S03.E03: Shanzhai

[HalcyonDays]

Quote

Episode synopsis: Chandler and the crew race to find answers in an Asian Dodge City; Slattery begins to unravel the truth about his predicament.

 

[maraleia]

Why did they have Kara say Mrs. Green instead of "I'm married" to the reporter character? That was so misogynistic and unnecessary and proves that when men write dialogue for women they really don't get it.

[JackONeill]

I was hoping somehow had come here to explain last night's episode. I watched it, but apparantly that wasn't enough. All I remember were people running streets, other people running through the jungle and some of the lamest dialogue in the world.

The helicopter pilot works cheap, doesn't she?

Could the Nathan James have MORE empty chairs? Will Captain Tom learn his lesson about trying to be Captain Kirk? Probably not, unless the President locks him to his desk. And if so, what of the show? Do we really want to watch our square-jawed hero work from a . . . desk.

And, where is everyone? I'm lonely.

[oakville]

25 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

I was hoping somehow had come here to explain last night's episode. I watched it, but apparantly that wasn't enough. All I remember were people running streets, other people running through the jungle and some of the lamest dialogue in the world.

The helicopter pilot works cheap, doesn't she?

Could the Nathan James have MORE empty chairs? Will Captain Tom learn his lesson about trying to be Captain Kirk? Probably not, unless the President locks him to his desk. And if so, what of the show? Do we really want to watch our square-jawed hero work from a . . . desk.

And, where is everyone? I'm lonely.

I love this show but I have a hard time following the plot. Sasha & The President recommended that he stay on the Nathan James, but Chandler refused.

I can't figure out why Slattery's blood is being drained. Chandler beat up the guy who was wearing his uniform. Is there a new virus?

The political intrigue is interesting. The President didn't want to tell the media about what was happening in China but it backfired when the pirates broadcast the capture of Slattery. It's amazing that the USA has recovered so quickly & has reporters from around the country. It's a bit "West Wingish"

Sasha is a tough lady, but she was too well dressed & had too much makeup to be wandering around Shanzai.

[thuganomics85]

So, Slattery, Jeter, and crew's kidnappers are lead by some legendary pirate named Takehaya, played by Hiroyuki Sanada (ah, Helix.  And Extant!  I still remember y'all!).  I figured it was only a matter of time before a recognizable Asian actor showed up, but I had my money on Will Yun Lee, who always tends to appear on these types of show. Still, Sanada should be fun.  Still not sure why he needs the Nathan James crew's blood though.

Chandler is already back in the driver's seat and getting into spats with Sasha, and making Other Burke feel undermined.  I wonder if there will be more friction going forward.

Jesse/Dichen Lachman briefly flirts with bailing on everyone, but of course she stays after hearing that the crew was under fire.  Oh, and a Cherry Coke.  And I swear, I don't want to make of her and Sasha, but at times they almost come off like jilted lovers; especially the latter one.  Maybe that's just because Bridget Regan tends to give off that vibe (I'm pretty sure Dottie was actually in love with Peggy in Agent Carter.)

I guess this reporter is going to be an issue for Milcher, Foster, and the rest of the cabinet.  Of course, Takehaya revealing he kidnapped Slattery on national TV is bound to open a whole can of worms.  I have to think this is only the beginning; especially with Milcher's cabinet; because why else bother getting actors like Elizabeth Rohm and Nestor Serrano for these roles?

Biggest takeaway though is that they found someone who matches Wolf's fighting skills!  Uh oh!  Wolf better prep himself better for the eventual round 2.  Can't have anyway taking his Top Badass trophy away!

[zxy556575]

I have a general beef with Adam Baldwin the actor and there was entirely too much grunting, moaning, and eye-bulging angry faces from him this time out.

I'm probably done anyway. The story has been told and any remaining credibility is being strained to the breaking point trying to keep the Nathan James and her crew relevant.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

It seems obvious to me that Takeyah is using blood with the antibodies of the virus to stay alive.  

