S01.E20: Bombshell

[thewhiteowl]

Quote

President Kirkman's first international summit is derailed when Abe Leonard publishes an explosive article. Hannah uncovers the conspiracy's next target.

[marinw]

This show is so inconsistent. I personally really liked this episode, but YMMV. That scene where Tom was speaking to Alex really got to me. Tom really wanted that arms reduction treaty, and took it so much to heart when Abe and his article made the whole NATO summit go pear-shaped. He knows people think he’s naive, he still has to prove himself, but he still wants what he wants. Such beautiful acting from Kiefer and Natasha. That may be the best scene those two have had this series. "I'm always on you side." *sniff*. Tom has weapons-grade earnestness which gives me feels.

I also liked how Tom sorta salvaged things with the French President, even though she had the most cartoonish French accent in my recent memory.

I love how Hannah’s hair is always perfect. I don’t get how she got off that ship and into the van. I did predict that she would no longer on the ship when the FBI raided it. If that was even the same ship.

Abe always looks like a slob, even during a TV interview.

Seth getting sick on Air Force One was a little eye-roily. 

This episode stared Toronto as Toronto. But not a single Tim Horton’s cup in sight. The hell? This show is not above jarring product placement.

Edited May 11, 2017 by marinw

[janeta]

Oh well, certain factions have been wanting to tear down the Hoover bldg for a while. 

[Guest]

So who was the bad guy in the White House? Too many characters we haven't really gotten to know have me confused.

[Danielg342]

Maybe I'm still on a high given how good the Criminal Minds finale was, but I was bored and barely able to pay attention. I just didn't care tonight...I didn't care about anything tonight. It was all academic, and all filler for the finale, apparently.

A finale I have no idea about because I'm not even sure what this show is about...and neither do the people who run it.

What a train wreck.

[Frozendiva]

It's only a couple hours' flight from Washington DC to Toronto. Most folks are sitting in cramped seats with no legroom! Seth had it good!

The location reminded me of the Royal York Hotel.

Yeah, no Timmies in sight but there was the bilingual summit sign.

The French President would be a bit guarded. France has had its share of terrorism. She sees a newbie unelected President. Although it is one who has grown into his new role and life. And kept his integrity. A bit of an idealist but also a bit progressive.

How did Hannah get out of the crate, in to a van, and end up at the Hoover Building?

I still have no idea what exactly is going on and what the big plan is, if there is one at all other than to blow up an iconic building.

[Blue Plastic]

I was wondering if they were ever going to bring Hannah's computer friend back (always forget his name).  Anybody know how realistic it is that the bad guy could clone his IP address (or whatever) like that?  He would've had to be planning that ahead of time, right?

Not sure what to expect finale wise since the big reveals on this show are lackluster.

Lozano's James Bond villain style method of killing Hannah and blowing up the building is probably not very realistic either.

So does this mean Jason didn't get to send any info back to headquarters before he died?  I thought he did but no one ever mentioned it.

[Happy Harpy]

So Kimble gone is confirmed, since Aaron isn't working for her anymore and his only scene aimed at explaining it. If I didn't FF so much that watching an episode takes me ten to fifteen minutes, I'd be gone right now.

"Narrative mess" doesn't even start to describe this episode and the state of this show. With yet another change of showrunner, I highly doubt that any answer will be given in the finale.

[Tabasco Cat]

1 hour ago, Blue Plastic said:

I was wondering if they were ever going to bring Hannah's computer friend back (always forget his name).  Anybody know how realistic it is that the bad guy could clone his IP address (or whatever) like that?  He would've had to be planning that ahead of time, right?

Being able to send a "beacon" broadcast that would trigger every device in the vicinity to re-configure its MAC and IP address would require a tremendous amount of effort ahead of time. I suppose it's not impossible that government agencies could have exploits for many different devices and their operating systems that would make it easy. More than 1 device on a network with the same MAC or IP address will cause severe problems on the network but the address changing likely wouldn't happen in just a few seconds. And rather than being able to "track" where all the same-address devices were, like green blobs on a map, probably wouldn't work either. It's more likely that the network will just quickly ignore any devices that are not "playing nicely" on the shared network.

