Emily Jones

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

I would be delighted, TS! To hear your thoughts, not be called Po Fo. Jeremiah is a perfectly good name and I have no grudge against it, everyone. So call me that or Pound Foolish. Or, *sigh*, PF, if you need those valuable three seconds you save for your busy day. If you share your insights, then prepare for some barraging. This, for your information, is a war zone. And war zones tend to not have much manners, so I have NOT been curbing my tongue here but viciously and valiantly venerate Emily. I shall defend her to the last! Remember the main! We shall never surrender our homes, our lands, or OUR EMILIES!!! Are we warriors or are we wimps!?!?

We are warriors, sir! Emily is fantastic!

[Wretched Sinner]

I would be delighted, TS! To hear your thoughts, not be called Po Fo. Jeremiah is a perfectly good name and I have no grudge against it, everyone. So call me that or Pound Foolish. Or, *sigh*, PF, if you need those valuable three seconds you save for your busy day. If you share your insights, then prepare for some barraging. This, for your information, is a war zone. And war zones tend to not have much manners, so I have NOT been curbing my tongue here but viciously and valiantly venerate Emily. I shall defend her to the last! Remember the main! We shall never surrender our homes, our lands, or OUR EMILIES!!! Are we warriors or are we wimps!?!?

We are warriors, sir! Emily is fantastic!

Hey. i'll look at the bright side of things. If we didn't have emily then we wouldn't have a mean bully so I too shall fight to keep Emily in the show.

[Tea Ess]

So, back to Emily. It will be difficult to explain my thoughts on her, as I have only recently realized that she is the manifestation of a much deeper problem. It would be so much simpler to explain my views on her in person, but seeing as how that would be impossible right now, I will make do with this.

I was thinking, and the main reason I do not like Emily is not because of the way she irritates me, or her voice, or her pushiness. It is because I do not know who she is. This problem has been nagging me since I first heard her. My statement may sound drastic, or strange, considering I have heard most of the episodes she has been in. I can truthfully say that I do not know the real Emily. Especially with the older characters, but also including the more recent ones, when I hear them, I get a glimpse of who they are, what defines them. As I hear them, I slowly gain in my understanding of their character, sometimes bonding with them or pushing them away. I can never quite get a full picture of their appearance in my mind, but revolving bits and pieces of their being. However, with Emily, I do not get a feeling for her true being. A large problem, I am sorry to point out, is the way the writers use her. She is always so busy rushing from one thing to another, blackmailing people, being stubborn and pushy, and dashing off to another mystery that I can honestly say that I do not know her true character. She never sits still long enough for me to get a good look at her. Now, we all know her the way she acts, but not her true being. She is so shallow and impulsive, that I don't know if she is capable of anything else. Even in the more thoughtful episodes, she follows her emotions, and seemingly learns nothing in her experience. I don't see her growing or changing; she is comparable to a complex computer program that, regardless to in-put, produces the same product over and over. She is unchanging, a stale reminder that we, as Christians, should always be changing and working to be the person we were created to be. I cannot see this change in Emily. She is comparable to a rock, always being put in situations that let her change others, but not being affected by anything around her.

Moving even deeper, I feel this is a present trend in Odyssey today. I feel that we have a whole lot of information on the characters- more than ever before. However, information does not make a person. I feel that the characters have been quick to share their attributes and talents with us. However, even attributes and talents do not make people. If you were to make a list of all the things describing Emily, you can see that they do indeed describe her, but do not define her being.

Descriptions of Emily:

Head-strong
Impulsive
Quick to decide
Easily Irritable
Random
Shares opinions
Works hard
Alleged detective skills
Inquisitive
Wants answers
Shares advice

These are a few of her descriptions. You can see that they could describe many people. They do describe Emily, but they do not define her being. As I was pondering, I realized that the one, true thing which defines us is:

Our relationship with God.

If you think about it, there are hundreds of things we could use to describe ourselves, but only one way we are defined. I feel like I am close to knowing hundreds of things about Emily, but I feel no closer to knowing her. The only way I could really begin to understand her character is through knowing how God sees her. I feel no closer to seeing her through God's eyes than from day 1.

