S01.E01: Pilot

[Lisin]

No episode description

[Browser26]

I think it's airing November 17th not October 17th. I will watch the first couple of episodes as I can tolerate Heigl in small doses but when she gets insufferable I will have to bow out.

[candall]

I think it's airing November 17th not October 17th. I will watch the first couple of episodes as I can tolerate Heigl in small doses but when she gets insufferable I will have to bow out.

I just saw the first ad.  She's already there.

 

How is it possible they have Alfre Woodard and are sticking her second banana to Izzie???

[Puddy]

This show is going to suck so bad.  I can't get past the commercials and they are playing them during every break in Sunday Night Football.  If they need to promote it this much...

[Primetimer]

Katherine Heigl has a new national-security drama, but it's possible that you should ignore it just like you've ignored so many of her movies.

Read the story

[Pleasesendpants]

I'm sorry, and I know this is sexist, but every time I see the scene above I think, "so that's what you wear to an intelligence briefing with the President? Because you just came from... your niece's garden wedding? Fancy baby gender-reveal party?"

[Aethera]

I'm sorry, and I know this is sexist, but every time I see the scene above I think, "so that's what you wear to an intelligence briefing with the President? Because you just came from... your niece's garden wedding? Fancy baby gender-reveal party?"

 

This is exactly what I was thinking, followed by "and really, President Alfre in a lighter version of the same color? 'We're girls playing White House!' Ughhh"

 

I find Katherine Heigl insufferable, but if anyone else was in this show, I'd watch.

[mspaul]

I was out after I saw the commercial of Heigl saying, "It's go time!" I can't even hate-watch that.

[alias1]

Well, that review was pretty scathing.  I agree about the clothing, but I'm going to keep an open mind until I actually see the episode.  So much bad press before it even airs.

[Calamity Jane]

My question since the first preview I saw has been, "You are trying to get me to watch this show based on Katherine Heigl's being in it, when you have ALFRE WOODARD???"  What are they thinking?  

[Pleasesendpants]

I'm sure if you hit play on the scene above Alfre Woodard would say "Hang on Izzie. I just can't stop staring at your one black shoulder. Thanks for stopping by before your ice dancing routine began to inform me about the terrorists. Now, is your partner's outfit all black with just a pink stripe?"

[Tara Ariano]

I actually thought Heigl's dress in that scene was really pretty on her. It has a nice swingy skirt, and they paired it with a great leather jacket.

[SimoneS]

Despite the negative reviews, I watched and really enjoyed this. It is overly dramatic, but I liked it anyway. Katherine Heigl in that dress and high heels swinging into the truck was ridiculous, but at least, the dress was loose compared to what other shows do with their leading ladies in tight dresses doing action scenes. Heigl looked gorgeous in the pink dress and in the final scene. The wardrobe person is doing a good job dressing her.

 

I really liked the last scene between Charleston and the President. I thought the dialogue was strong without being over the top. So Aaron tried to kill Charleston? Great twist.

 

I don't like the secret texter because it is unbelievable that it is technically possible. but it is likely that new guy who I hope is not her love interest because I have never liked that actor.

 

I wonder what the ratings will be like. 

 

My question since the first preview I saw has been, "You are trying to get me to watch this show based on Katherine Heigl's being in it, when you have ALFRE WOODARD???"  What are they thinking?  

 

I agree, but unjustly Alfre will likely never get a leading tv role. However, she has a strong supporting role on this show which is is good to see.

Edited November 18, 2014 by SimoneS

[car54]

There was a blind item at CDAN recently about a vain lead actress supposedly demanding re-shoots because she thought her ass looked big in a scene and all of the guesses were Heigl.

I'm pretty sure it must have been that scene where she climbs up in the back of the truck to escape being detained.

Edited November 18, 2014 by car54

[SimoneS]

There was a blind item at CDAN recently about a vain lead actress supposedly demanding re-shoots because she thought her ass looked big in a scene and all of the guesses were Heigl.

I'm pretty sure it must have been that scene where she climbs up in the back of the truck to escape being detained.

 

Given the danger of climbing into a moving truck and how the scene was shot, I am pretty confident that was a stunt double. There is no way that the producers would endanger Heigl by having her do that scene.

[Netfoot]

Not as bad as I expected.  A bit hectic and confused, but this is the Pilot, so they had a lot to get to. 

