This is a very interesting episode. I actually found it quite enjoyable to listen to, despite several issues I have with it.
First of all, as has already been mentioned, Connie's behavior in this episode has been touted as completely out of character for her, especially after the great deal of growth she's experienced in the past decade or so. And I don't disagree. But in a way, I do find it strangely relatable. Let me explain:
You've messed up big time, and you know it. Maybe you even knew that what you were doing was wrong, but you just
wanted to do it anyway. But now you're beating yourself up inside because
HOW. could you have been
SO.
STUPID??? But your pride isn't going to let you go back on the decisions you've made just yet, so your external response ends up being completely out of character. I have definitely been there before.
The scene where Connie walks out on Whit and Wilson with an icy "
IF I still have a job here" is the best part of the episode in my opinion. While extremely hard to listen to, that moment really resonated with me.
On your analysis of the Renee portion of the episode, Bob, I do see what you're saying, but can't say I totally agree with you.
For the first adventure, Renee is in her lab at the college. What are the odds that people are really going to bust in there, seriously looking to do bodily harm to the professor? It's possible, but quite unlikely. I would be inclined to dismiss the whole situation as some sort of joke. On the other hand, in the WW2-era adventure, Renee looks around, noting her surroundings, and quickly surmises the greater gravity of the situation. There is something to your proposition that she has been conditioned to know that Nazis are bad, but I would argue that in like manner, she has also been conditioned to know that in this place and time, someone with the star of David on their coat, a Jew, is someone who very likely
is in danger and needs to be protected (and not only from Nazis, I might add). Here, she knows that the Nazis will literally
kill the professor; whereas in the first adventure, as Whit points out, she really needs more information.
While the truth should always be our ideal, there are situations that may, in order to promote the highest good, necessitate the use of "falsehood." I recently came across an article that discusses this topic much better than I can, and I have linked it
here, in case anybody's interested.
To me, the bigger question here is the same one I have regarding the Rydell saga: Is it appropriate to be presenting such morally complex situations to children in AIO's target age range? Episodes like this are great fodder for conversation for teen and adult listeners. But they have the potential to be downright dangerous to the eight-year-old who listens to this episode and thinks,
hmmm, Mr. Whittaker says it's okay to lie...
To be honest, though, what bothers me the most about this episode is how Whit and Wilson contacted Pam and ratted Connie out to her. In my opinion, they had absolutely no business doing that. Not only is it a manipulation tactic directed at Connie, but honestly, Pamela really did not need to be bothered with this drama at such a difficult time in her life. Although she is often quite stubborn, Connie is not altogether unreasonable, and I believe she would have eventually (and actually probably already has at this point) seen the error of her ways without such emotional manipulation. Whit, my dude, ya
gotta stop this.