Isabel

I remember anticipating this episode and then being disappointed because the dreams they had were not the ones I WANTED them to have! But the episode has grown on me after several viewings and Brian Alan Lane is still one of my favorite writers. Lots of little double entendres in this script too.
 

Memorable Stuff

- The whole opening scene threw me a bit off-balance the first time I saw it. I think it was when I saw the newspaper headlines when I figured out it wasn't real. I still crack up a Laura punching out the face of the cardboard cutout Mr. Steele then turning it around to reveal Laura Holt, PI on the other side.
- Love how she smacks the down-on-his-luck Mr. Steele on the tush as she walks past him.
- The poor Rabbit. It's been abused 3 weeks in a row now.....
- Love how, without even knowing the depth of the lagoon, Laura dives right in to get the lavulite
- Clarissa's (the 2nd of the 3 Clarissas) assumption that she was interrupting a, um, magical moment when she goes to Steele's apartment and finds him coming out of the bedroom putting on his belt!
- The sea snakes! Something I remembered even years later. Kudos to Steph for swimming with them!
- The whole Rem-in-boxers, pregnant-Laura dream. I didn't like it the first time around, but I enjoy it now. And it looks like they're having fun with it. (And he pays back the tush smack!)
 

Character Development

- How far they've come in 1.75 seasons. Laura has no qualms trusting Mr. Steele with protecting the lavulite. She even tells him so, very casually, like it's something she's now taking for granted.
- She's still curious about his past, but no longer desperate to know aboout it.
- Love Steele's first dream where he's sold the lavulite. I crack up at how he imagines Laura throwing herself at him. (I also got a kick out of Steph's wandering left hand as she's kneeling down in front of him!) Then Steele turns around and there she is with her hand on that sailor's tushie! Yeah, he'd definitely like to see Wild Laura more often outside of his dreams!
- After Clarissa's assumption that she may have interrupted R&L at his apartment, it's nice to see Laura not immediately get defensive and try to explain and it's nice to see Steele give the real explanation as to what happened and just move on to the next topic.
- Steele's past includes a chemin de fer player in Nice. I chuckle at Laura's catty remark about the game to the sea snakes.
- Mr. Steele must truly be engrossed in the case. Laura suggests showers and a change of clothes and he doesn't even make a remark about conserving water by showering together!
- The whole scene inside the coffin. Laura's real concern is not his competence but putting her fate in someone else's hands. His admission that he's stuck around for the reality of their relationship, not just the promise of what it might become. They need more time on this subject!
 

Favorite lines

L: I knew I could count on you, Mr. Steele.
R: Trust, that's all I've ever asked Laura. Well, trust and a new suit every now and again.
--------------
Dream L: Please Mr. Steele, please! Your leaving forced me to evaluate my life and I realized that I was ready to make emotional commitments after all.
Dream R: And have you?
Dream L: Many times! Three in the last hour as a matter of fact.
--------------
R: Like the man says, it's a case of bark vs. bite.
L: Lest you be fooled, Mr. Steele, I have been know to nip.
R: One can only hope, Miss Holt.
--------------
M: Any luck, Mr. Steele?
R: Indeed, Mildred, all of it bad.
--------------
Dream L: Whaddya say lover? When it comes to ball games, do you want to be an observer or a participant? (LOL!!)
--------------
R (to cremation techs): You ought to think about using microwaves. Far more fuel efficient.
 
 

Hair & Clothing

- Like their evening clothes in the opening scene
- Like Laura's white suit, though not crazy about the hairdo or the glasses
- Laura's pink outfit with the white vest is nice too
- The red jacket is one of the few things Steele wears that I'm just not crazy about. I can't put my finger on what it is though I think perhaps it's that it's too loud. When we see bright colors on him it's usually as ties or handkerchiefs, not the shirt or jacket itself.
- I like Laura's blue jacket with the white blouse & trousers. (It appears she has on a swimsuit under it after she finishes her "swim"). And its recuperative powers are amazing. She (and her hair) look awfully good when they arrive back at RSI. :)
- The reappearance of Pierce's medallion. I know it means something to him, but it's just so 70s looking...
- The burglary clothes, as usual, look smashing.
- Steele's funeral suit and the Ray-Bans...yes!
 

