S02.E06: Afflictions

[ShellSeeker]

 

Now desperately ill, Bellamy seeks help from a surprising source; another disappearance results in a search for answers.

 

[Blue Plastic]

Well, Bitchy Grandma wasn't very comforting when Jacob asked if he would have to go away.  I guess sometimes the truth is better than lies, even for a little kid, but the way she said it was just more of her self-serving claptrap.

 

I thought Mystery Gov't Woman gave Bellamy only 12 doses of the Flu-bola suppressor, yet he was able to give a bunch of doses to Maggie and still had some left over to use on himself.  Besides, what good is doling out only a few doses going to do anyway?  Not sure how Bellamy is going to be able to keep his promise to his little big sister Jenny.  That was a sweet scene between Bellamy and Jenny, I thought, the only thing I enjoyed all episode.

 

Is Maggie having panic attacks or WTH?

 

Now Henry (I think that's Jacob's dad's name) is falling for some old rival Returned grandpa's trick?  Last episode I thought Lucille was the stupid one but now the award goes to Henry.  If I'm going to have to watch some drawn-out story about rival families fighting for the Langston factory or something, I'm out.  That is too soapy for me.

[ottoDbusdriver]

So ... Bellamy's mysterious boss was in a plane crash.  Is she also a Resurrected or just interested in plane crashes because of her experience ?

 

Ding, ding, ding .... Bitchy Grandma is a big fat liar, and she did it in front of Henry, Maggie and Lucille.

 

Loving Elaine's outfits this episode -- especially the tight top and short skirts.  </completelysuperficial>
And Ray is back -- wondered where he had been hiding the past 5 episodes.  Apparently running his Resurrected conspiracy website. Of course Elaine is too stupid to believe her own eyes because BG told it was so dark in that cemetery she MUST be mistaken -- uh, no, it wasn't dark at all. I also like how Elaine can chit-chat with Fred like his drunken sexytime attempt with her at the factory never really happened.

 

Still with the re-opening the factory -- this sub-plot needs to be abandoned.

 

Kyle Secor as the new guest star -- awesome !!!   But his Resurrected grandpa is out to get back at Henry Langston because he's greedy.  Is he a Bitchy Grandpa to complement Bitchy Grandma ?

 

Bellamy's boss works for the US Dept. of Internal Security -- that's usually a departmental named reserved for domestic intelligence agencies in other countries.  Very cloak and dagger-ish.  And mystery boss lady picks up on Bellamy's tattoo (complete with flashback to the Resurrected who appears to be Bellamy's mom).

 

Bitchy Grandma pays a visit to Elaine at the diner -- complete with a little side order of intimidation.

 

Maggie does not play frazzled well -- at least you would think she would clean herself up before going out of the house.  She's supposed to be a doctor, but she comes off as a distraught teenager complete with self-induced panic attack.  All over a mother that she barely knows.  And now children (and pictures of family) are freaking her out because she was a child once --- boring !!!  Are they really going to give Maggie a drug-addiction sub-plot because that is also boring ?  I was waiting for Maggie to throw that bowl of Bad Luck Chili from the fridge at someone .. anyone ... maybe Bellamy.

 

Confirmation that Bellamy is a double resurrected -- and he returned the first time in 1972.

 

Bitch Grandma -- Family Fixer.  I can just envision her business cards.  And she's still got a hard-on for re-opening the factory.  Does BG not get the whole concept of abandoned factory that will cost a fortune to repair vs. big wad O' cash -- who cares who's money it is or if they aren't local ?

 

How did security know to enter Angela's office after Bellamy confronted her ?  Does she have a secret buzzer somewhere in her pocket ?  A panic button ? Bellamy is all angsty over parents that he doesn't even remember when he finds out they are dead.  And for some reason won't tell his sister that he's her baby brother.

 

And then he gives his 10 day supply of viral suppressants to Maggie because ....... who knows why ?  It won't help any other Resurrected for more than a couple of days.  Since Bellamy is a fully-trained and licensed doctor (not!), he knows better and is going to give himself mini-doses of the viral suppressant and should be right as rain.  Who's kidding who -- he'll be symptomatic in a couple of days again -- way to go Bellamy. 

