Episode Description
"A friendly game of chess ends abruptly when painful memories put Whit and Wilson’s friendship to the test." -AIO
Episode Review:
“Charlotte” is an example of every aspect being done well in an Adventures in Odyssey production, from the casting, to the writing, directing, acting, and the set-up leading up to it. The proof, of course, is in this emotionally-charged pudding. I really should have known that I needed a box of tissues before sitting down and listening to “Charlotte” – as we saw with “Karen” and “Clara”, episode titles featuring a girl’s name apparently only exist to make us cry.
The episode does what some of the very best Adventures in Odyssey episodes have done – keep Whit interesting. Episodes in which Whit reveals hints of mortality – where he momentarily sheds his renowned wisdom– remain singed within my memory. Who could forget when Whit went against Tom Riley’s sage advice and experimented with death in “A Mortal Coil”? Or when he told Jack Allen he never wanted to see him again in “Clara?” With “Charlotte”, I will remember this unusually broken and remorseful Whit for quite some time.
It’s an angle of this usually confident character that we hear very little of, with the exception of the recent episode “The Boat People 1, 2”. There, Whit shows regret for not donating to World Vision, but its impact is diminished by the fact that the moment seemed like an awkward attempt to make listeners feel guilty for not donating to World Vision themselves. The strength of “Charlotte” is that it makes Whit’s regret, here, feel real and justified. Certainly, in a welcome change, the show has entered a Whit-aissance, exploring new and interesting facets of Whit’s past, an area that was far less explored during Paul Herlinger’s era.
What helps “Charlotte” effortlessly blend in with the rest of the series are the recent set-up of episodes such as “The Journal of John Avery Whittaker” and “No Friend Like an Old Friend”, which makes it feel as though Wilson and Charlotte have always been around. Without the set-up of these episodes “Charlotte” wouldn’t have worked. But “Charlotte” satisfyingly builds upon elements introduced in those episodes, while also potentially setting up more mysteries and possible storylines in the future – for instance, will the names Whit and Wilson reference during their first scene – “Henrietta Capello…Emmy, and Jack, and Steve and Paul, and Artie” – be future characters that we eventually learn more about?
Jim Custer as Young Whit and Melissa Disney as Jenny make welcomed returns in “Charlotte”. Any voice replacement would have lessened the specialness and authenticity of the episode. Granted, Jim Custer is sounding older these days, but because this episode portrays “Young Whit” much later in life than, say, “Rescue from Manatugo Point”, the older sounding voice works. Not only are he and Melissa Disney great, here, but every other performance is too. Andre Stojka really takes Whit into new places in that final scene, while Gregory Jbara, as Wilson Knox, finally fully inhabits his character and gives him some soul.
Although I was able to guess early on the cause of Charlotte’s death, the revelation still packs a strong emotional punch when the moment arrives. The revelation that Charlotte died two weeks later without Whit ever talking to her is heart-wrenching and cruel, but certainly effective. The episode’s only potential weakness, in some listener’s eyes, is the same weakness that marks any other story whose main conflict can be resolved when two characters choose to communicate with one another. How easily the central conflict might have been resolved if Charlotte had simply picked up the phone and made a simple call to Whit hours or days before dying! Did she intentionally go to her grave without wanting to reconcile with Whit, knowing that this would cause him turmoil afterwards? Or was the cancer really that sudden that she didn’t have time? Perhaps the inclusion of some of these smaller details would help me view Charlotte – or Wilson – in a more empathetic light, but, regardless, the episode paints a very realistic portrait of how messy and complicated some family relationships can be.
Chris’ wrap-up nicely adds to the show with a poignant lesson about our flawed love. But what “Charlotte” taught me was that good characters, when richly drawn and carefully written, can lead to great drama. When you look through the rest of the series, similar traits are found within the most resonating Adventures in Odyssey episodes. If anything, “Charlotte” reminds us how good this show can be.
