Season 1 Discussion

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

I am so invested in Hanin and her girls. Was she in the books?

I think I might give this series a try. Yes, yes, never gotten into the Jack Ryan craze. Always been on the John Krasinski train so here I am!

[preeya]

41 minutes ago, scottiB said:

Isn’t he dead — shot by Jack in the Metro station? All of his henchmen are dead, too. I think his storyline is done.

Yes, but the son, Samir, might follow in his father's footsteps. As Jack Ryan said when Greer told him he saved the boy's life: "We'll See."

Edited September 2, 2018 by preeya

[Raja]

13 hours ago, dusang said:

I saw JK interviewed and he said that they are not using the actual books because they were "of the moment" for the time. They are just using the characters  and trying to be as "of the moment" for now. So this Jack Ryan will never hunt for a red October, as it were.

I read that they initially started doing A Clear and Present Danger but couldn't see it working now, as opposed to the late 80s with the Cold War over and no Global War on Terror and drug cartels were the big bad for America. Greer telling Jack to break the code since Suleiman would not use actual inscription came straight from that movie only Harrison Ford had another Clancy CIA guy figure it out from personal information.

I am betting that turning Jack's wife Cathy into an epidemiologist instead of an eye surgeon is another cast cutting, character saving measure as the ultimate terrorist plan will be a biological weapon

[amazinglybored]

I expected more and was disappointed by what I’d call a well made but mediocre show. If I had no expectations I think I would have been okay with wasting a rainy weekend on it and then forgetting about the show. I thought Krasinski was surprisingly weak until episode 8 where he was much better. Maybe that’s all on me. Idk. 

I was alright with Victor in theory but the execution made him a problem which is a shame. Cathy worked out better than I would have expected and Greer was one of the better parts. They made the French look pretty incompetent as well.

Hanin was awesome though. I really liked how they handled the family part of Suleiman and I think that was the best part of the show.

[mledawn]

I enjoyed it. I never watched the non-Harrison Ford Jack Ryans so I'm sure that limits my judgement. To me, I can see JK's character and HF's character being the same. I never watched the US version of The Office (gasp!) so I have no bias with the actor. I will definitely watch the whole thing, I have been looking forward to it for a while.

[revbfc]

I’m just not buying that nobody at the funeral looked at those dudes dressed as priests and didn’t get suspicious.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

2 hours ago, scottiB said:

Isn’t he dead — shot by Jack in the Metro station? All of his henchmen are dead, too. I think his storyline is done.

Yeah. And his right hand flankie was shot dead with no fanfare.

That plot is done as far as I am concern. I am sorry we might not see Hanin and her brood again. Sorry, but I don't care about the boy. 

[kickingnames]

1 hour ago, amazinglybored said:

I expected more and was disappointed by what I’d call a well made but mediocre show. If I had no expectations I think I would have been okay with wasting a rainy weekend on it and then forgetting about the show. I thought Krasinski was surprisingly weak until episode 8 where he was much better. Maybe that’s all on me. Idk.

You know, I didn’t necessarily think “weak”, but I did have slight trouble seeing him as the personality of Jack Ryan (at least, the personality I remember from the Harrison Ford movies) until about the last episode, so I guess I’m with you there.

That being said, I thought the season turned out well for what it was. Maybe not the most innovative, but there were several character interactions that I enjoyed more than I expected — Ryan/Greer being chief among them. I’ll be back for more.

Edited September 2, 2018 by kickingnames

[Stenbeck]

24 minutes ago, revbfc said:

I’m just not buying that nobody at the funeral looked at those dudes dressed as priests and didn’t get suspicious.

Sad, but true. 

I was nervous and expected three gigantic explosions. Sadly, the nerve agent is much worse...

And HELL YEAH to more NakedJohn. 

[revbfc]

My French isn’t amazing but Suleiman should have been tipped off by the chat being so formal.  His brother was using a lot of contractions, and casual colloquialisms, and the CIA were translating straight to simple, grammatically correct French.

it strains all credibility that the CIA didn’t have at least one guy fluent in French just hanging around within 20 feet to help out.

 

If there’s a second season, I hope they get better team of writers and researchers.

