MovieChat Forums > In Plain Sight (2008) Discussion > Abby no, Marshall + Mary yes.

Abby no, Marshall + Mary yes.

posted 12 years ago by francestierette
35 replies | jump to latest

I don’t mean to be a hater but I think it’s interesting the way they have written the character of Abby. To me, she is really annoying! Is this intentional? Everything she says is a perfectly scripted cutesy/clever little line – like… this is what the perfect Marshall Mann girlfriend would say or act like in this situation:… She doesn’t have any depth to her, it’s as if they didn’t really want us to get to know and like her because she’s going to be gone. And that pasted-on smile & corny southern belle accent! Yuck. (And I am from the south!) Is this what the writers were going for with the character? Someone who, on paper, seems to match-up with Marshall really well - book club, board games, etc. So that it’s one of those “he-knows-he-should-love-her-the-only-problem-is-that-he-doesn’t” situations. ? While it’s important to have some common interests, who wants to marry themselves? I hope that now that they’ve specifically NOT made a character we can know/like, they DON’T have the two end up together.
Even though the writers have avoided the will-they-or-won’t-they physical attraction thing between Mary and Marshall so far, it would only take one well-written scene to reveal an attraction that the two had previously buried - trying not to think of each other that way as their lives depended on each other as partners. I mean c’mon - she is very pretty and he is a good-looking, well-built guy… it’s not like they would have never thought of it!

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] ldddhunter 12 years ago

i am from new orleans, louisiana - not sure where abby's character is from; i know its the south but we certainly don't talk like abby (i often get mistaken that esp from tourists that i am from boston, new england, places like that, they never believe me when i say i was born and raised here). the actress is adorable she's prob from somewhere that ppl have that twang when they speak. my husband is from northern louisiana - monroe; and he has an accent much more thick than mine. anyway i like the op's post its about time they address the marshall/mary attraction - if its still there.

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[–] kinglet 12 years ago

rockingmule writes:

"I like Abby, but the track record on the show is for engaged couples to break up, so I don't know if she and Marshall will make it to the altar."

Actually I think it goes deeper than that. The track record on the show (so far) is for engaged couples to break up who are NOT suited for each other. Or, in the case of Peter and Brandi, who aren't YET suited for each other.

Brandi always had that borderline addictive behavior, and a tendency to seek out unworthy companions (as they're called in rehab-speak). Peter was the first person we know of who she's ever paired off with who was in recovery. The potential is there for a good match, but Brandi had too many unresolved issues. With the right tools and self-awareness Brandi could still come back and be with Peter, if he's still willing. If not she'll finally be capable of happiness regardless. Real happiness, not the cheerfulness or perkiness that she's fueled herself with previously.

A marriage between Raphael and Mary would have been a catastrophe. As often happens in real life you have two great people who care for each other, but Raph did the right thing calling it off. He went out and found someone who is much like Mary, but who wanted what he wants.

A marriage between Abigail and Marshall would be sad to see, because it would be the end of much of what Mary and Marshall have had all this time. Abby is not going to continue to let Mary take such a prominent place in Marshall's life. With a ring on her finger she'll start forcing Marshall to choose, though he probably thinks that the way she's been so far is the way she'll be as his wife. But what wife would allow her husband to run off from virtually any and every situation or event the instant his partner needed him for personal reasons? Because so often that's why Mary really calls him.

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[–] kinglet 12 years ago

kbrwnlove writes:

"Screw Mary. She has had all this Marshall-goodness at her beck-and-call all this time, and she flubbed it."

She has, and she has.

"Who cares if a Marshall and Abby’s marriage makes her sad? No one’s marriage should EVER be about what’s good for someone else. Marriage is a twosome; not a threesome. (Well, usually, anyway)."

I didn't mean Marshall's marriage to Abby would make Mary sad. I expressed myself poorly. I meant it would be sad to see Marshall forced to choose between a wife and a work wife, because right now he obviously doesn't see that coming; he doesn't see this situation as a problem for Abigail or him. Or more realistically, he hasn't been admitting it could ever be a problem and is kidding himself that everything will go on as it is now.

If Abigail isn't the love of his life - and to me she's more like his sister if he had one - he would end up losing both kinds of connection. And his relationship with each woman would become something less. But hey, no guts, no glory.

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[–] ldddhunter 12 years ago

i would love if in the finale they did a five year jump in the last few minutes of the finale - showing mary happily married w/someone (maybe that hot guy) and having another child w/him, also showing norah being five yrs old or so; marshall/abby married also w/a child (a little boy of course) of their own and stan still dating or married to his dance teacher, basically all the main characters on the show. of course mary's mom and sister would be there as well....i just want it to end showing that mary/marshall are still best friends but both have married but remained close friends in the end. i just want mary to be happy in the end too, not that she needs a man - she's got her beautiful baby norah; but it would be cool to have a five year jump showing mary in love and finally married (settled down)... ppl may not like this 5 yr jump but it has worked in other series finales.