Goofs, Headscratchers & Misc

- Don't know if it's a regular occurrence, but this is the first time I noticed that the Rabbit doesn't have a rear-view mirror. Side mirrors, yes, rear-view mirror, no.
- They pull the Rabbit off the road into the construction zone and stop at a little overlook. They get out of the car and Laura says "Nice voo!". No, I didn't misspell that. Tongue get twisted, Steph? Made me laugh, at any rate.
- Lavulite - "So blue they're like pieces of the sky". So why are they much more purple in Beg, Borrow or Steele? I know the purple is more their real color, just one more bit of artistic license I suppose.
- Continuity: L&R knock on Archie Doak's door and the doorknob is on the left side of the door. In the next scene inside Archie's apartment, the doorknob is on the other side of the door!
- More continuity: L&R get in the coffin and it closes on their left side. The coffin gets put into the furnace with the lock facing out (so their left side is facing out) When they rock the coffin out of the flames and it falls open, the opening is on their right such that the coffin lid falls to the floor.
- Thanks to the fanfic writers who filled us in on what Mr. Steele was thinking as he sat with Laura in her hospital room!

"Thanks to the fanfic writers who filled us in on what Mr. Steele was thinking as he sat with Laura in her hospital room!"
- Mickey, can you please tell me which fanfic this one is, which website it is on, and who wrote it. I would love to read it! Ha.

Rocket J Squirrel
"Hokey, smoke ... well, they don't call him Wrongway Peachfuzz for nothing!"

First off…Gotta tip my hat (once again) to Mr. Lane. First, he gave us Steele Framed. OMG, what a great episode! The introduction of my favorite RS villin, Major Descoine! (Not to mention a stubbly and wrung-out Mr. Steele who looked sexy as hell, and the luscious “Couldn’t you treat me like this when I’m less near death?” scene!!!) Then he gave us My Fair Steele. Remington in a towel!!! Oh-ho-ho, yeh-heh-hes!!! (THANK YOU, Mr. Lane!!!) *fanning myself* Next…Elegy In Steele. The Major AND The Minor!!! SWEET!!! And now, Dreams Of Steele. OMG!!! I freakin’ LOVE this episode! So, so funny! Definitely in my Top Ten. (You other ladies – you know who you are – can have Sakmar and Lenhart. I’ll take BAL any day! And Michael Gleason, too! Of course PB trumps ‘em all, but that’s a given…Pierce trumps EVERYBODY!)

On to the episode…LOVED the opening dream. Typical Laura being overlooked. And in her subconscious, she probably DID want to get her due and stick it to Remington (just a little)…She wanted to get all the accolades Mr. Steele always got for solving the case. Good for her…But poor Mr. Steele!!! LOVED how he was so snobbish about the veal marsala. LOL! Shades of Season One Mr. Steele. Also LOVED how he went to adjust the mic for her while she was on the rampage. Always the gentleman, our Mr. Steele. The newspaper headlines were a hoot. Very reminiscent of old movies. And when Laura smacked Remington’s tushie…OMG!!! LOL!!! (I’ve wanted to do the same thing…but in a different setting!) [[bigeek]]

I LOVED how Laura and Remington just seem to be so comfy around each other now, both personally and professionally. From Laura sleeping on Remington’s couch to trusting him with the Royal Lavulite. (That’s another reason I love BAL….I think he really knew the series and incorporated parts of past episodes into his writing…The Royal Lavulite, Ben Pearson.) Now if only they could have been comfy around each other intimately…*sigh* LOVED that Laura doesn’t even bother asking Mr. Steele what the combination to the briefcase is. She really TRUSTS him now!!! (Yay, Laura!) It’s cute, though, how she still tries to find out what his real name is. (Steph looked really great in that pink outfit…And her hair looked fabulous…Especially since she’d been sleeping on it!)

Again…The Rabbit takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’!!! Gotta get me one of those cars!!!

