Epic Humans post
2.6
The previously seemed to capture a lot of the more interesting strands left hanging from the last episode, which was a good sign.
Though cool, the opening scene was a bit nonsensical - would Qualia be preparing an advert for a product that wasn’t ready? They hadn’t cracked the consciousness bit yet.
(Gosh, what could possibly go wrong with the idea of annually replaceable conscious synth ‘children’ to replace dead children? Epic genre blindness alert.)
Time to be dismissive of ‘so I scanned and digitised my daughter’s brainwaves and turned them into an AI’ Athena getting on her high horse about Milo’s unethical plan, though.
With Anita returning to the Hawkinses, Mattie’s timing to go and see Leo (and flirt with him even if he didn’t realise it) was dreadful. But although I think she’s hugely irresponsible with what she plans to do and has done to Odi, I didn’t want Hester to harm her!
Niska was finding being on the run harder this time - all the synths being aware she ‘wasn’t sharing’ was a great little creepy moment.
Odi sorted it all out after the conversation with the priest. So that’s all right then. His literalism was fun.
Karen was planning a bunk (and the actress got to show off an American accent). I’ll forgive Pete for being dramatically mysterious, because the Seraph would be better seen than told over the phone, and hey, anyone might be listening (which was my slight issue over Laura calling the other lawyer. Yes, she’d totally tell you all she knew about the hunt for Niska OVER THE PHONE.)
I may have underestimated Mattie’s ability to stand up to Hester. Also the show acknowledged Mattie’s feelings for Leo!
Niska’s travels contrasted nicely with Odi’s wandering.
Karen and the nameless seraph was a little heartbreaking. Nice touch that Pete reverted to cigarettes after finding out about Karen’s plans. She’s such a good cop. The irony that Athena was facing an anomalous synth, more, one of the Elster synths, all unknowing was delish.
Touchingly, Sweet Max and his new girl-friend want to be Synth Hippies (shame about the whole killer!Hester discovery…) and also the Hawkins’ attempts to find Mia in Anita again were touching - while nicely playing out all the tensions. The transformation scene was pretty powerful.
What followed worked only up to a point - Laura trying to reach her, but not being able to erase the hurt Ed had caused. What Mia is going to do next was left up in the air - find other synths, yes, but what about Niska?
Who was barely a breath ahead of anything (couldn’t she go to a no synths town?)
Mattie didn’t quite out Hester to Leo - a taped conversation might have been revealing - but she was really clear-eyed about him, while he was, as ever, dim.
Poor Odi who doesn’t fit anywhere.
And Sophie is one step forward and two steps backwards. I liked how Laura being on the edge fed into the energy of the food fight.
And Pete’s life is weird and complicated - ‘Sam’ could keep Karen, but he couldn’t.
I liked that Toby got to react to Sophie’s state and try to bring in Reenie.
More Athena private angst and public coolness. That Veronica, who Leo used as bait, IIRC, turned on him was an enjoyable irony.
Niska got to her girlfriend at any rate.
Good ending, with Mia having changed allegiances, and Mattie’s chickens (with the code and with insisting on staying with Leo and Hester, even if she doesn’t trust him with the code) coming home to roost.
Some emotional highpoints, although they highlighted when the characters were stupid just for drama.
2.7
Aaand Hester hurt Mattie (I wish they’d gone for it being more than temporary pain - think of the parallels with Odi, think of the visual reminder of how ruthless Hester is). But if Mia can threaten her down, think what Niska could/would do.
While Mia’s plan was probably better than Hester’s, I didn’t have high expectations.
Pete’s reaction to Karen - as if he wasn’t sleeping alone, she hadn’t taken Sam on, and she hadn’t been planning to leave and assume another identity - was weird. Meanwhile, her reaction to Sam, despite knowing better, was rather painful - he was cute and, for her, a Leo replacement on some level, right? But turning to ATHENA? (The irony being that the others had been trying so hard to find some way in and Karen just ‘insists’ and gets in, even if not into The Silo.) Making Athena look into her eyes to verify who she was might have looked cool and been dramatic, but she could just have lifted her shirt up and shown the port off. But then, what else do you expect of someone who could put the pieces together and come up with expecting Athena to help her?
So, with Odi, we had two synths who weren’t too happy with being as they were. I did feel Mattie had let Odi down (so did Mia to a lesser degree) giving him consciousness but none of the support network that Max and Leo had been trying to provide.
Joe is going to have to deal with the fact that Laura and Mattie have given Mia extended family status, even if it’s the last thing Mia thinks she wants.
Oh KAREN, floating around on Qualia’s server? What? Seeking a human body for WHAT?
