M's reaction is saying volumes, too. Her terror is plain to everyone. (And what FPF said.)Wdot wrote:Not necessarily talking. Communicating. Some of the best of which is non-verbal. Sometimes a hug says volumes.zachariah wrote:Careful Shelly. Squeeze to hard and the swim suit top will pop like a balloon.
(crowd in the background chanting harder, harder, harder. YEAAAA!)
That was too easy a fix. This may quiet down some of Monica's qualms about Shelly but it doesn't address them. Nor does it let her anywhere near the deeper issues. In fact if you really look at this it doesn't fix anything. All it does is give them a laugh together and remind Monica of the friendship they have. Anything beyond that will depend on how well Monica can hold on to that feeling. But all a joke and a hug does is sweep it under the carpet. Really talking is required, serious talking.
Bia warned that Acacia still had things to teach Shelly, and here we see a parallel developing. Hopefully, Shelly will not feel as helpless-- she's got backup all across the beach.
In the old comments, in the scene where Shelly returned from the Time Forest, Paul mentioned that Shelly's cheerful comforting of Monica was supposed to seem a little forced-- and it did, though there was a lot of info and emotions flying around, so it was trickier to separate why. This time, Monica's smiles are clearly filtered through panic.* Is a fart joke as funny when you're thinking about what the sphinx standing in front of you just ate to produce that gas? Is a firm hug from one more welcoming than it is threatening?
Body language points to "no".
But communication has to start somewhere, and it may as well start with some laughs and hugs. Monica knows what she stands to lose by ditching Shelly, and needs to know that Shelly feels the same on that score.
*I'm actually imagining Panic, having quietly slipped M's bonds and notice these last few minutes, stretched out in the surf, chilling in her beach gear-- chilling, mind you, displaying an icicle calm we've never seen her exhibit before as she glances over her shades with languid eyes in the direction of her squirming queen-- saying through rows of her triangular teeth, "Coming back into the water?"
...
I think too much.