S01.E07: Fatal Exception

[ohjoy]

Jo and Chris rush to find Piper before she’s put in harm’s way. Meanwhile, Jo faces new challenges at home after betraying Alex and Ed’s trust.

Original air date: November 19, 2019

[Paloma]

Wow, so much to process this episode (no pun intended)! Hope to comment tomorrow after I sleep on it.

[shapeshifter]

I'm glad Piper now has a life of her own, so to speak.

But is John Locke really dead? Maybe he'll exist in Piper's secret place. And now I'm imagining Piper being a programmer and rigging up VR goggles so Mia or Jo can see her secret place.

[possibilities]

This episode convinced me that they're not about to run out of story!

[possibilities]

Also, Mia is great. That look she gave her mother before getting into the car with her dad!  HA! Great actress.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

This episode convinced me that they're not about to run out of story!

Perhaps more importantly, they aren’t going to drag out a plot arc. 

[djsurrey]

Did not see the last scene coming. Again.

😊

Edited November 20, 2019 by djsurrey
typo

[mthorne]

sempervivum on Nov 6 noted the ubiquitous, perhaps symbolic, use of blue. In Piper's memory library, the books with memories of Jo were blue, when they changed to false memories of Emily they were orange-red, the same as her dress. I almost cried with joy when Piper changed them all back.  

[tennisgurl]

Awww Piper was saved by the power of sisterly love! This show keeps on taking new twists and turns, I am so glad that they arent dragging things out, but are actually just adding new elements to the story. 

I am still a bit sad that Emily is the Big Bad, as I liked her a lot before, but the actress is really great and her trying to get Piper to become her daughter was super creepy. Her imaginary world where she is Jo was super disconcerting. I cheered so hard when Piper broke herself out and changed the colors in the library. Blue seems to be really symbolic for the imaginary world that Emily used to manipulate Piper, so it was a huge deal for her to change them and fight against her. 

Mia is still great, and her bond with Piper is so sweet and feels so real. 

[TheRabbi]

I hope Locke isn't gone for good. I'm not that keen on Emily being the big bad. However, this show moves so fast that by another week or two we could be talking about entirely different things. The show certainly doesn't drag things out like some sci-fi.

[Mecca]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I am still a bit sad that Emily is the Big Bad, as I liked her a lot before, but the actress is really great and her trying to get Piper to become her daughter was super creepy. Her imaginary world where she is Jo was super disconcerting.

When they were all sitting at the breakfast table was that a dream piper was having or was it inside the virtual world that Emily created?  If it was piper, I liked that her perfect happy family moment included Alex and that she's seeing maybe a bit of a father figure in him.

This episode pulled me back in after being a bit bored with the last one.   I wouldn't have minded the show dragging the Emily taking over as Jo plot for one more episode.  I felt like that was resolved too quickly right when I was actually getting invested.

When Mia said at the end of the episode that she was happy to sleep in her own bed....does she not consider her dad's apartment her home as well.   I thought they were sharing custody or does she primarily live with Jo? 

Of course they have to amp up the love triangle.  I still feel like Alex cares more about Jo than she does for him.  I'm trying to make myself care about this triangle, but I kinda don't.

[shapeshifter]

6 minutes ago, Mecca said:

When they were all sitting at the breakfast table was that a dream piper was having or was it inside the virtual world that Emily created?  If it was piper, I liked that her perfect happy family moment included Alex and that she's seeing maybe a bit of a father figure in him.

I’m glad Mia convincingly told her Dad about Piper saving her life. I hope there aren’t any more “accidents “ to make him get paranoid about Piper again, but I fear that may be asking for too much. 
  
-

9 minutes ago, Mecca said:

Of course they have to amp up the love triangle

Ugh. Even with all the competition with cable networks, streaming platforms, etc. TPTB still seem to be backstage pulling the old Love Triangle strings *sigh*

[foxfreakinmulder]

2 hours ago, TheRabbi said:

I hope Locke isn't gone for good

Me too. I love Terry O'Quinn. But that was an awful lot of blood spilling out of his cell.

I'm curious as to why an AI would eat or drink and what happens to the food and liquid she puts in her body? I mean, why would they program an AI to feel hungry or thirsty, they didn't plan on her escaping into the real word so why bother?

[MisterGlass]

While her mind is AI, she seems to have an organic, human body.  She's not a true robot or android.

I thought the love triangle was behind us until the reporter was making his over the top speech about trusting Jo to her Dad.  That put him back into artificial character territory for a minute.  I am only prepared to sit through one triangle, and I'm more invested in the Jo-Piper-Emily version.

The Emily side of the maternal love triangle was a bit heavy handed.  They've been much more gradual with developing the adoptive mother relationship between Jo and Piper.  As presented Emily is obviously off her rocker, and it could have been more nuanced.  She could have killed Kindred later.

