The Passage - General Discussion

[Sakura12]

I wondered that too, after they lost Amy why didn't they send more people to pick up another homeless orphan kid? I get them still going after Brad for being a liability, but Amy should've been forgotten. If they had said she was checked out in the hospital after her mom died and they found something that made her more compatible with their research then I could buy them still wanting her. Nothing was said about that.

Yeah changing the mothers backstory should not been done. She could've been a flaky mother that died in a car accident. The drug addict thing wasn't necessary. 

[AnimeMania]

I talked to somebody who read the books, so spoilers (kinda, no biggies) ensue:

41 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

Yeah changing the mothers backstory should not been done. She could've been a flaky mother that died in a car accident. The drug addict thing wasn't necessary. 

Spoiler

In the book, the kid's mother was a prostitute that killed someone and the mother dropped her off at an orphanage so that the mother could go on the run from the police. Neither portrayal paints the mother in a good light.

 

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

I don't understand why that particular little girl is so important that you would travel across half way across the country, alert the media to her abduction, and send armed men to kill everyone in sight to get her. Just grab somebody else, or a couple of somebody elses. The future of the world is at stake!

Spoiler

All the stuff about chasing the girl and killing the police happened after the girl had been given the treatment in the book. This makes way more sense since you can't have a kid vampire running around amongst the general populace and they are losing valuable research data and can't control the variables.

[xaxat]

The premise and title sounded really familiar, so I checked my Amazon wishlist.

Quote

Item added August 24, 2012

Uh, I never ordered it.

But I'm on board. The leads have good chemistry and it seems like there is a deeper story than "we need to create vampires to fight the flu."

13 hours ago, CrazyDog said:

The cells with all the not vampires was creepy.

Personally, the creepiest thing about their evil lair is the fact that they had shrubbery. Patient Zero's cell had ivy on the walls of his cell and the conference room had an "aspen forest." In the dark. . . underground.

[CrazyDog]

17 minutes ago, xaxat said:

The premise and title sounded really familiar, so I checked my Amazon wishlist.

Uh, I never ordered it.

But I'm on board. The leads have good chemistry and it seems like there is a deeper story than "we need to create vampires to fight the flu."

Personally, the creepiest thing about their evil lair is the fact that they had shrubbery. Patient Zero's cell had ivy on the walls of his cell and the conference room had an "aspen forest." In the dark. . . underground.

Ha, I did think that the main notvamp had a pretty cozy looking cell with all the greenery.

Edited January 15, 2019 by CrazyDog

[jenrising]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

Spoiler

In the book, the kid's mother was a prostitute that killed someone and the mother dropped her off at an orphanage so that the mother could go on the run from the police. Neither portrayal paints the mother in a good light.

 

Yup to this. 

Spoiler

While they changed Amy's mom's story a bit, it wasn't THAT dramatically different. Could they have gone with something better? Yes, but it's kind of a quibble.

Also for those thinking of picking up the books:

Spoiler

The adventures of Brad and Amy don't last through the whole trilogy. I loved the first book, thought the second one was okay and haven't even managed to make myself fish the last one. 

 

Generally I liked this a lot. The first book in this series is one of my favorites from the past few years so I was nervous about the show but it seems like they're getting the good stuff in there. And I think MPG and the girl who plays Amy are great together.

[DC Gal in VA]

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I think they show the researcher pick up a piece of wood and stab the vampire in the heart to kill it.

I don't understand why that particular little girl is so important that you would travel across half way across the country, alert the media to her abduction, and send armed men to kill everyone in sight to get her. Just grab somebody else, or a couple of somebody elses. The future of the world is at stake!

All I can say about that to you AnimeMania is to quote that great song by the band Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense!

[SoSueMe]

7 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

There is nothing on right now and this really does hit all the right notes for what it is.   Plus as an added bonus it is fun to tweet.  

That being said once tv starts again this might fall by the wayside because it is overly and overtly depressing.  I hate kids on my tv shows so Amy as cute as she is is going to eventually annoy me.   

Bit right now it’s kinda fun so.....yeah I’m game for the end of the world.  And rooting for the notvampires.  