 

Henry is fully onboard the denial train about BG's antics when it comes to her interactions with Jacob -- she's harmless in his eyes.  Keep drinking the Kool-aid Henry.

 

This episode was so damn slow -- it crawled along and was pretty boring for good measure.

Edited November 3, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Spencer Hastings]

I nearly peed my pants laughing when investor guy was talking to "grandpa" and the camera panned to a man young enough to be his son.  The whole scene felt like it was from another show--from the lighting to the stilted, old-timey accent.  It was very "Dallas."  I'm intrigued to see where they go with this though.  There's certainly no love lost between the Grandpa and the Langstons of the past.  Does he even know that those Langstons are gone?  How are they going to fight over a factory that doesn't even exist anymore?  So many questions.  This could interesting or so very bad.  I also wondered if perhaps the Grandpa could be BG's scored foreman father using a different name.  BG snootily reminded us that no Addisons were ever in Arcadia.  But she's a liar.

 

BG is going to do something to hurt Jacob.  I'm calling it.  Whether she warps his brain or makes him disappear, sweet little Jacob is screwed.  

 

I figured Bellamy was a double returnee who returned years after his death the first time.  The year of death and his first return year actually makes sense with the timeline they've set up.  I'm pleasantly surprised.  What doesn't make sense is how he got through his angsty teenage years without feeling like he didn't belong or was unwanted.  I think by those standards, every teenager would have disappeared at some point!  

Edited November 3, 2014 by Spencer Hastings

[Mocking Bird]

Elaine's brother in season one was a little bit "special", wasn't he?   Elaine was portrayed as caretaker to brother's over-grown child barely able to tie his own shoelaces mentality.   This season his character seems to have gotten a sudden boost in I.Q. points and is the organizer and leader of a Returned hate group.  This season is so drastically different from the previous that it has become an entirely different (and truly awful) show.

[BooBear]

I happened to watch the Sundance marathon of the "returned" yesterday. So much better.

 

This show is really going downhill. It is suffering from Americanization. (1) Shadowy Government Conspiracy -- or is it? And (2) Shadowy bad guy -- or is she?  Dudes, people are coming back from the dead, isn't that a big enough mystery?

 

The episodes are too slow and plodding. Absolutely nothing happens except for manufactured noise.  What was up with Maggie? Why was she freaking out over her mom leaving. She didn't seem to care too much about her. But Frank took it like a trooper.  Why is Maggie pretty much the only doctor in town? I just love that she survives the emotional toll of 1/2 the town coming back to live like it was nothing but now... suddenly she is a basket case.

 

Langston Furniture... zzzzz -- who cares? Grampa there isn't exactly young. Isn't he foolish to spend what could be his last days due to him dying or Jacob leaving trying to build a business that Jacob is pretty much ambivalent about?  But I guess we have to turn this show into Dallas.

 

I still like Bellamy but it does seem like his story is sort of played out. I liked that he wanted to take in his sister but I got the strong vibe that would never happen.  I would like to see him and Maggie get together but man that plot is taking forever.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Elaine's brother in season one was a little bit "special", wasn't he?   Elaine was portrayed as caretaker to brother's over-grown child barely able to tie his own shoelaces mentality.   This season his character seems to have gotten a sudden boost in I.Q. points and is the organizer and leader of a Returned hate group.  This season is so drastically different from the previous that it has become an entirely different (and truly awful) show.

 

Considering that maybe 2 weeks of showtime have gone by since the end of season 1, this change in Ray seems particularly ridiculous.

[Racj82]

I see endless crapping on this show so I'm going come from a more positive standpoint.

 

I don't think that Ray was THAT different. They have made him more functional as a character but he still seemed like he was a little challenged. I don't mind it.

 

I'm assuming that Bellamy is going to try and find the facility and get more medicine for the returned (and get his sister back). That's why he left his cell phone behind.

 

Maggie and Bellamy are both grieving and I see nothing wrong with that. Bellamy just learned all of this about his life and that he had his real family right there with him and missed his chance to get to know them. He lost his family twice. Why would that not affect him? And Maggie was just getting to the point where she was willing to accept her mom into her life. She never got a chance to get to know her and she finally all in with this new chance and now (like Bellamy) she lost her mom all over again. Don't see a problem with her not handling it well. Also, she is clearly constantly working on helping the returned along with her own personal issues. That would be rough on anybody.

