S01.E04: The Enemy

[amsel]

This is not a great show, this might be barely a good show, but I keep watching it. And it's not a show I need to watch with intensity, since there's nothing about the show that requires any thinking. We know there will be twists here and there, but nothing that will blow our minds. It's a faster paced 24. The editing, the acting, the cinematography, it's all 24, and then there's Kirkman, who is basically a subdued Jack Bauer. 

It's solid entertainment. But I kinda wish this concept was done by HBO or AMC because there's great potential here that is not utilized. 

[DrSpaceman73]

It does seem a bit unbelievable that Kirkman has so much time to stand around with his "woe is me" act with his wife.  I am tiring of those scenes. 

[Cigale]

On 2016-10-12 at 11:06 PM, CleoCaesar said:

I just don't give a crap about the FBI agent mooning over her dead boyfriend

Who looks like a male catalog model...

[betsyboo]

9 hours ago, sisterspoon said:

Who looks like a male catalog model...

absolutely. Very much the guy in the picture that comes with the frame.

[Guest]

I think this was my favorite episode other than the premiere.

I cheered when he arrested the governor. I thought that was really well done.

I do agree that it was unrealistic that he wouldn't bomb the compound because of the one US asset.  I had the feeling it was supposed to make me think he was such a good guy, but instead it made me think he was pretty dumb/incompetent.  That said, I'm glad he got rid of the general.

I definitely agree with sentiments upthread about the lack of urgency. Even if you excuse some of it as he has downtime because so many aides were killed that things are falling through the cracks, the mood is off for a huge national tragedy.  Every branch of government decimated and it's just "oh, here's the new President and two Congress people, so I guess we're all set!"

[MV713]

I've tried to watch this episode 4 times and have fallen asleep every time...

I am going to have to read the recaps to stay in the loop.

[OtterMommy]

On 10/12/2016 at 8:03 PM, Biggie B said:

MacLeish's wife said she was at the mall with her kids and one of them got separated from her, so she texted her husband repeatedly during the State of the Union, while she was freaking out over her daughter's disappearance.

The State of the Union address is held fairly late in the evening. Why would she have been out shopping with her little kids at that hour of the night?

Three hour time difference. 

Most malls are open until about 8-9pm, and the SOTU usually comes on around 5 or 6 on the west coast.

[piequinn35]

Still there is something fishy about that, was it 10PM at the capitol and they were shopping around 7PM instead of having dinner at home?

[secnarf]

15 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

Still there is something fishy about that, was it 10PM at the capitol and they were shopping around 7PM instead of having dinner at home?

Not everyone has dinner at 7pm. My parents eat at 5pm every day. It's not uncommon to go to the mall after.

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, secnarf said:

Not everyone has dinner at 7pm. My parents eat at 5pm every day. It's not uncommon to go to the mall after.

If the mother works (which she may or may not....), it would make sense for them to possibly be at the mall at 7pm.  It's not out of the realm of possibility.

But, all this being said, I doubt that is what happened (and that has nothing to do with the shopping habits in Oregon).

[Haleth]

I was annoyed that Emily is such a goodie two shoes, thinking the Pres and the Gov would have a nice kumbaya moment and all will be resolved. And she's shocked, shocked that her boss has changed. Really?  Is she that naive?  Does she not understand how power works?

Edited October 18, 2016 by Haleth

[pcta]

On October 12, 2016 at 9:03 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Damn, Kirkman got his Bauer on. 

I know there is a political divide in this country, but I find it hard to believe any governor would take advantage of a national tragedy to defy the constitution. Well, almost any governor. Sorry, Maine.

I don't know - we've had a civil war, we've had George Wallace, we've had the Gov of AZ wagging her finger at the Prez, etc so I didn't find the treasonous Governor unbelievable. 

I really like that Kirkman includes ethics in his decision making process not just political,expediency. I still find the concept of the program intriguing 

[Raja]

10 hours ago, pcta said:

I don't know - we've had a civil war, we've had George Wallace, we've had the Gov of AZ wagging her finger at the Prez, etc so I didn't find the treasonous Governor unbelievable. 

