Aliens, Miracles, and relationships.
These were the three main topics of this show.
Aliens. Wasn't Tiner cute at the computer? He's getting just as wild about
Aliens as Bud is and it looked later on in the show like the Admiral was
wondering if there really was signs of alien life out there.
Miracles.
Gerald McRaney did a fabulous job portraying the Seargent Major. He was
very convincing as he told the court about how he found his wife because
of something a dead padre showed him. Even though he was found guilty, I
believe that he really was innocent of the crime and that the real
attackers are out there somewhere, but the way TPTB left it the storyline
could continue in the next few months or next season.
Relationships.
I thought Harm and Renée were cute on Sunday morning at his house. They
seemed like husband and wife. Renée laying across Harm's lap. Both of them
reading the paper. Then when Mac and Renée made that date (well actually
Renée did) but at least she's trying to get along with Mac. I loved the
scene with Harm and Mic outside Headquarters when Mic told him that they
were going on a double date. Harm's reaction was priceless. Then the date
itself. Boy, was there a lot of tension in that room. Renée just wanted to
get to know Mac and Mic a little better, Harm and Mac kept talking about
old times on the sub and when Harm thought he saw his father (Silent
Service, Ghost Ship) and Mic, well, Mic was just jealous. I felt sorry for
Harm as he watched Mic and Mac together. This was one show where I didn't
care for Mic too much and I'm a huge Mic fan. Then we have the scene with
Renée and Harm where she's trying to get Harm to admit if there
relationship is going anywhere. Again, Harm acts completely clueless.
Speaking
of relationships, Karri Turner and Patrick Labyorteaux are great together
as husband and wife. I felt like crying as Bud asked the Priest why his
daughter had to die while others lived. They also gave an emotional
performance as they put Sarah's things away. Blankets, stuffed animals and
an engraved baby book. BTW, isn't Karri Turner's new haircut really cute?
Guest Star: Gerald McRaney (Major Dad, Promise Land)
Quotes of the week:
"If you don't go to church on Sunday morning they send a Priest to
you---Renée to Harm
"Mrs. Rabb?"
"No, that would be his mother."--Renée to the priest
"That's so couplish."--Mic to Mac
"It's a miracle anyone would want to be with Brumby."---Harm to Renée
Pater Nostrum, please forgive Donald
Bellisario and his TV screenwriters, for they do not know what they have
just did to this episode. Flesh is weak, and human inspiration is moody.
Tonight's episode had all the qualities to be a tour de force one- action,
angst, suspense and three storylines interweaved with the same leitmotif:
questioning faith. Faith in the supernatural (Tiner with the SETI
screensaver [as a Puerto Rican, I feel proud that the Arecibo
Radiotelescope, angular stone in the SETI project, was mentioned in the
episode]), faith in God (the canonization of the Marine chaplain, Bud's
revealed anger against Him for the death of Baby Sarah), faith in having a
future together with the one you love (Mac and Mic, Renée). They just did
it fine, until… Oh, Lord, have mercy.
Sergeant-Major Krohn claims the Marine chaplain of his Vietnam division,
fallen in action, appeared to him to lead him to where his wife was
agonizing, victim of an alleged carjacker. Civilian police arrest him as a
prime suspect, but Harm convinces the detective that Navy JAG has
jurisdiction over the case because of the suspect's military high rank.
Adm. Chegwidden appoints Bud and Harm as prosecutor and defendant,
respectively. Charges against Sergeant-Major Krohn are attempted murder
and domestic violence, since he has a previous record of it.
The trial against Sergeant-Major Krohn was bifurcated into the criminal
part and the religious part, concentrated on demonstrating the high
probability of the miracle claimed by the accused, and its direct relation
to the criminal case. Mrs. Krohn recovers, but she's unable to testify in
court; the police delivers a written deposition of her accounts,
exculpating her husband (Harm has it on his file). Father O'Rourke, an
American delegate at the Vatican department that verifies sainthood claims
from across the world, is contacted by the supporters of the chaplain's
canonization to review this case. He contacts Harm and requests permission
to attend the trial. Eventually, he's called as a defense witness. Harm
discovers how little information he has on the subject, and decides to
read more about it.
Tiner get involved in the SETI project and installs the experimental
screensaver on the Admiral's PC. The Admiral doesn't remember giving his
consent to it but he allows it (after all, it's just a screensaver, no
viruses allowed). Tiner gets excited when he perceives what it seems to be
a tracking signal.
