S02.E01: Seeing Double

[Bort]

Airdate: 21 April 2022

[AnimeMania]

Now almost a year sober, Cassie has started fresh in LA with her supportive new boyfriend, Marco. But her side gig moonlighting as a CIA asset soon finds Cassie entangled in an international murder mystery… again.
Kaley Cuoco as Cassie Bowden       Mo McRae as Benjamin Berry

Mae Martin as Grace St. James

Zosia Mamet as Ani Mouradian              Deniz Akdeniz as Max

Callie Hernandez as Gabrielle Diaz     JJ Soria as Esteban Diaz   (brother and sister)

Yasha Jackson as Jada Harris

Cheryl Hines as Dot Karlson

Griffin Matthews as Shane Evans

Santiago Cabrera as Marco

[aghst]

OK, only seen the first episode.  I don't remember everything from the first season.  The scenes helped but I do recall that she was only saved by an undercover CIA agent, who happened to be one of her coworkers.

Seems a little too deus ex machina but I guess it's based on a book and she does become as asset for the CIA?  

Cassie doesn't say FOMO but she describes the feeling of not wanting to miss out on anything.  Inside the Episode, one of the show runners or the director says that Cassie is essentially trying to replace her drunken fun times with the CIA intrigue.

(Now I forget her backstory on how she got into drinking, doing something with her father who gave her beer as a little girl and her drinking problems as an adult had to do with her bond to her father?)

Yet in the Pink Clouds portion of this episode, which was the montage of her jogging, eating sushi, having a more healthy lifestyle without drinking, she's in AA, has a new boyfriend -- doesn't AA try to discourage you from having relationships during recovery?

Later she admits that the CIA side gig is the best thing in her life.  Sorry Marco.

As for her spy work, as soon as the guy said don't follow, don't engage, you knew she was going to break every one of those rules.

But going around in a fuchsia coat while spying?  They admitted it didn't make sense but they wanted to contrast the grayish backgrounds in Berlin.

So Cassie sees a double of herself having sex with that mark -- it is Kaley's real tattoo, says it's to cover up names and dates which she no longer wanted to show to others and now a ghost double is pestering her.  Not a fan of using the device again but it could work well if Cuoco could carry off the repartee between them.  She tells the ghost to "fuck off" and then has to tell the receptionist "not you, you're great."

Of course these interior convos are not only for comedy but also to show what she's thinking at given moments.

Cheryl Hines as Dot, the CIA boss, overrules her handler Benjamin so Cassie gets to keep spying, yay!

But if a trail of bodies follow her as one might expect, it may stretch credulity.

 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

This episode is confusing and deranged.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.

[peachmangosteen]

That was A LOT. I feel like they have a bit too much going on but I enjoyed it and I'm excited to watch more.

I already don't trust the new character, was their name Paige, but I like them lol.

[Johnny Dollar]

I hope they involve the friend and her not fiancé more in the season. I think the three of them would be quite funny in a Neurotic/NY’ers kind of way. Kaley needs to interact with real people and not just her alter ego, which is already getting old. 

[chocolatine]

I'm going to watch this as a comedy/satire, because Cassie is the worst spy ever and there's no way the real-world CIA would want to use someone like her as an asset.

[Yeah No]

50 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I'm going to watch this as a comedy/satire, because Cassie is the worst spy ever and there's no way the real-world CIA would want to use someone like her as an asset.

Agreed.  I would have hoped that part of her AA transformation included becoming more confident and less "in spite of herself" and accidental than she was in the first season.  She could have been made less "flighty" (hah, bad pun) and a little more like a female James Bond in training.  I would have hoped that during her time in AA she would have come to terms with some of her personal demons, but it looks like they're set on making it look like she's still grappling with them full force.  I'm not sure that was the best move.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, aghst said:

But going around in a fuchsia coat while spying?  They admitted it didn't make sense but they wanted to contrast the grayish backgrounds in Berlin.

On my screen it was bright red but I had the same thought.  By "they" I assume the show producers in an interview?

10 hours ago, aghst said:

Cheryl Hines as Dot, the CIA boss, overrules her handler Benjamin so Cassie gets to keep spying, yay!

I thought she was full of shit answering Cassie's questions.  She's not telling her the truth.

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I thought she was full of shit answering Cassie's questions.  She's not telling her the truth.

