Season 01

[Rambler]

On 10/17/2018 at 8:04 PM, HurricaneVal said:

I do love Sela Ward, and I think her character is intriguing...but there was something about how she would narrow her eyes and eagerly lean towards the monitor when something awful was happening that kind of creeped me out.  Almost like her character was getting off on the awfulness.  Which...is an intriguing character trait!  I wonder if it is on purpose with a deep meaning, or just an accidental bit of acting business?

It appears that Sela Ward's plastic surgery has left her with a faint perpetual smile. I think that makes her scenes where she's called upon to be super serious feel slightly off-kilter. That is in contrast with Missy Peregrym who seems to walk around with permanent frowny face, thus making them the yin and yang of FBI agents, if you will.

[Waterston Fan]

5 hours ago, Rambler said:

It appears that Sela Ward's plastic surgery has left her with a faint perpetual smile. I think that makes her scenes where she's called upon to be super serious feel slightly off-kilter. That is in contrast with Missy Peregrym who seems to walk around with permanent frowny face, thus making them the yin and yang of FBI agents, if you will.

Didn't know she had plastic surgery. 

[TV Anonymous]

On 10/10/2018 at 9:11 AM, preeya said:

Every FBI show that I have ever watched, they are notorious for letting perps get away in vehicles. This one is no different.

SHOOT OUT THE DAMN TIRES.

Actually, that is one of the TV tropes that is also my pet peeve. While it looks cool in the movies or TV but shooting the tires of a moving passenger vehicle is a virtually impossible shot. The target is a very narrow strip of tire wall - even narrower if one uses low-profile - and it is moving, many times not in constant speed and direction. So Dick Wolf's shows are somewhat tied to reality, I would appreciate their not adding fantasy aspect in the action.

[Raja]

I see that they are following the Law & Order tradition of casting actors who seem way too old for their military rank and service history given. Even if he enlisted at 35 to be a Corporal and that old means he probably wasn't allowed to stay in. And being a 35 year old Ranger Private 10 years ago, is highly unlikely.

[WendyCR72]

I don't know if it was the nuclear stuff, but this one bored me. So much so, I left it on in the background while doing other things. Always next week, I guess!

[Dowel Jones]

OA came off this week as having a serious stick up his butt.  "Everything the government does is legitimate.  There is no need to question authority.  Obey and forget."

[Xeliou66]

This was an enjoyable episode, very good suspense the whole way through and an interesting case. I liked the tension between Maggie and OA in this one, this was the first time we had seen tension between the main characters on the show and it was a nice change of pace, OA did irritate me with his “government can do wrong” attitude although he was sort of conflicted by the end.

My only problem with the episode was that the bad guy confessed too easily, I thought he would smell the set up and that they would have the conversation in a more private area. 

Not nearly enough of Jubal in this one, he’s seriously underused. 

[JackONeill]

So, are they setting this up to be Maggie, who does what needs to be done to solve the case, versus OA, who thinks everyone has rights and those rights/thoughts/beliefs shouldn’t be trampled upon???

I still wonder if Maggie and OA like one another. I missed a little of the premier episode—have these two been working together awhile, or just now formed a team?

i don’t know why but whenever they’re in the bullpen, I keep expecting to see Emily Prentiss and Dave Rossi walk by in the background. And maybe one day Maggie and OA will ride up in the elevator with Bone and Booth, and they’ll see what a real team is like. 

[Xantar]

8 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

My only problem with the episode was that the bad guy confessed too easily, I thought he would smell the set up and that they would have the conversation in a more private area. 

Not nearly enough of Jubal in this one, he’s seriously underused. 

I didn't understand why the bad guy confessed at all. He was in the middle of a public space with at least four other people who could hear him. Even if he didn't know he was being recorded, why would he declare out loud that he had committed murder?

I really like Jubal's actor, but he doesn't do anything on this show besides shout a lot. There's just nothing for him to work with.

Seeing Haddi Tabal made me sad because I really liked The Brave and I miss it.

