S02.E10: Luther Braxton (2)

[formerlyfreedom]

FBI boss Cooper tries to rescue his team in the wake of chaos at a detention facility. Elsewhere, thief Luther Braxton attempts to attain confidential information.

 

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Per the preview at the end of the Post-Superbowl episode:

everyone important to the story survives as do the two helicopters (which is odd because those missiles were supposed to destroy the platform and put it on the bottom of the ocean or "make it disappear"), Luthor gets away with an injured Lizzie, and Lizzie be tripping on a drug-induced adventure back to discover what happened during the fire at Red's house oh so many years ago.

[paigow]

So Red planted a trigger code for finding Fulcrum inside the brain of a child that he could not be sure would survive to adulthood. If Fulcrum's location changed in the next 10 or 20 years, the code would be rendered useless. Since Red admits that he never had possession of Fulcrum, how could he be sure that it would never move?

[Surrealist]

Well, I'm bummed that Ron Perlman is out. I had hoped that Luther Braxton might be a recurring character.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Wow -- two missile explosions and neither Braxton nor Red have little more than some superficial cuts on them.  How exactly ?

 

Yet somehow Braxton was able to grab a unconscious Lizzie in the chaos and take off on a Medevac chopper.  Quick question -- where were the two choppers that dropped off Ressler, Lizzie and Samar ?  Because they should have still been on the helipads waiting for the return trip ?

 

The Factory was actually located near Nome, Alaska (in the Norton Sound) -- not as remote as they made it sound.  I figured it was going to be hundreds of miles out into the ocean. And the medevac chopper was able to fly from somewhere in the middle of the Bering Sea to Juneau ?  Correction, Braxton is now near Washington and somehow Braxton just happens to know a doctor to revive Lizzie's memories ?  Medevac choppers can't fly more than 400-500 miles one-way, let alone all the way to Juneau.

 

How did Aram NOT know that Red and the gang were safe ?  And unless they hopped aboard a F-22 out of Wright-Patterson to get them home in 24 minutes, it would have taken them 1/2 day to get home.  Aram would have known about all that and should not have been surprised in Cooper's office that Samar was "safe".

 

Seriously, the travel times on this show are making the travel times on Revolution look normal by comparison.

 

Is Samar even limping from that gunshot wound ?   Shouldn't they have treated her at a hospital BEFORE she got back to Washington ?

 

And now it's time for Lizzie's magical mystery tour --   in the shallow end of a drained pool for some reason.  And Lizzie's dream is just ridiculous -- interacting with herself.  Megan Boone's doped up in a chair acting ability is just terrible as well.

 

Isn't Lizzie a board-certified psychiatrist ?  Wouldn't she know what all this dream symbolism means without consulting with Max's mommy ?  Or have they just completely forgotten that component of her background ?

 

Petty Officer Virginia Sherman -- one of Red's old flames, perhaps ?  Have we heard that name before ?

 

Fulcrum has to be the name of Lizzie's stuffed rabbit.  But no, it's something hidden in Lizzie's stuffed rabbit -- but it was difficult to make out exactly what it was inside the tiny box. 

 

The dream still doesn't explain the burn mark on her arm -- or why a similar shaped mark was on the top of Tom's mystery box under the floor boards.

Edited February 6, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[AimingforYoko]

Looks like Straithairn is taking Alan Alda's spot as leader of the evil cabal.

[TV Anonymous]

I am a bit confused with the geography in this show. So a civilian helicopter took Braxton from Norton Sound to Juneau, right? Let us just say that it is possible. Just assume. Braxton then did his torture around the hospital, which is still in Juneau, supposedly. Then he got the psychiatrst, also must have been around Juneau. And Reddington summoned his connection to Braxton. Since he did not seem to take flight he was... well, around Juneau. So the setting of the story must have been in and around Juneau.

 

Meanwhile Cooper and Mojtabai remained in the secret lair, which was around DC. After Ressler and Navabi were rescued, they went back to the lair. It was an easily 6-hour flight, even with private plane. Then they went back to look for Keen. However, the pace of the episode seemed linear, with no gap in timing.

 

So did I miss the action moved to the East Coast from Alaska or was the timing was actually slower than what I thought it was?

[ottoDbusdriver]

So did I miss the action moved to the East Coast from Alaska or was the timing was actually slower than what I thought it was?

