Welcome back to In the Bullpen for the second part of our exploration of what makes a great bromance. Maxie Kay joins me again in our study of the Sam and Callen partnership. The timing of last week’s episode – Vengeance couldn’t have been better in helping us learn more about this special relationship. It had all the trademarks of a classic bromantic episode, don’t you think?

Bromance or Romance? Or are they just good friends?

There’s a small group of fans who would love to see Sam and Callen get it on, but that seems highly unlikely. Theirs is the archetypal buddy relationship, with real and deep affection for each other, but no romantic spark. Their partnership is more honest and more successful than either man has managed to achieve in his personal life: Callen’s marriage of convenience seems to have put him off any further commitment and there’s been precious little hint of any romance for him in the show. And Sam’s relationship with his wife is built on an increasingly precarious series of half-truths about his job, and downright denial about the fact that he allowed himself to be tempted by another woman.

So how serious is their partnership?

There is no doubt that Sam and Callen take their partnership very seriously; there is no doubt about how much they care for each other. Is it love? Most definitely, but in a non-romantic sense. In Partners, they give each other gifts – really thoughtful gifts too. But like romantic couples who have lived and worked together for many years, they don’t need to say much to get their point across. In Vengeance, Callen says: Okay, talk to me. What Sam hears is: I’m here; I need to know, I might not like it, but tell me anyway. They know the other person like a book, inside and out.

Sam worries about Callen’s mental state in Lange, H., and hovers over him like a hen-pecked husband. He needs to know that Callen will be ok — and he even asks him twice to be sure. The worried expression on Sam’s face says it all. Sam is always willing to go where Callen leads, even if it’s morally compromising. That’s how much he trusts his partner. When the team finally gets to Prague, Callen chastises Sam for complaining by telling him he didn’t have to come. Sam responds with four words that say it all, “Yet here we are.” Where else would he be? As Eric said: Where Callen goes…Sam goes.

We know they are solid, and we know there was never any chance that Sam would actually kill Callen when commanded to do so. The same can’t be said about Callen’s former partner (and ex-wife) Tracey. Callen said that she was the sort of person who would put the mission before her partner. Sam knows that he always has to protect the mission but he also knows that he was part of the ultimate team – the Navy Seals. He carries this tight-knit brotherhood over to this new partnership with Callen. He will always protect his own.

What also makes this partnership different is the lack of recriminations, When they do happen, it is usually only in very light-hearted tones, which lets the audience know that any cracks in their relationship are superficial and can easily be mended. Even in Vengeance when Callen berates Sam for not stepping in and participating in the investigation, in the end it is Callen who pleads with Hetty for Sam’s job. Every time he points to another Seal who exits the cave safely, Callen shows Hetty another reason why Sam made the right decision to let the team go. He honors the character of the man who would die for what’s right. All the clues are there: this is a solid, almost unshakeable bond.

Who then is the dominant partner?

Is it Callen, with his gift for languages, or Sam, with his knowledge of Arabic language, life and culture? Is it Sam, who insists on driving the motorcycle, or Callen who sits in the sidecar? Does it even matter?

Callen has been described as the ‘lone wolf’ and the one character who (with the possible exception of Kensi) is most defined by his past. Season two focused on how Callen is literally haunted by his past, and even Sam is shown to be almost helpless. Family — or the absence thereof — is a common theme that binds Callen, Deeks and Kensi. We know that those three had difficult childhoods. But what about Sam? Given his character, it seems reasonable to assume that he had a stable, balanced childhood. It’s this stability that Callen counts on the most in times of need. Without it he is the eternal ‘lone wolf’- always on the run.

The bromantic duo have been through some tough missions together and have worked in just about every single location found in a James Bond movie (with the exception of the Moon). Is there anything these guys can’t do together? So whether it’s a romance or bromance there is definitely a love affair between these two than goes beyond any type of typical bond. And even though Kensi once likened them to an old married couple after Sam accused Callen of never listening to him, there’s probably nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other.

At the beginning of season one, Sam and Callen banter during the episode The Only Easy Day. The following dialogue gives a revealing explanation of why their bromance works:

Sam: Holgate had the tendency to work together like a lone wolf, if you know what I’m talking about?
Callen: (Callen squints at Sam) Actually half the time I don’t know what you’re talking about…the rest of the time I just disagree.
Sam: I really look forward to having Dom as a partner.
Callen: You’d miss me. I complete you.

Yes, together they are complete. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Thanks for participating in the Bromance vs. Romance poll. Looks like Romance trumps Bromance by almost three to one! (Do you hear that Mr. Brennan?) Whatever partnership you prefer, it’s great to be able to watch these wonderful characters fill our TV screens every week. Thanks go out to Maxie Kay in helping me co-author the column this week. Make sure you check out her latest NCIS LA fan fic That’s Just the Way it Is. Thanks go out again to Lynn H as usual for her input. Stop by the Bullpen the next time when Sweet Lu and I delve a bit further into Sam’s Navy Seal past and what it’s like to be a member of this elite team.

See you then.

