S02.E09: The Weeping Somnambulist

[xaxat]

While it was by no means a filler episode, this was mostly about moving people around for the next stage of the plot. Despite all of the coaching, I knew Bobbie was not going to be comfortable with using one of her squadmates as a scapegoat. 

My favorite moments? Chrisjen being terrifying and Meng wondering how the hell the crew of the Roci has survived this long.

Do the books explain why the Martians use the Purple Heart? Or is that just a TV convention?

[Andrew Wiggin]

Quote

Do the books explain why the Martians use the Purple Heart? Or is that just a TV convention?

Nope because Bobby never got the Medal in the Book.

The Second Seasone strais quit a bit from the Book,the Core Elements are still there but everything other is changed.

And im not sure if its to the better.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Andrew Wiggin

[Nukester]

This was one of the best episodes yet.  Intriguing, suspenseful and interesting.  Still think Amos is my favorite character.  Also, not much belter crap. 

If this follows the book.  Does Amos transform much from his current character?

Edited March 24, 2017 by Nukester

[thuganomics85]

I'm not sure if it was a mess up or if the episodes are uncensored when they are On Demand, but I totally heard Chrisjen say "fuck", when she told Martian Captain Peter Outerbridge to butt out her questioning.  That was crazy.  Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing behind Jonathan Pryce dropping them on Taboo.

A talky episode, but I enjoyed all the political posturing and retorts between the Earther and Martians during the summit.  Sadavir might be a slimy tool, but he does seem to excel at this time of game.  I knew poor Bobbie was going to have a tough go at it; especially once I realized that the Martians were setting Travis up as a fall guy, since he use to be from Earth.  Not surprised that Bobbie sucked it up and still stuck to the script, but this has to take a toll on her.  And Chrisjen so knows the Martians are lying and did notice Bobbie's little slip-up about someone not wearing a spacesuit.

Dr. Itubi/Ted Whittall is amusing.  But I have a bad feeling about whatever they'll end up no doubt discovering about Eros.

Enjoying Meng with the Roci crew.  Especially his understandable concern over the lack of planning.  And, of course, Amos would be the one to acknowledge it and be all "Yeah, this is pretty much how we roll!" about it, not realizing he's probably just freaking Meng out even more.

That lasagna looked tasty!  Alex is a man of many talents!

Totally knew that at least one of the pilots was going to end up biting it, despite Holden and the rest's best efforts to avoid it.  This is really one of those shows were bad things happen, no matter how noble the intentions are.

[mistac01]

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

Totally knew that at least one of the pilots was going to end up biting it, despite Holden and the rest's best efforts to avoid it.  This is really one of those shows were bad things happen, no matter how noble the intentions are.

Aw man he's ok, just put him in the sarcophagus!

 

[johntfs]

2 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing behind Jonathan Pryce dropping them on Taboo.

I love the contrast between the gentle, grandmotherly way she coaxed Bobbie toward the truth and the way she cheerfully told the Martians to fuck off when they got in her way.

[MissLucas]

I had high hopes for Bobbie being grilled by Avasarala and was not disappointed, she ruled supreme. The two brief explosive moments where she dealt with the Martians were great but her casually mentioning a 'dear friend' who had wanted to retire to Mars was the icing on the cake. There was a  cut to Errinwrigth who seemed to remember exactly what had happened to that dear friend of hers and what had been her part in DeGraf's demise.

Amos explaining to Meng the quality of the team's plans and Holden's annoyed reaction was a rare bit of comedy and much needed.

Why is there no blog/instagram whatever dealing with Avasarala's gowns/saris and jewels?

Edited March 24, 2017 by MissLucas

[chiaros]

7 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I'm not sure if it was a mess up or if the episodes are uncensored when they are On Demand, but I totally heard Chrisjen say "fuck", when she told Martian Captain Peter Outerbridge to butt out her questioning.  That was crazy.  Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing behind Jonathan Pryce dropping them on Taboo.

 

4 hours ago, johntfs said:

I love the contrast between the gentle, grandmotherly way she coaxed Bobbie toward the truth and the way she cheerfully told the Martians to fuck off when they got in her way.

I watch this on ATT-Uverse (i.e. not "On Demand") as they are broadcast - and I don't think any of them have been censored. In both this episode and previously when Avasarala chewed out Errinwright in his office every FUCK came through loud and clear.  :-)

----------------------

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Why is there no blog/instagram whatever dealing with Avasarala's gowns/saris and jewels?

I don't see a specific thread dealing with her gowns & jewels, but there are numerous threads discussing Avasarala and what she's doing and how marvelous she is on this discussion board.

