S01.E03: Head Full of Snow

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Shadow questions the terms of his employment when Mr. Wednesday informs him of his plan to rob a bank (because, naturally, every army needs a source of funding). And just when Shadow thought his life couldn’t get any more complicated, he returns to his motel room to a surprising discovery.

 

 

[starri]

There's probably going to be a lot of talk about the sex scene, but the best part of it was the last moment.  Salim realizes that he's free and just looks so damned happy.  It may have made me tear up.

[MizStaken]

I heard that this sex scene was supposed to be groundbreaking. Ummm not so much. Maybe by showing two men of what I think is Muslim faith, having sex, that's the groundbreaking part but the sex itself, not so much. I think Queer as Folk showed the same thing many many years ago.

 

i really don't understand this show. 

[starri]

I don't remember QAF being that explicit.  It certainly wasn't as arty.

[MizStaken]

Oh yeah rewatch the first episode of the American version. It's the series that gave me my appreciation of gay men getting it on. 

[starri]

I'll take your word for it.  QAF was fine for its time, this still felt different to me.

I think this may have been my favorite episode thus far.  All of it was so beautifully filmed.  The scene with Mr. Jacquel leading Mrs. Fadil to Duat to be judged was incredibly moving, and I may also have gotten something in my eye at that.  I guess I'm just a sucker for drifting sand dunes.

I thought the scene with Zorya Polunochnaya was a bit too whimsical, but the actress was so appealing it was easy to overlook.

[Eneya]

1 hour ago, starri said:

I thought the scene with Zorya Polunochnaya was a bit too whimsical, but the actress was so appealing it was easy to overlook.

It is supposed to be whimsical, she is between day and night, dream-state, so this was very well done.

[peridot]

The first scene was beautiful.  I really enjoy the imagery of this show.

Did the Ifrit transform the salesman into an Ifrit?  When they showed the view from the desert, it looked like the fire transformed him.

I'm surprised Wednesday's con worked.  Are people really that gullible to give their money to a stranger outside a bank?

I felt bad for the good Samaritan who gave Sweeney a ride.  He seemed alright.  I wasn't expecting Sweeney to actually dig up the grave, but it looks like a zombie is roaming around.

[starri]

1 minute ago, peridot said:

Did the Ifrit transform the salesman into an Ifrit?  When they showed the view from the desert, it looked like the fire transformed him.

Salim's eyes weren't burning, so I think the implication was that he just set him free.

[LadyJaney]

Bottom line for me is that I love any scene with Mad Sweeney in it and find him highly entertaining and engaging and wish there were more scenes with him.  How I wish there was it's own spin-off focusing on him or maybe just more scenes here of him and Shadow... 

Hmmm Laura, am I to guess that the "lucky coin" is with her now breathing life into her?

The sex scene was engaging, and there was a loving, romantic feeling to it (unlike Bilquist and her conquests).  On a shallow note, that man was quite hung.  Liked how free and content Salim seemed at the end.

Also loved the scene with Death at the beginning and how accepting and understanding it all felt from both sides.

I know he's the main character, but I just don't feel it with Mr Wednesday.

Oh, and just to say it again...I love Mad Sweeney

[AimingforYoko]

I was wondering if I was reading the vibe between Salim and the Djinn correctly and it turned out I was.

5 hours ago, LadyJaney said:

 On a shallow note, that man was quite hung.

Well, he is literal wish fulfillment.

5 hours ago, LadyJaney said:

Oh, and just to say it again...I love Mad Sweeney

He's always after his lucky.....coin.

ETA: Salim's actor is not Riz Ahmed. He sure as hell looked like him.

Edited May 15, 2017 by AimingforYoko

[starri]

I'm not usually someone who rewatches episodes immediately, but I think I might have to do that here.  There were so many beautiful little visual touches that I just want to drink in again and again and again.  I probably sound borderline insane here.

