Season 3 Discussion

[JustS]

49 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Looks like Sonja got another week off! Does she only work every other episode????

Percy was in the last 3 eps prior to this one. However, it does feel she misses more than that...

[enoughcats]

On 3/20/2017 at 6:35 PM, neuromom said:

I can't remember much if it, only that it coincided with the news breaking of the "Ebola scare" 

No coincidence, then, that they set aside the famous photo of  one strand of the ebola virus to use in this episode.  Didn't even rotate it 90degrees.  (And SEMs, etc. just happen automatically in small scale pathology labs?)

[Driad]

As a fan of C.C.H. Pounder I was glad that she had a big part and that her character recovered.

Never heard of king cake before. All that food coloring looked poisonous even without the virus.

[BooksRule]

Quote

Never heard of king cake before. All that food coloring looked poisonous even without the virus.

I live basically in 'king cake country' during Mardi Gras time, so I've seen (and eaten) many a cake.  It's not really my favorite, though.  The colored sugar is kind of bright and will stain your fingers (and tongue) if you eat enough.  I wonder if they aired this episode out of order.  Didn't the cross-over episode with the original NCIS take place during Mardi Gras?  King cake season should be long over with by now, but the bakery was full of them.  Or (since I don't actually live in the N.O. area) maybe they are available all year 'round for the tourists?

Those red suicide pills made me laugh.  On TV and in movies, they always seem to be either teensy pills like low-dose aspirin (I guess so they can be hidden on a person), or they are ginormous bright red horse capsules (I guess so they are easy to find while you are struggling or running away).  Anyway, the big ones always look so cartoon-y to me.

Edited March 30, 2017 by BooksRule

[rainsmom]

I just loved how quickly it killed. It hadn't had time to pass his esophagus yet, much less get into his bloodstream.

[neuromom]

So "the gloves are off" with Pride and Hamilton. I'm worried for Rita. I like her. I will be sad when she, inevitably, dies. Of course, if Hamilton really wants to get to Pride, he could always go after his daughter, too. 

Speaking of Hamilton, can any of you who are from the area tell me if Steven Weber's accent sounds legit to you? There was something about the way he was pronouncing his "d" sounds that just seemed off to me. 

I lked Sebastian this episode and laughed when he realized he had no cell service and had that resigned look when he realized he would have to go at it alone. And when Pride asked him "would you have done it?" (inject the suspect with the virus) and he says "for her I would." the Loretta/Sebastian relationship is really endearing. 

[rainsmom]

The Hamilton arc bugs me.

Hamilton was introduced as a crooked politician and the bane of King's existence when the series aired. But then time went on, and they learned to work together. Even though Hamilton has always been dirty, he has been HELPFUL when King needed him.

He was helpful again with the guy he's accused of killing. And when the FBI (or whoever it was) said that King had to go after him, King didn't even have the good grace to feel GUILTY about betraying him.

Dirty or not, Hamilton has the right to feel used and betrayed. And I am really, really hoping that he ends up vindicated in this arc -- and then next time King needs him, leaves him high and dry. King is an ass.

[Lizzing]

I'm curious how this whole Hamilton as a super villain with comic book level of access to means of destruction (bombs that the FBI can't detect, heat guided bullets that pierce concrete walls) are going to pan out.  I'm fairly doubtful it's going to make any sense; this season's story with him is at the absurdity level of the Pellant story arc on Bones.

I was kind of surprised Angelo Brocato's let their store and name be used for the tainted king cake.  Won't stop me from getting cannoli from them, but still not the best way to get a national product placement. LOL!

[12catcrazy]

Anybody else think that this show is going off the rails?  As has been said above, the mayor started out as a crooked politician but could be helpful. Yup, now they;re turning him into Mr. Evil comic book bad guy and they're going overboard with the weekly crimes.  I mean, REALLY?  An Ebola type super-virus with an antidote no less, and the bad guys have the red horse pills full of poison which kills them as soon as it gets in their mouths!  

I had really enjoyed this show during the first two seasons, and despite liking the cast, I'm at the point where I could care less if it got cancelled.   The show has changed, and IMO not in a good way.   I"m even feeling that something is not right with even the original NCIS.  Maybe it's just me...