The disagreement between Maggie and OA was just....kind of there? It came out of nowhere for me. It would have been much more interesting if OA had taken the side of the whistleblower, and I think it would have been much more in character, too. If there's anybody who understands that the government can screw up, it's a Muslim in post-9/11 America.

[Xeliou66]

On 10/18/2018 at 11:36 AM, Xantar said:

I started laughing when the overhead shot zoomed out and some stragglers decided to run right next to the dead bodies who had just been expertly shot.

Then I groaned because seriously? Another mass casualty event? The real United States doesn't experience this many terrorism incidents in a year, let alone having all of that happen in one city within a span of one month. This show is just way too grim to be escapism, and it's not saying anything meaningful about the characters or about the world. If a show is going to be this relentlessly grim, it better be Game of Thrones. And even that show has funny moments.

I agree about the mass casualty cases, 3 of the first 5 have been that and it’s getting absurd, having a slew of mass casualty cases in the NY area is quickly getting tiresome, there’s so much more the show can deal with and by far the strongest episode was episode 3 which dealt with human trafficking and not a mass casualty terrorism case, it was much more realistic and entertaining. 

However I am enjoying the show because I like all of the characters, they gel very well together and have nice chemistry, and I like the entirely case focused, fast paced nature of the show.

[catrice2]

Nice to see I was not the only one bored. I want to give this shows shot I really do but so far it's just not grabbing me

[dargosmydaddy]

4 hours ago, Xantar said:

Seeing Haddi Tabal made me sad because I really liked The Brave and I miss it.

So much! I tuned in for only the last five minutes of this, and was like, "Amir!!!" <3

[weathered1]

1 hour ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So much! I tuned in for only the last five minutes of this, and was like, "Amir!!!" <3

Same here. I miss The Brave so much. Sigh.

As for this show, at least Missy eked out a teeny, tiny bit of emotion, so that was a nice change of pace. 

I agree with basically every comment on this thread, and I think the overall problem is that the writers aren't really developing the characters individually or as a team. We don't have background info as to how new this partnership is with OA and Maggie, so that argument did seem to come out of nowhere and didn't play organically at all (at least to me), and his utter unwillingness to even consider a point of view different from his own about the issue(s) until the very end was at least borderline irritating, though he remains my favorite character. 

I continue to not understand how a show has Jeremy Sisto and Sela Ward in the main cast, yet doesn't do anything with them. At all. That just doesn't make any sense at all. So the bottom line seems to be that the cast is mostly comprised of skilled, charismatic actors (with Missy being the weakest link, imo), but the writers don't seem to have a clue what to do with them, at least not yet. Here's hoping that changes sooner rather than later.

[CheshireCat]

On ‎11‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 11:18 PM, Emma9 said:

Furthermore, as the daughter of an American citizen, why did she need a visa?

The girls were US citizens but they didn't automatically get a passport. And I don't think that a passport lists dual citizenship but I'm not sure. But if it doesn't then no one would have known that they are dual citizens when they applied for a visa. However, they would have known, so why didn't they apply for a passport? Maybe the traffickers got them the visas?

[illdoc]

17 hours ago, weathered1 said:

I continue to not understand how a show has Jeremy Sisto and Sela Ward in the main cast, yet doesn't do anything with them

I don't even remember Sela being in this particular episode!

[Waterston Fan]

I thought this episode was okay and I do agree with those who thought Miller confessed too easily and it would never happen in real life the way they did that. 

Who did Haddi play? Miller or Fletcher? 

I wish Sisto and Ward's characters were in a bit more though. 

[WendyCR72]

5 hours ago, illdoc said:

I don't even remember Sela being in this particular episode!

I saw her - for around five seconds.

[mxc90]

On 10/24/2018 at 4:13 PM, icemiser69 said:

Good thing I dvr'd it.  I fell asleep twice trying to watch this episode.  I finally got through it.

I made two attempts too. Finally crossed the finish line today.