 

Nope -- all of sudden after Braxton was spotted at the hospital Juneau he suddenly showed up at the facility with the empty swimming pool somewhere near Washington.  And it kind of looked like the Medevac chopper dropped off Red, Samar, and Ressler in D.C. -- because there aren't that many highrise buildings in Nome or Juneau (as seen in the background when Red was talking to Braxton on the cell phone).  The travel shenanigans were all over the map (so to speak).

[thuganomics85]

Of course, not only do all the regulars somehow survive a big-ass explosion, none of them are even critically injured.  That's just how this show rolls!

 

Thought it was kind of an anti-climatic ending for the two hours.  Basically, Red just captures Luther and kills him off screen, in order to send a message to David Strathairn's character.  I'm all for more Strathairn, but what a waste of Ron Perlman.  I wanted more Perlman/James Spader scenes, dammit!

 

The rest is just basically going back to the mysterious fire that Lizzie was in.  She finds out that Red was there and that a group of them were looking for the Fulcrum, so she's now pissed because she thinks that he only got close to her because of that.  Then, Gloria Reuban's character suddenly claims she thinks her memories might have been altered somehow, so now I don't know what to think.  Except that it looks like the Fulcrum was in Lizzie's childhood rabbit doll the entire time, so now Lizzie has the power.

 

Aram has pretty much given up on even pretending he doesn't totally have the hots for Samar.  But, what's with the looks, Ressler? Can you blame Aram?  Not to mention, you are crushing on Lizzie, so you really aren't in the position to judge.

 

For the life of me, I can't remember what is going on with Harold and the doctor?  Is he sick?  Or was it his wife?

[HollaMcDollar]

Sooooo.... DoES anytine here actually like the show?

[alias1]

I like the show.  I really don't care about all the travel inconsistencies.  I think Lizzie's acting was fine in this episode. 

 

Cooper has some kind of illness, right?  I don't think it's his wife.  It looked like the news was not good.

[buttersister]

The Power of Spader got me to watch this live, mostly. Looks like they're traveling Bauer-time, but since I had no idea why they were in Alaska, I didn't care. Lame agent Keen is my problem--imagine how much more powerful those scenes with Red would have been with a better actress. She was even boring in her head with herself as a little girl. Otoh, I've always like Straithairn, so between he and all of other actors (minus whatshername), we'll see how this goes.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Going to the PVR, it looks like an electronic circuit of some sort inside the tiny box from inside the stuffed rabbit.

[Dowel Jones]

I hope they don't go the route of making the Fulcrum a USB device.  Way too early. 

 

Let me get this straight,  The Evil Cabal arranges with Braxton (how is anyone's guess) that they will break him out of the prison, which obviously requires the mass slaughter of the security personnel, because he has them convinced he knows how to get to the Fulcrum.  So he  grabs Lizzie and the doctor to force-acquire her memory of the location of the Fulcrum, but Reddington opines that he is merely stumbling around without a plan during all of this.  So what was the original plan?

 

Apologies for a short memory, but has anyone actually defined the Fulcrum or what it contains?

 

Aram has pretty much given up on even pretending he doesn't totally have the hots for Samar.

 

I got the feeling that Ressler was standing there, thinking "I'm okay too.  I made it out, thank you."

[ItCouldBeWorse]

The Fulcrum is a blackmail file on the Alliance.

 

I thought the device hidden in the rabbit looked like a mini music box.  If I'm not mistaken, it would likely play the same song from Lizzie's childhood as the music box Red rebuilt in "Ivan."  When she opened this mini box, she got a dreamy look on her face, as if she was hearing something familiar. (If any of this is accurate, the song can't be a trigger or she would have been triggered by Red's music box.)

 

It sound like Red was with some others who wanted to get the Fulcrum from Lizzie's father, there was a fight, a fire broke out and Lizzie screamed, Red rescued her and placed her with her adoptive family and probably arranged for her memory to be suppressed for her own mental health.

[Julia]

It's just bizarre. Ron Perlman is amazing, David Strathairn is one of my favorite journeyman actors, and James Spader is riveting, even when his material is sub par.

And then, there's Megan Boone. Just, what even was that?