Edited March 24, 2017 by chiaros

[Haleth]

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

Why is there no blog/instagram whatever dealing with Avasarala's gowns/saris and jewels?

I know!  I've looked and other than a few stills on the Syfy page there is nothing. :(

I loved the way Avasarala got the clue about what really happened from Bobbie.  She has amazing instincts for reading between the lines.  Such a dangerous trait for a politician.  It's surprising there haven't been more attempts on her life.  

Poor Bobbie, trapped between following orders and being loyal to a member of her unit.  I think the actress did a nice job showing how torn she was, bringing some humanity to the character.

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I'm not sure if it was a mess up or if the episodes are uncensored when they are On Demand, but I totally heard Chrisjen say "fuck", when she told Martian Captain Peter Outerbridge to butt out her questioning.  That was crazy.  Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing behind Jonathan Pryce dropping them on Taboo.

Yup and yup.

Next week isn't the finale, is it?  Or are there 13 episodes?

[chiaros]

33 minutes ago, Haleth said:

Next week isn't the finale, is it?  Or are there 13 episodes?

See here.

[marinw]

On 3/24/2017 at 2:44 AM, thuganomics85 said:

 Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing

I also loved it when she smelled the BS about making poor Travis the scapegoat. I wished she was able to talk to Bobbie in private. Those two would make a great team.

On 3/24/2017 at 2:44 AM, thuganomics85 said:

That lasagna looked tasty!  Alex is a man of many talents!

Alex is one of my favorite characters. Glad he had a lot to do this episode.

That final scene was brutal. This is one of the few shows I've seen where shootouts actually kill people.

I watched this episode on a 50-inch TV. I cannot get over how gorgeous this show is. The interior shots of the Venus Research Ship were particularly well done. 

I also loved how the tough Martian marines struggled with Earth’s gravity and sunlight. Even Bobbie got to sit down when she was before the council for the second time.

Edited March 28, 2017 by marinw

[johntfs]

5 hours ago, marinw said:

Even Bobbie got to sit down when she was before the council for the second time.

That was probably Avasarala's idea.  If Bobbie's standing she'll do so at attention.  If she's sitting she might relax a little and be more likely to let something slip.  It's the flip side of the tactics she used to question that Belter in the Pilot episode.

Edited March 25, 2017 by johntfs

[johntfs]

4 hours ago, eliot90000 said:

On 3/24/2017 at 7:24 AM, Haleth said:

 

Do we know who was responsible for the attempt on her life in the season opener?

Some members of a fanatic Belter faction.  Fred Johnson killed their asses in front of the other factions if I recall correctly.

[marinw]

9 hours ago, johntfs said:

That was probably Avasarala's idea.  If Bobbie's standing she'll do so at attention.  If she's sitting she might relax a little and be more likely to let something slip.  It's the flip side of the tactics she used to question that Belter in the Pilot episode.

Avasarala is so smart! Which also makes we wonder why Bobbie was carrying what looked like a heavy duffle bag when she went outside. To show how tough she is?

Edited March 25, 2017 by marinw

[Haleth]

That and there is no bell service in the Marines. 

I was a teeny bit disappointed that when Alex was explaining what his role would be, instead of saying "if it all goes south" he didn't say "if it all goes pear shaped."

[marinw]

Shohreh Aghdashloo should get an Emmy nomination for this. Off cource she won't because almost none watches this show.

Edited March 26, 2017 by marinw

[Clanstarling]

On 3/23/2017 at 10:44 PM, thuganomics85 said:

I'm not sure if it was a mess up or if the episodes are uncensored when they are On Demand, but I totally heard Chrisjen say "fuck", when she told Martian Captain Peter Outerbridge to butt out her questioning.  That was crazy.  Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing behind Jonathan Pryce dropping them on Taboo.

She sure did. I loved her in this episode (not that I haven't loved her before, but her direct verbal attack was a thing of beauty.)

On 3/23/2017 at 11:57 PM, mistac01 said:

Aw man he's ok, just put him in the sarcophagus!

 

I knew I'd seen him somewhere before.

On 3/24/2017 at 5:24 AM, Haleth said:

Poor Bobbie, trapped between following orders and being loyal to a member of her unit.  I think the actress did a nice job showing how torn she was, bringing some humanity to the character.

Definitely warming up to her.

Laughed out loud at Amo's "pretty average" statement about their planning, or lack thereof.

I didn't think Venus was the end of the protomolecule - so that was cool to see. I wonder if there's anything that remains of Miller's mind there.

