S01.E08: Lifeline

[WendyCR72]

Airing May 9, 2021:

Quote

The daughter of McCall's deceased CIA mentor is pursued by a hit squad in France; Aunt Vi becomes suspicious when McCall skips out on another family night for work.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Welp.  Too much senseless killing, really unsatisfying, I didn't really feel invested......   

Couldn't Robyn have done more to protect HER MENTOR at the end of the episode?!  The daughter is like, that was great that you let me speak to him for a half second.

The mentor dies, and (Audrey?) dies and Robyn is just like whatever, she's gone, moving on......  And the crew actually CELEBRATES that they saved the daughter.  Um, what about all the people you got killed in the process, LOL.....

I wonder if the name Aunt Vi is a reference to "Fresh Prince".  Queen guested on that show twice.  Will's mother's name was Vi (Viola) and that's what his cousins called her.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[stonehaven]

I thought this was a good episode if a bit too twisty for it's own good. I'm not that picky..Queen Latifah kicking butt for am hour? Yeah, I'm in.

(Truth be told, I saw the Denzel movie last night and I found as much as I liked the film, I missed the Queen and a bit of joy this show has vs. The movie).

My one quibble was that the "team" of CIA took their sweet time getting to where Robyn was. Damn, typical, gotta make the woman do all the work...

Also, did anyone else notice that Robyn's asset thanked her for "the action" as well as getting her out of Afghanistan? Hmmm...wonder what they meant by that?

[Angeleyes]

How much jet lag does Robyn have from the quick turnaround to Europe and back? Did she fly commercial for that? 
 

Just when I think the daughter is becoming less annoying she does something annoying again. At this point, Robyn probably needs to clue her into at least part of the truth. Although, my husband and I think that she’ll then become the Kim Bauer of this show and try to involve herself in cases so that she gets kidnapped constantly. I’m glad that Aunt Vi is officially in on the truth now. I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for her to demand answers since she’s a caregiver for the daughter. 
 

It sucked that the mentor died just when he was reunited with his daughter. That seemed unnecessary to resurrect him only to instantly kill him. 
 

It was also stupid that Alison acted oh so grateful to Robyn only to turn on her 2 seconds later to collect the ransom for Carla because plot reasons. 

11 minutes ago, stonehaven said:

Also, did anyone else notice that Robyn's asset thanked her for "the action" as well as getting her out of Afghanistan? Hmmm...wonder what they meant by that?

I took it to mean that Alison was probably at least semi-retired now similar to Robyn so she was thankful for the opportunity to get back in the game again for a minute. We see how that turned out. 

[Raja]

2 hours ago, stonehaven said:

 

Also, did anyone else notice that Robyn's asset thanked her for "the action" as well as getting her out of Afghanistan? Hmmm...wonder what they meant by that?

The way the show has played even recently retired when Robyn ran across a situation with the girl about to be raped and maybe trafficked  in the pilot and Melody seemed to enjoy the gunwork more than being a club owner Allison being possibly retired also liked the work even if neither went the private contractor or mercenary route. The equivalent of the pilot in Top Gun who makes the quip about having a hard-on when discussing about training for a life or death dogfight.

[milkyaqua]

The epi was fine but that last shootout made no sense and took too long for the other CIA operatives to arrive.  Nice that Carla survived but of course her dad dies because some random bad guy shows up at the perfect time to kill him before getting taken out by Robyn.

I'm also wondering what Robyn was wearing to come to so soon after being tasered.  I knew Allison was done for as soon as the call was over.  It would have been surprising if Allison hadn't betrayed Robyn.  Surprising how she survived as long as she did considering she should have known the sort of person she was dealing with regardless of the amount of money involved.

I'm also glad that she told her Aunt Vi but agree the daughter needs to be told something.  Aunt Vi was able to delay her snooping for now but at some point, yes, she's going to become an even bigger pain than she is now.  Maybe around the time Det Dante arrests her mother because that's probably coming.

[mertensia]

Aunt Vi knew Robyn was in the CIA so could cover for that.

I like that Nicki is a nice kid. 

 

[possibilities]

I like Nicki, too. 

