5/6 Season Four:Episode Twenty One–A Matter of Choice–Scarecrow and Mrs King

Back to Brody and Jonathan.. if we must… lol..
Jonathan visits Brody at his hotel aaaaaagaaaaain. [What a shame they couldn’t follow him there or the ep would be over haaaa]
Brody wants more detailed info about Dr Dunleavy – err to save Francine- cough! and Jonathan regretfully agrees to try and get it.

Back to Billy’s office,  time for Billy, Lee and Francine to figure out the plan. Turns out Francine was drugged with “Déjà vu 2”. [My guess of what happened with Déjà vu 1?! they probably skipped it because they had Déjà vu!4.21 AMOC.avi_001898732_thumb
How is the drug administered? never mind. I don’t want to know. lol.]

The gang consider their options.. they conclude bringing Stone in would tip off Brody.. So, instead it’s decided that Francine will take an antidote for the deja vú 2 drug just before she meets up with Jonathan, so she can let Jonathan go through the motions, ‘drug’ her and find out what information Brody is after.. As part of the plan, Lee will stake out the place.. and stay close..

[Ummm ??? Is it just me or is that a super creepy plan??
Francine just found out Jonathan has been drugging her and lying to her, isn’t sure why, but is being suuuper professional about it and is on the case- Go RoboFrancine! It’s okay, we’ll just have Francine’s boyfriend violate her trust again to figure out what Brody wants, and have Francine lay there and pretend the drug works while fully conscious but pretending not to be?
Dumbest plan ever! Creepy and too risky!

I can suggest what to me would be a more satisfying plan…
Get hold of some Déjà vu 2  and Francine can take great delight in drugging Jonathan, then finding out what Brodie wants, then grill him on if he is really in love with her or just playing… (whooooo like that ‘my Amanda’ scene!! haaaa but hey that drugging was 100% consented to!!) Rofl.. Justice for Francine lol.
Stone deserves it – the jerk! Plus it’s a joke begging to be done: Get Stone stoned! haaaaa..]

Okay okay as Billy reminded us- this is not a personal vendetta.

[Hmmm second less satisfying but less personal vendetta like plan: All those cases Francine is working on?? Neutralise those risks asap so there is no longer a threat. If she’s the only person who knows where a certain burger loving goof is living, move him! Preferably next door to McDonalds! Then, find Stone, bring him in. track down Brody- If they can’t prove what he’s after, so what who cares. But making sure he can’t get it is probably a priority no?!

Francine seems to be putting herself at more risk than she should and not thinking clearly (IMHO) because she feels she needs to fix this and it’s her fault. Sorry for me this is all just a big mess. How are you all seeing this??]

One good thing here? I think for once Billy is spot on with his opinion, shame he didn’t stick to his guns lol. “If things go sour you might have to take Jonathan out” says Billy.
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Francine: I understand.

4.21 AMOC.avi_001954688_thumb– [no no noooo too much to ask even of RoboFrancine lol. Does anyone else have an intense foreboding coming over them with this scene?! Can anyone make sense of why this plot is so bad? is there a reason for this? Was this a last minute change or something? help?

Oh well.. it has to be a dumb plan or the episode will be over too soon… I prefer the delay tactic of having the baddie temporarily outwit them rather than just having a dumb plan…

And to finish off all my complaining here, I’ll just note Lee looks to be freshly shaved, though he’s been in those clothes since last night. His recent history of being sleep deprived and about to burnout seems to have suddenly evaporated! lol.

Francine heads back to her place.. alone!
It’s fun to get a look at Francine’s home. Have we been inside Francine’s home before this episode? I can’t think..

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She listens to a message from Jonathan saying they are meeting at 8 that evening.. she calls Lee outside on stakeout and says she’s switching him to the radio. She confirms dinner plans are for 8. Lee agrees to call her every hour on the half hour until Jonathan arrives.4.21 AMOC.avi_002008742_thumb

[So funny, looks like Lee has his scruff back all of a sudden haaaaa..]
The call with Lee finished, Francine makes her way through her place to her bedroom. [Hmmm what do you think of the artwork?]

Francine walks into her bedroom, and finds Jonathan hogtied on the bed. Uh oh. [Brody behind her is super creepy. This episode has a super high creepy factor!! I guess that’s suitable for Brody!] 4.21 AMOC.avi_002027160_thumb
4.21 AMOC.avi_002028361_thumb[couldn’t happen to a more deserving bloke. okay okay Jonathan is maybe not that bad!]