[Bridget]

1 hour ago, kickingnames said:

You know, I didn’t necessarily think “weak”, but I did have slight trouble seeing him as the personality of Jack Ryan (at least, the personality I remember from the Harrison Ford movies) until about the last episode, so I guess I’m with you there.

That being said, I thought the season turned out well for what it was. Maybe not the most innovative, but there were several character interactions that I enjoyed more than I expected — Ryan/Greer being chief among them. I’ll be back for more.

 

I’m with you. I love John, but Harrison has an intense, papa bear, “don’t screw with me” aura that simply drips off of the screen. I know this series was meant to be Jack Ryan in his younger days, but I didn’t feel the intensity of the character via John that Harrison brought to the role.

I didn’t feel chemistry between John Krasinski & Abbie Cornish. I thought Abbie was awful in the role. John played a guy who you could tell had butterflies in his stomach about meeting a new person. Abbie’s range and emotion were non-existent. Really bad casting choice with regard to her, but I really liked that Cathy wasn’t portrayed by a size 2 actress. I’m not body shaming anyone at all, but Abbie has put on some weight, and she now looks like a normal, everyday woman in her 30s. That was a fantastic switch up from what we usually see on TV. I like that she doesn’t look like a model or made me think “I should stop binge watching the show and go do some cardio.”

From the second he appeared in episode one, every time I saw Greer, all I thought was, “Why is Robert Zane from ‘Suits’ on my TV? Where are Harvey Specter and Louis Litt?” He will always be Robert Zane to me, which I found personally distracting.

I agree with the posters who thought it was a good show, but not amazing/must see/stop what you’re doing and watch this NOW! 

I was so desperate to watch it that I kept trying to get it to steam at 12:01am on 8/31. (I was THAT excited to watch! 8/31 sounded to me like Christmas Day does to a kid! Is it here yet? Is it 8/31?) Didn’t play until mid-morning, but after all of the hype,

The whole Victor subplot was just awkward.  Is he still having tea and buying eggs? So. Damn. Weird. It also went unresolved, unless that character “turns to the dark side” next season. I still don’t understand why the older man in Vegas beat him with a belt.

Edited September 2, 2018 by Bridget

[Stenbeck]

Hanin's story is excellent. Part of me wants her to help the CIA, part of me wants her to disappear into a new life in Europe. 

[amazinglybored]

1 hour ago, kickingnames said:

You know, I didn’t necessarily think “weak”, but I did have slight trouble seeing him as the personality of Jack Ryan (at least, the personality I remember from the Harrison Ford movies) until about the last episode, so I guess I’m with you there.

That being said, I thought the season turned out well for what it was. Maybe not the most innovative, but there were several character interactions that I enjoyed more than I expected — Ryan/Greer being chief among them. I’ll be back for more.

 

Weak may not be the ideal word choice. He seemed very Jim Halpert in a different life until episode 8 and he’s a better actor than that.

[dwmarch]

I have been a Tom Clancy super-fan since I was about 12 so I have been looking forward to this series. My verdict is that it is entertaining action and has not yet reached the levels of absurd contrivance we see in shows such as 24 and Homeland.

There were some decent references to the source material:

The gas station gunfight is basically the shootout from Patriot Games in a different setting.

The Coast Guard plays a very important role in Clear and Present Danger so it was nice to see them getting some love here.

Weaponized ebola is featured in Executive Orders and Rainbow Six. Cathy Ryan plays a small part in the larger mystery.

There is a bad guy named Ibrahim in the Sum of All Fears although I believe he was Palestinian.

Of course there were some significant differences as well:

James Greer was never established as Muslim in the books and he certainly never got into any gunplay. His relationship with Ryan was never adversarial beyond giving Ryan advice that he wasn't ready to hear yet. Also in the series, Greer is never firmly established as having had a Navy career. In the books he is Admiral Greer and he is not disgraced at CIA due to some past screwup. The Greer of the show is waaaaay saltier than he is in the books.

Jack Ryan did have a back injury courtesy of something that happening in a helicopter but IIRC in the books it was a training accident on Crete. I am pretty sure he fell out of the helicopter. He certainly didn't bring a kid on board who lit off a grenade.

