Episode Notes: Sentinel "Night Train"
I haven't watched an episode of TS since "Cypher", way back in August. Part of that is that I was wrapping up a project in another fandom, but most of it is that I was just stalling.
I don't *like* this episode. Blair's fairly cute, but acts wincingly dorkish through most of it. Jim is a cranky patient and his sneezing all over Blair is just rude. The lighting on the train's bad and doesn't bring out their blue eyes. And it's got plot holes you could drive a train (heh) through.
But there are some things in its favor. They do have moments of supreme cuteness. Those who like Dominant!Jim get him pushing Blair against the wall again. The tag is of the awesome, seriously one of the best in the series. And we get to see how far Blair will go for Jim.
Notes on watching: Night Train:
--I love Blair trying to take care of Jim's cold with the tribal rhythms and smelly herbs. I love that he cares enough to be trying. On the other hand, OMG he's making stinky smells and incredibly *loud* noise around a sick Sentinel. What the hell's he thinking? I think the only thing that's keeping Jim from killing him is that he's so cute.
--Eee! Simon just went out of his way to ask permission for Blair to go along with Jim on this special mission. Simon's not a bad guy at all!
--Yuck! Jim sneezing on Blair is just *rude* and yucky!
--Blair's cute as hell at the station even though he's talking like an idiot with the Nictabi root under his tongue. Sigh! I love Blair's leather backpack. No wonder he's so fond of that thing; that's beautiful. :) The pic's not really typical, but I do rather love shy(ish) looking Blair.
--Ah, poor Simon. I've seen those papers. I know what it's like having to sign the divorce papers. Even when you know it's a good thing, it still sucks.
--Love Jim wanting permission to tell Blair what they're up to. He's so cute and I can well imagine that Sandburg is driving him nuts.
--Poor Simon. ::pets Simon:: Love sympathetic Jim! Pretty sympathetic Jim!
--Heee!! The cop cult and the secret headquarters. "Now that we've divulged our secret, I will be obliged to kill you." And I love the other cop's smile in response.
--Blair's pretty much freaking out here. Maybe it's because it's the middle of the night and he's not at his best, but OMG he's having these paranoid fantasies about people losing fingers and toes. He sounds like some sort of X-Files wing nut or something.
--I love the way they handled the exposition scene in this one, because, finally and for once, it makes sense that they're doing the big information dump from one character to another.
--Jinkies they're pretty in the hall of the train.
--Why was the witness guy handcuffed? And why oh why is Jim handcuffing Blair to the protected witness. How on earth can it *conceivably* be procedure for him to handcuff the protected witness to a civilian observer?? What the hell kind of procedure is that?
--Blair plunked himself straight down next to the pretty lady, until Jim moved him, but Jim's sitting on the arm of the seat on the other side of the train. :) That can't be comfortable. What, he's allergic to lawyers in pink??
--Why is Carolyn looking so skeptical about the idea that Jim is the best they have in a situation like this? For heaven's sake.
--I'm also not getting the chain of command here at the Cascade PD. Simon's leaving Carolyn in charge of the police station? Or just Major Crimes? Isn't she the head of forensics? Surely there's an actual second in command who could be left in charge.
--Love Blair checking to see if Jim has a fever. Even love Jim batting his hand away.
--And now Jim, who's responsible for the safe arrival of the protected witness in court, is leaving him in the care of the civilian observer?? How does this make sense? Blair seems pretty incredulous as well!
--"Why don't you say 'who is it?' And I'll say Ellison. Then you'll open the door."
--Like Carolyn worrying about Jim, though I *swear* I just don't understand her at all. She runs hot and cold. And apparently they've been divorced for *years*. Time for her to get over it.
--I can understand Jim not being interested in any of Blair's herbal remedies. Some of them seem pretty scary. But it is funny that when the Pink Lawyer sees him in the lounge with the DayQuil-esque substance he says "Don't tell Sandburg".
--Oh that's right, this is the lawyer who wears *very* short skirts but doesn't want men looking at her legs. I don't like this woman. She's pleasant enough, but seems kind of dingy.
