S01.E06: Bound

[ottoDbusdriver]

Episode Description:

 

Jack has a confrontation from Rose. Richard discovers a secret that could ruin Rose's ascent in the Nine.

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Hold on -- so both souls that inhabit Amy's body (Amy and Rose) are both old souls, but Rose has taken over completely.
Somehow Richard had dealings with both souls. WTF ?

 

And Jack's neighbors are both activated souls -- taking marching orders from Rose.

 

Jack finds Amy/Rose's Qui Reverti books -- and confronts Rose about them.  Of course, he thinks she's just crazy and being influenced.

 

Turns out that Jack/Amy had been trying to get pregnant, and Amy was pregnant but Rose terminated the pregnancy, but somehow Amy doesn't know about it.

 

What's the point of retaining the totems from previous lives ?  And how are the totems assigned as activation devices for a specific soul.  Rose said that she grabbed that piece of rock in India not long before she was killed, so how did anyone find that stupid piece of rock and re-activate her somewhere else on the planet.  This makes no sense.

 

Rose sends Richard on a mission to activate a soul that is not permitted and could keep her from becoming one of the 9.  And it's an old boyfriend of Rose's whose name is Bix?  Really, Bix ? And why is that a serious taboo in the realm of the Qui Reverti ?

 

I thought Jack had the shootout gone bad (that people seem to keep referring to) when Jack was in L.A., so why do all the flashback scenes appear in their house in Seattle ?  Does this mean that Rose was activated in Amy even back then ?  Which really skews the 'Rose was recently activated on her 36th birthday' theory, because it almost appears that Rose's soul was activated quite recently, but in fact wasn't.  This is still not making sense, and those flashbacks were really confusing.

 

Why was Jack freaking out that Amy faked the cremation of the baby that was OBVIOUSLY killed by that gunshot wound to her lower torso ? Or was that the skeleton of the most recent aborted fetus the one he found under that plant that was in the same place where they scattered the 'supposed' ashes of the previous baby ?

 

Thankfully no Madison/Marcus this episode, but Portland is only 3 hour drive from Seattle -- why did Madison's parents take until sometime the next day to get there, and in the process of things not call the Seattle or Portland P.D. to check that house ?  That was really fucking stupid.

Edited September 28, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[dgpolo]

Bix Beiderbecke was a jazz musician in the 20s. Rose was watching a program about him in an earlier episode, apparently they were lovers back then?

[mjc570]

OttoDbusdriver: thank you for watching this so I don't have to. I give up, which is totally unusual for me.

Edited September 28, 2014 by mjc570

[Cobb Salad]

Regarding the totems, how was Rose able to collect them from life to life? I don't see the point of retaining them either. Plus keeping multiple copies of the book, I don't see the purpose except for us to conclude through Jack that something really strange is going on.

So if Amy is gone, does that mean she's dead? Is there a way Jack can revive her? If Rose means to take over completely, then what's the deal with having the building signed over to Amy?

I was surprised to see Madison's parents pull up to that house alone, too. I'd think they'd call the police to say Madison called them.

It sounds like Rose and Bix were lovers long ago. Rose is taking a risk going back to her old life when she found him at the end of the episode.

There are still way too many questions with only 2 episodes left.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Cobb Salad

[ottoDbusdriver]

Regarding the totems, how was Rose able to collect them from life to life? I don't see the point of retaining them either. Plus keeping multiple copies of the book, I don't see the purpose except for us to conclude through Jack that something really strange is going on.

 

What was the point of Rose's long-winded conversation with Jack in multiple languages where she explained the totems ?  As far as we know, Jack only speaks English so he probably didn't understand a damn thing she said.

[lucindabelle]

I maintain that living forever while being prohibited from having anyone you knew in a past life does not sound like fun, especially.

And the obvious retort to "so you could be together" is that we WERE together, NOW.

It's making less sense as it goes along.

[indeed]

How was Rose doing Jack a kindness by burying the baby so they could all be together? How would Amy be together with Jack and Dylan at any point if she's gone and Rose is completely steering her ship?

And I really don't know why Rose handled Jack--a former cop and present writer who's really good at investigating--the way that she did. She could have had a cleaner break than getting him totally interested in figuring out her mystery while fighting for Amy. Then, Rose wants to spare him, kill him, leave him, etc. Confused...

I don't know if "Bix" is all that happy to see Rose...

Edited September 28, 2014 by indeed

[Happytobehere]

At this point, the performances of James Frain and the actor who plays Jack are the only things that keep me watching.

They spent all this time establishing the cannon of nine to undercut it with Amy was ceasing to be Amy way before her 36th birthday. The ring Rose left for Jack is supposed to trigger his past self? How long does the triggering take? What happens to the quest for truth if Jack turns? Will this be the season/series ender?

[lucindabelle]

I guess I just don't see the point in saving a trigger so that in a future I life you could have the life you actually are having right now. Makes zero sense.

Biz did not seem thrilled.

Honestly, the whole. Series could haven started here. Where's amy? I'm all that here is, and I want my lovah.

