S01.E20: Hi, My Name Is Rebecca Harris

[wellread]

I don't think the FBI answers to the Barbados Parliament!

[thewhiteowl]

Regardless of who makes the Law, it isn't the FBI. Their job is to enforce it. So drop it. Thanks.

[twoods]

The Brian/Rebecca scene at the end made me weepy. I love their current dynamic but can go for a slow burn relationship next season.

I'm torn with Sands being arrested because even though he's a cold blooded killer, I love the actor's portrayal and want to see him come out as a good guy in the end.

[BooBear]

I didn't realize this was on this week so I just saw it now.  Of course, I loved it.  I do think Brian looks good in the suit because he is hardly ever in one.  I didn't think Rebecca and Brian were particularly shippy but I can see how people might see that.  Did feel like the search for the non Houston guy was kind of filler.

 

From my point of view there is a problem when a show sets up a compelling relationship between a man and a woman that goes beyond *sex* so to speak.  I think this happened with xfiles. Mulder and Scully were such soul mates and good friends that it kind of seemed like a crazy afterthought to have them have sexual relations and kids.  Here I see a similar (police work) but deeper dynamic. Rebecca even has the added bonus of being the person who saw something special in Brian and setting him up to fulfill his full potential. And Brian had put himself and his family in danger to keep Rebecca out of trouble.  And now just gave up NZT for her.  They are already in a sort of *super friendship* that shoots past dating and sex escapades.   So if we go tv romance hunting if often feels like we are walking back the relationship to a silly degree.  It is tricky.

 

I also thought I got a little glimpse this week into what Rebecca might like about Brian. Her life before her dad's drugs was kind of carefree and innocent as Brian kind of is. Seems like that would be attractive to her.

Edited April 10, 2016 by BooBear

[Hecate7]

I didn't realize this was on this week so I just saw it now.  Of course, I loved it.  I do think Brian looks good in the suit because he is hardly ever in one.  I didn't think Rebecca and Brian were particularly shippy but I can see how people might see that.  Did feel like the search for the non Houston guy was kind of filler.

 

From my point of view there is a problem when a show sets up a compelling relationship between a man and a woman that goes beyond *sex* so to speak.  I think this happened with xfiles. Mulder and Scully were such soul mates and good friends that it kind of seemed like a crazy afterthought to have them have sexual relations and kids.

 

It did, sure. But then when I think about trying to be Mulder's wife, while he's working with Skully, or Skully's husband while she's got such an intense bond with Mulder, I go right back to thinking, "for heaven's sake, ship them."

[AudienceofOne]

It did, sure. But then when I think about trying to be Mulder's wife, while he's working with Skully, or Skully's husband while she's got such an intense bond with Mulder, I go right back to thinking, "for heaven's sake, ship them."

 

Is my reaction, because when you have a partnership that is that transcendent then why wouldn't they be a partner in all things? So they go home at the end of the day for, what? A meal and sex with someone they mildly like?

 

There's a kind of a Spartan subtext behind this point of view that says that sex and children is something you have with someone you don't really care about and your real relationships are with your friends.And that is underpinning this notion, in my opinion. I kind of hope society has progressed past this to see long-term committed relationships as a true partnership. Which is why somebody showing the kind of consideration and connection the characters had in this episode is shippy if you see that kind of relationship as being the core of a life partnership with somebody.

 

As vs the CW "we're both hot teenagers and so our LOVE is 4EVA". Not that I don't mind that. I watch CW shows as well.

 

YMMV. As always

[atomationage]

I re-watched the pilot episode yesterday.  It was Rebecca's idea for Brian to come to work for the FBI with her.  This comes after a scene where Morra decides that Brian would be useful, without specifics.  Maybe Rebecca was originally supposed to be working for Morra.  Post hoc ergo propter hoc.  

[iMonrey]

 

Morra ditching Amelia Glasser was pretty cold-blooded, but according to Brian's current theory, Morra is the guy responsible for the NZT purges.

 

What exactly are the "NZT purges?" I'm confused about this plot point. I still don't have a handle on where exactly the NZT is coming from. Obviously the FBI has an unlimited supply to give Brian, can they manufacture it? Did they invent it? But then again Brian's old band-mate had a small supply of NZT as well so obviously it's out there on the streets too.

 

I'm also not clear on what happens if Brian stops getting the shots and stops taking NZT at the same time - will be be fine? Or will he suffer the same kind of neurological damage as Amelia seems to have?