 

As has been said, Izzie's wardrobe people seem to be on the ball.  She was looking sharp!

 

For my taste they could completely drop the sex-life scenes, both current one-night-stand stuff and the flashbacks to her and SOTUS in the sack.  And while they're at it, they might as well drop the pointless Spook-sees-Psychotherapist stuff as well. 

 

And speaking of SOTUS, did I hear them using the term LOTUS?  Is that a real thing?  What is it supposed to mean?  Lunkhead of the US?  Because director Skinner they were referring to seemed to be quite the dumb-ass, bringing General Khan into the inner sanctum of the CIA but also into the Whitehouse with a recording device in his hat!

 

And OMG, when will film/TV producers stop with the Uber-l33t-Hax0r who can't be traced and can break through any firewall in 3 seconds with one hand tied behind their back trope?

 

Why, if you're concealing pistols at various places around the house, would you use different pistols?  Just so you'd have more of a familiarization and practice burden?  And not just two different pistols either, but one an automatic and the other a revolver?  Just dumb.  But I'll give points for choosing the Rhino revolver, like Annie Walker.  Although, I'd actually have thought that AW having already done it would go against their using one.  Uh, you don't suppose it's the same Rhino, do you?  Do the shows share props?  Or maybe it's just Product Placement?

 

And I sure hope the character Nick doesn't have much of a part to play in this show.  Let him get killed off early.  Because I don't like the actor that much, and I don't like the part he seems all set to play.  But I doubt I'll get lucky with this, because I fear he will be stinking up the show for a long time to come.  Or a short time, depending upon how long it lasts. 

 

Oh, and if anybody needs waterboarding, it's Izzie's mother, for sticking her with a name like Charleston.  Or if not Izzie's mother, then the screenwriter who thought that would be a cute thing to do. 

[SimoneS]

Oh, and it was great seeing James Remar, the guy who pulled over the Syrian spy. He looks a bit older, but he is such a good actor that I hope that the show intends to use him a lot more. Maybe he and POTUS could have a hot steamy affair.

[alias1]

I liked it.  It has promise.  I think the wardrobe is great, too.  I agree we don't need the one night stand stuff.  And I didn't get the timeline.  She's having one night stands before there is even a memorial service for Aaron?

[windsprints]

I thought it was pretty good. I'm in for a few more episodes to see how it goes. 

 

She's having one night stands before there is even a memorial service for Aaron?

 

I think the service was for the anniversary of his death, I think it was a year.

[wiggiebegone]

Painful PC Pablum ... NBC really does suck. Wasn't aware that there were so many bad "leading" actresses.

[Tiger]

Alfre Woodard needs to waterboard her agent or whoever convinced her to do this show.

[TribbleTrouble]

I wasn't going to watch this since I really have no interest in seeing a watered down network version of Homeland, but I did and I have to admit it wasn't quite as hideous as I expected. Not great either, but I'm willing to give it another shot. From what I understand the pilot that aired was heavily retooled from the early pilot that was given to reviewers a number of months ago to review. I read a reviewer who saw both versions and said the broadcast version was significantly improved - still not great but at least heading in the right direction.

Having a "Director Skinner" has to be somebody's insider shout out to The X-Files, doesn't it?

Edited November 18, 2014 by TribbleTrouble

[Vella]

Not bad at all.

 

I didn't hate any character, although the only people who stood out were Charleston, POTUS and the grizzled guy at the end played by none other than teen Joey Buchanan from OLTL.

 

It was fast paced and the nice bit at the end about Aaron trying to kill her was a nice move. I'll definitely tune in again, even though I kind of hoped James Spader would wander into the 7th floor of the CIA and beam mischievously at everyone.

[Danielg342]

Well...I thought it has potential...but I also think it's got a long way to go.

First, when I started to hear about this, I rolled my eyes when I saw they decided to make the President an African-American woman. Maybe it's just me, but I'm tired of Hollywood sticking minorities in positions of power so that they can claim that they're "inclusive" when it's just a smokescreen- that, and it seems like they want to avoid "misogyny" claims by having a man be in power over a woman, forgetting that misogyny doesn't come because characters are in that situation but rather what they do in that situation.

