dwmarch

I'm pretty sure Mike's plan was no more involved than what we saw: enjoy a day of not having his phone ring every five minutes with some new crisis, get drunk, get laid, flush out anyone who might be following him around. Pretty productive for a day off. Maybe that's the lesson of this show: the value of work-life balance.

This show does love a traitor in plain sight reveal and since Red doesn't have a crew right now, the traitor must be on the Task Force. While everyone will eventually have their own reason(s) for betraying Red, Siya's is the most obvious. I would not be surprised to find that Ressler is one of those dude-bros who thinks the way to hit on a woman is by insulting her so that would mean he was doing it in this episode. The weird thing that jumped out at me was a moment where Red appeared to be hitting on Ressler by giving him a compliment that wasn't wrapped in snark while they were getting fitted for the casino infiltration. I don't recall exactly what he said but I do remember waiting for a punchline and being surprised when it did not come. For the bullying sub-plot I think it would have been more interesting if Red had pretended to be a guidance counsellor and interviewed the bully to find out what her deal was. Maybe she's just a passionate animal rights activist and she knows who Agnes' mom is and what she has done.

The way I interpret it, Ian's threat is that Charlie will kill this cop on the spot and there is an implication that Charlie will come back later for the rest of the family. The cop might not be scared of Charlie or of dying but is certainly not going to be a fan of the idea of his family having to face Charlie when he is not around.

I have thought the same thing. The Battle of Mogadishu probably ended a few military careers but there were also some soldiers and Navy SEALs who got Congressional Medals of Honor for being there. Dedra was going building to building searching on her own and had given explicit orders to the garrison saying she wanted Cassian alive. I think she'll be fine and since Corv got himself shanked, she'll need an eager new assistant at ISB so she can clean up the mess made by the Prefect and garrison commander.

Posturing, mostly. In bringing the bottle of expensive liquor Gina is saying a few things: Look what a good neighbor I am bringing you this gift (when I could have brought trouble instead) Look how rich I am, I can basically throw this away Yes it might be poisoned, are you brave enough to find out? She also got that racist burn in there about what a nice change it must be from malt liquor which simultaneously insulted and impressed Big Mo. So in coming over there and delivering it the way she did, she's also saying she's not afraid to come into Big Mo's place and insult her right to her face. Gina thinks it is important to do this but I think Jimmy is more gangsta, posting extra guards but otherwise ignoring the Desire crew. Pretty much. If she wants to play that game, we can say it's Gina's fault for giving birth to Rocco in the first place.

I like that they are paying more attention to security in this show but they are doing it in a weird way. Is there a guard at every turbolift entrance? Every Jeffries tube? Every ladder? And for Seven being confined to quarters, why a guard at all? Why not just lock the door? And despite all of these random guards the visitors to the Titan still come and go as they please. Shaw said he runs a tight ship but what I think is really happening here is that he has a crew that is good at looking like they are busy while accomplishing very little actual work!

Indeed. They kind of gloss over the fact that if Mando had shown up a few minutes later than he had, he would not have to worry about answering to the Armorer or anyone else there because they'd all be spicy, crunchy space gator snacks. I was saying last season that the Starfighter needs a base of operations to launch from and here are some space pirates offering one to Mando! He'll figure out a way to capture that thing. I loved Babu Frik so seeing a whole family of his kind was awesome. Mando really should just get a new droid. For that matter, is it only droids who can do this? Aren't there probes or other technology you could use? Or for that matter, take one of his "dead or alive" bounties down there and see what happens. It's not like he has any particular attachment to the sanctity of life, he killed at least eight people in this episode alone. I haven't seen The Clone Wars yet but as I understand she had the Dark Saber before but didn't win it in combat so things fell apart with the other Mandalorians. And then in this show, she tells them she's going to go get it and comes back empty handed because she somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Since then she's been sitting around brooding while the others have gone off to accomplish what they can. Hey Bo Katan, has it occurred to you that you kind of suck at this? Mando may stumble often but at least he fails in an upward trajectory. And he has a generally positive attitude even when he does encounter random setbacks.