Missed Part One of the column ?? Read it here…

About the author…

0

0

The Urban Dictionary describes the word bromance as the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males. There is only one relationship on NCIS LA that fits that description to a ‘t’ and that’s the team of Callen and Sam. Now that our bromatic duo has celebrated five years together, fanfiction writer Maxie Kay and I will take a closer look at this complex partnership.

Bromance brings together the two words: “brother” and “romance”. Author Dave Carnie originally coined the word in Big Brother Magazine which was a skateboarding/cultural publication. The expression is rapidly finding its way into pop culture axioms. If you are looking for ways to channel your inner bromance, there are iPhone apps that can connect you to other guys who share your interest, bromance television sitcoms, music; and numerous articles on the subject (Ten Signs your Guy is in a Bromance, Are You and Your Best Buddy in a Bromance?).

As a fan of NCIS LA there is only one bromance that matters. If you are a Sam and Callen devotee, you have probably been fascinated by this A-Team within OSP. No doubt about it. They’ve got the shared history, the wise-cracks and the sometimes almost impenetrable code words that leave Kensi and Deeks (the young pretenders) just shaking their heads. There is a fine and honorable tradition of onscreen buddy relationships. Special mentions go to such legendary partnerships as Butch and Sundance, Starsky and Hutch and even Crockett and Tubbs of Miami Vice. Like the movies and TV series from which these partnerships sprang, NCIS LA is not only about solving the crime and catching the bad guys, it is also about the personal relationship between the good guys too.

Do Sam and Callen’s pasts hold the secret?

This is a long-established relationship, which since the beginning of season 2 has been contrasted against the developing partnership of Kensi and Deeks. Sam and Callen are the pros, sailing effortlessly through the travails, while the youngsters are still trying to figure out how this partnership thing works, right?

Think again.

Season 2 showed us that the big boys don’t always have it so easy. In two successive episodes (Little Angels and Stand Off) we discover that each man has been keeping secrets from the other. And not just inconsequential secrets, but really important ones – secrets that have shaped them and made them the men they are today (Sam was buried alive with a buddy who died; Callen was married). And at this point, they have been working together for four years. It is clear that they don’t share everything.

The secrets theme is expanded in season 3, when Sam meets Jada, and falls in love with her. Clearly this puts Callen in a doubly awkward position. First: he knows Sam is using her. Falling in love is not part of the game. Second: Callen has spent a lot of time with Sam’s family. He has stayed over on numerous occasions, and even shared a bunker with them! Callen now learns that Sam has given away part of his heart to another woman. That’s going to make Callen’s next meeting with Sam’s wife a little awkward. But Callen is used to lying to her. In some ways, the NCIS LA partners are always in their undercover roles — even to the outside world. It has to be hard keeping all the lies straight.

At this point, maybe Sam and Callen’s only honest relationship is with each other. They’ve gotten past the revelations of season 2, and have reached the point where only their partner gets to see the true man behind the pretense. It is a place where there is no need or reason to lie. During Season 3’s opening episode, Lange, H., Sam gives Callen thirty minutes to tell him what happened on the beach. He knows Callen will eventually tell him the truth, but he also knows not to push him either. Out of respect for his partner’s privacy Sam sends Kensi and Deeks to the beach to take pictures. Callen now feels comfortable in sharing with Sam his heartbreaking childhood revelation about his mother. It was a poignant moment in the show and demonstrated how the two take care of each other.

A Study in Contrasts: Is Sam the Wendy to Callen’s Peter Pan?

Sam and Callen couldn’t be more different, and yet they complement each other perfectly. Although one man is black and the other white, race has never been an issue in their relationship. There’s too much respect and admiration there. (The incredible screen chemistry between Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J doesn’t hurt either.) But that may be the only time you don’t see a difference because Sam is (ostensibly) a family man, with a wife, at least one child and a house. On the other side, Callen has spent much of his time avoiding the accoutrements of adult life, such as a mortgage and possessions. Callen sees no problem about sofa-surfing until Hetty actually forces him to sign the mortgage agreement for the house. Ying and Yang. Positive and negative.

Perhaps they are simply two sides of the same coin. Both men have backgrounds in covert operations, which explain Sam’s obsessive need for secrecy and Callen’s lone-wolf tendency. But as Callen once said, theirs is a brotherhood forged in fire. So much so, that when Hunter switched partners on the team, Sam actually looked as if he was going through partnership withdrawal when he had to work with Deeks. And who could forget Callen’s funny shade of green as he exited the passenger side of Kensi’s car. These two guys are lost when they can’t feel each other at their backs.

Next Week

Come back next week for part two, when Maxie Kay and I explore the difference between love and bromance…. is there really a difference? Also, take our bromance poll in the sidebar. Do you prefer watching a romantic partnership on screen like Kensi or Deeks or would you rather watch Sam and Callen’s bromance? We’ll share the results of the poll in next week’s column. Thanks go out to my writing partner, Maxie Kay and also to Lynn H. for her input. Join us again next week for In the Bullpen with Phillydi and friends!

0

0