Wow, I almost missed it. I'm so used to watching nothing but cable news lately, since there hasn't been anything to pique my interest in scripted shows. I didn't even know there were books. I also don't know anything about "Brad" since I didn't watch NYPD Blue (?) But gosh, I love the chemistry between him and the little girl. So glad he turned out to be notachildpredator. I really hope it stays at this quality. The last show I took a chance on was Manifest and that didn't keep me watching for long.

Edited January 16, 2019 by SoSueMe

[jcin617]

I loved the books so I am excited for the show.    I've always liked MPG, and his interaction with Amy was good.

Some book talk:

Spoiler

Its interesting they decided to tell the story chronologically (except for all of Fanning's backstory), rather than starting a hundred years after the Vampire Apocalypse.    Do we know how they are going to handle it for the show?  Because a lot of The Passage's story is in the future/distant future which would require a whole new cast.

Edited January 16, 2019 by jcin617

[scarynikki12]

8 minutes ago, jcin617 said:

I loved the books so I am excited for the show.    I've always liked MPG, and his interaction with Amy was good.

Some book talk:

  Reveal hidden contents

Its interesting they decided to tell the story semi-chronologically, rather than starting a hundred years after the Vampire Apocalypse.    Do we know how they are going to handle it?  Because a lot of The Passage's story is in the future/distant future.

My response includes some casting info:

Spoiler

We know that Peter, Sara, and Alicia have been cast and will show up at the end of the season.  My theory is that, right now, they'll be sticking to chronological order but next season the plan is to move part of the story into the future.  I think they'll want to put off aging Amy as long as possible so I wouldn't be surprised if they run The Year of Zero in parallel to the pre-Amy story of First Colony. 

[Hanahope]

9 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I think they show the researcher pick up a piece of wood and stab the vampire in the heart to kill it.

I don't understand why that particular little girl is so important that you would travel across half way across the country, alert the media to her abduction, and send armed men to kill everyone in sight to get her. Just grab somebody else, or a couple of somebody elses. The future of the world is at stake!

I was thinking this too.  I finally decided that they weren’t really after Amy at that point as much as MPG because he knew why Amy was wanted.  They had to stop him from going to the press, he knew too much.

[Haleth]

2 hours ago, jcin617 said:

I loved the books so I am excited for the show.    I've always liked MPG, and his interaction with Amy was good.

Some book talk:

  Reveal hidden contents

Its interesting they decided to tell the story chronologically (except for all of Fanning's backstory), rather than starting a hundred years after the Vampire Apocalypse.    Do we know how they are going to handle it for the show?  Because a lot of The Passage's story is in the future/distant future which would require a whole new cast.

I was wondering too. 

I loved the first book and am pleased with the pilot. Although some things have been changed it's still suitably creepy and the little girl playing Amy is adorable. She and MPG play very well together.  

[ursula]

11 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

 

I don't understand why that particular little girl is so important that you would travel across half way across the country, alert the media to her abduction, and send armed men to kill everyone in sight to get her. Just grab somebody else, or a couple of somebody elses. The future of the world is at stake!

It wasn't the girl they were after at this point, but MPG's character because he Knew Too Much and had gone rogue. The media alert also served to discredit him. They murdered the local cop as part of "cleanup". 

[jhlipton]

While I agree that the stereotype is bad, for me, it makes sense for the mom to be a dead junkie (meth if White, crack if Black).  The point is to make us totally unsympathetic towards the mom -- otherwise, the scene at the river doesn't carry as much weight. 

On 1/15/2019 at 8:56 AM, DC Gal in VA said:

So much ditto with two white guys snatching a screaming adorable little Black girl off the streets in broad daylight in front of multiple witnesses. Even if that had gone smoothly, did it make any sense to not send, oh I don't know, perhaps a Black male and female couple in the first place who would definitely not attract as much attention riding around with her in public afterwards or, amazingly, sitting in a restaurant?

BTW, this show is just not playing fair when it comes to Amy since she kinda resembles my grand niece, right down to the way her hair was styled! 😆

It would have been worse with a Black man snatching a White child!  But they were limited in the resources that they had.  This girl and Brad were both available for the tight time-frame they have, so that's what they went with.  If it was just Brad, they might not have had to snatch her in the first place.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

MPG will always be Zack Morris to me (which isn't a bad thing!). So many teen actors are not able to successfully transition to adult roles, so it's been nice to see him steadily working since Saved by the Bell ended. I thought he was believable in this role. I was trying to figure out why his partner looked so familiar and I finally realized that he played Joe Corbin on Sleepy Hollow!

