freebie

Did Eick really describe the queen's daughter's demise as a "ritualistic murder"? Hoo boy.

After finally watching this episode, I am now on the lookout for any opportunity to excuse myself by saying very politely, "Excuse me, I think I need to run a diagnostic." In other news, good episode, moved stuff forward. Still lots of dumb and/or annoying things, as others have noted above, but I can hand-wave pretty much all of it. I don't like the Calderon stuff because all signs point to retcon, and I've had enough of that already.

We'll have to agree to disagree. The 2nd Mass. has ample experience with supposed "allies" turning on them. Just because they encountered these folks on a formerly active military base doesn't make them any more trustworthy than the last set of humans that betrayed Tom Mason and Co. But for some reason, the 2nd Mass. just collectively let their guard down and started regaling their new best pals with stories of their amazing conquests. Sure, Weaver knew the captain, back in the day, but he'll be the first to admit he's a much different person now, post-invasion, than he was before the Esh came. So why couldn't she have changed, too? Having a prior relationship with someone doesn't mean you can, or should, trust that person and everyone around him/her. It would have made far more sense for them to play it a bit closer to the vest, especially when the 2nd Mass. believes that the next step is taking on the Esh in Washington. Just because the 2nd Mass. wants that doesn't mean everyone else has to be on board with the plan. At this point in the invasion, anyone who's survived might actually put staying alive as a priority over sending the Esh packing. And, let's face it, the odds don't seem super high that the humans can win, especially now that no human-Esh hybrid is in the mix to manipulate Esh tech to the humans' advantage. I'm not sure I'd be jumping on the Mason bandwagon either, especially if I don't know about the communication device, which isn't exactly under human control right now, anyway. Also, I thought I might be mis-remembering the sequence of events, so I checked the scene where Hal is chatting up the radio man. The guy tells Hal that the captain had ordered him *not* to contact the Mason militias, then Tom rolls up, grabs a sheaf of papers listing all of the militias heard over the radio to date (asking permission to review the info only *after* he already has it in his hands), and orders Hal and the lieutenant to get the radio up and running to facilitate making contact. The follow-up scene with the captain makes it clear that Tom thinks his strategy -- win -- is superior to the captain's strategy -- survive. Sorry, but in my book, overriding the actual commanding officer's orders and dismissing her strategy *is* arrogance, and not at all the best way to win friends and influence people. And, sure, I get it, the captain's going to turn out to be compromised, some of her people are bad guys, etc. Why? Because Tom is the hero. But that doesn't mean I can't be displeased when I see him (or any other character) act in a way that makes it appear he has learned nothing since the invasion. It's tiresome, which is why I wholeheartedly agree that this episode would have made far more sense if it had appeared earlier in the show's run, as opposed to now, when we're so close to the end game. I was actually thinking how fun it would have been for the 2nd Mass. to show up and find the base preparing for its own assault on Washington, already two steps ahead of the 2nd Mass. in terms of deciding what to do and planning the attack. Seeing the 2nd Mass. play catch up, for a change, would have been interesting to me.

Well, Tom, Weaver and the gang definitely recognized that sharing that little tidbit with total strangers would have been a dicey prospect. Too bad they didn't think to play down all of their other accomplishments (including flying a beamer to the moon -- how ridiculous does that even sound?). Was getting kudos from the "real" military more important than the end game? The zeal to one-up the potential new allies, and the arrogance of Tom just assuming he could swagger in and bend them to his will was super annoying. When he actually gave orders to the one dude, I just cringed. I did like that Weaver hesitated for a second when the deranged captain asked him if he was absolutely sure Tom wasn't compromised, even unknowingly compromised. I have a hard time believing that thought hasn't crossed Weaver's mind at least once. By the way, when it turned out Weaver knew the commanding officer, I groaned. A lot. What are the odds? Meanwhile, I know Ben's not a kid anymore, but he's at least still a teenager, right? The glee with which his captor went about removing the spike was disgusting. If Matt had been the spiked!Mason, would those goons have tortured him, too? And, really, the torture of Ben plus the court martial was plenty of drama for one episode. Did we really need an attempted rape on top of all that? On the plus side, that ass-kicking the women dished out was awesome. Also, didn't it seem like they spent an inordinate amount of time with the guy with the infection? I know he'll probably be important later because it appears he was on the same mission where the captain got injured, but I was so disappointed that the cause of the infection was a piece of his shirt, and not a human-eyed, skin-boring mecha-wasp or something.

