S01.E10: The Path to War Part Two: The Impact of Propaganda on Congressional War Votes

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Laurel must work alongside an old boyfriend, Ben Valderrama, when Luke enlists her help in putting together a political documentary to support his anti-war initiative. Also, Laurel worries about the health of Luke and Germaine’s baby.

[wayne67]

I'm sorry but Laurel is kind of boring. Where is Gustav? 

What happened to the aliant hunt? 

This show has the funniest intro, even funnier than the Under the Dome cow intro... but the last couple of episodes have been kind of lackluster (IMO). 

[tiredofwork]

Wow.  This show has completely stopped for me.  No more humor, no more intrigue,  no more Gustav.  It has become a "Greys Anatomy" soap opera. I am pretty sure I am done with it.

[wayne67]

2 minutes ago, tiredofwork said:

Wow.  This show has completely stopped for me.  No more humor, no more intrigue,  no more Gustav.  It has become a "Greys Anatomy" soap opera. I am pretty sure I am done with it.

Yeah I'm totally not in this for the will they won't they nonsense of Laurel and Gareth?. 

I want more aliant antics and humor. I'm really hoping Gustav comes back soon or they at the very least tone down the bipartisan romance angle already and focus on more interesting aspects of the story line, the head explosions, the consequences of dead investigator guy, basically anything other than stock standard romance plots. Romance plots are in everything, I'm here for novelty not repetition of tired romance cliches. 

[Browncoat]

I knew it! I just knew the cute little bunny mobile would play "You Might Think"!

I'm concerned about Rochelle, though. Her insistence that Germaine and the baby are just fine (and that she caught herself humming "You Might Think") is a little worrisome. I guess we're sure Laurel, Luke, Gustav and Gareth are aliant-free, but who else?

I'm still in. 

[shapeshifter]

So did Scarlett infect Germaine and baby Grace while Luke was busy saying goodbye to another lover? I'd think Luke would not just let Scarlett go off to give her "regards" to Germaine, but I guess he's in the habit of dealing with stress in only one way. Like father, like son? Maybe Luke would benefit from a bug lobotomy to enable him to "keep his pants zipped."

[Browncoat]

I think Germaine was already infected before Scarlet went to give her regards.

[Zahdii]

Well, I watched the first half hour and then switched to an Elementary rerun.  I'll check back in next week to see if that episode is worth watching.

[Bobbin]

Did Scarlet give Germaine the mobile as well as her regards?

Laurel's obsession with giving the baby her own physical exam was over the top annoying, but I can't blame her for being paranoid about who is infected and who isn't.

I get the impression that series has not been renewed (I agree that the name "Braindead" may be partly at fault, but also the sci-fi element, the political theme, and the sophistication may have alienated a huge market share, appealing to too narrow of a niche audience), and with two eps left, the writers have lost interest.

Danny Pino seems to specialize in portraying a well-meaning public servant with too much personal baggage and too many family issues, almost sympathetic, but not quite.

[tessaray]

2 hours ago, wayne67 said:

Yeah I'm totally not in this for the will they won't they nonsense of Laurel and Gareth?. 

I want more aliant antics and humor. I'm really hoping Gustav comes back soon or they at the very least tone down the bipartisan romance angle already and focus on more interesting aspects of the story line, the head explosions, the consequences of dead investigator guy, basically anything other than stock standard romance plots. Romance plots are in everything, I'm here for novelty not repetition of tired romance cliches. 

I don't think it's about Laurel and Gareth per se. I read your comment before I watched the episode and was surprised that there really wasn't that much romantic stuff.  IMO, Laurel and Gareth really represent the uninfected, sane people on each side of the aisle.  Gareth is actually a pretty decent guy, considering he's trying to help as much as he can without knowing the whole story like Laurel does. Other than Laurel having known (in the physical sense) both Gareth and annoying ex, filmmaker guy, I didn't get any romance feel. 

