return to Due South: season 1 episode 10 "The Gift of the Wheelman"

[fox]

The Gift of the Wheelman
air date December 15, 1994

Scene 1

It is Christmastime. Fraser and Vecchio are in Vecchio's car. Fraser is talking to Diefenbaker.

FRASER: Now, you stay in the car and keep your nose out of those packages. They are not for you. [to Vecchio] He's searched through every cupboard and drawer in the apartment trying to find out what I got for him, but this Christmas, he will not succeed.

In "O. Henry's Gift Shop," a young man is looking at an expensive pen. A sign on the wall reminds us there is only one shopping day left until Christmas.

CLERK: Well, what do you think?
YOUNG MAN: How much is it again?
CLERK: Seventy-five dollars. [kindly] I have some more over here that are less expensive, and you really can't tell the difference.
YOUNG MAN: No, he can tell. He used to have one just like it.
CLERK: It is a beautiful gift.
YOUNG MAN: Okay. Okay, I'll buy it.

A station wagon pulls up and four Santas get out. They set up a stand for a Salvation Army kettle and then synchronize their watches. Three of them go in a bank lobby through a revolving door. One of them is carrying a bag, out of which the other two take pump-action shotguns. Music cue: "Henry Martin" by Figgy Duff. The Santas go into the bank.

Fraser and Vecchio are walking between the car and the stores doing their Christmas shopping.

VECCHIO: Oh, no. I know that tone in your voice. You think I'm being cheap.
FRASER: No, I think there's nothing wrong with being frugal, Ray. If you can't afford to buy presents, well, getting them for opening a bank account is a viable if not inventive alternative.
VECCHIO: But you think I can afford it. You just think I'm just being cheap. That's what you're thinking.
FRASER: I think nothing of the sort. Now where are we off to?
VECCHIO: Right here. Savings and Loan.
FRASER: Ah, of course.
VECCHIO: See? You see? That's the tone I'm talking about. You see that tone?
FRASER: What tone?
VECCHIO: That tone. You see?
FRASER: You can't see a tone, Ray.

They go into the bank. The Santa on the sidewalk is ringing his Salvation Army bell and checking his watch. Inside the bank, the shotgun Santas are standing on the counters and keeping the bank patrons and employees on the floor. Their bag-toting buddy is emptying the drawers.

In the gift shop, the clerk is boxing up the pen for the young man, who is counting his money in single dollar bills.

Bell-ringing Santa grabs a gun from the trunk of the station wagon, goes into the bank lobby, and pulls the fire alarm. In the bank, his buddies are surprised. He rushes in to join them.

FIRST GUN SANTA: [to bank patrons] Stay down.
FIRE ALARM SANTA: Come on, move it, move it!
SECOND GUN SANTA: They tripped the alarm, let's get the hell out of here.
FIRE ALARM SANTA: That's enough, leave it, come on!

Bag Santa is still grabbing cash out of drawers. Fraser and Vecchio are in the street and hear the alarm. Vecchio is carrying two large wrapped presents.

FRASER: Ray.
VECCHIO: Fraser, it's a fire alarm.

Fraser takes off running. In the bank, the Santas are trying to (excuse the expression) wrap it up.

FIRST GUN SANTA: Come on, come on.
FIRE ALARM SANTA: Toss me the bag. Toss me the bag. [Bag Santa, who we can see has dark hair, tosses him the bag.] Here.

Fire Alarm Santa tosses Bag Santa his gun. Now three Santas have guns and Fire Alarm Santa has the bag; the three of them run one way and Fire Alarm Santa runs the other way. The two Gun Santas and Bag Santa run past Fraser and Vecchio.

VECCHIO: Hey, Kris Kringle, where's the fire?

Bag Santa aims his shotgun at Vecchio from about ten feet away. Vecchio drops his packages. Bag Santa pumps the gun and pulls the trigger but the gun does not fire. He jumps into the station wagon with the two Gun Santas. One of them scoots into the driver's seat.

SECOND GUN SANTA: Where the hell is he?

They drive off. Vecchio, recovering quickly, draws his gun, but there's too much traffic to shoot their tires. Fraser sees Fire Alarm Santa running the other way with the bag. He runs around the building after him. Fire Alarm Santa crashes into the young man coming out of O. Henry's. They both fall to the ground; they recognize each other. Fire Alarm Santa gets up and runs to a car. He peels out and drives away as Fraser runs up. Vecchio arrives just as the car is gone.

VECCHIO: You see anything?
FRASER: No. But this young man did.

Again with Fraser deciding a bystander is or ought to be involved without consulting the bystander about it first.

Over the red uniform Fraser is wearing a navy blue pea coat with a red lining that looks great. One begins to suspect he would look good in, I don't know, overalls with a piece of hay between his teeth. Pick a ridiculous outfit, he'd make it work.

Credits roll.

Paul Gross
David Marciano
Beau Starr
Daniel Kash
Tony Craig
Catherine Bruhier

(plus Lincoln the dog)

Ryan Phillippe, James Purcell, Tom McCamus, Gordon Pinsent as Fraser Sr.

Correct: Ryan Phillippe, the first Mr. Reese Witherspoon, before he was a medium-sized shot. (I'm not confident he was ever a big shot in his own right, but I am persuadable on this point.) Pinsent's credit is "as," as it was in "Manhunt." There have been "and" credits in a few episodes (the horseshit guy, Mrs. Lee, Eddie Beets), but this is the only "as" so far (and no "and/as" except himself in the pilot). I don't know what to make of that.

Scene 2

At the police station.

YELLING SANTA: Come on, this is crazy. You know how much money I'm losing right now? Every kid that sits on my lap, I get two bucks.
HUEY: Yep.
YELLING SANTA: I can go through forty kids an hour!
SITTING SANTA: Well, I can do fifty!
YELLING SANTA: Bull! No one can do fifty and live.
GARDINO: Look, it's not a difficult question, okay? Where were you at twelve o'clock today?
ANGRY SANTA: Hey, man, I got three elves that put me in the department store.
GARDINO: Yeah. One of those elves said you went out for about twenty minutes.
ANGRY SANTA: Yeah, well, he's a lying rat bastard.
GARDINO: [writing this down] Lying . . . rat . . .
HUEY: Okay, line up, you Santas. This way. [to sitting Santa] Not you. [to the others] What are you waiting for, Christmas? Yeah, Merry Christmas to you, too. Out the door.
ELAINE: We're not interested in how fluffy his beard was.
WITNESS: That's him!
ELAINE: That's the sixth Santa you've pointed to. Can we focus a little here?
WITNESS: He had a twinkle in his eye. [Elaine's computer sketch shows a greeting card Santa.]
VECCHIO: [coming up the stairs] I don't understand the problem here. Some citizen pulls the alarm and ran away.
FRASER: But ask yourself who, Ray. All the businesses above were closed. All the employees and patrons were under guard on the bank floor. Anyone coming in would have been noticed by the wheelman. After they took over that building, only four people had access to that hallway.
VECCHIO: So what are you saying? One of the robbers pulled the alarm?
FRASER: Yes.
VECCHIO: That's ridiculous.
FRASER: About as ridiculous as going to a robbery with an unloaded shotgun.
VECCHIO: I'll tell you, for a second there, Fraser, I thought I was . . . Why would a guy pull the trigger of a gun he knew was unloaded?
FRASER: Seems improbable, doesn't it?
VECCHIO: Yes! You know, the wheelman, he knew exactly when the bagman was behind the counter. If he pulled the alarm, they'd panic. He comes running in. The bagman is trapped behind the counter. He throws the bag to the wheelman, who throws him back the gun.
FRASER: Clever, isn't it?
VECCHIO: Hey, in the heat of the moment I'd take a gun over a bag any day. The whole thing's a double cross.
WELSH: Detective Vecchio, Huey, Louie. Join me for some egg nog.

