#shandy proposal

Yes, I was a little salty last night over the cut off proposal but overall I truly did love this episode. I've already watched it twice and will be watching again. And why? Was it the riveting case? Um...No. Yes this is a crime procedural and the case is supposed to be the center of the show, but to be honest I'm hardly ever all that interested in the case. In the first couple seasons there were some compelling cases that tugged at my heartstrings but except for the Nazi three- parter last season and a few hit or misses, I'm rarely caught up in a case anymore. Of course when it has Sharon getting punched in the face, well, that sure grabbed my attention. But mostly what I've come to enjoy and look forward to on MC are the characters and their stories. I find myself wishing the interrogations would hurry up and get finished so we can get back to the good stuff, which for me are the interactions between the main characters. Of course #1, Sharon and Andy. But also Julio and Mark, Provie and Andy, Andy and Rusty, Sharon and Winnie, Sharon and Fritz, Sharon and Mason, Sharon and Provie, Sharon and Rusty, Sharon and Gus. Well, let's face it, Sharon and ANYONE. 

So, no it wasn't the case that had me giddy and re-watching. Here is what did it.

1. Dr Morales- I absolutely loved the humor in this episode and the way Morales just inserted himself into the case--and the fact that they let him do it. Sharon was even willing to take the flak from Winnie for allowing Morales to watch the interrogation. Job well done Jonathan Del Arco.

2. Dr. Morale's father-Because I know they originally wanted Edward James Olmos for the role I kept picturing how he would be playing it. I think he would have been more intimidating because, well, EJO can be pretty intimidating. And in the morgue, Morale's father gave Andy a suspicious look and as an obsessed Roslin/Adama shipper I know that if it had been EJO I would have been thinking (Oh, he's attracted to Sharon and he can see there is something between Sharon and Andy and he's trying to figure out what it is and isn't too happy about it--cause that's just where my mind goes) When in reality Morale's dad was simply trying to figure out why Andy was trying so hard to make it plausible that the death had been accidental rather than a murder so he could go on his romantic tryst with Sharon.  I was pretty much on to the fact that his dad knew Morales was lying and that his friends were covering for him--I mean the guy was a detective. He knows how a police dept. works and that the medical examiner doesn't lead the investigation in a murder. I did love the fact that unbeknownst to any of them, including his son, he speaks English well and enjoyed my re-watch to see what he heard people saying when they thought he didn't speak their language.

3. Julio gets Mark back!

4. Another Sharon/Winnie Davis showdown-Man, that woman is freaking emerald green with jealousy when it comes to Sharon and Major Crimes. I mean it’s seething out of her pores. I'm not sure about the hierarchy when it comes to the LAPD, but is Winnie Davis Sharon's boss? I mean I know she outranks Sharon, but does she really have the right to keep storming in on Sharon and her team during investigations? It seems not only rude but unprofessional. I feel like she has no business there and no business questioning Sharon as it is not her department (Again Winnie reminds me so much of my boss. My boss does this kind of stuff all the time--it ruffles feathers and people feel about her the same way they do on MC about Winnie). If anyone has the right to storm in and question Sharon it should be Fritz. Isn't he her direct superior? You don't see Sharon storming off and getting involved in SOB or Robbery/Homicide cases.

I enjoy watching how calm Sharon remains in the face of Davis's antagonism. You just know Davis is trying to get a rise out of her, to start a fight, and Sharon just isn't giving it to her. And that frustrates the hell out of Davis. She just can’t seem to get completely under Sharon’s skin.

My favorite interaction between the two was when Davis tried to get Sharon to back down on her request for equipment asking her something like "You want me to let them know they all got bumped down so Major Crimes could jump to the top" and Sharon's simple "Yes please, thank you" BOO-YAH! That was NOT what Davis was expecting.

My second favorite moment was when Morales's dad asked who the "witch" was in Spanish. Davis gave him a glare. I wonder if she speaks Spanish as well as he speaks English :-) Then again it's hard to tell, Davis has one facial expression "pissed off". Also liked it when he said "Adios Amiga" and Andy's "I wish". I know I’m not getting these exactly right but that was the gist.

Davis comes off like the whining kid in class who is jealous of the teacher's pet--in this case Sharon being Fritz's pet. And she relishes the day Fritz is gone and Sharon no longer gets preferential treatment. Interesting that she no longer seems to feel that Sharon is a threat for the job as she makes a pretty blatant assertion that Sharon and her dept. will be pretty much done once the new Asst. Chief is hired. Does that mean she thinks she's a shoe-in or does she now have an "in" with Mason? She seems pretty unconcerned with pissing Sharon off so that leaves me to believe she is not in the least bit worried about Sharon getting the position and then getting rid of HER. If she really thought Sharon was a front runner you'd think she'd be kissing her ass.