Edited February 6, 2015 by Julia

[KayElektra]

Let me get this straight,  The Evil Cabal arranges with Braxton (how is anyone's guess) that they will break him out of the prison, which obviously requires the mass slaughter of the security personnel, because he has them convinced he knows how to get to the Fulcrum.  So he  grabs Lizzie and the doctor to force-acquire her memory of the location of the Fulcrum, but Reddington opines that he is merely stumbling around without a plan during all of this.  So what was the original plan?

Yeah, this is where I get lost.  Mind you, I enjoyed the hell out of the episode, but now that I start thinking about it...

 

I have no idea what the original plan was, but it couldn't have involved Lizzie, as Braxton didn't figure out she was the key to the Fulcrum until about 30 milliseconds before the ACME missiles hit the facility with all the power of storyline furthering.  The original plan also couldn't have involved Reddington as he just got to the facility and the escape plan was clearly set in motion many months ahead of time.

 

Super glad Lizzie still has the newish box full of just the perfect amount of childhood memories that didn't burn in the fire!  Phew!

[Iguana]

To help clarify, Braxton's original plan had nothing to do with Lizzie. He wanted to access the computer/servers at the detention facility as they apparently had information that would lead to the location of the fulcrum. When the servers got blowed up real good, and somehow Brxton realized that Lizzie was "the girl" he then grabbed Lizzie and that's when the improvisation had to start.

What I cannot help clarify in ANY way is anything to do with the travel shenanigans. I don't normally let myself get distracted by the fact that everywhere on TV is just two hours away from everywhere else because then I would go crazy and hate almost all television. However in this episode that was very hard to do given the Alaska versus Washington issues and the inexplicable abilities of helicopters to travel thousands of miles almost instantaneously.

I'm glad we finally have some forward momentum on Reds connection to Lizzie and where the fulcrum is. And as always Spader is a joy to watch, whether he's telling Braxton "I told you so", facing down Straithern, or pressing Lizzie to remember.

[Marianne]

It's just bizarre. Ron Perlman is amazing, David Strahairn is one of my favorite journeyman actors, and James Spader is riveting, even when his material is sub par.

And then, there's Megan Boone. Just, what even was that?

I will have to respectfully disagree regarding David Strathairn:  he's much more than a "journeyman";  he's a wonderful actor who has done a lot of great work, including his performances in a number of John Sayles films.

[Julia]

I don't think of journeyman actor as a pejorative. He's a skilled working character actor.

Mark Ruffalo, for instance, uses it on himself. I don't think he means that he does second-rate work ;)

http://mark-ruffalo.com/2010/10/i-consider-myself-to-be-a-journeyman-actor/

[Marianne]

I don't think of journeyman actor as a pejorative. He's a skilled working character actor.

Mark Ruffalo, for instance, uses it on himself. I don't think he means that he does second-rate work ;)

http://mark-ruffalo.com/2010/10/i-consider-myself-to-be-a-journeyman-actor/

YMMV.  I don't think Mark Ruffalo's use of the term is definitive or entirely accurate and he's obviously trying to be self-effacing.  "Journeyman" is, to me, pejorative in the sense that it means the actor's work is "routine".  Re Straithairn, I simply but strongly disagree.  I think he's much more than a journeyman, more than a "skilled working character actor. " But that's just my opinion.

[shura]

Super glad Lizzie still has the newish box full of just the perfect amount of childhood memories that didn't burn in the fire!  Phew!

 

If they are going to tell us that this reasonably large box has been inside this soft toy all the time since Lizzie's childhood, ready to be discovered when she is in the mood for it, and she has been carrying the rabbit around without ever noticing that something obviously foreign is in it, it will make her one the least observant people ever. Not that I will not believe it, but how does the FBI select its people then? Wouldn't the Bureau want their agents to at least see what's in front of them? 

 

I loved Luther's line "If they are so powerful, they can surely afford to pay 10 percent more." - that actually sounds very reasonable! And if I were Straithairn's character, all-powerful though he may be, I wouldn't walk around without bodyguards like that, thinking that this power will stop some crazy, irrational thug from killing you if he feels like it.

 

Dembe had no lines at all. Does the actor get paid if he has no lines? 

[Primetimer]

Of the way Red and Liz were.

Read the story

[ottoDbusdriver]

You pretty much knew something was henky about the rabbit when it changed from a live rabbit to a stuffed rabbit in Lizzie's dream.