Not sure what their "tracker" was supposed to actually be, though. The way they described it, something like a software lo-jack was somehow transferred onto his computer when he deleted the files? That doesn't make a lot of sense. Spammers and phishers and every hacker on the planet could be tracked down and caught if that was a real thing. It's not.

What's even more absurd, though, is the idea that a "secure deletion program", a "brute force" something or other as they described it, would necessitate the deletion of files "a few at a time". That's laughable. You select the files you want to "secure delete" just as if you were going to use a vanilla "delete" program and run the secure delete on them. Fire-and-forget, get up and walk away. "Oh, I can only delete 5 or 10 at a time so I hope I have enough time to erase them all," is ridiculous. A plot device, pure and simple.

If you had the knowledge to do all that you'd also have the insider knowledge needed to set it up so that it could be done remotely from a Starbucks a few miles away instead of needing to be physically present anywhere on the premises. The whole "tracker" thing was mumbo jumbo.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Tabasco Cat

[calipiano81]

4 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

How did Hannah get out of the crate, into a van, and end up at the Hoover Building?

After giving Hannah Jason's ring, Lozano injected her with something that made her pass out. He must have transported her while she was unconscious.

[oakville]

12 hours ago, marinw said:

This show is so inconsistent. I personally really liked this episode, but YMMV. That scene where Tom was speaking to Alex really got to me. Tom really wanted that arms reduction treaty, and took it so much to heart when Abe and his article made the whole NATO summit go pear-shaped. He knows people think he’s naive, he still has to prove himself, but he still wants what he wants. Such beautiful acting from Kiefer and Natasha. That may be the best scene those two have had this series. "I'm always on you side." *sniff*. Tom has weapons-grade earnestness which gives me feels.

I also liked how Tom sorta salvaged things with the French President, even though she had the most cartoonish French accent in my recent memory.

I love how Hannah’s hair is always perfect. I don’t get how she got off that ship and into the van. I did predict that she would no longer on the ship when the FBI raided it. If that was even the same ship.

Abe always looks like a slob, even during a TV interview.

Seth getting sick on Air Force One was a little eye-roily. 

This episode stared Toronto as Toronto. But not a single Tim Horton’s cup in sight. The hell? This show is not above jarring product placement.

They did show the motorcade going up University Avenue. They also showed a view of Toronto & the Rogers Centre at night. They ignored the Canadian Prime Minister at the NaATO summit. The political discussions were amateurish at best.

How did Lorenzo get Hannah's dead fiancé ring from the Capitol Bombing?

Seth gets air sick on a 1 hour flight to Toronto?

9 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

It's only a couple hours' flight from Washington DC to Toronto. Most folks are sitting in cramped seats with no legroom! Seth had it good!

The location reminded me of the Royal York Hotel.

Yeah, no Timmies in sight but there was the bilingual summit sign.

The French President would be a bit guarded. France has had its share of terrorism. She sees a newbie unelected President. Although it is one who has grown into his new role and life. And kept his integrity. A bit of an idealist but also a bit progressive.

How did Hannah get out of the crate, in to a van, and end up at the Hoover Building?

I still have no idea what exactly is going on and what the big plan is, if there is one at all other than to blow up an iconic building.

The summit was at the Royal York Hotel on Front Street

[marinw]

11 minutes ago, oakville said:

They ignored the Canadian Prime Minister at the NaATO summit.

I hadn't thought of that. I would like to see who they dreamed up as the Canadian PM in this Universe. I can even see Justin Trudeau making a cameo.

Edited May 11, 2017 by marinw

[Blue Plastic]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

How did Lorenzo get Hannah's dead fiancé ring from the Capitol Bombing?

