S02.E01: Inside Out

[paulvdb]

Quote

While hiding in Howard's life, Howard Prime must avoid detection at home and at the OI. Quayle and Clare struggle to adjust to their new arrangement.

Airdate: December 9, 2018

[shapeshifter]

It seems like they're setting it up so that Emily's post-coma ravings will lead to someone (likely new character, spy Nyla Temple) suspecting that Howard prime is not Howard—but then "they" will likely switch the 2 Howards just in time for hapless Howard to be nailed (again). Or maybe Howard then gets freed on his own side, so all is good for a bit.

[mxc90]

My Goodness! Clare makes sure there are no lose strings.

I guess Peter will die this season, now he has made that recording.

Was Clare going to kill Emily if she proved her memory was back?

Howard's line to Emily about a "stranger in the bed" was funny.

Even with the many locks on the door, Peter should still sleep with one eye open with Clare around. Good for him turning down her advances (even though she's tough to resist).

I hope Lambert is caught. He is too smug for my liking.

[Bort]

Well, it was blessedly Baldwin-free, so it was definitely better than most episodes preceding it. 

The Management stuff continues to perplex me. 

[wanderingstar]

When Peter said to Clare "That won't work on me anymore," I cackled.

And Peter confessing all into that tape recorder makes me think he's not long for this world.

Olivia Williams was the MVP of this episode for me. Her performance of post-coma Emily trying to remember her life was heartbreaking.

Loved seeing Betty Gabriel as Naya, who looks like she's going to be pretty dogged in her investigation. Peter better watch out.

Edited December 10, 2018 by Gillian Rosh

[WaltersHair]

Chekhov's tape recorder is live. I don't like Quayle, I must admit. Mausi was my favorite and well...

I've had a personal theory that Emily Alpha is really Emily Prime, and they traded lives years ago. This episode seems to have blown it.

Too cagey on the the new agent saying she believes in God.

[scrb]

Man I’m really hazy on how things ended last season.

Howard Prime stayed in this world to catch the conspirators and cells from his world.  So obviously Clare is up to her knees in the conspiracy but he helps Peter to protect her?

Does he not know how central she is, why she was implanted to marry Peter?

Who were the twin women who were killed along with the agents by Clare?

Now Aldrich figures out what was going on but who killed him and how?

 

Wish they’d checked in, if only for a little bit, with Howard and other in the Prime world.

[Quilt Fairy]

7 minutes ago, scrb said:

Who were the twin women who were killed along with the agents by Clare?

They were the 3 people (husband and wife, plus the wife's 'other') who Aldrich was hiding because the 'other' woman had defected providing him with information about Indigo and Shadow.

9 minutes ago, scrb said:

Now Aldrich figures out what was going on but who killed him and how?

In last season's finale, Aldrich gets the drop on Howard Prime, but Baldwin kills him in revenge for killing her other (the violinist).

5 hours ago, kariyaki said:

The Management stuff continues to perplex me. 

Yeah, that was Management at the very end, right?  So they're not aliens, I guess.  But I don't think the woman they mentioned, "Mira" was a character last season.  Anyone?

[Bort]

3 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I don't think the woman they mentioned, "Mira" was a character last season.  Anyone?

Mira ran the spy school on the other side.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

I've had a personal theory that Emily Alpha is really Emily Prime, and they traded lives years ago. This episode seems to have blown it.

I'm still confused about that.

 

 

8 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

Too cagey on the the new agent saying she believes in God.

I expect this aspect of her personality will contribute to a plot somehow. Like maybe if Nya Prime replaces her, a devout friend will notice something amiss with her rituals. Or maybe Nya will notice a Prime among her fellow worshippers because of some peculiarity of religious observance or lack thereof. 

[Quilt Fairy]

7 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Mira ran the spy school on the other side.

Thanks, that makes sense.  But are we sure it's Mira Prime they're talking about?  Is there only one Management or is there a separate Management Prime?  Because the same group that's interviewing Agent Temple in our world is quickly making a connection to someone in Prime.  An article I read about this season said it's going to be tighter and less (intentionally) confusing than last season.  That's probably why we only saw our world this entire episode. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Quilt Fairy

[Bort]

5 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

But are we sure it's Mira Prime they're talking about?  Is there only one Management or is there a separate Management Prime?  Because the same group that's interviewing Agent Temple in our world is quickly making a connection to someone in Prime. 