--"I arrest the bad guys and you do everything you can to get them off." I'm very impressed that RB was able to say that with a straight face, though I gather from the blooper reel that it took him several tries. :)
--Oh, poor Jim. And his little freakout here is not going to inspire confidence in the attorney, who's there to make sure her client is transported safely. I realize the camera work was intended to make the people look bad, but he seems to have run into some very scary folks. I love the paper towel hurting him and holding the cell phone away from his ear. And all that. Just wonderful! A nicely depicted sensory overload IMO.
--Blair and the protected witness playing whatever the hell that game is is kind of neat. Though poor Blair is getting his ass kicked.
--I really like Jim completely denying that anything's wrong to Simon. If Simon could do anything with the knowledge that Jim was having sense troubles, I bet he'd have said something. But since Simon can't do anything, in Jim's universe he doesn't need to know.
--Eeee! Pretty Blair!
--"Sounds like menopause." "This is not the time for jokes." And Jim shoves Blair up against the wall. Again. Though Blair didn't do his little kitten paws on Jim's shoulders this time like he did in Switchman. (Which, OMG!) Poor Blair stumped, until he figures out that it's the medicine. Then there's just nothing he can do.
--Okay. So the Three Stooges are the ones the witness has hired to free himself. That's fine. So *who* leaked that Murdock knew about the witness on the train. Because it's sure not in the Stooges' interest that anyone know about them.
--Poor Blair, left with a gun and the orders to shoot anyone who's not Ellison that comes in. Damn, that *sucks* so bad. He doesn't even know about Jim getting thrown off the train, he just knows that he's got this horrible responsibility. I was gonna ask why Jim would do that, but it is pretty obvious, I mean who else can he trust to be in charge of the situation and defend the witness?
--I'm not gonna ask how Jim, who was thrown out through the window *away* from the train, winds out hanging on a chain underneath it. I'm not gonna ask why there's a loose hanging chain under the train. I'm just gonna nod my head and smile and move along.
--I'm actually incredibly amused by Jim answering the phone while precariously hanging under the train. That's so *Jim*!! I mean a) it's making an annoying noise and he's had about as much sensory annoyance as he can take and b) it's a phone that's ringing, of course you answer it. Other people have commented that it's silly, but I see it as *totally* in character. (And that he replaced his brick of a cell phone with another brick even though there were smaller phones available. Hey, it *worked*.)
--OMG! Poor Blair realizing that he might actually have to shoot someone. ::hugs Blair::
--Eee! Love how angry Blair is when he learns that they threw Jim off the train.
--God Blair's fucking good looking!!
--Love Blair's certainty that Jim's not dead!! And love that he can't even say that he might be! EEE! And he's so pretty!
--And how cool is it that when Jim stops fighting the senses and starts controlling them, it's because he's remembering some tests and exercises that Blair did with him. Very, very nice! That's kind of happy making. (And eeee! Blair in glasses!!!)
--Blair had a Bar Mitzvah? I suppose that's possible. He doesn't seem like the Hebrew School type. And Naomi doesn't seem like the Mom to force her kid to go to Hebrew School.
--If the Pink Lawyer had a brain in her head she'd lie on her back on the floor so her arm was way on the other side of the bar they're chained around. Blair'd get much more leeway that way. In fact, she's small and nimble. If she didn't mind getting her pink suit dirty, she could probably wriggle entirely under the seat and get them completely free of the seat, though still chained together. Either she's not that bright or she's too fond of the suit.
--Hee, Jim's white socks!
--Poor Jim getting clocked by the Engineer! That sucks! Though it's completely sensible from the Engineer's POV.
--Why are the cops all armed and waiting for the train? I mean they don't *know* that the train's been hijacked. (And hijacking a *train*?? Please!) What the hell's the dude doing there with the orange flag? If that train didn't start braking a half mile ago it's not gonna be stopping, so by the time the engineer could possibly see the flag-man it's way too late.
--Why are the State Police deferring to the Cascade PD?
--According to Dr. Gorilla, Jim was at the hospital having trouble with his hearing "last summer". We know he didn't see Dr. Gorilla in Switchman, because he saw nice Dr. McKay. Anyway, Switchman seemed like autumn to me, not summer. But why would Jim have been having trouble with his senses before Switchman? Very puzzling and intriguing.