There was one shot when Salim and the Jinn start kissing and you can see the flames reflected in Salim's eyes that was so gorgeous, it took my breath away.

[wanderingstar]

Good episode.

Chris Obi was so so good as Anubis. Can't wait to see him again. The scene of him escorting Mrs. Fadil to the afterlife was lovely.

Shadow struggling to pronounce Zorya Polunochnaya's name is basically me.

LOVED the Salim/Jinn scene. It's one of my favorites. There's just a searing intimacy to it, and I thought they did a great job showing that. Excellent performances from the actors (Mousa Kraish and Omid Abtahi) too.

Quote

There's probably going to be a lot of talk about the sex scene, but the best part of it was the last moment.  Salim realizes that he's free and just looks so damned happy.  It may have made me tear up.

YES! That made me so happy.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Gillian Rosh

[Primetimer]

It's sexy because it's full of feelings (and nudity).

View the full article

[bmoore4026]

The gay Middle Eastern man sex scene was gorgeous. 

Anyone else kind of wish "Let It Go" or a pastiche there of played in the background when Shadow was thinking about it?

I'm guessing the youngest of the Zorya Schuyler Sisters has a big honking eye in her true form?

And it has not been Mad Sweeney's day, has it?  He got one of the Kids in the Hall killed.

Lastly, Cloris Leachman needs an Emmy for her performance.  Sorry, Thandie Newton in Westworld.

Edited May 15, 2017 by bmoore4026

[TheOtherOne]

13 hours ago, MizStaken said:

I heard that this sex scene was supposed to be groundbreaking. Ummm not so much. Maybe by showing two men of what I think is Muslim faith, having sex, that's the groundbreaking part but the sex itself, not so much. I think Queer as Folk showed the same thing many many years ago.

 

i really don't understand this show. 

I believe it's considered groundbreaking because it's apparently the most explicit sex scene between two men in a mainstream TV series in the US. I would consider some scenes in QaF and Looking to be more explicit than this, but those were shows primarily made for a gay audience. This show isn't.

That said, Omid Abtahi was involved in some of my favorite gay sex scenes on TV in Sleeper Cell 10 years ago, and while there wasn't any full frontal there, the scenes were smoking hot.

Bryan Fuller discusses having to reshoot the scene because it wasn't gay enough the first time. (Interesting that both actors and the director are all straight, and the actual acts were unscripted. Like, didn't Fuller consider maybe it would be necessary to have someone on set who'd actually had gay sex to tell them what to do while filming it?)

Edited May 15, 2017 by TheOtherOne

[PrincessSteel]

I am about 2/3rds of the way through the book, and I won't start watching until I finish reading, but this scene in the book, brief as it was, was beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing it fleshed out, pun kinda intended.

Edited May 16, 2017 by PrincessSteel

[Lantern7]

I'm hoping the producers won't have to go into hiding for that cutaway scene. Or Neil Gaiman. I'm doubly concerned for him, because the "Grim Reaper" wasn't a perky goth girl with an ankh. We're probably never gonna get an adaptation of The Sandman on a screen, and that's probably for the best.

Hey, at least we didn't have Bilquis Hoovering people this week. On the down side, Shadow is still getting mentally screwed.

[WatchrTina]

12 hours ago, peridot said:

Are people really that gullible to give their money to a stranger outside a bank?

Apparently someone tried it in real life after the book came out.  I don't recall if it worked.

I didn't like the gay sex scene -- the idea of anonymous sex with strangers makes me sad even if one of them is a deity -- but I did enjoy the sexual tension between Wednesday and the eldest sister.  Or maybe I just love the idea of Cloris Leachman getting to play a romantic moment at age 91.

Edited May 15, 2017 by WatchrTina

[DarkRaichu]

- So the dead woman in the beginning chose the wrong god didn't she? By the way her cat (didn't cats have big part in egyptian mythology?) literally pushed her through the door when she doubted.  Didn't she say she was a muslim?  I'd imagine that was not how her religion depicted the afterlife...