So how does He see her? I can only hope that the writers will answer this question, not through a statement or single episode, but throughout the course of her existence.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

T.S., this might be presumptuous, but I think that's one of the best things related to AIO or the SS that I have ever read. It might even be THE best. And to define yours and PF's personalities, I would say he's the debater and your the philosopher. You are different in your comments, and I believe that's why. Philosophers and debarred may seem the same, but they're not.

But back to Emily. Yes, you're right. After reading this comment as well as some of PF's insights on Emily, I've taken a whole new approach to her. That approach is simple: She is a very complex character. Very complex. My problem, which is a bit like yours, is that she has too many sides to her. Ultimately, I can deal with annoying voices and blackmailing and holding hands, but I can't deal with Emily's level of complexity. One minute she's catching criminals, the next minute she's blackmailing her best friend. One minute she's getting lovey-dicey with Buck, the next minute she's a genius. And then she goes back to solving mysteries. What is all this? Will Emily ever find her true character, her true personality, her true relationship with God? If Emily were to keep going on like she is now, I would say no. And how distant is her relationship with God? Is she very close to him, her father in heaven, or is she too busy blackmailing and being a genius to notice him? We don't know. Emily's character is truly a mystery to all of us. She's confusing, and she switches personalities often. I would definitely prefer one personality, maybe with a bit of complexity added to make her character unique.

Well, T.S., what do you say? Let's keep this discussion going!

[Pound Foolish]

My, my. An amazing post, T.S., perhaps your best. Nice reply, Mr. Thinker.
Your words intrigue me, T.S. Characters are kind of a hobby of mine. Thoughts about them, developing them, and talking about them captivates me. So I've given your idea some quite careful thought. I do not seek to refute them, exactly. But I do not feel your ideas exactly make Emily a poor character, so here's my two cents.
We've never seen Matthew pray. As for Jay, he's a pain in the neck, and, in the topic I started on him, we couldn't decide even if he may be Christian or not. Yet Mr. Thinker, on his blog, handed the title of best new character to him.
Many of the new characters, indeed, are somewhat of a blank when it comes to Jesus. How do they pray? What is their Christian life like? We really don't know, for the most part.
Is that bad? Sure. But is our soul really just our eternal side? Can't our emotions be considered part of our soul? I hope so, I don't want to turn into a zombie in Heaven. Is our intellect part of our soul? Hope so. I don't want to go to Heaven and turn into a dummy.
"Welcome home, dear child! I am God."
"No comprende, Godde."
So, our soul is more than our relationship with God. But, in a sense, it's true we are God's interpretation of us, since God has all knowledge of us. Also, our bodies are kept functioning because he cares about us and thinks about us. So, his thoughts kinda are what we are made of. Not exactly, of course, it's all very complicated.
So, yes, how God SEES US is, to an incomprehensibly great degree, who we are... but does it follow that we have no substance to our person without our thoughts on HIM?
Perhaps. After all, our feeling and intuition for the spiritual is part of what makes us humans. But isn't it only part? Isn't it also our capacity to love? And many other things?
None of the characters in LOTR ever mentioned him! So... what makes such characters tick?
What exactly do you mean that a character is bland without its views of God? Did you mean that our relationship with God is the deepest we can go into our souls and hearts? Certainly true. But what of those who turn away from God? What of those who do not know God? Those who who just don't have a closeness to him to be the center of their soul? Is what they are, then, a whole? An emptiness? Is who they really are...a void?
Emily's love for God, however that may be, is so far unknown. At the moment, I love her for her outspokenness, her determination, her strong will. And, naturally, the humor she brings.
But does that alone make a character? No. I fear if she isn't further explored in that area, she will be ultimately forgettable. A trainload of potential that was never realized.
So... I suppose, at the moment, Emily is, well... what is she?

[AIOluver36]

I think that Emily's voice is somewhat annoying..... But i think she is also a sweet girl!!

