S02.E12: Crash Into Me

[jewel21]

As the town prepares for CrashCon, Liz and Max attempt to piece together who may be behind a potentially deadly plan targeting the festival. Elsewhere, Maria and Isobel take drastic measure to learn more about the night Mimi disappeared, while Michael is forced to do someone else’s bidding.

Airdate: 06/08/2020

[bettername2come]

All right, Kyle putting on eyeliner for Stefi was an adorable scene and very in character. I thought the "steady hands" line before he said it. And then they disappeared from the episode.

Damn, the sight of Alex laying on a mattress on the floor with one leg, chained to a radiator and humming to himself was way more powerful than I was expecting. It tugged at the piece of my heart that still thinks of him as Caleb Rivers. 

I have to admit that faking alien terrorism was not the plot I expected, but it's certaining an exciting decision, and I liked that Elena was going for a a revenge plot against Jesse Manes rather than the aliens. 

This show unfairly manipulates me with Alanis Morrissette.

Okay, the bad actor Liberty Mutual commercial came on after the episode for me. Is that the guy who plays Alex's brother?

ETA: Yes, yes, he is. And he's married to the Nora actress.

Edited June 9, 2020 by bettername2come

[Katesgr811]

The max dying trope is old.

[backhometome]

what the heck happened to Kyle??? He disappeared from the episode. He has been so disrespected in the writing this season. He is one of the few characters I love. 

Alex saving himself from his dirtbag brother. Yes. He looked good lying on that mattress ngl. 

Let Gregory Manes live. He is the brother Alex deserves. 

Liz is so dang selfish.

I am so sick of Max's life being in jeopardy. 

[shapeshifter]

15 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Okay, the bad actor Liberty Mutual commercial came on after the episode for me. Is that the guy who plays Alex's brother?

Hah! Yep. You nailed it, @bettername2come!
https://addvertising.org/actor-tanner-novlan-looks-good-but-can-t-get-his-lines-right

[Lady Calypso]

6 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

All right, Kyle putting on eyeliner for Stefi was an adorable scene and very in character. I thought the "steady hands" line before he said it. And then they disappeared from the episode.

I'm still trying to figure out Steph's overall role for this season. I mean, if they expect me to believe that she is JUST there to be Kyle's new girlfriend, then they're giving her character too many red flags. I mean, either she's shady or she's getting turned into an alien. 

Similar to Diego, who we at least know is shady now that he is breaking into Liz's lab and absolutely overheard the big alien conversation. If he didn't know about aliens before, he sure does now!

Don't die, Gregory! You're too good of a Manes to die! You're the best that we have! Athough Alex did alright in this episode. 

Liz/Max drama. Oh boy. Of course they go an addiction route with Max. And of course Liz decides to lie. And their fight? Very melodramatic and definitely gave the feel that it was their Very Important Message About Race scene.

Poor Maria tries to save the day and ends up bleeding from her eyes. And Michael is preoccupied with obligatory Alex/Michael moments.

However, this was a fun episode that really picked up by the end. Liz's mother still sucks, especially since we got a random ass twist with Who The Fuck Cares lover's revenge.

[Katesgr811]

Ok so I read a tweet saying that when max touched the consel, the sign came up like a beacon. They definitely talked about the sign being a beacon before... maybe someone will show up??

Edited June 9, 2020 by Katesgr811

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, Katesgr811 said:

Ok so I read a tweet saying that when max touched the consel, the sign came up like a beacon. They definitely talked about the sign being a beacon before... maybe someone will show up??

Someone is showing up, I bet. I haven't decided whether it's someone we have already met/known about or if it'll be the cliffhanger with some semi-well known actor/actress next week.

[Katesgr811]

1 minute ago, Lady Calypso said:

Someone is showing up, I bet. I haven't decided whether it's someone we have already met/known about or if it'll be the cliffhanger with some semi-well known actor/actress next week.

Probably the guy in the hood from Max’s memories and the flashbacks...

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, Katesgr811 said:

Probably the guy in the hood from Max’s memories and the flashbacks...