Renée
shows up at JAG with tickets for a pub concert of a band she's making the
music video, and practically forces Mac to go with Mic, and Harm is
dragged along. He gets to know about it when Mic reminds him of Friday's
"double date". Ah, his face at the pub. He simply wanted to be somewhere
else. His boredom shows at the exact moment Mic is flirting with his
fiancée and talks about their wedding. Renée looks at him and is
disappointed. This scene can be interpreted in two ways. Shipper- Harm is
definitely jealous and Renée notices. Non-shipper- Harm is bored, he can't
stand PDA's (Public Displays of Affection) and Renée feels bad for
dragging him there, because he doesn't feel comfortable. It all depends on
your belief.
One thing is for sure: Mac enjoys being in Mic's company.
TPTB did their assignment on how a canonization process is. A case must be
opened at the Vatican, proper research must be done, evidence has to be
disclosed and cross-examined, and a special jury must decide if the
candidate proposed has all the qualities for being considered a saint. If
so, the correct steps in reaching sainthood are: Venerable (the candidate
is considered a role model for his/her heroic Christian virtues), Blessed
(devotees can pray to him/her after a miracle is proved to be done by
his/her intervention), and Saint (another miracle must have been done
after being declared Blessed). A special investigator, like Father
O'Rourke, is appointed to investigate the veracity of those miracles and
claims. This process can take years, even centuries. Take for example
Saint Joan of Arc, a XIII-century French saint, canonized in the 1920's.
But there is the case of Saint Maria Goretti, declared Blessed in 1947 and
canonized in 1950. It all depends on how things develop. Also, Venerables
and Blesseds can remain so for years to come.
There are military officers among the saints; for example, Saint Ignatius
of Loyola, and Saint George, England's patron saint. Saint Barbara is the
patroness of soldiers worldwide. And yes, there is a Catholic Encyclopedia
and a Book of Saints, the original one at the Vatican.
What Tiner thinks is an extraterrestrial signal is really a radio
transmission from a "deceased" pulsar from beyond space, several millions
of years late. However, it doesn't diminishes his hopes in finding
extraterrestrial life, and he retires. Adm. Chegwidden smiles
comprehensively. Deep inside, maybe he wants it to be true…
At
the pub, while waiting for The Roches, Harm and Mac talks about the case.
Mic seems to understand what they're talking about, while Renée is
wandering somewhere else. Later, she comments to Harm that the union of
two totally different people like Mic and Mac seems like a miracle. Harm
says that the real miracle is that actually someone can feel for Mic.
Then, Harm receives a call requesting his presence for the verdict. From
Renée's last comment after Harm leaves, we can infer that things are not
well in that relation, and only a miracle can fix it.
Before it, still at the pub, Mac points to Harm that his client's
experience might been real. After all, he always had faith in seeing his
father alive, and he sensed his presence many times. He sees some light in
that remark, and it showed on his defense strategy. His closing
argumentation was just brilliant. I wanted to jump into the screen to kiss
him. The courtroom scenes were excellent.
Bud
questions Father O'Rourke and God for Baby Sarah's death. He never
ventilated it in consideration to Harriet, but after she asked him to help
her gather all the unopened gifts and items, he lets it go out. It
influenced his interrogatory and cross-examining during the trial. He
sounded and acted very cynical, a bit more of how a prosecutor must be, n
my opinion. He was getting personal, and Harm was right in raising
objections. He won the case, but it didn't bring him any peace.
Sergeant-Major
Krohn was declared guilty from all the charges, but there wasn't any
punishment! He went directly to jail, without any announce on forfeit
payment, separation of the charge, years sentenced and the like. Harm
opened his eyes and I yelled on the other side of the tube. What kind of
sentence was it? But his client is calmed. His faith has sustained him
during the trial, and it will be like that now. Even when a surprise
witness, retired officer Randy Hamill, comes along to impugn the sainthood
claims and the incident on the battlefield, his faith and beliefs didn't
shatter. Harm was able to crumble the witness' deposition with facts and
wit, bringing back faith to those who needed it most- surprisingly, Father
O'Rourke, who doubted of the previous process after listening to Mr.
Hamill.
Father
O'Rourke thanks Harm for helping him on his own investigation, and for
giving a boost to his faith. He assures him that the process will
continue. Harm asks him when it will be concluded. -"Call me in a hundred
years. That long it takes."- He exits.
Close up to Harm. Closing credits.
That's all?!
The screenwriters' heresy began when Bud's anger at God wasn't resolved.
