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Celebrating 1,000 NCIS-franchise episodes

S02.E09: Rakshasa

maraleia

By maraleia
in The Bridge [V]

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Blakeston

Blakeston

And just like, I am back to shaking my head. What exactly stopped the DEA agents and Hank from grabbing up four or five more police officers or a El Paso PD tactical squad. I mean, Eleanor is not just Fausto's bookkeeper, she is a child murderer for goodness sake. Since when do the police take child murderers so lightly. Plus, they did not know how many people were with her in the house. 

 

One thing I don't get is how the DEA thought they could keep this from the CIA.

 

If things had gone according to plan, and the DEA agents and Hank had walked out of there unscathed, wouldn't they had made arrests? And so wouldn't the CIA have found out anyway? Eleanor being arrested would have been big news.

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dubbel zout

dubbel zout

If things had gone according to plan, and the DEA agents and Hank had walked out of there unscathed, wouldn't they had made arrests? And so wouldn't the CIA have found out anyway? Eleanor being arrested would have been big news.

 

The CIA would have found out, but it would be the DEA's bust. I think that's what McKenzie was trying to prevent. He didn't want the CIA to take over the case.

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)

The CIA has absolutely no authority to take any law enforcement action on in U.S. so McKenzie could not have been afraid of the CIA taking over the case or stopping him. Even if the CIA appealed to the Justice Department, there is nothing that it could have done because again, Eleanor murdered a child in El Paso which is a state crime falling under the jurisdiction of El Paso PD. Hank did not need the DEA to go and arrest Eleanor. The more I think about this the more ridiculous the whole thing becomes to me. Just bad plotting. 

Edited by SimoneS
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Cardie

Cardie

If the money Eleanor is keeping such good accounts of is being funneled to the CIA to  fund black ops, the DEA getting access to her might screw the CIA. One assumes that once the DEA had her, the CIA couldn't prevent their dirty dealing from being revealed.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

If the money Eleanor is keeping such good accounts of is being funneled to the CIA to  fund black ops, the DEA getting access to her might screw the CIA. One assumes that once the DEA had her, the CIA couldn't prevent their dirty dealing from being revealed.

--hence why they wanted to keep the CIA in the dark--so the CIA wouldn't screw up the DEA sting to protect their own (the CIA's) interests. So it was a need-to-know deal, which meant no back up. If Fausto hadn't picked that very moment to seek his own revenge, the DEA might have pulled it off. Or, if the DEA hadn't made their own move, Fausto might have taken out Eleanor for them--but the DEA guy was also in it for the glory, so...bad Karma's a bitch.
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Kris117

Kris117

What the hell is Lawyer Lyle going to do for the cleanup?  Oxy-Clean and Pine-Sol isn't gonna get it, this time.

 

Fire seems to be the only solution, or declaring it has "mold" and demolishing the whole thing. As a graduate of the CSI TV school, no matter how much bleach is used, there is still going to be blood in between the floorboards, etc. 

 

I remember in their car scene episodes ago thinking that he seemed to be very parental toward his young mistress ... whom he never actually referred to as his mistress or acted intimate with. I (who do not speak Spanish) wonder if it was just a bad translation when he said, "My love" in that scene and it could have been more like, "my dear (child)."

 

I never thought she was anything but his daughter, but I watch the captions and maybe it was spelled out better there. 

 

ETA any thoughts on why the title of this episode?  That is the name of the creature that Kolchak had to shoot with a blessed crossbow bolt in Nightstalker and that is from Hindu mythology right?  It appears to you as the person you trust the most.  Were they referring to Eleanore betraying Fausto,  Charlotte betraying Eleanore, Clio guy betraying Fausto etc?  Any other ideas?

 

Wikipedia mentions that in some versions of the myth, Rakshasa are cannibals, so your explanation makes sense to me. 

 

I guess this means Eleanor and Cesar can continue their vampire erotica book club.

 

That needs to be her thread title. 

 

I didn't see when Hank got hit—I should rewatch on OnDemand. I did notice how professional he was in comparison to the bozos who broke into the room spraying it with automatic bullets, and not even trying to aim. Hank focuses on on, gets off two body shots, then the other, and takes him down with two body shots. It was pretty awesome.

