S01.E07: The Sincerest Form of Flattery

[Bort]

Quote

Clare's past is revealed; Quayle suffers through his own birthday party.

[shapeshifter]

I like the episode titles. Like: "[Imitation is] THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY."

 

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"—except for maybe when there are half a dozen of them hidden in a drawer. A drawer ajar. And the toast. Yes, he was drunk, but as a person of unrestrained desires, Peter's personal agenda (of discovery) was bound to trump the mission's. But we also saw him as a considerate lover (in contrast to Other Claire's first). It looks like they might both choose "love" over their respective companies' agendas. As a viewer, I am too cynical to believe in "love" without a lot of convincing. Especially from these characters (I could easily believe that Other Howard loved the baker). But I could see Other Claire deciding the people who broke her legs and took her childhood friend away are not the real good guys.

[meira.hand]

The childhood indoctrination reminded me of a similar process that Philip and Elizabeth went thru in The Americans. Not so much the actual details as the tone and ruthlessness. I will not be surprised if it got its inspiration from that series (and in turn from possible real life examples of the cold war). I like the way they used one back story to give us so much information without direct exposition. I also like how they slowly separate the real bad guys driving this revenge madness from the field soldiers that are basically victims themselves.

[shapeshifter]

51 minutes ago, meira.hand said:

I also like how they slowly separate the real bad guys driving this revenge madness from the field soldiers that are basically victims themselves

So far we have no reason to assume the Other Side pandemic was a deliberate biological warfare attack from This Side, right?

[paulvdb]

There has been no evidence to support that theory, but the people in charge of the School believe it for some reason. We don't know if they have any real evidence to support that belief.

[meira.hand]

19 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So far we have no reason to assume the Other Side pandemic was a deliberate biological warfare attack from This Side, right?

The writers seem to leave this issue unresolved on purpose. The officials from prime insists on it while those from alpha deny it vehemently. In fact, on the prime side it has become such a strong excuse for control that I suspect they will keep using it even if they know its not true.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, meira.hand said:

…while those from alpha deny it vehemently.

This is the thing I was unsure of, that is, I can't recall the Other Side plague origin being discussed amongst those on Meek Howard's side. Do you recall in which episode it was mentioned and which characters said it? Of course, the writers could easily change the history by having the character who made the claim of innocence on the part of the "alpha" side having been either duped by higher ups or just lying to someone.
Or it could have been done by a single rogue nut job who was from "our"(?) side.

 

It seemed unnecessarily psychologically abusive (and therefore ultimately counterproductive to The Cause) to have Claire not anesthetized when they broke her legs. For that matter, breaking them at all seemed unnecessary given that there are many other, more likely mistakes due to gaps in knowledge of experiences likely to give her away. I guess the point of the leg breaking plot point was to (for now) clearly label that side as being run by ruthless Bad Guys. 

ETA: The leg breaking and other abusive treatment might be intended to brainwash the replacements to easily be willing to commit ruthless murders themselves.
I keep thinking it would be more useful at times to instead kidnap the replaced originals in hopes of maybe brainwashing them in case it becomes necessary to replace the replacements. But maybe the writers thought this would be too complicated for serialized TV.

Edited March 4, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Bort]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I can't recall the Other Side plague origin being discussed amongst those on Meek Howard's side. Do you recall in which episode it was mentioned and which characters said it?

I think it was the second episode, where Quayle and Clare's dad met with Claude and some other guy for a diplomatic dinner to discuss information trade. When the pandemic was brought up. Quayle said that it had been proven that their side hadn't caused it. Clearly, the Other Side doesn't believe it, even with the unequivocal proof. Or they're just trying to control the populace with this false information.

The one bit of exposition I found very interesting was in Clare's class she was teaching about how the worlds split in 1987 and ran along virtually identical until the flu pandemic in 1996. This explains Baldwin's age. The events that took place in her backstory episode weren't pre-1987, but sometime after that. Early to mid-90s, possibly right before the flu struck.

