S02.E08: Carry On

[ottoDbusdriver]

Episode Description:

In the wake of a devastating tragedy, Ben tries to connect with a despondent Olive. Michaela questions Jared's loyalties, and Saanvi shares a medical breakthrough that could change the course of all their lives.

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Olive doesn't look all that 'despondent' over TJ's death in that preview clip.

[ams1001]

Okay, who called "TJ's not really dead"?

 

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Okay, who called "TJ's not really dead"?

Just about anyone who knows the “no body/not dead” rule. 

[HunterHunted]

"Who cares about your dumb magic powers and grand destinies if it doesn't save the cute boys that I like," said Olive snottily.

I'm glad to see how committed Olive is to the cause and the callings. 

There's got to be someone from the military embedded with Simon and his dumbfuck Xers because those morons could easily screw up any potential for actually figuring out how to use the 828 abilities. Like if there's anyone the government would be tracking besides the 828ers, it's the Xer dumbfucks.

Sanvii has TV amnesia from her NotCure. WTF is the major? This is actually something the government and military should be monitoring. Her ass will probably only show up during sweeps.

Edited March 3, 2020 by HunterHunted

[Bulldog]

It would have been a nice change of pace if the calling had simply said "Hey Ben, TJ is alive and in the basement" instead of going thru the whole chant rigamarole

[preeya]

So "frostbite" thinks Sanvii has a cure when she can't even remember what day of the week it is and that she was making out with her  lesbian (not) lover in broad daylight at the park.

The listening device at the bar . . . . . what if Jared didn't choose a seat right near it. The clarity of the recording was amazing.

Why don't we see the kid anymore (not that I miss him)?

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by preeya

[mertensia]

I liked the scene where Olive and Charming sat and traded memories of TJ. It was nice and understated. 

 

I still don't understand why the government ever let these passengers go.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

There's got to be someone from the military imbedded with Simon and his dumbfuck Xers because those morons could easily screw up any potential for actually figuring out how to use the 828 abilities. Like if there's anyone the government would be tracking besides the 828ers, it's the Xer dumbfucks

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

[ottoDbusdriver]

So, while everyone was convinced it was arson, probably by Isaiah, the police are just going to gloss over the whole poisoned champagne that happened BEFORE the fire.  Really ?  No one mentioned that fact to the police.

During Ben's flashback to the scene with him carrying Olive out of the fire, it doesn't actually look like Ben at all.  It looks like someone who could be his stunt double, wearing different clothes.

Holy cow ! Jake actually mentioned that he only has 6 months to live.

I was kind of hoping that the chanting Ben heard during the calling was 'Imhotep, Imhotep', so they could do a crossover with the movie 'The Mummy'.  #sarcasm

Grace: "Maybe the callings want you to carry her through her grief."
See, this is why the callings need to knock off the vague bullshit and tell them explicitly what it wants them to do.

So, was Saanvi stalking Alex along the river's edge ?  Is Alex still married ?  Apparently so, but I guess one of the side effects of her gene therapy is blackout periods.  Sure, why not ?
Or maybe, it's Saanvi's spirit having an out of body experience ?

The calling that lured Ben to find TJ also told TJ to go to the basement, a basement that conveniently had a tunnel to the Zen meditation center down the street that just happened to have an unlocked door to said tunnel -- and somehow TJ managed to crawl down to this basement before the massive explosion (an explosion that occurred approx. 45 seconds after we last saw TJ still battling with Isaiah).  Umm, I don't think so.

Could Mic possibly find a larger microphone to hide in the bar ?  That's as bad as the microphone hidden on her person when she went undercover a couple of episodes back.

Oh come on -- Isaiah just happened to take TJ's bracelet and that led to whole "dead body" confusion.  That is some really weak, Three's Company confusion-style writing there.  
Plus, isn't TJ a lot taller than Isaiah ? That's some pretty good detective work there Lou ... err, Michaela.

With regards to the timeline, we pick up the very next day from last episode, and the entire episode appears to take place during one day, so that put's us around March 16, 2019.
This is partly confirmed by Billy's criminal record and his "recent" charge for spray painting anti-828er graffiti on March 2, 2019.

