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I had been wondering where 12 Monkeys would go after a first season. The season finale, Arms of Mine, doesn’t give the answer but does show that they are probably heading in new directions. Some of the minor questions from previous episodes were answered but far more was left open.
Time travel has become messy, as it should be. Ramse turned out to have been the one responsible for the time travel device after he went back in time. “It took time travel to create time travel. That’s how it works, brother. There are no straight lines.”
The episode ended with Jennifer Goines going on a 12 city tour, and we know the outcome of that. What is not clear is if there is any way to change this. During the episode Olivia said, “There is nothing more powerful than fate.” Even Dr. Jones said, “I can’t change the past. Nobody can. All that matters is what happens here.” Yet there might still be wild cards, such as Cassie splintering into 2043. It appears that this is significant from this teaser for season 2:
An interview with the new show runners at The Hollywood Reporter also indicates that Jones was wrong:
While Jones’ belief in changing the past to save humanity has been shaken, new showrunnerTerry Matalas says the character “is about to be proven wrong.”
“Jones above all else is a scientist,” fellow showrunner Travis Fickett explained. “She’s going to take evidence into account and that will change her assumptions about things. She’s going to get some new evidence, but the mission for her next season will become even more personal.”
Meanwhile, Cole (Aaron Stanford) and Cassie (Amanda Schull) finally come face-to-face with Ramse (Kirk Acevedo) at the Temporal Facility in 2015. Ramse tries to explain that he is not The Witness — the mysterious leader of the 12 Monkeys — during a standoff, but Cassie doesn’t buy a word he’s saying. That results in a firefight that ends with both Cassie and Ramse shot.
In order to save Cassie’s life, Ramse then offers Cole the time travel serum he planned on using to return to 2043. Cole injects Cassie with the serum and sends her to Jones in 2043. Cole leaves Ramse to bleed out, but in a change of heart returns to save his former best friend.
“He’s still his brother. Ultimately everything that has transpired between these guys doesn’t undo the bond they have and share,” Matalas explained. “Even the Striking Woman’s last line in the finale is, ‘There is nothing more powerful than fate,’ and Cole proves there is something more powerful than fate and that’s love. He goes back to save his brother.”
But don’t expect everything to be patched up. “They have a whole lot to sort out in season two,” Fickett adds.
The relationship between Cole and Ramse isn’t the only one the showrunners are aiming to explore in season two.
“We’re going to lean a lot more into the relationships” Matalas says. “Season one was more about setting the dynamics between Cole and Ramse, Cole and Cassie, Jones and Ramse, Jones and Cole, Jennifer and Cole. We’re going to spend a lot more exploring those relationships and delving a lot deeper. We plan on taking a breath or two next season to sit with our characters more and let them talk.”
Time traveling will also see a change of scenery next season. Matalas noted the Syfy series will explore new time periods as well “an exploration into a deeper past.”
When it comes to the identity of The Witness, Fickett assures fans will learn the truth of who is behind the mask next season along with more about the mysterious Red Forest. “You’ll know exactly what the Red Forest is and what it means for the whole world in season two.”
“The second season is definitely a more emotional season,” Matalas noted, with Fickett adding: “And maybe a bit scarier. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better, but there is still hope.”
Many critics were skeptical about Better Call Saul before it premiered, but the first season did exceed expectations. In response to Chuck’s betrayals, Saul returned to his old haunts and went through through petty scam after petty scam as Slippin’ Jimmy. (An expert in cons discussed them with Esquire). Remember back in season 3 of Breaking Bad when Saul told Walter than he he convinced a woman he was Kevin Costner? We saw the con in which Saul (still going as Jimmy) actually did trick a woman into going to bed with him by claiming to be Kevin Costner:
When he returned home it appeared for a moment that he might have Slippin’ Jimmy out of his system and get an actual job with a law firm from Santa Fe. Instead he decided against the interview, thinking about how much bigger scams Slippin’ Jimmy could accomplish with a law degree. He thought back about returning stolen money earlier in the season: “I know what stopped me. And you know what? It’s never stopping me again.” He is clearly on the path towards turning into Saul Goodman.
