605: "The Chosen One I"

H Tide · Post by **H Tide** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:51 pm

snowflake wrote:When Kelly said "Hi, Mom" I thought it was a Mandy ep then she kept talking and I knew it wasn't. The way they said Hi Mom sounded kinda the same.

The same thing happened with me! I first thought Kelly was Mandy and didn't figure it out until the fire alarm sounded.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:09 pm

Why is everyone wondering if she smokes? Would Tamika have asked that if she hadn't seen her with cigs?

LizzieG · Post by **LizzieG** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:01 pm

"Smells like something's burning. Anybody in here? Is there someone smoking in there? There's no smoking in the building."

"Don't worry about it. I opened the window."

"What? Kelly?"

"What do you want?"

"How old are you?"

"10."

"And you're smoking? You shouldn't be doing that."

"What are you, the surgeon general?"

"Where did you even get cigarettes?"

"Why, do you want some?"

"No! I'm getting Mr. Whittaker.""

First of all, Tamika wondered aloud if someone was smoking before she saw anyone, and then you can obviously hear someone coming out of a bathroom stall. It really isn't clear if Tamika saw anything revealing or not. And the way everyone believed she'd been smoking makes me think that's not it.

Another thing is that her smoking (or not) doesn't affect the story much...at least as far as we know. She lived in an abusive, one-parent home and is now all alone. That's more than enough to have to resolve in one episode, even without the smoking issue.

As far as the juvenile detention and the deleting of Connie's book...I don't know. I would say, however, that if I were Tamika, Kelly's telling me she had been in juvenile detention would only stop me from confronting her myself. I would still tell Mr. Whittaker, or my dad, or someone...

Just my two cents. I guess we'll find out in a few days, won't we?

H Tide · Post by **H Tide** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:10 pm

I think Kelly was really smoking, because Tamika did smell something burning. And that was how Kelly started the fire alarms. To me it just makes sense that Kelly was smoking. Why would she lie about it?

LizzieG · Post by **LizzieG** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:16 pm

H Tide wrote:I think Kelly was really smoking, because Tamika did smell something burning. And that was how Kelly started the fire alarms. To me it just makes sense that Kelly was smoking. Why would she lie about it?

She wanted to keep the fact that she was homeless from the people at Whit's End. If, by implying she smoked, she could keep that a secret, it makes sense that she would say it.

Plus, if she was going to smoke, why would she do it at Whit's End? There are many places she could go smoke without the risk of setting off the smoke alarm, or worrying about someone walking in on her.

It just doesn't seem plausible to me.

Aelwyn · Post by **Aelwyn** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:28 pm

I agree. I'm just not convinced she was smoking. It never mentions that Tamika saw cigarettes. She just smelled something burning. Which means it could've been something else.

Applesauce · Post by **Applesauce** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:47 pm

Here's how I took the scene:

"Smells like something's burning. Anybody in here? Is there someone smoking in there? There's no smoking in the building."

"Don't worry about it. I opened the window."

Here, Kelley never denies the fact that she was smoking. She never gives a solid "yes" either, but it was implied that she could be saying "don't worry about [my smoking]".

"How old are you?"

"10."

"And you're smoking? You shouldn't be doing that."

Tamika's line was more of a statement than a question. If she had said "WERE you smoking?", it would have made more sense that she didn't see anything.

"Where did you even get cigarettes?"

"Why, do you want some?"

Again, further implications that Tamika saw the cigarettes. Also, when Kelly said "do you want some," I got a mental image of her offering the pack to Tamika (and if you listen closely, you can hear a rustling sound during that line that sounds as if that's just what she's doing). So, I think Kelley was smoking. And it backs up the reasoning for the fire alarms going off. Also, if it is revealed in the second part that she wasn't smoking, what good would it do? It would be confusing, and all it would establish is that Kelley is a liar, which we already know from several events of the first episode.

