S01.E14: It's Classified

[MyAimIsTrue]

When Bull has Benny defend a whistle-blowing army analyst, Lt. Tamsin Dale, who is being court martialed, the case causes trust issues between them after Benny won’t share redacted government secrets with the rest of the team. Also, Marissa forces the office to work without its usual technology to avoid being hacked during the case.

[sinkwriter]

Bull, you asshole. Benny could lose his license to practice law.

Chunk notes that Bull is always uncovering other people's secrets "but you keep yours to yourself." I was glad to see that he shared a little something about himself to Benny in the final scene, but... he still managed to close the talk with an air of arrogance rather than showing any sort of true vulnerability. And his choice to not tell Benny what he was going to have Tamsin do during her time on the stand is something he'd do again? I wonder if he'll say the same thing after he finds out Benny's predicament. Probably he would, because he's so arrogant, he thinks he can out-think, out-plan and outmaneuver everyone else.

At any rate, this was an interesting case episode because of the outcome of the trial and because of the friction and complications between Bull and Benny (I particularly loved the scene in which he got info from Benny without Benny outright telling him anything). Tamsin was found guilty, maybe not on all levels, but she was still found guilty and she will lose her position as soldier. So I was glad to see that things don't come out perfectly like usual. That made the episode much more interesting.

However, I do still wish we'd see a stronger crack in Bull's demeanor. Even his telling of the story of his half-sister getting punished for briefly running away seemed so... I don't know... like a recitation rather than a true reveal of his childhood and home life. What's it going to take to see some true emotion from Bull?

[GoMocs]

If you read the news one would know the military can and does have court martial proceedings where some parts that are classified are done behind closed doors.  They could have easily gone into the classified part of the information as all of the jury would have security classifications. But I guess, that would have defeated the premise of the episode.

[marina to]

This episode confirmed my love of Benny. Man was Bull ever an ass in this one. I've been able to see redeeming stuff in other episodes but couldn't do it here. Also loved Cable in the scenes she had. The story itself? Meh.

[hoopznyo]

I thought this was one of the better episodes and a good episode for Benny -- I am curious to know what is in the letter. That being said, I'm torn between thinking that there are too many characters or the writers are confused...already in the first season. TAC has a computer hacker/expert on all things tech but it's Marisa who notices the monitor blinking and knows its a hack.

I can also deal with Bull being an ass and a mostly unlikeable character, but please give us a bit of a person in there, someone multi-dimensional (as all of us are). Being smug and arrogant all the time because you're smart is not a good enough -- neither is having a tough childhood and as a psychologist with three PhDs, Bull should know this. 

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, hoopznyo said:

I am curious to know what is in the letter.

Given that it was personally delivered, I'm guessing that it is a subpoena from some court, specifically the one mentioned.

Bull might want to check the electrical system in his war room.  Yes, it's just a plot device, but anytime you get a huge spark from disconnecting a power supply, there's a problem.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Dowel Jones

[kassygreene]

Is this the first we heard that Marissa used to be Homeland?  It (for me at least) makes sense of her, and if she was one of those people who observes the classified rules even in her sleep, and she apparently has an office under security lock, then her being the person to put together the anomalies and make the correct conclusions, works (for me).  And the Big Yellow Plug makes sense too, as does the Kill Switch.