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S01.E05: RDZ9021


ohjoy
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I appreciate that A. Lot. Happened. in this episode. 
But Benny texting an address to Jo —especially Jo not even saying: No! Just send smoke signals! (or something)— right after Jo had just made it clear to her deputy not to send messages that could be intercepted— really interrupted my concentration on the story. 
 

I want Piper to take over control of Kindred’s mind.  

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I thought this was a great episode--maybe the best one yet. A TON happened and it was really well paced; at the halfway mark I was like "wow, it feels like we've flown through an episode's worth of stuff already!" I'm kind of loving the ragtag Scooby vibe the show is cultivating as Jo continues to read people in. And Emily! Glad she's still alive, because I thought the hitman might really do her in this time.

Kindred's little museum from hell is creepy as fuck, like there are no words for how creepy that is. Especially since Piper seems compelled to go when he knocks--to me she seems to be unable to resist the compulsion, did anyone else get that sense? I wonder if Piper will continue to NOT remember anything (and whether she truly doesn't), or whether she might eventually start remembering.

I've been critical of Benny the reporter, but I liked him more this episode than I have in any episode so far. I think it's because he actually felt like a person for the first time, not just a walking cliche (though I did roll my eyes hard when they had him take his shirt off...oh so predictably, network TV). I appreciate that he went to talk to the hacker's kid--that was the decent thing to do, but really hard--and that he's obviously affected by April's death and clearly panicking because he's in over his head. Keep it up, writers, and I might grow to like him...though Jo/Alex is still way better. Jo and Alex's scene on the porch was really, really lovely. And Jo/Abby continues to be my low-key, never gonna happen ship though! It's good for Jo to have someone to kind of hold her feet to the fire sometimes.

I am struggling with two things. First, Jo arresting Kindred when she had to have known that their case against him was slender and highly circumstantial at best...at least it's a consistent character trait that she loses her common sense when it comes to Kindred but it feels like it flies in the face of everything else about the character. The second is Ed. What's his motivation for not going through treatment again? Why hold off on telling everyone if he's known for a while? They need to give me more to go on here, because without it, those feel like nonsensical decisions designed to create drama. His scene with Piper was sweet though...I like that in some ways we're finding out more about Piper from their bond than hers with Jo's. And I did like the scene where he told Jo he didn't want to go through treatment again. Jo just looked so young. Shallowly, nice choice of blue shirt for Jo, costumers--her eyes were seriously popping!

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I'm thinking that the cancer is too far gone this time, and that is why he isn't going through treatment. When he said he wanted to decide what to do, I took it to mean he wanted to think about how he wanted to spend his last days.

I still need to understand why Jo and Alex broke up.

I'm really taking the death of the hacker hard.

Edited by possibilities
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47 minutes ago, HerkyJerky said:

Btw, one more thing I'm curious about. What was the name of the book that Jo wanted Piper to read?  I rewound it twice and I still couldn't quite hear the name.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It's considered a classic.

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1 hour ago, HerkyJerky said:

Btw, one more thing I'm curious about. What was the name of the book that Jo wanted Piper to read?  I rewound it twice and I still couldn't quite hear the name.

The Westing Game By Ellen Raskin

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Still interested but this episode was making it harder to suspend disbelief, specifically about the reporter finding the assassin and chasing him down/fighting with him despite Benny's post-gunshot condition and Jo arresting Kindred in NYC (at least I think it was NYC), where she presumably would not have jurisdiction. The driving time between Long Island (again, I think that is where she lives and works) and NYC also seems conveniently short when she needs to get back and forth, except for when they were driving Kindred to Long Island and talked about how long it was. I also wonder why the assassin didn't just shoot the cop at the cabin in the woods--he would have shot Benny after the car crash in the middle of the city if there hadn't been a witness, and there were apparently no witnesses in the woods (I assume he was going to kill Emily also, or maybe bring her back to Kindred). I think he was also about to strangle Benny before Jo pulled up in the cop car. Actually, that brings up another question about jurisdiction--if Jo is allowed to arrest people in NYC, why couldn't she get a arrest warrant for the assassin for attempted murder of Benny? They know where he lives and already got a search warrant. Maybe she is letting the local police handle the arrest warrant. 

8 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Kindred's little museum from hell is creepy as fuck, like there are no words for how creepy that is. Especially since Piper seems compelled to go when he knocks--to me she seems to be unable to resist the compulsion, did anyone else get that sense?

I'm guessing that there was something built into her software to get her to contact him, even if she did not know who he was.