Yes, but this was a call Hannibal initiated. And the call went to his attorney's voice mail before he did ... whatever it was ... to terminate that call and get the operator on the line. Even if, in the show universe, a prisoner's telephone conversation with his attorney is privileged (and that's not always the case in the real world), there would still be a window of opportunity to at least confirm that the call went through to the intended recipient. For example, the person placing the call for Hannibal would stay on the line until the lawyer picked up, then ask the person to verify his/her identity before turning the call over to Hannibal. In this case, if that had happened, Hannibal would not have had continued access to the phone because the call would have been terminated as soon as the attorney failed to pick up. Every jurisdiction and facility has its own rules, but in many prisons (and state hospitals housing perpetrators of violent crimes), someone is listening in to the inmates' calls and/or the calls are recorded, even the calls between inmate and attorney. A number of courts (but certainly not all) have ruled that prisoners don't actually have expectations of privacy based on attorney-client privilege for calls made on police, jail or prison phones, especially when there is information available to the prisoner (like a sign posted on the wall) that their calls, even with counsel, may be monitored. Prisons also need to factor in the nature of the crime committed -- restrictions on calls are not prohibited, especially if the inmate is abusing the privilege (e.g., stalker calling his victim). For an inmate with restrictions on phone use, his/her attorney would just have to show up in person.

That phone call was so ridiculous. Why would any of Hannibal's communications with the outside world be un-monitored? Having the staff member step out of the room to ... what?... give a crazy (per his diagnosis) murderer his privacy, made zero sense. And then, OK, Hannibal gets the weekend secretary, not the regular gal, but you would think every single staffer (not to mention most sentient beings not living under rocks in the greater Baltimore area) would have heard the name "Will Graham" and would have thought ... hmm ... this seems like an odd request for Dr. Chilton, why not call the FBI for that kind of information? Plus, who the hell gives out information from their boss' contacts file, particularly when that boss is a psychiatrist working at a hospital for the criminally insane?!? If that's really how Hannibal gets Dolarhyde to Will and his family, Fuller might as well just hand Hannibal the keys to the Oval Office and the codes for the nuclear launch in the final episode. I just can't with this one. Ugh.

I completely agree. And, yet, I keep thinking what in the heck is he doing getting involved in all of this. Yes, Molly tells a compelling story, but it's more than a little ridiculous that her most staunch supporter is a guy she met very, very recently. I think 99 percent of the planet's population would find this situation way above their respective pay grades, but here's J.D. camping out with the hybrids and getting himself in as deep as you can go. What is his motivation? Or is it just that Molly needs a tall, dark and handsome love interest, and JDM fits that bill to a tee?

Concur. Ari's shocked outburst when Briggs scalded the dude's face against the side of the airplane engine -- "Jesus Christ, guy. I'm gonna get you a bicycle." -- was hilarious. And Gusti watching Mike's "interrogation" was also a highlight. Did not like the clunky telegraphing of Ari's eventual recognition of Paige as the stand-in for his girlfriend, and I just don't care about whatever op Charlie is running.

Hmm, a little Googling tells me foot washing is all the rage in evangelical weddings these days. Who knew? If these folks are of the evangelical persuasion, it could explain the dad's expectations regarding the boyfriend asking for permission and then expecting the couple to accept his timeline for the wedding. The comment that they aren't able to afford married life gave me pause. Bryan is nine years older than his intended, so what does he do for a living? She'll be contributing whatever she earns from her pro volleyball contract, so if the dad's concern is real, I'm starting to wonder what's up with Bryan, too.