I miss the humor, too but that's probably where the "comic thriller" thing comes in. With Luke's baby girl, they've upped the stakes way past big-eyed baby seals. Rochelle's reactions have me worried, too. With only 2 episodes left, I don't think we'll be getting as much humor.  Hopefully they won't leave us hanging. 

[jbrecken]

I'm picturing the show creators saying, "The audience freaked out and thought we went too far when we put the space bugs in a cat - let's put them in a baby and see who complains."

[lucindabelle]

I agree that last week and this week cannot hold a candle to salami sex and senators waking into walls... The viral video thing felt like filler. Although I did like all the stuff red was caught saying( who was filming all that?)And yeah, here's gustav? My opinion: Germaine wasn't infected at hospital, she was cuddling the baby normally. But the moment you saw he just standing by the crib you knew she was.

 

mom thinks the baby might not be infected but that were supposed to wonder, and that's true. She might kick at trumps voice for any number of reasons and might be soothed by the mobile because... It's a mobile.

 

heopenthey brigh the big Schlick back soonl 

[wayne67]

29 minutes ago, tessaray said:

I don't think it's about Laurel and Gareth per se. I read your comment before I watched the episode and was surprised that there really wasn't that much romantic stuff.  IMO, Laurel and Gareth really represent the uninfected, sane people on each side of the aisle.  Gareth is actually a pretty decent guy, considering he's trying to help as much as he can without knowing the whole story like Laurel does. Other than Laurel having known (in the physical sense) both Gareth and annoying ex, filmmaker guy, I didn't get any romance feel. 

I miss the humor, too but that's probably where the "comic thriller" thing comes in. With Luke's baby girl, they've upped the stakes way past big-eyed baby seals. Rochelle's reactions have me worried, too. With only 2 episodes left, I don't think we'll be getting as much humor.  Hopefully they won't leave us hanging. 

Maybe romance was the wrong word to use but it seemed like the last two episodes focused on their 'relationship' far too much and for way too long. The whole 'are we too different' conversation after him apologizing for sorta slut shaming her, the awkwardness of them post break up and the refusal to sell him out for her job/politics. It all reeks of mediocre romance stories, the lull before they realize they are OTP and get back together before something (probably an aliant) gets in the way. I'm not shipping them. I don't really find it remotely interesting. MMV

Personally I'm not invested in whether a character we've never spent much time with (Germaine) is infected or not. I want some forward progress on finding out what the aliants are up to, some follow up to the investigator, something to indicate that the aliants are an actual threat to humanity. I'd like to see the show/characters acting like the aliants are an actual problem they are dealing with, not something they sometimes deal with on their off hours if they're not too busy with exes of one variety or another or mundane work. Something interesting or dangerous or amusing. Anything in any of those categories would be good. At the moment it all feels so bleh. 

I miss storylines like Laurel being under threat of waterboarding or Red or infection rather than her job and her odd relationship with her sorta counterpart across the aisle. 

[thuganomics85]

Damn, Luke!  There were more affairs then just Scarlett?!  He really is a philandering sleazebag, but he ironically is still one of the better ones, since he doesn't have an alien bug in his head.  At least if he ever does get turned, Laurel will notice it real quick, since he won't be flirting with the closet attractive woman in the room.

The opening music recap for this episode was probably the best; especially bringing back up the Michael Moore stuff.

I like the idea of them poking fun of the campaign videos that you see all the time, but I felt like it lacked the bite or wit that past episodes had done with other political props.  Not sure why it didn't quite work for me here.

Germaine is now infected.  I think she was normal during and right after the birth, so I'm guessing it happened after Luke broke up with Scarlett, since Scarlett made a veil threat about visiting Germaine or something.  I do love the idea of a baby being freaked out hearing Donald Trump's voice in the womb.  Smart baby.  

I think Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Tveit actually work very well together, but the Laurel/Gareth romance drama really is hitting a lot of the normal tropes I wish they would avoid.  I rather they just had them actually in a relationship and work things out despite their political differences. But I still think what they really need to do is have Gareth be in the know soon.