Vampires are not a 100% thing for me (I loved Buffy but hated Twilight) so it really depends on the writing and characters. I haven't read the trilogy so I don't know what to expect from the show, but so far I like it.

[bilgistic]

On 1/14/2019 at 11:02 PM, SimoneS said:

The actress playing Amy is Saniyya Sidney. She is very good. I saw online that Amy was

  Hide contents

Spoiler

white is the books and that some of the fans are upset that an African American actress was cast in the role. Eh, screw'em.

 

 

On 1/15/2019 at 11:40 AM, owenthurman said:

That, to me, was the most problematic change. The book's

  Hide contents

Spoiler

 

white mom? Not a crack addict. She kills a man in self-defense, is wanted for murder, and abandons Amy to go on the run. The tv show made the woman black, then decided to make her an addict and an overdose death.

The narrative of a child neglected by her birth parent finding true family with a stranger is changed when race is brought in; now it's a neglectful, drug-addicted black birth parent and a nurturing white stranger.

 

 

Changing the mother's story that way is indeed problematic. Ugh.

I'm glad the choice was made to change the Amy's race in the show to black (I've not read the book). We have more than enough white wunderkinds on TV and representation of other races matters. But/and...I kept thinking that there is absolutely zero reason why a BIPOC man or woman could not have been cast in Gosselaar's role, but of course it has to be white male former special ops whatever because it always is when it's a vaguely sinister "I have special skills" military type. With the "endangered" child being black and the "rescuer" being white, the story becomes one of White Saviorism.

That said, I appreciate that Brad told Amy she matters and she is smart, funny, tough, etc. We need more of that on TV, even though it's pretty much the least amount of effort.

Edited January 17, 2019 by bilgistic

[jhlipton]

2 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I kept thinking that there is absolutely zero reason why a BIPOC man or woman could not have been cast in Gosselaar's role, but of course it has to be white male former special ops whatever because it always is when it's a vaguely sinister "I have special skills" military type.

There is the exception of Denzel, in his films like The Enforcer.  And he is often the Black Savior of White women.  This is not to diminish your point (which is even worse for Black women), just to point out one bright exception.

[peachmangosteen]

I really liked the pilot, but after reading about the book here I don't know if I wanna keep watching. It sounds like it's a bleak, no hope, depressing story. Basically it sounds like The Walking Dead with vampires and I am not down for that. Too bad, I really wanted to like this and I really did love the pilot.

[bilgistic]

On 1/17/2019 at 7:32 PM, jhlipton said:

There is the exception of Denzel, in his films like The Enforcer.  And he is often the Black Savior of White women.  This is not to diminish your point (which is even worse for Black women), just to point out one bright exception.

Except that this isn't a thing. White saviors/saviorism very much is.

Edited January 19, 2019 by bilgistic

[jhlipton]

I think it is -- maybe a VERY small thing, but a thing nonetheless -- but it's OK to disagree.

[IDreamofJoaquin]

Is this show not going to get it's own section with episodes each week?

 

As a huge fan of the triology (read 2x and then listened to on audio again this past year) I was uncomfortable with all the changes and the pacing of the first episode.  I do like it and will continue watching, I guess I'll just be that annoying wife who interrupts and tells her husband all the change and every 2 minutes. 

[CheezyXpressed]

I loved this! I forget Paul's name on the show, but his relationship with Amy is great. I haven't read the books yet, but perhaps after the season ends I will.

[dargosmydaddy]

Finally watched the pilot since the general consensus leaned toward "like" and because I enjoyed MPG in Pitch. Not sure if I'm hooked, but it was interesting.

I did wish they'd managed to grab the unicorn on their way out. I mean, I get why it wasn't a priority what with a major shootout and all, but the idea of Brad, Amy, and the unicorn on the run together forever kind of cracks me up. Though judging by the season-long promo 

Spoiler

it looks like Brad and Amy aren't on the run forever?

[AnimeMania]

5 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Finally watched the pilot since the general consensus leaned toward "like" and because I enjoyed MPG in Pitch. Not sure if I'm hooked, but it was interesting.