 

I just have to laugh at dumb old Ray missing out on all the danger. I got the feeling that Eleanor felt a bit of kinship with Charlotte, allied with the big dumb bunny against a cartel, so her intention was to give Charlotte a way out. However, because Charlotte talked to the feds, Ray is still among the living. Who knows what he'll do now.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

I just have to laugh at dumb old Ray missing out on all the danger. I got the feeling that Eleanor felt a bit of kinship with Charlotte, allied with the big dumb bunny against a cartel, so her intention was to give Charlotte a way out. However, because Charlotte talked to the feds, Ray is still among the living. Who knows what he'll do now.

That's how I saw it too.

Ray and Frye should get together, go on the road, and be a comedy spin off.

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Guest

Guest

The Chopper was kind of a joke.  I know nothing about killing people but I sure as hell wouldn't announce myself with a hello in a cop's apt., bend over within kicking distance, carry my victim out the door over my shoulder in full view of the street, fondle her in the parking lot with the van door open, drive her alive to the desert where I told my buddy I'd be, dig a ginormous rectangular hole at noon and let her run free while I did it.  And I'd tell my victim to pee his goddamn pants.  Though we wouldn't be discussing peeing arrangements because he'd be dead before he saw me.  

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Haleth

Haleth

dig a ginormous rectangular hole

 

In the Only on TV thread I mentioned that it was a pet peeve of mine that when a character digs a hole to bury a body it is always a perfect rectangle.  Neatness counts I guess.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

In the Only on TV thread I mentioned that it was a pet peeve of mine that when a character digs a hole to bury a body it is always a perfect rectangle.  Neatness counts I guess.

Even though I read your post on that thread, I didn't even notice the squared-off corners in this episode until reading your post here. I guess that is a testament to how many of those holes I've seen over the years on TV.

There must be some excavation businesses specializing in grave digging that always do it that way--but wouldn't the directors, props guys, or someone suggest they get a somebody with a shovel in there to make it less geometric?

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pelicanlover

pelicanlover

I have been wondering if Eleanor could be a CIA mole.  I know that sounds crazy on the face of it and she is surely a stone cold killer, but she has also successfully infiltrated both Fausto's operation and Cerisola's.  She also has gotten a lot of information about banks and businesses in the US who are complicit with the drug trade.  Further, she clearly wanted to expose the DEA spy, which is consistent with how the CIA/DEA rivalry is being set up in the series.  If she is feeding information on both criminal organizations back to the CIA, it would explain a lot, including the fortuitious appearance of the Marinas, which, I'm convinced, are allied with the CIA.  Just a thought.  Feel free to shoot it down, so to speak.  :-)

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MDKNIGHT

MDKNIGHT

 

 

I believed Eleanor. I think that as long as you keep your word to her (i.e., do what she asks), she'll keep hers to you.

But IIRC the teenager held up his end and she shanked him.  Also IIRC before she shanked him she said something like "you'll see the light."  So when she said Charlote would be "free" I just figured she meant "free of your earthly concerns."  I don't see Eleanore as leaving a loose end.  You either serve a purpose for Eleanore or your dead.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

But IIRC the teenager held up his end and she shanked him.

Yes, but I understood that to be because he wanted to have sex with her. I believe that being repeatedly raped by her father caused her to see all male sex partners as worthy of death. I thought she saw Charlotte as someone like herself who had sex with men in order to survive. Charlotte did do that to some degree, but I think she only did it when it was on her own terms and acceptable to her too.
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Catherinewriter

Catherinewriter

The grave was just ridiculous. Why did it have to be so deep, out in the desert? Not like anyone's going to happen upon it if it's only three feet down. And so long. If you're burying a murdered body, you can double it up, for heaven's sake. However, the time it took to dig the grave gave Sonya time to run away and Marco time to get to hr.

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Dowel Jones

Dowel Jones

-but wouldn't the directors, props guys, or someone suggest they get a somebody with a shovel in there to make it less geometric?

 

If TPTB made them actually go out and dig a grave-like hole in the desert sun for realism, you bet they would.

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dubbel zout

dubbel zout

(edited)

For me, the difference is that Charlotte sort of came with the situation. The boys came across Eleanor by accident, and she had to deal with them on the spur of the moment. And there's the whole male-female-dynamic thing, which shapeshifter so nicely mentioned.

