Season Two: All Episodes

[zxy556575]

I watched season 2 this week and have to say it was odd. I loved seeing Elise and Karl work together again and liked the addition of BB and the new French female detective, but the plot was kind of muddy and lacked tension. I was also pretty tired of Karl's home life by the end and didn't really buy his all-consuming grief about Adam. I mean, sleeping in the kid's bed and reading his childhood books? A little much.

Elisa falling under the spell of a criminal -- who she knew was a murderer -- was also off-putting. I realize the weirdness of it was the point, but I guess it just made me feel sad for Elise that when she was finally able to feel genuine love again after her sister's death, it came to this. I also felt bad for Gael, poor man.

The specter of TT in prison still causing trouble made me shake my head.

[meisje]

I got hooked into this season immediately. I couldn't stop watching it either, I stayed up the entire night to finish it! Anyway, it was great because it was new content (as far as the series is concerned) so I was able to view it with fresh eyes and the things that annoyed me about season 1 were not a problem because I stopped comparing the detectives to their earlier incarnations -- and really, really liked both actors so much in the roles.

The plot definitely did a whole lot of meandering and really was looking like the proverbial kitchen sink by the end, but it was also so elaborate, and, at times bizarre, that I couldn't look away. Yes, Karl's past and home life have been covered to the point where they need to be a in a cart with "bring out your dead" carved into it. That whole bit had me thinking of Monty Python though, so that gave me a little laugh.

The casting was a veritable who's who of everyone. As I mentioned in another thread, I was thrilled to bits to see Lester from The Wire, and then did a second "Huh??" when Paul Schneider showed up! He was in and out with the accent though, which is how I knew immediately that this was the same guy from Parks and Recreation -- now that blew my mind! The agent guy (whichever branch he was from, but the one who Karl thought tried to suffocate his family) was recognizable, but it took a little while to figure out he was the boyfriend from the second season of Happy Valley. And the sadistic doc was definitely familiar, though I'm not sure from where?

I'm not 100% on what happened with everything actually. Why did they let Eryka go? Simply because she called about where they were being held? It's hard to imagine her getting a pass for bringing down a plane in a terrorist act. I'm not sure if Elise's love for Eryka really made any sense, or if they just wanted to a new take on the femme fatale? As everything was coming to a close, I really expected to find Karl walking into his house only to find that the nanny had eliminated the family and Brian (Family Guy shout out??), but instead we got Elise's gross eye. It makes sense that TT is still bopping around and creating some prison followers given that he stays close in the source material, and perhaps that will all continue in a season 3 if there is one? Why Karl's wife didn't go to the police about her and instead just told her she needed help is another matter. She knows where you live dumdum, and you have a house full of tiny children! I wish we'd gotten some closure on what happened to the little girl though. It was mentioned that baddad was the stepfather, which begs the question of why she wasn't released to the father, but I guess we'll never know.

Edited August 24, 2016 by meisje

[zxy556575]

7 hours ago, meisje said:

I'm not sure if Elise's love for Eryka really made any sense, or if they just wanted to a new take on the femme fatale?

It didn't make sense to me except that love often doesn't, so I let it go. The lesbian angle seemed like a bit of "look how progressive we are!" audience pandering, but I let that go as well. I let a lot of things go!

Ah, Clémence Poésy, how you beguile me.

[SusanSunflower]

episode 1  summary from wiki

Quote

Spoiler

Following the events of the first series, Karl Roebuck joins the Public Protection Unit (PPU) to help special victims. Elise Wasserman is promoted to Commander and takes charge of her unit following the departure of her former boss Olivier Pujol. Rosa Persaud and Thibaut Briand kidnap Madeleine and Robert Fournier on a Channel Tunnel train. They leave behind their daughter Chloë, who falls under Karl's care. He is soon reunited with Elise, who is sent to investigate the kidnapping. Supposed victim Robert is revealed as the plot's leader. He murders his wife and leaves a body inside a burning van. Later the gang hacks into a plane's autopilot system, forcing it to crash into the English Channel, killing all on board. Robert is then paid off by human trafficker Vanessa Hamilton.

 

I thought the hacking of the plane's autopilot was both original and quite effective ... a welcome return (after a bit of totally in character self-consciousness re-introduction) 

Edited June 20, 2017 by SusanSunflower

[Dowel Jones]

I'm liking Elise's strangled attempts at interpersonal empathy.  It's clear that she realizes it must be done but has no inkling of why. 

I'm definitely on team Karl here:  "The French might stuff pastry with songbirds you've blasted from the skies, but this is a good old English sausage roll filled with grease and weird pink stuff.  Bloody delicious, too."

On the other hand, Elise hovering like a vulture over that poor, traumatized girl was a bit much.  Surely she must grasp some of the concepts of interviewing children?

