S01.E02: …And The 4b Curl

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

When Tom discovers that an important piece of the mission to save his father is on the grounds of a family frenemy’s estate, he’s forced to make a tough choice – woo them with the most awkward dinner known to man. But Tom is shocked when that dinner of errors revels a dark secret from Tom’s past that even Zenzi didn’t know. Zenzi and Tom venture into a dangerous mine to find the next capsule piece, but the only question – is their friendship strong enough to survive the secrets they’ve kept from each other.

Airs June 7th.

[AnimeMania]

Chris Blount as Chris Darby

[Lady Calypso]

Now this was a much better episode than the pilot. I think this episode allowed certain characters to breathe more. Not everyone had to be introduced all at once, so it was much better paced.

Seeing Tom/Zenzi's friendship was fantastic. Seeing more of Tom's personality and what he's gone through was great too. It showed that he struggled, even as a teen, due to his sexuality, and you kind of see why he is the way that he is. Tom is truly a fascinating character.

And are they gearing toward a Zenzi/Isaac pairing? They had flirty vibes, but they also hinted at Isaac crushing on Tom. So, awkward love triangle ahead?

I didn't blame him for Tom's reaction to Chris at dinner, who was intentionally poking at him. Tom's mother, Lorraine, seems solid. I like how she acknowledged that she didn't think Tom was ready to be CEO, but she couldn't find it in her heart to fully take that away from him, as they had promised him when he was a child. Claire is super shady, drugging her own boss just to hear that she'll never run the company, which means she'll likely do something to tarnish the company.

Overall, this episode piqued my interest for the show way more than the pilot did (although they do have to get better at the mystery aspect, especially with the scene with them figuring out the code. Very tropey and predictable and how convenient Tom had just talked about the first black astronaut in space?)

[Trini]

33 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Now this was a much better episode than the pilot.

I figured this would be the case, so I was going to skip the pilot and watch this one first instead. Good to hear. I don't know if I'm going to continue to watch this series, but I did want to check it out.

[Diapason Untuned]

Much improved from the pilot, this show is really fulfilling it's potential now.

The whole Darby/Swift thing was giving me some real deja vu, they really hit the mark with the Darbys as the church friends who come over for Sunday dinner and your parents seem to like them, but as soon as they leave, your parents start kvetching.

Tom and Zenzi's friendship was much better portrayed this episode, now I can really feel why these two have maintained a close personal relationship throughout the years beyond just their parents running in the same circles.

I really, really liked Tom stance that not all secrets are bad. This is so refreshing coming from the CW where oversharing is seen as a virtue and keeping secrets is equivalent to murder. Zenzi had a point too about needing to be looped in if necessary, but there are limits to that! I'm glad the show acknowledged this, if even slightly.

34 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Seeing Tom/Zenzi's friendship was fantastic. Seeing more of Tom's personality and what he's gone through was great too. It showed that he struggled, even as a teen, due to his sexuality, and you kind of see why he is the way that he is. Tom is truly a fascinating character.

Yeah, this part was wonderful. You can really see how Tom has developed a certain persona just to cope and how it shapes how he interacts with his family, friends, even his business.

Quote

I didn't blame him for Tom's reaction to Chris at dinner, who was intentionally poking at him. Tom's mother, Lorraine, seems solid. 

The way Tom's mom reacted was very realistic too. My own mom would have reacted just the same. People can treat you like a dog in your own house, but be polite!

Quote

 Very tropey and predictable and how convenient Tom had just talked about the first black astronaut in space?)

To be fair, apparently Guion Bluford is a personal hero of his dad.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

Claire is super shady, drugging her own boss just to hear that she'll never run the company, which means she'll likely do something to tarnish the company.

I think Claire actually had no idea about the side-effects of the sleep medication, but quickly figured them out. More shady was Claire seeming to have a crush on Lorraine Swift, than getting an honest answer about her place in the company. I think this showed that Claire wasn't trying to steal the company and just had the company's best interests at heart. Now that Claire knows that Tom will always become CEO, we will have to see if Claire stays and grooms Tom for the position or moves on to greener pastures.

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, AnimeMania said:

I think Claire actually had no idea about the side-effects of the sleep medication, but quickly figured them out. More shady was Claire seeming to have a crush on Lorraine Swift, than getting an honest answer about her place in the company. I think this showed that Claire wasn't trying to steal the company and just had the company's best interests at heart. Now that Claire knows that Tom will always become CEO, we will have to see if Claire stays and grooms Tom for the position or moves on to greener pastures.

That makes more sense. I completely misinterpreted that particular scene. But I also was thinking earlier on in the episode that Claire would screw over the company somehow, so that had been on my mind.

[Diapason Untuned]

33 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

I think Claire actually had no idea about the side-effects of the sleep medication, but quickly figured them out. More shady was Claire seeming to have a crush on Lorraine Swift, than getting an honest answer about her place in the company. I think this showed that Claire wasn't trying to steal the company and just had the company's best interests at heart. Now that Claire knows that Tom will always become CEO, we will have to see if Claire stays and grooms Tom for the position or moves on to greener pastures.

