Saturday, September 29, 2012

Fringe: Season 5 Episode 1 - Transilience Thought Unifier Model - 11


Hello Fringe loyalists! We're back for one more round of awesomeness and it's thanks to the extreme loyalty of the fandom that this 13 episode final arc was allowed to happen.  I have read that these 13 episodes will act like one giant movie bringing the saga/series to a close.  You know what that means.  No more "Monster of the week" Myth-a-lone episodes that Fringe excelled at.  We are embarking on a serialized Fringe adventure to bring the 5 season long mythology to a close.  And, obviously, we're focusing on those crazy Observers and their takeover of the world.  (in their past, our future)   The first episode out was pretty darn entertaining, and I'd like to label it with my trademark WOW!

But enough of my rambling, let's dive into this recap!

Last season, in the 19th episode "Letters of Transit", we got a look at this Observer controlled world of 2036.  We followed Etta and Agent Foster (DESMOND!) as they tried to find the old Fringe team.  They first found Walter and then eventually Peter and Astrid, who were mysteriously hanging out with William Bell when they ambered themselves.  We were left wondering if Olivia survived and made it to 2036 at all.   Oh yeah, and we found out that Etta is Henrietta, the daughter of Peter and Olivia.   And of course, she couldn't be born until the timeline was "adjusted" to allow Peter and Olivia to create her. An offspring of 2 different universes.  And that's where we are when we start our story! All good?  Good!

Recap
We opened up with a "flashback" to 2015 when the Observers arrived.  I put that in quotes, because obviously that's still a future to us.   Peter and Olivia were in the park with their 3 years 1 month 5 day old daughter Henrietta.  Things got very apocalyptic very quickly.  We see Peter in a makeshift hospital tent looking for his daughter.  The rest of the important details get filled in through dialogue throughout the episode. 








Peter wakes up and realizes he was having a nightmare of that dreadful day, and now he's safe and sound back in good ol' 2036.  There is lots of nice little moments between Peter and Etta and the rest of the crew (Walter, Astrid), but the main goal for all of them is to find out if Olivia is still alive.  Walter had an idea of where to start.  He had sent her to Grand Central Station to pick up a device that would help them rid the world of the Observers.  Yes, they got the first device in "Letters of Transit" last season.  But, apparently our favorite observer, September, left encrypted instructions in this little R2 unit (Walter's brain) on how to destroy the Death S...err eliminate the Observers!  They need this Transilience Though Unifier Model - 11 to put all of the pieces in Walter's brain in the right order so that they can enact the plan.  (I wonder if September put the instructions into Walter's extracted brain pieces that were at Massive Dynamic.  Would certainly make sense since he went out of his way to retrieve them last season.  For all I know, this was brought up in this episode and I just forgot!) 





Anyway, they get the Grand Central Station and it most certainly had been ambered.  All of the Fringe team, sans Peter, were given Amber devices as a last resort.  They would amber themselves and live to fight another day.   We find out there is a little bad blood between Walter and Peter.   Peter became obsessed with finding his daughter and gave up on trying to save the world.  He stayed in Boston while Walter and Olivia went to New York.  


So, they notice that bodies had been extracted from the amber.  And we find out there is a black market for amberized people.  They head to the black market and eventually end up paying off a guy to give them intel on Olivia (she had a device in her hand which was clued him in on who they were referring to).   Turns out that he was sold to our favorite Book Store owner, Edward Markum.  Now, this is where I start getting confused.  After the "Reboot" happened, Edward never came in contact with Peter/Olivia until a particular episode where they needed his help.  So, he wasn't like an old friend of Peter's like in the original timeline.  I guess they sort of played off of this anyway, because he was obsessed with Olivia.  He was in love with her and wanted to be the Hero that saved her from the amber.  Obviously, they were able to get Olivia from him.  But, not without issues.  That black market guy, in exchange for vouchers, ratted the Fringe team out to the Observers.  The loyalists were there in full force.  Everyone escaped except Walter. 





Walter, ended up getting interrogated by Widmark.  We met him in Letters of Transit also.  He has been looking for Walter and his friends for a long time.  The observers have the ability to read minds and he was trying desperately hard to crack Walter's.  Walter fought it but it was causing damage along the way.  Widmark realized that there were encrypted plans in there and he was trying to put it together.  



Meanwhile, Peter and crew free Olivia from the amber.  YAY!!!  A very touching moment occurs between Etta and Olivia.  We all cry a bit and then move on to the next mission.  Rescue Walter!  Etta takes them to a hidden Rebel Base.  We meet a new guy, Annel (?), who is dead set on saving the world as well.  Olivia and Peter play some catchup.  They talk about how miserable the world is.  Peter comes clean and apologizes for staying in Boston.  It's clear that the 2 were estranged for some time after the Observer invasion.  It's still not very clear what exactly happened to Etta.  





They come up with a plan to use some technology that will make several of them appear dead so they can do an ol' Trojan Horse and infiltrate Walter's interrogation room and extract him.  This worked wonderfully!  But, we also meet a loyalist that seems to have some ties with Etta.  He talked about Agent Foster (Desmond) and how he was ambered with William Bell.   They said he was a double agent.   Still hoping Henry Ian Cusick will appear again before this series is over!  



So, the extraction mission begins.  Peter is revived and they sneak Olivia in a secret entrance.  They trip the alarm and then are able to get Walter, who looks like he's seen better days.  Mission accomplished!  But not without consequences.  Widmark catches Etta on security footage so she has been exposed! 




