S01.E18: Return To Sender

[Trini]

Next episode synopsis:

"Return to Sender"

When a package mistakenly shows up on Miles' doorstep, his search for its importance leads him to a couple grieving the loss of their daughter. Also, Miles, Cara and Rakesh reunite with John Dove (Christopher Redman), Miles' first friend suggestion, after Rakesh discovers a connection between Dove and Simon Hayes (Adam Goldberg).

And ET has a clip: https://www.etonline.com/god-friended-me-first-look-miles-and-cara-bring-their-romance-back-to-where-they-first-met

Edited March 23, 2019 by saoirse
removed unnecessary spoiler tag

[mommalib]

First off I still love the show and tonight was another heartfelt episode. I can imagine getting over a child is just about the most difficult thing to deal with in life because it's so not natural. I thought the organ donation and the tie with the violin was beautiful. 

Loved Authur's answer at the church and the fact that he told his girlfriend he loved her. She knew his kids was exactly what he needed.

I am as big a Miles and Cara shipper that there is but Cara showed some real snake like tendencies in the episode. She should have been honest with Miles from the jump. If i'm Miles she's somebody I would be very careful around until she shows me she could be trusted. Other wise they are so damn cute together lol.

Edited March 25, 2019 by mommalib

[stonehaven]

I do hope Cara and Miles talk through things..as I do believe that the God account wants them together. I think Cara was trying really hard to have it both ways.

As for the rest of it, I did get teary-eyed at the heart donor reveal....I still love this show..and I thought it was cool that Joe Morton directed it!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, stonehaven said:

did get teary-eyed at the heart donor reveal

Yes, this show always gets the surprise twist right.

I'm still confused about FreeVerse's claims of exclusivity to the God Account story and even moreso after this episode since, as was pointed out, if Cara doesn't do it, others will. 

I can only guess that next episode Cara will get a chance to point out to Miles that she figured it would be better if she did the story than someone else.

[mommalib]

12 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Yes, this show always gets the surprise twist right.

I'm still confused about FreeVerse's claims of exclusivity to the God Account story and even moreso after this episode since, as was pointed out, if Cara doesn't do it, others will. 

I can only guess that next episode Cara will get a chance to point out to Miles that she figured it would be better if she did the story than someone else.

Even if she does point that out she still wasn't honest with Miles and that's the problem. It seems like she's willing to throw him under the bus to advance her career.

[Trini]

I know this is TV, so something was going to come up to mess with Miles/Cara, but did it have to be so soon? I hope they can work things out, and I hope she can work something out with her boss.

Can't Cara let her boss know that she's dating the man working with the God Account? That's a conflict of interest, right? Yes, she's closer to the story; but maybe someone else should write it anyway.

Well, they got me in the end with the violin A-plot. Nice that they were able to include Trish in a believable way.

So Simon Hayes started his secret project 8 months ago? Just about lines up with the start of the series.

Only 2 more episodes left!

[Yeah No]

I'm really disappointed in Cara.  I didn't see her as someone that would lie about something like that to her boyfriend and put her career ahead of him in such a blatantly hurtful way.  If she were honest I could totally see Miles and her coming to the conclusion that she should do the story anyway.  She is in a unique position to get the scoop at this point, plus I thought she and Miles worked as a team.  I guess not in their minds thanks to this, which is regrettable.

There's something evil about this editor of Cara's.  I can't put my finger on it, but he's the first truly malevolent character of the series.  Simon Hayes is holding something back in a self serving way, but I sense that his overall goal is for good.  It's interesting, though, how evil begets evil with this editor.  His evil causes Cara to do evil.  I guess that's an obvious illustration of how it spreads.  But it really sucks because Cara has been a true beacon of loveliness in this series.  To have her sullied like this hurts.  I do trust in the God account to find a way to turn this around soon, though.

So thanks to that package we find out that Miles lives on Edgecombe Ave. not far from the Morris Jumel Mansion.  That's not the most expensive area of Manhattan, but it still might be too expensive for Miles to afford a two bedroom in by himself.  A two bedroom there would cost around $2,000 a month.  Although that's actually not completely unbelievable in NYC as 2 bedrooms go for around that in my Dad's building in the Bronx too.  Miles lives only a few blocks from the hospital where Mr. Yeah No and I were born (New York Presbyterian), and the neighborhood where Mr. Yeah No grew up (Washington Heights).

So this week we were treated to even more amazing coincidences thanks to the God Account.  They seem to be getting more and more improbable as time goes on.  They had to throw in that the dead girl was the heart donor of the other girl?  Wow.  Perhaps those freaky connections are a function of the predictive analytic program?  I guess we'll find out.  But I'm wondering how that could be because in some cases the connection began a long time ago.  In this case the heart was donated 3 years ago.  So they still can't be easily explained away by science or some pretense of science.  It's beginning to look like John Dove is somehow the connecting point of some if not all of the other friend suggestions in some way.  I wonder if Rakesh is going to find and connect all those dots some time in the future.

