A561984

I would like to state that A561984 has got to be one of the better episodes we've seen yet. What ever changes ABC has made at the production or writing level, it's starting to pay off. Much of the episode I was hanging onto the edge of my seat and soaking it all in. Since we all know what happened I'm not going to go into too many details.

Mark and Dimitri learn who kills Dem in March and neither of them really like what they hear. I don't either and have a feeling that Nhadra Daya is setting these boys up. I also have a feeling that Mark knows it, otherwise why would he be trying to make sure Dimitri keeps his hands clean? I have a feeling that Mark knows exactly what he is doing in Hong Kong and his actions will help to expose the FBI mole in the future. By the end of the episode he has without a job and had turned over his badge and gun to Dimitri. Yet his vision of the future involved him working at a frippin' SECURE FBI OFFICE! *insert grumbling face here*

Now colour me burnt sienna if I'm wrong, but there is no way Daya's version of the future can be true. First of all, the gun is now in Dimitri's possession and I am assuming that it will be locked away upon their return to LA. Next, Stan fired Mark and unless something drastic happens between now and March 15th, and possibly April 29th, Mark will still be fired and unable to come and go freely from the SECURED FBI office, which takes us to Mark's vision. Obviously Mark's job gets reinstated, otherwise his vision would have been very different from what he already saw and understands to be a possible future.

Zoey realizes that her vision of the beach wasn't her wedding, but Dimitri's memorial and is devastated. She visits Dem's mother and confronts her. Now I'm not sure why they would be opposed to Demitri marrying Zoey in the first place, but apparently they are.

And did Lloyd Simcoe open up a veritable "Pandora's Box" or what with that press conference? He made not only himself a target for investigation, but his co-workers and their families as well. As an aside, that one glimpse of Myhill sort of looked like Phil from LOST, didn't it? I know it wasn't the same actor, but from that one angle, it certainly looked like him.

I'm not sure what Lloyd expected would happen after he told the world that HE believed their experiment had precipitated the GBO. Was he expecting a medal? Praise? Calm? For someone so smart, his actions were pretty dumb. He allowed his guilt and emotions to cloud his judgement on this one. And now he's locked in the back of an ambulance in the middle of a kidnap attempt.

Speaking of that Lloyd's kidnapping. Am I the only one who thinks the assassins and kidnappers on this show are a joke? Really. From almost point blank range a grenade is launched into a car full of sitting ducks and not one of them really got hurt. Janice was shot at point blank range as well and survived. Now two fake ambulance attendants attempt to kidnap Lloyd and Dylan, they screw that up by manhandling the kid, who freaks out, and only get Lloyd. Now they have no leverage to make Lloyd to what they want. That's some inept handiwork you morons. Oh, and I'm not entirely convinced that Simon isn't behind the kidnapping attempt (although I would like to think that the world's most brilliant genius would have hired some more experienced thugs to do his handiwork).

Speaking of Simon, I found it interesting that he went to the FBI to offer his assistance. I think that he feels the need to prove that his experiment did not cause the GBO and I was delightfully pleased to see his shocked expression when he learned that his "Plasma Wakefield Afterburners" which he'd designed in 1992 were actually built in Somalia in 1991. Am I the only viewer who took a certain pleasure in the fact that the "smarty pants" Simon all of a sudden didn't have the answer to the question? Never mind that I'm so totally confused by the time line and am trying very hard NOT to think seriously about time travel (which could very well be a possibility, BTW). I'm excited at the prospect of seeing more of Dominic Monahan and seeing proof of Simon's genius. So far we haven't seen much to impress me.
I don't trust Nhadra Udaya at all. Not because she's portrayed as an obviously high ranking Iranian diplomat in Hing Kong, but because she's hiding more than D. Gibbons. In fact, I suspect that she could be connected to the true cause of the GBO and is working against the FBI. I was just as stunned as you were when I saw her big window of clues at first, then suspicious as I saw that she had information that she should NOT have had. Photos that Dimitri took at the Doll Factory, a copy of Alda Herzog's case file, Geyer's 137 Sekunden, photos of the masks used by the men who go after Mark in the FBI office, crows. It's clear to me that she is getting her information from the FBI mole, which leads me to believe that she is working against Mark and Dimitri. Hopefully you can click on the below capture and see it in it's huge glory.

REASONS WHY DIMITRI CAN BE THE FBI MOLE!

Upon finding Alda in the SUV, Demetri is angry and tries choke her until Mark stops him. Also, why did it take Dimitri so long to get Alda to the FBI field office?

When Dimitri is interrogating Alda, she was tapping the desk, something that camera panned to and held on. Possibly some sort of code?

We never did see Dimitri's polygraph test results. Why?

How did Dimitri know to use the black light and to check for an invisible tattoo like symbol on the dead man's hand?

It's thin at best, and until we get to see more, Dimitri will have to remain on the list of possible suspects. Perhaps that is why he gets killed in March, although I hope not. I like Mark and Dimitri working together (though not right now) and my daughter would be devastated if John Cho's character were to be killed off.

Did you hear Dimitri refer to Udaya as Eartha Kitt? I had to giggle, because her voice made me think of Cat Woman when I'd first heard it too.

A FEW QUESTIONS:

Did you see the bloody restaurant brochure with "Help Us" written on it in the opening flashes? We first saw that in the No More Good Days tacked to Mark's Big Board of Clues. I haven't looked, but does Nhadra Udaya have one on her board too?

