S01.E06: The Archer

[ottoDbusdriver]

Episode Description:

 

Claire tries to get Drill's friends together in the hopes that they will reveal something about the entity controlling them. Only Lena refuses permission, a decision she soon comes to regret. Meanwhile, Wes has the fulgurite object analyzed and discovers that it has extraterrestrial origins.

 

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

That episode was equal parts underwhelming and lacklustre.  They tried to make things tense and suspenseful, but it just came off as ham-handed and boring.  I was so bored.

 

Considering that the power went all wonky when they were hauling that blue-glowing rock out of the ground, would it really be the best idea to fly it on plane ?  And would it really make sense to proceed to fuck with that rock during the flight ?  Wes is an idiot.

 

Really ABC ?  Still sticking with the whole #WhoisDrill hashtag ?  If anything that thermal image pretty much confirmed its a 'what'.  And apparently aliens from deep space. Yawn.

 

Of course the door to the interview room where the children are is the most secure door this side of Cheyenne Mountain.  5 whacks with a battering ram.  Come on.  Why exactly ?  That's right, needless plot contrivance to amp up the tension.

 

That "game" that Lena played with Drill was so boring -- what exactly was the point of the game ? For an all-knowing, all-powerful entity, Drill comes off as a bit of a moron at times.  So, is Lena on Team Drill now ?  I wonder what Drill will promise her to get her to do stuff.

 

Sean Bennigan has his memory back after touching the rock -- only he remembers Claire had an affair to.  Awkward !  It would have been nice if the rock removed all the stupid tattoos he had as well.

 

And the reason the episode is called 'The Archer' -- because the mysterious space rock apparently passed by a star in the constellation Sagittarius -- so how long has it been cruising through space if that star is 220 light-years away.  And why has it suddenly woken up in the last 3 months ?

[Free]

 

That episode was equal parts underwhelming and lacklustre.  They tried to make things tense and suspenseful, but it just came off as ham-handed and boring.  I was so bored.

 

The sad part is that this was supposed to be a major turning point of the series with Sean getting back his memories and them getting a thermal image of Drill, and it ended up being mediocre and boring.

[tricknasty]

So Claire and Peter Petrelli finally got married and Peter got his memory back.

[Stella MD]

 

That "game" that Lena played with Drill was so boring -- what exactly was the point of the game ? For an all-knowing, all-powerful entity, Drill comes off as a bit of a moron at times.  So, is Lena on Team Drill now ?  I wonder what Drill will promise her to get her to do stuff.

I guess the point of the game was to prove to Lena that Minx wasn't just playing games and/or outright psychotic by showing that Drill could answer questions Minx couldn't possibly know herself, standing outside the door. I'm not convinced that Lena is really on Team Drill at this point, but I anticipate that Drill will tap into her insecurities to get her to take down his new mortal enemy, Claire. 10 bucks says the gun that was randomly introduced last week will eventually be pointed in Claire's direction. Frankly at this point I don't care who it shoots, althoughs Lena's perpetual twitchy skittishness is annoying me more than Claire's inappropriately flat affect, so I guess I'm hoping she accidentally shoots herself.

 

Was Drill's thermal energy imprint supposed to impress and frighten us? I mean, okay, so instead of just flashing lights, the energy can coalesce into a visible fog. Whoop-de-doo.

[gameoff]

I guess the point of the game was to prove to Lena that Minx wasn't just playing games and/or outright psychotic by showing that Drill could answer questions Minx couldn't possibly know herself, standing outside the door. I'm not convinced that Lena is really on Team Drill at this point, but I anticipate that Drill will tap into her insecurities to get her to take down his new mortal enemy, Claire. 10 bucks says the gun that was randomly introduced last week will eventually be pointed in Claire's direction. Frankly at this point I don't care who it shoots, althoughs Lena's perpetual twitchy skittishness is annoying me more than Claire's inappropriately flat affect, so I guess I'm hoping she accidentally shoots herself.

 

Was Drill's thermal energy imprint supposed to impress and frighten us? I mean, okay, so instead of just flashing lights, the energy can coalesce into a visible fog. Whoop-de-doo.