Cathy Mueller keeps her asshole dad who works in finance. She also gains legitimate boobs which she did not have in the books. Clancy was never one to describe a character's style in great detail but I do not think Cathy of the books owns a leather jacket much less a green biker jacket. She has a much better sense of humor in the show which is mainly due to Clancy's characters being lucky if they possessed more than one dimension at any given moment. There was never a scene in the books where she finds out that Jack is CIA and gets upset about it. Although Cathy did have a small part in informing the White House about a weaponized ebola outbreak it was not because she was a doctor in that field. In the books she is an eye doctor.

There was a CIA SAD (Special Activities Division, commandos who are too old to be in Delta or SEAL teams but can still kill shit and are happy to do so for twice the salary while not having to worry about all that spit and polish bullshit the military made them go through) guy that we saw in a few episodes but he was not John Clark. Or maybe he is and we're going to get that reveal in a future season but I don't think he was meant to be the same character. If he is, he is missing the seal tattoo that would have made it obvious who he actually was.

Also conspicuous by their absence: Ed and Mary Pat Foley, Ding Chavez, Judge Moore, Bob Ritter, Robbie Jackson, Skip Tyler, Bart Mancuso, Sergey Golovko, various others.

Jack gets into way more gunfights in the show than he ever did in the books. In the books as I recall:
HfRO: brief gunfight at the end on the submarine.
PG: gunplay at the beginning leads to gunplay at the end.
CotC: no gunfights at all but Jack is held at gunpoint by the Russians.
CaPD: Jack is put on chopper gunner duty.
SOAF: no gunfights at all, it's all bureaucratic battles.
DoH: no gunfights at all.
EO: Jack is now President of the United States so he has people who will gunfight on his behalf.

[Jodithgrace]

I'm curious about that whole Stanley and Blanche episode. They didn't rob him, which I assumed they were going to do. What did they get out of that encounter? Is this going to be significant later on? I just can't imagine how. It bugs me every time they show Victor. 

[Raja]

30 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

I'm curious about that whole Stanley and Blanche episode. They didn't rob him, which I assumed they were going to do. What did they get out of that encounter? Is this going to be significant later on? I just can't imagine how. It bugs me every time they show Victor. 

Before he started beating him they were just playing out the scene of 50% of amateur porn.  That he introduced her with a different name then his at least Lieutenant Victor doesn't face charges on adultery on top of everything else. I was sure that they were going to be in a sleeper cell.

 

Arab counterpart to the Vegas sex players "thank you for your service" that  Hanin is "offered" to Sheikh Suleiman for a night as payment by her father for fighting in Iraq after randomly  picking him up and feeding him?, Sure, I bet he was armed and was going to take her but decided to keep her forever. But the dude about to rape the Sheikh's wife, was it an expected reward or did he get lucky that an airman broke the rules of engagement to take him out then and there? In all a pretty convoluted Clancy inspired escape for Hanin and her girls.

 

Then Greer on the other hand,  telling Ryan that since you shot a pistol as a Marine all those years ago  if you see a terrorist shoot into a crowd of people. As bad as the French SWAT team  was in their raid the ugly American shooting into the backs of French citizens trying to kill someone the French police just waved out of the combat zone has to be worse

Edited September 2, 2018 by Raja

[Netfoot]

6 hours ago, Bridget said:

I still don’t understand why the older man in Vegas beat him with a belt.

I still don't know why he would travel to Syria (?) and knock on someone's door to say "I killed your son!"  Was it simply a very expensive, gruesome way to commit suicide?  What did he think was going to happen?  What was his goal?

And for that matter why wasn't he gruesomely killed?  Was it some sort of morality play?  Terrible baby-killer from the sky meets Religion of Peace?  Were the writers trying to lead us to the light?  

I kept waiting for that plot thread to connect back in to the story.  Like the hostages, who for a long time appeared to have no connection to anything, eventually became a significant plot-point right at the end.  But Victor?  Still waiting.

All I know is, in relation to the remainder of the ten episodes, it was a cinematic non sequitur.  It had no connection whatsoever to the overall plot, made no sense, and had no climax/conclusion.  Or was him slapping down stacks of greenbacks in exchange for a few dozen hen-fruit supposed to be some sort of catharsis moment for him?  And the family?  He killed an innocent man but it's OK because he's saweee!  And has Benjamins, which of course, make up for every sin.....