They all go into his office.

Fraser leads Vecchio right up to the answer and then lets him work it out for himself. Bless.

Scene 3

WELSH: The last half hour, I've gotten calls from seven department stores, the Salvation Army, two parade officials, and the director of a children's pageant. This was further augmented by calls from four city councilmen, the deputy mayor, and the police commissioner. All curious as to why we are detaining all the Santa Clauses in the city on Christmas Eve. The police commissioner was especially irked since his daughter was sitting on Santa's knee in a department store when said Santa was cuffed and thrown into a paddy wagon. In our zeal to solve this case, I can't help but wonder if we haven't been, I don't know, how do you say it? Excessively stupid?
GARDINO: Detective Huey and I have a theory, sir.
WELSH: Oh, this I'd like to hear.
GARDINO: See, we believe the perpetrators were dressed in Santa Claus suits in order to facilitate their getaway by blending into the crowd.
WELSH: In that people don't usually notice armed men fleeing a crime scene in big red suits.
HUEY: Actually, they could even have had jobs in local department stores, sir. I mean, that would be the perfect cover.
WELSH: This is your theory?
GARDINO AND HUEY: Yes, sir. [Welsh looks at them sternly.]
GARDINO: It's not our only theory.
HUEY: We have others, sir.
WELSH: Detective Vecchio, do you have a theory?
VECCHIO: Uh, yes, sir. But actually it's Constable Fraser's theory, sir.
WELSH: Oh, really?
FRASER: Good afternoon, Lieutenant.
WELSH: Oh, merry Christmas, Constable. I assume you're working on some kind of a North Pole connection?
FRASER: No, sir. And actually, it's a misconception that the North Pole is in Canada, sir. Its ownership has been in dispute ever since Admiral Peary planted a flag there in nineteen-oh-nine, a fact that in itself is in dispute, since many believe it was Matthew Henson, an African American, who first discovered —
VECCHIO: Constable Fraser and I believe that the wheelman pulled the alarm in order to throw the whole situation into chaos, thus double-crossing his partners.
WELSH: Oh, sure. Sure, one of the robbers pulled the alarm himself.
FRASER: Yes, sir.
VECCHIO: And we have a witness who saw the wheelman without his beard. We got him out there going over the mug shots right now. If the wheelman's in there, he's pretty much in our pockets, sir.
WELSH: All right. Vecchio, you get the wheelman. Huey and Louie, you get the other three.
HUEY: Yes, sir.

They all slouch out of the office. A Santa barges in.

OLD SANTA: Which one of your flatfoots took my reindeer?

Admiral Peary; Matthew Henson. It looks like Fraser is nodding toward Huey when he mentions Henson, which is either thoughtful or patronizing (this White woman can see it either way).

I wish Welsh had not said "paddy wagon."

Scene 4

In an interrogation room.

YOUNG MAN: I looked. He's not in there.
VECCHIO: Look one more time.
YOUNG MAN: I already did.
VECCHIO: Look, kid, whoever this guy is, he's no first-timer. If he's done this before, odds are a hundred to one he's right there in front of you. Maybe he looks a little different, but he's there, so I need you to look again.
YOUNG MAN: He's not in there.
VECCHIO: Look, kid, I'm having a good day, okay? It's Christmas Eve. I am filled with love for my fellow man. But I swear to God, if you don't look again I'm gonna slap you upside the head.
FRASER: Ray. May I? Del, why don't you just describe to us the man you saw.
YOUNG MAN (DEL): I didn't get a good look.
VECCHIO: The guy was three inches from your face. It doesn't get any better than that.
FRASER: Uh, Ray, maybe Del is just afraid of what will happen if he identifies this man.
VECCHIO: Well, maybe Del should be afraid of what will happen if he doesn't. Look, kid, you're not the only one who saw a face. This guy was so close to you he could count your pores. How hard do you think it'll be for him to find out where you live? You put the finger on this guy and we can protect you, but if you don't —
FRASER: We'll still protect you.
VECCHIO: Maybe he will, but I won't, and no other cop will either.
DEL: You really were touched by the spirit of Christmas.

Vecchio didn't see Del and the wheelman recognizing each other. Neither did Fraser, for that matter. How do they know how close together they were?

Scene 5

In the hallway. Handcuffed Santas are still being dragged around. Del leaves.

VECCHIO: Kid's making a big mistake. [Fraser sees something back on the table in the interrogation room. He goes and picks it up.] What's that?
FRASER: It's a gift.
VECCHIO: I don't know, maybe I was too rough on him.
FRASER: Yes.
ELAINE: Hey guys. They pulled a palm print off the countertop. Your bagman is Robert L. Flannagan. FBI has him linked to six bank jobs with James and Cameron Donnelly.
VECCHIO: No kidding.
FRASER: Is that significant?
VECCHIO: Well, the Donnellys are something of a local legend around here.
ELAINE: They had a partner named Nick Stalidas. Rumor had it he skimmed a small amount of money from them. He took off to Mexico; the federales found him in bite-sized pieces in the Sea of Cortez.
VECCHIO: There's only two rules written in the pavement in this town. You don't steal from the Mob, and you don't cross the Donnellys.
FRASER: Mmm. I think I should return this gift.
VECCHIO: Oh, that's good, Benny. We only have a couple hours to find the wheelman before they turn him into fish food and you're delivering Christmas presents?
FRASER: Thank you, Ray.

Make sure that gift isn't ticking, though, Fraser. (The Sea of Cortez is the Gulf of California, between Baja California and mainland Mexico. My map of Canada obviously doesn't go that far south. 🙂)

Scene 6

Del lets himself into apartment 14. The place has been absolutely trashed. He looks at it for a moment and then runs. In an alley behind the building, someone catches him.