I don't know. I think Management also said something about Mira being dead, and she's not. She and one of the other school flunkies escaped. There are a lot of possibilities here. Either they're talking about the Mira on this side, or Management knew all about the school already, or they knew about the school AND the Mira who ran it was from this side. Or Management runs both sides. It seems to be a group of people all consulting each other, could be that they're a select group of people -- four, it looks like, two on each side?

[wilnil]

6 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I don't know. I think Management also said something about Mira being dead, and she's not. She and one of the other school flunkies escaped. There are a lot of possibilities here. Either they're talking about the Mira on this side, or Management knew all about the school already, or they knew about the school AND the Mira who ran it was from this side. Or Management runs both sides. It seems to be a group of people all consulting each other, could be that they're a select group of people -- four, it looks like, two on each side?

Last season, after we saw the weird way Management on both sides communicated with staff, I ended up thinking that was the twist: two worlds, but only one Management team. Now that we've seen that they communicate with each other equally weirdly, I'm almost sure of it -- that there's a hardwired connection between the worlds, and the security measures they use when communicating are intended to help keep this a secret.

Was the Management guy at the end (the one codenamed "Avalon," I think) James Cromwell?

[Sunnydayman]

2 hours ago, wilnil said:

Last season, after we saw the weird way Management on both sides communicated with staff, I ended up thinking that was the twist: two worlds, but only one Management team. Now that we've seen that they communicate with each other equally weirdly, I'm almost sure of it -- that there's a hardwired connection between the worlds, and the security measures they use when communicating are intended to help keep this a secret.

Was the Management guy at the end (the one codenamed "Avalon," I think) James Cromwell?

No that was Dieter Hallervorden

[shapeshifter]

14 hours ago, wilnil said:

Now that we've seen that they communicate with each other equally weirdly, I'm almost sure of it -- that there's a hardwired connection between the worlds, and the security measures they use when communicating are intended to help keep this a secret.

just so long as Management Guy(s) aren't looking at twin snow globes

Edited December 11, 2018 by shapeshifter
Missing word?

[meira.hand]

Every time we see Roland Fancher (Quayle's father-in-law) with Prime Clare and the baby, its a little heartbreaking. I keep dreading the minute he finds out his daughter was murdered and he has been spending all this time with Shadow. Than I thought what could convince him that this is the case or maybe even be the trigger for him to realize this and remembered something from last year finale. He could not understand why during the attack on his office, the prime assassin that replaced his secretary, killed everyone around him but passed right in front of him letting him live. He kept asking why. They made sure to have him mention this specifically twice. So now I suspect this will come up again to explain that his position was crucial to Quayle's advancement and in turn prime Clare's access to information. Or alternatively it could throw suspicion at him.

[Macbeth]

20 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

When Peter said to Clare "That won't work on me anymore," I cackled.

And Peter confessing all into that tape recorder makes me think he's not long for this world.

 

I agree Peter is going to die really soon. Clare has prepared for this by insisting that they move closer to her parents. 

Peter dies she will be spending a lot more time with her dad - giving her easier access to his work. 

[Sunnydayman]

2 hours ago, Macbeth said:

I agree Peter is going to die really soon. Clare has prepared for this by insisting that they move closer to her parents. 

Peter dies she will be spending a lot more time with her dad - giving her easier access to his work. 

Clare spending so much time around her mother and not having her mother sense something off is the hardest part for me to believe about the whole story.  My ex-wife has so many specific and vivid memories of our children’s childhoods.  I am always maxed listening to the details all these years later.  How would those gaps in knowledge be accounted for in Clare’s case?  There is no way that Project Indigo could have had eyes on all the interactions of mother and daughter.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Sunnydayman
Spelling

[Quilt Fairy]

13 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Or Management runs both sides. It seems to be a group of people all consulting each other, could be that they're a select group of people -- four, it looks like, two on each side?

