saying that they can look for the truth together. And after this, if you really want to end with a pending finale, then Jarod would mark out his never letting Parker go, his never surrendering, by saying something like, 'I won't give up on us' - (A passionate kiss would be really appreciated at this point!). And then they could also say that line on the Scrolls, about finding what their future would hold - if they are real.

Then I picture Parker watching Jarod going away, maybe with tears at the corner of her eyes, and he would disappear with a smile, maybe even with a devilish line like, 'Still catch me, if you can'. And she would whisper a Parkerism to herself, something like, 'Just wait 'till I catch you, Boy Genius' or 'You can bet your sorry ass I will' or 'Just wait 'till I catch you alone, Boy Wonder'. You see? In 5 minutes I wrote a total different ending that would have been much more satisfying, how many minutes it would have added to the real IOTH? Three minutes? Four tops? 4 minutes and they could have achieved a total different ending. And this is where they were wrong. This is what fans don't forgive them for.

4. Ethan

To make minor characters disappear *abruptly* was always this show flaw. I'm thinking about Mr. Cox, Zoe, Margaret, Major Charles, Emily, Gemini... The Zoe-Mr. Cox situation was acceptable, we can only assume that Zoe was sent away by Jarod, maybe because he realized his life was far too dangerous for including also the risk of losing her. And I'm sure that after the Alex-affair he was enough aware of the fact it was Miss Parker the woman he actually was in love with, not Zoe. Maybe he simply dumped her. And maybe Cox went back to Africa, who knows? The most unwanted disappearance ever was Ethan's.

It was absolutely disappointing to make him disappear into thin air after the first movie. After being a main character in TP 2001, he can't be "deleted" like if he never existed, without telling us where the hell he went or what happened to him! We were attached to Ethan, he was a "turning point" for Jarod and Parker. She was starting to tolerate Jarod's presence, she was becoming accustomed to have a brother that she really liked around her. And all of a sudden, PUFF, Ethan's gone, it's over, kaput. Why??? For what concerns Mr. Parker we weren't told if he was dead or alive, but you know what? I don't care. He could be dead or alive, it doesn't matter.

With Ethan it's totally different. I realize that they wanted to focus IOTH on the MPJ OTP - and we're really thankful for that - but Ethan's disappearance it's something we can't accept, and I'm sure that Miss Parker and Jarod wouldn't either! They would do *anything* to find their little brother! How come Jarod didn't look for him??!! Guys, you should have told us if Ethan was safe, if Jarod ever found him and maybe take him to see his family. In this case, I think they should have added just one scene of Ethan's whereabouts a the end of the first movie. Just to see what happened to him. It would have certainly be much more comfortable that watching an almost-naked-Mr.Wiggles-Raines sending that picture to his "children". Maybe Ethan had something to do with the Scrolls too, but I guess we'll never know. And this is something really unacceptable.

5. The different turn of events - The Scrolls

Last but not least, the abrupt turn of events of the main plot. I'm fond of sci-fi, and I loved the paranormal in Alias. But let's face it, you can't develop a total different theme in, how much, 80 minutes? The authors decided to create a diversion, so they started to talk about Scrolls and Prophecies. This wasn't fair. They'd never mentioned them before, there was just two slight clues in 4.20 (Catherine speaking to Ethan and mentioning that 'Jarod is the One' - which kind of reminded me of The Matrix) and Jarod's conversation with Alex at the end of TP 2001, when Alex said that 'Jarod didn't really know who he really was'. I don't know if they were trying to gain attention by changing the subject to something more paranormal, but this was an EPIC FAIL. I think this is also the main reason why the show was canceled. You drag prophecies and curses into a show that was *already* tagged as sci-fi. I know, The Pretender became more and more paranormal during the seasons, just think about how different are the season finales. We started with Jarod discovering he had a brother (which was real and not so unbelievable), then we found out that Miss Parker had a twin brother (again, believable, but creepy), then a CLONE arrived to mess everything up again (which was daring, even if a great idea) and last we got Miss Parker discovering her 'Inner sense' and Catherine being undead and then dead again...And then the movies and the Scrolls. When you use a clone, it's sci-fi. When you choose prophecies we talk about unbelief, almost religion, paranormal ESPers. So if you want this, you must act differently and your show must START towards that direction.

Just look at Alias - and I already mentioned how much it reminds me of TP. It started filled with paranormal things since the first episode. We were thrown inside that whole Rambaldi-stuff since the beginning, and also the Prophecies and Page 47 appeared in Season 1. In this case it wasn't unfair, just surreal, WELL WRITTEN and suited to the time. Maybe TP wasn't so lucky because it was ahead of times, it already talked about cloning and coming back from death even BEFORE Alias and Lost came around, even before JJ. And yet, this choice wasn't totally understood. And these changes didn't make things better, because also the most loyal fans didn't like the different direction the show was taking.

And now, shoot me if you want to, but I really needed to put these thoughts to paper. And I hope you are going to reply to me soon!

∞Miss Roxy∞

The Sweepers Are Comin' Comparison Gar: "It’s time to go home." || Mr. Parker: "Long live the Centre." [2x22 Bloodlines: Part 2 || IOTH]

Little Miss Parker aka Angel Selection I hope you find what you’re looking for... [Island of the Haunted]

Miss Parker Selection Pt.3 [Island of the Haunted]

Miss Parker Selection Pt.2 [Island of the Haunted]

Miss Parker Selection Pt.1 [Island of the Haunted]

...Terribilis Est Locus Iste Selection... [Island of the Haunted]

...Island of Carthis Mementos Selection... [Island of the Haunted]

...Pictures Selection... [Island of the Haunted] Oh, look at the way MP and J touch the photograph of their mothers...They almost stroke the surface, so sweet! *_*

...Hands and Crashing Plane Selection... [Island of the Haunted]

...The Doll & Angel's Sketch Selection... [Island of the Haunted]

...Looking for the Truth Selection... [Island of the Haunted]