8/17 Season Three, Episode 16: The Triumvirate-Scarecrow and Mrs King

We pick up the story in a park..

A kid calls out to his grandpa to watch his football moves..
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Grandpa seems to be talking with Falkan, a woman and a few other men.. and uh oh.. he turns around and it’s Eagles! Yep, the guy who said don’t trust anyone.. duh duh duhhhhhh!!!!

I think the first time I saw this I hadn’t recognised him from those dark meetings.. had you?
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Looks like the female baddie is there.. Learjet says her name is Marcy Webster (thanks Learjet!).

Eagles claps his grandson’s football prowess.. and then gets back to his meeting..

Eagles: No, Gerald. I am not in favour of killing the mother of two children. There’s no need.
[The fact that Amanda is innocent is irrelevant huh.. pity the woman in danger who has no children.. because apparently they are not as valuable.. much more disposable!  grrrrr..  don’t mind me!]
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Falkan: Karl, Karl, I don’t like it. I don’t like it, but it’s her or us.
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Webster: No one here wants what we’ve been doing to come home to roost… to the CIA or NSA or DIA or State. Right?
3.16 TT.avi_001493059[Webster seems to look to the two men behind Eagles as she says this.. like they are a part of this.. so who are they?
Wow.. so she’s all for it huh.. ]
Eagles: It didn’t have to come to this. I’m on the inside–I know their every move. She’s no threat. Besides, we’ve changed the passwords. There’s no possibility that Melrose, Stetson or anyone would trace King Cobra back to us.
[rofl shame they didn’t change the passwords after Lance accessed it!]
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[I have to agree. If not for Falkan’s trigger finger they wouldn’t have much.. they could even have come up with something to get Lance off the trail.. but then I guess this is all a problem of their own making in general! Why all of a sudden refer to King Cobra when early on he was only referred to as King? whatev.

BTW – so many animals involved here.. Jepard sounds like Leopard.. Eagles, Falkan sounds like Falcon.. Cobra.. what does it all mean?! It’s a jungle out there?! whahahahaa]
Falkan: But why take any chances? We’re pragmatists, all of us. I say we cut our losses.
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Eagles: And where does it end? We formed this Triumvirate to right wrongs, not to kill our own.
[Triumvirate.. Hmm right.. three people –so which three are this triumvirate? it’s rather confusing.. Falkan seemed to look at the two other men standing as he spoke also – if they are not in the triumvirate why is he looking at them? anyone else find this confusing?
Okay.. I guess Falkan, Eagles and Webster are the triumvirate.. whatev I’ll go with it.. ]
Falkan: It’s very simple, Karl. Either the King woman dies or it’s the end of us.
Eagles: There must be another way. We’re not killers.
[I actually feel sorry for Eagles, what he has become is not what he wanted I think..]
Eagles stands and we see his grandson and the ball go flying past.  the word ‘killers’ is still ringing in my ears..
Grandson: I’ll get it, I’ll get it.
Right on cue – Jepard stops the football…  Why Eagles would have put his grandson anywhere near this triumvirate is beyond me.. whether he expected Jepard to show up or not. I guess it is an indicator that Eagles was in total denial about the things this triumvirate were getting up to!

Jepard smiles and hands the ball to the grandson, they turn toward Eagles and Jepard puts his hands on the boy’s shoulders – whoooo menacing!!!  This is the evil low life you’ve had working for you Eagles.. the reality of it all is really coming home to roost! Okay, I’m feeling less sorry for Eagles. 3.16 TT.avi_001541708
Jepard: Such a delicate morality, with your big offices and titles, clean hands. Hire me; from two thousand miles away, you can’t smell the blood. But you’re all killers.
3.16 TT.avi_001545512[For an evil dude.. he speaks the brutal truth here]
Eagles: We told you: our relationship is over.
Jepard: Sure. Mrs King isn’t your problem, anyway. She’s mine.
Eagles: No, no. No.
Jepard: Oh yes. She can recognise me. I can’t afford that. So, just tell me where you’re keeping her.
3.16 TT.avi_001564130[this is not in your control Eagles! It’s really not been in his control since Lance was taken out really..]
Eagles: I’m not about to help you.
Jepard : Oh – I think you will.
[Jepard plays with the boy’s hair.. Eagles approaches and moves his grandson away from Jepard.. ]
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Eagles tells Falkan: Deal with him.
and Eagles walks off after his grandson.3.16 TT.avi_001584951
Eagles won’t help Jepard? whoop de dooo… he walks off and leaves Falkan to deal with it (who has already gotten Jepard to kill Lance behind Eagles’ back) Eagles isn’t contacting the agency and trying to protect Amanda.. yet again, from a distance, he is washing his hands of the violence and what he has been doing.. He seems to me to be a massive pencil pushing coward! Not sure what to make of the rest of the 4 triumvirate though whahahaaa…

There’s a part of me that wishes they’d take out Jepard.. but.. isn’t that sort of ‘justice’ what’s gotten them into this mess?!