Glad to see Rochelle again, but two episodes in a row of no Gustav is not acceptable!

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Bobbin said:

Did Scarlet give Germaine the mobile as well as her regards?...

Yes.

2 hours ago, lucindabelle said:

...mom thinks the baby might not be infected but that were supposed to wonder, and that's true. She might kick at trumps voice for any number of reasons and might be soothed by the mobile because... It's a mobile....

I thought the fact that the mobile had The Cars song, plus Luke questioned where it came from, plus it immediately soothed the baby, was supposed to tell us the baby was infected. Plus Laurel/we never got to see the baby's brain in the sonogram done by the doctor with The Cars' ringtone on his phone.  But, yeah, it could be a fake-out by the writers; I'm just taking it at face value for now.

[holly4755]

and don't forget the mother is rejecting sex - they both can be infected. 

hey I enjoyed this show, I Enjoyed The video and how she cleverly sent the message about the infection with out naming it and getting called crazy and the bugs recognized it. now the only new question is who else is infected? hmmm.

[sjohnson]

Sorry but worrying about Luke's penis not just while war looms, but a secret space invasion is actually going on? It just seems small minded. According to this Luke would be improved by space ants who munch his sex drive out of his head. The show's trivializing itself. Worse, it's not doing it with any good jokes. 

The show also trivializes itself by its fatuous insistence that bipartisanship is the road to Good Government. Bipartisanship is when they gang up against us. When the system is rigged, a truce between the owners of the system in the interest of preserving the system from wild extremes and reckless risks, trying to keep some barriers against open barbarism lest the masses rise, is not a blessing to the nation.

Scarlett infected Germaine. But Rochelle is right, I think, the baby is normal. She is an African-American character but she's supposed to be a competent doctor witting to the real issues, so I don't think the show means to undermine her character like that.

[Free]

9 hours ago, wayne67 said:

I'm sorry but Laurel is kind of boring. Where is Gustav? 

What happened to the aliant hunt? 

This show has the funniest intro, even funnier than the Under the Dome cow intro... but the last couple of episodes have been kind of lackluster (IMO). 

Agreed, it's slowed down a lot without the fun alien hunt.

[kirinan]

10 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I'm concerned about Rochelle, though. Her insistence that Germaine and the baby are just fine (and that she caught herself humming "You Might Think") is a little worrisome. I guess we're sure Laurel, Luke, Gustav and Gareth are aliant-free, but who else?

I was worried about that, too, Browncoat! I just felt like last night, they were shooting her close-ups in a different way that made me uneasy that something might be wrong with her. And WHERE IS GUSTAV?

[Luckylyn]

I don't mind the Laurel/Gareth stuff.   I enjoy them.   There are valid reasons why their being together would be complicated, and it doesn't seem contrived to me.

The stakes are high with the baby at risk now.  I really have enjoyed every episode and am upset the show hasn't caught on.  I hope we get a satisfying ending since a season 2 is unlikely.

What can Laurel, Rochelle, and Gustav do about the ants if they can't get others on board to believe them?  I feel like getting more people on board is the only way to fight since they are so out numbered.  The first step to preventing more infections is to teach people what to do if they get invaded like Laurel did.  Yet they can't help anyone if they aren't believed.   I know the CDC was blocked from continuing research but maybe the scientist who they first were dealing with might be willing to work with them during his off time.  He took them seriously before his boss took the project away from him.   With so few episodes left, I wonder if we will get a win against the aliants in the end or if we lose.

[scarynikki12]

At least we know why they haven't tried to infect Luke lately.  Now that he's not having all the sex ever his brain is actually vulnerable.  They might have lost interest as well but I don't think so.