If Myhill and Simon were opposed to Lloyd's statement, why did they allow him to read it? In an effort to control the amount of information, and avoid him taking responsibility, I would think that they would have insisted on reading the statement instead of him.

How did Udaya get the serial number of Mark's gun and does the CIA usually investigate the FBI's shootings. If so, do they usually put the serial number of the weapon used in the report?

If Udaya really wanted to save Dimitri's life, why did she call him in the first place and start his obsession with finding his killer? And why does she surround herself with Armed Asian Goons? If she were a legitimate diplomat in Hong Kong, wouldn't she be protected by, oh, I don't know, IRANIAN BODYGUARDS??????

If Lloyd really was worried about his son's safety, why didn't he take Janice up on her offer of protection? For a smart man, he's not very bright.

Why does it seem that Mark and Dimitri are more focused on saving marriages and preventing a murder than finding out what or who caused the GBO? After all, it was the GBO that started it all, right?

If Simon designed the afterburner towers in 1992 and they'd already been built in 1991, does he get the credit still? And who's to say that the towers, though they appear to be what Simon designed, are not being used for something else? Also, does this mean that someone stole his design?

How did D. Gibbons get from Pigeon, Utah to Hong Kong undetected considering the FBI had a bolo out for him? If Immigration can flag two off duty FBI officers upon entry to Hong Kong, why can't they catch one of the dudes who were awake during the GBO? Wow, that's some detective work there, Lou.

QUOTABLE QUOTES!

"The whole penis thing is kind of a problem for me, 'cause.....I don't like them"

"Oh, you're gay"

"Yeah, I'm super gay"

"If things go South, you're definitely going to need to keep carrying a gun"

"Your death is the first in a long line of Dominoes that I would rather not see fall down"

"A techie, chess playing social misfit. Well, that should narrow it down"

My favourite this week?

Oh, hey, have you spoken to Mark or Dimitri?

yeah, that's what happened to the TV.

One last question:

WHY ARE THEY MAKING US WAIT UNTIL MARCH TO SEE THE NEXT EPISODE?

Okay, I'm done.

Let me know what you think is going to happen. How are you going to spend your hiatus? No Glee, no FF, no LOST. December and January are already difficult months to get through, but this is getting redonkulous.

BELIEVE

His life is slowly ending, eaten away by renal cancer, stage four. Why would anyone want to surrender to that horrible waste of life? I’m not too informed on the terminology, but things don’t look good for Bryce right now and it just goes to show that tragedy can befall even those with the most brilliant of future's ahead of them. Not wanting his family to go through another long emotionally drawn out death, Bryce opted for what he thought was the only dignified way out. And now we know what brought him to be standing on the pier with a gun to his chin, about to pull the trigger at the precise moment the entire human race fell into their 137 seconds of unconsciousness.

Bryce informs Olivia of his illness and she thinks she has convinced him into visiting a clinic in Houston. She really cares about him and is both stunned and heartbroken by his lack of faith in her. I love that we saw Bryce disembarking the aircraft, walking through the terminal and then the “Welcome to Tokyo” sign appears. I couldn't help but laugh. That cheeky rebel, I thought.

We also know the epiphany that he experienced that changed his entire outlook on life. Her name is Keiko, and she’s a good Japanese family girl who has dreams of being something other than the robotics engineer her parents worked so hard to create. She has dreams of finding true love with someone other than the men her parents have chosen for her. She’s seen his face, she knows where to find him and she’s taking the risk to make her dream come true. They will seek each other out, they will find their dream on April 29^th and, for whatever time Bryce has left, they will find the hope and happiness of their vision.

Am I the only one who thought it funny that Bryce and Keiko were on the same plane, and, if they had only looked at their fellow passengers, they may have met that much sooner?

Mark learns of the text that was sent to Olivia and begins to question the relationships he has with his friends and co-workers. While we all know that neither Aaron nor Stan sent that text (that would be way too obvious), Mark realizes that someone else knows. I’m wondering when he is going to figure out that whomever knows of his drinking had to have been a part of his flashforward and therefore, in his vision. The problem here is that Mark is so focused on his big board of clues and the three gunmen that he hasn’t seen the trees for the forest. In other words, he needs to pay more attention to what he deems as innocuous in his vision and I believe he will find who sent the text, and possibly who the mole is.

The NSA, National Security Association (?), does it’s best to refine the video of Suspect Zero, managing to isolate the symbol on the ring. Of course, we’ve already figured out that it was the Alpha Ring that he was wearing. But Stan wants the face and starts asking questions that the NSA representative is hesitant to answer. When prompted, she confesses that someone in the LA Field Office is being investigated. The NSA intercepted a phone call to Dimitri, but can’t tell where it came from.

Yeah, this does not make sense to me. So, the NSA flags a routed and rerouted and re re routed cell phone call, records the info and decides that Dimitri is a risk because someone told him he would be dead in six months? Understandably, Dimitri is not a happy camper. And who can blame him? Someone has a voice recording of the anonymous person who, in effect, has threatened his life. After a bit of pressure, the NSA releases the recording to the FBI and Vreede removes all the layers. I agree with Dimitri. It’s pretty depressing to hear that voice and those words again. But, by peeling back the layers of the call, they are able to pinpoint the origin of the call. Hong Kong it is. But Stan refuses to allow Mark and Dimitri to go to find some answers.