[Accidental Martyr]

I generally like Jeremy Sisto, but I find his character annoying.

[WendyCR72]

42 minutes ago, Accidental Martyr said:

I generally like Jeremy Sisto, but I find his character annoying.

Maybe if they gave him something, anything else to do but literally SCREAM! each episode, that could be fixed.

[CheshireCat]

On ‎15‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 2:35 PM, Waterston Fan said:

Who is worse though, Haas or Eid? 

That depends on your priorities: Eid doesn't seem to have a clue about characters and he doesn't seem to care and just do what he wants. Haas simply seems to lack creativity as seasons seem to resemble one another overall. I'd take Haas over Eid any day!

[CheshireCat]

On ‎16‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 10:53 PM, JackONeill said:

And, at least based on the last few episodes, it seems as though the Sela Ward character is letting/allowing/encouraging  Maggie to take “the leadership” role in her partnership with OA.

I assumed that Maggie was the Senior agent since her partner was in the military. They appear to be around the same age so if Maggie went to the FBI academy straight after college, she would have been with the FBI longer.

 

On ‎16‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 10:04 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Well, based on this one, I am guessing that Dick Wolf and his team are still ripping cases from the headlines, even as this one seems old.

Doesn't every cop/law enforcement show do at least one sniper episode? Just like they're also all doing one human trafficking episode?

 

On ‎17‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 2:22 PM, icemiser69 said:

That very sniper that OA promised to protect from being killed.  

That was not Maggie's problem. OA should never have made a promise like that to begin with or, at the very least, he should have known/expected that this is a promise he may not be able to keep.

 

On ‎17‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 10:47 PM, Mikita said:

I watched in disbelief when the first two victims were shot in the head. Everyone and I mean everyone was jogging to safety! Sorry, but when gunfire rings out, people sprint like they have never sprinted before. Then my disbelief continued when three random idiots scooted/jogged by three dead bodies, like they didn't realize that they could still be shot. 

Yes, that bothered me too. The area would have been deserted by then, instead they have this one guy who even runs away from the building. Who would do that? It seemed ridiculous.

 

On ‎17‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 11:04 PM, HurricaneVal said:

I do love Sela Ward, and I think her character is intriguing...but there was something about how she would narrow her eyes and eagerly lean towards the monitor when something awful was happening that kind of creeped me out.  Almost like her character was getting off on the awfulness.  Which...is an intriguing character trait!  I wonder if it is on purpose with a deep meaning, or just an accidental bit of acting business?

I noticed she is wearing glasses, so that might be a habit she picked up before she got them or from when she isn't wearing them. My mom narrows her eyes and leans in when she isn't wearing her glasses.

 

I liked the episode. It seems that they're slowly finding their rhythm. But the sniper stories always scare the hell out of me. You never see it coming and you're totally helpless. Freaks me out.

Anyway, I'm definitely loving the "office crew". Both Maggie and OA seem to have some serious baggage and they seem rather heavy. The office crew seems more easy going and light.

[CheshireCat]

On ‎24‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 1:33 PM, Xantar said:

The disagreement between Maggie and OA was just....kind of there? It came out of nowhere for me. It would have been much more interesting if OA had taken the side of the whistleblower, and I think it would have been much more in character, too. If there's anybody who understands that the government can screw up, it's a Muslim in post-9/11 America.

I think this one was supposed to be about him having been in the army and I can sort of see where he was coming from. If someone leaked a different kind of classified information, it could compromise military operations and/or operatives and it can get people killed. But he had tunnel vision about it and didn't see the other side, until the end. I thought it was very cliché. One partner just had to jump on the "the leaker did it" bandwaggon.

 

On ‎24‎.‎10‎.‎2018 at 10:20 AM, JackONeill said:

I still wonder if Maggie and OA like one another. I missed a little of the premier episode—have these two been working together awhile, or just now formed a team?

I think they're a fairly new team. OA worked undercover for six months and it sounded like he only recently got out and partnered with Maggie.