One hundred percent. Cassie saw something she wasn't supposed to see, and now Cheryl Hines is trying to contain the fallout. If Cassie doesn't drop the matter - and we know she won't because of the bag that showed up at her house, and also because it's the premise of the season - I have a feeling the CIA is going to try and take her out. But of course, our plucky heroine and her rag-tag group of friends will prevail against one of the world's largest intelligence institutions.

[aghst]

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

On my screen it was bright red but I had the same thought.  By "they" I assume the show producers in an interview?

Inside the Episode, I think Kaley called it that and maybe one of the show runners (there are two) or producers or director.

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I'm going to watch this as a comedy/satire, because Cassie is the worst spy ever and there's no way the real-world CIA would want to use someone like her as an asset.

I thought it was supposed to be a comedy.

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

On my screen it was bright red but I had the same thought. 

 

6 hours ago, aghst said:

Inside the Episode, I think Kaley called it that and maybe one of the show runners (there are two) or producers or director.

Wow, on my screen it was like a light mauve. I need to change my settings lol.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, aghst said:

Inside the Episode, I think Kaley called it that and maybe one of the show runners (there are two) or producers or director.

The only coat I saw online labeled fuschia that was anything like the color we saw on Kaley was on this site:

https://www.hobbs.com/product/tilda-wool-coat/0221-3528-1049L00-FUCHSIA-PINK.html

To me that skewed more red than pink.

Otherwise on Google images they all look like a medium bright pink, like this one on Kate MIddleton:

https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/kate-middleton-fuschia-coat-hobbs-london-nower-hill-high-school/

I suppose like everything else these days people are taking liberties with what qualifies as a certain color.  I see it all the time when I'm buying clothing online.  What one manufacturer calls "Navy" is another manufacturer's "Royal Blue". They're not always right.

[Atlanta]

The coat looked red to me, and wanted to yell at her to not spy in a bright coat. I really hope this season isn't just her doing one stupid thing after another. I'm always skeptical when a series based on a single book expands into a second season. A lot of the time it doesn't work. It didn't work for Big Little Lies.

 

[Kenz]

I enjoyed the first season of this show, but I feel as though they threw this season together too quickly. I didn't like the too manic behavior by Cassie, and I hope they drop the visiting  alcoholic alter ego Cassie.  I'll stick with it, but so far it's disappointing.

[tennisgurl]

Very interested in what this season will be like. Its moving past where the book ended, which can sometimes be good and sometimes can be a complete disaster, so we will see where it goes. I think that the multiple Cassie's interacting could be fun, her inner child, her inner alcoholic, a few other variations, but I hope that she also brings her friend and friends boyfriend into things. Just their own bit finding the bloody wig was quite funny.

I don't trust her new flight attendant friend. This show has made me suspicious of people who are too friendly towards Cassie. I also wonder if her AA sponsor will end up being secretly involved in things, it would be a real waste to hire Shohreh Aghdashloo in such a bit part. 

Cassie really needs to up her spy game. She's enthusiastic, but sneaky she is not.

Cheryl Hines as a CIA boss makes too much sense. 

[Llywela]

19 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I don't trust her new flight attendant friend. This show has made me suspicious of people who are too friendly towards Cassie. 

I'm side-eyeing the new boyfriend for that reason. He's so perfect, he'll probably turn out to be a plant, positioned in her life for nefarious purposes... 

[chaifan]

I love how that between all of these comments pretty much every character with a speaking line has been tagged for not being who they are supposed to be.  I'm sure someone is right.  Could be everyone is right! 

I enjoyed this episode and I'm excited for this season.  I liked the frenetic nature of it all, as it suits Cassie's personality and inner demons.  I love Annie, so glad she's back.  I thought for sure the CIA would hire her in as a lawyer or asset or something. 

Megan was my least favorite plot line from Season 1, but I like the character (and Rosie Perez), so I hope they give her better stuff this season.

Oh, and for what it's worth, Cassie's coat was a bright cherry red on my tv. 

[Irlandesa]

On 4/21/2022 at 12:50 PM, aghst said:

Yet in the Pink Clouds portion of this episode, which was the montage of her jogging, eating sushi, having a more healthy lifestyle without drinking, she's in AA, has a new boyfriend -- doesn't AA try to discourage you from having relationships during recovery?

Yes it does.  She even alluded to it when she said that she knows she's not supposed to make major life changes in the first year but she has made a lot of major life changes.  And something Marco said when they were making dinner made me think he's either in recovery too or is very familiar with the steps so it makes me question why he was so willing to be with someone so newly sober.

13 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I thought it was supposed to be a comedy.

It's billed as a comedy thriller.  And it nails the comedy part better than a lot of comedies.

