X Company - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss X Company here!

[The Crazed Spruce]

Hey, wasn't he in that thing a while back? And wasn't she on that show?

[The Crazed Spruce]

Series premiere!

A new team faces a terrifying first mission; Duncan Sinclair tries to convince a young man to join the fight.

[statsgirl]

I thought the show was really well done, which is should be given the producers.

 

But it's too emotionally violent for me.  I know that's war, but I kept saying "No, don't kill him! Don't kill her!)

[statsgirl]

I hope this is the right place to post this.

 

I was looking at the show's website, and there's a lot of really interesting information about the real Camp X, also known as HYDRA, which trained Allied agents as varied as Ian Fleming and David Ogilvie (Ogilvie & Mather ad agency) and the FBI and the Office of Strategic services, which later became the CIA.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/xcompany/dispatches/the-real-camp-x-10-facts-about-canadas-elite-spy-school

[Netfoot]

The title card says "X Company" in latin letters, followed by "CAMPY" in Morse.  I wonder what that's supposed to mean?

 

If this bunch of juvenile nincompoops are supposed to help win the war, then we'd better brush up on our conversational Nazi!

[mledawn]

Finally had a chance to watch the pilot episode - the showrunners announced on Wednesday that it had been greenlit, but I thought we already knew that since they filmed the season already, but I guess not.

 

I really enjoyed it. As some may know I have a massive Hugh Dillon bias, but I thought he did really well in the role. I was worried based on the supercut for the trailer but as the episode unfolded, it all settled in.

 

Not a lot of Lara Jean Chorostecki in this episode but I heard she played a prominent role in the series so I guess time will tell. I heard HD was "underutilised" but I hope that was just for this episode. The topic is interesting to me, but I'm not going to lie when I say I'm pleased to see him on tv again.

Since I watched online on CBC.ca, I saw more online content which was a nice touch.

[The Crazed Spruce]

The team parachutes into France in order to penetrate German headquarters and get codes that could save thousands of life.

[alexvillage]

 

As some may know I have a massive Hugh Dillon bias

Totally understandable bias

 

Not in Canada and I was dreading that I would not watch it. I did manage to watch on a website, not a very reliable one.

I liked it a lot, and I love that Alfred is neurodivergent. 

I also like the history behind it and Hugh Dillon. Always Hugh Dillon

[alexvillage]

Hugh Dillon in Hard Core Logo, a mockumentary that I was surprised to love

And Hugh Dillon again in one of the best shows I've ever watched, Durham County. As a friend pointed out, it has the best heartbreaking scene ever seen

[Emily Thrace]

Okay I may be the only one here but I love this show.

 

I've always hated Evelyn Bouchou's character on Orphan Black(cuz really such a feminist show should not have such a stereotypical flat love interest character)  but I really love her here. I liked the commander's little speech the the goys about "underestimating the fairer sex". He clearly has her her back. I just hope we don't see her dragged into a love triangle with Alfredo and her boyfriend.

 

I also have to say I like that while the show is being inclusive but isn't being unreaslistic. Very few things drive me nuts like period peices trying to be "topical" or edgy and adding in characters that would never existed or giving chacters viewpoints that wouldn't exist for generations. Including marginilized people just for the sake of it feels patronizing and Mary Sueish to me and it makes me hate the character.  I quit watching Strange Empire because it felt more like TPTB were trying to get a blackout in minority bingo than create a realistic period peice(that and it was downright grim). Aurora and Alfred are part of team not just to show how far we've come but because their differences actually make them better team members.  Actually all the characters  fell very real to me which is quite the acomplishment for a show two epsiodes in. 

 

I also like Neil hes hard but steady. Hes a good everyman character. 

 

I also have to laugh that the "American" is played by a guy from Yellowknife.

[Yolapukka]

I enjoyed Hugh Dillon, the cast seems fine overall and I like the concept of the show but the writing was weak. The attempts to ratchet up the tension just felt hollow, contrived and manipulative. For instance that little girl was adorable but I doubt I'd be willing to endanger a bombing operation just because she was on the bridge filled with Nazi's on their way to slaughter an entire town. Also, the idea of her rushing up to confront the officer seemed unlikely to say the least. Mind you if their sabateour had shown a little less.... um... flair when attempting to set off the explosion and not pulled the wires out of the detonator it would not have been a problem. There were just too many ridiculous things that happened due to people who were supposed to be functioning at a certain level of expertise doing stupid things instead. I'm not sure whether I'll give it a second chance.

