S01.E18: Soon

[formerlyfreedom]

At Quantico, the NATs look into each other’s background to determine who gets high- level security clearance, and in the process Alex, Shelby and Iris learn some surprising truths about Drew, Will and Caleb. Meanwhile, in the future, Alex contacts Claire Haas in order to find her missing friends and is shocked when she discovers what happened to Caleb.

 

[Senna]

I had a lot of questions about poor, locked-up "druggie" Caleb (like, when exactly did he become a druggie?  If it just after his dad died, then his mom had plenty of opportunity to get him into therapy or rehab with an "acceptable" explanation -- grief -- before it became like this.  And why the big production with the old-fashioned key -- who was she even keeping out?), but apparently it was all a farce anyway!  So Caleb continues to be the shadiest of the bunch, though Liam was looking pretty bad this episode too.  And sorry, Miranda, I want to feel bad for you, but ... I just don't.

 

I did feel bad for poor Will getting beat up.

[funkymunky]

I'm intrigued by the pomegranate molasses that Nimah couldn't find at the store. That's all I got from this episode.

[thuganomics85]

Whoa, what was up with that big speech from Miranda to Alex?  Now, not only is Alex suppose to be the smartest, greatest agent ever, she's now has to be success in order to shatter the glass ceiling and take down the Boy's Club that dominates the FBI?  I mean, sure, I imagine that is true in real life and it's an admirable goal, but there was like no build-up at all to this, and it just feels like it's so out of left field, and writers just wanted go create a big moment about current issues going on right now.  And if Miranda really want this, maybe she should tell Alex to get her shit together on other aspects, like letting emotions cloud her judgement or causing scenes with Ryan over Drew (not that I don't blame Ryan either.  Dude shouldn't even be a counselor if he's going to let his emotions get into stupid shouting matches in front of everyone.  Really, everyone on this show has the maturity level of a 10 year-old.)

 

Anyway, tonight's training exercise was about clearance and who gets it and who doesn't.  Raina gets heat for signing some kind of petition over the Iraq War, Drew gets in trouble for saying the NFL made him ashamed to be an American, and Shelby think she's in trouble for lying about her parents, only for it to be the half-sister instead.  Of course, all of them end up being fine.  Iris though, seems to be in trouble for reasons I can't quite figure out.  We haven't seen her yet in the future, so I'm sure that will all come out at some point.

 

Iris fucks over Caleb and Will, leaving the former captured by the cult again and Will laying in a pool of his own blood.  Poor Will.  Great way to look after your friend, Iris.

 

Caleb finally returns in the future and he's on drugs because of what happened to Daddy!  And Mommy is just keeping him locked up and still giving him some smack, because hey, she's got an election to win!  Can't let your clearly disturbed son mess that up!  Actually, that might be one of the more realistic parts about this show. But now Caleb is on the run with Alex, but judging from that phone call, it sounds like he has his own reasons.

 

I feel like the higher-up Ryan is, the bigger asshole he becomes.  

[NorthstarATL]

I feel like the higher-up Ryan is, the bigger asshole he becomes.  

That is the magnifying glass ceiling at work. This show is almost too dumb to even comment upon each week, but I loved the old timey movie quality to the my-son-the-addict reveal with Marcia Cross! It makes no sense, but it was so soap operatic! Cross' character is rich. There is no reason to have Caleb doing drugs in that room. She probably has a panic room in which he can dry out and detox, even if he didn't want to, and there are drug counselors who will make a home visit for the right price. No need for Caleb to be checked into a facility.

 The flashbacks were the usual. There are NO folks at Quantico BESIDES this class? Why would those whose clearance was questionable be checked by their know-nothing classmates? This show makes me feel less and less safe.

 On the hair front, the woman playing the twins has been giving Alex a run for her money, but Alex kicked it up a notch this week. New conditioner?

  And, lastly, who did Jacob Artist piss off that he, out of all the Glee aliumni who are now superheroes or whatnot, is a glorified extra?

[Artsda]

Iris is horrible, friend and FBI agent. Every conclusion she makes is wrong and then her so called friends are the ones hurt by her acting or speaking first without knowing anything. 

[mertensia]

Uh, Iris, why don't you inform the FBI, not Sistemics?

So the physical isn't done before you enter the Academy? Yeah that makes so much sense.

