S02.E03: Day 422

[tessaray]

Quote

Reddick, Boseman and Lockhart represent a young woman who was assaulted while a contestant on a reality dating show; Diane fears she might be the killer's next target.

[UNOSEZ]

I thought maybe I read the scene wrong last week.. But yeah Liz is up to something and I'm glad dianne in all her micro dosing hyper paranoid idgaf glory called her out... Big shout out to Luca for quick thinking putting the napkins on the girls... Love how both the girls get so giddy when Adrian acknowledged them... He is a bit of a Father figure

[showme]

Has Diane lost it? That little laughing burst in the court room and that weird speech in her office are just very odd. Has she suddenly gone mental? It is not like her. Well at least she is aware of Liz's scheme now. 

So Drew is into Marissa now?

[Ms Blue Jay]

What is Liz's scheme?

I never thought Drew was into Maia; I think that was Marissa's bashfulness.  I recognize Drew from Gossip Girl, by the way.  He was "Ben".

I thought this was a very strong episode that made me excited for the future.  The last scene though with Adrian revealing the fake Bachelor video was (obviously) extremely tough for me to watch.  My god that's so terrible.  But it's very #MeToo so I guess they decided we had to see it.

I'm no scientist.  Is it realistic that they were able to determine it's baking soda so quickly?  I can't believe Luca's ballsiness to basically risk her life to help the other women.  Did Maia ever touch the substance?  

Of course I had to make this:

Edited March 19, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

What is Liz's scheme?

To get rid of Diane by undermining her with Adrian Boseman, apparently. And right now Diane's not helping her case with the goofy behavior likely due to her microdosing. But still, it was kind of dumb of Liz to assume Adrian wouldn't check in with Diane to confirm Liz's gossip. Maybe that's the way Liz was used to operating at the US Attorney's office but she probably should've waited until she got a better lay of the land before she started in with her Machiavellian maneuvers at the law firm.

Quote

Did Maia ever touch the substance?  

There was a big clump of it on top of her hand. If it had actually been ricin she'd be toast.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thank you @Joimiaroxeu

[preeya]

Diane Lockhart - WTF?

Miss prim & proper just suddenly goes off the deep end. What's up with that?

[Quark]

Well that was nuts, but all sorts of spectacular.

[CrashTextDummie]

A solid stand-alone episode. Not much Lucca and Maia, a lot of Diane, Marissa and Adrian. The latter in particular was appreciated. It felt a bit in the first two episodes like Boseman was sidelined, so it was good to have an episode to firmly re-establish how he ticks and operates. I hope we get to know him even better over the course of the season, so far he doesn't have much of a private life. Introducing his ex was a start though, I suppose.

Liz remains intriguing but I hope she doesn't turn out to be a one-dimensional snake just to have an in-firm adversary for Diane. It seems clear that she has a hidden agenda beyond wanting to "destroy" the US Attorney's Office but I'm kind of tired of characters whose only purpose is stirring the pot by ways of jockeying for power. I like that she is a somewhat morally (and perhaps legally) gray character who is nevertheless a great asset to the firm. At this point, she still has potential for being a source of both annoyance and entertainment.

Ricin scare was great, even though it was never going to be legit. I enjoy these people going into crisis mode and I thought it made for a great 10 minutes of television. Case of the week was a double-edged sword for me. This was a Big Brother-esque reality TV show sitting on footage of a woman clearly being raped and somehow I found the proceedings to be stretching credibility in light of that.

I'm sure Marissa and Maia out drinking delighted a lot of fans but I'm beginning to hope that this show's depiction of friendship can go beyond people sitting in bars together. It's like the years of pining for Alicia/Kalinda drinking scenes has gotten to the Kings and now they're trying to fill a quota of at least one bar scene per episode. It's good, but I want something more. More of Diane's fancy kitchen for example. But I'll settle for anything that's indicative that these characters don't spend 100% of their time at either the office, the courtroom, the bar or the bedroom.

Nyambi Nyambi is a fabulous name. I thought it was a new name in the opening credits and I had to remind myself who this person was playing (wasn't even sure if dude or gal) and it's Jay, the investigator. Good for him for making the main cast!

Low-key my highlight of the episode though? Darkness at Noon got a prequel: Darkness Before Noon! Evidently airing on a premium pay-channel now cause I don't think the original had explicit head-shots like that. Hah.

