Love and Contracts

It's interesting how often writer David E. Kelley wove reflections on criticisms of the show into the writing on Ally McBeal. Most often, this leads to episodes about Ally's microscopic skirt. Last night I watched an episode from February 1999 called "Pyramids on the Nile" in which the characters of the Cage and Fish law firm acknowledge they do seem to handle an awful lot of sexual harassment lawsuits.

Season two of Ally McBeal seems to shift from broadly comedic episodes to the courtroom dramas Kelley is more talented at writing. The above closing argument would've been more effective without the Barry White moment. But it's an interesting time capsule anyway since we now live in a time in which bans on workplace flirtation are the norm. In 1999, there wasn't really the alternative of internet dating sites but John's point about prospective romantic partners meeting only in situations where they reveal just the "pina colada sides of themselves" remains relevant. Getting to know someone in the workplace means seeing how they act under pressure, seeing how disciplined they are, how gracious they can be in the face of adversity, and a million other things that people may not even know about themselves to decide whether or not to include in a dating profile or tavern chat up. The workplace romance is sacrificed because a few people can't act like adults. Perhaps to-day even fewer can because they've been isolated from learning organically from experience.

The episode has a subplot about Ally and Billy wanting to hook up despite Billy now being married to Georgia. Part of the series premise is that Ally and Billy were each others' first loves so there's tension because they work together. I've been thinking about the very existence of love recently after reading someone may have claimed it does not exist. If that were true, that basically means Ally and Billy are wrestling over a delusion of some kind. Or maybe the widespread belief in something effectively makes it real?

I don't know but having been in relationships where I was always happy to watch and listen to the other person talk about anything they cared to I don't have any trouble believing in love. Surely we can agree attraction and fondness exist at the very least. If you can love a pizza topping, why not a human, only with a greater intensity commensurate with the complexity of a human being?