S01E04: Unclaimed Baggage

[CooperTV]

Quote

When a mysterious message leads Saanvi to the flight attendant of 828, she enlists Ben's help in uncovering a secret about the plane. Meanwhile, Michaela begins to question the nature of the callings when one goes horribly awry, leaving Jared to suffer the consequences.

10/15/2018

[shapeshifter]

The title of this episode was too fabulous of a metaphor for the writers to resist when selecting air-travel-themed episode titles.

[J0nas3]

My dad and stepmom celebrate the anniversary of their first blind date. Somehow I don’t think that’s the anniversary referred to on that picture. Did Olive call Grace and Danny?

[stealinghome]

For a moment I thought the end of the episode was going to be us zooming out from behind the statue and Michaela NOT being below. That would have been one hell of a twist!!!

It definitely feels like the writers have stepped their game up in the last two episodes. This still isn’t award-winning TV, but the scripts have been markedly better, and the writers seem to be balancing the family drama and genre/sci-fi elements much better. It helps that they have kind of positioned Ben as the center point that connects many of the story nodes, as Josh Dallas is definitely the show’s most engaging actor. I did really laugh that when Ben needs to be a ~serious academic, he puts his glasses on, though. It's like a reverse Clark Kent. (And side note: most academics who are as socially adept as Ben is don’t dress like he does!) Also, okay, NOW I see the chemistry between Ben and Saanvi. I am down with them getting together when Ben and Grace go kablooey (which seems like it will be happening sooner rather than later). Also, just in general, I am so digging Saanvi. She is the only person on this show who is just getting shit done with no muss and no fuss! Everyone else is wandering around confusedly and she's giving herself brain scans, consulting with other doctors, tracking down other 828ers and rescuing people from psych wards, etc. What a badass!

I'm tired of everyone veiled-ly talking about "how hard" the last few years have been and how they've "gone through so much." It's not that I mind the notion that the non-828ers suffered, but just give freaking specifics already instead of being needlessly obfuscatory. "Olive has been a disciplinary problem" is much more helpful than endless repetitions of "she's had a really hard time."

I actually like Michaela and Jared as friends. Maybe the writers realized that triangle is going to be bad and swerved so that they’ll be just friends? I know, I know, but let me dream! I like Ben and Michaela’s relationship too and wish we could see more of it beyond Ben yelling at Michaela to not tell anyone anything. I wish we could see the 828ers talk about what they are experiencing more. (Also: it's interesting that Bethany doesn't seem to be getting visions or anything....)

How convenient that Cal is up with the otherwise-nonexistent dad at a cabin. Not necessarily looking forward to his return last week.

Quote

Did Olive call Grace and Danny?

I assumed she called Grace, left a voicemail, and then called Danny when her mom didn't call her back right away.

[fauntleroy]

They'll be able to keep the show going indefinitely without actually advancing the plot with these cases of the week.

Too much Danny Olive Grace soap opera.

Ben made a good point that they should not follow the voices blindly, though is that a mixed metaphor? Eyebrow's response that they may not have any choice doesn't really follow, since the object of the voices' commands can be misinterpreted, as she did. Why would the entity behind the curtain issue such ambiguous commands? So inefficient.

This airs right after The Voice. Maybe Blake Shelton is calling the shots and it's all a big tie in.

Doctor Who had similar statues but they were monsters who could only move when they were not being observed.

Edited October 16, 2018 by fauntleroy

[ParadoxLost]

I only remembered this was on half way through.

Did they cast an actor for Danny yet or is he still just a collection of text messages?

[Moose135]

I was really glad that the NBC Promo Monkeys told us all week that the big bombshell in this episode would be that there was a stowaway on Flight 828...otherwise, a decent episode.

1 minute ago, ParadoxLost said:

I only remembered this was on half way through.

Did they cast an actor for Danny yet or is he still just a collection of text messages?

Yes, he made a brief appearance tonight - Daniel Sunjata, best know for Rescue Me.

[CCTC]

4 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

 

Did they cast an actor for Danny yet or is he still just a collection of text messages?