--Love the horrified look on Jim's face when Dr. Gorilla and the Engineer tell him about the gunshots and hullabaloo. He realizes that he may have put Blair in a position where he had to shoot someone. And he seems really upset by the idea.
--Eeee! Blair's look at Jim as he rides away with Simon. Somewhere between admiring, impressed, and "he's doing it again". And he's so pleased that he's not dead!! (Though would it have killed TPTB to give us a manly hug or something in celebration??)
--Love Simon's reaction to the idea of Jim giving Sandburg his gun. Sweet!
--Hey, it's more Bad Blue Screen work!! Yippie! Jim must be being heroic again! And a minor continuity issue--on the outside of the car shots Jim's hand's outside the car. On the inside of the car shots it's inside. (And moving very distractingly. :) )
--Okay, so the surviving Stooge is now trying to kill the dude who hired him. That's not good. See this is what the witness gets for hiring *bad guys* to help him. You can't trust bad guys. Hence the term.
--Jim's had a rough night--he looks like *Hell*. Still pretty of course, but grubby and bloody and just like he's been through it. But his shirt's still mostly white. Sweet!
--I'm not sure it was entirely *legal* for Jim to subdue the Protected Witness by hitting him, but it certainly *worked*. And I can understand the motivation.
--Jinkies, the shoulder holster's a nice look for Jim. Wow! Hard to 'cap properly, but still. (On the other hand, where did he get the gun? He gave his gun to Blair and the surviving Stooge took it from him. I think it got knocked over the edge of the train along the way. It doesn't seem like the crime scene crew would have had time to recover it and get it back to him yet. Of course, Jim obviously has a locker full of identical Glock 9mms to replace the ones he loses.)
--Eeee! Love the tag. :) Simon's paying for breakfast and signing his papers on Blair's back. Eeee! So cute. And once again, Blair ends up tailing after Jim. :) Lots of piccies from the tag.
-Watching the Pink Lawyer in the *very* short skirt walk away.
-Who pays for breakfast?
-Patting cheeks, it's like saying 'I love you', right?
All screencaps are my own. Feel free to use them however you like.
Other Sentinel Episode Notes I've done:
Switchman
Siege
Killers
The Debt
Cypher
I don't *like* this episode. Blair's fairly cute, but acts wincingly dorkish through most of it. Jim is a cranky patient and his sneezing all over Blair is just rude. The lighting on the train's bad and doesn't bring out their blue eyes. And it's got plot holes you could drive a train (heh) through.
But there are some things in its favor. They do have moments of supreme cuteness. Those who like Dominant!Jim get him pushing Blair against the wall again. The tag is of the awesome, seriously one of the best in the series. And we get to see how far Blair will go for Jim.
Notes on watching: Night Train:
--I love Blair trying to take care of Jim's cold with the tribal rhythms and smelly herbs. I love that he cares enough to be trying. On the other hand, OMG he's making stinky smells and incredibly *loud* noise around a sick Sentinel. What the hell's he thinking? I think the only thing that's keeping Jim from killing him is that he's so cute.
--Eee! Simon just went out of his way to ask permission for Blair to go along with Jim on this special mission. Simon's not a bad guy at all!
--Yuck! Jim sneezing on Blair is just *rude* and yucky!
--Blair's cute as hell at the station even though he's talking like an idiot with the Nictabi root under his tongue. Sigh! I love Blair's leather backpack. No wonder he's so fond of that thing; that's beautiful. :) The pic's not really typical, but I do rather love shy(ish) looking Blair.
--Ah, poor Simon. I've seen those papers. I know what it's like having to sign the divorce papers. Even when you know it's a good thing, it still sucks.
--Love Jim wanting permission to tell Blair what they're up to. He's so cute and I can well imagine that Sandburg is driving him nuts.
--Poor Simon. ::pets Simon:: Love sympathetic Jim! Pretty sympathetic Jim!
--Heee!! The cop cult and the secret headquarters. "Now that we've divulged our secret, I will be obliged to kill you." And I love the other cop's smile in response.
--Blair's pretty much freaking out here. Maybe it's because it's the middle of the night and he's not at his best, but OMG he's having these paranoid fantasies about people losing fingers and toes. He sounds like some sort of X-Files wing nut or something.