Okay, I know we watch smk for Lee and Amanda.. but I do find this whole issue being explored in this episode to be fascinating.. the morally grey areas of the business.. right and wrong.. the ends justifying the means.. Utilitarianism! The ultimate rule breakers I guess.. and we opened the episode with Lee the rule breaker not waiting in line.. I guess once you start killing people the line is crossed.. and Eagles has been kidding himself that the line was not yet crossed..thoughts everyone?

Back at “SIXTIES-R-US”.
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Looks like the shop is in Georgetown.. and Lee’s vette has gone undercover as a lamppost.
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We find Lee’s pretty eyes being attended to..
Careful there man! they are pretty important!!!
Amanda: Dead?
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Billy: It’s confirmed. The Highway Patrol found Lance Dorn in his Jeep at the bottom of a gully. Preliminary report said he’d been drinking. [Poor Lance.. RIP Lance.. didn’t they notice the big bump on the back of his head? lol Umm I guess he may have been burned up and this wouldn’t have been detectable!]
Lee: No. No way, I don’t buy that at all. Ah sure, Lance was a party boy, but he knew his limits.
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[Really?? breaking into women’s private information to get their measurements and he knew his limits? me thinks not! but lol okay Lee is probably just referring to the drinking!]
Billy: If he was killed, the odds are that King Cobra is the one that pulled the plug on him. Now Amanda, are you certain that the man that followed you today is the same man who came to your house with the cheque yesterday?
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Amanda: Yes, sir, absolutely. But I don’t understand why he would kill Lance?
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[Umm you found Lance had written down the password.. hello???]
Lee: I don’t know. But somebody’s got a major gun for hire working on our payroll. And it’s a lot more than just embezzlement.
[Embezzlement.. that was Eagles’ suggestion.. how interesting that now he has been revealed to be a bad guy Lee refers back to his suggestion saying it doesn’t add up]
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Billy: I compared all three cheques… [Whahahahaa.. did Lee write down the details of those three cheques somewhere else for Billy to be able to compare them?!!]
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Okay.. I’ll go with it !
…King Cobra received each one after the death of Omar Kalim, Ilya Krakower and Aggi Zohbarr.
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Lee looks at Amanda.. who is not following this conversation because this is all new to her.
Lee: Zohbarr? I didn’t know about him.
Love love love that Lee explains for her and catches her up! Yet again!! Smile
Amanda: I – uh.
Lee: It’s another enemy agent we had to let go….
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 …You know what this sounds like to me, Billy?
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… It sounds like some of our co-workers are taking US policy into their own hands.
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Good call Lee!!! He ain’t called Scarecrow for nothing! Oh wait.. noooo that doesn’t really work does it! Smile 

I think the triumvirate have tried to take US policy into their own hands… but in reality, it has well and truly escaped and is now roaming freely Winking smile 

Also glad to see Billy Vera (Thanks Valerie!), the hippie clerk, is alive in the background 😉

Hello Everyone!!! I can’t wait to hear from ya!!! what do you all think? 

35 thoughts on “8/17 Season Three, Episode 16: The Triumvirate-Scarecrow and Mrs King”

  1. Pingback: 5/19 Season Four Episode Two: Stemwinder Part 2 | "Just walk with me.."

  2. Jepard reminds me of Frankenstein’s Monster…..turning on his creator Eagles. Breathed life into something that they can no longer control.

    I find it a bit ridiculous to have a secret meeting discussing the murder of someone within earshot of your grandson but I suspect his inclusion was to show Eagles as the family man rather than a cold hearted killer. The face of humanity within the Triumvirate. Makes Jepard look all the more brutal by comparison.

    Lee sure does have pretty eyes but his hair is looking a bit erm…..coiffed for my tastes. Come back Season 2 hair I preferred you.

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  3. Here’s another animal-name association in this episode: Webster comes from a term for a female weaver, therefore = spider.