So Caleb's been pretending to be a junkie?

When the previews were shown and the voice-over actor said something about the bad guy unleashing the worst thing yet I scared my cat by shouting "Season 2!!!"

[Slj]

  And, lastly, who did Jacob Artist piss off that he, out of all the Glee aliumni who are now superheroes or whatnot, is a glorified extra?

Only white men get storylines on this show.

They'll allow diversity among the women because in the end they'll all need saving by said white men.

[Free]

Iris is horrible, friend and FBI agent. Every conclusion she makes is wrong and then her so called friends are the ones hurt by her acting or speaking first without knowing anything. 

 

All she did was prove how untrustworthy she is.

 

I feel like the higher-up Ryan is, the bigger asshole he becomes.

 

He always was, it's just more apparent now that he's not putting up an act.

 

Whoa, what was up with that big speech from Miranda to Alex?  Now, not only is Alex suppose to be the smartest, greatest agent ever, she's now has to be success in order to shatter the glass ceiling and take down the Boy's Club that dominates the FBI?

 

She is whatever the writers need her to be, but that's what makes it harder to care about her since she doesn't hav a defined motivation that's only convenient when it need to be.

[Primetimer]

More distractions only lead to more not-so-burning questions.

Read the story

[Guest]

If none of the original recruits are behind it, I'm going to be really irritated just because that's the premise the show sold me on.  Just for the record.  So if it is Liam or Miranda, that would be a cop out.  Though it could be an interesting twist if it is Miranda, and when she broke Alex out of custody, she was really doing it to further the plot.

[misstwpherecool]

This show is eye candy and bubble gum and sometimes makes for good light Sunday night fodder. But enough already with the politicizing. A show produced in Canada is pumping out Hollywood ideology including a pc swipe at scientology. It's too blatant. It takes away from the story regardless of political leanings because they are trying associate themselves with reality yet it's some of the most over the top fiction out there. If they want a theme to 'a' story fine but seems to hit political talking points every show, especially the last epi. Last night topics included Ted Cruz, Muslim citizenship, scientology, drug abuse, instructor abuse of authority yet sex was used for an illegal recording. Just from a story telling stand point they need to focus in on one theme for that show, multiple story arcs but the constant slipping in of side commentary is not necessary.

[sluggish neko]

I finally caught up to the latest episode of this show and wow, these flashbacks are getting tedious. They made sense in the beginning when Alex was trying to figure out which one of her classmates was the terrorist, but now there's a bunch of new classmates doing dumb stuff that takes away from the present story line, which is moving oh so sloooooow. Alex loses Simon (who didn't have to go to the drop point with her in the first place) and replaces him with Caleb (who's a double-agent for Ryan, I'm guessing). And she got Raina in trouble cuz why not? She's already gone through Nathalie whom she got exploded and Hannah whom she got suspended. That's it. I can see the wheels spinning in the mud of the plot.

 

ITA about Iris though. You don't blow the cover of an undercover agent! Isn't that FBI 101? And when Will got beat down, it was Shelby who rushed over to him. Where was his so-called friend Iris? It's no wonder she didn't get security clearance.

 

I'm tempted to drop this show, but the Haas soapy family drama, especially with Marcia Cross & Mark Pellegrino playing the parents, keeps me entertained. Plus, Simon is so darn likable. I'm still hoping for him to get together with Raina... when all the Alex craziness is over. Then again, if either one is the terrorist, my ship is sunk. Oh wells.

Edited April 20, 2016 by sluggish neko

[AV8n]

"My name is Mark Raymond and I'm here to..."

 

"No, you're Caleb Haas! I remember the shit-storm you caused when your FBI parents came to take you away from us."

 

"But I put on fancy glasses and nicer clothes. It always worked for Clark Kent. Damn comics!"

 

It's nice to know that the security clearances of new FBI trainees are handled by... other FBI trainees. Also, let's wait until training is almost over to see if you meet the minimum physical qualifications for an agent and if you have a snowball's chance in hell at a security clearance.

 

Oh well, there doesn't seem to be a single decent investigator in the entire agency according to this show. Two bombs went off in NYC and someone says there might be more? Don't look into it. That'd be silly. Instead, brand her a conspiracy theorist and monitor her every move. Well, maybe not every move - got to let her slip away every now and then.

