S01.E06: VI

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Chase and Zoe enter the lion's den. As Harper ends one partnership another begins.

Airing Thursday, July 14, 2022.

[Razzberry]

Perversely, I'm actually looking forward to this for some reason.  Maybe just to see how bad it can get.  Dangerous Dan arrives to the Showdown in the Desert with a girlfriend he's known for a week.  Should be good. 😉

[LittleIggy]

Rade Šerbedžija! Another awesome old man. Hadn’t seen him in a while. Loved when Chase put the hurt on Sergei. Young punk! 😆

[LoveLeigh]

This show is ridiculous.... That boat chase scene was preposterous. I have no life so I thrive on the ridiculous.

Edited July 15, 2022 by LoveLeigh

[dubbel zout]

14 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Rade Šerbedžija! Another awesome old man. Hadn’t seen him in a while.

Same! I thought he looked familiar, and then I saw his name in the credits.

Another episode of cryptic conversations and very little forward motion. And now Chase and Harper are joining forces to save Emily? Zzzz.

[Dowel Jones]

12 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Rade Šerbedžija!

And here I thought that The Most Interesting Man In The World had found a new gig.  

Note to Producers (although kinda nerdy, I'll admit):  If you're going to stage a scene in some exotic locale, at least renumber your aircraft, in this case the helicopter, to disguise the fact that it's from the US.  The tail number N67TV gives it away.  It belongs to Helinet Aviation Services in Van Nuys CA, probably a contracted aerial filming service.  You can find that information on the faa.gov website, which is why I admit to some aircraft nerdiness.  

Ms. Kobayashi seems very unaffected by all this terror going on around her.  I'm guessing that she knows that she's dead as soon as she says no in any way to Hamzad, and all the money he pays her is useless because she doesn't have a life of her own.

[Razzberry]

I got a low rent B-grade James Bond vibe.  Bote's ace assassin is there, now giving money to street vendors for no reason.  Tune in next week when he rescues a litter of kittens and helps a blind man cross the road.

[bybrandy]

Like the show is actively bad but that isn't going to stop me from watching John LIthgow and Jeff Bridges team up to save Emily.   Because I am watching that... selectively... the scenes that they are in together.  

[headhoncho]

Maybe it was just me, but I thought it looked like Zoe was trying not to laugh in that boat scene as they were bouncing around

[Zaffy]

1 hour ago, headhoncho said:

Maybe it was just me, but I thought it looked like Zoe was trying not to laugh in that boat scene as they were bouncing around

hah hah, I had the same feeling, I was actually thinking of the actors trying  not to laugh while some poor production ppl were rocking the boat in the studio.

[aghst]

Was it Waters waiting in that van?

Plus Waters was in the van and behind them was Julian the assassin and his friend or partner when the street boy was trying to sell something.

As soon as Harper saw the guy in the van, who looked like Waters, he ran back up the stairs and Angela was gone.

But I don't get it, Harper hadn't agreed to sell out Angela to Vote on the phone yet when they arrived at the train station, the henchmen were already there and knew?

And then at the resort, Krueger the lawyer already knew Zoe's name.  She said she had seen Zoe's picture in the police report or something, so maybe the same one Harper had seen.

I don't get that Harper would be good at the game.  He may have been when he was young but in the pilot, he was blubbering about his grandson and in this episode, he was blubbering about maybe having to betray Angela.

And now out in the field, two guys in their 70s are going to take on some super villain with all kinds of hired soldiers?

What would Bote accomplish by taking Angela?  Offer her to Hamzad and he would leave both Chase and Harper alone?  Or probably make them more vulnerable in trying to rescue her?

He placed her with Harper to try to keep her safe and now he wants to deliver her to Hamzad?  The plotting is hard to follow.

[SlovakPrincess]

Well, at least there was a shootout (although I'm not sure Chase leaving Pavlovich alive was a smart idea ... why?!).  At this point, I beg all of these characters to engage in more violence and less annoying faux deep / enigmatic dialogue. 