Speaking of the remainder of the ten episodes.   I enjoyed the show.  Really.  But it wasn't all that great.  John Krasinski looks funny.  Don't know if it's the jowly cheeks and chin or the sticky-outy bat-ears, every time I see him I think "slapstick comedian" not "uber-smart, war-hero, CIA operative".  But what the hell, if a short-assed-Moses like Tom Cruise can be the 6'5" Jack Reacher, I guess John Krasinski can be Jack Ryan.  At least he wasn't all effortless Ninja-Stylee, bad-ass Dead-Eye Dick with a pistol, and bulletproof besides.  And I did like the relationship with Pierce/Greer.

And it was very pleasing that Cathy Mueller wasn't some concave-cheeked super-model look-alike, rather an actual human-looking woman that you feel you could play-wrestle with, without breaking something.

Story-wise, fairly predictable and formulaic, but with just enough Huh? moments to keep it interesting.  An Ebola attack on the President and top administrators just to set them up for a radioactive Cesium attack?

Like I said, I enjoyed it, and I will watch the next season without question.  Just so long as it doesn't feature Victor eating omlettes!

[Raja]

9 hours ago, Stenbeck said:

Sad, but true. 

I was nervous and expected three gigantic explosions. Sadly, the nerve agent is much worse...

And HELL YEAH to more NakedJohn. 

Since Cathy's specialty was changed from the source books I was sure it was going to be a biological attack. Since Sheikh Suleiman still has the doctors I am reasonably sure that will be the endgame method of attack.

[mrsjoe]

10 hours ago, preeya said:

Yes, but the son, Samir, might follow in his father's footsteps. As Jack Ryan said when Greer told him he saved the boy's life: "We'll See."

I think the show was pointing towards him not. It would take a lot to counter his mother's influence and the impact of his dad just walking by and leaving him as he was scared and getting arrested. They showed that it actually took many years and a lot of events, both big and small, to radicalize his dad. Here’s hoping Samir gets a better life.

I too kept waiting for Victor to be relevant. Maybe they are setting him up as a main character next season?

[preeya]

30 minutes ago, mrsjoe said:

I think the show was pointing towards him not. It would take a lot to counter his mother's influence and the impact of his dad just walking by and leaving him as he was scared and getting arrested. They showed that it actually took many years and a lot of events, both big and small, to radicalize his dad. Here’s hoping Samir gets a better life.

I too kept waiting for Victor to be relevant. Maybe they are setting him up as a main character next season?

1

Yes, but the scene in the courtyard where the "recruits/students" were shooting the machine guns toward the sky, Samir looked like he was really into the moment.

[Stenbeck]

Awesome. Yes, there are minor (or major!) potholes, but it's entertaining as hell.

I was expecting the son to have more of a reaction or an internal conflict upon learning his mother was alive. His dad (whom he's now devoted to) lied to him. 

[revbfc]

“Annandale, MD.”

Oh FFS, show.

[skippylou]

19 hours ago, AmandaPanda said:

Really liked this finale. I loved that Cathy's job isn't just some random happenstance, that it actually ended up being a part of the overall arc of the season. Interested to see where next season goes, though it has to have Jack going to be with Greer in Moscow. I need them to be reunited ASAP!

I knew it would tie in when we learned that she was Epidemiologist of the Year in one of the early episodes.  

4 hours ago, preeya said:

Yes, but the scene in the courtyard where the "recruits/students" were shooting the machine guns toward the sky, Samir looked like he was really into the moment.

If you're a 12 year old boy, shooting an automatic weapon into the sky is just good clean FUN, regardless of the cause.

[skippylou]

20 hours ago, AmandaPanda said:

Did not expect for Nadler to be the one with ebola, though. That was a twist I didn't see coming. 

The "vitamins" didn't make you suspicious?  

Edited September 2, 2018 by skippylou

[skippylou]

I liked the character Sandrine Arnaud, French counter terrorist agent, sorry she is out of the series so early.

[skippylou]

After Jack's performance on this op I am surprised if he will ever be allowed to be a field agent again.  

