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Post by Patcat on Nov 25, 2008 12:38:23 GMT -5
Yes, this is very, very early for this episode, but I want to make sure I get it in before the holiday. I hope this doesn't end any discussion of DEAD.
Will air December 4 at 2pm (EST) and December 5 at 3am (EST) on the USA Network.
First aired May 4, 2003. 20th Episode of Season 2.
Written by Gerry Conway and Rene Balcer
Directed by Don Scardino
Guest Actors:
Ian Kahn as Ken Harris
Angel Christian as Kerry Harris
Robert Hogan as Ferdie
Synopsis: The murder of a university math student lead Goren and Eames to a perp who's literally fearless.
Quotes:
Goren: "The Bahamas. The place for math majors."
Eames: "I call it counting cards."
Goren: "He's entered the lion's den. Bold."
Eames: "He's out of his mind."
Goren: "It's worse. He doesn't know fear."
Ken Harris: "You panic. You die."
Goren: "Now do we have your attention?"
Eames: "Well, will wonders never cease? He blinked."
Carver: "He may be human after all."
Goren: "Optimist."
Queries:
Does Ken Harris really "Blink"?
Does Ken care for his wife and child? Is he capable of love?
Kerry Harris obviously knows some of what her husband is up to. Why does she go along with his plans? And why does he allow him to take their son with them? Does she know he's a murderer? Does she think him capable of murder?
Is this Ken's first murder?
Does Ken underestimate Goren and Eames?
Does Ken realize that other people don't experience fear?
Why does Kerry's abandonment cause Ken to collapse?
What will happen to Kerry and her son?
What is going on with Major Case Squad's security?
What does this episode tell us about Bobby?
Is Bobby really afraid of heights? What is Bobby afraid of?
Did Frank come to his father's funeral?
Comments: Another gem from the second season, although I must confess that after multiple viewings I'm still not quite certain how the whole horse betting thing worked. But we get to see Captain Deakins in civilian clothes, Eames displaying her technical savvy, and lots of Bobby details. There's his six months in Korea, where he ate octupus and, we now know, encountered Declan Gage. We encounter one of his father's old associates, who appears to have some affection for Bobby. We even get to see a photo of Rene Balcer as a member of the Isreali mob (He's the "murderer.") Frankly, I didn't know there was an Israeli mob or that it was so vicious. There's several great scenes, including the one where Kathryn Erbe subtly and silently conveys Eames' growing frustration with Carver's destruction of the case. The final scenes where Goren forces Kerry to confront her fears about Ken and Ken realizes Kerry has given up on him are well staged and filmed.
And engineers don't seem to fare well in the LOCI world, do they?
Submitted for your comments.
Patcat
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Post by Moonbeam on Nov 28, 2008 21:31:06 GMT -5
In response to your last comment: It's been discussed before. The weathly, educated criminals have the propensity to look down their noses at the NYPD. Ken displays the typical arrogance criminals embrace that typically lands them in trouble with Goren.
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Post by quietfireca on Dec 5, 2008 6:02:28 GMT -5
Interesting episode, one that I'm not that familiar with.
Yes, Ken did blink. Very briefly and then he was back on balance, looking out for number 1, himself.
When he realized his wife no longer had complete belief in him, he blinked - it shook him to the core - briefly, then he recovered and wanted nothing to do with them. He probably dealt with her lack of faith just as he dealt with his parachute not opening; swiftly and efficiently (- and excuse me? who wants to open a parachute at 13,000 feet? Did I hear that correctly? 3000 was more normal last time I did it, which granted, was some time ago. I came to my senses....)
What a scary type of person to be around. Adventure is one thing, but having no fear is just stupid and puts everyone around you in danger. He has no fear for his own safety, has supreme confidence in his abilities (sounds like Goren) and has no regard for anyone else's safety. You must jump with him or you're abandoned (or murdered).
By bringing in the Israeli mob, you can see Ken is escalating, seeking riskier and riskier behaviour. His wife obviously sees that and with a little guy in the mix, protecting her child takes priority.
I thought it was very interesting that Ken seemed to give Goren his blink on a platter by saying Kerry was the reason he got up in the morning.
Is Goren afraid of heights? It's always hard to tell if Goren is playing someone, but I think he scared himself with his little experiment. He had to do something pretty convincing to have Ken react and perhaps he went a little "overboard".
Is Goren afraid of anything? Snakes? Spiders? Not much at this point - except (maybe) of being wrong!!!
Later I would say he's afraid of losing Eames. He's afraid of losing his mother and brother in spite of all the grief they give him. And maybe he's worried about his sanity. But that's all later on...... (and even though he denies being worried - how could he not be afraid that Mark Ford Brady was his father?)
Does Ken underestimate Goren and Eames? Absolutely, because Goren wants it that way. But at the same time, I wonder if Ken overestimates others. I wonder if he assumes the people he associates with are like him - or does he just expect everyone to follow in his fearless footsteps?
I hope this makes sense. I should be in bed! I'd like to watch this again, though....
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Post by Patcat on Dec 5, 2008 9:13:56 GMT -5
Ken seems to have no respect for anyone who demonstrates fear, or at least he has no respect for his co-conspirators when they express it.
Patcat
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Post by quietfireca on Dec 5, 2008 12:05:55 GMT -5
Ken seems to have no respect for anyone who demonstrates fear, or at least he has no respect for his co-conspirators when they express it. Patcat So no wonder he was escalating. He kept looking for a bigger adrenaline "fix" and others who were as fearless as himself. Was there anyone he could respect? Did he really think he'd find it in the Israeli mob? It seems he's becoming more bent and twisted as time goes on. |
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Post by Patcat on Dec 5, 2008 12:17:32 GMT -5
I'd like to ask again if this was Ken's first murder. And I wonder if he was working up to becoming a serial killer.