Absolutely no one ever would ask that question of Miles' dad about his son being an atheist in the Episcopal church of today, especially not in Manhattan.  I'm trying really hard not to feel somewhat offended by the implication.  They could have picked almost any other church other than Unitarian and it wouldn't have seemed as out of place.  I feel like it sends out the wrong image of the church.

So we see Arthur in the Church of the Ascension on 5th Ave. and 10th Street in the Village.  It's there that he commits what I consider the biggest gaff of the week by referring to his vision for the "Episcopalian" church.  Geez Louise, they can't even get the NAME of the church right!  It's the Episcopal church.  Episcopalians are its members, not the name of the church.

It was harder than usual for me to love this show this week, I will admit.

[MissLucas]

Yeah, I was struggling with this episode too. First of all I wasn't a fan of the donor plot. I thought it wrong of Miles to give the violin away (even if it was only for the recital) - the act of giving it away should have been the mother's. And I don't think the resolution with her teaching Lindsay was particularly healthy - there are very good reasons for donor anonymity even if there are different methods it gets ensured incl. some sort of limited contact between the parties involved. But a scenario like the one the show painted here looked very problematic to me.

As for Cara's plot: She should have been honest with Miles but I was more upset how she botched up that interview. Why wasn't she better prepared? Did she really not expect Hayes would vet her before the interview? And then she more or less threw Rakesh under the bus. It doesn't require a tech genius to figure out who her source is. Also: she has zero proof that Hayes is behind the God account. I bet she and her editor are in for a nasty surprise because to me it looks more and more like Hayes is a giant red herring.

Well, at least the Finer family got a halfway decent plot.

Edited March 25, 2019 by MissLucas

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I'm really disappointed in Cara.  I didn't see her as someone that would lie about something like that to her boyfriend and put her career ahead of him in such a blatantly hurtful way. 

I wonder if they're going for Cara coming to see her own behavior in comparison to her mother's. 
  
  

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Perhaps those freaky connections are a function of the predictive analytic program?  I guess we'll find out.  But I'm wondering how that could be because in some cases the connection began a long time ago.  In this case the heart was donated 3 years ago.  So they still can't be easily explained away by science or some pretense of science.

Predictive analytics makes use of previously generated data, right? So more, older data is good, no? </ end-over-generalization>

Edited March 25, 2019 by shapeshifter

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Predictive analytics makes use of previously generated data, right? So more, older data is good, no? </ end-over-generalization>

I can see how can knowing more about the past can make better predictions of the future, but how did those past freaky coincidences and connections come into being in the first place?  That can't be explained purely by predictive analytics, unless with knowledge of the future it can also go back into the past and use the knowledge of that past to encourage a certain type of future.  So it's not just knowing the future, it's helping to "cure" the past.  And I'm far from convinced that there's any kind of scientific algorithm that can achieve that.

My head hurts.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Yeah No

[KaveDweller]

19 hours ago, mommalib said:

Even if she does point that out she still wasn't honest with Miles and that's the problem. It seems like she's willing to throw him under the bus to advance her career.

I think Cara was originally not honest with Miles because she didn't want him to think he was holding her back (which he was, when he asked her not to write about the God account). And she really intended to not write about it last week. Then this week, I think she took the interview hoping she could prove Simon wasn't behind the God account, but thinking that if he did, she was the best person to manage the damage. That editor would have just given the story to someone else. She should have told him earlier, but I get why she didn't.

I do absolutely get why Miles is mad, but Cara wasn't trying to be deliberately hurtful. And why should she have to sacrifice her career to help his podcast? Both of their careers are important and that is why it is a good conflict for them to have to deal with.

12 hours ago, MissLucas said:

And then she more or less threw Rakesh under the bus. It doesn't require a tech genius to figure out who her source is. Also: she has zero proof that Hayes is behind the God account. I bet she and her editor are in for a nasty surprise because to me it looks more and more like Hayes is a giant red herring.

Well Rakesh did tell everyone how Simon was moving his team to NYC, so if he really signed an NDA about that is on him. Especially if he didn't tell anyone about the NDA. When he told his girlfriend he was taking the job and didn't have to move, he didn't say anything about how he shouldn't be telling her that or anything.  But yes, that is easily traceable back to him.

However, it seemed a bit contrived that no one knows about that, because you can't move multiple people across the country and keep it a secret. People have to tell their friends/family they are moving and someone paying attention could figure out they all work for Simon Hayes.

I am still assuming Simon Hayes is not behind the God account though, since it is rather early to reveal that. So I want to know what his actual project is.

[tennisgurl]

Oh Cara. I get that this is a messy situation, but lying to Miles couldn't have been the best answer. Maybe if they had talked, and she had been honest, they could have come to some kind of middle ground. I know that there had to be at least a bit of drama, but couldn't we have gotten Miles and Cara to be cute together for just a little bit longer?!

I didnt see the heart transplant coming until the doctor arrived at the recital, then I saw it all coming together. I think that meeting the girl who got the daughters heart could be a good way to give the parents closure, but I am a bit worried about the idea of them hanging out more often. It seems like the wife could start seeing her as a replacement daughter, and thats not a healthy situation for anyone. 