"A friendly game of chess ends abruptly when painful memories put Whit and Wilson’s friendship to the test." -AIO
Episode Review:
“Charlotte” is an example of every aspect being done well in an Adventures in Odyssey production, from the casting, to the writing, directing, acting, and the set-up leading up to it. The proof, of course, is in this emotionally-charged pudding. I really should have known that I needed a box of tissues before sitting down and listening to “Charlotte” – as we saw with “Karen” and “Clara”, episode titles featuring a girl’s name apparently only exist to make us cry.
The episode does what some of the very best Adventures in Odyssey episodes have done – keep Whit interesting. Episodes in which Whit reveals hints of mortality – where he momentarily sheds his renowned wisdom– remain singed within my memory. Who could forget when Whit went against Tom Riley’s sage advice and experimented with death in “A Mortal Coil”? Or when he told Jack Allen he never wanted to see him again in “Clara?” With “Charlotte”, I will remember this unusually broken and remorseful Whit for quite some time.
It’s an angle of this usually confident character that we hear very little of, with the exception of the recent episode “The Boat People 1, 2”. There, Whit shows regret for not donating to World Vision, but its impact is diminished by the fact that the moment seemed like an awkward attempt to make listeners feel guilty for not donating to World Vision themselves. The strength of “Charlotte” is that it makes Whit’s regret, here, feel real and justified. Certainly, in a welcome change, the show has entered a Whit-aissance, exploring new and interesting facets of Whit’s past, an area that was far less explored during Paul Herlinger’s era.
What helps “Charlotte” effortlessly blend in with the rest of the series are the recent set-up of episodes such as “The Journal of John Avery Whittaker” and “No Friend Like an Old Friend”, which makes it feel as though Wilson and Charlotte have always been around. Without the set-up of these episodes “Charlotte” wouldn’t have worked. But “Charlotte” satisfyingly builds upon elements introduced in those episodes, while also potentially setting up more mysteries and possible storylines in the future – for instance, will the names Whit and Wilson reference during their first scene – “Henrietta Capello…Emmy, and Jack, and Steve and Paul, and Artie” – be future characters that we eventually learn more about?
Jim Custer as Young Whit and Melissa Disney as Jenny make welcomed returns in “Charlotte”. Any voice replacement would have lessened the specialness and authenticity of the episode. Granted, Jim Custer is sounding older these days, but because this episode portrays “Young Whit” much later in life than, say, “Rescue from Manatugo Point”, the older sounding voice works. Not only are he and Melissa Disney great, here, but every other performance is too. Andre Stojka really takes Whit into new places in that final scene, while Gregory Jbara, as Wilson Knox, finally fully inhabits his character and gives him some soul.
Although I was able to guess early on the cause of Charlotte’s death, the revelation still packs a strong emotional punch when the moment arrives. The revelation that Charlotte died two weeks later without Whit ever talking to her is heart-wrenching and cruel, but certainly effective. The episode’s only potential weakness, in some listener’s eyes, is the same weakness that marks any other story whose main conflict can be resolved when two characters choose to communicate with one another. How easily the central conflict might have been resolved if Charlotte had simply picked up the phone and made a simple call to Whit hours or days before dying! Did she intentionally go to her grave without wanting to reconcile with Whit, knowing that this would cause him turmoil afterwards? Or was the cancer really that sudden that she didn’t have time? Perhaps the inclusion of some of these smaller details would help me view Charlotte – or Wilson – in a more empathetic light, but, regardless, the episode paints a very realistic portrait of how messy and complicated some family relationships can be.
Chris’ wrap-up nicely adds to the show with a poignant lesson about our flawed love. But what “Charlotte” taught me was that good characters, when richly drawn and carefully written, can lead to great drama. When you look through the rest of the series, similar traits are found within the most resonating Adventures in Odyssey episodes. If anything, “Charlotte” reminds us how good this show can be.
Writer: Phil Lollar
Director: Phil Lollar
Producer: Dave Arnold
Music: John Campbell
Theme: Regrets
Original Air-date: 07.01.18
Review Published: 07.15.18