S01.E02: Light Bulb

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

Going against everyone’s advice, Janine takes it upon herself to fix every problem when she notices a flicking light bulb in the hallway. Despite the best intentions, Janine ends up causing new issues throughout the school. Elsewhere, Gregory asks Barbara for help talking to a parent, which leads him to spend his lunch period in an unexpected way.

Airs January 4th.

[DB in CMH]

Funny start, completely ran out of steam about 22 minutes in (watching live). Needs better pacing.

[Crashcourse]

I find it hard to believe Janine is that stupid.  Surely she must have known she could have electrocuted herself.

I love this cast.

[Amethyst]

14 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I find it hard to believe Janine is that stupid.  Surely she must have known she could have electrocuted herself.

I thought the same.  This isn't like replacing a rug, messing with an faulty breaker is serious and Janine was lucky that there was only a short.  But I'm chalking it up to her being preoccupied, due to her dud of a boyfriend as well as low blood sugar.

They do have a great cast.  Principal Coleman cracks me up, despite her being awful at her job.  I loved her scuttling away from Janine after she passed out. 

Barbara definitely knows that Gregory has a thing for Janine.   I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up a Principal eventually.

Tariq is a bum.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I really like this show.  It's much better than American Auto, not that I think American Auto is bad per se.

[Bookish Jen]

I like Janine a lot (and Quinta Brunson is adorable). She's really plucky and cares about her students. But trying to fix the faulty breaker wasn't exactly a good idea. And her boyfriend? Yikes! A walking red flag.

And as cynical both Melissa and Barbara are, I think they truly care about their students. Plus, it's nice to see them acting as mentors to Janine and Gregory in their odd ways.

I think I'm going to keep on watching this show.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Bookish Jen

[Crashcourse]

13 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Barbara definitely knows that Gregory has a thing for Janine.   I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up a Principal eventually.

I love Barbara's side eyes whenever she sees Gregory making googly eyes at Janine.  I hope Barbara ends up a Principal, too.   

[possibilities]

And now I am thinking Gregory really ought to get rhinestones on his nails. It would really look fantastic with his otherwise sober attire and demeanor.

I am a DIY person and also impatient. But I do not mess with electricity. That place looks like a fire waiting to happen. The custodian knowing how to fix it and not doing it til he could be framed as a hero after the blackout was either diabolical or awesome and I am right on the fence about which one. 

[Empress1]

14 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Tariq is a bum.

Eating her breakfast sandwich AND burning up all her gas. No sir!

[Bookish Jen]

Deleted cause I messed up.

21 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Eating her breakfast sandwich AND burning up all her gas. No sir!

And did he look at the budget. I doubt it. The thing is Janine is a caretaker, which can be a good thing, but often people take advantage of that. I hope she kicks him to the curb.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Bookish Jen

[Snapdragon]

Loved the janitor!  Hope we see a lot more of him.  

Is it some requirement of these mockumentary shows that a competant female lead is in a relationship with a complete waste of space? (Ann/Andy on Parks and Rec, Pam/Roy in The Office)  I don't get why they keep doing that it.  It doesn't make the women sympathetic , it just makes them look dumb.  

 

[topanga]

1 hour ago, Snapdragon said:

Is it some requirement of these mockumentary shows that a competant female lead is in a relationship with a complete waste of space? (Ann/Andy on Parks and Rec, Pam/Roy in The Office)  I don't get why they keep doing that it.  It doesn't make the women sympathetic , it just makes them look dumb.  

I guess there always has to be an initial obstacle keeping the goal couple apart. I'm guessing they're setting up Janine and Greg(?) to be end-game, but I could see her dating the white teacher too (can't remember his name either). But I agree, the deadbeat boyfriend/husband isn't necessary. Why can't our heroine be single?

 

7 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

And as cynical both Melissa and Barbara are, I think they truly care about their students. Plus, it's nice to see them acting as mentors to Janine and Gregory in their odd ways.

I agree. I like both teachers, and Barbara is a great leader and facilitator. It makes you wonder why she hasn't been offered a principal's job at this point in her career. And even though Melissa sounds like a New Yorker, she acts like a lot of women I know from South Philly. 

