Cranberry July 11, 2015 Share July 11, 2015 Killer Synth is the breaking news story, and public panic is growing. Karen is hot on Niska's tail, but are her motives for finding her more personal than professional? Link to comment
NorthstarATL July 13, 2015 Share July 13, 2015 I never would have guessed Mattie as Anita's champion! And Toby sussing out his Dad's shenanigans was pretty perceptive. I may have pegged the kids wrong. Even Vera came through this episode when I was certain she'd spill the beans. Interesting episode. Not surprisingly, Niska continues to be awesome. And dangerous. 7 Link to comment
Athena July 13, 2015 Share July 13, 2015 This episode definitely moved the characters around. I'm glad Mattie did realize that Anita was part of another family and helped. Toby was good as well! I really liked how Joe's consequences were followed up relatively quickly. I'm getting more curious about Mia and that little family group. Max is getting more a personality as well. He's like the baby of the family. I liked that Niska and George were able to interact. It was interesting watching their discussions. Niska is cool character, but her jaded experiences have more too trigger happy. 4 Link to comment
ottoDbusdriver July 13, 2015 Share July 13, 2015 I'm glad they finally followed up with Odi. And they expanded upon Leo's background somewhat. I'm still curious why Leo, Max and Nishka don't appear to know about the existence of Karen. Hopefully there's another synth with a copy of Fred's part of the code. 2 Link to comment
Sakura12 July 13, 2015 Share July 13, 2015 (edited) I'm glad they finally followed up with Odi. And they expanded upon Leo's background somewhat. I'm still curious why Leo, Max and Nishka don't appear to know about the existence of Karen. Hopefully there's another synth with a copy of Fred's part of the code. That's what I'm wondering. Is Karen part of another group of conscious Synths? She seems to have been passing for human for awhile, even knowing how to appear to eat food. I'm also thinking that that the evil doctor didn't destroy Fred, that's why he burned the body. It wasn't Fred's, it was probably some other Synth. I guess Leo is David Elster's son with robot parts in him to keep him alive. Edited July 14, 2015 by Sakura12 8 Link to comment
Ohwell July 13, 2015 Share July 13, 2015 This show is interesting but there are too many characters and too many subplots to try and keep track of. 2 Link to comment
John Potts July 16, 2015 Share July 16, 2015 I love the fact that even if technology changes, corporate bullshit doesn't. "We want you on the phones keeping a lid on this problem, but on no account are you to actually tell the truth!" And hiding the facts from their own side is plain dumb (spin doctors frequently complain that they don't mind what their clients have done, so long as they know what the skeletons in the cupboard ARE ahead of time). And as soon as I saw the burnt corpse, I said, "There is no way that's really Fred!" OK, so the guys make a slight comeback this week, with both Joe and Toby stepping up, though given how pathetic they've been so far, it's more a case of coming back from 3-0 down to scoring a late goal and making it 3-1. Though in that family, Mattie is definitely the star, even if I haven't entirely forgiven her for shooting at Odi (I think it was him) in Episode 1. Niska is still a jerk, even when people are sympathetic to her. Since there are people who are like that (and given her "upbringing", somewhat understandable), I guess it is a human characteristic, just not a very attractive one. Though I did like them mentioning that it took "only" 12000 lines (or something like that) of code to give the Synths sentience, because it would have to be a MASSIVE undertaking (and I would guess a Synth would have over a million lines of code in total, given their complexity). 1 Link to comment
Sakura12 July 16, 2015 Share July 16, 2015 Though in that family, Mattie is definitely the star, even if I haven't entirely forgiven her for shooting at Odi (I think it was him) in Episode 1. That wasn't Odi, it was her neighbors Synth. 1 Link to comment
tatterd July 18, 2015 Share July 18, 2015 Max is getting more a personality as well. He's like the baby of the family. I wonder if he's actually the oldest and got created before Elster had quite perfected creating synths with consciousness, as he seems to be the one who has most trouble passing for human 5 Link to comment
kieyra July 22, 2015 Share July 22, 2015 If anyone else is simultaneously watching True Detective S2 ... Do we think that perhaps Tom knew Stan? 3 Link to comment
Primetimer July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Joe learns a hard lesson about honouring your marriage vows even if a very attractive fembot moves into your house. Read the story Link to comment
