Vow of Silence




Vow of Silence is one of my favorite episodes. As always, there are plenty of spoilers and useless references to Jim and Blair's physical attributes.

I love this episode a lot, and one reason is because the boys are together the entire episode, always a plus as far as I am concerned. It opens with Jim planning this weekend retreat full of golf, hot tubs, dining and women. Blair breaks the news to him that it is a quiet, spiritual retreat. Jim figures he can handle communing with nature. I like that Blair is worried about Jim's physical and mental state. It seems that Simon has said Jim hasn't had a day off in a year and Blair's arranged this weekend for Jim to recharge his batteries.

Jim is more than surprised when the bus pulls up and the sigh says, St. Sebastian's Monastery. Jim is kind of rude when he asks if the monks are part of an act like in Las Vegas, and when he asks the abbot if there is a satellite dish or indoor plumbing. It seems that our Jimmy has forgotten he lived in the jungle for eighteen months without the benefits of much tv or indoor plumbing. What about that stake out in The Switchman? It looks pretty primitive to me. Give a guy a few luxuries and after a while, he's spoiled.

Once at the monastery, the guys are shown their room or "cell" as the monks call them. Imagine, they are sharing a room. How cute! Then Jim makes a booboo. His cell phone rings and it is obviously a woman. Jim makes a date in front of the head monk, Brother Jeremy. Blair is a bit embarrassed by Jim's behavior. Then the good brother confiscates Jim's cell and gun. Jim is none too happy and huffs around for a bit before flopping on his bed and digging out the old Walkman. Brother Jeremy must be a "sentinel monk" Blair says because he miraculously reappears and snags Jim's Walkman, which is also a no-no at the retreat. I love that line from Blair.

One of my favorite scenes is when Blair, looking very yummie in a royal blue t shirt with a white and blue plaid shirt over it, goes to the workshop and meets with Brother Marcus, his old friend. For all you newbies, Brother Marcus is played by GM's RL father, Brandon. We have a wonderful shot of Blair standing in the doorway. He looks positively angelic standing there. I love Angel!Blair shots. There are several sprinkled in episodes throughout the series. I also really like the scene with Brother Marcus and Blair hugging and talking. I like watching them together.

The dinner scene is next. Brother Jeremy has Jim finish the blessing. Jim is looking a bit uncomfortable here but he manages to give thanks for the food and the company. He seems pretty pleased with himself when he finishes and Blair pats his arm approvingly. Oh, and when the brothers are making the sign of the cross, Blair is so cute trying to do it himself, even though he's Jewish.

I like when they're all playing basketball. Jim is actually having a good time, which Blair manages to point out to him and in spite of his earlier grumblings about the accommodations. We find that Blair has another talent: he can spin a basketball on the tip of his finger. Jim just can't resist whacking it when it's spinning. They're just like two kids sometimes. I like the scenes shot in slow motion. It shows one of the monks ringing the bell and then falling down the stairs alternating with the men playing basketball. It really shows the contrast well and makes the death of the monk even sadder.

The men hear the loud crash from outside and rush in to find the dead monk. Jim thinks they should investigate and when he suggests this to Brother Jeremy, the brother is very upset to think that Jim thinks one of them might have killed the monk. Brother Jeremy finally realizes something is up when the phone line is dead and Jim's gun and cell are gone.

Jim takes charge and decides that everyone should go into town for safety sake but things don't always go as planned. Blair had gone out to start the bus but he bursts back into the room, telling us that the tires have been slashed. Then we have the very slashy scene where Blair grabs Jim's coat and leans up to whisper that someone obviously doesn't want them to leave. Now we know that something is up and one of the monks must be an imposter.

Jim starts his investigation the next morning. While he and Blair are outside, someone sneaks into Brother Christopher's room and fills his light bulb with kerosene. Meanwhile another monk finds the missing gun and cell under Jim's pillow. Brother Jeremy thinks that Jim is the killer and he lures Jim and Blair back into their room and locks them in. Jim smells the kerosene and tries to warn the monk but he goes to his room to show Jim a piece of evidence he has uncovered about the case. The light bulb explodes, killing the second monk.

Now Brother Jeremy realizes that Jim and Blair are innocent. Jim rummages through the rubble of the second dead monk's room and finds a piece of a photograph showing an old mob guy who disappeared twenty years ago. Only the hand of another person is visible and on the hand is the exact same ring that Brother Jeremy is wearing right now.

Jim and Blair confront Brother Jeremy, accusing him of hiding a killer. Brother Marcus comes in and confesses he is the mob guy hiding out, but that he didn't ever kill anyone, especially the two monks. Blair is very upset to find out that his friend is a crook. Jim now knows that there is a still a contract on Brother Marcus, aka Jackie Kozinsky. By the time Jim figures out which monk is the hit man, the bad guy has pulled a gun and herds Jim, Blair and the monks into the bell tower.

Since all of the monks confess to being Jackie, the bad guy decides to fry them all. He locks them in and tries to start the building on fire. Jim makes a rope from the monk's belts and climbs down, whacking the bad guy. The good guys have saved the day, for about two minutes.

Automatic gunfire erupts. Two more bad guys show up. The men scatter. Jim and Blair take off one way and the monks go another. Two of the monks are shot. Jim sends Blair off on his own to hide. Then we have the very good scene where Blair is skulking around in the monastery. He picks up a huge walking stick and tiptoes upstairs. One of the gunmen is shooting at Jim from an upstairs window. Blair sneaks in and very nicely whacks the guy under the chin, sending him out the window and down to the ground. Good Blair.

Well, of course, the bad guys are all caught and hauled away by the cops. Unfortunately, Brother Marcus' body is wheeled out while the cops are putting the head baddie in the car. He crows how he finally got Jackie after all these years. He is pleased with himself even though he is now going to jail. Blair is more than upset. He turns on the bad guy and stalks towards him. Then we have the extremely great scene when Jim grabs Blair around the waist and practically lifts him from the ground to keep him from attacking the captured bad guy. Blair is so pissed he tries to break away from Jim, who has a firm grip on his arms by this time. Finally Jim backs off with an admonishment to Blair to "let it go". Don't you love how Jim always expects Blair to shake off anything slightly emotional but Jim is allowed to go off on a tangent. There are definitely double standards at work here.

Then Blair is really surprised to find out that Brother Marcus is alive. It was all a ploy. Jim grins like a fool. Blair is shocked and pleased. He apologizes for judging the brother and Brother Marcus says he would understand if Blair never speaks to him. Blair looks so cute when he says that a vow of silence is definitely not for him. One would think that our Blair tends to talk a bit much. I love that about him.

So this episode ends with Jim planning their next vacation in Las Vegas and the guys go off happily to have Brother Jeremy bless Jim's dice and maybe even his pool cue.

There it is. Vow of Silence. This episode spawned a lot of bloopers. It is hard to watch this episode and not have those darned things running through my mind. RB has such a potty mouth!

The End

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