Daniel Sunjanta.  Josh Dallas's reaction shot when he was him was some nice acting - nothing too over the top, but effective.

It is not the world's greatest show,  but I am enjoying it, and I think it has improved since the pilot.  I thought this episode also did a nice job of showing how everyone is messed up by the missing five years and how things are not easily put together.   I thought the mystery of the week was better than other weeks as well and felt for the nephew at the end.

[shapeshifter]

33 minutes ago, fauntleroy said:

Doctor Who had similar statues but they were monsters who could only move when they were not being observed

That kept bugging me. Not one of the writers or other people working on this episode has seen the stone angels of Doctor Who (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeping_Angel )? Nah. They just figured since they never got caught plagiarizing in college, it sure wouldn't matter on TV. And they're right. :P

 

Anyway, if I was Michaela in the car with J. R. Ramirez (Jared) when he was using that sexy pitch of his voice, I would have been telling him all about the stone angels. Sorry bro Charming.

 

Speaking of of guys cast for their hotness quotients: Is it just me, or did Daniel Sunjanta (Danny) look a little puffy? Or did they just have him dressed puffily so Charming would look more sympathetic to us?

[Snapdragon]

49 minutes ago, fauntleroy said:

Doctor Who had similar statues but they were monsters who could only move when they were not being observed.

That was straight up my first thought when watching this.  And those weeping angels are scary AF so I was immediately creeped out when the doctor had her vision in the hallway!

[djinn]

I liked the passenger of the week in this one. I'm warming up to Jared, and I cooled off somewhat on Olive this episode - don't want teen angst. The Michaela-Jared scenes were better than the Grace-Ben-Olive family drama going on. Saanvi is still the high point of the show though, because she's the only one who's actively - and competently -  trying to solve the big mystery.

I wonder if there's any significance to the fact that Saanvi saw wet feet while Michaela saw the wings, in their respective visions, other than the fact the they needed to work together to solve the mystery.

[stealinghome]

I definitely think the fact that Michaela saw, in her own words, an “angel” was a direct nod to her characterization as someone who has lost/is struggling with religious faith. Not sure about Saanvi though.

[Passepartout]

Glad that for once Michaela and in the two other women one of them that was the doctor beat the NSA as me thinks that they want to keep bodies in order to hide the facts and lack of empathy and sympathy for what these people are going through.

Over in the stowaway young man in Thomas that caught everybody off guard. And think he will keep on playing an important role.

Ben acting like a scientist and being that of an academic to me was funny.

Danny kind of looked like Jared in a beard a bit despite having a cameo. Are we not suppose to like him? For what he did and in the talking bad about him.

Jared nearly lost his job over blowing the A.T.F.'s cover. Michaela will have to tell him and in the long run so that Jared will not lose his job. And he still cares about her despite being married. But still think that Ben kind of came off a jerk. Over Jared nearly sacrificing his own career for hers.

That angel thing is creepy. Really it is more Sci Fi there.

[Camera One]

I thought this episode did a better job with the human impact of the lost 5 years than the last couple, now that we know a bit more and the show isn't trying to withhold basic information from viewers.  The character moments were reasonably well written and acted, so I felt for all the characters.  It was nice to see more of the medical scientist character.

I liked Jared a bit more in this one.  If he had told Michaela about Vance asking him to relay all information to him, then I think Michaela should confide in him, though there's really not much he could do.  As Michaela said, the voices command them to take action... look at what happened at the dog pound.  

The situation with Ben, the wife and Olive was quite sad.  It is quite an impossible situation.  I liked the father-daughter talk.  It must be strange for Josh Dallas to play someone who is allowed to come up with intelligent ideas, plus having heart-to-heart talks with their daughter that last more than 30 seconds.

I'm glad they saved the stowaway, and I like the air stewardess.  I wonder how long they can keep them hidden in the boiler room, though.  Hopefully, the NSA doesn't link the stewardess with the stowaway, or she'll be stuck in the boiler room full time as well.

