S04.E01: News Cycle

[CooperTV]

Quote

When the assistant vice minister of Timor-Leste suddenly dies during a meeting with Elizabeth on the first day of the U.N General Assembly, she becomes suspicious after the president of Timor-Leste ships the body back without a proper investigation. Also, a “fake news” story surfaces claiming Elizabeth is responsible for the minister’s death, and Dmitri returns to work with Henry.

Promos

[Guest]

Things I want to see less than a Dmitri storyline:

-A Dmitri on drugs storyline

-Henry uses his superpowers to save Dmitri from drugs

The college stuff was cute but went on too long.

I loved her setting up the Chinese representative!

[Xantar]

It was a little weird seeing Tzi Ma (a.k.a. Hollywood's go-to guy for Chinese characters) playing a Timorese person. There is in fact a Han Chinese minority in Timor-Leste, so that doesn't necessarily make him out of place. But I doubt he would have been able to speak the official languages of the government (Portuguese and Tetum).

I liked that the episode dealt with the issues surrounding fake news without making heavy-handed allusions to the current real-life President. It was a nice way to work it in. I won't lie, though. I kind of want to see Elizabeth brandishing a champagne flute as a weapon now.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Xantar said:

…I liked that the episode dealt with the issues surrounding fake news without making heavy-handed allusions to the current real-life President. It was a nice way to work it in. I won't lie, though. I kind of want to see Elizabeth brandishing a champagne flute as a weapon now.

Yes, and totally yes! BTW, @Xantar, is your screen name after Max's home planet?

Very happy to see Nadine, Russell, and Foreign Minister Chen back and in fine form. I'd be happy with a spinoff featuring them, although I'm not sure how that would work. 

Also glad that Blake was back to dealing out cute comments; he just doesn't work for me as a champion of social issues.

But Dimitri. *sigh* Hopefully they'll kill him off quickly so we don't have to worry about or think about him being tortured anymore. I thought he was going to have a nice little romance with Stevie. Guess not. Only dark and dreary for Dimitri.

[navelgazer]

2 hours ago, Xantar said:

I liked that the episode dealt with the issues surrounding fake news without making heavy-handed allusions to the current real-life President.

This, except I couldn't help but hear in my head the screaming wails of faux outrage from the denizens of the IRL "fake news" who see conspiracies around every corner and fervently believe that all of Hollywood is an elitist communist cabal who thinks only of ways to make their guy look bad. 

[Netfoot]

57 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

But Dimitri. *sigh* Hopefully they'll kill him off quickly so we don't have to worry about or think about him being tortured anymore.

Agreed.  But with any luck, he will kill Henry first.  The way Henry deserves.

[Driad]

I was waiting for someone to say (or at least ask) how long that specific poison would take to kill someone. Some poisons kill almost immediately, others take hours or more. Would be relevant especially after someone accused Bess of murdering Bento.

[kwnyc]

And I hope that Eric Stoltz doesn't become another version of Professor Super ArmCandy: how is it that only HE could find out the exact nature of the drug (more quickly than the US Gov't?) I expect he'll be recurring, since they made it a point to bring him back to the US, but I'd rather not have him be the Science Superhero. Just being Bess's brother (who has spent his career in NGOs) is enough.

[shapeshifter]

15 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Agreed.  But with any luck, he will kill Henry first.  The way Henry deserves.

Nah, Henry's a frickin' zombie, right? But when Dimitri meets some horrible end, Henry will be weighed down with guilt, which he will bear iwith great nobility.

Edited October 9, 2017 by shapeshifter
wordo

[Netfoot]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Henry will be weighed down with guilt...

Nah.  He will come out with some quote from Saint Thomas Aquinas which will confirm his moral and ethical superiority, and totally justify the necessity of his having screwed Dimitri over and over again, in order to achieve his own ends.

[secnarf]

22 hours ago, deaja said:

Things I want to see less than a Dmitri storyline:

-A Dmitri on drugs storyline

-Henry uses his superpowers to save Dmitri from drugs

The college stuff was cute but went on too long.

I loved her setting up the Chinese representative!

This completely.

I have zero interest in Dmitri on drugs. Or any TV character on drugs, for that matter. These storylines are never fun to watch.

[HurricaneVal]

15 hours ago, secnarf said:

I have zero interest in Dmitri on drugs. Or any TV character on drugs, for that matter. These storylines are never fun to watch.

Word.

 

That scene between Nadine and Russell was 100% made of awesome.  Those two actors really sold their characters.  Bebe Neuworth's passion and Zeljko Ivanek's outrage just leaped off the screen.  I nearly stood up and fist pumped at the end.

What an arc Nadine has taken--at first when she was reeling and secretly grieving her dead lover, she was stand-offish and borderline hostile to the new SoS.  Now she's pitbull protecting the SoS.  I have always found Nadine to be fascinating, and Bebe Neuworth is playing her very well.  Ditto for Russell, I've found Zeljko Ivanek's inhabitation of the character to be fantastic.

[Casually Observant]

On 10/8/2017 at 10:56 PM, shapeshifter said:

But Dimitri. *sigh* Hopefully they'll kill him off quickly so we don't have to worry about or think about him being tortured anymore. I thought he was going to have a nice little romance with Stevie. Guess not. Only dark and dreary for Dimitri.

Hey!  Don't you hurt our Dimitri!  I like seeing Dimitri again!  He looked especially yummy with his longer hair.  And really, why rule out a romance with Stevie?  He'd probably teach her a few things about life that her privilege has prevented her from knowing about.  I see fireworks there, potentially. 

But seriously, The actor has a lot of emotional depth in his characterization and I think he adds some real, believable angst to the part.  

