I actually am waiting to see the episodes. It sounds to me like a bump in the road, more than anything final and devastating. Angela seems angry at Sweets, which makes me think it may have been a blow-up over something that got blown out of proportion, based on his pushing her in a direction she might not necessarily have taken on her own.
Real relationships have setbacks. We've never really seen that many--even the wedding that wasn't was treated by both of them as them going a little too fast. But still heading in that general direction. But I think Jack and Angela are in it for the long haul. And I have to believe, based on the fantastic courtship the writers gave us in season 2, that they aren't foolish enough to fall for the "Moonlighting Fallacy" (the mistaken belief that getting couples 'together" is what kills good shows--not shoddy pacing and bad writing. Look at any show with a romantic relationship at its core, from "Cheers" to "Moonlighting". it's always, hands down, cheap plot devices to keep characters apart long past their sell-by date which kill the momentum and drive both casual viewers and longtime fans away.)
I just want to believe that Hart & Co are smarter than that. Particularly after learning the hard way how badly the Zack plot went down, due to pacing problems caused by the shortened season. This is still the same production team that gave us the swings date, accidental excellent home-made porn, and some of the best writing for couples I've ever seen. People don't just lose those skills. Nor do they purposely try and sabotague their own shows. It wouldn't make any sense.
But what writers do need is conflict from within as well as without. And momentum--even if it is two steps forward, three steps back at times--needs to be maintained. Jack and Angela jumped WAY forward with the almost-wedding. It makes total sense to me for them to have a rocky road to a future together, because as crazy as they are about each other, they are also two unique, fiercely intelligent people with real strong drives in both their professional and personal lives. And it’s because they case so much about each other, and have put their hearts on the line for each other, that the stakes are so high. It has never been portrayed as a casual thing between them. So I imagine when they fight, just like when they make love, there are going to be fireworks.
But casting sides don’t give a whole story. We don’t know the throughlines. We don’t know the progression. What we’re getting right now is out of context, and may not even match what we finally get on screen.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t get angry about the show potentially trying to force Jack and Angela apart because they mistakenly believe the fans want things drawn out because it’s the tension we’re in it for. That’s juvenile and facile, and they gotta know we’re smarter than that, surely???
We just need to continually point out that what we’re in it for is characters we love, in strong relationships, and that well-written romantic relationships aren’t about a race to the altar, or digging up constant “roadblocks” to put in people’s way. It was necessary to bring back Birimbau because he was a plot point. Roxy to me is less likely to be a real problem. If anything, I’m guessing Jack and Angela do it to themselves.
Human beings are funny. We create our own roadblocks half the time. Fictional humans? Just need to make sure it’s a tightly plotted story, with the right beats, and emotional payoffs that do the characters and the actors justice.
But I just have faith that Jack and Angela will find a way back to each other, and it will be a story we want to see, with great performances. You don’t just toss this kind of relationship aside lightly. And the sides thus far show neither Jack nor Angela want to be apart. So I have to believe they’ll definitely find their way back to each other. Hopefully before May sweeps
In a world full of Uma Thurmans, everyone has an inner Janine Garafolo who needs to be taken out dancing every once in a while.