Speaking of Philly women, I'm glad they didn't go the stereotypical route with the mom of the little boy who was always late. Even though she was a little snippy at first, the mom's conversation with Greg at the nail salon didn't involve any bad attitudes or neck rolling. She was actually quite nice. A refreshing change from the norm. 

[LydiaMoon1]

51 minutes ago, topanga said:

Barbara is a great leader and facilitator. It makes you wonder why she hasn't been offered a principal's job at this point in her career.

Someone like Barbara probably had multiple offers to become Administration. I can see her turning every one of those offers down. She clearly loves teaching and loves the schoolchildren.

#2 favorite quote of the episode was Barbara to Janine when Janine first walked into the teachers' lounge. "What are you wearing?"

I was thinking the same thing.

21 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Principal Coleman cracks me up, despite her being awful at her job.  I loved her scuttling away from Janine after she passed out. 

#1 favorite quote of the episode was when Janine passed out and Principal Coleman said: "She's pale like a zombie. They eat the hot ones first. Let me back my tasty ass up."

I hollered.

Edited January 6, 2022 by LydiaMoon1

[tennisgurl]

Barbara would be an awesome principle, but I can imagine she doesn't want to stop teaching and directly interacting with kids. 

I continue to really like this show, I am curious if they are going to use the mockumentary format as just a stylistic choice, or if they are actually going to have it affect the plot, like when Gregory asked the camera is it was getting everything when the principle came in and started her weirdness. 

I like the janitor a lot. He has a system. 

[JakeyJokes]

The sequence from the Boyz II Men joke to Ava flipping out because the power went out just as the decision was to be made on the HGTV show she was watching had me laughing out loud. Everyone is great on this show, but Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph are absolutely killing it with their characters.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Totally for show purposes to have them sitting in pedicure chairs when only having manicures. Makes it much more difficult for the manicurists.

Also, manicurists charge as much for clear polish (or no polish at all) as they do for color polish, so that was just for the sake of the joke.

[Empress1]

17 hours ago, topanga said:

And even though Melissa sounds like a New Yorker, she acts like a lot of women I know from South Philly. 

She’s so South Philly. The actress can’t do the accent (most people can’t; Quinta Brunson’s is home-grown) but her mannerisms are very South Philly.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 1/5/2022 at 9:07 PM, tennisgurl said:

I like the janitor a lot. He has a system. 

For turning the power back on.  It doesn't mean that the back hall lights aren't still blinking.

[Dancingjaneway]

The scene where Janine is tyring to figure out the breaker box & reads off the Boys 2 Men songs had me rolling! 

[irisheyes]

Ok, so under the category of “Life Imitates Art”, I proceeded to blow a circuit breaker today at school by trying to make copies and heat up lunch at the same time. According to our custodian, it’s not a quick flip the switch fix. 😀. I, however, did not attempt to find the breaker box to fix it. Since our custodians Croatian, I doubt the circuits would be labeled with Boyz II Men songs. 🤣🤣

[Constant Viewer]

27 minutes ago, irisheyes said:

I proceeded to blow a circuit breaker today at school by trying to make copies and heat up lunch at the same time.

It's ALWAYS the copy machine. One time ours set off the smoke alarm and we had to wait outside until the fire dept came.

[JakeyJokes]

On 1/6/2022 at 11:33 AM, Empress1 said:

She’s so South Philly. The actress can’t do the accent (most people can’t; Quinta Brunson’s is home-grown) but her mannerisms are very South Philly.

The actress said on Twitter that she’s from the DMV, so at least South Philly is closer than NYC. The accent itself doesn’t bother me, but I’m from the Midwest. So interesting to me that you, being familiar with it, pick up on things that I wouldn’t. The character works for me as a “tough broad” type, and her obsession with the branzino reminded me of characters from Stephanie Plum novels (which, yes, I know are set in Trenton).

 

On 1/5/2022 at 3:23 PM, Snapdragon said:

Loved the janitor!  Hope we see a lot more of him.  

Is it some requirement of these mockumentary shows that a competant female lead is in a relationship with a complete waste of space? (Ann/Andy on Parks and Rec, Pam/Roy in The Office)  I don't get why they keep doing that it.  It doesn't make the women sympathetic , it just makes them look dumb.  