Poor Qualia worker, finding her qualms about the conscious synths a bit late in the day for your survival, I think.
Really liked meeting the real Renie. (I note the Hawkins aren’t feeding her any better than what she was feeding herself with, although on the whole I thought Joe was being a good dad.)
Laura is not nearly paranoid enough, even though her sarcasm about Folkestone was great.
Max’s commune is coming apace, but fortunately he’s more philanthropic than Niska (not hard).
Cue the rescue plan - with Mia, Hester and the other conscious synths looking as if they were wearing babygrows, as Peter couldn’t help treating Sam like any other child, even as he found out where Karen had gone.
‘I didn’t know’ OH COME ON, LEO, YOU CHOSE NOT TO. And if the show doesn’t have him facing up to that, even when he had a lot of other stuff to process, I will not be impressed. I think Mia’s motivations are a lot more ambivalent than Leo does. While I get that rescuing these synths is not shutting down the operation or liberating future conscious synths…
Well, the whole ‘oh it’s a tracker’ - which was ridiculously blasé as it would a big spanner in the liberation plan - turned out to be a failsafe (I thought they were liable to get shot down) but anyway, now Leo has extra angst and the volatile duo are stuck there (with Pete, Karen, Athena, Vee and the doctors).
BREAK.
I took a long break of around a day before seeing the end of the episode, so my strongest feelings were about Hester as she and her hostage encountered Karen and Athena (with Vee a quiet presence) and enter Pete, who showed quite decent hostage-negotiating skills, except he was dealing with Hester, who didn’t quite understand that saying ‘I’ll release her and then I’ll kill you’ might not get her what she wanted.
The second Karen said ‘because it feels right’ it wasn’t good enough, and BOOM. At least Kate got to hear he loved her, but she’s going to be (even more) traumatised and alone now, while Leo has Max, not to mention Mattie and Mia.
So I’d caught up with those two episodes in the week before watching the final live.
2.8
The first big moment was Hester turning up at the Hawkins’ house and doing her demanding stuff. Brilliant cut to break, and Laura was right that she is a psychopath who dressed it up as being a revolutionary.
As Leo bungled up the rescue and Mia got fried too, I tried to come up with a better configuration, but the point about Laura not wanting Mattie there was fair (although, while she and Joe lump Mattie in with ‘the kids’ she’s at university and old enough to insist on these things) and Mia is tougher than sweet Max, and obviously Leo. I suppose he needed to apologise for enabling Hester (if not for being an ostrich about it). I am torn/confused about his ultimate survival.
And after all the threat, the three Elsters survived.
Yay! Niska, come back to play her role in her family and do what needed to be done - I’ve been gunning for someone to take Hester out for the past few.
The final scene, after all the deliberating, of course bringing back Mia at whatever cost had to be done, has, of course, opened up Pandora’s box (they must commission a third season although the writers have set themselves and epic challenge). While the montage of various nameless synths was effective, it was the awakening Sam that was the heart-in-the-mouth moment. Karen’s grief and attempts to kill herself, even using Sam to do so (wouldn’t he have an Asimov lock though?) was a downer, but suddenly he became what he looked like, the ‘son’ she had to take responsibility for and live for?
Joe is not going to be any happier, I imagine. My sympathy for his position, which is stronger on Sophie’s mental health than anything else, I thought Laura won their argument, is tempered by the fact that he’s basically feeling redundant, because all (all!) that is required of him is to be a good dad. Aww, is little man feeling emasculated? At the same time, he was basically threatening a separation…
Athena’s first conversation with V was very necessary, where she finally (conveniently?) caught up with the fact that it’s wrong to overwrite conscious synths with the AI you created from your daughter’s brainwaves so that you can have your dead daughter ‘back’ again. V gently gave her a dressing down about how she wasn’t Ginny but more, also. I was left cold by the goodbye scene. Although what Athena was privy to in the last episode was BIG, I felt it was too neat a resolution, perhaps because they wanted a contained arc for Carrie-Ann Moss, and if this series has reminded people of how great Moss is, good. I’m happy for V, and all, but ‘better than Milo’ does not mean ethically pure, and where they took Athena was a little too simplistic given what she’d been and done.
It occurred to me to think that Odi’s reversal was undone, which wasn’t what he wanted, but if all synths are conscious now, he won’t be an aberration.
I discovered a little while ago that Scorpion is back on UK screens for a third series, but several episodes had aired, so I've decided just to switch to DVD and enjoy it from the beginning instead of trying to deal with the ITV2 schedule. Currently, I'm rewatching episodes I've already seen of Person of Interest season 2 on DVD.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/264307.html.