Edited October 16, 2018 by Camera One

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Passepartout said:

Ben acting like a scientist and being that of an academic to me was funny.

Maybe I'm just being a grump, but it seemed like a rip-off of any episode of Numb3rs.

 

 

1 hour ago, Passepartout said:

Jared nearly sacrificing his own career for hers.

Eh, IDK, was he doing it with NSA guy's blessing?

[BitterApple]

Okay, so obviously we're being set up for the eventual Grace/Ben implosion and Ben hooking up with the gorgeous doctor. They're acting like they still have a spark, but it's obvious Danny meant way more to Olive and Grace than Grace originally let on. 

I liked the story of the flight attendant and the stowaway. I hope we get to see more of them. 

Tonight's episode was the first time I found Michaela and Jared believable as a (former) couple. Given all the drama that's happened since she's been back, I'm kind of surprised she hasn't been transferred to a different precinct. 

So next week is a Cal-centered episode. I don't hate his character, but I don't want him to be the linchpin of the story either. 

Oh and note to NBC: it's not a "bombshell" when you're giving away the secret in promos that have been running all week. A bombshell is supposed to be a surprise, dimwits.

[green]

Man I detest the Ben and wife/wife's lover/daughter/son storyline of infinite and incredibly boring angst.  I don't give a crap about any of them and never will.  Sister cop woman and former love of her life are one step behind in the not caring department.  Can we just have aliens abduct this whole loser family?  They add nothing to the show and bring it down every time any of them are in a scene which is like 95% of the time.  The weird stone angels were more interesting than any of them and better actors as well.

The doctor and the fight attendant should be the leads with poor shattered Thomas along as the lost and lonely sidekick.  But they never will have two female leads one of ethnic Indian heritage and the other an Afro-American.  That's not allowed on American TV, sigh.  No, we are stuck with white, middle class characters of endless boredom instead.

Also while fixing the show will you please get the NSA out of the picture.  They have giant, mega, state-of-the-art computers and zillions of data they collect to sift through back in Maryland and don't run around in the streets with "agents."  They are analysts, not gun toting idiots.  I hate it when we have government conspiracy stuff and they can't use an agency that might remotely be involved.  It takes me out of the storyline totally.

Edited October 17, 2018 by green

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I just saw Angels in America over the summer, so the Bethesda fountain reference was a nice touch.

I totally laughed when Olive asked her dad not to tell her mom that she'd been caugt shoplifting and then Grace later told Ben what an moron he was for falling for that.

Saanvi continues to be the MVP of the show. She's the only on thinking logically, acting calmly, and getting shit done.

But I totally rolled my eyes when Saanvi said, "If only I had a way to contact Bethany," and Ben pulled out his phone and already had Bethany's info in his phone because he's been "assembling a database." How convenient that you've managed to track down personal information of a complete stranger and saved it in your phone with just her first name!

[GaT]

4 hours ago, fauntleroy said:

They'll be able to keep the show going indefinitely without actually advancing the plot with these cases of the week.

And that's a big problem IMO. It's already starting to get boring, we need some answers, not a "rescue" every week.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I totally laughed when Olive asked her dad not to tell her mom that she'd been caugt shoplifting and then Grace later told Ben what an moron he was for falling for that.

See, I thought Grace was wrong on that. Ben and Olive do need to build trust. Sure if it became a pattern but one incident that helped her start to realize that she could talk to her dad is more important than Grace knowing. I mean Olive was an idiot for thinking that Danny wouldn’t tell her mom but I thought Ben did the right thing, especially when the only thing she tells him about Olive is “well that’s Olive,” so she definitely isn’t sharing all about her with him. This episode reinforced that I really don’t like Grace so maybe she and Danny can run off together.

This is the first episode I actually liked Josh Dallas’s acting choices though he continues to remind me way too much of Chad Lowe.

Edited October 16, 2018 by biakbiak

[mertensia]

The statue was creepy, I'll give them that.

Yeah, Saanvi seems to be the only one really proactively trying to solve the mystery. Ben's kind of fumbling his way into it.