 

Since the fire was 26 years ago when Lizzie was 4, that confirms that Lizzie is exactly 30.  I wonder if Lizzie ever got her deposit back from the child adoption agency for the adoption that she didn't go through with.  I'm also kind of curious where Lizzie is living these days -- still moving from motel to dive motel.

 

The big problem I had with Lizzie's dream trips is that she should only be able to remember from her own point of view -- not as viewed from a different point of view and definitely not be able to interact with her herself (because it's a memory, not a holodeck).  The minute she starts interacting with herself and seeing things from a different point of view the memory has been altered and nothing she sees can be trusted as accurate.

 

So her being pissed off at Red really has no basis -- and really, how many times is she going to be "done with Red".  They've trotted this trope out a bunch of times already but she always comes back (and

it was basically confirmed in the preview for next week's episode that she is working with him again

).

 

ETA:  I completely forgot -- is Lizzie's dog dead by now ?  Because wherever she's living, that dog is probably dead of starvation and neglect.

Edited February 6, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Lorimac]

In some of last season's flashbacks you could see the rabbit, and I said to Couch Husband, 'They gave her a stuffed rabbit for a reason - it must be important." and Couch Husband said, "C'mon, you have been watching this show - do you really think that the writers have any idea where they are going?! Giving her a stuffed rabbit that contains a valuable gem or computer chip would mean that they are thinking ahead and that they have an endgame in mind. Do not give them that much credit." NOW, I can't decide if either of us was right.

[12catcrazy]

Okay, so now I'm more confused than ever.   Was Red's wife and daughter supposedly killed in the fire, and if so, what is the deal with  Red's ex-wife and  his daughter (who is apparently living under an assumed name somewhere) last season?   And is The Blacklist still playing the stupid game of "is Liz Red's daughter"?   And does any of it matter because apparently one has to check their logic and general intelligence at the door when watching this show. 

[JoeSchwike]

One thing (among many) I don't understand is why the shadow group (including The Director) would hire Braxton to break into the top-secret servers.  Wouldn't The Director already have access to the top-secret database?  He said his people were 'mapping Braxton's algorithms' or something so they could see what he was searching for and have the info, why couldn't they just search for it themselves?

 

Also, if Lizzie is the key to the Fulcrum, why did Fitch (Alda's character) go on about the Fulcrum being in St. Petersburg with his dying words in the fall finale?  He made it seem like that was a major clue, Red was listening with intense interest, then nothing - at least explain if St. Petersburg was a wild goose chase, or pointed them back to something.

[dwmarch]

Red and Lizzie are not Ross and Rachel; I don't care how many times they break up and get back together.

 

I think the best moment of this episode was Aram's super-awkward hug of Samar, which he then extends to Ressler.

[alias1]

 

 

So her being pissed off at Red really has no basis -- and really, how many times is she going to be "done with Red".  They've trotted this trope out a bunch of times already but she always comes back (and

it was basically confirmed in the preview for next week's episode that she is working with him again

).

 

ETA:  I completely forgot -- is Lizzie's dog dead by now ?  Because wherever she's living, that dog is probably dead of starvation and neglect.

 

This is the biggest problem I have with the show, the writing for Keen.  She consistently says and does the stupidest things where Red is concerned.  I blame the writing for her.    

 

I've been worried about the dog, too.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Also, if Lizzie is the key to the Fulcrum, why did Fitch (Alda's character) go on about the Fulcrum being in St. Petersburg with his dying words in the fall finale?  He made it seem like that was a major clue, Red was listening with intense interest, then nothing - at least explain if St. Petersburg was a wild goose chase, or pointed them back to something.

 

Or St. Petersburg is the name of the stuffed rabbit.  Which would put the Fulcrum IN St. Petersburg.  Good thing Lizzie never had a garage sale in the intervening 26 years since the fire. </snark>

Edited February 6, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[mertensia]

And people have the nerve to snark on how fast they travel in the Impala on Supernatural.

Ron Perlman should have been around longer than 2 episodes.

Loved Aram hugging Samar.

[SunnyBeBe]

How would the fulcrum have relevant information on it today?  Wouldn't most of the people be dead or retired?  

[saber5055]

Okay, this show is so confusing I have to get clarity by reading here. That proves how warped I am.

 

First, I cannot imagine some prison on an oil rig in the middle of the Bering Sea. Haven't the writers ever watched Deadliest Catch? The heating bill alone would break the government treasury bank.

