S02.11: Celebration Day

[shapeshifter]

Air date September 3, 2018

Quote

A standoff at the COPE compound has tragic consequences

One can hope.

[Brooks]

Indeed.  Lessee, the railgun cobbled together from the stolen plans backfires and pins Long John Silver to a makeshift cross?  That visual would be tragic!

[sjohnson]

Liam already knew Alycia was Lady Hawk, which means everybody knew. She was already burnt, which makes the doxxing some of the fakest fake drama I've ever seen. It's like decapitating someone, then cutting off their ears and nose. It doesn't make quite the statement you wanted. 

Elite Shelters suggests Bass Shepherd was contracting for Q17, if the writers are keeping track. 

But at this point, I think they've been wrapping up everything anyway they can, because they've been told this is it.

[AnimeMania]

33 minutes ago, sjohnson said:

Elite Shelters suggests Bass Shepherd was contracting for Q17, if the writers are keeping track. 

So are you saying that Q17 wants the asteroid to hit earth?

Grace in the arms of another man at the end of the episode. I am guessing the whichever guy is alive at the end is the one Grace will choose to be with.

[dangwoodchucks]

I don’t care if Zoe is rescued or what happens to Jillian, I want to know what the hell happened to Grace’s dad? Is he still waiting by the airplane to go somewhere? 

[AnimeMania]

So Darius is going to fly the rocket to crash into the asteroid and save the world. Good thing his Vice President is an astronaut, he can be Darius' "wing man".

[Free]

3 hours ago, sjohnson said:

But at this point, I think they've been wrapping up everything anyway they can, because they've been told this is it.

That would explain the random subplots like the cult being tacked on in the last few episodes.

[Halting Hex]

So…Darius holds a press conference and nobody bothers to ask him about why his billionaire uncle is under arrest?  And all of a sudden we're not caring that 16 of Q-17 are still out there and we don't even know five of their identities (and thus, they didn't get their assets drained), is that it?  Bass Shepherd is suddenly The #1 Problem, is that it?  Okayyyyyy…

Alycia is such a shitty negotiator.  It's not "I do this, and you let me go, right? Right?"  It's "The ankle bracelet comes off or I ain't hacking."  Sheesh, Lady Hawk, grow a pair.

And then none of that makes any difference, because Alonzo and Trooper Podunk find the place almost instantly, anyway.  See, I told you to make your demands up front, Alycia.  Now they don't need you any more.  Sigh.

Quote

TROOPER:  You need to wait until we set up a perimeter and get warrants and all that stuff that gets people convicted.  Plus you don't even have jurisdiction here!

ALONZO:  Man, don't bore me with details! Two out of dozens of those women know me!  I'm sure that'll make all the difference!  I mean, I've known them for almost an hour, already!

Just when I thought that Claire would have to spend eternity being embarrassed that she got taken out by Grace (Hugh would be one thing, but had Grace even fired a gun before that?), her brother goes and outdoes her.  I mean, seriously,  Alonzo gets shot by Nora, of all people?  Some tough detective you are.  She didn't even shoot him in the back…she apparently was quicker on the draw and popped him head on.  Now that's embarrassing on a whole other level.

Alycia was born on February 23rd, 1989, in Athens.  Also, who gets their passport photo taken in a tank top?  Seriously.

Damn, there goes my hope that Jillian (or Zoe) was secretly Nero.  I suppose one of them could still be running Q-17, but it's still a bummer.  (How has Q-17 not gotten a single mention this episode?  Talk about sweeping a plot under the rug…)

Yes, Jillian, pulling one gun on Nora will make all the difference when you're surrounded by people with machine guns.  Sheesh.

Heh, Darius barely hesitates a second before giving the order to attack with Jillian still in the compound.  Clearly he's been reading this board. 

