S01.E01: Pilot

[Bort]

Recently captured international arms dealer and criminal mastermind Elena Fedorova orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists throughout New York for a mysterious purpose. She may have met her match, however, with principled and relentless FBI agent Val Turner, who will stop at nothing to foil her plan.

Airdate: 21 February 2022

[AnimeMania]

Jenna Stern as Joan Bradbury
Kelly Aucoin as Reed Doblin

[janeta]

Getting a bit of a Blacklist ripoff vibe here… is there a plot? Much as I like MB I'm probably not in for this one.

[Chaos Theory]

Snow White and the seven banks.

This was actually better then expected.  Very actions which i liked.  Liked both Val and Elena.  Yes it has a early Blacklist feel to it but early Blacklist was actually pretty decent and I like that the show has a clearer idea on who Val is and why she is. But I am also kinda disappointed she actually isn’t dirty.      This does have the potential to spin out pretty quickly.  But right now I like both the leads so I am in.

[Dowel Jones]

Somewhat over the top for an opener.  Mustache twirling, overdoses of testosterone, logical absurdities, criminal masterminds that know everything about everything and everyone...  It could go either way right now; I hope they get it straightened out.

[rr2911]

I think they are hoping whenever The Blacklist ends, this show can take over.  This show is too much like The Blacklist but gender swapping which I don't like.  There is only one Reddington.  Nah, I'll pass!

 

[dwmarch]

14 hours ago, janeta said:

Getting a bit of a Blacklist ripoff vibe here… is there a plot? Much as I like MB I'm probably not in for this one.

Totally a Blacklist ripoff. The spin-off only lasted for one season (which is a shame because it was better than the parent show) and Blindspot (which was The Blacklist tattooed on a gorgeous ass-kicking gal with amnesia) had a good run but wrapped up a while ago. But there's still gold in them there hills so let's make another one!

I wish Morena Baccarin wasn't saddled with the cheesy faux-Russian accent. From my Tom Clancy education on spycraft, the Russians have some of the best language schools in the world so the Queen here should sound like she's from Brooklyn. Then again, these NBC procedurals aren't exactly known for being true to life.

I liked the Pablo Escobar character with the pimped-out jail cell (here's the real one). The best part of Blindspot was that it didn't take itself too seriously which gave us great characters like Rich Dot Com. I hope this show follows that example rather than trying to be the angstiest angst that ever angsted.

Not sure I buy that a tiny tween can do that badass Hollywood neck-snapping maneuver even if it is to another kid. Then again, this same kid survived a rollover accident that was caused by an RPG so I guess she's just that tough.

[milkyaqua]

I liked it better than I thought but The Blacklist and Blindspot nods were too much.

The whole Elena knowing everyone's secrets and where the bodies are buried is ridiculous though she seems even more ruthless than Reddington.

I do like both leads but agree that saddling Morena with the fake Russian accent was lazy.  It'll be interesting to see if they can separate themselves from the above mentioned shows, tone down the over-the-topness of it especially the all-knowing-omnipotent baddie.  But then how would they proceed with the stories?  Unlike The Blacklist I can't see them letting Elena out to just do whatever she wants although there's no way they keep her locked up for the duration.  I also don't understand why her dead-not-dead husband is in prison with Val's husband and just how much does Val's husband know?

Edited February 22, 2022 by milkyaqua

[AnimeMania]

I wonder if the dagger tattoo on the people associated with Fedorova is going to be a thing, it seems a little obvious.

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Not sure I buy that a tiny tween can do that badass Hollywood neck-snapping maneuver even if it is to another kid. Then again, this same kid survived a rollover accident that was caused by an RPG so I guess she's just that tough.

Not to mention getting stuck in the abdomen with a 6-8" blade, which should have gone all the way out her back, but didn't even hit a major organ.

[skotnikov]

Gosh what was that nonsense? They didn't even hire a consultant to teach actors to say 3 Russian words in a proper way.  And, sorry, Ryan Michelle Bathe, just can't act. 

[paigow]

An Agent that is competent... definitely NOT Blacklist...

Someone is knocking off the Federal Reserve... again... at least Agent Val paid attention during Die Hard 3

She has to endure all the flashback stories instead of solving the St. Ives riddle and accurately getting 4 gallons of water into a 5 gallon jug...

[paigow]

On 2/22/2022 at 1:50 PM, dwmarch said:

From my Tom Clancy education on spycraft, the Russians have some of the best language schools in the world so the Queen here should sound like she's from Brooklyn.

But she is not former KGB / FSB, so access to imposter college was impossible. She learned English from her brother - Teddy KGB...

Peeeay that man his maahhhney

Edited February 25, 2022 by paigow

[paigow]

Part of this is Inside Man (Denzel v Clive Owen) as well... Only the safe deposit box belonging to the AG is relevant.

[gibasi]

There wasn't anything special about this pilot. There was no hook to draw me in. I might watch one more episode to see if I change my mind but right now I am not hopeful. 