I thought this was the best episode so far although it did have its share of silliness. Changelings are an odd choice for an enemy here, especially if you are going to have Raffi and Worf capture one. All it had to do was get out of their sight for a second and then turn itself into a puddle or a cloud of gas or another random face in the crowd. And after they did capture it, they should have soon found out that putting handcuffs on a Changeling is not going to be effective. So based on the odd behavior, I have to conclude that it wanted them to have all of that information. I legit lol'd at "beheadings are on Wednesdays". I also have to laugh at Raffi herself knowing Worf is the kind of cool she will never be. Did I hear correctly that Picard and Crusher hooked up five separate times? So there could be four more secret Picard children out there? Also Jean-Luc said he would have straight up married Beverly if he had known about her being pregnant which is interesting to hear him say. The TNG novels set post-Nemesis have Picard and Crusher getting married. Nice how Beverly and Jack just start helping out in sickbay during the crisis. That Trill doctor was unnecessarily rude though. "I don't have time to teach you..." Look lady, she didn't stop being a doctor the moment she left Starfleet, cut her some slack here. FWIW, Beverly doesn't bother trying to convince her and literally pushes her out of the way while working on Captain Shaw. The Titan sure has no idea how to deal with the portal weapon. They walk right into it twice in a row and then get hit by their own torpedoes when the Shrike is not surprised by the attack later. Also, what happened to guided torpedoes? Do they not have a basic instruction set covering "no matter which ship you end up hitting, do not hit the one you were launched from"? I need to go work at Starfleet Tactical, they clearly need some help here.

In retrospect, the one thing I wish they had done differently with Mon Mothma is give her a loving family. Rather than a sleazebag husband and a daughter who just openly hates her, what if instead her husband was loving but just a little slow on the uptake? And the daughter was too loyal to her to say no even though she doesn't want an arranged marriage to a gangster? And then she had to sell them out anyway because she got into deeper trouble than she ever imagined. I think that would have been a much more interesting take on her than a husband and daughter who deserve to get sold out because they are always in a bad mood and have never done anything nice for her.

I'll call it now, she's not actually on their side and she's there as part of a long term revenge plot. However, like a typical Blacklist villain she is going to wait until the end of the season to make her move despite numerous opportunities to accomplish her goal at any time.

Wait, was that actually a half-decent episode of The Blacklist?! I found the plot with Meera's daughter a little clunky but I guess that's what they had to do to shoehorn her in. Other than that, this episode actually seemed to flow and I was surprised when it ended. I didn't notice any particular examples of the Task Force being absurdly stupid and they even mentioned some extra security measures! Having said that, what good does it do to blindfold people who are heading to the Post Office considering half the bad guys in the world have already raided it? I could do with less of Ressler the recovering addict but I guess that is better than seeing him fall off the wagon again. Was it just me or did Dembe totally lose his accent during the shootout? I appreciated the flashbacks, as having a plotline of "random Blacklister intersects with other random Blacklister" requires a flow chart that no one has ever to my knowledge bothered to create for this show. And I definitely appreciate this show setting up a few questions and then immediately answering them! Let's hope that trend continues, it's long overdue.

That was what I got out of this episode too. Mike is running around putting out fires but they are starting faster than he can extinguish them. I think he was specifically looking for that guy because Bunny called him to say the drone train was still rolling. Because he went to the bar that the local Russian gangsters own, which is a curious choice for a guy who knows they operate out of there. I think this could be further manifestation of Kyle's self-destructive impulses. Mike and Kyle, these are some important notes about Iris that you should bear in mind now that you have found her: She is alive She is gainfully employed She was happy until you showed up And that should be that for her. Go talk to that kid in juvie instead, he actually needs your help. Ian has himself a pet serial killer and wants to "take him to the dentist". I have a feeling this is going to be one of those plans that seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm not sure if this is connected to the other plot about the snitch in SWAT. Remember Ian, victims in pieces scattered all over the place and the police can't find the parts without a map from the guy who did it. Maybe you're counting on that for whomever you're planning on sending this guy after but he could just as easily do it to you too.