I severely doubt that he is operating completely independently of Pang and the new PRC.  I am trying to figure out the motivation of a Tekeyah in proclaiming to the world he has tweaked the USA bear (Yamamoto).  It makes no sense.  He is only inviting a powerful response.  He would not be so stupid as to believe that the USA would have intentionally provided tainted serum.  He owns his little kingdom.  

Although it sounds ever so conspiratorial, the USA did the correct thing in attempting to minimize panic by lying about the original pandemic and now, about the PRC.  There was zero to gain.  There was no cure.  There is no way to conduct a hot war now.  The president's mistake was to send the NJ to Asia at all.  He's compounded it by not recalling the NJ and Chandler home.  One ship against the PRC and pirates on their home court?  Does nobody understand the history of warfare?

Idiot Lt. with the ego is such a trope.  How in hell did he not get the memo regarding how desperate the whole situation is?  What is the point of promotion in a navy with fewer than a dozen ships?  He also knew that he was in way over his head, through no fault of his own, when the pirates did their thang.  Did not Chandler go over everything with him in an after-action report?  Surely, they had that conversation with Chandler explaining the various fine points, good and bad.

Do people really tune in to see close order gunfights?  

I, too, have long been over Baldwin's scenery chewing.  He's a cartoon actor in this show.  I am not liking at all, this season, Dane's constant anger.  He was not like this last season.  He's all one note now.  Boring.

[ottoDbusdriver]

4 hours ago, JackONeill said:

And, where is everyone? I'm lonely.

For some reason, this topic was locked for several hours after the broadcast so couldn't post until later today.

Is the Internet up and working reliably again ?  Because information travels way too quickly across the world that is basically strung together with spit and bailing wire.  How do reporters get inside tips on things that are happening half a world away in real time as they are happening ?

I'm beginning to suspect that South-East Asia was barely impacted at all by the red flu -- every where the NJ seems to go the cities are crowded

Not to be a Debby downer but I have to call bullshit on Chandler saying that the doesn't like to go anywhere without a helo, which is surprising because I think the helo was only in 2 or 3 episodes all of last season.

And shouldn't that helicopter be ridiculously radioactive, since it was sitting in an area where 20 minutes of exposure to humans was a lethal dose -- speaking of, Sasha's mild case of radiation poisoning seems to have just disappeared.

So, is Takehaya an immortal and is hiding white irises (whoops, wrong show, though once I saw Hiroyuki Sanada I knew he was going to be evil) -- and is injecting himself with the blood of immunes (either natural or acquired) to become immune.  What about blood typing ?  Do they even bother to check ?

[Agent Dark]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

 And I swear, I don't want to make of her and Sasha, but at times they almost come off like jilted lovers; especially the latter one.  Maybe that's just because Bridget Regan tends to give off that vibe (I'm pretty sure Dottie was actually in love with Peggy in Agent Carter.)

Oh, as far as I'm concerned its not even a question lol.  The subtext seemed blatantly obvious to me, and its Bridget Regan like you said.  Plus, since they killed off Valerie in the opener (or did they... I mean it'd be fairly ludicrous if anyone survive on that plane, but meh I don't care.  I liked Valerie D: ), I could get onboard with Granderson and Jesse.

 

The action sequences were pretty good, especially Wolf's fisticuffs in the alleyway.  That was some neat stuntwork.  Also, the scene where they walk into the bar, and Sasha does the shot and everyone stops to look at her (including the Parrot) was cheesy as hell in exactly the right way lol. 

 

I think the Pirates are stealing the cured blood from the NJ Command Crew in order to cure themselves, and maybe sell it.  Also, not gonna lie, I was kinda hoping that Slattery would get all the blood sucked out of him though so we could get rid of Baldwin...

[LuLu123]

Ok, I've tried but this show has lost its heart and humor.  And if you're going to kill off characters, make it emotional and make it count!  While I have my issues with The Walking Dead, most of their deaths have an impact and drive story. 