20 bucks says that it's Max's dad or uncle and he is played by Stephen Amell.

[shapeshifter]

A more original plot than "kill the aliens" would have been "turn the aliens into killers" so the National Guard will arrive and kill them --probably next season.

 

7 hours ago, Katesgr811 said:

Probably the guy in the hood from Max’s memories and the flashbacks...

Rath and the Dupes! Or is that just the back-up band?

Edited June 9, 2020 by shapeshifter

[bettername2come]

8 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

20 bucks says that it's Max's dad or uncle and he is played by Stephen Amell.

I'm fine with this.

[tennisgurl]

Dont you dare hurt Greg show! Alex should have at least one relative who doesent abuse, kidnap, or abandon him! At least he got to save himself and kick the crap out of his dirt bag brother. 

So Liz is putting half the people in her life in danger because she wants to be a good example of a Mexican immigrant? What now? See, this is one of the places this show still struggles so much, so often when it tries to impart some kind of social message, its comes off so awkward and clumsy, like for a second the characters stop acting like people having a conversation and start acting like obvious mouth pieces for the writers, so even when the point is legit and a good topic to use, it all comes across so awkwardly. I should have known that Max and Liz could only stay drama free for so long before the DRAMA begins again. Now Max is addicted to drugs, Liz is going all mad scientist, and now Max is dying again!

I did like that Lizs mom isn't actually a part of the alien murder/false flag operation, but her actual plan is still pretty freaking bad, and of course its all to avenge her side piece, which is clearly WAY more important than the current lives of her former husband and her daughters, one of which just came back from the dead! She is still the worst, no matter who she is trying to use bio weapons on. 

Also glad that Maria and Rosa got to hang out a bit, considering they used to be friends, and in general I have liked the way that Rosa has been used the last few episodes, being more involved in the main plot and interacting with more people than Liz. 

Where the hell did Kyle go? Is he not part of the alien group chat? 

Edited June 9, 2020 by tennisgurl

[sweetandsour]

Helena is so mad at Jesse Manes and probably also so tired of hearing what "a Manes man" would or would not do that she's like, "fuck you all, I'll show you what 'a Manes man' would do, and that's die violently, bleeding out of every orifice."

I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean that Helena said that same quote as the Maneses about if disaster never strikes, justice will never be served.  Nothing?  Or something?  But I don't remember the nuances of both versions of the quote and which Manes man said which one (so maybe I do need constant reminders of what a Manes man would do ...).  That was, like, three episodes ago when they discovered the paper Tripp hid behind the diner bricks, so that's long disappeared from my brain.

When Isobel was recovering from going into Mimi's mind at the bar, she was openly knocking back a bottle of nail polish remover.  In front of a room full of patrons.  ???  Sure, those patrons are also drinking and possibly inebriated, but why on earth would she do that in plain sight?

Liz is the worst.  She and Charlie Cameron continue the grand and disappointing tradition of brilliant CW women developing something for ostensibly good purposes, but failing to give due consideration to, or even recognize on a basic level, how that could be so easily used for nefarious purposes.  (In addition to Felicity and whatever she was doing with Alena a couple seasons ago on Arrow (I honestly cannot remember what that computer program was), Lena and Project Non Nocere on Supergirl.)  For me, it really takes the wind of the sails of their brilliance because it's so dumb how naive and tunnel-visioned they are about it.

Diego, if you're not going to eat that free churro since you're too busy being a total creeper, at least give it to me.

Edited June 9, 2020 by sweetandsour
changed the Manes' to Maneses, as I think that may be the correct way to refer to a family whose last name ends in "s," except it sounds like a second cousin of menses, so ...

[RachelKM]

Does this show want me to dislike Liz?  She's so fucking myopic. Violating privacy and trust in every direction for a "greater good" which is apparently a convenient vehicle to proving she's a A+ 1st generation American - because there's never been an immigrant's child whose made good before?  Gurl, that doesn't actually fix bigots.

