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S01.E09: Guilty


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At Quantico, the NATS attend a class with guest speaker Dr. Susan Langdon. Dr. Langdon is a former agent and profiler who tasks the trainees with looking at serial killer cases to find the one victim that doesn’t fit the case, but when Simon becomes too good at finding things that don’t belong, it’s his life that becomes endangered. In the future, Alex is interrogated by a highly sophisticated FBI team while Ryan’s life hangs in the balance

 

 

 

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I don't know whether this was intentional or not, but I appreciated that the elite government torture unit succeeded only in getting Alex to confess to something she didn't do.

 

Conversely, and alarmingly, Quantico's new class is evidently full of people who have no problem sending people to jail on falsified evidence.  Actually, that part is probably accurate.

  • Love 7
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Tate Ellington's Hebrew is atrocious. Seriously, it's actually impossible for me to understand. So, is he the bomber? I mean, I doubt that the friend Oren would just hand over secrets like that, knowing that it would basically destroy their homeland? 

 

This show is getting more confusing. 

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I don't get the place of the possibly-homicidal-serial-killer catcher in this series; to be more precise, I don't get why they made her possibly homicidal.  I guess just to make Simon freak out and do whatever gets him kicked out of Quantico?  It's yet another thing that looks the FBI in this show look totally incompetent (because apparently everyone else missed what a trainee caught from a short exercise, and she would rather threaten to kill him than, I don't know, try to talk her way out of it?).

 

I groaned out loud when Alex said "Guilty."  I mean, I saw it coming, it's just impossibly stupid and makes zero sense.

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So, is he the bomber?

 

Not yet, we might get the reveal next week.

 

It's yet another thing that looks the FBI in this show look totally incompetent (because apparently everyone else missed what a trainee caught from a short exercise, and she would rather threaten to kill him than, I don't know, try to talk her way out of it?).

 

Seems consistently bad just like their other oh so valuble 'lessons'.

  • Love 1
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I don't know whether this was intentional or not, but I appreciated that the elite government torture unit succeeded only in getting Alex to confess to something she didn't do.

We skipped right past we have torture units authorized to work on Americans?  And they can torture whomever they see fit, for whatever reason?  That's some broad powers right there.  

I groaned out loud when Alex said "Guilty."  I mean, I saw it coming, it's just impossibly stupid and makes zero sense.

 

 

You kidding, Senna?  It's perfect.  Whomever is setting up Alex was expecting her to say she wasn't guilty, cuz they know perfectly well that she isn't.  But this way they're all confused cuz Alex pled guilty, but they're sure to figure out that this can only be a setup because Alex knows she didn't do it and ...  yeah, I got nothing.  This show blows.

Seems consistently bad just like their other oh so valuble 'lessons'.

So was Anne Heche going to kill Simon just to cover up the fact that she slightly-cooked a murder case against an actual murderer?  Something she herself said he'd never be able to prove?  Why did Simon just walk out of the bar with her so she could kill him in peace?  And why in the world would anybody print a story about holes in an old murder case based on the word of one (presumably) anonymous source, to say nothing of anyone being so sure that this would totally get the case reversed? The evidence was so thin nobody ever caught it, and Simon's extrapolations so farfetched that even he didn't put two and two together.  But this was enough to turn a respected FBI psychologist into a killer?  Man, this show blows.  

Edited by henripootel
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What?!??  What possible reason could there be for Alex to plead guilty?  OK, we'll place you under arrest to lull the real bombers into a false sense of security, then get you to plead guilty, which they know you aren't, and that you would never enter such a plea.  So in other words,  we destroy the sense of security we're working so hard to engender!  Maybe we should also get Booth to say you shot him again!

 

Why, after all that happened, wouldn't Alex borrow a knife from one of the troopers and castrate Oded Fehr on the spot?

 

I can't imagine why they'd introduce a crooked Serial Killer Specialist at this stage.  Is it simply to provide Simon with a motive for blowing up the station?  It comes as no surprise to me that the FBI is cool with falsified evidence.  Isn't that how J. Edgar built up his career?  But what about when they heard that she had a Gom Jabbar at his neck, and that only by the intervention of Booth did he survive?  And why would he not mention that to them?