I mean, algarisms and everything, but these are pretty insane coincidences just to be happening because of a code or something. I mean, what are the odds of all of this just happening? Miles dad is dating the women who knows the women who lost her daughter and the got the violin from the lady who came into the shop right when Miles was there who was also the mom of the girl who got the couples heart? That a WHOLE lot to chock up to coincidence. 

Liked the whole plot with Arthur telling the truth about his family at the church, and that his family was nothing to be treated like a dirty secret. 

[mommalib]

3 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I think Cara was originally not honest with Miles because she didn't want him to think he was holding her back (which he was, when he asked her not to write about the God account). And she really intended to not write about it last week. Then this week, I think she took the interview hoping she could prove Simon wasn't behind the God account, but thinking that if he did, she was the best person to manage the damage. That editor would have just given the story to someone else. She should have told him earlier, but I get why she didn't.

I do absolutely get why Miles is mad, but Cara wasn't trying to be deliberately hurtful. And why should she have to sacrifice her career to help his podcast? Both of their careers are important and that is why it is a good conflict for them to have to deal with.

Well Rakesh did tell everyone how Simon was moving his team to NYC, so if he really signed an NDA about that is on him. Especially if he didn't tell anyone about the NDA. When he told his girlfriend he was taking the job and didn't have to move, he didn't say anything about how he shouldn't be telling her that or anything.  But yes, that is easily traceable back to him.

However, it seemed a bit contrived that no one knows about that, because you can't move multiple people across the country and keep it a secret. People have to tell their friends/family they are moving and someone paying attention could figure out they all work for Simon Hayes.

I am still assuming Simon Hayes is not behind the God account though, since it is rather early to reveal that. So I want to know what his actual project is.

Miles didn't ask Cara to sacrifice anything. He was totally honest with her about the stipulation for him getting the job. She said it wasn't a problem because she only wrote about the people and not the god account. But then her editor started waving around that opportunity in front her and Cara is ambitious and she wanted to have her cake and eat it too but when it really came down to a choice it seems she chose her career over her relationship with Miles.  When Miles said they had a deal she said things changed which was cruel on her part. And she knows this could cost him his opportunity so yes she's throwing him under the bus to advance her career which is very snake like. Cara was dead wrong here, Miles didn't do anything wrong. And if they try to frame this as a both sides issue i'm gonna be upset.

Edited March 26, 2019 by mommalib

[shapeshifter]

I'm assuming this show will reconcile Miles and Cara in a tear jerking way, but I have no idea how.
An interesting confluence of lines from two different scenes as recorded by the Closed Captioning is probably not relevant, but in this show, maybe?
First Cara's editor, followed immediately by Henry in a church:

1. [COMPELLING MUSIC] A journalist from "Catapult" is taking that interview. The only question is, will it be you?
2. [DOOR OPENS] For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11. These words could not be more relevant, and that is my vision . . .

Edited March 26, 2019 by shapeshifter

[KaveDweller]

24 minutes ago, mommalib said:

Miles didn't ask Cara to sacrifice anything. He was totally honest with her about the stipulation for him getting the job. She said it wasn't a problem because she only wrote about the people and not the god account. But then her editor started waving around that opportunity in front her and Cara is ambitious and she wanted to have her cake and eat it too but when it really came down to a choice it seems she chose her career over her relationship with Miles.  When Miles said they had a deal she said things changed which was cruel on her part. And she knows this could cost him his opportunity so yes she's throwing him under the bus to advance her career which is very snake like. Cara was dead wrong here, Miles didn't do anything wrong. And if they try to frame this as a both sides issue i'm gonna be upset.

Cara should have told Miles as soon as her editor came to her, yes.

But circumstances changed for Cara after she initially said she wouldn't write about the God account. It's not cruel of her to tell Miles that, it is simply the truth. Things changed and it was out of her control. The editor would have assigned another reporter the story and if she said no, both she and Miles would lose out. I can see her argument that her writing the story may be better than a stranger writing it. She's not throwing him under the bus, she's trying to make the best of a bad situation. And Miles did ask her to sacrifice something, because he told her not to write the article. Why is his career more important than Cara's career? They are both equally important. If they had talked about it earlier, I think Miles would have agreed.

Also, the podcast people are offering Miles a pretty crappy deal if they won't buy the podcast just because some other website writes about what he talks about in the podcast. Most people would consider that good publicity. Is he going to lose his deal the first time anyone writes anything about the podcast? It makes no sense.

[mommalib]

36 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Cara should have told Miles as soon as her editor came to her, yes.

But circumstances changed for Cara after she initially said she wouldn't write about the God account. It's not cruel of her to tell Miles that, it is simply the truth. Things changed and it was out of her control. The editor would have assigned another reporter the story and if she said no, both she and Miles would lose out. I can see her argument that her writing the story may be better than a stranger writing it. She's not throwing him under the bus, she's trying to make the best of a bad situation. And Miles did ask her to sacrifice something, because he told her not to write the article. Why is his career more important than Cara's career? They are both equally important. If they had talked about it earlier, I think Miles would have agreed.