Yup. After last week, I thought things were looking up, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The pacing on this was just so haphazard, and the choices about which scenes to showcase made. no. sense. I felt like the scenes with Ray and his kid, Frank and Stan's kid, and Ray and the rapist just went on forever, while important stuff, like the three actual investigative threads our erstwhile "heroes" are supposed to be working, felt rushed. I thought Paul's investigation of the diamonds was going somewhere, until I realized we now have even more questions than before. And Frank did make (clumsy) progress on the Irina Rulfo front (when that's actually Ray's job), right up until he got Irina killed. Then, there's Ani, who is investigating a missing person, sex parties tied to the Caspere thing, and now a crime scene where a woman was killed. And now it's all starting to come together because ... luck! Or something. Bright spots: Random sheriff (while at a crime scene the state just handed to him gift-wrapped) and the attitude he gave the state's attorney -- the way he called her "Miss Davis" cracked me up. The double meaning of Ray's line to his kid after tossing him the remote -- "find Friends." VV's actually subtle emoting during the scene where he and his crew came upon the dead Irina. I've been critical of his acting, but he made all the right choices there. The breadcrumb trail that always seems to be leading to Blake. How many different plot threads is this guy connected to, and why are we only hearing about him through other characters? Blake's questioning of Mrs. Stan aka Joyce was downright creepy (and makes me wonder if he's the thin guy Irina met with, as it seems he's doing a bit of his own investigating). Athena and how she can call out Ani on her bullshit like nobody else.

I didn't know about Gothard running a law school either. It does sound like the blogger appreciated the education he received at Gothard's law school, but I have to wonder how different the Gothard approach is to the approach used in more traditional schools. Just FYI, the criteria for becoming a member of the bar varies from state-to-state, but the general rule of thumb is that you do actually have to graduate from an ABA-accredited law school *and* pass the bar exam to practice law. Only five states let you "read the law," then take the bar exam. In a couple of other states, New York and Maine, you can do a combination of attending law school for a year or two, then read the law and take the bar exam. And seven states, California included, don't require that your school be ABA-accredited, just state-approved.

So. Much. Word. The whole episode was bizarre. I felt terrible for Jenn on so many levels. Despite everything on her plate, she still managed to lose the weight, even if she couldn't hit the milestones and despite the behavior of her whacked out trainers. Between Heidi smacking her around and Chris freaking out about how she just had to finish the half marathon, I wouldn't have blamed her for walking away and never coming back.

Yes on both counts. For me, this last episode in particular was just ridiculous in terms of the lines Vaughn had to deliver. At least once in a while he gets to be quietly menacing (like in the bakery scene), but mostly I just get the feeling that he's on take 17 and really, really hoping he nailed it that time. As for Paul, while I think Kitsch is selling the angst, there better be more to it than what we've seen. I'm curious about the few days in the valley his Army buddy alluded to in a prior episode. It sounded like it was a good time, not a bad one, so I'm not really sure what to think they got up to in Afghanistan. What's the over/under on his girlfriend losing the baby?

Argh! Why I am still watching? So much wrong, but I'm mostly here to vent about Lucy. When she was just a face, wasn't she a little kid, maybe Ethan's age? Now she's a teen capable of making grown men (OK, Charlie) lose their composure. And that line about John modeling her after Molly could be taken in a pretty squicky direction if you have my brain. I hope Ethan is faking it. And I hope Molly and the Offspring join forces to reign terror upon all who would seek their destruction!

Still processing ... I guess I should have seen the Margot-Alana hookup coming, once Alana started swanning around in a blouse cut down to there. Seriously, I think it was just a scrap of cloth with sleeves; no buttons whatsoever! I did like how Bedelia gave Hannibal up while appearing merely to be sticking to her completely awesome alibi. Her delivery of "I am Lydia Fell" was perfect. And Jack was smart to realize that her story about "dining at Sogliato's many times" was a clue. In other news, I find Chiyoh tiresome.

Yup. And so did Ali. She immediately (and to my ears with a hint of desperation) began to tell Rob how awesome he did, what a wonderful number he pulled, how proud they all are of him, etc. etc. It sounded like she was trying to console a little kid over losing the t-ball championship game and wanted to make sure he didn't go full-on tantrum in front of the other parents. Next time, just have a Happy Meal on standby, Ali.