Heh, Belour/Abbey was romancing Pavlovich, too, back in the day and Chase is just now finding out about it.  Sure, why not.  Just throw it on the pile of plot twists revealed through boring dialogue.  🙃

"The old man has her."  Buddy, you're all old men, and you're all annoying me at this point.  The Harper / Chase reunion on the dock would've had a lot more dramatic impact if we'd had more than one measly, stinkin' flashback to young Harper and Chase together!  Meanwhile, we have to suffer through eleventy million flashbacks of young Hamzad and Chase and Abbey brooding intensely at each other.

"My wife is a puzzle that you solve only to find more puzzles ..."  oh, Hamzad, I'm rolling my eyes at you so hard I've fallen off my chair.  How did the actor spit that out without laughing?

How does Harper have access to a helicopter, I thought he was in big trouble and cut off from his resources?  ... y'know, because Hamzad's lawyer sent an accusatory memo about Harper to his bosses and everyone immediately believed it because that's apparently what the plot requires here ... and Bote who encouraged him to put a hit on Chase is now telling Harper he can get him out of trouble for doing what Bote recommended by pinning it on Emily / Angela somehow and then Harper told him to go pound sand ... but then apparently Bote kidnapped her anyway or something ... gah, what the hell is this plot?!

What is crazy Bote's job, even?  I thought he was semi retired, so why does he have all this power to manipulate everyone?  Why did anyone think sticking Emily into the middle of this FBI / CIA mess would keep her safe and why is Bote (having done that) now hyped to throw her under several buses?  

Edited July 16, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[Auntie Anxiety]

Wow. And not in a good way. I think I won’t be watching whatever remaining episodes there are because I don’t really give a shit about any of these characters. The writing is so shallow and insipid and just plain boring. 

[Affogato]

They talk in literary paragraphs, but I get it. They are often telling stories. Speaking precisely. The dialog doesn’t bother me. I don’t know the author of the book but it may be similar. 
 

at first there was concern for Dans safety.   Now there isn’t anyone I’m worried about and the mysteries seem somewhat mundane. Maybe Hamzad is doing this for a surprising reason. Maybe Abbey is guilty of something that is going to mess them all up. But to be involved I have to be rooting for something, even if it turns out to be wrong. I’m not invested yet and it is almost over.

On 7/15/2022 at 9:46 PM, aghst said:

Was it Waters waiting in that van?

Plus Waters was in the van and behind them was Julian the assassin and his friend or partner when the street boy was trying to sell something.

As soon as Harper saw the guy in the van, who looked like Waters, he ran back up the stairs and Angela was gone.

But I don't get it, Harper hadn't agreed to sell out Angela to Vote on the phone yet when they arrived at the train station, the henchmen were already there and knew?

And then at the resort, Krueger the lawyer already knew Zoe's name.  She said she had seen Zoe's picture in the police report or something, so maybe the same one Harper had seen.

I don't get that Harper would be good at the game.  He may have been when he was young but in the pilot, he was blubbering about his grandson and in this episode, he was blubbering about maybe having to betray Angela.

And now out in the field, two guys in their 70s are going to take on some super villain with all kinds of hired soldiers?

What would Bote accomplish by taking Angela?  Offer her to Hamzad and he would leave both Chase and Harper alone?  Or probably make them more vulnerable in trying to rescue her?

He placed her with Harper to try to keep her safe and now he wants to deliver her to Hamzad?  The plotting is hard to follow.

Angela calls them to pick up Harper.

Joel Grey is ok with Angela disappearing, as long as she is no longer Angela/Emily. His ideal solution is probably that she goes to Hamzad and never talks to her Dads or Timmy again. Dad Dan disappears or dies, dad Harper returns home. Dad Dan seems less likely to let go, so better if Harper kills him.

Dan’s dream puzzles me, the one at the beginning. I think they are a clue to something.

Abbey played a lot of sides and slept with a lot of people. Hmmmm

Edited July 16, 2022 by Affogato

[Dowel Jones]

13 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

"The old man has her."  Buddy, you're all old men, and you're all annoying me at this point.

Change scene to Hamzad - "The old man is after me."