--I love the way they handled the exposition scene in this one, because, finally and for once, it makes sense that they're doing the big information dump from one character to another.
--Jinkies they're pretty in the hall of the train.
--Why was the witness guy handcuffed? And why oh why is Jim handcuffing Blair to the protected witness. How on earth can it *conceivably* be procedure for him to handcuff the protected witness to a civilian observer?? What the hell kind of procedure is that?
--Blair plunked himself straight down next to the pretty lady, until Jim moved him, but Jim's sitting on the arm of the seat on the other side of the train. :) That can't be comfortable. What, he's allergic to lawyers in pink??
--Why is Carolyn looking so skeptical about the idea that Jim is the best they have in a situation like this? For heaven's sake.
--I'm also not getting the chain of command here at the Cascade PD. Simon's leaving Carolyn in charge of the police station? Or just Major Crimes? Isn't she the head of forensics? Surely there's an actual second in command who could be left in charge.
--Love Blair checking to see if Jim has a fever. Even love Jim batting his hand away.
--And now Jim, who's responsible for the safe arrival of the protected witness in court, is leaving him in the care of the civilian observer?? How does this make sense? Blair seems pretty incredulous as well!
--"Why don't you say 'who is it?' And I'll say Ellison. Then you'll open the door."
--Like Carolyn worrying about Jim, though I *swear* I just don't understand her at all. She runs hot and cold. And apparently they've been divorced for *years*. Time for her to get over it.
--I can understand Jim not being interested in any of Blair's herbal remedies. Some of them seem pretty scary. But it is funny that when the Pink Lawyer sees him in the lounge with the DayQuil-esque substance he says "Don't tell Sandburg".
--Oh that's right, this is the lawyer who wears *very* short skirts but doesn't want men looking at her legs. I don't like this woman. She's pleasant enough, but seems kind of dingy.
--"I arrest the bad guys and you do everything you can to get them off." I'm very impressed that RB was able to say that with a straight face, though I gather from the blooper reel that it took him several tries. :)
--Oh, poor Jim. And his little freakout here is not going to inspire confidence in the attorney, who's there to make sure her client is transported safely. I realize the camera work was intended to make the people look bad, but he seems to have run into some very scary folks. I love the paper towel hurting him and holding the cell phone away from his ear. And all that. Just wonderful! A nicely depicted sensory overload IMO.
--Blair and the protected witness playing whatever the hell that game is is kind of neat. Though poor Blair is getting his ass kicked.
--I really like Jim completely denying that anything's wrong to Simon. If Simon could do anything with the knowledge that Jim was having sense troubles, I bet he'd have said something. But since Simon can't do anything, in Jim's universe he doesn't need to know.
--Eeee! Pretty Blair!
--"Sounds like menopause." "This is not the time for jokes." And Jim shoves Blair up against the wall. Again. Though Blair didn't do his little kitten paws on Jim's shoulders this time like he did in Switchman. (Which, OMG!) Poor Blair stumped, until he figures out that it's the medicine. Then there's just nothing he can do.
--Okay. So the Three Stooges are the ones the witness has hired to free himself. That's fine. So *who* leaked that Murdock knew about the witness on the train. Because it's sure not in the Stooges' interest that anyone know about them.
--Poor Blair, left with a gun and the orders to shoot anyone who's not Ellison that comes in. Damn, that *sucks* so bad. He doesn't even know about Jim getting thrown off the train, he just knows that he's got this horrible responsibility. I was gonna ask why Jim would do that, but it is pretty obvious, I mean who else can he trust to be in charge of the situation and defend the witness?
--I'm not gonna ask how Jim, who was thrown out through the window *away* from the train, winds out hanging on a chain underneath it. I'm not gonna ask why there's a loose hanging chain under the train. I'm just gonna nod my head and smile and move along.
--I'm actually incredibly amused by Jim answering the phone while precariously hanging under the train. That's so *Jim*!! I mean a) it's making an annoying noise and he's had about as much sensory annoyance as he can take and b) it's a phone that's ringing, of course you answer it. Other people have commented that it's silly, but I see it as *totally* in character. (And that he replaced his brick of a cell phone with another brick even though there were smaller phones available. Hey, it *worked*.)