 

By the way, I find the presence of torture squads roaming the streets of the USA easy to believe.  It is well known they operate outside of the country.  It isn't much of a stretch to see them being deployed on home ground.

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It is well known they operate outside of the country.  It isn't much of a stretch to see them being deployed on home ground.

Believe it or not, it's more of a stretch than you might think.  Rules governing treatment of actual Americans are way different than those for non-Americans, well defined and not easily set aside.  Not to say that they wouldn't try to find a way around it, but I was still surprised when the got right to the torture, especially of someone who wasn't actually the suspect.  And who was clearly in medical distress - we have rules about that too.  Funny the things we choose to care about. 

 

Also loved how the paperwork battle over Alex was accompanied by an armed hostage rescue team with guns out and pointed.  Woulda thought having the right form filled out was enough, but I guess you can't pass up a chance for a dramatic shot no matter how silly.

Edited by henripootel
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So I missed it; who was the dead agent in the morgue?

Creepy Anne Heche was going to kill Simon- did she wander in from The Following? Her character would have fit in there perfectly.

It must be mortifying for actual FBI agents to get asked if their lives are really like this show.

And- it must be said- not nearly enough Oded Fehr

  • Love 6
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Creepy Anne Heche was going to kill Simon- did she wander in from The Following? Her character would have fit in there perfectly.

 

This show does remind me of the stupidity of The Following.

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Believe it or not, it's more of a stretch than you might think.  Rules governing treatment of actual Americans are way different than those for non-Americans, well defined and not easily set aside.

 

I see.  You think they follow rules.

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I see.  You think they follow rules.

Well, some rules.  Team Abu Ghraib had the right permission slip signed, and it must have been the long form as it allowed them to torture someone whom, to the best of their knowledge, was a victim himself, a badly wounded hostage.  Good on them for guessing this 'hostage' meant something to Alex.  I mean we know that but the TAG guys figured it out faster than it took to get Agent Car Sex to a goddamn hospital.  Most likely Alex (where she a terrorist needing some serious torture) would most likely just shrug and say 'Oh, you want to beat up Car Sex?  I also tortured him by denying him medical care - go nuts.'

 

Course, here I am looking for logic on a show where Alex 'saves' Agent Cougartown by throwing him in a shower in his own house, having woken him in his own bed.  I mean if he was curled up in a pool of vomit in an alley, sure, but he seemed to be just fine, sleeping one off.  For that matter, he seemed pretty lucid when the bartender made her 'your friend is here getting sloppy drunk and I found your number in his wallet' call.  Had to be the mildest scenes of 'hitting rock bottom' in history.

 

Speaking of 'hitting rock bottom' - seriously, Shelby, you had to have sexy-times right now, on a muddy forest path well-travelled by agents doing PT?  The least you can expect is an especially filthy walk of shame into your barracks room, the most is showing up on a 'people do it in public' fetish site.  

Edited by henripootel
  • Love 4
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This show does remind me of the stupidity of The Following.

 

Only The Following despite it's trashiness and ridiculousness was better written, better acted and better filmed. This one is just pure nonsense. It can't be redeemed anymore. 

  • Love 5
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Only The Following despite it's trashiness and ridiculousness was better written, better acted and better filmed. This one is just pure nonsense. It can't be redeemed anymore. 

 

Agreed, the premise is already worn thin at this point.

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I'm still trying to figure out the whole Anne Heche sub-plot. Why was it there? Did she actually kill the person, or just stage the scene of another murder to finally lock up a different serial killer? Why do all those trainees actually think it's okay that she did either of those on the grounds of the "greater good?"

I'll just end with - why do I try to understand this show?

What I do know is that these actresses all have glorious hair that I envy. Along with their magnificent eyebrows. So, there's that.

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What I do know is that these actresses all have glorious hair that I envy. Along with their magnificent eyebrows. So, there's that.

 

That's the only thing that makes any sense.