Walter can not remember one detail about the plan to stop the Observers.  He doesn't even remember that he was supposed to have a plan.  Widmark did his job well.  The memories are gone.  Astrid tries to trigger something with showing him William Bell's hand which they cut off in "Letters of Transit".  They needed Bell's handprint to access a storage facility.  He doesn't remember that either.  


Walter sees some glimmering out the window (which he saw earlier in the episode too).  But no, it's not an alternate universe.  It's some CDs!  He and Widmark had a conversation about music during the interrogation.   How it helps you see things more clearly.  Walter finds a cd in good shape, and pops it into a car CD player.   "Only You" by Yaz starts playing.  And high school/college peeps of the late 90s/early 2000s start flashing back to the movie Can't Hardly Wait for the big "kiss" scene.  Other people just remember it from the 80s.  Great song though!  Does Walter begin to see things more clearly?  Does he just have a moment of peace in a dreadful world?   Well, we opened the episode with a shot of a daffodil in 2015, and in the end we see a lone shot of a dandelion.  It surely would seem like a sign of hope.  But the song cuts off as does the episode.  And we're left wondering where are they going to take the show next!?   We'll speculate a little below. 






Notably missing from the episode: Broyles and Nina Sharp.  I'm sure we'll run into them soon enough!  

Observ'er'ations
Glyph Code: DOUBT - Doubt that they can stop the Observers?  Doubt that this is the ideal future for the world?  No idea.  Thanks Fringepedia for the screenshot! 


Observer Spotted! - Well, there won't be much mystery to this one in season 5.  They're everywhere! 

Walterisms
  • Even the full brained Walter was making some excellent comments at the beginning of the episode.  First, he showed up with no pants talking about finding Olivia.  
  • And watching him eat the Egg sticks was hysterical too.   

  • Judging by his brain getting all swiss cheesed (Quantum Leap callout!) by the Observers, it would appear that he's going to be the same old crazy Walter again.   We even got another Astrid nickname in Avril! 


Food of the Week
  • Egg sticks - Dreadful dreadful future. 


Interesting Tidbits
  • Walter came across a Japanese lady in the black market all decked out in white makeup.  He made a comment about how he met a woman in Japan once and almost married her.  This made me wonder if it was a shout-out to our Alternate Universe - original timeline where Walternate had a Japanese mistress.  Maybe it was the same girl different dimension? 

  • Walnuts are extremely valuable in the black market.  Peter offered cash to try and get info on Olivia, and it was the walnuts that ended up working.  

  • Central Park has been concreted over.  Something about air quality for the Observers.  They had to modify the world to make it suitable for them.  Whereas, non-observer humans have an average lifespan of 40 due to the adjustment.  I guess since all of the resources were used up in the Observer's original time, their bodies adjusted to a different kind of air quality.  

  • We caught Astrid playing a future version of Words with Friends/Scrabble or whatever on a giant touch screen.  She tried to play the world Naugahyde and it was not found.  Of course, this shouldn't be a shocker because brand names, even for premium pleather, never work on those games! 



Theories
  • Really just one for now.  I know we're probably going to get some flashbacks back to 2015 when the Observers took over.  Or, maybe not.  They did a good job filling in the blanks with dialogue in this episode.  But, some of the conversations held talked about how this future is so awful.  Maybe the solution, in the end will not be to rid them of the observers in 2036, but to somehow prevent the takeover from ever happening.  History of this show has proven that they do not mind altering timelines.  In fact, it's pretty much a central theme to the show (including the whole alternate universe which basically is an alternate timeline).   So, just a thought.

Well, that's it for now folks!  Looking forward to the remaining 12 episodes of the show.  The previews for upcoming episodes look fantastic, but I won't get into that right now.  Be sure to check out my other weekly recaps with Revolution and starting October 14th, The Walking Dead!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good recap. I don't remember hearing anything about Walter's brain in this episode either so I don't think you missed it (or we both did). To bad they destroyed the old MD building, and the two other pieces of Walter's brain with it, using antimatter last season. There could be more pieces stashed around. Anything is possible with this show.

The thing I am most pleased about with this first episode is that they didn't draw out Olivia's return. I guess with only 13 episodes they couldn't play games. Before I even saw the show I was sure that Olivia would be in amber too. It would have been too wierd for her to be 20 years older than Peter. Plus they would have had to give her Broyles-like makeup to make her look 20 years older. Much easier this way.

One thing about that amber. Once they get it gaseous why couldn't they just have a sling with a person on each side and pull them out that way. Much more low tech.

I was surprised that the team didn't stay underground for the first few episodes. Now the observers are aware of them so we know a lot of what will we see will be a "chase".

Very interesting time theory. I don't see it going down that way but it's as good a guess as any. That would mean Etta wouldn't miss her childhood.

Kind of sad that Olivia and Peter had a falling out. I suppose part of the season will be their reconciliation.

It certainly started out pretty bleak but if it wasn't going to be difficult it wouldn't be entertaining.

Will we ever see the machine sent back in time through the wormhole or is that a time line that is no longer relevant. Where is that machine anyway?

Bill B

Mike V. said...

@Bill - Thanks for the props! Good to see you back providing commentary as well!

I have to rewatch letters of transit, I think. (or the final few eps of s4 might help) I don't recall them leaving any of Walter's brain behind. I just thought the liquified it all and injected it into him somehow. lol But yes, they most certainly destroyed Massive Dynamic with the anti-matter in an equally comical and thrilling moment! But yeah, I'm sure there will be clues to help Walter find his way just like he always has for 4 seasons. And, obviously there will be something of great importance in William Bell's storage location, wherever that is.