Apropos of nothing I enjoyed the Baldwin-free episode. 

[paulvdb]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It seemed unnecessarily psychologically abusive (and therefore ultimately counterproductive to The Cause) to have Claire not anesthetized when they broke her legs. For that matter, breaking them at all seemed unnecessary given that there are many other, more likely mistakes due to gaps in knowledge of experiences likely to give her away. I guess the point of the leg breaking plot point was to (for now) clearly label that side as being run by ruthless Bad Guys. 

I assumed that it was done for practical reasons. If Clare was ever examined by a doctor it could become clear that she had never broken her legs which would raise questions. I'm not a doctor, but would it show on an x-ray or be noticeable in some other medical examination if Clare had never broken her legs?

[Bort]

28 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

I assumed that it was done for practical reasons. If Clare was ever examined by a doctor it could become clear that she had never broken her legs which would raise questions. I'm not a doctor, but would it show on an x-ray or be noticeable in some other medical examination if Clare had never broken her legs?

It would, but they could've put her under and accomplished that. When breaking Other Side Clare's legs, they insisted she be conscious for it. Presumably wanting her to have the same trauma that her shadow did.

[hardy har]

RE: The Pandemic Responsibility

I can't remember which one, but in one of the little after episode things with the creator he mentioned a big theme of the show is "you have to love the lie" and that would tie in with Pope and everyone involved with The School. At this point, the idea that Alpha Side is responsible is so deep that it probably doesn't matter. The School took orphaned kids whose loved ones died from the pandemic and raised them as avenging soldiers. That is some deep seeded propaganda right there.  Pus, The School seemed to be using Alpha as a catch-all excuse for anything shitty that they did to the kids.  

I really like that Quayle was so terrible at being a spy. Like, he just got drunk and fucked that plan up right quick. I also love that he and Claire know about each other and I liked that he called Howard Prime right away. I was preparing for an annoying storyline where he tries to figure out what to do about Claire while Heinrich and Howard Prime think he's the mole. Though I guess we don't know if they'll let Heinrich know what's going on. 

Here's something that I've been wondering. Do we know which department Emily Alpha worked in for sure? Was it Strategy/Housekeeping like Emily Prime? Alpha Howard mentioned she was a clerk, but if she was really high up, then being a clerk could just be her cover. Also, if Emily Alpha was working on paperwork from Quayle's safe does that mean Claire was working with her?

2 hours ago, kariyaki said:

The one bit of exposition I found very interesting was in Clare's class she was teaching about how the worlds split in 1987 and ran along virtually identical until the flu pandemic in 1996. This explains Baldwin's age. The events that took place in her backstory episode weren't pre-1987, but sometime after that. Early to mid-90s, possibly right before the flu struck.

Hadn't caught that! I know the focus is always on Baldwin since the actress even looks younger than she actually is, but I wondered about about Quayle, Claire and the three sleeper agents as well. 

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It seemed unnecessarily psychologically abusive (and therefore ultimately counterproductive to The Cause) to have Claire not anesthetized when they broke her legs. For that matter, breaking them at all seemed unnecessary given that there are many other, more likely mistakes due to gaps in knowledge of experiences likely to give her away. I guess the point of the leg breaking plot point was to (for now) clearly label that side as being run by ruthless Bad Guys. 

I figured they didn't want her anesthetized because Claire Alpha probably wasn't. Just like Spencer mentioned how he had to get braces even though his teeth were fine. I broke my ankle over 10 years ago and I still have a visceral reaction when I think about it because I remember what it felt and sounded like. 

[Haleth]

6 hours ago, kariyaki said:

It would, but they could've put her under and accomplished that. When breaking Other Side Clare's legs, they insisted she be conscious for it. Presumably wanting her to have the same trauma that her shadow did.

 

4 hours ago, hardy har said:

 

I figured they didn't want her anesthetized because Claire Alpha probably wasn't. Just like Spencer mentioned how he had to get braces even though his teeth were fine. I broke my ankle over 10 years ago and I still have a visceral reaction when I think about it because I remember what it felt and sounded like. 