 - That was a whole new take on how djins grant wishes. Who knew rubbing the lamp was euphemism for gay sex?? :D  So if a woman finds the djin she is out of luck ?? :P :P :P 

- Third Zorya sister is hot

- I wonder if the gold coin that Shadow Moon threw was the protection from the sun mentioned by 3rd Zorya sister?  Gold coin = sun, silver coin = moon.  Since the gold coin is now in his zombie wife, the wife is going to protect Shadow isn't she?

- I like the idea of unlucky leprechaun

 

14 hours ago, peridot said:

I'm surprised Wednesday's con worked.  Are people really that gullible to give their money to a stranger outside a bank?

I guess it was more effective because of the snow storm.  People tend to not look closely at the posted signs or the stranger in uniform when snow is blowing to their eyes.  Plus if it was not supposed to snow that day, those people would be freezing as they would not be wearing their thick coats.

Edited May 15, 2017 by DarkRaichu

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

6 hours ago, PrincessSteel said:

I am about 2/3rds of the way through the book, and I won't start watching until I finish reading, but this scene in the book, brief as it was, was beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing it fledged out, pun kinda intended.

For what it's worth, this season only adapts roughly the first third of the novel, so watching now won't spoil anything for you. 

[starri]

3 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

Didn't she say she was a muslim?  I'd imagine that was not how her religion depicted the afterlife...

She was from Egypt, though.  Anubis said that her tita (grandmother) had also taught her to believe in the stories of Ancient Egypt, so he was the one who came for her.  She did recognize him right away.

I don't really believe in an afterlife, but the Egyptian concept seems like one of the better ones.

[snowwhyte]

Am a bit sad but I was wondering if the people who got robbed by Wednesday would be covered by insurance. If they didn't deposit it in the bank the bank isn't liable and if they have business insurance would that cover them when they just gave the money to a random guy outside a bank?

[Haleth]

So much gorgeous imagery in this episode!  Some of the angles, reflections, slow motion, and lighting were exquisite.  Kudos to the storyboard artists and director!  Plus lots of laugh out loud lines in this one.  And I want that coat Cloris was wearing.

4 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

So the dead woman in the beginning chose the wrong god didn't she? By the way her cat (didn't cats have big part in egyptian mythology?) literally pushed her through the door when she doubted

I don't know if she chose wrongly but cats are evil, soooo...

The sex scene?  Salim looked so happy in the morning.  He did not ask the djinn for a wish but the djinn granted him a boon anyway.  Much better than being consumed.

[DarkRaichu]

1 hour ago, starri said:

She was from Egypt, though.  Anubis said that her tita (grandmother) had also taught her to believe in the stories of Ancient Egypt, so he was the one who came for her.  She did recognize him right away.

I don't really believe in an afterlife, but the Egyptian concept seems like one of the better ones.

I was wondering if Anubis (the old Egypt god of death) pulled a fast one on her.  His reasoning for being there was basically "well you believe in me sort of when you were young so here I am" (ie. nevermind what you believed the rest of your live).  It sounded thin and full of technicality BS.  We knew the old gods were desperate for souls so at least to me it is not out of bound for them to pull tricks to get 1 to their cause.

[starri]

Anubis isn't a trickster.  He is what he appears to be:  the escort of souls to their final judgment.  With the exception of the multiple versions of Jesus, everyone we've met is pre-Christian.  They exist in America because someone, somewhere believed in them, even as nothing more than a half-remembered legend.

[WatchrTina]

1 hour ago, snowwhyte said:

Am a bit sad but I was wondering if the people who got robbed by Wednesday would be covered by insurance.