GUY: Hey, hey. Hi, Del.
DEL: Hi.
GUY: Came looking for your dad. He wasn't home.
DEL: Yeah.
GUY: Well, you tell him Jimmy Donnelly dropped by, will you? Tell him I expect to meet him tomorrow at the distillery as planned. Will you do that for me?
DEL: If I see him. Yeah.
GUY (JIMMY DONNELLY, THE FIRST GUN SANTA): That's a good boy.

He claps Del on the shoulder and walks away.

So Del knows Jimmy Donnelly trashed his apartment, and Donnelly knows Del knows it.

Scene 7

A little later, still in the alley behind Del's building. He is hauling trash out, cleaning up the mess in his apartment. Fraser walks up.

FRASER: Hi, Del. You left this at the station.
DEL: Thanks.
FRASER: I'll give you a hand with this. [He takes a binder-clipped stack of printouts off the top of the trash.] William Porter. Is that your father?
DEL: Yeah.
FRASER: A writer, is he?
DEL: Not really.
FRASER: My father was quite the writer.
DEL: Professional?
FRASER: No. A Mountie. But he kept journals. He must have filled up, oh, almost a hundred. You know, it's odd. We never spent all that much time together when I was young, so it's only recently, through his writing, that I feel as though I've gotten to know him.
DEL: Is he dead?
FRASER: Yes.
DEL: Sorry.
FRASER: You know, I've always thought it was the bravest thing a man could do. Writing down his innermost feelings so that any stranger could read them.
DEL: Yeah, well, I'm the only stranger ever read any of these.
FRASER: Mind if I read them?
DEL: Suit yourself.
FRASER: [leaving, does a Columbo] Oh, uh, that gift. Is that for your father?
DEL: Yeah.
FRASER: I'm sure he'll treasure it.
DEL: It's nothing.

Fraser goes and gets in the car with Vecchio.

FRASER: He wasn't scared. He knew the thief.
VECCHIO: Did he ID him?
FRASER: Yes. He just didn't intend to.

Fraser said he'd give Del a hand with the trash and then he did not help. Boo. He could at least have tipped one trash can into the dumpster before he went minding the kid's business. Also: I do not believe him when he says he's always thought writing down his innermost feelings was the bravest thing a man could do. I just don't! Usually his parables have a grain of truth or relevance in them, but this one clangs a bit; I think he's telling the truth when he says he's only getting to know his father through his writing now that he's gone (and I think Del recognizes that that's true), but I think the bravest-thing-a-man-can-do stuff is bunk.

Scene 8

Back at the station. A little person dressed as one of Santa's Elves hits Gardino on the knees with a cane.

GARDINO: Ow.
ELF MAN: I told you everything I know.
GARDINO: I just have a few more questions, okay? [beckons some more elves to join them] Come on, come on. Hurry up. Let's go.
ELF WOMAN: Hey, what do we look like, rats?
GARDINO: Don't push me.
VECCHIO: Right. Okay. Thanks. [hangs up his phone] Parole office says Porter's been a model citizen. Worked as a janitor the past six years. No complaints. Never missed a day's work. You got that, Elaine?
ELAINE: Got it.
VECCHIO: He'd come home, he'd take care of his kid, then he'd spend half the night writing short stories. Something he picked up in prison, I guess.
FRASER: And the boy's mother?
VECCHIO: Left him with an aunt about eight years ago and did a bunk. When Porter got out, he took the kid back.
ELAINE: William Sydney Porter pled guilty to one count of armed robbery. He was the driver. Served seven years, released on good behavior. Nothing since.
FRASER: Doesn't make any sense. Why would he leave his son?
VECCHIO: Fraser, this may come as a shock to you, but here in the United States of America we've discovered that bank robbers aren't usually the best family men.
FRASER: He leaves prison. He reclaims his son. He works six years at a minimum-wage job.
ELAINE: [answering the phone] Twenty-seven. Elaine Besbriss.
FRASER: This isn't a man who would abandon his life without an awful lot of thought. When the Donnellys found out he'd betrayed them, his son would have been the natural target. I don't think he'd have left him behind unprotected.
VECCHIO: Maybe he acted on impulse.
FRASER: No, no, I think he has a plan. We just don't know what it is.
ELAINE: Thanks. [hangs up] Porter's passport expired last month. No request for renewal.
VECCHIO: So where's he planning to go?

I am unavoidably reminded of a scene from the Poirot episode "Elephants Can Remember," in which . . .

(this is a spoiler tag)

General Ravenscroft is consumed with guilt that he has been protecting his sister-in-law for her involvement in the death of his wife and kills her before shooting himself.

RAVENSCROFT: Goodbye, Dorothea.
DOROTHEA: Where are you going?
RAVENSCROFT: Hell, I expect.

The fact that Ravenscroft was played by Adrian "Wickham 1995" Lukis is probably why that scene sticks in my mind, but it's there, all right, and the point is, I think that's probably also the answer to Vecchio's question.

Elaine answers the phone with the specific number of the precinct: 27. Also, Porter was in prison for seven years and has been out for six, and Del is 20ish, so that's a kid whose dad was locked up from when he was seven to when he was 14 and whose mom split when he was 12. That's a lot for a kid to deal with, no.

Scene 9

Fraser and Vecchio (and Diefenbaker) are in the car staking out the Porter place. Vecchio is on the phone.

VECCHIO: I brought the wiretap request over in person, sir, but His Honor had consumed a great deal of Christmas cheer and started cursing at me in Norwegian. I wasn't aware that he spoke it either, sir. I'd appreciate that. All right. [hangs up] Did you have to bring him?
FRASER: Well, it is Christmas Eve, Ray.
VECCHIO: What are you reading?
FRASER: My father's journals. I'm just going over old cases to see if there's anything similar.
VECCHIO: Is there?
FRASER: Not that I've found. [He closes his eyes and massages his forehead.]
VECCHIO: What is it?
FRASER: I just wish I'd spent more time with him. There's a lot of things I should have learned.
VECCHIO: I learned two things from my father. One: timing. Mostly when to duck. And two: You never hit a kid, 'cause it doesn't teach him anything. [They let this hang there for a moment.] I'm going to go to the gas station. I'll be right back. [He gets out of the car. Diefenbaker follows him. Fraser resumes reading.]
BOB FRASER (VO): Sam Dalton made only one mistake. He planned everything but how he was going to spend the money. Before he'd hit Whitehorse, he'd left a trail of twenties that took me right to his door.
BOB FRASER: But Sam's case was nothing like this.
FRASER: No, I know, but what I can't seem to find is — [He suddenly realizes his father is in the car with him, which was not the case a moment ago.]
BOB FRASER: Hello, son.
FRASER: Hello, Dad. How are you?
BOB FRASER: I'm dead, son. Other than that, do you mean?
FRASER: No, that's what I was asking.
BOB FRASER: Well, that's good. Never be ashamed to ask a stupid question, son. I taught you that, didn't I?
FRASER: Not specifically, no.
BOB FRASER: Well, no time like the present. So fill me in on the case.
FRASER: The case.
BOB FRASER: The case. The case you're working on. Something bothers you about it.
FRASER: Well, in a nutshell, there was a bank robbery today. Now, we've identified the perpetrators, but the wheelman — that's the driver in Chicago parlance — double-crossed his partners. Now, what we can't seem to figure, is there any insanity in our family?
BOB FRASER: No, not that I'm aware of.
FRASER: Good.
BOB FRASER: Well, there was your uncle Tiberius, who died wrapped in cabbage leaves, but we assume that was a freak accident. Go on, go on.

