S02.E12: Call Sign

[ottoDbusdriver]

Episode Description:

Ben helps absolve a passenger of his guilt; Saanvi enlists help in protecting herself from the Major; Jared and Drea attempt to extract a confession from a trio of ruthless meth dealers who would do anything to exact revenge on Michaela.

 

[alvajon]

Zeke (and his dad) could have at least shaved for Zeke's wedding day 🙃

[mertensia]

Lady, you're going to be lucky if your new husband survives the week. Go ahead and marry him.

Nice to see Vance again! And Saanvi.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Zeke has 2 days left -- but he disappeared in Dec. 2018.  That means that between the last episode -- when the 3 dirtbags of the Apocalypse were arrested -- and this episode 5 or 6 weeks went by at the minimum, but more likely the jump was nearly 5 months.   Seriously, the writers have completely rat-fucked any semblance of the timeline.

And then Olive says that "winter break is coming up" -- the writers are going all in on the fact that nearly an entire year has basically passed by in 2 episodes.

At least Zeke is wearing seasonally appropriate clothing (since it is now Dec. 2019).

That CGI when Zeke was knocking the skin off his body was pretty bad.  And what was the point of that exactly ?

Whoever is sending the callings needs to quit being so fucking vague, because it's getting infuriating.

Ben's calling about the plane exploding appeared to be about saving the guy who inspected Flight 828 and then sat in the deadhead seat.  I guess it kind of was.

Then Ben's calling about the plane exploding appeared to be about finding his mother's bridal veil to give to Michaela, which really made no sense at all, but then appeared to save the wedding.  FFS !

Then Ben's calling about the plane exploding occurred after the wedding during the cleanup, which I guess he needs to save 15% from GEICO on car insurance -- who the fuck knows what it means ?  That's as likely as anything else.

Based on how easy it was for the 3 dirtbags of the Apocalypse to overpower the guards on the Correction bus, I'm guessing it was the correction officers first day on the job.

Plus, there's no way that the lead dirtbag gets behind the correction officer with the gun without the correction office noticing -- unless he's magic.  Magical dirtbags.

Why would the bridal veil been in a shop called Sam's Knitwear ?

And the 3 dirtbags ditch the prison bus, steal a black van and proceed to camp out in front of Casa Stone.  What I don't get is since they have guns why didn't they just confront Michaela on the front lawn of the house instead of kidnapping Cal.  There's no way Michaela would have been packing heat on her honeymoon.  Was kidnapping Cal their plan all along ?

And do they not know that their stash blew up ?  Because there is no way Michaela has a $1 million worth of meth to trade for Cal.

And Vance finally returns from his trip to Terabithia or wherever the hell he went for nearly 9 months (according to the fucked up timeline, at least).

If the Major found a breakthrough in her research, why would the switchboard at the DoD light up exactly ?  Considering that the Major's research is super duper top secret.

[llongori]

2 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Then Ben's calling about the plane exploding occurred after the wedding during the cleanup, which I guess he needs to save 15% from GEICO on car insurance -- who the fuck knows what it means ?  That's as likely as anything else.

LOL!!!

My husband was watching this with me for the first time.  I told him I'm not even gonna try to explain what's happening in this show because I'm not really sure.

[preeya]

37 minutes ago, llongori said:

My husband was watching this with me for the first time.  I told him I'm not even gonna try to explain what's happening in this show because I'm not really sure.

Why would you put your husband through such torture?

@ottoDbusdriver great recap

[shapeshifter]

Ever since the first episode of Once Upon a Time when Josh Dallas as Charming successfully fought off the evil minions in a sword fight with his baby daughter tucked safely and adorably under his other arm, he has been type cast. 
I expect this show to get unceremoniously canceled mid-plot like The 4400, at which time Josh Dallas will get the lead in a modern remake of Father Knows Best set on Mars.

 

1 hour ago, preeya said:

2 hours ago, llongori said:

My husband was watching this with me for the first time.  I told him I'm not even gonna try to explain what's happening in this show because I'm not really sure.

Why would you put your husband through such torture?

In this Time of Corona, this is what married couples' porn looks like?  (Another reason I'm glad I never remarried.)

[sempervivum]

6 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Based on how easy it was for the 3 dirtbags of the Apocalypse to overpower the guards on the Correction bus, I'm guessing it was the correction officers first day on the job.

Epic rundown, Otto- I would also say that the correction officers have somehow managed to avoid seeing the movie The Fugitive, which seems to show up every 2 or 3 days someplace on Spectrum, and which features this EXACT escape scheme.

6 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Why would the bridal veil been in a shop called Sam's Knitwear ?

Um, apparently Sam's is also a pawn shop? Resale shop? Whatever; as far as I can see, the veil Eyebrows wears isn't even the same as the coarse, crumpled thing with lace edging that Ben brings back in the fancy box.