LOVED Remington’s dream…Him in a white dinner jacket *drooling uncontrollably* at the casino. OMG, OMG, OMG!!! (If I could get it to flash, I would!!!) My Lord, he’s a good-looking man!!! Don’t know how Laura managed to keep her hands off of him for so long!!! Oh, wait…She didn’t…At least not in Mr. Steele’s dream anyway…Check out where her hand was!!! OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!! (I think the boob-grabbing scene from “Steele In The Chips” was his payback for her feeling him up in this scene!) O…M…G!!! OK, I gotta stop thinking about that, otherwise I’ll just keep typing OMG. Focus, Xenos, focus. Deep breath. Nope. Not working. Don’t have a bucket of cold water around…Oh, wait. I got it…TONY ROSELLI!!! *shudder* OK. Better now. What the heck kind of a cigarette was Laura smoking?!?! It looked green. And her outfit was hysterical…Though it was a turn-on for the XenosHubby. MEN!!! Awesomely funny dialog…

Laura: I've searched the world for you, Mr. Steele…Venice, Cairo, Mozambique. But I was always a step behind.

Remington: Some things never change, do they? [LOL! TOTALLY his dream!]

Laura: Please, Mr. Steele! Please! You're leaving forced me to re-evaluate my life! I realized that perhaps I was ready to make emotional commitments after all!

Remington: And have you?

Laura: Many times…Three in the last hour, as a matter of fact. But YOU'RE the one I want – YOU'RE the one I need! Please take me back, Mr. Steele! Take me back!

…And then she ends up on the counter with a sailor feeling up his backside. LOL!!! Poor Mr. Steele!!! (Bet Steph had a great time with this episode. A lot of “grab a**” as David Letterman would say. Hee-heeeeeee!!!)

OK, this episode just keeps getting better and better. MR. STEELE ZIPPING UP HIS PANTS!!! (IN MY DREAMS!!! LOL!) Laura, Laura, Laura!!! Oh, honey!!! *shaking head in disbelief*

LOVED the whole sea snakes/chemin de fer thing. Very funny…Very well written…Very well acted. My fedora’s off to Stephanie for actually getting in a tank with those things… *shudder* Good Lord!!! (That was the clincher for the XenosHubby…Fan for life…Beautiful woman AND ballsy!!! LOL!) LOVED this little exchange…

Remington: Attractive creatures. Reminds me of a woman I used to know in Nice…Of course, she was blonde.

Hayden Institute Man: Well, I don't know about your woman in Nice, but one bite from these guys, and you'd be dead before you can say 'Ouch!'.

Laura: A blonde in Nice?

Remington: Yes. World class player of chemin de fer.

Laura: And yet you prefer to remain here?

Remington: Well, like the man says, it's a question of bark versus bite.

Laura: Lest you be fooled, Mr. Steele, I have been known to nip.

Remington: One can only hope, Miss Holt.

…LOL!!! What can I say? Again…Poor Mr. Steele!!! (Oh, and I also really like the outfit Steph was wearing…The white shirt and pants with the blue blazer. Classic.)

OK…Is it me or do Pierce’s eyes look bluer than blue when they’re back in the office after Laura’s swim with the snakes?!?! Maybe it’s because of the white bandage, his black hair and his blue shirt. I don’t know, but hubba-hubba-hubba!!! *growl*

And then comes my favorite scene…THE SHOWER SCENE!!! (“Pull back…Pull back!” I always scream at the TV. Darn cameramen. You can tell the episode was directed by a man…A woman director would have ordered them to pull back…WAY BACK!!! Oh-ho-ho, yeh-heh-hes!!!) There aren’t enough OMG’s to cover this scene! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! And the dream that follows is freakin’ hysterical!!! I love everything about that dream…Mr. Steele’s boxers and robe…Laura’s HUGE belly and curlers…Remington setting the remote on her stomach as if it’s a piece of furniture…Mildred dating a Count…Laura being bored by Mr. Steele’s past…Mr. Steele's NORA tattoo...And, of course, Laura being so horny (hee-heeeeeee)!!! (It’s about time, honey!!!) All just priceless!!! (Again, I like how BAL wrote the dreams to not only be funny but to dip a little into their psyche. NICE!!!)

OK, Judith…Gotta ask…The remote scene COULDN’T have been written that way, could it?!?! “Oh, Nora! Nora, you're sitting on my…" It just happened, right? And they both stayed in character and finished the scene? RIGHT?! Don’t know why I need to know this…But I do. (I’m so pathetic.)