Interesting sidenote: Billy's police report showed "128th Precinct" on it -- per wikipedia, NYPD police precinct numbers only currently go up to 123 (and any precinct in the 120s is located on Staten Island).

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, preeya said:

Why don't we see the kid anymore (not that I miss him)?

Because it's all just too much for him and he's with grandpa! You'd think most parents would want to keep him close to them as much as possible with all they've been through, but I guess not. I guess he's not getting any helpful callings today, either.

Okay, forgive me for apparently not paying enough attention, but what exactly is the goal of the Xers? Do we even know, or is it just me and my pitiful attention span?

[Thalia]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

That's my call.  Well, at least I'm sure she and Jared are in on something, whether White Hat or Black Hat. 

I half expected the chief to destroy that thumb drive on camera. 

Edited March 3, 2020 by Thalia

[sempervivum]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

what exactly is the goal of the Xers? Do we even know, or is it just me and my pitiful attention span?

Not just you. They're talking about 'wiping them out before they kill us'-? Was I (yet again) asleep during the part where the passengers chase down the normies and tear them limb from limb?

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

I was going in the other direction with that.  Perhaps the police chief and Jared are both antagonists.  I am probably wrong, but I have never liked Jared, so I would prefer it if the writers would continue on the path of making him a bad guy.

Jared and the chief being in cahoots with the bad guys crossed my mind first. I thought maybe it was too obvious, but, yeah, probably not for this show.

[HunterHunted]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

I think the new captain has to have some ins with the government because she started off with a whole heaping help of "shut up Micheala" despite no real reason to hold that position. Yes, it's a trope, but Michaela's post return clearance rate was exceptionally high. That would likely have earned some leeway.

Jared is just undercover.

Prior to the fire, Grace was so worried about the attention and press that she has the dopey idea to pretend Danny was the baby's father. After the fire while Simon is in the house, Grace leaves to take a call because they've been getting so many requests from the press for statements about Adrian, TJ, and the fire. WHUT??? Clearly the writers needed to get Grace out of the way so Simon could poke around, but the writers seem to have forgotten that Grace is scared of the press and the attention. Her most likely response would be simply to reply "no comment," ignore the calls, or block the callers.

[ams1001]

On a side note, the episode title has gotten the song "Carry On" by Fun. firmly stuck in my head.

[basiltherat]

Don't know nuthin' 'bout this Fun thing -- What about "Carry On, My Wayward Son" -- or am I dating myself?!

I'm so glad T. J. is alive -- he is just sooo dreamy!!!  Like Davey Jones or Bobby Sherman.

[ams1001]

38 minutes ago, basiltherat said:

Don't know nuthin' 'bout this Fun thing -- What about "Carry On, My Wayward Son" -- or am I dating myself?!

Actually I had "Carry On, My Wayward Son" in my head last night. Fun. has been there all morning, though. (I have both songs on my iPod. Yes, I still use an iPod.)

 

[alvajon]

8 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Could Mic possibly find a larger microphone to hide in the bar ?  That's as bad as the microphone hidden on her person when she went undercover a couple of episodes back.

Did I miss it, or did they not show Michaela retrieving the microphone from the bar?  She took a chance going in to put it in place in the first place, then the next scene, I think, was her, the partner, and the chief reviewing it. She would have had to have a good excuse to go back in.  And yes it was most obvious--anyone sitting at a table could see it right away. 

[Dowel Jones]

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

We need Dex to get in there and figure this out!

[SoMuchTV]

8 hours ago, basiltherat said:

Don't know nuthin' 'bout this Fun thing -- What about "Carry On, My Wayward Son" -- or am I dating myself?!

I can beat that. My thoughts went to CSN ( or CSN&Y?). Carry on, love is coming...

[shapeshifter]

28 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

9 hours ago, basiltherat said:

Don't know nuthin' 'bout this Fun thing -- What about "Carry On, My Wayward Son" -- or am I dating myself?!

I can beat that. My thoughts went to CSN ( or CSN&Y?). Carry on, love is coming...

All I thought of was whether or not I need to get a new carry-on bag or wait until mine throws a wheel. 

[DanielleBowden]

21 hours ago, sempervivum said:

what exactly is the goal of the Xers? Do we even know, or is it just me and my pitiful attention span?

No idea.  They've done a very poor job of establishing why the x-ers have such intense hate/fear.      

