S03.E06: Rescue

[Trini]

Nicky, Henry, Ryan and Pei-Ling try to make sense of some disturbing information they've learned about Xiao. Althea and Dennis help his sister after she learns that money has gone missing from their family's charitable trust. Elsewhere, Mei-Li is forced to make an impossible decision.

Original airdate 11/9/2022

[AnimeMania]

[Trini]

I like how they're acknowledging even in the dialog how ridiculous the magic on this show has become.

Ha! I KNEW IT!! Bo is the Harvester! Well, that's one way to get me interested in him.

I enjoyed all the non-magic plots more than the magic ones.

More later....

[possibilities]

29 minutes ago, Trini said:

I enjoyed all the non-magic plots more than the magic ones.

I'm feeling that way every episode.

[paigow]

Henry should have sensed that Bo had super powers. They met after he became the compass.

Why is Bo The Harvester? To wit, what does he get out of it? How does he teleport? Hunting in the wasteland seems like a full time job... he should not be having sex breaks....

Edited November 11, 2022 by paigow

[Kaiju Ballet]

Not just the magic, I also enjoy the non-martial arts storylines/dynamics more. Or if there is going to be a fight, I think it's hysterical when it's not shown, as in the episode a few weeks ago when Nicky came across the support group of her haters. Otherwise you know she'll either win or not based on what the plot needs. That being said, I loved Zhilan's return after her redemption arc. But it's becoming a huge storytelling crutch that the right reference to some obscure piece of magic or lore can easily be found in the community center's library. And I keep wondering why Pei Ling isn't opting to go back to China--wouldn't there be resources there she could turn to? As for Henry being a compass not picking up on Bo's extracurricular activities, I think they made a huge point of his not yet being in sync with his abilities.

Now that they've taken away Althea's cyberwizardry, her personal development makes for way more interesting storytelling. I loved the mini-case that she solved using her smarts and some resourceful delegating of cybersleuthing.  Plus she'll be even better as a character once that restriction's lifted (although she's already pretty awesome). And now I want to see where it goes with Dennis/family. He's also become a character I like a lot because of "who he's become". That was a great scene between the two of them.

I'm also into the restaurant saga --the sight of Sebastian weeping in the dark really got to me. Speaking of which, I laughed at Ryan's reference to what he had to do to get Sebastian the perfect gift in a previous episode.

I'm also surprised at how invested I am in Jin's political career! Chinatown has become one of the main characters of this show, and I've really come to appreciate how much they make of the Chens being a part of the community, and why it matters.

As for Bo--yep, that was telegraphed pretty early. I always thought he did seem kind of menacing and volatile. When Nicki was trying to find out who was targeting her, Bo was actually my top suspect, lol.

[thuganomics85]

Fear not, Henry!  You might be on the outside now, but now that it looks like Nicky's new squeeze is the actual villain, it's only a matter of time before the fire is rekindled by you two!

I wasn't fully sure if Bo was The Harvester at first, but once you heard his reaction to seeing Nicky in the wasteland, I figured that had to be it since he was really the only character who would have a response like that.  Curious to see how far this goes.  It sounded like he really was surprised that Nicky knew all about that magic stuff, but their meeting and relationship can't all be a coincidence, right?  Hopefully his secret identity won't be kept hidden for too long!

Damn, I get Mei-Li screwed up by not being upfront about Sebastian's past, but it still feels like Carrie really has a vendetta of some kind against him.  Either that or she just really, really hates fusion cuisine!  Not surprised Sebastian would quit instead of forcing Mei-Li to either fire him or risk a lawsuit, but that still sucks for him.  His scene with Ryan at the end was heartbreaking.

Looks like Jin is not only done with Anthony but planning on running against him for the councilman position!  Feel slightly bad for Anthony since it does look like he really is being blackmail, but not even being willing to admit it to Jin pretty much forces it to happen.  Who knows what else he'd be willing to do if that they've got that strong of a grip on him?

Fun seeing Dennis' sister again and Althea using her mad skills to help her out of a situation.  Also find out that Dennis' father did offer him his job back, but he refused because he didn't want to go back to being that person again.  But it sounds like Althea might have convinced him that he can still do that job and maintain who he is now.  I'm sure part of it is just because they really want to get out of the house!

Nicky, Henry, and Pei-Ling are able to use some magic to get Nicky to the wasteland, but while she fails to kill the Harvester, she does something even better: brings Zhilan back to the real world!  I can't wait to see more of Zhilan interacting with the rest of the cast again!

[possibilities]

I wonder if Nicky realized Bo was the Harvester at any point during the confrontation and that's why she didn't kill him. I thought I saw her hesitate, even before she started to be pulled back home.

Edited November 11, 2022 by possibilities

[Kaiju Ballet]

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wonder if Nicky realized Bo was the Harvester at any point during the confrontation and that's why she didn't kill him. I thought I saw her hesitate, even before she started to be pulled back home.

That's an intriguing thought. I also saw the hesitation, but I thought it was due to her stance on killing (she doesn't).

[Camera One]

I wonder if Bo is some minion, since he seemed genuinely surprised to see Nicky and didn't want to hurt her.  I'm glad they will be pivoting back to Nicky and Henry. 

I really hope Pei-Ling stays on the show.  She has great chemistry with everyone.  She can deliver wise sage advice with such believability, like when she was encouraging Henry with the power of love.  

