The Distance

By Gemma Jacob

Tennessee Williams wrote in ‘The Glass Menagerie” that, “Time is the longest distance between two places.” With a summer between them, we have been waiting to see whether that distance was too great for Vivian and Aster to ever come back from. With the airing of the final episode of Season Three, we finally have an answer.

Despite her conversation with Dr. Glass last week about meeting someone new, Aster has one person on her mind. That’s the problem when you come home; everything it was you were running away from is still there, including the picture of the one person you need no reminders of. Sometimes we still need those who know what we need (as well as what we want) to nudge us in the right direction. Enter Breck! Finally, someone that Aster will listen to who knows that under all of her bravado, she needs Vivian.

Getting on the train is the simplest and hardest thing for Aster to do, because as both she and Breck put it, “It’s Vivian.” Here’s this person that knows Aster better than anyone else, she understands everything about her, and she is so much a part of her life that no matter what happens, when they’re in the same space everything works. However, in that same person is also the one who could really hurt Aster, and how could she possibly have forgiven Aster when she hasn’t managed to forgive herself yet. (Young) love.

We are brought back to Westchester on the train platform where the season began. As I had expected, Sophie’s tears were caused by a boy, well man. I hoestly like that Vivian and Sophie have each other as friends, I think it has the potential to become very messy, but I am grateful that they recognise the value of their friendship. Both Sophie and Vivian need each other’s friendships, especially now that Sophie has a heartache of her own. I don’t know how the friendship will work with Aster back, it was obvious from when she spied them across the platform that she will take issue with Vivian having her in her life. However, I am glad that Vivian did the right thing and went after Aster. It could have all ended so badly if she hadn’t, and I don’t think I could go through heartbreak like the S2 finale again.

I know that I am amongst the loudest voices in the, “We love Rachael Hip-Flores” Fan Club, and for good reason. However, it would be remiss of me if I did not comment on the performance of Nicole Pacent. I sometimes think that she does not get a fair share of the adulation. Yes, people are more than willing to point out the obvious fact that she is stunningly beautiful, to the point it’s almost ridiculous. I hear very few comments on her actual acting ability though, and that is a shame, because that borders on the ridiculous too, and S3 has shown that.

For me, Aster has been broken this season, the worst kind of broken a person can be; the sort where they don’t feel they deserve they should be fixed. She has not wallowed in self-pity, and she has not taken it out on other people, but she has done nothing to mend the hurt she is feeling. Every emotion Aster has kept herself from feeling all summer can no longer be ignored when she is standing across from the person that she hurt the most, when I am certain she made a dozen or more promises to herself that she never would. You can see how much she wants to just hold Vivian because she knows in the past that has made everything better, but she is so afraid that if she does then things may have changed so much and either one or both of them feels that, and then things would never be the same again. Nicole’s performance of prefect restraint as Aster tries to protect herself from further hurt but show Vivian that it isn’t over for them, at least not for her, is simply sublime.

There is a truth to the writing of ABM. As much as it may have been good drama to keep these two apart – and I by no means doubt there won’t be much drama to come, there is no doubt that right at this moment in time they need nothing more than each other. I do not know if that will always be true, I hope it is but I’m hedging my bets here, but what is happening on screen feels real. I know that owes a lot to the talent of the cast, and the crew, but I have always been a firm believer that without a story and a proper script then there is only so much that can be done. ABM has never lacked in any department. I know that I have a bias towards the way things ended up, but truly, after we finally got to see them talking, did anyone believe Vivian and Aster didn’t belong together?

As the credits roll, though I know many a fan are thankful that it finished the way it did, there is a large ABM-shaped void in our lives. There are still so many questions left to be answered that we are already eagerly awaiting S4 and what it may hold. We have to see what will happen between Archibald and Elisabeth, both as a couple and individually. I am sure Principal Dennis is not making his life any easier and Elisabeth is still dealing with the whole Prozac issue. Jonathan needs to get over his feelings for Sophie and perhaps be that person who sung her a love letter again so that they can at least salvage a friendship. Carey, on the other side of the country, still thinks that she and Aster have something going, and as much as I do not want anything causing Vivster drama, that story arc feels unfinished.

What of Aster, Vivian, and Sophie? I am more than happy that Vivian and Aster (and ABM’s dastardly duo of writers) have realised what I have known all along – that they belong together, but what does that mean for them? It was only in ep4 that Vivian was talking about “old people” getting in the way of what could be. She made the mistake before when she ignored her feelings for Sophie, and we all know what happened then. Now that Sophie’s had her heart broken she may be thinking more about why she kissed Vivian; that is still a conversation that needs to be had. And Aster, oh Aster, you are still as much of a mess as ever. With some continued chats with Dr. Glass I can hope that she learns to deal with her big emotions, but I am sure there will be many more misadventures.

So so many questions left, and so much more of these characters that we all want to see. I’m still hoping for an ABM prom in a future season. For now I will have to re-watch the seasons that we do have, revel in the brilliant performances and writing, and hope it is not too long till my ABM is on my screen once again.