I'm not sure about the baby being infected.  Babies do quiet down sometimes when they get distracted and that could be what happened with the mobile.  I'm also not sure if the ants would care about babies since they can't benefit them until they grow up.  So far they seem to be targeting people who are influential or have influence over the influential.  Doesn't mean she's not infected but I'm going with the baby being a misdirect from Germaine.  Speaking of, I think she was already infected for sure when she came to see Laurel.  We don't know her well enough to notice personality changes but her comments about the baby only kicking at Trump were probably a hint.  Then she was yelling about a monster being inside her, which I can imagine is how the ants view pregnancy, and was detached post-birth when she said it was the best day ever.  I think Scarlett stopped by to give her the mobile and update her on whatever plan is in play but she was already infected.

I'm also concerned about Rochelle.  She's the most logical of the characters in the know and nothing she did this episode really points to her being infected but I'm still worried.  This is the same woman who showed helped Gustav hold one of the ants hostage in her apartment to get answers so I'm not sure that she'd brush off Laurel's concerns about the baby.  She's also right that all the focus they've put on that song would result in it being in their heads but, at this point, she knows that everyone who has been associated with that song has turned out to be an ant.  Yet she's not worried that the infection may have spread to her colleagues.  I hope they just directed her to be a bit detached because I don't want to lose Rochelle.

[SillyOldClothCat]

12 hours ago, Bobbin said:

I get the impression that series has not been renewed (I agree that the name "Braindead" may be partly at fault, but also the sci-fi element, the political theme, and the sophistication may have alienated a huge market share, appealing to too narrow of a niche audience), and with two eps left, the writers have lost interest.

Agreed.  But, it's a narrow niche audience made up of...me!  And my niche is doomed to be constantly teased by awesome summer shows that go away too soon.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

At least we know why they haven't tried to infect Luke lately.  Now that he's not having all the sex ever his brain is actually vulnerable....

That's a good point (that the ants can't infect a person who is in the middle of having sex). It could offer us some humorous scenes if Laurel figures this out, along with Germaine being infected, and so Laurel does an about face and starts trying to get Luke to have sex with his various uninfected paramours.

[DeLurker]

16 hours ago, holly4755 said:

and don't forget the mother is rejecting sex - they both can be infected. 

hey I enjoyed this show, I Enjoyed The video and how she cleverly sent the message about the infection with out naming it and getting called crazy and the bugs recognized it. now the only new question is who else is infected? hmmm.

well, Germaine did just have a baby and knows her husband is still sweating up the sheets with someone else, so rejecting sex is no clear sign of infection.

I'll be super bummed if Rochelle's infected.

Michael Moore seemed to enjoy his scenes.

[Bobbin]

So many think that Germaine must be infected just because she didn't want to have sex with Luke. I was under the impression that having sex is the last thing a woman wants who just delivered a baby the day before. Besides, grudgingly forgiving him doesn't mean she's ready to hop into bed with him.

As for Rochelle, no matter what tunes are running through her brain, she wouldn't be suggesting tests on the baby if she was infected. It's too bad Laurel didn't have a chance to thump the baby's head like a melon to see if one side was hollow like her friend's head.

Speaking of heads, I'm surprised Red's didn't explode during his outburst in his office.

[shapeshifter]

Over on the IMDb BrainDead board, someone posted:

Quote

Was anyone else completely skeeved out by Healy trying to have sex with his wife right after she had a baby? Are we supposed to believe that 6 weeks have passed rather than a day or two? 

I know her response about being sweaty was an indicator to the viewers that she is now infected but a much more appropriate response would have been, "I just had a baby!"

to which I replied:
Thank you! 
Yes, I thought that too.
But now I'm guessing Luke had been AWOL from all things baby/pregnacy for quite some time and could be clueless. 
And if Germaine had been infected for some time (which Laurel, the protagonist believes), Germaine's ant brain would be clueless about human pregnancy and post-partem physicality too. It would explain Germaine's exclamation that "...monster is growing inside of me!"
So. How does the baby kicking at Trump figure in? It depends in part on whether baby Grace is on team aliant, like: Did The Cars mobile song specifically quiet the baby, or is a mobile sometimes just a mobile?