 

I didn't mind the argument. I'm under the impression that they're still getting to know one another, so I thought it felt sort of natural. Well, aside from the fact that I found OA's point of view a bit forced. From the first time they mentioned the whistleblower you just knew that he was going to jump to conclusions and think that he's guilty.

I appreciated that this episode didn't deal with mass murder. But it was fairly easy to figure out who the bad guys were.

Sela Ward's comment about the 60 mile zone made me laugh. As if radiation stuck to any zone and didn't move any further.

So, we finally know how Maggie's husband died. Too bad they killed him, I think an investigative journalist and an FBI agent could have been an interesting dynamic. And, of course, she didn't pick up when he called her. At least, they didn't also have an argument before he was killed. Just once do I want to have a character say, at least, we had this great conversation before he died or at least, we had this last dinner. The death of a loved one is tragic enough. It doesn't need to be made even more tragic.

[Raja]

5 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I assumed that Maggie was the Senior agent since her partner was in the military. They appear to be around the same age so if Maggie went to the FBI academy straight after college, she would have been with the FBI longer.

 

Right out of grad school to the FBI while OA was on active duty and perhaps working on his advanced degree, plus the language skills which supposed to set the FBI apart from most law enforcement agencies. I don't know if agencies actually work that way. It that seems to be left over from Law & Order with Sergeant Greevy and Detective Logan team where one had actual rank on the other or it is more like Homicide Life On The Street where one takes a lead on a specific case and the others support him while also being the point man on their own assignments?

[Rambler]

Why was the best friend so concerned about the people at the plant losing their jobs due to a bad inspection? It was stated that the plant would be closing in two years so they would be losing their jobs anyway. She would risk a nuclear catastrophe to have people stay in their jobs for a couple more years. I predict a bright future ahead of her under the Trump administration.

[Netfoot]

On 10/25/2018 at 4:21 AM, CheshireCat said:

I don't think that a passport lists dual citizenship but I'm not sure.

As far as I know, a passport can only specify citizenship in the country that issued the passport.

I hold triple citizenship, but none of my passports mention the fact that I am a citizen of any country other than the country of issue.

[dargosmydaddy]

On 10/25/2018 at 5:33 PM, Waterston Fan said:

Who did Haddi play? Miller or Fletcher? 

Like I said, I didn't tune in till the end of the episode, so I didn't catch his character's name. But he was the one who OA rescued, and who seemed to be having a "moment" with Maggie at the end before he was driven away.

[WendyCR72]

Oh, good! Not a mass casualty episode, for once!

After a senator’s daughter is kidnapped and held for ransom, the FBI is called in to assist with finding the little girl before their time limit expires. However, in order to do so, they must dig into the senator’s past for clues to who did this to his family.

[Brookside]

On 10/10/2018 at 9:54 AM, illdoc said:

In fact, one of the FBI agents said "Haley? Doesn't sound Ukrainian" and was told "her mother was American" (at the time, they only knew of the one girl). Weirder was the fact that I couldn't hear an accent from either girl. Having an American name (with an American mother) is one thing, but if you've been living your entire life in the Ukraine, you'd have an accent!

 

On 10/10/2018 at 10:46 AM, threebluestars said:

I thought that was weird too. And all of the "Ukrainian" girls were saying "the Ukraine" too instead of just "Ukraine" which stood out to me.

Plenty of people are completely fluent/bilingual/accentless.

It's quite possible the girls' mother spoke exclusively in English with them.. This would also explain why they called it "The Ukraine", since that's what their mother would have known it as when they were growing up. 

[WendyCR72]

Another Dick Wolf show, another crazy chick named Nicole! I was half expecting Olivia D'Abo's Nicole Wallace to pop up, searching for Goren and Eames. Just me? Okay. (Honestly, did someone named Nicole break Dick's heart back in the day? Nicole Wallace from L&O: Criminal Intent, L&O: Special Victims Unit had a crazy perp in one of its episodes last season or so named Nicole, and now this.)

