S02.E02: Détente 2018.07.02

[shapeshifter]

Quote

Darius and Grace must forge an emotional détente in order to get international cooperation. Also, Liam meets a new scientist with a mysterious past

I was working on my computer while watching, but I don't think this show requires close attention. 

Most interesting reveal was that Aaron Douglas's character was an imposter. Hey, maybe he really is a cylon?

One moment I found unintentionally funny was Darious explaining in excruciating (unavoidable pun) detail about his bullet proof suit.

Also the sly smile the detective (played by musician Bashy) gave Harris when he showed him a picture he found in his sister's apartment (which was this season's required naked torso shot of Ian Anthony Dale).

So the woman with the excuse for knowing her way around Tanz industries campus and kitchen is really a bad guy, right? 

And Grace's hallucinations are just PTSD?

Where's Grace's daughter? Did she go to Africa last season?

Edited July 3, 2018 by shapeshifter

[Llywela]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Where's Grace's daughter? Did she go to Africa last season?

 

I haven't seen this ep yet, but yes she did - Grace told her everything, and she decided that she wanted to stick with her plans and go out to see the world/do some good before the asteroid hots. And I'm guessing the writers found the character superfluous so took the excuse to write her out, since she was basically only there to flesh out Grace's world rather than to have any real plot significance herself - there were a few characters of that type last season, and I'm wondering if they'll bother with any of them again this year (I'm thinking now of Jillian's family, who must surely have seen the news by now and realised what was bothering Jillian so much last them they saw her).

Edited July 3, 2018 by Llywela

[AnimeMania]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I was working on my computer while watching, but I don't think this show requires close attention. 

Most interesting reveal was that Aaron Douglas's character was an imposter. Hey, maybe he really is a cylon?

One moment I found unintentionally funny was Darious explaining in excruciating (unavoidable pun) detail about his bullet proof suit.

Also the sly smile the detective (played by musician Bashy) gave Harris when he showed him a picture he found in his sister's apartment (which was this season's required naked torso shot of Ian Anthony Dale).

So the woman with the excuse for knowing her way around Tanz industries campus and kitchen is really a bad guy, right? 

And Grace's hallucinations are just PTSD?

Where's Grace's daughter? Did she go to Africa last season?

Darius should explain about the suit, how many people know that this suit really exists.   https://garrisonbespoke.com/custom-suits/bulletproof-suit/

Detective Bashy should have known those photos were old, if he has the phone he should know when they where taken. Instead of trying to piece his sister's life together starting from when she was 3 years old up to the present, he should be trying to figure out what she was doing currently, like trying to overthrow the government.

The fact that RE/SYS  was so focused on stealing TESS and targeting Tanz Industies suggests that the Tea Lady is really one of the bad guys.

Turn off the computer while watching and pay closer attention, Grace's daughter was in two different scenes. Grace's daughter let Detective Bashy in the house where he was waiting for Grace to come home.

Possible plot twist: What if Detective Bashy was working with his sister to overthrow the government?

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Turn off the computer while watching and pay closer attention, Grace's daughter was in two different scenes. Grace's daughter let Detective Bashy in the house where he was waiting for Grace to come home

Wasn't that Jillian who let the detective into Grace's home (where Jillian is staying)?

[mertensia]

This show needs less earnestness. Also fewer plot twists. 

I dunno, I'm starting to root for the asteroid.

[AnimeMania]

35 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Wasn't that Jillian who let the detective into Grace's home (where Jillian is staying)?

I am pretty sure Grace's daughter was in the first episode as well.

Not sure why Jillian would be living with Grace since last time I saw her, she was living with Liam. Now that Liam has been sequestered, Jillian should have even more room. 

PS. Introduced new love interest for Jillian. Tea Lady possible love interest for Liam.

15 minutes ago, mertensia said:

This show needs less earnestness. Also fewer plot twists. 

I dunno, I'm starting to root for the asteroid.

I like the plot twists, it is like they wrote every plot twist they could think of and tried to work them into the show. The only reason the asteroid is winning is because everybody refuses to work together to solve it. RE/SYS would have known the asteroid had an iron core if they hadn't sabotaged the EM drive's gravity tractor mission.

[Llywela]

Grace's daughter was not in the first episode. We did, however, see Jillian moving in with Grace in the first episode. Liam's apartment, where Jillian was living in season one, was at the Tanz complex, which has now been handed over to Resyst, or whatever they call themselves. That's why Jillian needed a new place to stay. But viewers can be forgiven for not realising, since there was no dialogue on the subject in ep1 - we saw it happen as part of a montage at the end of the episode.