I think that was supposed to be the ring belonging to Jason Atwood, Hannah's former boss from the FBI who has been helping her try to find out what's going on with the conspiracy to bomb the Capitol.  Lozano shot Atwood point blank in the last episode and is apparently dead.  While Hannah was distracted from looking at the ring and realizing that Atwood must be dead, Lozano sneaked behind her and gave her yet another dose of knockout potion.

I must not be paying very close attention to this show.  I guess I've partially given up.  I totally missed that Hookstraten was appointed to be education secretary last episode and in this episode that Aaron isn't working for her anymore.

[paigow]

43 minutes ago, Blue Plastic said:

I think that was supposed to be the ring belonging to Jason Atwood

Yes. The ring definitely belonged to Atwood. Hannah recognized it immediately.

[paigow]

14 hours ago, marinw said:

I love how Hannah’s hair is always perfect.

The other containers were full of cosmetics, shampoo and personal care appliances.....

[TheGreenWave]

13 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

Maybe I'm still on a high given how good the Criminal Minds finale was, but I was bored and barely able to pay attention. I just didn't care tonight...I didn't care about anything tonight. It was all academic, and all filler for the finale, apparently.

A finale I have no idea about because I'm not even sure what this show is about...and neither do the people who run it.

What a train wreck.

Maybe this was my problem too - I am usually ok giving this show a huge pass, but I could barely muster the energy to care. 

Also, if I hear one more inspiring speech from Kirkman, I'm gonna vomit.  Lozano seems to have the ability to be everywhere at any time (kidnap Hannah, go to mega cabin and kill Jason, confront and drug Hannah on the barge.  When does that guy sleep??) - give me a break.  And, FLOTUS asking the President point-blank on an open line whether the newspaper story was true??  Wow.

[blackwing]

Once again, the political stuff fell flat for me.  I wasn't at all invested in the arms reduction issue, I guess maybe I don't understand the political ramifications?  If Moss is talking with Russia and both countries are committed to reducing their weapons, then I am confused as to why it was "so important" to get NATO on board?  And chiefly, France?  France.  The butt of every comedian's joke.  The perception that it is a country that has needed bailing out from almost every single war it has gotten involved in.  Why is France all of a sudden now the most important player in global security?  The only good thing about this summit is that I loved the shots of Toronto.

Other parts of this NATO story were just hokey.  Seth getting sick on an airplane?  Who does that?  Especially someone who supposedly was as well travelled as Seth?  So he had never been on Air Force One before.  It's just a more luxurious version of a plane.  The whole thing was cooked up just so they could have scenes of Emily calling him.  I was embarrassed for the actor at having to play these scenes.  So stupid.

I liked seeing Hannah attempt her escape.  Confused as to how a van filled with explosives could end up in the parking garage under the Hoover Building.  Isn't there security to prevent that?  I guess it's trendy.  I just finished David Baldacci's latest book "The Fix", and the end plot in that involved

someone digging a tunnel from a building across the street from the Hoover Building and planting explosives in the Hoover Building basement.  Which I found very unrealistic.

Nice to see Chuck.  Regarding this mole in the White House.  Aren't there cameras EVERYWHERE in the White House?  I would think you wouldn't be able to flatulate in the hallways without someone in security hearing it.  Much the same way the NSA supposedly listens in for key words in phone calls, wouldn't the White House speakers be designed to flag any mention of "Lozano" or similar words?  Also, if there are cameras everywhere, why couldn't Chuck have just called up the camera in the Cabinet Room as soon as the deletion started?  Or how about, you know, Mike asking someone...  "who was just in the Cabinet Room"?  I can't imagine it's a room that just anybody can walk in and out of.  Stupid.

I'm not sure what Rob Morrow is doing.  I'm not sure if he's trying to portray Abe Leonard as a slovenly drunk, or an intrepid reporter, or whatnot.  But whatever he is doing, it's not working.  I'm puzzled by his accent... is it rough Southerner or gravelly New Yorker or steely New Englander?  It seems all over the place.