 

I thought about this after your comment. I get they’re already trying to go for a Jim/Pam thing, but was that always the deal from the get-go? (See a few episodes, but Not very familiar with that show)

I was rewatching some random Mary Tyler Moore shows this week and THERE’s a great workplace sitcom that allowed their protagonist to be single.

Edited January 8, 2022 by JakeyJokes

[Empress1]

48 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

The actress said on Twitter that she’s from the DMV, so at least South Philly is closer than NYC. The accent itself doesn’t bother me, but I’m from the Midwest. So interesting to me that you, being familiar with it, pick up on things that I wouldn’t. The character works for me as a “tough broad” type, and her obsession with the branzino reminded me of characters from Stephanie Plum novels (which, yes, I know are set in Trenton).

I grew up in Philly & half my family is from there (other half is from NYC). 9 times out of 10, when an actor has to do a Philly accent, they just do a generic tough guy accent. Listen to Quinta Brunson when she says “I’ve been teaching for a year now.” The flatter “now,” kind of “neeow,” is the tell. (Also the Black Philly accent and the white Philly accent are different.)

I don’t have much of an accent at all but I use Philly words - a sandwich on a long roll is a hoagie, forever. And the second someone says “jawn” on this show, I’m falling out.

 

[irisheyes]

2 hours ago, Constant Viewer said:

It's ALWAYS the copy machine. One time ours set off the smoke alarm and we had to wait outside until the fire dept came.

Microwave popcorn set ours off. It’s the worst, cause they have to come and clear the whole building.  Keep the popcorn at home people!!

[possibilities]

3 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

. I get they’re already trying to go for a Jim/Pam thing, but was that always the deal from the get-go?

Yes, Jim was pining for Pam from the beginning. 

[Court]

22 hours ago, irisheyes said:

Ok, so under the category of “Life Imitates Art”, I proceeded to blow a circuit breaker today at school by trying to make copies and heat up lunch at the same time. According to our custodian, it’s not a quick flip the switch fix. 😀. I, however, did not attempt to find the breaker box to fix it. Since our custodians Croatian, I doubt the circuits would be labeled with Boyz II Men songs. 🤣🤣

Last year, we had two microwaves in the cafeteria for staff to heat up their lunch. It was because we weren't allowed to eat in the teacher's lounge. We learned very quickly if we used both at the same time, it would overload it and both would stop working. 

[Constant Viewer]

2 hours ago, Court said:

we weren't allowed to eat in the teacher's lounge.

Why weren't you allowed to eat in the teacher's lounge? Do you have to eat in your classroom?

[Court]

On 1/8/2022 at 9:16 PM, Constant Viewer said:

Why weren't you allowed to eat in the teacher's lounge? Do you have to eat in your classroom?

Covid and yes. 

[chediavolo]

I love this show! ❤️❤️Haven’t loved  a new sitcom in a while. So much chemistry. Love Janine & Gregory. The bad NY accent on the one actress does bug. I like the character but it throws  me off. Should have just forgone an accent at all. Please keep this show going! It’s such a nice way to forget the life we are all living now.  

[auntiemel]

12 hours ago, Court said:

Covid and yes. 

I always preferred eating in my classroom anyway! :)

[Lovecat]

On 1/7/2022 at 9:14 PM, Empress1 said:

I grew up in Philly & half my family is from there (other half is from NYC). 9 times out of 10, when an actor has to do a Philly accent, they just do a generic tough guy accent. Listen to Quinta Brunson when she says “I’ve been teaching for a year now.” The flatter “now,” kind of “neeow,” is the tell. (Also the Black Philly accent and the white Philly accent are different.)

I don’t have much of an accent at all but I use Philly words - a sandwich on a long roll is a hoagie, forever. And the second someone says “jawn” on this show, I’m falling out.

 

I loved seeing all of the teachers mesmerized by Jim Gardner, whose last broadcast is tonight, booo, but Happy Retirement!  He really is a Philadelphia institution.  I was born in Philadelphia, raised in the Lehigh Valley, and spent 20 years in the Philly burbs before returning to the Valley.  I grew UP with that man!  It was so meta seeing them watch him on ABC6...while I watched them on ABC6.

