S01.E05: Children of the Royal Sun

[paigow]

AIRING MAY 24 /20

Josefina confides in Sister Molly, who's shocked to discover Josefina is Tiago's sister; Tiago and Lewis' investigation takes them to the Vega House; Townsend gets a lecture about his personal life; Tiago confronts Mateo.

[Scarlett45]

Wow that was good. 
 

1. I knew Molly’s first version of the story of being rescued from the storm wasn’t the accurate version. I’m glad Josefina had someone to talk to. They have styled the actress so beautifully, with her curls and her dress with the flutter sleeves. The actress is so pretty. (Josefina I mean, portrayed by Jessica Garza)
 

2. I knew Elsa was looking for a fat white guy to make a corpse to further ensnare the doctor. My mom says that Mrs Craft is going to have to leave with her sons, but I don’t think she’s together enough for that, there’s a reason she’s an alcoholic (other than being married to him). I’m sure we will find out more because Mrs Vega is their maid and if Mrs. Vega sets eyes on Elsa she will know that she’s the demon Magda!

3. I do feel bad for Tiago. He wants to protect his brother but is bound to uphold the law. Do you think the woman they question was Fly Rico’s ex and that was his daughter? I’m kind of thinking so given she said that they had protection. 
 

4. Detective Lewis’ female friend- he’s not long for this world given the Nazis are onto her. 
 

5. When the driver came for the social rendezvous with Townsend- that was one tiny ass bag of food and they are both grown men!! (I know Townsend was on a diet)

[paigow]

Tiago failed to ask WHY.  He got a confession but no specific reason that would compel him AND Lewis to bury the truth.

[CarpeFelis]

I’m thinking sooner or later Herr Doktor is going to pay in some way for burying that body.

[paigow]

23 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

I’m thinking sooner or later Herr Doktor is going to pay in some way for burying that body.

Tomorrow morning he will spit out his coffee when he reads the morning paper about a missing man that looks like Mr. Branson.

[CarpeFelis]

21 minutes ago, paigow said:

Tomorrow morning he will spit out his coffee when he reads the morning paper about a missing man that looks like Mr. Branson.

Probably. Even though “Mr. Branson” never really existed any more than their little boy does.

Don’t know whether “Elsa” will blackmail him in some way over this (i.e. “do XYZ for me or I’ll make it look like you did the murder and turn you in for it”) or if it’s just meant to reel him in further and get him to leave his wife.

[edhopper]

I get the Chaos the other "chaos" women are causing. Stiring up a race war and getting the Nazis a foothold in L A. But what does she want with the Dr. He already is a Nazi and seems she could get him to cause trouble without all the murder and infidelity.

[Scarlett45]

8 minutes ago, edhopper said:

I get the Chaos the other "chaos" women are causing. Stiring up a race war and getting the Nazis a foothold in L A. But what does she want with the Dr. He already is a Nazi and seems she could get him to cause trouble without all the murder and infidelity.

The doctor is probably very well connected in the German community in LA. She’s likely wants him to get more influential local community members involved in the Nazi regime. Or she’s using him as an example of how “normal” people can do evil things given the right motivations. 
 

Just a theory. 

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Tiago failed to ask WHY.  He got a confession but no specific reason that would compel him AND Lewis to bury the truth.

Yes- Tiago knew that cop was crooked, dirty and racist but if he heard what happened to Josefina he certainly would’ve wanted to kill the guy himself. 
 

I have a feeling Mateo isn’t long for this world. I thought Raul would still be healing from his wounds, but he seems to be doing well (the scar is distinguished). My Mom suggested that Santa Muerte saved Raul because he is the only Vega child who believes in her. 
 

PS The look on Molly’s face when she realized Josefina was Tiago’s sister. Do you think SHE will end up telling Tiago what happened to his sister and that he would put two and two together?

[dr pepper]

30 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

The doctor is probably very well connected in the German community in LA. She’s likely wants him to get more influential local community members involved in the Nazi regime. Or she’s using him as an example of how “normal” people can do evil things given the right motivations. 
 