Yes, that was my guess, too, but I was wondering if we have any clues about who she might have been and whether it was a one-night stand or a longer-term relationship. The way Patti seemed to be suggesting that Kevin *should* be remembering the departed made me think the latter, but I suppose it could go either way. Guess this goes on my list of "things I would like to know, but likely won't ever find out." I keep the list with my "John from Cincinnati" DVDs.

On the money buried in Kevin's backyard -- I seem to remember that the message to Matt from Kevin Sr. was about a judge taking bribes (i.e., another example of one of the departed being a bad guy). So I assumed the money was actually bribe money that Kevin Sr. somehow intercepted because the judge was no longer around to accept it. And that's the money Matt ended up using on his gambling spree. Interesting that Kevin Sr. was helping Matt with his mission to debunk the rapture theory. Do we know how long Kevin Sr. has been in the hospital? I assume he was still Chief of Police for a period of time after 10/14. Also interesting that Matt apparently hadn't touched that money before he faced losing his church. You would think it would have come in handy helping with his wife's care. Speaking of Matt's wife, I noticed that Janel Moloney was in this episode again -- I'm always sort of surprised to see her name in the credits considering that she so far has not had much to do in the way of acting. Her character has to have an actual future on this show, right? Otherwise, why hire an actual, known actress for the part? Question re: Kevin Jr.'s dirty dick -- who was he sleeping with? Do we know?

The thing that was most unbelievable to me is that Johnny's mom *doesn't know what he does for a living.* What the hell? He acted like he's some kind of screw-up, but if he is, then wouldn't telling her about his law enforcement career help to change that view (which, by the way, she didn't really seem to have). Yes, she was concerned about his injuries (not the face!) and the fact that he brought this random chick home, but she didn't seem like she was unhappy to see him. And I do understand that they needed her to have no clue so she wouldn't blow Johnny's cover, but is she really necessary to the plot? Why bring the mom in at all, unless she really is cannon fodder, or -- God help me -- needs to be a part of Johnny's love story because this utterly doomed relationship will be real, dammit! Don't they teach these guys anything at Quantico or wherever? Surely there's a class on recognizing that beloved daughters of cartel members are off-limits, even if they aren't drug or arms dealers themselves, right? Meanwhile, where is Carlito? I was promised a love triangle!

This episode didn't really engage me. I feel like they moved the ball forward on some aspects -- got in with Carlito, finally got somewhere with the buses, but so many other things are just stuck or are drifting. Paige has her new quest involving the Russian girl, Jakes is wallowing, Briggs and Charlie are still a hot mess, and even if Mike isn't up for Boss of the Year just yet, I do think that Johnny isn't exactly helping his cause. He did go off script to acquire guns that weren't the right fit for the op, he is unnecessarily cocky about some things, and he does have a huge chip on his shoulder for reasons unknown. I hope we get to learn more about Johnny this season -- his character/motivations are kind of a mystery to me. Maybe because he really did play that comic relief role a bit too much last season I have a hard time understanding angst-y Johnny. And from various interviews with Eastin that I've read, his storyline has the potential for even more angst, so I hope there's a plan to show us what's driving him. So far, there was that one scene where he was complaining about being just the tactical guy, or whatever, and that's a start, but I'd like to know more.

I'm sort of glad this show is back because it's got that nice blend of eye candy and eye roll-inducing stupidity that make it a good summer show for me. Everyone looks great -- I'm digging the gray in Briggs' beard, Jakes is transformed, and there are new characters. Yay! Plus, the WTF-ery is at very high levels already. In addition to the issues mentioned above, how about Briggs getting a sit-down with the head Caza honcho, who then made him fresh -- and I mean fresh! -- goat stew. So ridiculous. Also, I love how Mike's bus investigation is now dove-tailing into his "who put the hit on me?" investigation. Is his bus theory, which didn't seem to be panning out, the reason why new!cartel is after Mike or just some kind of crazy coincidence? Also in WTF news, Charlie flouncing out of the op in a fit of pique? -- whatever, girl. I so wanted to see Johnny's move after she left him hanging. Please tell me he has a "lip thing" in his repertoire, too!