Weeel, unfortunately I have a bit of experience with that.  I got tricked by a con man once.  I don't want to go into details but the bottom line is that the bank transaction I was tricked into initiating WAS covered by insurance but the amount was below the deductible so it didn't matter.  If it makes you feel any better in the book 

Spoiler

Wednesday keeps only the cash from the deposits and not all of that. He goes through all the deposit envelopes taking some (or all or none) of the cash from each but then they drive to another branch of the same bank and he puts the deposit envelopes (with all the checks and some of the cash) in the night depository in that branch.  It spreads the loss across many people / businesses and hopefully the loss is not material to any one of them.  But I never thought Wednesday did that out of the kindness of his heart.  I thought he did it because it would make the theft that much harder to discover.  He's an experienced con man.

Edited May 15, 2017 by WatchrTina

[qtpye]

The sex scene was beautiful, but is anyone else a little bored by this show.  It is all beautiful visuals, high concept, and quirky mythology.  This seems like a great mix, but it's starting to get tedious.  I get that the old gods and new gods are probably going to war (pure speculation on my part, I have not read the book), but so what?  Maybe it will be a set up, where Odin tricks all the Old Gods into coming to Wisconsin and then turns on them and actually sides with the new Gods?

I am also guessing Shadow Moon is a demi god, probably the Son of Odin and a beautiful African American woman.  However, the series is still young so there is a lot of set up to get through and the payoff could be glorious.

[basil]

Quote

The sex scene was beautiful, but is anyone else a little bored by this show.  It is all beautiful visuals, high concept, and quirky mythology.  This seems like a great mix, but it's starting to get tedious. 

I'm having a complete opposite reaction. I was underwhelmed by the 1st episode, the 2nd picked up a bit for me, and I really enjoyed the 3rd. 

[nodorothyparker]

Like its predecessors so far, this episode was beautifully shot and an absolute visual feast.  I think I could watch Wednesday flirting with Leachman's Zorya all day.  There's something so unexpectedly lovely about seeing two older actors play that not for cheap laughs or gross out humor but something like genuinely wanting to still be wanted, which feels like a stand in for both of them as deities still wanting to relevant and revered.  Wednesday's riff on all the many Jesuses and accompanying belief was great.  I'm also really enjoying Mad Sweeney as the world's unluckiest down on his luck leprechaun so much that I've almost completely forgotten Pablo Schreiber's turn as Pornstache.  I don't know what the distance between Eagle Point and Chicago is, so I'm going to have to assume he's also quite the walker making the trip so quickly.  Shadow was doing nice work in demonstrating that while he still may not be sure about how much of any this seeming nonsense is real he's figuring out how to play the game with both Czernobog and Wednesday.  As he pointed out in the checkers rematch in saying more that he probably realized he was saying, if you're unwilling to learn or keep doing the same thing in the face of changing tactics, you also can't adapt and end up beaten.

The nonbook reader husband is admittedly indifferent to most nonheterosexual sex scenes but he did concede this one was very artfully shot.  His primary concern though as someone who's already struggling to follow some of this is will it eventually tie into the larger story and is it going somewhere?  He's asked the same questions about Bilquis hoovering men up.

[luna1122]

I love this show BECAUSE, like most of Bryan Fuller's work, it IS a visual feast. Even if I have real no idea what's going on, it's all so gorgeous that it just doesn't matter. 

If I had the power to make snow, I'd do it often. I just need to believe hard enough, maybe.

The sex scene was lovely, and sweet and intimate (anonymous sex can be way hot, yo), and beautifully filmed, and I cannot tell you how many "Hannigram' shippers are weeping right now, as it's what we'd hoped for during all three seasons of Hannibal. Also, I loved the dijinn's sweater, that Salim wound up wearing.

The cocks were CGI'd. Darn.

Mad Sweeney is fairly hilarious.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

The nonbook reader husband is admittedly indifferent to most nonheterosexual sex scenes but he did concede this one was very artfully shot.  His primary concern though as someone who's already struggling to follow some of this is will it eventually tie into the larger story and is it going somewhere?  He's asked the same questions about Bilquis hoovering men up.