Just a theory. 

He is the legendary Good German, who doesn't actually hate any other groups, he just thinks of the Bund as a cultural organization. He's proud to be german and he thinks the war will be short and things will go back to normal soon, so there's no reason for the US to get involved. He's perfect for bringing in other germans.

[paigow]

My guess is that whatever "Dragon Mother" has planned will expose her involvement in the Hazlett murders, thereby removing one source of civil unrest.

Who were these Anarchists? A MENSA splinter cell? Not sure that wiring bombs to a timer requires advanced calculus and physics. 

[edhopper]

I get what people are saying what the Dr. purpose could be. I just think he is already doing most of that and she could have easily made him do more without all the screwingand murder. In fact, wrecking his home makes him a less effective spokesman for his community.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, edhopper said:

I get what people are saying what the Dr. purpose could be. I just think he is already doing most of that and she could have easily made him do more without all the screwingand murder. In fact, wrecking his home makes him a less effective spokesman for his community.

That’s what I said to my Mom, but she pointed out that she hasn’t actually wrecked his home yet. She just has him drenched in guilt (sexual and otherwise with the murder) so she can more easily manipulate him. 

[paigow]

13 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

5. When the driver came for the social rendezvous with Townsend- that was one tiny ass bag of food and they are both grown men!! (I know Townsend was on a diet)

It started as a big bag, Kurt ate the chicken and pork during the long drive from Chinatown. If only someone could think of a way to get there faster....

Edited May 25, 2020 by paigow

[iMonrey]

12 hours ago, edhopper said:

I get the Chaos the other "chaos" women are causing. Stiring up a race war and getting the Nazis a foothold in L A. But what does she want with the Dr. He already is a Nazi and seems she could get him to cause trouble without all the murder and infidelity.

I'm wondering this too, because he seems like an unlikely resource for her. The other men she influences are already on the edge and only need a little push from her. But there's something about Dr. Craft that feels very soft and vulnerable. It may be partly the way Rory Kinnear portrays him. But I can't see him doing anything like Mateo, Raul or Townsend have done. He only buried that body because he believed Elsa acted in self defense. She hasn't had to trick anyone else into murder or mayhem.

I loved the visual of Natalie Dormer's look transforming from Goddess to Elsa in the blink of an eye when she walked into the bar. (She is a Goddess, right? What else would she be - demon?)

Edited May 25, 2020 by iMonrey

[TexasGal]

11 hours ago, dr pepper said:

He is the legendary Good German, who doesn't actually hate any other groups, he just thinks of the Bund as a cultural organization. He's proud to be german and he thinks the war will be short and things will go back to normal soon, so there's no reason for the US to get involved. He's perfect for bringing in other germans.

My guess is she wants the murder exposed and for him to take the fall - being the good doctor with ties to the German community to maybe cause them to be more militant?  So she has each ethnic community fighting the police/LA authorities.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, TexasGal said:

My guess is she wants the murder exposed and for him to take the fall - being the good doctor with ties to the German community to maybe cause them to be more militant? 

Not likely. The real Nazis are doing their best to blend in and keep a low profile. Magda creating anti-german sentiment will likely cause them to lose the motorway contract and a puppet in City Hall.

[DoctorAtomic]

Well, I guess that answered my question about the bisexuality!

 

[Scarlett45]

19 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Well, I guess that answered my question about the bisexuality!

 

I didn’t see your original question about bisexuality. 

[DoctorAtomic]

In another episode, I was asking about Rico at the club when they did the big dance number.

[Scarlett45]

3 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

In another episode, I was asking about Rico at the club when they did the big dance number.

Oh yeah I called that. He was certainly DTF. 

[DoctorAtomic]

That knife said it all. 

[DoctorAtomic]

22 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I have a feeling Mateo isn’t long for this world. I thought Raul would still be healing from his wounds, but he seems to be doing well (the scar is distinguished).

I'm not sure why Magda would want to get to Mateo unless she had longer term play, if we are assuming she has special interest in the family. 