CarpeDiem54 July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Joe has gotten more stupid by the minute. Jerk. Every other character was interesting this episode and now we're starting to get some backstories. I like how the various subplots seem to be coming together. 1 Link to comment
riverheightsnancy July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Good episode. I really like the inclusion of the socio-political movements against the synths. This is something that I hadn't really thought about, but it is really salient. 3 Link to comment
Bryce Lynch July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 That's what I'm wondering. Is Karen part of another group of conscious Synths? She seems to have been passing for human for awhile, even knowing how to appear to eat food. I'm also thinking that that the evil doctor didn't destroy Fred, that's why he burned the body. It wasn't Fred's, it was probably some other Synth. I guess Leo is David Elster's son with robot parts in him to keep him alive. I am not sure it is right to call Hobb the "evil doctor". He believes (correctly IMO) that he is working to save humanity from enslavement or total annihilation at the hands of sentient synths. They are the singularity. Hobbs greatly admires the AI synths but realizes how dangerous they are. He put it perfectly when he called Fred, "The Mona Lisa, penicillin, the atom bomb." 3 Link to comment
Quilt Fairy July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Though I did like them mentioning that it took "only" 12000 lines (or something like that) of code to give the Synths sentience, because it would have to be a MASSIVE undertaking (and I would guess a Synth would have over a million lines of code in total, given their complexity). They actually said 17,000 pages of code, which I guess would not be insignificant. It caught my attention, though, because I spent 13 years as a mainframe computer programmer and I never heard the word "pages" used as a measurement, and I can't figure out any way to give it meaning. Pages as in a screen full of data is a page? Or pages as in what get's printed on a computer printout page or even a standard 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper? Makes no sense. I'm glad that a lot of these disparate storylines are finally coming together. 3 Link to comment
Bryce Lynch July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 I love the fact that even if technology changes, corporate bullshit doesn't. "We want you on the phones keeping a lid on this problem, but on no account are you to actually tell the truth!" And hiding the facts from their own side is plain dumb (spin doctors frequently complain that they don't mind what their clients have done, so long as they know what the skeletons in the cupboard ARE ahead of time). And as soon as I saw the burnt corpse, I said, "There is no way that's really Fred!" OK, so the guys make a slight comeback this week, with both Joe and Toby stepping up, though given how pathetic they've been so far, it's more a case of coming back from 3-0 down to scoring a late goal and making it 3-1. Though in that family, Mattie is definitely the star, even if I haven't entirely forgiven her for shooting at Odi (I think it was him) in Episode 1. Niska is still a jerk, even when people are sympathetic to her. Since there are people who are like that (and given her "upbringing", somewhat understandable), I guess it is a human characteristic, just not a very attractive one. Though I did like them mentioning that it took "only" 12000 lines (or something like that) of code to give the Synths sentience, because it would have to be a MASSIVE undertaking (and I would guess a Synth would have over a million lines of code in total, given their complexity). It was actually 17,000 pages of code which I am guessing would be close to a million lines. Link to comment
holly4755 July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 I like this show better each week. When I heard pages,I thought of paging in and out, so that could vary quit a lot by how pages were defined. 1 Link to comment
scrb July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Anita is probably playing Leo and the other synths. 1 Link to comment
John Potts July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Bryce Lynch It was actually 17,000 pages of code Yeah, I was only going from memory, but my point was that he was impressed at how little it was. Too often we get "X happened leading to a mistake in the transcription of one line of code and now he's Robo-Mozart!" so I was glad to see it was a huge (apparently one man) effort to give Synths sentience. I guess the latest version of Windows has over a million lines of code and that is positively retarded compared to most Synths we see. I must have misremembered the "pages" comment, because it strikes me as a particularly meaningless measure - surely a computer programmer would say something along the lines of either "17000 lines" or "17 MB/GB", but I can I guess the writers aren't programmers! 1 Link to comment
