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Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

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Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Old 10-17-10, 04:42 AM
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Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

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By djariya at 2010-09-05

Synopsis:

Spoiler:
In the season finale, Will discovers the missing link between Truxton and Hadas' death, and Katherine learns the real truth behind her husband's suicide.


Last episode of the season & possibly series.
Old 10-17-10, 09:31 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Interview with showrunner Henry Bromell
Old 10-17-10, 09:56 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

I watched about 3 or 4 episodes of this show when it started, then got frustrated that it wasn't going anywhere. I tuned in for this season finale and it felt like *nothing* had really happened in the meantime.

I like some of the conspiracy movies people reference when talking about this show, but I find the office scenes incredibly unrealistic (high school drama all the time) and just the show itself seems to lack storytelling ability.
Old 10-17-10, 10:12 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

It's been a slow-moving story, for sure, but the last half of the season has been moving things along pretty nicely. I've really enjoyed it. I am a little disappointed that there wasn't a bit more resolution in this season (series?) finale. I hope it gets picked up for a second season.

Spoiler:
Damn, I was disappointed that they got to Mrs. Rhumer. Also, I still don't understand whose side Will's neighbor was on. Did she let the "bad guys" know that Mrs. Rhumer would be in the park? Or were they just following Mrs. Rhumer already?
Old 10-17-10, 10:49 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Wow there was a big error in the episode description. I had read it before last weeks episode and thought I'd been spoiled, but whoever writes them actually mixed up character names.
Old 10-17-10, 10:51 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Meh, I'm still scratching my head.
Old 10-17-10, 11:21 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

So, we learned that Andie is indeed in on the conspiracy...and I guess that's all we learned. Lame finale.
Old 10-17-10, 11:27 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

I still need to process a few things, but my initial reaction is this was just a total mess.

Other than identifying a couple of guys in the picture, the Katherine story was a waste of time. The entire thing with their anniversary was pointless as she got a video that told her what she already knew.

They spring the chick in the building across the street that Will has been banging was really working for Tom Rhumor and we have no idea if she was also watching Will as part of her job.

I take it we're supposed to assume Spangler went back to his office and offed himself.

The two highlights of the episode were Will and Spangler's conversation on the roof at the end and Grant and Will's conversation about Grant's promotion where Will just walks out at the end totally dismissive of Grant's authority
Old 10-17-10, 11:38 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by MrX
Other than identifying a couple of guys in the picture, the Katherine story was a waste of time. The entire thing with their anniversary was pointless as she got a video that told her what she already knew.
And why did she stop the DVD before the other "four leaf clover" guys did their confessions? Wouldn't she at least be curious?
Old 10-18-10, 12:47 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

I have all these episodes recorded. Haven't gotten to a single one.

Should I bother watching them?
Old 10-18-10, 01:07 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

It's worth watching just for the build up to last weeks episode and the conclusion. The show is definitely a slow burn when it comes to story telling which is why a lot of people bailed early on.
Old 10-18-10, 07:35 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

What did I just watch? Did I miss the conclusion? Is the finale really next week? WTF? I'm so disappointed, they did such a good job progressing the story in the second half of the season and they leave us with that?
Old 10-18-10, 07:49 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

People watch an entire season of a show where nothing is clearly and easily explained, where everything is presented in a subtle and oblique manner, and then they complain when everything isn't all wrapped up with a bow in the final?
Old 10-18-10, 09:25 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

I hope AMC brings this back, they gave Mad Men and Breaking Bad a chance to grow.
Old 10-18-10, 10:34 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by wendersfan
People watch an entire season of a show where nothing is clearly and easily explained, where everything is presented in a subtle and oblique manner, and then they complain when everything isn't all wrapped up with a bow in the final?
Yep!

Now I know how the LOST haters felt.