Anyway, I digress, because it's apparent the President, Constance Payton (Alfre Woodard), is going to have a bigger role in the series than simply the one character that barks orders and leaves it at that. Of course, then it gave me the opportunity to roll my eyes again once I saw what role President Payton and Charleston Tucker (Katherine Heigl) were going to play.

Evidently, Tucker and Payton have been sprung into action because one year ago, Payton's son and Tucker's fiance, Aaron Payton, was killed in a terrorist attack in Kabul. The only thing I could say about that is, "really show? Really?"

(Of course, the terrorist attack in Kabul and the choice of Omer Fatah as the "Big Bad" points to another cliche, since it seems like Hollywood loves Muslim terrorists, but I might be willing to let that go on a show that's about American politics)

Back to the fiance part...there's a trope on TVTropes called "Never A Self Made Woman" about the tendency for female characters to owe their presence on the show to a male, and this one falls for it hook and sinker. Right off the bat, we're supposed to care about Tucker and President Payton since both lost the same man that they love. I'd be moved if I didn't see that about a hundred different times. The other part of this is that you never see a woman on TV do anything substantial unless they have a strong "familial" connection, as if the only roles a woman can play on TV are that of mothers or lovers. Men can have their love lives in the background and have wildly different ambitions and motivations, but women on TV? What drives them has to be a love, or a lost love, or shaking off questions about why they don't have a family. Gosh, can I not get a woman that's driven to action because she strongly believes in justice or has a new way of doing things?

To me, other than the cliche of the choice that Fatah is Muslim, the whole set up didn't need a fallen fiance. Tucker could have just started her job with her first task to be bringing in Fatah, gaining the job because so many before her failed. Then we can have the President slowly warm up to her (and the resulting conflicts) without the two of them being best buds right off the bat.

Enough of the premise...I suppose I could let all of that go if the show was entertaining. It's got potential...but...

Katherine Heigl, I think, is a phenomenal actress. She can give you warmth, confidence and vulnerability at seemingly the blink of an eye, and I just wish she had much better writers (and maybe a better agent) to best utilize her skills (for instance, she could do very well as a hard-nosed detective on a CBS cop show). I'm not sure she'll get that here, because it seems to me like the producers love "pouty Heigl" and want to thrust as many reasons in our face to make her pouty as they can, when I think Heigl can do much better than that. Why can't her strength be the main focus of her character? Why must she be a delicate little flower right off the bat?

Did think she looked very beautiful on this show, even during the sex scenes (what can I say? I'm a guy :p). Even though I know why NBC put those scenes there, at least Heigl can pull it off, and, based on the plot of the series, they did make sense, though I hope they don't go to that well every week. As much as I might personally enjoy Heigl without clothes on, please, NBC, she's more than just sexy.

I did enjoy Woodard in the few scenes she was in...though the writing didn't give her much to do she at least displayed some humanity and warmth in the role. Something tells me she's going to be "motherly" to Tucker, which I think I'd enjoy- you get too many higher ups playing simply the role of a thorn so it's nice NBC wants to mix it up here.

Really thought the "Story of the Week" was, well, weak...I almost knew right away that the General, since he was Syrian, was going to be a bad guy. Of course, I guess the twist of it being "someone from the inside" has also been done to death, but the General being a baddie played to the show's usage of Muslims as bad guys, so I groaned at the reveal.

I also thought that whole subplot with Tucker getting suspended made no sense at all- it just unnecessarily muddied the story and I don't see why she was suspended anyway. They could have cut that whole thing out and maybe used Tucker in the role she's supposed to be used in- as a foreign negotiator. For all the posturing that Heigl did in her portrayal, we never really did see Tucker do her job in any technical capacity, so we still don't have any knowledge about her actual skills in the field. It all just seemed like an excuse for Heigl to run around in her dress and get saved by "Mommy" (the President) in the end.

The other actors...not too particularly fond of them, but I guess that's par for the course on a show like this. Did particularly like Sheila Vand, though- she was quirky.

I think if this show gives me more strong Heigl, less soapy stuff and more action (not necessarily where things blow up but with the characters doing more than just talking, as seems to be the case in the pilot) it could be great. However, I'm not holding my breath.

[Kromm]

Wow. This is some of the shittiest shit that ever shitted.

For example, I literally laughed out loud at the "text messaging" sequence in the car. Right. One of the highest security rated people in the world (by nature of her job) and not only does she go trolling in bars for random fucks, but she also has a phone number someone can find and text anonymously.

