S02.E02: The Kingdom

[WendyCR72]

Airing October 17, 2021:

Quote

McCall finds herself in the crosshairs of a foreign government’s intelligence agency when her friend Mira, a diplomat’s daughter, seeks McCall’s help to find her missing brother. Also, Dante faces suspicion from a fellow detective newly tasked by the district attorney to find the vigilante known as the Equalizer.

 

[statsgirl]

That description is misleading, Mira isn't Robyn's friend. (Also Mira had on too much makeup and her clothes were too tight and sexy.)

Nice to get a little backstory on Harry, and I loved his electric blue gloves. Delilah remains dead weight on the show.

[DanaK]

Pretty good episode. The Saudis were not messing around. I did not expect the brother to be gay and in love with a dissident (or he may not have been) instead of being a dissident himself. What a sad ending for him though. His resolution meant he was free to live in the West but could never go home or see his family again, at least his sister and his mom, because his dad chose the Kingdom over him

Glad to see Delilah lose her nerve about going to a concert and prepare to tell her mom the truth.

Glad to see that detective new on rounding up Robyn get sideswiped given his smugness

[paigow]

Ali is a dipshit... He is surprised that his father cannot reverse a royal directive...

Edited October 19, 2021 by paigow

[paigow]

Dante is going to get on the IA watch list soon.

[luvly]

Did anybody else feel like these last two episodes were switched? I made a remark to my friend that the lengthy previouslies on this episode seemed more like the S1 recap you'd expect on a S2 premiere, not S2E2. Harry's resurrection decision in the last episode also makes muuuuch more sense with the additional context of this Flies & Bees/Zaki/"the next Khashoggi" story line.

[milkyaqua]

16 hours ago, statsgirl said:

That description is misleading, Mira isn't Robyn's friend. (Also Mira had on too much makeup and her clothes were too tight and sexy.)

I never expect accuracy on tv shows/movies but it did seem odd.

Did like that Delilah decided to come clean but she's still annoying.

Yes, Dante better watch out for Mr. Super Cop.  I doubt he'll be so willing to let Robyn go about her business.

The ending was pretty much expected for Ali.  But obviously, there can always be repercussions/ for his partner.  I can see them both being watched.

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by milkyaqua

[paigow]

See if somebody tortures Zaki and tracks Harry

[mythoughtis]

8 hours ago, luvly said:

Did anybody else feel like these last two episodes were switched? I made a remark to my friend that the lengthy previouslies on this episode seemed more like the S1 recap you'd expect on a S2 premiere, not S2E2. Harry's resurrection decision in the last episode also makes muuuuch more sense with the additional context of this Flies & Bees/Zaki/"the next Khashoggi" story line.

I’d say no. Only because Delilah was staying at her fathers last episode and moved back at the end.  This episode she was back home. Otherwise what you mentioned makes sense the way you put it 

Edited October 19, 2021 by mythoughtis

[Starchild]

I don't know if there setting up a romance between Robyn and Dante (a la Person of Interest), but you know who has tons of chemistry? Latifah and Mr. Big. Every time they get together to snarl at one another I feel like they're a step away from tearing each others' clothes off. Dante is a wet blanket comparatively.

Edited October 19, 2021 by Starchild

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Starchild said:

Latifah and Mr. Big. Every time they get together to snarl at one another I feel like they're a step away from tearing each others' clothes off. Dante is a wet blanket comparatively.

It is established that her career at the CIA took off when she became his Padawan.... so they most likely hooked up [against HR  guidelines] back in the day...

[blackwing]

I enjoyed this episode.  I didn't see the twist of the son being gay coming.  Did the sister know about his secret?  I did feel sad for him, he will never see his family again.  I hope the sister at least is permitted to FaceTime him.

Will be interesting to see where things head with this new detective hunting down Robyn.  It's obvious that Dante has information, I am surprised the new guy isn't grilling him more.

