S6.E11: No One Left Behind

[Xeliou66]

Here’s the thread for tonight’s episode.

[susannot]

My TV cut out with about 10 minutes left in the episode to cover a local tornado warning.  What happened at the end?

[shapeshifter]

From IMDb:

Quote

The team is thrown into a highly political case that hits close to home for OA after several Taliban members are shot and kidnapped with no record of their entrance to the country.

 

**********************

 

10 minutes ago, susannot said:

My TV cut out with about 10 minutes left in the episode to cover a local tornado warning.  What happened at the end?

What was the last thing you recall?

Tomorrow you can rewatch on CBS.com

 

 

Edited May 8 by shapeshifter

[susannot]

Two guys getting off the plane and demanding to see Zaheed.

[Xeliou66]

4 minutes ago, susannot said:

My TV cut out with about 10 minutes left in the episode to cover a local tornado warning.  What happened at the end?

The agents had a shootout to rescue the POW after word got out that the Taliban leader was killed - Isobel tried to trick them with a deepfake video of the leader but the media got wind of the story and a shootout ensued - the POW was saved while the captors were shot, OA went to the hospital and checked in with the POW and told him about his dad and his military friends being arrested for their role in the murders, then OA went home and talked to his girlfriend about his time in the military and how he was once captured in Afghanistan along with a friend who didn’t make it.

This was a strong episode, it was a really compelling case with good twists - I couldn’t tell where it was going at the start, it was a gripping episode. OA had good scenes and Isobel and Jubal were good as well, I liked seeing them each get an interrogation. I liked seeing the actress who played the Secretary of State, she’s been in several episodes of the L&O franchise and was immediately recognizable, and I liked how she had a bit more depth instead of just being an obstructionist bureaucrat. 
A situation like this would cause an international incident and there would be blowback from the people in Afghanistan for a Taliban leader being killed by American vigilantes, while I understood why the perps were desperate, especially the dad, what they did would cause more harm in the future, something which they didn’t think about, it’s why vigilantism and going rogue isn’t okay. It would be interesting if the show followed up on that in a future episode because the followers of this leader would no doubt seek retaliation against Americans for what happened, but I doubt we’ll hear about it again since this show doesn’t come back to prior cases much. But there is a lot of interesting stuff to explore with this story. 
It was a good case for OA to take center stage and I didn’t even really miss Maggie because the others all had good roles. They said Maggie took Ella to her grandparents in Ohio, it made me wonder why aren’t the grandparents the ones taking custody of Ella, they would be her legal guardians it seems, not Maggie. Oh well the personal stuff isn’t all that big of a deal to me anyway.

A very intriguing case and a solid story.

[susannot]

Thank you for that very complete explanation! Now I won't have to re-watch the show tomorrow.  Also missing FBI International as TV continues to cover our impending doom from a line of tornados.

[MerBearHou]

21 minutes ago, susannot said:

Thank you for that very complete explanation! Now I won't have to re-watch the show tomorrow.  Also missing FBI International as TV continues to cover our impending doom from a line of tornados.

Stay safe!  Crazy crazy weather going on.  

[meira.hand]

11 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I liked seeing the actress who played the Secretary of State, she’s been in several episodes of the L&O franchise and was immediately recognizable, and I liked how she had a bit more depth instead of just being an obstructionist bureaucrat. 

This is Kate Burton (daughter of Richard Burton) and has good experience in playing authority figures with complexity (e.g the vice president in 7 seasons of Scandal).

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, meira.hand said:

This is Kate Burton (daughter of Richard Burton) and has good experience in playing authority figures with complexity (e.g the vice president in 7 seasons of Scandal).

Even though I did not watch Scandal, I recognized her from a lot of other shows (imdb.com/name/nm0123632) but never before knew she was Richard Burton's daughter — which is cool because yes, she does convey authority and depth, even with minimal screen time.

 

[preeya]

54 minutes ago, meira.hand said:

This is Kate Burton (daughter of Richard Burton) and has good experience in playing authority figures with complexity (e.g the vice president in 7 seasons of Scandal).

She also played "Ellis Grey" mother to Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy and a myriad of other roles.