Anyway, part of me kind of hoped that Kelley's mysterious last name will link her to past events, but at the same time I'm hoping it won't. It's been a long time since we've had a solid, stand-alone 2-parter, and I'm really glad we're finally getting one again. Also, I doubt there will be too many surprises in the second half of the story. If there really was going to be some sort of plot-twist in this story, it would have most likely happened at the end of part one.

No offence intended toward anyone, but reading through the previous comments about this episode, I think some people are taking things too much out of context in order to satisfy your "Hollywood"-style hopes for this episode. Kind of like Eugene tried to find some scientific reasoning to explain Kelley's oddities, I'm finding a lot of comments trying to work through the "mysteries" of the episode, without accepting Kelley for what she is: a hurting little girl who has suffered a lot during her first 10 years, and tends to misbehave because of it. You can say "she didn't really smoke" or "she was lying about Juvenile Detention", and maybe that's true. But I personally hope it isn't, because those "results" seem perfectly natural for a child who grew up in an abusive, broken home. I love it when AIO characters are introduced with problems such as the ones Kelly has, and if part two ended with some form of "Oh yeah, I lied about all that stuff", I would be disappointed. I hope the episode comes to some sort of resolution for now, but that Kelly will become a regular character that we can revisit in the future to see how she's dealing with her life. Also, if it is revealed that she's somehow related to someone like Mr. Charles or Richard Maxwell, it would completely strip the episode of it's realism. It would overly-dramatize the story and make it seem as though people like Kelly don't really exist

Anyway, I really enjoyed the episode, and I also thought that all the parts were well-played. I was a little bothered by the writing for Eugene, Connie, and Whit, however. Connie and Eugene both seemed to take a step backward in their maturity in this episode (although I probably would have responded just like Connie if someone had erased 600+ pages of my hard work). Eugene bothered me in particular. After seeing him grow in his faith for over 10 years now, I found it really surprising that he still treats some situations involving human behavior as little "science experiments." And as far as Whit is concerned, I was surprised that he allowed Eugene to go on like he did. You would think that Whit would have stopped him, knowing that Eugene's experiments had the potential to upset Kelly. And why didn't Whit try to find out more about her? When Aubrey ran away in "Opening Day", Whit took her under his wing and had a great little conversation with her. In this episode, he let Kelly run free and barely said a thing to her.

Well, it's always hard to judge a 2-parter by the first part alone, but for now this gets 4 stars from me. All in all it was very good, and I'm excited to hear the conclusion.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:57 pm

I second Applesauce's entire post. And to add to all of Applesauce's reasons, why would the AIO team bring up the smoking if she wasn't?

That would make no sense whatsoever to me.

Samitude · Post by **Samitude** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:35 pm

I would think Tamika would have been able to distinguish cigarette smoke from just regular smoke. So, yes, I do think she was smoking.

Manda · Post by **Manda** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:19 pm

Laurie wrote:
underdogfan710 wrote:
Monday wrote:If I was Whit, I would ask about her family, where she came from... Really, when you were seven did your parents leave you places on your own? I don't think I even knew my phone number at seven... Anyways, that bothered me, but getting past that I really enjoyed this episode and I cannot wait for next Saturday! $\:D/$
She's ten.
And she was not on her own by choice. Her mother threw her out of the house. I think her mother is an alcoholic and was drunk when she did it. The reason being that Kelly forgot to turn the burner off and set off the fire alarm.

I meant that Whit should have wondered why she was there all by herself.

LizzieG · Post by **LizzieG** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:30 pm

While I still have my doubts (though I wholeheartedly agree that these details aren't relevant to the heart of the story), but I must say it's nice to have an episode such as this one that sparks debate. How long has it been since this happened? (And my apologies if I got too caught up in...I'm a writer, and I tend to overanalyze things

).

If only this week were going by faster...

Samitude · Post by **Samitude** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:56 pm

Monday wrote: I meant that Whit should have wondered why she was there all by herself.

Well, there are lots of kids that seem to come to Whit's End even roam all over Odyssey without any parents. Look at the way Lucy, Curt, Jared, Duane, etc., all seem to go to the library, the mall, etc. by themselves. I would think Whit would ask her about her family, though, seeing that she's new. He probably just about knows everyone else that comes in there.