Also, the podcast people are offering Miles a pretty crappy deal if they won't buy the podcast just because some other website writes about what he talks about in the podcast. Most people would consider that good publicity. Is he going to lose his deal the first time anyone writes anything about the podcast? It makes no sense.

First of all if rakesh hadn't told her too I don't even know if she would have told Miles at all. And yes it was in her control because she could have said no. What Cara did wasn't about protecting anybody it was about her getting the scoop and apparently it didn't matter to her if she screwed Miles over in the process. Things changed is not a good excuse, Miles explained the stipulation for the  job to her and she assured him there wouldn't be an issue but once she saw an opportunity to advance her career all of that went out of the window.

Edited March 26, 2019 by mommalib

[shapeshifter]

45 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

the podcast people are offering Miles a pretty crappy deal if they won't buy the podcast just because some other website writes about what he talks about in the podcast. Most people would consider that good publicity. Is he going to lose his deal the first time anyone writes anything about the podcast? It makes no sense.

Exactly.
I can forgive (mostly) a show for spacious NYC apartments rented by non-trust-fund millennials or for getting some math or science or history a little wrong.
But this just makes no sense: that Miles would "lose his [podcast] deal the first time anyone writes anything about the podcast."
The FreeVerse company can ask Miles to not speak to anyone about it, but isn't that about all they can require?
Unless maybe they think Miles is God????
  
 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The unforgivable thing Cara did was to insist the GA was "for everyone."  No, my dear, it is not.  Miles is the prophet, not you.  That and the direct betrayal of Rakesh?  That guy would be absolute toast at his (now former) job, with excellent reason.  Good riddance to bad rubbish, Miles.  (Except of course this is TV).

The other extreeeeeemely wrong note for me was the assertion that to follow one's heart is to never go wrong.  Huh?  The Bible is replete with examples of those who didn't get what I AM was up to and denied His will.  It did not end well.  At all.  In your life, has anyone followed their heart and loved to deeply regret it?  Tricked by their heart? 

Theology demands that we go through sometimes non-sensical (to us) discernments precisely because we are incredibly vulnerable to the Evil One when our hearts get all excited.  In relationships (helloooooo Miles), religious typically advise big caution and a searing examination of the other's character.  Hormones (the Heart) are NOT reliable.  With what is the road to perdition paved?  

To answer @Yeah No...the reason TPTB played it fast and loose with the gay acceptance arc?  To push an agenda of acceptance.  

But, there is no serious question of which I am aware when it comes to acceptance of EVERYONE into the church as sinners (that would be ALL of us).  So...the show has raised a red herring.  Now, if they are going to attack the incredibly difficult issue of gay clergy?  Whoo boy.  

Finally...the art direction/lighting of Cara's betrayal was anvilicious!  When she told boss man she would betray Miles, it was the darkest and starkest setting we've ever seen on this show.  I was half-looking for the Tree of Knowledge and an bitten apple.   

[mommalib]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Exactly.
I can forgive (mostly) a show for spacious NYC apartments rented by non-trust-fund millennials or for getting some math or science or history a little wrong.
But this just makes no sense: that Miles would "lose his [podcast] deal the first time anyone writes anything about the podcast."
The FreeVerse company can ask Miles to not speak to anyone about it, but isn't that about all they can require?
Unless maybe they think Miles is God????
  
 

I think it's a situation where they wouldn't want anything about the god account being revealed anywhere before it was revealed on Miles podcast. For example if Cara broke the story about who is behind the god account before Miles talked about it on his podcast that wold take the wind out of their sales. Basically they don't want anything about the god account being released on another platform before Miles can talk about it on his podcast.

Edited March 26, 2019 by mommalib

[Yeah No]

23 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I am still assuming Simon Hayes is not behind the God account though, since it is rather early to reveal that. So I want to know what his actual project is.

I have also been wondering about this.  The show really wants us to think he is behind it and that his project is the God account but I'm skeptical about that.  What if it isn't, LOL?  And yeah, I agree that it would be too early to reveal that.

I think he may be working on some sort of program similar and perhaps inferior to the God account that is not the God account itself.  He may not really know the advanced extent of what Miles et. al. have been experiencing for all this time.  The God account may have Henry Chase or even Priya or someone else behind it.  They may all be in competition with each other on that and Simon may not know he was beaten to the punch by someone else, or assumes that it's not as good as what he's come up with himself.

17 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

To answer @Yeah No...the reason TPTB played it fast and loose with the gay acceptance arc?  To push an agenda of acceptance. 

Oh yeah I know that, I just wish they didn't misrepresent the Episcopal church in the process.  Incidentally, I went on the show's Facebook page and found that I am far from the only Episcopalian griping about the same things!

17 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Finally...the art direction/lighting of Cara's betrayal was anvilicious!  When she told boss man she would betray Miles, it was the darkest and starkest setting we've ever seen on this show.  I was half-looking for the Tree of Knowledge and an bitten apple.   

Ah, that was a great catch, I'll have to go back and watch that!