[wayne67]

I'm confused why Rose bothered with Jack at all. Why didn't she simply take all her stuff and leave instead of this weird I'm going to dump you and call you all the time and tell you to back off from investigating and try and get you killed and so much nonsense. For someone hundreds of years old she seems stupid.

 

What is with the flashbacks of Jack seemingly murdering 3 people. 

[seamusk]

I guess I just don't see the point in saving a trigger so that in a future I life you could have the life you actually are having right now. Makes zero sense.

Biz did not seem thrilled.

I am not totally sure, but I interpreted the trigger as being new triggers that Rose had prepared so that Amy and Jack can come back in a future life and be together with their child.  If I'm right, then the mis-carried child could actually have their soul brought back too.

 

I really loved this episode.  I know it can be confusing, but what I really like is that Jack's life is spiraling out of control.  How can it not?  And the show is written and presented in a way that sort of allows the viewer to share in that feeling.  I don't think it's quite as confusing as folks make it out to be, but it's spectacular to watch if you are open to it.  I think for the finale, I might re-watch the whole season.  If I have the time which is always the rub.

[lucindabelle]

I understood what she was saying about being together, my point is that if it weren't for her the family would be together right now, since she took over amy and killed the child, so her kind action is ridiculous,

[riley702]

I am not totally sure, but I interpreted the trigger as being new triggers that Rose had prepared so that Amy and Jack can come back in a future life and be together with their child.  If I'm right, then the miscarried child could actually have their soul brought back too.

That's how I understood it, too, seamusk. Yes, the child will be back, too, since Rose referred to him as "newly adjourned", which seems to be how they describe death - someone getting a 9-year "time out" before they can come back again. Remember Richard telling Frank right before he shot him, "If they're right, this won't really matter."? It seems like a multigenerational game of chess for the Nine, advancing some pieces (Amy/Rose), and using the shepherds to kill others, thus taking them off the board for a while. 

 

I understood what she was saying about being together, my point is that if it weren't for her the family would be together right now, since she took over Amy and killed the child, so her kind action is ridiculous,

 I don't see it that way. Rose has stuff she wants to do NOW, so she's pre-empting the rest of Amy's life with a "I'll make it up to you in your next life", when presumably, Amy and Rose will be in different bodies by then.

Edited September 29, 2014 by riley702

[Locutus]

I am intrigued with what's going on, but I really wish they would tell us how they find particular souls on a planet with over 6 billion people on it. I'm not sure if Bix is unhappy with Rose, or just shell-shocked. I don't think he knew about all of this and it's probably discombobulating to suddenly wake up and it's 90 years later.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Locutus

[lucindabelle]

It's a blatant lie news since the rules forbid looking up people you knew before.

From a victims pov, don't expect me to feel grateful because you'll give everything back. Don't take it in the first place. Everything was fine until rose came along. I don't understand how the reverti can justify this to themselves, especially with all the nobody dies crap. I'm sure they do but I don't know how.

[riley702]

What is with the flashbacks of Jack seemingly murdering 3 people? 

Did anyone else look up the meaning of what the last of the three said to Jack?

 

"voy a vengar en el otro lado" Per Google translator, it means "I will take revenge on the other side." Anyway, I was intrigued by that and oddly pleased they didn't spoon-feed us by translating it for us. The only other time I can remember a show doing that was the West Wing episode where Mrs. Landingham gets killed by a drunk driver. Bartlet doesn't take this very well, and stays behind after the funeral to rant at God in Latin. Which they did not translate. :)

[seamusk]

From a victims pov, don't expect me to feel grateful because you'll give everything back. Don't take it in the first place. Everything was fine until rose came along. I don't understand how the reverti can justify this to themselves, especially with all the nobody dies crap. I'm sure they do but I don't know how.

Oh, there is no question an ethical issue here.  Justifications are what they are.  People come up with them for just about any questionable or evil deed.

[editorgrrl]

I'm confused why Rose bothered with Jack at all. Why didn't she simply take all her stuff and leave instead of this weird I'm going to dump you and call you all the time and tell you to back off from investigating and try and get you killed and so much nonsense. For someone hundreds of years old she seems stupid.

 

What is with the flashbacks of Jack seemingly murdering 3 people. 

 

Rose stayed to explain stuff to us, the viewers, via Jack. That's called exposition, and it's the mark of lazy writing.

 

Jack shot three people when he was an LA cop. It's the reason he left the force and became a writer.

 

Yes, the child will be back, too, since Rose referred to him as "newly adjourned", which seems to be how they describe death - someone getting a 9-year "time out" before they can come back again. Remember Richard telling Frank right before he shot him, "If they're right, this won't really matter."? It seems like a multigenerational game of chess for the Nine, advancing some pieces (Amy/Rose), and using the shepherds to kill others, thus taking them off the board for a while.

 

Before the credits Richard explained that the place between life & death is called the Adjourn. We, the viewers, got a whole lot of exposition before the credits:

• Richard has a past with Amy—but not with Rose.
• Richard took too long to trigger Rose. (The inverse of what happened with Marcus.)
• Reverti are led by "the nine," but there are many members. (1% of the general population.)
• Reverti punish people by killing them and preventing them from ever returning. (Which is why Richard saw killing Frank as okay—Frank will come back.)