Totally agree, having Olivia come back so quickly was great. You're right, with 13 episodes there's no time to waste. With a full 22 episode season, that may have been a 4 episode arc with Monsters of the Week to guide their way there. I'm sure it would have been just as exciting, but I don't mind this method either. And agree, it was better for her to be the same age and ambered as well.

No idea with the sling, but it sounds like a good idea to me! I'm sure Walter would have thought of it if it would've worked! :-)

Well, just because the observers know who they're looking for doesn't mean they know where to look. So, they're technically still "underground" so to speak. But yeah, there definitely will be a chase.

That's what I was thinking with the time theory. It's just not an idea future for a show that's ultimately about hope and family. Etta has had a pretty dreadful life. And it's taken its toll on Peter/Olivia. I feel like there has to be some time element to fixing things. And maybe the whole reboot with Peter disappearing at the end of season 3 comes into play too. (probably not, but I still have a smidge of hope lol) I just don't see ridding the world of Observers in this disastrous future being the end game of everything. But, I guess there would most certainly be a sign of hope of they were able to rebuild from destruction. We'll see. I'm sure I'll change my mind every week as always.

Agree, having Olivia and Peter on the outs was a nice touch. Of course, they already somewhat seem to be reconciled. But, I'm sure the wounds cut a little deeper once the initial joy of seeing each other wears off.

Mike V. said...

As for the wormhole - I wouldn't say the timeline is no longer relevant. EVERYTHING that has happened on the show has gotten us to this point. But that timeline is not APPLICABLE in this timeline. That timeline is the timeline where Olivia was killed by Walternate, where OVER THERE was destroyed by Peter...and where Walter realized that their timeline was the timeline where the machine was created. THE FIRST PEOPLE are Walter, Astrid, Emma, Peter of that timeline. But once they sent the machine back to the prehistoric age, it was programmed with information to allow Peter to see that vision of the future and change things. When he changed things, he disappeared and caused the rebooted timeline where both worlds coexisted but he didn't. But he continued to exist from the previous timeline. And somehow the machine did too. (now, you could ask well how did the machine get there for them to destroy OVER THERE in the original timeline (a la pre Fringe season 1 that led to that original awful future). I don't have the answer to that. I guess Walter in that timeline didn't have the brainstorm to program the machine a little differently to give Peter a flash of the future. But no....the machine is no longer in play in this future. I think that was an earlier future anyway. That was like 2024 or something and this is 2036. (but on 2 different timelines)

WHEW....my head hurt just writing that. lol I won't be surprised if it makes no sense!

I'm happy to keep talking Fringe, but also an update to all...here's what I watched from the weekend and I'm ready to talk! GRIMM, ONCE, REVENGE, HOMELAND. On the docket for tonight: Dexter and MAYBE 666 Park Ave. (and of course HIMYM, Revolution)

Mike V. said...

Okay, while i have some time just a few comments on the other shows. I know I should've been watching that Eagles/Giants bore fest, but I just couldn't avoid Sunday premiere night! lol Here's where things are gonna get tricky. Depending when people watch these episodes, your comments may be in the FRINGE RECAP or the REVOLUTION RECAP (and it will get more complicated once The Walking Dead recap is in there too). I think what we did last year was tried to keep the "Sunday shows" with the Sunday recapped show (or in this case, the Friday recapped show). And then everything else from the week on the Monday recapped show. But hey, whatever works. I'll redirect as necessary. lol Of course, if we had a larger FRINGE discussion, I'd boot all other discussions to another thread! lol :-)

Anyway, here goes!

ONCE - WOW, already 100% onboard with season 2! I had wondered how they were going to continue with Fairy Tale land stories and Storybrooke stories going forward. For me, the answer came like 2 minutes into the episode. I'm sure it was meant to be a twist for the end of the episode, but I knew right away (as I'm sure others did) that the Fairy Tale land we were seeing was "POST CURSE". But, it didn't stop it from being interesting to me. And then midway through the episode, I assumed that they were going to send the wraith from storybrooke to Fairy Tale land and it would link the stories together. Maybe, it's just the fact that I've seen one too many LOST episodes too many times that I saw where they were going with it. lol Anyway, I think it's a great approach for the show to take, especially with sending Emma and Snow there. I like the fact that a corner of the land was untouched by the curse (but that time was frozen for 28 years until Emma lifted the curse. Nice) It seems like there could be some back and forth visits to storybrooke/fairy tale land coming in our future. Or who knows, maybe to all the different lands....wonderland, neverland (we know Hook is coming this year)...etc... Seems like Mulan may have the acting range of Charlie on Revolution, but I don't think that will detract from the show.

Henry calling Charming/Snow his grandparents was sorta weird. I like that Emma is still not fully accepting this new reality she has come to learn. It'll probably be a gradual process of the season. Of course, being sent to the land where she was born might help things a bit! lol Gold/Belle stuff was great. Keep thinking Belle is going to start screaming about "My BAY BEH" (say it phonetically), but she hasn't yet. Not sure how Regina all of a sudden got her magic back. It seemed like it happened once Emma touched her. That was kinda interesting. So, do we buy that she'll really not be evil to keep Henry happy? lol

And of course, who is the mystery guy in New York? The actor is the guy that played Rene (sp) on True Blood in season 1, but other than that, no clue who he is.


there's tons of other stuff to discuss, but I'll let others chime in!

