Alex on CM: "The Big Wheel" - SPOILER thread

[VAsusieQ18]

Here you go more than 400 caps.

http://tinyurl.com/coha53

Jackpot!

Thanks, Jade!

[MSJ_sunglasses]

Jade, thank you so much for the time you spent making all those caps - it's like watching the show over again

[MoonMad]

Well, I finally got to see the ep. Do NOT ask why it took me until midnight to see it. The computer and the internet between them HATE me.

Alex's performance was, as usual, understated and heart rending. He really had very few words to say in the entire episode; for us as an audience it was all about watching him cope as he devolved. I think he got an awful lot of screen time for a guest star and there was very little about the team at all. This was his and the little boy's show. The most words he said in the entire episode was in that scene with Alice.

I'm going to watch it again tomorrow when I'm not so tired and pick up things I missed on the first viewing.

I agree with those of you who said that no matter how nerdy they tried to make him, there was no hiding his appeal. Even behind those obscuring glasses his eyes shone gorgeously. I can't wait to see them gazing entrancingly from over the top of a surgical mask....

Oh, Susie I just saw your post. I can't wait to hear what the 'experts' think of the episode. You'll have to message Alex on MS and tell him what they thought. That should get his attention!

[darlingcat]

Here you go more than 400 caps.

http://tinyurl.com/coha53

Thanks, dear!
Is this the kind of file you have to save before being able to open?

[Jade]

Here you go more than 400 caps.

http://tinyurl.com/coha53

Thanks, dear!
Is this the kind of file you have to save before being able to open?

yes it is then you extract them.

[Kelly]

OMG!! THANKS, JADE!!! You're a lifesaver!

[darlingcat]

Here you go more than 400 caps.

http://tinyurl.com/coha53

Thanks, dear!
Is this the kind of file you have to save before being able to open?

yes it is then you extract them.

Thanks!
I hope you have a few from the first scene, Vincent in his long johns

[Jade]

Thanks!
I hope you have a few from the first scene, Vincent in his long johns

no worry all the scenes are in it

[Kelly]

Okay, well, I'll 5 1/2 hours late, but that episode was...

UN-FRICKIN-BELIEVABLE!!!!

Alex was phenomenal!!! As I knew he would be....GOD!!!! I CAN'T EVEN THINK RIGHT NOW! Seriously, that was some of the best acting I've seen. Absolutely top-notch! YEAH, ALEX!!!

Also, and this might come out a little strange, since it's 2:30 in the morning, but I definitely think that there was more significance to "the big wheel" than just the ferris wheel. But it's definitely symbolic of OCD...the repetitiveness of his life and all that.

Also, and this is probably not the best time to admit this, I have OCD, so a lot about this episode hit me pretty hard. I can really sympathize (okay, not entirely ) with Vincent. What really got to me was the double shutting doors. There was just something about it that brought tears to my eyes. It was so realistic and entirely relatable to me. While I have gotten a bit better, every time I would lock a door when I was younger I would lock it, test it, count to three out loud...and repeat three times. If you don't personally suffer from OCD, it's probably difficult to understand why someone with OCD can't just stop. I wish it were that easy. Unfortunately, OCD is often mistaken as just ultra-superstition. I admit, that, at least to me, it's similar in many ways. That's how all quirks start. You know...not rewearing anything you wear to a funeral, or even thinking the name of a disease, because you believe that by thinking it, you will cause yourself or someone you love to get that disease. I used to do this all the time...if I would hear or think of a disease, I would whisper to myself "I will not get sick, mom will not get sick, dad will not get sick...etc." There were times that it would take me 10 minutes to recite the names of everyone I loved, including pets and, when I was really young, stuffed animals (okay, go ahead and laugh at that one...I do ) In time, the superstition morphs into something much stronger. It's as if your brain gets caught in a loop (hence, my interpretation of "The Big Wheel"). Like Vincent, you want to break that loop, but you can't, because your brain has been virtually rewired by your superstitions. It takes a long time and much effort to be able to function normally, at least for the more extreme cases. For me, personally, being OCD has made going about normal, everyday things very difficult and timeconsuming. Certain things that most people do automatically, it takes a great deal of extra effort to do. For instance, it can take me forever to type a paper up, because if I make a typo, I can't just go back and fix the mistake. I have to erase everything back to the error, fix it, and then retype everything. Fortunately, however, through lots of effort, I have gotten myself to the point that I have been able to break many of my previous rituals, and I can live almost entirely normally. Sure, I'll always have quirks, but they no longer rule my life...just certain parts of it.