It seems like Jo's family are the blue team.  Ed and Alex were notably wearing blue.  I think this is a reference Red Team vs. Blue Team cyber security operations.  Red attacks, blue defends.

[Dowel Jones]

On 11/19/2019 at 8:50 PM, possibilities said:

This episode convinced me that they're not about to run out of story!

Maybe Jo is going to slowly come to the realization that everyone in town except her is AI.

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Me too. I love Terry O'Quinn. But that was an awful lot of blood spilling out of his cell.

I assumed they gave him the same pill they gave the two bodies in the morgue that turned them into goo.

18 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Maybe Jo is going to slowly come to the realization that everyone in town except her is AI.

Deputy Chris says "O.K., sure".

[plurie]

Piper should have noticed that Emily said her father wasn't around when she was a child, and was emotionally distant after she found him, but Ed was RIGHT THERE and was VERY close to Jo.

[Paloma]

15 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Awww Piper was saved by the power of sisterly love!

Although the bond with Mia was important in Piper's rescue, it was Alex who actually rescued her by confronting Emily. Maybe he didn't recognize the danger of doing this (he didn't see what Emily made Piper do to Owen, and I'm kind of surprised that Emily didn't tell Piper that Alex was a danger also), but he recognized that Piper needed protection from Emily and that as the closest thing she had to a father figure, he had to do it. 

12 hours ago, Mecca said:

When they were all sitting at the breakfast table was that a dream piper was having or was it inside the virtual world that Emily created?  If it was piper, I liked that her perfect happy family moment included Alex and that she's seeing maybe a bit of a father figure in him.

I'm pretty sure that was inside the virtual world that Emily created, as she was putting herself into every happy family memory that Piper had with Jo's family. I agree that Piper is seeing Alex as a father figure, and he seems to be gradually accepting that role, though still with caution. 

13 hours ago, TheRabbi said:

I hope Locke isn't gone for good.

Well, that's one way to cut the cost of a stellar cast (per comments on an earlier episode). But maybe he will show up in Emily's virtual world so she can work out her feelings toward him. 

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

10 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Me too. I love Terry O'Quinn. But that was an awful lot of blood spilling out of his cell.

I assumed they gave him the same pill they gave the two bodies in the morgue that turned them into goo.

I forgot about the goo pill from the morgue scene, but I'm pretty sure I saw the guard forcing a pill into Kindred's mouth, so that probably was the same thing. I found it a little hard to believe that Emily could get a guard to kill him--she may be the Big Bad here, but it's not like she is a mob boss or has other connections (that we know of) to get a prisoner killed. But she does seem to have a team of hired thugs who she used to kidnap Wilkis and threaten his wife, so maybe they have the connections to hire the prison guard (if he really was a prison guard--maybe he was one of her thugs who dressed up as a guard and got access by Emily hacking the prison computer system).

12 hours ago, Mecca said:

When Mia said at the end of the episode that she was happy to sleep in her own bed....does she not consider her dad's apartment her home as well.   I thought they were sharing custody or does she primarily live with Jo? 

Good point--I thought they shared custody, but I've forgotten what was said about this in earlier episodes. I did get the sense that she spends more time at Jo's house, but Alex does seem to be there a lot. Or maybe Mia's reference to her own bed is because the separation is still relatively recent.

12 hours ago, Mecca said:

Of course they have to amp up the love triangle.  I still feel like Alex cares more about Jo than she does for him.  I'm trying to make myself care about this triangle, but I kinda don't.

I agree that Alex seems to care more than Jo does, but she is also very focused on the current situation and can't share it all with him, so that may explain her relative detachment. I didn't think the love triangle was amped up--in fact, I really didn't notice anything pointing to a triangle.  Owen is still around because he is involved in what's going on with Piper, but I am getting more friendship than romantic vibes between him and Jo.

10 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

I thought the love triangle was behind us until the reporter was making his over the top speech about trusting Jo to her Dad. 

To me that seemed to be reflecting his growing trust of Jo, but not in a romantic way.

11 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

While her mind is AI, she seems to have an organic, human body.  She's not a true robot or android.

Agree, I don't see how she could eat and drink if she didn't have an organic, human body, but I'd like to get more of an explanation of this in the show. 

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, Paloma said:

so maybe they have the connections to hire the prison guard (if he really was a prison guard--maybe he was one of her thugs who dressed up as a guard and got access by Emily hacking the prison computer system).

It would seem to require a lot of set up work by  Kindred's company to cover so many possibilities.  I vote for this, although it relies on the trope that in television land, it's always possible for a complete stranger to walk into a highly secured area without questioning.   No other guard has ever seen him before, but, hey, he has the uniform and badge.

[SoMuchTV]

11 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I assumed they gave him the same pill they gave the two bodies in the morgue that turned them into goo.

