S03.E05: Blowback

[Trini]

When a smuggler being detained by the CIA must be transferred quickly to a secure debriefing site, McCall works with Carter Griffin to ensure he arrives unharmed. Also, Dante deals with the possibility of his father being released from prison.

Donal Logue guest stars.

Airdate: November 13, 2022

Edited November 18, 2022 by Trini

[AnimeMania]

Valerie Pettiford (Carol Dante)
Danny Johnson (Benjamin “Big Ben” Dante)
Malik Yoba (Manny)
Destin Khari (Kyler Dante)
Tyler Williams (Stefon Dante)
Robbie Sublett (Agent Sanford)
Sarin Monae West (Agent Shaw)
Michael Lopez (Agent Duffy)
Roman Blat (Dmitri Muller)
Stan J. Adams (Tach Team Leader)

[greekmom]

My pvr cut. What happened after Robyn left Dante's?

[dwmarch]

So um... hail Hydra? Poor Brett Dalton. Is he forever cursed to play a mole?

I am not a fan of this storyline with Dee wanting to be "trained". What does that even mean? If she wants to learn fightin' and shootin' and shit, send her to a dojo where Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is taught. Have her get beat up by white belts with six months of experience for a week and see if she's still so enthusiastic. Instead, Mel is going to teach her some unspecified set of elite ninja skills that will come in handy probably sometime around the season finale. Mel is a sniper. What do snipers need to do? Sit still, be quiet and be patient. So in other words, the complete opposite of Dee.

58 minutes ago, greekmom said:

My pvr cut. What happened after Robyn left Dante's?

Mel told Dee she would train her, everyone sat down and had dinner.

Later, Robyn went to visit Bishop's grave. In a half-decent twist it turns out the prisoner was actually the legendary CIA guy they were all in awe of. He set the whole thing up to flush out Brett Dalton. The other agents who got killed were also dirty and he had his doubts about Robyn since he blames her for Bishop's death. He tells Robyn she works for him now, which she is not impressed with. He tells her off about Bishop, who was supposed to be running errands for him the day he died.

[AnimeMania]

I hate the stuff with the CIA and I didn't like many of the episodes this season. I wish Robyn would help normal poor people who have no where else to turn. I guess helping the lady haunted by Ghosts was an OK episode, but the rest of the people I didn't care about, sorry little girl who's father was a thieving fire fighter. Looks like they are doubling down on the CIA nonsense.

[Trini]

Well, I guess Quinn isn't the new Bishop.

I'm not really a fan of the CIA plots, so the A plot was only so-so for me. And now the actual 'new Bishop' has a grudge against Robyn - eh.

It was nice to see the Equalizing Team meet Robyn's family - under much better circumstances. The whole thing with Delilah wanting training and Robyn refusing is a little silly; considering who Robyn is. She could just teach her some basic personal safety and self defense moves. It doesn't have to be a big deal, but we need drama, I guess. I just hope Mel hiding it from Robyn isn't drawn out.

I think the best part of Dante's story were the scenes with his sons.

The only fashion standout for me was Harry's kinda ridiculous leather and fur jacket (plus ascot, lol). Second place might be Robyn's chain pattern sweater at the end; but we didn't see much of it.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Trini

[possibilities]

They are laying it on thick with the Robyn-Dante vibe. Also, I guess Dante's first name is Marcus? How did I not know that until now?

I agree about wishing the show was more about Robyn helping everyday people. Isn't that what the Equalizer was supposed to be? This CIA stuff is a totally different premise. Also, I was glad enough to forget about Bishop. I don't like the way they are haunting us with his character. They got rid of him for a reason. Let it go.

[Raja]

Control is now Colton, not Carlton Fisk. Brigada, not Blake's 7. I was looking for more name plays.

Grant freaking Ward strikes again. And Robin and the CIA is starting to look like opposite Michael Weston 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Raja

[greekmom]

7 hours ago, dwmarch said:

So um... hail Hydra? Poor Brett Dalton. Is he forever cursed to play a mole?

I am not a fan of this storyline with Dee wanting to be "trained". What does that even mean? If she wants to learn fightin' and shootin' and shit, send her to a dojo where Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is taught. Have her get beat up by white belts with six months of experience for a week and see if she's still so enthusiastic. Instead, Mel is going to teach her some unspecified set of elite ninja skills that will come in handy probably sometime around the season finale. Mel is a sniper. What do snipers need to do? Sit still, be quiet and be patient. So in other words, the complete opposite of Dee.