The massacre scene at the school was just too much.  Those poor kids.  It looks like this season's villains are a group that wants to use violence to call the world's attention to violence.  People are crazy.

[TVForever]

Gosh, that scene at the school was hard to watch.  Watching the assassin pick off "one of each", as if he's working off of a shopping list, was horrible. That poor girl.

I'll say this- I love this show, and I'm glad they made another season. But oh, I feel gutted after each episode.

[humbleopinion]

For those of you whose local PBS station is not yet airing the second season you can watch episode 1 until 6/30 on pbs.org

Episode 2 until 7/7

[scrb]

Doesn't PBS edit the shows?

Blur out any nudity and bleep out any profanities?

I'm wondering if it might be worth buying the Blu Ray box set.  My local public library is suppose to get them at some point as well.

[humbleopinion]

Yes, it does drop profanity and will pixelate the body bits.

Free broadcast vs. buying an unedited BR.

[SusanSunflower]

Season two is working okay for me, although the many rapid cuts between locations felt excessive "work" reorienting to which cast and location ... glad its back for an extended run. 

[Dowel Jones]

I assume the woman at the end was the immigrant with the passport problem at the beginning?  If so, she was still in protective custody, I thought, which implies that the terrorists have some in with the PD.  I'm confused. 

Elise just has nos sense of the outside world.  I can't help wondering how her later life will be like. 

And now we have the anti-immigrant clods in the plot. I'm even more confused.

[Quilt Fairy]

If this is another season of "Karl and Elise against all-knowing all-powerful villains who don't mind killing innocent people to show their cause is just"  I'm out. 

[SusanSunflower]

having these 'making of' vignette/documentary segements at the end of each episode is abruptly taking me out-of-the-story in ways I HATE ...  I "get" that it's 30 minutes a week of "free content" but it's all too too too much meta ... 

I've noticed that PBS is more and more showing episodes that do not fill the time slot meaning there's "more time for PBS commercials and promotions"  ... 

Solid story and episode that managed for me to be an arresting 45 minutes ... better that most I've seen recently. 

[Dowel Jones]

17 hours ago, SusanSunflower said:

having these 'making of' vignette/documentary segements at the end of each episode is abruptly taking me out-of-the-story in ways

Especially since they interview the actress who played Rosa after she gets killed.  Not much point in knowing her motivations and struggles now. At least she died knowing her lover was a fraud.  It was interesting to see hear go off when Elise says "Keep your hair on."  Had she heard that before?

Well, Julie (the French cop), you should be able to get some time off now.  I would have thought that anyone who's ever seen American cop shows knows that the bad guy is always a crack shot at any distance and you don't ever present yourself fat happy and dumb in the middle of the hallway. 

Who's pissed off at Karl?  Inquiring minds want to know.

[Quilt Fairy]

So who is Koba?  I have the feeling I've seen him in a earlier episode, but I've totally blanked on who he is.   There are so many characters introduced in separate threads that unless they're distinctive looking they all blend together  for me.

Now that three of the main protagonists are dead, where the hell is this show going?  What is the point of what they were doing with the plane and the school?

Just because another woman has a picture of Karl when he was under-cover doesn't mean that he was her fake husband who flitted when she was pregnant.  Karl's wife should at least give him a chance to explain himself.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Quilt Fairy

[SusanSunflower]

I somehow lost interest with the reemergence of some vague revenge on Karl for being a philanderer returned as an apparently primary/central motivation 

[Eliza422]

18 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

So who is Koba?  I have the feeling I've seen him in a earlier episode, but I've totally blanked on who he is.   

Just because another woman has a picture of Karl when he was under-cover doesn't mean that he was her fake husband who flitted when she was pregnant.  Karl's wife should at least give him a chance to explain himself.

This made no sense to me. It was literally just a photo of him from what, 20 years ago? I was at a complete loss as to why wife went ballistic. 

[sskrill]

On 7/24/2017 at 2:20 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

There are so many characters introduced in separate threads that unless they're distinctive looking they all blend together  for me.

I struggle with this too.  There are so many one-shot characters coming and going here that when Karl or Elise reference someone I often don't know who they're talking about.  I really wish they wouldn't muddy it quite so much.

[Quilt Fairy]

Admittedly I was watching this while playing Candy Crush on my phone, but I don't have a f*cking clue what happened in this episode.  

When they were talking in the field so no one could eavesdrop on them, it occurred to me that they are basically local detectives and all this international shit is way above their pay grade.  I would be so happy for this to be a nice, simple, murder mystery.

I did like how Karl let down all his defenses and was basically a different person when he was having that discussion with his wife.  Of course, then she suddenly says "Oh, my God!" and runs out of the room without any explanation while Karl (and I) sat there open-mouthed thinking "WTF?"