Edited May 11, 2017 by blackwing

[Frozendiva]

Oakville, I missed a couple of minutes of the episode - the motorcade and the mention of the Royal York.

[oakville]

I walk by the Royal York everyday. The meetings were filmed inside the hotel

Edited May 12, 2017 by oakville

[Danielg342]

The French President was played by Jocelyne Zucco, who is from Montreal and studied at the University of Laval in Quebec. She's primarily a theatre actor but she also had a role in Deadpool.

So, make that of what you will. I wondered if her accent was authentic, and, knowing she's a Quebecois, it probably is.

[piequinn35]

15 hours ago, deaja said:

So who was the bad guy in the White House? Too many characters we haven't really gotten to know have me confused.

^Jay Whitaker is the U.S Homeland Security Advisor , who also happens to be a member of the True Believers, having some authority within it. Jay Whitaker is also the one feeding New York Standard reporter Abe Leonard classified information.

The other bad guy:

Patrick Lloyd is the ex-CEO of Browning-Reed. Patrick Lloyd's name came up when Wells and Forstell realized that Patrick Lloyd bought property for the decoy of Nestor Lozano killed during the FBI raid, Desmond Lesgarth, who also happened to work for Browning-Reed. Along with Lozano, he is a member of the True Believers.

***

We will find if they can get RIP Jason Antwood's recording of the 2 baddies talking on the next episodes.

[jhlipton]

7 hours ago, oakville said:

They ignored the Canadian Prime Minister at the NaATO summit.

Also, "she's the first British Indian prime minister", which, no.  She can't be British and Indian and prime minister -- at best 2 out of three.  What they meant was "she's the first British prime minister of Indian origin", which is possible, but not likely.  That was done so there would be at least a few people of color at the NATO summit, which is overwhelmingly White in real life.

Dull, dull, episode.  Padding with Alex "I will always love y.. [yawn]".   A dumb-ass initiative that didn't go anywhere for dumb-ass reasons.  (Seriously, Kirkman, just tell NATO that you were acting on the best intelligence at the time, and that you appreciate the support you were given, and what the hell does that have to do with nuclear reduction anyway?  A lot of operations produce no results.

[Dowel Jones]

Well, Hannah, I think you now have some concrete evidence as to where those high explosive, purchased at the fire sale, illegal to privately own landmines/bombs ended up.  I hope you have a good explanation for your boss as to why you thought it would be better to not confiscate them on the spot from the Dakota Bunker.  You have a little less than three minutes to come up with one. 

Who would weld shut an empty container on the ship?  Was it done for distraction?  Also, a decent search of all those containers would have taken hours, if not days.  Well, at least we didn't have to sit through the typical tv takedown where the bad guys insist on shooting it out.

I agree about Abe.  Clean up, fool.  Slovenliness does not impart credibility.

[CJBinATX]

Okay, how is there not some sort of White House security camera that can show Whitaker as the person who had the original digital fingerprint? You know what room he walked out of, pull up some hallway camera footage. 

[StevedeMena]

20 hours ago, Frozendiva said:

It's only a couple hours' flight from Washington DC to Toronto. Most folks are sitting in cramped seats with no legroom! Seth had it good!

The location reminded me of the Royal York Hotel.

Yeah, no Timmies in sight but there was the bilingual summit sign.

The French President would be a bit guarded. France has had its share of terrorism. She sees a newbie unelected President. Although it is one who has grown into his new role and life. And kept his integrity. A bit of an idealist but also a bit progressive.

How did Hannah get out of the crate, in to a van, and end up at the Hoover Building?

I still have no idea what exactly is going on and what the big plan is, if there is one at all other than to blow up an iconic building.

The bilingual summit signs would be because English and French are the official NATO languages. 

[StevedeMena]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

Once again, the political stuff fell flat for me.  I wasn't at all invested in the arms reduction issue, I guess maybe I don't understand the political ramifications?  If Moss is talking with Russia and both countries are committed to reducing their weapons, then I am confused as to why it was "so important" to get NATO on board?  And chiefly, France?  France.  The butt of every comedian's joke.  The perception that it is a country that has needed bailing out from almost every single war it has gotten involved in.  Why is France all of a sudden now the most important player in global security?  

