S03.E01: Together With Remembrance of Ourselves

[formerlyfreedom]

Season premiere!

In the Season 3 premiere, the royal family gain a fresh perspective in the wake of King Simon's murderer's death. And as Liam seeks solace in disreputable places, Prince Robert is revealed to be alive, but whether he is well is still to be determined.

[WhosThatGirl]

So Liam is now Ryan Atwood? Because Ryan Atwood did this whole cage fighting plot thing when Marissa Cooper died in season 4 of The Oc. I guess one of the characters is going to have to draw a comic book and get him back on the right track.

Aw Jasper and Eleanor I'm rooting for these two. I ship them I can't help it.

I laughed out loud when Helena was like "how are people just walking around here?" Yes indeed Helena, it's been happening for like two years at this point. Get on that. 

I don't care about Cyrus really. He's the worst. He's pretty much a lite version of Olivia Popes dad on Scandel and my tiresome of that character run quick.  After a while the twirling mustache villain gets redundant. 

So Roberts story is that of Castaway? I'm curious to what happened. Also is he going to have memory loss of some kind? It seemed like he kind of did when he was scraping the name off the helmet.

Which girl is this again that Liam ended up with?  Not that I care, it's only episode 1 and I can already tell I'm kind of over his story for this season. 

[kat165]

I could just watch an entire show of Jasper & Eleanor. I never root for any relationship in a show. I'm usually disgusted by them, but this is one I can get behind. I like them both & Tom Austen is wonderful to look at at. Although I have to keep wiping the drool from my chin.

WhosThatGirl, I concur with your entire post except the OC and Scandal references as I've not watched either show so am uninformed. Not a fan of Cyrus either, but the actor really seems to enjoy playing him.

I was puzzled about scaping the name off the helmet too but maybe if he wants to get rescued he'd like to be incognito and not let his rescuer know who he is. Maybe he suspects he was targeted & wants to remove the bullseye. So, a stealth move.

I didn't recognize the blonde chick in the bar either. Have we seen her before? At first I thought maybe she was Ophelia and that the actress had been replaced but the dialogue didn't work for that. She doesn't look familiar at all.

Hilarious:
Queen Helena mistaking the chamberlain for the rent a slut.
Cyrus in that bubble.

I really don't want James to be head of security. I like him with Lenny.

[WhosThatGirl]

I think we may have seen the girl with Liam before? But I'm unsure. He did interact with a blonde last season so it could be her. I thought it was Ophelia at first too but then realized it wasn't. I have no idea and honestly.. eh? His storyline looks like it's going to be really boring and then probably all for nothing when Robert returns. 

I adore the jasper and Eleanor scenes. 

Good call on Robert scraping his name off for protection, like I said the scenes were very open ended on what  they are planning. I can't figure it out yet. 

I like Hill and while I do like him with Eleanor he's obviously the best fit for head of security considering he's the best bodyguard we've been shown on this show. 

[kat165]

I remember he interacted with a blonde last season but have no idea if this is the same.
Yeah, she really left an impression on us! And what was he apologizing to her for?

James Hill, the best bodyguard we've seen. Not that we've seen many! But you're right. I wonder
who Lenny will get stuck with now. And he better not be competition for Jasper.

Which reminds me, their painting looked awful!

Edited December 6, 2016 by kat165
clarity, son

[omgsowicked]

2 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

So Liam is now Ryan Atwood? Because Ryan Atwood did this whole cage fighting plot thing when Marissa Cooper died in season 4 of The Oc. I guess one of the characters is going to have to draw a comic book and get him back on the right track.

Which girl is this again that Liam ended up with?  Not that I care, it's only episode 1 and I can already tell I'm kind of over his story for this season. 

 

1 hour ago, kat165 said:

I didn't recognize the blonde chick in the bar either. Have we seen her before? At first I thought maybe she was Ophelia and that the actress had been replaced but the dialogue didn't work for that. She doesn't look familiar at all.

 

I was confused until the last moment... I think they recast Dominique, the young blonde girl who was part of the Domino conspiracy, the daughter of the guy Cyrus killed in this episode. Or the actress got a makeover, I don't know. It really would have helped if Liam had said her name or something because the whole time I was like, "who the heck is this?" If that's the case, then I'm surprised that they seem to be setting the two of them up after Cyrus killed off her father (not that she knows yet, and she will because of course his body will be discovered). Perhaps since they wrote Ophelia off, they still wanted the dark cloud of murder over a relationship? I'm still rooting for Willow, though she's at "good friend" status now. That's fine with me, give me the slow burn. And I really like that they're giving her something to do away from Liam, even if it's related to him (#KingLiam). And yeah, what is it with bum fighting? I remember seeing plots with that on Shameless and Veronica Mars, and other shows I'm sure (never saw The OC). What is so interesting about that?

