S02.E04: Panopticon

[thewhiteowl]

Quote

Jennifer watches the Bowman house; when Charlie returns home, the family faces unexpected challenges.

[AlliMo]

Damn. That closing shot.

This episode was brutal. For a moment I thought that Jennifer was going to overdose on the pills. Shows how much Will knew about her strength.

Is it wrong that I'm half hoping that Charlie does something very, very bad to that obnoxious chirpy tutor?

[Artsda]

I knew when he offered the shower, he had figured it all out. 

Charlie's lost his marbles. Putting a book on the stove, his mother figured out it was him already.

[bentley]

Quote

This episode was brutal. For a moment I thought that Jennifer was going to overdose on the pills. Shows how much Will knew about her strength.

Did I misinterpret the ending? I thought it showed her continuing to take the pills, with no one at the helm of the computer station monitoring her to stop her, assuming they would have stopped her, had they been at their post.

[Trace]

5 hours ago, bentley said:

Did I misinterpret the ending? I thought it showed her continuing to take the pills, with no one at the helm of the computer station monitoring her to stop her, assuming they would have stopped her, had they been at their post.

I thought that as well. And I was really hoping Jennifer would drop the tutor's name and get rid of her, just like Charlie wanted.

I probably need to rewatch, but I'm confused about Broussard.  Did Will say he killed Broussard? I don't know how I missed that, and then it seemed like Will and his wife were talking about Broussard like he was alive.

[paulvdb]

Will did not say that he killed Broussard. He killed the leader of the resistance group who was going to give up the members of his group (including Will's wife). I don't remember that guy's name but we saw this in an episode in season 1.

[SimoneS]

Poor Charlie. He is traumatized. He is never going to get well as long as they are living under this terrorizing occupation. I did enjoy his stunt to torment and chase Lindsay away.  I look forward to more of Charlie in action.

I felt for Will when he found out about Bram's arrest and incarceration, but then he went blaming Katie and I wanted to punch him in the face. He was the one who got caught attempted to being smuggled out and was forced to work as a collaborator which put them in even more danger than they were already in. Hell, the Resistance would have killed him if Katie hadn't stayed involved and promised to use him to get info.

I should feel more sympathy for Jennifer, but I just cannot when I think of the all the people whose lives she helped destroy. At least, she found her heart and protected the Bowmans as her final act. 

The meeting of the high level collaborators was interesting. The reluctance to rendition the whole of the LA colony make me think that I am right that the aliens need "something" from humans. They cannot simply wipe out millions of humans. The Resistance needs to blow up up one of those high level meetings.
I look forward to seeing Broussard next week. I knew that the alien tech would be a weak point.

Edited February 6, 2017 by SimoneS

[Joimiaroxeu]

Why did they have Charlie in such a bad wig? I know he basically turned into a feral child but the wig was horrific. At least it was only temporary.

I'm just getting up to speed on Colony and the hidden mountain UN scene got me confused. Do I understand correctly that some of the  aliens are living on Earth by assuming human form? And they've taken controlling leadership positions around the world?

I don't care for the hidden camera thing. Seems like a cheat for plot development. I'm glad Jennifer did the right thing by the  Bowmans though, even if it did lead her to the ultimate dispair.

It didn't take much to rattle that nutbag Lindsay. A little kid was able to shut her brainwashed self down when his parents seemed helpless to deal with her. Good that it led to Will figuring out about the cameras.

Good title choice for this episode. I guess this means everyone's (inside the Wall) house is bugged or is it just the people who work for the CTA?

Edited February 3, 2017 by Joimiaroxeu

[Netfoot]

That type of surveillance is exactly what our respective governments really want.  Only, they don't have to install so many cameras, because the citizens provide the videos and stills themselves with faceblot and YoTube videos etc, and then helpfully tagging everyone in the photos/videos as well!

9 hours ago, AlliMo said:

Is it wrong that I'm half hoping that Charlie does something very, very bad to that obnoxious chirpy tutor?

If he doesn't, I will! 

[SimoneS]

35 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

That type of surveillance is exactly what our respective governments really want.  Only, they don't have to install so many cameras, because the citizens provide the videos and stills themselves with faceblot and YoTube videos etc, and then helpfully tagging everyone in the photos/videos as well!

Isn't that the truth. I was thinking that the NSA must be envious of the Authority's surveillance.

[GreyBunny]

No wonder Charlie is traumatized, I would be too if I had to wear that stupid wig.  They finally got rid of that abomination. 

I wondered what the deal was with the LA governor-general changing pins and then dropping one at the conference.  I knew it was too small, but still wondered if she was going to suicide-bomb the meeting.  Perhaps she's symbolically joining the resistance.

8 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

It didn't take much to rattle that nutbag Lindsay. A little kid was able to shut her brainwashed self down when his parents seemed helpless to deal with her.