22 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I would have hoped that during her time in AA she would have come to terms with some of her personal demons, but it looks like they're set on making it look like she's still grappling with them full force.  I'm not sure that was the best move.

So far, it's working for me.  I think the "lesson" they're telling here is that she is on a newly sober high and things are going well.  The guy at the AA meeting who warned he had one too was previewing the season that staying sober is going to still be hard work, even after a year. Especially when things go wrong. 

And IIRC, they didn't introduce her talking to her doppelgangers until after the bomb where she hit her head pretty hard. So instead of drunken binges, this time her visions may be related to a head injury.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I love how that between all of these comments pretty much every character with a speaking line has been tagged for not being who they are supposed to be.  I'm sure someone is right.  Could be everyone is right! 

I don't find it entertaining when everyone is a suspect.  Too much head scratching and convoluted permutations to keep up with takes away from it for me.  Of course every show these days takes a good thing and beats it to death 20,000 too many times.

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

So far, it's working for me.  I think the "lesson" they're telling here is that she is on a newly sober high and things are going well.  The guy at the AA meeting who warned he had one too was previewing the season that staying sober is going to still be hard work, even after a year. Especially when things go wrong. 

I think she's on shaky ground and the show made that clear when she looked longingly at a drink in one scene.  I don't think she's doing as well as all that and add the stress of whatever she will get up to and it's even worse.

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

And IIRC, they didn't introduce her talking to her doppelgangers until after the bomb where she hit her head pretty hard. So instead of drunken binges, this time her visions may be related to a head injury.

If that's the reason - eyeroll. 🙄

[Anela]

I'm glad this is back. I can't believe it's been a year since I watched the first season. 

The coat looked red to me, and I also thought she shouldn't have been wearing it when she was spying on someone. 

I think it was silly that the CIA had their curtains wide open, as they were listening to/watching the guy she was following. Those huge windows, lights on, anyone could see them. 

[Atlanta]

A friend is approaching one year sober. Is the 'pink cloud' a term? I don't want to be weird and ask. 

[LuvMyShows]

23 hours ago, chaifan said:

Megan was my least favorite plot line from Season 1, but I like the character (and Rosie Perez), so I hope they give her better stuff this season.

Not looking good on that count so far....

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Atlanta said:

A friend is approaching one year sober. Is the 'pink cloud' a term? I don't want to be weird and ask. 

I just Googled it and yes it is.  The only thing that not be a stretch is that it sounds like it usually happens earlier and isn't something she'd still be experiencing at 1 year.

[Marley]

I don’t know how I felt about this episode I think I liked it. Something is wrong with Marco tho he’s too perfect. He annoys me too. All these shows I see have AA saying you shouldn’t be dating before one year sober but Cassie seems to be in a serious relationship. Guess she skipped that one. She’s the best and most entertaining when she’s with Max and Annie tho. 

The coat was red to me too lol

[FrankOFoley]

On 4/21/2022 at 6:45 PM, peachmangosteen said:

That was A LOT. I feel like they have a bit too much going on but I enjoyed it and I'm excited 

For me it was a lot of Kaley Cuoco. I know she’s the main character but she came off as cartoonish. I’ll continue to watch but I’m not sure I’ll stay with it. And oh, the coat (and gloves) was unmistakable red.

Spoiler

Wasn’t Cassie supposed to say preggers at the end of the first season?

Edited April 24, 2022 by FrankOFoley
Oopsie

[FrankOFoley]

I found the red coat. wornontv.net/283038. Rather pricey IMO.

[Johnny Dollar]

I know this is based on a book, but I wouldn’t mind if they dropped all of the alter egos and just concentrated on the wackiness of Cassie acting like a spy, assisted by her intrepid friends. 

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, FrankOFoley said:

Wasn’t “Cassie” supposed to be preggers at the end of the first season? Or again, am I misremembering?

Spoiler

I think that is what happened in the book, but not the TV Series.

 

[chocolatine]

4 hours ago, FrankOFoley said:

I found the red coat. wornontv.net/283038. Rather pricey IMO.

No kidding. Unless the CIA pays their assets a five-figure fee for every task their perform, I don't see how Cassie can afford that wardrobe (and LA condo) on a flight attendant's salary.

Edited April 24, 2022 by chocolatine

[Joimiaroxeu]

Good to see Chrisjen from The Expanse (Brenda). And Rios from ST: Picard (Marco).

This show is killing it with the soundtrack right from the jump.