I think people really don't understand that for the people on the flight there was no time gap. To them 5 and a half years ago was two weeks ago. These aren't returnees from a Russian gulag, these are people who came out of a coma (so to speak).

[Ailianna]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I just saw Angels in America over the summer, so the Bethesda fountain reference was a nice touch.

Same here and I thought that was something that two young gay men in Jamaica, who had never been to NYC but were dreaming of a life there, would totally pick as their romantic meeting point.

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

See, I thought Grace was wrong on that. Ben and Olive do need to build trust. Sure if it became a pattern but one incident that helped her start to realize that she could talk to her dad is more important than Grace knowing. I mean Olive was an idiot for thinking that Danny wouldn’t tell her mom but I thought Ben did the right thing, especially when the only thing she tells him about Olive is “well that’s Olive,” so she definitely isn’t sharing all about her with him. This episode reinforced that I really don’t like Grace so maybe she and Danny can run off together.

Agreed. Grave wants all the control, which I get, she's been a single mom (-ish), but she can't lock out Ben the way she is and not expect repercussions.  And Ben needs some way into Olive's life; she doesn't need to control their relationship, which should be between the two of them.  There are family bonds, but also unique bonds between specific members, and there's no room in a father-daughter bond for mom.  That's a different relationship.  Plus, I want to watch Josh Dallas actually get to know the daughter who has been growing up without him this time.  

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I mean Olive was an idiot for thinking that Danny wouldn’t tell her mom but I thought Ben

Now that you mention it, wasn't Ben kind of an idiot for thinking Danny was not going to tell Grace just because Ben exchanged a manly "I've got it from here" with Danny?

 

 

4 HOURS AGO, ELECTRICBOOGALOO SAID:

a way to contact Bethany," and Ben pulled out his phone and already had Bethany's info in his phone because he's been "assembling a database." How convenient that you've managed to track down personal information of a complete stranger and saved it in your phone with just her first name

If Ben can do that in a few days when his tech skills were 5½ years old, the NSA should offer him a job—which, BTW, would provide a wealth of spy vs. spy story lines.

And speaking of 5½ year-old tech skills: Wouldn't Michaela need some training before going out on rounds as a detective?

 

 

1 hour ago, mertensia said:

Yeah, Saanvi seems to be the only one really proactively trying to solve the mystery

Sure, but how did she do her own brain scan? Did a tech help her?

Edited October 16, 2018 by shapeshifter

[ottoDbusdriver]

That security guard in the makeup store was Johnny-on-the-spot in catching Olive.  Olive needs to get better skills as a shoplifter.

The writers really missed an opportunity here with Thomas' room number -- it should have been 828 instead of 810.

I'm glad the insurance company wanted its money back.  

I thought that Saanvi worked for a cancer research hospital, but now she's working in a general hospital complete with psych ward.

Other stories on the cover of that People magazine (that had ConspiracyLady/Kelly Taylor on the cover):
-- New Royal Wedding -- Get all the details of the new Royal Bride
-- New Faces of Washington -- Find out who the new candidates will be
-- Dan Davis New Film (this was hard to make out) -- will it change minds and hearts of the West
-- Stand or Sit -- Hear what some players are saying

Apparently the pilot, Captain Bill Daly, gave an exclusive to People Magazine -- will he be the next to be killed by the shadow killer.

Also, no sign of the shadow killer this episode either.

[biakbiak]

43 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Now that you mention it, wasn't Ben kind of an idiot for thinking Danny was not going to tell Grace just because Ben exchanged a manly "I've got it from here" with Danny?

To me not really. He doesn’t know Danny and Grace told him she had broken off the relationship and most likely contact and Danny would have no reason to think that he wouldn’t tell her. It’s not like it was a casual thing where it was brought up she found out from Danny within a few hours.

[CCTC]

7 hours ago, Camera One said:

It must be strange for Josh Dallas to play someone who is allowed to come up with intelligent ideas, plus having heart-to-heart talks with their daughter that last more than 30 seconds.