8 hours ago, stealinghome said:

I've been critical of Benny the reporter, but I liked him more this episode than I have in any episode so far. I think it's because he actually felt like a person for the first time, not just a walking cliche (though I did roll my eyes hard when they had him take his shirt off...oh so predictably, network TV). I appreciate that he went to talk to the hacker's kid--that was the decent thing to do, but really hard--and that he's obviously affected by April's death and clearly panicking because he's in over his head. Keep it up, writers, and I might grow to like him...though Jo/Alex is still way better. Jo and Alex's scene on the porch was really, really lovely.

Agree with all this. I wouldn't go so far as to say I really like him as a character yet, but at least he is less one-dimensional and a little more appealing now.

I'm also liking Piper more and more as she integrates into the family, and I really want them to have a happy ending (though not sure what that would involve).

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11 hours ago, stealinghome said:

The second is Ed. What's his motivation for not going through treatment again?

My guess is the plot line will involve Piper curing Ed.  Although Ed seems a bit young and vital to be giving up, cancer treatment is very hard. My dad went through 2 'fights' against his prostate cancer, and turned down a third attempt. However, his battle went on for 10 years, and he was 80 when he gave up, so I realize it's not exactly the same.

I like the diversity of this cast, so I was disappointed when the fat, interesting hacker lady died, and useless Adonis Benny didn't. Although he did get the license and the key, it didn't really get them anywhere, so I'm not giving him any points.

10 hours ago, HerkyJerky said:

And I want to know the name of the painting with that particular shade of blue

I suspect it was commissioned by Kindred; it looked like a poor imitation of early Picasso. Also, good catch (above) re Piper giving Ed a BLUE drink.

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13 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

I suspect it was commissioned by Kindred; it looked like a poor imitation of early Picasso.

I doubt that it is a "real" painting by any major artist, and you are probably right that in the plot context it was commissioned by Kindred. My first thought was Picasso, but it didn't seem good enough or even that close to his style.

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4 hours ago, Paloma said:

I also wonder why the assassin didn't just shoot the cop at the cabin in the woods

Pro assassin tip: Don't shoot your gun until you have eyes on your target and know how many people are there. Shooting the cop would have alerted the other cop watching her and would have allowed them to return fire or escape into the woods.

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57 minutes ago, Paloma said:

I doubt that it is a "real" painting by any major artist, and you are probably right that in the plot context it was commissioned by Kindred. My first thought was Picasso, but it didn't seem good enough or even that close to his style.

I have a BFA from an art college and five years of art history behind me, and I didn't recognize the painting, which appeared to be a not-very-good painting of a janitor mopping the floor, a strange subject. And for it to be the first time "that shade of blue" was used was made up by the writers.

Egyptian Blue was the first synthetic blue created in about 2500 BC. Lapis lazuli was used in the Renaissance to make ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. In the eighth century Chinese artists used cobalt blue to color porcelain. In the Middle Ages, European artists used it in the windows of cathedrals.

And so forth. If the painting was of some ancient Chinese warrior, I might have bought Kindred's story.

Still, the blue drink Piper gave dad has to mean something. I'm expecting her to cure his cancer, which would be a good thing. He is a great character and actor, perfect for the part.

I wonder what job ex husband has. Kindred buying his company and firing him was no surprise. But now ex can get unemployment, so there's that!

I like the friendship between Piper and the daughter. So real.

I kept looking at the journalist's t-shirt, wondering if it was his, and if so, where was the bullet hole. Blood was there the next morning and got on the sheets ... what's up with not changing the dressing/bandage!

13 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Shallowly, nice choice of blue shirt for Jo, costumers--her eyes were seriously popping!

More blue!

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Great having a new episode, I missed this show last week, which I think says something about the quality of the show! So much happened in this episode, but it didnt feel rushed and it still had a lot of moments for more quiet character bits that worked really well. I continue to enjoy the mix of the science fiction stuff with the family stuff, with a smattering of cop stuff. 

That mind museum is super creepy, especially Piper being compelled to go there and forgetting about it when she leaves so she cant tell Jo. I guess its some kind of programmed software inside of her that is super deep in her brain/software, and he is going to try to get her to subconsciously visit him. It also continues to confirm my suspicions that Piper does know more than she is letting on, but its not because she has some evil plan, she just wants to stay with her nice new family, and she doesent have all of the answers. 

I guess Ed is tired of fighting cancer, as its a really rough road, and he just wants to enjoy the time he has left with his family, and didnt want them all to be worrying about him or sad. However, I think that Piper will end up helping to cure his cancer somehow. She did give him the yummy Electric Lights after all! 