[Tea Ess]

My, my. An amazing post, T.S., perhaps your best. Nice reply, Mr. Thinker.
Your words intrigue me, T.S. Characters are kind of a hobby of mine. Thoughts about them, developing them, and talking about them captivates me. So I've given your idea some quite careful thought. I do not seek to refute them, exactly. But I do not feel your ideas exactly make Emily a poor character, so here's my two cents.
We've never seen Matthew pray. As for Jay, he's a pain in the neck, and, in the topic I started on him, we couldn't decide even if he may be Christian or not. Yet Mr. Thinker, on his blog, handed the title of best new character to him.
Many of the new characters, indeed, are somewhat of a blank when it comes to Jesus. How do they pray? What is their Christian life like? We really don't know, for the most part.
Is that bad? Sure. But is our soul really just our eternal side? Can't our emotions be considered part of our soul? I hope so, I don't want to turn into a zombie in Heaven. Is our intellect part of our soul? Hope so. I don't want to go to Heaven and turn into a dummy.
"Welcome home, dear child! I am God."
"No comprende, Godde."
So, our soul is more than our relationship with God. But, in a sense, it's true we are God's interpretation of us, since God has all knowledge of us. Also, our bodies are kept functioning because he cares about us and thinks about us. So, his thoughts kinda are what we are made of. Not exactly, of course, it's all very complicated.
So, yes, how God SEES US is, to an incomprehensibly great degree, who we are... but does it follow that we have no substance to our person without our thoughts on HIM?
Perhaps. After all, our feeling and intuition for the spiritual is part of what makes us humans. But isn't it only part? Isn't it also our capacity to love? And many other things?
None of the characters in LOTR ever mentioned him! So... what makes such characters tick?
What exactly do you mean that a character is bland without its views of God? Did you mean that our relationship with God is the deepest we can go into our souls and hearts? Certainly true. But what of those who turn away from God? What of those who do not know God? Those who who just don't have a closeness to him to be the center of their soul? Is what they are, then, a whole? An emptiness? Is who they really are...a void?
Emily's love for God, however that may be, is so far unknown. At the moment, I love her for her outspokenness, her determination, her strong will. And, naturally, the humor she brings.
But does that alone make a character? No. I fear if she isn't further explored in that area, she will be ultimately forgettable. A trainload of potential that was never realized.
So... I suppose, at the moment, Emily is, well... what is she?

First a reply to CreativeThinker. Thank you for your post. You struck on a ver important part of Emily. I can't make heads or tails of her character, and I will explain why.

Pound Foolish: (I'll stick to your username. It was so clever that it would be a waste not to use it. Jeremiah is a good name too, though. Mine refers to an ancient practice involving the skin of dead animals. I like my name, just not the meaning. I am mentioned in the Bible! : ) You're being here can only mean one thing. You are searching for my name. Whoever you are, you must either be a malicious stalker or a friend I have sent on a merry chase. If you be the latter, I hope you succeed. Unfortunately for you, I have edited out the handy reference from earlier and replaced it with a much more vague clue. So, I give you this one last parting piece of advice: Look for my first post that officially takes sides in the Emily War.

What you say is good and thoughtful. You have some excellent points. What I was driving at with my 'seeing through the eyes of God' point was probably a little confused on my part. You are right about God's thoughts making up a huge part of our being. However, I was more driving at how God sees us. He created every one of us as a reflection of His being, but He also varied us, and gave us different minds and emotions, which are very much part of His plan. Our minds and emotions do play a large part in our beings, they help to define us, but they are not the overall force of our nature. As you pointed out, God definitely sees our minds and emotions, and they are a part of us. I believe that our minds and emotions are facets in which our soul can express itself. I believe that after the second coming, we will still have minds and emotions, but they will be cleansed and purified, and our souls will be brought closer to the surface. But enough of this.

My main point is that on AiO, we are able to see the characters as God sees them. This includes all the characters. I can remember admiring Lucy's passion and pure heart. I can remember the evil of Dr. Blackgaard. I can remember the the simple love for God of Oscar. In each of these characters, I could see hints and shadows of who God meant them to be, and see the Christian characters working towards this final goal. As for the non-believers, I could either see them slowing waking towards a new world, or condemning themselves through their own choices. Please don't misunderstand my position, I am not saying that Emily must be reading the Bible daily in order for me to truly see her. I am saying that she is so shallow that I cannot see the final goal of God for her. I can't see her laboring, striving toward the ending product of her being. She is so busy running around all the time that she doesn't sit down to make some decisions and choices for herself. She apparently hears the figures in her life telling her the right way, but I have much doubt that she actually listens to them, because she has made no progress toward her relationship with God since day 1. Forget my analogy that she is a rock. She is more like pieces of gravel or sand. I know that God must have a plan for her, that these pieces, however small, fit together to form a creation of determination and flame for God, but I cannot see how the pieces fit to form that being. I wonder whether Emily knows that that being could one day exist.