I did wish they'd managed to grab the unicorn on their way out. I mean, I get why it wasn't a priority what with a major shootout and all, but the idea of Brad, Amy, and the unicorn on the run together forever kind of cracks me up. Though judging by the season-long promo 

Next episode is entitled "You Owe Me a Unicorn".

[Morrigan2575]

For a pilot that was pretty good. I like the dynamic between Amy and Zach Morris. I also like how they're setting up the Vampires, smart, sexy (at least the girl and presumably the new guy - who seemed pretty nice for a convicted killer) and the dream stuff makes them uber creepy, especially Dr. Vampire.

[SimoneS]

Yep, this show has got me. I love Brad and Amy's relationship even more after this episode. Brad is a good dad. Just what Amy needs. "You don't leave me, I don't leave you." Damn. My heart melted when she came out of the house to save him. As horrible as his ex-colleague is, at least he had the decency not to kill or take the ex-wife who he obviously knew was in the house.

Poor Lacey. I knew that she would die.  I hope she got the news about the experiments to her media contacts.

Poor Carter. He is in for a rough time. I am glad that he wouldn't drink the blood. I was also glad it was the annoying caretaker who was bitten and not the good one. 

The wife with Alzheimer's is the actress who used to play Jennifer on ATWT.

[scarynikki12]

Saniyya is great opposite everyone. She was great with Brad, Lila, and Lacey. The casting director deserves a raise. 

Janitor Red Shirt was a total dumbass for taunting Babcock like that. I also want to know which genius in management thought it would be a good idea to let the cages include a part with bars. These are VAMPIRES.

Zero was super creepy in Carter’s dream. Jamie McShane makes a great vampire. 

I love that one mom’s reaction to Brad saying he’s a single father. That was funny. And Amy exaggerating the story was even better. 

That kid and Richards interaction over the phone was gold.

“What’s your number?” 

“It’s my sister’s phone”

”Fine what’s your sister’s number?”

”I don’t know. It’s HER phone”

”What’s your mom’s number?”

”It’s on speed dial”

The only numbers I have memorized are the ones I knew pre-cell so that spoke to me. 

[Sakura12]

Was the cage a different part of the lab? They were glass enclosures earlier, then when the asshole janitor got bit Bacock was in a a regular cage. 

It does appear they can think since she ate the asshole not the one telling him to leave her alone. Or dr. Fanning wants to use that guy for something. I also think Anthony is innocent. Because it seems it depends on what kind of person you were before. Dr. Fanning was the type to do whatever it took to advance his career and Babcock is a murderer and they both enjoy the bloodlust part, while he seems to not want to give into that. 

I do love the father/daughter bond between Brad and Amy. The ex wife is good too.

And I loved that the kid didn't know anyone's number. Memorizing numbers is a thing of the past. 

[SimoneS]

Yeah, the kid not knowing his mother or sister's telephone numbers was hilarious and accurate comment on our society today. Goodness knows, I am the same.

Edited January 22, 2019 by SimoneS

[CrazyDog]

Yeah, I'm in for this show. Hopefully its doing well.

I love Brad and Amy as a duo, but they are great characters on their own too. And the ex wife was great in this ep. So glad she got better dialogue than last week.

I'm going to need Brad to stop turning himself in every episode, ha.

Poor Carter. It seems like he's going to try to fight "turning" like the others. The tooth...gah.

Richards is scary, but he doesn't seem to just be a one dimensional bad guy. It makes him even more creepy, IMO. The scene with the bus kid...lol. He was totally about to lose it.

Poor Lacey. I would have liked to have seen more of her.

Fanning and Babcock are genuinely scary, and I actually love their look and appearance on the show.

Oh Dr. Lear. The walking example of the road to hell and good intentions and all that.

Good episode.

Edited January 22, 2019 by CrazyDog

[AnimeMania]

Not sure Lacey is dead, she is in the house with a wonderful doctor. I would have thought Lacey would have had some more powerful guns. I wanted to see a few cars explode.

[Kelda Feegle]

I'm hoping Lacey survived with the help of the ex wife doctor. 

[Chaos Theory]

I am still not sure. 

