S01.E07: Go

[dargosmydaddy]

Maybe the present-day timeline is actually secretly a training exercise that all the rookie agents (except maybe Alex) are failing really, really badly.

 

 

Why Alex dragged Booth away with her also boggled my mind. The obvious thing to do would be to run and abandon Booth so that Vasquez can get him the medical attention he needs. The dude is still recovering from another bullet wound.

How many days are supposed to have passed in this timeline, anyway? In terms of the Alex stuff, it feels like less than a week, yet Booth is already out of the sling. Clearly he heals quickly-- he'll be fine.

[henripootel]

Ok, it holds the mission up for six months, but better to have two fully trained agents than two half trained ones, surely. It makes all the work that the other recruits are putting in seem rather pointless especially since the twins aren't exactly outstanding trainees.

Yeah, but see, that's the thing.  I think we're supposed to believe that these guys are getting all sorts of boring FBI training off-screen, which is fine cuz we don't have to watch it.  But then they do the bullshit midterm where they're 'tested' on nothing that relates to anything they've learned.  None of them know bomb disposal or getting out of a locked room, or seem particularly good at figuring out what's up.  I mean they guess (correctly) what's up because even the characters have figured out by now that they're not at real FBI school, they're at Bullshit High.  But the midterm arguably confirms that they've learned nothing offscreen, or nothing that'll get them a job as an FBI agent.  This is a test of (and I'm using this term loosely) character, or guts, or something else you can't go to school to learn.

 

The Twinies confirm this - they're getting half as much training as the rest of these knuckleheads and it doesn't fucking matter.  I'm mostly sticking around cuz brazen nonsense amuses me, and this show is somehow managing to be less soul-crushingly dull than Blindspot or Heroes Rebooted.  That's not high praise.  

Edited November 13, 2015 by henripootel

[blackwing]

I'm very confused here, Natalie wasn't part of the test, was she? Because when Alex was questioning her, she said Brandon was on all sorts of meds, & that he didn't always take them. That means that either she was part of the test & was supposed to say that, or the FBI thought someone who was on lots of different meds & didn't always bother to take them would be a good candidate to be an agent. Of course, that's probably his big secret, so I doubt they knew about them.

Natalie clearly wasn't in on it.  Brandon said Miranda told him to do this, and he had to listen.  Natalie was clearly ticked off at being deceived by him.  I think that's probably why she dumped him and at some point by present day, is with Ryan instead.  I would hope that he was just pretending to take all those meds and isn't really on them all.  Didn't Natalie say it was recent?  Could have all been part of the act.

 

Are Alex and Shelby still roommates, or did they have a falling out after Shelby's secret phone calls to the Middle East?  Which seems to have been a dropped plot point?  Or did that get resolved?  Did they explain why she wired $1 million to someone?

 

Who is Natalie's roommate?  Have we ever seen her?  What was the point of the overhead shot of Brandon in her shower?  To show that he was pretending to fall apart and going to bomb the room?

 

I don't understand at all what was the point of having the twins swap in the Islamic hideout.  Why would they risk that?  I thought it was so the one could bring out the intelligence she had discovered, but it didn't look to me like the one who left brought anything out with her.  It was the other one who was rummaging in The Guy's office and got caught.  

[KaveDweller]

Are Alex and Shelby still roommates, or did they have a falling out after Shelby's secret phone calls to the Middle East?  Which seems to have been a dropped plot point?  Or did that get resolved?  Did they explain why she wired $1 million to someone?

 

I don't think they're roommates anymore because Alex switched so she didn't have to share a bathroom with Booth.  Based on the flash forwards they will have a falling out, but I don't think we've seen it yet.  Maybe the million dollars/phone calls will play a part in that?

[Netfoot]

Based on the flash forwards they will have a falling out, but I don't think we've seen it yet.

 

There was an "...after what she did to me" comment that points to some up-coming draaama, but no indication as to what.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Are both twins going to be in every class together now?

 

If not, why not?  The whole class knows already.