See, I told you they should have been concentrating more on the asteroid than chasing Q-17.  Darius, you have to learn to listen to me…

Seriously, you're going to fly the ark alone?  Why not take a crew, just in case you need them? Oy, Darius…

"Celebration Day" is a song by Led Zeppelin.  It was driving me crazy:

I do prefer George Harrison's "What is Life", though.  Odd choice for Liam to suggest as proof of the value of humanity, but I'll let it slide.

[Brooks]

Darius' life limiting Huntington's (have to work that back into the plot line) becomes the reason he sacrifices himself to go after the asteroid, with the VP at his heels.  Liam and Alycia (who now has nothing better to do) become Prez and Vice Prez.  Grace watches her beloved Darius slipping into the great blue and slumps into the arms of, well, whoever.

[AnimeMania]

Since when does having the blueprints of a rail gun give you enough information to allow you to override it's software programming and cause a meltdown.

They should let everybody in the world know that it was Bass that destroyed the rail gun so that every time somebody sees him they can punch him in the face.

[dangwoodchucks]

It’s amazing how everyone acts like Q17 has been neutralized just because Uncle is in jail. They really are all over the place with the various threats. Why aren’t Darius and Liam gleaning any information they can from Alycia about Resist, I imagine they could still be a threat (but not the threat du jour apparently).

I’m thinking that instead of spending all that money on the Ark, Darius should have just built his own elite shelter to house the 160 or however many it was. I realize that means he wouldn’t have the Ark for the next plot twist but whatever.

[sjohnson]

Obviously Re/Syst was comprised of the people killed with the late but unlamented Dylan Harris: the old woman Nero; Alycia Vrettou/Lady Hawk, and Liam/Galileo. Plainly it is is a spent force.

And John Noble was in Lord of the Rings and Fringe, so obviously his arrest means Q17 is done for too. 

It may be the astronaut VP who gives the world a happy ending where Elon Musk cures his Huntington's with the nanotech he invented in his odd spare moment, so that Grace can be a billionaire wife. 

Oddly I sort of wish Liam and Alycia go off together at the end of the series to refound Re/Syst, with the goal of destroying President Musk. Santiago Cabrera is pleasant to watch, but apotheosis gets on my nerves regardless. But I'm pretty sure that its' supposed to be Jillian/Liam, because they share cult brainwashing victimhood status. Have to say that seems more like an insuperable obstacle rather than the foundation for a healthy relationship, but that's me.

[sjohnson]

11 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

So are you saying that Q17 wants the asteroid to hit earth?

Grace in the arms of another man at the end of the episode. I am guessing the whichever guy is alive at the end is the one Grace will choose to be with.

Sorry, overlooked this: Way back the war scare with Russia was because Monroe Bennett was trying to aim the asteroid at Russia and China. We have since discovered Bennett was the pawn of the mystical "dark" money, Q17. So the plot says that Q17 wants to exterminate Russia and China. But at this point the plot seems to be not consequences of what went before, much less consequences of what people wanted. 

[AnimeMania]

7 minutes ago, sjohnson said:

So the plot says that Q17 wants to exterminate Russia and China.

I thought a lot of the Q17 were from  Russia and China.

Liam don't be alone in a room with Grace "Love The One Your With" Barrows or it's "Cougar Time".

[Mrs peel]

8 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

So…Darius holds a press conference and nobody bothers to ask him about why his billionaire uncle is under arrest?  And all of a sudden we're not caring that 16 of Q-17 are still out there and we don't even know five of their identities (and thus, they didn't get their assets drained), is that it?  Bass Shepherd is suddenly The #1 Problem, is that it?  Okayyyyyy…

Alycia is such a shitty negotiator.  It's not "I do this, and you let me go, right? Right?"  It's "The ankle bracelet comes off or I ain't hacking."  Sheesh, Lady Hawk, grow a pair.

And then none of that makes any difference, because Alonzo and Trooper Podunk find the place almost instantly, anyway.  See, I told you to make your demands up front, Alycia.  Now they don't need you any more.  Sigh.

