AMC's Rubicon
- Thread starter Obiwanshinobi
- Start date
The clock didn't stop at one second. This series is ruthless.
Writing a bunch of real people for characters made a slow opening but it's ratcheted up the shock and tension enormously.
The specials disk for Meet Me in St. Louis is very special indeed, I expect.
If they can finish this...
Writing a bunch of real people for characters made a slow opening but it's ratcheted up the shock and tension enormously.
The specials disk for Meet Me in St. Louis is very special indeed, I expect.
If they can finish this...
Another very good episode, now the series is really humming along. Will's discovery (which we knew was coming) that it's "all the same thing" was nicely done.
I just hope the Meet Me in St. Louis DVD doesn't have an Easter Egg of The Doctor having a one-way conversation...
Season finale next time. Hopefully the show will get renewed.
I just hope the Meet Me in St. Louis DVD doesn't have an Easter Egg of The Doctor having a one-way conversation...
Season finale next time. Hopefully the show will get renewed.
That was one tense as hell episode. I really wish it was next Sunday already so we could see how this all plays out.
Well, next Sunday is upon us. It seems to me that Truxton getting all sentimental on Kale is a dead giveaway he's ordered Kale's death. For his part, Kale seemed taken aback at Truxton's sentimentality. Being the suspicious sort, he might take it as an effort to lull him into complacency and get even more watchful.
I think Will's team was always supposed to figure out that it was Khateb/Purcell who was the terrorist. What I don't think he was supposed to figure out was that it was Tenaz, the supposed double agent who played the CIA, really was an Atlas-McDowell agent, running Khateb/Purcell to set up a very profitable disaster. But Will started following up leads from Hadas, then connected to Katherine Rhumer. Tom Rhumer was a major player in the group. I expect that his St. Louis DVD has really solid information. There may be a cliffhanger with woman in jeopardy.
But this show is so ruthless it may have Will's decision to have Maggie leave Katherine lead to her death and the suppression of the key evidence to actually take down the Atlas-McDowell group. All Will really has is Donald Bloom's disappearance and David Hadas' reading list and a set of interlocking directorates. The proposed second season (which I doubt we'll see,) would be about moving on.
Alternatively, Kale could have been angling all along for an invitation to join the group. Why bother to kill someone you can buy?
PS Looking at the TV insert in the Sunday paper, I see the episode is titled "You Never Can Win." Smells ruthless even in newsprint.
And adding this PS I see I forgot to say why I thought Kale might be angling to join the conspiracy, namely, the ambiguity of his coverup of Donald Bloom's death. Will was too shook to think straight, but the people who sent Bloom would necessarily have a very good idea what happened to him. But hiding Bloom's body would help protect the conspiracy against investigation of Bloom's death. (And what did Kale do with the bloody shirt and David's gun, hmm?)
I think Will's team was always supposed to figure out that it was Khateb/Purcell who was the terrorist. What I don't think he was supposed to figure out was that it was Tenaz, the supposed double agent who played the CIA, really was an Atlas-McDowell agent, running Khateb/Purcell to set up a very profitable disaster. But Will started following up leads from Hadas, then connected to Katherine Rhumer. Tom Rhumer was a major player in the group. I expect that his St. Louis DVD has really solid information. There may be a cliffhanger with woman in jeopardy.
But this show is so ruthless it may have Will's decision to have Maggie leave Katherine lead to her death and the suppression of the key evidence to actually take down the Atlas-McDowell group. All Will really has is Donald Bloom's disappearance and David Hadas' reading list and a set of interlocking directorates. The proposed second season (which I doubt we'll see,) would be about moving on.
Alternatively, Kale could have been angling all along for an invitation to join the group. Why bother to kill someone you can buy?
PS Looking at the TV insert in the Sunday paper, I see the episode is titled "You Never Can Win." Smells ruthless even in newsprint.
And adding this PS I see I forgot to say why I thought Kale might be angling to join the conspiracy, namely, the ambiguity of his coverup of Donald Bloom's death. Will was too shook to think straight, but the people who sent Bloom would necessarily have a very good idea what happened to him. But hiding Bloom's body would help protect the conspiracy against investigation of Bloom's death. (And what did Kale do with the bloody shirt and David's gun, hmm?)
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really enjoyed this show, it's my favorite new show along with Justified. even if this doesn't get picked up for a second season i think it works nicely as a standalone piece. if it does, they certainly have a lot they can do
let's assume spangler does commit suicide as the clover would suggest (the only other option i could see is if he disappears). in a second season, my concern would be that the longer will investigates this without cracking it open to the public, the less realistic it is that he would not be killed and still working at api. i suppose they could "stop" operations and not move on will for fear of him going public but there's no reason to believe he's just going to sit on evidence to blackmail them. that's one problem i see for a second season - they'd really have to change things somehow and make it believeable if they want to keep going
Yeah, I think it works as an ending. I'm not really sure what they could do for a second season anyway, since they already went with the "evil shadowy conspiracy" angle already.
I think there's a lot that could be done in another season. The conspirators are still in place, the terrorist strike is still fresh. Atlas remains pretty much untouched.
They did list it as a "Season Finale", so we'll see. It's hard to believe it would get renewed with such low ratings.