Fraser looks at him like he can't tell who's nuts.

WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THIS SCENE

I mean: We don't love parents who hit their kids, as we have now learned Mr. Vecchio did to Ray. He hasn't talked about him a lot, but there's a lot of daylight between "he pretty much thought I screwed up everything I ever touched" and the—excuse the expression—one-two punch of the things he learned from his father being (a) when to duck and (b) never to hit a kid. God. (And yet he still feels like he's trying to prove himself to his father. It took fifteen words to expand Ray Vecchio's character to previously unobserved depths. Nice work, Marciano.)

But then here's Bob Fraser. ❤️ He's just in the back seat of the car, but it looks like he's wearing the fur hat he was wearing when he was shot, and there's a dusting of snow on it. Fraser's reactions are [chef's kiss]. The comedy of this scene eases the ache of Vecchio's bombshell just a little bit.

Scene 10

It seems the Donnellys are also staking out the Porter place from an apartment of their own. Jimmy Donnelly is peeking through the blinds. Another man is at a side table. The bagman comes in.

JIMMY DONNELLY: Well, you take your time, Robert. Doing a little Christmas shopping, I see.
BAG SANTA (ROBERT): Check this. Porter had a second car parked in an alley about a block away.
JIMMY DONNELLY: Really. [to the other guy] Cameron, I have to apologize to you. Seems Porter isn't planning on sharing after all.
SECOND GUN SANTA (CAMERON): Apology accepted, James.
JIMMY DONNELLY: Oh, Robert, I meant to ask you. Why did you toss Porter the bag?
ROBERT: I was trapped behind the counter, man. The cops were coming.
JIMMY DONNELLY: So instead of running around the counter, you threw the bag and jumped over.
ROBERT: Yeah.
JIMMY DONNELLY: Well, it makes sense.
ROBERT: I was thinking of getting out with the cash, you know?
JIMMY DONNELLY: But you didn't, did you? You're the bagman, Robert. You're supposed to carry the bag.
ROBERT: Hey, Jimmy, Jimmy, come on, man. He threw me the gun, man. I mean, the alarms were going off.
JIMMY DONNELLY: No, no, I understand. Everyone gets to make one mistake. [Cameron has handed him a gun.] And that was yours. [shoots Robert] See what he got us. [goes back to the window]
CAMERON: Far Side calendars.
JIMMY DONNELLY: Oh, I love those. Now let's see what young Del got.

Jimmy Donnelly is a meticulous and ruthless manager who kills as casually as combing his hair. He may be the scariest villain we've had yet.

Scene 11

Fraser is in the car talking to his dead father.

FRASER: So did you just happen to pick this moment to reappear?
BOB FRASER: Well, obviously you needed my help, son. And it was my fault. If I'd better prepared you, you wouldn't be floundering around like this.
FRASER: Well, I'm not completely over my head, Dad, I mean, I've —
BOB FRASER: No, no, no, don't, don't try to make me feel better, son. I failed you as a father. I'm going to make that up to you now.
FRASER: How exactly do you propose to do that, Dad? I mean, it's not as though — [Vecchio returns.]
VECCHIO: Anything happen?
FRASER: In what sense?
VECCHIO: [sees the light on in the Donnellys' lookout] There's a light up there. And it's condemned. [He gets out of the car. Fraser goes to follow him.]
FRASER: Stay.
BOB FRASER: Me?
FRASER: [nods to Diefenbaker] Him.
BOB FRASER: Benton, Benton. See how fast he noticed that? Observation is everything, son.
FRASER: Thank you, Dad.

Fraser is exasperated with Bob for pointing out that observation is everything, but it can't be denied that he was so occupied with talking to a ghost that he missed the light in the condemned building and Vecchio spotted it immediately. This may be the first time Vecchio has out-policed Fraser.

Scene 12

In the alley, Vecchio kicks at the door of the condemned building. It doesn't give.

VECCHIO: They're out back.
FRASER: There. [He points to the end of the alley, where Jimmy and Cameron Donnelly have appeared with guns.]
VECCHIO: Police! Freeze!

The Donnellys start shooting. Vecchio hides behind some wooden crates. Fraser hides behind a car. Music cue: "Rumbolt" by Figgy Duff. Vecchio returns one shot and then joins Fraser behind the car. The Donnellys shoot the cars' tires. Vecchio pops up and shoots back a couple of times and then ducks down again.

BOB FRASER: Count to three and rise up together shooting.
FRASER: I don't carry a weapon.
BOB FRASER: You what?
FRASER: I don't carry a weapon.
BOB FRASER: Is that smart, son?
FRASER: It's the law, Dad.
BOB FRASER: Well, no time for niceties. Here, use mine.
FRASER: Well, I appreciate the offer, but it's imaginary.
BOB FRASER: Oh, so it is.

More shooting. The car windows shatter.

VECCHIO: This is my last clip.
BOB FRASER: They're maneuvering for position.
FRASER: I can see that.
VECCHIO: See what?
FRASER: They're maneuvering for position.
VECCHIO: I can see that.
BOB FRASER: You've only got a few seconds left.
FRASER: Right again.
VECCHIO: About what?
FRASER: We've only got a few seconds left.
BOB FRASER: What you need, son, if you don't mind me saying, is a good solid plan. [Fraser has picked up a rock.] Or you could just throw a rock.
FRASER: Fire your entire clip on three.
BOB FRASER: Then he'll be out of bullets.
VECCHIO: Then I'll be out of bullets!
FRASER: I heard both of you.
VECCHIO: Is there an entire conversation going on here that I'm totally unaware of?
FRASER: Yes. One. Two. Three.

They jump up, Vecchio firing his entire clip. Fraser throws his rock and hits Cameron on the head. He and Jimmy run to their car and drive away.

BOB FRASER: At least you found the villains, son. There's something to be said for that.
FRASER: Thank you.
VECCHIO: Any time.

The comic timing of the three-way conversation during the shootout is flawless. This scene never disappoints.

Scene 13

Back at the 27th precinct. Vecchio is yelling at Del in an interrogation room.

VECCHIO: We know your father did it, we know he has the money, and we know that you know where he is. What we don't know is how smart you are.
DEL: I can't help you.
VECCHIO: Now we know. Benny, talk to him. [Fraser leans forward to begin speaking to Del.] Ask him if he knows the men with guns who were coming after him. Your father left you hanging, kid. Maybe you should stop worrying about him and start worrying about yourself. Tell him that, Benny.
FRASER: I will, Ray.
VECCHIO: Yeah, you do that.