[Dowel Jones]

When I went to the Quantico one tonight, there was just one question:  Have you stopped watching Quantico?

 

I hope you passed.  'Cause, if you didn't, you're out. :)

[CheezyXpressed]

The last assignment they did, Simon failed and was put on probation. Why is it different this time around? I don't understand this school and why the rules keep changing. Seems unfair to the extras. Plus, if there's a bomb, then isn't it better to save your life so you can serve your country another day? If everyone died, then they'll have to train another group of adults, who act like high school kids, and I don't think there's another group of people who would be able to handle this kind of training. I mean, everything is illogical. They'll probably run to off to the CIA or something and then that would be it of Quantico....

 

I think Raina is the more conservative one who likes Simon, but isn't as good as Nimah who doesn't really care about the FBI as much as her sister. At least, I think so?

 

The ending made no sense. I thought Nathalie would try to help Booth, but maybe she felt so guilty about the raid that she let him run off with Alex where he could potentially bleed to death? Maybe this was her sacrifice for the greater good? Only, Booth could very well die, but it's for the country so it's okay.

[Luciano]

I think Raina is the more conservative one who likes Simon, but isn't as good as Nimah who doesn't really care about the FBI as much as her sister. At least, I think so?

No, Nimah is the one who is the less-talented trainee yet wants it more. It's a little easier to remember when you realize that the one who cared more about being in the FBI is the one whose name they both studied under: Nimah.

[Free]

I don't understand this school and why the rules keep changing

 

Like the writers, they're making things up, only they're not good lessons and only serves to mess with the recruits instead of actually teaching them something valuble.

[madam magpie]

There's so much I don't understand...

Can someone tell me why Simon was so upset about the twins? I mean, I get that he'd be shocked, but otherwise so what?

I don't get why they're training the twins as one person either. But was Booth looking at a picture of Liam as a twin at the end??

And I don't get why Alex had such a quick change of heart about Booth in the training days.

Also, what is the scar or whatever on Natalie's neck? Do we know?

[sugarbaker design]

But was Booth looking at a picture of Liam as a twin at the end??

 

Booth was looking at a picture of Liam and Alex's father in their younger FBI days. 

[SonofaBiscuit]

Oh my gosh, the comments this week are hilarious!

 

The final exam was the dumbest thing ever.  It cracked me up that Brandon was labeled as a "coward" because he didn't admit that he hadn't received a blank page.  Overreaction much?!  A more appropriate response would have been something like, "You made us waste valuable time figuring that out.  Thanks a lot, jackass."  I don't get why the analysts were part of this test, and honestly I would think that a good FBI agent would tell an analyst to get the hell out of there since their intelligence deciphering skills would be more valuable if they were, you know, alive.  I would also think that a good FBI agent would make a run for it when encountered with a bomb that is impossible to disarm, but no, apparently you are expected to stand there and die.

 

Man, they really misused Rick Cosnett here.  He's a cutie in real life, but he was a creeper on Quantico.  Yuck.

 

Ha, I thought the guy in the picture with Liam was Grayson from Drop Dead Diva.  So glad it's not!  But...I'm not sure Jonathon Schaech is much better?

 

Earlier in the season, I thought something was said about Simon being kicked out of Quantico for something to do with a bomb.  Perhaps the FBI will be questioning him shortly on exactly WHY he knew how to disarm a bomb. 

Edited November 10, 2015 by SonofaBiscuit

[sugarbaker design]

Is the next episode titled just "G"?

 

Two episodes ago the title was God, Sunday's ep was titled Go, next week it's G...

Edited November 10, 2015 by sugarbaker design

[Netfoot]

I would think that a good FBI agent would tell an analyst to get the hell out of there since their intelligence deciphering skills would be more valuable if they were, you know, alive.  I would also think that a good FBI agent would make a run for it when encountered with a bomb that is impossible to disarm, but no, apparently you are expected to stand there and die. 

