S03.E07: Athena Begins

[WinJet0819]

This was a great episode to give us a look into Athena's past. We got to know the first true love of her life, got an insight to the pain she went through in losing him, and then the closure she got after finally finding Emmett's killer and the events that transpired the night of his death. And what was a refreshing change, as opposed to the other Character Begins episodes, was that we didn't get a full episode flashback. We got flashbacks intertwined with the story.

And I do agree with others when they say Peter Krause is miscast as Bobby, and it just looks awkward with him trying to provide support to Athena. It just doesn't fit. The relationship with Athena doesn't make much sense, but it's even more pronounced when he's with the family. Like when Athena and Michael were interrogating May's date.

Edited November 10, 2019 by WinJet0819

[tvgoddess]

19 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

And I do agree with others when they say Peter Krause is miscast as Bobby, and trying to provide support to Athena. He just doesn't fit. The relationship with Athena doesn't make much sense, but it's even more pronounced when he's with the family. Like when Athena and Michael were interrogating May's date.

I don't know if it's because he's playing him too stoic. He didn't play his character on Parenthood that way. But maybe because he's a fire captain with this tainted past, he thinks he needs to not show emotion and such. There is something lacking, but I don't necessarily know if he's miscast. He certainly isn't as the captain of the department, as he's 100% believable in that part of the role. With Athena, he just hasn't let himself be fully vulnerable or something or affectionate. And I don't know if that is a writer's decision or if that is how PK and AB have chosen to play it, but it does detract from their relationship as a married couple. I buy them as close friends. But since we don't see much else, even kissing, it's hard to see them as much more. And that makes me sad, as I really liked them and was a big fan.

Aside from how they've developed, my feelings towards the show have developed too. I don't get excited anymore for the new episode. This season since the first couple of weeks has been a great disappointment overall. And that's due to the writing and multiple characters across the board, not just one.

[WinJet0819]

5 hours ago, tvgoddess said:

I don't know if it's because he's playing him too stoic. He didn't play his character on Parenthood that way. But maybe because he's a fire captain with this tainted past, he thinks he needs to not show emotion and such. There is something lacking, but I don't necessarily know if he's miscast. He certainly isn't as the captain of the department, as he's 100% believable in that part of the role. With Athena, he just hasn't let himself be fully vulnerable or something or affectionate. And I don't know if that is a writer's decision or if that is how PK and AB have chosen to play it, but it does detract from their relationship as a married couple. I buy them as close friends. But since we don't see much else, even kissing, it's hard to see them as much more. And that makes me sad, as I really liked them and was a big fan.

Aside from how they've developed, my feelings towards the show have developed too. I don't get excited anymore for the new episode. This season since the first couple of weeks has been a great disappointment overall. And that's due to the writing and multiple characters across the board, not just one.

Let me backtrack. Peter Krause as Captain Bobby Nash fits perfectly. He looks like what we'd expect in a captain. But Peter Krause as Athena's husband, Bobby, just doesn't fit right. As you said, he doesn't seem to show any affection toward Athena, and she does the same. As a husband, he seems to just be there as a good friend instead of an actual husband. And you can't really take their relationship seriously. It's why I wonder why they thought it would be a good idea to place them together in the first place. They just don't fit well with one another. But in their element, Athena is a believable sergeant in the LAPD and Bobby is a believable captain of Station 119.

[Ohwell]

Not that there needed to be anything sexual between them, but I do believe that there's more warmth and chemistry between Bobby and Michael.  They really have grown closer and I like their friendship, (however unlikely that might be in real life).

[The Ringo Kidd]

7 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

Let me backtrack. Peter Krause as Captain Bobby Nash fits perfectly. He looks like what we'd expect in a captain. But Peter Krause as Athena's husband, Bobby, just doesn't fit right. As you said, he doesn't seem to show any affection toward Athena, and she does the same. As a husband, he seems to just be there as a good friend instead of an actual husband. And you can't really take their relationship seriously. It's why I wonder why they thought it would be a good idea to place them together in the first place. They just don't fit well with one another. But in their element, Athena is a believable sergeant in the LAPD and Bobby is a believable captain of Station 119.