[Empress1]

Just now, Lovecat said:

I loved seeing all of the teachers mesmerized by Jim Gardner, whose last broadcast is tonight, booo, but Happy Retirement!  He really is a Philadelphia institution.  I was born in Philadelphia, raised in the Lehigh Valley, and spent 20 years in the Philly burbs before returning to the Valley.  I grew UP with that man!  It was so meta seeing them watch him on ABC6...while I watched them on ABC6.

100%. I truly can’t recall a time when Jim Gardner wasn’t on TV.

[shoregirl]

10 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I loved seeing all of the teachers mesmerized by Jim Gardner, whose last broadcast is tonight, booo, but Happy Retirement!  He really is a Philadelphia institution.  I was born in Philadelphia, raised in the Lehigh Valley, and spent 20 years in the Philly burbs before returning to the Valley.  I grew UP with that man!  It was so meta seeing them watch him on ABC6...while I watched them on ABC6.

Tonight is only is last 1100 pm news He'll still to the 600pm news until the end on the year then he'll retire (boooo...but much deserved).

 

[Racj82]

On 1/5/2022 at 4:23 PM, Snapdragon said:

Loved the janitor!  Hope we see a lot more of him.  

Is it some requirement of these mockumentary shows that a competant female lead is in a relationship with a complete waste of space? (Ann/Andy on Parks and Rec, Pam/Roy in The Office)  I don't get why they keep doing that it.  It doesn't make the women sympathetic , it just makes them look dumb.  

 

That's not actually a thing. Your example is one show. A show that was taking the lead from the show they were remaking from the UK version. It also had a point. Pam (Dawn in the Uk version) was an example of a kind of office worker. The kind that gave up their dream long ago and didn't fight for what they want. She gave up trying to find any sort of real happiness. In the UK version it's her version of Jim that urges her to never give up. He was also the lone bright spot in her life.  But, in both shows, it was important to the character.

On Abbott, it doesn't need to be there. It still has a purpose. Besides creating an obstacle, it also further shows how passive she can be when it's unrelated to her job and her kids. As her confidence and strength grows, he will hit the curb.

This is also not a gendered issue. Making the third part of triangle a piece shit is stupid regardless of gender. It makes it really hard to root for someone who is doing something so clearly dumb. To slightly be fair, people date others they should have no business with all the time. The real issue is that it's not funny. It never is to me.

I feel like here, he was thrown in after the pilot as a source of personal friction for our lead. I don't think it will be an element around for long.

[DanaMB]

On 1/5/2022 at 6:32 PM, topanga said:

Barbara is a great leader and facilitator. It makes you wonder why she hasn't been offered a principal's job at this point in her

Thinking about the Barbara’s I’ve worked with, she’s probably not interested. She seems to love teaching and her students. Admin isn’t the same. (I’ve been both.)

[DearEvette]

So I just binged this and I love it.  I am a big fan of Quinta anyway but I am tickled that she is the creative force behind this and it is casted and written so well.

Regards her loser boyfriend, I don't think he is gonna be around long either. I am kinda getting the vibe that Jacob might also have a little crush on Janine -- not as obvious and Gregory's -- but a little hint of it.  And if there is romance rocky roads ahead it might include him.

Ava is a total riot and so far is being used well and not too over-used.  But yeah, Barbara is my favorite. 

 

On 1/5/2022 at 6:32 PM, topanga said:

Speaking of Philly women, I'm glad they didn't go the stereotypical route with the mom of the little boy who was always late. Even though she was a little snippy at first, the mom's conversation with Greg at the nail salon didn't involve any bad attitudes or neck rolling. She was actually quite nice. A refreshing change from the norm. 

Yes.  I was at first getting a little annoyed as how they were portraying her, but I loved the way that storyline played out and how much better she was served in the end as a character.  I liked the actress too, I wonder if we'll see her again?

[JakeyJokes]

On 1/11/2022 at 11:51 AM, Lovecat said:

I loved seeing all of the teachers mesmerized by Jim Gardner, whose last broadcast is tonight, booo, but Happy Retirement!  He really is a Philadelphia institution.  I was born in Philadelphia, raised in the Lehigh Valley, and spent 20 years in the Philly burbs before returning to the Valley.  I grew UP with that man!  It was so meta seeing them watch him on ABC6...while I watched them on ABC6.

