alexvillage

There are so many rights violations, I don't know if the writers just messed up or if they want to make a point about how the police works. They can just not have the paper trail, the reports and all the names of the officers involved (Ferguson!) I also think that being a "rich kid" - even if the parents don't want to pay or get involved, which is bogus because they would care about their names being dragged into this mess - Cary would be seen as "special". The judge and the rest of the justice system don't know about Bishops threats. The police might be treating Cary as a black man a surrogate for Bishop but, unless Fin is involved in the strategy to pressure Cary, it does not mean the judge would be in it, and Cary would get special treatment. I do think this is all to have Kalinda involved in the investigation and, of course, find out what really happened with Cary, who is the snitch/CI and who are the other big wigs involved. This show is masterful in moving characters and alliances around, so maybe Fin is a player that will get Alicia to run, or Castro will become a bigger player trying to mess up with Peter and a lot of other possibilities of frenemies working together. I can't stand David Lee and I can't stand Canning, mostly because I can't stand Michael J Fox. And on a side note, I stopped watching SVU years ago when I could no longer stand unStabler, but I've half-watched some newer episodes and thought I saw "Sophia" there. Just based on the little bit I saw, I like her better as Sophia.

I dislike Jon Voight, and I hate Mickey. I could do without both of them in the show.

Besides, it is not at all a secret that countries have spies everywhere, so it would not be a huge deal to have a civilian dealing with Julia and establish that he/she was an American spy

I agree that Cochram is slimy. I just don't think he is responsible for Volcheck shooting himself. Cochram abused his power but he did not force (as far as we know) Volcheck to participate in their group sex. It was Volcheck who thought he was "special". Cochran is a manipulative ass but I do't think that it has ever crossed his mind that someone would kill himself for being rejected in the way Volcheck was If the boyfriend shoots someone for revenge, it is a crime. If a couple gets into group sex, it is a choice. That's why my response to what was more disgusting was Abby's request. You ask someone to kill someone, you are a criminal. There is no crime in group sex, or in manipulating - as disgusting as it might be - someone into it.

Good point. Do not forgive the SoS speaking from the White House though. That would require just a little research that any intern could do. Just to add, I loved every single scene with Hugh, when he said something like the Americans would step up and do something "incredible" (first scene with Julia) it sounded like he was mocking how Americans speak. Did anyone heard it this way too?

Yeah, but then again, adults making adult decisions. Volcheck is responsible for blowing up his brains. Not Cochran. I suspect that the dynamics of such relationships is the same with monogamous relationships - one couple is alpha, the other more submissive. I don't think anyone is a victim, unless they are being forced to do things they do not want to do.

Maybe the writers wanted to make Americans look not so mighty and just a little disorganized. There are some blunders - like the one you just pointed out about the CIA being out of the picture.

My pet peeve. The production on the scenes in the "White House" could have been better. If they wanted the SoS to announce the ludicrous reason for the impossibility that the US will ever support Palestinian Statehood, they should have put the Secretary on a podium with the State Department seal, not the White House seal. And it was a terrible setting. The press room does not even resemble the real one. It is not that hard to fake one, so many have done it. The idea that Americans would ever "disown" Israel is a thing of fairy tales. But I thought it was interesting that the writers decided that the Chinese and Russians would change their position to to against the Americans. It was a bit of realpolitik there, since those countries seem to always be striving to find a way to go against one another. I don't know who wrote the show, but it seemed, at times, like an attempt to show the "realities" of the situation. How everyone has managed to sabotage their own cause, at the same time as they were blinded by their own views - as an example, Atika's words after she killed the mastermind: revenge is not our cause. Well, there is always a bit of revenge in such causes, often called by some other name. I like MG a lot. I am already betting on her for the Emmy's. I especially liked her in this final episode but I have to say, sometimes I think she overacted. The crying and the ticks would probably work better on stage. On TV it was a little too much. I really liked the show. I actually think it is so nuanced, it can be used for discussions about real life expectations of the never ending/never will end conflict in the middle east and how the rest of the world plays its cards, or how the powers to be in each of the countries wish they were playing its cards. Really, a lot to discuss. ETA: I also think the Americans were the ones responsible for Monica's "suicide"

Definitely Abby. As much as swing/kinky group sex might be out of the mainstream, I don't see anything terrible about two couples doing adult things, when all participants consent to whatever they are doing. It might not be something I am attracted to, but I don't really care about how other people deal with their sex lives. Abby, on the other hand, is a needy bitch. It also annoys me when someone says things like "be a man", "grow a pair". As if only male human beings can take action. This is sexism Same here. I fast forward through his scenes. Not interested.

