Uncle Joe - Opinions please...

[pete2013]

I’d be very interested if anyone could explain their understanding of what is going on at the end of “Uncle Joe”. 

From the point where Joe Rimmington (David Hemmings) says

“…I’d better ask my fiancée”

To the point where when Dora asks

“Will I see you again?” and Tina (Lynne Frederick) answers “No”.

Many thanks

pete2013

[Jane]

Dora clearly fancies Joe Rimmington and there is a spark between them so I think Dora hoped they might get together. Unfortunately her hopes are dashed when he mentions his fiance. Steve laughs in a nasty way and Tina comes to the rescue by saying about her fiance which upsets Steve as he fancied Tina!

I'm not sure if Dora and Tina could have ever become good friends but certainly I think it was a case of girls sticking together at that point.

That's how I see it anyway 

[Loopy]

Here is my interpretation pete2013...


In 'The Bridge Builder' Dora was very upset and jealous that Steve and Tina fancied each other but she decided not to behave badly as she had when Steve was seeing Wendy, and spoil it for them.  She therefore suffered in silence about their relationship.  Joe Rimmington noticed how sad and lonely she was and was kind to her, talking and listening.  Dora then (I think) got the wrong end of the stick and thought Joe fancied her in an emotional way and she thought/hoped he had feelings for her. This was why she was so upset when Joe mentioned he had a girlfriend and she knew she had misread him. 

Steve had become very jealous every time Dora was with Joe and he started behaving badly (a sort of role reversal), hence the reason for his very nasty laugh when Joe mentioned his girlfriend.  I believe that Steve was shocked/surprised by the feelings he was experiencing - he was not a 'heart' person but a 'head' person so his deep jealousy (love?) feelings must have been very confusing for him.

In the meantime, Tina saw how hurt Dora was and realised that Dora was in love with Steve.  She therefore quickly said she had a boyfriend (when really she didn't) to hurt Steve as he had just hurt Dora by laughing.  I think Tina genuinely liked Dora and didn't want to 'step on her toes' when she realised how much in love Dora was with Steve.  Tina answered 'no' for the same reasons.

This was a very emotional episode where I think Steve and Dora seemed to be trying to hurt each other - there's a very fine line between love and hate!


Phew!!!  Sorry I've gone on a bit.  It will be interesting to hear others' views.   

[Sabrina]

I agree for the most part with Loopy. But...I think that Dora had come to realise she and Steve could never be a couple no matter how much she loved him, and while she was jealous of Steve and Tina, there was no point making a scene, so she became wthdrawn and sad. It's hard to let go but she was trying very hard to; being grownup about it.  When Joe came along - well-known, wealthy, someone  of a background not dissimilar to her own - Dora's interest was awakened. It could never work with Steve, but here was a man who loved horses who was taking an interest in her...

I think Dora's happiness with Joe was like a knife in the heart for Steve. Despite knowing he and Dora could never make a go of it, he loved her. He mightn't be able to have her but the sight of someone else making her happy was too much to bear - even with pretty Tina to console him. That nasty laugh-!

Tina truly was the bridge builder. There was quite a deep chasm between Steve and Dora by the time Joe mentioned his girlfriend, and Tina could see they had very deep feelings for each other. I think she could have fallen for Steve, but she could see his heart was already full of Dora, and that Dora loved Steve, Joe or not Joe.

[jm]

I think you are right Sabrina, Dora tries to forget Steve and Steve is absolutely jealous and realices that he love's Dora altough they never will be a pair.

[Pen.]

I think you are both right Loopy and Sabrina. I also think it's important not to forget that Joe had been one of Dora's girlhood heroes and she already had a huge crush on him. When she met him and seemed to really connect she saw it for so much more than it was. For Steve it was yet another reminder of the world Dora came from and the gulf between them.

[Loopy]

... Joe had been one of Dora's girlhood heroes and she already had a huge crush on him.

Yes, Pen, an important point that I had overlooked.   

[sue]

Well done, Jane, Loopy, Sabrina and Pen.....

I think between you, you've managed an excellent synopsis of the episode.  Couldn't have explained it better myself.

Hope this helps, pete2013

 

[pete2013]

Thank you to EVERYONE.

I have been waiting for as many responses as possible and refrained from explaining the reason for my request in case it influenced them.

Joe took an interest in Dora but I could not decide whether this was romantic, friendly or borne of empathy/“intellectual curiosity”.  He observed Dora keenly, almost as if assessing her qualities and was surprisingly intimate, bearing in mind they had only just met.  Yet, his attentions were not overtly amorous.  Joe was clearly older than Dora, but not so much as to encourage anyone to think his interest was likely to be fatherly. 

After Steve’s rude and aggressive reaction to Joe’s continued presence – it was clear to Joe that he was intruding on a “situation” between Dora and Steve.  Joe essentially cleared the field for both of them by openly referring to a fiancée; I could not decide whether this was a gentlemanly withdrawal of romantic intentions - using a fictitious fiancée (in the way Tina did with “Pedro”) - or to correct an actual misunderstanding about his intentions for Dora.

After Steve’s cruel laughter which drove Dora to the point of distress and Tina’s deft move to comfort Dora - while at the same time announcing her withdrawal as a competitor for Steve and cutting Steve down – I could not decide whether Steve was stung by the revelation itself or because he realized what he had just done.

In light of the above, I should any further comments would be welcome.

I should also be interested if anyone can give their understanding of Dora’s words to Tina at the end:

“I knew you’d understand.  Same with Steve wasn’t it?”

Many thanks

pete2013

[pete2013]

...or rather, paragraph six should read:

"In light of the above, any further comments would be welcome."

pete2013

[Jane]

I should also be interested if anyone can give their understanding of Dora’s words to Tina at the end:

“I knew you’d understand.  Same with Steve wasn’t it?”

I guess she meant that Tina understood Dora's feelings for Joe, as well as Steve. Call it womens intuition if you like. I think women notice that sort of thing more than men do

[Loopy]

I have wondered whether Dora was referring to 'crushes on the older man'?  After all, Steve was a somewhat older than Tina as she was still at school.  Just a thought. 

[pete2013]

Jane, Loopy,

I couldn’t decide whether Dora was referring to the general situation between herself and Steve or specifically to the preceding incident when Joe revealed that he was spoken for.  You have confirmed it was more likely to be the latter. 

Dora actually meant to say:

“I knew you’d understand how I felt when I found out Joe was already in love with someone else”

“It was the same for you with Steve wasn’t it?”

Thank you.

pete2013