Ben the reporter is still is my least favorite character, but I did like him a bit more this week, he actually seemed more like a real person and not a walking trope. Sad that the cool hacker lady died, but its nice that he did talk to her daughter about it, and it seemed like her death hit him pretty hard, which made him actually feel like a person. 

Loved the talk between Jo and Alex on the porch, it was very sweet and endearing, and I still want to know why they broke up! Maybe Piper will ask and we will get an explanation. 

Continue to love the sisterly bond between Piper and Mia, and now Mia knows that Piper has powers, even if she probably imagines her being a superhero, and not a robot girl!

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2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Still, the blue drink Piper gave dad has to mean something. I'm expecting her to cure his cancer, which would be a good thing. He is a great character and actor, perfect for the part.

............

More blue!

Regarding Ed's beverage from Piper, that was the first time that color of blue was ever used ..... in a sports drink.  :)

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12 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm still curious if Piper added something to the blue drink she gave Ed -- I suspect it wasn't just electrolytes, but something that might fix his cancer.

Piper saying it had "electric lights" made her seem like a cute-as-a-bug's-ear real kid, and made me wish she was, because knowing she's programmed by Evil Corps makes everything cute about her suspect.

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7 hours ago, Paloma said:
7 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I suspect it was commissioned by Kindred; it looked like a poor imitation of early Picasso.

I doubt that it is a "real" painting by any major artist, and you are probably right that in the plot context it was commissioned by Kindred. My first thought was Picasso, but it didn't seem good enough or even that close to his style.

And Picasso's Blue Period paintings wouldn't have someone with a red bucket of paint--he wasn't really known for irony. I'm guessing the Emergence set-dresser artist was thinking Picasso Blue Period + Dali.
It also doesn't seem to be specifically Lapis/Ultramarine, Cobalt, Phthalo, Prussian, or any other specific blue. 
I wonder if TPTB were hoping we would make ourselves nuts with Lostian speculations about the painting and color.

5 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

1238183825_PreparingfortheFlood.png.7072c1953d78490ede3ffc8aad60fdef.png

I couldn't find the name for this particular work of art so I decided to make up a name.

Preparing for the Flood - The study of pant length through the ages.

Your title is so much more clever than anything I could think of.

4 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Regarding Ed's beverage from Piper, that was the first time that color of blue was ever used ..... in a sports drink.  🙂

Heh.

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7 hours ago, sempervivum said:
19 hours ago, stealinghome said:

The second is Ed. What's his motivation for not going through treatment again?

My guess is the plot line will involve Piper curing Ed.  Although Ed seems a bit young and vital to be giving up, cancer treatment is very hard.

  • A typical reason to decide not to treat recurring cancer is that it has spread to a point where success is unlikely. This would fit with Piper doing a cure if they did followup scans to check its progress and discovered it had shrunk. 
  • Also, if a person already has a lot of chronic pain and/or other health conditions, surviving cancer is not necessarily a celebratory experience, and the idea of going through chemo and surgery again to have a prolonged life of suffering is not a choice everyone would make. While this happens IRL, it really wouldn't fit with the show.
  • Sometimes the financial burden on the family does not seem worth it. This is also a frequent situation, but doesn't seem to be an issue on the show.
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6 hours ago, saber5055 said:

And for it to be the first time "that shade of blue" was used was made up by the writers.

Egyptian Blue was the first synthetic blue created in about 2500 BC. Lapis lazuli was used in the Renaissance to make ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. In the eighth century Chinese artists used cobalt blue to color porcelain. In the Middle Ages, European artists used it in the windows of cathedrals.

And so forth. If the painting was of some ancient Chinese warrior, I might have bought Kindred's story.

Here is an article you might find interesting:

First new shade of blue discovered for 200 years to be turned into Crayola crayon

The writers probably saw that news and wrote it into the story. Nothing about the first painting made from it though.

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1 hour ago, Rambler said:

Here is an article you might find interesting:

First new shade of blue discovered for 200 years to be turned into Crayola crayon

The writers probably saw that news and wrote it into the story. Nothing about the first painting made from it though.

Thank you, @Rambler!
Now I can stop obsessing -- er, ah, at least after this post. I promise.

That^ article and Wikipedia state that the new Crayola blue is only "inspired" by YInMn --cost seems to be the big issue.

A poster on WetCanvas got an email from an art supply company in 2016 indicating that YInMn blue is too expensive to produce commerically, but:

Quote

At this time, the cost of this pigment, relative to its benefit to painters, is too high for us to add this color to our palette. We do recognize, however, that some artists just need to try things out for themselves. To this end, we are offering Gamblin YInMn Blue as a limited edition, 37ml tube at a List Price of $195.00. Please inquire with us for additional information.