[alexvillage]

You are not alone.

I am enjoying the show as well. even if I am watching it online, a website that is not very reliable (I'm in the US)

Agree with you on the characters. I do like the writing and am very interested in how the synesthesia is going to be played. 

[The Crazed Spruce]

Battling to stop the Nazis from getting atomic research, the team raids a brothel and a Gestapo headquarters; Aurora learns the fate of her lover.

[mledawn]

CBC issued a press release regarding their 2015-2016 lineup, and X Company's renewal for another 10 1hr episodes is on the list.

[Emily Thrace]

Well that was tense, I have a feeling I'm going to be saying that about every episode.

 

I like that the show is trying to show the Nazi's as human with the head Nazi and his little boy and the secretly gay Nazi(he might be an interesting source in future episode).  It adds texture to the show and helps with ambiguity. iIs actually one of the more nuanced protrayals I've seen and I've watched a fair amount of WWII drama's. We still have guy's like The Bleeder(The blood draining technique mentioned as hs signature sounds familar. I wonder if he was a real person or if I've heard about that technique somewhere else before) who are depraved sociopaths but the Nazi leadership really did encourage that kind of thinking.  I think that's part of why the show feels so real, even The Nazi's character's have a lot of thought given to them.

 

I also liked all the little character notes about the chracter's being idealistic(even Neil has his feeling about criminals) that they are all probably going to lose before this is over. It was a little contrived that Aurora got out of actually sleeping with the Nazi's both times but she still new at this too so I'll give them a pass on that. I did like how none of the guys even Neil ever really considered leaving her behind. They may still be getting to know each other but they trust each other which will be important for the future.  

[secnarf]

I agree - it's really interesting to see the Nazis as people who don't necessarily agree with all aspects of the regime or who go along with it because they have a lot to lose. I caught on to the gay Nazi quick enough, but it took me a little bit longer to clue in to why the father didn't want any other Nazis to see his son - a kid with Down syndrome wouldn't have been allowed to survive, in Hitler's plan.

I am definitely captivated by the characters, and I think that's a good indicator that I will continue to watch.

[The Crazed Spruce]

A jazz chanteuse helps the team rescue a British airman; Harry tries to help a Frenchwoman deliver a baby.

[mledawn]

Well, I guess that old adage holds true: you can't trust a ginger!! Is LJC going to play a character that isn't shady as all get out, or what?

 

Seriously, though - that is an interesting plot point to keep Sinclair and the base relevant while the crew is off at the front on a mission.

 

Since I flipped away briefly to catch the OT/shootout of the Leafs game, I clearly missed when the Posh English Boy learned to play the trumpet, right?

 

I'm starting to love Alfred, so whatever the writers are doing, it is working. Also wee Harry had a lovely plot line this week, that actor must have been quite pleased to get such a dedicated storyline.

 

OT: I forget (because HD shaves his head) that he is a fairly hairy dude. Not like Robin Williams hairy, just...HAS HAIR...so I'm always taken aback when I see his hands. That's all, move along.

 

Edited to say I rewatched and saw buddy did play some kind of instrument.

Edited March 13, 2015 by mledawn

[alexvillage]

I really like the details in this show. The morse code, the chirping, it all has a behind the scenes study, nothing is just thrown there.

And yes for the more Sinclair story. And since it means more Hugh Dillon, I am a happy watcher.

Edited March 13, 2015 by alexvillage

[Emily Thrace]

I loved NightingGale I have a feeling I should know more about her and that she is definitely based on someone real. There seemed to be a reference to Ella Fitzgerald with the band calling her Lady(Ella Fitzgerald's band leader callled her Lady Ella) but  she was born in Virginia not New Orleans.

 

I half expected Sinclair to call the british kid in the bombing class Flemming on his way out the door. As much as this show seems to want to avoid referencing real people I doubt TPTB will be able to resist the Bond reference.

