mrsdalgliesh

I only got halfway through the pilot. I really like actors and I like the premise -- but I felt like the whole thing was being presented to a very slow audience. Every point they wanted to make was SPELLED OUT. I found myself imagining the alternate universe version of this show -- one in which we would understand Andre's reactions to his kids lack of "blackness" without unrealistic (for a modern sitcom) rants and demands. One in which his job situation would be exactly the same, but the white folks' cluelessness would be more real by their not being so clownish. I got frustrated -- because it *is* such a good premise and the on-screen talent is so good.

I got a friend who works for one of the networks to help me. She sent me to www.primetimevoices.com . I think it's Ashton Smith. Phew!

I'll take that over the usual bright white teeth we see on every other show, including in the mouths of characters who would never have regularly seen a dentist much less had whitening. Poor Linder. Does this mean Eva=Delilah? Hank is a badass with a ridiculously high pain threshold. Adrenaline can only do so much. I've enjoyed this show and I really didn't expect to when it started last year. I lived in Texas for many years and never felt the need to know more about El Paso/Juarez -- but this show has been fascinating.

Did not see the FitzSimmons reveal coming. Heartbreaking. I'm down with May and Mini-May. That dynamic works. Love Tripp being a regular part of the team. The stupid (like the warehouse where all the really important stuff was kept unguarded) still burns, but there was enough going on with the characters and the mission to keep me engaged. That's an improvement. I'm going to hope Coulson's speech for was any newbies and we'll be done with that until at least the February sweeps. When I saw Ward in the glass box, all I could think of was Angel in the basement cage. No real connection, that's just what happened. I'm okay with a redemption arc, but it had better be long and it had better be awesome. And I will forgive several things if Henry Simmons does the next episode shirtless. ETA: The army guys did not know about Absorbing Man's power, so they didn't know the cell wouldn't hold him. Right?

This show is so utterly ridiculous and yet, there I was, watching it again. The Power of The Spader. The primary misstep of the show, for me, was highlighted when Harry Lennix's character (note that I can't immediately recall his name) arrived back at work. The music swelled, people applauded, I think they even did a little slow-mow at their "the gang's all back together" moment. Except the first season never truly established these characters as the kind of team that you would root for or care about. You didn't sense any of that familial bonding that other shows, even really formulaic procedurals, manage with ease. Nothing. I blame (a) the writers; and (b) Megan "My wigs have more personality than I do and they're horrible" Boone. (I'm sure she's a nice person and trying hard blah blah fishcakes...) A helicopter and gunfire in the middle of DC? Ok, sure. Whatever. And yet this show is still on my DVR. Damn you, Spader.

Yes, exactly!! Also the way he says "Blacklist."

Chekhov's Cary/Carey! Love this theory. Make it so! Alan Cumming. Lordy. Robert King, who directed, knew exactly what to do: point the camera directly at Alan and let his face do all the work. Look at that first scene carried over from last season. Or the more broadly comic one when he and his daughter are listening to the fight between Peter and Castro. I've gone from hating him ("Circle of Friends") to being skeeved out ("Cabaret" -- he's brilliant, but...) to thinking of him as the best part of this show. I didn't watch Gilmore Girls (:::ducks:::) so I wasn't familiar with Matt C and when the show premiered, I thought, "Who's this baby-faced actor who's meant to be an equal to these more mature, well-known folks?" And it took a while, certainly past S1. But wow -- I am a convert and am thrilled to see some focus on his character this season. Alicia as State's Attorney seems unlikely in a RL sense, but oh, how it would play into the title/theme of the show. I've always wondered how they could keep that aspect of the show going. This would do it. ETA: As an older member of the PTV forums -- someone who grew up when thongs were only worn by strippers -- can I just ask how realistic it is (TMI alert) to go to work without panties and sit down anywhere without leaving a spot somewhere (like on one's dress)? Admittedly I'm now in the age bracket where I shouldn't even be laughing too hard without protection, so perhaps I just can't remember being that pristine, but...it seems unlikely, nevertheless. God, I feel old.

Does anyone know who does the NBC drama promos these days? Deep voice? My google searches have been unsuccessful and now it's beginning to drive me mad.

