Counterpart on Starz

[The Nth Doctor]

Oh, what a tangled web they weave.

The source of Counterpart Howard and Emily's strife is that she kept him in the dark but he found out, and yet, Part Emily did the same thing to Part Howard, but he hasn't found out that she kept it hidden from him. Above all else, that begs the question: Why was Part Emily so determined to Part Howard out of it? Also, is she part of the reason why he failed to rise in the ranks?

Why the interest in the U.S. Census?

It's quite weird seeing a Richard Schiff that's not so prickly.

Odd to see Lotte Verbeek show up in a bit role as Schiff's personal assistant. I wonder if she has a larger role to play...

Spoiler

Was she killed so alt-Howard could keep up the lie he told Howard about his wife dying of cancer?

I don't see it that way. I think she was killed for the same reasons Part Emily was targeted: Because of Counterpart Howard. On the other hand, if Part Howard does cross over to pretend as Counterpart Howard, it's true he won't get the shock of seeing her alive.

Considering Olivia Williams is part of the cast, Part Emily must be due to wake up from her coma soon. Would be a hell of a thing for to do so if Part Howard is on the other side.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Really good episode tonight. Interesting to see the negotiations and the glimpses of the other side.

So does alt-Howard want our Howard to take his place so those who are out to get him will kill the wrong one? And, about that ending....

Spoiler

Was she killed so alt-Howard could keep up the lie he told Howard about his wife dying of cancer?

Yeah, that crossed my mind just before I read it. Then again, I’m so unobservant I didn’t even notice Olivia Williams is his wife until this last episode.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, that was an interesting twist-- a couple of them, actually. Looks like that accident may not have been so much of an accident.

And we learned some facts that may begin to explain why the other world seems grimmer. Pandemic? And they blame our side? And is either side actually 'our' side? I wonder if somewhere along the line that other worlds will be revealed-- or created.

Hopefully we'll get some revelations about how these two universes came to be, because they have a really weird way of traveling back and forth. How did the portal get to be in those old tunnels? Was there once an experimental lab down there? Even if they're stuck with that location as their doorway, you'd think they'd at least fix the place up a bit.

 

[auntiehill]

I wonder if it's somehow dangerous to be down there. It's strange the way they have it set up.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

BTW, I’ve noticed Starz puts new episodes up early On Demand on Sunday’s for anyone not wanting to wait for prime time.

 

[Morpheus 02]

BTW, I’ve noticed Starz puts new episodes up early On Demand on Sunday’s for anyone not wanting to wait for prime time.

Wow..good to know!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It's nice to see Howard Prime winning a few moments (for now...). He seemed to take the lessons from the card game to heart perhaps more than Counter Howard considered and made the most of some bad hands and bluffed his way through the Counter World. Maybe walking in the shoes of Counter Howard helped put him in the right mindset as well. His final walk seemed particularly sweet as was getting to vicariously experience raising a daughter.

Did Counter Howard push Howard Prime's promotion so he'd have access to the prime world's intelligence when he swaps places? I was wondering if there was more to his disappointment in his first day at work.

The actress playing Baldwin does a great job looking hurt and soulful with those sad eyes. Woe to those who try to take advantage though!

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I love the dichotomy of Part Howard losing his daughter in a miscarriage but he becomes the good-hearted one with a loving marriage despite it (although a marriage not without its secrets), while Counterpart Howard is cold natured with a poor relationship with both his daughter and his wife, who has a history of drug abuse. On the plus side, just one day on the other side, Part Howard has already become a bit more confident, although I suspect that won't last when he finds himself over his head. Counterpart may have a bit more understanding about Part Howard, having seen the box of baby stuff, but I doubt that will change him, at least for now.

I still expect Part Emily to wake up while Counterpart Howard is still there, but considering she was his contact, it won't be nearly as shocking for either of them. Hell, she'll probably catch on just as quickly as Counterpart Emily did of Part Howard. But when Part Howard finds out the truth, that's going to tear him apart, no matter how much confidence he may gain.

Poor Nadia. She knows she's going to be a target, but is reassured that she'll be fine...only to get fucked, both ways. Clare was her one ally, so what does she do know?

I wonder when we'll find out how people cross over without using the official passage. Seems like Nadia and Clare crossed back over relatively safely. Or will it be left a mystery like those who left and returned to the Island with no problem in LOST?

I wonder if Counterpart Peter is just as slimy as Part Peter or if he's meek and harmless like Part Howard?

Did Counter Howard push Howard Prime's promotion so he'd have access to the prime world's intelligence when he swaps places? I was wondering if there was more to his disappointment in his first day at work.

Yeah, I expect that was precisely his intentions. He's a very manipulative and self-important individual. As Anna noted, he never does anything for anyone but himself.

 

[RJDiogenes]

BTW, I’ve noticed Starz puts new episodes up early On Demand on Sunday’s for anyone not wanting to wait for prime time.