Seriously, though, I wasn't expecting everything to be wrapped up, but I wanted more than we got. This show is heavily plot-driven (AMC: "Story matters here"), and I don't think they delivered story-wise. A season finale should have some sort of closure even if it leaves some things open.
Old 10-18-10, 10:51 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by MrX
Other than identifying a couple of guys in the picture, the Katherine story was a waste of time. The entire thing with their anniversary was pointless as she got a video that told her what she already knew.
While I agree that most Katherine's story seems at this point to have been a waste of time, we don't know what else was on the DVD. She stopped it before watching all of it. I may have missed it, but was it made clear that Will took the disc?
Old 10-18-10, 10:53 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by bjh_18
I may have missed it, but was it made clear that Will took the disc?
It looked pretty clear to me that he didn't take it, but I can't be sure.
Old 10-18-10, 11:01 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

So he doesn't take the disc, her "protector" hides in the shadows and she dies there in the park. What was the point of her storyline again?
Old 10-18-10, 11:06 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by Timber
What was the point of her storyline again?
From a plot point of view, maybe not a lot. From a showrunner point of view, one of the main characters had to die in the finale, and who are you going to kill - Will? Spangler? Kale?

Katherine is the most expendable in terms of keeping the show going*, plus, Miranda Richardson probably had one of the higher salaries.



* But I bet Spangler is dead too.
Old 10-18-10, 11:08 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

I guess to me if he gets the disc and that leads him to his conclusion then her involvement this season makes sense. As it stands what led him there was finding the guys aliases and going to that guy in the basement.
Old 10-18-10, 11:09 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Oh, and what did Tanya mean about writing a book and making a lot of money? She can't write about classified info. I didn't get that.
Old 10-18-10, 11:25 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by Fist of Doom
Oh, and what did Tanya mean about writing a book and making a lot of money? She can't write about classified info. I didn't get that.
I think her plan was to write some sort of pundit book, a la Thomas Friedman or Ed Luttwak. We're supposed to believe that the API analysts all have such a great understanding of geopolitics and the like that they could easily write some popular work on the terrorist threat, or, how India will dominate the next century, or whatever, and land on the bestseller list.

The thing to understand is that much of what they read, digest, and analyze is information freely available to everyone - newspaper clippings, economic information, what have you. The skill is in finding patterns in seemingly unrelated information. That, and simply wading through thousands of pages a day.
Old 10-18-10, 11:53 AM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by wendersfan
I think her plan was to write some sort of pundit book, a la Thomas Friedman or Ed Luttwak. We're supposed to believe that the API analysts all have such a great understanding of geopolitics and the like that they could easily write some popular work on the terrorist threat, or, how India will dominate the next century, or whatever, and land on the bestseller list.
Good luck to some twentysomething former bureaucrat trying to get book deals like those guys . The world is full of PhD's - few of them become bestsellers. Maybe she can write a book about her drug addiction and get on Oprah.

Originally Posted by wendersfan
The thing to understand is that much of what they read, digest, and analyze is information freely available to everyone - newspaper clippings, economic information, what have you. The skill is in finding patterns in seemingly unrelated information. That, and simply wading through thousands of pages a day.
My impression was that most of their information was from CIA operatives' raw data. Certainly the public can't get data on the travelling habits of private citizens.

Despite my dislike of the season finale, I still think this show was excellent and a rewarding experience. It was beautifully shot and watching these characters try to piece together the mystery was fascinating. I doubt it'll happen, but I'd like to see Arliss Howard (Kale) and Michael Cristofer (Spangler) get Emmy nods.
Old 10-18-10, 12:32 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

Originally Posted by Fist of Doom
It looked pretty clear to me that he didn't take it, but I can't be sure.
I just rewatched the scene, and she drops the disc as she falls when Will is there. It's not shown whether or not he even noticed the disc and picked it up, but the scene leads you to believe he didn't.
Old 10-18-10, 12:58 PM
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Re: Rubicon -- Season Finale -- "You Can Never Win" -- 10/17/10

I imagine if he had the disc he would have watched it ASAP, given how time sensitive everything was.

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