I actually find it sadly only too believable that everyone is too busy fighting among themselves to be able to work together to solve the asteroid problem.

[Free]

1 hour ago, Llywela said:

I actually find it sadly only too believable that everyone is too busy fighting among themselves to be able to work together to solve the asteroid problem.

It's pretty much the only believable thing in this show.

[Brooks]

I wish recaps were available for Salvation.  I'm lost as to what Re/Syst is trying to do on various fronts.  Can anyone help me here?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Brooks said:

I wish recaps were available for Salvation.  I'm lost as to what Re/Syst is trying to do on various fronts.  Can anyone help me here?

The only parts I understood were that they hacked the US and Russian alert systems so they would each think the other had sent nuclear warheads and then launch counter attacks. Then Re/Syst did more hacking so after Darius et al. got onto the Re/Syst plot, one of the counter measures failed, and then they rerouted the surviving nuclear missile to orbit the Earth. Oh. And they took credit for redirecting a nuke to an unpopulated area. 

I think the Re/Syst folks initially got their panties in a bunch because they found out the asteroid disaster was man made.

[Brooks]

Thanks, shapeshifter.  Isn't Re/Syst also trying to arrange for a solution to the asteroid to be found, by specifying the specialists locked up at Tanz and prohibiting out-of-country travel?  I don't understand how all of that folds together.

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, Brooks said:

Thanks, shapeshifter.  Isn't Re/Syst also trying to arrange for a solution to the asteroid to be found, by specifying the specialists locked up at Tanz and prohibiting out-of-country travel?  I don't understand how all of that folds together.

Yes, but I'm not sure their motives are entirely altruistic. Like, maybe they would get the geniuses to figure out a solution and then still hold the world hostage before implementing it.
Or maybe they would sabotage the fix just enough to temporarily prevent disaster so they could further milk their power over the earth *nya-ah-ahh!* (evil laugh).

Or maybe they really are the good guys.

I haven't heard/read whether or not the show runners have an end game planned, or if they're making it up as they go along--which I'd be okay with if they're trying to stay politically relevant in a 24-hour-Twitter-fueled news cycle.

The CGI for the Re/Syst broadcasts are very similar to those of Mr. Robot.

[Rachel RSL]

This show is so unintentionally hilarious.  I feel like I spend a lot of time laughing at things I'm supposed to be taking seriously.  That bulletproof shirt cracked me up. I also enjoyed how, after Darius was shot, everyone in that room, except Grace, literally just stood there.  Nobody rushed over to give him medical attention or even check to see if he was alive. They were all just like "Meh."  I was highly amused by the fact that Darius' approval rating has never been higher.  That might be more impressive if he'd been Vice President for more than 1 day. (In the freaking attic of the White House lol!)  

Speaking of, I don't understand why Jillian of all people is who Darius chose to bring with him to the White House. She has no experience in....well, anything. She's just a random writer who only got hired because Darius didn't want to lose his boytoy Liam. I guess having an incompetent staff in the White House is just another example of art imitating life.

So I guess Annoying Reporter Girl really is dead? 

Edited July 3, 2018 by Rachel RSL

[Llywela]

22 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

Speaking of, I don't understand why Jillian of all people is who Darius chose to bring with him to the White House. She has no experience in....well, anything. She's just a random writer who only got hired because Darius didn't want to lose his boytoy Liam. I guess having an incompetent staff in the White House is just another example of art imitating life.

I want to know what happened to Darius's mega efficient assistant from last season. What was her name - Carissa? I guess she got the elbow because she was second string and they needed a role for the actress on a regular contract...

[Dowel Jones]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Or maybe they would sabotage the fix just enough to temporarily prevent disaster so they could further milk their power over the earth *nya-ah-ahh!* (evil laugh).

"Alright, Earthlings, here are our demands.  First, no more Twitter.  Period.  And no more McMansions and 4WD hog trucks, either.  You people need to live in a sustainable manner.  And, uh, oh yeah, get rid of that twit from Animal Kingdom, and Timeless gets renewed for another season.  Unnerstand?"

[bioprof]

Another unintentional moment of hilarity....Darius & Grace in the stealth bomber ...want to have a private conversation...so Darius asks the two men seated on either side to take off their headsets so that the conversation won’t be overheard. The men are six inches away, and,um....they have...you know....EARS!!!  I am so rooting for the comet at this point.....

