S01.E19: In the Comet of Us

[Trini]

When a school shooting breaks out during the investigation of a tattoo, the team splits up to take down the shooter. Mayfair copes with some issues from her past.

[thuganomics85]

Well, that got dark and topical real fast.  A school shooting that ends up being because there was some Penn State-like sex scandals, going on with a coach sexually abusing his players, and the school covered it up.  I'm still not entirely sure why the victims shot up the school in a way where innocent students would get killed.  I know the one guy claimed it was an accident, but they kept "getting in the way", but if they really wanted to off the coach and the dean, there had to be an easier way.

 

I guess the whole flashing back to see what each team member (except Patterson, apparently) was doing before the case, was a nice touch, even if there wasn't anything too shocking.  Reade isn't over his break-up, Zapata has trouble opening up about her addiction at group therapy, Weller's freaking out about his dead, and Jane and Oscar are going through a rough patch.  Yay?

 

As far as I'm concerned, Sophia is coming off very untrustworthy, and I think it was dumb of Mayfair to cave in and give her all her money.

 

So, Oscar has Carter's body, and he's reluctantly doing something with some new player, who I vaguely remember from the The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon arc on Doctor Who.  I wonder how many episodes it will be before they finally address this.

 

At least this episode let Rob Brown get to more then just be in the background and complain about Jane.

[Free]

As far as I'm concerned, Sophia is coming off very untrustworthy, and I think it was dumb of Mayfair to cave in and give her all her money.

 

I honestly forget who she was until they mentioned her faked death.

[omgsowicked]

Wow, I legitimately enjoyed this episode. I think that's a first (I've been entertained but not necessarily in the way they're wanting, lol). Also, for the first time I really felt like these characters actually liked each other. Especially Reade and Weller, that was a nice scene at the end.

 

So what are they doing with Carter? And I'm not sure what to think of Sophia... she could be right about there being a mole in the CIA (other than Jane) and going into hiding. But she looks pretty cruel, faking a suicide and then coming back so she can get tons of cash from her ex. Yeesh.

 

I'm pleasantly surprised that they're allowing Oscar/Jane to happen but I have a feeling Weller/Jane is the endgame, so all this is doing is showing how much better Oscar/Jane are. They seem more like equals, even with Oscar having information over her head, whereas she seems like a child with Weller.

[Trini]

It looks like they're getting experimental here in the back end of the season. I did like the narrative structure of the episode. And it was a real contrast to the Patterson-heavy episode, as this one barely had her in it.

 

So 'Daylight' got mentioned again. I really want some answers on that and Shadowy Organization's connection to it.

 

I might be getting too invested in Oscar/Taylor. I'm really afraid they might kill him off. Don't do it, show!

 

While I still don't care about the Weller family issues, I did like seeing the glimpses of everyone's day before the attack.

[torqy]

Fast-moving episode; over before I knew it.

 

Looks like NBC has a few writers left over from Boomtown.

 

As to Reade, I'd like to meet his tailor!

[Dowel Jones]

I thought they were going to go with some kind of steroid abuse scandal that turned the players into raging zombies, but, no, they went with the molestation angle.  Somewhere I missed how that made the shooters' actions more understandable. 

 

Loved the scene in the hallway where Reade tells those students that there's a bomb behind the door and they should run...hello, where did they go?

 

Zapata needs a remedial course in combat shooting.

 

Mayfair withdrew every last dollar from her account.  Hope she doesn't have any auto withdrawals coming up.  And don't use your ATM card.

 

My mind's dialogue:  New guy:  "Are you getting cold feet?"  Oscar:  "We're in a morgue.  Duh."

[misstwpherecool]

On 4/26/2016 at 9:24 PM, omgsowicked said:

Wow, I legitimately enjoyed this episode. I think that's a first (I've been entertained but not necessarily in the way they're wanting, lol). Also, for the first time I really felt like these characters actually liked each other. Especially Reade and Weller, that was a nice scene at the end.

So what are they doing with Carter? And I'm not sure what to think of Sophia... she could be right about there being a mole in the CIA (other than Jane) and going into hiding. But she looks pretty cruel, faking a suicide and then coming back so she can get tons of cash from her ex. Yeesh.