Based on some of the writing in previous seasons of this show, it would not surprise me all that much if they used Gates McFadden's IRL pregnancy during TNG to explain the kid away. She was visibly pregnant in season 4 but she was either dressed in a lab coat or strategically hidden behind equipment. Watch the producers turn around and say Dr. Crusher wasn't even trying to keep her pregnancy a secret from the crew but they missed it because they only ever came to her when they needed something. She had a baby right in front of them and raised it on the ship and no one could be bothered to notice! No wonder she left!

The first three episodes of season 2 are out now. I won't spoil anything but I think the show is doing good so far and every episode is entertaining.

Picard and Beverly shared a look that told Jean Luc everything he needed to know about Jack. Picard issued "Admiral's orders" to belay handing over Jack because "he's my son". Capt. Shaw said god damn it, the Titan fired a few torpedoes at the Shrike and ran for the nebula. Vadic gleefully ordered her crew to follow them and she cackles maniacally as the episode ends.

Reply spoiler coded as I have already seen episode seven.

I want to like this season, I really do but it does suffer from that same thing I have seen in Discovery where the writers have obviously never worked in an organization of any kind. First and foremost, if Shaw is going to be disciplinarian, he needs to actually do things other than making faces and snide comments. There looked to be a few cells in the brig and you've got a few people who should be in there! Instead he's letting Picard and Riker wander the ship as they please and give orders to his crew! Speaking of the brig, Jesus H. Christ do we not bother searching prisoners anymore? And that guard! I thought you said you ran a tight ship, Shaw! Why does the Titan sickbay keep a cart full of stimulants right next to the bed of each patient? It would have been much better and funnier if Riker had given Crusher the injection followed by the Titan's doctor saying "I don't know why you just gave her a vaccine for Andorian measles but if you want to wake her up, we'll have to get a stimulant from the controlled supply dispenser." Let's bring Beverly to the bridge because it will remind people of Star Trek II and so she can share a significant look with Picard. Her shit-talking son says "how well do you know her after all this time?" Well there you go, punk. They can communicate with a glance from across a crowded room during a red alert. Worf got the Klingon TMP theme which was nice. He also got to straight up behead that Ferengi which I imagine he's been wanting to do for a long time. If I give this show credit for nothing else, I will credit them for giving Worf a nice scene where he gets to kick some ass instead of getting beat up to show how tough the bad guys are. But we'll see if this holds once he is face to face with Vadic and crew. It's too bad no one told Raffi about the anti-intoxicants we've seen before. Also strange that one can prove they aren't a cop by taking narcotics which I don't think is actually a thing even today! Sneed is a great name for a Ferengi. Did he come across as a little... stereotypical to anyone else? I liked the makeup redesign which is different from the TNG/DS9 era Ferengi but not quite as much of a departure as the really weird looking Ferengi on Discovery. Having said that, I could not deal with the five o'clock shadow. That just looked wrong. I don't think we've ever seen facial hair on a Ferengi other than tufts of hair growing out of the ears of the Grand Nagus. Vadic sure has one creaky leather jacket. I wonder if it is made from rich Corinthian leather. Now that we have established that Jack is Picard's son and that Vadic is willing to kill everyone on the ship, I guess we kind of did get "any of you Starfleet pricks move and I'll execute every MF last one of you!"

For those of you who hoist the Jolly Roger if you know what I mean, the back half of this show has finally set sail.

I've never heard of it but from the context I assume it is a letter that causes a heart attack when read. I am not sure why this happens often enough for them to have a specific term for it though. I was glad to see some movement in this episode. Mike is actually getting things done now! And I'm glad Kyle swiped the bearer bonds. It's great to see these guys actually doing something rather than just reacting to something. The imprisoned leader of the ABs tells Bunny and friends that the stabber was a lone wolf and cuts the dude's arms off as a peace gesture. So does this mean there is some other AB leader out there calling the shots?