[sjohnson]

Maybe I can't speak for the others, but the clincher for Germaine's infection was not being up for post-parturition sex, which would be as weird as it sounds. The extra-special disgust was a clue, as was her distaste for the baby. No the real clincher was buying that mobile. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, sjohnson said:

Maybe I can't speak for the others, but the clincher for Germaine's infection was not being up for post-parturition sex, which would be as weird as it sounds. The extra-special disgust was a clue, as was her distaste for the baby. No the real clincher was buying that mobile. 

ITA with all of the above except that the mobile was a gift from buggy Scarlet, right?

ETA: Now I'm wondering if the OBGYN with The Cars song ringtone used the baby as a way to infect Germaine, and then hopefully Luke — if only he ever spent enough time in bed with Germaine. Using the baby this way seems too dark for this show, so maybe the OBGYN — thinking with is ant brain, just saw his access to a human orifice as a great opportunity to infect the wife of the ants' current target, namely Luke. 

Edited August 30, 2016 by shapeshifter

[NutmegsDad]

They say there's two episodes left, but actually there is one hour next Sunday and then back-to-back episodes as the finale.

I'm giving it until the end to see how it works out. The humans have won again, shutting down the war resolution, but let's see what that clock entails.

Baby may be a  macguffin or our saving hope. And they better bring back Gustav.

I'm eagerly anticipating next week..... for the Recap Song Guy.

[sjohnson]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

ITA with all of the above except that the mobile was a gift from buggy Scarlet, right?

Germaine accepted a gift for her baby from Scarlet, her husband's mistress? She's definitely infected, I think. 

Still don't think the show wants Rochelle to know nothing about no space aliant babies, so I'm pretty hopeful she's right about the baby. 

[shapeshifter]

I just hope Rochelle isn't infected and tried to infect Gustav who is now laying with an exploded head and his cat purring The Cars song while sitting on his chest.
That would be unbearably sad, at least not comic.

[tessaray]

Germaine is a political wife. Accepting a gift from your husband's mistress would have to be part of the job.  

I think Germaine is infected but she was pregnant before the aliants showed up, so if she is it would have to be recently.  But I thought the bugs went for the brain, how could either she or Scarlett infect Luke sexually?  And bugs passing the placental barrier wouldn't make sense with what we've seen to date, though once the poor little thing is alone in a crib...

[dargosmydaddy]

Is Johnny Ray Gill (Gustav) considered a regular or a guest star? If the latter, that could explain his absence the last two weeks... maybe he was only contracted for a specific number of episodes, or had other obligations.

Anyway, according to the (sometimes unreliable) IMBD, he's in the final three episodes.

(And it was only after looking up JRG om IMBD that I discovered he's Kerwin from Rectify! Clearly it's been too long since I've done a Rectify rewatch.)

[Free]

On 8/29/2016 at 0:44 AM, Bobbin said:

Did Scarlet give Germaine the mobile as well as her regards?

Laurel's obsession with giving the baby her own physical exam was over the top annoying, but I can't blame her for being paranoid about who is infected and who isn't.

I get the impression that series has not been renewed (I agree that the name "Braindead" may be partly at fault, but also the sci-fi element, the political theme, and the sophistication may have alienated a huge market share, appealing to too narrow of a niche audience), and with two eps left, the writers have lost interest.

Danny Pino seems to specialize in portraying a well-meaning public servant with too much personal baggage and too many family issues, almost sympathetic, but not quite.

Agreed, but CBS itself has not been kind to these kinds of series, it's why they keep resorting back to their procedural/older skewing shows.

[lucindabelle]

 The way Germaine was standing whoe the baby cried and mouthed stop it was just... Not the way a new mom behaves. She not only didn't cuddle it (as she did at hospital) she didn't even lean over. And then, she wiped off Luke's kiss. Definitely infected.