Mossad was speculated to be the responsible for one of the plots, I don't remember which one because it was ruled out (maybe I should try to remember because this show can still surprise?) I, too, think this is more personal than a big Government/terrorist group conspiracy. The American's role is still confusing, though. Why would they kill Meshal? Is the State Secretary this powerful to convince the President that he deserved to be murdered? By the way, nitpicking on the lady on the podium, talking to journalists on behalf of the Secretary of State, from the White House, when the State Department has its own podium (or they would have changed the "White House" sign to a "Department of State" sign)

I have been re-watching the episodes and paying more attention to things, but somethings are still confusing to me. So, chronologically: Ephra uses the Foundations money to free an Israeli soldier and sends Nessa to the West Bank for a photo op kind of thing, but Nessa actually reads spreadsheets and finds out that some money has been diverted to Gaza, so she goes to Gaza and gets kidnapped. She gets raped and has a child by a Fatah militant. Question: It does not look like Atika knew about that, she was expecting Ephra. when did she get involved with Fatah? Monica is somehow involved with Fatah, and manipulates Ephra into accepting to step down from the Foundation and give it to Nessa, lay the cables and something else (which I believe is putting the sniffer in that hole everybody goes in). Question: is that when they start planning the whole thing, the kidnapping, attempted murder of Nessa and Ephra? It seems that Israelis are accepted in the university even when Arabs have better grades. It should have been easy to deny wrongdoing, even if Nessa is so honorable, but then the professor is murdered. What does all this have to do with everything, other than Ephra "paying a debt" to the Israelis for saving Nessa? Was it necessary to kill the professor? Who is the Israeli guy who seems to coordinate all this from Holland? He and Monica are together on it, but Monica is also working with Fatah. Question: Am I right that Fatah kidnapped Kasim and planned the assassination of Nessa and Ephra, together with Atika? So Fatah and the israeli guy watching TV are together and Monica is also a player? The Americans have a hand on Meshal's "suicide", what else are they doing there? Apologies if I still get it all wrong. Maybe a second watch of the next two episodes will help me understand some more before the finale.

Yes, Obama might be trying to do that but then he goes on TV and says what the Democrats afraid of losing their jobs want him to say because according to polls, the American public wants the intervention. I think the government should launch a poll that asks: "do you think we should attack ISIL and spend millions of dollars every day?" Let's see how the support goes down

The honesty of the police, in particular the LAPD, was my observation outside the show, speculating that the writers know about the fishy tactics they use and wanted to point this out. We know now the detective didn't try anything manipulative with Bridget, but Ray didn't know that. He was hoping she wouldn't say anything, but he wasn't certain. And this is out of character for him, to simply comply with a detective he should not "fear". I would never allow someone I was responsible for to talk to any police officer alone, if there was an option for me to be there. I would actually call a lawyer. But you are right. White middle class girl gets the soft treatment, every time.

Not only short sighted, impossible. ISIL's fight is a sectarian one. They want publicity, so they behead Americans. We, like little children, take the bait and vow to "exterminate" them. This is never going to end. It is in part our fault, the western world, because of all the intervention, support of dictators and regimes that were not legitimate over decades. But is is also their own problem, their fight, and we cannot solve it, ever. It is just never going to happen. It started with Afghanistan, when we "had to" go for revenge, instead of learning a little bit about the culture, how the people would react, the backlash. Now, when a threat is not fabricated, we act like brats and take the bait of evil people who don't see they have anything to lose. All this because the assholes in the Capitol need to be reelected, so they cannot look "week".

I agree with you. Not to mention: no wikileaks? The Secretary of State is part of it/has a close advisor who is part of it and nobody knows? How inept would the whole American spy apparatus have to be to miss that? And an event in a heated conflict area, Israeli and Palestinians together and they are so sure that nobody will think to check for bombs? They were certain because they coordinated with Ephra's murder, so they are extremely organized, but not very realistic if all they want is to make Israel look bad and lose American support (ha ha). It seems more like revenge to me, personal, and Monica is the key to understand it. she is the one playing everyone. Poor Ephra. All happy and feeling like a teenager and the black widow makes her move. I never liked Atika either.

I have no doubt that this is done. The problem is, as a parent, Ray should have said no, if I can't get in, she will not answer questions either. It is a safeguard, knowing how "honest" the police force is. The detective got what he wanted too easily from Ray, a guy who confronted the FBI so many times. (of course, the brat would have said she wanted to talk to them just to go against her father)

I think he was embarrassed and when the kid hugged him he might have "felt" something that made him think he is just like his abuser. It is heartbreaking and very real.

But they tried to shut down the "suicide", and the scene before that shows Menshal looking at the American flag just before he died. Maybe a hint from the writers? Or maybe the Americans wanted Schlomo to keep the contract because he is a "friend" and could spy for the US. So many questions!

A second watch of the episodes helped a lot. I didn't pay attention to something on episode 3: Nessa did contemplate telling the truth about Kasim but Atika refused. I agree that Atika might be part of the whole thing. I see her differently now. Calculating and too eager to convince Nessa that she should keep "the secret" secret. And her conversation about growing up in a refugee camp that still exists was also an indication that she is angry, not so compliant, but she seems to be planning something. I hope the re-watching of the other episodes will clarify to me how, or why, the Americans are involved.

November 9th. 6 episodes is really short.

The promo shows Cookie entering Ray's house by himself. I know promos are deceiving. It would be interesting to have the character (Abby) mean something

There is a lot of lack of justice in the justice system. Still, Bridget was not under arrest and was not a suspect. She was also invited to talk to the police, who called Ray and asked him to bring her to the station. I am curious now about the writers intention: make the plot easier to write or really criticize the LAPD

That's my point. It is absurd to allow a minor to be questioned about a crime without a parent or legal representative. Either the writers messed up and went for sloppy, or they wanted to show how fishy the LAPD is (the way the detective talked to Ray is a sanitized version of the LAPD tactics), therefore allowing that to slip and making Ray compliant

Speculation: Abby will shoot and kill Cookie

I wasn't sure where to put this so it goes here, since it is on the Sundance Channel website. The recaps: Sundance recap of Ep 1 says that Kasim is Meshal's son (?) Recap of Ep 2 says that