5. The hype leading up to the proposal.

Andy, you adorable little idiot in love! How stinking cute was our guy being so excited and wanting to make some grand romantic gesture--like sweeping Sharon off to Napa or, when the Napa plans were ruined, trying to get reservations at Serve where they had their first date. One thing I thought that was just a tad off was that Rusty seemed to come off as knowing Sharon's personality better than Andy. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal because he's lived with Sharon longer than Andy has. However, in the past it's always been Andy giving Rusty insight into how to handle Sharon rather than the other way around. And, Sharon doesn’t hate surprises, she seems to have enjoyed them in the past, and been touched by them. Not a big deal, just an observation.

Both Rusty and Provie knew about the romantic plan. I assumed by their comments that they both knew Andy was going to propose. But later, when Andy shows Rusty the velvet box, it's apparent he hadn't precisely told them everything that he was going to do, though I think they both had an inclination that this was more than just a romantic interlude. Provie makes a comment in the beginning about Andy being up to something and Rusty didn’t seem all that surprised when Andy showed him the velvet box.

I just completely loved Andy Flynn in this episode. He was so eager, sweet, excited and romantic--and yes Sharon, very handsome. All those Andy smiles and that twinkle in his eye. Mary is right, that smile is irresistible--as is his boyish enthusiasm.

Andy/Sharon interaction-Sharon could see something was up and her return smiles were perfect, slightly confused but so loving and charming. They were just so damn adorable. You could really feel their connection in this episode.

At the condo-Oh my heart, Andy leaning so sexy against the table/buffet and Sharon's "Oh Andy, so handsome" Ooh la la. Then her having to shoot down his offer to take her to dinner and blowing him a kiss. Awww.... If it weren't for the proposal I think we would all have been going gaga just over this little moment between them--which proves how little we are given.

Andy and Rusty- After complaining last week that Rusty is still calling Andy lieutenant, we got to see the bond that has truly grown between these two men. And Rusty calling him Andy.  I actually LOVED Rusty in this episode. I loved how Andy was relying on him to help out with his plans. And how Rusty worked to calm Andy down when things weren't going his way and how he was willing to do whatever he could to help his step-daddy-to-be plan his romantic night with Sharon. He's come a long way from "ewwwing" the very idea of them sleeping together or being threatened by the idea of them buying a house together. And then when Rusty is a little puzzled that Andy is getting so worked up over a missed dinner and Andy shows him the velvet box to make him understand how important the night is, Rusty comes to the rescue again and offers to help out and take care of everything. And not only that, but to do it in a way that respects Sharon's need for privacy and Andy's need to make a grand romantic gesture.

Andy's "It's burning a hole in my pocket". He's finally made the decision to ask Sharon to marry him and he doesn't want to wait a second longer than necessary. He's like a kid at Christmas. It kind of reminded me of Billy Crystal's proposal in "When Harry Met Sally"  “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Rusty-For ONCE he didn't ruin a Shandy scene!

6. The proposal-The setting was perfect. All the candles, the flowers, the dim lights, the music. It was intimate in the way Sharon would want and over the top romantic, the way Andy wanted.

I actually got teared up along with Sharon when she asked "What is all this?" and Rusty responded “This is all Andy Flynn." OMG. Just the way he said it oozed with "You got a such great guy there Mom, just LOOK at what he’s done for you" And Sharon was obviously so moved. Even more so when they stepped out onto the balcony and he mentioned that he ordered dinner from Serve, and she too remembered it was where they'd had their first date.

Loved the way Andy got started, saying he'd been thinking about them lately and her stroking his tie--I wonder if that's a Sharon thing or a Mary thing as she seems to do that a lot---and that living together could really just be the beginning.

Alas, that's when the euphoria ended. When we actually got conversation on the balcony I foolishly started to believe that we were going to hear this proposal! And then, boom. As soon as Andy turned around and shut the balcony doors I knew it was over. I mean why shut the doors? Who didn't he want to hear? US! Because you know, it might have actually MEANT something to the fans to be shown something for once rather than just being told.

That said I did LOVE that Andy went down on one knee. Oh my romantic shipper heart! And from what we could see of Sharon she looked surprised. And maybe happy? We were so far away it was hard to tell.

So, I know there are fans out there who think Shandy fans want/expect too much. And yes, I'd love for the show to revolve completely around them but know that isn't going to happen except in fanfic--and in my fantasies that when MC is over there will be a spin-off of a married Sharon and Andy opening a PI business together and using their years of expertise to solve crimes the LAPD hadn't been able to solve--but that's a whole other story. So, no I didn't expect a fifteen minute dinner and proposal. However, there were two ways that could have made that scene perfect IMO that didn’t have to add much time at all.