His closing argumentation at the trial made him sound as if he was
disappointed with life for it being cruel to he and Harriet. He never
talked about it with anyone after his first "crisis" on court. Then, it
continued with that crappy sentence. My Criminal Procedures professor, who
is also a judge, would faint if she hears something like that. D.C. Police
didn't have a clue on Mrs. Krohn's carjacking, not even the slightest one.
When did the investigation end? And the abrupt closing scene was ad
nauseam. I loved Harm's close up, but I also expected a convincing ending,
not such a slap on the face.
It has to be one of two- writers' muse took a long day off and didn't
return on time to finish the script, or they ceded to some temptation that
wretched any good and worthy idea they had for it. Anyway, they committed
a serious offense against the intelligence and expectations of us loyal
viewers. What did we do to deserve such mutilated ending?
However, last thing we lose is faith. We can only hope that TPTB gives us
an episode the next week enough for us to forgive them for what happened
today. To err is human, but don't overdo it.
Miracles.
Gerald McRaney did a fabulous job portraying the Seargent Major. He was
very convincing as he told the court about how he found his wife because
of something a dead padre showed him. Even though he was found guilty, I
believe that he really was innocent of the crime and that the real
attackers are out there somewhere, but the way TPTB left it the storyline
could continue in the next few months or next season. 
Relationships.
I thought Harm and Renée were cute on Sunday morning at his house. They
seemed like husband and wife. Renée laying across Harm's lap. Both of them
reading the paper. Then when Mac and Renée made that date (well actually
Renée did) but at least she's trying to get along with Mac. I loved the
scene with Harm and Mic outside Headquarters when Mic told him that they
were going on a double date. Harm's reaction was priceless. Then the date
itself. Boy, was there a lot of tension in that room. Renée just wanted to
get to know Mac and Mic a little better, Harm and Mac kept talking about
old times on the sub and when Harm thought he saw his father (Silent
Service, Ghost Ship) and Mic, well, Mic was just jealous. I felt sorry for
Harm as he watched Mic and Mac together. This was one show where I didn't
care for Mic too much and I'm a huge Mic fan. Then we have the scene with
Renée and Harm where she's trying to get Harm to admit if there
relationship is going anywhere. Again, Harm acts completely clueless. 
Speaking
of relationships, Karri Turner and Patrick Labyorteaux are great together
as husband and wife. I felt like crying as Bud asked the Priest why his
daughter had to die while others lived. They also gave an emotional
performance as they put Sarah's things away. Blankets, stuffed animals and
an engraved baby book. BTW, isn't Karri Turner's new haircut really cute?
Pater Nostrum, please forgive Donald
Bellisario and his TV screenwriters, for they do not know what they have
just did to this episode. Flesh is weak, and human inspiration is moody.
Renée
shows up at JAG with tickets for a pub concert of a band she's making the
music video, and practically forces Mac to go with Mic, and Harm is
dragged along. He gets to know about it when Mic reminds him of Friday's
"double date". Ah, his face at the pub. He simply wanted to be somewhere
else. His boredom shows at the exact moment Mic is flirting with his
fiancée and talks about their wedding. Renée looks at him and is
disappointed. This scene can be interpreted in two ways. Shipper- Harm is
definitely jealous and Renée notices. Non-shipper- Harm is bored, he can't
stand PDA's (Public Displays of Affection) and Renée feels bad for
dragging him there, because he doesn't feel comfortable. It all depends on
your belief. 
At
the pub, while waiting for The Roches, Harm and Mac talks about the case.
Mic seems to understand what they're talking about, while Renée is
wandering somewhere else. Later, she comments to Harm that the union of
two totally different people like Mic and Mac seems like a miracle. Harm
says that the real miracle is that actually someone can feel for Mic.
Then, Harm receives a call requesting his presence for the verdict. From
Renée's last comment after Harm leaves, we can infer that things are not
well in that relation, and only a miracle can fix it. 
Before it, still at the pub, Mac points to Harm that his client's
experience might been real. After all, he always had faith in seeing his
father alive, and he sensed his presence many times. He sees some light in
that remark, and it showed on his defense strategy. His closing
argumentation was just brilliant. I wanted to jump into the screen to kiss
him. The courtroom scenes were excellent. 
Father
O'Rourke thanks Harm for helping him on his own investigation, and for
giving a boost to his faith. He assures him that the process will
continue. Harm asks him when it will be concluded. -"Call me in a hundred
years. That long it takes."- He exits.