Mel told Dee she would train her, everyone sat down and had dinner.

Later, Robyn went to visit Bishop's grave. In a half-decent twist it turns out the prisoner was actually the legendary CIA guy they were all in awe of. He set the whole thing up to flush out Brett Dalton. The other agents who got killed were also dirty and he had his doubts about Robyn since he blames her for Bishop's death. He tells Robyn she works for him now, which she is not impressed with. He tells her off about Bishop, who was supposed to be running errands for him the day he died.

That was my thoughts about Dalton as well. I was yelling at the tv - comeon not him!

Thanks for the update. The thing was that Robyn was never working for Bishop.  She would go to him for the occasional intel or favour. 

[kwnyc]

Harry's ascot was legendary. And I called that the "prisoner" was the legendary CIA agent fairly soon in the A plot. 

I found Harry's toast about bio and chosen family to be lovely, and an important theme in the show. And I'm glad Dante got some serious coin for being kidnapped and nearly murdered by the cops. AND that he's using his powers for good by saving a neighborhood institution.

I'm with most of y'all...I don't need the CIA subplots. Give me real people with problems that Robyn can solve. 

[paigow]

28 minutes ago, kwnyc said:

Give me real people with problems that Robyn can solve. 

But it usually leads to her wiping out organized crime in the tri-state area

[marceline]

I'll admit it. I miss Bishop. Or at least I miss his vibe with Robyn. I miss having someone on the show who knows her whole history. I don't know what to make of this new boss for her. We'll see.

I don't understand the big deal about training Dee. If it was up to me girls would start learning martial arts in grade school and at the very least Dee should learn about gun safety: how many weapons are in the house, the combination to the gun safe, etc... I don't agree with Robyn that it would make Dee grow up too fast. I'm pretty sure watching her friend get gunned down in a drive-by took care of that.

What was it Vi said she was cooking? She lays out one hell of a table.

[Raja]

28 minutes ago, marceline said:

I'll admit it. I miss Bishop. Or at least I miss his vibe with Robyn. I miss having someone on the show who knows her whole history. I don't know what to make of this new boss for her. We'll see.

I don't understand the big deal about training Dee. If it was up to me girls would start learning martial arts in grade school and at the very least Dee should learn about gun safety: how many weapons are in the house, the combination to the gun safe, etc... I don't agree with Robyn that it would make Dee grow up too fast. I'm pretty sure watching her friend get gunned down in a drive-by took care of that.

What was it Vi said she was cooking? She lays out one hell of a table.

Probably the fear that Dee will enter a military academy instead of Harvard to follow mom into a life of combat 

[blackwing]

I'm so sad that Brett Dalton was the mole.  I was really hoping that he could become a regular on this show.  Instead, it seems we are going to be saddled with Donal Logue and his greasy hair, and he's antagonistic to Robyn at that.  Ugh.

39 minutes ago, marceline said:

I don't understand the big deal about training Dee. If it was up to me girls would start learning martial arts in grade school and at the very least Dee should learn about gun safety: how many weapons are in the house, the combination to the gun safe, etc... I don't agree with Robyn that it would make Dee grow up too fast. I'm pretty sure watching her friend get gunned down in a drive-by took care of that.

What was it Vi said she was cooking? She lays out one hell of a table.

I agree.  It's not like she wants to be a field agent.  I think she just wants some martial arts training so she can defend herself if she ever finds herself in a jam again because of what her mom does.  I don't think she's asking for firearms training.

I didn't catch what she was cooking but it involved some spicy pepper.  I want to say I thought they established that Vi is from Louisiana, so I think she cooks a lot of cajun food.

Still fondly remembering that Vi introduced me to cassoulet.  I wish more restaurants near me served it!

[12catcrazy]

Ah Donal Logue in deep undercover yet again (he seems to get typecast in that type of part) yet looking greasier than ever.  It should be fun seeing him play up against QL.  I do wish they would have more stories of everyday people needing help as opposed to all this CIA stuff.  And the thing about "Moles" - jeez, didn't a few of the NCIS shows do that one to death?  

And I've got mixed feelings about the teen daughter wanting to learn her mother's badass skills.  I agree with dwmarch above - if the kid wants to learn self defense skills, enroll in a Dojo and learn them.   I'm afraid that this whole story line is going to be all Batgirl and Robyn, and yeah, Dee's training will probably save her mother's butt somewhere in a future episode.  