I watch FF with my daughter and my father. Both are pretty sharp and quick on the uptake, if you get my drift. Both are enjoying the sensation of thinking these clues through and trying to solve the mystery and both have their own ideas about certain aspects of the show. My father has said that he suspects Stan Wedeck as being the mole, and his argument is pretty convincing. Stan pretty well jumped on Mark’s vision without so much as an “are you sure?” and created an investigation based on a foggy vision. He blackmailed the President to ensure he retained control of said investigation (possibly to keep on top of, and report, any break throughs). Janice discovers the towers that may have caused the event in Somalia (and no one but Dimitri, Mark, Vreede and Stan knew that it was she who had found the clue) and there’s a coordinated assassination attempt on all the agents involved almost immediately. He refuses to allow Mark to go to Somalia. Now, with the revelation that the mystery caller was in Hong Kong, he refuses to allow them to find her and ask a few questions. There’s also the fact that no one can actually verify his story of taking care of business in his vision. Either he’s so busy protecting his rear end from the governmental hounds or he’s trying to keep things covered up, or he’s just so darned incompetent that he doesn’t recognize a solid clue when he sees one. I haven't made up my mind yet.

There’s also Vreede. This is the agent who was leaving the FBI building at the same time gun men were after Mark (in said FBI building) and we have only seen maybe fifteen seconds of his flashforward, if that. Who’s to say that he isn’t the one responsible for giving the gunmen (whom we all now know are Jericho by the three stars tattooed on their arms) access to the building? How do we know he didn’t walk past Mark’s office and saw him drinking from the flask (do we know that’s really alcohol?) on his way to opening the door for the assassins? Yes, it is a stretch, but it could happen. Did you see him squirm when the NSA lady said someone in their office had been red flagged? It was very brief, but he did appear somewhat uncomfortable, did he not? I also think he may have been the one who sent Olivia the text message telling her about Mark's drinking in the future.

And so Mark is burning old bridges and building new ones in his quest to learn who sent Olivia the text message. He both angered and hurt his close friend Aaron and completely pissed off Stan. But what is he to do? As far as he knows, only two people in the world knew at that time that he saw himself drinking in his flash. Yeah, I‘d be asking questions as well.

Aaron is coping with his own problems as Tracy sinks deeper into despair and fear and finds the relief she feels she needs in a bottle of Whiskey or a bottle of wine. She drinks herself into a stupor in order to get some sleep. And he blames himself for the state his daughter is in (which is not true by the way) and fears there is nothing he can do to stop her downward spiral into that dark world. He has been there himself and it is going to be a major test of his commitment to being a recovering alcoholic.

Mark and Aaron’s relationship has changed forever, but the friendship is still strong and the support each of them are going to need is still there. Despite what he feels is unjustified accusation, Aaron really needs a friend, someone he can count on as he travels the dangerous road to finding a way to help Tracy overcome her addiction and her fears.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and tell you about my suspicions. Remember the ex-soldier, Mike, who left Tracy for dead after the Humvee attack? I suspect he is a member of Jericho. Tracy’s door wouldn’t open from the inside. I'm just sayin' She was left for dead. Then, he does his best to convince Aaron that he actually saw her die, yet what we saw belies what our ears are telling us. Odd how he shows up shortly before Tracy does. Jericho, which is headquartered in Santa Monica, knows all there is to know about her, and, once she disappeared from the hospital in Afghanistan, they need someone to get close to her father, him being the next logical safe haven she would seek out. Colour me rainbow if I’m wrong, I’ll supply the silly string even, if it turns out that Mike is innocent of these suspicions.

DID YOU NOTICE?

The bullet that Bryce took out of the box and loaded into the gun had a blue tip. I wonder if it had NOT TODAY printed in blue ink on the side.

Bryce's Jeep appears blue in the parkade when he crashes into the classic Thunderbird (that guy was a jerk anyway), but at the prier on the day of the black out it appeared either silver of white.

Tracy is a bit of a messy miss.

Tracy made chili and she puts cheese on it. Just that way I like to eat my chili.

Do you think the guy who summoned Keiko to the boardroom has a thing for her? He seemed very apologetic after the boss told her to pour the tea.

QUESTIONS

1. Where is Tracy getting the booze? If she's so scared of Jericho and afraid to go out, how is she getting the alcohol? I doubt the recovering alcoholic Aaron is going to stock the cupboard above the refrigerator.

2. Am I the only one who thought it was ironic that Bryce was vomiting and the Japanese CD was translating "How are you?"

3. Does Olivia suffer from PMS? She's really difficult to follow, one minute she's curt and negative toward Bryce, the next she's like a mother hen and taking his temperature.

4.Did Bryce confide in Nichole more than his quest for Keiko? Does she know how ill he is?

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

"You don't know what the future holds. None of us do.....Live each day doing what feels right" ~ Bryce's psychiatrist

"I want to report a hit and run....He's still hitting me!"~ Jerk Thunderbird driver

"Nothing is going to get me through this. The diagnosis is terminal" ~ Bryce

Flashforward is preempted next week to make way for the US Thanksgiving and will return on December 3rd. Episode 1.10 is called A561984.

Again with numbers!

