Our Verdict on Amazon's New Spy Thriller 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' Episode 1 and Reacher Episodes 4-5

>> Sarah : Greetings, nerds. This is Scene N Nerd. I'm your host, Sarah Belmont, and with me, as always, is our Mr. Producer, Will Polk. How are you doing tonight, will?

>> Will: Doing very well, Sarah. How are you doing this Thursday evening?

>> Sarah : You? I'm doing good.

>> Will: That's good. Yeah. You sent me your screenshot of the temperature there. It looks like you guys are about to have a heat wave.

>> Sarah : Yeah, well, I told you, it'll go 40 to 50 below zero, and then the following, and then it'll go right back up and won't get any higher, than 40 above. But it looks like we're sitting at a pretty 20 above right now.

>> Will: Very nice. Balmy.

>> Sarah : I mean, granted, it's still on average, like eight above. it makes all the difference in the world, though. Yeah. And you want to talk about the Saturn awards. Is that the award show that Superman and Lois won?

>> Will: yes, that is. Yes. That was one of the, shows that, did win, the Saturn award for best superhero show. There were other ones in that category, including the Flash, doom Patrol, and several others that were nominated. And for folks who aren't familiar with the Saturn awards, most of you probably are, because you're nerds and geeks like us, that know that this, celebrates the, genre as far as superhero and also, sci-Fi and horror. Because, of course, we know that many times these shows and movies get left out, in the, Emmys and the Oscars. So, the Saturn Awards is there for genre television, movies, et cetera. And, yes, the Superman and Lois, the most recent season, did win Saturn award for best superhero series. And, of course, Star Trek was, well recognized during the, ceremony as well. so Star Trek Picard season ₩3 best sci-Fi series for last year, it actually beat out the last of us and Andor and several, others. Patrick, Stewart was one for best actor, beating out Pedro and, Pascal and, Diego Luna and other actors as well. Jonathan Frakes, won best supporting actor, which, I think is his first time. He actually has won an award in this Saturn awards. I think Patrick Stewart's been an awardee before, but, Jonathan freakes did probably his best work ever, as will Riker, during his tenure of playing that character. So it was nice to see him awarded for that. Jerry Ryan also, won for Star Trek Picard season three for supporting actress. And, Polk, Wesley, won for a guest actor on Star Trek strangely worlds. And with his portrayal of James, Kirk. And then the cast of the next generation was recognized with the lifetime achievement award. so that was the, big things from genre, things that we've covered and talked about, here on the podcast or on my Star Trek show. that was recognized this past Sunday at the Saturn Awards.

>> Sarah : Yeah, congratulations to everyone, all the winners and the nominees, because they say it's just an honor to be nominated. the other thing you wanted to go over with all of us, is the Disney investor.

>> Will: Yeah, yeah. So there was a lot that, Bob Iger yesterday talked about, and it wasn't gina carano suing Lucasfilm. His comment back to that was. Any comment? No. But, he did have some real news, to break. several things. One, I know for folks who are really big into gaming, Disney, is, entering a partnership with Epic Games. of course, epic makes the, so of course now you have the whole slate of Disney properties. And they had a big nice trailer with Marvel and Pixar and Lucasfilm and all that, with that announcement yesterday. But also got information about the upcoming, slate of films for this year, 2025 and beyond, to 2026. And of course, we know that inside out is coming out. Deadpool three, Agatha, was confirmed to be coming out this year. Moana two, which was a really big surprise, is coming out in November. But, it doesn't look like Lyn Manuel, is scoring that one. But Moana two is coming out, in November. And then, mufasa, who I guess is prequel for the Lion King, is coming out in December, for next year in 2025. we have of course, Captain America. Fantastic. four is listed to be coming out. And I guess the little interesting note with that, I guess the sagaftra accidentally spilled the beans about Pedro's casting, on their website yesterday. But I think they quickly scrubbed that. But, no official announcement. But that was something that did happen. A few people, eagle eye folks caught, before they fixed that. also, there's a couple of other Zootopia, and another Pixar film coming out as well as Avatar three. And then at 2026, we get frozen three, toy, story five and Bando and Grogu has been confirmed to be the first next Star wars film to come out. And I think. I know we think we mentioned last week that, production is allegedly supposed to start in June of this year. So those are all the things as far as genre related stuff and then just other, just interesting business news, especially given that a Super bowl week, ESPN is, still launching their standalone streamer, but also, ESPN Fox at WP Discovery, is creating an omnibus sports app for live streaming sporting events. And also given that it's for bowl week, Taylor Swift's eras tour is coming exclusively to Disney plus on March 15 with five bonus songs. So with that, I will turn it back over to you, my friend.