[shapeshifter]

6 minutes ago, CeceliaBedelia said:

No idea.  They've done a very poor job of establishing why the x-ers have such intense hate/fear.      

So I guess they're just a generic hate group.

[tennisgurl]

Oh God, did the x-ers just drop the "humanity first" name now? Isn't that the name of literally every fantasy hate group in every thing ever? I think that was literally the name of the group of dickheads from The Gifted AND Supergirl, this is just going to be painfully lame isn't it? And these guys are really stretching it when it comes to hate group forming. "One of them robbed a bank unsuccessfully! Another one was accused and never convicted of murder!" Yeah there will always be people that hate and fear anyone different, and the passengers are certainly different after what happened, but other than this plane ride, there is nothing really weird about them or threatening, at least that people know about. Show, you can barley handle your twisty conspiracy, I highly doubt you can handle any social commentary, especially when its so generic that I dont even fully get why they have such a hate on for the passengers. I mean, there arent even that many of them, what do they plan to do when they...kill them? Lock them up? Make them wear flannel? Your hate group really needs a more clear mission statement! 

TJ is alive! I dont even care how contrived it is, I like TJ and am glad to still have him around. You know, maybe if the Callings weren't so pointlessly vague, this would all be going a lot better. "Hey Ben, a crazy man is about to set a fire at this time and address! Call the cops!" "Hi Ben, Calling again, TJ is totally not dead actually, he is just under a bank vault. Maybe go get him." As much as everyone was all "The Calling are such a miracle they saved lives!" if they just got to the freaking point, those people in the club would be alive, and instead of having Ben follow monk chants like some freaking Dan Brown novel, they could have just told him where TJ was, and wouldn't have almost staved to death in a hole!

"Carry them through their grief?" Really Grace? Really? See what I mean, you can never tell if they are being poetic, or literal! 

So between Saanvi having black outs, and Zeke freezing to death, things seem to be escalating in the whole death day department. 

I did like the brief scene where Olive and Ben talked about TJ, and the quick flashback to TJ in Ben's class did actually make me think that he was really dead, and I did feel a feel...for a second, before I realized that the Calling were pulling a Lassie and were trying to get Ben and Olive to find TJ who fell down a well. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by tennisgurl

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

You know, maybe if the Callings weren't so pointlessly vague, this would all be going a lot better.

Calling #1 - The 828'ers have suffered enough.  They're distraught after losing TJ.  We need to let them know he's still alive.  Should we send a message?"

Calling #2 - "Hold my beer.  Watch this."

[DFWGina]

 

On 3/3/2020 at 12:31 AM, preeya said:

Why don't we see the kid anymore (not that I miss him)?

He's at the grandparents or so they said.

[ams1001]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

and I did feel a feel...for a second, before I realized that the Calling were pulling a Lassie and were trying to get Ben and Olive to find TJ who fell down a well. 

Comments like this must be why I'm still watching this mess! (And one of my neighbors was walking his Collie down my street when I got home tonight, too! 😂 )

[snarktini]

On 3/3/2020 at 12:36 AM, shapeshifter said:

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

My belief all along is that Jared is undercover. While many viewers dislike him, the writers seem to think he is redeemable so I don't think they'd fully write him to the dark side. I figured he was trying to prove himself to Michaela, but being asked to go undercover makes even more sense. The way the captain blew off Michaela's concerns about a leak fits with her being in on it. Then again she dismisses M about everything, so...

On 3/3/2020 at 9:22 AM, HunterHunted said:

I think the new captain has to have some ins with the government because she started off with a whole heaping help of "shut up Micheala" despite no real reason to hold that position. Yes, it's a trope, but Michaela's post return clearance rate was exceptionally high. That would likely have earned some leeway.

Jared is just undercover.

The problem with her clearance rate is that it's suspiciously high and built entirely on anonymous tips (not even CIs) and hunches. There is a kind of boss that would not be happy about that and would be more concerned it implies some sort of complicity, corruption, or illegal police work. Can't imagine IA wouldn't be suspicious.

Now, if she has another agenda that comes from higher up (FBI, IA, 1PP, the Major), that works too.