PLAYING CARDS WITH COYOTE

When I first heard the title of this episode I immediately thought of Wiley Coyote with Simon's face. I think I was wrong. In traditional Aboriginal lore, the coyote is often portrayed as a trickster, which does not describe Simon at all. Simon may be the most intelligent man on earth, but he's too self confident in his abilities to talk himself out of trouble using intellectual mambo jumbo to resort to tricking people. In contemporary lore, the coyote is often portrayed as inventive and evasive as well. I believe the coyote they were referring to was Lloyd Simcoe. From previous experience playing poker with Simon, he knew the odds were stacked against him, but he also learned that in order to win he would need and ace up the sleeve. Literally and figuratively, Lloyd took steps to ensure he would come away the winner. There is no shame is changing the game, right?

Mark and Olivia were also taking steps to change their futures. They've renewed their, er, intimate relationship and are being as honest as possible with each other. Olivia tossed away the slinky undies Mark had bought for her, dismayed and disgusted since that's what she was wearing in her flash. Mark too, took steps to change what he saw by drawing out the 3Star Guy and, oh yes he did, he killed him. But as we saw there's three to take that one 3Star Guy's spot.

Tracy woke up with a recurring nightmare. One she's had for two years. She explained to her father why she didn't return home immediately (nice of them to take care of her, get her prosthetic leg and teach her how to walk again). She saw an entire village population of women, children and really old people being wiped out. After she'd informed her commanding officer, she and the other soldiers were sent into a trap. She only left Afghanistan because she was worried the Jericho mercenaries would go after Kamir Dijon and the IEC, to get to her. No one must know that she is alive. Ooops, Mark knows and I'm sure Olivia will soon too.
Jericho are military contractors. A polite way of saying mercenaries. Basically they do the dirty work no one wants to be associated with and demand much money for it. At least, that's my take on it. The Jericho, as we learned, identify themselves with three stars tattooed onto their left forearm. I have a feeling that Jericho are deeply entrenched in not just the government, but also whatever the symposium of scientists (read Simon, Lloyd, Gordon Myhill , Elizabeth Rhee, Phillipe Tarhan and Gabe Clayson) are into. By the way, who thinks the man who took the case of rings and shot the lead Jericho dude is either Gordon Myhill or D. Gibbons?
Speaking of the rings, it is beginning to look as if those people who did not pass out during the GBO were wearing one. See the above close up (I'm getting good at the screenshots, aren't I?). The symbol looks as if it's the Greek symbol for Alpha. In electronics the Alpha is the symbol for "transistor." Also, when combined with H (H-alpha) it is an "emission" line created by hydrogen atoms. The large man mentioned that there was one ring missing. Who wants to bet that Suspect Zero still has his?

Janice tried to resign so she could take sometime to re-evaluate where her life is going and what she wants for her future. Unfortunately Stan refused to accept her resignation, which is good because Janice has a great eye for detail and Mark is going to need her. Not to mention the obvious fact that they are so short handed it's almost funny. Quickly she is put back into action protecting Ingrid Alvarez, who witnessed the 3Star Guys killing Neil Parofsky (an aeronautical engineer) in the alley behind her bird shop. I would never have had the presence of mind to use my cell phone to record it (I admit to being more likely to wetting my pants and running away in a cowardly attempt to preserve my life.)

The FBI realizes they have a mole. Interesting how D. Gibbons knew they were coming to Utah. The coordinated attack on the LA Field agents. They take advantage of the fact that 3Star Dudes killed the wrong witness and use Ingrid Alvarez as bait. Unfortunately, Mark kills the man before he can kill either Dimitri or Mark. Another unfortunate thought? Dead men can't spill the beans, and they are back to square one.

I have an idea who the mole in the office is, but I'm going to keep my big mouth shut for a bit. It can be one of two people from what I can tell, and right now both are very suspect in my eyes.

Take a look the picture above. It's the notice that Nichole took off the cork board at the hospital. I can't read it, but I have a feeling this is how she ends up being drowned on April 29th.

DID YOU NOTICE?

The e-mail addresses all ended with @nlap.us.com? What is nlap?

Dylan instantly became silent, almost defiant, when Simon walked into the hospital room. I don't think the kid likes him very much.

I read somewhere that Dominic Monahan bases his characters after the traits of animals and that Simon is modeled after the behaviour of a preying mantis. If you get a chance to watch it again, keep you eye on Simon when he is confronting Lloyd at the hospital and after the poker game.

Aaron's vision appears to be coming true, so he now believes that what he saw MUST happen.

Olivia believes that what she saw must NOT happen.

Mark, is conflicted because he saw his life in danger and doesn't WANT it to happen, but isn't sure if he can believe that events can be changed.

Even brilliant surgeons with great legs need to fold the laundry.

Nichole is standing on the lookout over a cliff and just down the coast a little ways is the hotel where Olivia and Mark are holed up.

The opening song is titled Unthought Known by Pearl Jam.

QUESTIONS:

How did Dimitri find Celia in order to send her the letter and why didn't he deliver it himself?

Who is taking care of Charlie?

How many people have slapped Simon for being so arrogantly, rub-it-in-your-face smug in his extreme intellect?

Is Lloyd almost as smart as Simon?

Where do Lloyd and Simon work?

Who were the two men sitting at the poker table with Lloyd and Simon? They had to be someone they knew and trusted since they were talking about going public and all.

Did Mark purposely kill the 3Star Tattooed guy and does he really think he has leveled the playing field and changed his future?

Who is the mole in the FBI office?