It feels like the showrunners just said "ok, we have to make changes to the show because we have to make changes to the show".  This is now just another shiny action show with nothing to elevate it.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Agent Dark said:

Plus, since they killed off Valerie in the opener (or did they... I mean it'd be fairly ludicrous if anyone survive on that plane, but meh I don't care. 

The last thing I saw her do was get out of her seat and start walking.  Where was she going on an aeroplane?  In search of a parachute, perhaps?

[OSM Mom]

31 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

The last thing I saw her do was get out of her seat and start walking.  Where was she going on an aeroplane?  In search of a parachute, perhaps?

She went to the cockpit to tell the pilots to turn around.  

[Artsda]

The blood transfusions is reminding me of The 100.

Nobody on land recognized Chandler because he was wearing a baseball hat?

I miss Ravit. They should have kept her, these other new girls they brought just aren't working for me. They had a great female character in Ravit and killed her off. 

[zxy556575]

The scene of the Nathan James crew members being walked to their jungle hut cell wearing prison uniforms and carrying their mattresses and blankets make me cackle with laughter. Those pirates run a tight penitentiary.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Iron Butterfly!!!!!!!!  Inna Gadda da Vida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At this point it doesn't really matter what happens the rest of the way.  This was the video/music montage of the TV year.  Full stop.

"Please take my haaaaaaa  -aaaaya - nnnnnn - d."  So freaking great.

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, lordonia said:

Those pirates run a tight penitentiary

"Red, can you get me Rita Hayworth?"

I wish, for once, if they were going to show military people at their best in a gunfight, they would at least nod, if not bow, to accuracy.  It always seems that every fight turns into a wall of ammunition going one way or the other, and no one getting hit.  Not that I wish for blood and guts, but these folks are just plain incompetent.

I'm betting on an upcoming story arc.  The President, and other leaders, come to the conclusion that Takehaya, although eeeeeevil, is their best bet as a block against Pei up there in China.  The crew will just have to take it, at least for a couple of episodes until Chandler can singlehandedly arrange for a democratically elected ruler to take over Vietnam.

That guy wearing Slattery's shirt sure seemed to learn English in a hurry after Captain Tom produced a pistol. 

[JackONeill]

One thought on the fireworks this snow employs. Yes, it is ludicrous. But I saw one thing early on that I appreciated. It was either Captain Tom or maybe Tex (maybe both) but when he/they were in a firefight they kept their automatic weapon on single shot. From what I've been told, that's the best and most accurate way to do it (versus just unleashing all your bullets at once and hoping you hit something). So, I salute authenticity.

now again, this was in the first season or two. I think they may have veered from that lately.

and, yes, when I wear a baseball cap even my friends don't recognize me. Look, just ask Clark Kent about his glasses.

Edited June 28, 2016 by JackONeill

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I watched it, but apparently that wasn't enough. All I remember were people running streets, other people running through the jungle and some of the lamest dialogue in the world.

I haven't had a chance to comment on this episode until now and . . . I'm struggling to remember any more about it than you just summarized. Honestly. And I really watched it - it wasn't a half-assed watch while I did other things, I sat and watched it. And two days later can't remember much about it.

I commented about this last week too, but it seems like there should have been a more organic transition after last season into more of a world-building story, especially since we were led to believe the virus pretty much wiped out 99% of the population or something like that. Instead it feels like we've been abruptly thrown into cliched action tropes involving evil Asian pirates in jungles and mass weaponry and shootouts and chase scenes. It feels like we jumped ahead about five years or so.

I get it - there isn't much action to be mined from following the Nathan James around the various coastal areas of the world and delivering the cure to what little remains of humanity, and this show is driven by action sequences. But - ouch! The cliches, they hurt. 

Maybe they would have been better off going slightly sci-fi and dealing with zombified survivors of humanity if they needed to cling to action scenes as their driving force. If they're trying to avoid that sort of thing because they want the show to be more "realistic," well - that ship has already sailed.

[JackONeill]

If I remember correctly this show was only to be one season, which makes sense given the initial set-up. But I guess it got some good ratings so TPTB decided to keep it going.

