S02.E08: The Quest for the Spider Sapphire

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Nancy and George work together to vanish the ghost who's been timesharing George's body since they defeated the Aglaeca; no one is more surprised than Bess when a blast from her past comes knocking.

Promo:

Original air date: 3/17/21

[CrazyDog]

Not my favorite episode. I just don't care about the Marvins. I get that Bess wants family, but she has a job (as much as the rest of the crew) and a supportive group of friends. She's not alone anymore, even if she's not part of some stuffy family.

I did enjoy the bits of humor with George and Nancy. "Have you seriously been considering flatlining me?" Lol.

Nick finally knows the truth, and takes it better than I thought. 

Ryan and Valentina have some interesting chemistry, and I still find him a redeemable character.

I don't love that George is potentially danger again, at all! The show better not kill anyone off. Nancy is a great lead, but this is a true ensemble show. All the characters are getting some nice development.

[Cranberry]

I was joking when I said the Drew Crew should de-Aglaeca Odette and keep her around as Bess's love interest, but now that Odette's said "the English Rose" has pretty eyes and smells like lilies, I'm into this for real. Give me an old-timey French ghost trying to navigate the modern world! Let's get her out of George's body first, though.

(It also amused me that when Nancy heard, "We've been taken prisoner by your friend's husband, the one with the pretty eyes" she thought Ace before she thought Bess.)

Glad that Nick knows George's secret now -- I like that this show never drags things like that out too long. Also liked Nancy and George's couch banter, including Nancy's blasé musing about flatlining and re-resurrecting George.

So we're to assume the random new line cook Grant trashed the place and stole the shroud, right? Otherwise that was a weird, awkward introduction wedged into this episode for no reason.

[Lady Calypso]

I can't say I was surprised with where the Bess plot went. I figured it would lead to Bess being disowned but, really, she's much better off without the shackles of the Marvin family taking hold of her. I am absolutely positive that the Marvins would have made it so that Bess would have to choose them over her friends eventually, and she's going to be much happier without that part of her life to worry about. I do hope Bess can come to the conclusion eventually that the Marvins were family by blood, but nothing more, and that the Drew Crew is her real family. 

Though, I do assume the Marvin stuff will never truly go away, but it's nice for it to be done for now.

Nancy/George had a fun subplot together, even with passenger Odette in a cameo! I will say, despite the horrid French accent, seeing the switch from George to Odette is fun to watch. Odette's annoyance at Nick was hilarious. And I laughed at Nancy's line about not "seriously" considering killing George again to see if it resets the ghost situation. 

But I figured that Nick would find out eventually and I'm glad he got told pretty much immediately after Nancy/Bess found out. I hope this show never changes its pattern in having secrets not be kept for that long. Again, other than the pre-series secrets. But I do wonder how the George/Odette plot is going to play out. I have to assume Odette will leave George's body eventually, so I wonder how they'll manage to do that, and when. 

So, it looks like Ryan not only has a new adversary who can find out about Nancy (and probably will, let's face it) but a new love interest! 

[AnimeMania]

When George is Odette, does she have any supernatural abilities?

[tennisgurl]

"The woods speak to me." I seriously want to know what wavelength Ace is on and how I can tap into it. 

I missed having more of a mystery this week, but I am glad that Bess got some time in the spotlight and while I feel bad for her losing the Marvins, she still has plenty of people who love her for her and not her bloodline. The Marvins are so stuff and probably up to sketchy stuff anyway, so it might be for the best anyway. Her ex husband sure did go all supervillain quickly, complete with a slow moving death trap. The hunt actually looked pretty fun, all of those clocks in the forest looked really pretty. 

So according to magical resurrection rules, the last person who used the thing has to die for a new person to live, of course. These magical items need to have some kind of instructional manuals, there is way too much fine print. I do like watching George and Odette switching back and fourth, I enjoy Odett's snark at the ridiculous situations that keep occurring, although she really needs to get out of George. I would be open to her somehow sticking around, and I know some of us joked about Odette hooking up with Bess, as Bess is definitely her type, but it sounds like she might be down. Bess's relationship with the cop is pretty much dead in the water* so maybe give the hot angry ghost a chance? 

Glad that Nick knows about George sharing her body with Odette, I appreciate that most secrets tend to be revealed pretty quickly and aren't dragged out on this show. We also got a lot of great George and Nancy banter, especially when Nancy nonchalantly mentioned that she had considered killing and bringing back George, much to George's chagrin. 

Ryan has not only a new antagonist, but also possibly a new love interest. I like the reporter and she and Ryan have good chemistry, but she could cause a lot of problems if she lets out who Nancy is. 