[revbfc]

I enjoyed the show in spite of the problems I have expressed in other threads.  The cast is great, and I just want better writing and research next time around.  The sloppiness with details really held the show back.

[Jodithgrace]

I predicted the vitamins right away, but how did Sulieman know exactly when the raid would occur? He didn't find out until he saw Samir's video game that his wife was in the US and in Army custody, and that therefore he was about to be raided. What if the hostages got sick or even died before the raid? It seems like a risky gamble to me...too many things hinging upon each other. 

But since things worked out exactly right...good plan! LOL  Now the president has been exposed to Ebola. And the hostages and their loved ones have already spread it far and wide. Handy that Cathy is in this particular field, and not, say, a surgeon. Now the two of them can save the world together!

[MVFrostsMyPie]

It was a little annoying how easily Suleiman and his son got into the US. Meanwhile, I'm Middle Eastern and get patted down "randomly" on every other flight I go on. I've had tank tops on and they still patted me down or asked me what a weird lump near my shoulder was. ("uh, my bra strap?"). At least now I have global entry so I can do TSA pre-check and coming back home from international trips is a little less obnoxious with customs and I don't quite as feel like a second-class citizen. Annnnyway......

The pizza explosion made me even more sad than the church attack, maybe because it felt more sudden than the church scene.

So I guess those terrorists thought of everything in terms of the hospital attack, but figured the CIA wouldn't catch on to them, so they didn't think about the signal potentially being jammed to detonate their bioweapon contraption. Got it. Also, way to park the getaway car right in front of the hospital where there's a huge police presence. 

I'm having a hard time believing the son was so naive to daddy's terrorist/clearly wrong activities. I hope they questioned him a lot before they turned him over to mommy dearest and his sisters. (Speaking of which, JFC if they know these people communicate through video games, why would you even think about giving the daughter a video game thingy? And why do they have internet access?!? And why does the dad just happen to want to open his son's video game?)

The little sister looked out of place/like she was adopted. It was distracting to me. Casting fail. There were some casting choices were I was like, "seriously, you really expect me to believe this guy is Middle Eastern?" It was almost as bad as when Jake Gyllenhal was cast as the Prince of Persia. 

Also, I guess they spent so much money on all the explosions and special effects that they didn't have enough money for better wigs and fake beards.  Like, check out the hot mess on this dude:

Also I've never seen Nats fans look so spirited and animated. Also like how there was one random Mets fan in the crowd. I guess it must have been a Nats vs. Mets game? 

[Jodithgrace]

I really liked the show, but did have some comments.

I thought that Sulieman was very clever coming into the US as a Jew, with a yarmulka. I didn't catch his first name though, was it Isaac? Were the authorities on the lookout for a man and boy? He had pretty convincing paperwork for surgery, as well, apparently.

I just assumed that Victor and his drones would play some part in this, but nada. I guess he became an egg salesman. Very odd subplot which had no payoff what so ever. I never even found out about Stanley and Blanche!

When that agent (I mean officer) was waiting in that apartment, making himself a cup of tea, and Ibrahim walks in (who was very cute, BTW) I expected a twist that the two of them were in a relationship, right until he shot him. So apparently not. It wouldn't have made much sense, but I am always looking for shocking twists. (LOL)

I did predict that the hospital was where the big action was going to play out. Jeez..this guy had access to Ebola, Cesium, who knows what else. Where did he get all those connections? And to think this all started because he didn't get that job in 2001.

That kid in the helicopter story isn't exactly original. I've read many variations of it. Kids get politicized so young in places like that where the war is all around them, and Americans don't expect it. Ryan was smart to worry about Samir, but with his mother and sisters' influence, hopefully he will avoid it.

I think that Greer was made a Muslim for one simple reason...to counteract the whole Muslims=Terrorist vibe that the show gave off. The old forgiving Syrian father and grandson was also thrown in there for the same reason. My daughter is a Muslim (converted..long, long story) but I doubt that she would be fond of this show and I won't be recommending it to her. Anyway, Hanin, was also a "good Muslim." So at least they attempted a balance. 

[Netfoot]

8 hours ago, preeya said:

Yes, but the scene in the courtyard where the "recruits/students" were shooting the machine guns toward the sky, Samir looked like he was really into the moment.