As someone who watched Once this made me laugh -- as well as it must be strange for him to have a conversation with his wife that involves more than just finishing her sentences while standing by her side as if they did not have separate identities.

 

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Now that you mention it, wasn't Ben kind of an idiot for thinking Danny was not going to tell Grace

Grace was also not exactly thinking either for not realizing confronting Ben about the shoplifting would make it clear that she has been talking to Danny, and it maybe should have occurred to her that it also meant Ben was probably reeling from the fact Olive called Danny before him as a parental figure and he was obviously still part of their lives.  Although to be fair to Grace, she does seem completely overwhelmed about the situation and not know what to do.  Not that it excuses all of her inaction, but it helps make it understandable.

I like how they are not just doing a love triangle, but showing how he was also an important figure to Olive.  It was a nice touch that Ben first sees Danny with his daughter and not his wife.  It really showed how deeply this man had replaced him in the family as a whole and was a more heartbreaking moment than if it had been a jealous husband seeing his wife with her lover.  This is one triangle I could actually see go either way (although I suspect in the end they will break up), unlike Jared and Michaela  where everything seems to be pointing to them not being done.

[BooBear]

9 hours ago, CCTC said:

Daniel Sunjanta.  Josh Dallas's reaction shot when he was him was some nice acting - nothing too over the top, but effective.

Yes... you totally got that Ben realized that this was much more serious than he thought. I feel for him. He did nothing but has lost his family. 

I don't love the helping person each week. I also find it hard to believe that no one would have figured out the stowaway earlier. Your telling me that there are police on the ground and they don't notice someone jumping off the landing gear? 

I know that the NSA is the big bad here but I don't see the reason for that. Given that they are interested it seems obviously it wasn't them that caused it and maybe are trying to help. 

They need to establish that other people on the plane are having episodes. 

[LilaFowler]

1 hour ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

That security guard in the makeup store was Johnny-on-the-spot in catching Olive.  Olive needs to get better skills as a shoplifter.

The writers really missed an opportunity here with Thomas' room number -- it should have been 828 instead of 810.

I'm glad the insurance company wanted its money back.  

I thought that Saanvi worked for a cancer research hospital, but now she's working in a general hospital complete with psych ward.

Other stories on the cover of that People magazine (that had ConspiracyLady/Kelly Taylor on the cover):
-- New Royal Wedding -- Get all the details of the new Royal Bride
-- New Faces of Washington -- Find out who the new candidates will be
-- Dan Davis New Film (this was hard to make out) -- will it change minds and hearts of the West
-- Stand or Sit -- Hear what some players are saying

Apparently the pilot, Captain Bill Daly, gave an exclusive to People Magazine -- will he be the next to be killed by the shadow killer.

Also, no sign of the shadow killer this episode either.

I'm puzzled about where the show is trying to go with this. The maid confessed to killing Kelly Taylor, so there was no actual shadow killer in that episode. However, Cal drew one in his picture of the family. Unless a shadow killer isn't a specific entity following survivors around, it's just someone or something in their life that is an imminent threat.

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, CCTC said:

 

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Now that you mention it, wasn't Ben kind of an idiot for thinking Danny was not going to tell Grace

Grace was also not exactly thinking either for not realizing confronting Ben about the shoplifting would make it clear that she has been talking to Danny, and it maybe should have occurred to her that it also meant Ben was probably reeling from the fact Olive called Danny before him as a parental figure and he was obviously still part of their lives.

Yes, even bigger point.
To be fair, I guess this is an example of "showing not telling" that we posters are always criticizing shows of failing to do.
And to be fair to the character of Danny: If he is genuinely concerned for Olive whom he really has been parenting for years (rather than just using Olive to get to Grace), then he is a hero rather than a villain--which is likely a set up for us to be okay with Grace and Danny being together.
In contrast, for example, within days of separating from my ex-husband, he failed to pick up my 12-year-old daughter to take her to a concert (and never took her anywhere ever again), even though he had been her "Daddy" for 8 years.