He leaves the interrogation room. A uniformed cop is leading a parade of Elvis Presley impersonators along the hallway. Some of them are mumbling Elvis-style.

GARDINO: I said elves, you morons! Elves!

Fraser closes the interrogation room door.

FRASER: Del, I know you want to help your father. You wouldn't be much of a son if you didn't. The only way to protect him is if we can bring him in off the streets. Now, it took us several hours to identify your father, during which time he could have easily left town, but he didn't.
DEL: You don't know that.
FRASER: Yes, I do. He wouldn't leave you. And yet, he didn't get you out of town before the robbery or arrange to meet you someplace else. Now, why is that?
DEL: Well, maybe his plans just didn't include me at all.
FRASER: Well, I don't believe that. And I don't think you do either.
DEL: Think again.

Vecchio comes back in with a cup of coffee.

VECCHIO: Talk to him?
FRASER: Yes.
VECCHIO: Look, kid, we all didn't get the best fathers, and yours, well, he ain't gonna win any parenting awards, but he's all you got, so are you going to help him or what?
DEL: He's gone by now.
VECCHIO: Then you can go. [Del gets up to go.] Just check out at the front desk before you leave.

Fraser and Vecchio come out into the hallway. Welsh is coming out of the next room over.

FRASER: We can't just let him go back out there.
WELSH: All right, keep a close eye on him. If you're right, his father will try to contact him again.
FRASER: We're going to use him as bait?
VECCHIO: Something we like to do every Christmas.
WELSH: Don't lose him, and don't let the Donnellys get him.
VECCHIO: Oh, I've got to call my ma and tell her why I'm gonna be late. Meet you out back. [He rushes off. Fraser goes the other way. Bob joins him.]
BOB FRASER: I never taught you how to interrogate a witness, son.
FRASER: I know.
BOB FRASER: The seven ways to tell if a man is lying.
FRASER: Well, I kind of pieced it together for myself.
BOB FRASER: Oh, good. So you know what to watch for in their eyes?
FRASER: Ah, yes, thank you.
BOB FRASER: You know if they look up and to the right, they're lying.
FRASER: Uh-huh.
BOB FRASER: Ah, unless, unless they're aware of that, in which case they try to look straight at you.
FRASER: Yeah.
BOB FRASER: Or they overcompensate and end up looking down and to the left.
FRASER: Oh, really? Would you mind waiting here? I'll be right back.

"You wouldn't be much of a son if you didn't [want to help your father]" is a bullshit emotionally manipulative thing to say, and Fraser should go to hell for saying it. Man. We are trained to love this character and be on his side and believe he is always interested in doing the right thing, and then he serves up crap like that. Sigh. (Yes, okay, characters aren't interesting if they don't have flaws. Fine. BUT STILL.)

Anyway. During this conversation with Bob, Fraser is giving the people they pass by a series of slightly manic smiles that almost certainly do nothing to reassure anyone that he is okay.

The elves/Elvis thing adds nothing to the story but is sort of funny. It has the whiff of something someone in the writers' room badly wanted to include, and they threw it in because they were a little short on time.

Scene 14

Fraser quickly gets into Vecchio's car.

FRASER: Drive, quick! Before he comes back.
VECCHIO: Who?
FRASER: My father. Drive. Go.
VECCHIO: Fraser, your father's dead.
FRASER: I know. And I don't mean to speak ill of him. It's just, he's driving me nuts.
VECCHIO: Your father.
FRASER: He's not really here. I know that. It's all in my mind. It's just, he refuses to stay there, or rather, he refuses to leave there. I don't really understand it, but I'll tell you, it's beginning to wear a little thin. I mean, does he think I'm completely ignorant? I bet, I bet the next thing he's going to do is try to show me how to start a fire. You know, Ray, I've got half a mind just to tell him to pack up, move out.
VECCHIO: Of your mind.
FRASER: Yes.
BOB FRASER: Hello, son.
FRASER: Oh, God, he's back.
BOB FRASER: What's that?
FRASER: I said, glad you're back, Dad! [to Vecchio] Not a word, all right?
VECCHIO: Hey, no problem, Benny.

Del is leaving the police station. A car pulls up.

BOB FRASER: That's him!
FRASER: Who?
VECCHIO: What?
FRASER: There. [pointing]
VECCHIO: Where? [Del hops in the car, which drives off.] Right in front of the police station? Now that is cheek.

He pulls out to follow him. They drive helter-skelter through the streets of Chicago, occasionally against traffic. A couple of black-and-white patrol cars join the chase. Music cue: "Steaming" by Sarah McLachlan.

You're always waiting on the tides
It's time you decide
I've walked down long roads
That seem to have no end at all
You never wanted time to end
To let my life offend
It's time to realize what hides
Deep inside your holy eyes

One of the police cars runs aground in an alley. Porter drives through an abandoned warehouse. Vecchio and the other police car follow him.

Hold on tight, hold on fast
This ain't the kind that always lasts
If you want me to go
Just ask me to go, I'll go
All the way, my love
Over the hills and right on through
Run away, my love
Over the hills and right on through
I was with you on that pallet, steaming
Spinning 'round in circles, dreaming
I was with you on that pallet, steaming
Spinning 'round in circles, screaming

The other police car fails to negotiate a corner. Porter crashes through a chain link fence. Vecchio is still on his tail.

All the way, my love
Over the hills and right on through
Run away, my love
Over the hills and right on through

Vecchio pauses on an overpass to let Fraser hop out and climb over the guardrail. Porter pulls up under a bridge.

All the way, my love
Over the hills and right on through
Run away, my love
Over the hills and right on through

FIRE ALARM SANTA (WILLIAM): We got a few minutes.
DEL: I don't need to hear any excuses.
WILLIAM: Will you just listen to me? If something happens to me, I gotta know that you —
DEL: Dad, I don't want to hear this —
WILLIAM: If something happens to me, you gotta know where I hid the money.
DEL: I don't want the damn money!
WILLIAM: I don't care what you want!
DEL: Now there is a surprise, huh?
WILLIAM: Just listen to me. I don't know how this thing is going to turn out.
DEL: Dad, you said you were finished. You know? You promised me.
WILLIAM: Del. Del. Del, I didn't want to do this. Just listen, just listen to me. If something happens to me, I gotta know that you're okay.
DEL: That I'm okay, huh? Now you think of this?
WILLIAM: Don't talk to me that way. I'm your father.
DEL: You're a loser. That's what you are. You couldn't make one damn thing work out for yourself, not one. So why should I listen to one thing you have to say? [He gets out of the car and runs.]
WILLIAM: Del! [He follows Del in the car, but Del climbs over a fence and keeps running. William gets out of the car and calls after him.] Del! Del!
FRASER: You won't get away with it. [William spins around, gun drawn, but Fraser shows his hands are empty.] I know you must have a plan, but there's no way it'll work.