Don't forget the image foremost in Ryan's mind:  The little kid with the grenade in the helicopter.  (Should have kicked the little shite out the door as soon as he pulled that grenade out!)

2 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I'm Middle Eastern and get patted down "randomly" on every other flight I go on.

I'm not middle eastern, but I've been "randomly" selected for additional checks, and had to join a line which (coincidentally!) consisted of nothing but men with beards.  Mind you, that was six weeks after 9/11...

1 hour ago, Jodithgrace said:

I think that Greer was made a Muslim for one simple reason...

To pander to the Three Blind Politically Correct Mice?

[leighdear]

6 hours ago, revbfc said:

“Annandale, MD.”

Oh FFS, show.

My first thought was "No idiots, Annandale is in VIRGINIA".   Then I Googled, and there's an Annandale, Md.  

At least I wasn't the only one.  *LOL*

[kickingnames]

4 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

When that agent (I mean officer) was waiting in that apartment, making himself a cup of tea, and Ibrahim walks in (who was very cute, BTW) I expected a twist that the two of them were in a relationship, right until he shot him. So apparently not. It wouldn't have made much sense, but I am always looking for shocking twists. (LOL)

Oh good — it wasn’t just me then. That was exactly my lune of thought during that last scene.

The officer (who likes to change his name for each mission so I don’t know what to call him) is played by an actor from the most recent season of Colony — I didn’t like his character on that show at all, but I’m enjoying the actors work more and more. Hopefully he’ll show up next season as well.

[Raja]

22 hours ago, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

I am so invested in Hanin and her girls. Was she in the books?

I think I might give this series a try. Yes, yes, never gotten into the Jack Ryan craze. Always been on the John Krasinski train so here I am!

It is an original story. As my memory serves only the senior CIA officers are from the extended supporting cast in the Clancyverse books, unless some came from the son of Jack Ryan series which I never read. The biggest change along with Cathy's medical specialty is that I don't think that Greer was a US Navy Admiral from Naval Intelligence in this story before going over to the CIA. 

 

19 hours ago, Stenbeck said:

Hanin's story is excellent. Part of me wants her to help the CIA, part of me wants her to disappear into a new life in Europe. 

With the rapist Yazid unkillable and not checking in with the Sheikh  and Jack Ryan representing the CIA you should hope the Americans grab her in time

20 hours ago, revbfc said:

My French isn’t amazing but Suleiman should have been tipped off by the chat being so formal.  His brother was using a lot of contractions, and casual colloquialisms, and the CIA were translating straight to simple, grammatically correct French.

it strains all credibility that the CIA didn’t have at least one guy fluent in French just hanging around within 20 feet to help out.

 

If there’s a second season, I hope they get better team of writers and researchers.

It is weird like with the password breaking earlier a two hour movie was able to fit another character in to do stuff like that but with 7 plus TV hours we have the Jack hero do everything.

[ladders]

On 9/1/2018 at 2:37 PM, Stenbeck said:

I really enjoyed it. Entertaining and well paced.

This is my first time watching an Amazon show, and the production values feel much higher than your average Netflix show.

Pace! This is what keeps me watching a show more than anything and Jack Ryan really hit this out of the park. Nothing seemed rushed however there was consistent progress and meaningful character development.

And another +1 for the production values I suppose attributable to Paramount. I thought Bloodline on Netflix had a similar level of quality but Jack Ryan blows past the first seasons of Bosch or Man in the High Castle, for examples that came from Amazon Prime.

[skippylou]

On 9/1/2018 at 5:36 PM, AmandaPanda said:

I totally agree that it was way too easy to figure out. However, at least it was that and not like his birthday or something that I would totally have as my password. 

I suppose that if you were in prison for a time your number is something you wont easily forget.

[ladders]

5 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

The little sister looked out of place/like she was adopted. It was distracting to me. Casting fail. There were some casting choices were I was like, "seriously, you really expect me to believe this guy is Middle Eastern?" It was almost as bad as when Jake Gyllenhal was cast as the Prince of Persia. 