 

 

6 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Not to mention the fact that more likely than not on this show all of those phones would be bugged in one form or another. . . . They would have listened in on all of Ben's conversations as well

Yes, the whole time Ben was yelling into his phone not to tell anyone anything, I kept expecting a cut away to NSA agents listening to the conversation.

[Angeleyes]

Anyone else think that Danny and Jared looked similar this episode? It was confusing for a minute, probably due to both having beards and Danny’s limited screen time. 

That’s awesome that Ben was able to come up with the formula for a million dollars before lunchtime. He should probably trademark that thing. Although it seems that the square root of X = get a small business loan. 

These people are all allegedly under heavy surveillance, yet no one notices that they are hanging out and running back and forth with supplies to a secret hideout. Good job TV’s NSA.

Olive misses her allowance once then becomes a kleptomaniac. I wonder how much Blue Mercury paid for the product placement?

Edited October 16, 2018 by Angeleyes

[kili]

Quote

I'm glad the insurance company wanted its money back.  

I'm wondering where the compensation from the airline went. Grace had two family members "die" so that must have been a chunk of cash.  Sure, the airline might want its money back too now that they aren't dead, but after the entire 5 year thing, any PR rep would probably advise them to just let it go. Lawyers might as well. Successful doctors and professors might actually get more for 5 years of lost wages than they did for dying.

Usually, when somebody comes back to life, it's due to some sort of fraud or the person running away from life. In this case, it's pretty hard to argue that either applies. The insurance company might be better off going after the airline because they kind of look like the most responsible. Ben is right in that the insurance company's policy probably never imagined this happening and need to add a few clauses to cover it in the future. Lawyers would have lots of fun if this went to trial, so the insurance company should accept whatever plan Ben has to actually pay the money back. You can't get blood from a stone. There would also be bad PR, but insurance companies don't seem to care about that.

I'm having a little trouble buying the stowaway just slunk off after the plane landed. There were a lot of people and lights greeting that plane. Sure, they may have not been watching the landing gear, but there is a whole lot of nothing to hide behind afterwards so somebody is sure to see the movement out of the corner of their eye. And even if there was nobody to tell him about the 5 year gap, the news was absolutely everywhere. Scan a few headlines at the bodega, dude. 

[Frost]

50 minutes ago, CCTC said:

maybe should have occurred to her that it also meant Ben was probably reeling from the fact Olive called Danny before him as a parental figure and he was obviously still part of their lives

Grace is losing more and more of my sympathy every week.  She's constantly bleating "I've had to do this alone for FIVE years!"  It comes out so easily, I can imagine her constant refrain.  "I've had to do this alone for a year!"  I've had to do this alone for TWO years!"  I've had to do this alone for THREE years!"  Etc.   And yet she can't seem to feel any empathy for Ben.  Through absolutely no fault of his own, he's missed out on five years of his LIFE.  His little girl is now a teenager and his wife was physically involved and is still emotionally involved with another man, his mom died, and he has to restart his career.  I get that Grace is overwhelmed, but her utter focus on what she is going through is irritating.   From the random people willing to go into her house to get sporting equipment, her in-laws, and her boyfriend, she had a pretty supportive network in her 'alone' years.

I thought Grace's response to Danny, "Olive is being Olive" or whatever the exact phrasing was,  was awful.  It sounded like she gave up on parenting her daughter.

I'm also suspicious of the Anniversary photo.  That seems an odd way to caption a first date among adults.

29 minutes ago, kili said:

I'm having a little trouble buying the stowaway just slunk off after the plane landed.

Me too!  The NSA was already at the airport when the plane landed.  And everyone was on high alert in case there was some kind of terrorist plot.  Someone jumping down from the landing gear, wearing a flight attendant uniform, and running away not only would be noticeable, but wouldn't he also have to scale a very tall fence?    

[TVForever]

10 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

I only remembered this was on half way through.

Did they cast an actor for Danny yet or is he still just a collection of text messages?

Dang it, its Daniel Sunjata. How can I root for Ben now when his competition is my Dreamboat Daniel Sunjata?

[TVForever]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

And speaking of 5½ year-old tech skills: Wouldn't Michaela need some training before going out on rounds as a detective?