I guess I don't mind Delilah that much.  I can understand why she feels betrayed.  And I loved her asking Robyn if she was going to go all "Jessica Jones" on a bad guy.  I liked the discussion with Robyn and Delilah and Aunt Vi at the end.  And then they all go out for some family time.  Loved Aunt Vi telling Robyn to get her $50 back!

With all that talk about how Harry thinks he will be instantly found out and executed by the FBI and the mob the instant he steps foot in daylight... he seemed awfully nonchalant about the whole experience.  No breathing in of fresh air, no basking in the sun, nothing said at all.  And his disguise was pretty pathetic.  I would have thought he would have done some Mission Impossible-like makeup or face mask.  

Harry's sweater, was it black and white stripes?  Looked like the classic jailbird outfit.

22 hours ago, luvly said:

Did anybody else feel like these last two episodes were switched? I made a remark to my friend that the lengthy previouslies on this episode seemed more like the S1 recap you'd expect on a S2 premiere, not S2E2. Harry's resurrection decision in the last episode also makes muuuuch more sense with the additional context of this Flies & Bees/Zaki/"the next Khashoggi" story line.

14 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

I’d say no. Only because Delilah was staying at her fathers last episode and moved back at the end.  This episode she was back home. Otherwise what you mentioned makes sense the way you put it 

I agree that they weren't switched.  1) Delilah - she was pissed at Robyn from the end of last season and there was a lot of talk in Episode 1 about how mad she still was.  In this episode, she is back home.  2)  In Episode 1, I think Harry talked about how he hadn't seen daylight in five years.  He wouldn't have said that if he had been outside just a few days earlier as we saw in this episode.  3) This new detective on the trail of Robyn was nowhere to be seen in Episode 1.

Edited October 19, 2021 by blackwing

[paigow]

Forget the $50... get the ticket money back...

[SnapHappy]

I'm annoyed they keep hitting on this "Delilah being pissed off with Robyn". 

Parents don't have to tell their children everything, especially when the kid consistently demonstrates they are too immature to understand and process the truth. 

Delilah is still a CHILD.  Underage, unable to legally make decisions, sign contracts, etc.  She cannot be trusted, and Robyn was protecting their lives, her career and the general public by not spilling out the details of her job to her kid.   What age exactly would have been appropriate for her to know?  Because she's still at the age where she blabs things to the wrong people and her friends. And people get hurt!  Plus, she was lying to Robyn long before her work details came out.  

I really want them to shut down this whole plot point & keep Delilah on the back burner.  There's enough teen angst in the teen angst shows, I don't want it overwhelming my adult dramas!   She can be around & do things, but the whiney crap has got to stop.  

Edited October 20, 2021 by SnapHappy

[ShortyMac]

On 10/19/2021 at 1:38 PM, paigow said:

Forget the $50... get the ticket money back...

You can't get a refund unless you buy insurance for the ticket, or the show gets postponed, or canceled.

[Johannah]

I don't mind Delilah, but they can skip all the at-home scenes, as far as I'm concerned.  I like Aunt Vi, but I'm not as enamored of her as some of you.  She's okay, but again, I don't have much interest in Robyn's home life.

They can spend more time with Harry and Mel, though.

[ribboninthesky1]

I like Harry, yet I'm not invested in his redemption storyline.  I was perfectly fine with the "morally questionable hacker with a heart" characterization of the 1st season. 

I also have never had a problem with Delilah - as TV teenagers go, she's normal to me.  Robyn set her straight last week, but it seems appropriate that there's still tension in the house. 

I did chuckle when Dante was sitting smug when Detective Antagonist returned the station with no Robyn.  

I would like more Bishop, but I see zero romantic chemistry between him and Robyn.  I think the actors play against each other well.  

[blackwing]

10 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

I would like more Bishop, but I see zero romantic chemistry between him and Robyn.  I think the actors play against each other well.  

I don't think there's supposed to be?  I think he was her handler when she was in the CIA, or at least he was in some kind of supervisory position.  I think the will-they-or-won't-they relationship on this show is clearly between Robyn and Dante, and I could see them toeing the line as the season progresses.

