Jencyclopedia

A woman wants to recreate her fantasy from four years ago, because she fell in love with ~some guy she met on the island~ and didn’t tell him.
A man wants to be an over-the-top tough guy hero.

I’ve never commented on this, but it’s bugged me since the beginning; it seems like they use the same stock sound effect of girls giggling every. damn. episode. and I hate it.

I had some idea that this was the Helena episode, so I’m not totally surprised… but I am intrigued.

Tattoo: There must be some mistake; this lady was here before, and you never let anyone come back twice on Fantasy Island.

I feel like there are counter-examples to this, and I don’t mean like Nyah or the Devil, and I don’t mean like Barbi Benton either. But maybe I just saw the opening of this episode before, and that’s what I’m remembering.

Tattoo: Then how come her fantasy was not completed?
Roarke: Because while she was here the first time, she met a man and fell in love. A love she never revealed to anyone.

Wow, they really undersold that intro. Either that, or this is going to be a disappointing story.

Roarke: I assure you, Mrs. Marsh, the world is filled with secret loves.
[Helena looks down awkwardly.]
[Roarke looks down awkwardly.]
[Tattoo has no idea what’s going on.]
[Helena looks away.]

Helena Marsh: Were you really able to make things exactly the same as they were last four years?
Roarke: As much as possible, but uh, many things have, of course, changed.

Pfft, yeah. Four years ago, Roarke’s office probably had the door on the right, and only one window, and it was on the second floor — considering how often his office seems to change. I was just watching a bit of a season five episode, and he’s got three windows instead of two — which is not terribly hard to explain away, because they could definitely fit another window between the two existing ones, but I’m annoyed by it anyway.

I’m trying to figure out if Ricardo Montalban is playing this like Roarke knows or not. I don’t know, can Roarke read people’s minds? Wait, he’s a Q — of course he can. Not that they’ve ever explicitly said that Q can read people’s minds, but —

Ahhh! I just realized that the end of “Hide & Q”, Riker (who had the power of the Q) granted everyone’s fantasies. And Q grants Data’s fantasy at the end of “Deja Q”. Oh man.

What was I talking about? Right. There were those awkward looks, but Roarke seems to be acting like he doesn’t know she loves him. But surely he does knows; Roarke knows all.

Roarke: Among the designers and the newsmen and the spectators are the same three very eligible bachelors who were here the first time.
[Helena looks disappointed.]

I wonder when they’re gonna reveal the twist? But yeah, no, Roarke knows; he’s just being Roarke and pretending to not know.

I’m kinda disappointed that I know the twist, because I wonder if I woulda figured it out if I hadn’t known. I think they’ve done a really good job making it not totally obvious but also leaving definite clues.

Does Roarke hypnotizing people become a thing? I remember Tattoo later trying to hypnotize someone, saying he’s seen Roarke do it dozens of times, but I’d never actually seen Roarke do it.

This “toughest man” fantasy does not seem like the kind of fantasy that would typically interest me, but it’s so over the top that I might actually enjoy it.

This Helena chick is kinda dumb; she knows she only gets one weekend here, and she’s spending all her time on the fashion show and not on her actual fantasy.

They always make Tattoo out to be dumb, but he was the first one to figure out what was up with Helena.

Hm, maybe Roarke didn’t know. After all, he seemed to genuinely not realize Larry’s girlfriend was gonna fall in love with him in 7×1 “The Other Man – Mr. Roarke”, same with the chick who threw a penny in the fountain. I think that’s a trope, that some people are very insightful about other people, but not so much when it comes to themselves.

There was a shot of Roarke walking along the water with no dialogue or anything, just like that one shot of him walking by the waterfall a few episodes ago. I’d like to imagine that when they shot the pilot, they just spent a day shooting B roll of Roarke walking past things.

That seems like an overly large bowtie.

The next time we see Roarke after Tattoo tells him his suspicion about Helena, Roarke is “looking out over the ocean” because he “had some thinking to do”. I know it’s kinda early for me to start complaining, but they haven’t convinced me yet that Roarke has any reason to fall in love with Helena. Now, sure, I don’t know what happened four years ago, but so far, he’s treated her like any other guest.

Roarke: I believe this is the dance Mrs. Marsh has promised me.

He’s still calling her Mrs. Marsh, but to be fair, they were in front of other people when he said this.

Helena Marsh: Is something wrong?
Roarke: No, it’s just that under this well-practiced facade of calm and poise, I feel like a teenage boy on his first date.

I don’t like this line at all; I don’t feel like Roarke would talk about himself this way. Roarke is pretty modest around the guests, even though he’s basically a god, and I don’t think he would describe himself as “poised”, because that seems like too positive an attribute for him to ascribe to himself. If Roarke was describing himself, he would use very matter-of-fact, neutral words. He doesn’t really ever talk about himself or how he feels — unless he’s telling Tattoo that he’s annoyed with him.

Helena Marsh: Why?
Roarke: Because of something my friend, Tattoo, suspects. Uh… I’m almost afraid to say it.
Helena Marsh: What?
Roarke: That I could be the man you came back to Fantasy Island for.
Helena Marsh: And if that’s true?
Roarke: Then the fantasy I’ve had for four years will finally come true as well.

This is even worse, because this is a pretty strong statement — he’s been pining for her for four years?! And he gave no indication this whole episode? And he had to ~look out over the ocean and think about it~?

Okay, so Roarke is Whatever He Is, and he shouldn’t be getting attached to mortals (like he scolded his buddy Michael the Angel for doing) so yes, he would have to think about what he’s going to do about Helena. But he arranged her fantasy, he brought her here, he arranged the menu, the venue, the seating — the time to think about what he was gonna do was before granting her second fantasy.