 

I love the chess metaphor!

 

Best line of the episode: When Jack snarks at Rose, "Smoking isn't a risk if death is just a beginning." (Reminded me of the Guilty Remnant on HBO's The Leftovers.)

 

Biggest WTF of the episode: Rose told Jack that Amy is "the third person." (So who's the second? The Russian?) Then she seemed to say that she (Rose, the jazz baby) had also been a Russian (triggered by a pen), an Italian (triggered by a coin), and an Indian (triggered by a piece of wall).

[riley702]

I love the chess metaphor!

Thanks!

 

How many past lives does "Rose" remember? What is the name of this primal entity? The more questions they answer, the more I come up with. If there is eventually a payoff, with the tying up of loose ends, I'll be happy. If this turns into another Lost down the rabbit hole, I'll be wroth!

Edited October 2, 2014 by riley702

[editorgrrl]

I thought Amy was the primary soul and Rose the secondary soul, who was triggered by Richard Shepherd. But now with the "third person" comment, maybe both Rose & Amy are Reverti? (After all, Richard has a past with Amy.) Meaning the primary entity was someone Jack never met, and Richard triggered Amy first?

I knew the primary & secondary souls share memories once the secondary is triggered, and that the primary is unaware of the secondary until (and unless) it is triggered. (We all have a second soul inside us, but most of us live & die without ever knowing.)

But I didn't realize that the Reverti retain the memories of every soul they've ever shared a body with. The only clue was that Rose told the cabdriver about having been the Russian.

Edited to add that Marcus told a driver about knowing Mozart. At the time, I had thought that was Marcus' memory. (Didn't he say something about someone being murdered that night?) He didn't speak Austrian or German or whatever, but I assume Millie Bobby Brown isn't as good with languages as Mira Sorvino. (As OttoDBusdriver noted, Jack couldn't understand what Rose was saying, so that just seemed like something that served the actor's ego rather than the story.)

Edited October 2, 2014 by editorgrrl

[editorgrrl]

What's the point of retaining the totems from previous lives ?  And how are the totems assigned as activation devices for a specific soul.  Rose said that she grabbed that piece of rock in India not long before she was killed, so how did anyone find that stupid piece of rock and re-activate her somewhere else on the planet.  This makes no sense.

 

Unlike Rose's off-the-books Shepherding of Bix Beiderbecke, Reverti are always prepped before their nine-year timeout in the Adjourn. Remember when everybody gift-wrapped Joseph Cranfield? It wasn't shown, but I assume arrangements were made for his triggers.

 

Speaking of gift-wrapping bodies, what's the bondage all about? Marcus tied up the dead bodies under his floorboards, and this episode Jack saw something similar in the Book of 9. And Rose seemed pretty proud of having wrapped up Amy & Jack's fetus (Dylan?) before burying it in the backyard.

[Latverian Diplomat]

Regarding the totems, how was Rose able to collect them from life to life? I don't see the point of retaining them either. 

 

The keeping of the totem, and using them to trigger people seems to be a big part of what the shepherds do. For example, we see Marcus give the sand dollar to Richard (Frain) for future use as his trigger next life. Rose must have arranged a different way to keep Bix's mouthpiece stashed, because he was not an officially approved reverti. 

[Latverian Diplomat]

 

Speaking of gift-wrapping bodies, what's the bondage all about? Marcus tied up the dead bodies under his floorboards, and this episode Jack saw something similar in the Book of 9. And Rose seemed pretty proud of having wrapped up Amy & Jack's fetus (Dylan?) before burying it in the backyard.

It seems to be a sort of ritual burial like mummification, indicating perhaps that the reverti go back to ancient Egypt. It might be interesting if some of what they do is unnecessary nonsense, but they are afraid to deviate from it because they know the system works but not which parts actually matter (like some alchemy processes that performed real chemical reactions but also include useless embellishments). One interesting thing about Anderson's machine is that it might dispense with almost every part of the reverti rituals. No wonder they're scared of it.

[Texasmom1970]

This show, I find myself equal parts interested and confused. Did not know I would need cliff notes to understand what the hell is happening most of the time.

[editorgrrl]

What's the bondage all about? Marcus tied up the dead bodies under his floorboards, and this episode Jack saw something similar in the Book of 9. And Rose seemed pretty proud of having wrapped up Amy & Jack's fetus (Dylan?) before burying it in the backyard.

How did I not notice the title of the episode? Bound.

[millennium]

You know, this is just way too many questions for any one show to prompt.    If anything, it attests to a colossal failure on the part of the writers. 

 

I like how the show isn't afraid to use silence to establish tension and a sinister atmosphere.   Probably the atmosphere is the thing I like best about Intruders. 

 

But there is a certain and undeniable horror that goes with discovering a loved one isn't who you thought they were, or who you need them to be.   It makes you feel like you've lost control, followed by the immediate realization that you never had any control in the first place.

[millennium]

By the way, was it my imagination or did they sample Moby's "My Weakness" in this episode?  It lasted for all of three or four seconds.   A very X-Filey moment.