Deputy Chris says "O.K., sure".

I saw someone pointed out on a different forum (can't take credit but can't believe I didn't think of it) - we knew there were two people struggling in the cell, but we don't know which came out, right?

And lol at Deputy Chris.

[topanga]

6 hours ago, Paloma said:

Agree, I don't see how she could eat and drink if she didn't have an organic, human body, but I'd like to get more of an explanation of this in the show. 

And I agree with you. Plus, in the first episode, she had "tests" at the hospital, which I'm sure included  a physical exam, head CT, and blood work. So unless Abby is in on the deception, which I highly doubt, Piper's internal workings mimic human physiology. 

7 hours ago, Paloma said:

I agree that Alex seems to care more than Jo does, but she is also very focused on the current situation and can't share it all with him, so that may explain her relative detachment. I didn't think the love triangle was amped up--in fact, I really didn't notice anything pointing to a triangle.  Owen is still around because he is involved in what's going on with Piper, but I am getting more friendship than romantic vibes between him and Jo.

I don't get romantic feelings from Jo about anyone, but she does care about everyone. 

In Emily's fantasy? Alternate reality?, it was creepy watching her taking Jo's place in the family and in Piper's mind. But it's interesting that Emily included Alex in her design. Is that because she grew up without her dad and wanted to know what it was like to be part of a nuclear family? 

As others have said, I really wonder why Alex and Jo separated. Could it be her job hours? Although she spends plenty of time at home now. I don't get vibes that there was infidelity. Maybe they just grew apart, as couples often do. But they get along so well.  I just don't feel romantic chemistry between them. 

[Paloma]

15 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I saw someone pointed out on a different forum (can't take credit but can't believe I didn't think of it) - we knew there were two people struggling in the cell, but we don't know which came out, right?

I'd have to watch it again, but I thought I saw the guard leave after the struggle. But maybe my mind/eyes just filled in what wasn't there because I assumed the guard killed Kindred.

16 minutes ago, topanga said:

But it's interesting that Emily included Alex in her design. Is that because she grew up without her dad and wanted to know what it was like to be part of a nuclear family? 

That's a good explanation, although I'm not sure how the tech is supposed to work. If Emily was just altering Piper's memories (or files) to replace Jo with Emily, Alex would be in many of those memories in any case--Emily wouldn't need to include him in the design.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, Paloma said:

I'd have to watch it again, but I thought I saw the guard leave after the struggle. But maybe my mind/eyes just filled in what wasn't there because I assumed the guard killed Kindred.

I just rewatched the end.  We saw from about the knees down, black pants & shoes.

[AnimeMania]

47 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

2 hours ago, Paloma said:

I'd have to watch it again, but I thought I saw the guard leave after the struggle. But maybe my mind/eyes just filled in what wasn't there because I assumed the guard killed Kindred.

I just rewatched the end.  We saw from about the knees down, black pants & shoes.

That means Kindred killed the guard, changed into his clothes, and escaped. Since the body was melted there is probably no way to ID it.

[SoMuchTV]

29 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

That means Kindred killed the guard, changed into his clothes, and escaped. Since the body was melted there is probably no way to ID it.

Has there ever been a prisoner/bad guy (on tv) that didn’t change into the uniform of the recently deceased guard/security officer and escape?

[MisterGlass]

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I vote for this, although it relies on the trope that in television land, it's always possible for a complete stranger to walk into a highly secured area without questioning.   No other guard has ever seen him before, but, hey, he has the uniform and badge.

It's possible that for the in-show logic Emily hacked the prison system and created a profile for a guard working there temporarily.

[Mecca]

13 hours ago, Paloma said:

I didn't think the love triangle was amped up--in fact, I really didn't notice anything pointing to a triangle.  Owen is still around because he is involved in what's going on with Piper, but I am getting more friendship than romantic vibes between him and Jo.

They did the classic love triangle shot where the guy looks on from a distance as his ex talks to another guy.  Then they had that converstation right after where it could be read as Alex and Jo talking about their relationship eventhough on the surface it was about Piper.

[peachmangosteen]

On 11/21/2019 at 8:44 AM, Paloma said:

I didn't think the love triangle was amped up--in fact, I really didn't notice anything pointing to a triangle. 

I was about to mention the scene @Mecca just did. The way that was framed screamed 'love triangle.'

17 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I saw someone pointed out on a different forum (can't take credit but can't believe I didn't think of it) - we knew there were two people struggling in the cell, but we don't know which came out, right?

I am so glad you pointed this out because I was so distraught over Emily having Kindred killed but now I'l like 99% convinced he actually killed the guard and maybe will now go join Jo's team lol.

17 hours ago, topanga said:

I just don't feel romantic chemistry between them. 

Maybe that is why they got divorced.