That was absurd. The only thing I can think of is that maybe they weren't 100% sure so they didn't want to pull all the REACT dudes just in case the bad guy was in another attic but they could have asked a couple of them to come in. They also could have just waited. But it seems Team Non-Lethal has retired and it was easier to get into a gunfight instead. I was surprised they didn't jump to the same conclusion I did and suggest that the sister might have been in on it.

https://trekmovie.com/2023/01/29/annie-wersching-dies-star-trek-picard-borg-queen-actress-was-45/

So far so good but as with all Star Trek, it shall be nitpicked. Okay, first and foremost, why does Beverly have to cock the phaser like it's a shotgun every time she fires it? Maybe that's so she can fire big energy pulses instead of a beam but when you're fighting in a hallway the beam would do more good than the pulses I would imagine. The Enterprise-D comm badges were never shown to have video playback abilities before. I guess maybe that's why Picard took so long to figure it out. Also, will it just continue to beep every few seconds until you acknowledge the message? That is annoying although consistent with Discovery where something similar happened. Captain Shaw says he runs a tight ship but he can hear a nebula through the hull? You've got to tighten some hull plates, dude. Shaw is a bit of dick so far but he's also played by one of my favorite Terminators so it will be interesting to see where we go with him. Or, as Myron Stark says, we'll see. Seven is Cmdr. Hansen because that's how the Captain wants it? I guess this is supposed to be like Jellico telling Troi to put a uniform on but if Shaw did this in the 21st century, he'd be dead naming someone. Maybe he's just counting on Seven's lack of familiarity with Starfleet's HR regulations? Weird timing on the Raffi plot. She's undercover as a strung-out junkie and she bribes a clue out of an Orion drug dealer who is sympathetic to Starfleet. Starfleet Intelligence doesn't bother helping her so she ends up figuring out on her own that the Red Lady is a Rachel Garrett statue in front of a distant Starfleet outpost. She hustles over there just in time for the bad guys to blow the place up. Did they wait until she arrived? And is there some reason she had to fly over first before trying to contact them? Also, Raffi just dropped her space drugs on the ground. Shouldn't you either safely dispose of those or trade them to someone else for other favors? Not one but two scenes in bars where people could have conversations at a normal volume despite the music and the crowd. It's been a while since I have been in such a watering hole but as I recall, they don't quite work like that. Discovery had a projected privacy field that could be used for these kinds of situations and that sure would have been helpful for Picard and Riker who were immediately outed by a spy (and I think he was on the Titan when they were doing the inspection). Lots of Easter eggs in the end titles. I loved the "For Annie" card too. She was not a part of the Star Trek family for long but they loved her.

Interesting choice to have the team stranded on this desolate planet and waiting on help to arrive. If you wanted to light a fire under Cid, why not tell her the mine she bought is a bust but there is a mine next door (with no one's name on it apparently) that is full of the shiny explosive she's after and we'll need a bigass ship to come and get it right quick before someone else shows up for it? If you put it in terms of "the commando squad needs you to rescue them" her answer is going to be hell no but if you put it in terms of money she'll find a way. As much as I want to give Tech a hard time, I have to give credit to Disney for the neurodiversity representation here. He's not wrong, he just processes things differently and with much less emotion attached. Once Omega understands this she's understanding about it. Everybody grieves differently and for Tech, it seems to come in the form of nitpicking Wrecker. Was it just me or did that rock float for a second while Echo was absentmindedly playing with it? I have heard theories that she is Force-sensitive and I wonder if we are starting to see that.

Kareem put the beat down on three inmates who violated him during the riot. One of them has since died from the injuries sustained in that beating and Carney is worried that there will be blowback because there were plenty of witnesses.

I think the simplest explanation is that if the police came to me and asked me if I'd like to help take down a mobster, I'd politely decline. I'm also on Team Justice for Kofi but an older, white judge being unenthusiastic about racial justice issues is one of the more realistic aspects of this show. Has episode 5 officially aired? I watch these on Thursday nights and since I'm enjoying season two I always have feedback but I don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't seen the episode yet.