 

Some out-there sci-fi-ish and theological thoughts:

I think the God Account may have a divine aspect.  Maybe it has an Artificial Intelligence aspect that developed self-consciousness.  We keep hearing that the AI people claim to be not too many years from true AI so perhaps this is where they are going on the show.  The program may now be out of control of the person or people that created it, hence the "divine" aspect, which may actually BE the Divine working through the program, depending on your beliefs.  If the program's creator set it up to use predictive analytics to achieve the most good it could have developed an aspect of saintliness that made it transcend into a higher order of being.  

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, mommalib said:

I think it's a situation where they wouldn't want anything about the god account being revealed anywhere before it was revealed on Miles podcast. For example if Cara broke the story about who is behind the god account before Miles talked about it on his podcast that wold take the wind out of their sales. Basically they don't want anything about the god account being released on another platform before Miles can talk about it on his podcast.

Sure, FreeVerse would want that. But making their contract with Miles contingent upon nobody else spilling any beans about the God Account would be a terrible way to treat a contract employee, although I suppose it's not any different than a lot of other immoral-but-legal business practices.

I mean, someone would likely interview Miles' dad because he's the new Bishop, and would probably ask about his son's podcast and the God Account. Henry can refuse to talk about it, but the writer is still going to report it. Is FreeVerse then going to end Miles' contract?

Maybe something like that will happen, and then Miles will realize he and Cara just got inadvertently bamboozled into breaking up by an unscrupulous business. 

Cara is guilty of choosing to do her job so she can pay rent, rather than getting fired and tanking her career, and she is "guilty" (not guilty) of telling Miles of her decision before she even does it. But FreeVerse's contract is at best short term anyway. So if Cara got fired rather than "betray" Miles, and then moved into his apartment since she couldn't pay her own rent, soon Miles would lose his FreeVerse contract anyway when someone else reports on the God Account.

Then, in a real life NYC romcom with a Gift of the Magi ending, they would get jobs waiting tables and live happily ever after.

[mommalib]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Sure, FreeVerse would want that. But making their contract with Miles contingent upon nobody else spilling any beans about the God Account would be a terrible way to treat a contract employee, although I suppose it's not any different than a lot of other immoral-but-legal business practices.

I mean, someone would likely interview Miles' dad because he's the new Bishop, and would probably ask about his son's podcast and the God Account. Henry can refuse to talk about it, but the writer is still going to report it. Is FreeVerse then going to end Miles' contract?

Maybe something like that will happen, and then Miles will realize he and Cara just got inadvertently bamboozled into breaking up by an unscrupulous business. 

Cara is guilty of choosing to do her job so she can pay rent, rather than getting fired and tanking her career, and she is "guilty" (not guilty) of telling Miles of her decision before she even does it. But FreeVerse's contract is at best short term anyway. So if Cara got fired rather than "betray" Miles, and then moved into his apartment since she couldn't pay her own rent, soon Miles would lose his FreeVerse contract anyway when someone else reports on the God Account.

Then, in a real life NYC romcom with a Gift of the Magi ending, they would get jobs waiting tables and live happily ever after.

I don't think Cara's job or her livelihood was on the line. She had a choice to say no but she wanted the big scoop. And you can't deny that she wasn't honest with Miles and may not have been if rakesh hadn't told her to be. Don't try to minimize what Cara did because she was clearly in the wrong here. But i'm still rooting for Miles and Cara and i'm sure they will figure it out.

 

16 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Some out-there sci-fi-ish and theological thoughts:

I think the God Account may have a divine aspect.  Maybe it has an Artificial Intelligence aspect that developed self-consciousness.  We keep hearing that the AI people claim to be not too many years from true AI so perhaps this is where they are going on the show.  The program may now be out of control of the person or people that created it, hence the "divine" aspect, which may actually BE the Divine working through the program, depending on your beliefs.  If the program's creator set it up to use predictive analytics to achieve the most good it could have developed an aspect of saintliness that made it transcend into a higher order of being.  

Interesting thoughts but I don't know if this show is going there. I think it's more likely a person or better yet a group of people behind the account. I'm excited to find out the how and why.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

FreeVerse wants to be the go-to place for GA stories.  Can't blame them a bit.  Will they let Miles go?  They had cause almost immediately.  At a minimum, there would have been a tough discussion with Miles about Cara's continued publication of new "friends."

The "interview" was so badly constructed by the writers.  Please recall that Cara would be off the hook if Simon could not be proven to be the creator of the GA.  It really was the reason for the interview.  Cara starts out trying to get at it.  Then, when she is confronted, she switches gears entirely?  Huh?  It was crazy for her to lie about it.  Why would Simon be offended with the supposition?  It's a compliment!  It would also be a neat deflection from what he is really at.  And Cara could write an interesting story all the while being true to her agreement with Miles.   

Hayes' assertion that he will change the world with the next great thing totally reminds me of when a certain product was going to "change the world's transportation systems."  The product?  Segway.  🙂 

[ShelleySue]

15 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Also, the podcast people are offering Miles a pretty crappy deal if they won't buy the podcast just because some other website writes about what he talks about in the podcast. Most people would consider that good publicity. Is he going to lose his deal the first time anyone writes anything about the podcast? It makes no sense.