[Raja]

WTH, a confirmed bioterrorism event and the CDC doesn't step in the quarantine all those where  in the hot zone and bring in other agents to do the investigation. The people of New Orleans had to right to panic as their protectors were acting out of their own pride and potentially spreading the virus.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, 12catcrazy said:

Anybody else think that this show is going off the rails?  As has been said above, the mayor started out as a crooked politician but could be helpful. Yup, now they;re turning him into Mr. Evil comic book bad guy and they're going overboard with the weekly crimes.  I mean, REALLY?  An Ebola type super-virus with an antidote no less, and the bad guys have the red horse pills full of poison which kills them as soon as it gets in their mouths!  

I had really enjoyed this show during the first two seasons, and despite liking the cast, I'm at the point where I could care less if it got cancelled.   The show has changed, and IMO not in a good way.   I"m even feeling that something is not right with even the original NCIS.  Maybe it's just me...

Lets see you upload the intel to the cloud, but then just pulling it from the cloud in China you send it around the corner.

[12catcrazy]

Yeah, Raja, and you're right about a bio-terrorism attack and no CDC, no lock-down of the area, nothing remotely like what would happen "in the real world".  I was saying all this to my companion while watching the episode.  And lets not forget Sabastian trying to come up with the antidote to save Loretta.  I said,  "wow, that guy would be wasted in NCIS; he'd be whisked away to work with the CDC or the WHO if he's that much of a genius."  

Some years back I read a book about the SARS epidemic and the incredible co-ordinated work between Chinese, American, and international teams of scientists and doctors to halt the epidemic before it got completely out of control.  It was a true to life thriller which the idiots who write shows like this NCIS-Nola should read.

I like mindless entertainment as much as the next TV couch potato, but man, I f-ing HATE it when you insult my intelligence.    An episode like this goes beyond insulting my intelligence.   

[laredhead]

Driad, good king cakes are delicious, and since I love all desserts the more sugar they have the better they are.  They are a colorful tradition during the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras.  I imagine Angelo Brocato's makes excellent ones although I've never had one of theirs.  Their cannoli is delicious.  This is what I like about this show.  It showcases some of our good Louisiana food and scenery to the world.

I did not catch all of the previews of the next episode before hitting the erase button, but is Scott Bakula's  real life wife appearing again next week?

[Raja]

4 minutes ago, laredhead said:

 

I did not catch all of the previews of the next episode before hitting the erase button, but is Scott Bakula's  real life wife appearing again next week?

Spoiler

It looks like she is considering a job in DC, but the draw of Dwayne may be too much for her when her car is found empty. It looks like a kidnapping.

[neuromom]

12 hours ago, Raja said:

  Hide contents

It looks like she is considering a job in DC, but the draw of Dwayne may be too much for her when her car is found empty. It looks like a kidnapping.

Indeed. I believe she is involved in the attempt to expose Hamilton. Which means...odds aren't in her favor :-(.  We only have a few episodes left for the season right? 

[Loren Pechtel]

They're going over the top with this one.

This isn't bioterrorism, it's a bioweapon attack by a nation--what could easily be the first shot of World War III.  If our targeting data is good enough we very well might respond with a pre-emptive strike against the Chinese missile fields and boomers.

Somehow I don't think China would take that sort of chance.

[roamyn]

Loretta's (and the others infected), bright yellow eyes were so fake.

Real jaundice would be seen in skin tone as well, and in the eyes it's more of a weaker density than the cartoon ones we saw.

That bugged me, but I did love Sebastian's "I can't lose her" remark abt Loretta.

Edited April 4, 2017 by roamyn

[MyAimIsTrue]

While Pride listens in on a wiretap of Mayor Hamilton, the NCIS team investigates a train heist of hundreds of Navy weapons,

[love2lovebadtv]

Agree with others who felt the episode was cartoonish. But loved the Sebastian/Loretta love. 

[threebluestars]

I miss Sonja!

[illdoc]

Another week off for Sonja. At least when Danny is missing from Hawaii Five-0 episodes, then mention where he is ("in NJ taking care of whatever", "on vacation with whoever", etc.). When Sonja's missing, they don't even mention her!!! 

[fellini]

I guess nobody knows why Sonja wasn't in the last two episodes.

[illdoc]

According to IMDB, she'll be in the next episode (Apr 18th), then the season finale (I assume) on May 16th. Does not appear to be in the 2 episodes inbetween. 

[Trey]

I had thought her absences were due to work on Mercy Street but apparently she was in only six episodes in season one; so, it is a mystery as to why she is gone so much.

[neuromom]

I was thinking how Chris must've been one idealistic and naive recruit if the idea of corruption didn't even occur to him. Especially during the aftermath of Katrina. I have great respect to the officers who risk their lives to help others, but there were so many reports of corruption at NOPD during that time. My understanding was that the officers' wages were among the lowest in the country. And the training lagged far behind other states (like CA).  Officers were literally walking off the job and participating in the looting. While in uniform. 

