#gorenneames

[bobbyalexlove]

So we already established the flirty estate shoe scene from Trophy Wine, but there's even more shippiness overall. The first thing is that the scene before the counselor session about Eames has the flirty scene. Maybe it is coincidence...but then the cutaway RIGHT AFTER Bobby thinks about his loneliness at the session's end is of her image zoomed in. We have a flirty scene, a session about Alex and romance, Bobby thinking about his romantic life, then a zoom-in of Alex. Learning from people who studied editing and TV, there is a lot of work put in to putting each piece just right. I don't remember seeing many cutaways to a zoom in of Alex throughout CI and now, after a session about her AND an image of Bobby contemplating, they insert it then?! Although the sessions were filmed out of order, they purposely put them in specific episodes (The first counseling session is on The /Consoler/).

This moves us to the second point, which is that when you combine the above three shippery scenes, Bobby's "She's like a sister to me" becomes obliterated. Maybe Bobby is just being Bobby by swishing wine around but he usually uses his flirtatiousness to gain trust with females. He is showing off for Alex' benefit and she can't hide her pure delight anymore. Bobby usually touches Alex' arm only for a bit to catch her attention if she's looking away or moving - but she is standing still right next to him and in front of the Captain. He doesn't care anymore, and if you notice, he acts like it is just he and her alone in the presence of the Captain (like in the video room scene in Consoler). Out of all the episodes where Bobby chooses to do flirty things, where some episodes have more than others (Last Street, Blue Knit Cap), the one about Bobby supposedly having sibling feelings for Alex sure has more innuendo, flaunting, and touching.

We can see how Bobby sure has been more risky in being touchy/flirty/attentive this season. This brings us to point three, which, as a converted noromo hypothesized, that the session after this one where Bobby is enraged at Gyson for possibly thinking he was hitting on her, is all to do about Alex. He wants to know if he can have a relationship with someone he respects and admires like Alex, not Gyson. I will dig into that in another post but only one, not several x)

With that question hanging in the balance, we have point four, which is that Bobby's recent boldness does catch the attention of Alex and she responds enthusiastically instead of shutting it down. She is usually head of their relationship's boundaries (like calling off their grieving snuggle in Loyalty), but right now she is signaling acceptance like never before. Maybe she would chuckle and smirk before, like he's quirky or a jokester, but now she has this glow of affection and attraction to a daring, sensual, intimate man. She has her mouth open in either shock, glee, or captivation. ShhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppP!!!!!

[bobbyalexlove]

shippy estate scene

So we all know that when Bobby mentions his size 13 shoe size, he is talking about how well-endowed he is (based on the trope and S1ep5 Jones). It looks like that's why Eamesie has her mouth agape seeing Goren compare shoe sizes with the armor. When Bobby huskily touts about his shoe size to Alex, he is saying, "Look how PACKED I am girl, I am creating reverberations!". HE IS BEING CHEEKY AND FLIRTY AND SHIPPY AND ALEX IS GASPING AND BLUSHING AND TURNED ON - SHIPPPPITY SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIPPP!!!!!

[bobbyalexlove]

shippy club scene

This scene from TBitBKC is shippppyyy. First we see Bobby smirk at Alex marching up to the bouncer nonchalantly, flashing her badge. Then, he bumps up behind her a bit (that is RARE - will do another section on that). Then, Rex whom they interrogate, asks Alex to dance and she passes, while Bobby makes faces like, "Eughh, creep! Alex does not want to dance with you, go away. Now I take my rightful place in front of my Alex." Then Bobby notices Rex dancing and gathers a clue through which Bobby randomly says he really wants to dance. He leads up to mentioning about calling Rodgers because we see her in dance clothes in Untethered to join Ross. But I really think he is being bold and pretending to ask Alex to dance with him to see her reaction. If you notice, Alex smiles because you can see her cheekbones lift from one scene to the next. BOBBY IS FLIRTING AND SHE LIKES IT!!! SHIPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!