I bailed on Blacklist a long time ago and was surprised to hear that it is still on! 

[paigow]

On 2/22/2022 at 3:22 PM, AnimeMania said:

I wonder if the dagger tattoo on the people associated with Fedorova is going to be a thing, it seems a little obvious.

If Viggo Mortensen shows up to kill a bunch of naked dudes... there has to be Season 2....

[Lily H]

This was just too stupid for words. One unbelievable, illogical thing after another, yet it managed to be completely boring. Plus I hated the main character on sight. They should have just cut her throat when all that nonsense with the notes started.

[edhopper]

Stop watching when Miss Red..., um, The Queen, could intimidate the three top law officials in the US. 

 

[paigow]

6 minutes ago, edhopper said:

Stop watching when Miss Red..., um, The Queen, could intimidate the three top law officials in the US. 

She had dirt on all of them. Not impossible given recent history.

[Trini]

So... if I never watched The Blacklist, I should be fine?

[paigow]

5 hours ago, Trini said:

So... if I never watched The Blacklist...

You are among the luckiest people in the world.

[edhopper]

14 hours ago, paigow said:

She had dirt on all of them. Not impossible given recent history.

Given recent history. It doesn't seem to matter. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

• I was too distracted by Morena's atrocious accent and gravity-defying boob tape.
• I did like the little "twist" that she was the girl in the Jeep
• The lead agent is not a believable "bad ass" at all
• I'll give it a few more eps to see if the need for copious handwavium is reduced.

[greyhorse]

6 hours ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

• I was too distracted by Morena's atrocious accent and gravity-defying boob tape.

Agreed.  Been a fan of Morena since Homeland, and that opening intro scene where she leaned out of the box and her boobs almost fell out was stunning.  But then later when she opened up her dress a little to reveal the abdominal scar, it appeared she had a bra on?  What am I missing?

Her accent is ridiculous.  Very distracting.

If the whole series is going to play out with her caged up in this room, it's going to be very very boring.  If she's always going to be one step ahead and knows exactly how everything will play out, it will become very uninteresting.

The bank manager with the burner phone that he uses to call his mistress...just how did they know that he'd be seated next to the air vents that the rescue team was hoping to come through...and then when that plan is literally blown up, the bank robber knows at that very moment to go to him and take the phone?  Huh?

[Trini]

7 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

 If she's always going to be one step ahead and knows exactly how everything will play out, it will become very uninteresting.

 

This is what I'm afraid afraid of. "Cat and mouse" trope is only interesting if both sides are at least somewhat evenly matched. If Elena's always going to be "Ha! You're playing right into my hand, neener-neener!" I'll be out sooner than later.

[paigow]

Rather than Cat v Mouse, the title is exactly what she is playing... Checkmate no matter how the opponent reacts.

[SuzieQ]

I just watched the pilot and am intrigued.  Never watched Blacklist or Blindspot and knew nothing about the plot of this.  It will probably get stupid quickly, but I liked it enough to watch the new episode tonight.

[Just Here]

On 2/22/2022 at 1:50 PM, dwmarch said:

I wish Morena Baccarin wasn't saddled with the cheesy faux-Russian accent. From my Tom Clancy education on spycraft, the Russians have some of the best language schools in the world so the Queen here should sound like she's from Brooklyn. Then again, these NBC procedurals aren't exactly known for being true to life.

From a production point of view, it was a flat-out mistake.  It would have made more sense if Baccarin's character had a backstory where, after her father's death, she attended boarding school somewhere outside of Russia (e.g. England or Switzerland) and picked up the local "educated" accent.  This would have opened up the pool of lead actresses significantly, perhaps even leading to the hiring of a bigger "name" actress.   Based on the flashbacks, the character's father likely had the resources to pay for boarding school.  And, given that someone apparently wanted both of them dead, hiding her outside of Russia under a false identity would have been a prudent move.

Even after signing Baccarin, they could have just given her a backstory where she attended school in the U.S.A. and/or Canada as the reason for not having a Russian accent.

[paigow]

The real Fort Totten is a tourist attraction, a popular location for TV & Movie filming [super-meta] and a NYC managed public park... so using it as a blacksite presents a whole range of difficulties.

[Rickster]

We were trying to understand why a Saudi female (?!) industrialist would be allowed to access Federal Reserve vaults in the first place.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Rickster said:

We were trying to understand why a Saudi female (?!) industrialist would be allowed to access Federal Reserve vaults in the first place.

Something about access codes exclusive to the Saudi vault within the Fed. So she cannot breach any other vaults. 

[AnimeMania]

Ameera Ojjeh, Saudi industrial magnate and board member of the Federal Bank. She comes once a year for admin duties. She has the biometrics to open the vault.
 

[jabRI]

On 2/27/2022 at 8:40 PM, greyhorse said:

Been a fan of Morena since Homeland

Been a fan since Firefly!