And yes, please, focus on Max who decided to commit murder (Flint is an utter shitbag of a human and also a murderer, but still) instead of protecting hundreds of people and your friends. Solid plan asshole.

WTF? Maria gets the bleeds?  That is some BULLSHIT.  Also, what is the point of throwing the atomizer a couple hundred feet further?  It's an atomizer intended to disperse a lethal pathogen into the air.  I mean, sure, get it a bit further.  But do we even know its range?

Hooray for Alex getting to kick his shitty brother's worthless ass.  Boo not thinking to cuff his psychotic ass while he was knocked out.

Also Boo to Gregory being in any way in jeopardy.  He's definitely the best Manes (I know, low bar, but he handelly beats Alex too) and he's really, really pretty. DO NOT MAKE HIM BLEED OUT OF THAT PRETTY, SWEET FACE.

I'm now very interested in Mimi's ability. Apparently she slips into visions of different times focused on the members of her own family... Which, did she know Isobel was related to her then?  Did she know she was part alien?  I want a story about her and about Maria growing up.  

Also, I enjoyed Isobel and Maria's interactions. Again, I love all Isobel interations.

It was also nice to see Rosa spending time with Maria. Good on the show for finally remembering they are close. I used to resent the fact that they seemed to have given Maria's relationship with Liz to Rosa, especially when Rosa was dead.  But at this point, I think Maria upgraded in Ortechos.

Kyle damn well better be back in the mix next week.

[Cristofle]

8 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

20 bucks says that it's Max's dad or uncle and he is played by Stephen Amell.

LOL. But I'd still take it as long as Amell got to do action scenes, because definitely no one on this show is in his league on that level.

Max's life being in jeopardy is yawn-worthy, but is it bad that I blew right past him being kind of addicted to the serum? Because I want to know what he thinks the symbols mean, lol, that's one of the most interesting parts of the show to me.

Diego isn't what he seems. What a shock. 

Maria won out as "person I feel worst for" since she ended the show bleeding from her eyes while Michael spent the entire episode proving how much he's not over Alex. 

I'm interested about what exactly Mimi does too, because at one point she seemed nervous about Isobel but then she was almost maternal when she was talking about seeing the day she was born (presumably on her home planet with the red sky).

[backhometome]

Maria and Rosa hanging out was nice. The most of I've liked Maria in a while. Its a shame that their relationship was non existent after she found out the truth. A lot of fun relationships this season have been non existent. One of the main reasons I've disliked this season. 

Edited June 9, 2020 by backhometome

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Cristofle said:

Maria won out as "person I feel worst for" since she ended the show bleeding from her eyes while Michael spent the entire episode proving how much he's not over Alex. 

To be fair, there was that brief moment when Michael and Maria acted like reunited, long-lost soul mates. But sometimes it's almost like Carina thinks Michael being "bi" means having a split personality where neither personality knows about the other.

[backhometome]

11 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

To be fair, there was that brief moment when Michael and Maria acted like reunited, long-lost soul mates. But sometimes it's almost like Carina thinks Michael being "bi" means having a split personality where neither personality knows about the other.

Kinda how no one questions why they took Alex to get Michael to comply and not anyone else. And how no one i.e Maria, was around to see Michael going feral for Alex last ep. Lots of blindness going on to keep this so called triangle going. Other than the various Manes men who calls Michael out on his revolving feelings.

Edited June 9, 2020 by backhometome

[Cristofle]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

To be fair, there was that brief moment when Michael and Maria acted like reunited, long-lost soul mates. But sometimes it's almost like Carina thinks Michael being "bi" means having a split personality where neither personality knows about the other.

LOL! But also, not the best way to write a bisexual character since one of the main ways people discriminate against bisexuals is claiming they just can't make up their minds. I have no problem with Michael being depicted as having romantic relationships with both men and women onscreen, but the fact that he can't seem to decide which of them is his true love from one scene to the next is...not a good look. And I mean for Carina.

[ellieart]

So I see we're still going with the whole brown people=villains thing again.  

And Rosa, so we really are gonna just ignore that Rosa is dead.  The whole cousin thing is the worst cover.  These characters are dumb, so very very dumb.