Yowsers. That's 5+ x the price of genuine Lapis Lazuli blue. 
But no big deal to Kindred's deep pockets. 
So, yes, I think that's what it is supposed to be, but it probably is beyond the budget for the show, so, the prop was probably painted with Ultramarine + Cobalt (https://gamblincolors.com/new-blue-color-oil-paint-yinmn-blue/) --and seemingly some Phthalo.

Edited by shapeshifter
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The whole arrest sequence really took me out of this episode.  There was just too much to suspend disbelief about - lack of evidence, lack of jurisdiction, lack of "you have the right to remain silent."  I think they could have had the same impact to the story by just showing that Jo is continuing to investigate and the kindred knows it.

Otherwise it was a pretty good episode.  I agree with everyone who commented that the reporter became a little more of a character this episode.  I did like him finally meeting Piper and being clearly surprised by her.  And I liked Ed's not subtle attempt to get rid of him, and the ever so brief intimidating stare.

It was a civil engineering T-shirt he was wearing...I figured it belonged to the ex, and was a hint to what he does/did.  I also noticed for the first time that Piper was wearing converse all-stars.

Her degree of control in lifting the truck seems to hint at either more understanding of her abilities or some kind of muscle memory seeping in from before the amnesia.

23 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Especially since Piper seems compelled to go when he knocks--to me she seems to be unable to resist the compulsion, did anyone else get that sense?

He said that this was so that they could talk whenever he wanted.  If he was prepared to let her die I think he sees her as a commodity more than a sentient being to be respected.

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1 hour ago, MisterGlass said:

It was a civil engineering T-shirt he was wearing...I figured it belonged to the ex, and was a hint to what he does/did.

I couldn't see what the logo was, but Good Will went through my mind. Lots of great t-shirts for a coupla bucks.

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11 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I have a BFA from an art college and five years of art history behind me, and I didn't recognize the painting, which appeared to be a not-very-good painting of a janitor mopping the floor, a strange subject. And for it to be the first time "that shade of blue" was used was made up by the writers.

Egyptian Blue was the first synthetic blue created in about 2500 BC. Lapis lazuli was used in the Renaissance to make ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. In the eighth century Chinese artists used cobalt blue to color porcelain. In the Middle Ages, European artists used it in the windows of cathedrals.

And so forth. If the painting was of some ancient Chinese warrior, I might have bought Kindred's story.

Still, the blue drink Piper gave dad has to mean something. I'm expecting her to cure his cancer, which would be a good thing. He is a great character and actor, perfect for the part.

I wonder what job ex husband has. Kindred buying his company and firing him was no surprise. But now ex can get unemployment, so there's that!

I like the friendship between Piper and the daughter. So real.

I kept looking at the journalist's t-shirt, wondering if it was his, and if so, where was the bullet hole. Blood was there the next morning and got on the sheets ... what's up with not changing the dressing/bandage!

More blue!

Yes! And I noticed that Piper’s sweater (jacket?) was blue as well. 

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9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I guess its some kind of programmed software inside of her that is super deep in her brain/software, and he is going to try to get her to subconsciously visit him.

Surely, Piper has wireless. He could access her software any time, and hack the hell out of her, couldn't he? Maybe he likes telling himself she's a voluntary participant, though, so he has to be covert and indirect in order to enjoy the project.

Piper got rid of that tracker in her neck, but apparently she can still function and be accessed without it.

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3 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

The whole arrest sequence really took me out of this episode.  There was just too much to suspend disbelief about -

Jo had to arrest Kindred at that moment because it was the only time he was outside without being surrounded by 5 of his lackeys.

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4 hours ago, possibilities said:

Surely, Piper has wireless. He could access her software any time, and hack the hell out of her, couldn't he?

Now that you mention it, does Kindred himself do any programming? 
 

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

Maybe he likes telling himself she's a voluntary participant, though, so he has to be covert and indirect in order to enjoy the project.

I’ve gotten the impression that Piper has gone rogue in the sense that she is no longer obeying all commands and that Kindred is trying to trick Piper into thinking she wants to do whatever he wants her to do. I don’t think Kindred has any illusions about his own motives regarding Piper being anything other than self-serving. 
 

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

Piper got rid of that tracker in her neck, but apparently she can still function and be accessed without it.

Piper getting rid of the tracker demonstrates that she wants free will. 

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11 hours ago, whisperingtheblues said:

Yes! And I noticed that Piper’s sweater (jacket?) was blue as well. 

I rewatched this yesterday and was amused to notice that almost everyone is wearing blue at some point. Not really convinced this was deliberate on the showrunners' part, but now I'm going to be keeping track going forward.