 

[Good Queen Jane]

I really like this show, but not this episode. The whole point of The Equalizer is for Robyn to help ordinary people who have no one to help them. I don't want to watch a spy show and I really don't want to watch a show where there is a Big Bad lurking in the background, with the hero obsessed in taking him down. They are really straying from the concept of the original series.

[I Want My MBTV]

Even with extra Chris Noth this was probably my least favorite episode to date.  I actually liked the family stuff more than the COW - SMH!  I just could not get invested in the COW and kept tuning out. It also seemed to stretch credulity even more than usual  And yeah, lots of people got killed but we saved the girl who called us so Cheers!? 

[paigow]

24 minutes ago, I Want My MBTV said:

And yeah, lots of people got killed but we saved the girl who called us so Cheers!? 

Her father lied to everyone by disappearing so he deserved to actually die

Allison betrayed McCall so she deserved to die

Boyfriend did not deserve to die, but it happened before McCall got involved

[paigow]

12 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

The whole point of The Equalizer is for Robyn to help ordinary people who have no one to help them. I don't want to watch a spy show and I really don't want to watch a show where there is a Big Bad lurking in the background

Conversely, Missing Person Of The Week gets old fast. There will be no more serial killers and human traffickers left in NY / NJ by 2022.

[Aliconehead]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Her father lied to everyone by disappearing so he deserved to actually die

Allison betrayed McCall so she deserved to die

Boyfriend did not deserve to die, but it happened before McCall got involved

I got the impression that he was kidnapped by the bad guys and tortured since his supposed death. They went after the daughter to force him to talk.  I didn’t think he lied by disappearing. Did I miss something?  
 

sorry as a fellow Alison, Allison deserved to die.  She sold an innocent to be tortured/killed for money. 
 

Boyfriend did not deserve to die. 
 

McCall is collect people that can help in future cases.  A reporter could be helpful. 

[candall]

Can we trade Robyn's daughter for the not-dead / now-dead CIA guy's daughter?

Okay then, well how about switching her out with Nikki?

Ergh, she's just so unlikeable.

*************

Hi there, Chris Noth.  Did you make them put a clause in your contract that you don't have to shave and you get to wear sweats?  That's okay by me.  You're still fine.

[blackwing]

I thought this episode was a nice change of pace, it got them out of New York for an episode and was a good change of scenery.  But I don't understand the timeframe.  The episode opened with the family and the friend about to sit down for dinner.  Let's say it was 7 pm.  Then Robyn gets called and has to go.  She spends maybe a few hours with Harry and Mel helping the girl via phone.  But then has to get on a CIA plane for France.  Six hour flight.  Time spent locating the girl and all the aftermath.   Then a six hour flight back and she's back home, maybe  around 11 pm since Delilah is already asleep and Aunt Vi stayed up.

I guess it's common for Robyn to just disappear, but to be gone from home for over 24 hours without even telling her family?  Delilah and the friend jokingly assumed she was on a booty call.  Vi had a general idea that she was a spy but didn't know the details.  But why wouldn't the daughter ask more questions?  "Mom, did you have to go to the office at 8 pm?  Where is your office?  Did you sleep there overnight?  Oh you flew to Europe?  Why didn't you tell us?  Why didn't you tell us you wouldn't be home all night and all day?"

I am glad that Aunt Vi said she had a general idea what Robyn did because that makes it slightly more believable that she was always covering for her with Delilah.  But I don't get it, Robyn is no longer in the CIA and thus no longer has any duty to keep it secret.  Why keep it a secret that she helps people?  Why not tell Delilah about what she does and why she isn't around?  The truth seems better than ruining her relationship with her daughter like her mentor ruined his relationship with his daughter.

On 5/9/2021 at 8:31 PM, stonehaven said:

Also, did anyone else notice that Robyn's asset thanked her for "the action" as well as getting her out of Afghanistan? Hmmm...wonder what they meant by that?

Allison seemed like she was a retired British agent, so she enjoyed getting back in the game, even for just a little bit.  But I don't think her actions rang true.  She was so happy to hear from Robyn, and is forever in Robyn's debt for saving her life in Afghanistan.  She seemed really loyal to Robyn so I don't think it follows that she was willing to sell Robyn out for $2 million.  And how did the Big Bad (Aidan Quinn?) even know to contact Allison and bribe her.  He wouldn't even have known of her existence unless he was tapping Robyn's phone.