[SimoneS]

I didn't hate any character, although the only people who stood out were Charleston, POTUS and the grizzled guy at the end played by none other than teen Joey Buchanan from OLTL.

 

That is why he looked so familiar! He was pretty hot when he was on OLTL. I hope they plan to clean him up so I can see that hotness is still there. Thanks for the heads up there.

Edited November 18, 2014 by SimoneS

[iluvobx]

Since this was the pilot, I think I might hang around another episode to see if I like this show or not.

Too much of it was predictable and then some parts just made no sense whatsoever.

With her security level, I do not see her trolling bars and getting drunk and having one night stands (and then making the decisions that she has to).  Then again, I lived in DC and things like that do happen.

As for the phone texting, it is someone that she works with- because how else could anyone get that number.

[ellystar]

I was bored, bored, bored through much of the episode. Then they pull that twist at the end about what really happened in Kabul. Now I'm sucked in to find out what happens. Thanks, show.

[mwell345]

I found it ok, not all that good. Will probably watch a few more episodes to see how it goes.

[TaraS1]

Given the danger of climbing into a moving truck and how the scene was shot, I am pretty confident that was a stunt double. There is no way that the producers would endanger Heigl by having her do that scene.

 

You're probably right, since one of the producers is Heigl's mommy.

[imustbecrazy]

Surprisingly, that did not suck - at least not compared to some of the reviews I was reading, and definitely not compared to the horrible cliche promos NBC was running.  Fluffy cotton-candy, to be sure, but sometimes that's all you want. At least NBC seems to have a decent budget to throw at this vs what, say, USA Network could do.  There are some notable supporting cast members - aside from Alfre Woodard and James Remar, I also recongnized Dennis Boutsikaris as the CIA Director.  And, diva reputation aside, Katherine Heigl can act, and look really really good while she's at it.

 

The tension with the "Save-the-doctor-vs-get-the-bad-guy" plot, including the sequences with the terrorist videos, was actually compelling enough to carry the episode.  And I was intrigued with the dynamics of the last scene where Charlie (I cannot call her Charleston with a straight face, sorry) has the exchange in her house with shady-black-ops-guy.  Clearly there is some murky stuff going on between those two.  Many of the other plot devices were really eye-roll-worthy, but not any worse than, say, 24 might have done.  I am a little confused how someone doing the PDB would be also running operations or making operational decisions at the CIA, but it is Hollywood after all - where a JAG lawyer can also fly fighter planes on the side.  I'll roll with it.

 

Its on my DVR-list, willing to see where this one goes for a few episodes at least...

[roomtorome]

Doesn't matter who the producers are, they don't let the talent do things they consider truly dangerous - they would never be able to obtain the insurance they need for everyone if they were in anyway reckless with talent.  Lots of actors would love to perform  more stunts, etc but are not allowed to.

 

This was exactly what I expected - stupid and yet another brain drain that I couldn't get all the way through.  Good news is that my reading has picked up quite a bit this year by the mind numbing utter crap they have put on air.  Seems worse this year than ever but then I always recall saying that same thing the previous year.

 

Oh well.  

[saber5055]

 

There was a blind item at CDAN recently about a vain lead actress supposedly demanding re-shoots because she thought her ass looked big in a scene and all of the guesses were Heigl.

    I'm pretty sure it must have been that scene where she climbs up in the back of the truck to escape being detained.

It might be the scene where she is walking out of the room wearing nothing but black undies. All I could think was, she has a gigantic ass for someone so thin.

 

I agree about her terrible choice of wardrobe given she's so high up in relation to POTUS: Very too, too casual. Although she did dress up a bit later.

 

I DO love that she had her hair in a ponytail. The long extensions every other woman wears to fight crime is so impractical. No way can one see her attacker/victim if locks are blowing into your eyes. That's such a pet peeve of mine, so good on Heigel for better more-realistic hair.

 

Because director Skinner they were referring to seemed to be quite the dumb-ass, bringing General Khan into the inner sanctum of the CIA but also into the Whitehouse with a recording device in his hat!

So what was this guy recording that he wasn't hearing anyway? I totally did not get the point. So what if he were recording what he could hear?