Edited March 19, 2018 by CrashTextDummie

[Ms Blue Jay]

Big Brother-esque?

The story was based on a Bachelor in Paradise incident that actually did happen.  You can look it up by searching Corinne and DeMario.  It very closely hewed to that event.  There was even a production assistant who reported the incident.

3 hours ago, CrashTextDummie said:

Nyambi Nyambi is a fabulous name. I thought it was a new name in the opening credits and I had to remind myself who this person was playing (wasn't even sure if dude or gal) and it's Jay, the investigator. Good for him for making the main cast!

 

So is Cush Jumbo.  I have a bad problem remembering the actors' great names over their characters'.

I love Delroy Lindo and I love him as Adrian.  I've been a big fan of his since Get Shorty.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Medicine Crow]

On 2018-03-18 at 6:15 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

To get rid of Diane by undermining her with Adrian Boseman, apparently. And right now Diane's not helping her case with the goofy behavior likely due to her microdosing. But still, it was kind of dumb of Liz to assume Adrian wouldn't check in with Diane to confirm Liz's gossip. Maybe that's the way Liz was used to operating at the US Attorney's office but she probably should've waited until she got a better lay of the land before she started in with her Machiavellian maneuvers at the law firm.

There was a big clump of it on top of her hand. If it had actually been ricin she'd be toast.

Sorry, I don't know what microdosing is!!  Could someone fill me in??

[preeya]

14 hours ago, CrashTextDummie said:

Nyambi Nyambi is a fabulous name. I thought it was a new name in the opening credits and I had to remind myself who this person was playing (wasn't even sure if dude or gal) and it's Jay, the investigator. Good for him for making the main cast!

I remember Nyambi from the Mike & Molly show. He was the owner of the diner and spoke with a distinct accent. Now I'm not sure if the accent on that show was real or if his speech on TGF is real.

[TV Anonymous]

8 minutes ago, preeya said:

I remember Nyambi from the Mike & Molly show. He was the owner of the diner and spoke with a distinct accent. Now I'm not sure if the accent on that show was real or if his speech on TGF is real.

Nyambi Nyambi is a natural-born American. I would say that his real accent is the American accent.

[UNOSEZ]

52 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

Nyambi Nyambi is a natural-born American. I would say that his real accent is the American accent.

He could have more than one.. Especially if he's a first generation kid... My mother is from the Caribbean I grew up hearing  her and her family's accent.. I can go back and forth pretty easily between the Guyanese accent and my Brooklyn one... 

[preeya]

10 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Nyambi Nyambi is a natural-born American. I would say that his real accent is the American accent.

I found some old interviews with him on YouTube. He is definitely American. He was born in Nebraska and calls himself a Sooner. The Mike & Molly accent was "learned Senegalese."

[kieyra]

On 3/19/2018 at 9:57 AM, preeya said:

Diane Lockhart - WTF?

Miss prim & proper just suddenly goes off the deep end. What's up with that?

It's really working for me. With the Trump stuff woven in, it's doing a very effective job of showing how some women feel like the world has gone absolutely mad in the last couple of years, and at some point all you can do is laugh and try really hard to not care. And if I recall correctly, the judge had just said something about "why don't women smile anymore?", which carried so many fucked-up layers I totally understood why all she could do was laugh. I think I laughed myself (although not as maniacally). 

Hopefully they are doing an arc where she feels absolutely beaten/driven mad by the increasingly insane world, but then pulls out of the tailspin, starts to care again, and fights back.

Really enjoying the season. They seemed to have picked up on the fact that the Maia story was dragging things down.

The ricin bit was epic, although I knew it would be fake.

Edited March 21, 2018 by kieyra

[vibeology]

11 hours ago, kieyra said:

It's really working for me. With the Trump stuff woven in, it's doing a very effective job of showing how some women feel like the world has gone absolutely mad in the last couple of years, and at some point all you can do is laugh and try really hard to not care. And if I recall correctly, the judge had just said something about "why don't women smile anymore?", which carried so many fucked-up layers I totally understood why all she could do was laugh. I think I laughed myself (although not as maniacally). 

So here's my question, did that really happen? Because if that had happened and then Diane burst out laughing, I would think people would get it but people seemed shocked at Diane's behavior. In the moment, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to believe that moment really happened or if it was a hallucination, like the pet pig. And if Diane's hallucinating in court, there's a serious problem.

