Let’s Talk About This Scene!
This moment was probably the best part of this episode! I wanted to take a moment to unpack it because to me there are a lot of layers going on here that it’s easy to miss the first time you watch it!
Before I dive in can we talk about Max’s look above for a second?! He is absolutely taking her in before he shakes himself out of it and decides to enter her room. The truth of the matter is that he loved seeing her that way and if he had the choice probably would have gazed longer!
Moving on, there is a lot of heavy context and subtext that needs to be addressed. First, let’s start with the context. Ultimately in this scene, Max and Helen are discussing fate. This fact by itself provides a lot of subtext that I want to dive into later on in this post but first, let’s take a closer look at what is actually being said. Here’s the dialogue below:
Max: What’s going on in there?
Helen: I was just thinking about this morning how nothing was normal.
Max: What’s ever normal around here?
Helen: My mornings usually are, but today everything was OUT OF WACK!
Does this phrase ring alarm bells for anyone else?! How can Helen use the phrase “out of whack” to describe her morning when she literally spent her morning with Dr. Panthaki? That doesn’t make sense especially when the phrase has always been attached to a negative connotation. “Out of whack” literally means that something isn’t working well, something is off, doesn’t fit, or is unbalanced. Considering that she is in a brand new relationship, even if her daily morning routine changed, Helen internally shouldn’t feel out of whack. She should feel settled and content, joyfully welcoming the change!
When I heard her say that, to me, it was like the show was putting a nail to the coffin of her and Dr. Panthaki’s relationship before it even begins. Also, don’t even get me started on his two kids! Lol!
Now let’s really get into the fun stuff which is the SUBTEXT and this scene had plenty of it. Do you really think that it’s by coincidence that ONCE AGAIN Helen and Max find themselves intimately talking and being vulnerable with each other; talking about Helen’s desire for a baby and at the same time talking about fate and the universe? No! it’s not a coincidence! It’s absolutely purposeful and the subtext is clear. This scene playing out is the epitome of two people talking about life & fate not knowing that the person that they’re talking too is their fate/destiny. Their scenes have always been framed this way from the beginning.
Another quick point before I wrap us is this. There’s this need for Max to deeply know Helen that shouldn’t be ignored. He has this strong desire to always know what she’s thinking about, what’s in her heart and how she’s feeling. The first thing he does in this scene is to ask her what he’s thinking. He’s never shied away from that and if you rewatch the show you’ll see that he never misses an opportunity to get to know some part of her more. Max Goodwin, is caring individual no doubt about it but the amount of care and concern that he shows towards Helen is on a completely different level than he shows the rest of his staff.
Anyway, I’m going to leave this meta at that. I want to hear your thoughts? What did you guys think of this scene? Also, I’m tagging @sextonsharpwinhalstead in this post!
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