Missy Peregrym's "Where. IS. SHE?!" near the end was laughably AWFUL. And I'm tired of everyone falling all over her. Frankly, I wish Sela Ward or anyone else was the female lead.

Finally, how timely, all the talk of dirty politics so close to the midterm elections.

All I got!

[catrice2]

 I haven't even watched the episode yet. I don't know about falling all over her I don't even know who she is. Apparently she's some actress that was good in some other role but on this show she's not that great

[solea]

The senator is at home for hours and never once unbuttons his jacket or loosens his tie. *eyeroll*

[Dowel Jones]

New York young'un goes into construction, makes mad money.  Check.  Gets involved with shady business man who does favors for him.  Check.  Goes into politics.  Check.  Has an affair while he is married.  Check.  Has shady friend pay out hush money during the campaign.  Check.  Nothing to see here, folks.  Moving on.

[mxc90]

I was more concerned about where Nathan was going to end up after his mother died than any other character in this boring episode.

[JackONeill]

I know it's been commented on before, but Missy sure dresses like a slob. (Of course, the t-shirt she was wearing probably cost more than my house.) Seriously, I thought the FBI had regulations. I mean, fine, if she were undercover as a babysitter fine, but she wasn't. Another thing (and sorry to harp on Missy), she doesn't seem old enough to be assigned to a senator's case. Then again, it was good that she's not superwoman. Her last kidnapping it sounds went badly. So, she's not perfect. Having said that, shouldn't Sela Ward's character should have known that BEFOREHAND? Seems like she only learned of it half-way through the investigation. 

[LisaM]

My favorite part was when the wife asked about adopting her husband's son. 

I really like Sela Ward and wish she would get more screen time. Not thrilled with the lead character. Ward and Jeremy Sisto should get more screen time.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, LisaM said:

 

I really like Sela Ward and wish she would get more screen time. Not thrilled with the lead character. Ward and Jeremy Sisto should get more screen time.

I really don't know why Jeremy Sisto is in the show, beyond being a Law & Order alum. It reminds me of NCIS LA with an extra boss put on top for no reason other than giving an older actor and a sick actor time off as they split the work load. We have a Special Agent In Charge for the unit but then we have a  second supervisor yelling at one speaking character role and the extras in the office. Maybe if it was more CSI  like with an increased forensics and computer work reoccurring characters at the expense of the field agent duo he would have a function

[rhys]

Seems like Jeremy's yelling was toned down some this episode. Maybe we need a kid in every episode.

[Xeliou66]

Not a bad episode and I’m enjoying the show, but there were some loose ends that needed tying up IMO, such as what exactly Nicole’s role in the plot was and why she killed herself, and who exactly were the guys at the end. Also, give us more of Jubal, he’s severely underused!! I like all of the characters a lot and they have good chemistry together.

[rove4]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 10:24 AM, TV Anonymous said:

Actually, that is one of the TV tropes that is also my pet peeve. While it looks cool in the movies or TV but shooting the tires of a moving passenger vehicle is a virtually impossible shot. The target is a very narrow strip of tire wall - even narrower if one uses low-profile - and it is moving, many times not in constant speed and direction. So Dick Wolf's shows are somewhat tied to reality, I would appreciate their not adding fantasy aspect in the action.

Amen!  I much prefer the stab at a more realistic approach.

I'm enjoying the show and the chemistry between all the cast.  I think they all work well off each other.  And while it's a serious show, I don't find it especially bleak.

[illdoc]

18 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

what exactly Nicole’s role in the plot was and why she killed herself,

I thought that the FBI came around to the idea that she wasn't involved and didn't kill herself---she was framed and murdered. In fact, I believe they charged Finn with 2 counts of murder--the nanny & Nicole.

[Waterston Fan]

I thought this was an okay episode but it seemed like more than 2 people were in involved and I think the manager had something to do with it as well. 

Of course, they don't even take Gracie to the hospital, they take her right to the parents and she as usual looked clean. 