I like Dante a lot and enjoy story lines where he is featured.   Normally, I hate family drama in cop shows but this show is just a fantasy thing rather than a regular cop show.  And I very seldom ever "ship" characters in a tv show, but I was actually hoping that Robyn would kiss Dante.   Thought they were going to go there, but nope, the buildup continues.  

[AnimeMania]

If it was me, I would make Delilah exercise and strength train so much that she would quit after the first week and if she didn't quit, she would be in the best shape of your life. Robyn would probably thank me when I was finished.

[Raja]

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

If it was me, I would make Delilah exercise and strength train so much that she would quit after the first week and if she didn't quit, she would be in the best shape of your life. Robyn would probably thank me when I was finished.

I want your D.O.R.!

[mojito]

I have a feeling I will be dropping this show soon, as I did with Burn Notice when domestic crime-fighting morphed into secret international missions. 

[Trini]

7 hours ago, marceline said:

I'll admit it. I miss Bishop. Or at least I miss his vibe with Robyn. I miss having someone on the show who knows her whole history. I don't know what to make of this new boss for her. We'll see.

...

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

...  Instead, it seems we are going to be saddled with Donal Logue and his greasy hair, and he's antagonistic to Robyn at that.  Ugh.

...

I mean - isn't the whole premise of the show Robyn quitting the CIA to help the little guy? She did occasionally trade favors with Bishop -- because they were friends -- but her apparently being on call for this new CIA guy just doesn't make sense. At the very least it screws up the format.

6 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

...  And I very seldom ever "ship" characters in a tv show, but I was actually hoping that Robyn would kiss Dante.   Thought they were going to go there, but nope, the buildup continues.  

They are doing the slowest of burns. Boooo! 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Trini

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Trini said:

I mean - isn't the whole premise of the show Robyn quitting the CIA to help the little guy? She did occasionally trade favors with Bishop -- because they were friends -- but her apparently being on call for this new CIA guy just doesn't make sense. At the very least it screws up the format.

In Season 1, Bishop said the quid pro quo went beyond their private deals.. Even though he was a private contractor, his Agency access / privileges were dependent on McCall occasionally participating in Agency ops.. 

[possibilities]

Occasionally would be fine. But it seems like that's her main gig these days.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

Occasionally would be fine. But it seems like that's her main gig these days.

To give them the benefit of doubt they were resetting to replace Chris Noth. I would have stayed with the younger CIA contact who idolized Robyn myself 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Raja
I knew it was "yn" Mr. autocorrect.

[mythoughtis]

I miss Bishop.  Actors behaving badly doesn’t just come back on them.  It messes with all the shows they ever worked on.  As in the Cosby show.  A good show that we will never see any more reruns of. 

Robyn was obsessed with Quinn and now Fesk is obsessed with blaming Robyn for Bishops death. 
 

Go back to the everyday people cases of the week. 
 

What was Aunt Vi wearing  at the dinner.  Some sort of fringe on her pants? 

[AnimeMania]

Aunt Vi said she was making Escovitch, which is a fish dish.

[WendyCR72]

5 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

I miss Bishop.  Actors behaving badly doesn’t just come back on them.  It messes with all the shows they ever worked on.  As in the Cosby show.  A good show that we will never see any more reruns of. 

Robyn was obsessed with Quinn and now Fesk is obsessed with blaming Robyn for Bishops death. 
 

Go back to the everyday people cases of the week. 
 

What was Aunt Vi wearing  at the dinner.  Some sort of fringe on her pants? 

Helping the "little guy" was the whole premise of the original series! (I never saw the movies, so I don't know if that followed the formula or not.)

But I have a lot less interest with the CIA stuff. A shame because I like the actors involved.

[Raja]

10 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Helping the "little guy" was the whole premise of the original series! (I never saw the movies, so I don't know if that followed the formula or not.)

But I have a lot less interest with the CIA stuff. A shame because I like the actors involved.

The first movie more so than Denzel Washington's only sequel did follow the help the little guy, with that very particular set of skills to cross franchises, premise.

[paigow]

5 hours ago, Raja said:

The first movie more so than Denzel Washington's only sequel did follow the help the little guy, with that very particular set of skills to cross franchises, premise.

Yes. The sequel was a personal revenge plot.

[Daff]

Someone remind me what happened to the woman (CIA), who only called in a “special favor” once in a while, in order to overlook Robyn’s occasional actions outside the law? That, I could live with.  Even she didn’t claim, “I own you”, merely insinuated Robyn shouldn’t turn down a “request”, if she wanted to be left on her own. 
 

