thewhiteowl October 25, 2015 Share October 25, 2015 When Brian begins to experience the side effects of NZT again, Senator Morra demands he betray Rebecca in exchange for another inoculation. Also, Brian secretly looks for an alternate cure for himself while he works with Rebecca outside FBI parameters to find the creators of NZT. Link to comment
Big Mother October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 (edited) Wow. This show just gets better and better. They really fleshed it out so well and leave us guessing while at the same time not leaving us guessing. Brian almost cost Rebecca her job, while he was trying desperately to protect her from losing her job. Epperly had hidden well so he wouldn't get killed, and he did get killed, thanks to Brian. (I do wonder though how he found him when he was so well hidden. What a pity we didnt get to see that.) And... we now know who killed all of those NZT users.... Morra himself, isn't it? (or maybe Sands?) It was nice to see the 'benevolent' side of Morra, even though he's still a scumbag. The side effects were so realistically portrayed. And best of all, Brian got his booster shot and didn't have to betray Rebecca. How long until he has no choice and has to tell her everything? Which side will he choose? Awesome episode. Edited October 28, 2015 by Big Mother 3 Link to comment
thuganomics85 October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Ah, Morra, you smug bastard! I kind of figured it was some kind of crazy test, but I liked that Brian past it. Despite the NZT version in his head trying to convince him otherwise, I totally buy that Brian would rather cause harm to himself, then have Rebecca's career get ruined/going to jail. He can be a doofus, but he isn't selfish in that way. But now I really want to know what Morra's plan. Sure, even if that rice is what he claims it his, he clearly has no issues harming people to get what he wants, so I certainly hope Brian doesn't plan on trusting him any time soon. It was a fun return, though. Bradley Cooper's got that smirk and all-knowing attitude down pact. The War Games plot also went the way I expected, but I did like that Nasreen finally had something to do, besides just give out missions from behind her desk. And, of course, she was smart enough to figure our why Rebecca was so off, but it doesn't look like she is going to do anything about it. Mr. Sands just killed the doctor, of course. I wonder if that was Morra's doing, or if Sands is going off the reservation. Could go either way, I think. 2 Link to comment
Triskan October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Some (not to say all of them) of the psychedelic / distorded scenes during Brian's side effects were really great visuals ! 1 Link to comment
sjohnson October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 (edited) Morra isn't the only NZT player. He may have managed to fund the treatment and save himself in the movie. But the people who invented it almost certainly have some plans to use it. Maybe not personally. But it's almost certain they don't have good intentions. It seems likely to me however Morra falls, his purpose for Brian is to hunt down the inventors. Even on NZT, everyone has their strengths and has their background that prepares them for certain tasks. Don't know why Epperley would open a strange box, given his situation. Not absolutely certain he's dead, not til the body turns up. Sands may be a double agent. But I thought he was just observing and the UPS guy was someone else. In fact, I thought the whole thing was edited to make us think Brian had sent the package, to set up the surprise when it went bang. Nasreen I think however is not a villain. She knew Rebecca had twigged, probably is sure Finch turned it over, but she intended to show it the whole time. If she didn't want Rebecca to know, ditching her for standing up the director, instead of covering gave her a way out. Also, searching Rebecca's apartment for a copy of the file probably would have put her in jail. And Rebecca's mere knowledge that Conrad Harris was a suspected user doesn't make Rebecca some sort of person who knows too much to squash. Missed the case of the week. A strong episode should really change someone's life but in the end we don't really know how any of this changes things for people. For one thing, we still don't really know the players. I could be wrong about Nasreen and that's the strongest story of the episode I thought. Edited October 28, 2015 by sjohnson Link to comment
Free October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Some (not to say all of them) of the psychedelic / distorded scenes during Brian's side effects were really great visuals ! I like the visuals in this series. Link to comment
BenXzy October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Did someone else see Harris's father alive in the episode, or was it just me? Link to comment
Big Mother October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Maybe my thinking is flawed, but couldn't Rebecca have wiggled out of the entire trouble she was in with Naz by telling her a partial truth, that Brian was experiencing NZT side effects and she was trying to help him? Or would Naz have turned it into a whole big thing and she was trying to cover for Brian? I feel for poor Brian, stuck between a rock and a hard place. His real loyalties lie with Rebecca, but he's stuck/blackmailed/addicted to the NZT and is now obligated to Morra. incidentally, how did texting Morra send Sands to him? Morra got the text and sent Sands? How do they have so many eyes on Brian that they always know where he is? I can't wait for the season finale of season 2 or 3 or whatever, when Morra is busted for and it turns into a political scandal. And will season 1 end with a kiss between rebecca and brian? How many seasons til they hook up? Break up? yada yada? So far I'm loving the show though. No complaints on it like with Scorpion. They have an airtight story going here, with enough suspense to keep me hooked in, yet with very few unanswered questions at the end of each episode. Link to comment