Change scene to Harper - "You need to ask the old man"

Change scene to Bote - "There will be hell to pay when the old man finds out about this."

Me - Who the hell is the old man, anyway?

[LoveLeigh]

it is so preposterous that Zoe would even be dragged into this and slow Dan down... their conversation on the boat was hilarious: "I told you to stay at the bar." "She knew my name,, I had to go with her." "I guess you did." I am paraphrasing but something like that. And the boat scene, with Zoe dressed for the Emmys! LMAO

Totally hysterical!! How could a show that started out so great deteriorate into such total bullshit? 

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Change scene to Hamzad - "The old man is after me."

Change scene to Harper - "You need to ask the old man"

Change scene to Bote - "There will be hell to pay when the old man finds out about this."

Me - Who the hell is the old man, anyway?

I thought Jeff Bridges was the old man, now I think it is Joel Grey.

Edited July 17, 2022 by LoveLeigh

[SusieQ]

I'm guessing the critics who gave this show a good review were only given the first two episodes. The show looked good at first, but it has devolved into pure crap.

Reminds me of "Your Honor" with Bryan Cranston. Same deal, first few episodes pretty good and then devolved into crap. That one was 10 episodes and I had to bale after 5. I love Cranston but just couldn't keep going.

Only one episode left for this so I will finish it. But since they renewed it(really!?!?!?) I don't think the conclusion will make sense.

Thank God for Better Call Saul!

[dubbel zout]

10 minutes ago, SusieQ said:

But since they renewed it(really!?!?!?) I don't think the conclusion will make sense.

The show was in the can before it was renewed, though of course that doesn't mean there won't be some sort of cliffhanger or loose ends.

[SusieQ]

11 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

The show was in the can before it was renewed, though of course that doesn't mean there won't be some sort of cliffhanger or loose ends.

Good point, thanks. So maybe there's hope??

[Auntie Anxiety]

34 minutes ago, SusieQ said:

Thank God for Better Call Saul!

Funny you should say that. I recently rewatched BCS Season 5 in order to get primed for Season 6 and it reminded me what excellent writing, attention to detail, and respect for the viewer were all about. As a result, it’s caused me to see the numerous flaws in a series like The Old Man and how poorly conceived and idiotic the storyline is.

[aghst]

Not quite as bad as Your Honor, which is going to do a pointless second season.

[Zaffy]

it has been renewed? how many *very* old agents on the loose CIA has?
Even the sequel of RED is much much much better than this..mostly cause it never took itself so seriously.

[jenn31]

OMG... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Every one of them has a story to relate, or a dream to go on about. Today it was the new character. This is playing out like a spoof at this point. We just need violin music on the background. 

[ferjy]

5 minutes ago, jenn31 said:

OMG... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Every one of them has a story to relate, or a dream to go on about. Today it was the new character. This is playing out like a spoof at this point. We just need violin music on the background. 

Yep. You can see it coming. They get a look in their eye and I think, Here we go again. The monotone yakity yakity yak. Like an old film noir without the class. 

[dubbel zout]

I'm equal parts annoyed and disappointed that one of the main stories is basically saving the damsel in distress, whether it's Zoe or Emily/Angela. Ugh.

[Razzberry]

After a few hours of Emily's monotone sermons the kidnappers will probably shoot her or themselves.

[ferjy]

18 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

"The old man has her."  Buddy, you're all old men

I had to chuckle that Joel Grey is now revealed as the old man making Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow the youngsters. 😄

[steph369]

18 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

"My wife is a puzzle that you solve only to find more puzzles ..."  oh, Hamzad, I'm rolling my eyes at you so hard I've fallen off my chair.  How did the actor spit that out without laughing?

I guffawed. I agree with the forum member that said this is like a parody.  They should throw Steve Martin into the mix (another old man). 

[LoveLeigh]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Not quite as bad as Your Honor, which is going to do a pointless second season.

Maybe his son is still alive? 

50 minutes ago, jenn31 said:

OMG... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Every one of them has a story to relate, or a dream to go on about. Today it was the new character. This is playing out like a spoof at this point. We just need violin music on the background. 