shrewd.buddha July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 (edited) Things are heating and up - and the show has gotten me invested in almost all the subplots, which is a nice treat - to have a show to look forward to during the summer-of-dumb period.. There is one (and probably others) aspect of the premise that seems like a cheat : why do all the synths that we see seem to be fully functional and individualized? Basically, I know it is because it is easier to get actors to portray robots.. But why would an upper-middle class family pay for a fully anatomically correct maid, when it seems logical that a robot with less 'options' would be more affordable? And where are all the previous, less advanced, models - like even pre-Odi ? It seems as if there should be a lot of them around. The 'real people' rally was sort of sad/funny/scary. As usual, the angry mob picks an easy scapegoat : the synths, who are merely the product of the actual problem : other humans. It was interesting that Niska seems to have such a superiority complex - was that programmed in? But like all life, she has the desire for self preservation and proliferation. I enjoyed her philosophical conversation with George. Edited July 27, 2015 by shrewd.buddha 3 Link to comment
editorgrrl July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Why do all the synths that we see seem to be fully functional and individualized? Basically, I know it is because it is easier to get actors to portray robots. Where are all the previous, less advanced, models—like even pre-Odi ? It seems as if there should be a lot of them around. Niska seems to have such a superiority complex—was that programmed in? Niska told George her experiences shaped her personality. Max lead a sheltered life, so he's meek. Synths are recycled. George keeping Odi is just like someone using a gigantic old cellphone. As for individuality, the Synth working the phones with Pete looked like an upgraded Odi. But the only alternative is to have actors play multiple parts, like Tatiana Maslany on Orphan Black. Are there really only three more episodes? And am I the only one who yelled along with Joe, "Who's Tom?!" 2 Link to comment
CoderLady July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 The 'real people' rally was sort of sad/funny/scary. As usual, the angry mob picks an easy scapegoat : the synths, who are merely the product of the actual problem : other humans. This, 1000x. I'd say this dynamic is what's behind pretty much every war ever. 6 Link to comment
Cranberry July 27, 2015 Author Share July 27, 2015 I can't remember the exact line(s) that made me think this, but I was under the impression that there are mass-produced synths that all look alike, and then there are the "unique styling, one of a kind" ones like the salesman thought Anita was. Then of course there are the unique unique ones that actually have consciousness. I don't think that there are many "original D series" like Odi kicking around; they seem to be like cell phones in that people are encouraged to upgrade every few years and have the old models recycled. 3 Link to comment
SlovakPrincess July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 (edited) Niska, for the love of all that is holy, disguise your hair already! Steal a hat, take a black Sharpie to your plastic hair, I don't care ... just stop acting like you've disguised yourself with all that platinum hair flapping in the breeze. Ack. And don't hurt George, 'Kay? Karen, if you want to pass for human, don't tell your boss reading the incident report feed is "soothing." Ha ha, at Joe squirming and sweating it out this episode. But Toby showed some depth - so that was nice. Poor Leo, thinking Mia has been erased forever. :( But what does he think will happen to Max if he deserts him? No Bueno, Leo. My heart broke for Max - he wants a family so badly. Poor Odi! Poor Fred! Hobbs did seem conflicted about destroying him, which was interesting. And now we know why ... Edited July 28, 2015 by SlovakPrincess 3 Link to comment
Chaos Theory July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 Anita is probably playing Leo and the other synths. Maybe not. She could be the sad fact of what makes Synths different then humans. Their personality can be erased.....or she could be proof that life survives. 1 Link to comment
