The Brave Roundtable: “Moscow Rules”

The second episode of the new military-based NBC drama The Brave aired last night.

The official synopsis of that new episode is as follows:

The team heads to Russia when C.I.A. officer Cassie Conner is attacked by rebels; Patricia and her team work to find out why Archer is important to the rebels.

Please join Cara, Leah and Rueben as they discuss their thoughts on the second episode of the debut season of The Brave:

Noah was top of his class in field training, but he chose to work in ops in DC instead. Do we suspect a more significant back story?

Leah: I may still be biased by that actor being on Quantico but I can’t help but wonder what the story is.

Rueben: Yes, I totally think there is much more backstory. And, I was wondering when Tate Ellington’s (Noah) time on Quantico might come back to “haunt” him.

Cara: Glad I’m not the only one being influenced by Ellington’s character on Quantico. I loved him in Quantico, and I hope he’s not going to end up typecast. That said, I’d love it if he turns out to be an amazing good guy who really does have the honorable motives he claims to have. I’m gonna believe that he was just being humble, for now.

Were you a little….miffed….that they pretty much glossed over the beach bombing from the end of the pilot?

Leah: I could have used a better bridge between the explosion and the beginning of this episode.

Rueben: Agreed, I didn’t like that it was two weeks later and they only had a brief mention about it. Why include it in the pilot, leaving it with a cliffhanger and then only glossing over it in the next? I think it deserved a bit more coverage.

Cara: I wondered if it wasn’t something intended to be continued from the pilot, but then tabled for another day. Perhaps it’s meant to be part of a larger story arch? It did feel disjointed, as did the quick scene to account for it.

Cassie Conner was quite the kick ass woman in this episode. Would you like to see her back in a future episode?

Leah: I was loving her character. I like that she had a connection to the team in DC as well.

Rueben: Yes, it would be great if they do a 6-months later revisit to her this time without her being in dire jeopardy.

Cara: Yes, I’m a fan. She’s smart, and a pretty solid badass. I would love to see her pop up again later. Given her significance in the field, I think she could easily reappear.

Do you think there is anything going on between Dalton and Jaz given that one split second moment at the end of the episode?

Leah: I like that there was a spark. Even if they don’t do anything quickly about it, I like that it is there.

Rueben: Maybe it was me, but I think there might be a slim stirring, but somehow I think they are both too professional to ever let it go anywhere.

Cara: Preach’s look made me think there might be a spark even more than Jaz and Dalton. I think we’re gonna see romantic tension at some point. We saw last week that Dalton has a lot of respect for Jaz, and he is incredibly professional, so romantic feelings would certainly complicate things.

How does the team seem to be adjusting to the loss of a team member and receiving his replacement?

Leah: I am going to need to know more about this fallen team member. He was Jaz’s best friend, right? Can I get some backstory? Other than the few snarky remarks Jaz makes it seems pretty routine/forgotten.

Rueben: I definitely want to know more about their fallen team member since they seemed to make it such a big deal in the pilot episode. A backstory, a mention of who this person was and how they met their demise is the least they could give us.

Cara: Jaz had me worried in the beginning, and she’s still pretty hard on Amir. The team seems to be doing well, but they’re definitely still mourning a lost comrade. It will be hard for Amir to find his place in the group as long as their being haunted by a ghost.

There’s a little female solidarity in the bath house. What do you think about the ladies in a show set in what is typically macho world?

Leah: I am loving Jaz. She is feminine without being either too overtly sexy or too obnoxiously (to take Cara’s word) ball-busting. That is something I am liking about this show, they are not portraying the women in the normal women in power/military kind of way. It’s refreshing.

Rueben: You both said it so well I don’t think I could say it any better. All I can do is wholeheartedly agree with you both. I really like the women on this show, as they all seem like great three-dimensional characters; we just need to learn more about each of them but so far so good.

Cara: I think the show is doing a great job of presenting complex and authentic female characters that can hold their own in the face of danger. We discussed how great Cassie Conner is, and I love the trust the team has in Jaz. I was worried that Jaz was going to turn out to be a stereotypical ball-busting female soldier, so I was glad to see a little fragility in her today as she went into the baths.

What are your thoughts on this episode of the show? Please share them below.

The next new episode of The Brave will air on NBC on Monday, October 9 at 10/9c.