S01.E06: Rage

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

When the retrieval of a weapon doesn't go as planned, Nicky takes matters into her own hands; Jin takes Mei-Li on a surprise date; Althea finds herself faced with an ultimatum.

Promo:

Original air date: 5/12/21

[paigow]

Raiders Of The Lost Ark... but Nicky is the Nazi with scar clues.

Plenty of handy villain exposition and overconfidence... This series could have been done...

[AimingforYoko]

Always good to see the hero(ine) get her ass kicked. A little humility is a good thing.

[memememe76]

The CW loves killing off the parental characters and Tzi Ma gets a good number of film offers that I am now scared he will get killed by Zhilan. I was so scared during that scene. 

[AnimeMania]

What was the reason that the magical sword weapon decided to burn/brand Nicky, she had no reaction when she held the scabbard or the dagger. Did they try to translate the text/pattern on Nicky's hand, it might be hella important.

Nicky wrote a check her butt couldn't cash!

[Camera One]

They better not kill off either parent.  They're one of the best things about the show!

Zhilan sure gets information fast.  She knew the dagger was at that gallery and didn't have to wait until Randall posted the sale on the black market.  I'm surprised she didn't go to Bolivia and grab it there herself.

So Zhilan is the stepsister or half-sister of Pei-Ling?  Since she said Pei-Ling killed her dad and the sword belonged to her family.

If Ryan hasn't graduated yet, I guess Dr. Chan (the older lady) is supervising his clinical experience.  This is the first time we have seen another doctor there.   I thought we would see more of Ryan trying to get funding for the clinic.

Althea was in a tight spot.  I thought she was beginning to lean towards exposing her old boss, but now she agreed to sign the NDA.  That lawyer was a tad confrontational; not a smart move to anger a potential whistleblower.  

Nicky was a little frustrating with her recklessness.  It was good to see her casing the joint at the museum, though.  Though most galleries do give you a map of the public areas.  Did she sneak into the employee areas while she was there as a visitor?

Evan's girlfriend was the lady at his office, right?   She had a Visitor's badge but she was saying some stuff about work, so did she work there too?

I kept expecting Evan to run out when Nicky was fighting Zhilan in the back alley.  Zhilan didn't kill Nicky, though, which means she isn't that bad?  But she had no problem killing the Professor (assuming he is dead).

I like that this show has a mix of drama and humor, and has a fun tone.  I've been watching too many downer shows taking themselves too seriously lately.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Camera One

[possibilities]

I hate that they are making Nicky a dumbass who has to be scolded and schooled by the grad student who wants to fuck her.

I also thought Evan was out of line demanding to know what she and her pals were up to. Yeah, maybe something is going on, but it's not any of your business if she doesn't want to tell you, dude. Just because you were supportive of her "and were happy to do it" doesn't mean you own her. So now both her love interests are patronizing assholes. I kind of like his girlfriend, though. 

I love the parents.

I think Althea needs to tell her fiance what is going on. 

I like the brother. I missed his boyfriend this week, too.

[arc]

Evan has a corner office as an assistant DA? How swanky must the boss's office be?

"I still have a lot of work to do" says the woman WHO STILL HASN'T GOT A JOB IN THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITY IN THE COUNTRY and is leeching off the goodwill of her entire family. And then her mom gives Henry the ol "what kind of future can you provide for my daughter" BS when Nicky barely deigns to refill the napkin dispensers at the restaurant???

The whole younger generation of Shens is in on this heist, which to be clear is super illegal, all because Nicky believes it's a literally magical weapon. Nah, she needs an intervention for real. I mean, it shouldn't play that way to the audience, who knows the weapons really are magical, but Ryan and Althea have no reason to believe her about it.

The Zhilan/Nicky fight scene was dope.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

That heist was all kinds of reckless and ridiculous, but it's a CW show so we were definitely due for some sort of ball/fundraiser/party where all the characters attend and are dressed to the nines. I assumed we wouldn't really get that until Althea's wedding, but it was still fun to see everyone looking fancy, especially Nicky's parents who probably can't remember the last time they got dressed up.

I have to side with Nicky on the shoe issue. If you're wearing a floor length dress, just wear flats. No one will ever see your shoes and your feet won't hurt at the end of the night. And if you're planning a heist, flat shoes are best so you can run like hell when you have to!