Right. I think they wanted her to remember how much it hurt. What a cruel, cruel thing to do to a child.  It really does call back to The Americans.

Manoman, Quayle was bad at hiding his shock. He might as well have had a neon sign over his head saying SUSPICIOUS! in blinking letters  

We didn't see Meek Howard at all.  

[wanderingstar]

Now, that's what I call a long con!

Peter just couldn't play the spy game, could he? *smh*

The Fanatics on The Other Side aren't messing around I guess.

I need to know more about how the flu pandemic happened.

Quote

I like the way they used one back story to give us so much information without direct exposition. 

Me too. So many shows could learn from this example.

Really good episode.
 

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, kariyaki said:

The one bit of exposition I found very interesting was in Clare's class she was teaching about how the worlds split in 1987 and ran along virtually identical until the flu pandemic in 1996. This explains Baldwin's age. The events that took place in her backstory episode weren't pre-1987, but sometime after that. Early to mid-90s, possibly right before the flu struck

Is Baldwin supposed to be 29 in 2018? If so, then she would have been born in 1989. So she would have been about 6 or 7 when the deadly strain of the swine flu struck. How old was she when her father died under the train?

4 minutes ago, Gillian Rosh said:

need to know more about how the flu pandemic happened.

Yes. Why weren't the Alphas effected by the pandemic? They wouldn't likely have had a world-wide vaccine since even now Pakistan still has polio. Maybe the split caused a mutation in the other halves that made them vulnerable. But then why didn't all of them die? I can see why the prime people think it was deliberate: It's the obvious scenario. Hopefully we will get an explanation  soon.

[steelyis]

Jesus Christ, Quayle, you had one job!

[whiporee]

Far and away the best episode so far. Great tension throughout, sympathetic characters, too. 

Quayle wasn't very good at this spy stuff, was he? I do wonder if Claire's father knows who she is. 

She had a rough life, but she still killed a bunch of people who had done nothing to her, or to her side of the door. I know she sees herself as a soldier, but I have to wonder what she thinks she's fighting for. Is it revenge? Do they want the other world? Or are they just angry terrorists looking to hurt all they can hurt?

If the flu came from the other side, I hope it wasn't intentional.  

[Haleth]

I didn't realize that was Clare teaching the class at first (she looked a lot like her own teacher) so I didn't realize that was close to present day.  For that reason I was thinking mouthy Ethel was going to turn out to be Lotte Verbeek.  Or not.  Never mind. 

It's scary how easily Clare took over her other's life since not even her parents noticed the change.  I did kind of laugh when Clare realized she was going to have to lose her virginity.  Aww, crap!

I'm wondering how the rift was first discovered.  Are there any other passage points?  Maybe our side had the means to prevent (or lessen the effects of) the flu and refused to aid the other side?  If it turns out that our side wanted to kill the others to exploit their resources I will be horrified.

[Mardo2044]

10 hours ago, steelyis said:

Jesus Christ, Quayle, you had one job!

Exactly!  Howard "Prime" will be beyond annoyed next episode.  

Edited March 5, 2018 by Mardo2044

[meira.hand]

What I find interesting is that the school instructors chose to refer to the children's counterparts as Shadows. I guess they did it as a way to dehumanize them. The children must realized that for the replacement to take place the counterparts will be killed, which can be traumatic, unless they are just the shadows of us, the real people.

[Mardo2044]

23 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It seemed unnecessarily psychologically abusive (and therefore ultimately counterproductive to The Cause) to have Claire not anesthetized when they broke her legs. For that matter, breaking them at all seemed unnecessary given that there are many other, more likely mistakes due to gaps in knowledge of experiences likely to give her away. I guess the point of the leg breaking plot point was to (for now) clearly label that side as being run by ruthless Bad Guys. 

