Nitpicker's Guide Part Two
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
By Elaine
And yes, I really love this episode, problems not withstanding. If you can't accept your favorite episode being niggled - light heartedly - please do not read!
How on Earth did Benny and Ray lug that huge, whopping pool table up from the cellar? I it had been down there 15 years, why wasn't it damp / scratched / ruined?
Wasn't it convenient of the Vecchio tribe to suddenly decide to visit Miami? I'm SURE Ma Vecchio REALLY wanted to see her sister and that they weren't REALLY written out of the story to make Victoria's misdemeanors easier...
How did Ray know to meet Ben at the railway station? Telepathy? Or did the note Fraser left on Dief's cage say something along the lines of, 'Dear Ray, I'm not sure what Victoria's up to but I have a premonition that everything will be resolved on the train station. Excuse me, I have to leave now to launder money for diamonds?'
Ben has neither matching crockery, glassware nor pans YET he does have a rather fetching checked tablecloth and a wicker bread basket.
Why did Ben's apartment not burn down when Fraser rushes off to Mr. Mustafi's phone? Does he trot back in before rushing dashingly off to Ray's? Or did Mr. Mustafi blow the candles out? Or did Bob Fraser summon up a phantom breeze? And anyway didn't Ben realize how hazardous that many candles are?
The regenerating Stetson strikes again! Ben leaves his hat on the Riv's roof when he hears the gunshot; the hat is then thrown from the car to land on the pavement as Ray swerves. The hat , however, returns later in the episode only to disappear again and to be swept off as Ben runs after the train. Again, where does he get these hats from??!
Why did Ben and Ray leave Victoria on her own in the Vecchio home? As far as they knew, she was being hunted down yet they leave her without protection?
How did all the Vecchio clan fit in just the one car? I assume there was but one car, no dialogue was added to the contrary, yet it fitted Maria, Tony, at least two children, Francesca, Ma and all the luggage including Frannie's make-up case! 'Tis a TARDIS!
Why is Ray wearing sunglasses at the top of the story?
Victoria's appearance. We saw Fraser grieving over a picture of 'Victoria' at the end of 'You Must Remember.' This woman had straight hair partially obscuring her face - how convenient - yet it is obvious from the nose, bone structure, etc that this woman and the Victoria we see in VS are not the same. Anyway, how did Ben take a picture of her out in the middle of nowhere?! He lost his pack but kept hold of his handy-dandy Polaroid?? Another niggle about Victoria's appearance - ignoring this candid camera shot: It is ten years since Fraser last saw Victoria yet he recognizes her - at a glimpse - straight off. Don't women change quite a bit in ten years? Moreover, the mugshot of Victoria at the station looks as if it could have been taken yesterday. Did Victoria have the same hairstyle for all those years?
How did Victoria know where the Fraser family cabin was? She or her cronies plant money underneath it and set it on fire but she never visited the cabin before. I always got the impression that it was miles away from anywhere - not near the town Fraser mentions in his Confession.
How did Victoria get hold of Ray's back up gun. It is usually superglued to the Vecchio person. Did Ray leave it at home that day - coincidentally? And did Victoria know he had a second back up gun, know he had left it lying about somewhere, track it down and steal it? And didn't the investigators into the Fraser / Vecchio alleged conspiracy not think it a trifle odd that these two intelligent people, who had, apparently, gone to great lengths to launder their stolen money, would then be stupid enough to lose both their guns at a crime scene?
Did Victoria come to Chicago specifically to track down Fraser? If so, how did she know he'd been transferred there? Secondly, how did she know whereabouts in Chicago? It was Fraser who found her really. Did she set that up, did she spend all day every day tramping round the streets of Chicago in the hopes of being spotted by her lover? Or was it serendipity and she was going to track him down but he just happened to find her first.
Victoria divided the loot and put it in two identical bags in two lockers at the station. One bag she was going to leave in its locker to frame Benny and Ray; the second she was going to take with her on the train. Therefore, as her whole plan of stitching up the two cops rested on this evidence, wasn't it rather dim of her to choose identical bags for her loot and the frame-up loot??
