TV show fan with an idea - but nowhere to go

Hi :)

Thank you for taking the time to lay out your thoughts like this. 

How would you feel about sharing a few of your ideas here, on this forum? 

I personally would be delighted to hear them and now you've got me curious!

Here it is…

What happened onscreen (these scenes were separated by other scenes not set at the party) :

Episode A

Melissa Grangerford and her brother Michael are celebrating milestone birthdays (they’re 10 years apart). It’s Melissa’s actual birthday, Michael’s is in 2 weeks, but they’re having a joint party. Melissa’s setting up the venue, the owners tell her where everything is, she says they want it low key.

Michael’s partner Loretta Lush arrives. She’s not happy with the lack of decorations. Melissa says they want it low key, Loretta says that won’t do. She sends out for decorations and basically takes over the organising. (That’s how Loretta is in the show - she has a talent for unthinkingly creating chaos.)

Loretta organises everyone to let off party poppers when Michael arrives at the venue. Melissa visibly feels left out.

Next party scene, a bit later, the guests gather around for the presents. We see 2 presents given, both to Michael. The first one’s from Colin (a close friend of Melissa). The second’s quite a grand one, so Loretta calls for a photo of Michael and Melissa with that present. Loretta includes herself in the photo. When Loretta leans in to get closer to Michael as the photo’s taken, Melissa ends up partly obscured behind Loretta’s voluminous hair.

At that point one of the guests, Pamela, announces that she’s leaving. Loretta protests that they haven’t done the cake. Melissa says there isn’t a cake as she and Michael weren’t bothered about one. Loretta insists there isn’t an occasion merits a cake, and two lads agree to go out for one. Before they go Loretta calls for a group photo. Michael’s in the middle of the group photo with his showpiece present. Melissa’s in the chorus

Episode B

The party’s still going on. Melissa’s sitting alone at a table looking forlorn. There’s a gift bag in front of her on the table, and two more at her feet. Colin comes over and asks her what’s up. She’s feeling introspective about where her life is at this milestone age, and she confesses that she’s lonely. Colin tells her that he (platonically) loves her and how fantastic she is. He asks her to dance and she agrees. We cut to the two lads coming back with a cake, which they present to Loretta still in its box.

Next party scene, Melissa and Colin are still dancing together but the record is different so several minutes have passed. A young lady, Jenna, is just beginning cutting the cake into slices. There’s a pre-existing, wonky cut on the far side of the cake, which Jenna’s first cut doesn’t line up with perfectly. Jenna has a conversation with another guest as she slices.

Next party scene, the cake is all sliced and ready to serve. One of the guys who collected the cake announces that it’s ready to serve. Melissa, still dancing with Colin, smiles broadly.

Episode C

Two days later. There’s a special occasion at Acorn Antiques’ central pub (we’ll call it the Royal Oak). Melissa’s working there and she seems cheerful.

Episode D

The following day. Melissa, Loretta and some other ladies, who have lately formed a bit of a friendship circle, gather for another special occasion. Melissa’s fully back to her usual vivacious self.

*

That’s the onscreen events. Next post, I’ll share my Watsonian theory.

Many thanks!

My theory: 

On the face of it, Melissa was pushed to the periphery on her own milestone birthday, at a party she planned and paid for. That’s got to be an emotional wound - on top of feeling lonely. Yet she’s smiling at the end of the evening, and back to her old sparkling self two days later. Here’s my ‘missing scenes’ explanation for that.

We know from the gift bags around her at the start of Episode B that she did receive presents at the party. Onscreen we only saw the two gifts given to Michael, and then the group photo was taken straight away. I believe Loretta called for the photo right then because Pamela was about to leave, and Loretta wanted Pamela to be in the photo. That didn’t mean the gift-giving was over - we know from Melissa’s gift bags that it wasn’t.