Hey, don't you know IMDB would tell you that actress was born in Syria? I don't believe every family looks alike, that would be stereotyping. Also, when you get into casting choices, I tend to think it's hard to find tons of actors who want to portray terrorists or their families. And since Hollywood struggles with diversity, it figures that there wouldn't be lots of experienced Middle Eastern actors floating around, let alone children.

Frankly I was impressed at the quality of the scenes set in Syria and Turkey, just because I'm used to seeing the B-plot tend towards mediocrity in shows like this. When the stars are off screen you might expect characters to become one-dimensional, the action predictable and as a result, almost want to fast forward through whatever scenes are set in the village, desert, or refugee camp. But the actors were good here and the writers clearly invested time and thought into developing their stories.

[Raja]

You have "one of them" in an otherwise dry hole. He can't fight back and you would think others besides Jack can try to question him. But a special operations guy, best of the best battle tested chosen man just shoots him?

Edited September 3, 2018 by Raja

[Raja]

8 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

 

The little sister looked out of place/like she was adopted. It was distracting to me. Casting fail. There were some casting choices were I was like, "seriously, you really expect me to believe this guy is Middle Eastern?" It was almost as bad as when Jake Gyllenhal was cast as the Prince of Persia. 

 

Well they were not all supposed to be Middle Eastern as Sheikh Suleiman was said to recruit from everywhere like ISIS does. Only he wasn't particular to  Sunnis like ISIS but also all those  other sects that the other  Sheikh called apostates.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

Well, he is the title character and so being heroic comes with the territory. I expect him to save the day

[Raja]

He was the the lead character with Harrison Ford also but they still found time, out of only two hours of story, to say hi to the guy who actual figured out the password

[FozzyBear]

On 8/31/2018 at 6:51 PM, biakbiak said:

Abbie is 36 and to me looks older than John who is three years older than her.

I actually kind of liked that they cast an actress in her 30s to play a woman in her 30s and didn’t bother to try and make her look younger. She looked like a very beautiful 36 year old woman. Now I’m not saying I think Abbie Cornish was amazing in the role, but I was able to buy her as a Dr at least.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

3 hours ago, skippylou said:

I suppose that if you were in prison for a time your number is something you wont easily forget.

Yeah, just ask Jean Valjean! 

[Ursula Parrott]

My guess: Stanley Kowalski and Blanche DuBois are agents who blackmailed and flipped Lt. Drone. Or at least that’s the fake name he should have used with those two. I guess he’s never seen Streetcar Named Desire. 

[revbfc]

9 hours ago, leighdear said:

My first thought was "No idiots, Annandale is in VIRGINIA".   Then I Googled, and there's an Annandale, Md.  

At least I wasn't the only one.  *LOL*

I would give them the benefit of the doubt, but the cars in the exterior shot had Virginia tags.

[mledawn]

I really liked Cathy's casting - I recall thinking she looked like a normal, age appropriate woman. 

[mledawn]

As much as I enjoy seeing Lee Turgeson in anything, that interaction was bizarre and seemed out of place. I laughed when they were named characters from the play, but the drone pilot didn't seem to think anything of it...

I read an article a while ago in The New Yorker (I think) about the mental and emotional toll the job takes on drone pilots. I'm not sure if the show did a credible (enough) job to convey this very real problem but I found my background knowledge helped. The Prime X-Ray feature also shows a bunch of information but I had to turn it off while watching because it was too distracting. I will go back and read all those tidbits later.

[mledawn]

Had a H!ITG moment with the American guy Hanin met at the refugee camp - the one she tried to tell about her husband being Suleiman. It took me a minute to pin him down as Olly the reporter kid from Broadchurch.

 

The French auto-translation thing threw me a bit also. As someone who has tried to translate things from English to Quebecois French, the regional slangs and quirks make things so different. Formal FRENCH French is jarring in comparison.

[mledawn]

I was massively confused by how Sandrine was shot - did the other police officer shoot her? Was he with Ali - Jack ended up shooting him, right? I will rewatch the whole series again, but I'm bingeing and have no time to double back just now :)

[mledawn]

I was so exasperated when one of the CIA officers gave the daughter the game as a gift. That was predictable, and I need to be hit over the head with an anvil to catch a lot of things. Also, to interact those kids would need wifi or data and how does that just happen? 

I couldn't get a read on Samir in this ep.