Or there is something later down the line about anesthesia... I know Anna spoke to the doctors about Emily prime not being able to go under anesthesia.   Either that or they felt this type of trauma would further emotionally remove herself from trusting others and ability to feel empathy.

[Bort]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Is Baldwin supposed to be 29 in 2018? If so, then she would have been born in 1989. So she would have been about 6 or 7 when the deadly strain of the swine flu struck. How old was she when her father died under the train?

Since they didn't give us years in her flashback episode, we can only guess. I'd say Baldwin is somewhere around 30. The actress is 27, so that's close enough.

[meira.hand]

2 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Is Baldwin supposed to be 29 in 2018? If so, then she would have been born in 1989. So she would have been about 6 or 7 when the deadly strain of the swine flu struck. How old was she when her father died under the train?

Since they didn't give us years in her flashback episode, we can only guess. I'd say Baldwin is somewhere around 30. The actress is 27, so that's close enough.

Only people born before the split have exact DNA duplicates in both worlds, so as the split occurred 30 years ago, Baldwin has to be at least a little over 30. This also means that they had to start this replacement school very early because they have just one and very specific and narrow window of time to do it. Only people born before the split and they have to be still young enough for this kind of indoctrination and without parents to oppose it. BTW, this also means that after the duplicate generation dies off, there will be no more counterparts.

[Mardo2044]

So was Claire Prime handling Baldwin when she said she was only her true self with her?  I guess so since she knowingly left her to be (unsuccessfully) killed.  That said, no idea if she is playing Quayle or not now that she is discovered, but I do believe she loves the baby Spencer.

[Bort]

10 minutes ago, meira.hand said:

Only people born before the split have exact DNA duplicates in both worlds, so as the split occurred 30 years ago, Baldwin has to be at least a little over 30. This also means that they had to start this replacement school very early because they have just one and very specific and narrow window of time to do it. Only people born before the split and they have to be still young enough for this kind of indoctrination and without parents to oppose it. BTW, this also means that after the duplicate generation dies off, there will be no more counterparts.

Clare said that the worlds ran virtually identically until the pandemic, so I think it's pretty likely that most people born between 1987-96 will still have a double. That said, I agree that Baldwin has to have been born in about 1986, based on the fact that she was ten when the incident with her father on the train happened and there was no sign of a pandemic. The latest that could be is early 1996.

One example of the worlds NOT running identically is the Silks on the Other Side having a baby and the ones on Our Side losing theirs. Anna doesn't have a double.

[meira.hand]

11 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Clare said that the worlds ran virtually identically until the pandemic, so I think it's pretty likely that most people born between 1987-96 will still have a double.

I took the "running identical" to refer to the way external events affect people, not on a molecular level or living cells levels. To have the couple double have the exact same egg & sperm DNA mix to create DNA matched children, is a bit much, even in this imaginary scenario. This is also why I don't really see the alpha Silks aborted daughter as a potential Anna double, just the child they could have had. Alpha Howard would like to connect with her because she is a child of a Howard and Emily, not his aborted child double. They left this without specifics because it resonated better emotionally but they were also careful not to imply that the aborted child was a counterpart.

[arachne]

Here's what I don't get -- if that cyanide capsule is really stale, as Clare said, why is she keeping it around? Wouldn't it have made more sense to throw it out? (Yeah, I know, Howard Prime wouldn't have found it then, but still ...) 

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, Haleth said:

…Maybe our side had the means to prevent (or lessen the effects of) the flu and refused to aid the other side?  If it turns out that our side wanted to kill the others to exploit their resources I will be horrified

I would not be surprised. But then I'm old enough to have seen the Vietnam war live in my living room and now know that much (if not all of it) was driven by evil and wrong headed thinking.

[scrb]

Clare may have become a true believer through the indoctrination but she showed no mercy when she killed her "shadow."

And I guess they didn't show it but the school must have had lessons about choking out someone to death with one hand?

And Clare learns to find killers for hire, get them to kill her shadow and beat her up.  All with no questions asked.