[Free]

11 hours ago, bioprof said:

Another unintentional moment of hilarity....Darius & Grace in the stealth bomber ...want to have a private conversation...so Darius asks the two men seated on either side to take off their headsets so that the conversation won’t be overheard. The men are six inches away, and,um....they have...you know....EARS!!!  I am so rooting for the comet at this point.....

I was wondering about that, and even then they probably wouldn't be interested in their nonsense considering that there are actual issues like the asteroid to deal with.

[Brooks]

Both men took off their heads sets but also moved out of their seats.  And I agree, under the circumstances, they would not have been interested.

[Rachel RSL]

Another thing that cracked me up, and I can't even remember what scene it was or who said it, but they were discussing the fact that since the news went public, a lot of people were no longer showing up for work. Well DUH, if an asteroid is about to blow you into smithereens, why the hell would anyone go to work? Lord knows I wouldn't show up to my crap job either.  

[Llywela]

17 hours ago, bioprof said:

Another unintentional moment of hilarity....Darius & Grace in the stealth bomber ...want to have a private conversation...so Darius asks the two men seated on either side to take off their headsets so that the conversation won’t be overheard. The men are six inches away, and,um....they have...you know....EARS!!!  I am so rooting for the comet at this point.....

 

5 hours ago, Free said:

I was wondering about that, and even then they probably wouldn't be interested in their nonsense considering that there are actual issues like the asteroid to deal with.

I believe the implication was that the noise of the jet would prevent anyone from overhearing them, even sitting right there alongside them - that's why they were wearing headsets and talking over the comm in the first place.

I know I'm in the minority, but I'm enjoying the ride. The absurdity is what makes it fun.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Llywela said:

believe the implication was that the noise of the jet would prevent anyone from overhearing them, even sitting right there alongside them - that's why they were wearing headsets and talking over the comm in the first place

I kept thinking their headsets were bugged because why else have them using them and go to the trouble of making it clear from the audio effects that their conversation was going through electronics. 

[Dowel Jones]

5 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Lord knows I wouldn't show up to my crap job either.  

One of my favorite Far Side cartoons was a drawing of two fishermen on a lake, with mushroom clouds in the distance.  One guy is saying "I'll tell you what it means, Irv.  It means no size restrictions and screw the limit."

I was wondering where they got a B-2 bomber customized for passenger use.

[Llywela]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I kept thinking their headsets were bugged because why else have them using them and go to the trouble of making it clear from the audio effects that their conversation was going through electronics. 

I think it was just an attempt at realism - stealth jet too noisy to have a conversation, therefore electronics.

Nice to see Grace's dad again, now a trusted ally for Harris rather than simply Grace's emergency contact! I can't remember how much of the truth he was told last season, but he came across here as steadiness personified, in the midst of chaos all around. And I did appreciate them making the point that the main reason Claire's brother is able to invest all his time and effort into a personal issue like his sister's disappearance at a time of international crisis is because there is a massive international crisis going on and all rules and processes have effectively flown out the window.

I also noted the pretty brutal punishments threatened by Resyst if any of their captive scientists try to escape, just in case anyone should start to believe they might be the good guys after all. Can't help wondering why they didn't ask for Darius as well, since he is supposed to be such a genius - because they think he's a fraud, or because they knew they didn't have a hope of controlling him?!

[Free]

17 hours ago, Llywela said:

 

I believe the implication was that the noise of the jet would prevent anyone from overhearing them, even sitting right there alongside them - that's why they were wearing headsets and talking over the comm in the first place.

I know I'm in the minority, but I'm enjoying the ride. The absurdity is what makes it fun.

It can be fun, just not when the love triangle and other dumb subplots are bringing things down, many people here just want the asteroid/end of the world stuff.

[Llywela]

3 minutes ago, Free said:

It can be fun, just not when the love triangle and other dumb subplots are bringing things down, many people here just want the asteroid/end of the world stuff.

Many, maybe, but not all - and the show has been clear from the start that it was about more than just asteroid/end of the world stuff. I mean, I might wish that the writing in general was stronger (which I do), but I'm not going to fault them for at least trying to build character stories, since the overwhelming forward trend in television over the past couple of decades has been for greater focus on character rather than purely plot-driven writing.

[Free]

1 minute ago, Llywela said:

Many, maybe, but not all - and the show has been clear from the start that it was about more than just asteroid/end of the world stuff. I mean, I might wish that the writing in general was stronger (which I do), but I'm not going to fault them for at least trying to build character stories, since the overwhelming forward trend in television over the past couple of decades has been for greater focus on character rather than purely plot-driven writing.