 

Although I did like the idea that Sinclair is caught between American and British interests. It such a typically Canadian dilemma, and one that was fairly common in WW2. Geography means we have to work with the Americans on defense but the British still didn't see us as independent(some apparently still don't if the imdb board for this show is any indication) it resulted in some tricky politics at times.

 

I liked the intent of Harry's story but the execution was a lttle trite. I swear I've seen the exact same plot elsewhere. Maybe the problem is just Harry. With his character being so green I feel like he just set up for the fall and I can't quite invest in him just yet.. Eventually somethings going to really test him and then he could end up being a very different character.

 

I also like that the show didn't reach for the obvious conflict and have the American have an issue or react to the African American Jazz singer. The Nazi's were obviously racists but the American was allowed to be tolerant. The shows hit a nice balance with NightingGale slamming segragation but not making her victim.  

 

I also have to echo the Alfred love. The show is doing well at showing him as odd but not helpless and nicely perceptive

[The Crazed Spruce]

A Vichy Mayor offers the team intelligence in exchange for their assistance in finding out what happened to the town's young women

[secnarf]

The mayor surprised me. I didn't think she had it in her. I'm surprised the many nazi guards didn't just shoot her on the spot. I really don't trust the nazi that walked in on the leader with the son with Down syndrome. I wonder if they're setting up the father as a future ally/spy.

[alexvillage]

I am so happy they are talking about the Aktion T4 program. This is usually forgotten and right now it people need to be reminded of it, since there are countries allowing parents to kill their infant children if they are disabled, and many other countries have similar legislation. And not only children. There is a whole movement to make the lives of disabled people expendable. 

[Emily Thrace]

I really really love this show thank god its already renewed.

 

I like that we finally got Aurora's backstory and that it wasn't a huge moment but I have a feeling it may come into play later.

 

This story really got to me, while the stories of place like Auschwitz are well known this horror is something far less talked about. Its still just as awful in its own way. Breeding programs are simply disgusting on so many levels not just on a feminist level but they step on so many racial and even basic ideas about killing ones children for something like a cleft palate (which is a bit of fridge logic since while their is a genetic component to a cleft palate there is an envirmental factor there. I doubt any of the girls where allowed to smoke or do heavy drugs. ). It just makes my skin crawl. I've done enough research to not be truly shocked by anything the Nazi's have done but actually seeing something like this brought to life is chilling.

 

I also like from a show perspective that the team couldn't save everyone. The note about the dud bomb was a nice touch as well.  Whle open armed resistance is was rare amonst Jewish victims of the nazi's small acts of passive resistance like that were common place. The show really doesn't seem to interested in showing people as passive victims and I am really liking that. Those small acts of resistance  added up in the end too.  The Nazi's had huge problems with defective equiptment  partly from a poor design process but largely because of a huge dependence on slave labor who were actively sabotaging them. Its sometihng that hindered them more than once and may have actually shortened the war.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Harry is injured and the team is trapped during a sabotage mission in a town swarming with Nazis.

[Agfa]

Such a sad episode... I guess the traitor is not always the one we think.

I really like this serie, glad it's been renewed!

[Emily Thrace]

God I love this show. Its dark but its still makes room for humor. Aurora is so fucking awesome(seriously this show is like a study in how women can succeed in a command position). Neil made me cry, and so did the Nazi. Its definitely one oft he best things on television anywhere not just the CBC. After the disappointment of Strange Empire I am so glad this show lived up and personally surpassed the hype.

 

The IRA element could be problematic as I don't believe they were ever even loosely aligned with the Nazis. For one the Nazi's thought of the Irish as lower lifeforms not full on vermin but not Aryan much like they thought of Poland or the Soviets. I'm going to assume this girl is a gunrunner who got stuck in France after the invasion who is trying to survive. It was a nice touch on  the shows part though, to have say her husband was shot for his resistance but not have her say which resistance he was a part of. 

[alexvillage]

I love this show too. Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern have a very unique ability to bring out the humanity of the characters, no matter who they are.

 

and the acting is really god too. I like that it is different from pretty much any other show out there. 

[mledawn]

I really enjoyed this episode. I was on the edge of my seat, and of course I knew Harry would survive because he's one of the main cast, but I was still sweating.