Anyway, this is why Alex's portrayal of Vincent touched me...and I apologize for the lesson in OCD , especially since you all probably know all that already. I honestly didn't mean to go on that long.

His acting was spot-on in this role, take it from me...however, I doubt any of you would disagree.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble on...although you didn't really have a choice. It's ridiculous how far my post got. LOL

hugs,

Kel~

P.S. I'll be back to partake in more Squeeing in the morning...but now it's 3:15 and I'm ready to drop.

Great post, Kelly... it's only 2:10 AM here. Hope you have your condition under control.

This is the first time I've heard about someone with OCD who has a tendency to do the double door shutting thing. I thought it was overacting. But I've known people who tend to double-check on door locks. I'd lock up and get out of the car or house but the other person would go around and check on the door knobs afterward. It would drive me insane like they don't trust me to lock it up myself!! Is that OCD or paranoia?

I'm much better, thank you. Although, you have no idea how difficult it was to write that on here, because it's something that I've yet to really come to terms with. Probably because when I was younger, the numerous quirks I had resulted in a lot of teasing from other kids. People with OCD are no usually well accepted into society, so like Vincent, I was always a bit of a loner.

[Kelly]

Just read everyone who made comments while I was asleep last night, and loved the commentary, explanations and general squeeing!

A few things worth mentioning: Kelly--- for sharing your experience with OCD. I think that more people suffer from that than we know. I loved the connection you made between the ferris wheel and the ongoing cycle of OCD. Poor Vincent suffered in so many ways, and it made perfect sense to me that given his experience with his mother, etc. that he would exhibit symptoms of OCD--he was such a lonely man, and having that disorder--to the extreme he had it--only isolated him more.

Thanks fo listening.

And yes, I know that a lot of people are saying that they don't get the connection of why Vincent kills on the anniversary of his mother's death. However, it makes perfect sense to me, probably because I can easily relate to his thinking patterns. One thing that probably needs to be made clear is that, in general, most people with OCD know that their actions are irrational. And also, rituals are usually not premeditated. For me, they were very random. I would do something once, and my brain would automatically get stuck on the "what if" if I didn't do it next time. OCD is NOT a rational disorder. There isn't always rational significance to a ritual -- even to the person whose doing it.

For Vincent, he was probably an insecure and angry person all his life, which likely triggered his OCD. It's possible that his anger drove him to murder his first victim, and his OCD took it from there, twisting his reasoning and making him believe that there was reason to continue.

[lafluffy]

I liked the ep though I can't imagine a steady diet of CM. Alex was great. I see that best by comparing this performance to that of Mick. I tried to stay away from assessing the hotness factor because I really wanted to see the performance. Alex has said that he is a medium talent and I agree with him to the extent that his looks make me stupid so I can't honestly assess much beyond that. The fact that he inhabited his character is my touchstone; I give him much respect for that. And the one extraordinary thing, or gift he has, I think, is to bring a delicacy to his acting and to the character. He did it with Mick with his "I'm a vampire" scene, and he did it with Vincent in the simple way he closed his eyes on the wheel and in the way he folded his hands. That is what made it so poignant for me. That's specific to Alex, IMO and far more than "medium" in terms of talent. I love that he expresses so much through his body, which I never realised before.

