S02.E10: eneMy of My eneMy

[paulvdb]

Quote

The Mutant Underground wrestles with the idea of recruiting the Inner Circle to assist them. Andy considers reconnecting with his family when he learns about his father's powers, but Lauren may not be as willing to have him back as their parents. Find out if the Mutant Underground and Inner Circle will be able to put their differences aside in order to save John from the Purifiers.

Airdate: January 1, 2019

[HunterHunted]

It's interesting in Jace's moron world of idiots there was only one group advocating civil rights for people of color, women, or queer individuals. Additionally there is clearly only one Mexican cartel, italian mob family, inner city gang, or criminal organization. Oh wait...there aren't. He continues to be an idiot. To reach the conclusion that a group must not exist because he's never heard of them is the type of dumb logical conclusion that I expect out of a 5 year old. Shut up forever and always Jace. He's a fucking idiot and his storyline is still awful.

Thank god this moron only worked for Sentinel Services. He would have been truly dangerous if he'd been with the FBI, CIA, or NSA. "Al Qaeda? Never heard of them. That can't be a real problem."

In his past couple of months with the Purifiers, he has managed to make "the mutant threat" actually catastrophically dangerous. By attacking their foster homes, safe houses, and clinics, he's managed to scare mutants to the point that every interaction with law enforcement, Sentinel Services, or any governmental official will be met with violence. This is doubly dangerous because some of those scared mutants are children and teens with poor control of their powers. I wish his wife was still in the picture to give him a wake up call that by externalizing his grief and depression he's setting the country on the course for Armageddon.

Edited January 2, 2019 by HunterHunted

[KittenPokerCheater]

They had a new episode on New Year’s Day?? It’s like they WANT to cancel the show.  Maybe they should or maybe they shouldn’t, but it’s a crappy thing to air a new episode of anything on New Year’s Day.

[tennisgurl]

Jace really is the wort kind of bigoted asshole, not only an ignorant asshole, but a willingly bigoted asshole. He has moved from thinking that mutants are dangerous, to hating all mutants, to hating mutants and anyone who supports them, and wanting to hurt them in some pathetic attempt to "avenge" his daughter, or "protect" humans, to assuming that all mutants are a part of some vast terrorist conspiracy that exist to screw up HIS life in particular. Of course, MUTANTS took everything from him. His daughter died in a tragic incident (attack? accident?) but the rest of it? The end of his career and his marriage? Thats all 100% on him! And I love how, despite the Purifiers talk about defending their country, they kidnapped, tortured, and almost killed, a US veteran. What a hypocritical piece of crap. All he has done in the name of protecting the world has done has made everything worse for everyone. I am sure his daughter would be so proud. 

Also, I would totally watch a show about the Mutant Marines. That sounds freaking awesome. 

[blackwing]

I don’t care anymore which faction of the mutants wins.  I just want to see cool powers.  So I really enjoyed the attack on the Purifier compound.   

Jace is awful and if this show had any sense, they would kill off this useless character.  Coby Bell continues to make a strong case week after week for the title of World’s Worst Actor.  I cackled when he was screaming about losing everything.  He’s terrible.  Just terrible.  Whoever encouraged him to become an actor should be banished to a small windowless room and forced to watch his “acting” over and over.

Don’t really care about Andy.  Happy I didn’t have to see the annoying triplets this week.

What’s with Clarice’s hair?  Is this supposed to be her “natural” look?  Looks terrible, like she stuck her finger in a light socket, very witchlike with the shades of light purple and grey.

[tessaray]

I binge-watched the series over the holiday break, so last night was my first real time episode.  I didn't have any huge expectations but sheesh, that was pretty awful.  Especially Jace.  I hope they plan on killing him off, because after shooting John like a freaking maniac, I'll never buy any redemption story for him.

I do like Lorna and Marcos though. Maybe because their ongoing relationship and baby angst seems almost upbeat compared to the grim misery of rest of the show.   

[KittenPokerCheater]

I'm a huge fan of Marcos.  Wish we'd get a backstory episode for his character.  He was a drug dealer, I think?  Certainly he mentioned in this episode that he gave up a life of wealth to be with Lorna/the underground.

