#quantico meta

[blogquantumreality]

Alex is big mood rn after watching “Bullet Train”

:’(

[blogquantumreality]

Quantico Thoughts...

Seeing Quantico in season 3 with fast snappy episodes makes me think this is how Quantico should have started out.

Season 1 should’ve been a 13 episode starting-out point with the NATs, showing Alex, Shelby’s, Nimah’s/Raina’s and Natalie’s particular excellence as they get tabbed to form the nucleus of a special team as in season 3, to start out in alternate season 2 - meantime, they’re undergoing training with some part-time scenario work in the special team.

Then season 2 should’ve been a 16 episode villain of the week structure with some seeds planted for the longer narrative arc of Alex being framed for Grand Central, and the alternate season 3 should’ve been another 16 episode deal that shows Alex et al trying to find out who framed her.

This alternate Quantico would’ve had tighter focus and a faster pace and would probably have held together better, overall.

[blogquantumreality]

Quantico is pulling no punches!

“Well, you know what isn't practical? A group of rich white men trying to topple democracy.“ (02x18)

“I mean, everybody loves a party, even racist fascists trying to overthrow the government.“ (02x19)

Caleb Haas is being like The Fool, the Court Jester, saying with humor what is really a fundamental truth that shouldn’t be ignored.

[hithelleth]

Finally, all caught up to Quantico. One of these days when I dig myself out of translating, I’ll meta on things that bug me (and those I liked). 

Right now tho, I’m just 💔💔💔💔💔. Damn Haasholes. My poor shipper heart.

(At least I see I’m not alone with my shippery feels, so excuse me while I go reblog things. (Well, queue, it’ll show up in a month or so.) And I saw there are fanvids to watch. *sigh* Those two.)

[blogquantumreality]

Ugh, frakking Quantico...

So, y’all...

Guess what?

They’ve dropped the Amin twins, so no more amazing Yasmine Al Massri.

They’ve decided to leave Dayana at her lawyer job, so no more Pearl Thusi.

They’ve even decided to put Miranda Shaw in jail, so likely no more Aunjanue Ellis.

So between some of the complete nonsense plot elements of Season 2 (like the Sebastian Chen/Harry Doyle kidnapping [?] that went nowhere, the weaksauce ‘Dayana went back to the private sector’, et cetera) and these new revelations, what’s the draw for Season 3? Alex Parrish by herself isn’t the whole show, not by a long shot.

[hithelleth]

Quantico 2 x 01 “Kudove”

Okay, I’ve finally got to see it. I liked it (if ‘liked’ can be said about this, um, yeah.) But I don’t think I’ll be meta-ing much about this season (if I’m even gonna stick with it) because it seems to be the same kind of mess we know and love, but I don’t have the time and strength to try to untangle it on weekly basis.

We have the familiar format of the past vs. the present timeline.

In the past timeline, Alex spent six months at a CIA desk job (while lying to everyone she works for private security). Then she and Ryan both got sent to infiltrate the CIA recruitment camp in order to fish out the faction that’s after restoring intelligence services operating without supervision/accountability. Of course, neither of them knew about the other doing what they were doing, figures. And It happened just when Ryan was going to propose (aww!) with Shelby’s approval (double aww!)

BTW, there wasn’t enough of my girl Shelby.

I wander if the camp leader what’s his name who’s played by Blair Underwood and Lydia both corrupted or just one of them.

In the present timeline, which is happening a year later/after the infiltration, we have a terrorist attack and a hostage situation at a world summit, excoriating prisoner release, and the first lady about to be killed. Yikes. *shudders*

Obviously the second has to do with the first.

And a guy whom Alex supposedly already killed herself appeared only to promptly jump out of the window in a terrible parallel to S1. Thank for that, show.

There was no Caleb, apart from Shelby mentioning he went to law school. Did Graham Rogers got kicked off the show? (Whyyyyy????) I follow no background info, so IDK. But anyway, there isn’t enough of my fave characters.

But, oh, joy, it looks like we’ll have a season long on again/off again between Alex and Ryan, yay! /sarcasm.

Vice president Haas was mentioned. I bet she’s a part of the anti lawful operations for secret agencies group. Or will they just forget her involvement in last season’s events?

Also, I wonder why in the present timeline Alex and Shelby weren’t supposed to be speaking, again. (Maybe it’s just because of Alex being on an undercover mission?) But I’m so happy they are still friends!

I guess we’ll see. 

I’ll still watch at least the next episode, and then who knows. Maybe it pulls me back in or maybe I’ll just drop it.

[hithelleth]

Quantico 1 x 21 & 22

I finally managed to watch the last two episodes of S1. Yay, me! Also, I’ve only now figured that the episode titles (not sure if all, but many) are actually the last spoken words in a given episode. *flails* I love when writers do clever shit like that with words.

Anyway, my reactions, thoughts, questions etc., so I don’t forget everything, under the cut.

1 x 21 “Right”

In the past timeline quite a few mysteries got solved.