But also, this show tries too hard and tries to do too much.  This whole thing is way more convoluted than it has to be.  I thought season 1 was messy as hell, but a little more coherent than whatever is happening this season.  Honestly, did the writers talk to each other to discuss the overall story?  Because it feels like they just did their thing and that was it.

Edited June 9, 2020 by ellieart

[KittenPokerCheater]

I'm irritated because I feel like the show runner twiddled their toes for most of the season and now have tried to cram about 3 episodes worth of story/action into one.

So Max just killed a Manes (that's not going to go over well).  I hope they won't kill Maria.

And Kyle/Steffy have gotten almost no storyline.  It's hard to care about her.

But  I'm still hoping he'll end up with Isabel.

[mandigirl]

11 hours ago, backhometome said:

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

To be fair, there was that brief moment when Michael and Maria acted like reunited, long-lost soul mates. But sometimes it's almost like Carina thinks Michael being "bi" means having a split personality where neither personality knows about the other.

Kinda how no one questions why they took Alex to get Michael to comply and not anyone else.

I'm not a fan of love triangles in general, but this one has always been particularly offensive to me. Two minorities have to fight over (I don't care that it's a cold war) and then pretty much share one guy? Do the writers truly not see how offensive that is?? Alex and Maria deserve to have their own love interests and fully realized relationships. At least Alex has a side love interest. Maria has no one but Michael-- who's not 100% in to her.

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So Liz is putting half the people in her life in danger because she wants to be a good example of a Mexican immigrant? What now? See, this is one of the places this show still struggles so much, so often when it tries to impart some kind of social message, its comes off so awkward and clumsy [...] so even when the point is legit and a good topic to use, it all comes across so awkwardly.

 ITA. I give the show props for even trying to tackle some of these race issues, I really do. But the execution just isn't there for me. I appreciated what Liz was saying this episode, and she is the first character I've heard on a network show articulate the 'model minority' burden in quite that way. So I don't like them attaching it to her megalomania or whatever is going on with her. 

This show needs to be very careful. If they're going to reference race issues, they need to take that responsibility seriously. A few weeks ago, they mentioned Tuskegee in a very questionable way IMO. Now they are linking Liz's dangerous medical ambition to some warped model minority fantasy.  Sometimes, the message they are trying to make is just  so unclear.   

[Pallida]

2 hours ago, mandigirl said:

But the execution just isn't there for me. I appreciated what Liz was saying this episode, and she is the first character I've heard on a network show articulate the 'model minority' burden in quite that way. So I don't like them attaching it to her megalomania or whatever is going on with her. 

This show needs to be very careful. If they're going to reference race issues, they need to take that responsibility seriously. A few weeks ago, they mentioned Tuskegee in a very questionable way IMO. Now they are linking Liz's dangerous medical ambition to some warped model minority fantasy.  Sometimes, the message they are trying to make is just  so unclear.   

Can you help me remember how they mentioned Tuskegee? I've been really struggling with Liz's complete disregard for bioethics. Her attack on the Department of Health and Human Services in a previous episode rang quite false to me. Trying to jump research from established design to human cells because of impatience is a slippery slope. There are protocols in place because vulnerable populations get used and abused to advance research. What she's currently doing definitely does not pass the "minimal risk" check.

[KittenPokerCheater]

20 hours ago, Pallida said:

Can you help me remember how they mentioned Tuskegee?

In the Como La Flor episode (I had to look it up) where Michale/Maria/Kyle figure out that Maria's grandmother signed up for an experimental government trials specializing in weaponizing alien abilities....except they didn't tell the test subjects what they were doing.  Kind of like the horrible Tuskeegee syphilis trials done on black men.

Edited June 11, 2020 by KittenPokerCheater
I mistyped- it's Maria's grandmother not Rosa's

[peachmangosteen]

21 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

In the Como La Flor episode (I had to look it up) where Michale/Maria/Kyle figure out that Rosa's grandmother signed up for an experimental government trials specializing in weaponizing alien abilities....except they didn't tell the test subjects what they were doing.  Kind of like the horrible Tuskeegee syphilis trials done on black men.