>> Sarah : What, commercial or previews do you think is going to drop during the Super bowl?

>> Will: I think we'll definitely get Deadpool.

>> Sarah : A teaser or full trailer?

>> Will: I think a teaser. But given that this will be the teaser, we'll probably get, I guess, the official trailer, I guess.

>> Sarah : But, like, in April, teasers are practically trailers.

>> Will: Yeah, I guess it's basically like, is it two minutes versus three minutes?

>> Sarah : What else besides Deadpool? probably inside out, too.

>> Will: Yeah, we'll think inside out. haven't really. I'm just sort of treating the Super bowl ads sort of, like I treat trailers for upcoming films these days. It's just sort of like I'm just waiting to be surprised on Sunday.

>> Sarah : Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, the thing about trailers, now you don't have to watch the game if you just want to watch the trailers, because on YouTube.

>> Will: Yeah, exactly. Really? Yeah.

>> Sarah : All of the wind, gets lost. It's just like with trailers for movies. I'm like, why is it important to see the previews? Because you can already see them on YouTube. Makes no sense to me in this day and age. And that's why they put 20 minutes worth of previews in front of movies. My God, I'm not over it.

>> Will: I am not either.

>> Sarah : I hadn't even been a bit before. I have to go back to the theater to watch something because it'll be interesting to see what. And, you know, the one thing that Deadpool has going for it is obviously Ryan Reynolds. And Ryan Reynolds can be a marketing genius about stuff, so it'll be interesting if it's a real trailer or a.

>> Will: See him. I can see Ryan and Hugh Jackman sitting on the couch like they did whenever they teased it that Hugh was coming back to, was going to be in Deadpool three. And, doing something like that again just to bring it all full circle.

>> Sarah : Yeah, we shall see about that. I sent you a message this weekend, I'm going to finish marry my husband. Okay. I think we got two more weeks left of it. I think there's four more episodes, but I have to tell you, it's losing me. It's funny because I was so high on those first four episodes, and I'm trying to figure out if it was the high from the binge because I watched all of those, like, back to back to back to back. So it was in that world. Or is it because I have a problem when it becomes very obvious to me that there is nothing wrong with the main character? If the main character is so likable? I'm like, this is boring as all fuck. I don't want to see good things happen to good people. What's the point, right? I know, I still am curious about where's it going to go, but I just feel as though, having both of them travel back. Sorry, spoiler alerts to anybody who gives a crap about this show. But I think I was so curious about those first four episodes because I knew that they didn't know that each other. Both had traveled back in time. But now that they do, there's all of these OD obstacles that the writers keep trying to throw in the way. And I'm like, yeah, this ain't working. This is not working. This is not how you write. Good conflict, in my opinion. That's interesting. Yeah, it's funny how shows will do this to me. And I'm finding that with a lot of k dramas, particularly, I tend to like the beginning more than I like the end.

>> Will: You raised something at the very outset. Do you think it depends on if some things are better to be benched so you can keep that momentum throughout, versus that weekly release? Because I know just at least one of the shows we're going to be talking about tonight, I'm glad that we're binging it, because if I had watched it, and I'm talking about Reacher week to week, it would have been harder to keep my interest for various reasons.