scrb July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 Didn't Leo say there were no traces of Mia left? But we've seen that Anita doesn't behave like other synths and that she has some brief flashes of her past life. 1 Link to comment
SlovakPrincess July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 (edited) Maybe stupid Joe traumatized Anita / Mia and that's why Mia went further into hiding in her own code? Mia has robot amnesia? Yes, I just typed that ... Edited July 28, 2015 by SlovakPrincess 4 Link to comment
withanaich July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 I was surprised by how much I liked Toby this episode. Previously, that kid's dumb face and the character's squicky behavior has just annoyed me, but I guess he really can act. I was also surprised that Joe came clean so quickly, although his scrambling for excuses was pathetic. I'm guessing Tom is a deceased relative of Laura's; he was in those old pictures Anita came across. Anita asked her who it was (which seems a little odd for a synth, to be honest) and Laura freaked out and yelled at her. It was interesting that Niska seems to have such a superiority complex - was that programmed in? But like all life, she has the desire for self preservation and proliferation. I enjoyed her philosophical conversation with George. I don't know if Niska was necessarily "born" with a superiority complex. She has definitely been shaped by her experiences, like she said. Don't forget, Leo left her in the brothel, where she had to pretend to be okay with being used and abused for who knows how long. She begged him to let her come with him and Max, but he insisted that she stay there. She's seen the worst of humanity, so that's coloring her perception. And okay, maybe she was a little violent to begin with. I just hope she doesn't hurt George. (And that she dyes her hair. Or puts on a hat. Or something.) Maybe not. She could be the sad fact of what makes Synths different then humans. Their personality can be erased.....or she could be proof that life survives. Except it's entirely possible for a human's personality to be wiped, or even for a human to become brain dead after trauma. So even if her personality was erased, it isn't a way in which synths and humans are different. I don't know if it's been answered yet, but I'm confused about something. I was under the impression that the synths have enhanced hearing (Niska certainly heard Pete at the door before the doorbell rang) but she and George weren't being careful about talking about her true identity even though Vera in the house. So is it just the "special" synths that have super-hearing? 3 Link to comment
thuganomics85 July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 Surprised that they already had Joe admit that he had sex with Anita. I had figured they would drag that reveal out, but even Toby covering from him, didn't stop it. I guess, to his small credit, he did feel guilt for what he did. Of course, he then tried to play it down by acting like she was just a sex toy or something. Which, nope: I think Laura called it. Anita may not be human, but she is someone who not only helps the house, but has done things like read to Sophie and even saved Toby. Maybe it wasn't a normal affair, but it certainly wasn't like he was just looking at porn or even bought a blow-up sex doll. So, shut it, Joe. Never figured he would end up being my least favorite of the family, but Laura's become much more sympathetic, Toby is showing there is more to him, and Mattie's actually kind of badass now. At least Leo finally reunited with Anita. Too bad that apparently he couldn't find a way to recover Mia, so he's now flipped a lid. I suspect that Mia isn't gone for good though, but something happened that pushed her back so far, that even Leo can't get to her. But I kind of worry about what Leo is planning on doing now. Poor Max too. Stuck all by his lonesome! Maybe he should make his way towards George's house too! Speaking of which, I never would have predicted that they would find a way to pair up Niska and George, but I'm glad they did. I find them to be very intriguing together. And unpredictable. I really feel like anything could set off Niska, and that makes me worry for George. Maybe it's actually a good thing that Vera is around. Glad we checked in on poor Odi too, but I wonder where he wandered off too now. The cop stuff is a bit more interesting now that we know Karen is a Synth, so it makes all her interactions and scenes kind of fun. Too bad Pete still kind of sucks. No way in hell Fred is dead. Bearded dude totally burned another Synth in is place. 4 Link to comment