Fraser, whilst his apartment was being turned upside down by the crime squad boys, noticed that the trunk had been disturbed but, this clever man who notices holes in shoes, parasites etc, didn't think to wonder if anything was missing from said footlocker?
When did Victoria steal this revolver of Ben's? Whilst she was 'spring cleaning' during the night? Whilst Ben went shopping or whilst he was at work? Possibly but she took one hell of a risk. Ben could have come home and opened the trunk and seen the gun was missing. And she would have had to put all his things back absolutely exactly - or pineckety Fraser would have noticed.
The biggest nitpick has to be this ridiculous assertion of Ms Saint Laurent and the Internal Affairs guys that there was no such person as Victoria. She wanders the streets of Chicago, books rooms in a hotel, plants dirty money, eats in a fast food joint, goes to the supermarket and, presumably, has to go through O'Hare airport to get to Chicago - yet no-one saw her! Moreover, she spends an afternoon with Ben at the Zoo and a further hour or so romping round the enclosures there with Jolly after her. The Zoo and the airport at least have closed circuit television. Was she invisible to scanners as well as the naked eye? A few witnesses at the Zoo came forward but Louise / the IA guys ignored their testimonies because Victoria was supposedly dead. Surely they should have checked into Victoria's car crash more carefully, seen it was a frame up. Fraser had Victoria in his apartment for what? a night, most of the following day (except a short stint at work) and the following night (Friday when he should have been with Ray). Victoria ate there, watched television there - which must have been brought in by Mr. Mustafi - slept there, went to the communal bathroom there and generally pottered about the place as you do. Yet the crime squad team found no prints except Fraser's and Ray's. and found no hairs or other evidence I know Victoria scrubbed the place clean to the strains of 'Possession' but are we truly supposed to believe that she wiped away all evidence from the apartment??
I have long curly red hair and for those not clued in on this subject, let me tell you straight off long hair sheds. A lot. Victoria was in that apartment for basically two nights and a day; and, unless she was wearing a very convincing wig, she would not have got rid of all the hairs!
And, if she did vacuum, when did she vacuum? I can't imagine her switching on the hoover in the dead of night - because that would have alerted Ben to her unnatural urge to clean. She could have whipped the hoover round after Ray's visit and after Fraser had gone belatedly to work. Fine. I'm sure she had time then. But there is a problem: she could not have removed all the hairs etc that were going to be shed later, ie after she vacuumed. Fraser returned home and they basically went to bed - so what about all the hairs shed then??? She was never alone from that point to the arrival of Ray and Fraser's departure after his friend in order to apologize.
And finger prints. The crime squad team said they did not find any of hers. I know she scrubbed the apartment - did she remember the door handle, the trunk and Ben's uniform jacket? - but what about the prints she left after she'd cleaned? She had time whilst Ben was away at work but once he came back she would have left further prints.
Ah, but she could have spring cleaned the apartment once Ben had run after Ray. Sorry, can't accept that! Ray and Ben were gone five minutes at the most before they ran back at the sound of the gunshot. Meanwhile Victoria had to get up, dress, tip over bits of furniture, find Fraser's gun, shoot Diefenbaker and climb out the fire escape to ensure Fraser did not run after her. She could not possibly have had time to vacuum and dust as well!!
A delicate point here: Victoria slept with Ben. Why did the crime squad find no evidence of this? Perhaps, after Victoria had dressed, found Ben's gun, shot Dief, vacuumed and polished, she also found a few spare micro-seconds to tidy the bed.
