[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] S04E06 "The Tale of the Long Ago Locket"

RECAP

Sam is so engrossed in the book she’s reading by firelight that she almost has a bucket of water dumped on her head, courtesy of Tucker. She reveals that she’s been brushing up on her history, then weaves a tale about a guy who finds out that if you don’t learn from the past, you’ll be doomed to repeat it.

Jimmy can’t pay attention in history class because he’s too distracted by his crush on April. He awkwardly attempts to ask her out after class, but bails when their friend Josh cuts in and asks April to a movie. On his usual walk home through the woods, Jimmy encounters a soldier dressed in 18th century clothing. The soldier asks the way to Harrisville but the two are chased by Redcoats before Jimmy can answer. April and Josh find Jimmy huddled in the dirt with no Redcoats in sight. Jimmy pretends he was just looking for a contact lens and stumbles upon an old button. A local antiques dealer tells Jimmy it’s from a Minuteman’s uniform but looks strangely untarnished. Later, while playing frisbee at the park with April and Josh, Jimmy is attacked by Redcoats again and is saved by the Minuteman. He gives Jimmy a dagger and reveals he needs to get to Harrisville to give his true love a locket. Jimmy takes the dagger to the antiques dealer, and they discover that it belonged to Lt. William, a soldier who was hanged before making it to Harrisville to confess his feelings to his true love. Realizing William is in trouble, Jimmy heads back to the woods and helps William escape from the Redcoats and find his way to Harrisville. Jimmy finds the locket in the woods and, inspired by William, gives it to April and tells her how much he cares about her.

Frank asks Sam to a concert but, much like Jimmy, is thwarted by Gary, who has three tickets and is bringing Sam and Betty Ann. Tucker tells Frank he’s “history” and Frank chases him out of the clearing, leaving Kiki to shake her head and put out the fire.

REVIEW

T: We open on a fantastic panning shot of Sam reading by campfire light (you can’t read! It’s too dark!) and Frank’s the smoothest he’s ever been, but then Tucker quickly changes the subject. These dynamics don’t take up a lot of screen time, but they really work for the show’s benefit.

E: They do! I love how quickly they’ve established Sam as the new Kristen, but with more bite. There’s something very Kristen-esque about reading by firelight, but Sam’s responses to Frank are much more self-assured. And Tucker changing the subject is adorable. It’s an obvious attempt to protect Gary and almost makes me forgive Tucker for trying to dump a bucket of water over Sam’s head. The little shit.

T: Will Friedle! Another guest star! He was crushing it on Boy Meets World when this aired, and he’s still working, mostly in voice acting. He’s one of those performers who transitioned from on screen talent to voice acting so you don’t necessarily think about, but he’s a talented performer.

E: I’m so glad he’s found a niche because he was one of my favorite fixtures of the ’90s. He just seems like a genuinely nice human, doesn’t he? I’m not a huge fan of this ep -- we’ll get to that -- but he’s believable as cute-but-awkward Jimmy.

T: I know having a dude in love and staring at his crush is supposed to be romantic, but it comes off as creepy. Boys -- don’t stare. Thank you.

E: You’re totally right, but this gets so weirdly complicated when you throw in gender dynamics. I, myself, have been guilty of staring at a crush. But the image of a teenage girl staring at a crush has a different vibe. A few examples aside, like 1993’s The Crush, a teenage girl staring at a boy is more romantic than creepy. Oh, she likes him! Aww, so cute. I wonder if he likes her back? What I’m trying to say is that it’s not Jimmy’s fault--or the show’s fault--that we see a teenage boy staring at a girl and think he’s going to cross a line. It’s rape culture’s fault.

T: Is Will Friedle playing the same character as Ian in “Midnight Ride,” another historical ep?

E: Ooooh, good point. Basically yes? Though he’s not the new kid like Ian was, and Jimmy doesn’t seem quite as fleshed out to me? Ian had a vivid quirkiness that made him instantly likable. I don’t quite get that with Jimmy.

T: Okay, so Jimmy’s in love with April and he can barely talk to her, and he spends most of his time staring from afar. Then, when he does talk to her, the conversation’s crashed by random popular dude Josh. Okay. Got it. BUT then it turns out the three of them are super close friends who hang out all the time? That legitimately doesn’t make any sense. I can’t make their early interactions sync with their later characterizations. At all.

E: I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one thrown by this. I think what’s missing is a scene at the start establishing the three of them as friends and then revealing that the two guys in the group both have a thing for the girl. Instead, we think the dynamic is one thing and then get confused when we realize it’s another.

T: We get to watch Jimmy voyeur out over a teen boy and girl kissing. Okay. It’s weird. It’s to show us that he wants someone to kiss? Like, was that a question before? I guess seeing teens kiss just feels too adult for this show?

E: I think it’s supposed to be that “Why can’t I have what they have?” thing, but something about that whole scene is hilariously off. In any other context I’d be like, “Dude wants a threesome. Obvi.” Maybe it goes on for too long? Also, though I don’t necessarily think a quick kiss is too adult for this show, the kiss here is...awkward. It’s awkward in a totally believable teenage way, but not in a way that we’re used to seeing on a show for kids.