The killers might assume they were identical twins but wouldn't it strike them as highly unusual for one identical twin to order a hit on the other and then beat her up so that she can take the place of the murdered one?  Even if she didn't tell him the reason for having them beat her up, they can deduce that given the faked robbery?

Anyways it seems that it wouldn't be that hard that Clare Prime crossed over because the previews show Howard interrogating the crossing guards.  She had her picture taken and her crossing was logged on such and such a date.

But there's not much mystery left since Peter gave up the game.  So Clare can't kill Peter or have him killed since he's too valuable to them.

 

Overall though, Howard Prime could end this conspiracy or at least take out the ringleader by going back and beating up Pope.  It's odd that they seemed to be confidantes in the pilot but now they're working against each other.

The conspiracy doesn't really make sense either.  If a half a billion people died from the flu pandemic, what are they going to do, send a few graduates of the School to the other side at a time and have them kill?  They'd have to find the people responsible for the pandemic, if there are such people, and take them out?  Or take over leadership of key countries and start a global war?  What exactly do they hope to accomplish?

[Bort]

8 minutes ago, scrb said:

The conspiracy doesn't really make sense either.  If a half a billion people died from the flu pandemic, what are they going to do, send a few graduates of the School to the other side at a time and have them kill?  They'd have to find the people responsible for the pandemic, if there are such people, and take them out?  Or take over leadership of key countries and start a global war?  What exactly do they hope to accomplish?

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if there is no plan. 20 years ago, a vengeful Other Side cooked up this scheme to brainwash orphans and create operatives that have the potential to replace key people on Our Side. Enough time has gone by that the people in charge who had an end game might no longer be around. They might have died off, gotten muscled out, etc. Those in charge now may have been so focused on accomplishing the goal of having moles, that they don't have anything planned after that.

[meira.hand]

3 minutes ago, scrb said:

The conspiracy doesn't really make sense either.  If a half a billion people died from the flu pandemic, what are they going to do, send a few graduates of the School to the other side at a time and have them kill?  They'd have to find the people responsible for the pandemic, if there are such people, and take them out?  Or take over leadership of key countries and start a global war?  What exactly do they hope to accomplish?

They could retaliate via a pandemic triggering virus that the survivors of their pandemic are immune to. In their eyes its the perfect revenge and this kind of biological weapon can easily be transferred thru the crossing and spreading it further takes care of itself. The way they don't mind getting rid of innocent people, I don't think they are looking to punish the specific people they think are responsible for the pandemic. This does not explain why they need to have replacements in key positions but its an example of how very few people can cause unimaginable damage.

[hardy har]

25 minutes ago, scrb said:

The conspiracy doesn't really make sense either.  If a half a billion people died from the flu pandemic, what are they going to do, send a few graduates of the School to the other side at a time and have them kill?  They'd have to find the people responsible for the pandemic, if there are such people, and take them out?  Or take over leadership of key countries and start a global war?  What exactly do they hope to accomplish?

I haven't gotten the sense that they're trying to retaliate in any "in-kind" type of way where they'd go after the specific people responsible for the pandemic. I think they just want to cause as much long lasting harm as possible. 

8 hours ago, Haleth said:

It's scary how easily Clare took over her other's life since not even her parents noticed the change.  I did kind of laugh when Clare realized she was going to have to lose her virginity.  Aww, crap!

I'm wondering how the rift was first discovered.  Are there any other passage points?  Maybe our side had the means to prevent (or lessen the effects of) the flu and refused to aid the other side?  If it turns out that our side wanted to kill the others to exploit their resources I will be horrified.

 I'm wondering if it going to turn out that Alpha Side used the pandemic on Prime as Biological Warfare testing ground. 

Re Claire's virginity. I definitely got a kick out of the fact that she pretty much immediately decided losing it to some random at a bar was was a better idea than losing it to The Ambassador. Wise move, Claire.