I really wish Althea would tell her fiance what happened. She is causing herself so much unnecessary stress and unhappiness by keeping this secret from him. But it was very sweet of her to donate all the money (and then some - I loved when she upped her price) to keep the clinic open.

I noticed that the library had a sign on the door saying it was closed so that Nicky could do her research in private. RUDE!

Edited May 13, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[thuganomics85]

Well, at least Nicky fared a little better against Zhilan compared to their first meeting, but it seems clear that Zhilan still has her number and then some.  Nicky's really going to need to up the training and learn some new tricks to make this more competitive: let alone actually beat her!  Of course it looks like there might be more to Zhilan, since she's now claiming that Pei-Ling had her own dirty secrets and might not have been the perfect mentor Nicky thought she was.  My guess is it is going to end up being somewhere in the middle: like Pei-Ling did wrong Zhilan on some levels, but had a good reason to do so.  That's usually how it goes.

The heist was as reckless and poorly planned as expected, but it was fun having Ryan and Althea get involved (although where they informed about the magical weapons?  If so, they seem to take all of that pretty well), and I'm hoping this will lead to some of squad going forward, with Nicky, Henry, Ryan, and Althea.

Evan seems content to get on the bad side of both Nicky and his current girlfriend.  Impressive!

I do wish Althea would tell Dennis the truth and it's a bummer she folded at the end with the NDA, but I'm glad she at least will use the money to help Ryan's clinic, and even force the guy to raise the price another $200,000.  Shannon Dang continues to be the highlight here.

It was nice seeing the parents carefree and happy again.  I hope nothing bad happens to them...

[tennisgurl]

Nicky did a bit better in her fight against Zhilan then she did last time, but she still got her pretty soundly beat. Which I actually like, it gives Nicky more time to improve before her climactic battle in the season finale, it makes her more human, and it just makes sense for a woman who has presumably been doing martial arts for her whole life (if her family legacy involves magic swords) to be better than a woman who has only been doing it for three years. Interesting that Zhilan let her live when she has been cackling evil for most of the show, and it sounds like the situation with her sister might have been a bit more complicated then it appeared. 

It was fun seeing the siblings and Henry help Nicky with her ill conceived museum heist, even if it didn't go great. It was also fun having most of the cast in the same place, including Mei-Li giving Henry the once over, saying "humanities" like other people might say "meth dealer". though you would think she would be more on Nicky to find a job or go back to school, she seems like she is just hanging out doing her quest now, but they don't know much about that. It might not have been the best time, but I cant really blame Evan for wanting to know what's going on if Nicky keeps asking him for help. She doesn't have to tell him the whole truth, but just a little something. I am also unclear as to what all Althea and Ryan know about what Nicky is doing, have they been told about the magic swords? Or do they just think its a sword that was stolen from her dead teacher that Nicky wants back for sentimental reasons? 

This show better not think about killing one of the parents off, they're the best part of the show. 

[MissLucas]

I know it's the CW but I would really like to see at least one of these characters for once bringing up the fact that Nicky continues to break the law. And this time she dragged her siblings along for the ride.

The moment Althea was 'offered' that NDA 'compensation' I knew she'd use the money to help out the Community Center. But I did not expect her to push for another 200'000, that was badass. Of course in the end she'll do the right thing and testify and it will cost her. She's still the best character on this show.

Damn, Zhilan girl - if you'd dedicate as much time and care selecting your henchmen than you do choosing your outfits you would not have to fight pesky 'little monks' in a back alley and risk ruining that sweet white suit. And no reaction upon seeing the branding in Nicky's palm?

[paigow]

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

And no reaction upon seeing the branding in Nicky's palm?

Probably why she let Nicky go...

[Sakura12]

I don't know why any of them are enabling Nicky's crime spree. All she keeps saying is she has to do things and they are all like okay, let me help you commit crimes. Especially when it's clear she's out of her league and has no idea what she's doing. 

As unrealistic as it is, I'm glad Zhalin made it to San Francisco. Although she just had a team break into a mansion in Dubai, why didn't she use that team. The ones she used seemed kind of useless. I'm thinking her story about Pei Ling might be half true. Pei Ling taking the sword is what could've got their father killed or something. 

 

[paigow]

5 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

Although she just had a team break into a mansion in Dubai, why didn't she use that team. 