So, in conclusion, my doubts concerning Emily don't deal with the surface issues, or even her lack of devotion to her Creator. It's that, however hard I try, I can't see the final being of Emily, whether she will be a warrior for God or a fallen creature. This is not altogether her fault. It also has to do with the other characters. They seem to be at a loss as well. Even Matthew, her best friend, is mystified by her, and has no idea what God's plan for her is. Emily is so shallow and incomplete that I can't even see what she thinks of herself.

Oh, and creative thinker, I just saw your new signature. It's perfect!

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Isn't it? (My signature, I mean.)

Yes, Emily is shallow. I agreed with everything you said, but I have one minor note: you noticed Oscar's simple love for God? I mean, I'm sure he had a love for God, but I sure didn't notice it. When did he ever mention God?

And I would also like to add on to your statement by saying that I've noticed an apparent lack of faith in the new Odyssey kids. In fact, I've noticed a lack of faith in -well, everyone in Odyssey. I will post a topic about it in Character Discussion.

[Pound Foolish]

Alright, it's taken me a long time to reply, I know. I'm really reluctant to say anything, because whatever it is, after T.S.'s staggering comment, it'll sound just plain dumb. But, here's goes.
I was so blown over by your comment, T.S., I really am ready to admit Emily may be going in the wrong direction. As I said, Emily may end up being a trainload of wasted potential. But... in the end, one wonders if Emily is really intended to be going in a definite direction. Much of my praise for her has been based on how she is a model female. Isn't a model female a girl who picks her own direction? Isn't her undefinability (I know that's not a word) in a way a tribute to her? Isn't our inability to classify her, in a sense, an emblem of her rebellious spunk?
Of course, that's all rather forced, I admit. On a more practical note, a recurring objection is Emily's so called "annoying" voice, complaining it sounds like a cartoon character. Well... maybe Emily IS a cartoon character. Maybe she isn't supposed to be rounded out and identifiable. Maybe she's here for laughs and to bring some extra madness to the show. That would put her in the same class as, say, Harlow. No one complains HE'S not reletable. He certainly isn't, but he's just there to bring some extra glow to the show, and we understand that. Is Emily in that category? If so, is that such a bad thing? And, personally, I like cartoons!

-- Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:08 pm --

Ahem. Mr. Thinker, T.S. ... IT'S YOUR MOVE!

[Tea Ess]

Hmmm. Almost like a chess game, isn't it?

CreativeThinker, I saw your 'lack of faith' topic, but I haven't gotten around to posting on it. I also realize that you are gone for a while, and I am having a conversation with no one.

So, Pound Foolish, I am finally getting back to you.

First, thank you for your compliment. You didnt sound dumb, you were very intelligent in your posts. Well, as for direction, we should all be moving closer to the finished product God wants us to be. We really can't chose that product, but we can refuse to let other people try to come in and define it for us.

Well, if she was supposed to be undefinable, AiO did a decent job. But that would mean we can't understand exactly who she is, and can't really relate to her.

Well, it sounds like I am making this up on the spot, but I have never really had Harlow in my 'favorites' list. He was created purely for humor and imagination, and that's what we got. Now, if Emily was supposed to a cartoon character, then she should have every possible cartoonish trait as possible.

Good points. I recognize she has a lot of good traits, but it's just that the foundation of her character is very weak. I feel as if she's a multi-million dollar house teetering on a clif in the middle of a garbage dump. I hope AiO sees this and adjusts her, cleans up her surroundings, and presents his character as she should be.

[Pound Foolish]

Well said, yet again. I'd pretty much agree with you. Unless Mr. Thinker or Wooton get on, sadly, I guess this ends this particular Emily War Zone for awhile.

[Pound Foolish]

As a matter of fact, thank you for joining the conversation! I'm always excited when someone new comes along who's posts actually contribute something. I've been impressed with your posts elsewhere, as well. Your one of those people who doesn't just state their opinion, but makes things interesting by telling us WHY. Please keep it up! And if you do indeed formulate some new thoughts on Emily, I'd be delighted to hear them.

[Doll]

Okay, spolier alert!

Someone mentioned something about Emily always knowing exactly how to solve the case. Well, in The Lost Riddle, Emily doesn't know how to solve it. Mr. Whittaker and Dale Jacobs help her remember the lemon juice trick, and a few others. I do think that this makes her character more real, but the tricks were super easy. So, maybe AIO was listening to whomever said it. However, it would make more since that she would have known theses clues rather than the others in previous mysteries.
End spoiler alert.