 

I wanted Lena to cover her hand up with a towel and then ask Drill how many fingers she was holding up. If I were her I'd think hidden camera before I thought all-knowing-entity.  Although I guess taking into account the other weird shit that's gone down would make it more plausible.  

 

And I hope the name 'Drill' has some kind of significance.  Maybe Drill's family consists of a complete set of power tools!

Edited July 7, 2015 by gameoff

[Free]

Was Drill's thermal energy imprint supposed to impress and frighten us? I mean, okay, so instead of just flashing lights, the energy can coalesce into a visible fog. Whoop-de-doo.

 

I guess that's a big problem, Drill just isn't that threatening, just flickering lights and a fog they see.

[iMonrey]

The problem here is that we're six episodes into a thirteen episode run and it doesn't feel like the story has really progressed. It feels more like we're still being jerked around. A successful mystery story should dole out clues every week that let us formulate some kind of theory about what's going on. Instead we're just getting a lot of "spooky" crap without any kind of forward movement in the story. I have a feeling none of this is moving anywhere close to a resolution by the time it ends. This show was probably meant to springboard an on-going series like Under the Dome that's supposed to keep us guessing endlessly what the hell Drill is and what it wants. I'm not up for that.

 

I'm still really annoyed by how the adults are glad-handling their precious little angels instead of locking them the hell up where they can't do any further damage. Minx clearly belongs in an institution somewhere and the rest of the little brats should be held at some government holding facility. All the military and intelligence people seem to agree  Drill is an actual thing and actually communicating with these kids, so why in the hell would they just let them all go home and do whatever the heck they want?

 

I don't even get what the hell the point was of Sean losing his memory and then spending the next few months (?) tracking down the various kids who Drill was controlling without actually doing anything about it. None of this makes any sense.

[readster]

The problem here is that we're six episodes into a thirteen episode run and it doesn't feel like the story has really progressed. It feels more like we're still being jerked around. A successful mystery story should dole out clues every week that let us formulate some kind of theory about what's going on. Instead we're just getting a lot of "spooky" crap without any kind of forward movement in the story. I have a feeling none of this is moving anywhere close to a resolution by the time it ends. This show was probably meant to springboard an on-going series like Under the Dome that's supposed to keep us guessing endlessly what the hell Drill is and what it wants. I'm not up for that.

 

I'm still really annoyed by how the adults are glad-handling their precious little angels instead of locking them the hell up where they can't do any further damage. Minx clearly belongs in an institution somewhere and the rest of the little brats should be held at some government holding facility. All the military and intelligence people seem to agree  Drill is an actual thing and actually communicating with these kids, so why in the hell would they just let them all go home and do whatever the heck they want?

 

I don't even get what the hell the point was of Sean losing his memory and then spending the next few months (?) tracking down the various kids who Drill was controlling without actually doing anything about it. None of this makes any sense.

 

 Completely agree, it's pretty obvious that Drill can't do anything except through kids or adults that have been hit by the "mysterious rock" from outer space (insert eye roll). Not to mention all the kids are stupid enough to think this is a game where they get their fondest desires. Instead of a creature that is actually making them do very evil things as long as they get what they want. Apparently with all these parents, none of them taught their kids: "Hurting others or killing them is wrong." So, of course they are going to just send them home where a floating fog creature can tell them to do these things because its all knowing and never mind. Lalala, end of the world.

[Stella MD]

Part of that lack of progression is that every week the big shocking revelation for the adult characters is something that we already know as viewers, or could have pretty easily guessed. For example, this week we got "Drill is real! He isn't just a figment of the kids' collective imagination after all!" (obvious from Day 1) and "the big rock is likely from outer space!" (a pretty easy guess from the many unearthly properties of both the rock and Drill, and

obvious to anyone who has read the original short story

). Stop pretending any of this is news, show.

Edited July 7, 2015 by Stella MD

[Free]

 

The problem here is that we're six episodes into a thirteen episode run and it doesn't feel like the story has really progressed. It feels more like we're still being jerked around. A successful mystery story should dole out clues every week that let us formulate some kind of theory about what's going on. Instead we're just getting a lot of "spooky" crap without any kind of forward movement in the story. I have a feeling none of this is moving anywhere close to a resolution by the time it ends. This show was probably meant to springboard an on-going series like Under the Dome that's supposed to keep us guessing endlessly what the hell Drill is and what it wants. I'm not up for that.