Every time shady government lady says she has thought long and hard about experimenting on a child and that it’s horrible but will do it anyway I want to punch her.  But the other guy I think is worse.  He is that guy who would burn the earth to save his wife.

At this point I am rooting for the vampires.

[sempervivum]

11 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

Was the cage a different part of the lab? They were glass enclosures earlier,

Yeah, this whole thing was stupid and took me out of the story. Also, why would each vampire need a separate guard or whatever they're supposed to be? The vamps are pretty self-sufficient as long as somebody presses the button for the blood trough fill-ups, so why even have humans in there with them. I don't think the guards are even armed, which really makes no sense.

Carter's dream reminded me so much of the sparkly bar and creepy bartender in The Shining.

I second the hope for Lacey's survival (although it didn't look good), but I mostly hope somebody takes care of her GOATS!

[luvapickle]

I read where the writers said they purposely changed some main points from the books, to give viewers a better understanding of the characters upfront. As for Amy's mother-I thought maybe they killed her & set it up as an overdose. They were searching for a child who would have no one searching, so.... I also think, maybe, they made her an addict so that Amy would be more mature having to fend for herself this whole time.

I really like this so far, so it might get cancelled being that's how it tends to go for me......The upside it's on FOX, they have a better record of staying with shows for a beat.

[CountryCrazy]

I’ve got a question though it might be stupid so apologizing in advance Does the one Doctor ( I’m still trying to remember the names ) also star on 100 ? I am watching 100 on Netflix and so far really enjoy this series and there is a guy on there who resembles the one Doctor on The  Passage or am I mistaken ? Is the actor doing both shows ? 

[Sakura12]

11 minutes ago, CountryCrazy said:

I’ve got a question though it might be stupid so apologizing in advance Does the one Doctor ( I’m still trying to remember the names ) also star on 100 ? I am watching 100 on Netflix and so far really enjoy this series and there is a guy on there who resembles the one Doctor on The  Passage or am I mistaken ? Is the actor doing both shows ? 

Yes, Henry Ian Cusick plays Kane on the 100 and Dr. Lear on this show. Both shows have shortened seasons so he was probably able to film both.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Sakura12

[CountryCrazy]

4 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

Yes, Henry Ian Cusick plays Kane on the 100 and Dr. Lear on this show. Both shows have shortened seasons so he was probably able to film both.

Thank you Sakura12 ! At least I wasn’t imagining it lol ! He is very good on both shows though ! 

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Every time shady government lady says she has thought long and hard about experimenting on a child and that it’s horrible but will do it anyway I want to punch her.  But the other guy I think is worse.  He is that guy who would burn the earth to save his wife.

You have to remember there is a deadly virus (Avian Flu) ravaging parts of Asia, that has a high mortality rate. They are trying to find a vaccine before this deadly disease reaches America. Yes the doctor started the research to save his wife, but they continue to try to save the world. This makes me wonder why they are only testing on 1 child instead of several. I guess I don't have any morals, I would put so many "kids in cages".

[Chaos Theory]

9 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

You have to remember there is a deadly virus (Avian Flu) ravaging parts of Asia, that has a high mortality rate. They are trying to find a vaccine before this deadly disease reaches America. Yes the doctor started the research to save his wife, but they continue to try to save the world. This makes me wonder why they are only testing on 1 child instead of several. I guess I don't have any morals, I would put so many "kids in cages".

And here I am thinking if you would experiment on a child that doesn’t have anyone to protect them maybe we don’t deserve to survive.  That’s the point that kept going through my head.

 And I am the person who roots for Heisenberg and The  Jennings.  (sorry different shows)

There is just something about this show that is making me root for the destruction of humanity.  That just makes me sad.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[red12]

On 1/17/2019 at 4:24 PM, bilgistic said:

 

Changing the mother's story that way is indeed problematic. Ugh.

I'm glad the choice was made to change the Amy's race in the show to black (I've not read the book). We have more than enough white wunderkinds on TV and representation of other races matters. But/and...I kept thinking that there is absolutely zero reason why a BIPOC man or woman could not have been cast in Gosselaar's role, but of course it has to be white male former special ops whatever because it always is when it's a vaguely sinister "I have special skills" military type. With the "endangered" child being black and the "rescuer" being white, the story becomes one of White Saviorism.