[bobbyalexlove]

Alex didn't even have to say this but she threw in this line during being an undercover couple in Collective! They act like they are on the outs with each other and she's making a jab at him, but the first thing she thinks of is his junk 😂😜🍆 rrrrrrAWWRRR SHIPPPPPP!!!!

[bobbyalexlove]

shippy studio scene

This scene in Icarus has shippppyyy overtones. I could only put 10 images but in the beginning of the scene, it feels like BA are either doing a laid-back version of good cop, bad cop or that Alex is just annoyed at Bobby xD Alex finishes Bobby's stuttering sentence like a gf/wifey (similar to Last Street in M.) and repeats knowledge that Bobby is more of a jazz guy and wouldn't recognize the suspect's music. Bobby plays around and takes Adam's smoke and gets in between him and Alex. Alex shoots Bobby a peeved look which makes me think she's playing because I know she would actually find it funny. The next weird thing is that when they have alone time and Bobby first puts his hand next to a music book with a pencil on it and an ashtray, moves in front of Alex, then appears closer to her with his hand somewhere way different initially. I thought maybe it was VDO moving to fit for the next camera scene, which it could be, but I still find it shippy how noticeably he moves right in front of Alex and closer to her. They sure made them snuggle up for a romantic setting with wine, two glasses, and a piano 😉🥂💖 shipppity ship shIP SHIPPPP!!!

[bobbyalexlove]

use your imagination and you'll see what I see 😝😏😉 rrrrrrrrrrAWRRRR

[bobbyalexlove]

Trophy Wine ship sesh pt. 7

7. Gyson: Do you have a sister?

Goren: I have a brother.

::cuts to clip of Brother's Keeper where Goren meets up with his brother, Frank::

"Frank: That woman ::cuts to Eames sitting in car:: is that your wife?

Goren: That, that's my partner.

Frank: So what are you waiting for?

Goren: No, it's not that kind of partner."

Goren: And he's gone too.

Tell #7. Gyson makes a confused expression after Goren responds that he only sees Eames like a sister while asking him if he even has a sister. Now, even though a person doesn't need a brother or sister to describe their feelings for a friend that way, for Gyson, she does not appear to believe his response. For her to demonstrate skepticism to his response, it means that Eames' significant position in Goren's life joined with Goren's exaggeratedly formal speak of her don't match up.

b. The placement of both the segue into this conversation about Frank and this clip is perplexing. Out of all the clips to introduce Frank, they chose this one, which was absolutely purposeful. On the one hand, it feels like an offhand insert that achieves a shot of Frank and a conversation about how Goren sees Eames as a partner, which might confirm Goren's response to Gyson. On the other, it can serve as a reminder of how Goren's brother saw and continued to see Eames as his girlfriend despite Goren's denial, which might suggest Goren is in denial about his feelings for Eames. This ambiguity characterizes this session whereby one side can look at it at face value and deem it indeed non-shippy while the other side can look into sub-text and deem it indeed shippy.

c. The Goren flashback clips seem to be true flashbacks as they often show Goren looking away pensively prior to each clip. This means Goren's first memory that came to mind of his brother was of that exact point in conversation. It might be obvious that this memory would follow what with talking about romantic relationships, Eames, and his brother. It may also be that there wasn't enough time to include a proper conversation about Frank in these sessions so this his 5 seconds. However, in a session about Eames, we don't even see much of a clip of Eames, compared to other character session clips. This session isn't just a conversation about Eames and it's not just a delving into how Goren feels about Eames. It is about Goren's own suppression of viewing Eames as more than a partner. They didn't just choose a clip of Goren working happily with Eames. They showed a clip that demonstrates Goren's denial of having anything more than a partnership with Eames. What kind of show would attempt to drill a point home about someone NOT having feelings for someone so excessively that that was truly the point they were trying to make? The kind of show where they know viewers are skilled at looking into sub-text, misdirection, body language. And who are the best trained at this? Shippers.

extra tidbit: Back in the day, shippers noticed how there is a sign behind Eames that shows the words, "your heart" (with what looks to be "give your heart" as the full phrase. Funnily, the edited clip has the camera zoomed into Eames face so the sign is missing (maybe it was too shippy?!)! We always thought it was a truck, but now I see that it is most likely a bus stop sign.