The reason for Shelby’s and Alex’s fallout was Alex ratting her out to stop her from making a mistake of getting her parents to justice by breaking the law as she intended to lure them in with a falsified stolen immunity agreement.

I think Shelby also thought Alex had to do something with her mother escaping the trap; however, it was Caleb who warned her mother (I think pretty much for the same reason as Alex.)

Anyway, Shelby continued to plot her parents’ demise with Clayton. I was very pleased to see more of Clayton in the past timeline and there is stuff I need to gif, because I doubt anyone else did.

So that was the ‘secret’ Alex wasn’t so good at with. Alex, of course, betrayed it because she finally learned of her father having made a similar mistake – i.e. providing the arms dealers with blueprints to weapons warehouse in order to lure them in, which went wrong and the dealers got away with the weapons, and then the whole thing was covered up on a large scale from the top down.

Anyway, we get it, the whole FBI is/was corrupt as hell.

Liam was in on everything, of course. And in the show’s past/Quantico era timeline he was making speeches to the cadets about the trappings of using wrong means for the greater good. Hypocritical much? (I mean, considering the reveal in the end – it would be okay if he’d actually learned from it, but what he did was just more of the same, so…)

Raina was hesitating to go undercover, thinking about quitting the FBI, and met Simon to talk with him about it; Simon offered her to come work for the same firm he was working at. But in the end she decided to continue on the undercover project with Nimah, nevertheless. BTW, I liked Nimah telling Simon Raina can’t redeem him and that he should forgive himself.

Ryan and Alex had a heart-to-heart and were friendly and flirting and all. Okay.

Which brings me to the present timeline and the hostility between them thus being even more confusing. Although, this episode the hostility was suddenly gone, mostly due to the fact that as Alex drove out the nuke as per the Voice’s instructions, she managed to call Shelby to have her listen in to the phone call. Shelby then went to Claire, showing her and everyone the evidence (= live phone call) that Alex wasn’t the terrorist but was being forced to do the terrorist’s bidding.

I really liked Shelby and Claire working together.

Miranda ordered Caleb and Raina released so they could help with finding the terrorist.

The terrorist was only using Drew’s voice, because Drew was tied up with Simon in a room rigged with explosives. They managed to get free just in time for Simon to escape, but Drew died as the FBI burst in and triggered the tripwire.

Also, the terrorist leaked the news about Alex and the nuke, which made Miranda suspicious – because only the higher-ups knew about it – and then the nuke went missing, again, and Miranda (who now everyone suspected of being the terrorist, because she didn’t share her suspicions) found the real terrorist, who unfortunately caught her at catching him and shot her.

I was spoiled about the terrorist’s identity beforehand, so it wasn’t that much of a shock, but wow. Liam. WTF.

1 x 22 “Yes”

In the past timeline Liam used the weapons inspection to plant cameras into the recruits’ room to spy on them, and then we saw the whole montage of his operation.

All the bigshots arrived at Quantico for graduation.

Shelby was pissed because she learned that Caleb would be getting a corner office in San Diego and not some insignificant desk job, so she told Claire about his recent re-involvement with the cult – or what she thought she knew about it.

Also, I guess seeing the train-wreck of Shelby’s family, Caleb started appreciating his more and going along with Claire’s campaign dinners and photoshoots, and even made sure to invite them to the graduation.

Alex and Ryan fell out again – hence the present timeline hostility - because he turned down the DC job Liam offered him that would be great for them being close and didn’t tell her. Which was shitty. On the other hand, I understand his anger at her for constantly pushing him away and then calling him back.

However, I still don’t like this whole Alex/Ryan drama. Firstly, because it was unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the story, it was just drama for the sake of drama. And secondly, now that I’ve thought about it, because Alex’s back and forth on the relationship with her pushing him repeatedly away to focus on her career implies women have to choose between a functioning relationship and career and that’s BS.

In the present timeline:

Liam didn’t kill Miranda, because he wanted her to watch everything go down. While he got to the HQ to ‘help’, he left Miranda tied up in his car. She managed to get lose and tried to call for help, but he caught her and knocked her out, then got surprised by Ryan and since he couldn’t hide the blood on his shirt, he snatched Ryan as well and ran.

Simon compared the timelines between the voices calls and Miranda’s where about and so they figured out that she couldn’t be the Voice/terrorist and that it was Liam.

His reasons were being disillusioned with corruption and cover-ups and disregard for casualties within the FBI.

Liam planned to make it look like it was Miranda, doing it because she was constantly passed on promotions due to being a woman.

He went straight back to Quantico where he meant to set off the nuke. But Alex and co. figured it out and found him.

When Alex confronted him, he told her he wanted to come clean about Omaha but was pressured by Clayton who was in turn pressured by his superiors to keep everything under the rug. Which doesn’t excuse Clay, but still, I liked that bit of info.

And of course he tried to get Alex kicked out or make her quite so he could set her up as the terrorist for being begrudging and disgruntled about it.

Alex killed Liam (after a struggle).