 

What exactly did Iris think notScientology was going to do with Will when he showed up there after she'd blown his cover - turn off the lights and duck like he was a Jehovah's Witness? Or maybe she totally planned it that way to get Caleb to dart off to them. She did have the whole "Prefect" call pretty well mastered. Nah, the writers aren't that clever!

 

P.S. - I fully expect Whole Foods to sell out of pomegranate molasses this week.

[piequinn35]

This show is confusing as f$%k, just tell us who is the terrorist.

[Dowel Jones]

If Alex was at the very least a competent agent, not the superstar that Miranda says, she would have realized that the blood tests that all the NATS did at the physicals would reveal Caleb's drug use, and he would immediately be gone.  But he's still there, so, let's think about that....no, can't be, she says.  I have to meet him after he "escapes" from his mother's house. 

 

This show is reaching levels of absurdity not seen since the Under The Dome days.  Having trainees pair up to answer a confidential questionnaire?  Reading the results out loud in front of the class?  Having the trainees look over the afflicted reports to see what is wrong with their fellow trainees?  To borrow the quote from the beginning of the show, "You are the front line of defense against America's enemies";  Be afraid, folks.  Be very afraid.

 

So, last week's episode with Shelby and The Voice is just dust in the wind?  Nothing to be concerned about, anymore?

[blackwing]

I know this is a Shondaland show, and like all Shondaland shows, replete with female characters who have bigger testicles than the male characters.  But are women supposed to be the target audience of this show?  I like Aunjanue Ellis and the character of Miranda, but that ultra feminist "Alex Parrish You are the Light of the World" rant at the end almost made me turn off my TV.  I loathe the Alex Parrish character.  It was evident from Day 1 that she was this show's Special Snowflake and there's absolutely no reason for them to continue beating us on the head with it.  I'm not sure what the point of that "Men Suck" speech was.... to get men to stop watching?  It might be working.

 

Will continues to be the only character I really like.  Not sure what Caleb's plan is, but I'm disappointed in him after finding that I liked him the last few episodes.

 

Two people I really couldn't give a rat's ass about... Drew Perales and Ryan Booth.  I don't need to know whose is bigger.  I just don't care.  Drew has seemingly become the show's lead character, behind Alex.

 

I fully expect Clayton Haas to be alive.  I think Claire Haas is going to be revealed as the big bad.  She and Clayton are the terrorists.  They bombed the bank and Clayton faked his death, all in an effort to win her the election out of sympathy.

[Guest]

I know this is a Shondaland show, and like all Shondaland shows, replete with female characters who have bigger testicles than the male characters.  But are women supposed to be the target audience of this show?  I like Aunjanue Ellis and the character of Miranda, but that ultra feminist "Alex Parrish You are the Light of the World" rant at the end almost made me turn off my TV.  I loathe the Alex Parrish character.  It was evident from Day 1 that she was this show's Special Snowflake and there's absolutely no reason for them to continue beating us on the head with it.  I'm not sure what the point of that "Men Suck" speech was.... to get men to stop watching?  It might be working.

 

 

Shonda Rhimes is actually not involved in producing this show. It's just so soapy that it feels like she is.

[Texasmom1970]

I know this is a Shondaland show, and like all Shondaland shows, replete with female characters who have bigger testicles than the male characters.  But are women supposed to be the target audience of this show?  I like Aunjanue Ellis and the character of Miranda, but that ultra feminist "Alex Parrish You are the Light of the World" rant at the end almost made me turn off my TV.  I loathe the Alex Parrish character.  It was evident from Day 1 that she was this show's Special Snowflake and there's absolutely no reason for them to continue beating us on the head with it.  I'm not sure what the point of that "Men Suck" speech was.... to get men to stop watching?  It might be working.

 

Will continues to be the only character I really like.  Not sure what Caleb's plan is, but I'm disappointed in him after finding that I liked him the last few episodes.

 

Two people I really couldn't give a rat's ass about... Drew Perales and Ryan Booth.  I don't need to know whose is bigger.  I just don't care.  Drew has seemingly become the show's lead character, behind Alex.

 

I fully expect Clayton Haas to be alive.  I think Claire Haas is going to be revealed as the big bad.  She and Clayton are the terrorists.  They bombed the bank and Clayton faked his death, all in an effort to win her the election out of sympathy.