I liked this episode better than I thought I would.   I really liked the scene where Lorna/Marcos were sniping an Clarice was like the kid in the backseat telling her parents to knock it off.  Jace needs to redeem himself, but I don't see that happening.

Lorna needs to lose the Magneto Hairband.  It looks silly to me.

[Gwen-Stacys]

The MU continue to be hypocrits. Caitlin giving Andy the side eye for going off on a bigot after the man literally shot his sister in the back (if you watch, she grabs at her back right after the man shoots the gun. the only thing that saved her was the bullet proof jacket TIC wears during their missions)when she willingly helped a mutant OD for less. At least andy's torture boner made sense in the moment. He saw all the saws and power tools the Purifiers were ready and willing to use on John, his sister got shot...I mean, I'd beat wholesale ass for less!

Also, destroying the inner circle won't bring your son back, Cait. It'll just make him hate you and then he's lost to you forever. Something you should know, as it seems he takes after her the most.

Lowkey wanted John to die so that my babe James could pop up (Martin Sensemeir, actual native actor, please!)

[Arbor Tristis]

On 1/2/2019 at 3:00 AM, HunterHunted said:

It's interesting in Jace's moron world of idiots there was only one group advocating civil rights for people of color, women, or queer individuals. Additionally there is clearly only one Mexican cartel, italian mob family, inner city gang, or criminal organization. Oh wait...there aren't. He continues to be an idiot. To reach the conclusion that a group must not exist because he's never heard of them is the type of dumb logical conclusion that I expect out of a 5 year old. Shut up forever and always Jace. He's a fucking idiot and his storyline is still awful.

ALL of THIS.

When Andy was pretzelizing that Purifier doofus, both my wife and I were yelling at the screen, "Forget that guy! Go kill Turner! Do it NOW!" 

Marcos is awesome. His low-key snark was gold. Lorna's still an idiot, and Andy's an even bigger idiot. And, maybe I'm too old to appreciate it, but does every damn episode have to end with an angsty montage over an equally angsty song? 

[Finis Terre]

6 hours ago, Gwen-Stacys said:

The MU continue to be hypocrits. Caitlin giving Andy the side eye for going off on a bigot after the man literally shot his sister in the back (if you watch, she grabs at her back right after the man shoots the gun. the only thing that saved her was the bullet proof jacket TIC wears during their missions)when she willingly helped a mutant OD for less. At least andy's torture boner made sense in the moment. He saw all the saws and power tools the Purifiers were ready and willing to use on John, his sister got shot...I mean, I'd beat wholesale ass for less!

Also, destroying the inner circle won't bring your son back, Cait. It'll just make him hate you and then he's lost to you forever. Something you should know, as it seems he takes after her the most.

Lowkey wanted John to die so that my babe James could pop up (Martin Sensemeir, actual native actor, please!)

Watch the scene again before calling her a hypocrit. There's a difference between spontaneous self-defense (and torturing people to obtain information) and torturing people just to feel satisfaction. Andy is a bigot like Jace. His advantage? He has powers. His disadvantage? He is easy to manipulate. None of the two is Caitlin's fault. 

[Lantern7]

(Purifiers Stronghold)

John: Let me get it through your skull. There is a group of mutants called the Inner Circle. They have deep pockets, and that's why you've never heard of them . . . as opposed to the Underground, where our current sources of communication are tin cans attached by string.

Jace: And you expect me to believe Lorna Dane and Andrew Strucker left your group to join this . . . "Inner Circle"?

John: Look, if you give me an hour, I can go over how that happened. I can write it out. Or I could just tell you once my head stops ringing.

Jace: Okay. I'm gonna go out there and think about what you said. Maybe have some calming tea with the Purifiers.

(an hour later)

Jace: (fucking furious) THERE IS NO INNER CIRCLE!!!!

John: . . . aaaaaaaaaaaand you're being an asshole again. What happened?

Jace: Your friends are blowing shit up out there . . . and Lorna Dane and Andrew Strucker are with them. You lied to me!!!