[bobbyalexlove]

Trophy Wine ship sesh pt. 8

8. Gyson: So, she’s like a sister. It’s important to you that I know that there aren’t any romantic possibilities between the two of you, isn’t it?

Goren: (Looks away, annoyed) I don’t get it, I mean, wh- (Leans away, postures hands in front of him) You know-When a man can’t have a working friendship with his partner…I mean it has to be more than that?

Gyson: That’s not my point – I’m wondering if you think romantic feelings for someone you admire and respect are at odds?

Goren: [clips nose, looks away, sniffs, clasps hands together, looks forward] [doesn’t answer]

a. Tell #8: At this point it can already be established that Goren has displayed many defensive non-verbal behaviour signs. The latest one is his moving his whole body away from Gyson and putting his hands out like a blocked wall. After Gyson’s clarification at her question, Goren spent his last energy of defense and could offer no response. Whether there is an official answer to how Goren feels for Eames romantically, Gyson received her answer that yes, Goren believes romantic feelings for someone he admires and respects come to odds. Gyson sees how adamant he is in defending his answer because she sees he is conflicted in even having that as a possibility in his own mind.

b. Goren may appear to be defensively negating romantic feelings for Eames in his defensive posturing but that can be attributed to a theatric ruse. The writers of television shows know they must keep both sides of the fanbase happy, so they employ misdirection such as this. To one side they see the consistent denial as an official NO and to the other side they see it as an official YES. If we take the session at its value and with what the show has taught us, though, we can’t take Goren’s denial , alongside his defensive non-verbal behaviour, as an official cross out of the ship. It is purposefully ambiguous.

c. Taking what we have from A and B, this is what we now know: Anything that Goren has said in denial of having romantic feelings for Eames can be taken with a grain of salt. Why – Because this session has essentially proved that Goren has barely allowed himself to even entertain that thought. He definitely HAS given it thought (I mean, it’s Alex Eames! She’s gorgeous, funny, devoted 😍😍😍 ) but never delved deeper. Applying what we know about Goren, we can speculate the reasons for this are:

- He does not want to cross a line professionally especially because Eames is a small-figured woman in a ‘boy’s world’ who already must put in double effort to earn respect (hence, Goren’s initial response of, “she's....my partner, a professional. I mean the last thing she would need is for me to hit on her…")

- He separates his work life from his personal life as evidenced by his shutting Eames out In The Wee Small Hours Pt. 2, Siren Call, and The War At Home regarding his mother’s sickness.

- She is above him in hierarchy and he places her in a position of authority and prime respect as with a commanding officer and believes it to be not just unprofessional but improper or unethical. (Perhaps think of a teacher/employer/leader for whom you have great respect but would recoil thinking of being paired with them only because of a breach of ethics).

- He does not want to compromise their friendship and ruin her with his baggage. The way Goren usually approaches attractive women is through casual flirting – but his relationship with Eames, THAT’S special. He treasures it but with his pattern of shutting out and self-doubt, his thought process might also think protecting her means shutting out his feelings too.

c. At the heart of Gyson’s questioning, she wonders if Goren’s defensiveness indicates that he prevents himself from thinking and feeling a certain way. That is what we should take from this session – that through therapy, Goren can now begin to unravel his pain and correct his unhealthy behaviour in relationships. When Goren comes out of his session in the last episode, it is like he looks at Eames with new eyes.

TIDBIT: A longtime, hardcore no-romo CONVERTED to the ship because of this session!! All us shippers went crazy in doubt but Goren’s constant denial and defensiveness made her believe he was lying. She had great insight about this session which seeped into my writings as well. She also proclaimed that GE were indeed in love at the finale through how they looked at each other so shippily and not in a sibling way at all! Other non-shippers also said how Goren looked at Eames like he was considering something more with her. SHIP!!!