Episode 211 - The Claw Is Our Master Review




"The Claw Is Our Master" Review

Written by Babaluwee

DISCLAIMER - Please remember that this review does not represent the opinions/viewpoints of everyone; it is the personal opinions of the reviewer only. Thank you.

The Claw Is Our Master, episode 2.11, was the third of Tom's six guest appearances.

The Good

The Second Date: The title of this JA episode, "The Claw Is Our Master," refers to an arcade game in which Rob won a stuffed toy frog for Amy on their second date. The claw game, as Rob explained, is "a metaphor for when we're snatched up out of our mundane lives and dropped down a chute into a whole new world." Tom was an ideal date; he took Amy out for a casual, relaxed, and delightful evening that ended on his couch in front of a cozy fire. The kissing scene is guaranteed to quicken the pulse mightily, the first time you view it and every time thereafter. Tom's portrayal was strikingly sexy and romantic, but also sweet and even innocent. Part of his immense appeal is in his ability to deliver just the right "look," like when Amy was trying to tear herself away from his embrace (because she had to work in the morning). His facial expressions right before he delivered his lines were stunning. His coaxing her to stay was gentle and respectful, making him all the more irresistible, as Amy soon discovered.

Tom's Performance: Tom had literally about five minutes of screen time in this episode, but his portrayal of Rob Meltzer in this series has been so strong, that it was felt even when he was not on camera. What I mean is, in this episode Amy repeatedly showed contempt and disrespect for Rob, but because Tom portrayed him so true to life and as an eminently decent guy, I cringed every time she referred to him disparagingly. Amy gurgled about how she "did it" with "the karate kid" to her female friend the day after. But she couldn't even admit to "dating" Rob (it was a "casual non-date"), and she lost any sense of class and decorum when she stooped to rating his sexual performance.

Tom's portrayal in this series never let the viewer forget that Rob Meltzer was not a plaything, but a flesh and blood human being with feelings and achievements of his own. Some people may have found this scene funny, but what if this sweet and decent guy were your son?

Tom made me feel like I knew Rob, an amicable, intelligent, and fun young man who likes Bruce Lee movies, and who had a sense of adventure to live in China and learn Chinese; he's a graduate from a prestigious college, and has a serious interest in Eastern philosophies. Tom got me to care about Rob. So it was heartbreaking to watch how ashamed Amy was to even acknowledge a relationship with him because he was nothing more to her than a boy toy.

When a potential love interest, another lawyer, asked Amy whether she was seeing anyone, she replied, "No, not really." Rob didn't deserve that! Later when this gentleman became aware of Rob, he asked Amy what he did for a living. Amy hesitated, she seemed embarrassed to discuss him, and replied, "He's …an artist." What was she trying to hide? Rob started and owns his own business; he is an expert in his field and he cares enough about children to serve them (sound familiar, Amy?) by empowering them through the marshal arts and discipline. She should have been proud to know such a good and honorable man. Due to a professional conflict of interest, Amy's ethics had precluded a relationship with this lawyer, but her ethics did not preclude disrespecting the man she had slept with.

When her female friend asked Amy what her problem with Rob was all about, Amy blurted out that it "isn't what I would have planned." Rob would have been very understanding about that --life's "claw" of random chance had snatched her out of her mundane life and dropped her in a wonderful world with a remarkable young man who's an amazing kisser to boot! But she refused to accept what all the viewers could plainly see. She told her friend, "This cannot possibly be a good thing." That's only because Amy had predetermined that a relationship with Rob would not be a good thing; it was she who turned it into some dirty little secret.

Amy broke up with Rob in the most inane and utterly implausible scene: Rob overheard Amy's inappropriate rant in which she screamed to the dog pound lady—of all people, that she will never lead a normal life as long as she's sleeping with her daughter's karate teacher! Rob looked like he had sustained a prizefighter's punch to the gut. He took the blow quite maturely and stoically, viewing himself as a collateral casualty, the destructive result when (selfish) people like Amy "have to get their lives back on track." Rob really moved me in this scene because he was deeply hurt, yet so forgiving. And although he described himself as "incinerated," he was magnanimous in wishing her well with her "normal life."

THE BAD

I can say with absolute certainty that there was nothing bad about Tom's performance.

Rating: I give Tom's performance five out of five stars.

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