This week's episode begins to bring the characters closer together, as Gustav seeks out Laurel to compare notes and where Laurel in turn brings Rochelle into the fold. Between the three of them, they begin to get to work on understanding what is going on. Gustav believes that it is "bugs" causing the problem, but so far is wrong about the kind of bugs (screw worms) he suspects. Rochelle tries to help when they compare brain scans from her father and Oscar, but Gustav seems to know a lot about parts of the brain too!
Gutav's lead into the episode serves to set the tone to a more paranoid flare. He first contacts Laurel using a ridiculous fake name, then proceeds to conceal her cell phone in a tinfoil envelope every time they meet and points out the oddity of grown well-dressed men trying to look normal, as they share a chocolate bar! Laurel under estimates his conspiracy theorist enthusiasm, until she is taken off the streets by the FBI, who talked to her earlier in the episode. We are introduced to Agent Blades, who seems relentless in thinking that Laurel is hiding something related to a suspected terrorist attack, going back to Agent Onfrio's suggestion in last week's episode, but it is Onfrio that calls Luke, who comes with an entourage and threatens the FBI with budget funding that allows for Laurel's release!Laurel also gets her buttons pushed when her father decides to press her on her relationship with people across the isle, but Laurel immediately sets to rectify what she sees as over controlling behavior, when she calls Gareth and basically asks him to make plans for a date. Gareth invites her to a wake and a date after. As it turns out Red's former Chief of Staff was exposed to the space aunts and he died on national television in what is being labeled a stroke!
Laurel catches up with Gareth after the wake and takes everything a step further by insisting they give Washington something to talk about! The two kiss, but not before Laurel presses on!
Laurel calls Gustav to tell her about Stacie's disposition, suggesting to the audience that perhaps victims identities' are not completely lost, but can be reached out to. However, it is unclear if the reaction Stacie is having is really about the space ants emotionally connecting back with Stacie and then back again to make an emotional connection to Laurel, or if this is a reenactment of those events where they just automatically go through the motions (ie: rehearsed observed activity)??
This scene may also have a correlation with another. Gareth had been trying to persuade Red to care about the future the of Republican party after Red makes him his new Chief of Staff. Gareth suggests that Red needs to work harder to reach out to grass roots and unify the party. Red dismisses and argues against Gareth's position, but later, after giving it some thought, Red changes his mind and calls Gareth back to say so. What's interesting about this is that Red really hasn't been anything like either Stacie or Scarlett in that he hasn't been overly statistical in his approach to his brand of radicalism. In some ways Red looks like an enigma, whom maybe was better able to hold onto some better or more pragmatic part of himself. On one hand, the problem with making that kind of presumption is that viewers don't really know whom Red Wheatus was before the launch of the series, let alone, it appears that changing his mind to The-One-Wayers appears like more radicalism, than practicality and then may suggest that the radicalism can evolve!
But to support Laurel's theory that maybe the people are still "in there" somewhere, CBS' Official BrainDead Webiste more specifically states that victims have half-eaten brains, implying that there is literally brain matter left behind! But what this also may tell us is that BrainDead's narrative may explore the concept of what is necessity vs filler vs excessive baggage where the human condition is concerned.
The episode title also provides some interesting lines of thought in terms of animal cruelty or animals being human property. Goring Oxes (Goren Oxen or The Bull) refers to jurisdiction deriving from the Old Testament in Jewish Law that insights what the penalty, punishment, or payment is when someone's animal hurts some other person and/or when someone hurts someone else's animal and includes if one has been warned about the behavior of the animal or not.
The episode definitely touched on the contemporary debates over the subject from reminding the audience that once Mitt Romney, back in 1983, had put his dog, Shames, in his kennel on top of the family car when traveling for vacation. This is also what inspired Luke to try and take Ella down by claiming she went home to euthanized her dog as cover, so she could really run off to Paris for a good time! But more over, it's the episodes uncertain ending as Gustav runs home to find the bugs, after realizing he brought Rochelle nothing but a cockroach! Unfortunately during his bug-baiting scheme, he didn't think of his poor cat, who becomes the final victim in the episode! --But it's unclear if the cat will survive or if his head is going to explode! I'm hopeful we get an interesting space-ant-cat to add to a menagerie of absurdity!
Animal cruelty is an interesting subject however, not just because it sparks debates over our furry friends and the humanity we often find or project onto them, but really in terms of Briandead's subtext, looking at the ants as something "other than" human, but yet still seemingly intelligent, it allows for us to think about neurological diversity and mental illness in regards to life's decision-making practices and how we look at other living things in general. I have to also wonder if animals will continue to be a theme, when one also considers the Pilot episode briefly featured a large eatable chocolate dog and two of the constituents outside of Laurel's office (in this episode) had an art-piece of an American Eagle and the other holding a saddle!
Anyways in the end, Laurel is able to save Luke's position by telling the democrates some story about how Luke once carried Laurel through the snow, pointing out that Luke may have a heroic side. However it's hard to say if Luke can save his marriage!
What I Liked:
It was really nice to see the characters come more into each other's lives and feel for a more ensemble cast! In addition I felt the episode had very smooth transitions between scenes and tones, and is starting to show us different paths the show can down by having more than a political element, but also family & friends, forensic/science sides to series.