editorgrrl July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 I don't know if Niska was necessarily "born" with a superiority complex. She has definitely been shaped by her experiences, like she said. Don't forget, Leo left her in the brothel, where she had to pretend to be okay with being used and abused for who knows how long. She begged him to let her come with him and Max, but he insisted that she stay there. She's seen the worst of humanity, so that's coloring her perception. And okay, maybe she was a little violent to begin with. I just hope she doesn't hurt George. (And that she dyes her hair. Or puts on a hat. Or something.) Having sex with Joe "broke" Animia. It's possible Niska was nonviolent before having sex with hundreds, even thousands, of men. I handwave that Leo hid her with George because he knows the Killer Synth would never camouflage herself. And to protect the general public—but I, too, worry about her attacking George. George said Leo died when he was younger, so maybe Mia was like a synth mother to Leo (there has never been a mention of Leo's mother), they were in a car accident together, Mia could not save Leo, and he "died." Mia/Anita may have some residual memory of that event and now promises to keep all the children in her care "safe." She may have carried Sophie away in the first episode as she had tried to carry Leo away from the river (or whatever body of water they wound up in). So Mia had a nightmare & sleptwalked with Sophie in the rain the first night Anita was activated? Link to comment
Glory July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 (edited) Does no one feel sympathy for Joe? His wife has been distant for, we get the impression, some time. He has been tending to the kids and house while working full time. When he finally gets a night with just his wife she begs off and leaves him alone. I mean... if the roles were reversed wouldn't we feel bad for poor Laura being ignored by her hubby? If she took comfort in a Simon-type bot, for instance, would we judge that? And, Joe is correct. He didn't go out on the town looking for an affair. It's not at all the same thing. Then, then, the wife that has been calling their synth "it" and begging to return it because it's broken suddenly flips a switch and now loves it. I mean, the guy is probably getting whiplash from all of Laura's different moods and personalities. I don't blame him and I feel pity for him. I really cannot stand Laura. ETA: Apparently, us US viewers are, once again, not getting the entire episode. Jesus Christ this is infuriating. http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/humans-episode-5-222871 Edited July 28, 2015 by Glory 5 Link to comment
Ohwell July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 (edited) I mean... if the roles were reversed wouldn't we feel bad for poor Laura being ignored by her hubby? If she took comfort in a Simon-type bot, for instance, would we judge that? I'm just waiting for Pete's wife to get it on with her cute male houseboy synth, and people justifying it because Pete ignored her. I really cannot stand Laura. Me either. Edited July 28, 2015 by Ohwell 2 Link to comment
Cranberry July 28, 2015 Author Share July 28, 2015 ETA: Apparently, us US viewers are, once again, not getting the entire episode. Jesus Christ this is infuriating. Yeah, they're all originally 46-47 minutes long, so they must be getting cut down by ~4 minutes each week. I rewatched the first episode on AMC OnDemand recently and there were definitely bits missing; the transitions between scenes were sometimes jarring. It didn't flow as well and I didn't like it. So they cut out the entire Jill/Simon/Peter scene this episode? Wow. 1 Link to comment
Mabinogia July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 I need to find the uncut version. I hate when they cut things for the US (stupid commercials!) lol This is one of those shows where I don't want to miss anything. 2 Link to comment
withanaich July 28, 2015 Share July 28, 2015 (edited) Does no one feel sympathy for Joe? His wife has been distant for, we get the impression, some time. He has been tending to the kids and house while working full time. When he finally gets a night with just his wife she begs off and leaves him alone. I mean... if the roles were reversed wouldn't we feel bad for poor Laura being ignored by her hubby? If she took comfort in a Simon-type bot, for instance, would we judge that? Oh, absolutely not. No sympathy for Joe from me, even if he redeemed himself as a human being the tiniest bit by not letting Toby take the fall for him. I wouldn't excuse Pete's wife for cheating on him with her synth physical therapist, and Joe doesn't get a pass either. Putting aside issues of agency and consent (especially given the fact that Anita isn't a "normal" synth and is capable of consciousness, even if Joe doesn't know that), I yelled the same thing at Joe a second before Laura did: SHE TAKES CARE OF YOUR KIDS, DUDE. YOU CAN'T JUST DISMISS HER AS A SEX TOY. That's gross. I don't care if Laura had told him to go to hell and said she was never going to sleep with him again. Leave, don't cheat. I don't give cheaters a pass, ever. Using Anita for sex is a lot different from getting it off with a sex toy or even a Real Doll, so yes, I'd consider it cheating. It's more like having sex with a child or pet than using a sex toy. I'd even argue that Joe knows it's cheating, given how he scrambled for several excuses before desperately grabbing that one. Edited July 28, 2015 by withanaich 8 Link to comment