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Sure, FreeVerse would want that. But making their contract with Miles contingent upon nobody else spilling any beans about the God Account would be a terrible way to treat a contract employee, although I suppose it's not any different than a lot of other immoral-but-legal business practices.

Just some basic legal stuff.  A contract cannot bind anyone but the parties of the contract unless a third party is an agent of one of the parties of the contract.  Got that?  What that means is that if you and I enter into a contract a random person walking down the street can't be bound by that contract.  But if I, as a business owner, sign a contract I can bind my employees (my agents) to the contract.  Those are generalities, and there are some other nuances, but it's the general idea.  I've actually given this some thought and have gone through various iterations in my brain.  For example,  Miles somehow disclosed information to Cara that cold be confidential, Miles may be in breach.  But while I'm running through all of the various scenarios I have to accept the fact that is is a tv show that borders on fantasy, so . . .

Quick question -- why does ANYONE know about Simon Hayes?  Why is Miles mentioning the name during a podcast?  If the guy is a genius why would you tip your hand?  I just don't get it.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I see Miles as a Jobs.  No problem for me to accept he is famous.  It makes Rakesh's ascent absurd, but it is TV, right?  It also makes any notion of Miles being ignorant of the GA troika impossible.  Dude would know all about their connection to each other - especially as two of them are HIS EMPLOYEES!  He's about to change the world using one of these three and he just takes it on chance that Rakesh is who he needs him to be, without an inherent conflict?  Riiiiight.

Miles ever mentioning Simon is every bit as ridiculous as you say.  Insanity.   

[MissLucas]

Miles never mentioned Hayes on the podcast. Evil editor said that he heard Miles mentioning Henry Chase and that he then did some digging of his own (after Cara had told him that there are two God suspects).

Bottom line: they all (Rakesh, Cara and Miles) blab too much.

What I'm not sure about after this episode is whether Miles is using his name on the podcast or just goes by Millennium Prophet. Plenty of people seem to know his identity. 

It's also not quite clear if Simon Hayes is aware of the God account. He's read Cara's articles but he never mentions the God account. His hostility towards her could imply that he's behind the account or he's simply suspicious that she's after his big project.

Also: I really wanted team God to figure out to whom Hayes was making that bone marrow transplant - ethics be damned. And more also: The writers of this show really love donation plots - that's #3 by my counting.

[KaveDweller]

18 hours ago, mommalib said:

First of all if rakesh hadn't told her too I don't even know if she would have told Miles at all. And yes it was in her control because she could have said no. What Cara did wasn't about protecting anybody it was about her getting the scoop and apparently it didn't matter to her if she screwed Miles over in the process. Things changed is not a good excuse, Miles explained the stipulation for the  job to her and she assured him there wouldn't be an issue but once she saw an opportunity to advance her career all of that went out of the window.

I think we must be watching a different show. I didn't see Cara change her mind because she saw an opportunity to advance her career. She had multiple other opportunities to advance her career all season that she turned down for Miles.  And she continued to turn her boss down in this episode and try and get him to back off. She changed her mind because her boss said he was going to make someone write about the God account.  Miles was going to be hurt by that no matter what.  That is what made her do it. What do you suggest she'd have done instead? Said no, and then sat back and watch someone else write an article that hurt Miles? (Although I actually think anyone writing an article about the podcast will help Miles, and this stupid "exclusive" thing makes no sense).

It is a messy situation, but ultimately, I think the problem was her not telling him soon. I don't have an issue with her actually writing the article.  Although, I am guessing she won't when they find out what Simon's project actually is.

16 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The unforgivable thing Cara did was to insist the GA was "for everyone."  No, my dear, it is not.  Miles is the prophet, not you.  That and the direct betrayal of Rakesh?  That guy would be absolute toast at his (now former) job, with excellent reason.  Good riddance to bad rubbish, Miles.  (Except of course this is TV).  

Miles may be the "prophet" but the God account sent Miles Cara's name, so she sort of has a point. And if the idea is really about helping people, no one should be acting like they own it. But they are only human.

2 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

What I'm not sure about after this episode is whether Miles is using his name on the podcast or just goes by Millennium Prophet. Plenty of people seem to know his identity. 

That is a good question. I've been assuming his name is on the podcast because so many people seem to know about it, and people at the church were asking his father about it.

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, mommalib said:

Interesting thoughts but I don't know if this show is going there. I think it's more likely a person or better yet a group of people behind the account. I'm excited to find out the how and why.

I definitely think there will be a group of people behind the God account, but that they themselves are not totally in control of it anymore.  At some point after they created it the program might have developed a life of its own and perhaps it now determines itself.  That concept would be familiar to a Star Trek fan.  Computers evolving into consciousness, etc.  But in so doing, that still leaves the door open to contemplate whether the God account is in some way being used to do God's work or if the actual God of theology is working within it in some way.  I can see the creators standing by in amazement watching the whole thing unfold and achieve amazing things way beyond what they ever could accomplish through mere programming.  So the question about who is behind the God account will be answered in part, but there will still be enough happening that is not under their control to make one wonder just who or what is controlling it.  I wonder if Henry Chase himself is wondering that and that's why he was found lurking around in Simon's computer.  Food for thought!