 

I don't really care about the warehouse plot but I don't mind it. Every drama has some plots you will never be fully invested in. It's fine.

 

Good episode for me.

[Blue Plastic]

The episodes are too slow and plodding. Absolutely nothing happens except for manufactured noise.  What was up with Maggie? Why was she freaking out over her mom leaving. She didn't seem to care too much about her. But Frank took it like a trooper.  Why is Maggie pretty much the only doctor in town? I just love that she survives the emotional toll of 1/2 the town coming back to live like it was nothing but now... suddenly she is a basket case.

This was a total reversal of how Maggie and Frank used to be.  Before they knew that Barbara had come back, Frank was constantly sitting around staring at his wedding ring and drinking, wondering why she didn't Return.  He seemed happy to have her back when she left Sam.  Now he finds out she is gone for good and he barely reacts except to offer Maggie some tea.  Maggie, OTOH, seemed overall fairly "meh" about Barbara's return but now is freaking out because she's gone again?

 

I'm assuming that Bellamy is going to try and find the facility and get more medicine for the returned (and get his sister back). That's why he left his cell phone behind.

How is that going to work, though?  Mystery Gov't Woman told him it was hard to make very much of that stuff, so Bellamy has no way of knowing if or when more will be ready.  He also doesn't even have anyone to help him sneak into the place.  No way could he get in there again, steal more medicine, and get out without being discovered.

 

The factory plot with the young Grandpa revenge does remind me a lot of nighttime soaps (daytime ones, too).  The only difference is that Grandpa is young because he Returned, but that's not enough to keep me going if that takes a backseat to a business espionage plot.  Henry really came off stupid and gullible.

[Racj82]

This was a total reversal of how Maggie and Frank used to be.  Before they knew that Barbara had come back, Frank was constantly sitting around staring at his wedding ring and drinking, wondering why she didn't Return.  He seemed happy to have her back when she left Sam.  Now he finds out she is gone for good and he barely reacts except to offer Maggie some tea.  Maggie, OTOH, seemed overall fairly "meh" about Barbara's return but now is freaking out because she's gone again?

 

How is that going to work, though?  Mystery Gov't Woman told him it was hard to make very much of that stuff, so Bellamy has no way of knowing if or when more will be ready.  He also doesn't even have anyone to help him sneak into the place.  No way could he get in there again, steal more medicine, and get out without being discovered.

 

The factory plot with the young Grandpa revenge does remind me a lot of nighttime soaps (daytime ones, too).  The only difference is that Grandpa is young because he Returned, but that's not enough to keep me going if that takes a backseat to a business espionage plot.  Henry really came off stupid and gullible.

She could be lying about the medicine. Just because said it doesn't make it true. The main point is that he's probably going to investigate further.

[LucyEth]

Finally some action!  Bellamy finally finds out about his past.  Don't get the Maggie panic attacks or the distribution of the medicine for the virus.  The woman agent is obviously returned.   Don't know what is behind young Grandpa going after the Langston's, but I put my money on bitchy Grandma if there is a showdown.  Like how Grandma took credit for straightening out Fred.  How long has she been back?  According to her he was a suicidal drunk and she got him straight.  Lucille is losing control of Jacob to Grandma, not good.   Wish Elaine was returned and would go away and take that dopey brother with her, before he shows up at the Rev's house with torches and other morons.

[ottoDbusdriver]

According to her he was a suicidal drunk and she got him straight.

 

I think Bitchy Grandma is a legend in her own mind -- we saw Fred clean himself up and go straight, BG had nothing to do with that.

[The Mighty Peanut]

I feel that Ray is now an unintelligent person who is less drunk and therefore seems much more intelligent. But since he's taking cases of Returned keying cars and kidnapping cats his character is still consistent, IMO.