waving feather October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 I like that this show doesn't make the boss, Nas, an idiot, which is done quite often on other shows to make the heroes look smarter. I LOVE and totally relate to Rebecca's petulant attitude towards Nas this episode. She was pissed and tried to be professional but a part of her still wanted to show her displeasure at Nas. Brian, by nature, is a kind soul. I like that he's kind of goofy and not a woobie. Please do not turn him into one down the line, writers! They also did well in showing us the side effects of NZT, without going the top. This is the only show I like among all the new series launched this season. Link to comment
Netfoot October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 And will season 1 end with a kiss between rebecca and brian? How many seasons til they hook up? Break up? yada yada? Maybe they will do something totally unique and NOT have the leads hook up! After all, even though we never see it on TV, I think men and women can be friends without rubbing their genitalia together... 3 Link to comment
edhopper October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 (edited) So Morra basically pulled a Willy Wonka with Brian as Charlie and Sands as Slugworth. And I wonder if the bomb was just another faked death so Epperly can disappear again, now that Rebecca found him. Edited October 28, 2015 by edhopper Link to comment
iMonrey October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 This felt like a Halloween episode, more or less. Brian seemed to be hallucinating that everyone was a zombie. The show is still a little bit darker than I would like though. And I have a hard time believing nobody at work suspected he was having side effects from the NZT. He looked like death warmed over by the end there, and they all know he's on NZT and is "supposed" to be immune to the side effects. The real problem is there's no way this can end well. If Brian stops taking NZT he dies from withdrawal. If he stops taking the booster shots he dies from the side effects. So basically he's a permanent drug addict, any way you slice it. And mixed up with some very nasty business. Link to comment
derriere October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 I was a huge fan of the show (and the two leads) but that was by far the most annoying 20 odd minutes of TV I've ever experienced. They overdid the audio/video distortions to the point where I just couldn't sit through it. Link to comment
Latverian Diplomat October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Maybe my thinking is flawed, but couldn't Rebecca have wiggled out of the entire trouble she was in with Naz by telling her a partial truth, that Brian was experiencing NZT side effects and she was trying to help him? Or would Naz have turned it into a whole big thing and she was trying to cover for Brian? I feel for poor Brian, stuck between a rock and a hard place. His real loyalties lie with Rebecca, but he's stuck/blackmailed/addicted to the NZT and is now obligated to Morra. When Rebecca knew suspected he was having side effects and didn't immediately bring him in, she was already breaking the rules in a serious way. The whole point of their deal with him is "why doesn't Brian have side effects?" which includes "will Brian eventually develop side effects?" Also, he was already breaking the rules for her, and he wanted to keep his condition secret, so she felt obligated to respect his wishes. Personally, I'm not sure "won't betray a person you care about/are developing romantic feelings toward" is a flawless character test. Plenty of really rotten people still care about their friends and family. I think it's almost a sure thing that Sands is some sort of traitor/double agent and that he took out Epperly without Morra's knowledge or consent. This show cheats a bit with how well Brian's schemes work. Being able to swipe that phone, for example, was far from a sure thing--what if no one left their phone out on the table? I guess NZT means you always have a Plan B, but you don't usually have to mention it, much less use it :-). But it's still clever and fun. Link to comment
Big Mother October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 What I'm still stuck on, is who is actually manufacturing/supplying the FBI with NZT, and where is Senator Morra getting his stash. and... how does the FBI not know that Morra has NZT? They know about so many other users. 1 Link to comment
justcris October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 I find that I'm enjoying this show more and more. Each week I'm surprised by how they play down the procedural aspect of it and play up some character moments, which I was not expecting at all. I thought this episode was really good, but again, I was suprised that it came fairly early in the season. It's the only fall show that I can already say I'm sticking with until the end of the season. 2 Link to comment