 

The guy who played the young Nazi was very good. I felt so badly for Neil, but what the hell was with the gut stab? That poor kid was going to take forever to die, he'd just be bleeding out in agony - at least make it quick. I hope I was wrong on that placement.

 

Emily Thrace, I took the IRA thing to be that particular Nazi's way of manipulating a source. I didn't think there was actually any kind of intended collaboration, I think he was just using her for knowledge and stringing her along. Who trusts the Nazis? I mean, seriously, Nurse Irish.

[secnarf]

I really didn't suspect the nurse at all - too bad, I kind of liked her. It'll be interesting to see how much of an impact this has in future episodes.
I really really liked the Nazi guy. I was hoping he'd stick around. It looked like he died relatively quickly to me; the knife probably severed the abdominal aorta.

The characters on this show are incredible all around - not just the main ones, and the acting is fantastic. This is becoming one of my favourite shows.

[Emily Thrace]

Emily Thrace, I took the IRA thing to be that particular Nazi's way of manipulating a source. I didn't think there was actually any kind of intended collaboration, I think he was just using her for knowledge and stringing her along. Who trusts the Nazis? I mean, seriously, Nurse Irish.

Yeah promising on group liberation for collaborating is something the Nazi's did a lot though. Its how they got a lot of Croation and Ukranian volunteers  There were IRA splinter groups who were involved with the Nazi's apparently. So the show may be showing something accurate here. Something that threw me about the nurse was that her accent was hard to place. I suspect the actress isn't actually Irish.

[mledawn]

Emily Taaffe is Irish.

[alexvillage]

 

The guy who played the young Nazi was very good.

He was. He was nominated for the German "Emmy's"

[Emily Thrace]

Emily Taaffe is Irish.

 

Ah so the fact that her accent got distinctly more Northern Irish in the final scene was probably deliberate then. Her accent wanders quite a bit in the scenes where shes fixing up Harry I had a lot of trouble placing it.  I wondered if it was a Newfie who was passing themselves off as Irish(Which Canadian production have been known to do. The accents are hard to tell apart unless you know the difference.) The actress was probably going for a more standard southern Irish accent in those scene to make it harder to guess her intentions. The memory about her husband would have been a lot easier to place had she done it in a more standard Belfast accent.  Or it could just be that the actresses accent in naturally somewhere between Belfast and Dublin since she is from somewhere in between.

[The Crazed Spruce]

The team travels to Paris on a mission to assassinate French civilians; Aurora and Neil deal with ghosts from their past; a man carries Germany's darkest secret.

[alexvillage]

I wasn't on the edge of my seat. I fell off my seat. Great episode, so very well acted! A lot of heartbreaking in the future, I suppose (the stories will carry on to the second season and so are the effects of what happened in this episode)

[lynny]

So, I'm just catching up on this now and just finished this episode. Have we gotten a explanation for the weird opening and closing scenes with Alfred in a cell? I imagine that we are watching the show as a series of flashbacks from Alfred as he sits in a prison cell, but has that been explicitly laid out? Because, right now, I'm confused.

[alexvillage]

That's my take. Alfred's memories.  Stephanie Morgenstern has said she can "neither confirm or deny", which I take as a yes, memories. 

 

She also said this will be clarified in the last episode, this coming Wednesday

[The Crazed Spruce]

A massive roundup of Jews tears Paris apart; German agents close in on Aurora and Alfred.

[lynny]

I have to say that this one surprised me. I was absolutely convinced that they were going to have bad Intel and all the "informants" would be innocent and none of them would pull the trigger. They genuinely shocked me when the Intel was good and they went through with it 

[hummingbee]

The predicitbility of this show.

 

 Rene's not dead. Rene's back. Love triangle. Nure Irish is not to be trusted. But nazi boy with a heart of gold is. Tom and Neil learn to walk a mile in each othe'rs shoes. Harry's mistake costs the team. Aurora can't shoot Alfred. Lessons on how people are neither truly good nor truly bad. Etc.

I saw it all coming and yet I want more. By the time the show returns, I will have forgotten everything.