 I was trying to find some info about creating the show and got lost in a Twitter wormhole. Amy Berg said they had every script written before they started (tweaks were made along the way for budget and once casting was finalized) and they created a Counterpart Bible. Apparently, it details the similarities/differences between the worlds and how/why they diverged and even includes things that what kind of stamps each side uses at customs for people crossing over. They even made an Employee manual for Office of Interchange.

I'm jazzed to do a rewatch of this once it's over. I feel like I'll catch a bunch of stuff I missed. 

[wanderingstar]

On 3/5/2018 at 4:04 PM, hardy har said:

Re Claire's virginity. I definitely got a kick out of the fact that she pretty much immediately decided losing it to some random at a bar was was a better idea than losing it to The Ambassador. Wise move, Claire.

Seriously! I loved the look Clare gave him when he offered his "services." Claude is so gross.

Edited March 11, 2018 by Gillian Rosh

[Notwisconsin]

I figure that the "cult" thinks they know how to collapse the two versions of Earth back into one and are planning on making sure that earth prime is the only one left. How they're going to do it I haven't a clue.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, scrb said:

And Clare learns to find killers for hire, get them to kill her shadow and beat her up.  All with no questions asked

In the world of procedural crime shows, Claire would've at least disguised herself, and /or would've given the directions for the hit rather than doing it herself. Maybe killing one's "shadow" is an intrinsic part of the indoctrination? Or maybe the Prime World's equivalent of D Day is nearing, so nothing beyond making it difficult to ID the body is a priority. 
Like maybe:

4 hours ago, Notwisconsin said:

I figure that the "cult" thinks they know how to collapse the two versions of Earth back into one and are planning on making sure that earth prime is the only one left. How they're going to do it I haven't a clue.

Or maybe:

8 hours ago, meira.hand said:

They could retaliate via a pandemic triggering virus that the survivors of their pandemic are immune to. In their eyes its the perfect revenge…

[wilnil]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 11:12 AM, Mardo2044 said:

Or there is something later down the line about anesthesia... I know Anna spoke to the doctors about Emily prime not being able to go under anesthesia. 

In Emily Prime's case, it's because she's a recovering drug addict.

[meira.hand]

On 3/4/2018 at 11:14 AM, shapeshifter said:

I like the episode titles. Like: "[Imitation is] THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY."

Me too. They slowly build the emotional undertones for them, so you really get it only after you watch the preceding episode. Like the next one: "Love The Lie"

[grommit2]

Finally, an episode that made sense.
Now I understand what is going on.
Geez...that took a long time. 
And, yes, Quayle was an idiot for not keeping the secret. 

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, grommit2 said:

Finally, an episode that made sense.
Now I understand what is going on.
Geez...that took a long time. 

Yes, but:

8 hours ago, grommit2 said:

Quayle was an idiot for not keeping the secret. 

I imagine that if Quayle had kept the secret, Claire would've continued to see him as The Enemy and eventually offed him, whereas this way they might actually make a go of it as rebels together against their respective Powers That Be.

[Quilt Fairy]

Opinion of one here, but I found this episode incredibly boring.  The series was really picking up speed and then it comes to a great screeching halt so we could be treated to almost an entire episode with a seemingly endless exposition of Clare's background.  Seriously, snippets of this would have been just fine.  I also have a hard time getting past the fact that adult Clare has a totally different skin tone than young Clare. 

In other news, I found out a few weekends ago that Starz on Demand has the new episode up on Sunday morning if you can't wait until Sunday night to get your fix.

[Notwisconsin]

we needed the backstory.

[Notwisconsin]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:42 PM, shapeshifter said:

Yes, but:

I imagine that if Quayle had kept the secret, Claire would've continued to see him as The Enemy and eventually offed him, whereas this way they might actually make a go of it as rebels together against their respective Powers That Be.

No. Why would Quayle rebel against a group who, in his opinion, did nothing wrong? BTW, she's still running a hit squad and is part of a genocidal interdemensional conspiracy.