[SnapHappy]

12 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Robyn set her straight last week, but it seems appropriate that there's still tension in the house. 

But she didn't "set her straight".  Because the child AGAIN lied, planning to go to a concert, stay wherever overnight and just barely backed out.  She obviously had that ticket for quite a while.  Long enough to come clean if she was really "set straight".  Nope, the kid just keeps lying.

And Robyn rewarded her with frozen yogurt and zero discipline.  I really hate Robyn's parenting skills.  She's playing the "gotta be my kid's friend first, then be a parent" thing, which I abhor seeing on these shows.  

Why the hell do these writers think we want this crap?  I'm fine with everything else, especially Chris Noth.  

[Johannah]

So, I've been thinking of this Delilah thing, and I don't know why because it's my least favorite part of the show, but I think the writers have it backwards.

I'm thinking, if it was my mom and she missed a lot of the important events (to me) in my life because of some charity last-minute emergency(?), I'd be pissed.  What charity "emergency" couldn't wait a day or two so my mom could see me in my soccer team's championship or whatever?  The charity would still be there, needing something, in two days.  What would a charity emergency be, anyway?  That only my mom could handle it and right now!?  But if I find out she's CIA?  Now that makes sense.  Someone needing rescuing probably can't wait two days and mom misses my birthday to avert WWIII?  Okay, I get it now.  I would be relieved to know my mom didn't put a fundraiser above everything in my life.  And she didn't tell me about it?  Maybe I'd be upset at first, but I've seen enough movies and TV to know the CIA is hush-hush and me not knowing kept me from worrying and maybe out of danger.  

I don't think Delilah should be angry (well, any more than every teenager is angry).  She should be relieved her Mom wasn't ignoring her for something that could most likely wait.

[possibilities]

Also, I was surprised it was so taboo to look through the kid's backpack, and that they made no attempt to verify the alleged geology trip or whatever the cover story was. 

[blackwing]

14 hours ago, Johann said:

So, I've been thinking of this Delilah thing, and I don't know why because it's my least favorite part of the show, but I think the writers have it backwards.

I'm thinking, if it was my mom and she missed a lot of the important events (to me) in my life because of some charity last-minute emergency(?), I'd be pissed.  What charity "emergency" couldn't wait a day or two so my mom could see me in my soccer team's championship or whatever?  The charity would still be there, needing something, in two days.  What would a charity emergency be, anyway?  That only my mom could handle it and right now!?  But if I find out she's CIA?  Now that makes sense.  Someone needing rescuing probably can't wait two days and mom misses my birthday to avert WWIII?  Okay, I get it now.  I would be relieved to know my mom didn't put a fundraiser above everything in my life.  And she didn't tell me about it?  Maybe I'd be upset at first, but I've seen enough movies and TV to know the CIA is hush-hush and me not knowing kept me from worrying and maybe out of danger.  

I don't think Delilah should be angry (well, any more than every teenager is angry).  She should be relieved her Mom wasn't ignoring her for something that could most likely wait.

I agree.  I would think Delilah should feel comforted in the fact that she wasn't just being ignored or that her mom didn't care about her.  She should feel some sense of understanding that "ah, this is why Mom had to leave for Europe at 9 pm at night, it's because she was helping someone who was going to be killed, she is a hero".  Instead it's the "you LIED TO ME for years".

In real life, can someone in the CIA tell their family members that they are in the CIA?

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

Also, I was surprised it was so taboo to look through the kid's backpack, and that they made no attempt to verify the alleged geology trip or whatever the cover story was. 

Agree with both comments.  I don't understand what parent would let their kid go on a geology trip (especially when the kid had previously expressed zero interest in geology) without signing some kind of permission slip or getting more information.  Where exactly are you going, what hotel are you in, which teacher is going with you, what about expenses, are they feeding you or do you need money, who else is going, who are you rooming with, etc.  I would have asked a lot more questions.