That's sort of where I am as another non-book reader. I don't mind artful sex scenes or ones that are laden with symbolism. However, here they're starting to feel gratuitous to me because I don't understand the context or if there's even context to be understood. I'm increasingly feeling like I need to read the book first and I would seriously criticize the show on that point. IMO it should be able to stand on its own merits and not have prerequisites.

[DarkRaichu]

2 hours ago, starri said:

Anubis isn't a trickster.  He is what he appears to be:  the escort of souls to their final judgment.  With the exception of the multiple versions of Jesus, everyone we've met is pre-Christian.  They exist in America because someone, somewhere believed in them, even as nothing more than a half-remembered legend.

This is the part I am not clear.  Are the old gods suposed to maintain their classical/mythological characteristics in new world / America?  I thought America changed the old gods as well, at least a little bit.

As far as Anubis, he may not trick that woman outright, but to me he "lawyered" her to accepting her fate.  The basis of his claim was she used to believe old gods a long time ago.  It was like saying you believe in Thor mythology when you were young so when you die you go to Valhalla, REGARDLESS of your current believe.  That and the cat pushing her to the door.  If she was at the right place, why the need to push her at all?

[Bruinsfan]

Maybe the cat just got tired of listening to her waffle? Mine sure don't have any patience...

3 hours ago, starri said:

Anubis isn't a trickster.  He is what he appears to be:  the escort of souls to their final judgment.  With the exception of the multiple versions of Jesus, everyone we've met is pre-Christian.  They exist in America because someone, somewhere believed in them, even as nothing more than a half-remembered legend.

Is pre-Christian really the right word, though? I thought the Norse religion, Muslim ifrits, and possibly the figures we're seeing from Slavic mythology were conceived within the last 2,000 years. (Anubis, of course, has been around at least 5,000 years so almost everyone is a whippersnapper by comparison.)

[starri]

4 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

Is pre-Christian really the right word, though? I thought the Norse religion, Muslim ifrits, and possibly the figures we're seeing from Slavic mythology were conceived within the last 2,000 years. (Anubis, of course, has been around at least 5,000 years so almost everyone is a whippersnapper by comparison.)

It's probably better if I talk about this over in the mythology thread.

[Doyounot]

To me this episode felt slower than the other two, maybe because i think i understand how it works now, or maybe it was the setup episode for payoffs down the road but either way still great media!

The sex scene was the most graphic and longest gay sex scene i have ever seen plus the most "magic" in a sex scene: the fire eyes and the fire going into him (most cgi during sex scenes not counting cgi nudity) i have ever seen too. My friends will probably hate it but i think pretty much anything not afraid to alienate and push boundaries of what is normally accepted in media is great even if its not for me personally especially because if its not normally accepted it will be shocking! Reminds me of that twist in season 2 of black sails which i also thought was great! It also gives me hope that there will be lots of great sex and nude scenes from the women in this show!

I love the banter and philosophical discussions between Wednesday and Shadow it brings comedy into such a serious show while asking some good questions. Wednesday messing with him and Shadow reacting to everything how I imagine most people would to all this magic if it were real is funny. I liked the different levels of no that was funny too (hell no, f no). Offering the cop a job was smart thinking and a good callback to what i thought was a random fact about how he used to be a con artist. I should have known they would use it though as i already knew that nothing isnt important!

I really wanna know whats gonna happen with Shadow's wife now that she is out and i wonder what her own storyline is gonna be seeing as i assume she wont be going with Wednesday and Shadow.

[starri]

1 hour ago, DarkRaichu said:

That and the cat pushing her to the door.  If she was at the right place, why the need to push her at all?

I think it's just the same anything any bored cat would do.  Knock something off a shelf.

[DarkRaichu]

20 minutes ago, starri said:

I think it's just the same anything any bored cat would do.  Knock something off a shelf.

