THE GIRL IN BOXCAR #3

• I am anxiously awaiting the opportunity to write about a fun or sexy or special episode. Unfortunately, this isn’t it.
• I like the scene where the boys come into the lawyer’s office with the letter. There is something about the way Heyes looks around and surveys the place, and the way he looks at the lawyer that I like, although I can’t quite figure out what he is looking for.



• I like the boys taking out the lookout on the stairs. They are all business as they tie up and gag the man, and Kid kindly replaces the hat on his head. Our boys are nothing if not courteous.
• I have decided, just now, that I am particularly enamored with Peter’s left profile. I like him from any angle, of course, but something in the shape of his jaw, the tilt of his nose and the depth of his dimple from the left just leaves me breathless…
  
• Please permit me a moment of self-indulgence. I have nothing witty or insightful to say about the following picture. Sometimes, without understanding what it is about them precisly, images of Peter just stir me so deeply I can only murmur softly, "damn, baby". *sigh* §



• I always chuckle at Ben’s many techniques of mounting a horse! In the first few episodes, no matter how he does it, it seems somewhat awkward and clumsy. He gets better as time goes on, but he never truly seems comfortable mounting or riding. And somehow I find that very appealing. One of the best things about this show and its actors is the small imperfections that make it so human.
• Poor Heyes sure didn’t get very far in the good chase Kid advised him to give…Kid hasn’t even stepped out of the shadows yet and Heyes’ horse falls and he lays there just waiting for his pursuers to catch up.
• I love the arrogance with which Heyes faces the man questioning him. He is a born brat, our Heyes--I can tell--and I find that quality absolutely irresistible. And how does he manage to look so gorgeous being smacked around by a thug? Truly, I think only Peter could pull that off.




• Ever heard of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? I say we track The Journey of the Ugly Bag. It first reared its ugly head in the Pilot, as our boys saw Lom Trevors off to the state capital with the ugly bag. And now, there it is in the hands of Annabelle on her quest for authenticity. Wonder where it will appear next.



• Kid! Stop!! Take your saddlebags! Why would you leave them with this runaway girl, when they have $50,000 in them? Are you so motivated by the search for food you lose all your sense? $50,000 couldn’t weigh that much; taking your saddlebags with you wouldn’t be much of a burden. And speaking of light weight saddlebags, why didn’t you bring a couple of sandwiches yourself for the trip, Kid? I guess you predated the Boy Scouts by about 3 decades, or you might have thought to be prepared.
• Oh, my. The look on Annabelle’s face and the little hug she gives herself when she shuts the door on the train as her hero goes off foraging for food tips us off to the fact that she is already in love…Careful, Kid.
• After being kicked away from the moving train, the Kid--lying on the ground, but still clutching his cute sack lunch--may not be quite the macho hunter-gatherer, at least in this instance, that young Annabelle’s vivid imagination may be telling her he is.
• I think I am having a time-travel experience! Here come the four men chasing Kid up the road by the pond---only wait a minute…those aren’t those men….those are the 4 ranch hands from Kimbro’s place…about to meet up with Clay Grainger, the Virginian and Denny Todd…what happened?...where am I?....what series am I in?...and…and…did the Virginian have a name??
• Chivalrous Kid gives chilled Annabelle his coat when they reunite…but he wasn’t chivalrous enough to save her a single morsel to eat. The man does seem ruled by his stomach. I love how Annabelle says “All of it?” after Kid confesses to eating the food. As I am, she is aghast at his gluttony.

• Annabelle cries a river, and yet not a single tear, as she and the Kid try to get help from the old couple. What’s up with that? A cute young actress, but some fine tuning on the acting is still needed.

• I admire your restraint, Kid. A nubile 17 year old snuggles up to you for warmth and you respond by showing no interest. If you can control your sexual appetite so well, why can’t you control your appetite for food?



• No wonder the man playing Stacy, the second banana with the common sense to Griffin’s hothead character, looks familiar. He is Jack Garner, brother of James Garner. Talented family, that.
• Neither of our boys can stand up to a woman’s tears, apparently; although Kid’s reaction seems much less compassionate than Heyes’ had been with Mary Cunningham. Still, it is a nice quality, going all soft when a woman cries.
• I don’t like the Kid handling Annabelle roughly. It isn’t necessary and it is a less than appealing glimpse at part of Kid’s character. Don’t be manhandling a teenage girl because of your own carelessness with $50,000, Kid.
• I really hate the Kid pushing the old man around, and forcing his way by bullet into the locked room when he and Annabelle return to look for the money. He needs his calming influence, Heyes, there to protect him from himself. But there is real sadness and a fleeting expression of shame on his face when he realizes what is on the other side of the locked door. Ok, Kid, you have redeemed yourself. Now, carry that shame with you for awhile and learn from it.



• It is wrenching when withered old Mr. Lambert laments “Nothing here belongs to any of ya"…and almost wails, "this is my home…” and charges Griffin, who quickly gets the better of him and tackles him down into the hay. This old man has been terribly violated. He is not up to a fist fight with these younger men. I have to give him props for being feisty, though.
• You mean all it takes is for Heyes to walk into the barn with a gun and a beautiful smile and everyone calms down?

• Heyes feels, more than sees, that the Kid is about to punch the lawyer, Mr. Greer, and stops him…”Cool down, cool down” he says softly, and rests his hand on Kid’s shoulder. And the Kid does cool down. That is the beauty of their relationship. Kid is too worked up and angry, but Heyes is able to stay detached, and he removes his hand from Kid's shoulder only to punch the lawyer himself. Kid is perfectly satisfied with that and I find that connection quite lovely. These characters are like two halves of each other. To steal a phrase for them from Jerry McGuire, you complete me…®

  

  

• Why are the boys so fixated on getting Annabelle a room with a bath? Are they trying to say she smells? Or do they just want to picture her luxuriating in a tub?

• Why is Kid Curry deep kissing a 17 year old girl? And a long, deep kiss at that. If he was so inclined, why didn’t he act on his desires in the Lamberts’ barn, when Annabelle was sidling up to him to get warm? I don’t care how much this young woman has matured while out experiencing the “authentic” side of life; she is too young for a 27 year old (according to his wanted poster) worldly man. My, how TV has changed. The word ‘damn’ was edited out by the censors, but they allow a shady grown man to make out with a 17 year old runaway. Interesting.
  
• Episodes with our heroes apart are ok, but are sorely lacking in that wonderful chemistry between Heyes and Curry. Since I think that is the essence of the show, I tend to not care a whole lot for episodes focusing on only one of the characters. And this episode falls flat in the bottom of the barrel for me.