On 5/9/2021 at 8:42 PM, Angeleyes said:

Just when I think the daughter is becoming less annoying she does something annoying again. At this point, Robyn probably needs to clue her into at least part of the truth. Although, my husband and I think that she’ll then become the Kim Bauer of this show and try to involve herself in cases so that she gets kidnapped constantly. I’m glad that Aunt Vi is officially in on the truth now. I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for her to demand answers since she’s a caregiver for the daughter. 
 

It sucked that the mentor died just when he was reunited with his daughter. That seemed unnecessary to resurrect him only to instantly kill him. 
 

It was also stupid that Alison acted oh so grateful to Robyn only to turn on her 2 seconds later to collect the ransom for Carla because plot reasons. 

So the mentor supposedly was KIA two months ago.  Did the CIA fake his death or did the kidnappers fake it and were torturing him to get this flash drive?  Why would he even be carrying around this flash drive and how did the Mossad guy know he had it?  Why would Mossad try and get a list of CIA operatives so they can expose or blackmail them.  Isn't Mossad supposed to be the Israeli equivalent of the CIA?  I thought the U.S. is Israel's staunchest ally... I don't get why Mossad would be trying to hurt the CIA.

6 hours ago, candall said:

Can we trade Robyn's daughter for the not-dead / now-dead CIA guy's daughter?

Okay then, well how about switching her out with Nikki?

Ergh, she's just so unlikeable.

I liked the daughter this episode.  I liked that she invited her friend over.  Is this the friend she met at the homeless shelter while she was doing her community service?  The friend was nice and respectful, calling her "Ms. McCall".  Nice to see manners in a teenager these days.  I can't blame the daughter for wondering why her mom is never around.  It seems like they have a loving relationship, she just wants her mom around more.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

And how did the Big Bad (Aidan Quinn?) even know to contact Allison and bribe her.

Why would Mossad try and get a list of CIA operatives so they can expose or blackmail them. 

Martin Quinn

Ex-Mossad turned mercenary

[Netfoot]

16 hours ago, paigow said:

There will be no more serial killers and human traffickers left in NY / NJ by 2022.

Don't nee do be serial killers and human traffickers. Could be scumbag landlords, protection racketeers, and a whole lot more.

Or is she only interested in saving the world from Nuclear Winter?

[candall]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

I can't blame the daughter for wondering why her mom is never around. 

But the daughter didn't.  The polite friend, Nicki, immediately noticed Robyn's behavior was a little bit off, but no radar ever pings in Delilah World unless it's about Delilah.

 

She didn't even know the name of the "charity" or what her mother has supposedly done there for Delilah's whole life.  "Who cares?"

 

They need to write Delilah just a little bit less self-absorbed, even if she is supposed to be your typical teenage girl.  Robyn gazing at her friendship bracelet with such devotion makes me sad.

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

Why not tell Delilah about what she does and why she isn't around?

Because her daughter is as dumb as a rock. A dumb rock.

If McCall wants to keep a low profile (and out of the hands of Dante and now the DA) she'd better not confide in a dumbass-blabbermouth.

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

I thought the U.S. is Israel's staunchest ally...

Recently? Not so much.

Quote

I don't get why Mossad would be trying to hurt the CIA.

Ex-Mossad. I guess that means he has the skills, but no longer the loyalties.

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

I liked the daughter this episode.  I liked that she invited her friend over.

I didn't like her frisking her mom's room, to the point of tearing up floorboards. That would not have passed muster in our household, when I was a kid...

 

[leighdear]

Friend Nicki is a little too snoopy.  And WTF Aunt Vi,  just blowing off Delilah rifling through her mother's room?  Seriously?  I would have been SO grounded for even going IN there without permission.  I HATE seeing kids on TV get away with that crap.  But that secret mirror-access gun safe Robyn accessed was awesome!

Yep, the little Bishop we got was tasty.  He wears all of it well.  

And why don't we tell our teenage daughter what we really do?  Because it's ILLEGAL!!!!!   She is basically a Mercenary with a sharp wardrobe.  That's why the real police are after her.  No teen is going to keep that kind of info under wraps. 