It's true that Claire didn't seem to know the sleep medication made people suggestible (you'd think someone would have mentioned this is some company document or maybe Claire just took it out without looking, which is in itself another issue) but once she confirmed this she went straight to asking how she could become CEO so that was surely on her mind.

[peachmangosteen]

23 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

And are they gearing toward a Zenzi/Isaac pairing? They had flirty vibes, but they also hinted at Isaac crushing on Tom. So, awkward love triangle ahead?

Tom also has that guy that knows his mom (I forget his name and who exactly he is) that he hooked up with and the politician's body guard also clearly likes him. It's giving Naomi where they gave her 3 people crushing on her right off the bat. It's too much imo. 

[tennisgurl]

This was very much an improvement on the pilot. The characters had more room to breath without so much exposition to dump, I think we can better see the shows potential and the vibes they're going for. Not much of the evil conspiracy this week, the plot movement was all about looking for a macguffin to help with the greater plot, but I think that was a good idea. They don't want to get bogged down too much in the bigger story yet, they have to establish these characters and their motivations so that we care about them before we really dig into the conspiracy and dad stuff. 

We meet the Swifts frenemies the Darby's, a fellow rich family that they have always known but don't really like but are also still kind of friends because they move in the same circles. You can definitely imagine the Swifts having them over for dinner, being polite as you can be, and then gossiping and complaining about them the second they leave the house. That dinner was all kinds of awkward, I cant even blame Tom for snapping at Chris after he kept pushing his buttons, although I can also understand why his mom was so mad, my mom would have been pissed too, no matter what the other person says. You can hate someone all you want but be polite to guests damn it! 

This episode did a lot to explore Tom's personality more, he's a really interesting character. You can see that, while a lot of his persona is the real authentic Tom, at least some of it is an act to hide his insecurities and a way to cope with a lot of what he has been through. I also liked how they explored more of his friendship with Zenzi, their scene where they talked about how they kept secrets from each other was a great scene. I think its a healthy lesson, sometimes secrets are understandable when you value your privacy, but other times you need to keep people in the loop. 

I think they are definitely heading towards Zenzi and Isaac, which would certainly be awkward if he does have a crush on Tom. That's a lot even by CW love triangle standards. 

I don't think that Claire meant for the sleeping pills to do anything to Lorraine except make her sleep better, but knowing that it opens someone up to suggestion makes me definitely think she might use them to take control of their company. I thought at first that she and Lorraine might be into each other, those looks near the end looked like a lot more than just tennis buddies. 

[Trini]

So this episode was my intro to the show, and maybe I will stick with it. Everyone so far is likable, and the search for the capsule pieces seems like a pretty straightforward arc. Tom is a little over the top, but he's supposed to be; and having to rescue your dad from *space* isn't anymore out there than some other shows I'm watching at the moment, so I want to see how they resolve that. Love that we have so many Black characters.

So that 'truth serum' cream is definitely going to be used again -- when, on who, and for what is the question!

Edited June 12, 2022 by Trini

[thuganomics85]

A solid follow-up to the premiere.  Liked seeing more of Tom's relationship with both Zenzi and Isaac, and also seeing both of them getting to know each other and bond.  Definitely seems like there is something there between them, but then there is also the possibility of Isaac's crush on Tom.  I know love triangles are a CW tradition but to have one with all three of the leads right out of the gate would probably be an overkill even by their standards!

The Darbys really did embodied the type of family that aren't really close friends, but you have to establish a good relationship of some kind, which leads to plenty of awkward dinner parties where this all smiles and laughs on the surface, but underneath it all, everyone kind of hates each other, heh.  At least Tom and Chris had a conversation about their past and seem willing to move forward now.

Definitely looks like Claire didn't know that the jello was basically a truth serum, but now that she does and uses it to find out that Lorraine has no intention of ever letting her be the CEO, I wonder what her next step will be?

Pleasantly surprised that they already figured out that Barclay has been compromised.  Especially how it was Isaac who first got suspicious.  That man has good instincts. 

[Cress]

I found it interesting that Tom's mom said she would "wear black" for the dinner, and then didn't wear black at all.

[CianKBCA]

I was really hoping for more from this show but their is just to much that is wrong.

Science should be better and believable. I get the pen laser welding without shirt or good eye protection for that scene, but and the stretches with the father surviving in a section pod and sending message. The problem is the probe coming back so fast this hyperspace just brushed over get the plot point of it breaking up even if it is cliche. The worst is the probe piece a keyboard from space landing inside a mining cave that is toxic with oozing acid that is selective and no one has addressed in years. When Tom went down the hole he tears his protect clothes but then also gets stuck and the tear is not used as scene of him getting burned by acid as he did as a child or anything it is forgotten. they keep doing so many things wrong that this is going to get canceled when it could have been so much better. I also want to mention the big bad is a cabal conspiracy that want to i guess be less tech maybe steam age when white men ruled  but have satellites and hackers  to take on and spy on swifts. The bad stereotypes don't help the bad's are a white politician and asian woman that is working for a family dynasty thinking she is going to take over. I am glad there is so much representation with shows for minorities and lgbtq many show that are for one race or ethnicity and networks like BET but i prefer more inclusive while honoring others than all one or the other.