REVENGE - 2 words "CLAM CAM" LOL Loved it. Episode was good too! I like where they're going with S2 here as well. I'll let others get the discussion started on this one and I'll chime in. :)

Mike V. said...

HOMELAND - Whew...the show didn't lose its touch going to S2. Another intense hour! Brody's daughter in that preppy classroom setting was hysterical. But when she said her dad was a Muslim. WOAAA....that was insane. And of course it came to the literal homefront when the wife found out he actually is a practicing Muslim. (can't remember her name on the show). Love when she made the comment that Carrie was on their lawn spouting off things that are suddenly coming back to her. lol And welcome LOST's ILANA to the show! Brody is definitely walking that fine line of ambiguity to his true intentions. He seems to want revenge for Issa but still does not want to bring mass casualties to the US. So, he will keep walking that fine line right to the oval office if he has to. YIKES. President Brody one day? That would be kinda nuts. Speaking of nuts...Carrie is a whole new breed. She really doesn't owe the CIA anything, but she still must've felt the bug to get back to business. (or else, why have a show? lol) Love that when she outsmarted the dude in her chase she got that smile. She's baaaaack! I thought it was really interesting that the "previously on" season 1 recap before the show didn't show the most important moment. Carrie pieced together Brody knowing Issa. She wanted to remember that after her treatment. I'm guessing, because it didn't come into play in this episode, they didn't show it. But, surely it will come back into play!

Anonymous said...

Mike, regarding your comment on the machine. The machine was turned off in episode 20. Then the last two episodes were the Fringe team defeating Bell's plan to collapse the two universes to create a new one. There was no timeline reset at that point so the machine should have still been there. Granted, the time line had changed since Season 3's revelation in 2024? that Walter had built the machine and then sent it back in time but the machine was still there at the end of season 4.

In episode 19 there were three pieces of brain. "Desmond" took one of the pieces, put it in a petri dish and added some green liquid to it and then injected it into Walter. There were still two pieces left behind which were then destroyed with the MD building.

I would think that Bell's hand is needed to retrieve the "stones" that were alluded to in Walter's interogation.

Bill B

Mike V. said...

FRINGE:

Bill, oh yeah the machine is most definitely there somewhere (of course, unless it was dismantled/destroyed off screen in the past 20 +years). I was answering your question about us seeing the machine sent back through the wormhole. We would not see that in this "NEW" future because it's from a different timeline. That's all I meant (in a longer winded way lol). As far as us even seeing the machine again...your guess is as good as mine. It felt like we said goodbye to OVER THERE last season. But, if there's some reason that we need to visit them again, the machine might be the way to do it.

Thanks for the reminder on Walter's brain. Didn't realize that. Of course, do we know for sure that it was those brain pieces that September used to put the coded instructions into? That was just a speculation of mine. lol

Good point on the stones too. I forgot about that!

MJ said...

Yeah - that game was a bore. And now I am waaaaay behind on everything. I saw none of the Sunday shows.

Fringe: I re-watched the 2 part finale before watching the premier - forgot how crazy that finale was ! Funny - i also thought of the brain pieces they put back in Walter.

Thought it interesting that they have put some friction between Peter and the team over him not going to NY with them. And loved it that the book store guy had Olivia ! Too funny.

Know they havent' told us yet but i'm wondering if the observers took all kids or just Etta ? Have we seen kids in this future ?

Poor Walter ! That was hard to watch. And nice with the 'swiss cheesed'. I didn't even think about that Japanese girl. Should we start hoarding nut now ? LOL

I have (before the premier) wondered if they would go back to a time before the invasion and stop it there, preventing Etta not having her parents around for most of her life. It would make for a happier ending then to just get rid of them in 2036. Since the series is ending I thought they might go with a happier ending for all.

Grimm: Great ep - loved those cute little lambs ! LOL Hank was very funny - looking at Monroe and asking Nick which face it was - or something like that. WOnder when mom is gonna turn back up ? Juliette going out with her pals and not telling him was funny too.

Sounds good on the where to post comments thing. I'm hoping to watch Once, Dexter and Homeland tonight - maybe Revenge too, but if i watch Revenge then I'll be behind on Revolution. Doh! Wed. is debates so that should be a good catch up opportunity - all I'll really have on is my Supernatural ! Yay !

Anonymous said...

Mike,
I was really interested in that "first people" story line. That's why I won't let the machine go. I want that loose end tied up (even if it isn't important in the end story).

I've watched episode 19 about seven times that's why I remember the brain pieces. I'm thinking September put those plans in Walters pre-ambered brain between the ending of last season and the three years (actually closer to 4 if you figure it took Olivia 9 months to carry Ella) before he ended up in amber.

Bill B

Mike V. said...

FRINGE:
@Bill - I totally hear you on being interested on The First People story. But sadly, I think that story has already been told. There are no loose ends. We found out who The First People were in the season 3 finale. The whole concept OF the first people was introduced in season 3. So, it was a season 3 story. It seemed like a larger overarching story. And in the scheme of things it is. Because everything that happened from season 1-3 (and beyond) is a direct result of The First People. So, in terms of tying everything together in the end, it would be nice if "The First People" story is mentioned again. But, I don't think we'll be actually seeing them building the machine and sending it back through time. The fact that "Future Walter" from that 2024 timeline said he was going to do it, meant to imply that it happened without us having to see it!

