Dowel Jones

Doesn't everyone on this show? My argument with the entire scene is that, after however many episodes of absence, they bring Andrew back for almost a cameo, and then kill him. I personally was still trying to recall the stuff he had done by the time he got his headache.

Jake is the head of the NSA. I guess that stands for Noshing on Sandwiches Again.

Just who was Lizzie going to throw the bouquet to in the last scene? I had to laugh at the cop's comment about not getting paid enough to open those doors on the van. So, you have a vehicle with 1200 lbs. of ammonium nitrate, enough to take down a four lane overpass, and your security line is 100' away? And you don't carry any tech stuff that would allow you to remote into the cargo area to see if it was booby trapped? They must have left it back at the motel, when they rushed right by her door. The female ex-Army goon is going to live just long enough to regret her part in the whole mess. Reddington does not forgive or forget that stuff. I always wonder about paid mercenaries and what they are thinking when they take that bullet. Was it worth it?

The fourth time I had to pick my jaw up off the ground because of the dialogue, I just gave up. Is it the characters' collective amnesia, or the writing staff's, that allows those turds to insist that they're "not animals, we don't do that"? I did like Abby's Meet the New Boss routine. Too bad she didn't have the backup to back it up. And of course everyone on the show bows to Olivia's awesome Olivia-ness and does her bidding without question. I will say this. Huck and/or Quinn can sure pick out a change of clothes for Olivia when she is in a desperate hurry. No autopsy for the ex-VP?

With all the twists this show has taken, I wouldn't be surprised to hear the Pastor Tim and Alice suffer a completely unrelated car accident (not engineered by the KGB), and Philip and Elizabeth have to scramble to explain that to Paige. Okay, I get Martha's pre-dinner fear and frustrations, but, damn, I HATE long telephone messages. And then it's on to the most. awkward. dinner. conversation. ever. Glad she pulled that one out. Pretty much the same thing, just more calories. I wonder if Keri Russell came into the shoot with morning sickness. Director: "Great, we can use that. Let's get set up right now." Keri: "Asshole."

That guy had one hell of a constitution, to take a head shot like that and still keep breathing. It was a bit rewarding, from a firefighter pov, to see the medics remaining professional and going through the motions to save his life. Gabby got stepped on! Twice. First by Trudy, and then Casey. Tsk, tsk. Casey is shocked (Shocked, I tell you!) that business people get favors from the city council in return for campaign donations. Mouch: "I got a problem with my eye, Chief. I just can't see making it to the wedding tomorrow." I loved that Trudy hates the same things that Mouch hates. Presumably they will buy Rocky Road in the gallon size. Severide didn't get laid, and Otis did? Shut my mouth.

But of course the crew from Chicago Fire would show up and put everything right. Alicia would be hitting on Severide while Severide is hitting on Lucca. Otis and Cary would be looking at each other with a certain dawning realization....

I was watching the pursuit through the storage facility, thinking, I've seen this somewhere before....that's right! The gNATS did this very same maneuver, even down to the mad bomber. Thankfully, Jane didn't go through the same training. But I do have a question. How does someone leap of a balcony 12' or so off the main floor without the least bit of injury and subdue the bad guy, after alerting him with a gunshot? Did the businesswoman go and get her henchpeople from the day labor area of Home Depot, or what? I liked the way the interaction scene with Daniel at the cafe' was handled. But, please, don't go the Grey's Anatomy route.

It was the hair. Neither terrorist could see past Alex so they were paralyzed with awe. The guy with the bomb vest (SO easy to sneak on to a plane) must have been at a different angle.

"...The hair. So close to my face. Must obey. Must fire weapon into air..." So the first time the gNATS actually receive some real life training, they whine and sulk and refuse to go on? Quality material there. Shelby is the most annoying, with her constant faux-cheerfulness during a scenario. Get serious, woman. This is your career as well as your life. But, hey, Alex is still buying drinks. At say, 50 people x $4/drink, that's a good chunk out of her paycheck. Or the credit card. I think I would disagree with the instructor's comment that a bullet passing through the fuselage would kill everyone. Depressurize the cabin, yes, but the oxygen masks would come down and, presumably, the pilot would descend to a safe altitude almost immediately. This episode is taking place the day after Charlie's plot occurred? No time for counseling? I kind of like the idea of the auto-agent roommate portraying Caleb for a meeting with Mr. Big. If there's anything he's good at, it's reciting chapter and verse from the playbook, so he might be able to charm his way into confidence. But, as he admitted, he has absolutely no skill in picking up social clues. Doubtless he will have to be rescued as well.

I have this mental image of every. single. travel agency in DC is a front for some country's spy network. And they are all traveling on their center's dime. Except the CIA, of course. They're still paying full retail.

Completely irrelevant question: Has Abby ever been seen wearing pants since her move to the Press Secretary? She was in one scene this episode.

But she'll tell him which pair to wear.