That said, I appreciate that Brad told Amy she matters and she is smart, funny, tough, etc. We need more of that on TV, even though it's pretty much the least amount of effort.

I wish it weren't logical to think it would be a difficult leap for many in the audience to connect with black Amy if her rescuer were not white.

Especially since 1) the book, 2) studies show that black girls are believed to be less child like than other children (even black boys). I think the study I saw is that the switch happens for black boys around 12-14 but, people view little black girls of around 10 with much more agency in misbehavior than other children. This is partially why they are punished the most in school. Plus, no one can argue with the success of the white savior narrative critically. 

It was a stroke of casting genius to not only include a white rescuer but, one who is kind of beloved like MPG.

I also realized while watching the pilot that it was probably a great decision to have the black female doctor in charge of the experiments or else this might be even harder to watch and result in some backlash. I don't know how that character was described in the book.

[CrazyDog]

On 1/18/2019 at 6:22 AM, peachmangosteen said:

It sounds like it's a bleak, no hope, depressing story. 

So...like most seasons of Big Brother? lol :)

I also like the use of music in this show. It adds to it nicely.

Edited January 22, 2019 by CrazyDog

[cynic]

He's 27! He has a YouTube show!

Bwahaha!

I love her and her relationship with MPG.

[jvr]

"I don't like that this small group of scientist are trying to save humanity by experimenting on a child...so I'm rooting for all of humanity to die, including all the children of the world and this child I'm so upset they are willing to experiment on" lol

Anyway, I'm not here to root for anyone or even 100% like anyone. I'm looking to care about people, which they have gotten me to do. I'm loving Amy and Brad and even Lacy so fast even though I knew she was a goner. But I have hope from the comments here she may still be raising goats in her future. And I'm looking for a good story, and good acting. So far so good. 

I went back and watched pieces of the first ep because I had questions like some here like, why the heck did that kid in Bolivia open the damn vampire cage and scream vampire? But I saw watching again that the kid wasn't with the search party (I don't think), when they come upon the cave we see him carrying the blood to feed the vampire. I'm guessing he was the vampire's helper, which is why he didn't kill him when he opened the cage each time before this incident. I think this is the sequence of events, correct me if wrong.

Also, I kept asking myself, why the heck do they care about this one child? The minute Brad said, "hey we caused a scene let's let this one go". Or the minute he ran they could have just picked up another kid. This had me questioning, like some here, that there was something about Amy they needed. The possibility that her mothers death, which so happened to occur 3 days before this need for a child, wasn't an accident. She was just randomly picked, all the way in Tennesse (why not pick a kid already in CO)? They were able to just find a kid that they knew had no family and no one looking for them that fast the minute they needed one? I just felt like some of the scientist knew something and some are being kept in the dark. Unfortunately I don't think this is the correct speculation, but it would be a better storyline imo for why they have been killing so many people to get her and Brad back. I get the worry over him leaking the experiment but they could find and kill him while also grabbing another foster kid.

Dr. Desmond has been told twice that Zero is showing up in people's dreams and his reaction has been like, oh ok. lol Why isn't he more concerned by this? And about how this might affect the people being visited? Maybe he has been and I missed it. I have to rewatch, I hate watching live because I get distracted. 

Also, why aren't the scientist more concerned about the implications of their experiment? The fact that in their quest to save humans from a deadly disease they are creating a deadly agent that could also wipe us out seems important and like something they should be discussing, maybe more than the question of whether they should be experimenting on children. I'm fascinated by how cavalier the scientist are in their single minded pursuit to save us all by risking all of our lives. I've been listening to this podcast called The End Of The World and one of the eps is about deadly diseases/viruses and how close we have come to being extinct at different points in time (smallpox, spanish flu, black plague etc.) but it also explored that scientist trying to find cures for these diseases/viruses and have been coming very close to creating super viruses that are immune to everything and could spread rapidly, and all you need is one accidental exposure from some reckless lab. It's a very controversial area of biotechnology.

