14540 replies to this topic

[Zumanity]

Well, here is where we would do a little bit of detective work and speculate on the spoilers we have come across.

Only there don't seem to be any.

No news is good news?

[Couch Baron]

Looks like this topic got buried, so I'm bumping it up. Please speculate on spoiler info here and not in the spoiler thread. Thanks!

[La Anah]

From fabrisse over on the spoiler thread:

Logan's older half-sister

There had been speculation about his on the ep thread. Haaron says "My daughter Trina" in a way that makes her sound specifically his, not his and Lynne's. We've already been told that he grew up poor (at least poorer than he is now), now that they are bringing in a child from a previous relationship, the plot seems to be thickening around the Echolls family.

[ShunnedforLife]

From somewhere in the spoiler thread (I saw Damien quote it)

Also, there's going to be some sad medical news for Duncan.

Hmmm while Damien thought it'd be cancer, I think it'd be something to do more with whatever he's taking medicine for. Possible that his medicine doesn't work? Maybe that it was a placebo?

[Andromeda]

Hmmm while Damien thought it'd be cancer, I think it'd be something to do more with whatever he's taking medicine for. Possible that his medicine doesn't work? Maybe that it was a placebo?

Oh, I HOPE the writers don't give Duncan bi-polar disorder!
That's like, the catch-all diagnosis of the decade...everybody supposedly has it.

(Remember when everyone used to have Chronic Fatique Syndrome? I guess that one went out of fashion or something).

[Couch Baron]

She's Aaron's by an earlier wife.

Ah, I didn't know that. That explains why she doesn't show up for the memorial.

[WynterWolf]

My further speculation, coupled with the previous one about Ronnie/Logan's relationship evolution, will be that Trina may serve as some kind of joint foil for both of them.

I could totally see that.

Plus I would also suspect that Logan's contention will be that his mother wouldn't willingly leave him like that (probably coupled with some fishiness surrounding the 'suicide' circumstances) which will, of course, hit Veronica right where she lives.

Three weeks, right? That BITES!!

[thecatsmeow]

Maybe Duncan's "sad medical news" will be some transplanty thing that requires a donar........a relative......Veronica maybe?

Kristin did say that Veronica would learn who her real father was by the end of the season and since she's decided that she doesn't want to know, it would have to be a life or death situation to make her change her mind.

[janedoe4]

From the spoiler thread:

Teddy Dunn, gave me the goods for his character, Duncan: "I do have a health issue. I have, I guess you could call it a mental disorder, and it will come out exactly what it is in subsequent episodes.

So I'd say most varieties of epilepsy are off the table - calling most forms of epilepsy a mental disorder is quite a stretch, to my understanding. It could still be something with a clear organic basis, I suppose, something resulting from a brain leision or trauma. But tumor now seems unlikely because, again, "cancer" and "mental disorder" doesn't fit all that well.

The hesitation about calling it a mental disorder ("I guess you could call it") is going to drive me nuts. It could be that the condition is something easily termed a mental disorder and TD was going for a certain level of vagueness, or it could be that the condition is something less easy to place on a mental/physical divide. Just to clarify the distinction: I'd put schizophrenia or a related psychosis in the first group (has organic elements, but would generally be referred to as a mental disorder), and I'd put "projectile that managed to obliterate only the X center of the brain" and maybe temporal lobe epilepsy in the second group.

I'm way too invested in diagnosing a fictional character who, for all I know, has a completely made-up disease.

[WynterWolf]

I'm way too invested in diagnosing a fictional character who, for all I know, has a completely made-up disease.

Hee! It's like speculating about this show has become an addiction because so far, everything has actually made sense.

That "I guess you could call it" wording is tantalizing, isn't it. Damn them!

[Arena]

Regarding Duncan's mental disorder, I also don't think it can be epilepsy. People diagnosed with epilepsy are not allowed to drive cars. Duncan has.

[janedoe4]

People with epilepsy can drive in most places if they've gone a certain length of time without having a seizure (e.g. if the condition is well-controlled with medication). If that were the case, it might also account for Veronica not knowing anything was wrong.