They got recruited by Dom Toretto

[arc]

4 hours ago, MissLucas said:

And no reaction upon seeing the branding in Nicky's palm?

Here's what gets me: she shook Nicky's hand earlier, up at the party. No thought about the scarring then, though she had to have felt it. I was expecting it in the moment, and then nothing... and then at the end of the fight that's what gets Zhilan to back off.

[Camera One]

22 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Did they try to translate the text/pattern on Nicky's hand, it might be hella important.

I don't remember them trying to translate the words.  I'm not sure why they haven't.

2 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

I don't know why any of them are enabling Nicky's crime spree. All she keeps saying is she has to do things and they are all like okay, let me help you commit crimes. Especially when it's clear she's out of her league and has no idea what she's doing. 

Especially in this particular case.  They could all get into huge trouble for being accessories.  They can't be certain that Evan would turn a blind eye (again).  Though I suppose the museum/gallery itself might have no record that the dagger was in that box from Bolivia.  It might look like nothing was stolen.  

Nicky didn't necessarily want the dagger.  She just wanted to stop Zhilan from getting it.  So another approach would have been to alert the authorities and set up a sting to entrap Zhilan.  The challenge would be getting the authorities to believe their claim that there would be a robbery.  But at the very least the museum/gallery owners would want to ensure their security wouldn't be breached, and they might have been motivated to set some sort of trap.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Camera One

[HerkyJerky]

15 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

so we were definitely due for some sort of ball/fundraiser/party where all the characters attend and are dressed to the nines

Shannon Dang in that gold gown...DAMN!

[possibilities]

10 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Of course in the end she'll do the right thing and testify and it will cost her. She's still the best character on this show.

I'm thinking that in a civil suit the damages she gets might be more than the amount she accepted for the NDA. If they were offering a big payout to keep her silent, they have the money and they are worried that if she talks it will do even more damage. Also, she already told Nicky last week, plus that other woman was trying to get her to testify, so clearly Althea has told her the story as well. I wonder if those prior disclosures will come back around.

11 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

This show better not think about killing one of the parents off, they're the best part of the show. 

So true!

 

[MissLucas]

14 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I'm thinking that in a civil suit the damages she gets might be more than the amount she accepted for the NDA.

I was thinking more of the emotional toll. 

[JH Lipton]

On 5/13/2021 at 9:03 PM, Camera One said:

Nicky didn't necessarily want the dagger.  She just wanted to stop Zhilan from getting it.  So another approach would have been to alert the authorities and set up a sting to entrap Zhilan.  

It's easier than that.  "OK, Zhilan, here's the dagger.."  "HEY, SECURITY, SHE'S TRYING TO STEAL A DAGGER!!!!"

Edited May 15, 2021 by JH Lipton

[arc]

Tbf she had three mercenaries and if they had packed silenced pistols or crossbows (I’m spitballing here), Henry and Nicky would’ve just been dead despite having superior martial arts skills.

I do think Nicky has somehow decided she needs to collect as many of the weapons as she can, even though @Camera One is right, she just needs to stop Zhilan from collecting them.

[Camera One]

8 hours ago, arc said:

I do think Nicky has somehow decided she needs to collect as many of the weapons as she can

I was thinking about how Nicky could accomplish that, and it seems practically impossible.  Even if a weapon is for sale, she would need a huge amount of money to buy just one.  Even if Althea had given the settlement money to the "Reunite The Magical Weapons" fund, it wouldn't go very far.  Nicky also has no means of protecting the weapons if she got hold of them.  We were discussing superheroes, and it would take someone with Batman/Bruce Wayne's resources to take that strategy.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Camera One

[possibilities]

Jhilan murdered Pei-Ling and burned down the monastery, with lots of witnesses. The easiest way to keep her from collecting all the weapons would be to get her put in jail. 

But I think this show is not going for a vengeful tone. 

[possibilities]

Thinking about it more, does an NDA get voided if someone subpoenas you to testify about a criminal matter? I don't actually know, but it seems like at leaast a possibility. It might be that the NDA itself is not enforceable, and Althea gets to tell her story if someone else finally sues? Also, are you allowed to sign something promising to cover up a crime? You could agree not to sue someone in a civil suit, in exchange for compensation. But I don't think that has an impact on a criminal matter-- though I might be wrong.