>> Sarah : Well, I don't know yet. I haven't figured it out yet because I started a few weeks ago, on Netflix. Dr. Slum premiered, and I've been watching that. I'm behind on one episode, but I'm liking it. However, I have some issues with the flashbacks because, k dramas are making the mistake that it took a while for us Americans to learn. You don't have main characters who are in their, like, mid 20s, late 30s, play their younger versions of themselves. I know Asians age very differently than us. I understand that. I see it all the time. But, no, please don't make. Yeah, so some of the flashbacks are a bit cringe, but I kind of like it, because these two people are dealing, well, at least one of them, the girl character, is dealing with a real issue, with depression. And it's kind of interesting. so I'm very curious about where she goes. And then I'm going to start either this weekend or next weekend because it's just coming out, I think, tomorrow. a killer paradox.

>> Will: M okay, yeah, I saw that list with the, listing of upcoming Netflix case shows for the year.

>> Sarah : The lead actor in it, also was the lead in.

>> Will: Yeah, yeah.

>> Sarah : And he, has been in a bunch of other things. I also watched the trailer and I was like, okay, we'll see. I don't know. I'm going to see if I'm noticing that because I'm not binging these, I'm like, watching week to week. Or it could just be the story itself. We shall see. because not all of my binges in the past have been like, I do tend to lean heavily on. I really like the way this started. I'm really not sold on how this is. and, and on that note about binges and whatnot, I want to talk about Mr. And Mrs. Smith first, actually. Okay, that's fine. And you watched it before I did. So what were your thoughts on, the first date?

>> Will: First date? it was very well named as far as it being a first date because it definitely had those awkward moments whenever you're first meeting someone and just filling them out and their personality and learning about them. But I will say that for a pilot episode, it grabbed me. I was really, engaged with it. and whenever it got to the end, I was like, oh, gosh, I was ready to jump right onto the second one, but I was, no, I'm going to restrain myself. But I liked it. I mean, of course, just to set it up for folks who think this is a remake of the, Brangelina version, it is not. it has the same name, but, they, did tweak the series here on Amazon starring Donald Glover and, Maya Erskin. And, instead of like in the movie where, the couple, they're married and they're pit to kill one another, here the two leads are, single and put together for their first mission, which is, like I said, aptly named first date for the first episode.

>> Sarah : Right. But it goes beyond just that. The whole episode I was thinking about, and I'm still not sure how I feel about this show, because of this, the company, the mysterious, elusive company that demand that first sends emails and says, hi. Hi. Second, makes you give them a fingernail clipping. And there was even a line where I think John went off and said, why are you asking me all these questions about my love? yet? And I was thinking, I was like, dude, you gave them a fingernail clipping. Where are the questions about. Well, I don't understand.

>> Will: Yeah, well, I like the way they structure that, introduction for the two.

>> Sarah : Of those characters because it's throughout the entire episode where just when I think we're not going back to that interview, it circles back to it because they definitely parallel the question, the final interview that both of them went through with all of their actions that occurred on the quote unquote first date, first meeting. and I thought, I really appreciate that and I appreciate the writing is really good. where I'm stuck is that I don't know how necessary it is to have this vibe that is Hallmark card. You know, the vibe I'm talking about when I say, sam, smile. It's the same thing we saw in Homecoming and Mr. Robot. They're not going full smile on this, where it's like this mix of decades. But there is something about the scoring. I think it was the scoring of this, show so far and arguably the writing, which can be a compliment. I mean, Sam Esmel is a really good writer. So that just makes me like, I've Scene this.

>> Will: Donald Glover and, what's it? Francesca, one of his co writers on Atlanta, I think Sloan, I think is her last name, is the writers for the series. And Phoebe Waller Bridge actually was supposed to be, Jane Smith at first, but, m creative even. I was happy to read an article in the Hollywood Reporter this week, with Donald talking about the fact that Phoebe left a project. And basically, yeah, it just came down to creative decisions and their writers room just didn't. So I totally see where you're going with the, Ishmael influences. But also I haven't watched, like, swarm as far as Glover's other show, but I was big fan of Atlanta, talked about some here on the podcast and stuff. And there's structural elements and things that I see in his writing of shows that, was at play here. And it is the narrative and just the sort of structure as far as this particular with John character in some regards reminded me of from,

>> Sarah : is that the character that he played on Atlanta or did he, Donald Glover for. I think those who are going to watch the first episode and at least give this a shot are a fan of him. And so they're not expecting. I think it would be weird if he wasn't playing just another version of who he's played in the. Like, he's that. Well, yeah, you know what saying, with. And then Erskin, she. I know from, it's on Netflix now, but I watched it a few years ago, plus one.