Maybe if this episode only had one story instead of two, maybe this story would have worked, because then they would have had enough time to show them falling in love. But this is a complicated story to tell in just 24 minutes.

Hey, Wally gets some more lines! He also gets around; he’s here at the bar, he was at the buffet earlier, and I think he might have been at the pool too.

I didn’t think we were gonna get a mid-episode Roarke/Tattoo shenanigans scene, since Roarke is so involved in the fantasy this time. It’s weird to go from an emotional scene of Roarke and Helena dancing, and then suddenly cut to Tattoo complaining about someone stealing his wallet.

I’m starting to suspect Pepper is the thief, although I don’t know how she could steal the car. Oh, I was close — it was Chester. Is “you stupid monkey” a recurring phrase now?

Roarke: I have other business to attend to.

Roarke: You can either get in now and have a ride back to the main house, or stay here.
Tattoo: It’s a very long walk.

Tattoo sounds malicious here, which is unusual for him — but this guy’s cheque apparently bounced, so that’s a completely valid reaction from Tattoo in this scenario.

Roarke: If you must know, my friend… Helena’s the reason I must get back.

There we go — he called her by her first name; he means business.

Aww, oh my god, Tattoo is so sad! So it’s gonna turn out that Roarke doesn’t leave the island with Helena because of Tattoo, right?

Jamie Marsh: Mom and Mr. Roarke, they’re going to be married!

Maybe this is just me, but I think you should know the first name of the dude you’re planning to marry.

Tattoo: I will clean my room out as soon as I finish here.
Helena Marsh: Tattoo, why?
Tattoo: Why? You don’t have to draw me a picture. The boss is getting married; this is gonna be your house now.

I’ve always assumed Roarke lived in this house, but now that I think about it, there’s never really been any definite proof. This seems to indicate both Roarke and Tattoo live in this house. Did Julie and Lawrence live here too? Does Wally live here?

Helena Marsh: You were going to be the first person we told after Jamie.
Roarke: Oh, yes!

The way Roarke says this sounds like it’s a lie.

Helena Marsh: We love you Tattoo, and we want you to go on living here in this house just like you always have.

We now definitely know Tattoo lives in this house, but it’s actually not totally clear if Roarke lives there; technically, he could have another house, and this could just be his office and Tattoo’s house. I think it’s safe to assume Roarke lives here too though; I’m not gonna be that nitpicky about it.

Why would Roarke do this to himself, and Helena for that matter, if he loves her so much? He let these people on his island; he knew they were gonna come take Helena away.

Whoa. Major moment here. Roarke is looking out a window towards the fountain. This window has shutters. In the background, there’s a light green wall, a painting on the wall, and a lamp. This is not Roarke’s office; this is that stupid room/hallway he looks out in the opening sequence.

This is the first time there’s been an actual scene in this room, at least since I started paying attention to layout of this house. And Roarke was able to very quickly get from this room to the front door, which would seem to indicate that this hallway is connected to the front door (which is logical, but it’s nice to have proof). Although, Roarke can teleport, but does Helena know that? Does Helena know the layout of this house and how long it would take for him to get from the window to the door?

Roarke: I could give you the money to repair the hospital, Helena.

Don’t let Tattoo hear you say that.

Tattoo: Boss, tell me something I don’t understand. You know everything on Fantasy Island. You must have known that the newspaper, once he saw Mrs. Marsh in the fashion show, he would call India. They’ve been looking for her for a long time.

Yeah, boss, what’s the deal?

Roarke: Yes, Tattoo, I knew.
Tattoo: If you love her so much, why did you let that happen?
Roarke: Don’t you understand, my friend? It’s because I do love her that I had to let it happen.

Ehhh… okay, I guess what they’re getting at is that Helena wouldn’t be happy if she stayed on Fantasy Island, and she needs to go back to India and save the children.

But that’s bullshit. Who wouldn’t be happy on Fantasy Island? She could still help people there, just in a different way. A lot of guests end up helping other less fortunate people, so she could persuade Roarke to grant fantasies of people who will end up going to India and helping those same children she would have helped if she hadn’t stayed.

So, yeah. I don’t buy the romance, but that’s pretty typical for a Fantasy Island story (or any story really). I just kinda hoped they’d do a better job with Roarke being involved in the romance this time — especially considering what happens the next time Helena shows up.

Helena is Marie Picard, which is… weird.

• Tattoo has no faith:
  • Tattoo: That guy? Oh, boss, why don’t you forget the whole thing?
    Roarke: Your faith could move a mole hill.
• Roarke’s drink: yellow with a lemon slice
• Ominous shot of Roarke raising his drink: nope
• Recurring phrases:
  • Roarke: Have faith, Mr. Emerson, this is Fantasy Island.
  • Roarke: Your fantasy is over, Mr. Emerson.
• Magic object:
  • Roarke: It is said that uh, Samson, before facing the Philistines, harnessed his inner strength with a draft very similar to this one.
• That’s weird; we never had that before:
  • A “previous” guest returns.
  • Mr. Roarke hypnotizes someone.
  • Mr. Roarke falls in love.
• Monkeying around: Chester steals Tattoo’s car.
• Recurring characters: Wally
• First name basis: Helena
• Surprise guest: Nana
• Leaving with an extra guest:
  • Tony Emerson with Anna (“You think there might be an extra seat on the plane today?”)
  • Helena and Jamie Marsh with Nana