Does Raul know the brother shot him? He's unusually chill about the whole deal. 

I like how Nathan Lane knows damn well Tiago is up to something. 

I loved the scene with Nathan Lane and the mother. 

Edited May 26, 2020 by DoctorAtomic

[Scarlett45]

5 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm not sure why Magda would want to get to Mateo unless she had longer term play, if we are assuming she has special interest in the family. 

Does Raul know the brother shot him? He's unusually chill about the whole deal. 

I like how Nathan Lane knows damn well Tiago is up to something. 

I loved the scene with Nathan Lane and the mother. 

I’m sure Magda does have a special interest in the family given Tiago was touched by Santa Muerte. 
 

Yes Raul knows, immature impulsive Mateo told him while he was lying in bed recovering, hadn’t been home two days. (I was so mad at him for that)

 

Detective Lewis is no fool. He’s been in this game a long time. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It seems wasteful for Natalie Dormer in bi-demon form to reel in Mateo just to have him thrown away. I'm sure she was fixing to have him off someone to deepen the racial divide and likely didn't plan on the cop molesting his sister. I can't see her hanging him out. 

Tiago going to be massive ptsd with having to pulls guns on his brothers all the time. 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by DoctorAtomic

[DoctorAtomic]

On 5/24/2020 at 8:20 PM, paigow said:

Tiago failed to ask WHY.  He got a confession but no specific reason that would compel him AND Lewis to bury the truth.

This made an otherwise interesting episode of moving the chess pieces around by Natalie Dormer fall flat, i.e., characters not asking obvious questions for plot; characters not saying their motivations when it's a clearly obvious situation. 

"What he did to nuestra hermana! I'd do it again." Ok, then maybe Tiago tells him to run because he hears Nathan Lane coming or something. But come on. That was weak af. 

[dr pepper]

31 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It seems wasteful for Natalie Dormer in bi-demon form to reel in Mateo just to have him thrown away.

I think that she was taking the oportunity to put him through another ordeal.

 

[BigDfromLA]

On 5/24/2020 at 6:59 PM, Scarlett45 said:

They have styled the actress so beautifully, with her curls and her dress with the flutter sleeves. The actress is so pretty. (Josefina I mean, portrayed by Jessica Garza)

Yes, she is extremely beautiful and a wonderful actress! Jessica was also great in Season 1 of The Purge (TV series). 

Why didn't the Doctor just call the police and tell them that Elsa killed the guy in self defense after she was attacked? That would have solved everything. I guess he really wasn't thinking straight.

It's interesting how Townsend was such a ruthless, aggressive tyrant in the first episode who now comes across as a weak, wimpy milquetoast who is easily controlled. 

I love Natalie Dormer's look as Rio, with her brown eyes (contacts) and dark red hair. Reminds me of how Kristen Stewart looked so much better with brown eyes in the Twilight movies.

[paigow]

4 hours ago, BigDfromLA said:

It's interesting how Townsend was such a ruthless, aggressive tyrant in the first episode who now comes across as a 

surprisingly good dancer...

[paigow]

On 5/24/2020 at 11:58 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Do you think SHE will end up telling Tiago what happened to his sister 

Diego will handle that...unless Magda uses a Jedi mind trick on him to take the fall without saying anything else.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Diego will handle that...unless Magda uses a Jedi mind trick on him to take the fall without saying anything else.

Who’s Diego?

[DoctorAtomic]

6 hours ago, BigDfromLA said:

Why didn't the Doctor just call the police and tell them that Elsa killed the guy in self defense after she was attacked? That would have solved everything. I guess he really wasn't thinking straight.

I think that is the answer. He's obsessed with her and was totally out of sorts during the board game. 

[paigow]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Who’s Diego?

The dude Lewis arrested after Rio blocked his escape. He knows all about Josefina.

[Scarlett45]

3 minutes ago, paigow said:

The dude Lewis arrested after Rio blocked his escape. He knows all about Josefina.