I agree that the non-magic/kung fu storylines were all pretty good as well.  I like how they had Evan speaking with both Jin and Mei-Li in this episode.  It's not an easy job to make all the characters feel relevant.  

I've never trusted Carrie, and as thuganomics85 said above, who hates fusion food that much?   This positive press would bring new people to the restaurant.  Diluting the brand?  Give me a break.   I wonder if we will eventually find out this company is in leagues with Delta Security, with the food services division.

I didn't like Dennis' sister in her first episode, but I liked Althea helping her in this one.  Althea is really kickass even without technology.  Her questioning of the thief was hilarious, too.

I too feel a bit badly for Anthony and I expected him to confide in Jin.  I didn't expect Jin would run against him.  Well, this will make Delta Security target him, now.  I'm really glad the Writers are devoting screen time to the parents.  So many shows couldn't care less about the older generation.

The magical transportation to the Wasteland mechanism was a stretch and full of convenience (Pei-Ling can read ancient spells!  Nicky found accurate drawings in a folk story book!  Henry can lock onto magical objects in other dimensions!), but I think they did make it work.  The redemption arc for Zhilan was good enough that I'm glad she is back, and I look forward to her interactions with Pei-Ling.

I suspect Bo is a villain who will eventually seek redemption, so perhaps a future love interest for Zhilan?  I was hoping her old boyfriend would show up alive too.

Edited November 11, 2022 by Camera One

[possibilities]

I never liked Henry. He's all ego. So I'm actually disappointed he's back. By contrast, I liked Bo-- so making him evil is a drag. But if they redeemed Zhilan, they can and probably will redeem anyone.

I wonder what the blackmail is. Is he protecting himself, or someone else? What is he so afraid of that he won't tell Jin?

I liked it when Nicky's missions were local and mundane, protecting the neighborhood from earthly-level threats. But I like Pei Ling, so I hope they keep her even if I find all the otherworld stuff mostly boring and unnecessary.

[Camera One]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I never liked Henry. He's all ego. So I'm actually disappointed he's back. By contrast, I liked Bo-- so making him evil is a drag. But if they redeemed Zhilan, they can and probably will redeem anyone.

I must say Bo grew on me really fast, so I'm a bit disappointed they made him evil.  He does have an underlying vulnerability.  I liked Henry last season but the writing really was making me like him less and pushing me to prefer Bo over him, until this episode.

[emma675]

I've never really liked Henry, so I'm bummed they made Bo evil and opened the door for Nicky/Henry again. But they did get me by making Bo the Harvester, I didn't see that coming. I was hoping it was Kerwin, hehe. I miss that sexy, traumatized man.

I liked all of the non-magical stories the best. Poor Mei-Li and poor Sebastian, Carrie can suck it. Since when does a restaurant suffer by having an inventive, popular chef? Why is Carrie sabotaging the restaurant?

[Camera One]

3 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Why is Carrie sabotaging the restaurant?

Carrie was sent by The Alchemist to bring Chinese restaurants back to their Qin dynasty roots.

[Trini]

14 hours ago, Camera One said:

The magical transportation to the Wasteland mechanism was a stretch and full of convenience (Pei-Ling can read ancient spells!  Nicky found accurate drawings in a folk story book!  Henry can lock onto magical objects in other dimensions!), but I think they did make it work.  The redemption arc for Zhilan was good enough that I'm glad she is back, and I look forward to her interactions with Pei-Ling.

The problem is the show has been using A LOT of 'stretches full of convenience' this season (and we're only halfway through!); it used to be a lot more balanced between community/street-level threats and magic shenanigans.

[Trini]

This clearly was written to be the mid-season 'finale' with all the reveals.

Okay, let me do this by subplot:

Mei Li/Sebastian: Two main things: 1) Even if Mei Li breached the contract, I don't see why Seb had to be fired. Cutting loose an integral employee who is actually bringing publicity to the business seems stupid if 'corporate' is actually interested in making money. Unless Seb's record was effecting the bottom line, he didn't need to go. (Mei Li should be penalized - if anything.) 2) I feel like there should be some legal loophole to get Seb back -- especially if we're talking about TV law!

Loved Mei Li's outfit in this episode.

Jin : Wow, I didn't expect him to end up running for office. I'm interested in seeing where this goes. I expect that he'll still help Chan with his blackmail problem; probably with Nicky & co.

Althea/Dennis/Chloe: Yes! Nice to see Althea back at work, solving crimes, and looking fabulous! Also glad that Dennis may be doing something more substantial in the future. I've been wanting to see more of his family for a while.

Magic shenanigans: Bo being the Harvester raises many questions that I hope they answer. My main takeaway is that they're coming back around to Nicky/Henry -- don't know why they had to do a detour making Henry a magical object and having Nicky sleep with the enemy, though.

But hey, Zhilan is back in the land of the living! Now she and Pei Ling can bond over both of them being legally dead!

[tennisgurl]

I for one am shocked, shocked, to find out that the main characters new temporary love interest is actually evil and has a deep dark secret! Shocked I say! 

I am actually a bit disappointed, I liked Bo and hoped that even if he's just a place holder for Henry/Nicky, he at least could have stayed a good guy. I really like the actor who plays Bo so it sucks that he's a bad guy. Predictable, but it still sucks.