But no, the crime squad found no finger prints or hair, or anything else belonging to Victoria. They found Ben's prints and Ray's but not Victoria's. Wow. How did the crime squad find Ray's finger prints? He'd not been at the apartment since his earlier visit Friday morning when he'd stopped by to see if Fraser was sick. After that visit Victoria had done her cleaning removing Ray's prints at the same time as her own. Then Ray returns late Friday night / early Saturday morning to inform Fraser coolly that he'd missed the pool game. Could he have left prints then? Nope. He has his hands in his pockets the whole time except when he knocks (using his knuckles not his fingers) and when he takes Ben's money. Therefore how did the crime scene boys find Ray's prints? When he returned after the gunshot to find Fraser leaning over Dief? No, he doesn't come into the apartment. So again? How did the crime scene boys find his prints. Either Victoria missed spots - in which case, wasn't it lucky she did not miss her own prints - or she purposefully hunted down some of Ray's prints and left them alone.
I know this point wasn't addressed in the episode but I enjoy a good nitpick. Fraser and Ray both look astonished when the forensic chappie tells them he only found Fraser and Ray's prints. How many sets of Ben's did he find? His prints should have been absolutely everywhere in his apartment. Everywhere. Old prints smudged by new prints, print after print on the locker, the bed, the kettle, the sink, the cupboards. But I bet the crime scene boys didn't find that many. Some definitely but not as many as there should have been because Victoria eradicated the majority when she cleaned - leaving behind only those fresh prints made afterwards. If I was a crime scene person I would have found the lack of prints suspicious.
Why was Victoria's train not stopped and searched and the woman arrested? Ray says in 'Letting Go' that the police had been unable to track her down. What did she do - hurl herself from a sprinting train?? And did her fellow passengers not think she was a trifle suspicious?
How did Victoria plant Fraser's gun in the polar bear pool. She left the Zoo in order to sit in her car, wait for Jolly and kill him. Did she then pay again, throw the gun away and disappear into the night even though she knew Ray and Benny would be still out there in the zoo looking for her?
Part 2 By Victoria Haslam.
Replying to Elaine's points last issue:
The pool table. One thing we know about Ray's dad was he was passionate about pool. I have no doubt he ensured the pool table was properly stored. Also having lived in America, I can tell you that basements are frequently in active use and are not just storage areas subject to grime, damp and other nastiness.
How did Ray know to go to the train station? By cell-phone, of course!
Victoria in Chicago. Did Victoria come to Chicago just to see Benny? I'd say, 'yes.' She tells him at the diner she came to take care of some 'unfinished business.' As to how she knew where he was, perhaps she asked her sister to keep tabs on him? [I got the impression her sister lived in Alaska.] Alternatively, Gerrard's trial probably made the headlines, maybe Fraser's transfer was mentioned in the papers. Once in Chicago, all she had to do was watch the Canadian Consulate and then set it up so that Ben 'accidentally'' ran into her. By the way, did anyone else notice the hotel with the revolving doors is the same hotel Suzanne stayed in 'You Must Remember This?'
Victoria's luggage. I don't think the two cases she puts in the adjoining lockers are actually identical or even remotely similar.
The gun in the polar bear pool. It is always possible that Victoria came back to the Zoo after killing Jolly to ditch the gun. I know this is risky but...
Fraser's innocence with women. I realize this is not in Elaine's piece but in Janet's poem, 'What is Victoria's Secret.' When Ben says Victoria is 'the only woman I've ever loved' I don't think he means just emotionally. He does tell Father Behan that on their last night together before turning her in, 'I held her in my arms...'
Further questions and speculations.
The confessional. Just what is Fraser doing giving confessional when he isn't Catholic?
Fraser's apartment door. This is locked (understandably) the first time Ray visits but when has Benny ever had a locked door? Weren't the locks reportedly stolen in one episode? [Perhaps he finally got round to fitting those from 'The Deal.' Yeah, right!] And don't we always see everyone just come in on all other occasions? Also, on Ray's second visit, Benny just gets up and opens the door without unlocking it.
Ray's driving. After the second visit, on leaving the apartment, Ray is very slow in pulling away. Fraser has time to go back to bed, pull on and do up his boots, have a short conversation with Victoria, grab his jacket and hat and amble downstairs. He arrives just as the Riviera roars away from the curb. It is almost as if Ray is giving Benny a chance to come after him. He even stops at a green light!