I wish I could've watched "letters of transit" 19 times! I think I may have gotten to 2 or 3. lol But I'll definitely watch it again when I rewatch the entire series!

@MJ - Good question on the observers taking children. Of course, we kind of had a feeling that Etta is important to things and the observers know this which is why they tried to erase Peter from existence. September's "blunder" with observing Walternate and him missing the cure for his son may have caused a timeline to be created that saw to the end of the Observer race. Maybe, they tried to take care of that by abducting Etta. I dunno...there definitely seems to be more story there.

Funny on hoarding nuts. lol Might not be a bad idea!

Yeah...even before the premiere there were lots of theories going around (and I joined in on them) that maybe season 5 would follow the present day fringe team receiving "instructions" from the future fringe team on how to prevent the Observergeddon. That obviously didn't happen...of course, that doesn't mean that it can't over the course of the season. They could be planting seeds for that story to still happen. And obviously, we know that messing with time certainly is in the canon of this show! We'll see.

Grimm: Totally forgot to discuss that earlier! Yeah, a wolf leading sheep was hysterical. lol I'm guessing Mom will turn up for a key sweeps period(s)...i.e. November, February or May! lol Juliette's pals mentioning he was going to marry her. And she asked why she didnt' say yes....loved their reaction "WE DON'T KNOW"....implying his "hotness" to the women. lol But yeah, totally loved the ep. Love that the chief didn't even have to lift a finger to take care of that other threat....as Nick took care of it himself. lol

Totally hear you on TV drama. Revenge will rarely be a sunday watched show for me. I just didn't have Walking Dead yet to compete! And funny, I was thinking the same things with the debates on Wednesday. lol One good news thing that has happened with Parker....We've given up on these reality music competitions. Gives us much more time during the week. lol But, we'll see if that holds true with Idol in the spring. :)

MJ said...

Well - if you just watch Idol and not the rest of them that still clears some time.

I guess I'll be watching Revenge and 666 Park tonight. The husband is home today and has a class tonight so he's watched the both of them today, and I'll watch tonight then. LOL Wanted tow atch the Once finale again before the premier - don't know if I'll get that done.

Don't know why they started Mod Fam last week since it would be off this week !

Mike V. said...

Guess they still wanted to air MF in September. I don't think it launched any new shows with it. Oh yes it did...the NEIGHBORS! and you watched it! There's your answer for why! lol

I don't think you need to see the ONCE finale again. I thought I might forget some stuff but it all came back to me. They had the hour refresher that aired right before it too though. I didn't watch that either and was fine!

And true on Idol. I still have recapped the live shows every year. But, with the new judging panel...just don't know if I have it in me. lol We'll see!

MJ said...

Mf 'and you watched it' LOL - good one.

Revenge - whoo - starting out like gang busters. At least they didn't leave us hanging with the worst mystery of last year - is Victoria alive! We all knew she was. That crap under water was intense - had seen that promo but didn't know Em did it to herself. And FauxManda was sent by Takeda to help her ? Really ?

Logan getting all buffed out and getting a do cracked me up. I'm sure it was not supposed to.

Love the clam-cam even more then the whale cam.

Homeland - not yet caught up to. Once either.

Dexter: OMG! That was some awesome stuff. The actress who plays Deb was really good this ep. She wants to believe her brother but she keeps seeing and remembering things. And now even LaGuerta will be up to something. And the creepy developer too! Dexter will be under attack from all sides this year I guess.

Mike V. said...

MF - Thanks! lol

REVENGE - Oh yeah, the Victoria mystery indeed was the worst mystery ever. lol But, I like how they revealed it and how everyone else THINKS she's dead for now. Underwater stuff definitely was intense. The whole Fauxmanda being sent by Takeda was definitely bizarre/forced. But, maybe it makes sense. I dunno. lol So what are the odds she somehow fakes the DNA test? (99.8%??) lol

Who's Logan? Do you mean Nolan? lol Anyway, that dude just cracks me up in general. But definitely glad he got rid of the old 'do' lol

Yeah, Clam Cam is just catchy! Love it. lol

DEX - AWESOME episode. So glad I made time for it. (almost didn't watch Revolution until this morning which would've totally screwed things up recapping-wise lol) Deb was awesome. Totally thought they'd drag out her really finding out who Dex is. I can't believe she pieced it all together by the end of the ep. That was fantastic. Totally changes how I thought this season was going to go. Love how they tied things in to the Ice Truck Killer and the Bay Harbor Butcher. Definitely has the feeling of a final season....but they're signed on for a season 8, which worries me. But surely they have a 2 season plan in mind. lol

MJ said...

Oh yeah - Nolan! LOL def see a fake DNA test in our future. I think Takeda has his own plans and fauxManda is there to look after those. The scope has gotten much bigger with Takeda being part of an organization that's trying to bring down the org that is above the Greysons.

Dex - agreed - feels so final season right now. But loving it so much right now.

Leslie said...

Revolution – I think they said Jeremy was his name, but it was a while into the episode. There was a good line from Miles when he said “we’re gonna Shawshank our asses outta here.” I kinda felt bad for Aaron when he told the story about how the world has turned back into one big school yard. I’m still waiting to be grabbed by this show. I want more balance with the fighting and the character development. I realize they are in survival mode, but still.

HIMYM – Loved the whole pre-nup stuff! And, Robin being turned on by watching herself! The baby tossing was hysterical!

