Invoking the future
The prevalence of cosmetic surgery and photo-shopped images implies a need to appear forever young even as one continues to age.
More accurately, what it is occurring is a general admission that life is finished, over, dead!
Life is about constant change and development, triumphs and defeats – even, if we are lucky, moments of perfection, however transitory and, of course, imperfections. A willingness to experience all the vicissitudes of life not only keeps us engaged but adds value and meaning to what might otherwise appear ordinary and mundane.
To disengage with life is merely death. To seek this disengagement is suicide, plain and simple.
As overjoyed as his mother may be – daddy seems less so, maybe because he, on some level, recognises what it means – Billy’s return in precisely the same state of being as when he disappeared all those years ago, is a clear indication of his death. It is understandable that Lisa Underwood is unable to accept this reality, but her unwillingness to question the miracle of Billy’s return implies that she too may have her suspicions.
The title of the episode, ‘Invocation’, gives us pause for thought. Ariel Weiss’ raising of the golem in ‘Kaddish’ was an invocation, the act of summoning by speaking certain, probably ritualised, words. Thus, we must wonder, who spoke the words of invocation that brought Billy back? Of course, the most likely candidate is his mother, for she is the one who has never quite moved on with life, the one more able to simply accept his return.
If Billy’s disappearance was the cause of Lisa’s disengagement from life, as seems likely, it is reasonable that she would want him returned as he was so that her life can continue, almost as if nothing had happened. Her motivation is easy to understand for she it was who was supposed to be taking care of her child when she allowed herself to be distracted by her conversation with a friend. Billy’s snatching was made possible by Lisa’s inattention. No surprise that she would find it difficult to accept her culpability. Better by far if the whole thing had never happened!
How selfish could she possibly be?
For Lisa to have her way the lives of others must be negated. Josh, her younger son, is clearly of lesser importance to her than the child she lost. Upon Billy’s return, Josh disappears from her parental gaze. Little wonder that Josh too becomes a victim of the same monster who stole away Billy’s life.
This, then, is Billy’s message to his mother – that she stop fixating on that which is dead and focus on the living, those lives that will carry you forward into the future, those who will continue to change that future as they add meaning and value to your life as they discover it in their own.
Having one’s face fixed in a time before life changed it, to take away the evidence of a life lived for the sake of a life still longed for, is little more than making the choice to disengage with life, to hold on to what is lost at the cost of what is to be gained.
More accurately, what it is occurring is a general admission that life is finished, over, dead!
Life is about constant change and development, triumphs and defeats – even, if we are lucky, moments of perfection, however transitory and, of course, imperfections. A willingness to experience all the vicissitudes of life not only keeps us engaged but adds value and meaning to what might otherwise appear ordinary and mundane.
To disengage with life is merely death. To seek this disengagement is suicide, plain and simple.
As overjoyed as his mother may be – daddy seems less so, maybe because he, on some level, recognises what it means – Billy’s return in precisely the same state of being as when he disappeared all those years ago, is a clear indication of his death. It is understandable that Lisa Underwood is unable to accept this reality, but her unwillingness to question the miracle of Billy’s return implies that she too may have her suspicions.
The title of the episode, ‘Invocation’, gives us pause for thought. Ariel Weiss’ raising of the golem in ‘Kaddish’ was an invocation, the act of summoning by speaking certain, probably ritualised, words. Thus, we must wonder, who spoke the words of invocation that brought Billy back? Of course, the most likely candidate is his mother, for she is the one who has never quite moved on with life, the one more able to simply accept his return.
If Billy’s disappearance was the cause of Lisa’s disengagement from life, as seems likely, it is reasonable that she would want him returned as he was so that her life can continue, almost as if nothing had happened. Her motivation is easy to understand for she it was who was supposed to be taking care of her child when she allowed herself to be distracted by her conversation with a friend. Billy’s snatching was made possible by Lisa’s inattention. No surprise that she would find it difficult to accept her culpability. Better by far if the whole thing had never happened!
How selfish could she possibly be?
For Lisa to have her way the lives of others must be negated. Josh, her younger son, is clearly of lesser importance to her than the child she lost. Upon Billy’s return, Josh disappears from her parental gaze. Little wonder that Josh too becomes a victim of the same monster who stole away Billy’s life.
This, then, is Billy’s message to his mother – that she stop fixating on that which is dead and focus on the living, those lives that will carry you forward into the future, those who will continue to change that future as they add meaning and value to your life as they discover it in their own.
Having one’s face fixed in a time before life changed it, to take away the evidence of a life lived for the sake of a life still longed for, is little more than making the choice to disengage with life, to hold on to what is lost at the cost of what is to be gained.
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