JacquelineLHope, I'll be worried for your mental health if you watch this. I actually enjoyed relaxing my brain and watching pretty people in pretty environments and good lighting, but if you actually know how this stuff is supposed to work? Your brain may explode. Reconsider! What's even ridiculous about having Bebe Neworth as a subordinate is that her job is chief of protocol. This made sense for the dinner party, yet she was also front and center on the news reports about the kids. In the real world, aren't there many "assistant secretaries of state"? Couldn't she be one of those? Meanwhile, do these dinners really take place -- the entire dinner -- with a line of reporters and photographers standing to the side? In kind of a small room? That seemed weird. Of course, why I am I nitpicking? If I'm going to do that, I need to stop watching this.

I agree that the production values for the American press conference/press room scenes seemed low compared to the rest of the show -- but considering all the times that the vastly greater number of American productions probably botch scenes from other countries, I'm not going to complain too much. How dare this British production give short shrift to scenes about Americans! :-)

Tara and Mark, you are much more generous than I could ever be for even mentioning The Blacklist in the context of this show. This was a literary novel while The Blacklist (which I have watched, because Spader) is a cartoon. I can't find a single way to put them in the same frame. But otherwise? Love this analysis. Thanks for posting!

Really liked this series. Beautifully acted, intelligent, emotional. Constantinople is not wrong, and that whole angle was rushed, but it didn't ruin it for me. When Shlomo held out his arms to Nessa, *I* wanted a hug. And good for Rachel, reaching out to Kasim. At that point, grab all the family you can get. Informative ending for Monica. If I ever need to fake a hanging, I know how to do it. Anyone want to help me with the last two shots that followed the focus on Nessa in the hospital room? The broken (shot-out?) window and Nessa sitting on the floor during what I'm assuming was her first captivity? Was this just showing that she would never escape that period in her life?

Cardie, have we heard the word Mossad uttered once during this series? It just occurred to me, reading your post, that I don't think we have. We've seen ambassadors and spies and militants, but...am I wrong? Have we seen a character who is Mossad? Regardless, I'm assuming that the underlying reason for all the fakery/secrecy is that this is all being driven by Americans; it is they (us!) who are taking advantage of poor decisions by Ephra and the plot against the Steins by Al-Zahid (hope I'm naming that character correctly) to cause some outcome and/or simply have a pipeline of information. The Israelis are doing little themselves in this situation other than reacting. At least that's what I'm getting out of it. But I'm pretty confused. :-) Completely immersed, but confused.

You are all doing a noble job in trying to explain this to me. I'm still confused. All I knew by the end of this episode is that I want Monica to die screaming.

Hank. Damn. I whine when I get a splinter. Simone, I was bothered about her not calling for backup until they got to the house, but I think the idea was that she wasn't sure if that's where Hank and the DEA had gone until she saw the bullet holes in the door. But I liked the episode and like the show, so I'm probably a bit more forgiving/forgetful. I'm guessing this is discussed in another thread, but with every episode this season, it becomes clear that they decided to downplay Sonya's autism/Asperger's. Agree or disagree about *how* DK played it last year, she's clearly not doing nearly as much this year. I have mixed feelings about this: I'm fine with Sonya as a neurotypical character who's messed up because of her sister's death -- but I wonder if the producers/writers just couldn't cope (or didn't trust the audience to cope) with someone who thinks and relates differently. I was pretty tense for most of the hour, willing anyone to save Hank. He had better not succumb now. ETA: I wasn't pretty tense. I was crazy, talking-to-the-screen tense, even after they'd stopped Eleanor's car. Loved the staying-upright contest between Eleanor and Sonya at the end.

