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S01.E09: Taking on Water: How Leaks in D.C. are Discovered and Patched

formerlyfreedom

By formerlyfreedom
in BrainDead [V]

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)

Was Red's sandwich box of brains inspired by iZombie?

At least Gustav was mentioned by name (and not shot by Red).

Even though Luke is a main character, I was momentarily afraid Red was going to pull his gun out of the drawer again instead of a straw for his wheat grass smoothie.

 

ETA: Kudos for them getting into the script that FDR authorized Japanese internment camps.

 

@clarkbar, is it wrong that the only reason I hoped Laurel didn't sleep with Michael Moore is his physicality?

Edited by shapeshifter
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Free

Free

1 hour ago, tiredofwork said:

Please, please, please never have another basically Laurel/Gareth relationship episode.  I could not stand this.  I have also realized for me the dynamic of Gustav being on each episode is  essential.

I knew something was missing.

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Gimmick Genius

Gimmick Genius

As per IMDb, that was really Michael Moore as himself in the flashback (?) sequences. I can imagine the pitch to him: "We just need a few quick shots of you rolling around in bed, making love to half naked Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Don't worry - she'll look like she's enjoying it!"

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tessaray

tessaray

(edited)

This show is like what I imagine a bad acid trip would be like.  Everything is normal, except it's not. For every laugh they slip in something horrific or depressing and I'm always being caught off guard. 

The bugs curing Laurel's father's terminal disease is one of those things. Getting rid of the bugs means killing your dad but is he even still your dad? And up until now, the deaths have been unintentional, right? But now Red literally has developed a taste for killing. Not to mention laughing at Michael Moore while being infuriated by the opposition research slut shaming Laurel as a tactic. This show... I still love it but it's giving me a headache.

Edited by tessaray
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Free

Free

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Were their 2 dead bodies in the garbage truck? If so, was the other the intern?

I think so because I saw 2 bloody bodies being dumped.

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Mojeaux

Mojeaux

Quote

@clarkbar, is it wrong that the only reason I hoped Laurel didn't sleep with Michael Moore is his physicality?

If it's wrong, I don't wanna be right.

I actually got the impression Gareth was disturbed because it was Michael Moore's physicality, not because she'd slept with "yet another" one.

The slut-shaming thing has to be handled delicately, naturally, but I think most humans would feel insecure about themselves in relation to the others. Firstly, Gareth has already said he felt used (curative sex) and he was. She can't tell him he saved her life, but I didn't feel she put his doubts to rest, either, or cared. Secondly, when he was asking her about her dossier, he gave off the "I feel used" vibe again. Like, "Damn, I'm in love with her, but for her, I'm just the latest." I understand why it could be perceived as slut-shaming, but I read it as Gareth's insecurity and I think he had reason to feel insecure.

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lucindabelle

lucindabelle

I thought laurel was a bit unfair- she didn't even try to see it from his pov and really without Gareth they wouldn't have the gerrymandering spa she made NOR the blueprints. I mean he's done a LOT for her and even if she doesn't want to date him she needs to recognise that. That said I thought she was hard on him. Why "test" him by lying about michael Moore? I missed that red killed the intern too. I hope since his parents donated to the campaign that this comes back.

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Oh, Gareth, no.  I still like him, but he really did not handle Laurel's sexual past well at all.  Mainly the 24 past sexual partners part.  I can actually kind of understand the Michael Moore thing, because since he is a conservative, that would shake him up, plus I do think a lot of it was shallow reasons.  He couldn't even fathom why someone who looks like her, would have ever been with a guy who looks like Moore.  Speaking of which, that really was him?!  Yeah, I have to imagine all it took was the Kings, etc. saying "Hey, can you show up for a few seconds and make out with Mary Elizabeth Winstead?", and Moore was set.  As for Mary... well, she's a hell of an actress!  Even though they are on a "break" now, I do hope is still ends with him finding joining the squad.

Great guest casting in this one.  Michael Gaston shows up as another lawyer this summer (currently on Murder in the First), and he is awesome. Totally didn't see it ending with Red blowing his brains out and then covering it up.  The aliens are getting more and more openly hostile, and willing to cross lines like this now. Sucks about the intern though.  Red's interns have not been faring well in this.

But my favorite was Jacob Pitts as Don Pickle!  He was one of my favorite things about Justified (and I loved almost everything about that show), and I loved the snark and wise-ass attitude that he brought here.  I hope she shows up again.  He would be a fun antagonist.