I liked the original premise - the taking down of civilization. How to rebuild, the competing factions that would develop, who's in charge, etc. All of that was pretty well handled (in the typical constraints of TV).

I think the problem came when the cure was developed. All of a sudden - no matter what else happened - the premise of the original show was OVER. It was now a new show. And we see that here. What we have is a watered-down James Bond movie without the sophistication or special effects.

And I still don't know why everyone is running around. Maybe if they had clearly identified a problem to solve. They've thrown some things up in the air, but nothing's stuck. I mean -- the pirates????? They're supposed to be the big baddy?!? Well, other than stinking to high heaven, why?  I'd be more concerned about the governments of China, Korea, Japan and anybody else taking sides and finding a way to alter the cure for their benefit but that would hurt us (as in U S A). But who knows. They haven't sat still long enough to explain much, except what they first thought, which was sketchy.

And has Elizabeth Rohm had more than three lines to speak?

Edited June 29, 2016 by JackONeill

[Netfoot]

19 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

"Please take my haaaaaaa  -aaaaya - nnnnnn - d."  So freaking great.

I had to play it again this morning while drinking my breakfast!

 

12 hours ago, JackONeill said:

when he/they were in a firefight they kept their automatic weapon on single shot. From what I've been told, that's the best and most accurate way to do it (versus just unleashing all your bullets at once and hoping you hit something).

 

Most modern automatic weapons have a 3-round burst setting, which (I believe) is supposed to be the most efficient.  Not to mention it stops panicky grunts emptying an entire clip in a single, clenched-fist of terror.

 

In a situation where Vietnamese vessels and American vessels are both sailing up and down, doing whatever they see fit, and firing upon anyone who doesn't like it, remind me again.  How can we tell which ones are the pirates?

[TV Anonymous]

So when the shore party is pinned down and needs help the ship 'cannot operate without a helo'. However, is the ship also missing her naval gun? She can easily provide suppressing fires to the boarding party and to the RHIB crew.

And yeah, I do not like this version of the show. Too much gung-ho, less Navy.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, Netfoot said:

How can we tell which ones are the pirates?

The pirates all say "Arrrgh".  The Navy personnel all say "Arrrrgh, Sir!".

[LordBowen]

Really missing Tex right now.

[xaxat]

20 hours ago, JackONeill said:

I liked the original premise - the taking down of civilization. How to rebuild, the competing factions that would develop, who's in charge, etc. All of that was pretty well handled (in the typical constraints of TV).

I think the problem came when the cure was developed. All of a sudden - no matter what else happened - the premise of the original show was OVER. It was now a new show. And we see that here. What we have is a watered-down James Bond movie without the sophistication or special effects.

ITA. Writing was never a strong suit for this series. It took a simple, yet compelling premise and did a good job executing it. With the ensemble of the Nathan James crew being the star.

Now that they have created a more complicated world, it feels like the show is losing focus and the writing is really not holding up. In addition, the crew dynamic that was so great the first two seasons is really diminished. 

[HalcyonDays]

Decent episode. I am missing the military porn though big time. We still don't know why they are taking blood, but "Vampire Leader", what, is he a hemophiliac or something? Or just crazy (I vote both). Still think they are taking the blood because it has the vaccine in it, and they think they are giving themselves the cure, and also making themselves strong.

Sure hope those pirates know how to type blood. Otherwise, Vamp!Pirate would be most likely dead by now.

Also, if they want the Nathan James crew to continue to be strong and provide the blood, they need to stop beating the crap out of them and causing them to bleed/bruise - cause loss of blood.

Love how in those markets, MSS and Americans are running around with machine guns and nobody blinks.

Really liked the end scene, where Michener and the US government are like, "oh....shit".

But I am missing the military porn big time.

[ttgreif]

On 28/6/2016 at 8:55 AM, Dowel Jones said:

I MISS TEX!

Bring him back!

........

"Red, can you get me Rita Hayworth?"

ha, ha...brilliant!!