John: Okay . . . maybe Lorna and Andy went rogue to help rescue me. Maybe the gang decided to squash beefs because of me. Did you ever thi-

Jace: (cocks shotgun)

John: And now I'm going to listen to you bitch while you fill me with buckshot. Am I right? Did I develop a secondary mutation of predicting the future?

Jace: (firing into John's manly chest) I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF MUTANTS!!!!! My girl, my job, my wife . . .

John: You know, I hope your daughter comes back from the dead in the season finale to ell you what a one-dimensional asshole you've become.

Jace: (fires)

John: (slumping) It's between . . . between yooooooou and Andy . . . about who's more pathetic . . .

. . . and we're back to Fox's less entertaining comic-based show. Once again, you get a sense that the people running things care, but I don't think it's enough. Or maybe they need to go with the "Why The Fuck Not?" approach that's worked so well for Gotham and Legends of Tomorrow. But if things end at the second season with zero hopes for renewal or resolutions (re: Timeless), would we really miss it?

Anyone hoping Reed chokes out and disintegrates Andy? He is such a little punk bitch.

[tessaray]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Anyone hoping Reed chokes out and disintegrates Andy? He is such a little punk bitch.

Maybe before Andy bleached his hair. Now every time Andy is on the screen I want to see him start silk screening soup cans or Jackie Kennedy Onassis.  

[Lady Calypso]

On 02/01/2019 at 9:51 PM, blackwing said:

Jace is awful and if this show had any sense, they would kill off this useless character.  Coby Bell continues to make a strong case week after week for the title of World’s Worst Actor.  I cackled when he was screaming about losing everything.  He’s terrible.  Just terrible.  Whoever encouraged him to become an actor should be banished to a small windowless room and forced to watch his “acting” over and over.

I'm definitely confused as to why this show thinks it's a good idea not even just to have Coby Bell on this show as Jace, but why Jace and his dumbass racist/mutantist storyline has to exist in the first place. Are we supposed to feel sympathy for him or what? Most shows don't have a storyline involving the bad guys with no protagonists involved throughout most of it for a reason. Jace is a bad guy, 100% and his storyline takes away from the stories that could actually be developed more. He's a waste of time and space this season, even moreso than last season. At least last season, he had a purpose. This season, who the fuck cares about his oh so not sad drama with his wife finally leaving his sorry ass behind and him torturing mutants for fun? Ten episodes in to season two, no redemption scenes in sight and the only sign of not total dickheadness is more about him playing smart, rather than caring about the mutants.

I usually try to fast forward through Jace's scenes this season, but it's been easier when 90% of his scenes are with guest stars. The only hope I have is with Jace's lackey who seems to get increasingly annoyed with Jace's superiority complex and he snaps on Jace. Who would ever want Jace as a leader?

Jace could die and take Caitlin and Andy with him as well, and I'd be as happy as a clam. Although Andy's probably the least offensive out of the other three....and he has powers, so that's saying something. At least with him, he's still a fifteen year old immature kid who could grow out of his behaviour because his brain is still developing. What are Jace and Caitlin's excuses? Caitlin would sacrifice her own daughter for her son in a heartbeat, and Jace is willing to kill innocents if he has to.

Also, that stupid dramatic moment when Caitlin opened the door to reveal Andy. Caitlin is such a dumbass. I'm glad Lauren has been sticking to her guns and being pissed at Andy because of their dreams. At least Lauren's issues with Andy feels realistic. Caitlin just whines a lot. I don't have much faith in Caitlin finally figuring out that Andy's much different and dangerous, since she keeps defaulting to "MY BABY BOY" mode. It's funny how Caitlin thinks that destroying the Inner Circle is going to change Andy's views as well. I actually was liking Andy's last few scenes because it has finally felt like they may not just have him change his mind by the end of the season and rejoin his family as if nothing has happened. But Caitlin keeps ruining all of this. 

And I also feel like they could still "redeem" Andy through shitty writing and ignoring everything he's done this season and putting the blame on the Inner Circle "brainwashing" him. I don't think there'll be a season 3, but if there is, it's clear he'll be back with his family. Even if there's not, the series finale will surely have the Strucker family laughing and pretending their precious son wasn't on a different side for a year. 