Sure. The cat followed her all the way up the stairs just so it would get bored later. :D

I am more intersted to know if the new land changed the characteristics of the old gods.  Is that something that we are going to find out as the series progresses?

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

1 minute ago, DarkRaichu said:

Sure. The cat followed her all the way up the stairs just so it would get bored later. :D

I am more intersted to know if the new land changed the characteristics of the old gods.  Is that something that we are going to find out as the series progresses?

There's an incarnation of a god to suit the demographics of the believers. Wednesday touched on it when he mentioned the various incarnations of Jesus. So, yes, there will be more to the idea of how the old gods are warped by American culture.

[Eneya]

4 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

That's sort of where I am as another non-book reader. I don't mind artful sex scenes or ones that are laden with symbolism. However, here they're starting to feel gratuitous to me because I don't understand the context or if there's even context to be understood. I'm increasingly feeling like I need to read the book first and I would seriously criticize the show on that point. IMO it should be able to stand on its own merits and not have prerequisites.

No, you wouldn't. There is nothing to criticize. :)

2 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Maybe the cat just got tired of listening to her waffle? Mine sure don't have any patience...

Is pre-Christian really the right word, though? I thought the Norse religion, Muslim ifrits, and possibly the figures we're seeing from Slavic mythology were conceived within the last 2,000 years. (Anubis, of course, has been around at least 5,000 years so almost everyone is a whippersnapper by comparison.)

No, definitely pre-Christian. Significantly pre.

About the cat... you are forgetting Bast, I think?
Also, as somebody already mentioned, Anubis is NOT a trickster, he has no horse into this game, he really is just walking the dead. So, no, the lady wasn't tricked.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Eneya

[yagathai]

I really wish they had called this episode "Shadow's Sense of Snow".

Anyway, I don't think you need to be a book reader to understand the symbolism behind a lot of what's going on, but I do think you need to be familiar with mythology to a certain degree. Knowing that Anubis is a psychomomp or that ifrits are a kind of djinn associated with fire or what the white buffalo represents or why Wednesday can sleep anywhere and summon a storm is all stuff you can get from places outside of the book and the show. I think on one level the show is assuming people either catch the references or are willing to do the work to look them up, though on another level I think even without that knowledge the show works if you think of the characters as having weird superpowers.

[magdalene]

This was my favorite episode yet.  I liked the pilot and was underwhelmed by the second episode.

The whole opening scene with the dead woman being bamboozled by that "nice boy" Anubis was gorgeous and eerie. Then the sex scene was startlingly intimate. I almost teared up at how happy and relieved and free the business man looked at the end of his scenes.

I am really liking Mad Sweeney - the character is very entertaining and I have a soft spot for the actor who was so terrific in THE WIRE.

[gonzosgirrl]

Isn't it interesting that Brian & Justin had this kind of intimate encounter *seventeen years ago* on Queer As Folk? A show ahead of its time in so many ways.

[Miles]

On 14.5.2017 at 4:32 PM, MizStaken said:

I heard that this sex scene was supposed to be groundbreaking. Ummm not so much. Maybe by showing two men of what I think is Muslim faith, having sex, that's the groundbreaking part but the sex itself, not so much. I think Queer as Folk showed the same thing many many years ago.

Yes queer as folk was compareable, I think. It has been a while since I watched it. But that was a show specificlly aimed at gay men (and maybe women who like to see gay sex). But this show is aimed at a brought audience and in that field it might very well be groundbreaking. I for one appreciate very much that they didn't chicken out, like Westworld did, where the Bi guy was stradled by to female bots, while the male bot lay 50cm away and lightly touched the guys chest.

What I don't quite get is what happened afterwards. Did the Ifrit/Jinn posess the guy? If so, where did the old body go and why weren't his eyes burning anymore? Why did he look at the IDs? I mean there was no reason to. Was it just bad exposition? That wasn't either of them in the photos was it? Did he body jump a bunch of times and just keep the taxi? Do impossibly long shlongs come with being a Jinn or did he just jump into a guy with one? I'm so confused!