Edited June 30, 2016 by ttgreif

[Raja]

9 hours ago, HalcyonDays said:

 

Love how in those markets, MSS and Americans are running around with machine guns and nobody blinks.

Really liked the end scene, where Michener and the US government are like, "oh....shit".

But I am missing the military porn big time.

In the catina scene when they first walked in everybody else was also sitting around like mercenaries waiting for a client to hire them. I am trying to figure out why the MSS focused on our people when they had a large range to choose from. What got me was with a firefight going on around them a crowd gathers to watch Wolf and a MSS type put on a Kung Fu demonstration. Nobody seems to worry about the stray bullet finding their head.

 

I am really missing the Seahawk. So they buy the cheapest bird available for film shoots and try to pass it off as a do Chinese military helicopter? I was looking at that rather large squad of sailors it picked up and was wondering if the door gunner and his machine gun was left behind to make room for them all.

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, Raja said:

Chinese military helicopter?

I had to laugh at that as well.  It is an Aerospatiale AS-350, made in France.  Pilot + 4-6 passengers, but that is pushing it.

[Agent Dark]

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I had to laugh at that as well.  It is an Aerospatiale AS-350, made in France.  Pilot + 4-6 passengers, but that is pushing it.

The Z-11 is a Chinese designed and built helicopter that's heavily based off the AS-350 Eurocopter.  It looks very, very similar to the point where you could definitely paint a red-star on an AS350 and call it a Z-11 for TV show purposes.  And both the AS-350 and Z-11 have military variants - the Royal Australian Navy for example uses AS-350s in training and surveying roles, and the Chinese have variants on the Z-11 suited for Light Attack roles

[BasilSeal]

I've just caught up with this. The show itself has always been a bit gun-ho so i wasn't expecting anything less for season three really, but there seems to me to have been some forced rather than planned changes in the line up. what's happened to Tex? and what exactly is the point in killing off Rachel? (or Val for that matter) only to replace them immediately with virtual clones. I  wondered if rather than a decision made by the writers, it was one forced on them because the actors didn't want to continue.  They have been teasing us with the possibility of romance between Dr Scott and Tex, and Scott also said that her boyfriend was stuck in China at the start of the outbreak, which seemed to be setting things up for the action moving to china for season 3. That they were setting things up in series two which doesn't have any purpose now, and the appearance of near substitute characters, makes me think they had planned to have Rachel in it but have had to do a re write to explain why she's not there and create a similar character to fulfil her role. (sasha isn't a doctor obviously but she's replacing Rachel as the strong woman who argues with Chandler.) It would also explain why her murder was tacked on the end of the season finale as a kind of after thought. surely if they'd planned all along to kill her off at that point, such an important character could have had a meaningful death that was central to the action / resolution?

They've probably dumped Val because helicopter girl is the new 'kooky outlaw who helps the good guys' figure, so Val was redundant as a character, but they could have had her die saving chandler, rather than just get blown up in such an arbitrary fashion. they killed the Israeli special forces lady off in a similarly pointless way as well, IIRC.

Edited July 3, 2016 by BasilSeal

[Joimiaroxeu]

I'm so happy to see Hiroyuki Sanada. Loved him in Helix. And of course he's again playing a guy up to some weird medical or scientific shenanigans.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed a vibe between Jesse and Granderson. Don't know about Sasha though. Maybe she swings both ways? More's the drama.

Edited July 4, 2016 by Joimiaroxeu

[WaitandHope]

Really, I don't think Val is dead.  At least, there is an opening.  She could have told them to turn around the plane so they could jump out of it close to shore with parachutes.  I think that this is a fairly standard trope with action shows...midway through the season show her point of view before she meets up with the rest of the crew. Of course, anything could happen, I guess, depending on actress availability but this is the type of head fake that often happens.

-and I don't feel terribly strong about anything with this show.  It's just something I watch in the summer to pass the time.  And, of course, the pretty people don't hurt...

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I'm waiting for the crazy Russian Admiral to make an appearance any ol' time now.  Never mind the physical impossibility that he survived the obliteration of his ship in the time sequence we were shown.