Wasn't it Maria's grandmother that was in those trials?

[Cristofle]

12 hours ago, Pallida said:

Can you help me remember how they mentioned Tuskegee? I've been really struggling with Liz's complete disregard for bioethics. Her attack on the Department of Health and Human Services in a previous episode rang quite false to me. Trying to jump research from established design to human cells because of impatience is a slippery slope. There are protocols in place because vulnerable populations get used and abused to advance research. What she's currently doing definitely does not pass the "minimal risk" check.

Her lack of concern for ethics, even involving people she says she loves, is pretty...concerning. She has a right to point out to Max that he has white (passing, since he's not actually human) privilege. She does not have the right to then say she gets to use his biological material when he- and the other aliens- have expressly told her to stop. That's unethical and it won't help her as a scientist to be unethical? I lost the thread as to what her point even is, and I like Liz. 

[mandigirl]

8 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

18 hours ago, Pallida said:

Can you help me remember how they mentioned Tuskegee?

In the Como La Flor episode (I had to look it up) where Michale/Maria/Kyle figure out that Rosa's grandmother signed up for an experimental government trials specializing in weaponizing alien abilities....except they didn't tell the test subjects what they were doing.  Kind of like the horrible Tuskeegee syphilis trials done on black men.

That's exactly right KittenPokerCheater. Maria's grandmother was illegally experimented on, alluding to the legacy of the U.S. military and Big Pharma medically experimenting on black people, which continues to this day in African countries. 

Maria references Tuskegee, which is widely considered one of the lowest points in US race relations and one of the greatest failures of modern bioethics, period.  Then Maria saves Kyle with her powers she makes some comment like 'Well something good came out of it.' And NO. Just fucking NO. The writers, through their black mouthpiece, Maria, do not get to find the silver lining in governments illegally doing medical testing on black people. Nu-uh. That is literally the logic used when they stripped away the personhood and consent of these black patients: 'It's for the greater good, something good can come of out of this.' 

The magnitude of how tone-deaf that was continues to upset me. This isn't about Maria's faux empowerment in the moment, it's about respect. Don't mention Tuskegee which is REAL and where people lost their lives and then focus on a fictional 'success' of illegal medical testing on black people. I mean seriously??  If the show writers can't handle these delicate race issues well (and so far, they have not IMO), then they shouldn't handle them at all. 

Edited June 10, 2020 by mandigirl

[Pallida]

I appreciate you all refreshing my memory! I think it's highly problematic that Liz is not engaged in this conversation. I keep thinking about a more-recent human subjects violation that happened in Arizona. The Havasupai worked with researchers at ASU in hopes of addressing diabetes in their community. The tribe won a lawsuit after finding out the blood samples were used for a plethora of other DNA research topics. They rightfully pointed out that people's educations and careers were benefiting from this other work while those who gave blood were not properly informed or able to give actual consent on the process. (And they also likely didn't benefit from the diabetes research.) For me, this parallels what Liz is doing. 

[mandigirl]

On 6/8/2020 at 7:20 PM, Lady Calypso said:

I'm still trying to figure out Steph's overall role for this season. I mean, if they expect me to believe that she is JUST there to be Kyle's new girlfriend, then they're giving her character too many red flags. I mean, either she's shady or she's getting turned into an alien. 

I'm confused by her as well. I don't particularly like Kyle and her together, but I'm wondering what her angle is. When she was first introduced, I'm pretty sure she had an empty bottle of nail polish remover. So alien? I don't think she's faking needing treatment-- maybe she and Liz are going to band together.

Same goes for Alex's side piece. He's been introduced and hasn't done much since. 

On 6/8/2020 at 7:24 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Someone is showing up, I bet. I haven't decided whether it's someone we have already met/known about or if it'll be the cliffhanger with some semi-well known actor/actress next week.

I'm thinking it may the man who had his hand on Nora's shoulder in the newspaper pic. 