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[–] solesister 12 years ago

jeez, lighten up. These are fictional characters on a fictional TV show.

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[–] julietrecamier 12 years ago

Oh my gosh, I am from Boston and I can assure you I don't sound a thing like you. The Boston accent is the most recognized in the country. I have been in LA, GA, and FL, CA, and SC via the military, and people always know from where I roam.

That said, my friends from LA probably sound like you.

[–] ih8tt 12 years ago

Someone who, on paper, seems to match-up with Marshall really well - book club, board games, etc. So that it’s one of those “he-knows-he-should-love-her-the-only-problem-is-that-he-doesn’t” situations. ? While it’s important to have some common interests, who wants to marry themselves?

I agree, when Marshall made the LotR reference and Abby chimed in and Marshall said, 'you get me,' my thought was that Abby may 'get' your references, but does she really get you the way Mary does? Mary ridicules his nerdiness, but he keeps saying things like that and she hasn't decked him, so she can't hate it that much, or I think he would have backed off...can you build a life on nerd references? doubt it

[–] thesnowleopard 12 years ago

It's not just you. My problem with Abby is that she has no existence, no substance, outside of her construction as the perfect Anti-Mary. Aside from being Marshall's go-to girlfriend, she has no agency in the story. Sure, she's sweet and all, but she never came alive for me as a real character. She lacks any depth, which always makes me suspect evil subtext that really doesn't seem to be there, just because she's just too damned *perfect*. Nobody is that perfect.

I mean, look at Stan--he's Mary's boss, but he also has a life of his own. The whole thing with his dance instructor (which I liked) was about him, not about his relationship with Mary. I don't think we've ever seen Abby have a storyline like that.

I think that's why it seems to keep coming down to a false either/or choice of Abby or Mary. While I enjoyed the shipping in the earlier seasons, I'm not *that* wedded to Mary and Marshall ending up together. The show's about Mary and it's not as though *not* ending up with Marshall would leave her alone and bitter. Her life's pretty full these days.

But I just can't get behind Marshall and Abby getting married. I'd be more satisfied if he and Mary continued as partners but not lovers and Abby went away, or even if Marshall and Mary got together with other people down the road. Just don't have Marshall walk down the aisle with the perfect Barbie doll cop character that creeps me out every time she's onscreen. And I think that's entirely down to the writers having too much of their own ambivalence about Abby and what she represented to make her someone we liked on her own terms.

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[–] Daphnaae 12 years ago

To all the Abby shippers:

Has Marshall been able to bring himself to say those three most important words? I've heard "me too" alot...but never an "I love you" to Abby. Not even during his proposal. Or did I miss something?

I'd rather be a smartass than a dumb one!

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[–] Daphnaae 12 years ago

No, what we're saying is...why can't he bring himself to say it? He's not shy about expressing himself for the most part. God knows he should be able to quote all the major poets (and most of the minor ones) if he feels a simple "I love you" is inadequate. But "me too"? That's a major flashing sign that something isn't right.

I'd rather be a smartass than a dumb one!

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[–] kinglet 12 years ago

rockingmule writes:

"Talk is cheap, and in my opinion, Marshall's actions towards Abby have been loud enough."

Your real life examples are dead on, (I could add a few of my own). But in Marshall's case it is his actions toward Abigail that have signaled something less than true love, because they're all reactions. She's done all the heavy lifting in the relationship to move things forward. The one exception is his proposal - he arranged that himself, but he roped Mary into helping stage it. He rightly kept it private even from her, but still, what was it about making a simple reservation phone call to the indoor gun range that required Mary's participation? Nada. He involved his "work wife" for no real reason.

I see nothing but subliminal and symbolic red flags, even without Papa Mann's input.

[–] ih8tt 12 years ago

I agree, kinglet, I think he's 'settling' for Abby because he thinks/knows he can't/shouldn't be with Mary, and Abby is nice, she's (for now, at least) comfortable with his relationship with Mary (and the way he'll leave at any time of the day or night when she calls...possibly because he understands how fiercely independent Mary wants to be, so if she's calling for something personal, she really needs him), and, as Daddy Mann pointed out, she is the 'kind of woman his parents always wanted him to bring home.' She's adequate, I bare no ill will towards her, and she loves Marshall, but I don't know if he'll truly be happy and satisfied with her.

I want to add something...I doubt Abby would ever wonder if Marshall cheated on her by sleeping with Mary (Marshall is too noble a man for that, he's committed to Abby and that will be that), but there is such a thing as an emotional affair, and the way he feels about and is devoted to Mary, I think that is a definite possibility...in fact, I believe it's been going on the whole time he's known Abby. Whether Abby will stand for that, I don't think we know her character well enough to say, other than that she seems to have handled it so far, but once rings go on, her feelings may change (and she may not even be aware that that could happen to her, she may be in denial).

