Stoking the Fire and Excess Baggage

Who doesn’t love a cozy backyard fire scene, complete with the host strumming his guitar and leading a friendly singalong?

In Stoking the Fire, River brings the party to an end on a good note, baring his soul to the remaining group with his new musical ideas, revealing that even a massively famous and successful musician can have doubts and insecurities about his craft.

Cara is moved by his vulnerability and finds herself inspired to engage in a discussion with him about his new musical direction, without realizing she’s walking right into the conversation River had been building up to since they met – his invitation to record music with him.

Even though this scene plays out in front of Naomi, Griffin, Styles and Willow, it’s River and Cara’s moment to share, and it’s possible the outcome would have been the same if it had just been the two of them there, but the deal is sealed because of the group singalong and the way he gives Cara her own star moment, and the feeling she gets from entertaining the small group.

I think it’s important that River didn’t rush the conversation. He’s a patient guy, and while I’m not sure he was necessarily conscious of it, letting the party unfold however it did, waiting until the end of the night to artfully ease into the conversation was the only way he was going to earn Cara’s trust and her agreement to the invitation.

Which brings us to Excess Baggage, the finale of Act I. During their goodbyes, Griffin, Styles and Willow do their best to smooth things over and not leave any unresolved negative feelings hanging between them, while Cara leaves carrying a different kind of weight. It's time for her to change out of Naomi’s dress back into her own, now dry. Without coming out and asking it, the question is, what has changed about Cara over the course of that day, and does the sundress and cardigan she arrived in still fit her? 

The other big question that she asks outright is how will she fit River’s invitation into her suitcase. It feels like such a massive thing to take home with her that it's heavy and takes up physical space. She’s not sure how it will fit into her life back home.

And that's a wrap on Act I. Before I start posting Act II, I'll be doing a little wrap up post with notes I didn't touch on already.