And I loved the name of the relief ship - The Weeping Somnambulist.

[marinw]

23 hours ago, Haleth said:

I was a teeny bit disappointed that when Alex was explaining what his role would be, instead of saying "if it all goes south" he didn't say "if it all goes pear shaped."

When was the last time anybody off of Earth saw a pear? I do wonder why everyone uses "world" as a singular and not a plural.

Now that I think about it, Martians must use the four directions too.

Edited March 26, 2017 by marinw

[cynic]

On 3/23/2017 at 10:44 PM, thuganomics85 said:

I'm not sure if it was a mess up or if the episodes are uncensored when they are On Demand, but I totally heard Chrisjen say "fuck", when she told Martian Captain Peter Outerbridge to butt out her questioning.  That was crazy.  Shohreh Aghdashloo dropping F-bombs might be my next favorite thing behind Jonathan Pryce dropping them on Taboo.

A talky episode, but I enjoyed all the political posturing and retorts between the Earther and Martians during the summit.  Sadavir might be a slimy tool, but he does seem to excel at this time of game.  I knew poor Bobbie was going to have a tough go at it; especially once I realized that the Martians were setting Travis up as a fall guy, since he use to be from Earth.  Not surprised that Bobbie sucked it up and still stuck to the script, but this has to take a toll on her.  And Chrisjen so knows the Martians are lying and did notice Bobbie's little slip-up about someone not wearing a spacesuit.

Dr. Itubi/Ted Whittall is amusing.  But I have a bad feeling about whatever they'll end up no doubt discovering about Eros.

Enjoying Meng with the Roci crew.  Especially his understandable concern over the lack of planning.  And, of course, Amos would be the one to acknowledge it and be all "Yeah, this is pretty much how we roll!" about it, not realizing he's probably just freaking Meng out even more.

That lasagna looked tasty!  Alex is a man of many talents!

Totally knew that at least one of the pilots was going to end up biting it, despite Holden and the rest's best efforts to avoid it.  This is really one of those shows were bad things happen, no matter how noble the intentions are.

This is the second time Alex has made lasagna. I've had to laugh each time, because the production uses a pan that is clearly supposed to look "futuristic", but it actually appears to be one of those "all-edges" brownie pans that I've been eyeing on Amazon. This show has such good production values and visuals, especially considering its likely small SyFy budget, that this really stood out to me. It's like when I noticed that Star Trek TNG was using my plastic faux Trapper Keeper to hold medical supplies. 

The politics and social structures are my favorite parts of this show, so this episode was a winner in my view. Watching Chrisjen take charge p and maneuver is always enjoyable, but her smackdown this ep was a masterpiece. Plus, she did it while looking absolutely stunning. Along with Shoreh deserving an emmy, the costume designer should win some awards.

[Danny Franks]

Just catching up with the show after being on holiday for a couple of weeks.

This was definitely a slower episode, but still full of interesting stuff.

I liked the stuff with Bobbie on Earth. From the initial landing, in a dropship that was obviously created to drop onto Earth in very different circumstances, to the psychological warfare of forcing them to experience bright daylight and Earth's gravity, unassisted.

And I liked the extra Cold War stuff of the diplomacy going on in one place, while two ships are facing off in another in silence. The smugness of all the diplomats, the dick-measuring contests, and the hatred on the faces of people like Nguyen. And I love how sharp Avasarala is, to pick up on Bobbie lying. I felt for Bobbie, having to let one of her dead friends take the blame, having to lie about what happened in the name of politics.

I did not care for the way they Roci crew were treating Prax. They came off as pretty big arseholes in this episode, for no real reason. Alex is the only one of them I'm liking at the moment. His more avuncular attitude is similar to how things play in the books, but the other three aren't as dour there as they're being portrayed at the moment. He's really coming across as the heart of the crew, in this season.

And of course the protomolecule is doing stuff on Venus. Did anyone really think it wouldn't be? But I do think Avasarala put that together with Bobbie's partial account of a soldier without a vac-suit too quickly.

Weeping Somnambulist is a great name for a ship.

[Dobian]

I have been quietly enjoying this show now for a few weeks.  Nice detail about how the Martian humans have to deal with Earth's gravity.  Good writing in the diplomatic scene with Bobbie being used as a pawn in the negotiations.  You have to like Chrisjen.

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, Dobian said:

I have been quietly enjoying this show now for a few weeks.  Nice detail about how the Martian humans have to deal with Earth's gravity.  Good writing in the diplomatic scene with Bobbie being used as a pawn in the negotiations.  You have to like Chrisjen.

I both love and fear her. 🙂