Gardino's misinformation. When searching Fraser's apartment after Dief has been shot, Gardino asks Fraser if anything is missing. Ben replies, 'Doesn't appear to be.' Later Gardino tells the State's Attorney, 'he said there's nothing missing.' Louis obviously deserves a slap on the wrist for that one.
The matchbook. Ray doesn't smoke so what's he doing carrying a book of matches with him? Or does he always start fires to gain illegal entry to peoples' premises?
At the Zoo. Victoria falls by the waterfall and grazes her cheek. There should be traces of blood on the pavement there as well as Jolly's blood on the floor by the polar bear's pool. There is no indication that forensics found either sample, even though the waterfall was the last place Fraser saw her.
The canteen. Benny goes to the canteen, puts money in the vending machine, has a conversation with his father and then goes back to Ray's desk without getting anything to eat or drink. No wonder he's always borrowing money off Ray!
The 403 area-code. Fraser tells Elaine this is the code for the Yukon but doesn't he come from the Northwest Territories. [There are references to both but Inuvik and Tuktoyuktuk are in the former.]
Fraser's gun. More than once Fraser says he is not licensed to carry a gun in Chicago. So just what is he doing with an unlicensed gun AND ammo in his footlocker? And whilst we're on the subject, how about the rifle he pulls from the same trunk in 'The Wild Bunch?' Also doesn't anyone think Ray (or Lieutenant Welsh for that matter) would have pulled some strings to get Fraser a license?
The Vecchio phone log. Victoria phoned Jolly from Ray's house twenty minutes before Ray and Fraser get there. But how did she know they'd found Jolly's address? Unless Fraser called and told her of course!
Victoria doesn't exist. So just who did Mr. Mustafi talk to on the phone then?
The search.This has got to be one of my favorite moments. Fraser arrives at the Vecchio house, kicks down the door and then calls for Ray. If he thought his friend might be home, wouldn't it have been more sensible to knock first? Just where is Ray anyway? It is apparently late at night but the suspended detective isn't home.
The note. Considering he's just frantically ransacked the Vecchio house, why doesn't Fraser leave a note for Ray there? [I think he thought Victoria might come round to check on his search and would find the note. She was less likely to check the vets.] And isn't Ray's name on the envelope written just a little too neatly for someone in a desperate hurry? Just when did Fraser write this note? More importantly, we all know Ray carries a cell phone so why didn't he just call him? My own feeling on this latter point is that he did phone Ray to let him know what was happening and to ask him to meet him at the train station. The key was to a locker at the station so it was a reasonable bet that might be where Victoria was going.
The note was something Fraser had written previously - in effect a last will and testament - probably with instructions on what to do with Dief if anything happened to Fraser. After phoning Ray, he probably went back to his apartment, picked up the note and went to say goodbye to Dief, just in case.
Timing. The relative timing of Victoria's sister's death is worthy of investigation. Victoria tells Benny at the diner that her sister 'died just after I got out.' She later tells him that Jolly showed up at her sister's house 'a month after Victoria's release' whereas Jolly's rap-sheet indicated that he escaped from prison the same week as she got out. If so, would he really have left her at large for a month? And how about the State's Attorney's declaration that 'she died two months ago?' This would give us three months during which Victoria and Jolly were presumably playing tag - unless she was actually with him for some of the time and then decided to double-cross him too. It also seems odd that Victoria's sister would be driving Victoria's car when the latter had only recently been released from prison. It would make sense if it was the other way around. [A thought: does anyone else get the impression that Victoria murdered her sister?]
The airline ticket. Just why does Victoria have airline tickets in her purse when she is going to the train station?
Ben's driving. Another classic goof! On all other occasions, Fraser displays difficulty when driving a car. Here he has no problems at all.
The poem. In his monologue about Victoria in 'You Must Remember This,' Benny says, 'I must have heard that poem a thousand times ... but I never heard the words.' How then can he recite it whilst lying injured on the railway platform - that is assuming it's the same poem.