 

 

Part of that lack of progression is that every week the big shocking revelation for the adult characters is something that we already know as viewers, or could have pretty easily guessed. For example, this week we got "Drill is real! He isn't just a figment of the kids' collective imagination after all!" (obvious from Day 1) and "the big rock is likely from outer space!" (a pretty easy guess from the many unearthly properties of both the rock and Drill, and

obvious to anyone who has read the original short story

). Stop pretending any of this is news, show.

 

We've don't have any reason to care about these characters or Drill who is just flickering lights and 'playing games' with children.  The premise doesn't feel like it should last long (again, UtD has shown us why), at best it should've been an episode on a supernatural/sci-fi drama or a movie.

[Happytobehere]

The problem here is that we're six episodes into a thirteen episode run and it doesn't feel like the story has really progressed. It feels more like we're still being jerked around. A successful mystery story should dole out clues every week that let us formulate some kind of theory about what's going on. Instead we're just getting a lot of "spooky" crap without any kind of forward movement in the story. I have a feeling none of this is moving anywhere close to a resolution by the time it ends. This show was probably meant to springboard an on-going series like Under the Dome that's supposed to keep us guessing endlessly what the hell Drill is and what it wants. I'm not up for that.

You mean to tell me that there are seven more weeks of this mess. I thought it was a ten episode arc. At this point, I am already ff through every scene that contains Wes, as I find both the character and the actor insufferable. I wish he would take his annoying wife and his bad seed daughter and vanish. But I know that will never happen because the showrunners seem to think people on this planet are interested in the chemistryless bore fest that is his illicit love with Claire. Who knows, perhaps Drill has control of them and he finds Wes and Wes/Claire fascinating. The way things are going now, I doubt I'm making it through the end of the 13 week run.

[Texasmom1970]

My tv cut out can someone tell me how Claire ended up having coffee in the kitchen talking to Lena. Did she just knock on the door and say I know I banged your husband but I need to talk to you about your creepy child? Just curious.

[iMonrey]

 

You mean to tell me that there are seven more weeks of this mess. I thought it was a ten episode arc.

 

Yep, 13 episodes total. Since most "summer shows" tend to be 10 episodes, I strongly suspect this wasn't meant to be a limited run summer show, but rather a normal fall season entry, and the network realized it wasn't very good and pushed it back to the summer. Also, the actors have been let out of their contracts so it looks like ABC knew they weren't going to pick it up even before they aired any of it. Someone upthread mentioned the network is "burning off" these episodes, and that seems to be the case. Doomed show right out of the gate.

 

 

My tv cut out can someone tell me how Claire ended up having coffee in the kitchen talking to Lena. Did she just knock on the door and say I know I banged your husband but I need to talk to you about your creepy child? Just curious.

 

Yep, that's about it! After Claire spoke to her superior at the bureau they next cut to a scene where she's sitting at Lena's kitchen table. You didn't miss anything.

[greyflannel]

I'm out. For me to care about what's going on, I need to care about at least some of the characters. I don't and, at this point, it's just an exercise in boredom.  

[Jadzia]

I'm out. For me to care about what's going on, I need to care about at least some of the characters. I don't and, at this point, it's just an exercise in boredom.  

About 15 minutes into this episode, I decided to delete it and my season pass. Summer is too short to waste it on this dreck, and I am still kicking myself for sticking with American Odyssey until the end.

[Driad]

Is anyone posting summaries of the episodes? I will miss some episodes because of travel, do not have a recording device, and will not have the incentive to chase down episodes on line. Brief summaries telling what (if anything) happened would be welcome.

[Free]

About 15 minutes into this episode, I decided to delete it and my season pass. Summer is too short to waste it on this dreck, and I am still kicking myself for sticking with American Odyssey until the end.

 

That show was a complete waste of time, nothing actually progressed in the end at all.