Just when I thought that Claire would have to spend eternity being embarrassed that she got taken out by Grace (Hugh would be one thing, but had Grace even fired a gun before that?), her brother goes and outdoes her.  I mean, seriously,  Alonzo gets shot by Nora, of all people?  Some tough detective you are.  She didn't even shoot him in the back…she apparently was quicker on the draw and popped him head on.  Now that's embarrassing on a whole other level.

Alycia was born on February 23rd, 1989, in Athens.  Also, who gets their passport photo taken in a tank top?  Seriously.

Damn, there goes my hope that Jillian (or Zoe) was secretly Nero.  I suppose one of them could still be running Q-17, but it's still a bummer.  (How has Q-17 not gotten a single mention this episode?  Talk about sweeping a plot under the rug…)

Yes, Jillian, pulling one gun on Nora will make all the difference when you're surrounded by people with machine guns.  Sheesh.

Heh, Darius barely hesitates a second before giving the order to attack with Jillian still in the compound.  Clearly he's been reading this board. 

See, I told you they should have been concentrating more on the asteroid than chasing Q-17.  Darius, you have to learn to listen to me…

Seriously, you're going to fly the ark alone?  Why not take a crew, just in case you need them? Oy, Darius…

"Celebration Day" is a song by Led Zeppelin.  It was driving me crazy:

 

I do prefer George Harrison's "What is Life", though.  Odd choice for Liam to suggest as proof of the value of humanity, but I'll let it slide.

I believe they showed the assets of the G17 beibpng drained - $38TT.  Though why the group would need to put its assets into a findable (though difficult) website makes no sense.  

So much illegality in this episode, Navy Seals “rendering” an American citizen IN the US, arrests with no warrants, lord knows how an arrest for murder is made secret for 90 days (but a cop can easily get the mugshot!).

i know they are supposed to be focused on the asteroid, but no one closed the obvious security risk of the tunnels under the WH?

So COPE is a doomsday cult where the leader thinks he (and presumably small group of acolytes) can survive?  How convenient that Bass set up in DC, so Jillian could meet personally with him.  And he came up with the entire thing pretty quickly it would seem, since the knowledge of the asteroid is recent.  Don’t most of these cults commit suicide before the horrible 3vent?  Doesn’t seem like they would need massive amounts of guns.

I'm beginning to root for the asteroid.

[Latverian Diplomat]

14 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Since when does having the blueprints of a rail gun give you enough information to allow you to override it's software programming and cause a meltdown.

 

It showed there was a small thermal exhaust port just big enough to jam a proton torpedo usb flash drive into.

12 hours ago, dangwoodchucks said:

It’s amazing how everyone acts like Q17 has been neutralized just because Uncle is in jail.

Well, they also seized that underwhelming $21 billion dollar piggy bank they had. 

Salvation Deleted Scenes:

Darius: The Solar Sail and Rail Gun projects are now fully operational
Reporter: President Tanz, how hopeful are you of success?
Darius: We predict a 94% success rate, which is the worst I've ever done on an exam, but still pretty darn good if you ask me.
Other Reporter: Neither a borrower nor a lender be! Time is a circle! The cheese stands alone! [Takes cyanide capsule, dies]
Darius: We have got to stop giving press credentials to the Judean People's Front.

==========

Zoe: Hey Jillian. Is there a phone I could use? I should call my mom.
Nora: You know what our Holy Book, Bassonetics, says about "should"?
Jillian: [concentrating] "Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes." [Giggles]
Nora: Umm...E for Effort there, Jillian.

==========

Alycia: You want me to use Resyst to find Bass Shephard?
Darius: Actually, we were thinking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. You are surprisingly popular on Instagram.
Liam: It's those amazing bathing suit pics [embarrassed] I've...heard.

==========

Nora: [Makes a toast] To Celebration day!
Zoe: [Eyes wine suspiciously] Umm...my obstetrician told me to avoid, umm, poison?
Jillian: [Enthusiastically] I'm sure just a sip is OK.
Nora: [Hears knock at door] Shh! [Unlocks arsenal. Members start to arm themselves]
Zoe: This is the worst book club meeting ever.
Jillian: It's not so bad, my book has caused a narcolepsy outbreak at several of them.