Edited November 4, 2014 by The Mighty Peanut

[theatremouse]

I'm probably just misremembering, but for some reason, I didn't think Ray was originally presented as disabled in a low IQ sense. I thought he was possibly schizophrenic when we first saw him? And thus the whole his needing Elaine to help care for him was because of that. Was there something with him and medication? I might be conflating with another show. But the change in Ray could be he's on his meds vs not. But it'd still fit a bit that he's paranoid. Or they might be retconning the whole thing. Who knows. They seem to have done that with plenty of other characters/plot points too. At this point I pretty much think we can't necessarily trust anything we saw before as being a solid "clue" to the mystery because I'm pretty convinced the showrunner changed the direction they intended to go between last season's finale and this season's premiere. I am currently applying that assumption to tertiary characters' personalities/histories too as suits whatever the new "it" is.

Edited November 4, 2014 by theatremouse

[BooBear]

I might be conflating with another show. But the change in Ray could be he's on his meds vs not. But it'd still fit a bit that he's paranoid. Or they might be retconning the whole thing. Who knows. They seem to have done that with plenty of other characters/plot points too. At this point I pretty much think we can't necessarily trust anything we saw before as being a solid "clue" to the mystery because I'm pretty convinced the showrunner changed the direction they intended to go between last season's finale and this season's premiere.

Bingo. Wasn't Elaine a bank manager and now she is a bar keep? Last year seemed very much about emotion and this year it is about plot. But somehow we ignore the main plot of people returning from the dead in favor of side plots -- like a virus, like bitchy grandmom, like evil young grandad.

[Aging Goth]

My take on this episode

 

I believe that Govt lady is also a returned from the plane crash which is why she is obsessed with them.  Suspected that Bellamy had ties to Arcadia but didn't know he was the only one not reported to have been born there.  I believe he doesn't trust govt lady but also want to help the other returns.  I think he believes there is more of the drug and that is what they are doing to keep him tethered to them. 

 

BG is slipping a little as Frank and henry's wife knows she's lying and had everything to do with Barbara's disappearance and suspects she is poisoning Jacob's mind as well.  I don't believe Jacob is actually buying it, though.

 

I believe Maggie is upset because she was just beginning to accept her mother when she disappeared which is why she was so upset.  Frank has been through it before so that is why he is not quite as upset but he knows his mother has everything to do with Barbara's disapperance. 

 

The factory subplot is just a waste of time IMHO.

 

I don't think Elaine was buying BG's goods at the restaurant.  She just knew to thred lightly and just agree.  She knew what she saw.  As for her brother, he is just off his meds and caught up in the entire community's fear of the returns. 

 

What if Maggie is also a returned?  What if her anxiety attacts are part of it all?  Just feel there is a connection somewhere.  I also fear that BG knows how and why this all started and it all goes back to the factory.

[theatremouse]

Wasn't Elaine a bank manager and now she is a bar keep?

That one detail was actually plot driven. She did work in a bank, don't think she was manager though, but then Caleb robbed it. With help from having used her already-logged-in computer. Despite her not being a willing active participant, she was negligent. So she lost that job and would have difficulty finding another in another bank given the circumstances. Hence the TV de facto job people always get after being fired: bartender. Although I think possibly before that it may have been established she either also tended bar for extra cash, or had tended bar before going into banking, or something.

 

Also the "you were the only one not born in Arcadia" thing sort of annoyed me. He was six months old when he died the first time. Sure he returned in Chicago not Arcadia, but an abandoned baby, even without confirmation of his birthmark/double returnedness, technically, didn't disprove his having been born in Arcadia. So assuming he was the only one not born there, when she had zero information on where he was born, was silly. I know it's a lot less likely someone has a baby, runs away from Missouri to Illinois somewhere between giving birth and six months later and then abandons the baby in the new state, but it's entirely possible. It's not like he was days old when he was originally found thus making it much much less likely there was travel involved.

Edited November 4, 2014 by theatremouse

[Latverian Diplomat]

The virus is really annoying, In addition to conveniently getting rid of Bellamy's parents, it also really limits his options. If he's needs the meds for the foreseeable future. 

 

No real statistician would take the way the "woman in charge" did about numbers, patterns, and predictability. Some patterns are too complex to be feasibly predictable, the classic example being the weather. Even if she had some knack for finding patterns no one else can see (e.g., plane crashes?) she would never be that arrogant. 

 

Who has "random guy I met on a walk at the factory" as their first option for refinancing the family business?