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I think Anne H was there to demonstrate Simon's brilliance. What else could it be (insert eye roll)?

I think this show is slowly turning into a hot mess because it was a hit with viewers from episode 1. You can just see the notes from the network now, as they won't want to kill off the fan favorite too quickly.

So last week Alex and Liam were at each other's throats and now she's helping him out because he's a drunk, like her dad?

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Why would Anne H voluntarily give FBI trainees the file on the case SHE tampered with (when there are a million other serial killer cases they could've studied) AND specifically point them in the direction of "find the one that doesn't fit" when she knows full well one of them doesn't fucking fit and it puts her in the crosshairs?! I just. Can't.

  • Love 19
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Why would Anne H voluntarily give FBI trainees the file on the case SHE tampered with (when there are a million other serial killer cases they could've studied) AND specifically point them in the direction of "find the one that doesn't fit" when she knows full well one of them doesn't fucking fit and it puts her in the crosshairs?! I just. Can't.

Why? Why? Don't you know, she's bipolar? 

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There's nothing to add - you've already mentioned everything that was wrong with it. The obvious setup with Alex pleading guilty, the blonde flaunting the relationship they aren't supposed to be having (right? - I thought they weren't supposed to be involved with other recruits), same with Alex and pretty boy, the M.E. including a crime she committed in her class, and then threatening the life of what's his name. The end was probably another red herring, although his asking for that information is pretty damned specific. 

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So I missed it; who was the dead agent in the morgue?

The dead agent was the one who discovered that "somebody" used Alex Parrish's keycard two days ago, or something like that.  The fact that someone used her keycard corroborates the story that Alex is being framed.  Caleb (I think) was going to meet with her to get her statement but then she was mysteriously killed.

 

What I'm confused about is that I thought we saw a scene where Caleb et al go to Liam and tell him all of this.  Then Liam sat down with Alex and said she and her friends would be exonerated.  So I am completely and utterly confused as to why the last scene is of her in a prison jumpsuit and pleading guilty.  I saw the HIG guy torturing Ryan.  Alex cries and says she will say anything.  Then the FBI bust in and tell everyone to put their hands up.  How did we jump from there to pleading guilty?  So confused.

 

The Anne Heche subplot was completely out of place and unnecessary.  I get that it is supposed to advance the plot of Simon being disillusioned and possibly being the bomber.  But none of it made sense.  If this woman has gotten away for years with doctoring evidence that gave her her big capture and made her a star, why would she even hint to Simon that he had the correct answer?  Wouldn't a person in her position just say nothing and do everything in her power to discredit his theory?

 

This show has been a big hit, so it seems like we are just getting lots of "name" or "semi-name" actors who want to do a guest appearance.  Anne Heche feels like one of them.

 

I have no idea what was going on with Alex taking care of a drunk Liam.  I have no idea why I am supposed to care.  Clearly the scene was written specifically to display the actor in his underwear, it made no sense why she would just show up or care so much.

 

I dislike Booth and his beady beady eyes a lot, so I was all for torturing him.  I can't stand him or whatever he has or doesn't have with Alex.  I couldn't help laughing at how horrifically bad the acting was in those scenes, with Ryan screaming and Alex hysterically crying.  It was comedy.

 

And ugh, Elias returns.  The actor's voice doesn't really sound like that in real life or on other shows, does it?  

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Why the FBI wants Alex to plead guilty: the real bombers will believe they are in the clear, that the FBI has completely bought into the frame, and no longer is hunting anyone else.  The real bombers will get more complacent, making it easier for the FBI to catch them.  The FBI can now devote all its resources towards catching the real terrorists, but in secret, with the real bombers not realizing it. 

 

A bit thin, but that's the best I can come up with. 

  • Love 5
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While I get the concept that the FBI wants the real bad guy to think that Alex is going to be tried for the bombing (and therefore the Big Bad will continue to do Big Bad things and get him/herself caught), it made no sense to me to have her actually please guilty. She should have, I don't know, refused to speak or acted shifty while pleading not guilty or whatever. The Big Bad now knows something is hinky.