[thuganomics85]

Nice to see Bess and Maddison Jaizani get to be front and center this time, even though I figured it was going to end in tragedy.  Granted, even if Diana and the Marvin clan aren't quite as bad as the Hudsons, it probably was only a matter of time before Bess would have had to pick between the Drew Crew and them, and I have to imagine that she would always back the former, understandably.  But I do think her mistake was not telling Diana about Stephen to begin with, because while there would have been a risk of some blowback, there probably was also a chance Diana would have been understanding and taken precautions: maybe even having men follow him around (of course, with this show, they might have "gotten rid of him" quietly...)

I certainly hope they find a way to save George, but I am so down with them finding a way to keep Odette around too.  Really loving that snarky, French aristocrat who ain't got time for this shit!  Maybe they can find some kind of braindead body or something for her to possess?!  Glad Nick now knows as well.

I can't say that Nancy's initial idea of flatlining George and using the blanket again was actually without merit, because it certainly wouldn't have been the weirdest or dangerous thing they've ever done.  But of course, it turns out that using the blanket will cause the person who used it before to die, so that's off the table.  To quote someone from another show "Magic always comes with a price, dearie!"

Ryan and the reporter had a nice rapport, but she is clearly going to cause complications by digging in more.

Definitely think the new line cook was behind the locker room break-in, because he was played by Shannon Kook a.k.a. Jordan from The 100, and I don't seem him being cast for a "blink and you miss him" appearance.

[statsgirl]

Why didn't Bess tell Diana what her ex-husband was doing? Diana already knew about Bess' past and she's super smart and manipulative.

Bess not telling her is like a little kid hiding her head under a blanket and thinking it makes her invisible.

[Cranberry]

I agree, Bess should have explained the whole thing to Diana, who would likely have told her about the tracker and let her pretend to steal the watch. Or maybe she would have decided Bess wasn't worth the trouble, but either way, she wouldn't have considered Bess a liar.

I forgot to mention earlier, one thing I found really funny was Ace and Bess's little exchange where Ace clarified for the audience, much more inelegantly than usual, that Bess didn't really have a husband ("Do you want to add that it was a fake marriage? That you two never slept together, because you only date women?") It felt a bit like the writers saying, "Don't worry, queer fans, we're not de-gaying Bess! Please don't hate us!"

[quarks]

Probably the weakest episode of the season so far - but that's not entirely bad when you consider that it's been a pretty strong season so far.

1. It was unfair of me to go "Oh no," when Shannon Kook showed up, since that "Oh no" came only because of residual trauma over the series finale of The 100, which was certainly not his fault. That said, the issue with this sort of casting is when you bring in a former but not well known regular of another CW show for a two minute scene, I'm going to assume that there's more going on here than just the show belatedly answering my question of "wait, who is cooking and serving the food while the Drew Crew is running around after ghosts?"  Especially since we've seen a couple of background extras cooking things. And even without knowing that the actor was in The 100, the whole introduction was so obviously HI WE NEED TO INTERRUPT THINGS TO MAKE THIS INTRODUCTION that I spent the rest of the episode waiting for him to Do Something Awful, which, hi, trashed locker. One of the clumsier bits of writing on this show.

2. In terms of why Bess didn't tell Diana - well, as Diana and the ex both noted, Bess hasn't truly escaped her past, which causes her to fall back into learned behaviors. She took one step forward by talking to Ace - though that was at least in part because Ace already knew. And another step when she told Diana. But when her ex threatened Nancy and George, she reverted back to her learned behaviors instead of trusting her aunt - who could have said, no biggie, there's a chip on the bracelet, we'll just trace him and we'll all be good. Or, for that matter, trusting that Ace and Nick would be able to find Nancy and George in time. Which is to say, Bess has some serious trust issues that still need work.

3. Loved the Nancy/George team-up, especially the bit where Nancy more or less admitted that she'd been thinking about killing George again, if not seriously. 

4. Is Odette - falling for Bess? On the one hand, I can see this - Bess did look amazing in that purple cape. On the other hand, Bess clearly, as said, has trust issues, and Odette has enough issues right now without adding falling for someone with trust issues. Odette, we need to have a chat about considering any of the available online dating options for the modern ghost who is possessing someone as an alternative.

5. So, Ryan starts off his potential new relationship with a journalist by lying to her about his daughter, something said journalist immediately picks up on. This should go well. And by well, I mean, extremely badly.

 

[sweetandsour]

Star of the episode - Madeleine, Ace's pocketknife!