[Trini]

On 3/26/2019 at 8:39 PM, KaveDweller said:

I think we must be watching a different show. I didn't see Cara change her mind because she saw an opportunity to advance her career. She had multiple other opportunities to advance her career all season that she turned down for Miles.  And she continued to turn her boss down in this episode and try and get him to back off. She changed her mind because her boss said he was going to make someone write about the God account.  Miles was going to be hurt by that no matter what.  That is what made her do it. What do you suggest she'd have done instead? Said no, and then sat back and watch someone else write an article that hurt Miles? (Although I actually think anyone writing an article about the podcast will help Miles, and this stupid "exclusive" thing makes no sense).

Yeah, I agree her decision wasn't about her career. She was wrong to go back on her promise to Miles, but she thought the better option was to take the assignment to stay in front of the story.

But the thing is, they really don't have solid evidence that Hayes is directly connected to the God Account. They only know about his connection to Henry Chase. And even Rakesh - who is on the project team - doesn't know what the project is.
 

On 3/26/2019 at 1:19 AM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The other extreeeeeemely wrong note for me was the assertion that to follow one's heart is to never go wrong.  Huh?  The Bible is replete with examples of those who didn't get what I AM was up to and denied His will.  It did not end well.  At all.  In your life, has anyone followed their heart and loved to deeply regret it?  Tricked by their heart?

Mhmmm yeah, I cringed at that. Especially in a scene with a clergyman/theologian.  "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." - Jeremiah 17:9.
 

On 3/26/2019 at 1:39 AM, Yeah No said:

Some out-there sci-fi-ish and theological thoughts:

I think the God Account may have a divine aspect.  Maybe it has an Artificial Intelligence aspect that developed self-consciousness.  We keep hearing that the AI people claim to be not too many years from true AI so perhaps this is where they are going on the show.  The program may now be out of control of the person or people that created it, hence the "divine" aspect, which may actually BE the Divine working through the program, depending on your beliefs.  If the program's creator set it up to use predictive analytics to achieve the most good it could have developed an aspect of saintliness that made it transcend into a higher order of being.  

This is a good spec, however I think they will lean into the supernatural rather than the sci-fi.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Trini

[Yeah No]

2 minutes ago, Trini said:

This is a good spec, however I think they will lean into the supernatural rather than the sci-fi.

Thank you, read my next post.  I think the show will answer the question, but the answer will still be open for interpretation.  Some will interpret it as completely scientific, some will see it as sci-fi and some will see God.  Just like with life in general.  Even if they can't find a natural explanation there will always be people that won't think it's God.  And even if they do find a scientific explanation there will still be people that will think it's God.  That's because there's no way to prove (or disprove) God.  That's just the way it is whenever God is a part of the discussion.

[Trini]

Henry Chase clues on the show's Twitter:

[mommalib]

18 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I think we must be watching a different show. I didn't see Cara change her mind because she saw an opportunity to advance her career. She had multiple other opportunities to advance her career all season that she turned down for Miles.  And she continued to turn her boss down in this episode and try and get him to back off. She changed her mind because her boss said he was going to make someone write about the God account.  Miles was going to be hurt by that no matter what.  That is what made her do it. What do you suggest she'd have done instead? Said no, and then sat back and watch someone else write an article that hurt Miles? (Although I actually think anyone writing an article about the podcast will help Miles, and this stupid "exclusive" thing makes no sense).

It is a messy situation, but ultimately, I think the problem was her not telling him soon. I don't have an issue with her actually writing the article.  Although, I am guessing she won't when they find out what Simon's project actually is.

Miles may be the "prophet" but the God account sent Miles Cara's name, so she sort of has a point. And if the idea is really about helping people, no one should be acting like they own it. But they are only human.

That is a good question. I've been assuming his name is on the podcast because so many people seem to know about it, and people at the church were asking his father about it.

I guess two different perspectives about her motives but she wasn't honest until she had to be and that's a problem. I can't get over that last when she told Miles that things changed. That seemed cruel to me. But we'll see how they sort this out next episode. As far as the god account nobody should take ownership of it but at the end of the day Miles is the one that was chosen.

Edited March 27, 2019 by mommalib

[KaveDweller]

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I definitely think there will be a group of people behind the God account, but that they themselves are not totally in control of it anymore.  At some point after they created it the program might have developed a life of its own and perhaps it now determines itself.  That concept would be familiar to a Star Trek fan.  Computers evolving into consciousness, etc.  But in so doing, that still leaves the door open to contemplate whether the God account is in some way being used to do God's work or if the actual God of theology is working within it in some way.  I can see the creators standing by in amazement watching the whole thing unfold and achieve amazing things way beyond what they ever could accomplish through mere programming.  So the question about who is behind the God account will be answered in part, but there will still be enough happening that is not under their control to make one wonder just who or what is controlling it.  I wonder if Henry Chase himself is wondering that and that's why he was found lurking around in Simon's computer.  Food for thought!

Yeah, I think they will go the route of whoever started it not totally being in control. Having it just be some random tech genius seems a bit too easy, especially for TV.

