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S01.E08: When Pirates Pirate Pirates

thewhiteowl

By thewhiteowl
in Limitless [V]

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Big Mother

Big Mother

This show! This show! I can't love it more!!!

 

Who's shipping FInch + Ava?

 

I'm slightly confused with one little thing though... how was Paulson incriminated? What was on that little piece of paper?

 

So it was Paulson who tried to get Naz discredited?

 

Why didn't Brian jsut tell Johnson that he can't be without NZT bc the withdrawal would bring side effects?

 

This show moves so fast that the only way for me to really understand every nuance is to wait for the AfterBuzz aftershow recap.

 

Loving this show. Phenomenal stuff.

 

Machia: Naz said, "Ava could do worse." Sounds like she approves of Brian seeing Ava.

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Don't remember the exact words, but I think it was something about how "she" (her daughter) could do worse then Brian, since it was so obvious that Brian is totally crushing on her.  On one hand, it is a bit obvious, but I have to admit I would actually kind of get a kick out of Brian dating Naz's daughter, because I imagine it would make the Brian/Naz scenes even more entertaining.  Plus, I do like the actress (that was Michelle Veintimilla, who recently played Bridget/Firefly on Gotham.)

 

The previews for this episode weren't all that, so I was surprised that I really enjoyed this one.  Naz being arrested gave it a decent drama flair, and I liked how Brian, Rebecca, and Boyle all played parts in solving it.  I did see the twist coming, because you don't get James McDaniel for a minor role.  And normally naming a character Adic Johnson would be an overkill, but if anyone could pull that off, it would be Greg Germann.  That man has perfected that type of character.

 

As immature as it was, I was really tickled over Brian and Rebecca actually playing a Screw, Marry, or Kill game.  I liked that Rebecca isn't just a sourpuss all the time, but sometime joins in on Brian's antics, even if it's just to shut him up at times.

 

Brian using Sands (and Morra) to exonerate Naz was cool.  I am curious though about him having to reveal to Rebecca he has extra NZT pills.  I have to think this is going to go away.

 

Another fun episode and next week's looks entertaining too.  I think this might be my favorite new show of the fall now, which I didn't predict.

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Free

Free

This show moves so fast that the only way for me to really understand every nuance is to wait for the AfterBuzz aftershow recap.

 

Agreed, it's also what makes it more fun to watch than some other procedurals.

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Big Mother

Big Mother

So Boyle was in on the scheme this whole time? Naz planted all these seeds and hoped the chips would fall where they did? What if they didn't do any of this? What if Johnson asked to see the thumb drive? So many confused questions here.

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kili

kili

I'm not entirely sure Naz should keep her job. How does she personally have $3M to send to terrorist negotiator guy? And it is terrorists who are going to end up with a big chunk of that $3M. And then terrorist negotiator guy and terrorists have secret payments as leverage against somebody with a high security clearance. I sympathize with her wanting to rescue her niece, but I don't know how her bosses can just ignore so many breeches of protocol and rules.

 

If Naz has all that money, maybe she can give some to the collector who was guilted into giving up his $750K pinball machine.

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Netfoot

Netfoot

I'm not entirely sure Naz should keep her job. How does she personally have $3M to send to terrorist negotiator guy?

 

Wait, only poor people can work for the FBI?  It doesn't matter if she has  a spare three million or a spare three hundred million.  Having money is not in itself a crime, no matter what the socialists among us would have us believe.

 

And it is terrorists who are going to end up with a big chunk of that $3M.

 

If you buy a beer in an Irish pub, is it your fault if some of that money ends up funding the IRA?  As far as I know, there is no law against paying money for the return of a kidnapped child.  The police/FBI usually advise against it, but I don't think they can legally compel you to refuse payment and let your daughter die.  And what possibly criminal use the kidnappers put their ill-gotten ransom to, is always subject to debate, in every case of ransom ever being paid.

 

And then terrorist negotiator guy and terrorists have secret payments as leverage against somebody with a high security clearance.

 

The records were right there for anyone to see who desired to do so.  

 

If Naz has all that money, maybe she can give some to the collector who was guilted into giving up his $750K pinball machine.

 

It would be very decent of her to do so, if she has enough remaining, after paying the 3 million.  We don't actually know what terms he agreed to for giving up the machine.  Maybe payment was part of the deal.

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iMonrey

iMonrey

 

Can someone tell me the last thing Naz said to Finch? I couldn't make it out.

 

She said "She could do worse" (meaning her daughter, in reference to Brian). I had to rewind that part too. Enunciate better, Mary Elizabeth!

 

Not quite as good as last week's show but still enjoyable. Loved the fake texts Brian sent from that guy's phone. And that Rebecca knows he has the maturity of a third grader. 

 

But . . . while I'm warming up to Rebecca, and they're starting to flesh Naz out a bit, I feel like there aren't enough fully defined characters on this show to bump it up to the next level. I'm probably doing this show a disservice by comparing it to Chuck, but it comes up short in that comparison and I think largely it's due to the lack of a really strong ensemble. They could do more to flesh out Boyle, Mike and Ike, and bring in some other strong characters that aren't so one-note like shadowy Mr Sands and the Senator.

 

I also feel like the stories could be streamlined a bit. I don't think they need to dumb them down but this episode didn't need to have the kidnappers and pirates and the whole thing with Naz and the secret authorizing document going on at the same time. It felt like a bit too much and the story with Boyle getting the document from the D.C. agent fell flat.