The Ocean’s Eleven scene always makes me laugh. It’s just the look on Remington’s face after he sings. SO FUNNY!!! (And, OMG, does Pierce look delectable in his black break-in clothes!!! ALL his clothes look fabulous on him! Steph looks great, too, of course. This was a really great episode for both Pierce and Stephanie clothing-wise.) LOVED the coffin scene. "Do you ever have dreams, Laura? About us? About our lives?" YES!!! Keep talking, keep talking!!! Damn those coffin-burning men!!! It was just getting good!!!

Really liked how the mystery all came together…and ended in poop. LOL! Very clever. Gross…But clever. Funny how Clarissa has Mildred’s number. "Don't kid a kidder, Mr. Steele. Miss Krebs wouldn't harm a fly." True. And, of course, you all know by now that I have a problem with Stephanie fighting. It never looks real. (I blame that on her being too much of a lady to get into a scuffle in real life.) This fight is just as bad as the others. And Judith Light is a sucky fighter, too! Come on, ladies!!! Punch like you mean it!!! LOL! LOVED the panic in Mr. Steele’s voice as he screams Laura’s name when he realizes she fell over the balcony.

Also LOVED the end dream. Too funny!!! (Again, props to Mr. Lane for knowing Mr. Steele well enough to write a blonde in every dream sequence and to have the woman in Nice be blonde, too.)

SUCH a great episode!!! Love, LOVE, LOVE it!!!

Thanks for reading!

Xenos

Mamma Mia!!! Pierce Brosnan…Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

I love this episode. It's not a very favorite but it's one I'd watch over others. The dreams were a bit corny but it was fun to see the Royal Lavulite again.

Neeney

Isabel

Scene 17...Unrated version...Widescreen edition!!!

Heh-heh-heh!!!
 

Xenos

Mamma Mia!!! Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

Susanna

Someone said the dreams disturbed them and I'll agree in so much as I find Laura's first dream quite disturbing. The other dreams seem more playful and off kilter and while the situations are outlandish and bizarre I didn't find them at all mean spirited. I know what it was going for and there are some humorous touches and visuals in it but it just seems so angry. I'd call it sublimated anger just getting a release except her anger and resentment toward Mr. Steele is rarely sublimated, albeit not publicly vented. There's such a lot of resentment and anger in that dream - a desire to see him humiliated and ruined, a contemptuous belief that he's nothing without her that it makes me wonder if their relationship is at all viable -- especially when she wakes up chuckling in glee about it then transferring into mild confusion but not to my eye embarrassment or discomfort. It's the same feeling of what the heck I get from Steele imagining it's Laura beating confessions of love out of him in Now You Steele It Now You Don't. They should be wondering what their psyche is trying to tell them and questioning harder why they're in this relationship.

Steele's casino dream straddles the line much better between humor and complete relationship destruction. And while it could be said seeing Laura as an abandoned tramp is akin to Steele as a skid row bum I just don’t get the same mean spirited vibe off it. Maybe because Laura is so enjoying being a tramp (LOL!), Steele didn't cause it directly and he's not flinging money at her nastily and laughing when she loses it. Steele in the dream doesn't seem to be angry with her or take pleasure from her dissolution, although aloof and oh so cooly cosmopolitan he seems genuinely disappointed that it didn't work out. In his dream there's dialogue about how a man could only wait so long, broken hearts and Laura not being able to make "emotional" (not sexual) commitments. It also helps that it has some really funny dialogue and of course the idea that the Steele's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Laura makes emotional commitments by becoming a nympho is just too funny and SZ plays it for all it's worth.

    "There was a woman, Jacques. I was prepared to forget about the jewels if I could have had her instead. But a man can only wait so long . . ."

    "Better the jewels. They are always there when you want them. The jewels, they will never break your heart."

    ******

    "Please, Mr. Steele! Please! You're leaving forced me to re-evaluate my life! I realized that perhaps I was ready to make emotional commitments after all!"

    He looks down at her. "And how you?"

    "Many times. "Three in the last hour, as a matter of fact. But YOU'RE the one I want- YOU'RE the one I need! Please take me back, Mr. Steele! Take me back!".

    "There, there, Miss Bolt," he says, handing her his handkerchief, looking at the blonde again. "Your rhinestones are getting damp." 
 

