“This will render him compliant?” – Ilsa, asking about the sodium pentathol
“This will render him mush — at least for a little while. Chatty, disoriented, incapable of concealing the truth. Essentially, he’ll be Ames.” – Guerrero
OK, I guess I should have seen it coming. While watching Monday’s episode of Human Target, I was so wrapped up in the continuity issues of them purporting that Chance had never been in love that I completely missed what that scene with Ilsa was really all about. Really? Where the hell is Marty McFly when you need him. …
I was so naive, thinking that the reboot of Human Target could go in a tolerable direction and remain enjoyable after the addition of the female cast members. Now we have to believe that Chance loves Ilsa? What about Katherine, the angst, the impetus for your redemption, Mr. Chance? Not only have you forgotten her, you’ve become a victim of FOX’s poor attempt to appeal to the masses. Does no one over at the network read fan sites? For crying out loud.
The way this episode ended is making it hard to even appreciate the clever way the episode was told in flashbacks, with Chance telling Harry about the job gone bad. I’m having trouble remembering just how funny Tony Hale was when he was watching the race: “C’mon autos. Go faster! Burn some rubber!” and that he was at the bar to meet “Laverne.” And I can barely recall my laughter at Ilsa’s speech to the security guy, detailing every reason why she doesn’t like his face.
Maybe I’ll hold out some hope for the season finale next week. It could all be explained away and really be nothing, right? Right?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Feb 02, 2011 @ 22:31 EST5EDT
Don’t worry, should be canceled soon. ;)
I really think you are reading it all wrong.
There was no continuity error in the episode, as Ilsa’s words were not “you’ve never been in love” but “you’ve never been in a trusting relationship.” Ilsa knows all about how Chance was betrayed by Maria, and that he’d had feelings for her. She is referring to that, and only referring to that because she was lashing out. At that moment she was speaking from hurt as Chance had implied that Marshall had cheated on her. This implication would piss off just about anyone who cherished the memory of a person, and that person’s name is suddenly tarnished.
When Chance was looking at Ilsa, it wasn’t with “love” in his eyes. We know he’d had strong feelings for Maria, and as season one established, his becoming a bodyguard was motivated by the guilt he felt at the loss of someone he had come to love.
All through the episode, people are basically kicking Chance in the chin with the whole “you wouldn’t understand love” bit, but Chance’s responses are not affirmation – he plays his cards close to his chest, and because we know the depth of the love he has felt in the past, it makes all their comments and feelings seem petty and small hearted.
*POST AUTHOR*
I don’t know … I see your point, but if we were supposed to read it that way, then last night’s episode would not have ended with that kiss! ;-)
RIP Human Target, you finally blew it all up. Adding the two ladies has done nothing but water the show down. Finally tonight FOX makes good on a romance no one seem to want but some FOX hocho… Adding the women, killed alot of the viewers. The added new viewers, which FOX hoped would be women, could never replace the loss of the many men who lived for this show the first season.
Way to go FOX, once again destroying a great show with needless additions…. I really wish we never got a second season so the first could stand alone as one awesome hot one….
I enjoyed Human Target’s first season so much!
SOB!
Agreed 100% Debbie, in fact you could have been reading my post on another forum where I said the same thing, what they’ve done to this great show is a travesty, there’s no way this season will end as impressively as last season.. I mean LEE MAJORS! At least I’ll always have it on Blu-Ray to go back to while I deny to myself that Season 2 ever happened
I don’t know…
It was strange how all of a sudden he had a crush on Ilsa, when in past episodes it never really went into that.
But after he kissed her, I noticed that his face looked concerned and almost regretful. Almost like he shouldn’t have kissed her….
I don’t know…
but I hope the finale ties everything up nicely.
I wonder if the male-female skew of the audience really did change from season 1 to 2? Most of the fans I read complaining online about two women breaking up the male trio dynamic were women themselves, but I suppose that’s true of any internet forum.
Not sure how dumbing down Chance this season was supposed to make him more attractive to female viewers, though.
I saw the Chance/Ilsa pairing coming from the moment her high heel stepped out of the helicopter in Tibet, and would have dreaded the writers wrenching the tiller into their desired outcome had I remained a viewer. Did they have to resort to the Smallville contingency of having every passing guest star and ex-lover prop up the romance by commenting on how they were made for each other? That’s only necessary in the event that Valley and Varma had no actual sexual chemistry together, of course.
I thought they were dumbing-down Chance’s character as well – extremely annoying. So many good story lines from Season 1 disappeared. New characters were needed to create new complexities, tension (not necessarily sexual) etc. I find Ilsa annoying (in the stupid sense) and Ames does not really add anything to the show. I get sick of the bickering and Chance’s fight scenes aren’t quite as intense. The stunts are definitely down from Season 1.
Bring back Baptiste – he’s awesome.
Season 1 was brilliant. Season 2 was just very different to where I thought the show was heading. Still hoping for Season 3 – hope it doesn’t end up being a soapie.
I loved those scenes in the first season when Chance would cock his head, then continue the conversation in a foreign language or rattle off an important bit of technical or cultural trivia. I was never sure whether that came from his own mind, or he was accessing some sort of implant from his assassin days. Now he apparently confuses an opera with a type of pasta.
I understand that Ames does add something to the show: the obligatory “strip down and oil up” sequences. All that’s missing is the slow-motion panning.
Baptiste, like Guerrero, brings so much to the screen that it is difficult for any writers to hamstring his performance.
If it does indeed get picked up for a third season, the typical pattern for shows of this type is: Chance and Ilsa alternately pine for each other when the other is in a relationship, with plenty of angst and moping. We know these temporary love interests are mere conveniences of plot, so we’ll never get attached to them or their romances. They’ll drag out the “will they or won’t they” for 3-4 years, including at least one engagement that will end with the guest star tearfully saying “I’m not the one you’re really in love with,” and giving/taking back the ring. The One True Pairing, when it finally arrives, will be so delayed and drawn out as to be ultimately anticlimactic and disappointing to the viewers. And if we’re lucky, the marriage will be as boring and uneventful as the Jim/Pam one.
Its great to see Valley do all his own stunts – but with all the bullets etc flying around he never gets hit, or even scratched – it would be interesting to see him get hurt and the others have to get him out. It would definitely bring out the bond that these five have formed and the human vulnerable side of Chance.
Maybe an old enemy from Season 1 – there’s plenty out there to choose from – shoots him beats him up seeking information, Chance in bad way and needs help. Chance could have a great fight scene at the beginning of the show as he would be literally fighting for this life. The other action comes from the five rescuing him.
This way, in future, we won’t always be certain of fight outcomes. What do you think?