I loved that.   When she said he was brought back because of the "benevolent hosts" I was hoping he'd tell her how those "benevolent hosts" almost left him and his dad as nothing more than blood splats on a wall.  Charlie's got skills and I hope he uses them to get rid of Lindsay for good, but I want her to be tortured for a while, just for my amusement.

[xaxat]

19 hours ago, AlliMo said:

Is it wrong that I'm half hoping that Charlie does something very, very bad to that obnoxious chirpy tutor?

No, it is not. I loved the "Yeah, I did it." smirk he gave to Katie.

10 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I don't care for the hidden camera thing. Seems like a cheat for plot development

I agree. I understand how they were trying to advance both Jennifer's and the Bowmans' plots. But that much time watching people watching video didn't really work. I think they would have been better off just going with a Jennifer centric episode.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, GreyBunny said:

I wondered what the deal was with the LA governor-general changing pins and then dropping one at the conference. 

I rather thought that was a suicide pin, much like spies used to carry.  She did not want to be the victim of a rendition, and was going to die on the spot instead, if that was the path that the group ordered.  I think she just got clumsy in her terror and dropped it.

[Clanstarling]

On 2/2/2017 at 10:29 PM, Artsda said:

I knew when he offered the shower, he had figured it all out. 

Charlie's lost his marbles. Putting a book on the stove, his mother figured out it was him already.

Charlie's a survivor. His actions are pretty sane, in my opinion, given the environment he's been living in for the last year. Though it was a short term result, it did get the tutor out (and the implication was that it wasn't just any book - that she might get in trouble for the damage). The look he gave Katie seemed to me a kind of "see what I can do?" to me, than him trying to get away with it. 

Count me in as being glad that heinous wig is history. Now if they could ever find a haircut that looks decent on Josh Holloway.

18 hours ago, GreyBunny said:

I wondered what the deal was with the LA governor-general changing pins and then dropping one at the conference.  I knew it was too small, but still wondered if she was going to suicide-bomb the meeting.  Perhaps she's symbolically joining the resistance.

I wondered about that too, though I didn't come up with the bomb idea - that's interesting. My very boring thought was that it was the pin for the LA Block (the black and red with the bird), and she was simply switching it to the one that everyone at this summit wore, presumably to signify their position in the higher government, which the masses don't really know anything about. But that doesn't quite track with them spending so much time on it. Maybe it's a listening device?

14 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I rather thought that was a suicide pin, much like spies used to carry.  She did not want to be the victim of a rendition, and was going to die on the spot instead, if that was the path that the group ordered.  I think she just got clumsy in her terror and dropped it.

Interesting...

Edited February 4, 2017 by Clanstarling

[oakville]

On 2/3/2017 at 1:55 AM, bentley said:

Did I misinterpret the ending? I thought it showed her continuing to take the pills, with no one at the helm of the computer station monitoring her to stop her, assuming they would have stopped her, had they been at their post.

It could be someone went to tell the police to go and visit her house to prevent her from committing suicide.

[Hanahope]

I really felt for Jennifer this episode.  Its clear under the new regime, there is a lot of looking out for oneself, which she clearly had done before, especially since she had lost the one person she cared about.  But by watching Will and his family, she was reminded of family, of caring for another.  She nearly lost it again when she heard Will criticize her, but remembered again, at the last possible second before her boss, forcing her to scramble, which her boss clearly realized she did.  While I think it was a bit vague as to whether she was going to go through with the suicide, it looked to me like she probably would, and TPTB knew it (hence the empty monitoring station).  I did wonder who it was she was talking about as her source, I couldn't recall that person.  At least Jennifer learned that Kate wasn't really holding out on her about Broussard. I do hope that maybe Jennifer is ok, that Will will realize her sacrifice and they can work together.

All those cameras and monitors reminded me of Person of Interest, only more cameras and human monitors as opposed to computer.  All those people watching others, spying on their neighbors in exchange for more food/rations, scary.  Makes you realize what our own NSA is really doing.

Loved Will figuring out the camera/bug and warning Kate.

I believe that was Boz from Halt and Catch Fire playing the new investigator.  Quite the different character.

That council was scary.  Were all those people really turned/brainwashed?  I guess that answers the question as to whether there's any free part of the world anymore.  Apparently not, the aliens have taken over everything.  And where they don't have direct control via proxies and redhats, they have gang warlords and trades of labor/factory workers for 'independence'?  And the pin switch confused me too, whether it was just a pin, poison, small bomb, etc. 

[Clanstarling]

43 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

Loved Will figuring out the camera/bug and warning Kate.

Will should have whispered it into her other ear, so she couldn't look around immediately after he warned her. Guess he thought she'd have a better poker face.