==========

Boyce: [On PA]Give me a chance. Don't mortage your future. There is still a way to get out of jail free.
Boyce: [To Grace] That's the third time past Go. 
Grace: What if they don't respond?
Boyce: Next step we cut off their utilities, ma'am. Then the railroads, Marvin Gardens, Park Place.
Grace: Is this just a game to you?

===========

Alycia: All my personal information...they've doxxed me...Ladyhawke is dead.
Darius: It's OK Alycia. Here's a fresh character sheet. Step out of the darkness...try a paladin this time.

===========

Harris: The only way in is to raid the compound.
Darius: Is Grace out of there...Zoe?
Harris: Yes...but Jillian is still in there.
Darius: Oh, in that case, you're approved for tanks, flamethrowers, an aircraft carrier...

===========
Alycia: That's it? You're just giving up?
Darius: Does this show really deserve a third season? Or should we just go into the dustbin like Extant?
Liam: Extant didn't have all that blackmail material on network executives like we do.
Darius: You're right, they didn't. Six seasons and a movie it is.
 

Edited September 5, 2018 by Latverian Diplomat
fix a typo

[Halting Hex]

6 hours ago, Mrs peel said:

I believe they showed the assets of the G17 being drained 

Some of the assets were drained.  But "The Manchurian Candidate" made it clear that you need the biometric information (retina scans, etc.) to get into the accounts…and they were only able to ID 12 of the Q-17 17 from Nick's party.  For all we know, the other five have been in Hong Kong playing a marathon game of high-stakes cribbage, all this time.  And without those biometrics, their accounts are still tight as a drum.

5 hours ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

Boyce: Next step we cut off their utilities, ma'am. Then the railroads, Marvin Gardens, Park Place.
Grace: Is this just a game to you?

BOYCE:  What? Oh, sorry, ma'am.  I was just inspecting your Community Chest.

GRACE (groans).

------------

DARIUS: Great.  We're screwed.

ALYCIA:  You're just giving up?

DARIUS:  Why not? Let the dinosaurs have another crack at it.  What has mankind ever accomplished?

LIAM:  Are you kidding?  What about the inspiring power of Classic Rock?

ALYCIA:  Classic Rock? Really?

LIAM:  Shh! Listen!

GEORGE HARRISON:  All things must pass, all things must pass away

LIAM:  Eep, sorry, wrong track there!

DARIUS:  See, that's what I'm talking about!  Accept what can't be changed.  Nothing lasts forever except the Earth and sky…*

ALYCIA (rolls eyes): Fucking Buddhists…

(*-Yes, I just made Darius quote Kansas.  I'm evil, I know it.)

[Llywela]

Nearly a week later, I finally got to see this episode. And boy, the shippers are going nuts over on Twitter - it's been quite entertaining to watch their little byplay over the last few weeks, as a whole bunch of shippers got imported from The 100 fandom on the promise of a ship they would adore (I watched the call go out with considerable bemusement), became rather rabidly invested in 'Gracius' in the space of about two episodes flat, and have now proceeded to combust with fury since it turns out the central storyline of the show isn't actually about a couple getting together and living happily ever after, which seems to be all they want to see!

This episode felt like something of a return to the actual central premise of the show, albeit via rather roundabout means. It's all become rather woolly in these last few episodes, hasn't it - as if the writers got halfway through the season and suddenly realised they'd tossed a few too many balls into the air and weren't going to be able to juggle them effectively after all. But the asteroid seems to now be fully back in focus once more, heading into the climax of the season...although with an awful lot of sub-plots still to mop up, as well. The show is firmly on the bubble, I honestly doubt it will be renewed - but I also really doubt all these dangling story strands will be wrapped up come the end. In fact, they will probably go out on a cliffhanger, hoping to sway the network bosses that way.