Wow, some shady people are already on Cassie. Mirroring her phone like they did was kinda scary. I didn't realize that was so easy to do.

Yeah someone is messing with Cassie's head. That hotel sex scene was staged for her benefit to use someone who looked like her. Wonder why, besides wanting her to question her sanity?

Ditto comments upthread, Grace the aggressively friendly flight attendant seemed a bit sus IMO too.

Ani is still a lot. It'll be interesting to see how her brash New York attorney personality works in L.A.

What's going on with Cheryl Hines' face? It seemed largely immobile to me and she was having to be overly expressive with her eyes.

Oh boy, what in the world is crazypants Megan mixed up in now?

Did they change the spelling of Annie's name? Now IMDb has it as "Ani." Maybe an IRL "Annie Mouradian" complained so the show altered it a bit.

[peachmangosteen]

53 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Did they change the spelling of Annie's name? Now IMDb has it as "Ani." Maybe an IRL "Annie Mouradian" complained so the show altered it a bit.

It's still being spelled 'Annie' on the HBO Max website.

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Did they change the spelling of Annie's name? Now IMDb has it as "Ani." Maybe an IRL "Annie Mouradian" complained so the show altered it a bit.

She mentioned in the first season that her real name is Ani but she goes by Annie because people have a hard time pronouncing Ani. In the book she was Ani all along.

[peachmangosteen]

10 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

She mentioned in the first season that her real name is Ani but she goes by Annie because people have a hard time pronouncing Ani. In the book she was Ani all along.

I do not remember that lol. How is 'Ani' pronounced?

[chocolatine]

20 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

How is 'Ani' pronounced?

'Ah-nee

[Atlanta]

Nice reference to the book cover with the photo of Cassie on the kitchen wall. 

 

[chaifan]

6 hours ago, chocolatine said:

No kidding. Unless the CIA pays their assets a five-figure fee for every task their perform, I don't see how Cassie can afford that wardrobe (and LA condo) on a flight attendant's salary.

Cassie's wardrobe in the first season was also amazing, and looked very expensive.  If I remember right, someone tracked a few of the outfits and they were way beyond what I thought a flight attendant budget would allow.  And I got the impression her new place is a single family home, not a condo.  Which would make it even crazier expensive in LA. 

Eh, I'm willing to handwaive all of that because a) I love Cassie's wardrobe and like seeing the fabulous outfits; and b) I love her home and want to see more! 

🙂

[Anela]

I was thinking that she gets to travel for free, and her hotel rooms must be paid for, too, so she could have the money to buy them (no kids or pets to take care of). She used to drink a lot, though, and in cities and clubs, that would cost a lot. 

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Cassie's wardrobe in the first season was also amazing, and looked very expensive.  If I remember right, someone tracked a few of the outfits and they were way beyond what I thought a flight attendant budget would allow.  And I got the impression her new place is a single family home, not a condo.  Which would make it even crazier expensive in LA. 

When you look at the outside shot, it's a row of attached, single-story condos.

29 minutes ago, Anela said:

I was thinking that she gets to travel for free, and her hotel rooms must be paid for, too, so she could have the money to buy them (no kids or pets to take care of). She used to drink a lot, though, and in cities and clubs, that would cost a lot. 

The red Max Mara coat alone retails at $6k, which would be more than she makes in a month after taxes. And her wardrobe is full of expensive-looking pieces. Plus, the lease/mortgage on the condo would take up more than half of her after-tax pay. And it's very nicely furnished and decorated, which must have been a big expense, as well.

[KaveDweller]

3 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

When you look at the outside shot, it's a row of attached, single-story condos.

The red Max Mara coat alone retails at $6k, which would be more than she makes in a month after taxes. And her wardrobe is full of expensive-looking pieces. Plus, the lease/mortgage on the condo would take up more than half of her after-tax pay. And it's very nicely furnished and decorated, which must have been a big expense, as well.

I think spending $6,000 on a coat is crazy, no matter how much you make. But people on TV always have more expensive clothes and homes then they could afford in real life. The probably just want to dress Kaley is all the hot trends and have a nice set to shoot on.

Or maybe Cassie is supposed to have inherited money. Her parents are both dead, right?

[Yeah No]

Oh they always dress TV and movie stars in expensive clothing and make them live in places they couldn't afford.  Look at "Sex and the City".  No way could any of those women, save for Charlotte afford their clothes or apartments in Manhattan.  These shows must have a big budget to dress them so expensively.  I also read that designers will give them the clothes because it's a good advertisement.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Or maybe Cassie is supposed to have inherited money. Her parents are both dead, right?