We once rescued 3 poor little kittens during a brutal Wisconsin winter; their ears were all frostbitten/frozen, and they actually fell off/broke off after a few days inside. So every time Eyebrows caresses Zeke's head, I expect to see those janky ear rims fall off. (The kittens all quickly died of FIV complications, btw 😪).

[Dowel Jones]

6 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Plus, there's no way that the lead dirtbag gets behind the correction officer with the gun without the correction office noticing -- unless he's magic.  Magical dirtbags.

The CO was probably distracted by the looming shadows in the back of the bus.

6 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

There's no way Michaela would have been packing heat on her honeymoon.

Now there's a mental image worth saving.  Maybe that's why she needed that veil.

[basiltherat]

The bride wore a veil from her mother; the groom wore icicles, the gift of the Callings; the best (little) man wore guilt, courtesy of the Three Shadows of Eeevul..

Seriously, Eyebrows' wedding dress was absolutely fabulous, especially considering it was from a thrift shop.  The lace around the shoulders was beautifu;l, and I know nothing of wedding dresses.

Zeke is dying a chilly, chilly death (hope not) and he STILL is a better catch than Jared!

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

14 minutes ago, basiltherat said:

Zeke is dying a chilly, chilly death (hope not) and he STILL is a better catch than Jared!

Isn't that the truth. 

After departing the nuptials because he just couldn't take it any longer, he could have at least hung around and provided security.  Since the bus was hijacked during daylight hours and the wedding was at night I would think that Jared, Drea (Mick's new partner) and Michaela would have all known about the escape of the 3 dirtbags.

[tennisgurl]

So now the three shadow dealers have escaped very easily from jail, and are off to continue to be all evil and stuff. Again, thanks Callings, you really made things clear just in time to stop them from doing evil stuff in their brand new vendetta against Michaela. 

Hi Vance! So where the fuck have you been exactly? At least Saanvi, despite her life falling apart, has hooked up with Vance and it seems like she is actually planning on getting some stuff done because, even at her lowest, Saanvi is one of if not the most competent person on the show. 

Better enjoy that marriage while you can Michaela, it looks like she is about five seconds from being married to a Popsicle. I keep wanting to see more of Zeke and his dad, it actually seems like they have an interesting story between them, but they keep cutting away from them the second it gets interesting. Its amazing that, even as Zeke is literally freezing to death, he and Michaela still have more heat than she ever had with Jared!

Ben meanwhile is doing more plane stuff and the plane exploding and oh my God Callings could you just get to the point already?! 

Really, its shown a decent amount of restraint that its taken them until now to have Cal kidnapped. Normally thats half the reason to have cute kids in shows like this. They are cute and precocious, they have magic knowledge that no one understands, and they get kidnapped. 

[Brian Cronin]

Man, it's a shame that Jim True-Frost is hard up enough for work that he's playing a minister in, like, one scene on Manifest.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Brian Cronin

[basiltherat]

Whaa -- you mean there's a guy named FROST in a show about a dude freezing to death?!?

[willco]

So next week is the finale already ? Did they really only plan on 13 episodes, or is it because of the current situation we're all suffering thru ? If so, I don't hold out much hope ( not that there was a lot anyway !) of the last episode making any sense, because it must have been a rush job, I'm guessing.

 

I know a most of the stories really don't make a lot of sense and that the writing could use a couple ( any ?) decent writers, but I still enjoy seeing how things play out. This show isn't even in the Top 10 of bad shows I've watched in my time, so I'll be a little sad that it's already done. And now, for who knows how long ? Will shows that normally start filming in July even be able too ?

[luckyroll3]

11 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

That CGI when Zeke was knocking the skin off his body was pretty bad.  And what was the point of that exactly ?

I think it was supposed to be chunks of ice falling off his body....you know, because he's freezing to death.  From someone suffering from hypothermia, he does not have on enough layers. 

[jabRI]

For me, the saddest sight of the day was Cal out there playing with a sparkler all by his lonesome.

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, willco said:

So next week is the finale already ? Did they really only plan on 13 episodes, or is it because of the current situation we're all suffering thru ? If so, I don't hold out much hope ( not that there was a lot anyway !) of the last episode making any sense, because it must have been a rush job, I'm guessing.

According to TV Line:

"All 13 episodes had finished filming; current second season (concluding Monday, April 6) is not impacted."

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

After departing the nuptials because he just couldn't take it any longer, he could have at least hung around and provided security.  Since the bus was hijacked during daylight hours and the wedding was at night I would think that Jared, Drea (Mick's new partner) and Michaela would have all known about the escape of the 3 dirtbags.

Cagney and Lacey would’ve been on the 3 dirtbags like a hen on a June bug.

 

Shouldn’t Zeke have gangrene by now?