>> Will: Okay.

>> Sarah : With, our.

>> Sarah : And he's why I watched it going into this, I was like, I really liked her in that movie. And I have Scene. Because I watch Hulu shows. I have Scene all of the trailers for. I think it's like, pen one, one five or something. that I think she even did some of the writing for. I think the pairing really good between the two of them. like I said, I think the writing is really good. it's a lot of conversations, and even when they're talking about random stuff or he's really trying to pull teeth out of this very secretive person. how do I put this? I can appreciate how this was very much a first date because of the psychological warfare that was going between the two of them.

>> Will: Yes, it totally was.

>> Sarah : You know what? And he came off as really likable. And, she came off exactly how I think they want her to come off as where you view her, basically, I think through John's lens, where she seems like, very normal, but it sticks with you. That line that she says during her interview, she's been known to be very secretive.

>> Will: didn't she say, like, sociopath or antisocial tendencies?

>> Sarah : Antisocial tendencies is why she didn't get in the CIA.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : And they did the long game in this episode where, while I'm thinking, like, what company is, like, what is going on here? What's with the damn fingernail clipping? And if they don't answer that question, will, by the end of this season, I will reject this show. I need to know about that. But moving on. now I've completely forgotten my point, but, yeah.

>> Will: Go ahead.

>> Sarah : While I kept questioning about this company, they played the long game because towards about halfway through, I started to think, why did they even apply? Why did they apply? Why did they a accept this? And yet they both realized, and you, as a viewer, realize literally nobody, they want to do a job. M. And this is the only place that would take them.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : Now, here's the thing. It's kind of like, you guys are supposed to be real smart, even though one of you got dishonorably discharged and the other wasn't. Even let in to the building. you don't question why this company would just take you. I don't know.

>> Will: Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up because as you were describing the company, I thought about two things. one, as far as that midsense part, when they were having the interrogation. As far as not their interrogation. Well, I guess it was like an interrogation, because let's call it what it mean. First dates usually are you are interrogating the person sitting across the table from you. and I like how you said psychological warfare, because there's some of that that goes on with, you know, John asked the question, are you there for romance? and I could not help but think back to the very beginning of the episode when we get first introduced to, I guess, their predecessors. I assume it's their predecessors.

>> Sarah : Right.

>> Will: clearly they were tired of running, and it seemed that maybe they didn't start the job for romance, but clearly it did build into one because the reactions that they were having as far as the couple and stuff, I guess when the company came or whoever it was came to take them out. and maybe that's outstanding question for me, it's like, why was the other John and Jane Smith taken out at the beginning? And how's that going to float to the overall story that's going on in this series? because, like I said, if operatives get too close, do they feel that's a thing for compromise, or does it flow to what they were talking about when they were in a call in the restaurant about the whole KGB using that spousal relationship thing as a way to ensure loyalty between the two operatives. So that was one of the things I liked about this series, is that when you start to really decode it and think about what they were, some of the little things that were in there, they really were, like, starting to lay to the groundwork for a lot of little threads that I. Hopefully, as the series progresses, that we'll pick up on some of those things.

>> Sarah : Yeah, we'll see. I buy into the fact of why the couples, and I can totally see it ending up being that the company, hunted down other John and other Jane because they ran away, because they wanted to still be married and still live their life, but no longer be working for the but. But at the same time, it's so, so that happens. And you as a company, you don't think, oh, our logic is flawed or you don't think we have a bad product here. This isn't working because these people end up falling in love. Or maybe that's the point, because while you were talking, I kept thinking about how, in a way, they structured the final interview very much like match, so it almost felt like they were on a dating show. And, okay, we're going to pair you two up because we think you're antisocial. You like to talk, and you're going to find some romance in that, as well as loyalty. And you both want to potentially die. So here you go. Here's a high risk situation to be in. It's different. It's definitely different. And I like all of the changes they made from the original property. I'm on board. There was something about. And I'm just going to go back to this, The smell of it all. And I know he has nothing to do with this show, but the fact that homecoming was on Amazon thing, I don't know anymore. There's something od here.

