Episode 12: Smoke And Mirrors __EXCLUSIVE__
Last weeks episode left fans in complete turmoil after Scott was captured by Kate and began the process of turning into a berserker. This weeks episode begins as Kira wakes up once again in the tomb surrounded by bones and now something has caught her eyes. She moves toward the door of the cell which is now open and calls Scott's name gently. She says his name again and continues to feel her way through the caves but a berserker is lurking in the shadows.
Episode 12: Smoke and Mirrors
Braeden, Derek, Peter, Stiles, Liam and Malia are all at a rendezvous point and brainstorm on how to stop Kate, but there is one person missing, Lydia. Lydia appears in the hallway of school and just as she grabs something from the locker she is attacked by what seems to be a berserker. This episode is already getting pretty hairy as the blueprints for epic proportions are being laid down. Stiles tries to contact Lydia but no one can reach her.
Derek says that Lydia was right as she predicted his death in previous episodes and now it seems like he is at the end. The pack goes further into the caves but Peter urges them to stop to figure out where they are. Stiles receives a call from his dad who is livid due to Stiles disobeying him. Stiles asks his dad to look for Lydia and he tells Stiles to save his friends.
Teresa's kids point out that moving in with Luis and his youngest son feels a little fast, the Gorgas are still waiting to move in to their new digs, Dolores' home still looks like a construction site, and Jennifer gets more than a few unfavorable comments about her nose job - so much so that after the episode premiered, she took to Instagram to defend her appearance on the show.
Instead, the episode ends in a screaming match between the two women, ominous 'To Be Continued' banner in tow - leaving fans on the edge of their seats for what promises to be an explosive season ahead.
If you played Episode 1, you likely have a good idea of who Bigby is. At least, I know who my Bigby is: a steel-fisted, impatient bastard who shows little restraint when cornered, but is fiercely protective of Fabletown's most vulnerable residents. As the episode led me through its story beats, I often had the chance to express both sympathy and savagery, and I admit I took some inner delight when pummeling a sickening suspect until he cried for mercy, all while an approving Bluebeard looked on with perverse pleasure. When I got to my knees to speak to a diminutive witness later on, my heart filled with compassion, and I pledged to myself to find the jackass responsible for the tumult.
Nonetheless, Smoke and Mirrors occasionally feels like it's spinning its wheels. There are few of the quick-time button events that gave the first episode such tension, and the stakes aren't as high. As a result, the game simmers but never quite boils over, and I was left wishing for more chances to sic myself on a foe as threatening as the Woodsman. As it is, dealing with Smoke and Mirrors' relatively harmless lowlifes doesn't have the same appeal as chasing the smoother criminals, even when they deserve a smack in the mouth now and again. Much of the time, you're left investigating crime scenes and interrogating fables, which can lead to some minor but noticeable idiosyncrasies. I was struck several times by how Bigby's tone of voice changed from one line to the next, betraying how several branches of questioning might still lead to the same line of recorded dialogue. I was also so distracted by a plot point mentioned out of the blue that I had to go back and watch that portion again to make sure I wasn't out of my mind, and indeed, a character delivered a line that appeared to match a different dialogue branch than the one I'd chosen.
Ultimately, Smoke and Mirrors feels like a necessary bridge spanning the impactful first episode and the events portrayed in the episode three preview that concludes this episode. It smolders more than it burns, though in some sense, that's an appropriate trajectory for Bigby's ongoing investigation. There's a moment when Bigby lights a cigar and contemplates his next step. That's exactly where The Wolf Among Us stands now: percolating and pondering before the next punch to the gut.
"Smoke and Mirrors",[1] known as "Pit of Secrets" in the United States,[2] is the tenth and final episode of the second series, and the 16th episode overall of the British television series Spooks. It first aired on BBC One on 11 August 2003. The episode was written by Howard Brenton, and directed by Sam Miller. In the episode, Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen) is being framed by thought-to-be-dead CIA agent Herman Joyce (Tomas Arana), as revenge for what happened to his daughter. After its original broadcast, the finale was seen by seven million people, a third of the television audience during its time slot. The episode, particularly due to its cliffhanger, received critical acclaim.
The episode begins in Miami, Florida, where three masked men break into the apartment of hitman Michael Karharias (Bruce Payne), who is under house arrest. The head of the group employs Karharias to kill an Englishman, but on the condition that he "do it dead". The leader then shoots Karharias to death.