They found the bomb, but too late to disarm it, and while they were fighting about what to do, Simon took it and drove it into the river (bay, sea? I’m too lazy to check what the f*** it was), because if it exploded deep underwater, there would be no fallout & casualties.

And so it was.

But poor Simon. I’m so sad.

On Simon’s funeral we saw Will Olsen again (yay for him being alive!)

And Alex confronted Claire, now Vice President, about her non-existent blood pressure issues. It turns out Claire was working with Liam to some extent (obviously she changed her mind and stepped away before he decided to nuke NY, but still!) in order to win the election and then rebuilt the FBI in a better way and improve the country all around. You know, sacrifices for the greater good and the end justifies the means and that sort of BS. UGH.

Anyway, I hate this development. I actually liked Claire, despite her faults, and I really wanted her to be one of the good guys. But apparently not. Despite the higher standards women are held up to she had spoken about, she is just like anyone else, using whatever means to reach her goal.

I remember now how they mentioned in an interview she was supposed to be someone whom the public sees as a force of good, but her family knows she’d cross any lines to get ahead. And that’s exactly what they did with her character.

It makes me sad. But I guess they needed another villain for S2.

BTW, Alex didn’t wear a wire, but she had Caleb listening to the conversation as a back-up. Poor Caleb. I don’t he was that much surprised, though.

What else? Miranda is deputy director now. Shelby got reinstated as an agent. But not Alex.

Alex did, however, get a new job offer (from who? The NSA?) two months later. And I guess she said “yes” - which they ever-so-cleverly cut. (Did I say how much I like this sort of mini clever things? I so do.) And she will blow off Ryan for the job, again, I suspect. How refreshing.

What remains unanswered for S2 is how much Claire was involved in Lima’s plots. From the beginning? Which would include the first two bombings? Which would mean she had a hand in Clayton’s death, among others. It would also explain her insistence on closing the case and not wanting to be reminded of her oh-so-dear husband’s death, ahem.

Also, what happened to Shelby’s parents? Did they get them? I don’t think so.

Now, considering how many of the characters I loved, died, I don’t even feel that excited about S2. But I will probably tune in, because of those who are left of my faves, that is Raina and Nimah, Shelby and Caleb, Will, Alex and Miranda.

Oh, and where were Brandon and Iris (who had to wait for graduation due to pending security clearance, I thing. I’m not sure whether she got it or not, but I think she did, after all)? Maybe they’ll bring them back in the fray in S2. I’d love that. And surely they should also reinstate Hannah, I’d like to see her again as well.

(What I really want is them to pull a ‘Clayton is not really dead’ twist. Considering MP was up for past timeline appearances, I think he might still be in for the show, so why not. Come one. Gimme. I mean, if I can think of at least one or two way to do this, surely the writers who are paid for that stuff should be clever enough to pull it off? But I know there’s a question of wanting and other show business factors and issues.)

[rantsofafangirl]

Here’s the thing about the terrorist being Liam...

I get it 100%. I’m not mad about this revelation. My only concern now is they go about explaining the why because it could be taken in a very emotional sympathetic route. When Liam said he wanted to ‘make things right,’ I saw it coming from a man who is lost in his guilt. A man who is suffering with PTSD from all the horrific actions he has committed in the name of the FBI. With that reason it’s understandable why Liam was chosen as the terrorist, however is making him a sympathetic character a satisfying conclusion the viewers deserve?  For all the twist and turns the show took, wouldn’t it have been better to have seen a character with conviction rather than repeating the “but I can explain” trope we’ve gotten with every character this season. People have left this show in droves. Unsatisfied with the prolonged reveal of the terrorist. For the few disappointed fans remaining, I feel it would be fitting to make Liam an outlet to direct all their hate and disatisfaction towards. Make us completely hate him and his choices. Not just because he is sleazy. Make him the sharp, cunning and remorseless guy the show has be touting the terrorist as all season. I feel the why is more important than the how because after all the convoluted twist and turns we’ve had this season, I find it hard to believe they’ll be able to wrap this reveal in a pretty bow. Perhaps on an abstract level, but I’m not sure if the writing up until now will satisfy the most casual of viewers.

Every character this season has had one or two emotional monologues, all of which were used for the narrative of their respective episodes. This sort of container use only makes them important through hindsight bias as opposed to some sort of “writer's genius.” The only scene I think provides you with that eureka moment when it comes to Liam being the terrorist, was the one where he and Alex were talking alone in the headquarters when she made the decision to turn herself in. Hopefully that’s not the only scene they’re banking on. I hope that whatever they come up with for the how, next week will have some sort of validation for the viewers. Something substantial to assure the viewers 21+ weeks of conspiracies and theorising was not a complete waste of time. Personally, the flashbacks to things we never saw won’t be enough if that’s all they’re relying on to explain it. The fact that they brought back actors to do these scenes leads me to believe that they are colouring in the lines. Not really ‘writer’s genius’ as they’d like us to believe.  Anyway that’s my piece on it. I'm not disappointed. Not yet anyway... we’ll see after the finale.