[BooksRule]

So Drill is just a floating blob of energy?  I kind of pictured him as looking like the Galaxy Being from the original 'Outer Limits' series (and I pictured him as being icy blue in color).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJSn55nkngY  (Clip of the Galaxy Being)

[Andromeda]

I'm still really annoyed by how the adults are glad-handling their precious little angels instead of locking them the hell up where they can't do any further damage. Minx clearly belongs in an institution somewhere and the rest of the little brats should be held at some government holding facility. All the military and intelligence people seem to agree  Drill is an actual thing and actually communicating with these kids, so why in the hell would they just let them all go home and do whatever the heck they want?

SO MUCH THIS. I came here specifically to see if anyone else was frustrated by the adults allowing their spawn to have a friendship with this thing without putting the fear of OMG IT'S AN EVIL ENTITY into their little pea brains. I've seen parents get angrier and more controlling over a kid visiting a friend's house than any of these parents are showing. Sit the brats down and tell them Drill is DANGEROUS, and probably EVIL, is MANIPULATING them, wants to hurt their PARENTS, and could cause the deaths of multiple people! (Like the mom who, you know, NEARLY DIED.) Scare the crap out of them if necessary, particularly that awful creature Minx, who has already helped Drill break into her Daddy's computer and knows it got him into a lot of trouble, but apparently doesn't even care. Even though she's old enough to know right from wrong.

 

Anyway, clearly I had to vent! Other than that huge annoyance, and the implicit stupidity of the adults involved, I've enjoyed the show as a summer diversion.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Andromeda

[Canada]

I'm getting really ticked off with this show.  It has a really interesting premise, but the people are just so boring!!!  The kids are the most interesting people in the show.  The adults are all wooden, emotionless morons.  When whats-er-name was crying because Drill was hovering over her son, I laughed because the acting was so bad!  They should scrap this entire cast and try again with people who can act.

[Free]

 

Drill is an actual thing and actually communicating with these kids, so why in the hell would they just let them all go home and do whatever the heck they want?

 

Because they're idiots and it's obviously going to backfire on them.

[wayne67]

Because they're idiots and it's obviously going to backfire on them.

 

Reminds me of Crisis where the parents were always committing acts of terrorism or undermining national security and after the second parent did it. It became so frustrating that the government officials didn't put all the parents inside a secure facility until the crisis was over.

 

They should put all the children that they know are in contact with Drill in a supervised government day care since most of these parents are completely useless at supervising their children.

[Free]

Reminds me of Crisis where the parents were always committing acts of terrorism or undermining national security and after the second parent did it. It became so frustrating that the government officials didn't put all the parents inside a secure facility until the crisis was over.

 

They should put all the children that they know are in contact with Drill in a supervised government day care since most of these parents are completely useless at supervising their children.

 

Exactly, it was just awful and they have no excuse since they know full well that Drill is manipulating these kids and yet they do nothing about it and let them go and continue to have them interact with Drill.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Free

[Tony]

This show was somewhat interesting when there was a supernatural/ghost element. Now that it's become full-on sci-fi and extraterrestrials, the little interest I had in the show pretty much vaporized.

[readster]

This show was somewhat interesting when there was a supernatural/ghost element. Now that it's become full-on sci-fi and extraterrestrials, the little interest I had in the show pretty much vaporized.

They turned it into the classic: "Everything out there wants to kill us and everyone is a moron from character A-Z." That is a death sentence for any show. Many big name writers and movie directors even say today: "If you are going to go with: 'aliens evil' then give them motivations and reasons that make the audience say: 'I can identify with that.'" Instead we have: "Drill bad, kids stupid, adults even more stupid. We all going to die!"

[Tony]

To be fair to Drill, if my only interactions are with little snots like Minx and the girl whose mother fell down the treehouse and I thought they're a representation of the rest of the population, I'd want to destroy all the Earthlings too.

[readster]

To be fair to Drill, if my only interactions are with little snots like Minx and the girl whose mother fell down the treehouse and I thought they're a representation of the rest of the population, I'd want to destroy all the Earthlings too.

Which falls into another sci-fi story trap, they aliens always see the worst from less than a handful and go: "They suck!" "Kill them all!" 

[AudienceofOne]

So Drill isn't inter dimensional but is somehow an energy creature from outer space. That's... kind of lame.