>> Will: Yeah. let me ask you this before we move on to, our next topic. There was one thing that I did have a little bit of quibble about. I did feel like they lingered on scenes a bit long.

>> Sarah : How so?

>> Will: And it just points. Yeah. A lot of staring. Yeah. A lot of books. And this dialogue would be spoken and then things would just sort of hang there just for a bit longer to take, and then they would move to the next thing. Part of that whenever they were on the park bench and even when they were in the restaurant. I get thematically and why that was the case. because, again, they are playing sort of cat and mouse games as far as he's probing and all that.

>> Sarah : I don't think that's necessarily why they did that. But I'm glad you brought this up because I did. something I like about the way this was shot and edited is it felt like an indie movie because you get a lot of long pauses on people and, lingering shots in indie movies. And, to go back to k dramas, I refer to this in the show Duna. I think it's my number two k drama of last year. because it was shot in a way that's very different. I mean, we're about to talk about reacher. Reacher isn't shot like that. Reacher, it's okay. Team together, group shot. And then you focus on one and get some reaction shots. But it's mainly focused on reacher, who's giving, like, 50 lines of exposition, or Gus, who's explaining. Ah. There's a, momentum that is needed in a show like, Reacher, where it's very thrilling. and it's almost like things have to be sped up. characters. You can't sit with the characters in one situation for too long. You have to get to the next because it's all about. Okay, the next clue, the next this, the next. That, while with a indie movie or a show that is shot in this way, like Mr. And Mrs. Smith, is because you don't have that many characters. You only have two, arguably. So you don't have a lot of things to jump to. And the pace is much more slowed down, and it's much more about the conversations. And I think also now that I'm talking about this out loud, a lot of the stillness is because it's about the things that a are not said and you're giving a chance for the actors to really emote. Okay, she said this or he said that. So now what do I say in response?

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : Sometimes it gets a bit draggy, but I'll be honest, for me, it wasn't that. I, think it really was the score and some of the design of especially, the company severance is another good comparison, now that I'm thinking about. Because severance has a company and it's a very retro style, similar to. Hi. Yeah, I can understand that. Sometimes it's too slowed down. and there's no talking, and you're just like, okay, what is this movie? Let's go. but then they really back in. So it's mean now that to talk about Reacher. Reacher faces the opposite, problem almost to an extent, where I don't know if they have too much going on or not enough going on or it's just like, so obvious what's going on.

>> Will: I think it's the latter.

>> Sarah : Yeah, it's still not. I mean, I'm glad we're talking about reacher season two. I think we needed an easy watch, a watch to really, have conversations about this, about different shooting techniques, different paces and in the same genre. I mean, both these shows, technically, I would put them in the same genre, but, yeah, we have reacher episode five, burial and reacher, episode four, and night at the symphony. M. what did you think about the symphony?

>> Will: The more I think about it, the fourth episode really got into, like, at its core was when they were sitting there piecing together everything in the shop, in the restaurant, and going through trying to figure out what the connection with all these pieces of, evidence they had gotten from. You know, the question comes up about Swan and what was Swan's involvement, with all this. And the thing that really, I think, stands out to me with this episode is, reacher's relationship with his team and how he views his team. Like, the interactions with Swan and O'Donnell in particular. I think with Swan, he just could not. Even though everybody else around him was like, look, he might be 30, but Reacher just could not. He still had that 110 sprite accord back in the day when we were a unit view of things. and even whenever. And I use O'Donnell as a point also, because he still sees O'Donnell as the guy back in the 110, not the domesticated guy, who he does a few shady but legal things to get information on people. But the bigger point is O'Donnell now is a family man and he has a new life. And Reacher seems to be kind of just in some way stuck in the past about his thoughts of people and don't realize that people can grow and change. And it's not a static thing. I mean, people are dynamic.