[Quilt Fairy]

On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 8:31 AM, Notwisconsin said:

we needed the backstory.

I just don't think it needed to be jammed into one episode, when most of the previous backstories have been shown in little tantalizing bits.  This episode just seemed off to me, like a sledgehammer when the previous episodes were done with jeweler's tools.  YMMV.

[Mardo2044]

On 3/5/2018 at 3:03 PM, arachne said:

Here's what I don't get -- if that cyanide capsule is really stale, as Clare said, why is she keeping it around? Wouldn't it have made more sense to throw it out? (Yeah, I know, Howard Prime wouldn't have found it then, but still ...) 

She says it's stale...and maybe as viewers we want to believe she has just adopted this life and is all in and let the pill go bad.  But I think once caught an operative says anything to stay alive.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Mardo2044

[meira.hand]

On 3/6/2018 at 8:08 PM, meira.hand said:

On 3/4/2018 at 11:14 AM, shapeshifter said:

I like the episode titles. Like: "[Imitation is] THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY."

Me too. They slowly build the emotional undertones for them, so you really get it only after you watch the preceding episode. Like the next one: "Love The Lie"

After watching the episode I love the title even more, as they managed to surprise again with who exactly has been loving the lie all along. Just perfect.

[marinw]

Creepy vaguely East European boarding schools always get my attention.

[AAEBoiler]

This was definitely the best episode to date! It's all starting to make sense it's just too bad it took 7 episodes for me to get a feel for what is happening. Or, I'm just becoming a bit dim-witted in my dotage.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 3/11/2018 at 11:58 PM, Mardo2044 said:

She says it's stale...and maybe as viewers we want to believe she has just adopted this life and is all in and let the pill go bad.  But I think once caught an operative says anything to stay alive.

 

On 3/5/2018 at 3:03 PM, arachne said:

Here's what I don't get -- if that cyanide capsule is really stale, as Clare said, why is she keeping it around? Wouldn't it have made more sense to throw it out? (Yeah, I know, Howard Prime wouldn't have found it then, but still ...) 

In case she needs to show it to one of her handlers, perhaps.

[Ottis]

On 3/4/2018 at 6:20 AM, meira.hand said:

I also like how they slowly separate the real bad guys driving this revenge madness from the field soldiers that are basically victims themselves.

As they have revealed more of the overarching plot of this show, I have become less and less interested. If this is about a power struggle on one side between two groups, one that for some reason thinks the other world tried to kill everyone in their world (and yet they only killed 7 percent, so ... they failed horribly?), I don't care. If this is about the fact that a copy of a world exists and the differences between the two worlds and why they matter, I'm in.

With each episode, it feels more like the former than the latter, and I am losing interest.

[AudienceofOne]

On 3/5/2018 at 5:14 PM, steelyis said:

Jesus Christ, Quayle, you had one job!

Quayle's inherent nature as an over-coddled entitled child promoted past his level of competency was already well enough established that I wasn't at all surprised. This is exactly what a spoilt little man-boy would do when he realises his wife betrayed him - even though he betrays her every time he bangs a hooker. The big picture is nowhere near as important as his fragile self-esteem. So of course he gets drunk and confronts her and then chooses entirely to believe her when she says the cyanide pill is a dud.

Count me in as one who found this episode tiresome. I understand why it had to be this way - anything else would have stepped on the reveal of Quayle's wife being the mole or taken focus away in the last few episodes of the season. But it was a slog nonetheless.

[steelyis]

37 minutes ago, AudienceofOne said:

Quayle's inherent nature as an over-coddled entitled child promoted past his level of competency was already well enough established that I wasn't at all surprised. This is exactly what a spoilt little man-boy would do when he realises his wife betrayed him - even though he betrays her every time he bangs a hooker. The big picture is nowhere near as important as his fragile self-esteem. So of course he gets drunk and confronts her and then chooses entirely to believe her when she says the cyanide pill is a dud.

This whole paragraph is pure truth.