It's also a great touch that he's so discombobulated when he wakes up -- mid driving! -- and gives Laura a very confused and disconcerted up and down look. He's seems genuinely disturbed by this dream as he confesses later in the coffin.

The third dream is the best one because it takes in so many of Steele's fears about their relationship and commitment and runs them through the funhouse mirror. They've lost their exciting glamorous jobs and are now living in relative squalor. He's working at the plant, doing a 9-5 job, he's a slob and his wardrobe has gone to hell, he's drinking beer and asking for pretzels and turning down sex for the ball game, Laura is a pregnant frump in curlers under her fedora who lugs around groceries and fetches his beer, and they have twins. The HORROR! Worse, while Laura is now clearly desirous of sex he's not that interested (at least not with her -- a 20 year old blonde is another story) and Laura is completely uninterested in his mysterious past now that it's no longer mysterious and not as "kinky" as she expected. LOL These things tap into the underlying fears of their relationship -- is he only interested in her sexually because she's said no -- would he bored with her if she said yes and is Laura only interested in him because he's a mystery and if he explained himself would his past become boring? If they don’t have their jobs as detectives is that the end of their exciting lives and the fun they have together? Is that what holds them together? Etc etc. And all done with some funny funny funny lines, wardrobe (Pierce in those heart boxers and sneakers!) and wonderful acting.

The fourth dream says it all. In the end even if Laura's dead she's rising from the grave to claim what's hers -- Mr. Steele. And Mr. Steele is amenable even if it means discarding a more accommodating leggy blonde (who gets around from dream to dream like the quarter). :D Steele though easily has the two best dreams.

    "I don't know about you, but violence and destruction gives me a hunger." 

Gotta love that Mr. Steele right after being thrown from a car and rolled down a hill takes time to eat a sandwich.

Laura bobbled the bottle and tosses smelly stuff all over Mr. Steele and says "Nice catch" as if it's his fault and not hers.

Steele coming in a room still doing up his pants. Exhibitionist!

    "Lest you be fooled, Mr. Steele, I have been known to nip."

    "One can only hope, Miss Holt." 

My my, Laura's a kinky tease. :p

SZ agreeing to swim with the sea snakes -- never in a million years would you find Indiana Jones or me agreeing to such a thing! Yikes! The staging of Steele looking around the office while Laura swims around in the tank, occasionally looking at it when she's not in front of the glass then finally bored sitting down --picking up the book and then noticing her purse and realizing she should be there as she pounds in panic on the glass -- fantastic! One of the best bits of physical acting and stunts on the show.

Great touch and continuity that when Steele goes into the shower he has a huge bruise on his face and as he enters the dream part in the shower it's gone -- then back again when he awakes from his dream.

Steele's whole hearted Ocean Eleven's musical moment and the look of complete confusion that Laura gives him as if he's finally lost the plot. Brilliant!

Also brilliant is Steele figuring out the plan for the stones -- not so brilliant that he sees four boxes and has to slide his finger over the large print and read out the names of each before he find the one he wants. I know moonlight is murder to read by but that's ludicrous.
 

"This is just GREAT. Four years of college, two years of apprenticeship, three years of building up the agency, and poof, my license is suspended, and I'm stuck in a coffin with YOU."

    "So now we're down to it, eh?"

    "You're DAMN right, we're down to it. I should never have put you in charge of protecting those jewels."

    "And what would YOU have done differently, Detective Holt?"

    "The problem is not YOUR competence. The problem is that I stupidly went ahead and did what I'd sworn I'd never do: put my fate in someone else's hands."

    "Maybe its about time you realized we're none of us ever in complete control of our fates." 

Ding Ding Ding! Laura has control issues. (what's new? ;-)) She wouldn’t have done anything different or better but she's still angry she wasn't in control and trusted someone else. Steele's right, no one is ever in complete control of their fates or their lives. The control issues about her work are the same about their relationship. She's afraid of what she can't control, she wants guarantees -- none of which is possible in a relationship or life.
 

    "Do you ever have dreams, Laura? About us? About our lives?"

    "I suppose. Sometimes."

    "I have had some dreams recently . . . troubling at first, but now I realize they've helped put some things in perspective."

    "And?"