>> Sarah : Right. That's a good point and a good observation. I, didn't think about that juxtaposition because honestly, this whole swan situation is driving me crazy. And it's driving me crazy just because in my opinion, the ods are very high, that Swan will be good when all is said and done. And, all I keep thinking about the way they're setting it up to make the viewer think that he's going to end up bad and dirty. All of the counterarguments, all of the pieces, that kind of point, I'm just like, as a writer, you have better make this. Make a lot of sense of why he's not dirty. There better be a very logical explanation for, a, why he's still alive, and b, how he's still able to do work with, Langston. Because Langston even has moments in both these episodes where he makes comments, oh, these are Swan's old friends and everything. And it doesn't sound very past tense. Where Langston knows he's dead. swan's dead. So all the clues. But again, from my opinion, it's just driving me crazy because I don't know if the writing behind the show is going to be able to pull that off the way they want to. I'm not that optimistic that's going to be all that surprising. but I couldn't really understand the flashback in the fourth episode. I understood flashback in the fifth episode. I like it because essentially Swan ends up saving Reacher's life and he says, okay, now you owe me one. Which leads into what you were saying before about how Reacher is kind of stuck. Well, with that line and knowing that that happened in the past, then is he stuck? Or does he just have. He's the type of person where when he owes something to someone, he will make sure to return that debt in full and then some. And at the same time, all of these people who have died so far that were part of the 110 at one point, he was responsible for. And to him, that's still his family. Whether they haven't Scene each other in an hour or ten years, he still feels the need to protect them to his best ability. So I do want to say one thing about Swan, and then I'll let it go. But I wish that the flashbacks, had more to do with Swan and less to do with France, because I feel as though, especially in the first four episodes, a lot of the flashbacks, we see a lot of niggly, we see a lot of Franz. And I'm just like, I'm sorry, Franz. You seem like one hell of a character. Except you're. Yeah, I don't care. Swan and I. And I get niggly. I understand that. I understand Dixon to an extent, but Swan's the person who's questionable in present. I just. I wish that since they made the decision to do flashbacks, they would have committed a little bit harder and would have focused more on that relationship between, Reacher and Swan.

>> Will: Yeah, I think to your point, bringing up the flashback when they had the drug deal and the 40, we're supposedly 48 bricks and only 47 showed up. and how they set that up, to your point about they're doing all these. Laying all these little things out here because there was the conversation about drug dealers and how lucrative it is, and yet here we are, just a bunch of soldiers. They try to lay the foundation for showing that Swan susceptible to being on the take. to your point earlier about are they doing all these things? It's a misdirection. At the end of the day, it's going to be swan who actually was really on the inside, trying to investigate Langston and got close and doing all these things to just bring this thing down, or is he really dirty? I see what they're doing. As you said. Hopefully they can successfully pull that off. M because I think to me, that was the point of that flashback. Just to sort of set the foundation, to establish why the rest of the team is doubting, swan at this point. But Reacher, like you said, especially when we learn the events in the fifth episode, why he, know he owes a debt, or reacher just might be a dude that's just really big in denial.

>> Sarah : Big in denial. Or just going through a moment of hypocrisy because there were a few lines. and I'll give it to O'Donnell. I still think he was miscast, but I'll give it to O'Donnell. I think he even points this, like, I think Reacher and how he feels about swan again, is making a big. Also. And what I appreciate about, episode five, the burial episode, is the assumption he has had for a while now about good old, Gus and who just wants to be your friend. Richard. I want to be on the show, too, buddy.

>> Will: Let me in. I want to be in the club.

>> Sarah : Let me in. for a moment there, while, they were observing him, I'm like, oh, is he an uncle? Like friends'wife's, brother. They could have easily done that. That would have made arguably even more sense to me. But I understand why they did what they did, because, the fact that his father. We got, of course, all of the father problems very prevalent in these shows, and the sons trying to, get revenge. And also that link then that, knowledge and background he has about the NYPD and how Langston and all of his buddies at, ah, new age in their security division were bad. So in a very short scene, we learn a lot of information about Gus, and we learn that he also has a stake in this as well. it's not all about Reacher. And I appreciate that. And I think that scene in particular just goes back to what I was saying last week, where I find it very interesting that despite the size difference between these two actors, there's something about the actor who plays Gus where he can stand up to reacher and not become a. You. You believe this guy and you understand him and his perspective on everything. And I think he raises Alan's performance as reacher.