[Emily Thrace]

Its somewhat predictable but yet they twist the familiar enough to make it shine. Like one of my favourite moments tonight when it was Neil who comforted Aurora when she was upset. Because while Aurora is clearly the head of the team Neil is the heart, Its a very old team mom team dad dynamic it just that usually the genders are reversed.  Its an old story but they twist it enough that it offers new insight and makes it a tale worth retelling. Besides as the saying goes the last original work was the Bible anyway.

 

I do think the show does a good job creating tension.  I may have known Irish would betray them and it was a trap but I had no idea when the trap would be sprung or who would be caught in it. I assumed the polish guy was a dead man walking so I was surprised when they made it clear. I also liked that the IRA girl turned not because she was besotted with Harry but because of her own conscience and disgust at what the Nazis were doing. A lesser show would have had Harry confess his feeling and have that break her. The amount of thought that goes in to even a relatively minor characters actions and trying to subvert expectations goes a long way to keeping the show unpredictable.

 

I also love that the show is talking about the Nazi extermination of mentally ill and disabled people since it rarely dealt with. I can't believe how much my heart just broke for an SS officer. His wife reaction to the truth was so real and wonderfully acted At the same time the show also showcases Alfred and his mental differences and how much of an asset he can be. It the balance that part of what makes the show so good. They aren't trying to portray heroes or villains just people and that more than anything makes this show so wonderful to watch. Balance keeps the show from feeling manipulative and some how much more powerful for it.

[alexvillage]

 

I also love that the show is talking about the Nazi extermination of mentally ill and disabled people since it rarely dealt with. I can't believe how much my heart just broke for an SS officer. His wife reaction to the truth was so real and wonderfully acted At the same time the show also showcases Alfred and his mental differences and how much of an asset he can be. It the balance that part of what makes the show so good. They aren't trying to portray heroes or villains just people and that more than anything makes this show so wonderful to watch. Balance keeps the show from feeling manipulative and some how much more powerful for it.

So much this!

Aktion T4 has been forgotten. We have been seeing a lot of anti Jewish propaganda coming back, as well as a lot of "let's blame all the Muslims" for that propaganda. Everyone keeps saying "Never Forget" referring to the Jews extermination. Gays are still discriminated against but a lot of progress has been made and people are very vocal about it. Gypsies are still attacked but people do condemn these as they appear in the news. What is forgotten is that the Holocaust first victim was a disabled boy. What is never mentioned is that the sentiment, as Faber said to his wife is "he is a burden to the state" is happening again and people are not outraged. Disabled people  are actually being killed for being disabled, the majority is being denied what helps them live like - you know - human beings. It is a cliche but the "first they came for…" is happening again.

I love how the show brings all the history, the conflicts, the emotions, the neurodivergent character, the synesthesia. I think the acting ranges from above average to superb and the details are never forgotten - as the gentle touch Neil gives Aurora, Alfred's ear plugs before a shooting, the signs (Le peril juif) and the production in general. I believe the props Sinclair wears are actually original (like the watch)

As for showing the "other side" of seemingly evil people, I think it is well done, unapologetic and balanced. 

[mledawn]

It is no surprise these showrunners are the same ones who brought us Flashpoint. These are basically parables but I don't mind at all. I think it's fair to criticise the show for being predictable, but as hummingbee says, I'll keep watching.

 

I'm going to watch this episode again before commenting on anything worthwhile.

[hummingbee]

BTW, I wan't criticizing the show for being predictable. I quite like that about it. I like that they can keep our attention without constantly doing look-at-me "surpirise twists" . It's like a comfortable old shoe.

 

Slightly off-topic, but if anyone's interested in this sort of thing, an excellent book to read is Kristallnacht:Eyewitness Accounts of the Night of Broken Glass. The title pretty much sums it up.

Edited April 9, 2015 by hummingbee

[mledawn]

Oh, I didn't think you were - sorry! I was agreeing with you.

 

I think if someone were to criticise that the show is predictable, I couldn't much argue, is what I was saying.

Edited April 9, 2015 by mledawn

[alexvillage]

I would add that predictability is fine if the story is well told. 

I think the stories in the show are rich and the acting is great. As I mention, the details are so many, and the fact that they are bringing to light parts of history that are unknown or forgotten by most more than makes up for anything. 

[secnarf]

Has anyone been able to figure out the Morse code in the opening sequence?

[orza]

New season starts on Jan 27th! 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/xcompany/