Dr. British Black Lady is struggling with her decision but keeps saying that Amy will be ok because they have got this thing figured out. She really isn't thinking this through in order to do her job. Let's say it does all work great and Amy isn't a blood sucking lunatic at the end of the experiment. Does she get to go free or does she get a cell next to patients 0-5 while you continue to run test for who knows how long? And also, this pandemic that is occurring in Asia seems very imminent...does she think that the one experiment on Amy will be sufficient to start trials on the general population? I mean I know this is a crisis and we are facing a human global epidemic but starting to shoot people up with this stuff, after seeing what its negative effects could be, seems rash. They need a lot more test patients.

[xaxat]

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

You have to remember there is a deadly virus (Avian Flu) ravaging parts of Asia, that has a high mortality rate. They are trying to find a vaccine before this deadly disease reaches America.

That's one problem I have with this show. I don't think they have done a good job establishing that this flu is dangerous enough to justify illegally injecting an abducted child with vampire blood. 

They mention that tens of thousands of people in China have died. But tens of thousands of people die in the US almost every flu season. (Although the mortality rate is not high.)

Have vaccines failed? Does it infect everyone with a third of them dying? 

Right now, they have a "cure" that turns 100% of its subjects into vampires. Maybe we should just hand out more surgical masks and lots of hand sanitizer instead?

(I n one of the promos Doc Desmond says "There is no such thing as a vampire." and I think of the whole "truth serum" debate in Ant Man and the Wasp.

15 minutes ago, jvr said:

Dr. Desmond has been told twice that Zero is showing up in people's dreams and his reaction has been like, oh ok. lol Why isn't he more concerned by this?

Not only that, Carter knew the name of his doctor friend, Patient Zero, who he had never met.

[KaveDweller]

8 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Yeah, this whole thing was stupid and took me out of the story. Also, why would each vampire need a separate guard or whatever they're supposed to be? The vamps are pretty self-sufficient as long as somebody presses the button for the blood trough fill-ups, so why even have humans in there with them. I don't think the guards are even armed, which really makes no sense.

Are the guards there to keep them locked up or to observe them and see if there is any change in their behavior?

4 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

And here I am thinking if you would experiment on a child that doesn’t have anyone to protect them maybe we don’t deserve to survive.  That’s the point that kept going through my head.

It is pretty terrible to experiment on a child who doesn't have anyone to protect them. If they really, feel like experimenting on a child is the only way to save the world, why not find kids who are dying of cancer and have no other options. See if the parents are willing to sign them up. I can't imagine many parents risking their kid becoming a vampire or a lab right, but at least saving one from death is better than just abducting a perfectly healthy kid and dooming them.

But it also seems pretty hard to believe that the experiment wouldn't have the same side effects just because kids have more neurons or whatever their claim was in the pilot. 

[Machiabelly]

The cage the vampire was in is a small part of the glassed in area. They were cleaning her habitat while she was caged for their...safety...for lack of a better word.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Brad: I'm just trying to get used to this single dad thing.
Female teacher: Oh, it's just the two of you?
Amy: Yeah, my mom ran off with her trainer. He's 27.
Brad: Oh, sweetie, they don't need to know the whole story.
Amy: He has his own YouTube channel.

Brad: Hey, no more phone calls, okay?
Amy: You threw the phone out of the window.
Brad: I threw the phone out of the window because they can find us if you make a phone call. Don't you watch tv?
Amy: I watch a lot of tv actually and usually the main guy doesn't pass out behind the wheel.
Brad: I'd like to point out that the main guy got shot.
Amy: Where are we going? Do you have a plan?
Brad: I have a friend in Wisconsin.
Amy: You have a friend?
Brad: Something wrong?
Amy: No. Lila seems nice. Smart too. Also good in an emergency, so good thing you hung up on her.
Brad: Hey, what is your problem?
Amy: I don't know. I've been kidnapped, shot at, and chased and the last thing I had to eat in the last 24 hours is churros and donuts.
Brad: You had a hot dog at the carnival!

Amy: Why did we park so far away? And what's with the goats?
Brad: The woman who lives here is kind of an angry hermit. The goats are new. I don't know anything about the goats.

Lacey: What happened to you?
Brad: I got shot.
Lacey: Well, that's disappointing.

Amy: Are you an assassin?
Brad: No.
Amy: Okay. Cause you assassinated some people today.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I appreciate that this show manages to give us some light/funny moments to balance out the gloom and doom of an impending pandemic, vampires, and a kid on the run. When Brad went full on Zack Morris with the "I'm just a helpless single dad" routine and then Amy chimed in with "My mom left hm for a 27 year old trainer," I laughed and laughed.