[lh25]

On 3/15/2017 at 11:49 PM, Jaded said:

wondered why I recognized  Gregorio's ex so much and then I realized he played Max's boyfriend on 2 Broke Girls recently. Even in natural light outside he doesn't look 49. His reaction to Gregorio telling him that she's gay was funny. He does deadpan well.

He also played the head of the lab on Eureka, that's where I remembered him from.  He does deadpan really well, and is easy to look at!

[watcher1006]

I too miss Sonja Percy, wonder what is up with Shalita Grant. And I also like seeing CCH Pounder on the screen, not much of her in this one. It seems they are setting up for a big takedown of Mayor Hamilton, perhaps that's the season closing arc?

When Pride keeps expressing doubts that Marino was their guy even after his former protege turned on him once could guess that he wasn't their guy.

[Enero]

This was a descent enough episode mainly because of the team interaction. It kind of felt like old school NCIS:NO. Not much Gregorio eating the show and Sebastian was back in the lab where he belongs. 

That said, like always I was trying to figure out how the criminal was going to make their plan work. So the daughter stole guns to give to the villagers in Sudan. Did she have a contact over there to drop the guns with? If so, how was she able to keep in contact with them considering the unrest over there? And would the terrorist group come all the way to the US over some guns that they heard the villagers were gone get? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to intercept the delivery once it was on the ground in Sudan than risk getting caught on US soil? And even if they did manage to get the guns how were they going to get them out of the country? Needless to say none of this story made sense. 

However, I was glad to see Sonja, but I think this might be her swan song. She's been MIA almost the entire season and when she returns she gets into deep sh*t. Though Pride has her back against the US attorney, this goes deeper than the  vindictiveness of the Mayor. Even if Sonja manages to dodge this bullet I don't know if she can come back from this with Pride. This is not the first time she's lied to him, disobeyed his orders and not followed the rules of the team. It's only so many times you can do that before you're out.

With SG pretty much a glorified extra now, I wouldn't be surprised if this storyline is used to write her out.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Enero

[Misslindsey]

1 hour ago, Enero said:

However, I was glad to see Sonja, but I think this might be her swan song. She's been MIA almost the entire season and when she returns she gets into deep sh*t. Though Pride has her back against the US attorney, this goes deeper than the  vindictiveness of the Mayor. Even if Sonja manages to dodge this bullet I don't know if she can come back from this with Pride. This is not the first time she's lied to him, disobeyed his orders and not followed the rules of the team. It's only so many times you can do that before you're out.

With SG pretty much a glorified extra now, I wouldn't be surprised if this storyline is used to write her out.

This is what I am worried about. SG has missed a lot of episodes. If Sonja is being written out than I will probably quit watching as well. I do not want more Greggorio and I really prefer Sebastian in the lab. I really enjoyed the end of season one and season two, so I am disappointed if this is the case.

[Lizzing]

Why was Sonja's report of what happened at the airport even in front of the judge?  They hadn't gone to trial yet on the Sudanese terrorists, so her report wouldn't have been in evidence yet.  If the AUSA found out she lied in her report, she'd have to pull Sonja from testifying, may have to alert the defense, may never use or trust her reports in the future, and taint NCIS' credibility overall, but it was in no way teed up to be before the court at this point. Plus, her report had ZERO to do with getting the wire tap warrant, as that happened before the deal went down at the airport, and the evidence that would support the warrant also had nothing to do with the Sudanese/stolen guns plot. 

Add that to all of the great points @Enero made above, the writing on this episode logic wise was seriously lacking.  Good character interaction, but not great on the nitty gritty plot points.

[MyAimIsTrue]

After the Belle Chase Navy Chaplain and pastor at Clearwater Baptist is murdered, Pride believes he found a connection between Mayor Hamilton and the illegal activity taking place in the city of Clearwater. Also, Percy continues to face repercussions of her choices on a previous case.

[honeydo7]

I think NOLA's mayor will offer to get those damaging charges against Sonja dropped, if Pride agrees to drop his investigation into his honor's  shady, criminal dealings.

[DearEvette]

12 hours ago, Enero said:

This was a descent enough episode mainly because of the team interaction. It kind of felt like old school NCIS:NO. Not much Gregorio eating the show and Sebastian was back in the lab where he belongs. 