 

 

 

 

[alvajon]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Cagney and Lacey would’ve been on the 3 dirtbags like a hen on a June bug.

 

Shouldn’t Zeke have gangrene by now?

 

 

 

 

I was wondering about the gangrene thing myself.  

[Cigale]

1 hour ago, alvajon said:

I was wondering about the gangrene thing myself.  

I was wondering about the smell thing myself...

[alvajon]

9 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I think it was supposed to be chunks of ice falling off his body....you know, because he's freezing to death.  From someone suffering from hypothermia, he does not have on enough layers. 

Is it just me or..   who would want to have a two-day “honeymoon" with a man who is molting, fingers about to fall off--I mean, how romantic can THAT be??

[Angeleyes]

5 hours ago, alvajon said:

Is it just me or..   who would want to have a two-day “honeymoon" with a man who is molting, fingers about to fall off--I mean, how romantic can THAT be??

Do they have two more days? I could have sworn that she said that this would be their last night together. I thought that when she told Jared it was the day before the wedding and that the two days would be the wedding day and the day after. Who even knows with this show though. 

[ams1001]

14 hours ago, sisterspoon said:

I was wondering about the smell thing myself...

Me too!

12 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

So I guess Zeke is going to have to have is "popsicle" sucked on his honeymoon night.  Michaela would have a tough time in the ER trying to explain how her who-ha became frostbitten.

Now there's a mental image I didn't need...

[Dowel Jones]

Maybe the honeymoon suite will have a hot tub.  Problem solved!

[shapeshifter]

22 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Also, the writers really blew it.  Everyone that touched Zeke should have gotten at least chills from the experience.  No one had any kind of reaction to touching him.

Some of it might just be acting and directing. He was ridiculously perky when he galloped down the staircase.

[CarpeFelis]

So they first thing the dirtbags do is cuff the guards to the seats. Right after I had wondered why the hell the guards didn’t do that to the prisoners in the first place. Potential Darwin Award for the guards.

[Dowel Jones]

Because it would violate one of the basic tenets of television crime drama:  Prison guards must be stupid.  It's right up there with 'When being chased by the bad guys, you must a) run down the middle of the street and, b)keep looking behind you to see if they are still chasing you.  A subparagraph requires that the man always hold the woman by the hand while running because, you know, they can both run faster that way.

[CarpeFelis]

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Because it would violate one of the basic tenets of television crime drama:  Prison guards must be stupid.  It's right up there with 'When being chased by the bad guys, you must a) run down the middle of the street and, b)keep looking behind you to see if they are still chasing you.  A subparagraph requires that the man always hold the woman by the hand while running because, you know, they can both run faster that way.

Or “when being run down by a speeding vehicle, always keep running right in front of it... never turn 90 degrees and get the hell out of the way”.

[jabRI]

Or: make a pithy comment just as the elevator/subway door is closing.  Never say goodbye at the end of a phone call.. the list is endless

[snarktini]

On 3/31/2020 at 4:00 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

And do they not know that their stash blew up ?  Because there is no way Michaela has a $1 million worth of meth to trade for Cal.

Their stash didn't blow up. The police had already impounded everything -- in an earlier conversation they said the house was empty when it blew up.

On 3/31/2020 at 5:35 PM, shapeshifter said:

Shouldn’t Zeke have gangrene by now?

Well, he does have black ears. Which are super gross.

[Camera One]

The next episode is the season finale already?  Darn it.  This show isn't great, but I still find it moderately entertaining.

The 3 Shadows seem out of nowhere and are seemingly disconnected from the other baddies from this season, so they didn't do a very good job of building a season-long arc.

The Callings sure helped Cal avoid getting kidnapped.  Who knew three dark looming figures in his bedroom wouldn't be very effective communication.

But The Callings had better things to do, like making sure Michaela could find her mother's veil?  Priorities, Callings.

So was it a two-in-one?  Ben gets to comfort that plane inspection guy and visit that decrepit "knitshop"?  

The Major is majorly stupid, is all I'm thinking.  I used to like Saanvi, but the desperation act is wearing a bit thin.  

[Mercolleen]

On 3/31/2020 at 7:00 AM, ottoDbusdriver said:

Zeke has 2 days left -- but he disappeared in Dec. 2018.  That means that between the last episode -- when the 3 dirtbags of the Apocalypse were arrested -- and this episode 5 or 6 weeks went by at the minimum, but more likely the jump was nearly 5 months.   Seriously, the writers have completely rat-fucked any semblance of the timeline.

And then Olive says that "winter break is coming up" -- the writers are going all in on the fact that nearly an entire year has basically passed by in 2 episodes.

At least Zeke is wearing seasonally appropriate clothing (since it is now Dec. 2019).

We are supposed to be one day after the previous episode, when Michaela told Jared she was getting married "tomorrow." The writers really don't give a shit, do they?