Patcat
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Post by quietfireca on Dec 5, 2008 12:24:55 GMT -5
Can you tell I don't feel like working today? (I'm self-employed so I'm having a coffee break! lol! The boss said it was okay....)
I love love love Goren and Eames reaction to Ken coming into the MC Squad room. Goren is absolutely intrigued. Eames is astounded that someone would be that stupid!!!
And I always have to chuckle when someone mentions Eames beauty. We seldom see her reaction, but we see Goren roll his eyes in Art. And in this epi he just rolls right along with his analysis (although, really, how do you follow that up? Is this little clip to show Goren's Dad's friend is a lecher and this is the kind of guy Goren's Dad called a friend?) We did see Eames face when MFB talked about being photographed - she glared. (for good reason - her animosity to MFB was so strong it was almost like another person in the room)
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Post by quietfireca on Dec 5, 2008 14:22:45 GMT -5
I'd like to ask again if this was Ken's first murder. And I wonder if he was working up to becoming a serial killer. Patcat I think you're right, he was probably on his way to becoming a serial killer if he hadn't been caught. Anyone who got in his way..... It was stunning how quickly he got over his wife and child, wanting protection for himself. I'm surprised Carver thought he might be human after all, although I guess his comment was in reply to Eames' "He blinked". |
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Post by Patcat on Dec 5, 2008 15:06:58 GMT -5
I don't think Carver is some innocent or anything like that, but I doubt he's had a lot of experience with people like Ken. On the other hand, Eames appears to have run into a few, and I get the sense Bobby has way too much experience with people like Ken.
Patcat
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Post by quietfireca on Dec 5, 2008 15:50:21 GMT -5
I don't think Carver is some innocent or anything like that, but I doubt he's had a lot of experience with people like Ken. On the other hand, Eames appears to have run into a few, and I get the sense Bobby has way too much experience with people like Ken. Patcat I bet they've come across the youthful I-am-indestructable attitude (that was me, but I grew out of that) and the just-plain-stupid fearless type and the genetically-predisposed-to-fearlessness type, like Ken. I don't suppose there are many like Ken around. Darn good thing, too. I just love that he had the nerve to walk into the "lion's den"! Patcat, do you think they've come across this type of person in personal life or work? |
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Post by Patcat on Dec 5, 2008 16:00:22 GMT -5
Eames, at work.
Goren, at work and life.
Patcat
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Post by quietfireca on Dec 5, 2008 18:24:47 GMT -5
Eames, at work. Goren, at work and life. Patcat We're not drawing anyone else into this discussion Patcat! What are we doing wrong? lol!! I have to ask, is this speculation  or do you have episode examples to back it up? (That's not a challenge, btw, just wondering. I can't come up with the examples, so a prompt would help!) |
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Post by DonnaJo on Dec 5, 2008 20:12:31 GMT -5
Is Goren afraid of anything? Snakes? Spiders? Not much at this point - except (maybe) of being wrong!!! Later I would say he's afraid of losing Eames. He's afraid of losing his mother and brother in spite of all the grief they give him. And maybe he's worried about his sanity. But that's all later on...... (and even though he denies being worried - how could he not be afraid that Mark Ford Brady was his father?) It seems as if Goren is afraid of enclosed places in the episode "Great Barrier." He is reluctant to enter the tiny elevator with Eames, saying something to the effect that "it's stifling." This isn't a favorite episode of mine. I'm not sure why. The wife bugs me with her refusal to see or help her husband. She's a doormat who accepts his crazy behavior. Then, when she realizes he might actually die, she takes out a million dollar life insurance policy on him. Sweet.  |
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Post by Patcat on Dec 6, 2008 11:41:35 GMT -5
My take on Goren and Eames running into "Ken" types is speculation--logical, I'd argue, but speculation nonetheless.
As to Ken's wife, I suspect she's financially dependent on Ken--she doesn't seem to have a job outside of the home--and I think she still loves Ken. Goren comments that when Ken and she began dating, Ken's love of danger must have been a tremendous thrill.
Patcat
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leanonme
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 166
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Post by leanonme on Dec 7, 2008 2:27:28 GMT -5
Hi everyone, I am new here, and frankly, pretty new to CI. This was one of the first episodes I saw. I wasn't crazy about it, but one thing stood out to me... that scene on the building. I have always wondered WHY Bobby would pull that stunt up there. I kept thinking he must have been secretly hooked to a wire or something.
Tonight, I watched it again. I liked it much better this time. I still thought he was insane to pull that up there. I mean, it is one thing to risk breaking someone's valuables, or to work your way into their house, but hanging yourself off a building?
I don't think Bobby is afraid of heights, if he is, he is more afraid of letting someone get over on him. Or afraid of not winning, or afraid of not understanding a situation. ( I can relate to that last fear, it is the thing that has me looking up all the psychology of every episode, among other things.) In the scene, Ken is right in his face as the two of them stand on the edge of the building. Ken could have shoved him right down. I am not a critic, or one of those people who pick things apart. I am often defending Bobby's methods and ability to figure things out to my family. I believe Bobby does things for a reason. But this just seemed so risky. I mean his life was in danger, and it wasn't to save a person.
I guess I see Bobby as willing to do anything for the greater good but there just didn't seem to be a payoff here that was worth the risk. I would love to hear what others think about this.
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or do you have episode examples to back it up? (That's not a challenge, btw, just wondering. I can't come up with the examples, so a prompt would help!)