Writer Howard Brenton found writing the end difficult because the producers knew Matthew Macfadyen would leave the series, but not whether he'd return in the beginning of the third series. He stated that the producers "didn't know whether Matthew was going to return to the series or not. We knew there'd be a third series, but we didn't know whether he'd be in it. So I said 'well, is he going to be in it, or isn't he'. And for some times it was, 'oh he's not going to be', so I kill him. And then he said he is gonna be in it, so I unkill him." Because of this, Brenton wrote twelve drafts of the episode. In the end, he wrote a "big cliffhanger, in which he could be dead, could be gone forever, or what." The character Herman Joyce was created by Brenton to become a worthy opponent to Tom. Joyce's creation was inspired from the "great criminal minds" such as Karla from John le Carré and Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes. Brenton thought the addition of Joyce would be a fitting end, so that if Tom was defeated, it would be by a master who would later be undone in some way with or without him.[3]
Brenton chose the name of an assassin, Mickey Karharias, because "Karharias" is Greek for Shark;[4] the producers thought that Karharias was a "real villain name."[5] Having him killed in the beginning to set up the episode was influenced by The Man Who Never Was.[4] The episode also included Zoe being untrusting towards Tom, because Brenton wanted her to be resentful towards his affair with Dale, and placing allegiance with her rather than his team.[5] In an interview on Top Gear in June 2008, Rupert Penry-Jones and Peter Firth commented on the near-death experiences on the characters. Regarding Harry's shooting, Penry-Jones joked to Jeremy Clarkson, "Every time [Peter Firth] asks for more money or five day weeks, they start giving him scenes where he might die."[6]
"Smoke and Mirrors" was initially broadcast on Monday, 11 August 2003 on BBC One. The finale was seen by a third of the television audience during its time slot, receiving overnight viewership of seven million. The episode beat Diamonds Are Forever on ITV1, which received 4.6 million viewers in the same time slot.[8] According to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, the finale received final ratings of 7.32 million viewers, making Spooks the sixth most seen broadcast on BBC One, and is the 16th most seen broadcast in total the week it aired.[9]
In the "Best of Drama" viewer polls at BBC Online, the cliffhanger was voted the second in the most "Favourite Moment" category. The scene was beaten only by the return of "Dirty Den" Watts in EastEnders.[10] Whilst reviewing the seventh series, Leigh Holmwood of The Guardian's Organ Grinder blog named "Smoke and Mirrors" his "favourite Spooks episode."[11] In review of the DVD boxset of the second series boxset, Dennis Landmann of MovieFreak reacted very positively to the finale, noting that the drama and intensity of the second series builds until the last episode. Landmann stated, "the last thirty or so minutes had me on the edge of my bed, [...] and the last five minutes were so powerful they affected how I felt for the next couple of days; I kept thinking about [Tom Quinn] and the tragic events that happened to him."[2] Michael Mackenzie of Home Cinema called the finale "chaotic", and that the chain of events leading to the ending was "extremely well set up."[12]
Used in the episode "Smoke and Mirrors" (Season 6, Episode 14) by one of Senator Kinsey's Secret Service Agents. It appears numerous times later on in the series as the standard-issue sidearm for NID agents.
The FN P90 became the most common weapon after its introduction in "The First Ones" (Season 4, Episode 8). In the episode that introduced it, O'Neill suggested the weapon because of its ammunitions better penetration, compared to the MP5. We can assume it was just a device in the script to bring this weapon into the fold, which is rare since there aren't that many series that actually bring up a weapon for the sake of the plot, which then stick around for the rest of the show. This is the weapon that comes to mind when anyone thinks of of the Stargate series.
In a few episodes in the later seasons, Teal'c is seen dual wielding this SMG, probably because he was not trained in standard practices of Earth militaries. However, in Stargate: Continuum, Colonel Cameron Mitchell was also seen dual wielding P90s. Also seen once in the hands of Bra'tac and the Free Jaffa. Introduced to the Free Jaffa in Season 5 episode "The Warrior". Any subsequent episode with the free Jaffa, we see these in their hands over staff weapons.
In "Smoke and Mirrors" (Season 6, Episode 14), the gunman uses a Remington model 700 with a customized breakdown and scope to shoot Senator Kinsey. Contrary to what Barret claims in the episode, a Remington 700 could be purchased at just about any sporting goods store, and the collapsible stock would not have been difficult to acquire either. 041b061a72