 

Does Anne Heche's character always carry a hypodermic needle in her purse? Did the syringe have some sort of poison, or was she just going to pump a bit of air into Simon's vein to give him an embolism? Is she just a mustache-twirler who likes to flaunt her own wrongdoing (i.e., putting her own case, for which she doctored evidence, in the "hey, find the death that doesn't really fit the pattern!" game) in an effort to show how "smart" she is? And why do I give a hoot? 

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I think I missed something, but why was Liam a drunk all of a sudden? I was disappointed that he didn't go see Miranda, considering that she got shot and it was allegedly by her son.

 

I also don't get why Ryan was so testy. He lied about a lot of things and Alex lied about one thing and he's ready to break up? The girls on this show are way too forgiving of the guys and the guys are just jerks. Liam gets Miranda to leave her husband, only he gets cold feet when she's available. Caleb's dad is cheating on his wife with his son's former girlfriend. Caleb rated Shelby out to the FBI, sabotaged her assignment and is now spying on her. Booth was spying on Alex the entire time and then leaves her hanging in the end of the episode. He also lied to his current girlfriend, Nathalie, who I'm going to assume is someone he'd cheat on with Alex in a heartbeat. Elijah was so determined to bang Simon that he decided to expose him and get a pity kiss in return. And Simon...the moment the twins back off he decides that he's done with the FBI. The Anne Heche syringe kind of sealed the deal. Seriously though, why would he leak information like that anyways? No one likes a rat and whistleblowers are not looked on favourably. Having a superhero complex is one thing, but there are protocols in place for them.

 

*sigh*

 

The guys here are all jerks except for Brandon, but he's hardly around to begin with so....

 

Overall, I felt like the episode was okay. Not as bad as the other ones, but there were definitely times when it felt like there was a timeskip or something because I was confused at some of the things that happened here.

 

I groaned out loud when Alex said "Guilty."  I mean, I saw it coming, it's just impossibly stupid and makes zero sense.

 

Technically, it makes perfect sense considering how this show keeps telling Alex to do things that make her look guilty. We saw it before with Booth and Simon, who somehow convinced her that she needed to make herself look guilty even though she isn't guilty. Since she's with FBI now, she can't 'look' the part anymore, she has to act the part.

 

...it doesn't really make much sense, but I'm going to assume that by saying she's guilty would mess up the plans of the actual terrorist.

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But this way they're all confused cuz Alex pled guilty, but they're sure to figure out that this can only be a setup because Alex knows she didn't do it and ...  yeah, I got nothing.

 

Because she knows that they know that she didn't do it, unless they know that she knows that they know that she didn't do it, but then...yeah, I got nothing either.

 

Mr. Mossad lets himself be taken into a private corner of the bar, first off, then blows his guesses right at her (Only I know that you are not telling the truth!), and then lets himself be held hostage in the parking lot when a simple twist & block (for a trained agent) would have knocked her arm away from his head.  Too bad they didn't have Mossad Agent Beard sign off with "You leave the Pennsylvania Station at a quarter to four..."

 

So I missed it; who was the dead agent in the morgue?

 

She was a competent agent who followed policies and procedures.  She had to die.

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The real bombers will get more complacent, making it easier for the FBI to catch them.

 

No, because the real bombers will say, "Wait!  Why did she plead guilty when we did it?  They're up to something!!!" and instead of getting complacent, they will be doubly on their guard.

  • Love 6
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JUST when you thought it couldn't get any dumber, Quantico pulls an Ann Heche appearance to prove you wrong! I was doubly amused that she latched onto Simon because I am old enough to remember her as twins Vicky/Marley on "Another World", and Simon has a twin fixation. Speaking of which, our FBI not only lost Alex to a "Black Ops" team working IN the U.S., BUT were conned by the twins pulling the "now you see a head scarf, now you don't" trick?

  Did they say what happened to the Anonymous folk who were escorting Booth? Were they killed? Will we see them again?

  I don't see why they had to torture Booth at all. Simply put Alex in a sauna and withhold haircare product from her. She'd break in an hour.