 

Again, a show that depends on everyone having a hi-res HDTV and the ability to read small text from across a room. I couldn't read a single one of those text messages so do not have a clue what they had to do with anything.

 

In fact, I didn't understand this plot at all. Heigel gets suspended for ... what? Good lord, I'm glad I don't have a job where I could lose it at the drop of a hat based on some whim from someone somewhere.

 

I also don't have a clue if I liked this pilot or not. Although, like another poster, I could certainly do without the random pick-up bar sex. I'm sure in her important job  no one knows about that nor would they EVER plant a sex partner bad guy. Right?

Edited November 18, 2014 by saber5055

[Danielg342]

I'm sure in her important job no one knows about that nor would they EVER plant a sex partner bad guy. Right?

I'd bet my bottom dollar and go triple or nothing on it the show will go to that well. It's too, um, sexy to ignore.

[rubyred]

Exposition overload, like most pilots. One thing I definitely liked -- unlike on The Blacklist and its portrayal of the FBI, the CIA and the Secret Service aren't the Keystone Kops. Other than that it really seemed like Homeland Lite, which is fine with me.

 

Can someone clarify though -- I did not catch on to the implication that Aaron tried to kill her. I thought her deal is that she's worried she inadvertently contributed to his death, but couldn't remember and kind of didn't want to remember that. Was this something that came up when the obnoxious scruffy guy turned up? Did I misconstrue that conversation?

[Danielg342]

Can someone clarify though -- I did not catch on to the implication that Aaron tried to kill her. I thought her deal is that she's worried she inadvertently contributed to his death, but couldn't remember and kind of didn't want to remember that. Was this something that came up when the obnoxious scruffy guy turned up? Did I misconstrue that conversation?

Right at the end, Tucker is contemplating the words of her therapist- specifically, “you're repressing (a memory)”- and as she does so, she's picturing those moments in her head. As I understand it, the flashbacks occur via her perspective, so you first see Aaron screaming and writhing in pain but at the end, right before Aaron is blown up, he points a gun at Tucker and even aims.

[Aliasscape]

Watching this was so strange. It was like watching a second season premiere rather than a pilot. Like there's a season's worth of actions and backstory and Katherine Heigl's character being troubled that we missed .Seems like the people and relationships probably became important within the past year. It just felt like we missed a year of the show from the point it started.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Aliasscape

[Pike Ludwell]

Even the opening was boring. I guess lots of gunfire and rapid fire editing are supposed to make it interesting enough that they can go on and on and on with the scene. Didn't work. I view the lengthy opening as filler. And then we meet the characters .... I tried, but gave up after 10 minutes. waste of time.

Edited November 19, 2014 by riverclown

[mandigirl]

 

For all the posturing that Heigl did in her portrayal, we never really did see Tucker do her job in any technical capacity, so we still don't have any knowledge about her actual skills in the field.

Word. Problem 1? I have no idea what the heck 'Charlie' and her band of techies do all day. Are they researchers? Where does the information come from and how is it prioritized? I would expect that there are hundreds, if not more, leads coming through the major agencies every day and clearly they can't go through all of them.

 

More to the point, will putting the President's book together everyday really maintain a whole series?

 

Problem 2: Is this actually real?? This is a real question for people who know more about the workings of the WH. Does ONE PERSON decide what international issues get put in front of the president? For reals? Because that is just scary. I would think there would be multiple briefings to the President or at least some redundancies. 

 

I thought the pacing was weird in this one. For long stretches of time, it seemed like people were just sitting around, bickering. Then all of sudden it turned into spy thriller/fugitive escape. It was so strange. No comment as to how Charlie strolled into the Oval Office after apparently all authorities were told to detain her. Whatevs.

 

I'm meh on KH-- the best parts for me were when she was joking around with the rest of the briefers at the beginning of the episode. She seemed really natural and relaxed.  LOVE James Remar and he was great. Hope we get to see much more of him. AW is awesome in everything, so it barely bears mentioning. Definitely not appointment tv, but if I remember to dvr it next week, I would watch it again for sure. 

[Netfoot]

I have no idea what the heck 'Charlie' and her band of techies do all day. Are they researchers? Where does the information come from and how is it prioritized? I would expect that there are hundreds, if not more, leads coming through the major agencies every day and clearly they can't go through all of them.

 

More to the point, will putting the President's book together everyday really maintain a whole series?