Still, the "mental disorder" label just doesn't fit.

In terms of brain lesion stuff, I noticed in Meet John Smith (saw it for the first time) that they did x-rays of Duncan's skull. It got me thinking that if he was known to have an organic neurological problem, and he came in with a head injury as a result of what might be termed erratic behavior, they would have been more alarmed and done a more extensive work-up.

Edited by janedoe4, Jan 26, 2005 @ 1:46 PM.

[Arena]

People with epilepsy can drive in most places if they've gone a certain length of time without having a seizure (e.g. if the condition is well-controlled with medication).

I have a friend with epilepsy who lives in California. According to her, you can't get a license if you have been diagnosed with epilepsy. Her doctor thinks she is safe to drive so she was never officially diagnosed with it. If Duncan has epilepsy then his records won't reflect that even if he is taking medication for it.

Still, the "mental disorder" label just doesn't fit.

True.

I wonder if he was diagnosed with whatever it is around the time he dumped Veronica or if it was something he has had for a longer time.

[blixie2]

The hesitation about calling it a mental disorder ("I guess you could call it") is going to drive me nuts. It could be that the condition is something easily termed a mental disorder and TD was going for a certain level of vagueness, or it could be that the condition is something less easy to place on a mental/physical divide. Just to clarify the distinction: I'd put schizophrenia or a related psychosis in the first group (has organic elements, but would generally be referred to as a mental disorder), and I'd put "projectile that managed to obliterate only the X center of the brain" and maybe temporal lobe epilepsy in the second group.

Hee, count me in with the inability to let go of Teddy's maddeningly vague spoiler. I fear it's a combination of dramatic liscense disease and Teddy just not being all that aware of the distinction between a mental disorder and an organic medical condition.

I think temporal lobe epilepsy is still on the table because although it isn't a mental disorder in and of itself, mental disorder is a symptom of temporal epilepsy. It can result in 'episodes', aka dissociative fugues which meshes most strongly with Duncan's reported behaviors dating back in the VM timeline to shortly before Lilly's death.

Taken from the DSM-IV for Dissociative Fugue:

C. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of Dissociative Identity Disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., temporal lobe epilepsy).

Another interesting fact about TLE, it causes dream-like states called auras, which kind of remind me of the surreal way they shoot the VM flashbacks.

[janedoe4]

Another thought on Duncan's mystery illness: Whatever his other meds are, they seem to be something that can't be taken simultaneously with antidepressants. In Meet John Smith, he only had one morning pill, and it's usually ineffective (from a remembering-to-take-your-meds standpoint) and/or silly to not group as many pills into one med time as possible, so I want his mystery illness to be something for which it's plausible that the medication would have some interaction with the antidepressant, explaining why he takes them at separate times. The fact that his other condition is also psychiatric/neurological perhaps makes it more likely that this will work out by a happy accident (i.e. without the writers having to put any actual thought into this aspect, because that might be asking a bit much).

The thing is, some pharmacologic interactions are rather obscure and it's likely that the pool of "stuff you can't take simultaneously with antidepressants" is different for every class, or even every brand, of antidepressants. So it doesn't necessarily help my guessing any. Basically, this is just anticipating a future nitpick.

Edited to clarify that I'm still overthinking. How many weeks 'til a new episode?

Edited by janedoe4, Jan 27, 2005 @ 1:51 AM.

[GovMarley]

In terms of brain lesion stuff, I noticed in Meet John Smith (saw it for the first time) that they did x-rays of Duncan's skull. It got me thinking that if he was known to have an organic neurological problem, and he came in with a head injury as a result of what might be termed erratic behavior, they would have been more alarmed and done a more extensive work-up.

I noticed the same thing, and when I saw that I ruled out things like a brain tumor. The doctor surely would have said something more if he knew Duncan had a previous medical condition, right? I would like to know more about when the "mental disorder" was diagnosed.