They have no chemistry at all. But then none of the couples on this show do except for the same sex ones. It is almost as though the writers do not understand heterosexual relationships.

The relationship between Chim and JLH is even more ludicrous. 

They need new writers.

Edited November 10, 2019 by The Ringo Kidd

[methodwriter85]

On 11/7/2019 at 3:53 AM, auntiemel said:

This episode had a very "This is Us" vibe to it!

Much closer to "Cold Case", in my opinion.

I liked it. I'm guessing we're going to get one on Buck and Eddie at some point. (I think Flight or Fight counts as Maddie's origin episode.)

Edited November 16, 2019 by methodwriter85

[mojito]

Thought this was the worst flashback episode of all. So trite and predictable. Why must at least one person on every one of these dramas have to have some unsolved mystery and/or tragedy in their past? Truly, I just don't care.

I've always thought that Athena was supposed to be in her 50s. If the episode with her boyfriend happened in 1989 and Athena was talking about being lawyers with her friends, I would say that minimally, they were 20 at the time. 

[starri]

I've found the "...Begins" episodes to largely be a mixed bag (really liked Hen's and and loved Chim's, and completely hated both of the Bobby ones), and this fell square in the middle.

I liked the actress playing Young Athena (and enjoyed that they subverted the established notion that 9-1-1 flashback partners/bosses are horrible bigots), but I didn't think they did a good job matching someone who looked like Angela Bassett.

On the other hand, they nailed finding a young match for Claudia Christian.

[possibilities]

On 11/5/2019 at 11:41 AM, izabella said:

I know it's tv, but it was not believable to me that Athena would be able to trace the gun back through all those people.  Most of them wouldn't still be around for her to question.

I was wondering how they "found the gun" that shot Emmett. How did they know that was the gun that shot him? I decided to let it go and just take the ride wherever the show was going, but it was on my mind the whole time.

I thought it was interesting that Athena could not forgive the man who shot Emmett, but she is married to and totally forgives Bobby for Bobby's mistake that killed his previous family.

I thought the actress who played Young Athena was so loose and kind of bubbly in a way that contrasts with Present Day Athena because it showed the Before-Emmett-Was-Shot Athena and how much Current Day Athena is different because of that loss. Similarly, I take Bobby;s reserve as his "post-trauma" persona. I think her backstory illuminates why they work as a couple, and why their relationship is so reserved on the surface. They understand at some deep level how they are each a little bit not ever going to totally relax and unwind, and they don't take it personally or feel slighted by it. They are together the way that suits both of them-- understanding how you can deeply love someone new while also having a deeply broken heart. It also explains why Athena doesn't totally kick her hostile mother out of her life-- she gets that mom is also traumatized and not able to fully embrace anything about Athena's life, because she doesn't want to face the loss again.

[Ailianna]

On 3/5/2021 at 7:26 PM, possibilities said:

I was wondering how they "found the gun" that shot Emmett. How did they know that was the gun that shot him? 

Basic ballistics, if they had the bullet to match to the gun.

[kwnyc]

Quote

I actually want to know more about that partnership. It seems like he was a pretty badass cop himself and a character. 

He really did seem like that, and the flashbacks showed him warming up and enjoying his partnership with Athena. She also seems to have taken a lot of the way she does her job from him. 

[nancy911]

I loved this episode.  Young Athena was a doll and so was Emmet.  Such love and to lose him the way she did was sad.  Again, Angela Bassett IMO is a goddess but in this show they make her character too tough...show her feminine side please.  Crying with Bobby at the end made me cry a lot and I liked seeing her let go like that for once.  

I love Captain Bobby and was kind of surprised when he and Athena hooked up then got married, they seem mismatched somehow.  I love them both though but maybe as I get into more episodes I will come to dislike some of the cast....so far nope, I love them all.  Chimney and Hen I LOVE!!