Brothers in Arms

Season 3, Episode 143

Written by Jeff King, directed by Jimmy Kaufman

Original broadcast dates:

Guest stars: Michael Johnson - Jason Jazrawy; Dustin Mahoney - Paul Wildbaum; Police Commandant - David Gardner; Reporter - Satori Shakoor; Bruce Spender - Brent Carver; Kevin Spender - Ron White; Francesca Vecchio – Ramona Milano; Elliot Wells - Frank Pavolic

Featured Music: Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits

Synopsis
When Kowalski hauls in a good Samaritan for carrying a gun, his good deed does not go unpunished when it turns out that man is a Federally protected witness whose colleagues would love to kill him.

Interesting 'blooper'. Watch the scene in the teaser in which Ray wants Fraser to hurry up; he does some robot-like motions with his arms. This scene is repeated in the beginning credits, only the film has been reversed. Notice that the building number, formerly 100, is now 001...

The infamous RCW 139 license plate appears on Ray's silver Dodge Intrepid.

(The above information was cheerfully and unrepentantly stolen from William & Elyse's due South site - http://fly.hiwaay.net/~warydbom/duesouth/episodes/index.html - although I could just as easily have gotten it from the official site, if I had it bookmarked, which I don't.)

First off, I'll explain (sit DOWN, John!) that I think I Coulda Been a Defendant is without doubt the stupidest title for a Due South ep *ever* and especially for this one, which was crying *out* to be called Brothers in Arms. The only reason I can think they didn't go for that is that the revelation that Bruce and Kevin were brothers would have been given away by the title. Oh, *well*. Get over it.

This is one of my top five episodes. It's one I can watch over and over and at the drop of a hat and for no apparent reason. It's not one that leads me to think that Fraser and Ray had hot sex immediately following it, it doesn't particularly advance the slash-coloured relationship between the principals . . . but I can and do watch it over and over. The only reason for that can be and must remain the acting. I have been known to even get a lump in my throat during the Brothers in Arms scene as the soundtrack swells (more on that later, LaT), providing my hormones are in an obliging mood.

Not that the Fraser/Ray interaction is in *any* way lacking. Torture, that's a good idea; the insight into Ray's personality (On the inside I'm a poet, on the outside, mmmph! Shake, bad guys, shake – I mean, did that just sum him up for *all* of us and did Fraser not begin to fall in love with him during that whole conversation? I did - and I think this may have been one of the very first Ray K eps that I saw - and I sat up and Took Extensive Notice, (boys and) girls.) Then there's the conversation in Ray's apartment; the tuck in hurt my back sequence followed by the extended pat down – there's no question that these men have already formed a close bond and a strong partnership, no question that their click spark BOOM continues without need for butane, no question that they are remarkably close, even without slash-coloured glasses, remarkably close and comfortable with each other given the fact that they've only worked together a few weeks at this point. I believe Betty pointed out that Elaine's graduation was a month after Eclipse.

I do have to wonder if Turnbull's room was an abortive attempt at a humourous expansion that probably went by the way side as Paul got busier and decided that it was just as funny to have Fraser live in the consulate instead.

I also like the telling interaction between Welsh and Ray. This is a very early indication that Ray respects Welsh, that despite his lack of respect for authority he cedes Welsh a measure of control. In return, Welsh talks TO Ray, not at him. There is a singular difference in the way Welsh addresses Ray Kowalski and the way he addressed Ray Vecchio. Ray Kowalski and Welsh seemed to have begun on a more equal footing; Welsh clearly likes Ray Kowalski, respects him, and treats him as a valuable asset, not someone he has to follow around and . . . clean up after. Ray Kowalski is someone Welsh can depend on to do his job and to do it well. After all, who figured out all by himself from the phone call in the parking lot - another hunch followed up with solid police work - that Kevin was the bad apple in the barrel? Paired with Fraser, who was and is a favourite of Welsh's and don't even TRY to tell me he's not, Welsh is happier than a cop in a doughnut shop. Watch the developing relationship as the seasons progress. I *love* this character development and I love the fact that Beau Starr was included to this extent - and could carry off that character development on a strong and steady beat throughout the third and fourth seasons - and oh, hell, I love Paul Gross for letting it all happen.