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Netfoot

Netfoot

I'm probably doing this show a disservice by comparing it to Chuck, but it comes up short in that comparison and I think largely it's due to the lack of a really strong ensemble. They could do more to flesh out Boyle, Mike and Ike, and bring in some other strong characters that aren't so one-note like shadowy Mr Sands and the Senator.

 

I think that Chuck was purely a comedy, taken most of the time to the level of farce.  While Limitless has humour, which does make the show fun, it is not farce, and there is a real story being told here, in between Brian being silly and Rebecca reining him in.

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Kromm

Kromm

I also feel like the stories could be streamlined a bit. I don't think they need to dumb them down but this episode didn't need to have the kidnappers and pirates and the whole thing with Naz and the secret authorizing document going on at the same time. It felt like a bit too much and the story with Boyle getting the document from the D.C. agent fell flat.

Is there such a thing as "too much" with this show? I appreciate that the show isn't belaboring things that don't need it. I mean on a worse show we could have had Nas out for several episodes and Microdick Johnson in charge (presumably with Brian back on NZT butunder even stricter supervision). But I like that they didn't do that. Honestly it would have just felt like some lame extended extra jeopardy for it's own sake and sucked some of the fun out of this.
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iMonrey

iMonrey

 

I think that Chuck was purely a comedy, taken most of the time to the level of farce.  While Limitless has humour, which does make the show fun, it is not farce, and there is a real story being told here, in between Brian being silly and Rebecca reining him in.

 

Chuck wasn't straight comedy, it had an equal measure of action and drama. Nor was Chuck any more a "farce" than Limitless - both are based on futuristic, fictional technology (or in this case, pharmacology) that enable their protagonists with super powers. 

 

Chuck also had better balance - Limitless relies (so far) too much on the case of the week, and we're not really getting any sense of how this affects Brian's life. We know he has family and I assume he has friends as well. Both seem to have disappeared.

 

I just think Limitless needs to have a more consistent tone to it and do a better job fleshing out a strong supporting cast. 

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Big Mother

Big Mother

My CBS app is set by default to close captioning, so I'm able to catch little details like Naz's daughter's name, garbled dialogue, much more easily. I like it. :)

 

Also, I still don't really get how that document got into Boyle's hands, or what the document actually said, and whether he was in on the plan the whole time, etc. Still a little murky.

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twoods

twoods

(edited)

I think that document showed the memo of that executive deputy signing off on the CIA mission, which is why he resigned. Boyle said that the lady he got the brownies from keeps a copy of every important document she comes across, so it implicated him in going behind the deputy's back and authorizing the Brian/CIA op.

Brian was a little harsh with the micropenis texts- he really is childish. I wonder if the Ava dating will continue through this season or if it will be dropped as quickly as the Brian ex gf storyline.

I hope the poor pinball machine guy got some money for giving up that machine.

Edited by twoods
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sjohnson

sjohnson

In my view, the case of the week is like real life, it's what happens while you're waiting for something (the mytharc, the grand narrative of your epic biography,) to kick in. As far as his family is concerned, I hope he's not moving back in But we should definitely see them on holidays. 

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Latverian Diplomat

Latverian Diplomat

(edited)

Wait, only poor people can work for the FBI?  It doesn't matter if she has  a spare three million or a spare three hundred million.  Having money is not in itself a crime, no matter what the socialists among us would have us believe.

She's not a private citizen, she's a highly placed official in the Justice Department. "I tried to hide that I've been successfully blackmailed!" is grounds for dismissal if not prison for someone with her level of access to classified information.

 

Chuck wasn't straight comedy, it had an equal measure of action and drama. Nor was Chuck any more a "farce" than Limitless - both are based on futuristic, fictional technology (or in this case, pharmacology) that enable their protagonists with super powers. 

Chuck was much closer to "comedy with occasional action" than this show wants to be. There was all the Buy-More stuff, Morgan the comic relief best friend, and even Casey was a Reagan-portrait-saluting cartoon of patriotism. Nothing wrong with that. That's what they were going for and they succeeded on their own terms.

 

Almost all of the comedy in this show comes from Brian's POV, editorializing, and occasional 4th wall breaking. There's a reason they did a tribute to Ferris Bueller's Day Off that kind of wry, observational comedic narration is what they are going for.

 

I don't think it's a question of one show getting a balance right that the other gets wrong. They both have a mixture of comedy and action but go about it in completely different (but equally viable, IMHO) ways. 

As immature as it was, I was really tickled over Brian and Rebecca actually playing a Screw, Marry, or Kill game.  I liked that Rebecca isn't just a sourpuss all the time, but sometime joins in on Brian's antics, even if it's just to shut him up at times.

 

 

Tangentially, I guess I missed when standards and practices became OK with "screw" for "fuck" ("Fuck, Marry, Kill" being the more common name for that game AFAIK). Not complaining, it just was really obvious that they could use it freely, and I hadn't noticed another network show doing that before.

Edited by Latverian Diplomat
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Ottis

Ottis

I just think Limitless needs to have a more consistent tone to it and do a better job fleshing out a strong supporting cast.

 

 

Agreed, and I think it is a bad sign that the show has gone so jokey, so fast. Mixing mortal threats with juvenile humor is very tricky. The Ferris Beller ep, as amusing as some homage scenes were as standalone segments around the brutal deaths of the rogue CIA team, gave me whiplash. Now we have pirates. Next up: Descendants of Atlantis. All of this undercuts any menace from Bradley Cooper, or bodily harm from using the drug. Chuck is a good example of a show that found that balance, but it had comic foils (the short guy with the beard), and Chuck, while occasionally nerdy, wasn't the jokester that Finch is. 

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