William keeps his gun on Fraser as he gets back in the car. He drives off. Vecchio runs up.

VECCHIO: Now there's a man who loves his work.
FRASER: I don't think so, Ray.

Porter is driving a different car than the one he had parked a block away from the bank job. I'm just saying.

Scene 15

Fraser is eating in a diner. Bob is across the table from him. Otherwise the place is empty.

FRASER: You're sure you don't want something?
BOB FRASER: No, thanks, son. I couldn't. Well, this is the first real Christmas dinner we've had together in twenty years, and I'm not even really here.
FRASER: Aren't you?
BOB FRASER: I don't know any more about this than you do, son. Am I here? Am I in your head? You in mine? Damned if I can figure it out.
FRASER: Well, finally, something you don't understand.
BOB FRASER: Well, there's lots of things that I don't understand, Benton! How I lived all those years and didn't get to know my son. [They look at each other for a moment before Fraser changes the subject.]
FRASER: You know, I should be able to see his plan. I mean, there aren't that many variables. But no matter which way I twist it, I can't seem to see how he thinks he'd get away with it. I mean, you don't double-cross your partners and then stay around town. You don't plan a getaway and forget about your son. [He realizes the answer. Bob realizes Ben has realized something.] Unless you don't plan on getting away with it.
BOB FRASER: How do you mean?
FRASER: It's the only thing that explains his actions.
BOB FRASER: I don't follow you.
FRASER: No one would plan a double-cross this intricate and leave the getaway to chance. He did plan it through. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he is not planning on getting away with it.
BOB FRASER: Nobody plans to fail, son. It doesn't make sense.
FRASER: If it's the only logical solution, it doesn't have to make sense. [He gets up and grabs his jacket.]
BOB FRASER: What the hell does that mean?
FRASER: Don't you see it?
BOB FRASER: No!
FRASER: Well, of course you do. It's obvious.
BOB FRASER: I don't!
FRASER: [sits down again] Really?
BOB FRASER: No.
FRASER: You don't?
BOB FRASER: No.
FRASER: Oh.
BOB FRASER: But you do. Go bring him in, son. [Fraser goes. Bob watches him proudly. The diner owner rushes to flip the sign to "closed."] That's what I taught you.

It's lunchtime on Christmas Day and Fraser is eating alone in a diner. What the fuck, everyone he knows in Chicago?

We've known Bob Fraser for a cumulative total of about five voice-over-and-dialogue minutes, and the line "That's what I taught you" makes me cry. Nice work, Pinsent.

Scene 16

Vecchio is in his car staking out the Porter place. Fraser comes to the driver's side window.

FRASER: Anything happen?
VECCHIO: In what sense?
FRASER: Is Del still in there?
VECCHIO: Yeah. Yeah.

Fraser goes toward the building. An older guy pops up in the back seat of the car.

OLDER GUY: Twenty-four hours and you still haven't solved the case.
VECCHIO: Come on, Dad, it's Christmas Day. You want to give it a rest?
OLDER GUY (MR. VECCHIO): Hey, if you don't care about your work, it's fine with me. [Vecchio rolls his eyes.]

So I don't understand: Had Fraser just popped away from the stakeout to get a bite at the diner? I do like the "in what sense" callback, and HELLO, Vecchio's dad is also here haunting him, and he doesn't seem at all fazed by it, which (along with "give it a rest") has to mean Vecchio has seen his father's ghost before, doesn't it?

Scene 17

In the Porter place.

DEL: First time he went to prison I was six years old. I actually thought it was my fault. I thought if I didn't ask him for all those kid things kids ask their fathers for, you know, like bikes and toys or whatever, that he wouldn't go out and steal and get them for me. When he got out, I was so careful not to ask him for anything. 'Cause I thought that if I did he'd go out and do something like this again. You know, all I ever wanted was to have him here with me, but it didn't matter what I wanted, did it? He didn't give a damn about me. He didn't even tell me about this, he just went out and did it. Well, you know what? This isn't my fault, and he's not my responsibility. He can go back to jail. He can go to hell for all I care.
FRASER: Oh, he isn't going back to prison, Del. That's not his plan at all. He's going to let you know where the money is. Then he'll kill the Donnellys. Then he'll kill himself. He'll make it look like the money was destroyed. You'll get it all. He's planning to die. And he's doing this for you.
DEL: You know when I was most proud of him? [He does not elaborate on this.] What do you want me to do?

Poor Del. He's absolutely right that it's not his fault and his father is not his responsibility. It is wrong of Fraser to make it Del's responsibility to save William's life. I mean William is also wrong, wrong, wrong, and of course Del will be devastated if he carries out his plan. But it's not at all fair to make saving his life be Del's responsibility.

I am interested to know when Del was most proud of William. The text doesn't say. I wonder what Phillippe was thinking about in that pause after he gave that line. Also, he gives us more precise math: He was six when his dad went away the first time, so he's about 19 now.

Scene 18

Fraser gets in the car with Vecchio.

FRASER: Let's go.

Vecchio drives away. Del looks at lots of bundles of his father's manuscripts. William is getting things out of the trunk of his car. Music cue: "Henry Martin" by Figgy Duff. What William is getting out of the trunk are cans of gasoline.

There were three brothers in merry Scotland
In merry Scotland there were three
And they did cast lots which of them should go, should go, should go
And turn robber all on the salt sea

Del is looking at the manuscripts and at the wrapped present he got for his father at O. Henry's yesterday. Vecchio and Fraser are driving through the city.

VECCHIO: [on the radio with Elaine] Distillery. Something closed down or abandoned.

William is in the distillery, pouring gasoline and rigging hoses.

The lot it fell first upon Henry Martin
The youngest of all of the three
That he should turn robber all on the salt sea, the salt sea, the salt sea
For to maintain his two brothers and he

William throws a rope over a beam and hauls up a barrel of gasoline.

They had not been sailing for a long winter's night
And part of a short winter's day
When they did espy a stout lofty ship, lofty ship, lofty ship
Coming and bearing down on them straightway

ELAINE: O'Hare and Sons Distillery closed down about ten years ago. South side.
FRASER: Thank you kindly, Elaine.

William surveys his handiwork. Three barrels are hanging up in the rafters.

"Hello, hello," cried Henry Martin
"What makes you sail so nigh?"
"I'm a rich merchant ship bound for fair London Town, London Town, London Town
Would you please for to let us pass by?"

Jimmy Donnelly is drinking egg nog out of a plastic champagne coupe. He answers the phone.

JIMMY DONNELLY: Hello?
WILLIAM: I'm here.
JIMMY DONNELLY: Well, you're a man of your word, William. Good show. [hangs up] Bring me that big gun I like. I almost never get to use it.