 

I was a victim of the time-warp crazies too, from Alaska to DC in a blink. At least the Supernatural boys are shown riding Baby down the road and, as far as I know, have never driven from Alaska to the east coast in micro-minutes.

 

I still don't know what Fulcrum is. Or care, really. I just watch the show because of ... oh, I don't know ... it's a habit? All I know is Red and Dembe rule, and Donald is one nice piece of eye candy. I guess those are reasons enough to keep tuning in.

 

But hey everyone: It's been renewed for next year! So the party will continue.

[calipiano81]

Did this episode really give us any new information? We already knew there was a fire, that Liz's parents died in the fire, that Reddington was there, and Liz is tied to the Fulcrum.

I guess there's the stuffed bunny with the hidden object...Red or whoever hid it there..how did he know Liz would keep the bunny for 26 years?

[shura]

The big problem I had with Lizzie's dream trips is that she should only be able to remember from her own point of view -- not as viewed from a different point of view and definitely not be able to interact with her herself (because it's a memory, not a holodeck).

 

Well, clearly you are not familiar with Dr. Orchard's groundbreaking research on memory, umm, stuff. One gene, one injection, and boom - results. Any point of view the plot requires. Nobel-caliber work, really.

[nutty1]

Oh boy…..and here I thought it was a really good episode…...

[pcta]

Me, too

[alias1]

 

I still don't know what Fulcrum is. Or care, really. I just watch the show because of ... oh, I don't know ... it's a habit? All I know is Red and Dembe rule, and Donald is one nice piece of eye candy. I guess those are reasons enough to keep tuning in.

 

But hey everyone: It's been renewed for next year! So the party will continue.

Exactly!

[missbonnie]

Sooooo.... DoES anytine here actually like the show?

I absolutely love it and I don't give a rats ass about plausibility. I am here to be entertained and thus far I have been so I am good to go.

I do wish we could have kept Perlman simply because he's just a perfect villain for Red to play off of.

[saber5055]

 

Did this episode really give us any new information? We already knew there was a fire, that Liz's parents died in the fire, that Reddington was there, and Liz is tied to the Fulcrum.

Well, we don't know for sure who, if anyone, died in the fire. The newscasts that played toward the beginning of ep. 1 all got cut off when Red's background was being told, right when the newscaster was going to give us some of that missing info about Red, the fire, Lizzie's parents, everything that this show has been stringing us along about. All we really know is, there was a fire. Lizzie has a scar on her wrist; Red has scars on his back. 

 

One thing I found surprising ... that oil rig was hit by a missile with the intent to destroy it and kill everyone. Yet everyone pretty much lived plus were able to fly away on the helicopters. The only damage was, as Red said, the rig was going to sink into the Bering Sea. No wonder it took so long to kill Bin Ladin. 

 

When Red was knocked "dead" by the missile and was under that sheet of plywood, I questioned Lizzie trying to revive him by beating on his chest, which probably should have been full of broken ribs penetrating his lungs. I was waiting for the mouth-to-mouth. Yeah, I know. I guess NBC didn't want to "go to there." Then the bad guys come in and she throws the plywood back over him. OUCH! Someone else was able to revive him by ... what, saying his name?

 

Lizzie was very irritating with her "Me, ME, it's all about ME!" whinging to Red at the end, when she complained that REALLY? He wasn't there to be with HER? It was about Fulcrum or something else besides HER? What a baby.

Edited February 7, 2015 by saber5055

[ottoDbusdriver]

Was it generally known that we were going to get David Strathairn this year, because somehow I missed that news?  I squealed with delight when I heard his voice, even before we saw his face.  I will watch anything with him, any time - even sci-fi which I hate (Alphas wasn't bad because of him)  I hope he lasts all season - he's just one of those actors who can't do anything wrong in my opinion.  Those eyes...that voice...

 

Heck, I was just surprised he lasted to the end of the episode and wasn't taken out by Red.  He had him dead to rights -- why didn't Red pull the trigger ? He did as bad or worse things via Luthor Braxton than Fitch or Diane Fowler (the DoJ division head) that Red killed personally.