I also a tired of Emily and Matthew's constant "Sidekick or Partner" debate. It was funny at first, but now it just gets annoying. I don't get why Matthew still hangs around her.

[Pound Foolish]

Because he's loyal, and Emily likes him, and they are both intellectual people who enjoy spending time together. Bonking heads is an important part of being friends. And if one does it excessively, then it can show they really care about each others thoughts, and can get passed differences.
Plus... Emily RULES!

[MeltsnerGirl91]

As a matter of fact, thank you for joining the conversation! I'm always excited when someone new comes along who's posts actually contribute something. I've been impressed with your posts elsewhere, as well. Your one of those people who doesn't just state their opinion, but makes things interesting by telling us WHY. Please keep it up! And if you do indeed formulate some new thoughts on Emily, I'd be delighted to hear them.

As promised, I listened to some Emily episodes while I was gone and have a couple more things to say about Emily. I listened to "Malted Milk Ball Falcon", "Emily the Genius", and most of "Stage Fright." I love Emily's love for learning and her limitless determination. She obviously loves her family. She tries to help Barrett with Priscilla, despite her plan backfiring. Her deepest desire in ETG was make her parents proud of her. Despite what Chris said at the end, I felt that Emily studied so hard partially because she desired her parents' approval and because she cannot accept failure. I can relate to that a little bit.

However, my sister helped me point out the biggest flaw with her relationship with Matthew. She has a commanding voice. She's bossy. She expects Matthew to follow along with her schemes and doesn't listen to what he wants to do. Occasionally, this is appropriate, but she can't get away with this bad habit all the time. This could make her more like a real flawed character, yet maybe this should be toned down a bit (or least addressed once). She also comes across as a smug know-it-all, like in "Malted Milk Ball Falcon."

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Ha! Godsgirl has brought up an interesting point. Why does Matthew hang around Emily? And PF's response is: He's loyal? Loyal to what? Emily? The Jones and Parker Detective Agency? Emily is blackmailing, arguing with, bossing around, neglecting, and annoying Matthew constantly! If I were Matthew, I would just want to tell her to get lost and throw mud on her! (The Trouble with Girls)

[MeltsnerGirl91]

Ha! Godsgirl has brought up an interesting point. Why does Matthew hang around Emily? And PF's response is: He's loyal? Loyal to what? Emily? The Jones and Parker Detective Agency? Emily is blackmailing, arguing with, bossing around, neglecting, and annoying Matthew constantly! If I were Matthew, I would just want to tell her to get lost and throw mud on her! (The Trouble with Girls)

That's a huge part of why I DON'T like her.

[Tea Ess]

I wanted to bring this thread back up for a couple of reasons.
Yes, Kaida. Marking the way for a very important discovery. See Suzy for details, though she is bound by honor not to reveal the discovery itself.
Joy, and any others who are interested, please give your opinions here.

[GabrielleFandomGirl]

I am in the E.R.K., and the E.S.K., but I think that Emily, a lot of the time is a good Gal, but she can be very bossy, Really, in GRC, part 1, but she is kinda annoying sometimes. I also have gone to my Mom, disgusted, and just being mad about Emiily.

-- Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:26 am --

I am in the E.R.K., and the E.S.K., but I think that Emily, a lot of the time is a good Gal, but she can be very bossy, Really, in GRC, part 1, but she is kinda annoying sometimes. I also have gone to my Mom, disgusted, and just being mad about Emiily.

[Suzy Lou Foolish]

I am in the E.R.K., and the E.S.K., but I think that Emily, a lot of the time is a good Gal, but she can be very bossy, Really, in GRC, part 1, but she is kinda annoying sometimes. I also have gone to my Mom, disgusted, and just being mad about Emiily.

-- Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:26 am --

I am in the E.R.K., and the E.S.K., but I think that Emily, a lot of the time is a good Gal, but she can be very bossy, Really, in GRC, part 1, but she is kinda annoying sometimes. I also have gone to my Mom, disgusted, and just being mad about Emiily.

You are partially with the E.S.K now, Gab? When did this happen? I didn't realize you found her a****ing (ugh, I hate that word)...hmm, I'm disappointed.