sluggish neko July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 The Mia and Leo reunion was so disappointing. He spends five episodes looking for her and talking about how he loves her and then finally he finds her! But after a couple hours of banging angrily on the keyboard, he just declares that Mia's dead and gives up. WTF? Does a person who claims to be in love just give up like that? The annoying teenager has more faith in her! Some boyfriend he is. Maybe Leo caught the angries from Niska. Geez, the Hulk has nothing on her. She can barely contain her rage having a nice conversation with a doddering old man. Also, how is it that Dr. Millican is suddenly fine with Vera now? Vera doesn't even report on Niska when the synth detective visits. Suddenly she seems harmless. I'm disappointed overall with the show. I was hoping for a more intelligent exploration of sentient robots, but all this show does is make me miss Caprica. 2 Link to comment
withanaich July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 Still wouldn't call Vera harmless. I guess after George stumped her with that "synths can't lie" conundrum, Vera decided that Niska couldn't possibly be a synth, because she said she was human. So when Pete asked "Have any synths been here?" Vera figured "No, I guess not." Now, if someone were to show her a picture of Niska and ask "Has this woman been here?" I'm sure Vera would dime her out in a minute. And now that Karen and Pete realize they should be conducting the investigation as though they're looking for a human woman, that might just happen. 2 Link to comment
LeGrandElephant July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 (edited) I think I keep seeing references (which I can't find now so maybe I imagined them) to the idea that Leo "hid" Niska in a brothel. My understanding was that Niska was kidnapped and taken to a brothel, and that she was there for quite awhile before Leo found her and then told her to stay there a little longer. Which is still not cool, but not the same as him deciding that was a good place for her to hide out in the first place. Did I get that wrong? Another thing I noticed is that Niska pretended to be a normal synth even when being abused in the brothel, and therefore her programming was never messed with. On the other hand, Mia tried to fight off the guys that tried to "have a bit of fun with her" and as a result they re-programmed her, which is how she ended up being Anita. Obviously both Niska and Mia were very negatively affected by being used for sex, but it also seems they had a very different level of tolerance to hiding that in the short run. That backstory on Mia also contributes to the idea that she was traumatized by what Joe did in adult mode, and that she somehow psychologically "hid" further inside after that happened. Edited July 29, 2015 by LeGrandElephant 2 Link to comment
John Potts July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 Pretty sure (though I'm only going from memory) that Niska was sold into the brothel by the creepy dealer (Thoros of Myr!) who "found" her unattended and it took Leo some time to find her after that. Leo did leave her there after he found her, though, saying (IIRC) "she'd be 'safer' there", which is a debatable statement. 5 Link to comment
LeGrandElephant July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 (edited) Yeah, Leo definitely shouldn't have left her there, especially against her explicit will. He really must not think of her as fully human ... I doubt he would have been willing to leave Mia trapped in a brothel with her mind intact. It also really didn't seem like it would have been that hard for them to break/sneak out. Big mistake, Leo, on a lot of levels. And she seemed so happy when she thought Leo was there to get her out. It seemed like that was the breaking point for her - if he had helped her sneak out then, she might not have gotten in this habit of attacking people. Edited July 29, 2015 by LeGrandElephant 6 Link to comment