Edited February 7, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[saber5055]

Maybe Lizzie finding that socket-type thing in the rabbit is a decoy. A better Fulcrum plot would be for Lizzie to have had something planted in her wrist and the burn scars put over it so it wouldn't show up on x-rays or be easily felt. Now THAT would make more sense as to why she has to be kept safe instead of something being in a ratty old ancient stuffed toy that could be tossed in the trash or ... horrors! ... put through the washer/dryer countless times in the past 26 years. Or given to some other kid. Or have been taken by Red last season.

[Happytobehere]

So this show gets Ron Pearlman and decides to kill him off even though his villain was one of the most intriguing characters played by a really good actor. I know Red is some sort of Criminal God but I think a villain who is clearly not on par with Red intellectually but can still outsmart him becuase he has a different kind of smarts would have been interesting. He could have been Red's Wo Fat .

I loved seeng Gloria Rueben and hope she comes back.

MB continues to drag down the show with whatever it is that she is doing that she thinks is acting.

More Dembe is needed.

[saber5055]

 

He did as bad or worse things via Luthor Braxton than Fitch or Diane Fowler (the DoJ division head) that Red killed personally.

Speaking of Red killing people, we see him shooting bad guys on a routine basis. Typically, he goes into a soliloquy, then BLAM, shoots the person. But is this the first week Lizzie has been there when he does that? (When he shot the semi-bald guy who asked what his job was.) Lizzie had absolutely no reaction to that whatsoever. Acting? Not acting? 

[Ottis]

Sooooo.... DoES anytine here actually like the show?

 

 

I am trying, so hard. And I don't care about the travel inconsistencies, them I can go along with.

But Keen, OMG. Just one stupid thing after another. Like warning the hospital staff "He has a gu-(n)!" AFTER the gun is pulled. Or telling Max mom as she begins the memory extraction, "You don't have to do this," despite knowing that the doc's kid was being held hostage and threatened with death. Uh, yeah, she pretty much has to do this.

 

Braxton's intro and arc seemed rushed and at times nonsensical. The best summary was from Red, telling Braxton's partners that Luthor has started something he can't finish, i.e., Braxton is less an uber bad guy than a thief in over his head. Which, while good, undermines the whole "Braxton is a really bad dude" vibe the show has tried to set up.

 

And the dream sequences ... ugh. At least use a cliche that works, like Keen seeing everything fuzzy and then snapping to clarity on a specific, key point.

 

If what is in that stuffed rabbitt has always been there and is the key to fulcrum, wow. That is a big risk, assuming she would keep that thing all these years. And to the person who said Keen never noticed the rabbit had something hard in it, ITA. She is a horrible agent.

 

I take it that the fact the gov't blamed Red on TV at the end means  his threat didn't scare anyone?

[Eolivet]

It sound like Red was with some others who wanted to get the Fulcrum from Lizzie's father, there was a fight, a fire broke out and Lizzie screamed, Red rescued her and placed her with her adoptive family and probably arranged for her memory to be suppressed for her own mental health.

 

I thought it was implied that her memory might've been altered, and the "people in different roles" would clearly be Reddington. So, if she remembers him as being there to get the fulcrum, maybe he's the one who was being pursued for the fulcrum. Interesting plot twist if Liz's family were the bad guys and Reddington was a good guy.

[Texasmom1970]

 

All I know is Red and Dembe rule, and Donald is one nice piece of eye candy. I guess those are reasons enough to keep tuning in.

 

You just named the exact reasons I watch this show. I don't care what Meagan Boone does or doesn't do. I am in it for the men, love them, they make the show for me.

[Shanna]

I thought it was implied that her memory might've been altered, and the "people in different roles" would clearly be Reddington. So, if she remembers him as being there to get the fulcrum, maybe he's the one who was being pursued for the fulcrum..

I thought for sure that red was the one who gave her the bunny but I'm not sure if that makes sense...different roles leaves a lot of room for red to be anyone.

[Yokosmom]

If what is in that stuffed rabbitt has always been there and is the key to fulcrum, wow. That is a big risk, assuming she would keep that thing all these years.

 

My assumption is that her father put it in the rabbit, just as a safe hiding place.  He had no way of knowing that he'd end up dead and that his daughter would carry it around as a cherished toy for 26 years.  

[Calamity Jane]

I watch this show for the same reason I watched Boston Legal - James Spader.  I wish the plots were more thought-out, I wish Megan Boone could act, but I will put up with it all just to watch Spader.