Brody attacks Francine surprising her from behind the door… she tries to fight him off and fails. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002031965_thumb

[well the stunt lady fails!] 4.21 AMOC.avi_002035969_thumb

Brody sprays something in Francine’s face [well on the top of her head rofl can’t be too careful], and she falls to the ground unconscious. Brody injects her with the drug. [which drug? I honestly don’t care at this point lol. Injecting Francine is way more dramatic and ups the tension! lol…Uh oh.  4.21 AMOC.avi_002045178_thumbBefore she had the antidote. Great.
It literally takes 2 seconds for this drug to work. haaaa.
Maybe this injection must is…. Déjà vu 2000!
[Brody guides drugged Francine through the info on how to find and approach Dr Dunleavy. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002053987_thumbHe gets what he’s after..]4.21 AMOC.avi_002065598_thumb
But I’m sure it’s okay because they would have already moved Dr Dunleavy! They are world class professionals!! Winking smile


Next scene is at night, we see the interior of Dr Dunleavy’s safe house, [which we didn’t get to see before but I am super confident this is not the same safe house he was at before, and they have instead moved him to a safe house that lives up to it’s name by now. Yep.] 4.21 AMOC.avi_002098031_thumb

Dr Dunleavy’s protection answers the door… 4.21 AMOC.avi_002122455_thumb
Gets a face full of knock you out spray.

Super smug Brody gets in and kidnaps Dr Dunleavy. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002133667_thumb
[What?!] 4.21 AMOC.avi_002135268_thumb
He gloats he’s going to put Dr Dunleavy up for sale..
Ugh… I cannot believe they hadn’t moved Dr Dunleavy to a different safehouse that Francine didn’t know about!!! this is just super duper dumb.
Billy even said he was following up on Francine’s cases.. naughty Billy!

Brody is making the agency look like amateurs. Which is really highlighted when it cuts back to Lee, still in front of Francine’s place, with no clue what’s going on yet.


Yeah Lee… something’s not right! [Ah! That earlier random shot of Lee in the corvette watching the night before must have been this shot repurposed ha!]
Lee phones Billy at the agency, Francine has missed her second call in. something is wrong. err yeah, you waited two hours?! 4.21 AMOC.avi_002163296_thumbHmmm yes very concerning. Hmmm..

Why did you do nothing after she missed the first call in?? The agency just looks better and better here. lol.


Lee heads into Francine’s apt and finds Jonathan hogtied and groggy on the bed. [Did Lee have the same bedspread?! That’s not a thought I want to explore rofl.] 4.21 AMOC.avi_002219352_thumb

So. Stone is alive?? What was all that about Brody ensuring there are no direct links to him?? and how he killed the blondie to tie up the loose end.. but he left Stone as a living literal tied up loose end???!!! oh rofl!
Why couldn’t Stone have been killed! ugh.  Stone is the one guy he was directly linked to due to his personal supervision and all! Why does Stone get to live? boooo  noooooo!!!! rofl. I would not have minded if lying wimp Stone had been killed. lol. ohhh okay okay maybe they let him live because for some completely unfathomable reason to me, Francine seems to have genuine feelings for this guy.]

Billy calls Lee, Dr Dunleavy is missing.. oh lol the agency team arrived “five minutes after Brody grabbed him”[ – what a shame! If only they had had more time!!!  Oh no!!!!! They messed up!]
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And…4.21 AMOC.avi_002249582_thumb duh duh duuuhhhh… Francine is missing.
They messed up bad!!!
[But hey, good news, Lee found the bedspread/quilt cover that Francine stole!]


Back to the agency the next day for Dr Pfaff to interrogate Jonathan. Billy joins Lee as they both watch on. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002268401_thumb

Jonathan doesn’t know how to reach Brody, and he genuinely believed he was working for the CIA. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002288421_thumb

There’s some explanation here about how Brody connected Francine to Dr Dunleavy.
[I honestly don’t really care!! It’s all too much.
I notice here in this scene all of Jonathan’s musings are over how he was fooled, how they played him.. me me me… and not one mention of Francine, worry about her etc. She’s missing!!!! How could he not know this by now?! This is maybe not deliberate on the part of the writers but he’s so focused on his weakness he doesn’t seem to spare a thought for Francine! ugh…

Billy and Lee don’t mention it either. lol. errr the tone is just really weird here!

Seems Billy has changed his outfit and Lee has not from the night before.. Lee’s been in those stinky clothes for 2 nights now. Rofl.]

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Dr Pfaff comes in to tell them Jonathan’s telling the truth, and he can’t help. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002315648_thumb

LOL for once Jonathan is telling the truth! Creep!
The scene ends there.


Back at the airport, Brody is packing unconscious Dunleavy 4.21 AMOC.avi_002329662_thumband conscious Francine in a crate each for transport via airplane cargo.. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002354487_thumb Brody locks the crates, and politely apologises for the ‘precaution’.
[Lol, I can see this turning up in Cindy’s teacup awards if we are lucky enough to get a season 4! Francine’s eyes through those holes are so creepy!!
Everything for this episode rates higher on the creepy scale – I’m thinking the title needs to be changed to ” A Matter of Creepy”]
Brody then goes and buys off a supervisor to get the plane loaded and ready for take off. [whoooo.. a pay off for take off!]  4.21 AMOC.avi_002376509_thumb
A less senior worker is passed a clipboard then wanders off to presumably load things up. Brody is edgy about being seen, but the other guy quickly leaves.  Brody hands over an envelope to the supervisor. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002391725_thumb[Hey you could have at least worn sunglasses or something!]