I'm pleasantly surprised that they're allowing Oscar/Jane to happen but I have a feeling Weller/Jane is the endgame, so all this is doing is showing how much better Oscar/Jane are. They seem more like equals, even with Oscar having information over her head, whereas she seems like a child with Weller.

That was different. Channeling some Flashpoint I see.

Brought up a lot of issues with an active shooter situation. I did think it was kind of silly they kept having announcements 'Suspect With A Gun, Cover In Place' yet the FBI Agents with no prominently displayed ID are going around campus with a gun. The shooter in the baseball cap looked more law enforcement than the agents. FBI doesn't issue neck lanyards/chains for ID?

Disgruntled football players go full blown militia including intricate bomb and booby trap abilities? What kind of time frame was this?

I'm still a little puzzled with the timeliness of the tattoo clues, someone had to get and analyze information, find a good and trust worthy tattoo artist and train Jane. My guess is that this will be a radical Snowden type organization protesting someone who did alot of domestic spying/had a ton a data they did nothing with. And the FBI just by coincidence shows up on campus the day of a mass shooting?

My guess they are going to frame Mayfair for CIA guy's murder.

 Without re-watching I thought Mayfair said she gave her ex 8,000 dollars, not the 48,000 we saw on the screen earlier.

[blackwing]

I loved this episode.  I really liked the structure of going back and seeing the events from each of the character's point of views.  We see Weller toss a mini fridge out the second floor window, and then in Reade's narrative we see it landing on the ground and him wondering what it is.  Very nice way to tell the story.

I still have no idea what is going on with Janelor or Oscar, but I might be beyond caring.  The bit with Carter's body is odd as well, as is the appearance of Mayfair's supposedly dead girlfriend.

[Brian Cronin]

On 4/26/2016 at 0:30 AM, Trini said:

It looks like they're getting experimental here in the back end of the season. I did like the narrative structure of the episode.

Yeah, it practically seemed like an entirely different show, that's how different it was. But a much better show, so I was down with it!

[kili]

LOL Hudson U. How many students do they lose in a year? L&O seemed to catch a case there every year.

With all the fuss they made about the bow tie, I was stunned that wasn't the solution to the bomb problem. When he releases the handle, it blows - so, pull the other handle down and lash it to the first one with the bow tie. Neither will be able to move up. He can run and the tie can come lose to complete the explosion we saw earlier. Though, how a bomb stuck on a door managed to blow up the concrete roof and not the door, I'm not sure I understand. Neither does physics.

"Active shooter, shelter in place"...results in kids running everywhere and past the civilian-looking people with guns. One would think they would shriek and run the other way when they saw the guns. The only one with half a brain was the campus security officer who insisted Jane put down the gun. They might want to train him how to approach somebody and not lose his gun though. And he might want to ask to see some ID (though, I guess he took her not shooting him as good enough).

I'm not sure how much burning somebody's stomach helps with a gut shot. Isn't the big problem with all the internal bleeding and sepsis? I suppose it doesn't hurt to stop the external bleeding and the lady kind of deserved it.

Who didn't deserve it? Nick. I couldn't feel sympathy for Levi when they were killing all those random kids. Those bombs were also deadly and one can't remotely argue that they were likely to get their intended target. If they had a problem with the coach, set the bomb in his car or attack him at his house. Don't go crazy at the school.

[Texasmom1970]

I liked this episode not sure if it was just the varying points of view or because they weren't any longing looking between Jane and Wolfman Weller. I find her history and chemistry much more interesting with Oscar. 

And If I was Mayfair I would not have given money to Sophia, I would have told her to hit the bricks.

[dargosmydaddy]

One of the better episodes of the season (despite the ridiculousness of the plot), and Weller was downright likable. No obsessing over Jane, he actually smiled a few times, and I really liked his quiet supportiveness of Reade at the end. His chucking of the mini fridge and Spiderman climbing skills were also pretty funny.

[jhlipton]

On 4/26/2016 at 8:34 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Zapata has trouble opening up about her addiction at group therapy.

