NBC’s thrilling dark procedural returns with an intense hour worthy of a roundtable discussion!
Sir kidnaps Lacey, and we’re all dealing with the aftermath in Discovery Season 2 Episode 1, with Gabi’s relationships with her coworkers and Trent crumbling under the weight of her disturbing secret.
We’re kicking off the new season with a roundtable on Discovery Season 2 Episode 1, with editors Carissa Pavlica, Jack Ori, and Sara Trimble taking the wraps off the premiere!
Jazz on the loose was a risky move given the show’s established premise. Does this risk pay off?
Carissa: I’ve watched a few episodes of season 2 so far and I’m still not sure if it pays off.
This is a new dynamic, but are we ready?
I worry that his future will be limited by his escape and that the show without him will become just any other missing persons show.
Jack: If the story ends with Gabi recapturing him (or her visiting him in prison to get his opinion on cases like Clarice Starling’s in The Silence of the Lambs!), it’s a neat twist that keeps things going Freshness.
But if the entire season was spent chasing Jazz and Lacey, and then he was completely neutralized, it would ruin the show.
Sarah: Letting Sir loosen up should ratchet up the show’s tension, but so far it’s just a major disagreement between Gabi and her team.
This story might allow him to get away with it, especially if he decides to kidnap another girl or two in an attempt to recreate the family dynamic he’s now missing since he can’t interact with his obsession on a regular basis.
It’s unclear how the story will address Jazz’s arrest.
Will they make him a victim prisoner again, or will he finally face the justice system for his crimes?
This would give us an over-the-top metaphor of a bad guy in prison helping good guys as a form of redemption.
Given the rhetoric surrounding him being redeemable or “misunderstood,” how did you feel about the premiere’s strong reaffirmation that Mister is a monster?
Carissa: I had this conversation with a friend yesterday─not about Mr., but about bad guys and redemption.
I am that person who refuses to believe that someone cannot be redeemed. I see the good in everyone, even if they suck.
It’s a bad character trait, but one I hope is redeemed every time.
The Waterford family in The Handmaid’s Tale is a great example of this. I wanted Fred to be redeemed, but I still cheered when he was destroyed.
“Hometown Guys” from “The Boys” is a bit difficult. But sir? They won’t prove that he’s irredeemable until I fully understand his backstory.
I’m obsessed with this stuff!
Jack: It feels weird to discuss how someone like Sir is redeemable.
However, last year I enjoyed getting deeper into his psyche and thought he was redeemable because his actions were motivated by pain and trauma.
However, I think they changed things for the Jazz this season.
I mean, he’s been a kidnapper of children, which is a very disgusting thing.
In his own mind, he thinks he’s rescuing Gabi from an unfortunate situation and kidnapping Lacey/Bella to help ease Gabi’s loneliness, so he’s not just a psychopath.
Even when things are messed up, he has empathy and enjoys helping Gabi find other missing people, although he dislikes not taking full credit for her victory.
Now they’ve turned him into this evil supervillain who’s evil for evil’s sake.
I’m not sure if that version of Sir is redeemable.
Sarah: The whole storyline of a child kidnapper having any redeeming qualities has always been a thorn in my saddle.
We often see bad guys cooperating with each other in criminal cases, mostly out of self-preservation.
Sir’s assistance with the missing persons case is not a way for him to atone for his crimes, but a selfish way to convince Gabi to spend more time with him.
As long as he was useful, she would keep coming back to him. This is what sir wants.
Not to help or show change. But again manipulating his victims for his own gain. No matter what Gabby thinks, she can’t control it.
Were you surprised that Lacey’s kidnapping took longer than one episode to resolve?
Carissa: Yes!
I don’t like it. Not at all.
I guess it gives others a chance to see Gabi in a different light, but I like Lacey and think she keeps Gabi off some of her more outrageous ideas – even if she doesn’t know about Gabi’s duplicity towards Mister.
Jack: I’m not too happy about that.
I loved the original premise: a group of people traumatized by being kidnapped or having loved ones abducted are now helping others in similar situations, and Gabi’s kidnapper is forced to help other missing people get home.
So, I didn’t want to spend an entire season trying to find Lacey.
I want to go back to M&A and look for the missing guys this week.
Sarah: I’m not surprised that we don’t see Lacey being rescued right away.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a few episodes to find her playing cat and mouse between Gabby and Jazz.
He changes the game and Lacey is his bait to get Gabby on his turf.