>> Will: Oh, yeah, I completely agree.

>> Sarah : So, in the few scenes that we have them in, I would just like a Gus and reacher buddy cop show. And we saw an old friend. Yeah, throw him in there, too. Okay. I miss, elbow patches. See him. I was like, where are all the people? I saw?

>> Will: The first was, I'm glad that they had Finley back, especially being in. You're mean. Both, actor who plays Finley and also the actor who plays, they. Whenever they play off of, Alan, they do bring more out of him. They all do have good scene chemistry together. because after you brought it up. And after thinking, these last two episodes, your critique of Alan's, acting style with this character, definitely, I noticed it a lot more.

>> Sarah : Yeah, I was see it. He can't unsee.

>> Will: Couldn't. I couldn't. but, I think he even messaged over the weekend. I was like, earlier this week, I was like, I don't know if it's the way he's written or if it's the way he's playing it or if it's just him. because whatever that charisma that we see Alan when he's given interviews and when he's talking, that comes through when he's playing off Arusso and Finley more so than some of the other characters because he is a very personable guy. And, you get that versus when he's with the team, it's very still. And maybe that is intentional, where it is that commander subordinate relationship, and he always has to be in that command rigid mode. So maybe that's what it is.

>> Sarah : But even if it's intentional, I would say, then it doesn't mean, as a viewer, you have to like it. Actors and directors can make these choices, and then we watch the show and we're like, oh, that was a bad choice. I understand. These people are, making these decisions about what this character is and how he behaves and how he interacts with everyone. He comes off, encounters at everything. And even if there's intention, well, it doesn't always mean it was the right.

>> Will: Yeah.

>> Sarah : And I think that it's actually better. It says more about Alan as an actor to say that you don't know if it's because he's playing it that way or if it's because it's written that, like, that's perfect. Because then you can't blame his acting completely and you can't blame the writing. Like, there's something else that just isn't jiving because there are moments with other actors and other scenes where it's like, no, this is Reacher, this is perfect. But there are other moments where it's like, what the heck, guys? This is so.

>> Will: Bad. It's like going back to homages to the 80s action hero.

>> Sarah : Yeah. And something I could not help but notice throughout these episodes. And I forgot to bring this up last week, and I probably didn't because I hadn't Scene it too many times, but have you noticed? And basically, all of these episodes, Dixon and Niggley are always paired up, and O'Donnell and Reacher are always paired.

>> Will: Someone.

>> Sarah : Explained this to me and here's my big question. Because they started, and they still are going for this whole idea that Reacher and Dixon want to be together, yet you don't let them constantly be together on screen. I don't understand that. I can understand niggly because we almost had the first full episode with her and reacher. And there's something about their dynamic where I don't need more to buy into their relationship, their friendship, or how they view each other. and it could be because, they make it a very obvious point that you have O'Donnell and Dixon on one side of how to grow up after military, and then you have these two who are just wanderers, in their own. But. So it's that contrast. But I don't like. I'm tired of seeing the same old pairings. It's. It's episode.

>> Will: Yeah, yeah. Even though the pairings worked, I will say the pairing with Eagley and Dixon worked well with episode five, especially when they were in Denver and finding out on this road with the, weapons. Was it the little wing? I think it's called the, weapon system little wing, yeah. but yeah, I definitely see that pairing thing that you're talking about. speaking of Denver and stuff, I know we had the, very convenient plastic surgeon looking like the bad guy.

>> Sarah : that very conveniently had nobody else but his receptionist in the office that day.