On 10/9/2017 at 6:41 AM, Driad said:

I was waiting for someone to say (or at least ask) how long that specific poison would take to kill someone. Some poisons kill almost immediately, others take hours or more. Would be relevant especially after someone accused Bess of murdering Bento.

What I don't understand is this:  He fell down immediately after he drank the water at the table.  Didn't anyone suspect that water? How else could he have been poisoned?  Bess didn't drink the water with him, so was it implied it was from that?

[secnarf]

8 hours ago, Casually Observant said:

What I don't understand is this:  He fell down immediately after he drank the water at the table.  Didn't anyone suspect that water? How else could he have been poisoned?  Bess didn't drink the water with him, so was it implied it was from that?

I too immediately suspected the water, but I thought they said later that he had been poisoned beforehand.

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, secnarf said:

I too immediately suspected the water, but I thought they said later that he had been poisoned beforehand.

I'm pretty sure Bess's brother or some other knowledgeable character estimated that it would take a few hours for the poison to work. I remember thinking that the real purpose of the line was to give her an alibi if it came to the point of her needing one.

[Netfoot]

I'm not liking Elizabeth's hair this season.  </shallow>

[roughing it]

On 10/11/2017 at 10:27 AM, Casually Observant said:

He fell down immediately after he drank the water at the table.  Didn't anyone suspect that water?

I took it as the poison was making him extremely thirsty.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

That's about the least imaginative subplot they could have come up with for Dmitri.

[Netfoot]

11 minutes ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

That's about the least imaginative subplot they could have come up with for Dmitri.

They have to engineer a mechanism whereby Dmitri's eventual downfall can be blamed on something other than the selfish actions of the Star of the Show.

Personally, I'd love it if Dmitri were shown to be a double (triple?) agent, working for the Russians all along.  But that can't happen because it would cast the Star of the Show in a bad light. It would be a great opportunity for a moralistic tirade against Dmitri for not wanting to allow himself to be used and abused in order to betray his own country.  But there is no chance for a plot turn that shows up the Star of the Show as being dumb enough to be taken in for such a long time.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 10/11/2017 at 0:27 PM, Casually Observant said:

And really, why rule out a romance with Stevie?  He'd probably teach her a few things about life that her privilege has prevented her from knowing about.  I see fireworks there, potentially.

Her ex-boyfriend Harrison was also on drugs.

[roughing it]

Stevie could become the drug whisperer

[betsyboo]

On 10/9/2017 at 9:41 AM, Driad said:

I was waiting for someone to say (or at least ask) how long that specific poison would take to kill someone. Some poisons kill almost immediately, others take hours or more. Would be relevant especially after someone accused Bess of murdering Bento.

I was waiting for someone to say it was in the water he drank when they first started the meeting and that it was really intended for HER!

 

On 10/10/2017 at 1:34 PM, HurricaneVal said:

That scene between Nadine and Russell was 100% made of awesome.  Those two actors really sold their characters.  Bebe Neuworth's passion and Zeljko Ivanek's outrage just leaped off the screen.  I nearly stood up and fist pumped at the end.

What an arc Nadine has taken--at first when she was reeling and secretly grieving her dead lover, she was stand-offish and borderline hostile to the new SoS.  Now she's pitbull protecting the SoS.  I have always found Nadine to be fascinating, and Bebe Neuworth is playing her very well.  Ditto for Russell, I've found Zeljko Ivanek's inhabitation of the character to be fantastic.

I *did stand up and cheer! I had to pause then because I was crying laughing at Bess's eyeball tennis between the two of them - tv trope all the way but it made me bust out laughing. I think I watched it three times before I could get past Russell saying "Let's put a pin in that." HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I had forgotten how much I love this show and their family and their marriage and all of the things. I loved Bess's guilt at not taking Noodle to college (i really wanted her to bust that out in front of the roommate).  I loved Bess telling Stevie to eat something at the reception. 

Matt had the line of the night: "It's an honor to clean up after you, ma'am."

[CheshireCat]

On ‎09‎.‎10‎.‎2017 at 0:41 PM, kwnyc said:

And I hope that Eric Stoltz doesn't become another version of Professor Super ArmCandy: how is it that only HE could find out the exact nature of the drug (more quickly than the US Gov't?)

The US Government wasn't able to do anything. Bess gave him his blouse (even though she should have given him her blazer ;-)) after she was told that the body was released before the autopsy could be conducted.

Will found things out so quickly because, as Bess suggested, he knew someone he could hand the blouse for testing to, so I imagine that he cashed in a favor and maybe is now owing a person a favor for the more detailed, second look and the quick work.

 

There were a lot of things that I liked about the episode. Loved the stand-off between Nadine and Russell, and I loved that they had Will in it. I also liked the scene between Bess and Will and the hot dog. (Since when is Will get picky about food and where he eats? ;-)) I also loved that someone remembered to throw something in from their past/that relates to their parents' death.

The shopping trip with Allison and what followed about the wet-dry-vac... so much fun! And that roommate of Allison's was priceless. Her marine comment cracked me up and after that, I totally expected her to not know who Bess was.

I also liked the subject and Bess' interview. That said, I don't know if I needed an episode on fake news with a not entirely satisfactory conclusion considering the current use of fake news. It was frustrating to see Russell not backing Bess up when Bess was clearly right and that Senator was even more frustrating and letting him get the upper hand at the end, that was frustrating, too. After Russell didn't back her, I wanted Bess to at least land a punch against the Senator, especially because his actions are petty as are his motivations. I'm hoping for a satisfactory outcome down the road, a conclusion à la Craig Sterling would be nice. Let the Senator's actions come back to bite him, please. I want justice on TV at least ;-)