S01.E13: Tribal

[chitowngirl]

In the Season One finale, Dylan and Lizzie investigate the murder of Joan's protégé, uncovering long-buried secrets; Dylan and Andy apply to adopt a child; Lizzie's reliance on Julian's information puts a promotion in jeopardy.

[shapeshifter]

So was this plot taken from a particular episode (can't readily recall if it was SVU or something else), or is it a common trope to have teens go Lord of the Flies on one of their group and keep it a secret until someone wants to confess as an adult as part of a Twelve Step program, at which point the snitch is murdered?
*sigh* 
Some of us were expecting this again.

If the writers had gone (been allowed to go?) a little more off-script, it would have been logical to have a reveal that the Rich Dickhead had some sway with the social worker (threatened to put her nephew in foster care or something equally evil) and that was why she was pretending to be homophobic.

Edited July 2, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Free]

11 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So was this plot taken from a particular episode (can't readily recall if it was SVU or something else), or is it a common trope to have teens go Lord of the Flies on one of their group and keep it a secret until someone wants to confess as an adult as part of a Twelve Step program, at which point the snitch is murdered?
*sigh* 
Some of us were expecting this again.

If the writers had gone (been allowed to go?) a little more off-script, it would have been logical to have a reveal that the Rich Dickhead had some sway with the social worker (threatened to put her nephew in foster care or something equally evil) and that was why she was pretending to be homophobic.

It's possible as it hasn't been the first time they've had a similar plot to another show.

[Mystery]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

it would have been logical to have a reveal that the Rich Dickhead had some sway with the social worker (threatened to put her nephew in foster care or something equally evil) and that was why she was pretending to be homophobic.

It looked to me like she thought "Dylan" was going to be a woman.  

I like that they showed us that Gary was till around, in case they didn't get another season. 

[Good Queen Jane]

There's no question that the adoption social worker expected Dylan to be a woman. And if this was five years ago, her clear opposition to a same sex couple adopting would have made sense as a plotline. But there is no way in 2018 in New York City that a social worker would have reacted that way. The initial paperwork alone would reveal the gender of the applicants. About the only way a social worker would react the way she did was if she worked for a religious adoption agency and one would assume that they would not have applied to such an agency.

I have resigned myself to watching this show for the eye candy since the plots are so awful.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Good Queen Jane

[12catcrazy]

I agree with everything Good Queen Jane has said.  And I've said this on the Elementary thread - I really don't want babies/kids on my crime shows.  I understand that this show seems to be trying to get the point across that a gay couple are just "normal folks" with the same wants/needs/desires as straight folks, but no, just no,  kids - PLEASE! 

And as a personal aside - on tv it seems to be okay to be straight/gay/bi/trans - it seems the one thing it really isn't okay to be is a person (especially a woman - gasp!) - who does not want children.  Maybe this is the last frontier?  

[Writing Wrongs]

That didn't feel like a season finale. Otherwise, I got nothing.

[ajsnaves]

Book spoilers

Spoiler

The adoption storyline is lifted exactly as is from the book the show is based on. Although I think the indignation was given to Andy, not Dylan, in the book. 

 

In spite of all its flaws, I am still enjoying this show, and look forward to next season.  I think that speaks to the power of Alan Cumming has over me.  The criminal defense attorney in me is glad they are addressing the fact that not everything Dylan does is in the investigations is kosher, and that that there could be consequences for that.

[Trey]

So many shows have done this same plot - of course, no examples come to mind right now  but I've seen it before. 

I've come to like this show, despite the bad writing. The actors are good and I like that they have a family life.

I thought it was a little season finale like - will Dylan be fired or not? There's our cliffhanger.

Edited July 2, 2018 by Trey

[Free]

37 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

That didn't feel like a season finale. Otherwise, I got nothing.

Agreed, it's possible it's the production order.

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

And as a personal aside - on tv it seems to be okay to be straight/gay/bi/trans - it seems the one thing it really isn't okay to be is a person (especially a woman - gasp!) - who does not want children.  Maybe this is the last frontier?  