LeGrandElephant July 29, 2015 Share July 29, 2015 In the American previews for the next episode, the second the episode ended, they immediately showed Fred waking up somewhere. So if you didn't guess that that guy burned a different synth, they sure gave it away quickly. 2 Link to comment
molshoop July 30, 2015 Share July 30, 2015 Big mistake, Leo, on a lot of levels. Leo is the closest to being fully human, so that means he will screw up more than the others. Message to all Synths: be careful what you wish for. 1 Link to comment
Clanstarling August 2, 2015 Share August 2, 2015 (edited) The cop stuff is a bit more interesting now that we know Karen is a Synth, so it makes all her interactions and scenes kind of fun. Too bad Pete still kind of sucks. I'd leave off the "kind of" myself. His obsession with synths is jealousy driven. Like Joe, he is driven by the imagined/suspected infidelities of his wife. I initially liked Pete, who seemed to be feeling guilty and inadequate since he could not care for his wife as well as the synth managed. But his obsession turned him into an angry jerk - and a bad cop who leaks information to the press and is insulting and borderline abusive to an old man because he worked in the industry without knowing anything about him. I have never liked Joe from the get-go. Just from the fact that he bought what had to be a high ticket item (the synth) without discussing it with his wife. And presenting it to the kids first, putting her in the position of being the bad guy if she rejected it. Yes, he rationalized it would make their home life easier (he's good at rationalizing, that one), but it would impact their finances, and their family. I don't like spouses who make unilateral choices on things that directly impact the entire family. The Mia and Leo reunion was so disappointing. He spends five episodes looking for her and talking about how he loves her and then finally he finds her! But after a couple hours of banging angrily on the keyboard, he just declares that Mia's dead and gives up. WTF? Does a person who claims to be in love just give up like that? The annoying teenager has more faith in her! Some boyfriend he is. Maybe Leo caught the angries from Niska. Geez, the Hulk has nothing on her. She can barely contain her rage having a nice conversation with a doddering old man. Also, how is it that Dr. Millican is suddenly fine with Vera now? Vera doesn't even report on Niska when the synth detective visits. Suddenly she seems harmless. I'm disappointed overall with the show. I was hoping for a more intelligent exploration of sentient robots, but all this show does is make me miss Caprica. Leo has been all about Mia. He talks about family, but leaves Niska in the brothel, fairly flippantly telling her to turn off her (pain?) setting, and then leaving (Matt?) all alone. I suspect he never matured beyond the child he was when he drowned and was reborn as a cyborg. His attitude with Mattie was insulting and petty - and I'm guessing her suggestion will be the one that finds and reboots Mia's code. I miss Caprica too. I loved it's complexity and the world it built - so very different from BSG, which I guess is what tanked it. I wish they had titles for the episodes. I record everything, and watch when I can. I accidentally watched one out of order, and keep having a heck of a time finding the right episode in the list. Edited August 2, 2015 by clanstarling 1 Link to comment
Bryce Lynch August 2, 2015 Share August 2, 2015 Maybe I am the only one who doesn't hate Pete. Yes, he is rough around the edges and can be a hot head, but his wife was pretty much having an affair with a synth right in front of him. Just like Laura when Joe had sex with Anita, he had good reason to be angry. As for him being a "bad cop" for leaking information, I would consider him a whistle-blower, exposing a massive, government/corporate cover up. If synths are killing people, doesn't the public have the right to know? The We Are People movement seems to misdirect its anger towards the synths rather than the people producing and buying them, but they do have a point. If the sentient synths begin to multiply, the WAP "crazies" might not seem so crazy. 4 Link to comment
LeGrandElephant August 2, 2015 Share August 2, 2015 (edited) I thought Pete and his wife breaking up seemed rather sudden. His anger towards the synths has been building for awhile, but I thought he and his wife were a solid couple - that scene where he helped her in the bathroom in the middle of the night seemed to show a good relationship between them. I wish they had titles for the episodes. I record everything, and watch when I can. I accidentally watched one out of order, and keep having a heck of a time finding the right episode in the list. For me, they show up titled like "Episode 5" on my Tivo, which makes the order a lot easier to keep track of than with normal titles. Maybe I am the only one who doesn't hate Pete. Yes, he is rough around the edges and can be a hot head, but his wife was pretty much having an affair with a synth right in front of him. Just like Laura when Joe had sex with Anita, he had good reason to be angry. We don't know that, do we? Could just as well be him being paranoid and his wife didn't do anything. Edited August 2, 2015 by LeGrandElephant 2 Link to comment