"Oh no, oh no," cried Henry Martin
"This thing, it never can be.
For I have turned robber all on the salt sea, the salt sea, the salt sea
For to maintain my two brothers and me"

William hangs up the phone and walks past a sign warning about smoking and open flames. A little kid slips an envelope under Del's apartment door. Del reads the note from his father, then lights it on the stove and watches it burn.

"So lower your topsail and fire up your men
Bring your ship under my lee
For I have resolved for to pirate you here, you here, you here
For to maintain my two brothers and me"

Vecchio and Fraser drive up to the distillery.

VECCHIO: Okay, you got two minutes, then I'm in there. [Fraser gets out of the car.]

So broadside for broadside, and at it they went
For fully two hours or three

The door is padlocked from the outside. Fraser sees a door on the second level, a sort of loading dock, and gets in the building that way. William is pouring gasoline on the floor.

'Til Henry Martin gave them the death shot, the death shot, the death shot
And straight to the bottom went she

Fraser jumps down to ground level. William turns around and flicks on a lighter.

WILLIAM: You're one unlucky Canadian.
FRASER: I'd be careful if I were you. I, I think you're standing in a pool of gasoline.
WILLIAM: I'm not interested in killing you. If you want to walk, I'll let you.
FRASER: I can't do that. You know, it took me a while to figure out what you were doing. One doesn't ordinarily equate crime with self-sacrifice.
WILLIAM: I guess I'm going to have to take my offer back.
FRASER: You went straight, William. A long time. Six years.
WILLIAM: I love how people like you think that earning four dollars an hour is great and noble. I couldn't afford to buy my kid a Christmas gift. That's not noble. It's pathetic.
FRASER: I don't think your son would have seen it that way.
WILLIAM: You know what my son saw? He saw a sap that worked twelve hours a day at a job he hated and then came home and worked another six hours at a job that nobody wanted to pay him for. The only thing I ever showed my kid was how to be a loser.
FRASER: [coming steadily closer] And you thought robbing a bank would win his respect?
WILLIAM: Respect? Oh. Oh, I haven't thought about that in a long time. All I wanted was three dollars. Three dollars for the whole year and I'da made it. I was standing there at the counter with his gift in my hand. Girl says to me, "you're three dollars short." I started laughing. I laughed so hard I thought I was gonna have a heart attack right there in that department store. I suddenly realized that if I died right then and there, I'da left my son sixty-two dollars, some lousy manuscripts, and a lot of excuses, and that's not good enough. That's — that's not enough to leave your son.
FRASER: You know, William, I think there's only one thing that a father needs to leave his son, and that's a good example of how a man should live his life. Anything else, the son can learn for himself. The greatest gift my father ever gave me was the courage to trust my own abilities, and I learned that through his example. You know, you can give your son anything you want. But if you don't leave him a good example of how to be a man, you leave him nothing. That's what you'll leave Del. Nothing.

It has been more than two minutes. Vecchio is here; he's a ways behind William.

VECCHIO: Put the lighter away, William. You don't want to do this.
WILLIAM: You stay put. [He picks up a bottle with a rag wick in it.]
VECCHIO: Nobody has to die here.
JIMMY DONNELLY: [over on the other side of the distillery] Now look at this, Cameron. [Vecchio trains his gun on them.] It's a Christmas party.
VECCHIO: Drop the guns!
CAMERON: Stuff it. [Runs to cover Fraser with his gun.]
WILLIAM: Jimmy.
JIMMY DONNELLY: Now, you weren't being totally frank with us, were you, William?
WILLIAM: You want to kill me, Jimmy? You want to do that? Go ahead.

He kicks the pulley. The barrels tip over, dousing Jimmy, Cameron, and Vecchio with gasoline. William is un-drenched, but he is still standing in a pool of gasoline himself. Fraser is home and dry. William lights his wick.

JIMMY DONNELLY: That Erector Set I got you last Christmas was obviously a mistake.
VECCHIO: You can't get away with this.
FRASER: Actually, he can, Ray. Everyone involved in the robbery will die, so his son is safe from retribution. There's enough cash in that bag to convince the forensic experts that the money was destroyed in the blaze. The police will stop looking for it. All he has to do is drop that bottle. He gets away with it.
VECCHIO: Thanks for backing me up on this one, Benny.
FRASER: Sorry, Ray. It's your decision, William. Do you leave something for your son or do you steal from him?

William and Fraser look at each other for a minute. William turns to Jimmy Donnelly.

WILLIAM: Drop it. Drop it! [Jimmy Donnelly puts his gun down. So does Cameron. Vecchio starts to do the same.] Not you, you moron.
VECCHIO: Sorry.

Fraser takes the bottle from William and snuffs the wick.

Fraser says "Everyone involved in the robbery will die," but the bagman is not present, and Fraser has no way to know he's already dead. (Neither has William, which must be why there were three barrels of gasoline up there.)

This is the note William wrote to Del:

Son, Of all my writings, this will prove to be the most difficult.

I am so sorry to have been such a disappointment to you. Please believe that I have tried my best and can no longer live with the fact that it has not been enough.

The most important thing now is your future. You must go back to your Aunt Celia. She loves you a lot.

In the closet of her spare bedroom you will find a cardboard box with your name on it. Inside you will find all that I can offer you for your future.

Do good, work hard, and never forget my love for you. Don't be sad. There is just no other way.

Love, Dad

So what Del did to bring William in was tell Fraser and Vecchio that William was meeting Jimmy at the distillery, which he learned back in scene 6 and they still didn't know. I appreciate that he burns the letter; he's not fooling when he says he doesn't want it. (Why does he have to go back to Aunt Celia? He's 19 years old; he can probably live on his own.)

Fraser's speech about giving your kid an example of how to be a person is good. How is it that he gives William better advice about being a father (which he is not) than he gave Del about being a son (which he is)? William is wrong, of course, that being $3 short on the price of a Christmas gift is in any way shameful. (Erector Set was a metal building toy that was basically defeated by plastics. Impressive that Jimmy can make jokes while he's got gasoline streaming into his eyes.)

Speaking as someone who has lost a parent, "Don't be sad" is an absolutely crap thing for a parent who knows they're going to die (by whatever means) to say to their child.

Scene 19

Del is visiting William in jail. He has the present with him, but hides it when William comes to the window in his green jumpsuit and points to the phone.

WILLIAM: Hi. Looks like I screwed up our Christmas plans.
DEL: Yeah. It's okay.
WILLIAM: U.S. Attorneys agreed to three to five.
DEL: That's good.
WILLIAM: You'll be a man before I get out.
DEL: I'll be all right. Aunt Celia's cool, but, you know.
WILLIAM: I'm sorry, Del. I'm really sorry.
DEL: I got you something, Dad. [He gives the present to the guard, who brings it around to William.]
WILLIAM: Thanks. [opens the present] It's beautiful. It must have cost you a fortune. I used to have one just like this. You were six then. How do you remember that?
DEL: I used to watch you write. You know, I'd think, uh, that's my dad.
WILLIAM: I didn't get you anything, son.
DEL: Yes, you did.