I am kind of along this line of thinking now since we see Caleb calling whoever saying she fell for it. The only person I could see him helping is his Mom. But then again maybe I am trying to think to logically figuring out the mess they have made of this show. They way they are pushing how wonderful Alex is I half expect them to be like surprise you passed the test you are now the new head of the FBI.

[blackwing]

Shonda Rhimes is actually not involved in producing this show. It's just so soapy that it feels like she is.

Ah, my bad, I was confusing this one with "How to Get Away With Murder", where her company is producer.  It does have the Shonda formula.

[skotnikov]

This show is confusing as f$%k, just tell us who is the terrorist.

 

I hope you are aware that they will never reveal the terrorist/s. Firstly, because the idiot writers of the show  themselves have no clue who it is, and secondly because once they reveal the terrorist how would they lure us, stupid viewers, every week with their "greatest twist of them all", "biggest reveal ever", "most shocking ending" and so on slogans? It's endless, and I suppose, that once it's canceled they going to end it with another cliffhanger that  will make  no sense whatsoever at all.    

[ByTor]

I fully expect Clayton Haas to be alive.  I think Claire Haas is going to be revealed as the big bad.  She and Clayton are the terrorists.  They bombed the bank and Clayton faked his death, all in an effort to win her the election out of sympathy.

That is precisely what I thought, especially since I've never seen Mark Pellegrino not play a villain, and people seem to enjoy an evil Marcia Cross as well (although truth be told I thought she chewed way too much scenery as Kimberly Shaw).

[Free]

Ah, my bad, I was confusing this one with "How to Get Away With Murder", where her company is producer.  It does have the Shonda formula.

 

It ripped off the Shonda formula, this is basically written by people who have watched her shows and tried to rip off elements from them.

[snuffles]

So Liam continues to show us what a liability he is to the FBI. He compromises himself and the FBI frequently, but gets promoted. No wonder Miranda is pissed. All an "enemy of America" needs to do is have a non white female make goo goo eyes and get him drunk and bam they have enough to blackmail him or get access to whatever they want.

 

I could actually understand Miranda's and Iris' motivations this week. Miranda's spill didn't seem out of the blue if you consider she had just been demoted and the person she had fired was the one who took her spot was in the good ole boy club. Iris did seemed genuinely concerned about Will. She didn't know Will had left for a meeting with the higher ups when she made the call. She probably didn't want Will, Caleb and Shelby to get in trouble with the FBI so that is why she didn't go to the FBI.  Also, we saw what would happen if she did go to the FBI. Nothing. Clayton would have swept any information from Iris under the rug and booted Iris out. Shelby on the other hand, was the one who seemed selfish, revengeful and childish. She ratted out Caleb to Liam because she thought Caleb had sold her out.

 

Denying Iris security clearance because her tech companies employed foreigners was hilarious. I don't think the show can name one tech company that doesn't hire foreigners.

 

So past twins decide to come up with a 3rd persona but the previous future twins have never been shown to be that 3d persona.

 

Clayton back to being shown in the past and Caleb back to being shown in the future. Guess this means Clayton is alive.

 

Caleb actually doing drugs to go "undercover" is stupid and reckless.

 

Still no Brandon in the future. The funniest part of the episode is where Brandon checked "yes" to trying every illicit drug during college while Raina looks on incredulously. Then Brandon tells Raina he understands her religion/faith has kept her from experimenting with drugs. She replies it's not her faith keeping her from trying, "I'm not an idiot".

[DrLar]

Overall bad and boring episode, filler material, no true advance on the main plot.

About the POTV review, I also think Claire is involved with the "Voice", she was never in real danger with the pills switch stuff or any other stuff. Bonus for her that the cheatin' hubby died in the explosion..

[neighsayer]

When is this dreck going to be over??? I have to watch through the season finale or I will never get over the guilt of having wasted so many hours of my life on this. But I am having such a hard time staying with it--this is the most convoluted nonsensical show I have ever seen and that is saying a lot bc I am no armchair TV critic to begin with.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I came away from the episode thinking that Caleb was not taking any drugs at all; it was all an act.  It's easy enough to say, "I'm going off to capture Alex, the all-Star renegade FBI agent who is trying her best to stay under the radar.  It should take me about 10 minutes so get into character as a junkie.  I'll lock you in for overly dramatic effect because that's how this show rolls."