[Notwisconsin]

Regardless of who makes the Law, it isn't the FBI. Their job is to enforce it. So drop it. Thanks.

That's correct, J. Edger Hoover is dead. But back when he wasn't, they were a law unto themselves. Remember, Hoover's successor wound up in jail. so who knows?

[sjohnson]

What exactly are the "NZT purges?" I'm confused about this plot point. I still don't have a handle on where exactly the NZT is coming from. Obviously the FBI has an unlimited supply to give Brian, can they manufacture it? Did they invent it? But then again Brian's old band-mate had a small supply of NZT as well so obviously it's out there on the streets too.

 

I'm also not clear on what happens if Brian stops getting the shots and stops taking NZT at the same time - will be be fine? Or will he suffer the same kind of neurological damage as Amelia seems to have?

By "NZT purges," I mean that killing of users and dealers. The subjects in the FBI's pilot project, which included Rebecca's dear old Dad, were killed by Sands, apparently at Morra's orders. Back in the pilot, Brian's banker friend/ex-band mate was similarly killed. And people tried to kill Brian too, as I remember, with the framing plot being a fall back I suppose. Or possibly a test, to see if Brian would be a suitable recruit instead of purge victim? All those shenanigans as a recruitment process seems a little elaborate even for NZT though. At any rate, in the movie, someone was killing the dealers and users. There didn't seem to be too many people surviving long enough to die from the side effects, although Morra's ex-girl friend seemed to last longer than others. 

[AudienceofOne]

Morra couldn't have competition from another motivated NZT user so he took control of the supply and then killed the other users. The FBI has a supply because they reverse-engineered it and are manufacturing a small amount for testing to try to overcome the negative side effects.  I think the plan was to kill Brian until Morra saw he had a potential 'in' with the FBI and so he changed tack and recruited him.

[Big Mother]

This is slightly off topic, forgive me: Limitless has been DO-NOT-MISS appointment TV for me without fail every Tuesday it was on. I realized to my chagrin that tomorrow night is the wedding of the daughter of a dear friend and neighbor. So I will presumably not be home between 10 and 11 pm. drat!!! I was sad to miss the adrenaline rush I get every week. Then I realized that I had no idea when on earth I will watch the episode since it won't be on the CBS app before 1 am and I have a very very busy Wednesday coming up. Something told me to check the listings and I couldn't believe my good fortune; it's not on this week.... whew, I've been spared :D

[iMonrey]

 

By "NZT purges," I mean that killing of users and dealers. The subjects in the FBI's pilot project, which included Rebecca's dear old Dad, were killed by Sands, apparently at Morra's orders. Back in the pilot, Brian's banker friend/ex-band mate was similarly killed. And people tried to kill Brian too, as I remember, with the framing plot being a fall back I suppose. Or possibly a test, to see if Brian would be a suitable recruit instead of purge victim? All those shenanigans as a recruitment process seems a little elaborate even for NZT though. At any rate, in the movie, someone was killing the dealers and users. There didn't seem to be too many people surviving long enough to die from the side effects, although Morra's ex-girl friend seemed to last longer than others.

 

Thanks. So, we still don't know who invented NZT then? The FBI just got hold of some and figured out how to make it themselves? And is the FBI aware of these NZT "purges" and if so are they actively trying to find out who's behind them? My recollection from the early episodes was that their initial experiments resulted in the death of most of their subjects; I don't recall than any of the others were mysteriously killed by outside forces. I remembered that Sands killed Rebecca's father but not that he was part of the FBI's experiments with the drug.

[hnygrl]

Rebecca's Dad wasn't a part of the FBI's NZT experiments, but the FBI Kept track of everybody they knew of who were taking NZT, where they lived, who gave them the drug, how long they'd been on it, etc. and if they can do that, surely Morra's people can do that too (maybe they had a mole in there?). Rebecca's Dad got his from his Rehab Therapist who was giving them out to his more addicted patients with some success. I don't think they got to the "side effects" stage before they all were "mysteriously" killed/turned up dead. In the "Side effects may include" episode, Sands blew up/killed the therapist guy who was giving NZT to his patients.

The FBI stopped their experiments on their own volunteers when they saw what the side effects were, but, If I recall correctly, the ultimate side effect for those poor bastards was death so none of them were "killed"