Sonuna · Post by **Sonuna** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:48 am

Samitude wrote:I would think Tamika would have been able to distinguish cigarette smoke from just regular smoke. So, yes, I do think she was smoking.

Nicotine has an extraordinarily different smell than 'normal' smoke--and it's rather strong. She would have been able to tell, even if she hadn't experienced it before...

Oba-rai · Post by **Oba-rai** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:27 am

Blitzen wrote:
Samitude wrote:I would think Tamika would have been able to distinguish cigarette smoke from just regular smoke. So, yes, I do think she was smoking.
Nicotine has an extraordinarily different smell than 'normal' smoke--and it's rather strong. She would have been able to tell, even if she hadn't experienced it before...

Exactly... we've been upstairs from three heavy smokers. The smell is much different from normal smoke, and I find solace in normal smoke while I choke and gag at the obnoxious smell of cigarettes.

I liked this one. Mystery! Excitement! Intrigue!

Do you think that she really went to juvenile detention? I doubt it. They don't send 10-year-olds to J.D. She was trying to threaten Tamika when she said she was sent there for 'violent behavior'. However, I liked how Mr. Washington said 'did she have a weapon?' ... it made me laugh for some reason. Yes, Mr. Washington, she was threatening me with cigarettes!

Macnut · Post by **Macnut** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:00 pm

The opening scene blew me away! I wasn't sure if I was hearing correctly or not.

Overall I thought it was a good ep. Sad but a new topic that hasn't really been addressed by AIO before and I think they are doing a great job. I wasn't all that impressed by Tamika. She seems really stuck up and it was stupid of her not to mention that she saw Kellie smoking as soon as it happened. But I usually find Tamika annoying so it wasn't a huge surprise.

I like how they are developing two sides to Kellie, the sweet little girl crying on a park bench and the crazy punk kid smoking in the bathroom at Whit's End. I have a feeling that they will keep her on for a while, although I'm not sure how once the gang figures out what's going with her.

I think Mr. Washington, Whit, Connie and Eugene all did a great job. I wasn't that surprised at Connie's outburst after book was deleted. It was very Connie-like and I'm sure Whit will address it in Part 2.

I am curious why Kellie didn't want her last name known. It could be nothing but it left me wondering...

I really like this line:

I remember the first time my mom left me alone for two days. I was fourteen and I invited all...never mind I wasn't a Christian.

Overall, great episode. Four stars. Looking foward to Thursday!

FrayedAroundTheEdges · Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:08 pm

Im listening to the beginning and it's breaking my heart!! I mena how old is the little girl for her mom to be kickin her out evn if she was drunk!!
*heart is oficially broken*tear,tear*

#1KellyFan · Post by **#1KellyFan** » Sun May 25, 2008 6:42 pm

There are not enough words I could use that would describe my love for this episode. And it’s not just because it was the first AIO episode I ever listened to either. It’s much more than that.

From the first scene, I was totally drawn in and once more, I was stunned speechless. The reason was, my mother treated me the same way Kelly’s mother treated her. I can’t tell you how many times my mother threatened to kick me out of the house. The only difference between Kelly’s mother and my mother was my mother never went through with it. I think the reason she never went through with it was because she knew if she had, then she wouldn’t get money from my Dad. This means she wouldn’t have money to buy drugs. Yup, drugs were her reason for not loving me and virtually hating my guts. She picked drugs and alcohol over loving me. She would mostly verbally abuse me, but sometimes she did hit me as well. She would come home late most nights from drinking and wake me up with the noise she would make. Much like Kelly’s mother, my mother didn’t listen to a word I said whenever I would tell her to stop drinking. Then again, my mother viewed me as a mistake and wish I was never born, so why would she listen to me? Overall, this whole episode was amazing and it remains to be my top favorite of all!

The Town of Odyssey

605: "The Chosen One I"

How many stars?