I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't call that ending satisfactory. Clearly there's more....
They did list it as a "Season Finale", so we'll see. It's hard to believe it would get renewed with such low ratings.
I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't call that ending satisfactory. Clearly there's more....
With this show, I think the time-shifted numbers would be the deciding factor regarding a second season but I can't find any details online about what those numbers might look like. The ratings have ticked back up, with last week's "Wayward Sons" the fourth highest of the season (or fifth, if you count the fact that "Gone in the Teeth" went from 1.07 million on premiere night to 2 million when it was replayed prior to "First Day of School").
I'm hoping, though of course not expecting, Rubicon gets renewed. I'm very curious to see Spangler's next step, for one - would he follow through with the expected suicide; would he instead try to wiggle his way out of the noose that Will is trying to set up; or might he even turn on his former compatriots and start to aid Will? Will has the names of those other conspirators but he only had time to confront Spangler; how exactly would he move forward? I'd also like to see how the intelligence failure would affect API's standing in the intelligence community and the new dynamics with Tanya's resignation and Grant's promotion / Will's demotion. If Spangler does commit suicide, what happens to API? As far as we've seen, he's the very top of API, so would Kale replace him or would the whole institute fall apart?
I'm hoping, though of course not expecting, Rubicon gets renewed. I'm very curious to see Spangler's next step, for one - would he follow through with the expected suicide; would he instead try to wiggle his way out of the noose that Will is trying to set up; or might he even turn on his former compatriots and start to aid Will? Will has the names of those other conspirators but he only had time to confront Spangler; how exactly would he move forward? I'd also like to see how the intelligence failure would affect API's standing in the intelligence community and the new dynamics with Tanya's resignation and Grant's promotion / Will's demotion. If Spangler does commit suicide, what happens to API? As far as we've seen, he's the very top of API, so would Kale replace him or would the whole institute fall apart?
so when the other atlas guys were saying to spangler "it needs to stop" were they referring to API as a whole? i was thinking a little smaller, like the mark on will or the money-making off the current oil bombing or perhaps some aspect of the operation the viewers had not been shown yet
I interpreted it to mean the current plan (Oil, Iran, etc.).
I'll bet Spangler will fake his own death, disappear for a while, and then return in some weird and angry way.
I'd also bet Atlas would install someone new (Kale is too duplicitous) as the head of API.
Plenty of fertile soil ahead, if it can survive.
I expected Katherine Rhumer to die but I must expect I didn't expect Randy Andy to be someone's asset. Presumably she was supposedly David's, set to guard Will and loaned to Rhumer as a safe house for Katherine should need arise. But it seemed to me that she was supposed to be the one who fingered Katherine. But maybe it was supposed to be Will's folly in using a pssibly compromised cell phone?
Off hand that's the only hole in the plot I can think of, and it might not even be a hole if I understood wiretapping better. For a thirteen episode story that's pretty impressive.
It would be interesting to see how Spangler deals with the group, what Will does next, where Kale really stands. But there is little doubt that Spangler has correctly assessed the situation. If they want war, the official version of the assault is ideal and will not be questioned, no matter what. And if the powers that be don't want war, the official version will be modified accordingly.
The season, and I think the series, ends with us seeing the way things are, left to decide what to think about it. There are no escape clauses so we can pretend that every viewpoint is equally valid. This is a successful drama, and deserves the highest accolades.
Off hand that's the only hole in the plot I can think of, and it might not even be a hole if I understood wiretapping better. For a thirteen episode story that's pretty impressive.
It would be interesting to see how Spangler deals with the group, what Will does next, where Kale really stands. But there is little doubt that Spangler has correctly assessed the situation. If they want war, the official version of the assault is ideal and will not be questioned, no matter what. And if the powers that be don't want war, the official version will be modified accordingly.
The season, and I think the series, ends with us seeing the way things are, left to decide what to think about it. There are no escape clauses so we can pretend that every viewpoint is equally valid. This is a successful drama, and deserves the highest accolades.
I watched the first three episodes today. I really enjoyed the pilot, but I'm not extremely impressed with the second and third. With all the awkward silence and slow talking, these could be half hour episodes.
^ Episode four is where things really pick up. If you stick with it to the end of the season, I think you'll ultimately appreciate the deliberate pacing. I did at any rate.
I love it, too. I can't wait to see what happens to these people.
Sadly, though not surprisingly, AMC is not bringing Rubicon back for a second season.
Sources (via Twitter): Michael Ausellio; Maureen Ryan; and Alan Sepinwall.
Ausellio also tweeted this statement from AMC:
Edited to add: Also, for anyone who is interested, Sepinwall has a post up with his thoughts on the cancellation.
Sources (via Twitter): Michael Ausellio; Maureen Ryan; and Alan Sepinwall.
Ausellio also tweeted this statement from AMC:
Edited to add: Also, for anyone who is interested, Sepinwall has a post up with his thoughts on the cancellation.
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Eh, it was an intersting show, but I won't miss it. It wasn't nearly as smart as its writers tried to make it pretend it is and it was relentlessly pro-imperialist American foreign politics. Also, the lead character was extremely boring.