 

The book appears to be based on the pentagon's now-defunct "Early Bird" news digest, originally targeted at the very top of the administration food chain, but eventually having a distribution list of over a million.

 

I don't know that just preparing the book would support an entire show, but since Charlemagne also seems to directly command special forces on the ground in foreign countries as well as have the occasional operation run at home, plus the whole dead SOTUS backstory, and Nick and his diaper-load of shit, there could easily be material enough for a show.  Especially if we have to take time to watch her screwing some stranger at the beginning and end of each episode, then smart-mouthing with her therapist about it.

 

Does ONE PERSON decide what international issues get put in front of the president?

 

In theory, an entire department prepares the book.  Of course, as head honcho, I guess she makes the final decisions on material selection.  Obviously this will occasionally be contentious, seeing as right in the pilot episode she receives a bollocking from just about everyone, including POTUS/Mommy over that very issue.  Isn't that why she was suspended/relieved of duty and placed on the "Sieze and Throw into the Dungeons" list?

[Aethera]

 Man this was uneven.  That "Good doesn't have to come, I do" line was all over the place before I watched but it didn't prepare me to resist the eyeroll. My notes as I watched:

 

What exactly is her job title?  She's a little overinvolved here. She gets to make a choice on getting a top 10 terrorist?  She's the BRIEFER, no?

 

Ooh she understands Arabic look how amazing she is I'm so impressed.

 

The making of the book seems like trumped up time pressure. What, she only gets one chance a day to say things?  It only goes into the book if they're certain, but if that guy gets certain past the print deadline, she can't just drop by and let them know?

 

Was happy to see a veteran L&O defense attorney as the CIA director, though I guess he's just interim.  And was that Mathew St. Patrick there giving her the initial Fatah information?  I was half-watching but it sounded like him. He's not on IMDB for it though.

 

Her friend being 'Mo' just made me think of Nickelodeon's GUTS. "Let's go to Mo for the scores: Mo!"

 

Re: LOTUS - They were referring to Lotus Notes, the old-school-but-still-used email software.  Which hilariously is now called IBM Notes, though I only found that out when googling to see if the federal government is actually using it - it's mostly big contracts with IBM, so it would make sense for them to be using it.  Kind of like how the federal government is still hardcore using Blackberries.  I giggled as they said it soooo many times. I've never known anyone personally whose company used Lotus Notes, but when I mention getting an email, I say "I got an email" not "I got an Outlook" or "I got a Gmail".  Anyone  here use Lotus Notes?  Do you refer to them as "a Lotus Note"?

 

Why would the doctor not be shot by the terrorists when they heard the first gunshot outside?

 

She wears white at funerals! She calls the President by her first name!  The President who is walking around a cemetary with no Secret Service in sight!  Drinks scotch!  Has guns in her cereal!

 

I don't really care about Fatah being her asset. Nick is who or what now?

 

Overall, I'll probably give it the same 3 episodes I gave Madam Secretary, but I'm not excited right now.

[Netfoot]

 Re: LOTUS - They were referring to Lotus Notes, the old-school-but-still-used email software.  Which hilariously is now called IBM Notes, though I only found that out when googling to see if the federal government is actually using it - it's mostly big contracts with IBM, so it would make sense for them to be using it.  Kind of like how the federal government is still hardcore using Blackberries.  I giggled as they said it soooo many times. I've never known anyone personally whose company used Lotus Notes, but when I mention getting an email, I say "I got an email" not "I got an Outlook" or "I got a Gmail".  Anyone  here use Lotus Notes?  Do you refer to them as "a Lotus Note"?

 

Christ on a crutch!  I thought that was obsolete decades ago!  Do people still use that?  Next you'll be telling me the Navy still uses COBOL for their Polaris project!

[Aethera]

Christ on a crutch!  I thought that was obsolete decades ago!  Do people still use that?  Next you'll be telling me the Navy still uses COBOL for their Polaris project!

When I Googled it one of the top results was an article from the WSJ saying something like "remember Lotus Notes? It makes over a billion dollars still!"

[Dowel Jones]

Next you'll be telling me the Navy still uses COBOL for their Polaris project!

 

Ssshhhh.  They will hear you!

[micat]

 

The making of the book seems like trumped up time pressure. What, she only gets one chance a day to say things?  It only goes into the book if they're certain, but if that guy gets certain past the print deadline, she can't just drop by and let them know?

