That said, let me say that although I have yet to see the rest of season four, I am going to nominate ‘The Ladies Man' as being the best dueSouth episode of all time.
I mean, it had the emotional brass knuckle of ‘The Deal', ‘Victoria's Secret', ‘Letting Go, and ‘Juliet is Bleeding' all rolled into one hour of sheer nail biting dramatics.
Nothing could have prepared me for this episode because dueSouth has been, well, bad for so long. Then along comes this gem which is undeniably to Ray Kowalski what ‘The Deal' was to Ray Vecchio: an almost too dark tale of guilt and redemption. It feels that dueSouth has suddenly come full circle.
Let's start with Ben. Suddenly, while not being the same character he was in seasons one and two, he is no longer the caricature he was in season three. He has matured, in a sense. While in ‘The Deal' when asked if he sings, he answers "So I'm told", here he answers unabashedly, "Yes, I do." While in ‘Juliet is Bleeding' he could not give his grieving friend Vecchio a hug, in this episode he is capable of placing an arm across a sobbing friend's shoulders. Again, we see a darker side of Ben Fraser, the side that called Gerrard an SOB, the side that pulled a gun out and aimed it at the man who killed his father and later slammed a boot into his chest. This time around, though, Ben has released his anger, perhaps he is coming to terms with his father's murder. This Ben has even formed a friendship with a woman he can actually giggle with, this being possible because she sees him as someone who shares common interests with her, not as a sex symbol. He is very much the Ben from the first two seasons, but one who has allowed himself to grow as a person and to permit his bonds of friendship to prevail over his rigid code of conduct and behaviour.
Then there's Kowalski. By now, we know him as well as we know Vecchio, maybe even better. We can assume that his discomfort at being around dead bodies may be linked to his first big case. For eight years, he has known that he was the first in a long chain which would eventually lead to a woman being put to death. Then he learns that through a rookie mistake, he has allowed a woman to spend eight years of her life imprisoned for a crime she did not commit. The Kowalski of this episode is much the Vecchio of ‘You Must Remember This' or ‘Juliet is Bleeding'. A man weakened by his emotions, but who allows them to make him stronger. A man who does his duty, who rights the wrongs he has committed, and allows himself a good cry afterwards.
And then there's Beth Botrell, a stronger character than I've seen in a long time. I don't know if parallels to Victoria are meant, but unlike Victoria, Beth has not allowed her eight years in prison to turn her soul over to the dark side. When she meets Ray for the first time since he arrested her, she comes off as being cold and even cruel. She is going to die for a crime she did not commit, and all she can think of is making the officer who arrested her feel less guilty. Then, when she is released and it is revealed that she has lost eight years of her life, instead of slapping Kowalski with a lawsuit, all she can think to do is take him in her arms and thank him for saving her life.
Finally, there is dueSouth itself. This episode contained one thing I've never seen on the show. Gore. There was blood and lots of it, on the floor and into which Kowalski kneeled, dripping from the gun, on the bathroom mat, staining the piece of paper... For the first time since ‘They Eat Horses Don't They', I had to fast forward some scenes. Still, the blood worked with the episode. I don't think anyone could deny that this is the darkest dueSouth episode ever. I believe I laughed twice during it, once when the lawyer asked Fraser if he is under the care of a qualified psychiatrist, and the other when Kowalski described himself as a pig and Fraser pretty much acknowledged that he is one.
We were also treated to the compulsory riff with the Duck Boys who usually come off as being jerks, let they be Huey and Lewis, or Huey and Dewey. This is the second altercation Kowalski has with Dewey.
Welsh, as usual, is a gem. I have yet to comprehend why he is walking around the precinct carrying household appliances and cleaning products, such as a bright pink duster!
The plot was taut, not too cluttered, so there were no holes in it like there were in ‘Victoria's Secret'.
We learn a bit more about the two main characters. Fraser has lived in British Columbia, about halfway between the border of the United States and that of the Yukon/Northwest Territory (one must understand that Dawson City and Dawson Creek are two different cities, hundreds of kilometres apart). He has actually seen Ronald Reagan's movies. As for Kowalski, like Vecchio, he has been a cop for about five years less than Fraser. I'm still hoping that one day an exasperated Fraser will tell either or both of his friends ‘You know, Ray, I've been a cop longer than you!'. Ray is also a pig and a slob, but he doesn't have an infestation.
For the first time in dueSouth history, I was actually moved to tears by the personal interaction of fictional characters on a screen. dueSouth proved in this episode that it has lost neither its soul nor its integrity. It just misplaced them for a time. I'm almost afraid to see the rest of season four, lest the magic spell be broken. But three superb episodes in a row have strengthened my faith in dueSouth. Not even those nasty rumours about COTW could make *this* episode any less Great.
Oh, yes, I loved ‘The Ladies Man'. (can't you tell?)
Dixie Seatle does a great job that shouldn't be overlooked. She makes Beth a convincing character, blending bitterness and consideration in a surprising and original combination.
One piece of trivia: Fraser sings a snatch from "K-k-katy," a song that was enormously popular around the time of World War I.
I think one of the reviewers already said it, but I found it sooooo nice when Ray starts to cry in the end just in front of Fraser and Fraser even hugs him!! They are really such good friends.
Sometimes I think their partnership is even better than the one Fraser and the "real" Ray Vecchio had. Of course, the new Ray is different than the first one, but also Fraser has changed. He´s now more open to other people ( esp RayK )and they hug each other more often.
And just think of Fraser sitting down with Ray each day and night and he tries to find something that could help them solve the case. I have never thought of that before, but nobody asked Fraser to help and I don´t think that´s a job he is pleased to do, but he wasn´t unsure to help Ray for only one second! He´s fabulous!
And this whole episode is fabulous. I have already seen a couple of films about death penalty and read some books, but "The Ladies Man" was one of the most touching.
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Acutally it WAS the most touching!!
Congratulations!