I was surprised when Robert saw the rescue boat and decided to keep hiding. Clearly it's something to do with his royalty, since he was scratching his name off his helmet. Maybe he saw this crash as an opportunity to escape the royal life, or he figured the crash was a conspiracy to kill him and he doesn't want to reappear and put himself in danger again. I'm interested in seeing where this goes and when the time comes, I hope he fits in well with the family (the twins in particular).

I'm trying to forget how Eleanor and Jasper started but the best I can do is roll my eyes every time they're on screen. They're doing their best, though, and the actors have good chemistry. Jasper's using an American accent around everyone now, so I guess that double-life stuff is officially over? The family would be better off if someone like Hill was in charge of security but I hope he stays with Eleanor. The two of them are great together and I know it would mean a lot to her.

I knew that chamberlain guy wasn't Helena's hookup and was cringing in anticipation, haha. Didn't care for the S1!Jasper/Eleanor vibes from the two of them but at least it wasn't coercion in their case. I thought Helena might say her trademark "FML" but it seems "this place is weird" is the new catchphrase. :P I'm sure these two will be hooking up again but he seemed like an OK guy and hopefully he'll do his job well. Helena's trying to confirm that Liam is Simon's son... there isn't an old hairbrush of Simon's lying around? I'm still hoping Alastair's bloodstained handkerchief comes back into play because I still think it could be cool if Liam was Alastair's and Eleanor's was Simon's (it's possible!).

Cyrus is despicable. I wonder if we'll see Prudence or the baby again.

[GaT]

Something felt very different from previous seasons, I can't figure out what it is.

I am tired of Cyrus, they need to give him some kind of redeeming value because the cartoon villain routine has worn out.

I wonder if the cousins will be back? They were my favorites season 1, then they recast one of them & ruined them in season 2. I wonder if we'll see them again.

[njbchlover]

So glad this show is back - even with all its inconsistencies and over-the-top ridiculousness!  

Loving the relationship between Len and Jasper (oh my - he is quite the eye candy!!), looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.  

And, so glad that Mr. Hill is back, as he is probably my favorite character right now.  Excited to see how his storyline plays out, as well.  

It's nice to see that Helena seems a little softer this season, at least towards her children.  Have to agree with the poster upthread about getting some of Simon's DNA - there has to be something of his around that huge palace - a hairbrush, his formal clothes, etc., that would serve the purpose.  

Still not getting any of Liam's storylines, especially the Fight Club scenes.  I mean, seriously - that is really ridiculous.  His face is all over the place, on posters, on TV, social media (#kingliam), etc.  Would there really be anyone that would be willing to beat the crap out of him without any fear of recrimination or punishment?  I get that Liam is sort of punishing himself for whatever he feels he is responsible for, but this storyline is just a little too much, even for this show.  I did like the scene with all the sugary cereals with Willow (is that her name?).  

I especially liked the scene in the underground with Willow (?) and Helena and all the bodyguards, but for some reason, when Willow was the standing all alone on the platform, I was half-expecting to see Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter to whisk her away using side-along apparition.

Cyrus - oh my - I didn't think he could get any worse, but the actor seems to revel in the ultimate villian role, and plays it well.  "Bubble Boy" cracked me up, LOL!!!  

Robert - is it REALLY him, or is it someone else?  Still trying to figure that one out.

Just so happy this show is back!!!!  :-)

[WhosThatGirl]

I also wondered how Liam was getting people to fight him..considering he's a well known royal. I mean, people know his face. Whatever. I'll suspend disbelief because like I said, his storyline is already boring so it doesn't matter. I just hope the cage fighting whatever thing ends sooner rather than later. 

The Robert thing is pretty cool because it is leaving me curious, is it someone else pretending to be Robert? Did Robert fake his own death? Did he escape from people holding him hostage? Does he not know who he is? And I don't know what they're doing or where they plan on going with it, so good job on that. I'm curious to see where it goes. 

[kat165]

omg, yeah, it would have helped. I wonder if that was suppose to be her, but completely
different face. I don't pay much attention to the Liam parts. Obviously!

Cyrus didn't kill Oph's father, that was the mad crowd at the stadium. Or did I misunderstand?
I don't even remember who Willow is. Dominque's neice?

I love Hill with Eleanor, too. I hope he doesn't take the job. And yeah, what did Queenie do with
that blood stained hankie? Didn't she send it off for analysis?

njb, I agree about the fight club scenes. Oh, so cereal girl is Willow? She reminds me (in looks)
of Cyrus first maid/lover who got disposed of.

I too wondered if that was actually Robert and not some other downed pilot whose up to something.
I'm curious to see where it goes too.

[omgsowicked]

9 hours ago, njbchlover said:

I especially liked the scene in the underground with Willow (?) and Helena and all the bodyguards, but for some reason, when Willow was the standing all alone on the platform, I was half-expecting to see Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter to whisk her away using side-along apparition.