>> Will: Yeah. so once the COVID was blown, I was like, yeah, we see where this is going. At first, I was like, are they the same actor? They just like cutting things different. But no, I think they were two different actors. But, they definitely did have a resemblance. I did like the way they pull back. In addition to Finley, they did bring back the fact that Joe's brother, reacher's brother, was know, pulling that, I guess sort of that continuity from season one into season two. Just, to remind us, know, the reference to the events of him being framed for his brother's murder, and bringing that up, whenever they were talking with the feds and all the intel, trying to figure out how this guy got into the country and stuff. As the series has progressed, it's enjoyable. Like, it's easy. Watch. I'm glad I'm doing it this binge way, though, instead of like week to week, because I feel like this is one of those times. I think it would have been okay if they had. I'm okay binging this one. Relatively binging, not like one weekend, but, burning through it. Pretty fast, like we are.

>> Sarah : Yeah, I agree with you. This is not a week to week show. I haven't watched enough of Mr. And Mrs. Smith to make that decision. But I could have easily done this all in one batch and would have been fine, probably would have been better, higher on this series. But at the same time, I think that week to week just allows you to sit with things more. So even though arguably you can binge any show, and have watched it. But sometimes when you break it up, it's like, okay, I got a little dose of it now I get to step away for a little bit, and then your mind starts wondering. It's like, oh, yeah, I was in the middle of the show. What's going on this time? in this age of streaming, it's very interesting how you can, vary how you consume different shows.

>> Will: Yeah, totally. Because to your point about letting things know, there's the whole political angle of the show with the senator in a situation where the senator was planned to look, reacher, you're not going to help me, I'm going to help you. And again, with trying to see, of course, he was on the taken as well, and how all that's going to play out in this series, too. Because again, if you're going to be dealing with arms dealers and that kind of stuff, you're going to have to have the crooked, know. Seeing O'Donnell's skill set like he was after the military, it's like the know and working with aid and with the tickets and all that kind of stuff. This week, these two episodes, I was really filling O'Donnell better where I was just sort of like, okay, now, this is where I think it was good casting, to disagree with you that he was miscast. because I think these two episodes really, for me. Okay, I'm buying O'Donnell now. because of the things that they did and the things that the character did these last two episodes.

>> Sarah : Yeah. Senator Lavoie, is basically given reacher the go ahead to continue being a cowboy, not because he is a crooked senator, but because he's a stupid senator when he is. Like, I had no idea other people would want be interested. The insanity of having to say that line or those lines where it's like, I had no idea that this technology would be sought after by other countries who would be our enemies.

>> Will: Really? Yeah.

>> Sarah : Come on. We already have one Langston on this show. Huh? Why do we have to have two? But then again, it made it better when he was basically like, I'll let you do everything off books and all of that. So, basically, given Reacher the go ahead to pull some real cowboy shit, which is needed for reacher. Okay? So the man's got to do what the man's got to do. This is not a legit operation, and we need to go ahead from a very stupid senator. The villains. Can we raise the bar? Let's have a political intrigue drama, with spy. Thrilling action. Then. Don't make your, villains so stereotypical and so stupid. We need smart villains.

>> Will: We do.

>> Sarah : Where's Homelander?

>> Will: Very soon, my friend. Very soon.

>> Sarah : Homelander arguably isn't even smart. Well, there's a whole thing you can say about that. I don't know. All right, Will, on that not know, why don't you tell our listeners where they can find you?

>> Will: Yes, you can find me. X, formerly known as Twitter at willmpolk. Willmmpolk. And also, next week is the anniversary of Star Trek Picard, season three. So I'm going to be, doing a, review of a documentary about the making of Star Trek next Generation called Chaos on the bridge. So look for it, to drop on our channel next week.

>> Sarah : I'm sure many of our listeners will tune in, and adore all of the Star Trek love they get from you, Will. And you can follow me on Twitter, or formerly known as ex. Formerly known as Twitter. See, I never have to say it because Will always says it. So I can just say there, too. Damn it. you can follow me there, too, at SJ Belmont. M-S-J-B-E-L-M-M-O-N-T. Please follow our crew on Twitter at scene and nerdfind us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and threads at scene, underscore n underscore Nerd, and visit our website, ww scenanderdpodcast.com. But most importantly, rate, follow, and comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Goodnight. Geek out.