    I don’t really see Lance as stalking women — he spends all his time breaking into computers. Some for his job, and some for the places his brain goes, which of course includes girls. But I think the real interest is the challenge of getting into something that’s supposed to be secure. Like the Soviet Embassy Super Bowl Lottery. All about the thrill of the accomplishment. I bet he doesn’t even use the tickets to Chakra Khan, because by that time he’s distracted by breaking into something else. I’m a bit more disgusted about the fraternity members who have compiled and posted a computerized list of their female acquaintances.

    I am fascinated by the contrast that is being portrayed between Jepard, who is honest about getting his hands dirty, and the triumvirate (not just Eagles, although he is the most vocal) who are hiding behind a claim to do good. I think that highlighting the contrast serves to portray the inevitable corruption that happens when individuals take too much power into their own hands. “Sooner or later–later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last–sooner or later the dark power will devour him” (Tolkien).

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  4. My theory on why the grandson is there – Marcy Webster is Karl’s daughter or DIL and she and her dad/FIL were meant to spend some quality time with junior in the park kicking the soccer ball. But things are getting too hot, so the other dudes had to join them. The dark haired lady in the distance? She’s the nanny who brought junior to the park and will take him home for milk and cookies in a little bit.

    LOL – that’s too funny about all the animals and sounding like a jungle. Just want to point out that Lee sounds like Leo, which is the King of the…oh, never mind….hahaha

    And this bit with Jepard and junior is all a bit scary for the 8pm family time slot in the 80s.

    Oh gees, I just read the word Utilitarianism…this is getting serious. 😉

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  5. I’m so glad I finally have some time to comment. I’ve been thinking about some of this episode off and on all day and I’m just going to lay all of my thoughts here and see where it lands.

    First of all, I had another look see with the scene about Lee telling Billy about King Cobra. I get the impression that it was edited wrong. I think that Lee showing King Cobra written three times comes after he tells Billy about what they found and then he brings up King Cobra. It just seems odd when you view it all together.

    Secondly, I’m loving the writing of this episode. We aren’t having to spend a whole lot of time sideswiping, leaping over, filling in, or ignoring plot holes. We have what is turning out to be a top notch, non-tea drinking baddie. The man has no remorse and is at the same time showing the Triumvirate just how ruthless they really are.

    And I think there is a bit of subtext going on. Someone mentioned in an earlier post how the mention of the 60s and Amanda’s flashback with her reunion harkens back to a time when she and Lee would have been dealing with young love and the freshness and newness of it all. And how that is all connected with what they are feeling now.

    There was also something about the title of this episode. I actually looked up the word triumvirate and it means a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals. The arrangement can be formal or informal and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case. There were examples given about triumvirates in ancient Rome, the Bible, China, Hindu mythology and also many modern day descriptions in other countries were given. I can see how this applies to these three where Falkan seems to have disregarded what has been the established norm and is taking some of these matters into his own hands.

    This also made me think back to the password that Lance discovered and the fact that the triumvirate were using it. A guardian is a defender, protector, or keeper. One that guards, watches over or protects. It is a person who looks after someone who is unable to do so for themselves. The triumvirate is thinking they are guardians but in a truly misguided way. I’m sure that some ego is involved, but what they have started is now getting out of control and they are not truly protecting US interests. They are more self-serving that serving others.

    In looking at Lee and Amanda you see that Lee has been a guardian of Amanda. He has felt that responsibility towards her ever since she became a part of the Agency. He always shows up right on time to defend her, protect her and keep her safe. In the last scene he once again did just that. There’s always the semi-panicked calling of her name. She calmly lets him know where she is or that she’s okay. And then one or the other of them always asks if they are all right. And then we get that great touchiness between them. I think that part of what Amanda is feeling is some relief and reinforcement as she pulls on his lapels. Remember we wondered if there was some doubt that Francine may have instilled during FFFT. After OBDOBD we know that she gets her own special code and she uses it in TPE. I think we can safely say that any doubts have surely been erased at this point.

    I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of this episode plays out.

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    1. Remember we wondered if there was some doubt that Francine may have instilled during FFFT. After OBDOBD we know that she gets her own special code and she uses it in TPE. I think we can safely say that any doubts have surely been erased at this point.

      To be honest, I’m feeling a little bit confused at the moment about the big picture and how it all fits.. Why?…
      a) because as we walked through FFFT, TWWH, PFK and OBDOBD I felt they were not in the correct order..and I know my view was not shared by others.. but do you think I can remember what I was thinking about all that then?!
      b) I took a break when life got crazy busy and I’ve lost the flow of the big picture here.. I feel like I need to go back to flight to freedom again and read forward from there!
      It feels clear what’s happening right now in this ep – but how it got to this point and the big picture for me is a little murky right now!
      I might eventually head over to Nedlindger’s to the ep order thread and try to sort my thoughts into some kind of an order over there so I don’t clog up and confuse the blog discussion with it!