The previously seemed to capture a lot of the more interesting strands left hanging from the last episode, which was a good sign.
Though cool, the opening scene was a bit nonsensical - would Qualia be preparing an advert for a product that wasn’t ready? They hadn’t cracked the consciousness bit yet.
(Gosh, what could possibly go wrong with the idea of annually replaceable conscious synth ‘children’ to replace dead children? Epic genre blindness alert.)
Time to be dismissive of ‘so I scanned and digitised my daughter’s brainwaves and turned them into an AI’ Athena getting on her high horse about Milo’s unethical plan, though.
With Anita returning to the Hawkinses, Mattie’s timing to go and see Leo (and flirt with him even if he didn’t realise it) was dreadful. But although I think she’s hugely irresponsible with what she plans to do and has done to Odi, I didn’t want Hester to harm her!
Niska was finding being on the run harder this time - all the synths being aware she ‘wasn’t sharing’ was a great little creepy moment.
Odi sorted it all out after the conversation with the priest. So that’s all right then. His literalism was fun.
Karen was planning a bunk (and the actress got to show off an American accent). I’ll forgive Pete for being dramatically mysterious, because the Seraph would be better seen than told over the phone, and hey, anyone might be listening (which was my slight issue over Laura calling the other lawyer. Yes, she’d totally tell you all she knew about the hunt for Niska OVER THE PHONE.)
I may have underestimated Mattie’s ability to stand up to Hester. Also the show acknowledged Mattie’s feelings for Leo!
Niska’s travels contrasted nicely with Odi’s wandering.
Karen and the nameless seraph was a little heartbreaking. Nice touch that Pete reverted to cigarettes after finding out about Karen’s plans. She’s such a good cop. The irony that Athena was facing an anomalous synth, more, one of the Elster synths, all unknowing was delish.
Touchingly, Sweet Max and his new girl-friend want to be Synth Hippies (shame about the whole killer!Hester discovery…) and also the Hawkins’ attempts to find Mia in Anita again were touching - while nicely playing out all the tensions. The transformation scene was pretty powerful.
What followed worked only up to a point - Laura trying to reach her, but not being able to erase the hurt Ed had caused. What Mia is going to do next was left up in the air - find other synths, yes, but what about Niska?
Who was barely a breath ahead of anything (couldn’t she go to a no synths town?)
Mattie didn’t quite out Hester to Leo - a taped conversation might have been revealing - but she was really clear-eyed about him, while he was, as ever, dim.
Poor Odi who doesn’t fit anywhere.
And Sophie is one step forward and two steps backwards. I liked how Laura being on the edge fed into the energy of the food fight.
And Pete’s life is weird and complicated - ‘Sam’ could keep Karen, but he couldn’t.
I liked that Toby got to react to Sophie’s state and try to bring in Reenie.
More Athena private angst and public coolness. That Veronica, who Leo used as bait, IIRC, turned on him was an enjoyable irony.
Niska got to her girlfriend at any rate.
Good ending, with Mia having changed allegiances, and Mattie’s chickens (with the code and with insisting on staying with Leo and Hester, even if she doesn’t trust him with the code) coming home to roost.
Some emotional highpoints, although they highlighted when the characters were stupid just for drama.
2.7
Aaand Hester hurt Mattie (I wish they’d gone for it being more than temporary pain - think of the parallels with Odi, think of the visual reminder of how ruthless Hester is). But if Mia can threaten her down, think what Niska could/would do.
While Mia’s plan was probably better than Hester’s, I didn’t have high expectations.
Pete’s reaction to Karen - as if he wasn’t sleeping alone, she hadn’t taken Sam on, and she hadn’t been planning to leave and assume another identity - was weird. Meanwhile, her reaction to Sam, despite knowing better, was rather painful - he was cute and, for her, a Leo replacement on some level, right? But turning to ATHENA? (The irony being that the others had been trying so hard to find some way in and Karen just ‘insists’ and gets in, even if not into The Silo.) Making Athena look into her eyes to verify who she was might have looked cool and been dramatic, but she could just have lifted her shirt up and shown the port off. But then, what else do you expect of someone who could put the pieces together and come up with expecting Athena to help her?
So, with Odi, we had two synths who weren’t too happy with being as they were. I did feel Mattie had let Odi down (so did Mia to a lesser degree) giving him consciousness but none of the support network that Max and Leo had been trying to provide.
Joe is going to have to deal with the fact that Laura and Mattie have given Mia extended family status, even if it’s the last thing Mia thinks she wants.
Oh KAREN, floating around on Qualia’s server? What? Seeking a human body for WHAT?
