S6.E4 Creating a Monster

[EtheltoTillie]

When a federal judge is gunned down in broad daylight, the team is sent looking for a suspect with ties to a local Islamic center. Aired 3/12/24

I didn’t mind this episode but OA should have turned in that insane undercover agent after the first shooting. How does he explain that?  

[Xeliou66]

This was a good storyline - one of the better OA centric episodes. I liked the investigation into and taking down the terror cell. That being said Hassan was a complete idiot - I was glad he was facing repercussions at the end, and I think he should be charged with negligence in the judge’s death, he basically manipulated the shooter into committing his crimes - if it wasn’t for Hassan the shooter might not have turned out that way - he was a terrible agent and I hope at the very least he loses his job. And yeah OA should’ve reported Hassan for not telling them he knew the shooter - I think Hassan was just trying to cover his own ass by not coming forward. 
Not enough of Jubal in the command room, and Scola/Tiffany didn’t even enter the picture until about 20 minutes in. So it’s surprising I liked this episode as much as I did, given that I prefer episodes that are more of a team effort where this one was almost all Maggie/OA. But it was a strong case that was gripping from start to finish - this show is consistently solid and enjoyable, and it helps that I like all of the characters a lot.    
I was glad they briefly followed up with OA and Gemma after what happened last episode - I think that relationship is about to bite the dust, Gemma’s friend Kate was epically stupid and got herself killed by running back to her scumbag murderer boyfriend. 

[Dowel Jones]

I thought that Hassan was going to buy a red shirt when he walked into that shop to meet the Saudi banker, heh.  Agreed that he totally screwed up but that falls on the FBI, too.  You don't throw agents into a tight knit and possibly dangerous undercover atmosphere without some training on how to conduct yourself, and nobody gets to wing it.  He should have been talking to his handlers at Counterintelligence every step of the way.  All that being said, I did get a kick out of the slowest foot chase yet on this show.

Can you really pick up fingerprints underneath other fingerprints?

If they need a full SWAT team to enter that apartment, but just OA and Maggie to go to the restaurant, even though the guy is still dangerous.  Wouldn't the W-2 have an address on it?

 

[preeya]

Wasn't the actor that played Hassan the super intelligent guy on "Scorpian?" If so, he should have brought some of those smarts to this role.

[shapeshifter]

22 minutes ago, preeya said:

Wasn't the actor that played Hassan the super intelligent guy on "Scorpian?" If so, he should have brought some of those smarts to this role.

Yes, that was Elyes Gabel, the lead actor on Scorpion (2014-2018). 
Instead he brought the socially-awkward skills.

[Snazzy Daisy]

We have 2 very capable guest stars in this episode - Charlotte Sullivan and Elyes Gabel. One has been given a compelling material to work with and the other one is evidently underused. What’s the point of casting a well known actress to play such an insignificant role?

Hey Gemma, f*ck off! You’re so boring. 😴

Maggie is obviously lying when she says OA is reasonably handsome. 😆

 

Edited March 13 by Snazzy Daisy

[EtheltoTillie]

2 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

 

Maggie is obviously lying when she says OA is reasonably handsome. 😆

I'm sorry, but I"m not sure which way you are being sarcastic.  Please help LOL. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Maggie is obviously lying when she says OA is reasonably handsome. 😆

28 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm sorry, but I"m not sure which way you are being sarcastic.  Please help LOL. 

Pretty sure @Snazzy Daisy finds OA/Zeeko Zaki a lot hotter than "reasonably handsome." LOL
I couldn't tell if Maggie does too or not.
But even if Maggie does think OA is much more than "reasonably handsome," she not only wouldn't say so because it would be inappropriate, but also because beauty really is "in the eye of the beholder," and OA had asked Maggie how she would describe him to someone else.

Of course, OA was thinking Maggie would use descriptors such as Arab or Muslim because she's FBI (and American) and might think that's relevant information. 

But Maggie did not go there, at least in part because she knew that's how OA was thinking he'd be described, and Maggie was mostly trying to affirm to OA that he is much more than his religion or ethnic background.

IDK. It's a complicated topic that would have been very different 40 years ago when it might have been cool to be a tall, dark, and handsome Arabic man.