When he named those off, I thought, jeez, I'd kill myself if that happened. Or Disney World. Same difference. Actually, having been there just once, my opinion is that if you wanted to convince your adolescent children of the evils of capitalism, Disney World is the place to go. Bit o' Trivia: The official governmental name for Disney World is The Reedy Creek Improvement District. I wonder what the long game is with Elizabeth and Mary Kay. Was Young He's husband id'ed as another employee of the lab? I can't see her getting into it just for appearances sake, as they already have the travel agency. I do have this vision of Elizabeth striking gold with her sales and driving around DC in a gigantorandus pink Cadillac. I had to have a hearty laugh at Elizabeth's reaction to the pepper. Having ingested said pepper at an authentic local Korean restaurant one time, I can attest to the accuracy of the scene. I remember drinking the entire contents of my water glass and then holding another mouthful, just trying to cool off my tongue. Things are slowly starting to spin around for Martha. Unless Philip sets up some kind of distraction, I think she'll make some kind of mistake down the road. I remember an actual case of this nature, back in the 70's, I think. The West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, had a personal secretary on his staff who had been seduced by an East German man, and had been passing documents to him for years, if memory serves. She actually defected before getting caught.

But if he dies, who is going to make decisions for the President?

Maybe the whole point of the chimney story was to introduce yet another woman to the Severide circle of sex.

I think Big 5 had a sale going on when the Quantico staff decided to outfit their NATS.

Gabby looked like she wanted to jump Casey's bones right there in the garage after the save. Now that would have been a photo op. New character with domestic drama? Check. Firehouse rallies around new character? Check. I was a tiny bit disappointed that the brother dropped the broken neck line on his sister and Severide. Up to that point a defense attorney could well have laid the blame on Casey's dumbass mishandling of the body at the scene. That was on Boden, too. He is responsible for his firefighters. Start fixin' those streetlights, Casey! Get that bridge built, and watch out for those pesky political operatives, because that's a sure fire plot point.

Fortunately, they didn't ask Stevie. Her answer would have been "Hey, you know, daylight saving time just started, so maybe it's only four minutes to eleven."

Mythbusters checked out just a bit too early, methinks. I had the same moment when Mayfair uttered that "one more thing like that and you're out" line. I would have been heading for the door, tossing all my fed gear at her, and saying "Yep. I'm out. You already have the tats on screen. Good luck."

With all due respect to the story, why would Pakistan be ferrying a bomb around in a C-130? And who designed it so that it would arm when they hit a speedbump? I guess we're all fortunate that the US had a nuclear disposal team on call in "nearby" Qatar. Otherwise they might have had to rely on Henry remoting in on the office computer to explain which wire to cut. Again, the show is about the SoS, but I found it a bit weird that, in the presence of two equal heads of state, she was doing the negotiating and presenting proposals. I liked Earl's side-eye comment about "It's not the part I would have used." I am on Elizabeth's side, there. While I have fixed a few things around my house, opening up the washer is tantamount to looking inside the Ark.

Not being sufficiently interested in any of the drama, I guess I'll talk about the trial. US v. Causby is an actual case from 1943. He owned a chicken farm at the end of a runway that was used for military training. The 83' limit came about because that was the altitude of the planes when they were landing, including bombers. Jeez, if a B-17 flew over my head at 83', I'd be scared too. Anyway, some other points of information: FAR Part 91 requires airplanes to maintain at least 1000' altitude over congested areas, except when landing/taking off. Currently, as the show put forth, there are few regulations relating to UAV use. Nor are there regulations about bringing drones down, too, as far as I know (firearm use excepted). The FAA actually lost a case a few years ago when they tried to fine an operator for flying a drone, and the judge said the rules were too general. I think Diane should have consulted with another SME on drone law before she brought the FAA guy in. She could have countered the Causby argument fairly easily. In the end, the whole trial was mostly to introduce another available attorney for the firm. Having said all that, what kind of therapist does not take steps to protect his clients' privacy? As was said, every neighbor could see any person walking into and out of his garage (vision of loud garage door opening and client stepping over skis and bicycles), and the nature of his business would be clear. I think he has a right to drone-free privacy in and around his house, but so do his clients.

Worst terror gang ever. The only reason they got in was because the gate guards were as stupid as the students they are guarding. If you load eight burly guys plus assorted terror gear into the back of a van, that's close to a ton of weight, which would make the van sag just a bit, maybe? Why did they go creeping around the snow covered grounds instead of driving up to the classroom complex? Even worse, the most undisciplined trainee, Agent Manpain Exjock, is rewarded for going rogue during a hostage situation and saving Liam's life, however luckily. Add to him the three idiot trainees who are out there complicating the situation. That welcome back speech from Liam was so bad it hurt. Do they issue trainees real firearms when they leave the campus? Why did Alex have one to hand over to Hannah? The show spent several minutes at the beginning showing trainees practicing a disarm maneuver on an armed suspect. Yet, when Miranda and Nimah are presented with that very situation, nothing happens. And, after the guy gets shot, what is stopping either Miranda or Nimah from walking out the door to tell the cops to stand down? The email from Natalie was faked? Ow! Stop dropping anvils on my feet, show.

So, after years of study and mountains of debt, apprentice spy Paige shows up at Angels Medical Center and reports back "Everybody is sleeping with everybody else here (except me!) and the place is in Code Black 360 days a year! What doe we do?" Philip: "This computer is bugged and they're spying on me, I know it! Nothing happens for a couple of minutes every time I boot it up. Please look at it." KGB repairman: "It's Windows. Get over it."

Was that ex-Secret Service Tom in that scene? I don't remember him getting released. But it wouldn't surprise me. I think Olivia made a huge mistake by throwing Edison under the bus, regardless of the info she got in return. If Edison is in any way able to get out from under it, he would (or I would, if I were him), expose Olivia as the source of the material. Her business would implode as every potential client from then on would know that she is neither trustworthy nor discreet. ETA: Joe Morton made an appearance on The Nightly Show last night, and did quite an impression of Poppa Pope on the election.