If any of those subplots were interesting, then yes.

You can do character building with the asteroid/end of the world stuff, you don't need other storylines as you can make it a survival story or even a post-apocalyptic one if the writers want to drag it out that far

Other than that, it feels too trivial given the asteroid/end of the world stuff, like are there supposed to be any real stakes with the wannabe Mr. Robot hacker group trying to hold the US government hostage when the world might end?  Or the love triangle?  Or that random woman Grace killed that's supposed to matter with everything going on?

[Brooks]

9 hours ago, Llywela said:

I did appreciate them making the point that the main reason Claire's brother is able to invest all his time and effort into a personal issue like his sister's disappearance at a time of international crisis is because there is a massive international crisis going on and all rules and processes have effectively flown out the window.

So long as he understands that the Secretary of Defense might have at least a minor role in the earth's survival and therefore arresting the Secretary too soon wouldn't be in his sister's best interest on the chance she is still alive.

[Llywela]

30 minutes ago, Brooks said:

So long as he understands that the Secretary of Defense might have at least a minor role in the earth's survival and therefore arresting the Secretary too soon wouldn't be in his sister's best interest on the chance she is still alive.

Oh yeah, his personal crusade is crazy when set against the grand scheme of things - Harris made that exact point. But I did appreciate that the guy was like, 'oh, I know, but right now no one really cares what I do, and this is what I personally care about, so I'm pursuing it'. I mean, he was honest about his priorities, at least!

On 7/3/2018 at 7:48 PM, shapeshifter said:

Yes, but I'm not sure their motives are entirely altruistic. Like, maybe they would get the geniuses to figure out a solution and then still hold the world hostage before implementing it.
Or maybe they would sabotage the fix just enough to temporarily prevent disaster so they could further milk their power over the earth *nya-ah-ahh!* (evil laugh).

Or maybe they really are the good guys.

I haven't heard/read whether or not the show runners have an end game planned, or if they're making it up as they go along--which I'd be okay with if they're trying to stay politically relevant in a 24-hour-Twitter-fueled news cycle.

Resyst certainly want to be seen as the good guys, and have gone to great lengths to give that impression, including hacking the defence systems of two superpowers in order to cause nuclear strikes that they could then take credit for thwarting. I wouldn't trust 'em as far as I could spit. But I do wonder where they get their intel and resources? There's definitely a few more shoes to drop there. And I want to know what Darius's uncle thinks about them having the company confiscated and handed over to terrorists, since him taking control of the company from Darius was such a big thing last season - or maybe he's distracted by the end of the world and doesn't care?

I seem to recall interviews with the writers last season in which they basically admitted that they were making this up as they went along, which I thought explained an awful lot and was a real shame - I mean, I enjoy the show despite its absurdity, but I am very aware of its flaws. There's a lot of potential there and they have good actors, so with stronger, tighter, and more focused writing it could be great rather than just fun.

On 7/3/2018 at 5:26 AM, shapeshifter said:

So the woman with the excuse for knowing her way around Tanz industries campus and kitchen is really a bad guy, right? 

 

Well, she was bad-mouthing Darius to Liam for all she was worth, and the last person who tried that was Malcolm Croft, who turned out to be a Russian spy with a vested interest in transferring Liam's loyalty from Darius to himself, so if we take that as a pattern likely to repeat, the odds are good! She's probably a Resyst mole. I'm quite prepared to believe that she did once work at Tanz and left with a grudge, I just don't think she's telling the truth about Darius stealing Tess from her or about her own altruistic intentions.

She's probably also there to be a fly in the Liam-Jillian relationship, like the reporter last season. And I wondered about the extended exchange between Jillian and her old classmate, the White House mailman - too long of a sequence for a completely random character, so either he is also there as a fly in the relationship ointment or he too will prove to have plot significant at some point. Maybe both.

This show makes me not want to trust anyone!

Edited July 5, 2018 by Llywela

[dangwoodchucks]

People not showing up to work, deserted streets as most citizens hunker down with their families not sure of what the future holds because there’s a huge asteroid hurtling toward earth but hey, DoD classified document delivery boy thinks he and Jillian should catch up and grab a drink sometime. 

I don’t know what it is about Tovah Feldshuh but her acting in this seems so bad to me. Most of the time she reminds me of the Jewish mother-in-law she played in “A Walk on the Moon” and I feel like she’s getting ready to ask Grace if she’s shtupping the blouse man. 