I absolutely LOVED that sparkly cable turtleneck she wore.  Sucked that the bottom got shredded in the fighting though.  I hate when bad things happen to good knits!

I'm still a big fan, best drama going these days, for my money.  

Edited May 11, 2021 by leighdear

[tennisgurl]

I thought it was fun getting out of the city for a bit and exploring more of Robyn's CIA past, but this wasn't one of my favorite episodes. The case of the week felt both too twisty and too obvious, I suspected that the father might be alive when we found out that they were looking to capture Carla (?) and not just kill her on sight, but then I thought we would get really twisty and it would turn out that Carla was actually planning on selling the file to get revenge on the CIA because she's bitter about her father giving his life to the CIA, but that might have been a bit much. I also thought the cheering at the end seemed to be a bit out of place considering the high body count of the mission. Its good that Carla survived, but her innocent boyfriend is dead, her father, Robyn's friend and mentor, is dead, and Robyn was betrayed by a friend who is now also dead, albeit because of her own treachery, plus we saw quite a few other bodies dropping in the shoot out, it seems like it would be more grim but relieved satisfaction that this wasn't a total mess than happy dance time. In fact, Carla seemed to be doing pretty well by the end considering she saw her boyfriend and her thought to be dead father die within the same 24 hours. 

I cant really blame Delilah for asking questions about her moms job, which she knows nothing about, but her looking through her moms stuff is a real invasion of privacy. You would think that Robyn could come up with a better cover story than her doing vague work for a vague charity for vague people in a vague other country, she hasn't even told her where she is actually going or what the name of her fake charity is. The CIA cant come up with a fake website? She could at least have gone with her working for the government in a less spy-ish capacity, like she works in disaster relief, so that she would have an excuse to leave at random times and travel a lot. At least Aunt Vi knows now. 

I am also not thrilled with them introducing an arc enemy for Robyn, especially if he's just some mercenary guy who she hates because he's killed people. A lot of times these mastermind arc enemy Big Bads end up being really annoying and stick around way past their usefulness and are basically psychic they can do so much stuff, plus Robyn doesn't seem to have much of a personal connection to him, so its hard to get that invested in her hatred for some guy we are just hearing about. 

Edited May 11, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, leighdear said:

Friend Nicki is a little too snoopy.  And WTF Aunt Vi,  just blowing off Delilah rifling through her mother's room?  Seriously?  I would have been SO grounded for even going IN there without permission.  I HATE seeing kids on TV get away with that crap.  But that secret mirror-access gun safe Robyn accessed was awesome!

Yep, the little Bishop we got was tasty.  He wears all of it well.  

And why don't we tell our teenage daughter what we really do?  Because it's ILLEGAL!!!!!   She is basically a Mercenary with a sharp wardrobe.  That's why the real police are after her.  

I absolutely LOVED that sparkly cable turtleneck she wore.  Sucked that the bottom got shredded in the fighting though.  I hate when bad things happen to good knits!

I'm still a big fan, best drama going these days, for my money.  

Well maybe if McCall was on a deployment but with the CIA jet bringing her home  then aunty defers to mommy for discipline 

[Angeleyes]

2 hours ago, leighdear said:

 

I absolutely LOVED that sparkly cable turtleneck she wore.  Sucked that the bottom got shredded in the fighting though.  I hate when bad things happen to good knits!

 

Apparently it was purchased already shredded. 
https://wornontv.net/223425/

[leighdear]

Wow, even by Balenciaga, I would NOT do the rips.  I knit, so I know how much time & effort it takes to make that sweater.  I'm glad that site shows the pic of last week's Dior argyle, because I'm definitely gonna try a version of that one!  

[Netfoot]

17 minutes ago, Angeleyes said:

Apparently it was purchased already shredded. 
https://wornontv.net/223425/

OMFG! $1,350?!??

Wow, the Hollywood elites just can't help themselves. 

[marceline]

How is Robyn a former CIA operative and yet her cover story for her own family is so piss poor? She works for an international charity but neither her aunt of her daughter know the name of the charity or what kind of services it provides. Come on. Who doesn't know the name of their breadwinner's employer? Come up with a generic name like "the Smith Family Foundation for Global Health," mock up a fake website with email and phone. Dee's in school. Don't schools ask for parents work contact information? It's a glaring plot hole. 