 

Along with a very lengthy and serious psych evaluation. Oh hey Michaela! We thought you were dead for 5 1/2 years, but you think you were just on a delayed plane flight? Welcome back to police work! Here's your desk and gun!

[shapeshifter]

57 minutes ago, kili said:

Successful doctors and professors might actually get more for 5 years of lost wages than they did for dying.

Not to mention mental anguish/pain and suffering, right? Plus everything else @kili posted^^ re insurance benefits.

[BitterApple]

15 minutes ago, TVForever said:

Dang it, its Daniel Sunjata. How can I root for Ben now when his competition is my Dreamboat Daniel Sunjata?

Lol, right? I know Grace is on a lot of peoples' shit lists right now, but if Daniel Sunjata was my boyfriend, I don't think I could quit him either. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Not to mention the fact that more likely than not on this show all of those phones would be bugged in one form or another.  Michaela wouldn't be able to hide that stowaway anywhere.  They would have listened in on all of Ben's conversations as well and they would know how paranoid he is.  Hell, everyone that was on that plane would have zero privacy and nowhere to hide.

 

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Yes, the whole time Ben was yelling into his phone not to tell anyone anything, I kept expecting a cut away to NSA agents listening to the conversation.

My favorite part was when Ben was on the phone with Michaela and he said, “We already lied to NSA!” That’s when I expected the cut to NSA listening (and I was kind of hoping it would be the two guys on The Good Wife who listened to Alicia’s life like it was a soap opera).

[Amy Beth]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

 

 

 

Yes, the whole time Ben was yelling into his phone not to tell anyone anything, I kept expecting a cut away to NSA agents listening to the conversation.

 

Everyone on that flight landed with obsolete phones and devices, since they were all a minimum of 5.5 years old (plus the amount of time they owned them prior to the flight). 

It would have made sense for the NSA to “generously” give every passenger a new and up to date phone that came pre-bugged by them.

[sempervivum]

2 hours ago, Angeleyes said:

Anyone else think that Danny and Jared looked similar this episode? It was confusing for a minute, probably due to both having beards and Danny’s limited screen time. 

That’s awesome that Ben was able to come up with the formula for a million dollars before lunchtime. He should probably trademark that thing. Although it seems that the square root of X = get a small business loan. 

Yeah, really, show? You couldn't find a non-Hispanic, non-bearded actor to play one of those parts? Stupid (unless their similarity ends up being a plot point)

I eye-rolled at Ben scribbling complex formulas feverishly for hours (on a whiteboard no less) and coming up with 'get a loan'. I thought that the fact that Grace had paid off their mortgage would open them to having the house taken away to repay the insurance money. How likely is it that they can even get a loan with shaky incomes and a huge debt hanging over them? Will a bank lend money for the express purpose of replaying a debt? Ben specifically said a 'small business loan', so I would think they'd have to prove to the lender that the loan was directly going toward the business.

[kili]

Quote

I thought that the fact that Grace had paid off their mortgage would open them to having the house taken away to repay the insurance money.

Grace said that she took out a HELOC on the house to get money to open the business.

BTW Does that make sense? Granted she might have not been making a lot of sense at the time and maybe she did one and then later got the other idea....but wouldn't she have been better off keeping the mortgage and using the insurance money to start the business? Aren't HELOCs at a higher interest rate than a mortgage? Is it beneficial because she can write-off the cost of the interest against her business profits? Until the business is profitable, does that even help? I think I need Ben to scribble on a whiteboard and clear this up for me.

Quote

Along with a very lengthy and serious psych evaluation.

She did get a psych eval in the first couple of episodes. The doctor thought she was coping well and that being at work would help, so she got the badge after two sessions. I think she is still supposed to be visiting the lady, but I don't think Michaela mentioned the angel.

Edited October 18, 2018 by kili

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Amy Beth said:

Everyone on that flight landed with obsolete phones and devices, since they were all a minimum of 5.5 years old (plus the amount of time they owned them prior to the flight). 