I found this out from Twitter. Quinta Brunson seemed especially bemused and starstruck that they got him to do it, and I saw a cute clip of the ABC6 anchors being excited for him (and one said “although I don’t think Jim would ever go to Chipotle”). I still laugh every time I think of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s delivery of “THAT NON-REGIONAL DICTION!”

 

On 1/7/2022 at 8:14 PM, Empress1 said:

I grew up in Philly & half my family is from there (other half is from NYC). 9 times out of 10, when an actor has to do a Philly accent, they just do a generic tough guy accent. Listen to Quinta Brunson when she says “I’ve been teaching for a year now.” The flatter “now,” kind of “neeow,” is the tell. (Also the Black Philly accent and the white Philly accent are different.)

I don’t have much of an accent at all but I use Philly words - a sandwich on a long roll is a hoagie, forever. And the second someone says “jawn” on this show, I’m falling out.

 

My friend’s stepdad growing up was from Philly and we just thought he sounded weird (and we were in Minnesota, where our “o”’s are also polysyllabic, just in a different way!) I never clocked the Philly accent until 30 Rock did a throwaway joke about Avery Jessup doing an Overstock.com commercial before getting rid of her Philly accent. It did help me flirt with a beautiful man at a Miami pool bar once when I heard him flirting with the bartender and said “Excuse me? Are you from Philly?” His response: “I am. How’d you kneeeeowww?”

[Book Junkie]

For those wondering why Barbara isn't a principal, it's probably because she doesn't have the credentials. In public education, you have to get a degree and extra certification to be an administrator in most cases. I'm sure there are exceptions here and there, but that's how it normally works. It's not a promotion you get just for being a good teacher for so long. 

[possibilities]

3 hours ago, Book Junkie said:

For those wondering why Barbara isn't a principal, it's probably because she doesn't have the credentials. In public education, you have to get a degree and extra certification to be an administrator in most cases. I'm sure there are exceptions here and there, but that's how it normally works. It's not a promotion you get just for being a good teacher for so long. 

And it's a lot of paperwork and other crap that Barbara doesn't have much interest in. She probably didn't want it.

[Constant Viewer]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

9 hours ago, Book Junkie said:

or those wondering why Barbara isn't a principal, it's probably because she doesn't have the credentials. In public education, you have to get a degree and extra certification to be an administrator in most cases. I'm sure there are exceptions here and there, but that's how it normally works. It's not a promotion you get just for being a good teacher for so long. 

And it's a lot of paperwork and other crap that Barbara doesn't have much interest in. She probably didn't want it.

Not to mention dealing with parents and discipline issues most of the day.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Constant Viewer

[JeanJean]

On 1/14/2022 at 9:14 PM, DearEvette said:

Yes.  I was at first getting a little annoyed as how they were portraying her, but I loved the way that storyline played out and how much better she was served in the end as a character.  I liked the actress too, I wonder if we'll see her again?

I liked the character and actress, too! I think they should have Gregory dating her for a bit, while Janine is still with her boyfriend. And I also liked that they didn't handle her in a cliche way.

[Crashcourse]

I'd actually rather see Gregory dating the mom long term to see where things go.  Janine is nice and committed to teaching, but there's some immaturity about her that I think would get on Gregory's nerves at some point.  Also, she might electrocute herself.  🥴  She does need to ditch the boyfriend though.   

[JeanJean]

On 1/28/2022 at 2:40 PM, Crashcourse said:

I'd actually rather see Gregory dating the mom long term to see where things go.  Janine is nice and committed to teaching, but there's some immaturity about her that I think would get on Gregory's nerves at some point.  Also, she might electrocute herself.  🥴  She does need to ditch the boyfriend though.   

Either one's okay with me. I have a feeling Gregory-Janine is the end game they're going for, though, like Jim and Pam.

I kind of wished they had filmed the hallway scene in the dark after she blew the lights out. I think that would have been funny, but that may just be me.

[dmmetler]

Also, having taught in an urban system, there were far more Avas and Gregorys in Admin than Barbaras. Avas were incompetent in the classroom, picked up credentials at night and were promoted due to knowing someone. Gregorys started on the admin track and never planned on teaching long term-and were promoted due to wanting men to be visible in elementary schools. Both types learned quickly to get out of the way of Barbara. 
 