One little detail I found interesting: when Robyn called her contact Allison you could see Allison's girlfriend/wife/one night stand sleeping in the bed behind her. Little things like that remind me of just how far TV has come with LGBTQ+ representation in my lifetime.

Edited May 11, 2021 by marceline

[paigow]

2 minutes ago, marceline said:

Come up with a generic name like "the Smith Family Foundation for Global Health,"  

• Killers Without Remorse
• Assassins Beyond Extradition
• Child Soldier Rehabilitation - so they can fight again

[ShortyMac]

17 hours ago, blackwing said:

I liked the daughter this episode.  I liked that she invited her friend over.  Is this the friend she met at the homeless shelter while she was doing her community service? 

Juvenile detention, but, yes. 

[possibilities]

14 hours ago, leighdear said:

I absolutely LOVED that sparkly cable turtleneck she wore.  

 

Me, too! I was distracted by how much I liked it.

The kids tearing up the room struck me as something a much younger set of kids would do, like going on a treasure hunt assuming there's a juicy mystery to be solved, because it's the kind of thing that happens in a book they read or saw in a movie. Ditto for Delilah not thinking to ask what charity her mother supposedly worked for-- I can imagine a young child being told mom works for a charity, and just accepting it without question, but then at some point you do expect the kid to ask what kind of charity and what she does for it, specifically, that requires emergency trips out of town at a moment's notice. 

[blackwing]

15 hours ago, Angeleyes said:

Apparently it was purchased already shredded. 
https://wornontv.net/223425/

Seems ridiculous to pay that much money for a sweater that looks like someone accidentally snagged on a loose nail.  BTW I think Latifah looks so much better in it than the model.

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

The kids tearing up the room struck me as something a much younger set of kids would do, like going on a treasure hunt assuming there's a juicy mystery to be solved, because it's the kind of thing that happens in a book they read or saw in a movie. Ditto for Delilah not thinking to ask what charity her mother supposedly worked for-- I can imagine a young child being told mom works for a charity, and just accepting it without question, but then at some point you do expect the kid to ask what kind of charity and what she does for it, specifically, that requires emergency trips out of town at a moment's notice. 

Especially in the middle of the night.  Just doesn't seem normal that an international charity would call her at 9 pm and require her to travel to Europe instantly and be gone for over 24 hours with no explanation.  And I find it odd that Delilah never asks her "how was your trip, what did you end up doing".  I know they are writing Delilah as self-absorbed but since they have been shown to have a loving relationship you would think she cares more about her mom than to not ask any questions at all.  What about when Robin gets bruises on her face from a fight?

That mirror/weapons safe... it had some kind of digital fingerprint reader, right?  I loved how it backlit all this assortment of weapons, each neatly stored in its own place and artfully arranged.

[Trini]

On 5/11/2021 at 2:51 PM, tennisgurl said:

...

I am also not thrilled with them introducing an arc enemy for Robyn, especially if he's just some mercenary guy who she hates because he's killed people. A lot of times these mastermind arc enemy Big Bads end up being really annoying and stick around way past their usefulness and are basically psychic they can do so much stuff, plus Robyn doesn't seem to have much of a personal connection to him, so its hard to get that invested in her hatred for some guy we are just hearing about. 

 

Agreed. I was like, "Oh, great, a nemesis." I don't think this show needs that.

---

Also I LOL'd at Hacker Harry ranting about bartering his designer jeans! So it's confirmed he wears pricey designer stuff; they heard me whining about it! 😂

[WendyCR72]

Robyn getting that nemesis makes me uneasy. Why?

Because this show is being run by Andrew Marlowe and Terri Edda (husband and wife team) who created and ran Castle. And the whole twisted saga with the death of Beckett's mother on there turned into a hee-yuge hot mess of epic proportions.

I don't want to see the same horrible mistake done on this show.

[paigow]

51 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Robyn getting that nemesis makes me uneasy. Why?

Every Kirk needs a Khan... All these gangsters / cartels of the week stand no chance. I never watched Castle seriously, maybe this time it will turn out better. 