[Trini]

Synopsis for the next episode:

"The Road to Damascus"

Quote

Arthur joins Miles on a road trip upstate after the God Account checks into a closed-down summer camp. Also, Cara makes a career-altering decision, Pria (Parminder Nagra) reveals unexpected news to Rakesh, and the hunt for answers to the God Account come to a head at the grand reveal of Simon Hayes' (Adam Goldberg) mystery project.

Also, this one is directed by Kyra Sedgwick!

Edited March 28, 2019 by saoirse
removed unnecessary spoiler tag; ep descriptions are not spoilers

[Ghost Bear]

Seriously pissed. We have GFM set on the DVR to overextend by 30 min due to Fall football shenanigans, and never changed it. Which is good in the sense that we caught 50 minutes of Sunday's ep, rather than 20 (because basketball also does bleed, apparently). AND THE DVR CUT OFF RIGHT WHEN CARA AND MILES SHOWED UP AT THE BEASON'S APARTMENT. 

There's apparently no article recaps any more (ah, the days of TWoP and when here actually did writing), just video. Which, when you're aching to find out just WTF happened, isn't a solution. (Oh, want to watch the episode? Download our app! Sit through all our ads! Sign up for our site!) 

I've had to parse out what happened by reading the forum here...so I'm assuming that the two girls were connected due to an organ donor/surgery? And that Cara isn't telling Miles about the interview?

Ugh. So annoyed.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Ghost Bear said:

Seriously pissed. We have GFM set on the DVR to overextend by 30 min due to Fall football shenanigans, and never changed it. Which is good in the sense that we caught 50 minutes of Sunday's ep, rather than 20 (because basketball also does bleed, apparently). AND THE DVR CUT OFF RIGHT WHEN CARA AND MILES SHOWED UP AT THE BEASON'S APARTMENT. 

There's apparently no article recaps any more (ah, the days of TWoP and when here actually did writing), just video. Which, when you're aching to find out just WTF happened, isn't a solution. (Oh, want to watch the episode? Download our app! Sit through all our ads! Sign up for our site!) 

I've had to parse out what happened by reading the forum here...so I'm assuming that the two girls were connected due to an organ donor/surgery? And that Cara isn't telling Miles about the interview?

Ugh. So annoyed.

CBS doesn't love us. This I know. When every other major network (and a lot of minor ones) follow the spirit of the FCC regulations while CBS's signal can't handle a few trees waving in the wind between me and their signal, I go to the dark web.
But you can at least read the closed captions by Googling (in this case):
   God Friended Me (2018) s01e18 Episode Script Return To Sender
Due to copyright issues, we should not post links to scripts here, lest we endanger PTV.

[Ghost Bear]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

But you can at least read the closed captions by Googling (in this case):
   God Friended Me (2018) s01e18 Episode Script Return To Sender
Due to copyright issues, we should not post links to scripts here, lest we endanger PTV.

Thank you so much! I got the gist of the ending, which helps immensely. 

[jhlipton]

On 3/25/2019 at 12:01 AM, Yeah No said:

Miles lives on Edgecombe Ave. not far from the Morris Jumel Mansion.  That's not the most expensive area of Manhattan, but it still might be too expensive for Miles to afford a two bedroom in by himself.  A two bedroom there would cost around $2,000 a month.  Although that's actually not completely unbelievable in NYC as 2 bedrooms go for around that in my Dad's building in the Bronx too. 

Wow, that's about what a 2 bedroom goes for her in the exurbs of Los Angeles.

On 3/25/2019 at 4:34 PM, KaveDweller said:

you can't move multiple people across the country and keep it a secret.

Amazing Race?  Granted they are only moving for about a month or so, but still...

[twoods]

This show still makes me cry every week, even if they are trying to throw a wrench in Cara and Miles already. That twist with how Andrea and the new recipient of the violin were connected was surprising. I am also enjoying Miles and his family. They are very supportive of each other and his father has come so far from the beginning of this show. 

[Trini]

Do we know that Miles has two bedrooms, though? I think we've only seen two rooms of his apartment. I assumed he was on the couch when Ali stayed there.

[jhlipton]

8 hours ago, twoods said:

they are trying to throw a wrench in Cara and Miles already.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of the few shows where the lead couple got together (and have stayed together) after just 1 season.  There was very little of the "will they or won't they" BS showrunners like to use, and what there was fit the characters.

[SnarkySheep]

On 3/19/2019 at 8:34 PM, shapeshifter said:

Claiming he didn't want to take charity means to me that he's got a skewed sense of reality and/or he's just saying it to sound better than others.
There are so many reasons he deserves shelter (veteran, victim of the health care system, victim of employer's downsizing).
And he should surely know that the real reason to not go to a shelter is because it is no place for a kid.

My biggest peeve was that they kept saying social services would put Max into foster care when they discovered he and his dad were homeless...which would NOT happen. Part of my job involves working with homeless families, so I know for a fact this wouldn't happen unless there were also some kind of abuse, neglect or drug/alcohol use, which was definitely not the case here. Social services already has enough genuine cases without taking a kid like Max away from a loving dad who was just down on his luck. IMO it just seemed like a way for the show to create more drama.