I will say that the best principal I ever worked under was a retired Marine training NCO who was a Gregory. He taught two years in high school, then took over leadership of a school that was basically Abbott. He believed in chain of command and that his job was to make it possible for those under him to do their jobs effectively, but otherwise stayed out of the way. Unfortunately, cancer took him too soon. 

[love2lovebadtv]

On 3/12/2022 at 11:19 AM, dmmetler said:

Also, having taught in an urban system, there were far more Avas and Gregorys in Admin than Barbaras. Avas were incompetent in the classroom, picked up credentials at night and were promoted due to knowing someone. Gregorys started on the admin track and never planned on teaching long term-and were promoted due to wanting men to be visible in elementary schools. Both types learned quickly to get out of the way of Barbara. 
 

I will say that the best principal I ever worked under was a retired Marine training NCO who was a Gregory. He taught two years in high school, then took over leadership of a school that was basically Abbott. He believed in chain of command and that his job was to make it possible for those under him to do their jobs effectively, but otherwise stayed out of the way. Unfortunately, cancer took him too soon. 

I'm really invested in Gregory's character and career path. Curious to see if he still wants to be a principal after this job. I can see him coming into his own as a teacher but I think he'd make a good principal, too.

On 1/13/2022 at 4:36 PM, DanaMB said:

Thinking about the Barbara’s I’ve worked with, she’s probably not interested. She seems to love teaching and her students. Admin isn’t the same. (I’ve been both.)

Yes, she really loves working directly with the kids. 

On 1/5/2022 at 6:32 PM, topanga said:

I agree. I like both teachers, and Barbara is a great leader and facilitator. It makes you wonder why she hasn't been offered a principal's job at this point in her career. And even though Melissa sounds like a New Yorker, she acts like a lot of women I know from South Philly. 

I can't see Barbara wanting to be a principal or any kind of administrator at all. Being a principal is a different job altogether. I think most principals have taught at some point, even if just for a couple of years. But being a principal requires different skills and credentials.

[Harvey]

I'm re-watching right now and the "OH MY GOD MY BRANZINO" parts are so funny 😄. This show has aged well.

[Annber03]

On 1/7/2022 at 3:47 PM, Dancingjaneway said:

The scene where Janine is tyring to figure out the breaker box & reads off the Boys 2 Men songs had me rolling! 

"It's ironic, 'cause I'm on bended knee." XD. 

I agree Janine trying to tackle the issue with the lights herself was dangerous and risky, but I also get her being like, "Well, somebody's got to take care of this." Plus, given her life with her boyfriend, and depending on what all we know about her past in general, she's clearly used to just taking care of things herself, or at least, trying to. 

I really liked the scene with Gregory and Barbara at the manicurist. I love Gregory agreeing to get his nails done in order to talk about his situation with the student and their mom :D. Clever way to make that talk happen. I agree with everyone's sentiments about Barbara and Meliss and their dedication to their job. 

Gregory and Janine are cute :). 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 1/12/2022 at 3:30 AM, Racj82 said:

That's not actually a thing. Your example is one show. A show that was taking the lead from the show they were remaking from the UK version. It also had a point. Pam (Dawn in the Uk version) was an example of a kind of office worker. The kind that gave up their dream long ago and didn't fight for what they want. She gave up trying to find any sort of real happiness. In the UK version it's her version of Jim that urges her to never give up. He was also the lone bright spot in her life.  But, in both shows, it was important to the character.

On Abbott, it doesn't need to be there. It still has a purpose. Besides creating an obstacle, it also further shows how passive she can be when it's unrelated to her job and her kids. As her confidence and strength grows, he will hit the curb.

This is also not a gendered issue. Making the third part of triangle a piece shit is stupid regardless of gender. It makes it really hard to root for someone who is doing something so clearly dumb. To slightly be fair, people date others they should have no business with all the time. The real issue is that it's not funny. It never is to me.

I feel like here, he was thrown in after the pilot as a source of personal friction for our lead. I don't think it will be an element around for long.

Agree!  I’m new to this show so I’m catching up from the beginning.  Tariq is an awful deadbeat phony, and I cringed at that opening segment. I already know

Spoiler

he’s gone

from the new season but it will be hard to watch this season.