QUOTABLE QUOTES

"If Al's death proved anything, it's that our choices matter now more than ever"

"I've had to check myself into the hospital to have my bruised ego x-rayed."

"You want to wager the fate of millions of people on the outcome of a poker game?"

"Twenty million deaths on our shoulders......If that doesn't qualify us for Godhood, then tell me what does"

And, my favourite...

"Am I keeping you awake, Cupcake?"

Just a quick explanation. Both Simon and Lloyd used some very big words and phrases in this episode (they think they're so smart). Quantum Suicide is explained here. I have a general idea of what it is, but I need a bit of time to get it into my own words.

QED = quod erat demonstradum. Literally it means "which has been demonstrated". Simon arrogantly believed that since he had won all the previously played hands he would win the next hand. Unfortunately he didn't factor Lloyd's "ace up the sleeve" play into his calculations.

I admit that I am so not liking Dom's new character. But I am loving to hate him.

Next week is 1.09 Believe.

THE GIFT

Good news everyone! I have learned how to capture screen shots!
Now I can get the shots I want and not ask to borrow or steal them.

If I wasn't already hooked on Flashforward, I would be after watching The Gift. Almost every scene had me glued to the screen, watching, wondering and waiting.

Already Ghosts, or the Blue Hand Club, was so depressing for me to see, and yet I can see reality mirrored there. When people feel they have no future and no hope, they tend to make irrational decisions. The participants in the Blue Hand Club believe that some time in the future, certainly before April 29th, they will die. They don't know when. They don't know where. They don't know how. They only know that they will die.

But we will all die sooner or later and many of us have no idea when, where or how either, so I'm not so sure I am buying the reasoning's for people taking drugs, getting drunk and testing fate. I think I'd rather take my chances.

We see many people beginning to make changes in their lives. Some want their futures to occur and other are fighting against what they saw.

Lloyd tells Olivia that as soon as the hospital transfer is approved, he wants to take Dylan to the Bay area, so we see him taking steps to ensure his own vision does not come true.

Mike Wellington, who served with Tracy in Afghanistan, visits Aaron and returns a pocket knife to him. Aaron had given it to his daughter and she carried it with her at all times. Later, Mike explains that Tracy is not alive and that he watched her die. The knife represents hope for Aaron. We see a bit more of his flash and he is giving a wounded Tracy the knife. Later, Aaron arranges for Mike to get a job at his place of work.

Olivia suggests that Nichole volunteer at the hospital, and leaves her in Bryce's hands. When an elderly Japanese woman comes to the nurses station with a bouquet of Sweet Peas and the nurses are unable to understand her, Nichole calms the situation by speaking to her in her own language. This gets Bryce wondering and he asks Nichole for her help, showing her his sketches of the mystery woman and a symbol he can't quite make out. Nichole finishes the symbol and tells him that it is Kanji for Believe. She then suggests that Bryce put his story on the Mosaic to see if they can find the mystery woman.

Al commits suicide, unable to cope with his own vision of the future. He leaves a suicide note with Dimitri and a letter to Celia, the woman who's death he believes he is responsible for. He believes that by removing himself from the equation he can change the answer. He is trying to give hope to those who have none (read Dimitri).

Dear Celia,

I don't know your last name and I don't know where you live, but know that you have two young boys. Twins, I believe. And I know that you didn't have a flash forward.

I understand how terrifying that is, and how powerless you must be feeling. I want you to know that you are not alone, and that your situation is not as hopeless as you think.

Our paths were meant to cross. I didn't know how. I didn't know when. But things have changed now and things are no longer going to unfold as I had feared.

My gift to you is a release from that dread, from the feeling that you are no longer in control.

We will never meet. I will never know you. So, live your life. Live every day and know that the future is unwritten. Make the most of it.

Al's gift will have wide effects and change many futures. Olivia and Mark. Dimitri and Zoey. Celia. The twins.

Hi Dad! Yeah, am I the only one who looked at her legs to see if she had both? How much of a shocker was that ending?

So, Tracy did NOT die in Afghanistan. She was abandoned and left to die, only to be saved by an unknown. Remember when Aaron was talking at the AA meeting, in the first episode? He said that there was very little left of Tracy to be identified. He had the DNA testing done, and, yes, I called it in my 137 Sekunden post! Go look!

QUOTES:

The Gift was so full of really great quotes that it was difficult to choose a few of them. I might need to do a separate post.

"What you call cheating, I call finding a way to change the game, my friend." - Dimitri

"Nice to meet you again...For the first time." - Fiona Banks upon being introduced to Al

"You've got to be kidding me. A death club?" - Stan Wedeck

"It's like a book club with bullets." - Mark

"You said that you didn't want to give up hope? Then don't." Zoey, to Dimitri

"We have two conflicting visions. We can choose which one we want to believe in. I choose hope!" - Zoey

"You won't be the first screwed up Vet this place has hired" Aaron

I have two favorites

"It's worth a shot"

This was said twice in this episode. Once by Al and again later by Nichole.

"But if I'm not here that means we can change things. What I saw, what you saw, doesn't have to play out that way. I found a way to change the game."

QUESTIONS:

1. What did Al do to cause Celia's death?

2. If everyone in the Humvee ran for their lives, how do they know for sure that she died? Mike saw her laying on the ground missing her leg, but the only piece of her to be returned to US soil weighed 36 lbs. That might be the leg she lost?

3. once Dylan is in the Bay Area, will he hop another bus to get to Olivia's house again?