The best things about this episode: Mark Moses, and Santiago Cabrera’s bare chest.

[Dowel Jones]

General Disaster wants to take over the White House.  If I were the President, I would hand him the keys, tell him "By the way, the electricity is gone, phones are out, the radios are out, nobody's pumping gas anymore, but there's some warm Pepsi in the kitchen, and I'm getting on the spaceship.  Have a good day."

4 hours ago, Llywela said:

I seem to recall interviews with the writers last season in which they basically admitted that they were making this up as they went along,

Go for broke, writers!  Send out a cattle call for all the actors from recently canceled series, such as Zoo and Timeless.  Write in all the crazy that you can; what will it hurt?

[Latverian Diplomat]

A few observations:

- One of the problems with going to the "Darius gives a speech that inspires/convinces everyone" well so often is that his speeches are...not that good. I hope to God they don't introduce a plot line where Darius has to exhibit his mad beat poetry skills to save the earth.

- She may be evil, but thank goodness sexy evil tea-drinker was there to get Liam to quit being such an info-withholding crybaby...he does still want to save the world, right?

- Darius wanting an out of the way office that no one comes to is probably not what a person with CEO experience would do? However since he seems to have access to the President whenever he wants, and she always endorses his ideas, I guess it's not a problem?

- Pretty sure a particle accelerator and a rail gun are not that similar. They both use lots of strong magnets lined up in a vacuum, I guess. I'm going to give the show the benefit of the doubt and say that we are talking linear accelerators, and that it was built in Iceland despite the seismic activity because all that cheap geothermal power?

- This show does not have the budget for a major military conflict, so I'm guessing Darius has another speech coming up... :-)

[Driad]

42 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Go for broke, writers!

I really miss "Brain Dead."  There must be some leftover ideas from that, that this show could use because they are so similar.

[Brooks]

As the asteroid approaches could it have a pull/shift effect on the oceans such that it creates a Sharknado effect?  That would be sweet!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Dowel Jones said:

General Disaster wants to take over the White House.  If I were the President, I would hand him the keys, tell him "By the way, the electricity is gone, phones are out, the radios are out, nobody's pumping gas anymore, but there's some warm Pepsi in the kitchen, and I'm getting on the spaceship.  Have a good day."

As long as we have posters like @Dowel Jones contributing, I will keep watching.

 

And excellent idea, @Brooks, about the Sharknado effect on the tides. I mean, it's a summer show, so how fitting would that be?

 

Now more than ever they should get Jesse (Aaron Paul) from Breaking Bad to give them some good tips on using back channels to get super magnets.

[Brooks]

When I hear "Elon Musk" I imagine Darius Tanz.  So this whole horrifying business of the kids stuck in the cave and Elon offering his expertise, I'm still imaging Darius coming to the rescue.   If the writers really are making it up as they go along, I hope they don't include this as one of the subplots.  I mean they do have to fill up the rest of the summer.

[MissLucas]

So glad my favorite crazy summer show is back. NotEveryone (I refuse to type their stupid name) have put a travel ban on the world yet somehow world economy hasn't collapsed - just a bit of rioting that was handled (of course) by Darius. And of course Liam falls for the beautiful and therefore nefarious Greek scientist who btw. must also have a couple of degrees in bio-engineering since she has managed to graduate from Caltech, getting a PhD at ETH Zurich AND worked 7 years for Darius developing NotAlexa and is still looking like the Hollywood approved good side of 30. Melia Kreilig is in her late 20s - to be fair Charlie Rowe is 22 but at least Liam's academic career sounds somewhat credible. 

Edited July 9, 2018 by MissLucas

[Free]

20 hours ago, Brooks said:

When I hear "Elon Musk" I imagine Darius Tanz.  So this whole horrifying business of the kids stuck in the cave and Elon offering his expertise, I'm still imaging Darius coming to the rescue.   If the writers really are making it up as they go along, I hope they don't include this as one of the subplots.  I mean they do have to fill up the rest of the summer.

Oh I'm expecting them to in some way, given how they already fast tracked him to VP in record time.

[Brooks]

Trump is supposed to announce his Supreme Court nominee tonight at 9PM.  My CBS affiliate expects to cover it.  So what happens to tonight's Salvation broadcast?  It's already past my bedtime.

[Free]

55 minutes ago, Brooks said:

So what happens to tonight's Salvation broadcast?  It's already past my bedtime.

According to the schedule, it gets pushed by an hour and Elementary is off for the night so it replaces that slot for the night.