      Great to hear from you Valerie!

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      1. To be honest, I’m feeling a little bit confused at the moment about the big picture and how it all fits..

        Bwahahaha! Me too!!! I was just thinking I need to have an SMK marathon for meself and watch from TFT up through this episode. Morley’s stories will pull me ahead of the blog from here on out. But that’s okay, because I know how I view Amanda’s head and heart changes as we move forward. If I just base it on the series up to this point, I would probably come to a different conclusion. Does that make sense?

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      2. Maybe to clear up a little confusion. The doubts of which I was speaking was the possibility that Francine may have gotten to Amanda a little about whether Lee would always be there for her or rescue her. I’m still on the fence a bit about where Amanda’s heart and head are about a relationship with Lee. I think she knows that Lee is solidly there for her as a friend, partner, and protector. I think that Amanda is now the one moving at a snail’s pace in regards to a relationship. I think she’s headed there I’m just not sure she’s there yet.

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        1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this Valerie – an interesting idea about Francine. I have been off on my own little exploration off the www trying to get my head around where we’ve walked, what it all means etc.. and the idea that Amanda needed to deal with Francine and the information she presents, and what she adds to the equation has been something I’ve been playing around with. I think it is another part of the context of it all that Amanda needs to come to terms with in order to freely move forward with Lee..

          I also agree Valerie that it is really hard to know when Amanda is ‘there’. sometimes with things like this we can only identify something in a character’s journey when looking back – not in the present moment.. JWWM is good for being in the present moment – but I know it does not look back at the big picture in any structured way -[if anyone has ideas or suggestions for how to improve our experience here please let me know].

          I’ve been wondering if I should publish a post on JWWM sharing my season 3 ep order so far or if I should post all my thoughts on Neds in the ep order thread- Because I don’t presume for a second my order is THE order, and I would like to check if my order has any fatal flaws (love’s fatal flaw! lol!!).. Soooo I think for now I’ll post it on Neds.. if anyone is interested I’d like to hear what other orders or opinions people have about it. We discuss these things as we walk, but it can be tricky to find the different elements discussed over so many posts.. and over such a long period of time! Me getting confused 😉 [too much gazing at Lee doesn’t help either 😉 ]
          I’ll get it onto Neds soon..

          okay.. I’ve got a bit of smk time up my sleeve today…

          Respond to comments? or write blog posts?? or post on Neds?
          This is a bittersweet choice for me!!! Forgive me for not responding to all your fabulous comments in depth- I am thinking I need to plough on with writing posts so busy times in RL will not prevent the walk from continuing.. it keeps iwsod’s JWWM fun levels high and stress levels low if posts are ready to go – Byeeee!!! and thanks so much for sharing your thoughts everyone!!!

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    2. Nice catch with the password being “Guardian”, Valerie! Certainly the Triumvirate thinks of themselves as guardians — guardians of justice after it has been misplaced. I agree that we have been gifted with some high quality and intentional scripting throughout this episode. Iwsod joked about the animal names but it may have been a spot on observation — Falcons, Eagles, — they are all animals we think of as being noble (the US national bird is the eagle, after all!) yet they are also known for being highly predatory.

      And the “hypocrisy line” is one of my favorites: “Such a delicate morality, with your big offices and titles, clean hands. Hire me; from two thousand miles away, you can’t smell the blood. But you’re all killers,.” Chilling. We don’t all deal in life and death like policemen and agents and so forth, but I think we all can take to heart the message about “delicate morality”.

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  6. “He ain’t called Scarecrow for nothing” LOL…well to take up for Lee maybe the “wizard”‘ Paul Barnes, gave him his diploma to show that he had his brains all along 🙂

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  7. ‘He ain’t called scarecrow for nothing’ rofl I loved that line, really funny ISWOD.
    Regardless, I agree with you all, Jepard has some menace as a villain and is suitably mocking ( although if he thinks about it, he will now have to take out the shop assistant, the other shopper, Lee, the grandchild and possibly, the four (or more) members of the Triumvirate ). However, he is very stupid, he should just look for more money and head off to Europe or South America for a bit. While Amanda can recognise him, until the shop shooting, there was nothing much to link him to anything
    I actually think that Eccles is a very realistic bad person, weak and vacilliating and ‘washing his hands’ . Falkan just annoys me.
    The whole vigilante plot is interesting, its horrible but probably has some truth in it- ie black opps and things like that.
    Lee and Amanda continue in their little cocoon – at least that was it looks like to me, they are so focused on each other that the outside ‘danger, excitement and intrigue’ doesn’t really impinge on their rapport although they are aware of it and react to it appropriately. At least that’s what I see

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    1. thanks Michele! I love to hear if a particular line tickles your funny bone 🙂
      rofl.. Jepard has let things get out of hand here in his hunt for Amanda duh duh duhhhhh!!! 😉

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  8. Does no one question that the kid is going to tell somebody about how all the grownups were standing around talking about killing people? My kids sure would have mentioned something like that if they’d overheard it!