4. What, or who is "Jericho"?

5. Now that they know their MOSAIC site is being used to find certain people, will they close it down to protect everyone who has posted there.

6. Will Celia ever know the sacrifice a total stranger made so that she could have a life with her boys?

Scary Monsters and Super Creeps

I know who the super creep is in this show and I like him. Simon is arrogantly charming in his superior brilliance. If Dominic Monahan wanted to do something completely opposite to his last role as Charlie Pace, he's found it. Self confidence just oozes from his pores!

Simon is super smart and uses that to his advantage in many ways. On the train, a rather luxurious train at that, he picks up a woman by telling her that he knows what caused the GBO. At her skepticism he tells her to do a google image search for "brilliant physicist" and laughs at the first image that comes up. He's posing in silver underwear and holding goggles in front of his privates. He impresses her by mentioning the Double Slit Experiment and explaining the Schrodinger's Cat Thought Thought experiment.

I'm not going to explain either one here, and I'm not entirely sure where this takes us in regards to the cause of the GBO, but I have a feeling we'll learn more as time goes by.

Simon gets what he wants and in the aftermath of "lovin" he reveals his own vision. Maybe he's the scary monster as well, because when he described his vision he took a certain pleasure to make sure to point out how satisfied he was that he had killed the man with the neck as thick as an ox.

I found it interesting that as Simon was explaining Schrodinger's Cat to the blond, Olivia was fighting to save Janice's life. At one point Simon mentions that it is the observer's decision if the cat is alive or dead, and we see Janice crashing, possibly on the verge of death. Olivia saves Janice and is napping when Stan, Mark and the rest of the team arrive at the hospital. Security is heightened at the hospital with armed guards everywhere to keep Janice safe, so Stan tells everyone to leave the hospital and get some rest.

Dimitri and Al decide to check on the dead guys. While the forensic coroner is checking the bodies for anything to ID they dead assailants using a black light, they notice a blue hand on the one guy's hand. Suddenly Dimitri has faith in Mark's big board of clues and convinces Al to help him find the source of the blue hand by promising to buy him a sandwich at that Cuban place. Al's in and they head to Baltimore street, where they find a blue hand on the stop sign.

Olivia and Mark decide they have been dealing with their future in the wrong way. Olivia decides they need to live in the moment and not be so focused on what may or may not happen in the future. It's busy at the hospital and Olivia sends Mark home to take Charlie our to trick or treat. At the same time, Bryce reminds Lloyd that the kids in the hospital are allowed to dress up and go from room to room trick or treating as well. Lloyd rushes out to get his son the only costume left in his size...a pimp costume, complete with Flava Flave clock. I'm sorry, but I thought the choice of costume was rather inappropriate for a child as young as Dylan.

I'm not sure about hospitals in your area, but ours keeps it's doors locked. Both on the wards and, especially after regular hours, the main doors. There is no patient access to the emergency rooms either. I am having a very very difficult time with Dylan just wandering away from the hospital and getting on the bus to find "his house too". The whole scenario felt forced and totally unnecessary to me. I understand why, I just don't accept it.

Mark and Obi Wan take Charlie out trick or treating and they see a kangaroo. I love Charlie's reaction and the dumbfounded look on Mark's and Aaron's faces.

There is something about the kangaroo, it has a significance that I have yet to ascertain, but am I the only one to notice that every time Mark sees that Kangaroo, he encounters yet another distraction that leads him back to his big cork board of clues? And it did, too, as Mark sees three men dressed in black and wearing masks exactly like he saw in his vision. He calls out to them and they scatter. Mark chases one of them to a graveyard and tackles the guy. The masks came from the 99 cents store? He's about to grill the teen when Nicole calls. They have a visitor.

Nichole explains that Dylan just walked into the house and made himself comfortable. She found his hospital bracelet and called Olivia, who was in surgery, but managed to get a message to his father, who shows up to collect his wayward child. And this is where we see the possible beginning of the end for Mark and Olivia as they each react to the other with distrust and a fatalism that surprised me. Both accusing the other of lying, keeping secrets and not trusting. It certainly was a sad scene.

On the up side, I really loved the expressions of recognition on all the parties' faces as they all realized who was who and what was happening.

Dimitri and Al are following the blue hand clue and find their first hand on a stop sign. They figure out how to follow the hands. The hand itself points in a direction and the number of fingers on the hand designate how many blocks to travel. Remember the house at the end of the block with the big yard and gated driveway, was falling apart and all the kids thought was haunted? Yeah, that's the one and this house was no exception to the rule. Inside Al and Dimitri find dead bodies, one with its hand painted blue. They also find a connection to Al's vision in the form of identification of Ian Rutherford.

In Al's vision he is in London working on "the Rutherford case". Al's vision is starting to come true as well.

After returning his son to the hospital, Lloyd leaves to go home and get some rest. He is a man with a lot on his mind. As he gets into his car and goes to start it, Simon pops up from the back seat, asking Lloyd why he hasn't been returning his calls. Lloyd tells Simon that he doesn't want anything to do with him or them (I'm assuming he means the rest of the people involved with the experiment). "Our little experiment killed 20 million people, Simon"

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

"That is the coolest costume ever!" - Charlie Binford when she spots the kangaroo.