T: Yes, thank you. I didn’t quite know why it feels out of place. I don’t think of myself as a prude, so I wasn’t sure what part felt uncomfortable. Part of my problem with this episode is Jimmy is in danger when he walks through the woods. So, you know, stop walking through the woods Jimmy?

E: That’s a fair point. You’d think that after he found the button he would’ve stayed the hell away from there. But I guess that’s what the whole weird frisbee scene is for? It attempts to give him a reason to go back? Like, he doesn’t want his friends to get hurt--especially April--so he says he’ll get the frisbee and catch up. But the whole thing comes off as super weird, especially because Jimmy is the one who throws the frisbee and it’s not clear whether he meant to throw it into the woods.

T: I couldn’t decide if he did it on purpose or not either. It goes back to not getting Jimmy’s character. We have a guest star lead, but the character is still up in the air. Something’s just not gelling right.

E: Yes, and I don’t think this a reiteration of the Bobcat Goldthwait debacle from “The Final Wish.” Will is great, he just doesn’t have a whole lot to work with here.

T: Like “Midnight Ride” we’re dealing with the U.S. War of Independence, so we’re set in America again.

E: The U.S. War of Independence? Did we stop calling it the American Revolutionary War? Either way, you’re right, and it’s hilarious. April’s accent is soooooo Canadian.

T: 1 - I use U.S. and America interchangeably, but you’re right, there were no states at the time. 2 - American War of Independence and American Revolutionary War are the two agreed upon names.

E: The more you knowwwwwwww.

T: This whole thing reminds me of “Locker 22” and I’m not happy about that.

E: Hoo boy, yeah. There are things here that I like more than “Locker 22.” The story seems a bit more solid and the attempt at historical accuracy at least *seems* betterish? But here’s the thing. “Locker 22” still has echoes of a horror story. You have a teenage girl who died in a terrible, preventable accident. “The Long Ago Locket” doesn’t come off as a horror story to me. It’s more like a speculative thriller with historical fiction and romance elements. It’s a gender-swapped Outlander for ’90s kids. I don’t know why, but Lt. William being hanged just isn’t nearly as terrifying as Candy being blown to bits in the science lab. And unlike “Midnight Ride,” there’s no monster.

T: That makes sense, but allow me to sound pompous and say, that begs the question what is horror? Jimmy is frightened and his life is at stake. I wonder if the woodland scenes happened during the night if it would have a more horror vibe?

E: “What is horror?” is ALWAYS up for debate, which is one of the things I love most about the genre. But I think you’re right about the vibe. The stakes are life and death, but the atmosphere doesn’t feel like horror. The tense classroom scene at the climax of “Locker 22” comes closer. This feels more like historical adventure. Perhaps a different soundtrack would’ve helped as well?

T: The British captain finds a boombox and calls it treachery? He’s not like, “Oh fuck, this is magic!”

E: LOL -- I totally thought he was going to accuse Jimmy of being a wizard!

T: Great way to do Revolutionary War times on a budget – it’s the woods!

E: The costumes are great and setting the story around Lt. William instead of a big battle was very smart. And yet...

T: The episode isn’t cheap. Acting’s good. I just don’t like it.

E: Yup, nailed it. It’s not scary. I’m not really invested in April or Josh. Jimmy is sort of all over the place. And there’s just enough awkwardness that I’m like...yeah, nope. BUT! Lt. William is kind of a hottie, no?

T: He’s okay. We’ll see the actor again in season seven.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: No. Anything queer at all would have helped.

E: It totally would’ve! I would’ve made Lt. William’s true love a dude. A Revolutionary War cinnamon roll who enjoys painting landscapes and picking wildflowers in the woods.

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: Did Josh look familiar? He should, because actor Joel Gordon was Billy in “Dream Machine,” told by Kiki.

E: Ah -- he did look vaguely familiar! Also -- the Redcoat Captain is Peter Colvey, who played Mr. Ankers in “Full Moon.” You know, the guy whose brother was a werewolf.

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: Hmmmm. I guess not much has changed, right? I mean awkward voyeur boys still walk through the woods to hang out with middle-aged antique dealers, right?

E: Bahahahahaha. As much as I love the antique dealer and his rad antique shop, you know a modern kid would go straight to the interwebs to research this one. Also, do kids still throw those flimsy nylon frisbees around? I know disc golf is a big thing, but I haven’t seen one of those ’90s frisbees since...the ’90s.

 JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: I really don’t want to do a “Five episodes I don’t like” type ranking, but yeah, I don’t care for this one. I “hate” “Locker 22” but can kind of enjoy watching it for how bad it is. This one is kind of boring. Hands down, the acting’s better. And actually, it’s not bad at all, maybe if there was something really bad it would be more memorable and more fun to watch. I want to like this, I like Will Friedle, but it just falls flat for me. 4.9 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

E: I feel the same way. But just for Will Friedle, I’m going to round up to an even 5 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.