[SusanSunflower]

yes, I discovered from Wikipedia that the man being drugged, abused, tortured and then injected with the hemorrhagic fever was Fournier .... didn't recognize him ... utterly baffled... came here to ask "who was that man??" but decided to consult Wikipedia before admitting my cluelessness ... 

They're not holding my attention well and I hate the "ruin Karl's marriage" angle ... although personally, I'm beyond ready to dump his hyper-reactive wife ... 

[SusanSunflower]

finally (at least 3 weeks after the last episode) saw the finale -- gosh, what sop ... disappointing and unlikely ... really Karl? Really A-OK with Elise's "romance" when she is being played like a top?  Really?  All somehow part of 'becoming human'?  lord have mercy, malarkey ...  Can I trust this is not coming back for a third season? 

[krankydoodle]

On 8/29/2017 at 11:55 AM, SusanSunflower said:

Can I trust this is not coming back for a third season?

It's coming back for a 6-episode final season. I had issues with the second season, but I still enjoyed it and am glad they're coming back to wrap things up. I really liked the addition of BB, but I hope the Elise-Eryka thing is done with and that Karl's marriage troubles are kept to a minimum.

Edited October 8, 2017 by krankydoodle

[HollyG]

I don't know where else to post this. Sorry if it's the wrong place. Does anyone know where Elise Wassermann's apartment is located? The buildings are only shown briefly throughout the series. They appear to be silver and have very steep gable roofs.

 

Edited December 31, 2017 by HollyG

[Kelda Feegle]

Anybody seen Season 3?

[sskrill]

On 12/31/2017 at 12:10 PM, HollyG said:

I don't know where else to post this. Sorry if it's the wrong place. Does anyone know where Elise Wassermann's apartment is located? The buildings are only shown briefly throughout the series. They appear to be silver and have very steep gable roofs.

 

All I could find was a lot of references to an old Pfizer facility, Discovery Park, in Sandwich UK.  

Arial maps don't show anything that looks the same though.

[scrb]

Just finished the season.  They covered a lot of ground from the abduction in the tunnel to some stealth Cold War "engagements" as Eryka called them, between Russia and the West.  Seems like they felt compelled to have the crime occur in the Chunnel, so that the French and English are cooperating but also competing and fighting over territorial issues at the same time.  I don't think Bron or the FX Bridge made the second season start with the crime on the bridges again.

Still they packed a lot into 8 episodes, introducing new villains along the way with not just side plots but as it turned out, the main plot.

Feels like they had Eryka rescue Carl and Elise at the last moment to make it seem like Elise falling for Eryka wasn't so bad because Eryka must have feelings for Elise to rescue her and turn on Koba.  I don't buy Carl and Elise going in without backup.  Everyone is dependent on the phone these days.  All it would take is a quick message or call.

In the main plot, it's hard to believe that British and French intelligence knew of Koba and let him operate with pretty much impunity.  And they were going to forget about the airliner downing if Koba turned in the Chemist?  Or Koba got away from French police when a Russian helicopter picked him up within France and they didn't shoot down the helicopter?  Or in the end, they let the helicopter land again and whisk Eryka away?

Then again, the Russians shot down a passenger airliner from east Ukraine and the West has not punished Russia.

A lot of the side characters were memorable.  I thought the hijab girl was great defending her faith.  The big guy who did all the killing for Fournier in a brief monolog painted his background well, about his trade unionist father now voting for far right politicians while he himself was racist.  The corrupt cop in a few scenes showed why he helped Fournier's gang but in the end, killed himself rather than killing Julie.  The actress who played Gemma was good and she was unapologetic about her looniness.  Even the Brazilian rent boy, who helped them find The Chemist, snidely put down the cop who threatened to send him back to the favelas with "I'm legal, you dolt" or something along those lines.

Of course the main characters were great.  Laura let Carl come back home but they really hadn't come to terms with his infidelities, which not only led to Adam's demise but put her and the kids at risk.  Elise is still learning to deal with underlings, coworkers, potential significant others, friends but also learning things about herself.

BTW, I thought maybe the Blu Ray I was watching had errors at some strange jump cuts in the last two episodes, which looked disjointed and made it hard to follow what was going on.

In both cases, it was Elise and Eryka, first when they were having champagne at that bar or restaurant and then the other was when Eryka came to Elise's apt. and left, shooting Elise's boss in the knee as she got away.

So since both times it involved the same characters, it wasn't a glitch.  Maybe it was suppose to be Elise's POV is like autistic or something, as bit of revealing dialog came out in seemingly random order.

Would be nice to have a behind the scenes with the director explaining some of the scenes.