---

I thought Saanvi was smart. Sadly, she is not. Trusting the therapist and overeager lab helper with super double extra secret stuff? Dumb. Continuing to work while under surveillance and putting all that evidence where it could be stolen? Dumber. Injecting yourself with an experimental drug, more than once! Without a buddy! Behind a locked door! I can't even.

[Jacks-Son]

On 3/3/2020 at 12:36 AM, shapeshifter said:

Like maybe the new police chief is a fibbie and Jared is undercover?

So,  they're potential heroes now?  Working together to bring down the potential terrorists? How did these two (Captain & Jared)  meet and agree to work for whoever they work for?  Are they working with the professor or the major?  Maybe the writers are trying to salvage Jared's character like they're trying to do with Grace?  I was hoping Jared would get his ass knocked down by the Captain.  No such luck 😫

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Jacks-Son said:

 Are they working with the professor or the major?

Not sure about the professor, but I'm pretty sure The Major is no longer in the TV universe that you and I are watching --pretty sure she's in an alternate universe where Lost is in it's 15th season.

[Jacks-Son]

Maybe the “Captain“ is now the “Major“.  Or the major had her lab fabricate Saanvi‘s cure and forgot all about the 828's.

I must criticize the writers for presenting us with Isaiah‘s death off-screen.   It would have been so sweet to see that toothless mofo slowly burn to death and be denied his rapture. 

[jabRI]

This was just a really boring episode to me, all the boat building and crabbiness got on my nerves.

[Camera One]

I fell behind for two weeks, so now I get to watch two ridiculous episodes in a row.

I'm sure Jared is just undercover and they're just laying out a red herring.  It would be pretty stupid if Jared and that police captain doesn't just let Michaela know, so she could be off their backs.  Instead, they'll probably have Michaela crashing in ruining their entire operation and the evil hate group can escape and scatter and we can continue seeing them plot for another 3 seasons.

The bartender sister is totally okay with these psychos trying to kill innocent passengers?  Regardless of his undercover mission, he's clearly smitten with her.

Saanvi isn't doing any simultaneous animal tests anymore?  Or maybe she forgot to.

I liked seeing Ben and Olive working together (after she actually got out of bed).  But as said above, it was yet another convoluted Calling which would have gotten TJ killed, if:
- if Ben didn't go visit the memorial again
- if Ben didn't follow the chants from there
- if Olive didn't go back with Ben to the zen meditation center to sit in that room with the stairs for a DIY memorial service during which The Callings politely waited
- if they decided not to go downstairs or someone was down there and kicked them out
- if they never found that door or didn't go through that door/crawl through tunnels

Or if any of the above had happened too late (eg. Olive decided the next day to go with Ben).  The doctor said TJ would have died a few hours later.

And why didn't Michaela get the Callings this time?  I guess The Callings was being considerate since she was really busy with another subplot.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Camera One

[RachelKM]

This has been sitting on my DVR until now.  Quarantine has me watching literally anything,

The show is both less annoying and more annoying when binging.  The pacing seems less labored, but lord does the Duh pile up when not portioned over time.

Like, is Ben just handling, walking around with, and casually leafing though what is supposed to be a 16th century journal?  For that matter, this Yale Library somehow has it and allows it to leave its climate controlled, UV protected vault? 

This whole Al-Zuras shit is giving me Alias/Rambaldi vibes. I would prefer no...

[becauseIsaidso]

Al-Zuras? Obviously a riff on Lazuras. So disappointed. Been enjoying this season until now, but all I see is bad heaped onto worse and the 828s too dumb or too distracted to see it. Taking a couple of days off before I watch anymore.

[mythoughtis]

The incident at the park with Saavhi and Alex was totally out of character for her.  She’d never do anything that bold, public and decisive.   She’s probably developed multiple personalities.  

[Mercolleen]

On 3/3/2020 at 7:21 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

Oh come on -- Isaiah just happened to take TJ's bracelet and that led to whole "dead body" confusion.  That is some really weak, Three's Company confusion-style writing there.  
Plus, isn't TJ a lot taller than Isaiah ? That's some pretty good detective work there Lou ... err, Michaela.

Completely ludicrous! They ID'd the body by the bracelet in the hand? Which should have been around his wrist? Did nobody pull dental records? This might be the thing that makes me stop watching. 

Except I'll probably keep going.