Edited May 8 by preeya

[MerBearHou]

From my recollections of Kate Burton, she always plays "stern" very well.  She was also on Madam Secretary as the very disgruntled sister of Henry McCord.  

[ECM1231]

Wow, I had NO idea that Kate was Richard Burton's daughter. Was she from his 1st marriage, or is she Elizabeth's daughter, too?

[shapeshifter]

52 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Wow, I had NO idea that Kate was Richard Burton's daughter. Was she from his 1st marriage, or is she Elizabeth's daughter, too?

Stepdaughter of Elizabeth Taylor: wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Burton_(actress)

 

Zeeko Zaki delivered the best line of the series IMO, near the end:

• [OA] I've got some bad news.
• [RESCUED POW] What do you mean?
• [OA] Your father, Major Kim, and Brian Muller have all been arrested. And Gregory Weeks is dead.
• [RESCUED POW] I don't understand. What did they do?
• [OA] They, um...
  They sacrificed it all... For you.

[mythoughtis]

I still find the OA and Genna?  Relationship boring and unrealistic,   He is absolutely  lifeless around her.   When we last saw them they’d been dating three weeks, now they are living together.  But they act like they hardly know each other.   

[preeya]

5 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

I still find the OA and Genna?  Relationship boring and unrealistic,   He is absolutely  lifeless around her.   When we last saw them they’d been dating three weeks, now they are living together.  But they act like they hardly know each other.   

No personality whatsoever. He walks & talks robotically. However, my biggest problem with him is that he has disobeyed direct orders in multiple episodes and is never brought to task about them.

[Netfoot]

If the camera is taped, untape it. If someone throws a grenade, kick it back. 

I think it's been coming for a while now, but I'm thinking I really dislike OA. He is a self-important, bombastic prick. Just in case he ever arrests me, I am going to get one of those little devices that you press a button and a canned phrase comes out. Mine will say "G F Y. (Hi, Bob!)"

[Snazzy Daisy]

Kate Burton as politician Evelyn Kates is perfect casting. 👍🏻

So, US Govt is doing business with the Taliban to gain more control of the rare earths. Global mineral rights is a rare subject in procedurals.

I couldn’t hate Major Alex Kim, Sgt. Brian Muller and Sgt. Gregory Weeks for what they did to rescue Sgt. James Garrett.

“They sacrificed it all, for you.”

It’s thoughtful of OA to go and visit James to deliver the bad news. People who love him have given up everything just to get him home. 😢

Some questions…

Q1 - Why are OA/Gemma still together??!

Q2 - If Ella has grandparents, then why her custody goes to Maggie, an old friend of her mom? It doesn’t make sense.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Q2 - If Ella has grandparents, then why her custody goes to Maggie, an old friend of her mom? It doesn’t make sense.

I can imagine the grandparents having not been able to physically handle a baby, toddler, or even a rambunctious elementary school age child at the time an emergency guardian was listed, but that those grandparents are now able to handle the relatively compliant, self-sufficient little girl we saw in the show. 

And maybe Maggie wasn't yet in the field when the choice was made? (I don't know the timeline)

Or maybe it was presumed to be for temporary situations and that if something serious came up (less quickly than it did) the grandparents would be written in? 
Is it difficult to legally specify person A unless X happens and then person B? 
I know the care facility regularly screwed up who they called for my Mom.

Regardless, thank goodness the writers decided not to have Maggie worrying about a kid while running after heavily armed terrorists and other assorted bad guys.

Edited May 9 by shapeshifter

[Dowel Jones]

I felt sorry for the poor patient in the other room at the dentist's office.  3 hours later....  😀

Someone please explain to me why the FBI uses a SWAT team for every entry down to a bicycle thief but sends only three agents in down jackets to a large warehouse to find the kidnap victim.

"A dentist who keeps his own mouth shut."  Heh.  You go, Jubal.

Considering the amount of money Doc spent on effecting this kidnapping, wouldn't a simple bribe to the Taliban be more efficient?

I wonder who leaked the news of the Taliban leader's death?  Only the FBI, the NYPD, and the kidnappers were there.  That bears some investigation.  And the blowback from this is going to be severe.  The kidnappers are most likely to spill the beans, and there's no way the administration can talk their way out of a secret meeting with a sworn enemy of the US, especially when it deals with mineral exploitation.  