So, it was the chairwoman that was the leak the entire time?  I did like how after all the feuding and drama, it was someone no one even expected that was behind the entire thing.

As usual, amongst all the humorous and fun moments, the part about Syrian interment camps hit me, because I think Red is sadly right that a lot of people would be down with that in real-life.  Also, while I have finally been hearing more and more criticism about the Japanese interment camps during World War 2 lately, it is true that it doesn't seem to have major impact on the majority of the people now.

I did miss Gustav and Rochelle, so hopefully they'll get more to do next week.

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TheRabbi

TheRabbi

Great episode, and that's telling because I don't even think there was a single reference to bugs of any kind (other than the previouslies). 

Speaking of those, if there are any videogame players here, I immediately recognized the name Jonathan Coulton in that fun little previouslies bit. He wrote the songs Still Alive and Want You Gone featured in the credits of the 2 Portal games (widely considered some of the best videogame songs of recent memory). I'm definitely going to have to look up more stuff he's done.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

30 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Great guest casting in this one.  Michael Gaston shows up as another lawyer this summer (currently on Murder in the First), and he is awesome. Totally didn't see it ending with Red blowing his brains out and then covering it up.  The aliens are getting more and more openly hostile, and willing to cross lines like this now. Sucks about the intern though.  Red's interns have not been faring well in this...

Interesting to me that one of  Red John's minions offed his character in The Mentalist. 

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tessaray

tessaray

I didn't mean to imply that Gareth was slut-shaming Laurel, just the researcher doing the investigation for Red. He did say it was about how conservatives view MM, who is pretty much the devil incarnate to them. Laurel needs to be honest with him about the bugs though. Surely he's seen enough now to consider it seriously.

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dargosmydaddy

dargosmydaddy

43 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

But my favorite was Jacob Pitts as Don Pickle!  He was one of my favorite things about Justified (and I loved almost everything about that show), and I loved the snark and wise-ass attitude that he brought here.  I hope she shows up again.  He would be a fun antagonist.

This x100.

I love this show. Hope it ends on a good/ fun note if this is the only season we get. (Have ratings been any better?)

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SillyOldClothCat

SillyOldClothCat

15 hours ago, TheRabbi said:

Great episode, and that's telling because I don't even think there was a single reference to bugs of any kind (other than the previouslies). 

Speaking of those, if there are any videogame players here, I immediately recognized the name Jonathan Coulton in that fun little previouslies bit. He wrote the songs Still Alive and Want You Gone featured in the credits of the 2 Portal games (widely considered some of the best videogame songs of recent memory). I'm definitely going to have to look up more stuff he's done.

I remember his from his muzac version of Baby Got Back 

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SillyOldClothCat

SillyOldClothCat

13 hours ago, TheRabbi said:

No ratings haven't been good. Chances for a season 2 are pretty much zero. I've heard rumblings that the episode order might have been cut but I can't find anything concrete

I'm very disappointed that this show hasn't caught on.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the lack of appeal has to do with the name 'BrainDead'.  If I hadn't seen on this site the New Show Fact Sheet describing it as a "political/sci-fi drama/comedy" I don't think I'd have checked it out because it sounds more like yet another zombie show (the tank is full, folks!) or maybe a medical mystery about coma patients?? And even after my husband and I had been watching for a while, I could not get the name of the show to stick in my head ("babe, what's that show? Not 'Deadheads', somethingHead? You know, /exploding heads/...").  

If they'd named it something more sticky like 'Aliants', would it be reaching more of an audience?

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SoothingDave

SoothingDave

No bugs in this episode (and no Gustav), yet it was the most horrifying.  Michael Moore!  

 

And Red eating brains was pretty squeamish, too.  

Laurel didn't lie about Michael Moore.  The intel that had her sleeping with him at Sundance was incorrect.  But she slept with him at some other time.  So, relief for Gareth and then the horror returns!

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meep.meep

meep.meep

On 8/22/2016 at 8:14 AM, tessaray said:

The bugs curing Laurel's father's terminal disease is one of those things. Getting rid of the bugs means killing your dad but is he even still your dad? And up until now, the deaths have been unintentional, right? But now Red literally has developed a taste for killing. Not to mention laughing at Michael Moore while being infuriated by the opposition research slut shaming Laurel as a tactic. This show... I still love it but it's giving me a headache.

I think the previous intern's death at the gym was intentional.  Sucks to be one of Red's interns.  But they sure are enthusiastic!

Nice that they had a big vase of cherry blossoms in the War Room.