 

Normally, you would be correct.  But since neither analysts nor agents are demonstrating the least shred of intelligence or skill, I'm starting to come around to the idea that a big pile of dead FBI heros would be better for the Bureau than the agents/analysts themselves!

[jaytee1812]

Anyone else notice that the two men called cowards were they only man of colour and the only openly gay character. All the male heroes were straight white guys.

[The Kings Foot]

What was the line Natalie said Brandon said ?  "Something is wrong with the FBI. I have to fix it " ?   

 

The writers dont even realize how true that is  wrt this class. 

Edited November 10, 2015 by The Kings Foot

[Artsda]

Shouldn't Booth be getting medical attention? Alex can run without him. Also if the 2 of them, her holding him and him with a bullet wound out run and escape the FBI in Queens of all places then the FBI look more stupid.

[AV8n]

Simon's response to the twins was really weird. I figured he'd be like "Which one did I kiss earlier, and which one am I gonna kiss later? #blessed". Instead, he goes all Crying Game on us. Even some quality time out in the closet didn't change his mind. Add to that the weird kiss with Creeper and I'm starting to wonder if he's a bipolar bisexual, switching orientation involuntarily or something. I had always figured he had a thing for Arab women and figured his ultra-conservative Jewish family would rather believe he was gay - but now I'm all confused.

 

If the bomb exercise was the mid-term, then apparently only Alex aced the final exam. After all, she was the only agent found at ground zero after the bomb went off, so obviously all the others hauled ass prior to the explosion. We all know what happens to agents that don't take one for the team.

[Texasmom1970]

Shouldn't Booth be getting medical attention? Alex can run without him. Also if the 2 of them, her holding him and him with a bullet wound out run and escape the FBI in Queens of all places then the FBI look more stupid.

In tv land it'll turn out to be a lame surface wound or something. Also she has to have Booth with her so they can have those meaningful stares and realize they are still in love - insert sarcastic eyeroll here!

Edited November 10, 2015 by Texasmom1970

[henripootel]

In tv land it'll turn out to be a lame surface wound or something. Also she has to have Booth with her so they can have those meaningful stares and realize they are still in love - insert sarcastic eyeroll here!

 

My guess is that they'll find that bullet passed through the hole from his previous shooting (from like 2 days ago) so no harm, no foul.  Certainly not enough for some sexual healing, if you know what I mean.  Yeah, can't figure out which nauseates me more, their lack of chemistry, the completely implausible nature of this act, or its utter predictability.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Now We're Getting Somewhere
As the FBI closes in on Alex, we get some answers about 'truth, justice, and all that superman crap.'

[tomatoflyer]

This just isn't fun for me anymore. Every week the same situations happen. I wasn't expecting some realistic portrayal, just a fun time but it's getting real tedious. I want to at least make it to the midseason finale. I just hope they can make this less predictable and more fun again.

[txhorns79]

So to make clear, the goal of the test was to teach everyone that rather than saving the most people in a situation with a bomb, everyone should just die together in some kind of show of unity.  That's insane.  Presumably, the idea when trying to defuse a bomb is to reduce causalities, not cause more unnecessarily, no?  I mean, I can't imagine a scenario where the FBI benefits from all its agents dying at once.  

 

And I can't even with that stupid kiss between Simon and Elias.  Hey Elias, do you remember like an episode ago when you thought Simon was a lying terrorist? 

[madam magpie]

Booth was looking at a picture of Liam and Alex's father in their younger FBI days.

OK, but how do you know that??

[Free]

So to make clear, the goal of the test was to teach everyone that rather than saving the most people in a situation with a bomb, everyone should just die together in some kind of show of unity.  That's insane.  Presumably, the idea when trying to defuse a bomb is to reduce causalities, not cause more unnecessarily, no?  I mean, I can't imagine a scenario where the FBI benefits from all its agents dying at once.

 

It's downright brain dead.  All it does is add more possible casualties, there's no benefit whatsoever.

[txhorns79]

It's downright brain dead.  All it does is add more possible casualties, there's no benefit whatsoever.