The funniest scene so far was them escaping on that motorboat when Dan tells Zoe she should have stayed at the bar and she explains why she couldn't and he says "OK I know you couldn't." So ridiculous. 

How idiotic is Zoe? 

Edited July 16, 2022 by LoveLeigh

[aghst]

One could argue that they gave both Zoe and Angela/Emily agency.

They both make big decisions several times.  Zoe to take Dan's money and then to go with him to Africa, Angela to get on the jet and tell Harper to blame it on her to save his neck.

But viewers seem to hate these characters.

This is what happens when they write strong women characters. 😄 /ducks

[Zaffy]

The big twist will be that Zoe is really Hamzad after he had gender change procedure just to be able to have sex with Dan.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Zaffy

[Affogato]

4 minutes ago, Zaffy said:

The big twist will be that Zoe is really Hamzad after he had gender change procedure just to be able to have sex with Dan.

This works for me, actually, but I doubt it. 
 

i winder if nosy fbi guy is also a mole. 

[Affogato]

20 minutes ago, aghst said:

One could argue that they gave both Zoe and Angela/Emily agency.

They both make big decisions several times.  Zoe to take Dan's money and then to go with him to Africa, Angela to get on the jet and tell Harper to blame it on her to save his neck.

But viewers seem to hate these characters.

This is what happens when they write strong women characters. 😄 /ducks

The women are not, whatever you think of them, luggage. 

[SlovakPrincess]

32 minutes ago, aghst said:.

But viewers seem to hate these characters.

This is what happens when they write strong women characters. 😄 /ducks

To be fair, I kinda hate all the characters at this point. 😂.  I will say the one time I liked Zoe was when she extorted $$ out of Dan.  
 

Emily / Angela is just so so so poorly written and acted.  But she’s not even the character on this show I most dislike ( I would rank Hamzad / Bote / smarmy FBI guy higher on my hate list)

[SunnyBeBe]

Just watched it and read this thread. Pretty well sums it up.  I don’t have enough interest in it to make the effort to write one.  Lol Oh, Zoey did seemed to be fighting back a laugh when she was bouncing around in the boat.  Who dressed her?  

[LoveLeigh]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Just watched it and read this thread. Pretty well sums it up.  I don’t have enough interest in it to make the effort to write one.  Lol Oh, Zoey did seemed to be fighting back a laugh when she was bouncing around in the boat.  Who dressed her?  

The shawl was hilarious... and the caked on eye makeup makeup all of a sudden like she is on holiday at Cannes. Did they stop at Walgreens for the eye makeup? 

She is at the bar.... what normal woman would not make a run for it and tell the authorities there she was kidnapped by a lunatic? First she is a stickler and not allowing dogs in the apartment and now she lams it with a guy all involved in almost getting murdered and who murders?

Good grief, so stupid. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve lost track of why they’re there. What’s was the point?  Has Harper really been thrown under the bus by his agency or is that a fabrication by Joel Grey? How would an attorney know to call Harper’s house?    Has Zoey’s son tried to reach her?  Is Chase doing business or is this all related to his daughter and deceased wife?  There’s a lot of dialogue for things to still be so confusing. 

[Milburn Stone]

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 There’s a lot of dialogue for things to still be so confusing. 

I'm not confused--which must mean I'm missing something! Here's what I'm getting. Chase wants to kill Hamzad, and tried to enlist the Russian oligarch in his cause. Harper wants to placate Hamzad to prevent getting outed for his crimes. We don't know yet where Angela/Emily's true loyalties lie. Zoe's true loyalties are in holding on to her half-a-billion dollars. Joel Grey either wants all of them dead, or just some of them dead. Everything else is window dressing, until a future episode makes it not.

[LoveLeigh]

The end line was hilarious... something like "Emily is gone, let's go get her back."

Now they join forces to go find her lol. This IS a parody. It's a cartoon. 

Edited July 17, 2022 by LoveLeigh

[jenn31]

5 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

The end line was hilarious... something like "Emily is gone, let's go get her back."