[andromeda331]

I didn't like the episode either. Carla finds her dad's alive only for him to die? WTF? It also really wasn't that interesting that he was alive the whole time. 

Delilah really is an idiot isn't she? She doesn't know what her mother does and doesn't even think to ask. Really? She's never once asked how her trip was, what she's working on, who she's helping anything? Robyn should have had a much better cover no matter how generic it might be. Even Covert Affairs did a better job with Annie's cover working at the Smithisonian. 

I like that at least Aunt Vi knew what it was. I would have prefered that she had known the whole time. It would have made more sense and have her help her cover for her with Delilah. 

[Johannah]

I guess I watch a lot of action movies, so the body count didn't bother me.  Worse was the boyfriend in the beginning, but every cop show starts with an innocent victim.  The father dying was sad, but he was an agent and the danger was always there.  The friend dying was a result of her own betrayal.  All other deaths were 'bad guys', right?

Still loving this show.  I thought McCall was going to immediately go to France, so I really enjoyed the scenes from the Batcave.

Two negatives, well, maybe three if you count the daughter's scenes (she doesn't usually bother me, but I agree with stuff said above).  One, where was the team that came in with Robyn during the long scene when she was confronting the bad guys?  On a break?  Also, I hate arcs on these kind of shows.  If that Quinn guy shows up again, and, of course he will, I hope it is resolved in one or two weeks.

While I like Robyn's clothes, for some reason, I kept thinking that top looked uncomfortable and I bet she wished she was wearing something else when she got the call.

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Johann

[AimingforYoko]

On 5/10/2021 at 8:10 AM, Good Queen Jane said:

They are really straying from the concept of the original series.

Not really. Between Robert intervening when that little weasel Michael (Saul Rubinek really nailed it) was messing with Control, to saving Kostmeyer from the KGB, he dove back into his old world all the time.

[DearEvette]

I am not bothered by Delilah not being 100% in the know of what Robyn does. 

When I worked as a consultant for a big enterprise systems consulting firm, I had to travel to client sites all the time  -  sometimes three days on site, two days travel and two days home -- depending on the schedule it could get really brutal.  My kids knew I worked for an IT consulting company and that I set up systems.  That was it. They knew the acronym name for the company because that is how we colloquially referred to it, easier to say than the long name.  They were happy to see me when I got home but didn't ask after every trip because I travelled that much.  It becomes old hat.

I think in reality people are get comfortable knowing what they think they know.  They don't question the status quo unless or until something prompts it.   If something has always bee that way, that is your normal.  If Robyn always traveled unexpectedly (something the show seems to have established) and that is all Delilah has ever known, she isn't necessarily going to question anything because it isn't an abnormal thing to her.

[possibilities]

How old were your kids? I can understand if they were young, but once they get older, it seems really strange to me that they not  be curious. I guess IT though is more generic and potentially boring, though, than "mom works for a charity". I'd think you'd really get curious about which charity and what they do.

[DearEvette]

At the time I was with that company my kids were young. But my oldest was about 10 and my youngest 8 when my oldest did ask one day why I had to be gone so much.  I told him that I worked at a big company were I had to become an expert on how to set  up and use different computer software and hardware.  And when another company or college bought one of those software systems they would hire us to teach them how to use it and set it up the best way.  And some of those companies were in different states or towns and it took a long time to teach them how to use the computers the best way to match their company. 

It wasn't at all sexy or even interesting (to them) LOL,  but it became the explanation they needed.  So anytime thereafter the boys would know that when I was going to the airport it was because I had to go teach somebody how to use a computer. They never did ask again because they were satisfied.  I did quit that job only about couple years later though. So now if you ask them, they'd say I worked in an IT department at a University (I don't but close enough no need to bore them with an Org chart).

[possibilities]

That makes sense to me. What more would kids need to know? But Robyn's saying she works for an international charity and her teenager doesn't even know which one or what their cause is. That's something I think she'd want to know.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

But Robyn's saying she works for an international charity and her teenager doesn't even know which one or what their cause is. That's something I think she'd want to know.

No kids here. But it seems to me that teenagers these days are so completely self-absorbed, I'm surprised she can even remember her mother's name. Far less have any interest whatsoever, in what she does for a living. So long as the newest iPhone appears on schedule...