Watched Once, Revenge and 666, but only have time to comment briefly (really briefly, not “Mike recap” briefly)! lol Enjoyed the first episodes back for Once and Revenge. 666 was interesting enough to keep watching. Liked seeing Terry Quinn again. His smile is reminiscent of his smoke monster days. :)

Dexter – Glad y’all commented on that. I caught up on last season over the summer and was wondering about this first episode back.

Leslie said...

Oops! I meant Terry O'Quinn.

MJ said...

666 - haven't seen yet but the husband did and liked it. Said something similar to you Leslie - Terry can smile yet look so evil. I'm gonna try to watch tonight, along with Once's !

Revenge - oh - and of course we have our flash to Labor Day mystery. They sooo want us to think that is Jack - so it's not. But didn't it look like a business shirt ? Hmmm - hope it's not Nolan - I love his sarcasm.

Mike V. said...

@MJ - Gotcha on Fauxmanda...makes sense. And agreed on the scope! Gonna have to check out that labor day mystery thing again. I was so thrown off on the timing at the beginning of the episode I may have missed that. lol

DEX - Me too! I'll worry about season 8 later. lol

@Leslie -

REVOLUTION - This and HIMYM were the other ones that should be commented on in the other one..but no biggie! lol It is Jeremy you're right. I updated it in the recap too. :) lol I tried to fit Miles' Shawshank line into the recap, but it wasn't fitting well in my abbreviated recap. So thanks for pointing it out! lol Agreed, it was funny. I hear you on balance with fighting/character development. Maybe it will happen over time. We'll see! They definitely seem more focused on the action...which is cool if that's the show it wants to be.

HIMYM - Totally forgot about Robin's thing...that was hysterical too. lol

Funny on the "mike recap briefly" lol I'm trying!!!

666 - Didn't watch yet, but not sure if I will. The ratings were significantly down from Pan Am last year which also bombed in the same timeslot. Oh boy.

DEX - Oh yeah....DEXTER is BACK in all of his glory! Love it!

Mike V. said...

ONCE Scoop/Insight: http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/10/02/once-upon-a-time-fairy-tale-land/

MJ said...

Once - I have fallen in love with this show all over again ! I watched the finale fr last year, then the clip show and then the new ep. i giggle like a kid every time they show Chip ! LOL

I'm not all that familiar with Moulon - heard of her but not seen that movie. Not familiar with Aurora or Prince Phillip either. But am devastated that Snow and Emma are not in Storybrook any more. Hysterical hearing Henry say they were his grandparents! LOL Agree - totally weird that Emma's touch seemed to give the queen her mojo back.

Homeland - ep called the smile and thought it would be Brody - but it was Carrie.

Homeland - almost fell off the couch when Dana says 'caue my dad is a muslim. That random boy who helped her out of it will probably be her new bff. I knew Brody would get that stuff from the safe - but that was tense. I love how he is indignant when asked to get the info that he is not a traitor to his country ! Damn- Ilana ! I knew I knew her. LOL The wife spouting that she is starting to recall what Carrie was saying reminded me of Deb on Dexter suddenly remembering Dex there when she was on the table. So creepy when Brody is burying the Koran cause it touched the floor and had torn pages. I didn't watch the recap but had te-watched that finale and was also shocked that they did not bring it up. But i was also pissed that BE deprived us of seeing Nucky find out about the land deal.

Well - in watching 3 Onces plus homeland plus another show I was behind on (Haven) I did not get to SOA. When I do I'll post over on the monday post.

MJ said...

Did see your comment about not needing to rewatch Once finale - but wanted to.

Oh - also got 666 Park watched. Very creepy. Enjoyed it - heard ratings not so hot though.

By the way - VD new opening - kinda spoilery. Apparently different opening each week if I read it right
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Vampire-Diaries-Premiere-1054136.aspx

Mike V. said...

@MJ

ONCE - Totally hear you on wanting to rewatch stuff. After reading some interviews with Eddie/Adam, I want to go back and rewatch things too. Having watched LOST, I should've known there were more easter eggs planted in the show. I heard it's on Netflix so I may check it out once I'm caught up on some stuff. But yeah, I'm totally onboard with season 2. Seems like it's going to be awesome!


I don't know much of Mulan's story either. I think it's awesome that Snow and Emma are in fairy tale land. I think I linked to something above with info on why they did it. (Fish out of water characters in both lands now) I think it's going to lead to some very entertaining stories. But, I don't think Emma will be stuck there all season. I have a feeling they're really going to open up the scope of this show. Fairy Tale and Earth are just 2 of the lands they want to cover. We've seen Wonderland. We know neverland is coming. I think in that room with the doors (in the mad hatter ep last season), we may have even seen OZ. It made me realize how deep this show can really go. Apparently there were clues in the pilot episode too when henry/emma were flipping through that book.

I think it's because Emma broke the curse that she somehow has the power to restore magic. But...I'm sure we'll get more details on that!

Homeland - I didn't even make the connection of the smile to the name of the ep. lol silly me! Hmmm, I didn't get the vibe from random boy in dana's class. I just thought he sarcastically was responding because he thought she was kidding. lol Good call on the Deb/Dexter/Homeland Wife comparison! And totally agree that it was creepy he buried the Koran. Great start to season 2!

B.E. - I watched this morning. Interesting stuff...I'm sure you didn't watch yet so I'll wait to comment. lol

666 ratings were bad...miserably bad, so I'm hesitating on watching! I'll keep them on the TiVo for now and we'll see.

TVD - Thanks for the link, but I'll wait until it airs to watch! lol

AUStarwars said...

man NICE cant hardly wait reference..one of my favorite movies!