It would have made sense for the NSA to “generously” give every passenger a new and up to date phone that came pre-bugged by them.

Maybe they did ?????

[Moose135]

27 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

Ben specifically said a 'small business loan', so I would think they'd have to prove to the lender that the loan was directly going toward the business.

I wondered that myself - if you are taking a small business loan, the bank will likely want to see your business plan and what you plan to use the money for.  And I'm not sure he thought out the plan fully - I think he said they would invest the money from the loan, and use the interest to gradually pay back the insurance company.  The problem is you have to pay back the loan too, and the interest you owe will likely be more than the investment interest earned (unless he is really lucky with his investment), so they will be even further in the hole.

[BitterApple]

I agree the financial plan was pretty stupid. So they'd be paying two loans with interest plus the life insurance, as opposed to one loan plus the life insurance.

And why the hell doesn't Ben just get a damn job? If colleges and universities aren't hiring, do private tutoring or look for something in a different sector. Bag groceries at Publix if you have to.

Of course, they'll secure the business loan because we need Ben with plenty of free time to solve the 828 mystery.

Edited October 16, 2018 by BitterApple

[Mountainair]

I don't mind this show. Last night was the first night I watched Live and paid attention the whole time. It just moves a little slow for my liking. The statue lady creeped me the hell out though. 

The area code where I live is 828 so it's funny to see it everywhere on this show- I'm waiting to find out my town is some big part of the mystery :) 

As far as airplanes and mystery sci-fi shows go I liked Lost a lot better but I'll still watch. 

[AV8n]

Granted, there were a lot more trigonometric functions in Ben’s brilliant mind scrawling than I expected to see in financial math, but I think his plan came down to investing the SBA loan funds in commemorative plates, beanie babies, and lottery tickets. But to be fair, he was getting horny thinking of the hot math sex he was about to have. Well, before he had to go pick up his daughter from what will likely be the first of many run-ins with the law black Paul Blart.

i probably heard wrong, but did the flight attendant tell the stowaway they were going to land in Belize? Also, while some planes have hatches to enter the baggage compartment from the galley, none have a way to then get into the wheel well. Stowaways that get caught in wheel wells started out there. But he would have done well to just hide in the baggage compartment.

The angel statue was totally a Doctor Who ripoff. My guess is that the mastermind of the disappearance will turn out to be an alien named Doctor Whom that travels around in his her TURDIS.

[GaT]

8 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

The writers really missed an opportunity here with Thomas' room number -- it should have been 828 instead of 810.

That would be too much like the numbers on Lost, 4 8 15 16 23 42 

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Also, no sign of the shadow killer this episode either.

AKA the Manifest smoke monster

Edited October 16, 2018 by GaT

[eel2178]

13 hours ago, Camera One said:

I'm glad they saved the stowaway, and I like the air stewardess.  I wonder how long they can keep them hidden in the boiler room, though.  Hopefully, the NSA doesn't link the stewardess with the stowaway, or she'll be stuck in the boiler room full time as well.

Did they explain to us how Leo disappeared two years after the plane went missing? I was left with a lot of questions.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, AV8n said:

 

i probably heard wrong, but did the flight attendant tell the stowaway they were going to land in Belize? Also, while some planes have hatches to enter the baggage compartment from the galley, none have a way to then get into the wheel well. Stowaways that get caught in wheel wells started out there. But he would have done well to just hide in the baggage compartment.

That whole thing didn't make sense. Was the stowaway snuck on board as a regular passenger then changed into a flight attendant uniform so he could sneak off? Or was he working the flight as a "pretend employee," neither of which could happen in a million years. 

[SoMuchTV]

43 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

Did they explain to us how Leo disappeared two years after the plane went missing? I was left with a lot of questions.

Yeah, I was also wondering if we're going to hear more about that.

[Texasmom1970]

The two love triangle kind of stuff bugs me. I was happily dating a guy earlier this year and his ex-fiance; who broke it off with him just showed back up. It is all a big frigging mess now. But it helps me understand the complexities. 

I really felt for the stowaway, poor guy!