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    1. Agreed. I suspect (and hope) my kids would mention if my dad mentioned killing someone around them. I guess the grandson is there to highlight the hypocrisy of the Triumvirate. They make me sick!! In the way “Nicky” made me sick when he treated Agnes badly in JEG. And Jepard may be a baddie bu 1) he’s a witty baddie and 2) he’s an “honest” baddie. They’re trying to justify their hypocrisy and he just shines his baddie light on them. Thank goodness for the sighting of Lee’s eyes ( 😀 ) later in the post to help me calm down….

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    2. Janet you raise an excellent point: That kid is a loose end!!! he must be done away with!!!!! Muahahahahaahahaaa..

      lol I’m in one of those moods today I think a bit nuts! 🙂

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    3. Makes you wonder about the rest of their family, doesn’t it? Maybe they’ve been involved in the spy business so long that the poor kid has just been told repeatedly not to talk about the things that grandpa says or does or about his “associates.”

      It sort of reminds me of that poem, A Smuggler’s Song: http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_smuggler.htm

      The man in the poem tells the little girl to ignore “the gentlemen” that her father does business with and anything strange that she might see and not to say anything to any authorities that might come around and ask questions. He basically tells her that there’s no danger for her, and he promises her a doll if she’s a good girl and does what she’s told. I have the feeling that this boy has heard similar things from his elders for most of his life.

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      1. That scene with them in the park and the young boy really creeps me out. Its too gritty for me for SMK. Little innocents being touched like Jeppard does and speaking words like that is just too evil. But maybe it is supposed to start to create some subtext. The park is such a place of “normal” and yet there is this very abnormal twisted spy stuff going on.
        I really like the way Valerie was putting together some of of the underlying subtext in this episode. I don’t know if SMK does it on purpose or not, but it is there.
        And i also like the way Lee so easily and naturally explains hings to Amanda. He does it often now a days.

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  9. Lee’s eyes look perfect – don’t they always? If he could an eye-full of head mannequin his eye should at least be a little bit bloodshot. Suffer for your art man! 😎
    (On the plus side, we do get to see close up how hazel and swoony they are 😀 )

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  10. Haha… It’s a jungle out there! Good one, Iwsod. 🙂

    I agree that this is an interesting group of baddies. Even if Eagles were to persuade Webster and Falkan not to go after Amanda, they can’t control Jepard, except maybe to kill him. (Or unless he changes his beverage choice to something without caffeine. 😉 ) And I’ll second the nomination for the season 3 baddie award to Jepard.

    Best part for me here is Lee again treating Amanda as an equal and filling her in. I like how they still seem so connected (post swoon-moment) even while discussing this case with Billy.

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  11. RANDOM MUSINGS
    “I compared all three cheques” Bwa ha ha ha! That is hilarious!

    Maybe the triumvirate started as three members and they kept adding as they found the need (I mean, what does Falken do, other than sit in the dark and wait for someone to break into file 666?).

    I do wonder what all the animal sounding names are about though?

    Jepard is definitely in the running for the Season 3 Baddies Award .

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    1. The Triumvirate appears to be Falkan, Eagles and the woman. The other two guys seem to be bodyguards/muscle (although I think one of them was in the original “dark room” scene at the beginning of the episode), and Jepard is an independent contractor. Confusing though.
      Yes, Jepard is a good baddie. He doesn’t try to gloss over who he is and what he does. Eagles needs to take a leaf out of Jepard’s book and own his badness.

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      1. Eagles needs to take a leaf out of Jepard’s book and own his badness.

        own his badness? that cracks me up!! Just the thought of it!!! why? maybe because Eagles is such a wimp?!
        He doesn’t live up to his name does he..Eagles are majestic.. errrr.. except maybe if he is a ‘bald’ eagle?! 😉 whahaahahaah
        Is that why he has the name?!

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        1. Lol, Iwsod 🙂
          Indeed Eagles reminds me more of a vulture – as big as an eagle but not half that nice to look at… 😦

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