The actress who plays Willow played Pansy Parkinson in the third Potter movie, so your comment made me laugh. :P

1 hour ago, kat165 said:

omg, yeah, it would have helped. I wonder if that was suppose to be her, but completely
different face. I don't pay much attention to the Liam parts. Obviously!

Cyrus didn't kill Oph's father, that was the mad crowd at the stadium. Or did I misunderstand?
I don't even remember who Willow is. Dominque's neice?

Sorry for the confusion, Cyrus killed Dominique's father in this episode. I was saying I was surprised that they would set up a similar issue for Liam and Dominique (another one of Liam's relatives killing a member of Dominique's family) when Liam and Ophelia would have had the same issue (Ted being killed by the crowd while Liam drove off). I guess they want to explore that conflict. And I don't believe Willow is related to anyone we've met.

[njbchlover]

1 hour ago, omgsowicked said:

The actress who plays Willow played Pansy Parkinson in the third Potter movie, so your comment made me laugh. :P

Sorry for the confusion, Cyrus killed Dominique's father in this episode. I was saying I was surprised that they would set up a similar issue for Liam and Dominique (another one of Liam's relatives killing a member of Dominique's family) when Liam and Ophelia would have had the same issue (Ted being killed by the crowd while Liam drove off). I guess they want to explore that conflict. And I don't believe Willow is related to anyone we've met.

Wow---I didn't know that!  I'm (unashamedly) a Harry Potter geek, but that was a fact I did not know!  ;-)

[kat165]

omg, that is so funny! You've got a great memory. I barely remember her. It seems like
its rare to come across a British actor who wasn't in a Harry Potter movie. :)

Oh, ok, thanks. I couldn't place that guy at all so was baffled as to who he was Cyrus
dumped over the bridge. That body is gonna come back. And thank you for the further
info on Willow.

[Shenanigan]

Quote

And yeah, what did Queenie do with
that blood stained hankie? Didn't she send it off for analysis?

Can someone please refresh my memory WRT to this...what hankie? And who's Alistair? It's been too long since the last season!

[Landlord]

2 hours ago, Shenanigan said:

Can someone please refresh my memory WRT to this...what hankie? And who's Alistair? It's been too long since the last season!

Can;t remember the hankie, but wasn't Alisdair the security guy to Queen Helena that 

Spoiler

Killed Helena's boyfriend, and eventually confessed to killing the King because he was in love or something with the Queen?

[Shenanigan]

I wiki'd Alistair, Landlord. He was Helena's secret boyfriend, the one that was killed. I still remember nothing about a handkerchief, haha!

[omgsowicked]

If I remember correctly, Alastair visited with Helena (after we were led to believe he'd been killed by Lucius and his team) and demanded to know if the twins were his. He cut his hand on a handkerchief and told her to get it tested. She put it in a desk drawer and hasn't done anything with it since.

[kat165]

I think you're right, omg. I don't remember if he gave it to her or she somehow got it from him (wiping his cut hand?) but it sounds about right.

[Landlord]

17 hours ago, Shenanigan said:

I wiki'd Alistair, Landlord. He was Helena's secret boyfriend, the one that was killed. I still remember nothing about a handkerchief, haha!

Ah! Thanks for setting me straight! It's been forever since the last season.

[Shenanigan]

Quote

If I remember correctly, Alastair visited with Helena (after we were led to believe he'd been killed by Lucius and his team) and demanded to know if the twins were his. He cut his hand on a handkerchief and told her to get it tested. She put it in a desk drawer and hasn't done anything with it since.

I didn't even remember he was actually alive, haha! Thanks! 

Quote

Ah! Thanks for setting me straight! It's been forever since the last season.

Well, apparently I only set you partially straight since he's not actually dead. ;-) 

[EricJ]

This episode really could have used about 20 minutes more of "Previously On..." 

It seems like every show does an Underground Fight Club episode or storyline. And its never worthwhile. 

I think Robert is going to spend 5 years on a hellish island, return to save his country. He'd better start working on those bow-and-arrow skills. 

I saw the Lord Chamberlain/gigolo switcharoo coming from a mile away. Still amusing, and any opportunity for Elizabeth Hurley to show that she's still got it is welcome by me.

Really this show is so entertainingly batshit insane, I wish it had more buzz. I'd really like to see an off-format episode done as a BBC special showing the Alternate History that led to King Cyrus - when did the Royal succession break from the one we know? What parallels exist, and what changed? Was there an abdication crisis in the 30s? Did the Empire decline at the same rate and in the same way as in our world? I'm sure most of the crew working on the show don't care, but I bet you there's one or two writers who have spent hours working out all of the backstory. 