William puts his hand up to the window. Del does the same.

I am not (as I've said) a lawyer, but apparently bank robbery is a federal crime because banks are federally insured? So that's what the U.S. Attorneys have to do with it. William wasn't actually the one who robbed the bank or threatened anybody with a gun, but there's no such thing as an accessory to a federal crime; you're either a principal or an accessory after the fact, and William is not the latter, which means he's the former. The federal statute on bank robbery is here, and it looks like William actually falls under subsection (c):

Whoever receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes of, any property or money or other thing of value which has been taken or stolen from a bank, credit union, or savings and loan association in violation of subsection (b), knowing the same to be property which has been stolen shall be subject to the punishment provided in subsection (b) for the taker.

Which is a fine and either up to a year if the amount is less than $1k or up to 10 years if the amount is more than $1k, with separate enhancements for attendant assault of any kind or threats with deadly weapons (up to 25 years); kidnapping (at least 10 years); and causing the death of any person in the course of committing, attempting to commit, or attempting to evade or escape capture for any of these (life in prison or the death penalty).

So 3–5 years doesn't sound so bad, off that particular menu.

Scene 20

Back in Fraser's apartment. Diefenbaker is lying on the rug; Fraser is lying on the bed with a blanket partly over his knees.

FRASER: You know, I think you're wrong about Sam Dalton. The cases weren't entirely dissimilar. Dad? [He looks around and sits up.] You still here? [He does not see Bob. He lies down and goes to sleep.]
BOB FRASER: [by the window] Merry Christmas, son. Merry Christmas. [He goes out the door.]

Fraser is still wearing his (Bob's) watch in bed, which I don't remember if I've noticed before but which is bothering me now. Also, the blanket is like over his hips and his knees, but he doesn't tuck his feet under it or pull it up over his shoulders—which I can believe Christmas in Chicago may not be that cold to someone accustomed to wherever the hell he used to live, but he huddles up as if he's cold when he's got blankets right there.

Anyway, even though Bob appears and reappears as he pleases, I'm glad he uses the door rather than drifting through walls.

Now then: The title of this episode has been "The Gift of the Wheelman," and Del bought his father's present in the O. Henry Gift Shop, and his father was named William Sydney Porter, which was the original name of O. Henry, so clearly we're meant to make the connection with The Gift of the Magi, the famous O. Henry story in which a couple are both short of cash at Christmas: Unbeknownst to each other, she sells her hair to buy him a gold watch chain, and he sells his grandfather's gold watch to buy her some ornamental hair combs. The theme there is personal sacrifice for the benefit of the one you love most, which O. Henry's narrator says makes them even wiser than the biblical wise men. Which, okay, William is prepared to sacrifice himself, his life, for Del, but are we to understand that Del's scraping together $75 to replace his father's fountain pen is a corresponding sacrifice? Maybe the irony of the criss-crossing sacrifices isn't the point, but I feel like without that, without the mutual sacrifice, you're not really referring to the O. Henry story, and you could (and maybe should) have called the episode something else.

Cumulative confirmed body count: 8
Red uniform: Out Christmas shopping, but changes into civvies before going on stake-out that evening

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Comments

[greenygal]

Fraser said he'd give Del a hand with the trash and then he did not help. Boo. He could at least have tipped one trash can into the dumpster before he went minding the kid's business.

Excellent point. Bad Mountie!


Also: I do not believe him when he says he's always thought writing down his innermost feelings was the bravest thing a man could do. I just don't! Usually his parables have a grain of truth or relevance in them, but this one clangs a bit; I think he's telling the truth when he says he's only getting to know his father through his writing now that he's gone (and I think Del recognizes that that's true), but I think the bravest-thing-a-man-can-do stuff is bunk.

Whereas I think that he's speaking pure truth but in a misleading way. The line is "writing down his innermost feelings so that any stranger could read them"; Benton Fraser would have a hard enough time with the first part (you notice he doesn't keep journals), and forget the second. But arguably Bob Fraser didn't fulfill the second part (his journals were kept private till after he was dead) and Fraser has no idea whether William's writings qualify for either. But it's a way to approach Del, so he uses it.


WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THIS SCENE

Nothing whatsoever.


The comic timing of the three-way conversation during the shootout is flawless.

It really is--DS is generally very good with comic timing in dialogue, but this is a high point.


"You wouldn't be much of a son if you didn't [want to help your father]" is a bullshit emotionally manipulative thing to say, and Fraser should go to hell for saying it.

I genuinely have no idea if it's deliberate manipulation or if Fraser, whose relationship with his father stands firmly at "complicated" but would always want to help him (and who was never asked to), just thinks that's the truth. I might have wondered if the writers think that, as even the most messed-up fathers shown so far have all ultimately been shown as loving their kids and trying to do what's best for them--except that it's this episode that establishes that the show's secondary protagonist had a dad that was an abusive asshole, and does not complicate or soften that portrayal at all.

I guess I wonder if Fraser would have said that line if Ray had been in the room, and what Ray's reaction would have been. Also I much prefer Ray's bluntness: Your dad sucks but he's all you got; you gonna help him? No? Okay, you can go then.


It's lunchtime on Christmas Day and Fraser is eating alone in a diner. What the fuck, everyone he knows in Chicago?

Somewhere just off-screen of this episode, surely, is a large and noisy Vecchio family Christmas, but there's almost no indication of it in the episode, and less that Fraser has been invited--Ray says he'll have to tell his mother that he will be late, not that they will.


and HELLO, Vecchio's dad is also here haunting him, and he doesn't seem at all fazed by it, which (along with "give it a rest") has to mean Vecchio has seen his father's ghost before, doesn't it?

It's so rare to see Ray have his own spot of weird, instead of being dragged into Fraser's. Of course in order to have this moment we have to have the whole rest of the episode with Fraser establishing that ghosts are A Thing Which Is Happening, and because Vecchio is the sidekick he gets ten seconds, but the paradoxical result is that Vecchio is just casually going, yeah, spirit of my dead father, I hear you, now leave me alone.


It is wrong of Fraser to make it Del's responsibility to save William's life. I mean William is also wrong, wrong, wrong, and of course Del will be devastated if he carries out his plan. But it's not at all fair to make saving his life be Del's responsibility.

Well...I mean, yes, "he's doing this for you" is manipulative guilting. But as for the rest of the scene, Fraser only returns to Del when he realizes that William is planning to commit suicide. Which is something that nobody knew up till then, including Del, and I would argue that it is in fact respectful of Del to give him that information and let him decide if that changes what he wants to do. Which it does, since apparently he then gives Fraser information he had previously chosen not to.

And maybe after the scene ends, Fraser asks Del to do more than that, and maybe he doesn't; we can't say. All we actually know is that Fraser leaves with the address and after that point Fraser and Vecchio take all the responsibility for saving William's life.