They should say on the show that now abortions are so hard to get in the U.S., the adoption agency has so many unwanted babies that every gay couple can have a kid or two if they want.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

ted Dylan to be a woman. And if this was five years ago, her clear opposition to a same sex couple adopting would have made sense as a plotline. But there is no way in 2018 in New York City that a social worker would have reacted that way. The initial paperwork alone would reveal the gender of the applicants

Yes. I guess that's why I was expecting some reason for her behavior (like being threatened by the bad guy). 

 

So can anyone identify the other show and episode this one was ripped from? It's still bugging me.

[mythoughtis]

Quote

 

So was this plot taken from a particular episode (can't readily recall if it was SVU or something else), or is it a common trope to have teens go Lord of the Flies on one of their group and keep it a secret until someone wants to confess as an adult as part of a Twelve Step program, at which point the snitch is murdered?
*sigh* 
Some of us were expecting this again.

I think it’s a fairly common plotline, enough that it’s not stealing to go with it.  It just didn’t hold my interest. Quite frankly, I dont know why I am even bothering to watch this show.    I can’t believe this got renewed. 

[Jacks-Son]

On 7/3/2018 at 7:46 AM, mythoughtis said:

Quite frankly, I dont know why I am even bothering to watch this show.    I can’t believe this got renewed. 

I can't believe I signed up for YouTube TV just to watch this series.  Unless it has some better shows, I'll be cancelling my subscription. $40 per month is too much when it air shows like this. I'd rather pay $5.00 per month for CBS All Access, at least I get to watch "Star Trek: Discovery".

[Brookside]

What happened to the "anonymous" part of AA?

[Toothbrush]

This case was so rushed, and as always, the villain(s) telegraphed from a mile away. But I guess it's too much to ask that we not have to contend with biased social worker* & the Julian/Lizzie relationship. It would be amazing if the process through which Dylan (& now Lizzie) are receiving their intel would be investigated, but it would be drama-free since I do not think anyone is going anywhere.  

*This baby storyline might not be as painful as I originally thought. I buy Andy & Dylan as a couple a lot more since there have been more scenes of them as a couple in the past couple of episodes. Not that I want this to turn into a couples show. 

The pizza at Lizzie's was a nice call back to the final scene of the 1st episode, and Gary sighting. YAY!!! 

[Ceindreadh]

On 2/7/2018 at 1:34 PM, Good Queen Jane said:

There's no question that the adoption social worker expected Dylan to be a woman. And if this was five years ago, her clear opposition to a same sex couple adopting would have made sense as a plotline. But there is no way in 2018 in New York City that a social worker would have reacted that way. The initial paperwork alone would reveal the gender of the applicants. About the only way a social worker would react the way she did was if she worked for a religious adoption agency and one would assume that they would not have applied to such an agency.

I have resigned myself to watching this show for the eye candy since the plots are so awful.

You mean there no such thing as a bigoted social worker?  Or do you mean a bigoted New Yorker?  The social worker could easily have misread the paperwork and just assumed it was an opposite sex married couple. 

On 13/7/2018 at 4:41 PM, Brookside said:

What happened to the "anonymous" part of AA?

Does it still apply even after death?  I didn’t think the AA person did much more than confirm Chad was a member. 

[auntiemel]

On 7/21/2018 at 2:55 AM, Ceindreadh said:

You mean there no such thing as a bigoted social worker?  Or do you mean a bigoted New Yorker? 

I took that to mean that, in a place with as diverse and progressive a population as New York, she would encounter the exact same situation with such frequency that she wouldn't be so taken aback by it. She may still have strong anti-gay adoption feelings, but she probably would have worked out a way, by that point, of hiding her shock at the mere concept.

[Orbert]

Has this show been renewed?  If so, I'll probably check out at least the first few episodes of Season 2.  A lot of shows get retooled between the first and second seasons, and hopefully they do a little work on this one.  I'm not sure what kind of tweaking I'm looking for, but I still feel like there's a much better show here than what we've seen so far, and in spite of some pretty bad writing sometimes, I still like it.

[Trey]

Yes, it's been renewed.  In the Media thread there's a link to the article.

[Orbert]

Thanks.  Good to know.