I 

  Reveal hidden contents

someone digging a tunnel from a building across the street from the Hoover Building and planting explosives in the Hoover Building basement.  Which I found very unrealistic.

 

Three NATO members (the United States, France and the United Kingdom) are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states.

So that's why France was important. 

[shapeshifter]

Anyone else think Lozano giving Hannah Jason's ring seemed more like a sign that Jason might still be alive rather than dead? And why hasn't Lozano killed Hannah half a dozen times? Was it to set her up to look like she's the bomber?

[oakville]

11 hours ago, Blue Plastic said:

I think that was supposed to be the ring belonging to Jason Atwood, Hannah's former boss from the FBI who has been helping her try to find out what's going on with the conspiracy to bomb the Capitol.  Lozano shot Atwood point blank in the last episode and is apparently dead.  While Hannah was distracted from looking at the ring and realizing that Atwood must be dead, Lozano sneaked behind her and gave her yet another dose of knockout potion.

I must not be paying very close attention to this show.  I guess I've partially given up.  I totally missed that Hookstraten was appointed to be education secretary last episode and in this episode that Aaron isn't working for her anymore.

Thanks!. That makes sense. I liked Jason. They shouldn't have killed him off. He was awesome in the Terminator.

Chronicles. They have to bring back Hookstraten.

12 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Anyone else think Lozano giving Hannah Jason's ring seemed more like a sign that Jason might still be alive rather than dead? And why hasn't Lozano killed Hannah half a dozen times? Was it to set her up to look like she's the bomber?

I hope so. He's a good actor.

The show definitely needs a political consultant. It's too wimpy & simplistic.

[Cthulhudrew]

How many times can one character be rendered unconscious in a single episode of tv? Find out in the latest episode of Designated Survivor!!

[dbell1]

I have no idea what this show is supposed to be anymore. The NATO summit was laughable, and I was distracted by that giant flower forest in the middle of the conference room.

Abe is one twitch away from full on drug addict, and when Lloyd ordered him killed, I cheered. Just horrible acting choices here by Morrow.

How long can a President go without a VP? My bet is on Cornelius. Of course, knowing this show, it'll be internal mole of mystery Whittaker.

Kimble can't be gone, she's one of the few highlights on this show.

[Happy Harpy]

10 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

The French President was played by Jocelyne Zucco, who is from Montreal and studied at the University of Laval in Quebec. She's primarily a theatre actor but she also had a role in Deadpool.

So, make that of what you will. I wondered if her accent was authentic, and, knowing she's a Quebecois, it probably is.

Not authentic for France. In Quebec, they don't speak like us and have their very particular brand of accent which has nothing to do with ours (and I suspect they're unhappy as well when it's rolled into one with the continental French one). For a show that is so PC, if they wanted to go with the big cliché accent they could have at least chosen a French actress. I rolled my eyes and I FFed.

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

 And chiefly, France?  France.  The butt of every comedian's joke.  The perception that it is a country that has needed bailing out from almost every single war it has gotten involved in.  Why is France all of a sudden now the most important player in global security? 

We still have nuclear weapons, the biggest military power in the EU, and a permanent seat at the UN security council. Comedians might forget to mention it in their jokes.

(The biggest player in global security, no. A big player in NATO, along with UK and Turkey, yes. I guess they chickened out on going for Turkey as an antagonist.)

[Superpole2000]

I don't understand the point of the ship. After a couple of episodes, it doesn't seem to have gone anywhere other than drift out to sea and back. And why was the ship still stocked with men with guns when the FBI made it onboard? Was that just a plot device to fool us into thinking Hannah was still onboard? Are the bad guys using this ship as some sort of roving homebase?

Also, it is completely nonsensical that Hannah is still alive, not to mention that all 95 pounds of her is repeatedly beating up bad guys. Give me a break.

