Try, Try Trebuchet

"...and this is our story."

Opening scene: trebuchet of death (TOD) being inappropriately dragged across the farm by machinery not meant to perform such a task. Doesn't that just about say it all? I mean really - Matt being focused on finding level ground for the TOD seems rather ridiculous when you consider the fact that, level ground or not, this is an ancient weapons system that was known just as much for killing/maiming it's operators as the enemy. This doesn't belong on a farm in Oregon, let alone level ground on a farm in Oregon. It's like setting up a pumpkin guillotine for shits and giggles.

Not one minute in and the engineer MR has called in is asking what seems to be a very simple question "where does the pumpkin go?" which Matt can't answer. This leads to MR, basically, admitting that he's not a "details" sort of person and Mike handled that for him. The music gets weepy and MR reminds us that their good friend and, let's be frank, the person who (with Camarino) ran/runs the farm died fairly recently. Without Mike around to tell Matt what's going on, he's clueless. Matt goes on to say:
"For quite a while, we kind of sat there and stared at this trebuchet. Not quite sure what to do with it. But, eventually I decided we needed to finish it and fire it in honor of Mike."

Let's look at that statement with a bit more care and nod to Roloff Farm history. This trebuchet, aside from being hypothetically dangerous, actually is/was dangerous! This trebuchet obsession practically killed Jacob and Mike. The R family can downplay it all they want: this contraption left Mike with umpteen stitches and a concussion, as well as giving their youngest child a skull fracture that required emergency neurosurgery. I'm all for getting back on a horse if you fall down, but this is not the same thing. This is like letting a ten year old shoot himself with a loaded gun and then helping him build a new rifle to try again. As for the fallacy that this trebuchet was teaching Jacob important lessons and skills, all I can say is that I know plenty of people who learned carpentry and welding without sacrificing part of their skull to do it. With all of the construction on the farm, I can't imagine why the treb' was such a necessary "bonding" or learning tool. Back to Mike, though. Mike spent some of his last hours on earth working on this death trap. So sure...maybe it meant something to him to get it running again. But, Mike is no longer around to make sure this thing gets done right and Matt has proven himself incapable. I also doubt that Mike would've rebuilt it to begin with had Matt not cried out about how much he needed it for the pumpkin season. This was Matt's baby from the start. Pretending otherwise is simply that- pretending. Also telling is the unilateral "I decided" to finish it and fire it in honor of Mike. Were there not better ways to honor Mike? What did Jacob think of this? We'll get to that later...

We now get a shot of the TOD being locked and cocked for a trial run. In Matt's words, "we just had a disaster." Shouldn't that be, "We just had another disaster?" The treb' misfires horribly and bolts start breaking. Matt leans on his crutches and says he may think about not firing it this year. Truer words were never spoken! But this being Matt Roloff... he continues: "If there's any safety question at all, I'm not going to fire it." Please, please, please let him be sincere. Please?

Now we cut to Jeremy. He's cleaning up a portion of the Men's Crisis Center (which looks neglected and dusty like most everything else on the farm). Jeremy makes a crack about a chair that he's moving. It's the "Billy Barty chair." For those who don't know, Barty was a LP celebrity from the 30's on. He founded the LPA. Strangely, though,...and this is why I'm curious why Jeremy would call the chair the Billy Barty chair, BB was the butt of many, many jokes about dwarfism. To the less sensitive of humanity, he was a stereotype. Clearly, the chair Jeremy is holding has had the legs cut off to accomodate the LP Roloffs, but...why call it the Billy Barty chair? I hope the man actually sat in it or something. Otherwise, that's a really odd commentary about respect within the Roloff family. I liken it to an African-American family having a "Aunt Jemima chair". Why?

Nonetheless, Jeremy is being very productive...I think. He's removing the engine from his red car and wants his dad to come help him/watch him. Given Matt's history of fixing up cars and professed love of fixing things (not to mention spending time with his son), you'd think Matt would be all over this opportunity. Not so much. Jeremy approaches Matt, after specifying that Matt will probably spend most of the time criticizing him, and Matt looks like Jeremy just announced that he's keeping a prostitute in the barn. Matt, after having spend the morning sitting in the Mule watching other people fix the trebuchet, actually sneers! I'm not joking. Watch his face. He sneers. He tells Jeremy he's far too busy to take the time to do this right now. Yeah. All that back-seat-engineering and ordering Camarino around really takes a lot out of a guy. Buildling a TOD is far more important than paying attention to your son. Jeremy dejectedly walks away leaving Matt to fire up his computer. The screen appears to show Matt looking at a message board of some sort. Jeremy goes upstairs stating, "It's kind of frustrating, but you learn to deal with it. Whatev'." How sad is that?

Matt and Amy are now standing in the kitchen discussing the trebuchet.
Matt: Well, I've never missed Mike more than today.
Amy: Why's that?
Matt: Trying to get the trebuchet going.
Jake: Yeah, but you broke it!!!!

Okay, hold up! You've never missed Mike more because you can't get a POS death trap that almost killed said friend operational? Sweet Christ on a Cracker! My WTF meter just pegged out. This just proves that it really is all about Matt. You miss your friend the most when it inconveniences your hobby farming, "agri-tainment" agenda?
Kudos to Jake for mouthing off. Normally, I wouldn't endorse a child acting so obviously snotty, but the kid does call it like it is. Not only does he call Matt out, but he also demonstrates just what it is to truly grieve a friend when he is too emotional to entertain his dad's notions of putting this treb' repair as #1 on his sheet-to-worry-about list. Kudos to Amy for realizing that Jake is dealing with something very difficult and pointing it out to Matt, who remains oblivious.

More telling, Jacob tells Matt that the trebuchet "isn't even done" and Matt says "What do you mean?" He then hounds Jacob for not telling him where Mike was in the process of getting the TOD back on line. Um', dude! Matt, you're the dad and the "farmer". Why should your small child be keeping you in the loop? Why does he know more about this critical feature of your pumpkin biz' than you? Matt has the odacity to be peeved at Jacob for not wanting to discuss some of the last moments he spent with Mike. "Well, help me understand what the last basic step..." Matt, just shush! Of course, Matt doesn't shush and opines that Jacob wasn't spilling his guts because "Jacob might be looking for any reason for the trebuchet to be a failure." Wouldn't that be a hint to just let the treb' go? Let it go, Matt. Oh no. Matt decides this is the green light to "make it work".

The rest of the episode is really a "how not to make a trebuchet" tutorial. Matt hires a "welding expert" who supposedly inspects the entire trebuchet and "fixes it". Only, not really. The guy misses the fact that there's a significant structural defect in the welding that holds that ton of concrete on the trebuchet. At the next firing, the contraption almost destroys itself. The cement block that almost decapitated Mike and Jacob snaps a supporting timber like a twig! Is Matt deterred? Nope. When will this man stop? When will Amy demand he stop? Who has to die? After what looks like several days and a new construction, they get the trebuchet to fire a very small pumpkin and Matt declares a victory. Stay tuned - I don't think the trebuchet drama is over.

Meanwhile on the farm, Jeremy fixes his car. Matt finally takes notice at the very end. Better late than never?