Good to know, thanks. Makes sense, because they did the same thing with Ash vs. Evil Dead.

 

[auntiehill]

Really enjoyed this last episode; it was good see our Howard find his confidence and see a little bit more of what is going on with alt-Howard.

I'm curious to see more of what the Other side is like; the nearly empty streets really say a lot. The billboards were a nice touch.

 

[RJDiogenes]

It looks like Part Howard and Counterpart Howard are finding each other's potential. Part Howard took charge on the other side, while Counterpart Howard found the baby's room, which still has all of the medical records and purchases from nearly thirty years ago, almost like a shrine. Although it does stretch the concept that anybody born less than thirty years ago could have a counterpart.

It will be interesting to see what the assassin does now that she has been abandoned by her people. She doesn't really have any motivation to switch sides, and nobody has any need of her. Now she's just a loose cannon in the plot.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Watching the behind-the-scenes segment on Starz it seems the designation being used is simply "Howard" for the initial clueless Howard and "Howard Prime" for the clued-in traveler counterpart from the other side.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Eh, I like my designations. It just seems silly to me to say one universe is primary over the other when they were one and the same 30 years back. But I guess the same is true with Part/Counterpart.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I was surprised they were using "Prime" to describe the "Counterpart".

 

[RJDiogenes]

A clue, perhaps.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Aha, I was right about Lotte Verbeek a couple of weeks ago: She does have a bigger role to play, even though she doesn't have a name yet. On the Part side she's just Roland Fancher's (Richard Schiff) personal assistant, but on the Counterpart side, she's a pupil of The School, preparing to become a mole. And she's not the only one. If it weren't for Verbeek's line about being a year behind Clare (Nazanin Boniadi), I would suspect that Clare is actually Shadow, holding a top position on the Part side. I suppose it's still likely considering we don't know when they were at The School, but Shadow has been in place for at least five years.

Poor Part Howard. Not only does he not know that Part Emily is actually a spy and not a clerk, but she's also having an affair. All his love and devotion for her is going to shatter him and whatever confidence he's gaining while on the Counterpart side. Meanwhile, it seems pretty obvious that Counterpart Emily using him for her own gains and Alexander Pope, too, no doubt. The question is when he finally learns the truth, will he finally gain some agency and become more like Counterpart Howard? Or will he be to distracted by Anna and what he missed out on the Counterpart side?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Sooo...is no one else watching anymore?

Looks like my initial suspicions about Claire were right, just misplaced. Poor Quayle. He suddenly suspects, and with good reason, that his wife is actually the mole, but now Aldrich is convinced, and with good reason, that Quayle is the mole. Unless Quayle is suddenly able to think and speak on his feet, he's likely going to be dead very soon.

I found myself beginning to emphasize with Counterpart Howard. Whether it's because we're learning more and more about the nature of his relationship with Counterpart Emily and how it broke down, or it's because how he reacted to the death of his friend, Heinrich, I feel for the guy. Doesn't make up for his cold-hearted assholery of before, but at least I feel like I understand him better and why he ticks the way he does.

Part Howard is becoming more self-assured in his double agent role, but I still wonder how his new confidence will be shattered when he finds out the truth about Part Emily and her connection to Counterpart Howard. Do we already know how he's going to react, having seen the result with Counterpart Howard? Or will he go on another path?

Verbeek's character remains in the shadows, but now we have a sense of her cabal's mission: They want us all dead. Echoes of Fringe...

 

[auntiehill]

Great episode. I loved seeing alt-Howard actually be nice to the poor butcher's wife. Also seeing our Howard in the lie-detector scenario and passing with flying colors because he REALLY didn't know anything. I like seeing our Howard grow and find his courage.

Loved the reveal of the "wife." That was nicely done. Can't say I care all the much about the assassin; I'm far more interested in the Howards and what's going on in the Office(s).

 

[Markonian]

Watching the behind-the-scenes segment on Starz it seems the designation being used is simply "Howard" for the initial clueless Howard and "Howard Prime" for the clued-in traveler counterpart from the other side.

On Wikipedia, the worlds are called Alpha and Prime.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Both meaning first-- that's funny.

I'm still watching, but it took me a while to get caught up (it's going to be even harder now, with both Walking Dead and Ash back). It's fun to watch and the intrigue is intriguing, especially now that we know more about the reason behind the conspiracy, but I find myself more interested in the little quirks of having two similar words available-- like the threesome with the part and counterpart women and the idea that artists like Prince may still be alive there and creating art. Although I also wonder if there's a counter-conspiracy here of people who don't want that other world to exist.

And if we've been aware of the split in worlds since it happened, and the worlds have been in touch with each other, does that mean they've been monitoring each other as they've slowly-- or in some cases, not so slowly-- diverged? Is anybody studying that? Or is that part of what Part Howard was originally doing?