Oooh, now I wonder if it's the same two on either side?

I remember thinking when I watched the first episode last season "This will probably make a lot more sense 3 or 4 episodes from now".  Looks like that hasn't changed much.

[Bort]

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Oooh, now I wonder if it's the same two on either side?

Ooooooh... I hadn't thought of that. 

[Dowel Jones]

I hope all of you can crowd source this show for me, because, even after watching all of S1 and tonight's episode, I am almost completely lost most of the time.

[Sunnydayman]

17 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I hope all of you can crowd source this show for me, because, even after watching all of S1 and tonight's episode, I am almost completely lost most of the time.

Join the crowd.  The main the remember so far is that the Howards and Quayle have good plot armor and Baldwin and Clare have great plot armor.  How did Clare kill Aldritch’s lieutenant?  That guy should have been able to handle here.  Also why doesn’t anyone follow her around?  She leaves a trail of death in her wake.

[Coxfires]

I really liked Naya Temple and am eager To see her impact on the story 

Olivia Williams was magnificent. Interesting parallel between Her and Prime Howard situation.

I love me some JK simmons, and of course he is fantastic at being the 2 Howards, but I was a bit bugged that everyone else's acting was overlooked. I hope the story has more in store for the other characters And especially Emily 

I am in the minority that appreciate Quayle for being probably the most relatable flawed character in the story. In a world full of badasses like Clare, Prime Howard and such, Quayle might act the most as anyone would actually do: cover his own ass and not being very good at it. He was a priviledge person on every level and seeing him squirm and struggle feels satisfying 

Management is still a cypher, I Guess next episode will be in Prime world 

[shapeshifter]

On 12/11/2018 at 2:12 AM, Dowel Jones said:

I hope all of you can crowd source this show for me, because, even after watching all of S1 and tonight's episode, I am almost completely lost most of the time.

http://counterpart.wikia.com/wiki/Counterpart_Wiki

 

5 hours ago, Coxfires said:

Olivia Williams was magnificent. Interesting parallel between Her and Prime Howard situation.

In a way this is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet

[Macbeth]

On 12/11/2018 at 10:46 PM, Coxfires said:

I am in the minority that appreciate Quayle for being probably the most relatable flawed character in the story. In a world full of badasses like Clare, Prime Howard and such, Quayle might act the most as anyone would actually do: cover his own ass and not being very good at it. He was a priviledge person on every level and seeing him squirm and struggle feels satisfying 

 

I absolutely adore Quayle, his character is so believable.  Harry LLoyd is fantastic.  

[marinw]

On 12/11/2018 at 11:46 PM, Coxfires said:

Olivia Williams was magnificent. Interesting parallel between Her and Prime Howard situation.

 

This! She is so disoriented and afraid. It was a bit jarring seeing Emily at the doctor’s office where there was an iMac when the people in Management use 90’s computers.

The Bell Overlords put this on Crave, so  watching this show is more complicated then just setting the DVR. #First World Problems! I did enjoy this episode for the creepiness and atmosphere, even if I’m not completly clear on what is going on. 

I’m scared for the people who are from the Other Side and are now trapped and hunted. 

Edited December 15, 2018 by marinw

[AudienceofOne]

On 12/11/2018 at 2:28 AM, kariyaki said:

 Or Management runs both sides. It seems to be a group of people all consulting each other, could be that they're a select group of people -- four, it looks like, two on each side?

I think the only reason for management to be so damn weird is if it's a joint management of both worlds. But some of the orders they gave at the end of season 1 suggest otherwise. 

On 12/11/2018 at 3:55 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

Oooh, now I wonder if it's the same two on either side?

It could be. But if they're not colluding with each other then I'm not sure why all the secrecy is involved - or why nobody questions that secrecy either. 

I can't say this was a great first episode. It seemed a bit like a continuation of the previous season, not a new one. That's not necessarily a bad thing for the overall narrative but it does mean that we haven't gotten a new story hook. I never found Cold War spy craft a particularly interesting genre and this is becoming more and more what the story is about.

The performances are still excellent though. Really amazing.