 

I could not give a crap about Miranda's problems, which means the show made a huge misstep, because I would be very interested in a well done story line about a career woman's trajectory in national security.  However, I have found Miranda to have been written as an abrasive character all season long, and I want her off the screen by now, so I'm all for her demotion.  And Liam can't carry any sort of storyline.  He's incompetent, he's an oaf, and he slept with a student.  I also think the actor has been phoning it in since the beginning, which used to annoy me, but maybe I should respect him if he is the only one who realizes that this show is not worth it. 

 

The only one I like at this point is Nimah.

 

I hope you are aware that they will never reveal the terrorist/s. Firstly, because the idiot writers of the show  themselves have no clue who it is, and secondly because once they reveal the terrorist how would they lure us, stupid viewers, every week with their "greatest twist of them all", "biggest reveal ever", "most shocking ending" and so on slogans? It's endless, and I suppose, that once it's canceled they going to end it with another cliffhanger that  will make  no sense whatsoever at all.

 

This is probably right.  That stinks.

[Eolivet]

Sorry to resurrect this thread from obscurity, but this show's bizarre relationship with sex completely confuses me. It's a 10PM (ET) show, and should ostensibly be full of attractive people getting it on. And for the first part of its run, it was.

I am no Josh Hopkins fan, but is he some kind of devout culty guy himself? Mainly because he's now had two "sex scenes" with women on the show and the sum total of "sex" shown is roughly the equivalent of a Disney Channel show.

I'm beginning to actually doubt that hook-up between Alex and Liam ever happened. It's like if they say it enough, we'll believe it's true, but it boggles my mind that on a show that seems to pride itself as a soap at 10PM no less somehow felt that showing even the most minuscule sexual interaction between Alex and Liam would offend our delicate sensibilities. We never even saw them kiss (that I can recall) -- just drive away in his car, and we're just supposed to take for granted that they spent this wild night together. I know Josh Hopkins isn't exactly Mr. Universe, but the way the show just steadfastly refused to show one moment of their illicit hook-up, while we've seen Caleb and Shelby practically go through the Kama Sutra, is so odd.

For the sake of argument, say that a sexual relationship between a mentor and his student would draw the ire of the Parents TV Council who stay up past their bedtime. There's no such argument that could be made for sex between Miranda and Liam. And yet the sum total of their "hot" encounter is him standing behind her (ooh, hotttttt), fully clothed, with what can charitably described as medium-weight breathing. It was the unsexiest post-coital scene I think I've ever seen.

Somebody tell me if Josh Hopkins has some kind of morality clause written into his contract, because otherwise the showrunner with a 10PM show who avoids showing attractive people humping each other should probably be fired. Unless he seriously thinks we tune in for the oh-so-compelling spy antics and are like teenagers who only need the mention of sex to start giggling, Beavis-and-Butthead-style.

Dammit, show -- I'm an adult, your show is a dumb soap with attractive people, go crazy on the 10PM sex scenes. If you don't show them, the terrorists win.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Eolivet

[WendyCR72]

7 hours ago, Eolivet said:

Dammit, show -- I'm an adult, your show is a dumb soap with attractive people, go crazy on the 10PM sex scenes. If you don't show them, the terrorists win.

Hee. Is Quantico an ABC Studios show? Because if so, I have noticed its shows tend to really play it safe.*

 

*Unless, of course, the show is on Netflix, then it's blood, guts, and swearing galore! (Hi, Daredevil!)

[ByTor]

14 hours ago, Eolivet said:

I'm beginning to actually doubt that hook-up between Alex and Liam ever happened. It's like if they say it enough, we'll believe it's true, but it boggles my mind that on a show that seems to pride itself as a soap at 10PM no less somehow felt that showing even the most minuscule sexual interaction between Alex and Liam would offend our delicate sensibilities. We never even saw them kiss (that I can recall) -- just drive away in his car, and we're just supposed to take for granted that they spent this wild night together.

You have no idea how happy I am to read this.  I thought for sure I must have had a blackout during their sex scene, because I don't recall anything happening at all!

[Eolivet]

8 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Hee. Is Quantico an ABC Studios show? Because if so, I have noticed its shows tend to really play it safe.*

It is, but it doesn't explain why they've shown a few couples in flagrante where Liam has been a visual monk. What makes him special is what I want to know.