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12 hours ago, whisperingtheblues said:

Yes! And I noticed that Piper’s sweater (jacket?) was blue as well. 

And so is your screen name!

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

Not really convinced this was deliberate on the showrunners' part, but now I'm going to be keeping track going forward.

So am I. I never would have noticed without the sharp eyes of you guy here.

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On 10/30/2019 at 3:14 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm still curious if Piper added something to the blue drink she gave Ed -- I suspect it wasn't just electrolytes, but something that might fix his cancer.

Is it just a coincidence that blue came up in the drink Piper made for Ed then again in the conversation about a painting.  Maybe the same natural agent was used in both like azurite, cobalt, etc.

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On 10/30/2019 at 3:14 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm still curious if Piper added something to the blue drink she gave Ed -- I suspect it wasn't just electrolytes, but something that might fix his cancer.

I think possibly.

On 10/30/2019 at 5:26 AM, Paloma said:

Still interested but this episode was making it harder to suspend disbelief, specifically about the reporter finding the assassin and chasing him down/fighting with him despite Benny's post-gunshot condition and Jo arresting Kindred in NYC (at least I think it was NYC), where she presumably would not have jurisdiction. The driving time between Long Island (again, I think that is where she lives and works) and NYC also seems conveniently short when she needs to get back and forth, except for when they were driving Kindred to Long Island and talked about how long it was. I also wonder why the assassin didn't just shoot the cop at the cabin in the woods--he would have shot Benny after the car crash in the middle of the city if there hadn't been a witness, and there were apparently no witnesses in the woods (I assume he was going to kill Emily also, or maybe bring her back to Kindred). I think he was also about to strangle Benny before Jo pulled up in the cop car. Actually, that brings up another question about jurisdiction--if Jo is allowed to arrest people in NYC, why couldn't she get a arrest warrant for the assassin for attempted murder of Benny? They know where he lives and already got a search warrant. Maybe she is letting the local police handle the arrest warrant.

Killing a cop is probably inadvisable for a professional assassin. There's always more heat brought to the investigation of a cop killing. Totally agree on the jurisdictional stuff, it took me out of the episode at times.

On 10/30/2019 at 10:00 AM, saber5055 said:

I have a BFA from an art college and five years of art history behind me, and I didn't recognize the painting, which appeared to be a not-very-good painting of a janitor mopping the floor, a strange subject. And for it to be the first time "that shade of blue" was used was made up by the writers.

Egyptian Blue was the first synthetic blue created in about 2500 BC. Lapis lazuli was used in the Renaissance to make ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. In the eighth century Chinese artists used cobalt blue to color porcelain. In the Middle Ages, European artists used it in the windows of cathedrals.

And so forth. If the painting was of some ancient Chinese warrior, I might have bought Kindred's story.

Still, the blue drink Piper gave dad has to mean something. I'm expecting her to cure his cancer, which would be a good thing. He is a great character and actor, perfect for the part.

I wonder what job ex husband has. Kindred buying his company and firing him was no surprise. But now ex can get unemployment, so there's that!

I like the friendship between Piper and the daughter. So real.

I kept looking at the journalist's t-shirt, wondering if it was his, and if so, where was the bullet hole. Blood was there the next morning and got on the sheets ... what's up with not changing the dressing/bandage!

More blue!

I couldn't find the image through image search, but I did read some stuff about pigments. I did find it interesting that Russian Blue was the first modern synthetic, and that it is also used as an antidote for "for certain kinds of heavy metal poisoning, e.g., by thallium(I) and radioactive isotopes of caesium."

While not exactly accurate in terms of color and painting history - thematically it fits very well with Piper being the first synthetic human. I don't remember if the blue drink scene came after the mind museum, but if so, then it could thematically tie to that as well. 

On 10/31/2019 at 8:34 AM, sempervivum said:

I rewatched this yesterday and was amused to notice that almost everyone is wearing blue at some point. Not really convinced this was deliberate on the showrunners' part, but now I'm going to be keeping track going forward.

I don't know about this show, but I do know that others have had deliberate color palettes for different seasons, and for thematic purposes.

I liked the unexpected reactions in this episode. The daughter of the hacker who died didn't blame the reporter, and Jo's ex didn't blame her for the layoff. I like that they don't go for the usual interpersonal drama, but focus on the drama of the central theme more often than not. Even the cancer is low key.

Whoo, but that almost crash. That was something else! I do wonder about the driver of that truck.

Anyone wonder what the reporter is going to do with the photo of the assassin? I think posting it to spread it on the internet would effectively disarm that guy...

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