"I have a theory, but the science is complicated" - Simon

"I'm a complicated girl" - Mystery blond on the train

"According to the Mosiac, we're 1/2 a million strong" - mystery woman explaining that her vision had her at Times Square

"There are already two dozen agents working on this, who didn't have a grenade launched at them last night.." - Stan to Dimitri

"Mark talks about D Gibbons, Suspect Zero, the crows...for the first time outside of this office, and then eight hours later......" - Dimitri explaining why China is a dead end.

QUESTIONS:

Why was Simon taking the train? Does he have an aversion to flying, or is he afraid another blackout will occur?

How convenient was it that the woman was on the train and had all the right answers to intrigue Simon? I'm wondering who she is.

When is Mark going to realize the kangaroo is a clue and is it on his big cork board of clues?

Did Nichole ever create that sketch of her killer?

Will Lloyd seek disciplinary action against the hospital for allowing his son to slip out the doors and disappear into the night?

Will Janice prove that the flashes can be changed? Or will she suddenly decide that she wants to have a baby and how will she go about it? I have a theory, but I'm not quite ready to share that yet.

Lloyd seems like a pretty decent guy and appears to have a conscience, which is why he is bothered by the experiment. I'm positive they are connected to Suspect Zero, and possibly many others who were awake during the GBO. I just can't make the connection.

How cool was Nichole's costume? I think I saw someone dressed up like that on Saturday night come to my house!

JUST ONE MORE THING

I really am having a problem with the way the writers used Dylan to force the circumstances between Mark and Olivia. Not only was his costume tasteless, but the whole scenario of him wandering away from the hospital and boarding a bus just couldn't happen, could it? This really bothers me if it could happen. Wouldn't the security guards be keeping an eye on the entrances and exits that weren't locked? Why isn't Lloyd making a big noise about how easy it was for his kid to wander off? I know I would be freaking and the cops would be everywhere!

I am also having difficulty believing how Mark and Olivia could just accuse the each other of things that haven't happened. I was appalled that Olivia would dismiss the danger of her vision coming true and yet almost insists that Mark's had greater odds of happening. I have to admit to feeling more for Mark than Olivia after that. Mark's reaction to finding the possible future lover in his living room was more understandable than Olivia's reaction to Mark's "coming clean". He didn't have to tell her the truth, but he did, and her reaction was hardly supportive.

So, what did you think of Scary Monster's and Super Creeps?

You know what to do. Either answer on FB or in the comment section.

Screencaps courtesy of ODI and FanPop.

GIMME SOME TRUTH

I have to tell you that I'm really hoping this show can deliver what it has promised. So far I have not been disappointed, but I've lowered my expectations. Flashforward is not LOST and despite the hype that it was going to grab our imaginations in the same way as LOST has, we need to let go of our favorite castaway mysteries and embrace what we have been gifted. Admittedly, I am not spending as much time trying to delve into the mysteries as I do with LOST. I am, however, truly enjoying Flashforward.



Gimme Some Truth is a song written by John Lennon in either the late 60's early 70's about governmental corruption. This was our first clue that we might see some hint of governmental conspiracy and boy were we ever given a treat! Practically every federal agency is investigating the GBO and each one has a different idea as to the cause, from possible airborne psychogenic substances to aliens to the CIA's assurances that it was China. Am I the only one who found the exchange between the CIA director and Senator Clemente as laughable as the guy who claimed Aliens caused the GBO?



I'm not going to do a chronological recap today, and you'll see why later. First let's deal with Olivia and the fact that she is not only feeling the stress of her own flash, but that of her husband's as well. She overhears Aaron talking to Mark on the phone and telling him to go to a meeting. Just a friendly reminder, he tells her, but also reminds her of trust. She needs to trust the strength of her marriage and, ultimately her husband. Time will tell if she can let go of her fear and hold on to that trust.



Which brings us to Janice and the revelation that she is gay. It really wasn't a surprise since she neither confirmed nor denied it in 137 Sekunden when Geyer confronted her about the ring on her left thumb. Janice sure can kick butt though. She's still one of my favorite characters. We meet Maya, Janice's current lover. It isn't clear if their relationship began after the GBO, or before the event, but Maya checks Janice's MOSAIC profile and uses it to push Janice for a more committed relationship, which backfires and has Janice breaking off the relationship, but not before Maya gives her a talking clock.



Gough, Janice and another FBI employee are working on the information hacked from the CIA, during which they find the appearance of five pylons being built in Somalia over a period of five months just prior to the event in Ganwar. They let Mark, Dimitri and Vdeek know about it, and continue their search.



We start with crashing cars, grenade launchers and big booms, then rewind to 39 hours earlier, where Mark, Vdeek, Dimitri and Wedeck are in Washington DC to testify at the newest witch hunt trials and beg for funding. I found it downright intimidating that they had to not only give statements but subject themselves to a lie detector test. Are those things even admissible, let alone reliable?



Stan Wedeck is friends with the President and some very powerful and influential people in DC, most likely relationships forged during his time in DC years earlier. It is abundantly clear that he hates the city and is not pleased to be back. Obviously he left under bad terms six years earlier and it's left a foul aftertaste that he can't get rid of. The President is slick and apologetic to Stan. Later he offers Stan the job of Director of Homeland Security and tells Stan to think about it.