 

That group's "leader" was an abuser.  I've never been to a [X]'s Anonymous meeting, but I would think that most people would want to go to a few meetings and get the feel of the group before sharing.  For him to pressure her into opening up was all kinds of wrong.  If he were her sponsor, it would be better, but still wrong.  All the participants have to feel safe for a group like that to work.

 

On 4/26/2016 at 9:30 PM, Trini said:

It looks like they're getting experimental here in the back end of the season. I did like the narrative structure of the episode. And it was a real contrast to the Patterson-heavy episode, as this one barely had her in it.

Just her getting the Time-Machine-Tattoos again. (She spotted and figured out the tattoos the same day [or the day before] of the shoot-up.  SMH)

 

On 4/26/2016 at 10:47 PM, torqy said:

 I'd like to meet his tailor!

 

AhhhWhooooo!  (Now I'm hungry for a plate of beef Chow Mein...)

[Agent Dark]

Hehe, Zapata referencing Patterson's "4 hour Elf and Wizard games" and Patterson defending her love of DnD and correcting that she's actually a Gnome Cleric was a nice shout to the Critical Role web-series, where Ashley Johnson plays Dungeons and Dragons as Gnome Cleric called Pike

[John Potts]

So we get the Rashomon episode, which considering we're only 19 episodes in is not a good sign for how TPTB have already run out of ideas. That said, at least it was exciting for the most part.

The main problem I have is just why was this a tattoo? So far, all the tattoos have related to government corruption (to some degree) - other than the "Lot of powerful investors" seemed a bit weak. I mean, nice to see that our nebulous conspiracy actually cares about child abuse, but it makes it even less plausible. Also, I can't quite see what the abuse victims' plan was - sure, I can understand wanting to kill the coach and maybe even not caring about the collateral damage, but setting up bombs seemed beyond even the most damaged psyche.
 

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Dowel Jones Zapata needs a remedial course in combat shooting

 

 

Missing I didn't mind - studies have shown that something like 90% of shots miss in most gunfights. I did think the Coach was in on the shootings when he insisted on not being left alone because he was actually impeding the ability Zapata to fight (I guess he DID have reason not to want her to leave him alone, but I'd want her to be able to fight at 100% rather than be hindered dragging me around). And announcing she was out of ammo was suicidally stupid!
 

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thuganomics85 Sophia is coming off very untrustworthy, and I think it was dumb of Mayfair to cave in and give her all her money.

 

Well, Mayfair does (or did) love her, so a little myopia is to be expected. But she seemed a bit shifty to me too.
 

[Beatriceblake]

41 minutes ago, John Potts said:

And announcing she was out of ammo was suicidally stupid!

To be fair, Tash mentions that the shooter knows she's out and she had no other reason to stop shooting other than being out of ammo, given he had a more powerful gun and was advancing towards them.

I liked the way the episode was shot and the separate stories but I didn't love the unfortunate implications with the victims turned shooters. Also they needed to give Levi and Tim more motivation to attack in the school itself as lots of other people on here have said. They could have thrown in some lines about other students deriding them when they were thrown out or something. The stuff with the bombs just seemed like overkill and again it isn't that plausible that they could have picked that up from the internet well enough to booby trap doors like that.

Oh well. The bit about the faculty covering a scandal up to keep the money coming in and their reputations in tact rang depressingly true at least.

I'm curious to see if Oscar is up to no good and Jane is just another pawn in the whole scheme.

[John Potts]

34 minutes ago, Beatriceblake said:

Tash mentions that the shooter knows she's out and she had no other reason to stop shooting other than being out of ammo

Not to be a backseat tactician, but all the shooter knew was she'd stopped shooting. She might have been saving her last few bullets, or reloading her gun. Announcing she was out meant he KNEW he couldn't be shot.

But yes... the faculty covering up the scandal was a touch of unfortunately believable Truth in Television.

[Agent Dark]

I don't think it was meant to be implied that Zapata spoke loud enough for the shooter to hear that she was out of ammo - it was more for the Coach's (and therefore the audiences) benefit to raise the tension before Jane saves the day.