I also loved when Clark was questioning the kid who took a picture of Brad and the kid was being honest but unhelpful with his answers. It's also a good reminder of the difference between back in ye olden days aka 20 years ago before cell phones were so ubiquitous. I had everyone's phone numbers memorized - my mom's, my house, and all of my friends. I still remember a lot of those phone numbers to this day!

As if we didn't already know that Clark is not a good guy, his convenient retelling of events to Nichole sealed the deal: "Wolgast and the kid are still on the run. The police station was a disaster. Sheriff was killed and three of my men." Yes, a sheriff was killed but he conveniently left out the part where HIS MEN were the ones who killed the sheriff.

I'm glad that Connor asked how it was legal to do this because IT ISN'T. That's one of the reasons that research with human subjects has specific rules about working with vulnerable populations (which includes prisoners).

Edited January 31, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[tennisgurl]

I really liked that episode, I actually liked it more than last week! Glad that they had characters asking the questions that a lot of the audience was (why are they focusing so much on this kid?) asking, and that they added a few lighter moments, to provide some much needed good comic relief to all the drama, and to add some good character bits. The whole hapless single dad bit, with Amy getting really into her improvisation was hilarious. "Yeah, my mom ran off with her trainer. He's 27."

The two main vampires are quite creepy, both in the dream and in reality. It seems like they have some ability to think, even in their physical forms, given the blond vampire grabbed and ate the jerk guy who was harassing her, and left the nice guy alone, even when he had his whole arm in her cage. The creepy dream bar was really...creepy. It was very Shinning-ish. Fanning and Babcock are legitimately scary, that tooth pulling thing was nasty. Carter seems like he is resisting turning into a vampire, which should be interesting to see how it goes. Carter seems like a pretty nice guy, especially for a death row inmate. I wonder what his backstory is? 

Brad and Amy have such a sweet relationship. They clearly talk to each other as equals often, but the show never forgets that Amy is a little kid still dealing with a lot of shit, and she still acts accordingly, as self sufficient as she is. My heart was embarrassingly warmed when she left the house to save him from getting shot. It also gives her some agency in her old story, and isnt just a kid to be protected by the adults. 

I hope that Dr. Ex Wife can help Lacey, she was so awesome! Dr. Ex Wife was pretty good this week too, much more natural than last week. I hope that somebody feeds the goats if nothing else! 

Richards trying to get the kid to give him a number was so hilarious, because its so true. Who even knows numbers anymore, especially kids?!

[ribboninthesky1]

Whoever cast Saniyya Sidney opposite MPG did a great job.  That relationship is the lynchpin, and the actors are great together.  As someone else said, Saniyya Sidney is great interacting with other actors as well.  

I really liked Lacey and would like to see her again, but I have no hope of her survival.  Her only purpose was to give shelter and provide a place for Brad to reunite with the ex-wife.  Who I don't care about, and isn't she getting married to someone else? David doesn't deserve this! If she actually saves Lacey, I'm willing to change my mind about being annoyed.  Plus, I don't think the actors have much romantic chemistry with each other.  MPG has about as much chemistry with the goats as he does with Chriqui. 

I see Dr. Jonas as more of a "villain" than Dr. Nicole.  He kick-started ALL of this, while apparently ignoring his wife's pleas. You know, the person who was directly impacted by Alzheimer's and just wanted to be with her spouse.  I know I'm supposed to think it was out of some devotion to her, but he apparently had as much of a God complex as Fanning did. Jonas having some regrets about involving a child doesn't make him anymore sympathetic to me.  Please shut up all the time, Jonas, unless you're actually gonna start to pay attention to what's really going on with the vampires.  I have seen Cusick in only a couple of other roles before this (Scandal and Lost), but I'm realizing that he bugs me each time.  So I probably would have the appropriate reaction to Jonas if it was a different actor.         

4 hours ago, xaxat said:

That's one problem I have with this show. I don't think they have done a good job establishing that this flu is dangerous enough to justify illegally injecting an abducted child with vampire blood. 

Agreed.   

Edited January 23, 2019 by ribboninthesky1