 

The only thing I could think is that they were trying for the "we don't leave agents behind" lesson, i.e. you don't abandon an agent in distress, but screwed it up.  What they should have done was do an orderly evacuation where the people needed to try to defuse the bomb stay, and everyone else is ordered out to safety.  This is instead of the "everyone should die together...for reasons," lesson they did impart.   

 

Also, I think Caleb's acting gets worse by the episode.  I understand that the part is written poorly and the storyline is a cliche, but he's just not a good actor. 

Edited November 11, 2015 by txhorns79

[sugarbaker design]

Booth was looking at a picture of Liam and Alex's father in their younger FBI days.

 

 

OK, but how do you know that??

 

 

 

I'm 99% certain because of multiple reasons:

 

• Alex is the lead character of this show and I think her family history is integral to the story
• We already know her parents knew/or worked with Liam
• Booth knows Liam is up to something concerning Alex
• The actor Jonathan Schaech has played Alex's father in flashback scenes
• That was a picture of JS and the actor who plays Liam in that scene

Edited November 11, 2015 by sugarbaker design

[Free]

The only thing I could think is that they were trying for the "we don't leave agents behind" lesson, i.e. you don't abandon an agent in distress, but screwed it up.  What they should have done was do an orderly evacuation where the people needed to try to defuse the bomb stay, and everyone else is ordered out to safety.  This is instead of the "everyone should die together...for reasons," lesson they did impart.

 

Agreed, it would've made more sense for them to get everyone out of there asap instead.

[madam magpie]

 

I'm 99% certain because of multiple reasons:

 

• Alex is the lead character of this show and I think her family history is integral to the story
• We already know her parents knew/or worked with Liam
• Booth knows Liam is up to something concerning Alex
• The actor Jonathan Schaech has played Alex's father in flashback scenes
• That was a picture of JS and the actor who plays Liam in that scene

 

 

Interesting! The two men in the photo looked like exactly the same guy to me. I even watched twice and paused to try and get a better look. That explanation does make more sense, though.

[sugarbaker design]

The two men in the photo looked like exactly the same guy to me.

 

 

In your defense, the two actors greatly resemble each other.  Now that I'm thinking about it, it could be intentional.  Maybe Liam is Alex's actual father?

[Netfoot]

Maybe Liam is Alex's actual father?

 

Not impossible, since he apparently was "friends" with Alex's mother.

[Dowel Jones]

I mean, I can't imagine a scenario where the FBI benefits from all its agents dying at once.

 

Well, with this crop of agents.....

[henripootel]

Why not just train one twin in one intake and the other in the next one? Only the instructors would know that they'd seen this face before, and they know about the plan anyway.

Oddly, you have to give the writers credit for pointing out in this very episode why having Doublemint Twins is soooo stupid.  Just once they get caught switching places and the jig is up, like instantly, and it's torture and death for both.  

 

If they were gonna go with a plot device so mind-numbling dumb in the first place they could have made something of this by having them never, ever in the same place while on the job, maybe just a passing glimpse of each other as they switch places.  I could see how that could be actually kinda poignant, a genuine sacrifice they'd have to make for the sake of good trade-craft, to be without each other for months at a time.  Bit much to hope for given the jr. high sensibilities of this show, so no, they're not gonna do that. 

[txhorns79]

Oddly, you have to give the writers credit for pointing out in this very episode why having Doublemint Twins is soooo stupid.  Just once they get caught switching places and the jig is up, like instantly, and it's torture and death for both.

 

I don't see how they could continue to maintain their gimmick now that the entire class knows.  That's trusting a large amount of very shady people (though maybe the extras playing trainees actually don't harbor dark pasts) with that particular secret. 

[henripootel]

I don't see how they could continue to maintain their gimmick now that the entire class knows.

 

Didn't even think of that, but you're right.  Also occurred that switching out the twins would be made difficult and dangerous by the need for them to update each other on their shared cover.  