BooBear October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 The real problem is there's no way this can end well. If Brian stops taking NZT he dies from withdrawal. If he stops taking the booster shots he dies from the side effects. So basically he's a permanent drug addict, any way you slice it. And mixed up with some very nasty business. I didn't get that. To me it seemed like he was haivng some side effects (letting him know immunity was wearing off) but, if Brian had stopped right then, he would have been ok. It was just that he kept taking NZT.. for 2 or 3 days after immunity wore off. They probably should clarify this but I don't see that he has to keep taking it but for his deal with the FBI. I thought this wasn't one of the better episodes because it felt like filler. Lots of Brian seeing strange stuff. We get it. And then Moura comes in for like 4 seconds but I didn't think much plot was advanced. I did enjoy Rebecca being ruthless as a simulation bad guy. I actually want Rebecca and Brian to couple up but friendship comes first. If they can't manage writing it well don't bother. Link to comment
possibilities October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 Bradley Cooper always looks like he's smirking, even when his character isn't supposed to be. I think the "ending well" for Brian would involve finding a way to make NZT safe, non-addictive, no side effects, and/or an antidote, so if you take it, you can start or stop whenever you want to,without damage. And then, also, he has to expose and/or defeat the various conspiracies which are trafficking it, killing users, sabotaging research, etc. Plenty of material for several seasons. But he will never be happy as long as he has to lie to and keep things secret from his friends and family, worry about people being threatened, and juggle side effects/brain damage/withdrawal. They had to have introduced that mouse researcher for a reason, though. Brian is starting to make it a priority to learn more about NZT, so he can get free of his dependence on Morra. And Rebecca is now on track to get more info about whatever the FBI knows. I agree it's suspicious that the FBI doesn't know about Morra, but maybe there's a faction that does know, and we just haven't seen that yet. We did see there's someone at the FBI who covered Brian's tracks by re-adjusting the blinds after B stole the file. I had assumed that was a Morra plant. But what Morra is actually working WITH some FBI insiders, or if the guy who fixed the blinds is NOT a Morra plant but a pure FBI insider only? So far, we just don't know who's loyalties are really with anyone, other than Brian and Rebecca having loyalty to each other. Link to comment
Netfoot October 28, 2015 Share October 28, 2015 What I'm still stuck on, is who is actually manufacturing/supplying the FBI with NZT, and where is Senator Morra getting his stash. At the end of the movie, Morra said (or at least implied) that he no longer needed NZT because he had advanced to a point where he could maintain high brain-activity level indefinately without the drug. But should we take the movie as canon for this series? how does the FBI not know that Morra has NZT? They know about so many other users. Morra originally got a large supply of NZT by "liberating" it from his dead brother in law. This could easily have escaped official notice. Then he set up labs to clone the drug, but at least some of these were shut down by Robert De Niro, so we don't know if they were ever a source for him. Certainly, he still has access, because he gave Brian 5 tabs, and implied there was plenty more where that came from. Wouldn't it be cool if Morra's supply is actually dwindling, and he is leaning on Brian to try and find a source for himself? Link to comment
Big Mother October 29, 2015 Share October 29, 2015 (edited) I think that if Brian stops the NZT he will still have severe withdrawal, I dont think it's a drug he can stop taking. If it is, he can totally stop it and go back to being his old vanilla self. But I think it's not an easy pill to stop. Suddenly Getting off benzos like Klonopin can cause seizures. I can only imagine that getting off NZT abruptly, a nootropic, would cause some brain damage just as well. As an aside: I'm on Adderall. When I had to stop it after2 years bc I was pregnant, the withdrawal was debilitating. I stayed off it for over 3 years because I was nursing, and when I started it again, I felt like I was alive. I was so sleepy and foggy for those 3 years. I can't even imagine the withdrawal from NZT. Then again... he seemed fine every night and the next morning until he took his next pill.So who knows. Edited October 29, 2015 by Big Mother Link to comment
Driad October 29, 2015 Share October 29, 2015 Liking this show but confused. Is there a list somewhere of (1) what we know about NZT, and (2) what each character knows about NZT and other important stuff? Link to comment