The subject was thought provoking. I enjoyed the enlightening comments here on the meaning of the wheel. I think that the team was mistaken when they profiled Vincent as a psycho-sexual killer. I think the point here was that it was meant to be a mistake. No one is 100% correct in profiling. The psycho-sexual part doesn't fit with what we learn later. Neither do I think that he was automatically a psychopath.

Once we learn that Vincent has been traumatised by his mother's murder, everything fell into place for me. Killing on the anniversary of her death. Reliving the moment of that death, stuck in a time warp, because he never could process it as a child. In a sense, taking on the identity of the killer, still trying to process the event and make it come out better each time and failing, just as later, he comes full circle (another "wheel") and takes on the identity of the child, becomes a child once again.

Poor Vincent's life was based on repetition compulsion, so in his case, redemption was possible and real, not a psychological impossibility.

If this role was written for Alex then I imagine the writer thinks highly of him, because the role is challenging in its stark simplicity yet complex motivation, although Alex makes it look easy. I am also impressed with Alex's intelligence and good taste in such a meaty role. He wasn't just talking through his hat about it.

[amyvil]

OK, here's the translation of those rating numbers I posted above from the same site:

Fox’s American Idol stood well above the competition at 9 p.m., with 21.85 million viewers and a 7.5/19 among adults 18-49.

Tied for second behind American Idol was ABC’s Lost and CBS’ Criminal Minds as follows:

Wednesday 9 p.m.
Criminal Minds (CBS)
Viewers: 13.27 million (#2), A18-49: 3.3/ 8 (#3)

Lost (ABC)
Viewers: 8.81 million (#3), A18-49: 4.0/10 (#2)

Although Criminal Minds came in second in terms of viewers, it came in third in terms of the 18-49 demographics. Both the number of viewers and the 18-49 rating is par for the course. In other words, it didn't do any worse than previous outings of CM so it should rate pretty highly in the Nielsen ratings. (It should land as one of the top 10 shows for the week.) This is actually very good in terms of number of viewers because Lost was broadcasting its 100th episode so the likelihood it would pull viewers from CM was there.

Amy V.

[darlingcat]

Thanks!
I hope you have a few from the first scene, Vincent in his long johns

no worry all the scenes are in it

I just looked at them. You are a doll, Jade
And true, nothing was mising

[SirenSong]

The only real question I had after viewing last night's episode was why Vincent kept killing women who looked like his mother. After rewatching the episode 3 or 4 times, I paid more attention to the video of his mother's death and realized something that I didn't on first viewing. (you bright and attentive ladies probably picked this up first off)

His mother was carrying on an affair in the house while Vincent was home. The father comes in, catches them in the act, throws the other man out and that's when the violence starts. The father yells at the mom about how she could do this with their son in the house and she yells back that she hates him (the husband) and hates her life. That's when he stabs her.

So is he killing these women as some sort of punishment for her actions or as some sort of way to keep her with him?

[Kelly]

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/04/30/we ... sode/17730

TVbytheNumbers is saying they will have Wednesday night's ratings up around 12:30 pm EST.

Thank you, susie. Question: in your expertise, how do you think Alex presented his character? Believable or not? I'm curious as to your take on Vincent, now that you've seen his performance..

Unfortunately, the writers seemed to have gone off profile. These types of psychopathic killers have no remorse, they can't feel empathy for their victims. They can usually fake it pretty good (ala Ted Bundy), but Vincent had empathy and caring for Stanley. That was definitely off profile. He even was "sorry" he had to kill Alice. Was he faking it? Perhaps, but to me that was real emotion, something these types of killers cannot feel for their victims (again per what I've come to understand about the makeup of these killers). So yeah, they went off profile a bit, but even the BAU Team said that it was very unusual, so there's that.

Personally, I don't think Vincent was off profile. I doubt that most normal serial killers are capable of feeling empathy. However, because Vincent was driven by his OCD, to me that makes him an exception. OCD drowns out reason and common sense...you get stuck so much in your rituals, that you no longer think about why you do something. However, it certainly does not drown out empathy. Vincent, despite his extreme OCD triggered actions, was still capable of experiencing compassion.