It was an excellent season, and we knew from Breaking Bad which direction Jimmy would go in. I did feel that Jimmy’s decision in the parking lot came too quickly. I assume that the writers had Jimmy make the decision after receiving a legitimate job offer to show that it was a decision based upon who he was deep down, as opposed to out of desperation, but I thought more was needed to justify showing such an abrupt change of mind.
How does the show change now that he’s decided he’s going to be Slippin’ Jimmy again? How are Chuck and the other HHM characters still involved?Peter Gould: That’s a good question. Has he decided to be? I’m interested that you say that he’s decided to be Slippin’ Jimmy. He drives off, and he’s definitely got a new idea, and it’s pleasing him an awful lot. It might be about Slippin’ Jimmy. I don’t want to be coy, but I don’t want to assume anything. We spent a lot of time as we opened up season 2 thinking about what the ending of season 1 meant, and all the implications of that. I will say that Chuck is his brother, and the connection between these two guys has been disrupted. Their relationship has been changed forever. But they are still brothers, and Jimmy says to Marco in the finale, “I have to go back, because he’s my brother.” These guys are not finished with each other.
If the emotional arc of the first season involves a bad man trying to be good and discovering that the universe has no interest in that, what is Jimmy’s arc going forward? And how far away is he from being the Saul Goodman we met on “Breaking Bad”?
Peter Gould: I love the way you put that. I wish we had had that synopsis when we started season 1. It could have saved us a couple of months. In my mind, he’s got a ways to go before he’s Saul Goodman. The question is, is Saul Goodman just the person that Jimmy McGill was going to be at any moment, and all that was restraining him was Chuck? Or is Jimmy McGill someone else? I have to say, watching Jimmy throughout season 1, I don’t think the only reason he’s a decent guy is he’s got Chuck in his life. Chuck might think so, and Jimmy might even think so. But when I see Jimmy give the money back in episode 7, when I see how he is with his elderly clients, I think this is a guy who has fundamentally got a decent streak. Maybe deciding to be a bad guy, or deciding to be unleashed ethically, maybe that’s not going to be as straightforward as it seems.
Can you say at this point when Gus might become part of this series? Or could the show end before Mike begins that relationship?
Peter Gould: Everything’s on the table. Obviously, we love the character of Gus, and love Giancarlo Esposito. But think about where Mike is right now. Yes, he killed two police officers in Philadelphia, but that was motivated by revenge, and a sense of vigilante justice over the death of his son. But what crimes has he committed in Albuquerque so far? So far, he facilitated one drug deal armed with a pimento sandwich. He is a long way from being Gus Fring’s right hand man and hired gunman. Just like Jimmy’s journey has a lot of twists and turns to it, so does Mike’s. It’s a challenge, because Mike is a character who is fundamentally not materialistic. This is a guy, when we meet him in “Breaking Bad,” he lives in a modest house, drives a lousy car, doesn’t seem to have a lot of expenses. How much money do you really need to earn in order to take care of one little girl? It’s a real challenge for us to think about Mike’s journey. Boy, let me tell you, though, we would love to see Gus, and would love to have Giancarlo on the show. The question is, when is Mike going to be ready for that? And why would Gus hire Mike at this point? He doesn’t really seem to be the man he will be later.
Well, Walter White was never as likable as Jimmy is this season, but in that first season he was a relatively sympathetic character, and you eventually turned him into the biggest monster in the history of the medium. Peter Gould: That’s true. When you say it that way, it sounds familiar. But to us, it’s a big surprise. We, on “Breaking Bad,” this is one case where the writers room saw the character very differently from the audience, and from the way the cast saw him. Very early on “Breaking Bad,” we started to see this was a portrait of a man with a raging ego. And we would go back and forth between empathizing with him and marveling with his ability to fool himself about why he was doing what he was doing. Maybe the answer is that we’re buying Jimmy’s bullshit better, but Jimmy is ultimately a more sincere character than Walt. He’s also a character who knows himself a little bit better. Walt really did have this mist of self-deception that didn’t part until the very end of the show. Jimmy, I think is a little bit more honest with himself, although not as honest with himself as Mike is. He’s openly on a quest to find out who he should be in this world. You know, the more I talk about it, the more similar it sounds, which surprises me. Because I have to say, I find Jimmy likable in a way that I never found Walt likable. But your memory of it may be better than mine.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/better-call-saul-co-creator-we-like-saul-goodman-but-we-love-jimmy-mcgill#F37dmKgJl8jlmRWt.99
There were no shocking scenes in this week’s episode of The Americans but the show was sure reinvigorated by Paige finding out that her parents are Soviet spies. The episode did what the show does so well–gradually move several different plot lines forward. Martha has acquiesced to her situation for now, with Clarke giving her advice for handling questions. In contrast, Lisa’s husband figured out what is going on, and decides to capitalize on this to make money. Nina both betrayed Anton when, following orders, she searched his room, and also protected him, saying she will not expose his writings. Most likely only Nina will survive this.