Very quickly we learn that Senator Clemente has an axe to grind and her main target is Stan Wedeck. There's very bad blood between them and she was only waiting for his body to go floating by on it's way down the river. This is when my 13 year old daughter called her a very bad name and I realized that perhaps I need to spend some time working with her on her vocabulary. We learn that Wedeck worked for President Segovia during his campaign several years earleir. We also learn that Clemente may have been running against Segovia for either the Presidency or the candidacy. Either way, she lost and blames Wedeck for that loss.



Clemente drills Wedeck, and then pounds Mark into near oblivion. I was put off by her pit bull demeanor, and found it difficult to accept the way she was going after Stan and his team. Really, she only mocked the CIA for their China theory and I didn't see a report on "their" lie detector tests sitting on the table.


Wedeck has not always been a good person and has done some things in the past that he is not proud of. We see that clearly. He does, however, stand by his actions and refuses to back down. I think he is trying to be the man he was before his stint in Washington jaded him, and we see this when he turns his back on the job offer and instead blackmails his friend to get the funding he needs. His faith is so solid in their investigation, that he is willing to put his career and life on the line.



Speaking of putting one's career on the line, I can't imagine how devastated Stan was when Mark finally confessed that he was drunk during his flash. Stan had taken a leap of faith, and despite getting concrete results, he realizes that he just may have blackmailed his friend, and the President, for nothing more than a drunken haze. In the end, I feel that his faith and trust will be justified. Mark and Stan work through their differences and agree that no-one else will know.



Which brings us back to the start point of Gimme Some Truth. The four agents are heading home, and Mark is talking to Janice on the phone when the coordinated attacks occur. The big black SUV crashes into the car, backs up, the doors open and someone opens up a can of whup on our agents. Thankfully they just barely manage to escape the car before the explosion and come out guns blazing, chasing their would be assassins from the parking lot. I really loved the cover of Dylan's Rolling Stone playing during this scene, considering Vdeek and Dimitri were singing it earlier in the karaoke bar.



Olivia receives an anonymous text message telling her that Mark was drunk in his vision. Only two people know the details of Mark's vision. I'm going to let you speculate as to who spilled the beans about Mark's little omission.



At the same time, Janice is heading home when she is attacked. At first she takes on two guys and really kicks some bad boy rear like no other. Unfortunately she is shot and falls to the ground, remembering her own flash and likely realizing it may never happen, but not before getting off a shot of her own and taking down one of her attackers. The little alarm clock was poignant as it tracked her blood into circles on the pavement, telling her to wake up.



QUESTIONS:



Why the constant references to all things Chinese? First the "Chinese fire drill", then the CIA's obsession with China being at the root of the GBO, and then the attackers were largely Asian.



Was that guy administering the lie detector test serious when he asked Mark if he recognized the masked men invading his office? Am I the only one watching who wanted to slap the guy upside the head and call him dodo?



What more has Stan done in the name of his friend's Presidential campaign that Clemente can drag through the mud? He had to have done far more than pay off an ex-mistress to disappear for Clemente to be that angry at him.



Karaoke? Really? People still do that? Really?



If Sagovia is President in his vision, and Clemente is President in her vision, who's vision is true? And what has happened? Does that mean that some visions are "wishful thinking"?



If Janice survives (I think she will) will she re-evaluate her life and start that family? And wouldn't it be a smart move to have Maya bear the child considering Janice's line of work?



Who ordered the hit on the LA FBI field office agents? It has to be someone powerful and knowledgeable of where these people would be at that point in the day. Clemente? President Sagovia? A really pissed off Maya?



What else has Stan done to help his friend win the Presidency? Why did the President make him leave DC so long ago and what happened that caused him to despise the city.



Now that Sagovia has chosen Clemente as VP, do you think he should order a knife and bullet proof suit just to be on the safe side? Maybe employ the occasional human shield?



Will the mistress take off to Puerto Rico now?



Is it possible that the government knows exactly what caused the GBO and how it happened, but they (meaning the CIA) are not saying. Could it be possible that the government may have had an active hand in the cause?

QUOTABLE QUOTES!

"Did you recognize the men? - Lie Detector Dude
"I did mention they were wearing masks, right?" - Mark

"That's just Congress masturbating to the sound of it's own voice" - Sagovia

"Is Oprah building a school?" - Dimitri
"..be quiet, the grown ups are talking." - Janice

"If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the bodies of your enemies float by...Are you ready to float, Wedeck?" - Clemente

"If my fifth grade teacher could see me now. She always said I'd end up either dead or in jail." - Vdeek
"There's time, my friend, there's still time." - Dimitri

"Wake up. It's time to get up. Wake up." - alarm clock

A LITTLE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER

In reference to my earlier question regarding both Sagovia and Clemente having visions of being President at the same time. Something to remember, though, is that we have not yet seen Clemente's vision, so we have to take her at her word (if that's possible)

In his vision we see President Segovia awakened by a Secret Service dude, who calls him President and tells him that something has happened.

It is my understanding that former presidents are addressed as "President" even after their terms are up and they have moved out of public office. It can be possible that both visions were true, but from different points of view.

The crows have popped up again, and I think we can't dismiss them too quickly. It is said that crows have extremely high intelligence (greater than Clemente's Senate Intelligence Committee?) and are a harbinger of the health of our environment.

Now that we saw a carload of nasty dudes open fire on a carload of FBI agents in a parking garage, the prospect of two armed men entering an FBI office seems that much more possible, doesn't it? Just asking.

Next week's episode is called Scary Monsters And Super Creeps. How appropriate considering it will air just two days before Halloween.