President Bauer's "Aww shucks, guys, I just want the whole world to be better!" behaviour has grown old. I'd love to see him smoke a cigarette, flirt with a staffer, eat a chocolate bar, or something else that could give him a bit of depth.

Bauer's wife is the most interesting character now, which is incredibly sad. I just don't know about her. Her conversation with the President in this episode was another borderline suspicious moment. I really want her to be in on this conspiracy, if only because the show would be more interesting if she was involved. Maybe the President's son is the supply line for all of the knock-out drugs being administered to Hannah.

[SanDiegoInExile]

This episode was dreadful. It didn't build up any hype/suspense for the Season Finale.  The Toronto Trip seemed pointless. The ocean voyage seemed pointless. The "technical savvy" of the Mole was lame. The phone call from the First Lady was (barely) Hallmark Movie material. Dr Fleishmann (sorta, then not, then sorta-again) attempting an accent remains bizarre.  The twenty-something chief-of-staff knoshing at a DC bar and going jealous after seeing the thirty-something former chief-of-staff rocking his suspenders while chatting up his cousin was one of the most ridiculous moments of the season (and that's saying a lot). 

I'm reasonably certain that the Hoover Building isn't going to explode in 3 minutes.  The ignition will fail, just as planned by The Bad Guys. The only reason to keep Maggie Alphabet alive is to somehow frame her as part of the conspiracy.

I had been thinking that something would *happen* on the flight back from Toronto (ie, maybe a "fake" crash to somehow slide Secretary of Education Hookstratten into Season Two's "Designated Survivor"), but the previews seemed to show that everyone is back in leafy-green DC.

Yawn.

[AAEBoiler]

On 5/10/2017 at 8:20 PM, marinw said:

I love how Hannah’s hair is always perfect.

And, her shirt always stays tucked into her pants.

Edited May 12, 2017 by AAEBoiler
English is hard

[littlecatsfeet]

18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Anyone else think Lozano giving Hannah Jason's ring seemed more like a sign that Jason might still be alive rather than dead? And why hasn't Lozano killed Hannah half a dozen times? Was it to set her up to look like she's the bomber?

I think there's a 50/50 chance he's alive, especially after what happened with the Lozano plot (he's dead as a doornail!  except he's not). I was wondering the same thing about why Hannah is still alive; and on a baser note, why she apparently didn't have to pee after being chained up and then escaping after umpteen hours. But I know in TV land, nobody has bodily functions unless it's for comic effect (i.e. Seth vomiting, hoo hah!)

[Mrs peel]

On ‎5‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 9:22 AM, paigow said:

Yes. The ring definitely belonged to Atwood. Hannah recognized it immediately.

Which actually makes no sense.  Why would she recognize a plain gold band?  I always hate the Hannah and Atwood go it alone parts of the episodes.  Jeez, get them some backup!  And we were in "24" territory with being able to get Hannah and all the munitions out of the freighter, into a van, and drive from Baltimore to DC into the basement of the presumably very secure FBI headquarters in - what - one hour?

Why would the Speaker agree to become the Education Secretary?  Didn't make sense to me.

[Chas411]

Quote

I think there's a 50/50 chance he's alive,

I do too. Because I don't think this show knows what it's doing or wants to achieve and is afraid to commit to anything.

[DaveL723]

Deleted scene

Flunky: Hey boss, you want to wrap a chain around that girl agent's neck and toss her overboard?

Lozano: No.  When we get to Baltimore stick her in the van with the bomb and drive her to DC

Flunky: Really? Would' t it make more sense just to get rid of ....

Lozano: Don't argue.  Just do it.  Oh, and Don't forget to wire that big digital timer into the firing circuit.  That way everyone will know it's a real bomb.  All real bombs  have a clock showing exactly when it will go off.

[Danielg342]

Flunky: Do I have to make sure it beeps for dramatic effect?

Lozano: Yes.