Mike V. said...

LOL, thanks. I'm a sucker for a well done High School/College party movie with a hopeless romantic lead. lol But that one was perfect timing for me with being a freshman in college. Good times!

MJ said...

Once - did you read the EW recap? I was cracking up while reading cause I totally thought of the Dementor and Ring Wraith. Did not think of the Dothraki sea though. ;-D

BE - yup - haven't watched this week. That Stinko Giants game really has messed me up. Tonights debates should help me catch up though. Politics are good for something afterall. LOL

Mike V. said...

ONCE: Yep, I read some of it. Oh I absolutely thought of Dementors and Ring Wraiths lol But then I also assumed that Rowling wasn't the first person to come up with a Dementor-like character. So, I'm guessing Wraiths are common folklore characters and their function is similar to dementors. But for the past decade and change we've been exposed to Dementors and Ring Wraiths in hollywood so of course we're all going to think dementors! lol Dothraki Sea/GoT commentary was funny in the recap but no, I didn't think it either. lol

B.E. - Yeah, I have no idea what I'll watch tonight actually with the debates. Guess I could watch the debates!! lol But we do have other shows we need to catch up on. Or I guess we could hang out with our son!! :) kidding! We're usually not starting TV till he goes to bed these days. lol

MJ said...

BE - OMG - was this the week of burning people alive ?? That Gyp is a total nut. I waited all episode for him to go off - but never thought it would be that.

This is the second time they've shown that young guy Benny - I feel that there was a real famous gangster called Benny - have to look that up.

So is Nucy's weirdness all realated to guilt over Jimmy ? His scene with Richard Harrow was great.

Can't figure if Jillian knows Jimmy is dead or not. To Luciano she says he's away - but when Gyp says you're nothing without your family she looks very sad. But - somehow I never picked up on Luciano being her partner in the whore house.

Glad that the whole thing with Messimo (?sp) is coming back around. Lansky and Luciano were striking out on their own last yr fr Rothstein and Jimmy from Nucky then the Commodore - Jimmy piad for that and I've been wondering what would happen in NY. Obviously Lucky and Meyer don't get killed - but I can't see Rothstein finding out they are branching out on their own and being happy.

Looked up Benny - there were a few but not one noteworthy. Thought they were showing us someone who becomes someone later. LOL

Man - that Margaret is just going to get whatever she wants. Got Nucky to that ceremony and got that doc to build a womens clinic ! LOL

MJ said...

I'm such an idiot ! Just read that Benny is/will be Bugsy Seigel ! And they kill Massarea in real life in 1931 !

Interesting - reading a recap somewhere and they felt that Nucky sent the Irish guy to say Bone For Tuna as a slap in the face. I didn't think so while watching. I thought it was what Gyp's driver was trying to say - they irish guy and his accent, and that he wrote Bon Fortuna phoneticly.

Mike V. said...

B.E. - I must be suffering from short-term memory loss. Of course, I also fell asleep watching the Office at 9:00 last night. This parenting this is definitely taking its toll! :) Anyway, who else burned alive this week? I can't remember! lol But yeah, that dude is crazy! I like him though (as a character on the show)...he's so unpredictable on what's going to set him off. lol

Is Benny the Rescue Me kid? (Sheila's son) I can't keep people's names straight. Nice on the pseudo history of Bugsy Seigel in your 2nd comment. I would have never pieced that together so don't beat yourself up. lol

I don't know if Nucky is dealing with guilt over Jimmy. I think he's dealing with physically killing someone. I think this is the first time he's taken a life himself. Hence the conversation with Richard. Those dream sequences felt straight out of the Sopranos. You can tell Terrence Winter was involved with both shows! lol

Gillian - I get the feeling she knows what happened. It seems like maybe Nucky and Gillian are on the outs. But yeah, there's definitely more to that story they haven't told. How could you have picked up on Luciano being her partner beforehand? Isn't the whore house a new thing this year? I think she turned the Commodore's estate into the house. lol

Wow...I really gotta learn the names on this show. None of that paragraph made sense to me!! lol (Messimo, Lansky, Lucky, Meyer etc...lol) And you're saying Obviously to some stuff...but I guess I don't know much about the gangsters of the 20s/30s....besides Al Capone lol.

As for Margaret, yeah that was some crazy scheming she did! Now, I could tell the bishop was concerned that this place would turn into an abortion clinic. But, is that Margaret's secret intentions? If not, surely that was foreshadowing to what it will become. lol

I didn't think Nucky would have sent the "bone for tuna" comment as a slap in the face either. That dude just seems to react as if people are always insulting him. But yeah...I think what was written down was the Irish guy's interpretation of what Nucky was saying. Agreed!

BTW - Started rewatching season 1 of ONCE on Netflix. As always with these shows, I think I'm enjoying it more the 2nd time around! lol Now that we know Gold's intentions by the end of season 1, it's interesting to see that he intentionally procured Henry for Regina when she was looking for a child. He knew that it would eventually draw Emma to Storybrooke and he'd eventually get his magic back.

Mike V. said...

Oh and totally random sidenote: 2 episodes left and we're caught up on Justified!

Mike V. said...

Happy Fringe Friday also!

Here's an interview with Anna Torv
http://tvline.com/2012/10/05/fringe-season-5-episode-2-anna-torv/

MJ said...