Dad is dead, Mom is alive.

[aghst]

6 hours ago, chocolatine said:

When you look at the outside shot, it's a row of attached, single-story condos.

The red Max Mara coat alone retails at $6k, which would be more than she makes in a month after taxes. And her wardrobe is full of expensive-looking pieces. Plus, the lease/mortgage on the condo would take up more than half of her after-tax pay. And it's very nicely furnished and decorated, which must have been a big expense, as well.

 

6 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I think spending $6,000 on a coat is crazy, no matter how much you make. But people on TV always have more expensive clothes and homes then they could afford in real life. The probably just want to dress Kaley is all the hot trends and have a nice set to shoot on.

Or maybe Cassie is supposed to have inherited money. Her parents are both dead, right?

Yeah remember, TV shows never try to match the socioeconomic class of the characters with a plausible environment.

 

You can walk by the outside of Monica and Rachel’s apartment in Greenwich Village.  They’re suppose to be struggling in life but that spacious Manhattan apartment is in a neighborhood full of 8-figure homes.

The production designers must be charged with coming up with distinctive looks, something that pops up the screen, whether clothing or interior design.  Probably great for their professional portfolios.

Plus they probably get a fat production budget and/or they get comped or lent for free fancy clothes.  Also product placement, though you wonder how many expensive clothes designers need product placement.

OTOH, Kaley became a bigger star because of this show so the designers probably wants her to wear their clothes, kind of like how they lend clothes for the Oscars, knowing the stars will be photographed and asked what they’re wearing.

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Re the red coat, how hard would it be to insert a line or two explaining how Cassie can afford such expensive clothes? They could say she won some money in the lottery and splurged on a new wardrobe. As far as the condo is concerned, I could see it being a CIA safe house and them letting her live there on their dime or for a rent amount she could afford.

[chaifan]

All this talk about Cassie's wardrobe has me wondering... what's the pay grade for a CIA asset?  How much do they make?  Are they paid hourly?  By the assignment?  Are they actually on gov't payroll, or seen as contractors?  Can she claim workers' comp for the tinnitis?  Yeah, this is the stuff rattling around inside my HR-geek brain...

[AnimeMania]

You will never get an accurate representation of a TV Show character based on wardrobe, living accommodations, furnishings, or vehicle. Most of that stuff are advertisements and product placements. The only thing that reflects how much money they make is their job description.

I think most of the celebrities like expensive wardrobes, so they can take some of it with them after they finish filming. 

[hatchetgirl]

Cassie doesn't live in a condo.  She lives in a bungalow court (small bungalow houses).  I think she  may be in St. Andrew Bungalow Court:

 

There is some guy in Los Angeles that plays spiderman on the roofs of some of these court, driving the tenants mad - I think he even dresses in spiderman costume, then jumps from roof to roof.  :)

 

Yeah - what spy goes on surveillance in a bright red coat?  And I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have paired that coat with those maroon boots.  hahahaha!

I'm worried about all the people in her life too!   Honestly, I think the boss lady at the CIA is the Cassie doppelganger just because!  

A previous poster mentioned the CIA shouldn't have been listening in with windows open, but (now i'm getting Cassie paranoid), what if it's all a setup?  They wanted her to see them, they wanted to see the doppelganger with the tattoo - what if they are setting Cassie up for a simple death, so they can protect some higher risk asset?  ARGHGHGHGH! 

I'm happy to have the crazy back and I feel like I had to catch my breath when it was over.

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, hatchetgirl said:

A previous poster mentioned the CIA shouldn't have been listening in with windows open, but (now i'm getting Cassie paranoid), what if it's all a setup?  They wanted her to see them, they wanted to see the doppelganger with the tattoo - what if they are setting Cassie up for a simple death, so they can protect some higher risk asset?  ARGHGHGHGH! 

You and I think alike.  I was thinking it was a setup too.  I posted above that I thought her CIA boss was lying to her.  

[hatchetgirl]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

You and I think alike.  I was thinking it was a setup too.  I posted above that I thought her CIA boss was lying to her.  

Totally - that CIA lady was TOTALLY lying to her.  She was super patronizing.  Especially about the tattoo.  

[CarpeFelis]

On 4/24/2022 at 5:17 AM, FrankOFoley said:

I found the red coat. wornontv.net/283038. Rather pricey IMO.

It really bugs me when shows put characters in designer clothes there’s no way they’d ever be able to afford! (The clothing version of the apartment in Friends.)