Poor Qualia worker, finding her qualms about the conscious synths a bit late in the day for your survival, I think.
Really liked meeting the real Renie. (I note the Hawkins aren’t feeding her any better than what she was feeding herself with, although on the whole I thought Joe was being a good dad.)
Laura is not nearly paranoid enough, even though her sarcasm about Folkestone was great.
Max’s commune is coming apace, but fortunately he’s more philanthropic than Niska (not hard).
Cue the rescue plan - with Mia, Hester and the other conscious synths looking as if they were wearing babygrows, as Peter couldn’t help treating Sam like any other child, even as he found out where Karen had gone.
‘I didn’t know’ OH COME ON, LEO, YOU CHOSE NOT TO. And if the show doesn’t have him facing up to that, even when he had a lot of other stuff to process, I will not be impressed. I think Mia’s motivations are a lot more ambivalent than Leo does. While I get that rescuing these synths is not shutting down the operation or liberating future conscious synths…
Well, the whole ‘oh it’s a tracker’ - which was ridiculously blasé as it would a big spanner in the liberation plan - turned out to be a failsafe (I thought they were liable to get shot down) but anyway, now Leo has extra angst and the volatile duo are stuck there (with Pete, Karen, Athena, Vee and the doctors).
BREAK.
I took a long break of around a day before seeing the end of the episode, so my strongest feelings were about Hester as she and her hostage encountered Karen and Athena (with Vee a quiet presence) and enter Pete, who showed quite decent hostage-negotiating skills, except he was dealing with Hester, who didn’t quite understand that saying ‘I’ll release her and then I’ll kill you’ might not get her what she wanted.
The second Karen said ‘because it feels right’ it wasn’t good enough, and BOOM. At least Kate got to hear he loved her, but she’s going to be (even more) traumatised and alone now, while Leo has Max, not to mention Mattie and Mia.
So I’d caught up with those two episodes in the week before watching the final live.
2.8
The first big moment was Hester turning up at the Hawkins’ house and doing her demanding stuff. Brilliant cut to break, and Laura was right that she is a psychopath who dressed it up as being a revolutionary.
As Leo bungled up the rescue and Mia got fried too, I tried to come up with a better configuration, but the point about Laura not wanting Mattie there was fair (although, while she and Joe lump Mattie in with ‘the kids’ she’s at university and old enough to insist on these things) and Mia is tougher than sweet Max, and obviously Leo. I suppose he needed to apologise for enabling Hester (if not for being an ostrich about it). I am torn/confused about his ultimate survival.
And after all the threat, the three Elsters survived.
Yay! Niska, come back to play her role in her family and do what needed to be done - I’ve been gunning for someone to take Hester out for the past few.
The final scene, after all the deliberating, of course bringing back Mia at whatever cost had to be done, has, of course, opened up Pandora’s box (they must commission a third season although the writers have set themselves and epic challenge). While the montage of various nameless synths was effective, it was the awakening Sam that was the heart-in-the-mouth moment. Karen’s grief and attempts to kill herself, even using Sam to do so (wouldn’t he have an Asimov lock though?) was a downer, but suddenly he became what he looked like, the ‘son’ she had to take responsibility for and live for?
Joe is not going to be any happier, I imagine. My sympathy for his position, which is stronger on Sophie’s mental health than anything else, I thought Laura won their argument, is tempered by the fact that he’s basically feeling redundant, because all (all!) that is required of him is to be a good dad. Aww, is little man feeling emasculated? At the same time, he was basically threatening a separation…
Athena’s first conversation with V was very necessary, where she finally (conveniently?) caught up with the fact that it’s wrong to overwrite conscious synths with the AI you created from your daughter’s brainwaves so that you can have your dead daughter ‘back’ again. V gently gave her a dressing down about how she wasn’t Ginny but more, also. I was left cold by the goodbye scene. Although what Athena was privy to in the last episode was BIG, I felt it was too neat a resolution, perhaps because they wanted a contained arc for Carrie-Ann Moss, and if this series has reminded people of how great Moss is, good. I’m happy for V, and all, but ‘better than Milo’ does not mean ethically pure, and where they took Athena was a little too simplistic given what she’d been and done.
It occurred to me to think that Odi’s reversal was undone, which wasn’t what he wanted, but if all synths are conscious now, he won’t be an aberration.
I discovered a little while ago that Scorpion is back on UK screens for a third series, but several episodes had aired, so I've decided just to switch to DVD and enjoy it from the beginning instead of trying to deal with the ITV2 schedule. Currently, I'm rewatching episodes I've already seen of Person of Interest season 2 on DVD.
This entry was originally posted at http://shallowness.dreamwidth.org/264307.html.