Flunky: You really are a genius.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, Mrs peel said:

And we were in "24" territory with being able to get Hannah and all the munitions out of the freighter, into a van, and drive from Baltimore to DC into the basement of the presumably very secure FBI headquarters in - what - one hour?

I just don't understand all of this.  The Dynamic Duo find a cache of bombs in an abandoned Minuteman silo in North Dakota, but when the TLA team shows up, they are gone.  In the meantime, Hannah returns to her fleabag motel in the DC area, where she is kidnapped, and ends up on a cargo ship, somewhere off the East Coast, with the bad guys and the bombs - the bombs were on the ship, right?  The ship docks in Baltimore, and Hannah and the bombs are put in a van, and she ends up back in DC.

After the bad guys cleaned out the silo, where did they go with the bombs? Was the cargo ship somewhere on the West Coast?  If so, it would have taken days - if not weeks - for it to get to Baltimore.  I think I remember a scene where they were loading the bombs on the ship, but I'm a little fuzzy on it.  Was that when Hannah was put on board?  If it was docked someplace close enough to DC to put her on board, how did they get the bombs across country, and why would they haul them all that way to put them on a ship to Baltimore?  If they loaded the ship on the West Coast, why would they take Hannah out there (and how) only to bring her back to Baltimore?

My head hurts thinking about all of this...

[orza]

There's no need to go to the west coast. It's only about 1600 miles in a straight shot on I-94 W from Minot, ND to Baltimore. That can be driven in about a day with 2 or 3 guys taking turns driving a truck and no long stops.

[Dowel Jones]

No, they put them on the fleet of helicopters that were regularly arriving and departing North Dakota.

[Moose135]

Right, but then why the boat?

[Danielg342]

I think we've established this episode has gone from "fridge logic" to "walk-in-freezer logic".

[femmefan1946]

I love how Hannah’s hair is always perfect.....

The other containers were full of cosmetics, shampoo and personal care appliances.....

And, her shirt always stays tucked into her pants.....

DS seems to have hired Stana Katic's dresser. Those heels!

 

I'm not sure what Rob Morrow is doing.  I'm not sure if he's trying to portray Abe Leonard as a slovenly drunk, or an intrepid reporter, or whatnot.  

I think it's both.

He's a smart man and fearless, but he has been sidelined by his weaknesses, including drinking. I uie like the character because he is not willing to believe either side.

 

Why is France all of a sudden now the most important player in global security?

France is a nuclear power and the second (after Germany) power in the EU. France remains the strongest ex-colonial power in Aftrica, particularly North Africa.

Really, only the US thinks that France is a weakling.

 

She can't be British and Indian and prime minister -- at best 2 out of three. 

Well, technically there is no reason why an immigrant can't be Prime Minister. Here in Canada two of our Governors-General (Clarkson and Jean) were immigrants as were at least our first three Prime Ministers. And dual citizenship is a thing. I'm both British and Canadian.

 

The bilingual summit signs would be because English and French are the official NATO languages. 

Canada is a bilingual nation.

Fun fact: In the NorthWestTerritory has eleven official languages. And any member of the legislature can use simultaneous translation services.

 

Jocelyne Zucco, who is from Montreal and studied at the University of Laval in Quebec.

Most educated Quebecois don't normally speak joual. They understand it, just as an educated American understands Boston or Kentucky or Texas accents.

But that was a horrible attempt. I mean the producers want to keep their government grants by hiring Canadian actors, but it reminded me of Megan Draper's 'Quebecois' parents in Mad Men who were played by a Frenchman and a francophone Englishwoman.

 

, with the bad guys and the bombs - the bombs were on the ship, right? 

 

Different bombs. More bombs! Somewhere a bombmaking factory has a sweet contract. Remind me to call my stockbroker.

[oakville]

17 hours ago, Happy Harpy said:

Not authentic for France. In Quebec, they don't speak like us and have their very particular brand of accent which has nothing to do with ours (and I suspect they're unhappy as well when it's rolled into one with the continental French one). For a show that is so PC, if they wanted to go with the big cliché accent they could have at least chosen a French actress. I rolled my eyes and I FFed.

