S03.E08: Betrayal

[AnimeMania]

Fall Finale 

Following an incident involving her parents, Nicky (Olivia Liang) stumbles upon a devastating secret. Elsewhere, Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) gets creative at the restaurant, and Bo (guest star Ben Levin) faces demons from his past.

Original Airdate: November 30, 2022       9pm        The CW 

Next New Episode: February 8, 2023  

[Trini]

I think this episode was kinda poorly written? Lots of conveniences.

Yeah, it would have been better if the Bo reveal had come from Sebastian; or even just relayed by Ryan to everyone. I don't think it made sense for Nicky to immediately think Bo had turned on them.

So I did want some backstory for Bo, and I'm glad I got that. Nice casting for Young Bo! However, I'm still not into the supernatural plots. Getting tired of a new magical object being introduced every other episode. Feels like they will try to redeem Bo, which means the love triangle is still alive -- gahh!

I did like Mei Li's plot, and Jin's plot. I wish they could have involved one or two other cast members, though. And the plot thickens with that the shady security company.

[Quark]

I thought that very last scene between Nicky and her Dad was very well-acted.

[paigow]

Bo is almost comatose... Nicky has the magic GI Joe teleporter... maybe Henry can control GI Joe and Expedia Nicky around...

[thuganomics85]

Henry:  "Oh, damn!  Nicky just beat the shit out of Bo!  I guess they won't be getting back together anytime soon!"

Zhilan:  "Meh, there was that one time I slit my boyfriend's throat and we still fell back into each other's arms.  This might just be a little bump on the road for them!"

While it's understandable that they didn't know where this was all going to go, I did find it hilarious that everything game back to Bo's apartment at the end.  They could have just stationed someone there for the entire episode and this might have all been avoided!  Granted, if one where to really think about it, Nicky and the gang were always going to be a step behind thanks to Bo's nifty teleporting powers.  Only way they would have had a chance is if they attacked him from behind which wasn't ever going to be likely.

Well, Andrew certainly showed his true colors once he had some actual competition!  Even if one wanted to dismiss his ambush to expose Jin's inexperience as just part of the political game, he's totally gunning for his family now (although I kind of feel like at this point, a lot of voters would be down with finding out Jin's daughter is a badass vigilante.)  I know Jin doesn't want to cross that line, but he might have to do if he wants to have a fighting chance here.

At least Mei-Lei got a little victory over Carrie, but I worry about any retaliation.

Nadia's not only breaking and entering for the gang, but even goes the extra mile to get more information than requested.  Marry her, Evan!

The kid playing Young Bo is already building up an impressive resume since I've seen him in both The Expanse and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as well.

So, this was the winter finale?  I guess we got to wait a bit to see how this plays out!

[paigow]

7 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

The kid playing Young Bo is already building up an impressive resume since I've seen him in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as well.

Was he the sacrifice victim?

[tennisgurl]

I'm glad that everyone knows about Bo now, but I still find it weird that Sebastian wasn't the one who told everyone what was going on. If he remembered everything that happened when he was possessed, he would have seen Bo talking to Xiao, that makes way more sense than the way Nicky just seemed to understand everything out of nowhere. 

Poor Jin might be too nice for politics. Andrew is done playing nice, and while he might have a point about Jin's lack of political experience, he was also a total prick about it and is about to start playing dirty. Although, I don't know if "his daughter is a badass vigilante cleaning up the streets" is the negative thing he thinks it is. There's probably a significant number of voters who would think that's awesome. 

I did end up feeling bad for Bo, he's been manipulated by Xiao since he was a little kid, no wonder he buys everything she's selling and is willing to follow her no matter what. It was sad but also darkly funny when he was furiously asking if he was just a pawn to her, and she very bluntly said yes, in a very "well duh" tone. I feel like he will end up getting some redemption though, he already feels remorseful and, more importantly, he's very attractive, and the CW loves to redeem bad guys who happen to also be high on the sexy scale. 

Poor Nicky has had a rough couple of days. 

[Trini]

13 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

... he's totally gunning for his family now (although I kind of feel like at this point, a lot of voters would be down with finding out Jin's daughter is a badass vigilante.) 

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Although, I don't know if "his daughter is a badass vigilante cleaning up the streets" is the negative thing he thinks it is. There's probably a significant number of voters who would think that's awesome. 

I can see that; but I also think it can go the other way. Nicky's many vigilante crimes might finally come back to bite her -- well, indirectly, if it tanks Jin's campaign.

I'm just saying - she can be Batman, but she really needs to be better about it. Just this episode she broke into a police facility and beat up some guys who were just doing their jobs.

13 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

... They could have just stationed someone there for the entire episode and this might have all been avoided!

Maybe they should have done that for real. This show is actually pretty good at incorporating it's large cast into various plots, but in this episode there were a lot of characters who didn't do much. Henry and Zhilan in particular were very underused; understandably, since the A-plot was mostly Bo and Nicky, but it was still weird.

[Camera One]

On 11/30/2022 at 11:03 PM, Trini said:

I think this episode was kinda poorly written? Lots of conveniences.

I also felt this episode had scenes which felt sort of stilted, something which has not been the case lately.  For example, the scene between Ryan and his mom felt a bit off, even though both actors are great.

Those flashback scenes with Bo also didn't quite work.  How long was he trapped in that overgrown cityscape where the Alchemist trained him to travel?  No one missed his absence?   The Alchemist just didn't have the gravitas needed for a major villain.  

I don't understand how the travelling works.  Why does Bo need to appear and walk around for a bit before travelling again?  It was highly unlikely that Nicky and Co would be able to catch up to him when he's apparating here and there.  Heck, why didn't he apparate out of the city to where The Alchemist was, instead of her conveniently coming back to his apartment?  

And now, Henry has a "I've a got a feeling" power.  I had to laugh at Zhilan's reaction to it.  I liked her tagging along in this one.

I agree that Nicky finding out about Bo's betrayal was anticlimatic.  If they wanted to do this big reveal, it should have been big and satisfying.

I'm surprised Anthony was playing dirty like that.  He seemed to so nice.  I guess he must not have been *that* nice since he got to where he was as a politician.  Don't people love Nicky as the vigilante?  The lady at the previous community meeting sure thought so.

Meanwhile, Carrie's mean side is showing.  Why was she so willing to go to bat for Mei-Li before but now she's being so difficult.  Kudos to Mei-Li for going above Carrie and speaking to the other guy.  What's Carrie's angle, anyway?