That said, like always I was trying to figure out how the criminal was going to make their plan work. So the daughter stole guns to give to the villagers in Sudan. Did she have a contact over there to drop the guns with? If so, how was she able to keep in contact with them considering the unrest over there? And would the terrorist group come all the way to the US over some guns that they heard the villagers were gone get? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to intercept the delivery once it was on the ground in Sudan than risk getting caught on US soil? And even if they did manage to get the guns how were they going to get them out of the country? Needless to say none of this story made sense. 

However, I was glad to see Sonja, but I think this might be her swan song. She's been MIA almost the entire season and when she returns she gets into deep sh*t. Though Pride has her back against the US attorney, this goes deeper than the  vindictiveness of the Mayor. Even if Sonja manages to dodge this bullet I don't know if she can come back from this with Pride. This is not the first time she's lied to him, disobeyed his orders and not followed the rules of the team. It's only so many times you can do that before you're out.

With SG pretty much a glorified extra now, I wouldn't be surprised if this storyline is used to write her out.

I agree not the best crafted story.  I mean, why not just ask her dad who owned the guns?   And you're right why would the terrorist come to the US to kill these women? And how the heck can they so easily infiltrate a party and kill a woman so no one notices her behind all the liquor? also how did they know who they were?  Did the women do this before?  I thought this was the first time?

This was all plot to put Percy into jeopardy to either 1) write Shalita Grant off the the show or 2) use it as a catalyst to make LaSalle realize his feelings.

Absent that though, it was nice seeing them work together and tone down on Gregorio.

Edited April 19, 2017 by DearEvette

[Lizzing]

I've concluded that the Boko Haram are just huge Sheryl Crow fans and they stumbled upon the ladies' gun plot in their quest to follow her performance dates.  That's as likely as anything the show offered for explanation.

[enoughcats]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I agree not the best crafted story.  I mean, why not just ask her dad who owned the guns?   And you're right why would the terrorist come to the US to kill these women? And how the heck can they so easily infiltrate a party and kill a woman so no one notices her behind all the liquor? also how did they know who they were?  Did the women do this before?  I thought this was the first time?

Even in NOLA, Boko Haram would stand out like eskimos. Maybe they had custom fit tuxedos and were passing as waiters.  No?  Ever waiter in NOLA has at least one Tux. Much less learning to speak a local dialect of English.  
Heck, just carrying that many guns around through the marshes of NOLA.  

 But the lacks of logic really sank this episode. 

[watcher1006]

I felt a little dubious about Pride’s decision to throw away the clandestine wiretap of Hamilton’s office in order to confront Nadine’s father with the recording. Yes, NCIS had to bring down the killers, but it was a costly decision for Pride to make. That Department of Justice person or whoever it was who got the authorization for the wiretap must have gone out on quite a limb and spent her political capital in order to get it for Pride. I agreed with her when she told him that he should have at least talked to her first, such bridges are difficult to rebuild once they’ve been burned.

I agree that it does seem like they may be phasing out Shalita Grant in her role as Percy. If it’s not her choice then I don’t understand the thinking of the people who are making these decisions. It’s not been one year since they phased out Zoe McClellan, apparently against her will and to the puzzlement of this show’s fan base.

[Rambler]

So the plan was to hand off a bunch of guns to inexperienced villagers and they would magically be able to fight off an army of hardened killers? I guess that sounds like something a spoiled rich brat might come up with, but why would Percy risk her career over such idiocy? Percy's constant whining about letting rich girl (sorry forgot the character's name) go so she could follow through with her insane plan was like nails on a chalkboard to me Then at the airport, rich girl is all like "Drat my plan to arm the villagers has been foiled, now I guess I have to move them." Shouldn’t that have been Plan A you silly twit?

[enoughcats]

20 minutes ago, Rambler said:

 

So the plan was to hand off a bunch of guns to inexperienced villagers and they would magically be able to fight off an army of hardened killers? I guess that sounds like something a spoiled rich brat might come up with,

 

So, I now know what the spoiled rich kids who live in uptown and garden district grow up to be.

We did live in New Orleans in the Quarter and this happened.

Sitting on the park bench backing up to ours were four female children of money.  All with lunches they had brought from home.  They decided, loudly, not to eat lunch because children were starving in Africa.  So they tossed their untouched lunches in the trash receptacles. And flounced away, having made one feel bad because she had eaten her lunch.

[Linderhill]

the plus of this episode:  Ferlito was minimized and Sebastian was in the lab where he belongs (who was the knucklehead that decided that he needed to be an agent? 

the minuses:  silly, illogical plotting and the dumbing down of Percy.  And always just the presence of Ferlito on this show (I won't be happy until the character is gone).   

