Thanks to Kristen (who not only rocks, but gets lots of luck wishes for her contests!), I got to read the script for "Pre Filer". And then, to babble.

And once again, an episode starts with distancing Rebecca from a group that could be hers, this time the students (and Paul, who is with her, and older, so supposedly further away from the students, is closer to them, because he used to be one of them, and probably liked it, too).

Rebecca freaked me out a bit, at the end of the teaser. It was like she was seeing something just enough different than what I was reading, to make it look the-same-but-not, which may be even scarier, to me, than seeing things completely differently. I wonder how it turned out on the actual show.

"He's a profiler. Does what we do" - I loved how it was Web who said this line. Because of the murder element that came along, with the profiler's understanding of the future killings - because Web himself killed, at least one criminal that we know if, in the first episode. And, yeah, the guy that Web killed had already committed at least several crimes, but still.

And then, I loved how it was Web who questioned Rebecca about agreeing with the murderer-of-murderers-to-be approach. After he killed one in front of her. And I loved the description of her hesitation to answer without a careful thought first, because it was Web who asked the question.

Oh, and after the "tell us who we're looking for", when it was the last slide, and it was Rebecca's own shadow on the screen, as if in an answer, to both questions, the direct one and the "do you agree with that?" one, but her spoken words showed a different answer. I really wonder how it looked on the actual show, because reading it was such a lovely - creepy - tapestry.

Oh, so the guy stalking in the car, the gay who fit Rebecca's description of the pre-filer, was "just" a murderer-to-be, to be murdered by the murderers-to-be murderer, before they murdered? OK, this is too complicated to type, I'll stop. But still - at least the way it was read, Havens fit the description of the pre-filer, and it made it even more interesting that it wasn't him. The similarities between victim (who may or may not become a killer), and the actual killer (who wanted - what? To save the victims? To act all FBI? Some of both, or none of the above?). Interesting.

"Danny's grin fades. A chill. Paul holds his look" - there's some history here, right? It's not just the easier-to-pull-a-trigger atmosphere that Danny has all around him, there are actual facts, too, right? And it's really interesting, how, again, the killer-to-be and the man whose job is to stop him share similar characteristics. Would Danny resemble the pre-filer, too? Or would somebody else? Rebecca, who seems to get inside his skin so easily? Web, who already killed instead of bringing to justice? Paul, who seems furthest from all this?

And I love how the "line" continues - Rebecca in the seat of the murder victim, and Web - "he does what we do" - in the seat of the profiler, the actual killer. The one who actually gets inside the head of the maybe-would-be-killer is Rebecca - she even looks through the mirror at Web, behind her, just like the victim could do. And then all the jumps between all three - Rebecca, the maybe-killer-to-be and the pre-filer. Did I mention already that it's creepy?

Oh, and obviously, since one of the crew members may be like the pre-filer, it means that this person may be a future potential serial killer, and therefore the pre-filer has to track that person and try to stop them, as is his way. It spins my head, a bit, with the question of how he may look upon his own handsdoing - wouldn't he hate himself, in a way, too? Because of his method? Or would he just ignore that aspect, that one not-that-tiny difference?

"That's you. - It's him." - I love how such two simple sentences, all of, what, four words and a couple of apostrophes, can be this creepy, in the way they encompass so much meaning inside. Because it's not just the simple facts of who did what and was where and all, it's "you" and "him" on the inside level, as well, right? At least, that's the way my mind's ears heard this being read. (continued...)

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Oh, and again with the "which is it" with the family man (and him roaring in a completely innocent manner) - possible victim, possible future killer, just a distraction, none of the above? Oh, and who said it's the man? Couldn't it be his wife, too? I mean, Rebecca is a woman and she seems like the one most in the pre-filer's head, so it's not like there's anything strictly-manly about it, right? And it's interesting that the crew members play along, in the pre-filer's game, according to his rules, with his hints. They just follow the trail he leaves, right?

"I don't even have a joke." - "We put up a forcefield", her coming up with the name of the pre-filer and being proud of it - I love Mel. And I like her conversations with Danny, how the two of them tease each other yet understand each other, work together, agree, in a sense.