--OMG! Poor Blair realizing that he might actually have to shoot someone. ::hugs Blair::
--Eee! Love how angry Blair is when he learns that they threw Jim off the train.
--God Blair's fucking good looking!!
--Love Blair's certainty that Jim's not dead!! And love that he can't even say that he might be! EEE! And he's so pretty!
--And how cool is it that when Jim stops fighting the senses and starts controlling them, it's because he's remembering some tests and exercises that Blair did with him. Very, very nice! That's kind of happy making. (And eeee! Blair in glasses!!!)
--Blair had a Bar Mitzvah? I suppose that's possible. He doesn't seem like the Hebrew School type. And Naomi doesn't seem like the Mom to force her kid to go to Hebrew School.
--If the Pink Lawyer had a brain in her head she'd lie on her back on the floor so her arm was way on the other side of the bar they're chained around. Blair'd get much more leeway that way. In fact, she's small and nimble. If she didn't mind getting her pink suit dirty, she could probably wriggle entirely under the seat and get them completely free of the seat, though still chained together. Either she's not that bright or she's too fond of the suit.
--Hee, Jim's white socks!
--Poor Jim getting clocked by the Engineer! That sucks! Though it's completely sensible from the Engineer's POV.
--Why are the cops all armed and waiting for the train? I mean they don't *know* that the train's been hijacked. (And hijacking a *train*?? Please!) What the hell's the dude doing there with the orange flag? If that train didn't start braking a half mile ago it's not gonna be stopping, so by the time the engineer could possibly see the flag-man it's way too late.
--Why are the State Police deferring to the Cascade PD?
--According to Dr. Gorilla, Jim was at the hospital having trouble with his hearing "last summer". We know he didn't see Dr. Gorilla in Switchman, because he saw nice Dr. McKay. Anyway, Switchman seemed like autumn to me, not summer. But why would Jim have been having trouble with his senses before Switchman? Very puzzling and intriguing.
--Love the horrified look on Jim's face when Dr. Gorilla and the Engineer tell him about the gunshots and hullabaloo. He realizes that he may have put Blair in a position where he had to shoot someone. And he seems really upset by the idea.
--Eeee! Blair's look at Jim as he rides away with Simon. Somewhere between admiring, impressed, and "he's doing it again". And he's so pleased that he's not dead!! (Though would it have killed TPTB to give us a manly hug or something in celebration??)
--Love Simon's reaction to the idea of Jim giving Sandburg his gun. Sweet!
--Hey, it's more Bad Blue Screen work!! Yippie! Jim must be being heroic again! And a minor continuity issue--on the outside of the car shots Jim's hand's outside the car. On the inside of the car shots it's inside. (And moving very distractingly. :) )
--Okay, so the surviving Stooge is now trying to kill the dude who hired him. That's not good. See this is what the witness gets for hiring *bad guys* to help him. You can't trust bad guys. Hence the term.
--Jim's had a rough night--he looks like *Hell*. Still pretty of course, but grubby and bloody and just like he's been through it. But his shirt's still mostly white. Sweet!
--I'm not sure it was entirely *legal* for Jim to subdue the Protected Witness by hitting him, but it certainly *worked*. And I can understand the motivation.
--Jinkies, the shoulder holster's a nice look for Jim. Wow! Hard to 'cap properly, but still. (On the other hand, where did he get the gun? He gave his gun to Blair and the surviving Stooge took it from him. I think it got knocked over the edge of the train along the way. It doesn't seem like the crime scene crew would have had time to recover it and get it back to him yet. Of course, Jim obviously has a locker full of identical Glock 9mms to replace the ones he loses.)
--Eeee! Love the tag. :) Simon's paying for breakfast and signing his papers on Blair's back. Eeee! So cute. And once again, Blair ends up tailing after Jim. :) Lots of piccies from the tag.
-Watching the Pink Lawyer in the *very* short skirt walk away.
-Who pays for breakfast?
-Patting cheeks, it's like saying 'I love you', right?
All screencaps are my own. Feel free to use them however you like.
Other Sentinel Episode Notes I've done:
Switchman
Siege
Killers
The Debt
Cypher