So I believe that straight after the group photo, the present-giving continued. Colin was first to present a gift to Michael. As he’s Melissa’s closest confidant, it would be out of character for him to get Michael a gift and not get Melissa one. I think that after he gave Michael his gift, Colin would have followed up with his present for Melissa - but Jenna swooped in quickly with her newspaper, which diverted things into the photos.

So I think that, photos done, Colin then presented Melissa with his gift for her. That would then have been followed by her receiving her other two gifts. And getting those presents soothed the wound of her feeling sidelined earlier.

So when Colin then comes over to comfort her, she’s no longer feeling left out of her own celebration - she’s just thoughtful about where her life is at that age, not unusual on a milestone birthday.

My next idea’s a bit more wild but I think it stands up. That will be next post.

Thank you

One last thing is that for 4 months prior to the party, Melissa and Loretta were enemies. In the days leading up to the party they softened into frenemies. Ever since the party they’ve been cordial with each other and often been companions.

For me, that strengthens the view that Melissa got some kind of emotional repair at the party - otherwise she wouldn’t have been ready to make peace with Loretta.

The other part of my theory derives from : 

a) Michael is consistently portrayed in the show as a kind, caring fellow. He’s not the type who would happily lap up all the limelight and not give his sister a moment’s thought on her birthday.

b) There was no rift between the Grangerford siblings after the party. Melissa remained, and still is, one of Michael’s staunchest allies.

c) The wonky pre-existing cut in the cake that didn’t line up with Jenna’s cut.

d) Loretta had made clear she wanted the party to be a big ‘do’. So she wouldn’t have settled for saying, low-key, to Jenna ‘cut the cake’. She’d have wanted there to be a showy, ceremonial ‘first cut’.

So I believe that when the cake was taken out of the box, Loretta would have handed Michael the cake knife and asked him to make that first cut (since her attention was on him). 

And Michael would have seen how left out and deflated Melissa was earlier, and he’d have been aware that it was her birthday. So I believe that Michael stepped across to Melissa and got her to join him in making the first cut of the cake together, one hand each on the knife. Hence the wonky cut.

Then they went back to talking to the guests, and asked Jenna to carry out the functional task of slicing.

So I believe : the warmth of that cake-cutting moment, with a sibling smile, to a big cheer from the guests, giving her a share of the spotlight, is what gave her the emotional repair she needed to be broadly smiling at the end of the evening, and to be sparkling again next day.

The other part of my theory derives from : 

a) Michael is consistently portrayed in the show as a kind, caring fellow. He’s not the type who would happily lap up all the limelight and not give his sister a moment’s thought on her birthday.

b) There was no rift between the Grangerford siblings after the party. Melissa remained, and still is, one of Michael’s staunchest allies.

c) The wonky pre-existing cut in the cake that didn’t line up with Jenna’s cut.

d) Loretta had made clear she wanted the party to be a big ‘do’. So she wouldn’t have settled for saying, low-key, to Jenna ‘cut the cake’. She’d have wanted there to be a showy, ceremonial ‘first cut’.

So I believe that when the cake was taken out of the box, Loretta would have handed Michael the cake knife and asked him to make that first cut (since her attention was on him). 

And Michael would have seen how left out and deflated Melissa was earlier, and he’d have been aware that it was her birthday. So I believe that Michael stepped across to Melissa and got her to join him in making the first cut of the cake together, one hand each on the knife. Hence the wonky cut.

Then they went back to talking to the guests, and asked Jenna to carry out the functional task of slicing.

So I believe : the warmth of that cake-cutting moment, with a sibling smile, to a big cheer from the guests, giving her a share of the spotlight, is what gave her the emotional repair she needed to be broadly smiling at the end of the evening, and to be sparkling again next day.

One last thing is that for 4 months prior to the party, Melissa and Loretta were enemies. In the days leading up to the party they softened into frenemies. Ever since the party they’ve been cordial with each other and often been companions.

For me, that strengthens the view that Melissa got some kind of emotional repair at the party - otherwise she wouldn’t have been ready to make peace with Loretta.