BE - well, technically it was last week that Tigs daughter burned. I wasn't being that literal. LOL Sorry. Yes - Benny is the kid fr Rescue Me. Def was calling up Sopranos ! Deg the Commodor's house that is now the cat house. They way they just causally had Lucky talking with Gillian I just assumed that I'd missed a tidbit.

Meyer lansy and Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano were the two guys that were telling the Rescue me kid what do do if he runs into issues with the drugs. Both Lansky and Luciano will be just as famous as Capone. lansky will live to be quite old for a mobster. On the preview they showed Luciano and Lansky getting told by Rothstein that they will pay the 10% to messimo - and they were pretty unhappy about it. It was the ep where Jimmy beat the crap out of some guy in a park in NY actually.

I don't think margaret wants the abortions at this point - but probably birth control which is a big no no for those times. But yes - from birth control it does eventually (many years later) turn to abortions.

Justified ! WOw - I'd even forgotten you were watching. LOL Love that sleeve gun. That actor is great - couldn't see how they'd top mama Bennett but S3 was great.

Once - very good interview.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Once-Upon-Time-Espenson-Season2-Spoilers-1054260.aspx

And happy Fringe/Grimm friday right back at ya !

Mike V. said...

B.E. - Ahhhh TIG. lol Gotcha. :) Still, in my TV watching prime I would have picked up that! lol I don't think you missed anything with Lucky/Gillian. I think we just missed a significant amount of time and they're filling in the gaps.

Ahh thanks for the description on these gangster dealings. lol It's all making sense now. (sorta) :-)
Touche' I didn't even think about abortions not being a common practice back then. Birth control makes sense.

Justified - Yeah it's been a fun ride! Sleeve gun is a good time. Like the new bartender girl that Raylan is getting involved with. I just saw the ep where Quarels (sp) threatens Raylan in the bar and he shoots a bullet in the air and says "why wait?" It was awesome. lol And I watched an episode past that. I also loved how he gave this big testimony to try and keep Dicky in prison, then by the end he's like "ahh screw it, let him out" LOL The characters are just hysterical especially Raylan and the Captain/Chief guy.

I'll check out that ONCE interview. I loved this show last season, but I feel myself REALLY getting invested now. Not LOST-invested just yet, but who knows? lol

MJ said...

Justified - I read at the beginning of S3 that there really was a 'black holler' down there. Yeah - Quarrels is outta control. Love the relationship with Raylan and the Capt - thought it would be ruined when Wynona took that money. Who'd have thought that Dickie would be the last Bennett standing !?! When Ava first started to be with Boyd I didn't think I'd like it - but i did then. But she has really crossed some lines with what she said she would put up with him doing. My recollection is that early on in S3 the showrunner said the whole season was about lines and how far you cross them.

Once - yeah they def have 3 ways to tell us stories now. Storybrook, FTL of old, and they said now FTL that runs parallel in time to Storybrook like the premier. I was feeling unhappy that Emma and Snow would be away for a long time - but reading a few articles has me feeling better. Still - Charming just got Snow back !! Come on now ! LOL After me calling David a jerk for most of last season I wanted Charming to win me over again - and then they go and seperate them. ;-D

The article will be enjoyable to and BSG fan too !

MJ said...

OMG - Had to post this. I'm sure almost everyone by now had heard of the Gangnam Style craze. Just saw Klingon Style. This is fab.
http://blastr.com/2012/09/see-an-awesome-trek-gangn.php


Oh - a little Fringe spoiler

http://blastr.com/2012/10/meet-the-oracle-who-could.php

Mike V. said...

Justified - Agreed on Raylan and the Captain's relationship. It's so funny that Dickie is still standing. I'm starting to hope that remains true by the end of season 3. lol Yeah, I haven't been reading those weekly interviews with the showrunner, so I haven't been observing the lines being crossed. lol But, I'll keep it in mind!

ONCE - Loved the Battlestar references too. I read some Eddie/Adam interviews earlier in the week and they have me super excited about the route they're going with the show. How they always intended it to be MORE THAN just Fairy Tales. That was just the introduction to this world of possibilities. They talked about their reasoning for putting Emma and Snow in the parallel FTL. (Love that they call it FTL lol) They love "Fish out of water" stories...and throwing Emma into this world is a great way to do that. Plus in Storybrooke, EVERYONE is a fish out of water, so to speak. Love that Hook is probably going to be the villain in this present day FTL. I still defend David's actions from last season, and I think Snow/Mary Margaret said it best in this episode. "we were cursed, WHATEVER!!" Or something like that. lol

I've certainly heard of Gangnam style, I'll definitely check that out! UGH...I've read lots of Fringe interviews, but when you say Spoiler it makes me want to stay away! :) lol

Anonymous said...

Sorry to jump the gun but....
Betamax???? LOL Are there any still around in 2012? ROTFLOL

I hope this doesn't mean the season becomes one long scavenger hunt searching for betamax tapes. In the words of Darth Vader in the highly controversial Star Wars remasters.... NOOOOOOOOO!

Bill B

Mike V. said...

@Bill - No problem on jumping the gun, just don't do it again!!! lol (j/k)

Come on, it's Walter! If anyone was going to use Betamax it would certainly be him. The fact that he was sad destroying his laser disc player should be evidence enough of that! lol

As for the scavenger hunt. Considering the pace of the season, I doubt it will be the ENTIRE season, but maybe the first grouping of episodes. They've been calling it a 3 act play. (So I guess that would be each set of 4 or 5 episodes...maybe not counting the premiere) So, I'd guess maybe the next 3ish episodes might be around it. But we'll see! Starting the blog now!