Paul thought that Rebecca is looking to show the pre-filer to be correct, that this family - that she was so uncomfortable around - had some dark secret, just like so many other cases they've seen before (remember that girl from "Everything Nice"?). But just when he had thought the darkest about her, she surprises him, from the other side - she wants things to be OK, actually. No matter what admiration she has for the pre-filer's methods, intellect or the like. No matter how many doubts she may or may not have regarding his methods.

I liked the way the pre-filer identified Rebecca's main influences, both Web and Paul, when she talked to him, even though both answers could very well be said by her, too (well, logically, since if these two characters influence her, then it may be because she has a part of them inside herself, too, right?). And how he tried to play with her, with her past, asking to put herself, with her childhood name, on the line.

And once again, it's not just a riddle to be solved, but a very personal story of Rebecca herself - how could she respond to his question about pre-killing her abductor - honestly, and still stick to the system that she's now serving?

Oh, and it's even more personal than just the phone conversation, with Roger possibly hurting little girls, the way Rebecca was hurt in the past?

And what was the cat doing inside the trunk? Was that Audrey's cat, the one that the pre-filer knew to tell her where to look for, so knew it had been missing? And if so, does that mean that he had locked it in Roger's trunk, as a hint, to find his photos? Or something completely different?

And if we're already in an "it's personal" and "it's inside" note, then it made perfect sense that when Kelly said that she was scared, she explained that it was because of her husband, not the murderer running around, who was trying to hurt him. Still chilling, though.

I liked how Rebecca, once she wasn't completely inside her "asking questions" mode, was able to thank Paul for stopping herself, telling him that he was right. Probably suspecting that she's too wrapped up in that case because of her own past history, but still.

They were following the pre-filer's footprints all along. That's how he knew that they would come after him tot he hotel room where Roger was, right? Even the stuff in the trunk, the things that Web went through - is he again playing somebody else's game? With somebody else's rules? Even Web?

"And then we'd all have thought you were a future serial killer" - and I like Danny, too.

"it starts with the mail" - and that's what Web saw, isn't it? What made him figure things out, and go to the post office, and track Marty down? Marty's own complaint about other serial killers is totally about himself, even more than he knows - or maybe, just like he described serial killers, because he wants the drama inside the hint?

And Marty didn't profile only the killers - he profiled Rebecca, too. He knew that making her become distant and professional in front of Marty would bring her back to that judgmental place in which she spoke earlier, with Paul. He's playing them both now. And he's so very creepy. (continued...)

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"She closes her eyes. And lies." - oh, that's heartbreaking and beautiful and making me really anxious to see how the actress played it, all at the same time. How strong of her to do that, to go against what her guts are screaming, what her past is wishing, what Web had actually done on the first episode, in the price of the pre-filer probably murdering them both - but still not playing his game.

"you wanna know how you were gonna do it?" - did I mention how creepy this episode is? Killing - or even attempting to kill - somebody in the same manner to which he would have probably killed himself? Really making him see what it's like, but before he has ever done anything, so it's not for real in his head yet? Cree-py.

"What happened a long time ago, to us?" - to *us*. That's why he connected to her from the beginning, and she understood him so well all along, isn't it? And the only difference between them is the paths in which they chose to use the damage that was done to them, her under the FBI umbrella, with Web finding her, and Marty without one, becoming a killer.

And if all throughout the episode there were hints and jokes about who could have done something like that, with Danny and his possible-past, Web with actually killing someone, Paul with Danny's joke and Rebecca with possibly sympathizing with the pre-filer's methods, does it mean that all it takes is a little difference, a small bend on the road, for somebody to become, in a way, the opposite of what they currently are?

Oh, and I loved how Marty thought that Danny had intended to kill him and missed. With all his abilities, smarts and profiling, he still couldn't get past the way other people look at things, couldn't understand them seeing things so completely different than him, when he had thought that they would have agreed with him, like Rebecca or Danny.

And Rebecca made me jump a bit, with kicking Marty, when he said that he knew that she was one of the good guys. Because he did get to her, didn't he? Was it because she wasn't sure, herself, that she was making the right choice? Poor girl.

And it fit with Paul needing to ask her about knowing she had done the right thing. And does Paul have to think the worse of her, with questioning her about wanting to see Roger getting kicked out of his home, getting some sort of payback for something he hadn't done yet?

