Talking Shop

A. “That’s what I was saying.”

B. “Oh that’s what you were saying?”

A. “Yeah.”

B. “Oohh, for some reason the way I put it made sense to me, but you’re right I can see it both ways and really they’re the same.”

A. “The villain was borrowing time for a decade. So now he has all this free time. He was sitting in the walkway by the portico when he saw the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen right? And that means that she was a real ten. Her sexual attractiveness was what was so appealing. From a man’s standpoint she had it all: not too tall, long legs, 34 24 36, flat stomach, soft young skin, long shiny smooth hair, and the face was essentially a combination of all the best pornstars, all his favorite pornstars.”

B. “Since he was nearing the height of his career he had the confidence in his game to make her see it his way.”

A. “Right, right, but the sad thing was it was so easy. He was so used to the “baby woman,” she took his heart and ripped it out. This woman did everything she wanted. She didn’t hold back and he started questioning himself.”

B. “When he questions himself he does it in a very direct and probing way. He has to stay in charge.”

A. “Right. And this is where our explanations differed, but meant essentially the same thing.”

B. “I said, he only feels in charge when he controls other people’s lives, so he spends all his time learning about different kinds of people. He has a rich inner life, but he can also go to the golf course and become the enemy. The people who’re safest around him are the ones he’s invested in in his long term plans.”

A. “And I said his plans were dedicated to improvements in the socio-economic structure, since he didn’t grow up in a rich Republican family resting on the security of yesterday. So it made it hard to buy him as a complete villain. I said, he’s a politician, and he’s so smart that most people never know what hit them.”

B. “I don’t know I kind of get it. But the more we talk about it the more convoluted it seems.”

A. “A common theme. pass me the pitcher will you?”

B. “Maybe if we figure out what this guy wanted we’ll have a chance of finishing the episode.”

A. “You’re right. We should already know the answer to that. In fact, we’re idiots, you realize this don’t you?”

B. “Take comfort in the fact that we’re realizing it at the same time. Writing is so hard when you really think about it.”

A. “So let’s each come up with his reason for being alive. We don’t even need to agree on it. Hm, now I feel smart.”

B. “Do we tell each other what the reason is?”

A. “No.”

B. “I can see him running through the streets of L.A. at night in a black trench coat. There’s a cartoonish aspect to it. He’s the ultimate villain.”