[kieyra]

3 hours ago, vibeology said:

So here's my question, did that really happen? Because if that had happened and then Diane burst out laughing, I would think people would get it but people seemed shocked at Diane's behavior. In the moment, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to believe that moment really happened or if it was a hallucination, like the pet pig. And if Diane's hallucinating in court, there's a serious problem.

That's a reasonable speculation, and one I hadn't considered, although I hope the show doesn't go too far with 'what is/isn't real'. I don't usually like that trope, occasional exceptions aside (like the way they did it a few times in House). Too easy to use as a cop-out.

[TV Anonymous]

On 3/20/2018 at 9:38 PM, preeya said:

I found some old interviews with him on YouTube. He is definitely American. He was born in Nebraska and calls himself a Sooner. The Mike & Molly accent was "learned Senegalese."

You meant Oklahoma?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Sorry, I don't know what microdosing is!!  Could someone fill me in??

I had a hard time finding an explanation that wasn't overly technical/scientific but here's are some excerpts from an article on UK news site, The Independent:

Quote

It may seem like a doomed attempt to mix business and pleasure. But a growing number of young professionals in Silicon Valley insist that taking small doses of psychedelic drugs simply makes them perform better at work – becoming more creative and focused. The practice, known as “microdosing”, involves taking minute quantities of drugs such as LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or mescaline (found in the Peyote cactus) every few days.

Quote

Microdosing LSD also purportedly enhances overall well-being, helping to reduce stress and anxiety while improving sleep and leading to healthier habits. Although a widely reported phenomenon in the media, the lack of scientific studies on microdosing makes the prevalence near impossible to estimate. Reports suggest that what started off as an underground practice in Silicon Valley may be spreading rapidly to other workplaces.

Quote

In humans, two distinct effects of recreational doses of LSD have been reported. Initially, people experience psychedelic and positive feelings of euphoria. This may be followed by a later phase characterised by paranoia or even a psychotic-like state. LSD at low doses may produce mood elevation and creativity, mediated by the serotonin-mimicking effects. Actions on both glutamate and serotonin may also act to improve learning and cognitive flexibility, necessary for creativity, in the workplace. These findings could partly help to explain the microdosing phenomenon.

I don't recall if Diane is using LSD or if they even specifically mentioned at all what she's using but clearly it is having a random and unexpected effect on her moods.

[Medicine Crow]

13 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I had a hard time finding an explanation that wasn't overly technical/scientific but here's are some excerpts from an article on UK news site, The Independent:

I don't recall if Diane is using LSD or if they even specifically mentioned at all what she's using but clearly it is having a random and unexpected effect on her moods.

Thanks ... I looked it up myself & was reminded of the diet pills some used for the same effect "back in the day".

[Joimiaroxeu]

Heh, diet pills were straight up amphetamines, right? This microdosing stuff is administered in a liquid form via dropper and it probably seems New Agey to people like Diane. There's also a question of whether having even tiny amounts of LSD (or magic mushrooms) is legal. I think Diane got hers as part of a research study?

[wendyg]

Microdosing originated in sports doping, I think; it's been a known technique for some years - it means athletes can expect the substances they take to clear their systems much more quickly and they're less likely to get caught when they're tested. 

[John Potts]

As soon as I heard "Ricin" I knew it was fake - had it been real, both Maia and Marissa would be dead, given their level of exposure, and the show isn't going to kill off two of its characters (Luca would probably be in trouble too). Did like the way we see our investigator pulling the thread to unravel the mystery (and he didn't give any assurances that he wouldn't call the cops, even if the intern did sign the confession, whatever Marissa might think).

The whole Bachelor in Paradise bit was scary enough when I thought it was fake - the whole "we won't provide any food but LOTS of vodka!" was bad enough, to actually set up one of the women for a sexual assault was pretty horrifying. To learn it was based on actual events... just when I think I can't get too cynical over what TV Producers will do for ratings, they prove me wrong.

Loved Diane's "Fuck you, bitch!" at the end (it was all in the delivery).

[Irlandesa]

I signed up for two months of cheap Paramount+ on Prime Day and am catching up on this series after seeing the first season on CBS.  I love Diane and I feel I'll like this show more than The Good Wife (even if TGW did have one of the great seasons of TV).

But, from a 2021 perspective, the ricin scare was eerie with the worry about not breathing it in and masking.  And this was pre-pandemic.