I do find it interesting that after introducing the Hamilton character in the first season as a possible nemisis he was basically sidelined until they thought of something for him to do that would vaguely tie into military investigations.  He almost became a shadey ally and then all of a sudden Pride is out to get him at all costs.  Yeesh, the PTB need to think a little more logically.

[Jaded]

Shalita's PBS series Mercy Street got cancelled by PBS this past March so it would be stupid to write her out of the show now unless she wanted it.

[j5cochran]

48 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Shalita's PBS series Mercy Street got cancelled by PBS this past March so it would be stupid to write her out of the show now unless she wanted it.

But her character, Aurelia Johnson, was only in the first season of the show, broadcast in 2016.  She never appeared in the second season.  She should not have missed any filming of the present season of NCIS: NOLA because of Mercy Street.

[immortalfrieza]

On 4/20/2017 at 6:02 PM, Rambler said:

So the plan was to hand off a bunch of guns to inexperienced villagers and they would magically be able to fight off an army of hardened killers?

Apparently. Either A. the villagers are all slaughtered effortlessly or B. the villagers somehow against all odds win, only for the terrorists to redouble their efforts in retribution and take them out after a protracted battle, or C. the terrorists steal the guns before they ever get into the villager's hands in the first place like what nearly happened here. Regardless, the end result would be these terrorists with a bunch of shiny new guns they can now use to rape, pillage, and burn even more effectively than they already did. Perhaps worst of all would be if the guns actually made enough of a difference to get the terrorists to back off, then there's the risk that the villagers would become just as bad somewhere down the line. Giving weapons to a side one sympathizes with and/or can turn against one's current enemy just empowers them to become a future enemy, it's where a lot of these psycho groups came from to begin with.

The worst part about Pride giving up his line on Hamilton in order to find the guns was that there was nothing there that actually helped them find the guns. Pride and Co finding out about the rich girl who shall remain nameless' plot happened without anything involving the wiretap.

[mythoughtis]

Why did the guns  have to be stolen in the first place? Why couldn't super rich girl Nadine  have bought them from Daddy? 

Why do they keep getting rid of actresses once I've finally gotten used to them? And who is this mealy mouth crying Percy? This is not her kick ass character. 

Edited April 23, 2017 by mythoughtis

[Raja]

6 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Why did the guns  have to be stolen in the first place? Why couldn't super rich girl Nadine  have bought them from Daddy? 

Why do they keep getting rid of actresses once I've finally gotten used to them? And who is this mealy mouth crying Percy? This is not her kick ass character. 

Only if daddy was willing to break federal firearms laws himself. Besides ATF the State Department would have to approve of the end user in Sudan 

[stuckin60s]

am I the only one that thinks the writers are trying to make Sonia and LaSalle a couple???  if so DOOM, DOOM, DOOM

[enoughcats]

On 4/23/2017 at 6:11 PM, Raja said:

 

On 4/23/2017 at 11:31 AM, mythoughtis said:

Why did the guns  have to be stolen in the first place? Why couldn't super rich girl Nadine  have bought them from Daddy? 

Why do they keep getting rid of actresses once I've finally gotten used to them? And who is this mealy mouth crying Percy? This is not her kick ass character. 

Only if daddy was willing to break federal firearms laws himself. Besides ATF the State Department would have to approve of the end user in Sudan 

 

Or buy them on the international market, same as everybody else. 

[Raja]

1 minute ago, enoughcats said:

Or buy them on the international market, same as everybody else. 

It is strange that she could get smuggling contacts, but not arms dealers. But she needed a military advisor, MP5's are okay for police going into a building against a Saturday Night Special, but not fighting terrorist/soldiers armed with AK-47s

[threebluestars]

I really hope they aren't writing Shalita Grant out. If so, it's the swan song for my interest in the show. I hated losing Zoe McLellan. It's like they get a good mix of people, then shoot themselves in the foot with it. I don't get it.

I wish they could bringing McLellan back as PO Coates (like she should've been initially!) lol.

[love2lovebadtv]

2 hours ago, arieswriting said:

I really hope they aren't writing Shalita Grant out. If so, it's the swan song for my interest in the show. I hated losing Zoe McLellan. It's like they get a good mix of people, then shoot themselves in the foot with it. I don't get it.

I wish they could bringing McLellan back as PO Coates (like she should've been initially!) lol.

PO Coates? 

[Jaded]

2 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

PO Coates? 

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0020070/