Ah! Yes thank you. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Why didn't the Doctor just call the police and tell them that Elsa killed the guy in self defense after she was attacked? That would have solved everything. I guess he really wasn't thinking straight.

It's not a sure thing the cops would believe her story, especially in those days. I think it would help to have your pediatrician testify they'd seen evidence of abuse, but she'd still likely be arrested and go on trial, while her son winds up in foster care. (Or, I should say, her "son.")

[DoctorAtomic]

Magda seems to be targeting weak willed men. I can roll with the doctor probably being afraid to call the police or seeing himself as some sort of 'brave protector' swooping in to save her. Even if he did want to call the cops, I'm sure she could have played the 'no one would believe me' well enough to get him to back down. 

I'm wondering if because Tiago was 'touched' that he'd be actually able to 'see' her in some way. I know he saw her as the gangster when they busted into the room, but he was clearly thrown by Mateo being there, so it might not have registered. 

Or I'm thinking he'd see her from there and then maybe see the councilman's aide and somehow know that she was the same person or something was going on. 

[paigow]

The Depression has been going for 9 years...how much was Doc charging per visit to pay for that house? Clearly he brought a lot of dirty money from Essen.

Is Linda American? Or Perabo cannot do a convincing German accent so she was told not to try?

[Dowel Jones]

While the Great Depression is often portrayed, fairly so, as devastating, it hit different areas and populations differently.  My father worked for Shell Oil all the way through the 30s and beyond, and made a reasonable living.  I can see a professional in a high income area doing well for himself, especially since real estate was likely dirt cheap.  But it's equally possible that the doctor had "side income" as well.  An interesting fact about the crime wave of the 30s was that the gangs made far more income from kidnapping than bank robbery.  Families shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to ransom the victim, so somebody had some money.

[paigow]

It seems odd that Sister Molly offers one-on-one counselling sessions. Especially to someone like Josefina that is not a VIP donor.

[DoctorAtomic]

We haven't seen the doctor having any illicit income (yet), so for the time being I'm ok taking it at face value that he paid for everything above board. The show's been fair enough so far not to be hiding that. They did show him in the nazi uniform, so maybe he's a doctor to high ranking nazis in the region or something, but I think they would show that at some point.

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Or Perabo cannot do a convincing German accent so she was told not to try?

If you were around during the Covert Affairs days, we were having a field day about her lack of convincing in many aspects of that role too. 

[paigow]

Is it safe to say that Magda is not a mimetic shapeshifter? That is, unlike the T-1000, she cannot take the place of a real person- e.g. Dr. Craft

[DoctorAtomic]

So far, I'd say no. I think again, the show is being fair, so we probably should have seen that by now because it's likely she'd just have taken the place of Rico in the gang, or Raul to shoot up the cops herself. 

[Scarlett45]

Dr Craft is a pediatrician in a large metro area (compared to a small town or rural area), the effects of the Great Depression weren’t going to ruin his finances. Yes a lot of people were poor and unemployed during this time but certainly not everyone- especially those established in careers like medicine before the crash (people who had the money were still going to pay the doctor).
 

Likely Dr Craft went to medical school after WWI and based on his age has been practicing a while. Did anyone see the size of Mrs Craft’s engagement ring???? (She is not German, she’s American, he told Elsa in episode 1). He’s been doing pretty well for a while (doctors made loads back then without the high malpractice premiums and student loan debt), I do think it’s all legal money. 

17 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

While the Great Depression is often portrayed, fairly so, as devastating, it hit different areas and populations differently.  My father worked for Shell Oil all the way through the 30s and beyond, and made a reasonable living.  I can see a professional in a high income area doing well for himself, especially since real estate was likely dirt cheap.  But it's equally possible that the doctor had "side income" as well.  An interesting fact about the crime wave of the 30s was that the gangs made far more income from kidnapping than bank robbery.  Families shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to ransom the victim, so somebody had some money.

Yup you’re right. 

16 hours ago, paigow said:

It seems odd that Sister Molly offers one-on-one counselling sessions. Especially to someone like Josefina that is not a VIP donor.