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[–] kinglet 12 years ago

rockingmule writes:

"You know, Kinglet, I thought it was weird that Marshall couldn't pick up the phone and make a reservation for himself. I couldn't believe he was nagging Mary about it. I still think it's bizarre."

Yeah, two things keep bugging me about that proposal. Not that I didn't think it was clever, but somehow:

1) If someone told me to imagine Marshall proposing marriage, I would kind of guess it would involve poetry before I'd guess it would involve weaponry. Though either he or Abigail did say something about how it was her favorite range, if memory serves.

2) I just can't get past the real puzzler, his use of Mary to set up what should have been one of the memorable events in his and Abigail's relationship. Marshall is such a competent, organized person, we never see him use Mary as his admin assistant. A co-conspirator in a practical joke maybe, but not this.

I have no real thoughts about it beyond just noting it though.

[–] LeeRoss1 12 years ago

I was shattered by the horrible conclusion of the series! Mary and Marshal were destined to express their passion for one another and I was anticipating a tender love scene between them to close out their story. What actually happened was a beautiful opportunity for the two of them was tragically missed! At least Law and Order: Criminal Intent ended with Bobby and Alex driving off together after exchanging loving looks and coming close to consumating their relationship physically. It was clear where their relationship was going in the closing scene. In Plain Signt ended on an unpleasant note of complete and utter outrage coupled with devastating disappointment.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] kinglet 12 years ago

"Well, next time a guy gives a girl a diamond ring and asks her to marry him, pay closer attention. That's a pretty good clue that he's NOT in love with the other girl."

Fine for those willing to ignore subtext, symbolism, and instinctive actions on the part of one character that point to his true feelings. Conflicted emotions are the very stuff of rich storytelling. The people in charge of this show set us up for Marshall's epiphany just a week ago, then threw it aside in the finale. Those of us who are feeling whiplash are not ignoring what was onscreen, but reacting to it.

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[–] kinglet 12 years ago

"There's a difference between noting subtext and symbolism, and seeing something that wasn't there because that's what you want to see."

My point exactly.

"For two years, the producers have been working towards Marshall and Abby winding up together, and Marshall and Mary just being friends."

No, they've been teasing fans who their demographics show have been pretty loyal from the start. And never more so than in the next-to-last episode. There's not a critic or reviewer this season or any other who missed that element of what continued to make the show compelling.

"They concluded with those outcomes. It will forever be the canon of the show that Marshall and Mary did not wind up together."

And more's the pity.

"Anyone unhappy with that official outcome is welcome to address their frustration with fan fiction. It's not what really happened, but it's something."

I'm not frustrated, I'm disappointed at the laziness of the people in whose hands this gem of a show ended up. Or would that be perverseness? As for fan fiction it's not something I've ever had time for.

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[–] dblackman70 12 years ago

I thought the finale - while it had some lovely touches - was awful and somewhat ruined the whole series for me after 5 years. The romantic feelings - whether you choose to see them or not - between Marshall and Mary were always evident from the start and promised so much. Marshall just seemed to be settling for second best with Abby. They didn't have to get Marshall and Mary together at the end, but, just given us some certainty that it would happen in the future. It was a disappointing cop out

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[–] airnikki 12 years ago

Even though I thought it would end up that way, I never wanted Mary and Marshall to be together. Other than work, the don't have anything in common. They are completly different in every way. I can't imaging that "tender love scene between them", especially not Mary.

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[–] Btrixkiddo35 11 years ago

It's funny you can see that this particular Abby/Marshall shipper was so delusional they appear to have been kicked off of IMDB (probably for more delusional behavior)

I actually loathed Abby, she had no real substance and just came off as a YES girl. She does anything to please her man even betray her true self just to get the guy. I thought she was a pathetic idiot!

I heard someone say, "Carlos Estevez looks JUST like Charlie Sheen!" Good grief...

[–] beaujeabeau 8 years ago

So they didn't get married? I'm only just about to finish the last episode of the 1st season, but since I really cannot stand Brandi, I was just checking if I were the only one she makes their hands itch. Everyone is talking bout some Abby, and by the comments I meanwhile figured out she's a character Marshall hooks up with, and can't count on too much love from the viewers; I can hardly imagine there's going to be a character that annoys me more than Brandi tbh, mann.. I could slap the living daylights out of her, with the greatest of pleasures, ugh! I always liked watching Lesley Ann Warren, but to be fair, they alway cast her the same, as a neurotic (but likable) dingbat, and I really think she can do so much more; she looks great for a woman in her (then) mid 60's though..
PS: I've just finished the season 1 finale, hahahahaha... I wonder what will happen if someone takes a nosedive during a game! :D