I've discovered that saying Tony Shaloub's name in the Baltimore accent he's using is hilarious!  Shalewb!

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

21 hours ago, Mojeaux said:

I actually got the impression Gareth was disturbed because it was Michael Moore's physicality, not because she'd slept with "yet another" one.

He asked if she'd seen Farenheit 9/11 in an outraged tone, so I think it's the politics rather than the visuals that disturb him. Or at least not JUST the visuals.

21 hours ago, lucindabelle said:

Why "test" him by lying about michael Moore?

Probably because he was bringing up things about her past that were none of his business in a manipulative way that swung to judgmental when he wasn't immediately reassured that the rumors were false. Laurel's current relationship status is germane to his interest in dating her; her past history is something that should be her decision to share or not, and she doesn't need his approval of it.

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lucindabelle

lucindabelle

On 8/23/2016 at 1:25 PM, Bruinsfan said:

He asked if she'd seen Farenheit 9/11 in an outraged tone, so I think it's the politics rather than the visuals that disturb him. Or at least not JUST the visuals.

Probably because he was bringing up things about her past that were none of his business in a manipulative way that swung to judgmental when he wasn't immediately reassured that the rumors were false. Laurel's current relationship status is germane to his interest in dating her; her past history is something that should be her decision to share or not, and she doesn't need his approval of it.

I understand that but I think she was harsh. It's like she was taunting him- and she couldn't have cared much about him if she didn't even try to see his POV. And of course-- how often did he SHOW his concern for her, with the files about the gerrymandering,warning her about Gustav and Rochelle. He showed he's on her side over and over again.

I get her being annoyed, of course. I just don't think she was very loving to taunt him and then dump him.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

3 hours ago, lucindabelle said:

I understand that but I think she was harsh. It's like she was taunting him- and she couldn't have cared much about him if she didn't even try to see his POV. And of course-- how often did he SHOW his concern for her, with the files about the gerrymandering,warning her about Gustav and Rochelle. He showed he's on her side over and over again.

I get her being annoyed, of course. I just don't think she was very loving to taunt him and then dump him.

Is it considered dumping these days if she says they need to take a break? I'm asking because I only know enough about current dating/mating practices to know that a lot has changed in the past few decades.

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BooBear

BooBear

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Is it considered dumping these days if she says they need to take a break? I'm asking because I only know enough about current dating/mating practices to know that a lot has changed in the past few decades.

It did seem like she was being unfair. It he likes her of course it is going to bother him to think about her sleeping with other guys. So it is kind of like she was taunting him in order to find a reason to "take a break".  I think that she didn't dump him. That being said. I kind of think she should. It started out strong but now I am not sure where this romance is going. Laurel doesn't seem to have any real desire to be with him. He is just there and "available."  Sure she doesn't want him dead but they are just too different.

This episode wasn't great but I kind of wish they would start wrapping it up.  Ants have eaten away at people brains, surely something would happen by now to expose it.

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holly4755

holly4755

How is it considered mean to not be happy with a person who listens to gossip rather than trusting you. Or even feels they have a right to question their past when  you have not apologized for yours? 

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tessaray

tessaray

I thought it was slut shaming. Red deliberately went looking for Laurel's relationship history in order to use it against her and Luke.  

Gareth's part was fuzzier. I think he was honestly trying to reconcile his conservative biases with the real woman he really likes. Laurel didn't make it easy for him (not that I blame her either). It was an awkward situation all around.  Liberal/Conservative dating is hard enough, without the whole space bugs eating people's brains and taking over the world distraction. :-) 

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Margherita Erdman

Margherita Erdman

ON AUGUST 23, 2016 AT 6:32 AM, SOOTHINGDAVE SAID:

Laurel didn't lie about Michael Moore. The intel that had her sleeping with him at Sundance was incorrect. But she slept with him at some other time. So, relief for Gareth and then the horror returns!

 

ON AUGUST 23, 2016 AT 4:41 PM, CARDIGIRL SAID:

I don't follow. Was it said that she did sleep with him? 

I read that sequence as Gareth's horrified imagining of the hookup only, happening only in his mind, and not as a flashback to anything real. Look at the way Michael Moore breaks the fourth wall to mug/gloat at the viewer, and the placement of the scene as Gareth's reacts to the suggestion/supposed intel.

On August 23, 2016 at 8:58 AM, meep.meep said:

I've discovered that saying Tony Shaloub's name in the Baltimore accent he's using is hilarious!  Shalewb!