 

This! I could see how she didn't bring it up at the briefing - that was explained perfectly well by the timing and strength of the information coming in. And as an aside, I didn't think we needed to have the is-she-doing-this-because-of-guilt-for-Aaron angle, it seemed like she made a tough decision to focus on the doctor based on what was known at the time. But when the certainty that they could get Fatah crept up, shouldn't she have been the one calling the President to tell her? It was like Charlie was trying to cover her ass and get away without the President ever knowing there had been a possibility to get Fatah. Bizarre. But then again the ending made it seem like perhaps she has other reasons for not going after Fatah, although wouldn't killing him solve her problem? It would make it less likely that his past as her CIA asset would ever come out.

 

I also agree with the above poster that it's too damn bad that we have to have two strong female characters who are motivated by the death of a man, rather than just by justice, or duty, or national security. But, both Heigl and Woodard are up to the material, so I am very interested to see where this goes.

 

Lastly, on the discussion of Heigl's outfits. I am okay with them glamming her up more than a CIA briefer probably would be in real life. But, those shoes! The stiletto booties that she wore in the office before she changed into her briefing dress? They were so high they were giving her knock knees and making her take little steps. Not exactly the power stride I would expect such a woman, in such a position, to have. So I hope they put her in more realistic shoes over time.

 

Was it my imagination or did she look like she threw up in her mouth a little bit when she had to say that line about coming? Or was that just me?

[DrLar]

1. Extremely sexy and very young big boss? please? if she had 10 more years I'll believe it

2. Suspended for what? still scratching my head about it.

3. If mommy's a producer she doesn't bother to see her daughter almost naked on network TV, but hoping onto a moving truck? double please.

4. Lotus Notes, that stuff is old, unless they really meant Lady of the United States Notes

[Netfoot]

Was it my imagination or did she look like she threw up in her mouth a little bit when she had to say that line about coming? Or was that just me?

 

That was the sound of 8.69 million viewers collectively throwing up in their mouths!

 

It was an absolutely rotten piece of dialogue, and I just can't imagine who insisted that stinker be allowed to remain to air.

[hks]

 Maybe it's just me, but I'm tired of Hollywood sticking minorities in positions of power so that they can claim that they're "inclusive" when it's just a smokescreen- that, and it seems like they want to avoid "misogyny" claims by having a man be in power over a woman, forgetting that misogyny doesn't come because characters are in that situation but rather what they do in that situation.

It's not just you. 

 

Right at the end, Tucker is contemplating the words of her therapist- specifically, “you're repressing (a memory)”- and as she does so, she's picturing those moments in her head. As I understand it, the flashbacks occur via her perspective, so you first see Aaron screaming and writhing in pain but at the end, right before Aaron is blown up, he points a gun at Tucker and even aims.

I totally didn't see that as him shooting at her, but at someone who was about to kill her or something. But I guess that's the point: it's supposed to be confusing now and become clear going forward.  If it WAS him trying to kill her - well, this show might be intriguing after all.

[mandigirl]

 

but since Charlemagne

Haha! Love it! One episode in, and 'Charlie' already has an appropriate nickname. So far in this episode, I liked the character far more when she was in 'Charlie' mode than when she was going all 'Charlemagne'. It's completely unbelievable to me that a briefer would be directing (or rejecting) a covert mission to track a high value terrorist. 

 

 

In theory, an entire department prepares the book.  Of course, as head honcho, I guess she makes the final decisions on material selection.

So this position is fake (i.e. doesn't really exist at the CIA)? Thank goodness! It should be a team, not one person with 'executive discretion'.

 

 

Was it my imagination or did she look like she threw up in her mouth a little bit when she had to say that line about coming? Or was that just me?

I would have liked the character more if she had acknowledged how corny that line was, or made some self-deprecating comment after it. But I think it was written to be clever (???) Or Sassy? I'm not sure what that line was supposed to say about the character.  I respect KH as an actress a little more, because she managed as best she could not to make it cringe-worthy, so good for her. 

[paigow]

Agree with others that State Of Blacklist Affairs is the next evolutionary step- Red feeds Charleston the #1 threat each day and does not have to drop anvillized clues every 5 minutes. Gratuitous Heigl lingerie shots > Boone lingerie shots.