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

"A dentist who keeps his own mouth shut."  Heh.  You go, Jubal.

Thank you! I had meant to quote this line when it was available:

• "All right, so apparently, irony is not dead.
  We have a dentist who won't open his mouth."

More of this, please.
And what a great example of how to use "irony" correctly.

 

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Considering the amount of money Doc spent on effecting this kidnapping, wouldn't a simple bribe to the Taliban be more efficient?

The convoluted plan actually might make sense, because a simple bribe is more like funding the kidnappers to do more kidnapping. Plus, it probably is more damning if found out?

 

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I wonder who leaked the news of the Taliban leader's death?  Only the FBI, the NYPD, and the kidnappers were there.

It's probably 50/50 as to whether or not this comes up in the future. 
It would be terrific if it means a return to the show in an expanded role of Kate Burton as Department Secretary of State Evelyn Kates.

Edited May 9 by shapeshifter

[jmonique]

On 5/8/2024 at 8:38 PM, Netfoot said:

I think it's been coming for a while now, but I'm thinking I really dislike OA. He is a self-important, bombastic prick. Just in case he ever arrests me, I am going to get one of those little devices that you press a button and a canned phrase comes out. Mine will say "G F Y. (Hi, Bob!)"

I just binged the whole series and OMG, how has Isobel not fired these jackasses 1,000 times over? The only one who can put aside personal BS and still do the job is Scola. Tiffany and especially OA and Maggie are useless, pig-headed and arrogant AF whenever they think they're right.

How does OA still have a job after going against the orders of his boss and the Secretary of State of the United States of America? We get it, he was in the Army, but he's been doing this job way too long to act like he doesn't know people can be bad. Even military people.

And finally, this is some impressive anti-chemistry OA and Gemma have. It's like watching 2 bricks try to spark.

[Netfoot]

1 minute ago, jmonique said:

Tiffany and especially OA and Maggie are useless, pig-headed and arrogant AF whenever they think they're right.

I agree with this. OA does whatever he wants and justifies it by being pig headed. Nobody understands his reality. So he can ignore any instructions that don't suit him. The awful relationship must be an attempt by the writers to humanize him but it isn't working. I wonder if he is simply a very poor actor?

Tiffany similarly knows better than anybody. She was a NYC cop! Obviously nobody who wasn't a NYC cop can possibly expect to criticize her.

Maggie is one of those people who can be counted on to make the wrong decision. If you are unsure of what steps you should take next, just ask yourself WWMD? And do the opposite.

I keep asking myself why I return to watch more of this crap every week. The weekly cases are just more and more international terrorists, nuclear bombers, white supremacists, every week. Nobody in the office knows what to do, so they have to employ Jubal to tell them. Over and over again. Week after week.

It's all rubbish.

[Dowel Jones]

I salve my conscience by watching the other non-speaking operatives in the JOC and imagine they're talking baseball or playing Call of Duty on the computers.

[meet trouble]

On 5/8/2024 at 8:27 PM, mythoughtis said:

I still find the OA and Genna?  Relationship boring and unrealistic,   He is absolutely  lifeless around her.   When we last saw them they’d been dating three weeks, now they are living together.  But they act like they hardly know each other.   

I clearly missed some... developments(?) when I was on vacation and temporarily took this off my dvr, because I thought they broke up.

On 5/8/2024 at 11:57 PM, Snazzy Daisy said:

Kate Burton as politician Evelyn Kates is perfect casting. 👍🏻

 

Q2 - If Ella has grandparents, then why her custody goes to Maggie, an old friend of her mom? It doesn’t make sense.

I remember Kate Burton as Aunt Marie on Grimm. They are welcome to bring her back here a lot more!

Maybe Maggie was taking Ella to live with her grandparents? Because, yeah, running into an old friend on a job, becoming a temporary guardian because said friend is having emergency surgery, then somehow, being named that child's guardian... makes no sense.

15 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I salve my conscience by watching the other non-speaking operatives in the JOC and imagine they're talking baseball or playing Call of Duty on the computers.

"That man is playing Galaga!"

I spend a lot of time watching the worker bees too. I've been thinking about turning it into a drinking game.