So. Fraser. Ray. Welsh. Smart ass dialogue, occasional snark . . . and then we get Brent Carver, in a masterfully understated slightly autistic idiot savant performance. The casting on Due South has never ceased to amaze me: it's equalled lately only by Joss Whedon's ability to find interesting people. Canada, as has been remarked upon in other venues, seemingly has only sixty or so actors - but almost every one of them puts his American counterpart to shame. Due South has spoiled me for much of network television today in part because it was a complete package: funny, poignant, intelligent, creative, and above all carried by an ensemble cast who clearly, clearly illustrated the chestnut that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. And I've digressed again. Oh, dear.

On (tangentially) that topic, a nod to Ron White's portrayal of Kevin Spender. A trifle wooden, perhaps, but who *wouldn't* be in company with these three men? He certainly did a better job than the actor who played Spender on the X-Files - and he stretched himself, went all out, for that scene in the rain and he pulled me into his character as he raised his gun and pointed it at his brother . . . Yes, LaT, I *know* he was the obvious villain. So? We still got to watch Paul, Callum, and Brent. To the backbeat of Dire Straits. In the rain. With guns. Oooh. Hurt me. Hurt me some more.

Brent Carver. I can't get enough of watching this man. It's not because I find him physically attractive, either. There's a surface resemblance to Callum, of course; and like Callum he has haunting eyes. But for whatever reason I can watch him, and watch him again, forever. He steals every scene. He works off Paul Gross *perfectly.* I would love to see them together again. Understated, underplayed, every breath he takes exquisitely, perfectly in character. Paul couldn't have cast a better man for the part except Callum and he was already taken. Therefore I take every opportunity afforded me to watch all *three* of them on the screen at the same time - and, bonus, at the end I get Beau Starr too.

The Bruce/Fraser connection: I can occasionally get slashy glimpses between Bruce and Fraser; but for the most part Fraser treats him rationally and gently and slightly protectively - much the way he treats Christina in CH or even Ray in Eclipse - for the latter the difference is, essentially, in degree, not in kind, and part of the reason Ray begins to find his feet, reassert his personality in BiA is because of his interactions with Fraser in Eclipse. And Fraser treats Bruce much the same as he treated Christina and Ray. He doesn't preach. He doesn't push - much. He asks the questions that need to be asked. And then he waits for the other person to figure out the answers. And he's *there* the whole time.

This is classic Benton Fraser taken to new heights in the interaction between Paul Gross and Brent Carver. As LaT and I have noted, there aren't a whole lot of people who can distract our attention from Paul or Callum on screen - Brent Carver is one who can do it without trying, and as LaT said, Paul, consummate professional and gentleman that he is, stood back and let him fly. LaT also informs me that Brent Carver won a Gemini for his turn as Bruce Spender. I'm … impressed anew by the intelligence, discrimination, and good taste of our neighbours to the north.

One of the things I like *best* about this ep - and I like *all* of it, right down to Ray with the gun getting Bruce the hell out of the parking lot - is the climax. There are many many reasons to like the climax - rain, the soundtrack (loud though it may be), Wet!Ray - but the best reason of all is the four amigos: Fraser, Ray, Dief, and . . . Welsh. Welsh. With a gun. In the rain. Running cover for his boys. It don't GET no better, not in *any* ep before or since, although Odds is a very close second.

A digression: Many of us share a love for Fraser's mode of addressing Diefenbaker. It struck me, as I watched this and the two previous eps, that the only other person Fraser addresses in that tone of voice is . . . Ray. I am of course not counting Flashback since he was not in full possession of his senses and, moreover, I would argue that most of his snarkiness was self directed; even when amnesiac he still seemed to have an undercurrent of reserve with Ray Vecchio. I could be wrong: I cheerfully admit I watch few Vecchio eps unless I happen across them. I think that this snarky mode - this level of comfort and familiarity that he has heretofore only demonstrated with his alter ego - is a very subtle Fraseresque indication of the way *he* feels about Ray. (And we can go one step further and extrapolate that attitude right out to "That's my wolf." Heh. "That's my Ray." Not quite as overt as Joe Dick but Benton Fraser is nothing if not subtle.)