I foresee Gabby becoming obsessed with finding Mr. Mister as he taunts Lacey with sadistic glee at having her again. Lacey is Gabi’s weakness.
The fallout from Gabi’s admission led to the collapse of the M&A campaign. What do you think of the tension between Margaret, Gabby, and Dan?
Carissa: Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t left yet.
Their reaction does not amount to a crime.
They have a lot of confidence in Gabby, and knowing what she does should have an even bigger impact on her team. It really annoys me that it doesn’t have that effect.
It’s as unrealistic as Gabby keeping Jazz locked up in her basement for who knows how long.
She should be on her knees begging them to understand, but she has a cold demeanor that I wish she could catch up with.
Jack: I’m so angry.
I know it’s a big betrayal, but the fact is that Sir was forced to help them solve the case as part of the way they did so much good.
Lacey’s mother seems to be the only one who understands that Gabi is not responsible for Lacey being kidnapped again, and the others are so angry at Gabi that they interfere with the search for Lacey.
Sarah: I wonder if the tension isn’t because of what she did, but because she didn’t confide in them.
If they were aware of his presence, they might not be caught off guard when he caught up with them.
I think we’ll see some conflict between them throughout the series as everyone comes to terms with Gabi’s actions.
If she’s willing to open up and talk to them, they can come and understand her perspective – especially given Margaret’s past.
Would she do the same if she could have her child back?
What do you think of Dhan’s strong defense of Gabi and his eagerness to keep the merger alive at all costs?
Carissa: In Discovery Season 1 Episode 5, we learn that Dhan has suffered tremendous trauma and feels abandoned by the world.
I don’t think he was motivated by the desire to defend Gabi, but rather wanted to continue helping those in need. They did a great job.
But Gabi also abandoned them because of her dishonesty. I wonder if he’ll see that as time goes on.
Jack: Gabi believed in Dhan’s plan for Sir, so Dhan always knew and was used to the idea.
To him, this wasn’t some big, shocking betrayal, and he was a little confused as to why others didn’t think so.
I also agree with Carissa that no matter the circumstances, he wants to get back to helping people in need.
Sarah: I’m with other people.
Dhan’s greatest concern is helping others through their most difficult times.
He understands that sometimes you need monsters to fight monsters.
If it brings good results, it’s worth it.
Trient holds Gabi’s fate in his hands. Will he carry out his plan to arrest her? Do you think his feelings for her influenced his reaction?
Carissa: She will not be arrested.
He was too invested in her work and her personally to do that. This is her show.
Too much has happened, too many changes have occurred, for arrests and trials to take place.
Yes, his reaction, and everyone else’s reaction, is completely influenced by how he feels about her.
Jack: I doubt he will arrest her.
He’s conflicted when his boss says Gabi shouldn’t have tortured her like Sir did for 20 years, and by the end, he’ll see Gabi fighting back as the victim.
There’s no show without Gabby, so the question is how she gets out of this, not if she wants to.
Sarah: I think his arrest threat was motivated more by anger than a desire to prosecute her for a crime.
If she went to trial, would a jury convict her? Is the District Attorney willing to press charges?
I don’t know if he will follow through on his arrest threat, but this news will definitely affect their future relationship.
What is your favorite moment, scene, etc. from the series?
Carissa: I hate these questions! I never remember those details.
I’m glad it’s back on TV. I’m skeptical of the new direction, but I’m also interested enough to stick with it and see where it goes next.
Jack: I’m with you, Carissa.
But the flashbacks of Lacey’s mother being with Lacey after she ran away from Sir, and her desperation to help her daughter, who was mute because of the trauma, are all things that linger in my mind.
These are some powerful scenes.
Sarah: The hospital scenes stood out the most to me. It was touching to see the team convince Zeke’s father to let him come home to recover.
The way Zeke wakes up panicked is heartbreaking.
Do you have any other observations, concerns, or ideas you’d like addressed?
Jack: I loved the team that stood up for Zeke when doctors refused to understand that his agoraphobia would make it difficult for him to be treated in the hospital and insisted that he recover at home instead of sending him to jail where things would have been worse.
I’m curious about when Lacey changed her name and her mother’s reaction.
We see all the flashbacks of her at home, still being called Bella while being super traumatized, but not transitioning to Lacey yet.
It dawned on me that she must have changed her name a while ago, because her mother was calling her Lacey in the current scene.
Also, I really like Lacey’s mother and wish we could see more of her.
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