S01.E04: The Kentucky Contract

[ohjoy]

Doug solves a problem. Edwards has a breakthrough. Soyun embarks on a dangerous journey.

Originally aired: November 5, 2019

[nuraman00]

I did not see a SoYun and Dae Pak fight coming this early.

How did she block Dae Pak's kick, early in the fight, when she was on the ground?  Blocking the kick helped her get back into an upright position.

Doesn't it hurt to block a kick when one's on the ground?

EDIT:  Oops, that's not Dae Pak, that's the soldier who gave her the threat / orders, from the previous episode.

Edited November 6, 2019 by nuraman00

[mxc90]

Wells (the master hypnotist) was so worried that the CIA would kill him, should have placed a rule/suggestion for Haynes to not harm him or bash his head in.

Seems Haynes only killed Wells but spared the lives of Edwards and the cops. He must really hate hypnotist.

Does the program give you super human strength too? Haynes was chained to the bed.

Didn't take long for Sam to go from being clueless to spilling the entire truth to Doug after he found the picture.

Sam must be comfortable with Doug's memory erased. Now she feels he belongs to her. She doesn't care that Doug could have a family before this? I guess it's what the heart wants.

How convenient that these folks have no memory of being programmed but when it's time to fight, their skills kick right in.

So after Soyun ran out of the party, her husband decided to not follow her, go home instead, put on his pjs, maybe have some tea and go to sleep? 

[nuraman00]

1 hour ago, mxc90 said:

Wells (the master hypnotist) was so worried that the CIA would kill him, should have placed a rule/suggestion for Haynes to not harm him or bash his head in.

Seems Haynes only killed Wells but spared the lives of Edwards and the cops. He must really hate hypnotist.

Does the program give you super human strength too? Haynes was chained to the bed.

Didn't take long for Sam to go from being clueless to spilling the entire truth to Doug after he found the picture.

Sam must be comfortable with Doug's memory erased. Now she feels he belongs to her. She doesn't care that Doug could have a family before this? I guess it's what the heart wants.

How convenient that these folks have no memory of being programmed but when it's time to fight, their skills kick right in.

So after Soyun ran out of the party, her husband decided to not follow her, go home instead, put on his pjs, maybe have some tea and go to sleep? 

You bring up a lot of good points.  Especially about how Haynes escaped after being chained.

I also have less questions about this episode, than I do the previous ones.

1 hour ago, nuraman00 said:

I did not see a SoYun and Dae Pak fight coming this early.

How did she block Dae Pak's kick, early in the fight, when she was on the ground?  Blocking the kick helped her get back into an upright position.

Doesn't it hurt to block a kick when one's on the ground?

EDIT:  Oops, that's not Dae Pak, that's the soldier who gave her the threat / orders, from the previous episode.

After re-watching this several times, I think the soldier actually missed SoYun when she was on the ground.

How can someone miss a kick when the target is below them?

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Wells (the master hypnotist) was so worried that the CIA would kill him, should have placed a rule/suggestion for Haynes to not harm him or bash his head in.

I am going to guess that the guy chained to the bed was not wearing shoes. (Too lazy to rewatch) How can you stomp on someone head and break the skull without mangling your bare foot?

The fight scenes are technically good, but I wish they were a little more interesting, throw in a few surprises.

[mxc90]

5 hours ago, nuraman00 said:

After re-watching this several times, I think the soldier actually missed SoYun when she was on the ground.

How can someone miss a kick when the target is below them?

If I have the scene you are referring correct: either he mistimed his kick as she was getting up or wanted to show off how high he can raise his leg to justify the amount of money his mother spent on lessons was worth every penny.

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I am going to guess that the guy chained to the bed was not wearing shoes. (Too lazy to rewatch) How can you stomp on someone head and break the skull without mangling your bare foot?

He was wearing prison shoes/sneakers.

[BaskingsharkGTX]

So I guess we do not see all the characters in all the episodes. On the plus side, this week's characters are my favorites. On the minus side, damn was this talky. I mean all Nurse Wife and Oil Guy Husband did (besides getting rid of the body) was talk talk talk all episode long. Have these writers not heard of show don't tell?

I also don't understand what happened at the end - why was he going off with that crew to seemingly do a robbery? I thought he was going to kill the woman at Cloonie's Bar?

[Tachi Rocinante]

I'm enjoying the ride so far.

Don't know who the spray bottle assassin is, though. 

[nuraman00]

On 11/6/2019 at 5:35 AM, mxc90 said:

If I have the scene you are referring correct: either he mistimed his kick as she was getting up or wanted to show off how high he can raise his leg to justify the amount of money his mother spent on lessons was worth every penny.

He was wearing prison shoes/sneakers.

Lol.  🙂

Thanks, I agree he raised his leg way too high.

I think it would be hard to mistime the kick as she was getting up, as she should be easier to hit during the motion of raising her self.

[Ottis]

On 11/5/2019 at 11:20 PM, mxc90 said:

Wells (the master hypnotist) was so worried that the CIA would kill him, should have placed a rule/suggestion for Haynes to not harm him or bash his head in.

Seems Haynes only killed Wells but spared the lives of Edwards and the cops. He must really hate hypnotist.

Does the program give you super human strength too? Haynes was chained to the bed.

Didn't take long for Sam to go from being clueless to spilling the entire truth to Doug after he found the picture.

Sam must be comfortable with Doug's memory erased. Now she feels he belongs to her. She doesn't care that Doug could have a family before this? I guess it's what the heart wants.

How convenient that these folks have no memory of being programmed but when it's time to fight, their skills kick right in.

So after Soyun ran out of the party, her husband decided to not follow her, go home instead, put on his pjs, maybe have some tea and go to sleep? 

If you had watched the movies, some answers are available to many of these points. I like to nitpick as much as the next person, but it’s better if nitpicks are truly unclear. 

The program used drug doses over time that permitted various abilities, and a combination of strength and knowledge/skills of pressure points on handcuffs is consistent, at least  in a TV show like this. 

Haynes said that the hypnotist in his questioning triggered a reaction- “I saw red” - and that’s why he killed the hypnotist. Haynes quickly regained some control.

Jason Bourne had no memory of who he was and his skills came back instantly when he felt threatened by the police in the German park.

Supposedly none of the Treadstone subjects had family in the sense of a spouse or kids. Those that had parents, according to this show, the parents were apparently told “standard agency protocol” that their child was killed in the line of duty, whatever that duty might have been. Sam would have known all this. 

Soyun’s husband fleeing his bosses’ party to chase his wife would have been seen as an act of weakness in that male-dominated society. He may not even have been particularly worried... where could she go in NK? I actually find his blind love for her later to be the odder aspect of his behavior. I guess I chalked it all up to him being in a tough spot and having to choose the state over his family. 

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Ottis

[John Potts]

“Last night in the Arctic”!? Do the writers have any idea how long it takes to travel from Alaska to Kentucky(?)!? Though I do wonder if wife/controller is still part of the program – she did get her asset to go on the mission in the end, after all.

Oh dear. Soo Yun’s husband said, “Tell me tomorrow”, so he’s signed his own death warrant. He might as well have said, “I’ll be right back!” or “Nothing can stop us now!”

“If you want this contained, let me do it” - because you’ve done such a bang up job so far! Michelle Forbes (Emily?) seems to be a much better choice despite knowing nothing.

On 11/6/2019 at 6:20 AM, mxc90 said:

Does the program give you super human strength too? Haynes was chained to the bed.

It looked like he was in “Soft Restraints” (though I've only watched it once, I could be wrong), so breaking out of them would be possible.