[tessaray]

Heh.  I decided to watch based on Amy Acker.  And an article somewhere that said she would make a Sarah Conner-like journey, which I've seen no evidence of, unless you count doping up a hacker addict so much his heart failed.  Caitlin is no Root or Illyria.   

[Lady Calypso]

28 minutes ago, tessaray said:

Heh.  I decided to watch based on Amy Acker.  And an article somewhere that said she would make a Sarah Conner-like journey, which I've seen no evidence of, unless you count doping up a hacker addict so much his heart failed.  Caitlin is no Root or Illyria.   

I've seen Amy Acker in other shows before and know she's a good actress, so it's definitely her character, the writing for her character, and the way Acker plays Caitlin that makes her pretty awful. 

The action on this show is actually pretty good, but it's definitely better than the writing for this season. This show has gotta make me root for SOMEONE, ANYONE. At this point, I'm starting to be more into The Inner Circle than either The Mutant Underground or the Purifiers. And I think Reeva is a pretty stupid leader to begin with. 

I seriously need a show with just Lorna, baby Dawn, Esme, Lauren, and Reed. Everyone else either sucks or is too boring for me to care about. If Marcos can keep up with the comedic side, which the actor is way better at than the dramatic stuff, then I could be fine with him too. And I didn't even like Reed last season. 

[tessaray]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I seriously need a show with just Lorna, baby Dawn, Esme, Lauren, and Reed. Everyone else either sucks or is too boring for me to care about. If Marcos can keep up with the comedic side, which the actor is way better at than the dramatic stuff, then I could be fine with him too. 

I'm surprised at how much I like Esme now.  I actually miss her when she's not on.  

[retrograde]

On 1/2/2019 at 9:51 PM, blackwing said:

I don’t care anymore which faction of the mutants wins.  I just want to see cool powers.  So I really enjoyed the attack on the Purifier compound.   

Yeah I find I'm rooting for the Inner Circle now just because it's fun to see all the new powers whenever they free a bunch of mutants. Every time the Mutant Underground gets a new group of refugees it drives me nuts that they don't just go one-by-one seeing what cool shit people can do. 

[Raja]

7 hours ago, retrograde said:

Yeah I find I'm rooting for the Inner Circle now just because it's fun to see all the new powers whenever they free a bunch of mutants. Every time the Mutant Underground gets a new group of refugees it drives me nuts that they don't just go one-by-one seeing what cool shit people can do. 

What drives me nuts is where exactly does this underground supposed to lead? Is it safety in Canada like in Logan? Otherwise what's their purpose just to be Morlocks above ground with no brand for those who pass the visual test?

[AKA...CJ86]

So... a little behind but I got one thing to plead... can someone put Jace out of my misery by Season's end.

[retrograde]

On 1/6/2019 at 9:24 AM, Raja said:

What drives me nuts is where exactly does this underground supposed to lead? Is it safety in Canada like in Logan? Otherwise what's their purpose just to be Morlocks above ground with no brand for those who pass the visual test?

To other countries with better laws or at least to one of the headquarters in the US, I guess. You may recall the underground was originally supposed to be getting the Struckers to Mexico, but then Reed decided they should stay and "help" because he's a moron who likes bossing other people around. Lately, though, the underground (or at least this part of it) doesn't seem to be doing much more than fixating on finding Andy and Lorna. 

[Beatriceblake]

I liked the band getting back together to rescue John but I'm over from Agent Jesse from Burn Notice's bullshit. He's just not a nuanced enough character to be either interesting or sympathetic.

Also Jace? You lost your child but the job and wife were kind of on you because of your repeated bad choices. And the way they write him (i.e. badly) is even managing to make his bereaved parent schtick less sympathetic because he only ever brings her up to score points in arguments.

Something else that bothered me is that they didn't really address Lauren's perspective on the reunion enough.

By which I mean:

1) Lauren's feelings while her parents were delighted to see her brother, who basically seriously physically assaulted her, back in their lives (albeit temporarily)

2) Lauren's feelings about Andy basically wanting her to reassure him in their dream after his actions and conduct towards her.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Beatriceblake