Assignment X interviewed Joe Weisberg on the third season:
AX: Does Elizabeth view the possibility of recruiting Paige into the KGB the way someone from an American military family might think, “Well, we’re Navy SEALs, and she should have the opportunity to be a Navy SEAL”?
JOE WEISBERG: I’ve said that a hundred times. Nobody judges a guy when he wants to have his son join the military. That’s the most accepted thing in America, that a father is proud to have a son who’s also proud to join the military. Some people think, “Well, that’s not great,” but mostly, that’s completely accepted in this society. She wants her daughter to be of service.
AX: Also, it seems like Elizabeth genuinely believes what she’s saying when she talks about trying to make the world a better, more peaceful place through what she and Philip are doing …
WEISBERG: That’s right. That is the ambition, the goal. Also very high-minded.
AX: Since some of the audience doesn’t seem to understand how Elizabeth views the situation, do you ever feel like you want to be any more didactic about that aspect of the show, just so people understand what you’re talking about?
WEISBERG: Well, I feel like, yes, but no. Because you can’t. You’d kill it. And I also feel in a way it’s part of Elizabeth’s character, I don’t mean as a television character, I mean as part of who she is, to be misunderstood, that she’s not in the world. In the television world she inhabits, it’s part of who she is, it’s her cross to bear to be misunderstood a little bit. So I think it’s okay.
AX: She holds these things to be self-evident, so when people don’t get it, she thinks they’re being perverse?
WEISBERG: Exactly. And she’s behind enemy lines. But then when her husband doesn’t get it, that hurts more, because he’s supposed to get it. And so it’s in synch with that if there’s a portion of the audience that doesn’t understand her.
AX: What do you think Philip actually thinks of Martha?
WEISBERG: I think he probably, A, has probably a very realistic and similar assessment of her, more than any of us would have, but B, I think that she’s been very good to him and that he’s developed real feelings for her. I don’t mean that he’s madly in love with her, but I think he’s developed real feelings. She’s been very good to him, taken care of him, comforted him, and he’s been bad to her. And I think he’s come to really care for her.
AX: Can Stan stay in the show if he finds out that Elizabeth and Philip are KGB?
WEISBERG: We could come up with endless stories where he did or didn’t know and stay.
AX: How are you enjoying playing with the 80s technology?
JOEL FIELDS: This year, we’re going to have the first mobile phone. We’re going to have one of those handheld Mattel electronic phones – remember, with the blinking LED? We’ve got some other good stuff, too, this year. Sony Walkman, of course, you’ve got those orange headphones – “Just listen to this,” [Philip] says, and he puts it on [Kimberly’s] ears.
Daredevil was released on Netflix on Friday. I’ll avoid any spoilers, but the show is well worth watching. Think of Arrow, but much darker, without the CW glitz, and in a much poorer part of town. Of course it isn’t entirely without attractive women, including Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page. I am having some difficulty accepting scenes of her out in the light after True Blood.
I’m also enjoying iZombie. Rose McIver gets to do a little of what Tatiana Maslany does on Orphan Black (which returns next Saturday). While she does not play multiple clones, she takes on characteristics of people after eating their brain, giving her the opportunity to alter her character each week.
Saturday Night Live began with a parody of Clinton’s announcement. I have posted the video here. My comments on Clinton’s actual announcement are here. A street artist in Brooklyn also has expressed an opinion.
A study shows that men are more likely than women to go back in time to kill Hitler.
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Originally posted at Liberal Values