 

"Okay, Hakeem's mom has a bad leg and he's worried about her, Dirty Bob made a crack about our ass so I slapped him, Mustafa shared a lengthy story about his childhood and why he turned to terror, and we're totally doing it with Habeeb, Here's what he likes, ..."

 

For one thing, there's no way you can cover it all nor be expected to remember it all, so you end up playing silly buggers with the most paranoid people on earth.  For another, if you have the time to adequately prep your twin, why do you need to do the twin thing in the first place?  So they you can be debriefed at length when being away too long is dangerous?  Then why waste all the time you're gonna need just to maintain your shared cover?

 

These writers are idiots.

[wanderingstar]

I'll say this about the twins - I like Nimah best. She seems like a no BS kind of gal and a pragmatist.

 

That said, I can see this taking a Sweet Valley High turn soon (one twin is wholesome and kind, one is a bad girl). Oh show, please get better reference points. 

[queenanne]

I'm very confused here, Natalie wasn't part of the test, was she? Because when Alex was questioning her, she said Brandon was on all sorts of meds, & that he didn't always take them. That means that either she was part of the test & was supposed to say that, or the FBI thought someone who was on lots of different meds & didn't always bother to take them would be a good candidate to be an agent. Of course, that's probably his big secret, so I doubt they knew about them.

 

Cf. comment earlier in episode, about how they "opened the floodgates (or net) really wide" to get a class of recruits.  Sloppy lantern-hanging nonsense retcon on part of writers to excuse why nobody should have passed a security check, so they can go on acting all "spicy" and shit, without anyone querying how these sketchers got past the screening process for a government job.

 

It took me awhile to figure out which twin is which, but now that I know Raina is the one Simon likes, I can identify her by the hearts in Simon's eyes.

 

Heh, funny.  (Though I got the distinct impression in the safe-house briefing scene in this episode, that he slept with the hostile one.)

 

I don't get why this was a good final exam for the analysts.

I mean, their job is mostly supposed to involve sitting quietly and researching stuff on a computer away from all the action, unless there's a bomb, in which case, their job is to stand there uselessly with no way to help and get blown up for no reason?

I mean, I get that teamwork is important. But the kind of person who might make a great analyst might also be the kind of person who walks away from a bomb they can't do anything about, because that would be the most logical thing to do. That wouldn't preclude them being fantastic at analysing information, as far as I could see. In fact, it would be proof that they could to the job without becoming overly emotional or distracted.

As has been said, I hate that they had the only actual gay male character be 'cowardly' in the show's opinion. Playing into some very old stereotypes there, especially in a quasi-military context. Not cool, show.

Also, hasn't Caleb missed half the agent-track training? And there was supposed to be no way back from the analyst-track? The same way that romantic relationships are strictly prohibited.

So they 'opened the net really wide' or whatever Caleb said, with this bunch of recruits? Shocker there.

This show sucks so badly.

 

The whole analyst nonsense is - nonsense.  In fact, that's probably why Elias had to leave - so we don't spend any more time focusing on analysts.  (Which I continue to get the impression from flashforwards, that Caleb still is, though probably I'm wrong and this fantastical impression was given to retrofit the storyline.) They probably shouldn't have been training with the agents, and the fact that they were, probably means that Caleb shouldn't have to go back to recruit training.  He couldn't possibly have missed that much; and certainly less than Raina/Nimah.

[aradia22]

I took a break from this show for a long time. Really, I quit it. But I decided to come back and with the distance, I've realized something. I don't hate this show. Sure, it's dumb, but lots of shows are kind of dumb. What I hate is everyone this show thinks is interesting. I like Simon. I like Nimah and Raina. Shelby has her moments though I liked the actress better on UnReal. But the people in charge (Liam/Miranda) are idiots and everyone else is pretty much generically attractive and dull as dirt. Really my ability to tolerate the show depends on how annoying Alex is in a given episode. The actress is very pageant-y to me. It's not just her hair and makeup but the way she acts. And while not so much of a Mary Sue the character can be very grating.