I really like that Kirkman includes ethics in his decision making process not just political,expediency. I still find the concept of the program intriguing 

Yes but that wasn't just because Lincoln was elected, there were forces going towards war over the abolition of slavery and a dirty war along the Kansas and Missouri border before the war Between The States along with Jim Crow being fully integrated for generations when President Eisenhower sent the 82nd Airborne Division into Arkansas. Now if in the Designated Survivor America Michigan had interment for Muslims under the dead President and Kirkman immediately moved to put a stop to it now that he had the stick then I could see the George Wallace equivalent or sending the 82nd Airborne Division to Little Rock/Dearborn because the local citizen soldiers in the Nation Guard returned to "state rights" trumps the "US ARMY" on their uniforms.

 

It is the out of nowhere after the decapitation of the Nation government that a General straight from Dr Strangelove and a Governor from Revolution or The Last Ship succeeds from the Union to start down the path of The Final Solution targeting Muslims instead of Jews that is causing the major push back against the plot lines of the show.

[SlackerInc]

On 10/13/2016 at 1:46 PM, Happy Harpy said:

I guess I'm in the minority since it was my favorite one since the pilot.

I'm in the minority with you (and a few other people who chimed in after your post).  I was really borderline on the show, kind of looking for an excuse to get out.  Then the opening scene of this episode was SO cheesy, I thought this would be my stop.  Instead, after that opening cheese, I found to my surprise that this was an amazingly great episode.  Better than the pilot, maybe (although really, you can't compare pilots to other episodes, especially in a show like this where something so major happens to set the table).

The only thing I was slightly disappointed about is that I actually was impressed with the show for apparently presenting a story of "no, that congressman wasn't part of a conspiracy: the FBI agent is just shadowboxing, like she said".  But then she got the call.  Her storyline has always been my least favorite part of the show, and that looks like it will continue.

[John Potts]

So Kirkman's growing some balls. It's pretty clear he should have fired that General for gross insubordination a while ago. And arresting the Governor was totally justified - he was refusing to recognise the authority of the US President (as defined by the Constitution, whatever he thinks) and said he was ordering the National Guard to refuse to acknowledge orders from him. That's pretty much a declaration of secession from the USA.
Though I have to say - the General was right about agents in the field knowing their lives are expendable - I'm sure Jack Bauer could tell him that.

It was so inevitable Kai Penn would become his Press Officer, I wondered why they were stringing it out. Liked that we got the personal and political reasons for doing so (but seriously - even if his appointment was tokenism, it's the game you're in and political appointments aren't just about getting the best candidate for the job but also the person that gives the right impression). And did he have any reason for calling a press briefing except to announce he was the new Press Secretary, because that's what it looked like. You'd think he'd have more to say than that two(?) weeks after the most successful terrorist attack in US history.

Did like that it was something stupid that took our Congressional survivor out of the Chamber. Coincidences really do happen. Just hope it really is a coincidence and not some shadowy cabal protecting him (it's also pretty unlikely he was aware beforehand or he'd come up with a reason not to be in the Chamber at all, you'd imagine).

I can't believe Emily was considered as Chief of Staff if she's that naive. Of course the President will lie to you if it serves his needs, what did you expect!?

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 7:18 AM, Bobbin said:

His future home wouldn't be Sing-Sing, btw, but likely US Prison, Lee, in Virginia.

I'd love it if he got to serve in a federal institution... in Michigan (if there is one)! Though I doubt he'll actually face any jail time, certainly not within the scope of the show, but his political career is (or at least, should be) over.

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 11:23 PM, mwell345 said:

When the Congressman's wife said the daughter was missing at the mall, my first thought was that she was grabbed and being held until the Congressman did something related to the terrorist act.

I thought that too. It still might, but I'm hoping it's just random chance that saved him. If he was in on it, wouldn't he have come up with a better reason not to be in the Chamber at all? I guess we'll see.

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 8:25 PM, Netfoot said:

Uh, why would someone make that mistake deliberately?

Seth did (though presumably not deliberately) refer to the new President as Kirkland in the pilot, when he met the newly elevated President in the bathroom, which may have caused the confusion.

On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 11:32 AM, Trillian said:

Was I the only one who thought recently-promoted-because-his-boss-is-dead Press Secretary was about to say that, oh yeah, the President has a plan - a secret plan to fight inflation?

But the real Press Secretary didn't have a root canal operation (or rather "Woot Canawl")!