Now they join forces to go find her lol. This IS a parody. It's a cartoon. 

ROFL! That was so awful. Something like “The old man has taken her.”  *effective pause* “And we’re going to go get her back.” I half expected John Lithgow to tear his shirt open to reveal a superhero costume underneath. 

Edited July 18, 2022 by jenn31

[cardigirl]

I liked it.  I think a lot of other people liked it too, as it has a 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (although, based on Barry's storyline this past season, that doesn't mean much to TV execs. 😁). 

I did think the bouncing around in the boat was a bit ridiculous, but I'm still wanting to watch. I actually loved it when Harper said, "The old man's got her."  Because, and I bet lots of other people thought this as well, I thought Jeff Bridges' character was The Old Man.  This turned a lot of the story on it's head for me. 

I thought it was clear that Zoe decided to go along with Chase, partly to protect her asset, but also she is intrigued by him, and her life the past few years has not been all that exciting. She's not kidnapped any longer, by this episode. 

This review explains a lot.  (You get several free articles from this site. If you're on Vulture a lot, you might not be able to read without a subscription.) 

Spy stories are generally convoluted and difficult to follow if you aren't familiar with the genre. 

[Zaffy]

2 hours ago, cardigirl said:

I liked it.  I think a lot of other people liked it too, as it has a 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (although, based on Barry's storyline this past season, that doesn't mean much to TV execs. 😁). 

I would give it 95% based on the first episode. I do not trust RT or IMDB anymore, most reviewers are bots..they do not even try to hide it anymore.

[Razzberry]

I think virtually all of RT's critical reviews were written after viewing the first three episodes only.  Even though the public's viewing options and habits have changed, critics still rush to press based on limited samples when it comes to series, and rarely update their reviews.   The show will hype those glowing phrases like "Best show on TV!"  forever. 

I can't imagine book reviews based on the first couple of chapters, or movie reviews on the first 30 minutes as being very meaningful.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Razzberry

[dubbel zout]

I think reviewers got the first four episodes.

[cardigirl]

The average audience score for The Old Man is 84%.  I don't know. I like it. 🤠

[SlovakPrincess]

11 hours ago, cardigirl said:

The average audience score for The Old Man is 84%.  I don't know. I like it. 🤠

I fully admit that a lot of my growing dissatisfaction with the series is based on my own expectations.  I thought we'd get a lot more background on Chase / Harper in the past and them confronting each other.  And I liked the initial portrayal of Chase as an old guy living off the grid, with some age related health issues, who has to get creative to survive and brush off his old spy skills.  Chase now has a whole corporation and unlimited funds at his disposal, seemingly no longer has any health issues, and the Chase / Harper interactions as younger men have been mostly neglected.  

But again, personal preference.  

[Razzberry]

I love that IMDb lists a "CIA consultant" in the credits.  As if it's an accurate depiction of their operations, or that they even care about that.  

The implausible situations would be easier to swallow with a bit of dark comedy, but it takes itself so seriously.  I do hope that they get some new writers for season 2. 

[SlovakPrincess]

7 hours ago, Razzberry said:

I love that IMDb lists a "CIA consultant" in the credits.  As if it's an accurate depiction of their operations, or that they even care about that.  

I know the CIA does some shady shit, but please tell me they don't actually agree to kidnap their own ex agents and send them to Afghanistan at the request of someone like Hamzad.  Or turn on someone like Harper immediately because Hamzad's annoying lawyer sent them a memo.

[SunnyBeBe]

1 hour ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I know the CIA does some shady shit, but please tell me they don't actually agree to kidnap their own ex agents and send them to Afghanistan at the request of someone like Hamzad.  Or turn on someone like Harper immediately because Hamzad's annoying lawyer sent them a memo.

True. And only after a couple of days, with  no real investigation.  Too contrived for my taste.  

[ferjy]

On 7/18/2022 at 8:52 PM, cardigirl said:

The average audience score for The Old Man is 84%.  I don't know. I like it. 🤠

Those scores are solely for Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow. 😉