An Audra favourite moment: I will swear on my deathbed that the "Torture. That – that's a good idea," line was a Callum ad-lib and, moreover, that Paul's quick reactions preserved the take but gave us an opportunity to see that delighted, surprised smile. I suspect that the story conferences, if they hadn't already started by that point, began very shortly thereafter. Callum has, Kellie informs me, a reputation in the biz for having an ear for dialogue, and it's obvious Mr. Smart Smart *Smart* Gross took full advantage of his co-star in that regard.

A LaT favourite moment: when Fraser hangs up on Kevin because Fraser simply will not brook belligerence. She calls that a grace note of Fraser snarkiness and I bow to her incisive analysis. That is followed by an Audra favourite moment as Welsh gets snarky with Mr. Deputy Director. This was also a Welsh psychic moment, I think: Fraser would not be rude to anyone but the villain, after all. <G>

A Kellie favourite moment: how cute Ray is with his flip-up shades on that rooftop parking structure. It's a shallow moment, to be sure, but . . . I’m right behind her. "I just adore the fact that a) he has his glasses on preemptively, and b) he's cool enough that he can wear both geeky glasses and flip up shades and *still* be the epitome of cool."

Quibble: I hate the circus music in the teaser. Yeah, the acrobatics were OTT but what else is new for this show? I mean, people turn into ravens, right? Unfortunately, the teaser also has Ray with Ferocious Scowl, Gun AND Bracelet so … you gotta live with the circus music.

A question: who pays for all that replacement auto glass? Your tax dollars at work, citoyennes.

All right. I've been putting it off long enough. The soundtrack and the climax.

Yes. It's loud. It's distracting. This is true. I finally did notice that, the fifth or sixth time I watched it. One has to strain to hear the dialogue. I tried to think of reasons, aside from sloppiness, that this could have occurred, since sloppiness is not a hallmark of Due South's general production quality levels.

One: having to strain to hear the dialogue puts one, in a sense, in Fraser's and Ray's and Welsh's place. Watching, wishing to hell they'd had Bruce wear a wire, wondering if Kevin was the bad guy, if Bruce would realise it or, more importantly, admit it (to himself) - especially Fraser, wondering that last. (And I *love* that Bruce was given free choice in this matter - treated, by Fraser and by extension, Welsh and Ray, as a freakin' *adult,* Kevin.) And, as Kellie points out, the rain and the distance make it difficult to see as well, as clearly the three men watching are having trouble doing. So. First hypothesis. No?

We move on to the second. This is rather lame. But in this scenario, the music is more important than the words. Paul has said in interviews that he discovered fairly early on that music could set the mood more effectively than a hundred words. The music, clearly a deliberate choice, may have been put at that volume simply so that we too felt the upswelling surge of drama and pathos. Because it does, as I mentioned before, cause that reaction in me at times. It gets suddenly louder and overshadows the dialogue at a very specific point. Mood is more important than words. The sound does fade to a manageable level as they move into the woods. No?

Third hypothesis. (I can do this all night. Another reason to love Due South, well, maybe not for you, but my brain's happy . . .) And no, Kellie, the 'we paid a lot of money to Mark Knopfler' does *not* get a nod. Third hypothesis is a cop out though. It was raining. They made the music louder. That borders perilously on sloppy so . . . I don't go for it.

I will also add, on the Shallow!Moments scale, that Wet!Ray, Wet!Welsh, and Wet!Worried!Fraser - the former two with guns, to boot - turn an odd and evidently moist crank for me. And Wet!Bruce just . . . does things to me with that triangulated face and those immense eyes and the rain pouring . . . and the semiautomatic rifle. (Okay, if you hadn't guessed, Men with Guns turn my crank too.)

Slash-o-meter: 5. They didn't go home and fuck. I don't think they were fucking at this point. But the intimacy is there, the bond, the trust . . . and, yeah, Surf, Bruce *does* bear a physical resemblance to Ray. And there's the 'never misses a chance to cop a feel' Fraser who does delightful things to Ray upside down in the sleeping bag, a perfect little wacky sidebar in our Due South universe.

Audra, in Ohio

On To LaT's commentary/addendum

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