So was it about something along the lines of "if you didn't experience it, you couldn't hope to understand what it was like", so the pre-filer wanted Rebecca, a past victim, to understand? He did try to lead them to himself, just like he said about the other killers, what with giving them Roger's address and all, so there was something there.

And if it were about letting people have a chance, not judging until there was a crime to judge about, letting them go with the doubt - wasn't that, in a way, what Paul was doing with Rebecca, all along? She wasn't supposed to be in this part, Web put her there despite it, and Paul was trying to keep things as clean as possible - and he was doing that by, with his words, thinking - more than once - the worst about Rebecca, but in his deeds, jumping to her rescue and watching her back, actually indeed giving her that chance.

And the question still remained hanging in the air, right? Would Roger be able to get over himself? Would some little girl suffer in his hands? And would Rebecca blame herself, then, just like the pre-filer had been blaming the authorities, like Web had said? I want to type "creepy" again, but I don't think I've ever typed that word so many times in one post.

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And now, to a completely different question: on Kristen's site, there were no scripts for the following two episdoes, 5 and 6. They skip straight to the 7th episode, "Thief of Hearts". As a no-spoilers-please and I-want-the-whole-story and continuity-yay kind of person, I would usually just stop reading. But I'm soooo curious right now. I want to know what happens next, in terms of the dynamics between the characters, in Rebecca's story, in Paul's. And I'm way too intrigued by Web than is probably healthy for me.

So, what do I do? Skip "Loneliest Number" and (I think) "Point of Origin" and jump straight to "Thief of Hearts"? Or just stop and wait until I - somehow, someway - get to watch the show? I mean, episodes 11 ("The Perfect Couple") and 13 ("Skin and Bone") are also posted-scrips-less, so by the time I get there, I'll probably actually stop, and not just read "Gem" and be all in-the-middle of things and that's that. I'll have to stop and wait like a good little girl anyway. The question is, now or four more episodes later? What do you say?

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I would love to see the unaired (in the US) episodes of The Inside -- if they've aired everywhere else in the world, and then come out on DVD -- what are the odds that we'll get some here? Have they aired in Canada?

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Last I heard, there was still no talk of a DVD release.

Nilly is awesome! I think you could skip straight ahead and read the next scripts without feeling like you missed too much. (Keep in mind that people here in the US saw Thief without having seen Point of Origin. Though PoO -- that is an unfortunate acronym -- does have some interesting info on Rebecca's backstory.) But I might be biased because Thief was one of my favorite episodes of the entire series and I think everyone should love it as much as I do.

Or I could just write you recaps of what happens in those missing episodes.

ETA: Seekrit musical message for Allyson -- iTunes now has Jam on It. Just make sure you get the right one because there's a bunch of remixes up there too.

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What he does after I kick him out of bed is not my concern.

Which one are you talking about, here? I don't think you gave your own answers for this one.

He's too father-y for me. He must be chucked.

Somebody's never seen DOUBLE INDEMNITY or THE APARTMENT, methinks. Let's just say, Billy Wilder brought out the sleaze in good ol' Fred.

No, I have. It's just what aurelia said. There's My Three Sons, and you CAN'T JUST ERASE THAT.

eta, I think Bogie has to be a C or an M, because he was a serial monogamist who was serial via marriage. However, anyone who got Baby and kept her 'til the end has got to have SOMETHING going for him, IMO, so it's probably worth giving the F to someone else.

Yes. This is why Bogart is my M, and Holden my F, since even playing this game with MacMurray is wronger than a wrong thing.

Bacall's book, Lauren Bacall: By Myself, only reinforces the M-ness of Bogart.

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I don't think you gave your own answers for this one.

F - Holden, M - MacMurray, C - Bogart.

Also, Nilly, I withdraw my earlier suggestion. Your dilemma might have just resolved itself in my inbox. Gimme a few minutes.

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Oh look. New stuff.

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Kristen, you so very much rock. Thank you.

Thanks even on the recaps suggestions. It doesn't matter you didn't get to follow through with them - the intention was lovely enough. Oh, and of course, thanks for the resolver of my dilemma.

And now, to hold myself from jumping (um, virtually) and reading instead of doing that work thing, for at least a while.

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