Is there a new episode next week? 

[illdoc]

57 minutes ago, Waterston Fan said:

Is there a new episode next week

No. "Election Coverage Special" on CBS from 8-10 (central time), bumping FBI & NCIS:NO

[Waterston Fan]

13 minutes ago, illdoc said:

No. "Election Coverage Special" on CBS from 8-10 (central time), bumping FBI & NCIS:NO

Ah, that's right.. I did vote but I forgot it was coming up soon. lol 

[rove4]

On 10/17/2018 at 1:22 PM, icemiser69 said:

But still, it was almost like the writers of this episode felt they had to redeem Maggie's character somehow after she called for the kill shot against the sniper.  That very sniper that OA promised to protect from being killed.  

 

Why in the world would the writers have to redeem Maggie on that point?  The man killed 10 innocent people.  I can't even comprehend how one gets from mourning a loved one to executing people who had absolutely nothing to do with her death.  I felt zero empathy for him and, frankly, I don't know why Maggie would even bother to feel badly about making the call to have him taken out before he shot and killed his 11th victim.  No redemption needed IMO and I didn't see that last scene with the wife that way at all.  

[rove4]

When did they tell the Senator and his wife that he had a son?  I totally missed it.

[Rambler]

Whoa they actually let the SWAT guys take the lead in the rescue mission and shoot the bad guy. Usually in these types of shows only the lead actors are allowed to shoot the bad guys and the SWAT guys serve as glorified target practice dummies.

I also liked how little Gracie was all smiles when she was reunited with her mommy and frowning at her daddy like she knew exactly what he had been up to. I predict some turbulent teenage years in the future.

[Raja]

12 hours ago, Rambler said:

Whoa they actually let the SWAT guys take the lead in the rescue mission and shoot the bad guy. Usually in these types of shows only the lead actors are allowed to shoot the bad guys and the SWAT guys serve as glorified target practice dummies.

The Dick Wolf productions outside of Chicago have been relatively good at having non speaking specialist do their special skill while the stars stand behind them.

[kili]

Quote

Then who drugged her son?  If it was the kidnapper, and he was willing to kill Nicole, the nanny, and Nicole's (and the politician's) kid, then why did he give two shits about whether the politician's daughter he kidnapped lived?

I think he was willing to kill people when his plot still had a chance at success. He had to keep the daughter alive for proof of life, but she probably would have died if the money had been paid (he badly needed the money and wanted revenge). Once he was caught, he was confronted by his former friend and it turned out Finn still had a little empathy left in him somewhere (probably saw some of his son in his son's friend). Plus, he can now claim to have cooperated.

Nicole didn't appear to know about the kidnapping. The FBI stated they hadn't told her (when they were trying to figure out the leak). She could have killed herself coincidentally because she was facing a bleak future, but there really wasn't much of a trigger to do it that day. Finn was already framing her with the gun, so it makes sense that he had her killed. Plus, I could see him wanting to kill both of the senator's kids.

Quote

I wanted to see the politician and his wife argue rather than have her stand by her husband, and why would she so willingly want to adopt her husband's "love child" so quickly?

She just got her own child back and is filled with love for the universe. It seems natural that she wants to save another child. The son has done absolutely nothing wrong. She might be mad at her husband for the affair, but it would be pretty heartless to send this child into the system when they have so much to give.

[Whimsy]

On 10/30/2018 at 9:59 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Missy Peregrym's "Where. IS. SHE?!" near the end was laughably AWFUL. And I'm tired of everyone falling all over her. Frankly, I wish Sela Ward or anyone else was the female lead.

I agree. It was SO bad. Took me right out if the show. 

On 10/31/2018 at 12:55 AM, catrice2 said:

 I haven't even watched the episode yet. I don't know about falling all over her I don't even know who she is. Apparently she's some actress that was good in some other role but on this show she's not that great

Which role was that?  IMO, she’s always been terrible. I think I tolerated her the best in Reaper.