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.