    "And, I finally understand that I've stayed around not for the promise of what our relationship MIGHT be- but for the reality of what it is." 
 

For someone that supposedly never talks about their relationship he seems to talk about it quite a bit (well at least more than his partner) and rather honestly and eloquently here.

I know Mildred wouldn't shoot an unarmed man but after Clarissa says she's going to kill them all it's hard to believe she wouldn't at least shoot Clarissa in the leg or even just fire the gun to scare her! We see by season 4 and the X-mas episode that she's more than willing to shoot someone who's threatening them.

Fashion:

I like Steele's red jacket, it works with his dramatic coloring. The grey suit is inoffensive but boring until he closes the lapels up then it's a good look. Love the white dinner jacket but that 80s bow tie is so 80s -- just too big. Steele's pinstripe suit before being doused by smelly swan gack is lovely -- pity it's so short lived. The break in black clothes -- as usual divine. His dark three piece funeral suit complete ray bans is gorgeous -- enough to rise from the dead for. He makes great comical use of his cane.

Laura's sweater and pink ensemble she's wearing when she wakes up is pretty. Her hair when she wakes up in fabulous -- so much better than when she has it pulled back off her forehead. Don't much like her double breasted boxy beige paint suit, the jacket looks too stiff and square. Her French apache like outfit is a riot. The light blue jacket over white pants and blouse is very nice. The suit and blouse she's buried in -- not so hot.

Mildred gets to wear some fun expensive clothes and furs in this episode. Good for her! 

The Id (pleasure principle)

XENOS "THE SHOWER SCENE!!! “Pull back…Pull back!” I always scream at the TV."

The Ego (reality)

MICKEY " How far they've come in 1.75 seasons. Laura has no qualms trusting Mr. Steele with protecting the lavulite. She even tells him so, very casually, like it's something she's now taking for granted."

The Super-ego (moral judgment)

ACE " They should be wondering what their psyche is trying to tell them and questioning harder why they're in this relationship."

Isabel 

At least that's my take on it!

Denise

I really liked this post of yours!!! Made me laugh!

Jill 

The dreams were supposed to be entertaining after all. Steele dreamt that she was a hooker type in one dream. We can either laugh and enjoy SZ's performance, or more seriously interpret it, i.e. he saw Laura in purely sexual terms--as either a prude or a slut-- and that makes him guilty of the worst kind of chauvanism.

Also, I think that if there is resentment at all on her part it could be for the many times Steele enjoyed watching her squirm while he took the spotlight knowing full well how this hurt her.

All the sequences are to one effect or another grotesque caricatures of their personalities, dreams, fears etc but in the others sequences I find more a sense of playful whimsy and humor to temper the grotesqueness. Steele's dream has Laura becoming a slut who couldn't emotionally commit. (Lets face it - her aversion to sex and intimacy with Steele is a major running theme in their relationship and wanting to have sex with your partner or seeing your partner as a sexual being is not chauvanism. ) But in the dream he's also saying he could only wait so long, there's talk of emotional commitments and broken hearts and he's not cackling over her like some deranged banshee.

I agree to that as far as Steele is concerned too. Just because he is terribly handsome and sensitive most of the time, doesn't mean that the character has no bad qualities.

And who ever said that Laura had an aversion to sex with Steele? Just because she sets a limit about emotional commitment (even though most of us could never follow through with holding out on Steele) doesn't mean she has an aversion to being with him. She has a lot of issues, yes. But they both hold out on each other throughout the series including Steele who turned her down in the beginning of Season 3 and in RHS (but that was for good and noble reasons).

And no, desiring sexual intimacy with your partner is not chauvanism but the idea of women being objectified as either virgins or prostitutes (or barefoot and pregnant as in Steele's second dream) is as old as time.

Bottom line for me is, I love the show and both characters even though this episode was far from my favorite episode!!!!!