1. Just finish it out for crying out loud. Let Andy say something simple like "I love you Sharon and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"  I mean we had a whole episode leading up to a PROPOSAL and we still didn't get ONE I love you! How hard is it to say "I love you" Sharon says it to Rusty all the time.

2. Then again, if TPTB didn't know what to have Andy say they could have just had the music get louder so we couldn't hear the words but keep the freaking camera on the balcony so we see Andy's face as he gets down on his knee and we SEE Sharon's expression close up, ending with her either nodding her head or mouthing the word “yes” and hugging him so we’d know how the proposal ended. As it was we were left wondering if she'd said yes or if she’d said she'd have think about it--I doubt she would have given him an outright "no".  That really took a lot of the joy out of the proposal. But I’m feeling better today after reading Mary's tweet saying how happy she is to be engaged, so we at least know she said yes. But how sad is it that we had to learn that from the actress who plays Sharon rather than us getting the chance to participate in such a momentous moment.

My plea-Duff STOP telling us stuff and start SHOWING us!! Yeah, I know if it hasn't happened by now it isn't going to happen, but a part of me still hopes. I'd like to take bets on whether or not we will have ever heard Sharon and Andy uttering the words “I love you” ---to each other, not their kids--- and if they will ever share a kiss by the time Major Crimes ends. Though it seems ridiculous there is a very good chance that could happen.

I hope hope hope there is talk about the proposal next week. Normally I’d think that wasn’t going to happen. That we’d been given our token Shandy moment for the season and the proposal/marriage wouldn’t be spoken of again this season--unless Rusty and Gus were discussing it. Then at the beginning of season 6 we’d find out they got married over the hiatus. Yes, that could still very well happen, but I have hope for a proposal/wedding conversation with Ricky coming to town next week.

Stream of consciousness seems to work well:

I love Morales (his sass is amazing) and have been waiting for this episode to happen since Duff first mentioned it was in the works. I will admit to thinking about Edward James Olmos as Morales’ father during the episode.  This guy was definitely the next best thing, but when you know what could have been. . . you can’t help but imagine.

A light hearted murder (that’s not an oxymoron is it?) The case sets the tone perfectly.

Provenza has a new candidate for best friend.  He and Det. Morales are two peas in a pod.

There were horseshoes on Sharon's shirt- That is all.

Sharon’s ‘Thank You’ to Davis: She was definitely channeling Brenda.

Sharon is still the Queen of Denial- Serve is where they had their 1st date not their 1st real date.

Andy and Rusty have the ability to be really great allies when they have a common goal and aren’t feeling threatened by each other.  This week Rusty brought Andy back down to Earth, he became the voice of reason, telling him what he needed to hear.

Provenza definitely knows what’s going on.  He might not know all the details, but he knows what’s about to happen.

Andy has no chill whatsoever for the entire weekend the case covered.  It was a good thing they didn’t need him to concentrate fully on the case.

All the giddy Andy smiles just made me smile more.  He’s just too cute, even though he was totally confusing Sharon.

Why does he need help with his plan?  He is totally overwhelmed, doesn’t have his head on straight, isn’t thinking clearly.  He tries to load the romance deck with every romantic thing he can think of, not necessarily what is appropriate for romancing Sharon.  Plus he always gets a little crazy when it come to Sharon.

The ring is burning a hole in his pocket, but he doesn't feel stressed and doesn’t know where the stress comes from.

Sharon has her sense of occasion.  Sharon likes to be in control.  She may like to surprise other people, but being on the receiving end is something else entirely, it throws her off balance.

The new Shandy theme is perfect. I refuse to believe that it was written about anyone but them.

The Proposal: I watched the last few seconds on several sized screens with varying distances between my nose and the screen.  What I saw was Sharon’s jaw drop reaction wasn’t to the ring, she definitely was looking at it before she reacted.  Jaw drop was definitely a response to something Andy said.  I think we have an idea what it was.

Coming up next: Sharon will say yes, eventually, but with the condition that they continue to take things slowly and not rush into the wedding.  I think she still has to rectify their relationship and her faith before she follows through with marriage in any fashion.

But if Sharon does say no, it will kill Andy and make everything so awkward.

So, after a lot of time spent scrolling through dresses on Pinterest, I think I've finally found Sharon Raydor's wedding dress. 

We’re all wondering what Sharon’s reaction to the proposal was, and my guess is it’s either a super excited yes, or a very very unsure yes. Personally, I think it may be the second option, simply because it is clear that Andy’s little intro to the proposal utterly confused and maybe freaked her out a little. 

Just look at her in this GIF. The corners of her lips go up, then down, then up again, and the look in her eyes is so emotional and raw. In my opinion, she literally doesn’t know if he is trying to ease her into a breakup or telling her something entirely different. What that other something might be is clearly beyond her, because her reaction to the proposal is “Wha-?” when Andy kneels and “Oh,” when he pulls out the ring.