The Good Wife Factor/Odds and Ends
- TGW sometimes featured interesting interrogation scenes, but the way this episode chronicled the FBI talking Laurel somewhere seemingly off book and without the right to lawyer (probably due to The Patriot Act) is reminiscent to the season six finale of TGW titled, "Wanna Partner?. In the episode a victim is assaulted and withheld without the right to a lawyer in a secret police facility.
- Although this episode didn't get into the spiritual aspects of "Goring Oxes", there is an episode of TGW that did have Alicia settle a farming despite over seeds blowing into another's yard and that person's right of usage to distribute or sell the by product by patent through the process of Christian Arbitration, rather than in American Court of law. The episode title is, "Dear God". In addition "Goring Oxes" didn't lightly play with animals, but it also played with plants (which come from seeds) such as cherry blossoms with Scarlett putting some in Luke's office and Scarlett sending some to Ella as a peace offering..
-Theme of "chocolate" - Chocolate Dog, Chocolate Bars...
Mythology:
- Not all may be lost with one's identity
- Can attack animals
- Seem to gravitate towards flowers/cherry blossom
- Can converse with other victims
- Can "think" (to further evolve?)
So what did you think? Any theories out there? Do you think the victims are not entirely lost or maybe, even, can be saved? Have a favorite character or dynamic that you are liking? Do want the cat to make it? Let us know in the comments below!!!!!!
But to support Laurel's theory that maybe the people are still "in there" somewhere, CBS' Official BrainDead Webiste more specifically states that victims have half-eaten brains, implying that there is literally brain matter left behind! But what this also may tell us is that BrainDead's narrative may explore the concept of what is necessity vs filler vs excessive baggage where the human condition is concerned.
The episode title also provides some interesting lines of thought in terms of animal cruelty or animals being human property. Goring Oxes (Goren Oxen or The Bull) refers to jurisdiction deriving from the Old Testament in Jewish Law that insights what the penalty, punishment, or payment is when someone's animal hurts some other person and/or when someone hurts someone else's animal and includes if one has been warned about the behavior of the animal or not.
The episode definitely touched on the contemporary debates over the subject from reminding the audience that once Mitt Romney, back in 1983, had put his dog, Shames, in his kennel on top of the family car when traveling for vacation. This is also what inspired Luke to try and take Ella down by claiming she went home to euthanized her dog as cover, so she could really run off to Paris for a good time! But more over, it's the episodes uncertain ending as Gustav runs home to find the bugs, after realizing he brought Rochelle nothing but a cockroach! Unfortunately during his bug-baiting scheme, he didn't think of his poor cat, who becomes the final victim in the episode! --But it's unclear if the cat will survive or if his head is going to explode! I'm hopeful we get an interesting space-ant-cat to add to a menagerie of absurdity!
Animal cruelty is an interesting subject however, not just because it sparks debates over our furry friends and the humanity we often find or project onto them, but really in terms of Briandead's subtext, looking at the ants as something "other than" human, but yet still seemingly intelligent, it allows for us to think about neurological diversity and mental illness in regards to life's decision-making practices and how we look at other living things in general. I have to also wonder if animals will continue to be a theme, when one also considers the Pilot episode briefly featured a large eatable chocolate dog and two of the constituents outside of Laurel's office (in this episode) had an art-piece of an American Eagle and the other holding a saddle!
Anyways in the end, Laurel is able to save Luke's position by telling the democrates some story about how Luke once carried Laurel through the snow, pointing out that Luke may have a heroic side. However it's hard to say if Luke can save his marriage!
What I Liked:
It was really nice to see the characters come more into each other's lives and feel for a more ensemble cast! In addition I felt the episode had very smooth transitions between scenes and tones, and is starting to show us different paths the show can down by having more than a political element, but also family & friends, forensic/science sides to series.
The Good Wife Factor/Odds and Ends
- TGW sometimes featured interesting interrogation scenes, but the way this episode chronicled the FBI talking Laurel somewhere seemingly off book and without the right to lawyer (probably due to The Patriot Act) is reminiscent to the season six finale of TGW titled, "Wanna Partner?. In the episode a victim is assaulted and withheld without the right to a lawyer in a secret police facility.
- Although this episode didn't get into the spiritual aspects of "Goring Oxes", there is an episode of TGW that did have Alicia settle a farming despite over seeds blowing into another's yard and that person's right of usage to distribute or sell the by product by patent through the process of Christian Arbitration, rather than in American Court of law. The episode title is, "Dear God". In addition "Goring Oxes" didn't lightly play with animals, but it also played with plants (which come from seeds) such as cherry blossoms with Scarlett putting some in Luke's office and Scarlett sending some to Ella as a peace offering..
-Theme of "chocolate" - Chocolate Dog, Chocolate Bars...
Mythology:
- Not all may be lost with one's identity
- Can attack animals
- Seem to gravitate towards flowers/cherry blossom
- Can converse with other victims
- Can "think" (to further evolve?)
So what did you think? Any theories out there? Do you think the victims are not entirely lost or maybe, even, can be saved? Have a favorite character or dynamic that you are liking? Do want the cat to make it? Let us know in the comments below!!!!!!