Bonus question: Does the actor really weild that thing or was that a prosthesis/cgi? If it was fake, we've come a long way since boogie Nights (well I guess the darkness helped).

Edited May 15, 2017 by Miles

[starri]

14 minutes ago, Miles said:

Bonus question: Does the actor really weild that thing or was that a prosthesis/cgi? If it was fake, we've come a long way since boogie Nights (well I guess the darkness helped).

The erections were definitely CGI.  I am unsure if that shot was as well.

[WatchrTina]

9 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I don't understand the context [of the gay sex scene] or if there's even context to be understood.

Well, sticking strictly to what we have seen on-screen -- we've seen the taxi-driver djinn before.  We saw him leaving the table in the diner after having met with Wednesday.  Wednesday says something about him being difficult so it seems clear that W was trying to recruit him for the same meeting he wants Czernobog to attend but it's not clear if he was successful.  Now that the djinn no longer has a taxi gig to occupy his time, perhaps he'll show up after all.

1 hour ago, Miles said:

Why did he look at the IDs?

My take was that the face on the Taxi Driver ID was not that off either the djinn or his lover (the new taxi driver). It was yet another Arab man and the conceit (I think) is that most white anglo-saxon cops (or even an African-American cop) would not notice that they are different men.  They'd just see an "Arab-looking guy".   It also suggests that this isn't the first time the Djinn power has been passed from one Arab to another but instead of getting a bottle or a lamp to live in, the new Djinn gets a cab.  If that's what they are signaling, I'm disappointed the new guy didn't get flaming eyes.  I assumed the inner fire of the Djinn is what we saw him receiving when the sex scene shifted to the sand landscape and we could see the fire within.

Edited May 15, 2017 by WatchrTina

[starri]

I may be wrong about this, but I think the encounter with Salim happened before we say the Djinn with Wednesday.  Wasn't the Djinn wearing Salim's blue suit?

[WatchrTina]

8 minutes ago, starri said:

Wasn't the Djinn wearing Salim's blue suit?

Damn, that's way too observant for me.  If so, then the Djinn is still a maybe on the guest list for Wednesday's meeting.

Edited May 15, 2017 by WatchrTina

[AimingforYoko]

After rewatching, I discovered my Rule 32 for this ep: When the Djinn is complaining about a passenger who had shit "on that very seat" where Salim is sitting, Salim scooches all the way forward.

[Miles]

1 hour ago, WatchrTina said:

My take was that the face on the Taxi Driver ID was not that off either the djinn or his lover (the new taxi driver). It was yet another Arab man and the conceit (I think) is that most white anglo-saxon cops (or even an African-American cop) would not notice that they are different men.  They'd just see an "Arab-looking guy". 

I may not be anglo-saxon, but I'm germanic (anglo saxons being a amalgamation of multiple germanic tribes) and I saw straight away that those two looked nothing alike. And I generally consider myself to be bad with faces...

But after reading a bit about the episode, I guess the intent was to show that the Jinn actually did fullfill Salim'S wishes. He gave him an experience he had never had (passionate, loving sex) and a new life as a taxi driver in america, where he won't get thrown off of buildings for being gay.

I still think they could have made that clearer. If the guy in the ID pictures had actually been Salim (I think we could have accepted the Jinn having that much magic) and if Salem hadn't said "I do not grant wishes" in the car, which I guess was meant sarcastically, as a reflection what the Jinn had said before, since his wishes were actually granted. Maybe more something like "Sure, you don't grant wishes..." (I'm not writer, so this sounds a little dumb, but I'm sure they could have come up with something)

1 hour ago, starri said:

I may be wrong about this, but I think the encounter with Salim happened before we say the Djinn with Wednesday.  Wasn't the Djinn wearing Salim's blue suit?

You are right. I just went back and checked. I would never have noticed that.