 

I don't have a good sense of what Henry did after the factory closed, or how much money he has. If it closed shortly after Jacob's death, he still would have been fairly young, did he have a second career? Has that been mentioned? 

[Aging Goth]

The one thing I have learned about this show is if you ask pertinent questions about what's happening, your head will explode.  Better to just enjoy the cartoon based plot line

[iMonrey]

If the shadowy government types who've been studying this illness can only make so much of the vaccine at any given time, how does Bellamy expect some small town doctor to crack the formula and replicate it? Clearly the government types have more resources at hand and even they're having trouble making enough of it, which suggests it's either very difficult to do or very expensive, or both.

[possibilities]

Or they aren't really trying because they don't really want to save everyone. Or they have the supply, but don't feel like giving it to Bellamy.

[dialyn]

If the shadowy government types who've been studying this illness can only make so much of the vaccine at any given time, how does Bellamy expect some small town doctor to crack the formula and replicate it? Clearly the government types have more resources at hand and even they're having trouble making enough of it, which suggests it's either very difficult to do or very expensive, or both.

Aren't you forgetting this small town doctor appears to be an expert in every area of medicine? 

[shapeshifter]

Shouldn't Bellamy have had to pinch his skin or "tie off" a vein prior to jabbing that huge needle in his arm? Did he learn nothing from all those years playing a doctor on House? Heh.

...BG is slipping a little as Frank and henry's wife knows she's lying and had everything to do with Barbara's disappearance and suspects she is poisoning Jacob's mind as well.  I don't believe Jacob is actually buying it, though...

Yes, this seems to be a major plot point for this season. Probably at/near the end, either Henry, Lou, or Jacob (or someone else like Bellamy or Maggie) will convince BG to disappear. Maybe it will be related to the factory subplot.

BTW, I'm guessing the factory subplot was cooked up so they could have more scenes in a creepy mysterious place with a lot of history related to the origin story of the resurrected.

Is the young grandpa one of the burned ones from the factory?

About the Maggie meltdown: Maybe if she is inconsolable enough Barbara will return again in spite of BG's talk? If so, the look on BG's face will be worth seeing. Maybe Barbara and Maggie will convince BG to disappear--at least for a season.

[millennium]

I'm tired of Michelle Fairley's indignant neck cords.

[jhlipton]

No real statistician would take the way the "woman in charge" did about numbers, patterns, and predictability. Some patterns are too complex to be feasibly predictable, the classic example being the weather. Even if she had some knack for finding patterns no one else can see (e.g., plane crashes?) she would never be that arrogant. 

 

But she had MATH!  The silly, random sums, integrals and derivatives that every show uses (2 funny things on the white board: √5/2 + 1/2 == (√5 +1)/2 and in small letters in the bottom center E=mc2)

 

 

Is the young grandpa one of the burned ones from the factory?

 

Yes. From the next episode:

He's the one that Rachel and Margaret saw at the window in their shared not-dream

[Latverian Diplomat]

But she had MATH!  The silly, random sums, integrals and derivatives that every show uses (2 funny things on the white board: √5/2 + 1/2 == (√5 +1)/2 and in small letters in the bottom center E=mc2)

 

Heh. I always suspected the Fibonacci sequence was up to no good!

[jhlipton]

NOTE: I had forgotten (if I ever knew) that √5/2 + 1/2 was an approximation of the Golden Ratio.

I'm really surprised that the Fibonacci sequence isn't used more in shows like this: the sequence shows up everywhere!  The ratio of one number to the next in the sequence approaches the Golden Ratio as you move along the sequence.  And the Fibonacci spiral (produced by moving 1 unit up, 1 unit right, 2 units down, 3 units left, 5 units up,etc) is found in everything from sunflowers to heads of hair to galaxies.  And φ = 1 + (1/φ).

 

Math is fun!

[ByTor]

Just curious, who is the "Frank" character people above are mentioning?  I'm not familiar with a Frank.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Just curious, who is the "Frank" character people above are mentioning?  I'm not familiar with a Frank.

 

I think someone upthread just confused Sheriff Fred's first name.

[ByTor]

Thanks, ottoDbusdriver, I tend to do other things while the show is on & I just figured I missed something.