I'm happy to learn that everyone else is muttering to themselves, trying to sort out the details of the plot. I have been out of town with a sick relative and caught up on the last two episodes yesterday. I actually paused the DVR a few times, got up, and wandered around my empty house, talking to myself. "So...the Israeli's have power over Ephra because..." and "the original Palestinian bid winner was taken out because...." etc. I finally went over to the Guardian recaps to get some clarity (should have come here and read Constantinople's post -- no spoiler temptation!). But here's the thing (and forgive me if someone has already noted this) -- we're all having to sort it out ourselves because people on this show talk to each other *as they would* in these circumstances and not as exposition fairies, written for the viewer's benefit. It's so rare. I actually quit a show recently because one of the characters made a sarcastic remark to another character and then said, "by the way, I was just making a joke, I didn't really mean it." (almost a direct quote) Love this show. This made my day.

from Andy Greenwald at Grantland (who says this is the best show no one is watching):

Gotta agree with you on this. They needed to add something, like the Chopper asking that guy for a good burial location, or that the area is where he buries all his bodies.

I loved Cesar having a moment of hesitation when he told Eleanor that his wife was reading the second volume of the vampire series. "She wouldn't kill her to get the book, would she?" he seemed to be thinking. I was relieved that Sonya's kidnapping turned out to be less "damsel in distress" and more "desert survival." I have to admit, however, to loving Marco's fierce search and rescue. Demian Bishir can read the phonebook in both English and Spanish and I'll probably be watching (and early in this season, it was just about that interesting). Hank! Cesar seems to have given him a chance to get away (or at least a head start), so we can hope.

I have never seen a plot twist coming before other TWoP/PTV peeps, so I am going to, just this once, say: Called it. I'm glad they've let us know in ep. 2 so we know there's more to the story than that.

I thought the producers did a real disservice to Mara Justine (and every other singer) last night with that overblown arrangement and backup (AKA drown-out) singers. Even if she belts, the "pure" kid who does YouTube videos is the one that's interesting -- not the creature they were trying to turn her into. I like the audition episodes, but RCMH has been bad both times I've seen it. After seeing MJ tonight, I'm not in favor of her going further. She was a wreck. No kid needs to feel that way -- and though I'm not sure it's a Mama Rose vibe from Mom (could be, not sure), I do think MJ may be feeling the pressure to make money for the family. And that's just wrong. And if you're going to give a prize of a Vegas show, shouldn't you only have acts that could be a Vegas show? A huge dance school of kids is not going to be a Vegas show. For one thing, by the time it becomes reality, some kids will have left the troupe and others will have come in. Ok, they didn't get through tonight, but still. That kid who plays the piano (and not that well)? No. No to the others, too. Meanwhile, the only way to watch any results show is to record and FF through the entire thing. You don't even have to slow down for the announcement, since you can see who's leaving, who's crying, etc.

The reason we know that he's [acknowledged as] Atika's son is that, when she found him at the hotel, she said something like "your mother will be worried, " clearly indicating herself. My brackets aren't to indicate a spoiler, just my very early guess about something.

This was crazy good, even with some improbabilities (like absolutely no one anywhere in sight during that final run through the park). I have no idea what's going on and I don't care. As our PTVmom said, above, MG is shining in Nessa's fierce confident public moments. That glow really propelled me through the first part of the episode and made the breakdown in the cafe so much more intriguing. I was relieved that they resisted having the little boy's "watch" left behind in the park repeating "Are you lost?" Because I was worried they would go there. This reminds me of way back when Masterpiece Theater mini-series. That's a good thing.

Wow. No, I think that makes much more sense than my original impression. Eleanor is far too cold as a killer to be doing it under duress, unless she's just gone full wacko and is basically in a trance. I think your theory makes much more sense. And ElectricBoogaloo is right about Sonja's environmental awareness. She may not have focused on the meaning of the pictures before, because she was focused on simply trying to hang on to any fragment of connection to her sister -- but she'll be paying attention now.

You and me both, Auntie Pam. Hope someone can help. This show is so interesting in the way it presents one WTF after another, but does it slowly and quietly. Tonight we got Jack stealing the one drawing off Sonja's fridge. WTF?* Then Eleanor feeds an acorn to someone she cares about, who's in a cage, and she's still a stone cold wacko. WTF? *Are we absolutely sure that Sonja's sister's killer was the older brother? I can't remember the details. I'm glad to see that Marco seems to have found a way around the devil's bargain he made with Galvan, but he can still wreck himself if he goes after his son's killer. Ok, that's as deep as I can go there. DB looked so fine tonight. I was mostly just drooling.