We still have nuclear weapons, the biggest military power in the EU, and a permanent seat at the UN security council. Comedians might forget to mention it in their jokes.

(The biggest player in global security, no. A big player in NATO, along with UK and Turkey, yes. I guess they chickened out on going for Turkey as an antagonist.)

It was probably easier to get a French Canadian actress in Canada. I think the show gets tax credits for filming in Canada, so they have to hire a certain percentage of Canadian Actors. Kiefer is Canadian & so is the White House Villain employee.

3 hours ago, Mrs peel said:

Which actually makes no sense.  Why would she recognize a plain gold band?  I always hate the Hannah and Atwood go it alone parts of the episodes.  Jeez, get them some backup!  And we were in "24" territory with being able to get Hannah and all the munitions out of the freighter, into a van, and drive from Baltimore to DC into the basement of the presumably very secure FBI headquarters in - what - one hour?

Why would the Speaker agree to become the Education Secretary?  Didn't make sense to me.

I guess the GOP majority in Congress would want her to resign as Speaker or not be VP.

[secnarf]

10 minutes ago, femmefan1946 said:

She can't be British and Indian and prime minister -- at best 2 out of three. 

Well, technically there is no reason why an immigrant can't be Prime Minister. Here in Canada two of our Governors-General (Clarkson and Jean) were immigrants as were at least our first three Prime Ministers. And dual citizenship is a thing. I'm both British and Canadian.

 

Dual citizenship exists, but not all nations permit it. India, for example, does not allow their citizens to hold dual citizenships with other countries.

You can't extrapolate the rules for Governors-General to PM, as they're totally different roles. And FWIW, Tom Mulcair's dual citizenship with France *was* an issue in the last election, to the point where he had to say he would renounce his French citizenship if he became PM. Stephane Dion actually did renounce his French citizenship for the same reason. Michael Ignatieff wasn't even a dual citizen, but the appearance of a conflict of interest (along with a host of other reasons) was quite enough to politically destroy him.

Point being - voters tend to frown upon the appearance of conflicts of interest in their leaders, and dual citizenship is a pretty significant one. It might be legal, but not really practical or realistic.

[Johnny Dollar]

The political stuff was particularly stupid this episode since it's the European NATO allies who have always called for nuclear arms reduction, what with them being so close to actual nuclear arms and all. And why would D.C. stupidity and incompetence have any effect on how they voted?  If that were really the case, then we'd be really screwed IRL. 

Seth being used solely as comic relief is getting very tiresome. 

I would think there would be cameras all over the White House, at least in the hallways, so catching Mr. Mole walking out of the cabinet room shouldn't be too difficult. 

How did Lozano get Hannah off the ship if it hadn't docked before the FBI got there?

[jhlipton]

5 hours ago, secnarf said:

5 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

She can't be British and Indian and prime minister -- at best 2 out of three. 

Well, technically there is no reason why an immigrant can't be Prime Minister. Here in Canada two of our Governors-General (Clarkson and Jean) were immigrants as were at least our first three Prime Ministers. And dual citizenship is a thing. I'm both British and Canadian.

Dual citizenship exists, but not all nations permit it. India, for example, does not allow their citizens to hold dual citizenships with other countries.

Thank you both for your answers.  In the US, the President can't be an immigrant (sorry, Ahhhnold), so I thought the same might be true elsewhere.  It didn't he;p that 8 years ago, we had a bunch of racist nonsense about where Obama was born (with no one questioning that McCain was born in Panama!).

[Danielg342]

39 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

(with no one questioning that McCain was born in Panama!).

McCain did receive those questions.

With regards to the "first Indian British PM", I interpreted that to mean someone of Indian heritage who is a British citizen gaining the Prime Minister's Office. She may not actually be an Indian citizen but her lineage is definitely Indian.