Talk:IBalls/@comment-4402317-20120108025759/@comment-4184884-20120108173142

I did feel Carly's absence slightly, but I feel it went as smooth as it could since they did at least have her in the opening and closing of the episode.

As for your comments on Sam being a "complete jerk" w/o Carly around, I completely disagree. I actually think, sans the comment to Freddie, she was uncharacteristically nice. There were so many moments earlier seasons Sam would have normally taken a shot at Freddie, but she didn't.

First, she gave in rather easily to his plea to do the show. The old Sam would have likely said no and only relented when Carly gave her a stern "Sam" and forced her too.

Second, she knew Freddie's script was bad before they did the show...yet she let him do it anyways (and went along with it until it was just painful). Old Sam would have nipped the whole thing in the bud before it even got a chance to air on iCarly. And yes, I know some people think her saying "Do you really want to keep going with this?" was unforgivable and awful of her, but I disagree. Would it have been better for her to let him continue embarassing himself? I really don't think so.

Third, when Spencer was saying all of those things that were making Freddie feel bad, Sam tried to stop him to keep from having Freddie feel worse.

Fourth, the whole sofa scene. Sam is sitting down with Freddie, really and honestly trying to make him feel better. She's telling him tech stuff can be creative. She's remembering random tech stuff Freddie's been working on and trying to get him motivated to try his hand at that again instead. Sure, she gets awkward near the end, but again, that's Sam. I think it was incredibly true to her character. I mean, lets face it, she's not running around giving pep talks all the time.

And finally, at the end, when the girl came back to tell Freddie her eyes were fixed, Sam asked her if she wanted a picture with Freddie as she supportively put her arm around him. Back in the day, that wouldn't have happened and would have most likely been replaced with some sarcastic comment instead.

Sam's grown a lot. She's still going to be brash. I think that's undeniable, but I definetley see growth and this "complete jerk" you speak of...I don't see it. At all.

But then again, maybe that's why we ship what we ship. haha