[Simba122504]

On 3/18/2021 at 12:11 AM, CrazyDog said:

Not my favorite episode. I just don't care about the Marvins. I get that Bess wants family, but she has a job (as much as the rest of the crew) and a supportive group of friends. She's not alone anymore, even if she's not part of some stuffy family.

I did enjoy the bits of humor with George and Nancy. "Have you seriously been considering flatlining me?" Lol.

Nick finally knows detail, but and takes it better than I thought. 

Ryan and Valentina have some interesting chemistry, and I still find him a redeemable character.

I don't love that George is potentially danger again, at all! The show better not kill anyone off. Nancy is a great lead, but this is a true ensemble show. All the characters are getting some nice development.

*I haven't watched the episode yet,  but I  don't mind spoilers* Where is Bess's father? Siblings?  I mean her mother wasn't even in the country when she was born. Her mother never visited her family after leaving. I forgot some season one details,  but I find her obsession with the Marvin family ridiculous and superficial. She had a whole life in another country for the first 20 or whatever years of her life. She wasn't raised in an orphan. But she's obsessed with having pedigree. 

[quarks]

10 hours ago, Simba122504 said:

*I haven't watched the episode yet,  but I  don't mind spoilers* Where is Bess's father? Siblings?  I mean her mother wasn't even in the country when she was born. Her mother never visited her family after leaving. I forgot some season one details,  but I find her obsession with the Marvin family ridiculous and superficial. She had a whole life in another country for the first 20 or whatever years of her life. She wasn't raised in an orphan. But she's obsessed with having pedigree. 

I don't think this episode mentioned her father or any siblings? But I think it does clarify why she's so obsessed with the Marvin family - and that it's not ridiculous or superficial. Bess specifically mentions frequently going to bed hungry, ending up with an abusive partner, and desperately seeking stability. She doesn't appear to have any standard education or a degree, presumably because of this background. And this episode clarified that she had excellent reasons to want to get away from that past.

So, yeah, finding wealthy relatives who could provide that stability and possibly put her in a position where people from that past couldn't hurt her anymore? I can see getting a bit obsessed with that - while at the same time, still trapped in behavior patterns that said relatives were not willing to tolerate. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I like this show but it took me four attempts just to get through the first ten minutes of this episode. I don't know if it was the husband's awful accent or just that he was an abusive dick, but I was really not in the mood for his bull shit.

Ace told Bess she can trust everyone around her and two seconds later, Nick introduces them to Grant the new line cook, so how long before we find out he's spying on them for someone else? I mean, we're already into the second season and they've never introduced any of the line cooks until now so they might as well have put a big flashing red light over the new guy's head to say "BAD GUY! WILL BETRAY YOU!"

While the sympathetic part of me feels bad that Bess has lost her rich family (and only because she clearly wants to be connected to her blood family), the rest of me doesn't care because being biologically or legally related doesn't mean they're good people who care about you. Aunt Diana is clearly more concerned with protecting the family's name and reputation than treating her family members like family so buh-bye. I hope that Bess eventually realizes she's better off with the family she chose than the one she had blood ties to.

I love Odette's utter disdain for Nick. "Oh, him again." Now that we know she can eavesdrop on what George sees and hears, George needs to figure out how she can stay aware when Odette is driving her body around.

Nancy was SO DUMB to tell Odette that she's related to the Hudsons. How long before Odette shares this information with the wrong person (like, say, VALENTINA)?

I'm glad Nick knows about Odette. I hate the whole cliche of keeping secrets, especially in such a small and tight knit group like this one.

[akg]

On 3/20/2021 at 1:27 AM, Simba122504 said:

Where is Bess's father? Siblings?  I mean her mother wasn't even in the country when she was born. Her mother never visited her family after leaving. I forgot some season one details,  but I find her obsession with the Marvin family ridiculous and superficial. She had a whole life in another country for the first 20 or whatever years of her life. She wasn't raised in an orphan. But she's obsessed with having pedigree. 

I think Bess mentioned that her mom had thrown Bess out when she was 13 and that made her an easy mark when the "husband" needed a young, pretty girl to help with cons. I don't remember if she's mentioned a father or siblings but it does sound like she's been without family support for a while. And considering the only "friend" she during that time was just using her, I can understand why she hasn't realized her circle of friends = family.

[Josh371982]

Why would Nancy think Ace had a husband LOL? I wonder if we are heading for A Situation kinda like the movie The Host(based off a novel By Stephanie Meyer) when it comes to Odette being in George's body. For anyone who hasn't seen that movie it has a unique kinda love triangle that's solved by the end nicely and without anyone really getting their feelings hurt.  If any one on this board has seen they may know what I'm talking about.