Aversion was the wrong word. It's more that she's adverse to sex with Steele. I don't think she's repulsed by the thought of sex or sex with Steele in particular (far from it), but she is adverse to having sex with Steele for a myriad of different reasons, otherwise she would during the span of 4 years. He doesn't turn her down in the beginning of Season 3 (Steele At It), there's another woman in the room and it doesn't happen. But he is bemused by her unilateral, I've decided we're going to have sex finally behaviour. She even tells Mildred before she tells Steele that it's "the night" (and Mr. Steele will be sure to make it romantic - even though he doesn't know about -- she assumes he'll say yes, she has no doubts). As he later says there's a rather lopsided lean in the power of their relationship. And that's not just about work it's about sex. She's the one that put up the stop signs and road blocks for 4 plus years. It wasn't a mutual choice. If she gave the go sign it would have happened. Now if we're talking emotional roadblocks then yes it was a two way street of road hazards. ;)

Yes. Laura was dumpy and pregnant in the second dream but Steele wasn't exactly turned on by that or shown to be in top form - working at the plant, sitting in his TACKY underwear, watching football, swilling beer and covered in babies. That is most definitely NOT his dream scenario of an ideal woman or life, it's a nightmare.

I love most of the episodes but there are some that are b-a-d as far as characterizations. Some writers seemed to know the characters inside and out and some missed the mark. Good thing Woman of Steele comes next where we get to see their attachment continuing to form in a pretty realistic light.

    when it was important to remember the hiss of an attacking reptile or the shadow of a plummeting hawk. 

Elsewhere

    We are descended from reptiles and mammals both. In the daytime repression of the R-complex and in the nightime stirring of the dream dragons, we may each of us be replaying the hundred-million-year-old warfare between the reptiles and the mammals. 

My understanding of the material on the whole is that dreams don't tell us who we are. During dreams the reptilian part of the brain runs loose and dreams become inevitably animal-like. They do have a lot of entertainment value.
 

However, though some of the dreams in this ep were funny, it doesn't take a dream expert to view Laura's dream as not only disturbing but quite violent.

Isabel

Turnabout is fair play, eh? It was not mean-spirited by any means, but well warranted from Laura's point of view. It would really stink if you went to school for this, trained, and apprenticed only to have all that put on the back-burner and never get any recognition.
 

Rocket J Squirrel
"Hokey, smoke ... well, they don't call him Wrongway Peachfuzz for nothing!" 

Isabel

Rocket J Squirrel
"Hokey, smoke ... well, they don't call him Wrongway Peachfuzz for nothing!" 

Regardless, even if you think her anger is righteous that doesn't negate that it's a mean spirited dream. It's a dream of vindictiveness not just vindication. She's not just announcing the "truth" she's filled with anger and directs all that anger toward Steele in her dream and seeks and revels in his ruin. It's not enough she's acknowledged, she demands that he be arrested and then cackles over him on the street. And this is a man she's supposedly in love with. It's not only ugly it's also a cop out of her own responsibility and a complete delusion that she's the only one responsible for the success of the agency.

She was at Havenhurst for 2 years before she left and opened her own agency which failed after a few months of trying and then opens RS and by her own design made herself "unidentified woman". She wanted quicker success so she created a fictitious man to stand behind. Steele just stepped in his shoes - and if he hadn't she'd have stayed in the red or her fraud might have finally blown up in her face when another client insisted on meeting Mr. Steele. If she didn't want him to stay he'd have left but she wanted what he brought to the agency. She made her choice, a choice for her own benefit - she's hardly some put upon victim. By the time of the dream he's been there 2 years (as long as she was at Havenhurst), working along side her and he's her partner.

So actually I find her extreme umbrage and anger in that dream not only out of character and out of proportion but also more than a tad misplaced and about 2 years too late. If she's angry with a specific person and not just "society" for not getting her public due then she should be angry with herself, that she didn't stick it out with her name on the door or that she didn't tell Steele to go and make it on her own. No one forced her to do anything, least of all Steele. And if she feels otherwise then she certainly shouldn't be having a romantic relationship with him.

And after all, as much as we all love RS and the characters it is "just a silly TV show" to quote one of our favorite characters!

Rocket, what bothers me about Laura's dream is that it is so out of character. This is not a Laura I would like at all. I think the writers did a real number on her.

And I have to agree with Ace, if she is so upset about Steele's position in the agency that she has such disturbing dreams about it, how can we possibly believe that she cares for him at all.

And yes I believe in the significant of dreams, and it is not just Freud's theories, if you go to dreammoods.com you will realize that almost everyone attributes meanings to dreams.

Isabel

I think this is a topic about which we need to agree to disagree.

Debra