[CabotCove]

 

Quote

So I see we're still going with the whole brown people=villains thing again.  

After Noah, now its Flint, Helena, Diego...for a show that aims to be so woke, dont know how they are not seeing the optics of their choices. 

 

Quote

Alex and Maria deserve to have their own love interests and fully realized relationships. At least Alex has a side love interest. Maria has no one but Michael-- who's not 100% in to her.

They have the solution right there, Michael with Maria, Alex with Forrest. But is Carina gonna be smart and take it..., with her own bias for Michael/Alex and Im sure she loves the attention she get from the massive Malex fandom . The love triangle really should die moving forward, its assassinating the character of Michael and making him so unlikable to me [he has other personal failings too]. His yo yoing between Alex and Maria is just immature, annoying and tiresome now. Also playing into bisexual stereotypes. 

Michael is not 100 % into Alex either if he is going to be going back and forth between him and Alex, cant commit nor chose one of them. He seem to be written to enjoy the thrill of the chase, then lose interest when he has that thing, and now wants the other thing. Im about done with this Michael Guerin, all the 3 aliens in fact. They are really written to be so egotistical and have a superiority complex. Max trying to kill Flint, what the hell was that and Isobel has been violating people's consent all season, she is a survivor of that, she should know better. 

[Scarlett45]

On 6/10/2020 at 2:50 PM, mandigirl said:

That's exactly right KittenPokerCheater. Maria's grandmother was illegally experimented on, alluding to the legacy of the U.S. military and Big Pharma medically experimenting on black people, which continues to this day in African countries. 

Maria references Tuskegee, which is widely considered one of the lowest points in US race relations and one of the greatest failures of modern bioethics, period.  Then Maria saves Kyle with her powers she makes some comment like 'Well something good came out of it.' And NO. Just fucking NO. The writers, through their black mouthpiece, Maria, do not get to find the silver lining in governments illegally doing medical testing on black people. Nu-uh. That is literally the logic used when they stripped away the personhood and consent of these black patients: 'It's for the greater good, something good can come of out of this.' 

The magnitude of how tone-deaf that was continues to upset me. This isn't about Maria's faux empowerment in the moment, it's about respect. Don't mention Tuskegee which is REAL and where people lost their lives and then focus on a fictional 'success' of illegal medical testing on black people. I mean seriously??  If the show writers can't handle these delicate race issues well (and so far, they have not IMO), then they shouldn't handle them at all. 

I absolutely agree with you, but for storyline purposes please refresh my memory. 
 

Was Maria’s grandmother actually experimented on? I thought we found out her powers came from being half alien(not the experiment). Did someone experiment on her knowing she was half alien?

Also this is a sticking point in my little brain- my Mom was born the same year (1948) as Maria’s grandmother and I see myself as Maria’s age, but I’m not, I’m 5yrs older (aren’t they 29/30) and my parents were kinda old so they could be grandparents to someone a few years younger than me. 

[RachelKM]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

Was Maria’s grandmother actually experimented on? I thought we found out her powers came from being half alien(not the experiment). Did someone experiment on her knowing she was half alien?

This was never really clarified.  In the episode in which it was mentioned that Maria's grandmother had been experimented on, it was also established that Maria did not have a particular protein that the aliens all had and that, I think, Rosa had exhibited since her exit from the Pod.  Even at the time, some of us speculated that the protein might be from the pods and not alien DNA and/or it may not have been passed down. *

Then later it was confirmed that Maria is Louise's great-granddaughter.

So it appears that Maria's grandmother was half alien and part of an experiment.  But we don't actually know that they discovered she was part alien.  It seems too much of a coincidence.  But it seems highly unlikely based on what we've seen of this show's representation of the government's treatment of the aliens that they'd just let an part alien and her descendants skip off on their merry way.

 

*For reals, the certainty with which Maria's potential alien relationship was dismissed was bizarre to me in light of how little any of them actually know about alien vs. human genetics. It's not like Liz had sequenced the entire alien genome of a sufficient sample size and determined that this protein was in every single alien related being.