I also don't see why Aunt Vi felt so guilty about going through the backpack.  I would think it should be a "my house, my rules" situation.  Robyn and Vi are the parent and parental figure, they have a right to seek information when they feel the kid has been lying to them.

[paigow]

Did the charity cover story involve refugees / medical aid in war zones??? So emergencies would be life or death...

[possibilities]

Delilah didn't even know what the charity supposedly was. It makes it even more absurd that she would think she should have been told all the details of what was really going on. She hadn't even expressed any interest in the cover story.

[ShortyMac]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

I also don't see why Aunt Vi felt so guilty about going through the backpack.  I would think it should be a "my house, my rules" situation.  Robyn and Vi are the parent and parental figure, they have a right to seek information when they feel the kid has been lying to them.

Yep. Trust and privacy is earned, to a certain point. Like Robyn said, Delilah snuck around, and saw things she wasn't ready for, and that's on her. I'm surprised Aunt Vi finding her going through Robyn's room with Nikki wasn't brought up, in addition to her discovery of the storage unit.

[Daff]

On 10/18/2021 at 2:05 PM, luvly said:

Did anybody else feel like these last two episodes were switched? I made a remark to my friend that the lengthy previouslies on this episode seemed more like the S1 recap you'd expect on a S2 premiere, not S2E2. Harry's resurrection decision in the last episode also makes muuuuch more sense with the additional context of this Flies & Bees/Zaki/"the next Khashoggi" story line.

Something was definitely up with this episode because my satellite provider has The Kingdom (which was delayed 35 minutes) listed as S2E0. I dumped it because I wasn’t going to watch 25 minutes and not know how it ends. In a week or so I can watch it (during a very short window) on demand. Also, the third episode here is labeled by my provider as S2E2. Grumble and bother! I fixed the timer to run longer, but this show was on Sunday last year, too, no? Maybe I didn’t do that before because it premiered after all the game delays?

[Johannah]

On 10/25/2021 at 11:58 AM, Daff said:

Something was definitely up with this episode because my satellite provider has The Kingdom (which was delayed 35 minutes) listed as S2E0. I dumped it because I wasn’t going to watch 25 minutes and not know how it ends. In a week or so I can watch it (during a very short window) on demand. Also, the third episode here is labeled by my provider as S2E2. Grumble and bother! I fixed the timer to run longer, but this show was on Sunday last year, too, no? Maybe I didn’t do that before because it premiered after all the game delays?

My recording was still set from last year and I had it to record an extra half hour, so it was needed last year, too.

[Daff]

10 hours ago, Johann said:

My recording was still set from last year and I had it to record an extra half hour, so it was needed last year, too.

Don’t you hate when decent network shows are relegated to Sunday nights? When I was a kid, good things were on Sunday nights. Guess it all changed after the infamous “Heidi” incident. I did watch that movie, on that Sunday (Dad grumbling throughout)!

[Johannah]

8 hours ago, Daff said:

Don’t you hate when decent network shows are relegated to Sunday nights? When I was a kid, good things were on Sunday nights. Guess it all changed after the infamous “Heidi” incident. I did watch that movie, on that Sunday (Dad grumbling throughout)!

Ha!  Me, too!  I was young and not into football, yet, and was so glad Heidi wasn't delayed.  My Dad, on the other hand...

 

 

[kwnyc]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:02 PM, Johann said:

Don’t you hate when decent network shows are relegated to Sunday nights?

It's a burden. I've put up with it through The Mentalist, The Good Wife, Madam Secretary and, I think, The Amazing Race. CBS DOES that!

[andromeda331]

On 10/27/2021 at 8:54 AM, Daff said:

Don’t you hate when decent network shows are relegated to Sunday nights? When I was a kid, good things were on Sunday nights. Guess it all changed after the infamous “Heidi” incident. I did watch that movie, on that Sunday (Dad grumbling throughout)!

Yes, it stinks!

Edited November 11, 2021 by andromeda331