I'll tell you what I liked about the stand off at Cope, though. I liked that it eventually all boiled down to four women negotiating, each one approaching the situation from a completely different angle, while the man in the room lay helpless, waiting to be saved. That was a nice gender reversal of what we too often see - especially since we'd been getting concerned about the number of women on the show decreasing. We lost another one in this episode, though, dammit! I like Anjali Jay and had been glad to see her pop up here, so I'm sorry to see her go.

Thinking about it, while the shippers might want the show to be all about Darius and Grace living happily ever after, it is really (character-wise) all about Darius adopting a bunch of wayward protegees and then despairing over them, each in turn! He's got Liam back on track, and he seems to have Alycia back on track now - just needs Jillian to complete the set! But giving the order to storm the compound despite Jillian still being in there was very in character - Darius can be ruthless when crossed, as both Alycia and Liam have already learned. He gets that from Uncle Nick! Wouldn't stop him taking her back if she repented, though (and it is pretty clear she already does, so she'll probably get to do something heroic to redeem herself before the season is out).

I still regret that Jillian was taken down this road, but if they wanted to tell the cult storyline, she was always going to be the best candidate for it, emotionally speaking. And I can see how the cult storyline kinda sorta fits into the end-of-the-world scenario they are trying to sell, in outline, although - as is fairly standard for this show - the actual execution of the concept is riddled with plot holes (like, if Bass really want the world to end, why fleece his followers out of millions and invest in secret bunkers, and if he wants to be rich and live to enjoy it, why actively sabotage efforts to save the world?)

There is more I could say, but I'm not sure I have the energy or that the storylines deserve the effort!

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Llywela said:

but I also really doubt all these dangling story strands will be wrapped up come the end.

Unless the asteroid hits the Earth. They show several countries launch spaceships before the collision and they connect those spaceships together with the International Space Station, then launch every nuclear missile they have at the asteroid to stop it. Then they show the first episode of "The 100" TV Show.

Edited September 9, 2018 by AnimeMania
more clarification

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, Llywela said:

 . . . I can see how the cult storyline kinda sorta fits into the end-of-the-world scenario they are trying to sell, in outline, although - as is fairly standard for this show - the actual execution of the concept is riddled with plot holes (like, if Bass really want the world to end, why fleece his followers out of millions and invest in secret bunkers, and if he wants to be rich and live to enjoy it, why actively sabotage efforts to save the world?)

There is more I could say, but I'm not sure I have the energy or that the storylines deserve the effort!

Great summation, @Llywela! I agree that the show is not worthy of our extra attention here; it's barely worthy of us watching it at all. But, hey, if we enjoy our snark, why not? 

Now that you've pointed out the disconnect between COPE building bunkers and sabotaging the asteroid deflector, I can only guess/fanwank that either 1) the bunker building was to distract from the main purpose, or 2) the original plan was the bunkers but the suicide pact was easier, or 3) Bass really is evil and plans to live with Jillian and a few other hot women of childbearing age in his bunkers after the asteroid hits.

 

3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Then they show the first episode of "The 100" TV Show.

I might like this if it turns out more like what I hoped The 100 was going to be. I quit that show near the end of the first season because of all the gratutious violence.

[AngelKitty]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

3) Bass really is evil and plans to live with Jillian and a few other hot women of childbearing age in his bunkers after the asteroid hits.

I vote for this one. Wouldn't it be hilarious if it ended with Bass grinning evilly surrounded by his harem in his bunker as the camera pulls back showing the world on fire?

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I quit that show near the end of the first season because of all the gratutious violence.

The violence doesn't bother, I gave up on that show because there were just too many teens. 

[shapeshifter]

58 minutes ago, AngelKitty said:

I vote for this one. Wouldn't it be hilarious if it ended with Bass grinning evilly surrounded by his harem in his bunker as the camera pulls back showing the world on fire

If it does end with Bass+harem being the sole survivors on earth,* I will wonder which came first: Bass's Charles Manson-styling or did the stylist's grooming of Bass drive the writers to the plot resolution?