Mid-Atlantic accents are tricky and vary widely even though it's a relatively tiny geographic area. There's a distinctive coastal Chesapeake accent too. I wish we could hear him say "Baltimore County" as that would be informative I'd not definitive — if it sounded like "Balmer County" that would clinch it... But it depends on class, ethnicity, education too...

On August 24, 2016 at 4:32 PM, lucindabelle said:

I understand that but I think she was harsh. It's like she was taunting him- and she couldn't have cared much about him if she didn't even try to see his POV. And of course-- how often did he SHOW his concern for her, with the files about the gerrymandering,warning her about Gustav and Rochelle. He showed he's on her side over and over again.

I get her being annoyed, of course. I just don't think she was very loving to taunt him and then dump him.

I totally endorse her outrage — she's dating someone who's willingly reviewing a file a foot high of all her sexual relationships (and some fabricated!) and then throwing it in her face. If I were involved with someone who challenged me about dirt he'd dug with the help of a private investigator (asking her about an abortion! seriously!), I'd be a lot less civil than Laurel has been.

On August 25, 2016 at 5:48 PM, DeLurker said:

I'd need to rewatch, but it was thisclose to slut shaming.

To me it is razor sharp satire of slut shaming. The thing about satire that bites this hard (think Dave Chappelle) is that it requires close viewing and sympathy to the satirical POV or it can be read as played straight...

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Syme

Syme

On 08/22/2016 at 5:24 PM, thuganomics85 said:

 Speaking of which, that really was him?!  Yeah, I have to imagine all it took was the Kings, etc. saying "Hey, can you show up for a few seconds and make out with Mary Elizabeth Winstead?", and Moore was set.

 

I've actually met M.M. once at a dinner with Ralph Nader; and I was thinking the same thing -- he must have LOVED the cameo offer...

And yes, it is straining Gareth. Plus he knows his Member is up to no good, if not how much no good, and has nowhere to turn. He can't go the the Leadership, they would have him sent to St. Elizabeth's faster than you can say "Point of order........"

Plus the old double-standard/Madonna–whore complex also has him tied in knots over her. Adam's Rib strikes again.

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Syme

Syme

(edited)
On 08/26/2016 at 1:45 AM, tessaray said:

 Liberal/Conservative dating is hard enough, without the whole space bugs eating people's brains and taking over the world distraction. :-) 

Tell Matalin & Carville it can't work....

22 hours ago, Margherita Erdman said:
  1. I read that sequence as Gareth's horrified imagining of the hookup only, happening only in his mind, and not as a flashback to anything real. ....
  2. I totally endorse her outrage — she's dating someone who's willingly reviewing a file a foot high of all her sexual relationships (and some fabricated!) and then throwing it in her face. ....
  3. To me it is razor sharp satire of slut shaming. The thing about satire that bites this hard (think Dave Chappelle) is that it requires close viewing and sympathy to the satirical POV or it can be read as played straight...

Three pitches, 3 strikes...
(If only the Cubbies could do as well....)

1) Of course it is his nightmarish imagination.....

2) He's in the classic dilemma, believe the woman he is sleeping with and & falling for hard; or believe his [political family] father, who tells him she's trash from the wrong side of the tracks & will never be welcome to dinner at Tara.

3) Damn right.

Edited by Syme
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tessaray

tessaray

3 hours ago, Syme said:

Tell Matalin & Carville it can't work....

 

I didn't say it couldn't work, just that it was hard work. :-)  And honestly, do you think James Carville and Mary Matalin could get together today, with things as polarized as they are?  Twenty years ago things were a lot more civil.

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Syme

Syme

16 minutes ago, tessaray said:

I didn't say it couldn't work, just that it was hard work. :-)  And honestly, do you think James Carville and Mary Matalincould get together today, with things as polarized as they are?  Twenty years ago things were a lot more civil.

It's still hard.....

Carville was holding a press briefing on a topic, which it does not matter, maybe ACA.
Now each of them are quite professional when working.

But one clueless new reporter kept ignoring the topic, and trying to jump back to their relationship. (He was from the network whose logo is a mammal in the family Canidae.)

The other press folks were getting annoyed, Carville was getting short-tempered; both tried to steer the presser back on-topic.

But the {alleged} reporter jumped back in with the same inane issue, ending with "....So how do you make you it work?" &  JC lost it.
He responded with "Most of the time, she's on top..."  and Clueless finally shut up.

The WashPost Reliable Sources column reported that when Matalin heard about it..... he spent 2+ month on the couch.

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