So maybe Maggie's "reasonably handsome" was a standin for not being able to describe someone accurately at all by using subjective adjectives or categories?

 

Edited March 13 by shapeshifter

[EtheltoTillie]

20 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Pretty sure @Snazzy Daisy finds OA/Zeeko Zaki a lot hotter than "reasonably handsome." LOL
I couldn't tell if Maggie does too or not.
But even if Maggie does think OA is much more than "reasonably handsome," she not only wouldn't say so because it would be inappropriate, but also because beauty really is "in the eye of the beholder," and OA had asked Maggie how she would describe him to someone else.

Of course, OA was thinking Maggie would use descriptors such as Arab or Muslim because she's FBI (and American) and might think that's relevant information. 

But Maggie did not go there, at least in part because she knew that's how OA was thinking he'd be described, and Maggie was mostly trying to affirm to OA that he is much more than his religion or ethnic background.

IDK. It's a complicated topic that would have been very different 40 years ago when it might have been cool to be a tall, dark, and handsome Arabic man.

So maybe Maggie's "reasonably handsome" was a standin for not being able to describe someone accurately at all by using subjective adjectives or categories?

 

I agree with your analysis, Shapeshifter.  I think Maggie thinks he's handsome.  He was testing her for that Muslim thing after his interaction with that heinous undercover agent.  OA should not get a pass for his improper behavior. 

[shapeshifter]

16 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

OA should not get a pass for his improper behavior. 

You mean for agreeing to not insist that their superiors needed to know what Hassan had done to recruit the young guy?

[EtheltoTillie]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

You mean for agreeing to not insist that their superiors needed to know what Hassan had done to recruit the young guy?

Yes, he should have turned him in right away. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

43 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Pretty sure @Snazzy Daisy finds OA/Zeeko Zaki a lot hotter than "reasonably handsome." LOL

NOPE. For me, the hottest guy in FBI universe is SSA Scott Forrester. OA isn’t even in my top 3. 😝

 

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm sorry, but I"m not sure which way you are being sarcastic.  Please help LOL. 

Hahaha…🤣

Maggie obviously finds OA attractive. Her fondness is real - the shoulder touch and her lingering smile…

[EtheltoTillie]

1 minute ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

NOPE. For me, the hottest guy in FBI universe is SSA Scott Forrester. OA isn’t even in my top 3. 😝

 

OH, I had to look that up.  I don't watch that show.  He is good looking . . .

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Yes, he should have turned him in right away. 

If OA had reported Hassan, and Hassan had been off the case, I wonder if the young man's life might have been saved and he might have been deprogrammed, so to speak. 
Or maybe the young man would have killed OA?
Probably not, because the situation would have been so different? IDK. 🤷🏻‍♀️

But based upon what we see on these FBI shows, likely the young man's only way out of life in prison for shooting the DA(?) would have been to agree to work undercover for the FBI (or maybe the CIA!), and that would have likely not gone well, especially given how young he was. 

I guess this was a no-win situation by the time our FBI team go involved.

[GiandujaPie]

Something happened with my DVR and so I missed the previous episode and I had no idea who Gemma was and what she and OA were talking about. Did that happen to anyone else? 

As for this episode, I kept thinking that we were going to find out Hassan was a double agent, not that he was just incompetent. 

[Johannah]

On 3/13/2024 at 2:19 PM, Snazzy Daisy said:

We have 2 very capable guest stars in this episode - Charlotte Sullivan and Elyes Gabel. One has been given a compelling material to work with and the other one is evidently underused. What’s the point of casting a well known actress to play such an insignificant role?

Hey Gemma, f*ck off! You’re so boring. 😴

Maggie is obviously lying when she says OA is reasonably handsome. 😆

 

I don't know how well known she is.  I've never heard of her.  What character did she play?  The Scorpion guy's handler?  She didn't look familiar to me.

Agree about Gemma.  She is too bland for OA.

[mythoughtis]

OA’s question to Gemma was reasonable.  Her friend was killed because she went back to a criminal after participating in a sting. After she was caught selling drugs outside  of a club that she had arrived at with Gemma.  OA and Gemma had only been dating a few weeks. He doesn’t know her all that well yet   If I were in his position, I would have asked the question.   She could have just answered it with a resounding No.  instead she avoided answering the question along with kicking him out.