[Maevin]

There are some new images of Russkie Business up with AH in the spoiler thread. In one of the pictures it looks like sheriff Leo has caught LE and VM coming or trying to get into a school classroom. Logan looks so funny, just standing there like he's checking him out, and likes what he sees. He's either drunk or just acting drunk. I hope he is playing drunk, I like to see LE and VM working together....maybe more

Edited by Maevin, Jan 28, 2005 @ 9:36 AM.

[janedoe4]

They find that his mom's credit card is still active, and then they spot this woman from behind - she's in his mom's clothes. Logan spins her around, and it's his sister."

As noted in the spoiler thread, this is a little weird.

First question (which I don't think has come up yet): In what sense are they Logan's mom's clothes? Same style of clothing she wears? Exact outfit she was last seen in? Something with a distinguishing tear/stain or other feature that indicates they're actually her clothes rather than a case of someone else shopping at the same places? There's also the thought that possessives are sometimes applied to the designer of an item of clothing rather than the owner, but that doesn't seem to fit the context.

Second question is how Trina would acquire Lynn's clothing. If the clothes in fact belonged to Lynn and weren't what she was last seen in, my best guess is that before Logan knew she was in town she stopped by the house and borrowed something from her stepmom's closet. Which would be rather callous given that the woman is believed to be recently dead, but that's not out of the question given what we've been told about Trina. Or, Haaron, in the process of getting rid of his presumably dead wife's belongings, gave some of her clothes to Trina (again, before Logan even knew his sister was around). Also weird, but plausible.

[Andromeda]

Second question is how Trina would acquire Lynn's clothing.

Both possibilities that you mentioned sound plausible; but here's another- perhaps Trina didn't really dislike her stepmother and they were in collusion somehow to shake down Aaron??

[SpoiledHeathenPunk]

Both possibilities that you mentioned sound plausible; but here's another- perhaps Trina didn't really dislike her stepmother and they were in collusion somehow to shake down Aaron??

I definitly see this as being possible. It would, however, make me sad if Lynn were so selfish as to let her son go through all this trauma just to get back at Haaron. I'm not putting it past her, I just want a little bit of a break for Logan.

Unless Logan knows too. . . I sensed from the spoilers that he was genuinly shocked to see his sister in his mother's clothes, but that could be me reading into it.

[SpoiledHeathenPunk]

from neptunesite:

Duncan has disappeared, and Logan and VM may have kissed -- I'm just wondering, did he disappear 'cause he found out about the kiss and isn't happy about it?

[WynterWolf]

That's kinda what it sounded like, didn't it... but then Duncan practically begging them to go to that dance together makes even less sense.

And it sounded like Logan thought Duncan was wanting to hide (peroxide and filing his fingerprints off??? WTF???), like he did something he was embarrassed about?

Basically I'm clueless... but I love it.

[bluedahlia]

That's the way it reads to me SpoiledHeathenPunk based on Logan's dialogue in the sides. -Sounds like Duncan caught them and then ran off in anger, and needed to cool down. Ofcourse there may be more to it than what Logan and Veronica realize as well- perhaps he runs off but something else bad befalls him. Hmm the possibilities.

[Bentley]

Duncan may even have done something mildly criminal. It would explain why he would need to change his identity. Or maybe he had another "episode" in front of his classmates, which would embarrass him terribly. We know he's been taken to the hospital yelling Veronica's name before; maybe he had a relapse. Maybe it was even brought on by the sight of Veronica and Logan together. It could be an opening for Veronica to finally figure out what Duncan's condition is and why he broke up with her. Is all this drama just because he witnessed a Veronica/Logan kiss? He saw Veronica and Leo kiss at the dance in the last episode, and although not happy about it, he certainly didn't go beserk. Would the fact that it's now his best friend involved with her make all the difference?

[Arena]

He seemed happy by the idea in the last episode so I don't think it's Veronica/Logan that makes him take off.

[Bentley]

Duncan may have been happy that his best friend and former girlfriend appeared to be getting along again after months of acrimony, but I seriously doubt he was giving his blessing to a romance.

[SpoiledHeathenPunk]

starcrash, do you mind if I quote this in the spoiler forum? I'm sure the LoVe
'shippers over there would, well, love to hear about it.