Dante was smart to get his compensation out of his possession before his father got out of prison. He may decide to give him the opportunity to “earn” (as his mother advised) the grandfather position with all the perks, but he’d never know if it was genuine if that money was hanging out there in his name. 

I saw the end of discussion hug as Robyn realizing that Dante is still fragile from his ordeal and in need of support. Also, she’s not exactly in a position to complicate her home life with a romance if she’s at risk of losing custody of Dee. 

I agree with everyone here who wants to see this show go 90-10% back to the original premise. Help the hopeless. 

[paigow]

4 hours ago, Daff said:

Someone remind me what happened to the woman (CIA), who only called in a “special favor” once in a while, in order to overlook Robyn’s occasional actions outside the law?

Are you thinking of the NY D.A. ??? Cannot remember any senior female CIA agents that McCall has dealt with...

[possibilities]

I think there was an episode where Robyn went to the UN maybe? Maybe there was a CIA agent there?

[jabRI]

Fashion wise, I was a little distracted by her jacket today, kept thinking it looked like a pajama top because of the material.  Must be in the minority but I love Donal Logue, would watch him in anything.  But did not appreciate the 'I own you' stance, kind of ridiculous.

[AnimeMania]

18 hours ago, Daff said:

Someone remind me what happened to the woman (CIA), who only called in a “special favor” once in a while, in order to overlook Robyn’s occasional actions outside the law? That, I could live with.  Even she didn’t claim, “I own you”, merely insinuated Robyn shouldn’t turn down a “request”, if she wanted to be left on her own. 

This scene did occur very early in the series in the street in front of Robyn's house. Robyn confronts the lady after they did something to her car. The CIA Lady has not appeared since.

[statsgirl]

I knew from the casting announcement that Donal Logue was coming on the show but I totally did not see the Colton Fisk twist coming.

On 11/14/2022 at 1:06 PM, marceline said:

I don't understand the big deal about training Dee. If it was up to me girls would start learning martial arts in grade school and at the very least Dee should learn about gun safety: how many weapons are in the house, the combination to the gun safe, etc... I don't agree with Robyn that it would make Dee grow up too fast. I'm pretty sure watching her friend get gunned down in a drive-by took care of that.

It's so stupid. Robyn doesn't want Dee to grow up too fast, which is fair enough. But Dee is already experiencing a lot of anxiety, first from seeing her friend gunned and later from seeing Robyn kidnapped. Dee's way of coping is wanting to be trained so that if something happens, she will be able to do something rather than just wringing her hands and being afraid.

Dee wants to be trained to help her cope with her life. Robyn refusing to let it happen is just making Dee even more anxious.

On 11/14/2022 at 6:29 AM, greekmom said:

Thanks for the update. The thing was that Robyn was never working for Bishop.  She would go to him for the occasional intel or favour. 

Bishop worked out an agreement for Robyn whereby she could get out of the CIA. At the beginning of the episode, Robyn told Dalton's character "I guess the CIA thinks I owe them some more favours."  With Bishop's death, it looks like Fisk has inherited Robyn's indenture contract.

Jamaican Escovitch recipe with scotch bonnet pepper (the hottest pepper).

[jabRI]

I agree about Dee, she's a young woman in high school, high time she learned some self defense.  Not like she wants to join a gang or something.

[marceline]

I do want to show some love to this ep for seeing Valerie Pettiford and Malik Yoba. I've loved both actors for so long. Pettiford from her time on One Life to Live and Yoba from New York Undercover. My Gen-X soul was happy.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, marceline said:

 and Yoba from New York Undercover. 

Cool Runnings Yul Brynner 

[Daff]

On 11/16/2022 at 9:11 PM, paigow said:

Are you thinking of the NY D.A. ??? Cannot remember any senior female CIA agents that McCall has dealt with...

On 11/16/2022 at 10:50 PM, possibilities said:

I think there was an episode where Robyn went to the UN maybe? Maybe there was a CIA agent there?

Sorry, I must be missing Magnum PI. Samantha Weeks’ character “owed” favors. I really don’t like CIA or MI6 stories. And I certainly couldn’t ever confuse SW and QL! But now that you mentioned her, maybe that DA can set her sights and task force on undercover guy. 

[andromeda331]

I hate the CIA stuff. It's why I quit Burn Notice. I liked this show because Robyn with her CIA skills helping out the little guy. Just like Burn Notice started out. 

I like Dante's storyline better. Deciding whether to let his father in his kids's lives. I think his mother was right about him earning it. But I'm also fine if Dante decides not to. He was terrible father to Dante I can see why he wouldn't what his kids to experience that.