kili October 30, 2015 Share October 30, 2015 Personally, I'm not sure "won't betray a person you care about/are developing romantic feelings toward" is a flawless character test. Plenty of really rotten people still care about their friends and family. Did they want to test Brian or force Brian into exposing the doctor that was blown up? Brian was able to find out that the doctor was still alive by obviously suffering from the side-effects of NZT. The female executive felt sorry enough for him that she revealed information she likely would not have to somebody who just asked. She must have known he was dying and assumed he was looking for answers to save his life (which he was). I don't know exactly how Brian found the doctor (I'm going to guess from the postmark on the letter the sympathetic executive received or some other clue she gave him), but he did and he had to get Rebecca to go see him. Note that they did not save Brian until the doctor had been exposed. The doctor was sent a package bomb shortly thereafter implying that Sands and co did not know where he was before. Is Morra using Brian as a soldier or ally, or is he just using him as a chump? Morra and Sands are clearly playing good cop/bad cop with him. Link to comment
MrWhyt October 30, 2015 Share October 30, 2015 But' should we take the movie as canon for this series? Unless we're told otherwise I think yes. With Eddie Morra being carried over from the movie not only as a character but with the same (now big name) actor playing him I think the people in charge (of whom Bradley Cooper is now one of) want the viewers to see this as existing in the movie's universe. 1 Link to comment
shapeshifter October 31, 2015 Share October 31, 2015 At the end of the movie, Morra said (or at least implied) that he no longer needed NZT because he had advanced to a point where he could maintain high brain-activity level indefinately without the drug. But should we take the movie as canon for this series? Unless we're told otherwise I think yes. With Eddie Morra being carried over from the movie not only as a character but with the same (now big name) actor playing him I think the people in charge (of whom Bradley Cooper is now one of) want the viewers to see this as existing in the movie's universe.I haven't watched this episode yet and was reading this thread to hopefully determine if I could just skip it and pick up with the next one, but now I'm wondering if not having seen the movie is a problem too. Link to comment
justcris October 31, 2015 Share October 31, 2015 I haven't watched this episode yet and was reading this thread to hopefully determine if I could just skip it and pick up with the next one, but now I'm wondering if not having seen the movie is a problem too. I don't think it's a problem. I only watched the movie right when it came out, which means I don't really remember much about it by now. I would recommend watching this episode though, just because they delve into what the NZT side effects could do to Brian and just how much he needs the immunity shot that Morra provides. Also we learn a bit more about the origins of NZT. 2 Link to comment
MrWhyt October 31, 2015 Share October 31, 2015 (edited) I haven't watched this episode yet and was reading this thread to hopefully determine if I could just skip it and pick up with the next one, but now I'm wondering if not having seen the movie is a problem too. Just read the wiki synopsis of the plot for the movie and you'll be fine. The only really interesting part as it relates to the series, is that by the end of the movie once he's a published author and running for senate Eddie claims that he's off NZT with no withdrawal and all of the benefits intact. Edited October 31, 2015 by MrWhyt 1 Link to comment
Kromm November 10, 2015 Share November 10, 2015 At the end of the movie, Morra said (or at least implied) that he no longer needed NZT because he had advanced to a point where he could maintain high brain-activity level indefinately without the drug. But should we take the movie as canon for this series? Morra originally got a large supply of NZT by "liberating" it from his dead brother in law. This could easily have escaped official notice. Then he set up labs to clone the drug, but at least some of these were shut down by Robert De Niro, so we don't know if they were ever a source for him. Certainly, he still has access, because he gave Brian 5 tabs, and implied there was plenty more where that came from. Wouldn't it be cool if Morra's supply is actually dwindling, and he is leaning on Brian to try and find a source for himself? See, I have a theory that it's at least possible that maybe Brian really IS immune and the side effects we saw were him having been drugged with something. This theory totally would mean that Morra is playing him of course. For reasons as yet unrevealed. I find that I'm enjoying this show more and more. Each week I'm surprised by how they play down the procedural aspect of it and play up some character moments, which I was not expecting at all. I thought this episode was really good, but again, I was suprised that it came fairly early in the season. It's the only fall show that I can already say I'm sticking with until the end of the season. One thing I love love loved about this one was that they took the alter ego that Brian often talks to and expanded him to a well.. lets call them an Angel and a Devil. That would be a cliche on a show where it was done right off, but the way they did it now made it seem more like a logical stage/next step beyond what we'd previously seen from him. Link to comment
Hipshooter November 11, 2015 Share November 11, 2015 (edited) ED must be a side effect since Brian hasn't worked in a booty call with Rebecca yet. Yeah,yeah,I get it but they are two young and attractive people with obvious chemistry. The next Castle and Beckett? Sex is good for you after all. Cures a lot of ills. Edited November 11, 2015 by Hipshooter 1 Link to comment
Free November 11, 2015 Share November 11, 2015 The next Castle and Beckett? Only if it doesn't end up the same way. Link to comment
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