We then see Smug Brody place an international call to… Tehran! 4.21 AMOC.avi_002399733_thumb


A quick cut to IFF, to find Beaman operating the computer.4.21 AMOC.avi_002406139_thumb [rofl. I guess it is usually either Francine or Amanda’s job and neither of them are available!!!!]
Looking up the phone numbers Brody called during his hotel stay, there are tons of calls to Tehran. [This is pretty funny, he used the phone in his hotel room to call baddies in Tehran?!]  Stone remembers Brody had a watch set to 2 times! [what luck!!! and ….what eyesight!!!] And one time zone was…. Iran! [whooooooo.. he could tell that??!!!!
Ohhhhh okay so Stone survived to deliver that clue.. drat. haa. Okay he can die now!

oh hang on it’s clear to me why Beaman is manning the computer. He has magical typing skills!!! He is heard to be typing when he is not typing haaaaa!! Okay I guess there could be someone else in the room typing but hey it’s soooo loud it’s like it’s the main focus with the gang.. hilarious! see if you hear and see what I do??]

The reveal here to Stone and Beaman about Francine having been taken here is curious… maybe Stone already knew..  but the way it’s said it’s like it’s new.
[I guess that’s why he was all sorry for himself in the interrogation. But why wasn’t he worried to find Lee and not Francine at her apartment?! Ugh. He isn’t the brightest is he, but he knows the Iran time zone. rofl..
Okay okay he’s not as bad as I thought. lol. but he’s still pretty bad haaaa. 4.21 AMOC.avi_002447781_thumb

Oh and lol maybe Beaman doesn’t react because he’s an agent and experienced… but! Didn’t he have a thing for Francine?? The least he could do is give Stone a right hook and send him on is way right about now!!!!!! ugh. Such a wasted opportunity.. I keep imaging ways harm could have been done to Jonathan haaaaaa.. You guys got any ideas?! haaaaa..

Well looking forward to hearing what you think!!

5 thoughts on “5/6 Season Four:Episode Twenty One–A Matter of Choice–Scarecrow and Mrs King

  1. Déjà vu Two: Nice they remembered this. In All the World’s a Stage, Lee told Maria, “You could have said anything, Dr. Von Clausen. Blood analysis indicates that he gave you a powerful new psychotropic that the Russians are calling the “déjà vu drug.” So I guess that was “Déjà vu One.” Which underscores iwsod’s observation of the striking plot similarity between A Matter of Choice and ATWAS.

    Missed check-in: This is not the only time the Agency let an agent miss a check-in without acting immediately. The other time that comes to mind is in Utopia Now. Francine tells Billy that Lee missed his 4:30 checkin… Billy frowns, tells her to get a backup team ready, and “If Lee misses his 6:30 – send them.” Um, that’s two hours from now! Probably four hours from the last check-in! I’m pretty sure there were other examples as well. It always bothers me!

    LeesMolly is right, the “tap-tap-pause-tap” on a hidden microphone would have been a much better system for Francine than having to step away to make a phone call every 30 minutes. Hidden cameras in her apartment with live feeds into a van on the street would have been a good idea too.

    Dunleavy’s safe house: I noticed when I transcribed this episode that the title of the magazine being perused by the agent/guard on the sofa is titled, “Sports Oddities.” LOL.

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  2. Maybe the first call-in was the earlier phone call we saw them having. Perhaps it counts even though Lee wasn’t the one making the call.
    I’d hate to think Lee just sat there thinking “ah, what’s the harm in waiting another hour while my friend is being drugged?”

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    1. Hey it’s not a good look is it!
      Lee said to Francine on the phone: Lee: Good. Okay, call in every hour on the half hour until he gets there.
      Then, later on the phone Lee says to Billy: Billy, Francine has missed her second call-in. I was wondering if they slipped past me.
      she missed 2 call ins and he was only calling every hour on the half hour. IF the earlier phone call we saw them having was the first call in – she didn’t miss it. ?

      I figured maybe the protocol was if you miss one call in no worries but if you miss two then it’s a five alarm fire. This way it’s not Lee who looks like a goof but the protocol haaa.

      Lee should have been hiding out in Francine’s closet during this whole plan, but I guess Brody being in there already it would have been a bit of a tight fit. oh hang on a minute.. something isn’t right there… Rofl!

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      1. That would make sense. It allows for if she can’t necessarily get to the phone without being caught by Stone once. It’s a lot harder to make a phonecard than it is to tap a keychain like Lee did on Stemwinder.

        They probably allow a bit of leeway in this job because sometimes things happen. And if you go too strict, you could blow the op itself.

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  3. Stone is just UGH.

    I did like the Deja Vu/Deja Vu 2 worse than the flu comments. And I love scruffy Lee.

    This is definitely the first time we saw Francine’s apartment.

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