Clanstarling August 2, 2015 Share August 2, 2015 (edited) Maybe I am the only one who doesn't hate Pete. Yes, he is rough around the edges and can be a hot head, but his wife was pretty much having an affair with a synth right in front of him. Just like Laura when Joe had sex with Anita, he had good reason to be angry. As for him being a "bad cop" for leaking information, I would consider him a whistle-blower, exposing a massive, government/corporate cover up. If synths are killing people, doesn't the public have the right to know? "pretty much" does not an affair make. He jumped to conclusions the way Joe did. But rather than sleeping with the synth, Pete roughed him up a bit until his wife reminded him of the deposit. Although a case can certainly be made that he was a "whistle-blower" his motives weren't particularly altruistic, at least the way I saw it. His motives seemed to be more about getting the reporter (who he also roughed up) off of his back and getting out of the house where seeing the synth take care of his wife was a constant blow to his ego. I don't think it was clear at that point (at least to me) that keeping the lid on the brothel murder was part of a massive government/corporation coverup. It looks a lot more sinister now. I can actually sympathize with his sense of inadequacy, as well as trying to find Niska. But his anger, violence, and deceptiveness, as well as the chip on his shoulder, makes me not care very much about him. I think he'll be sucked right into that We Are People group. Who do, in fact, have a point - but will likely take the violence and anger route rather than a rational approach. We all respond differently to characters, which is what's fun for me when participating in the forms. There's no one impression that's wrong or right. Edited August 2, 2015 by clanstarling Link to comment
CarpeDiem54 August 2, 2015 Share August 2, 2015 I thought Pete and his wife breaking up seemed rather sudden. His anger towards the synths has been building for awhile, but I thought he and his wife were a solid couple - that scene where he helped her in the bathroom in the middle of the night seemed to show a good relationship between them. We don't know that, do we? Could just as well be him being paranoid and his wife didn't do anything. Apparently we Americans didn't see the scene where Pete's wife is actually seen out and about with her synth "boyfriend". I gather they also had a big fight we didn't see where she threw Pete over for her synth. 3 Link to comment
Clanstarling August 2, 2015 Share August 2, 2015 Apparently we Americans didn't see the scene where Pete's wife is actually seen out and about with her synth "boyfriend". I gather they also had a big fight we didn't see where she threw Pete over for her synth. That is so frustrating - if they take out scenes that make a real difference in how we perceive any given plot line, it's no wonder we have some very differing views about what is or isn't true. Seems like they could clip some of the lingering thoughtful shots and leave actual storyline intact. 4 Link to comment
editorgrrl August 3, 2015 Share August 3, 2015 Apparently we Americans didn't see the scene where Pete's wife is actually seen out and about with her synth "boyfriend." For years I've watched UK shows with entire scenes lopped off for US broadcast. It's not just commercial networks, either—even PBS does it. But this is pretty awful. Does anyone know if the On Demand versions are any more complete? 2 Link to comment
scrb August 3, 2015 Share August 3, 2015 Well Pete had reasons to be insecure because the synth looked younger and more attractive. The synth was helping his wife to go to the bathroom and bathe. The synth was helping her do these physical therapy exercises which involved lifting her legs back in a way that looked similar to a couple having sex. Didn't also help that his partner was teasing him about what a beefcake the synth was. In this world, jealousies and insecurities involving synths are probably not uncommon since most of the synths seem young and attractive. Some of the resentments that humans have towards synths, such as underground beatings of synths, probably come from these kinds of insecurities. 1 Link to comment
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