I too wonder how Josefina got a private audience, may have just been the luck of the draw, or Molly saw a young girl in church alone and invited her for tea. Women didn’t travel many places alone during this time- work or errands maybe but not to church or social engagements. 

[tennisgurl]

Well at least Tiego didn't have to shoot two of his brothers. If Mateo has told Tiego what Reilly did though, he probably would have totally understood, and even gone to the morgue to kick his corpse a few times, but this is all still a huge problem. As utterly garbage as Reilly was, and the streets are a safer place with him not on them, a dead cop killed by Mexicans (well they dont know that for sure, but its true, even of they are being egged on by a demon) is a bad thing for the Mexican community, especially after everything that has happened, its just escalating everything. 

I do love how Lewis cant even bother pretending to care that Reilly himself is dead, just that this is creating more problems on top of all the problems they already have. He also spent the episode playing good cop to Tiegos bad cop, and seemed to be not all that thrilled about it. The scene he had with Tiegos mom was really good, and I love seeing the Santa Muerte shrine again, it looks so regal and massive. 

It was nice to see Molly and Josefina talk (I kind of figured the first round of the car story wasn't accurate) about what happened to Josefina, and I am interested to see where this goes. I dont think that Molly is a bad person, but I dont trust her church, so I dont know if Josefina being there is going to end well. Molly's face when she realized who Josefina's brother is...small world isn't it! 

Seriously, everyone in 30s LA can bust a move, even scumbags like Townsend! I half expect all of this to get resolved by the cops and the union doing a dance off. 

I am still not totally sure what Magdas endgame is with the doctor, but now she has something really big on him, and I assume it is tied into his membership with the Nazi party, and while he himself doesn't seem to be super powerful, beyond being known in his community and being a doctor, maybe he will tie into whatever the greater Nazis plan is? Have they made any connections with the American pro Germany group? His poor sons are probably just happy their parents were getting along for a second and that Elsa's creepy ass kid isn't around to sick ghosts on them. 

[DoctorAtomic]

30 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I do love how Lewis cant even bother pretending to care that Reilly himself is dead, just that this is creating more problems on top of all the problems they already have.

The lady said something about him being a lousy lay, and Lewis was like, 'no shit. And?'

31 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

The scene he had with Tiegos mom was really good, and I love seeing the Santa Muerte shrine again, it looks so regal and massive. 

She also gave him a totem. I'm wondering if that's going to protect him down the road. 

 

[paigow]

30 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Seriously, everyone in 30s LA can bust a move, even scumbags like Townsend! I half expect all of this to get resolved by...

Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone vs. Rio & Rico

Showtime paid that choreographer for the whole season...so bring on the Jets & Sharks...

[paigow]

5 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

She also gave him a totem. I'm wondering if that's going to protect him down the road. 

Hope it has anti-Nazi powers...The only way Kurt is going to miss a headshot...

[iMonrey]

Quote

It seems odd that Sister Molly offers one-on-one counselling sessions. Especially to someone like Josefina that is not a VIP donor.

That seemed like something Molly was doing on her own, rather than something she'd been doing on the regular. When she suddenly started inviting all the women up to the stage her mother looks confused and angry, so I think Molly is starting to pull away and do her own thing now.

She also clearly "saw" something in Josefina, since she was the only one she spoke to when all the women came up. I take it we're meant to see that Molly does have some sort of spiritual or psychic gift. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by iMonrey

[tennisgurl]

I am pretty sure that Molly really does have some kind of connection to the divine, which her mother is exploiting, even if she doesn't fully know how it works, and that was part of what drew her to Josefina. All some part of the greater battle between these cosmic forces. 

[paigow]

On 5/27/2020 at 5:03 PM, tennisgurl said:

I am pretty sure that Molly really does have some kind of connection to the divine,  All some part of the greater battle between these cosmic forces. 

Whatever Force sensitivity she has is insignificant in a Palpatine vs. Yoda cage match...

Edited May 31, 2020 by paigow