[Unclejosh]

I view the backstory of this show as I do on every single fictional show I watch.  They all take place in an alternate universe with its own rules and laws of physics, nature, etc.  This allows me to enjoy pretty much every show without getting caught up in comparing it to real life and how something can happen since it isn't realistic or different from reality.  Just say to your self "In this world/universe, this is how it is and this is possible" as a mantra.  It helps immensely.

[phoenics]

I love this crazy show.

The plots are predictable, but it's just so good I don't care.  

The blonde girl and Liam have massively more chemistry than he has with Willow.  I just find Willow boring and as a couple the two of them have zero tension.  I feel like they are making Willow more into "Gemma" from S1 and the blonde girl is the new Ophelia (if we're right and it's Dominique recasted).  I was hoping for this as a storyline ever since last season - even the blonde girl they had last season has more chemistry with Liam than Willow.  

My other theory is that somehow the blonde girl had a relationship with Robert, but that kinda doesn't make sense because he was the "straight laced" one, so he likely wouldn't have a girlfriend who was a barkeeper.  But at any rate, I think that this girl is somehow connected to Robert and that's how Liam knows her.

I still think the show missed an opportunity to do a Romeo/Juliet storyline with Dominique and Liam.

Eleanor and Jasper - OMG I love them so much.  And thank goodness they are finally painting that room, although they can't paint worth spit.  In the promo after the episode though, the dark green in her room looks badass and modern.  Love it.

All I can say about Mr. Hill is that there is a definite chance that he will CONTINUE to amuse me - all season.

Helena and the new Lord Chamberlain (is that right?) were awesome - even though I knew he wasn't the escort she thought he was.  I'm pleased with this development and have decided that I need to go on a major eating plan.  Elizabeth Hurley is #goals.

I'm off to look at spoiler stuff to figure out who the blonde girl is.

[kat165]

phoenics, please report back if you discover who the blonde is. Thanks!

[phoenics]

6 hours ago, kat165 said:

phoenics, please report back if you discover who the blonde is. Thanks!

I put a post in the spoiler thread with more details I found - from French twitter of all places.  

[kieyra]

Am I the only one who remembers that Jasper used to blackmail Eleanor to force her to have sex with him? 

I know this show is total fluff and each season just barely connects to the next, and the actor is pretty and all, but that's not a foundation for 'shipping for me.

I always hate it when shows turn a pretty antagonist/former victimizer into a love interest (Veronica Mars), and I'm always disappointed each season when Jasper is still around, but I guess he's end-game because hotness trumps all. It's too bad because Eleanor is my favorite. 

I'll continue watching because the show is so bananas.

[kat165]

phoenics, can you pm me the name? I don't want to read the spoilers. Just the name. Thank you!

[grisgris]

Pretty good season opener.  I love Jake Maskall and he didn't disappoint, although we didn't see very much of him.  I thought Liam looked better.  I like his new haircut.  I was confused by the blonde in the bar, too. At first glance I thought it was that blonde chick Eleanor had the affair with at the end of last season and wondered WTF??? Then I saw it definitely was a different woman.

Anyway, play on!

OK, I'm ignorant of royal terms. What is a chamberlain? I thought maybe it was some type of political position, then figured that type of person wouldn't (in normal circumstances) call on the queen in her personal living quarters.

Another funny line, "Huge Grant."

[ParadoxLost]

18 hours ago, grisgris said:

Another funny line, "Huge Grant."

Which is funnier when considering Hurley's romantic history.

[methodwriter85]

On 12/5/2016 at 3:12 AM, GaT said:

Something felt very different from previous seasons, I can't figure out what it is.

I am tired of Cyrus, they need to give him some kind of redeeming value because the cartoon villain routine has worn out.

I wonder if the cousins will be back? They were my favorites season 1, then they recast one of them & ruined them in season 2. I wonder if we'll see them again.

The cast feels a lot more concentrated and contained than the first two seasons. I don't know if it's because of budget cuts, but it definitely feels like the characters we're seeing have a purpose and aren't just here to populate the world.

[phoenics]

On 12/16/2016 at 1:50 AM, methodwriter85 said:

The cast feels a lot more concentrated and contained than the first two seasons. I don't know if it's because of budget cuts, but it definitely feels like the characters we're seeing have a purpose and aren't just here to populate the world.

There's also zero intrigue.  Previous seasons had the mystery of who killed Simon and Robert and then the whole Domino business.  They shouldn't have wrapped that all up so fast.

[methodwriter85]

Liam's fantasy of Robert coming up to him with a pleasant smile and then a mean right hook really did foreshadow the relationship they seem to be having right now.

[phoenics]

On 1/11/2017 at 11:37 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Liam's fantasy of Robert coming up to him with a pleasant smile and then a mean right hook really did foreshadow the relationship they seem to be having right now.

Heh - perhaps.  Prince Robert's return has been like a right hook to Liam.