Edited by dubbel zout
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crimsongrl

crimsongrl

When Marco & Sonya were leaving the desert weren't there other covered graves in the area? So The Chopper had a special place which helps explain how Marco knew where to search.

The covered graves scene would then be similar to the one last season in Juarez with all the missing girls.

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kimberella

kimberella

I think the shootout scene is a different one from the crime scene in the first episode. I don't think the latter was a flashforward, it was the crime that started the current investigation. Or maybe I'm just confused.

 

I'm not sorry to see Charlotte go. I like the actress and the character had some good moments, but this season she became completely pointless. I won't miss her.

 

I would miss Hank terribly though, so they'd better not kill him off. I love him too much. Eleanor, Fausto and his sidekick, and Cesar are also my favorites (sorry, Marco and Sonya).

 

Speaking of Marco and Sonya... What an annoying waste of time her kidnapping was! Badly written from beginning to end. Are there no women among the showrunners this season? They're giving Kruger's fine ass more protagonism than Sonya. What the hell?

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Neurochick

Neurochick

I laughed at the real strange product placement in this episode.  Eleanor was using a blue HTC phone (and she made sure her fingers weren't on the logo) also one of Fausto's men made sure to lift the cereal out of the bag, so we could all see it was Raisin Bran.

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MDKNIGHT

MDKNIGHT

Is there some writing trope that mob bosses are constipated because this is the third time I've seen scenes with mob bosses in the bathroom having trouble and the Raisin Bran I think was supposed to remind us that Fausto has trouble going. 

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miles2go

miles2go

Is there some writing trope that mob bosses are constipated because this is the third time I've seen scenes with mob bosses in the bathroom having trouble and the Raisin Bran I think was supposed to remind us that Fausto has trouble going. 

Well, it makes sense when you think about it.  Mob bosses probably don't have time for a proper diet, just catching a bite to eat between ordering mass killings.  Also, they don't get much exercise outside of shooting people, and occasionally running from the feds.  Not really a healthy lifestyle.

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Guest

Guest

Is there some writing trope that mob bosses are constipated because this is the third time I've seen scenes with mob bosses in the bathroom having trouble and the Raisin Bran I think was supposed to remind us that Fausto has trouble going. 

 

I think the references to the thugs' physical problems (constipation, foot powder, orthotics) are done in humor, and partly sort of like how Tony Soprano was done in shades of gray-- a ruthless monster, but very human, like the rest of us.  It underscores how things aren't so black & white, like Sonya would prefer them to be.

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tomorrowgirl

tomorrowgirl

I'm surprised that Eleanor didn't search Charlotte's purse or clothing to make sure she didn't have a phone with her, before Charlotte went upstairs to use the bathroom.  Even if Eleanor thought that Charlotte was going along with the plans and wouldn't be likely to cause trouble or alert the authorities, that was a careless oversight on her part.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

I'm surprised that Eleanor didn't search Charlotte's purse or clothing to make sure she didn't have a phone with her, before Charlotte went upstairs to use the bathroom.  Even if Eleanor thought that Charlotte was going along with the plans and wouldn't be likely to cause trouble or alert the authorities, that was a careless oversight on her part.

To be fair, Eleanor doesn't watch much TV. Heh.
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Valny

Valny

I hadn't seen this season when it first aired because I got into the series late, but I'd only seen S1.   Got the S2 dvds from the library last week and I am trying to marathon as much as I can before they have to be returned tomorrow night.  But  I just finished this episode a little while ago and I just wanted to say I am enjoying this season a lot. Maybe more than the first. I think I had heard S2 was not all that great but I am loving what I've seen. It took me an episode to get into the flow again but after that, I was quite enjoying it.  Is it me or has this season been hella more violent than S1? Holy crap.... It's crazytown, but that's ok with me.

 

I like the Eleanor character, she is one crazy beotch. You never know what's she's gonna do...also like the way the actress plays her too. Something really different in terms of a female baddie. 

 

I was spoiled that Charlotte dies, but I just didn't know when, but yeah, this was her last ep.   I forget what happened to her nice house and land she had after her husband die. She kept it for awhile and then what happened?  I know there was that one ep where he boyfriend tells her to pack a bag and get out because of something with the drugs....was she in the house then?

 

Oh, does Adrianna ever mentioned or care about her poor stabbed girlfriend anymore?

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