*I'd also expect a Lost In Space scenario when the main characters escape nukes by hitchhiking onboard the Salavation ark, where, of course, Uncle is a stowaway.

[Latverian Diplomat]

5 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

I vote for this one. Wouldn't it be hilarious if it ended with Bass grinning evilly surrounded by his harem in his bunker as the camera pulls back showing the world on fire?

 

That's very close to the how You, Me, and the Apocalypse ended. Personally, I didn't care for it.

The way this show works, it would more likely end with Grace shooting Bass (but feeling super guilty about it) and then the harem discovers a cache of frozen sperm courtesy Darius (because he planned for all contingencies) to repopulate the world with, and ensure a genetic legacy of entrepreneurial technical super genius, as opposed to one of, um, entrepreneurial marketing super genius? (that perennial conflict between R&D and marketing will be with us to the end?).

Edited September 10, 2018 by Latverian Diplomat

[Llywela]

2 hours ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

That's very close to the how You, Me, and the Apocalypse ended. Personally, I didn't care for it.

The way this show works, it would more likely end with Grace shooting Bass (but feeling super guilty about it) and then the harem discovers a cache of frozen sperm courtesy Darius (because he planned for all contingencies) to repopulate the world with, and ensure a genetic legacy of entrepreneurial technical super genius, as opposed to one of, um, entrepreneurial marketing super genius? (that perennial conflict between R&D and marketing will be with us to the end?).

Heh - the flaw with this scenario being that Darius wouldn't donate his own sperm because of the Huntingdon's, which was also the reason he ruled himself out of the lifeboat to Mars and once planned to hand Tanz over to Alycia rather than planning for offspring of his own.

I really wish the new VP was still around to react to being on the inside of all the crazy now - I'd love to see his reaction to Darius's impulsive decision to release Alycia, which is pretty much exactly the kind of high-handed maverick action Darius said he was going to have to avoid from now on. Heck, I'd also like to see Grace's reaction to Darius freeing Alycia when he wouldn't pardon her father, even allowing for the sheer despair of the moment.

For that matter, what did happen with Grace's father, in the end? I mean, after being refused a Presidential pardon, he got busted out of prison by Navy Seals, that's what we were told, right? Not very stealthy, Harris - so you'd think there would be consequences for that, but we've not heard of any. Was he returned to prison? Did he get on the plane to nowhere? Is he in hiding? Does anyone actually care, or have they all moved on to the next crisis and forgotten him completely?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Llywela said:

what did happen with Grace's father,

Well, Mark Moses looks pretty busy (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608601/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t16 ) so this character might just have a choose-your-own-adventure ending in our minds.

[Latverian Diplomat]

1 hour ago, Llywela said:

Heh - the flaw with this scenario being that Darius wouldn't donate his own sperm because of the Huntingdon's, which was also the reason he ruled himself out of the lifeboat to Mars and once planned to hand Tanz over to Alycia rather than planning for offspring of his own.

Fair enough. And to be sure, a wide selection of donors would be preferable, but this is Salvation where one extraordinary individual can do the work of hundreds. So,

"Umm, Liam, this is awkward, but there is one last service to the human race you can provide. In that room you will find a tray of sample vials, some liquid nitrogen, and a selection of what Tess assures me is your favorite pornography. Godspeed, young man."

-- Darius Tanz

Edited September 10, 2018 by Latverian Diplomat

[Brooks]

1 hour ago, Llywela said:

 what did happen with Grace's father, in the end? I mean, after being refused a Presidential pardon, he got busted out of prison by Navy Seals, that's what we were told, right? Not very stealthy, Harris - so you'd think there would be consequences for that, but we've not heard of any. Was he returned to prison? Did he get on the plane to nowhere? Is he in hiding? Does anyone actually care, or have they all moved on to the next crisis and forgotten him completely?

I believe he was getting busted out of a prison hospital, still in pretty bad shape.  I figured he would continue to need medical care for a while.  Maybe Grace will get a 10 second phone call from him that wraps up that frayed end.