  • Love 8
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No, because the real bombers will say, "Wait!  Why did she plead guilty when we did it?  They're up to something!!!" and instead of getting complacent, they will be doubly on their guard.

I think the FBI is counting on the possibility that the real bombers will assume so much pressure was brought to bear on Alex, she caved in.  In fact that was just about to happen.  The dark ops guy was killing Ryan.  Alex had agreed to plead guilty when her amigos stormed in and saved the day. 

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Did I miss something with this whole Miranda thing and her son?? I can't figure out exactly what's going on there. First, the son gets out of detention and immediately starts claiming innocence and accusing Miranda of lying just to get him locked up. They have a very odd relationship and now he is mysteriously supposed to have stabbed her? I can't decide if the kid was actually planning to kill a school full of people or if something weird and shady is going on with Miranda being shady and making up stories. Any insight?

  • Love 3
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Plus they'll probably say there's a plea bargain involved - that she isn't just pleading "Guilty" and hoping for the best. They'll say that in exchange for her plea she gets to avoid the death penalty.

 

Lots of innocent people in this country plead guilty for the certainty of a lighter sentence over the uncertainty of a trial with a far harsher sentence should there be a conviction. The people who really did this would be aware that Alex isn't rich, she can't afford the kind of legal representation she would need to successfully fight such charges in court.

 

This may actually be one of the less stupid things on this show.

Edited by Black Knight
  • Love 2
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Wow, this show sucks. Alex is guilty, Alex is guilty, Alex is guilty, whoops, Alex is innocent. They've spent the past 8 1/2 episodes with everyone thinking Alex is guilty, & 5 whole minutes to exonerate her & now everyone thinks she's innocent. 

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I couldn't pay attention to anything after Mr Torturer told Alex that the bullet wound was infected with sepsis.  Umm, show, you do know that sepsis is not an infectious agent, right?  Apparently not.  I hate it when shows have their characters say really stupid medical things that make no sense and reveal that their writers can't even crack open a dictionary.

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So I guess Agent car sex, I know his name just like this better, moves onto unlikable cop chick because he thinks Alex is hooking up with tiny eyes.

Does anyone know how old Alex was supposed to be when her Dad died? I have a hard time believing her saying she had to deal with sobering up her drunk Dad a lot. In the flashback I remember seemed like she was pretty young. But then again this show isn't logical so I should really stop trying to make sense!

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I couldn't pay attention to anything after Mr Torturer told Alex that the bullet wound was infected with sepsis.  Umm, show, you do know that sepsis is not an infectious agent, right?  Apparently not.  I hate it when shows have their characters say really stupid medical things that make no sense and reveal that their writers can't even crack open a dictionary.

 

Oh no, they didn't?! I heard the words infected and sepsis, but didn't pay attention. That is beyond laughable!!!

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I couldn't pay attention to anything after Mr Torturer told Alex that the bullet wound was infected with sepsis.  Umm, show, you do know that sepsis is not an infectious agent, right?  Apparently not.  I hate it when shows have their characters say really stupid medical things that make no sense and reveal that their writers can't even crack open a dictionary.

 

Mayo Clinic says, "Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection." 

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Wow, this show sucks. Alex is guilty, Alex is guilty, Alex is guilty, whoops, Alex is innocent. They've spent the past 8 1/2 episodes with everyone thinking Alex is guilty, & 5 whole minutes to exonerate her & now everyone thinks she's innocent. 

 

So she promptly confesses to the crime!

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kikaha, it is.  But you can't be infected with sepsis.  Sepsis isn't a pathogen which causes infection.  It's a syndrome that may occur in a person with an active infection.

 

ETA: I shouldn't type when I'm tired.

Edited by Canada
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Nurse talk here....sepsis is a condition you can get when you have a bad infection in your body. It's your body's response to the infection. It can be very dangerous and life threatening. But it's not like Ebola, for example. You could be infected by Ebola. 

  • Love 3
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I think the bad guy was just trying to scare/shock the hell out of Alex.

 

Wonder what repercussions he faced, after the FBI found him torturing one of their own agents, nearly to death?   

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