Deception: Discussion Thread

[Wales2004]

It's not just that they made Will bad at his job, they also made him hard to like. He's completely driven by his emotions and irrational as a result. So both Edward and Joanna clue him into Audrey and instead of at least telling Edward he'd look into it, he just brushes him off as stressed while insisting that Robert is the culprit (with even less info than Edward gave him about Audrey). And he brushes Joanna off by telling her that she's just jealous of Audrey. I know they wanted to play a little suspense game but who didn't think the phone belonged to Audrey? (Clearly because Julian had it and checked it before handing it over.....really???) Why couldn't Will have found out that the phone was Audrey's on his own? Because that would rob us of getting to see Joanna's look of pain when Julian pulled the phone from his pocket.

Will should have whiplash. He goes from telling Edward that his father is trying to kill him to telling Edward that he let himself be suckered into bringing his father's company down. If they got another season, they could spend that figuring out who really killed the girl since it wasn't him.

What's up with Robert's groundkeeper?

They spend an awful lot of time trying to make Robert look guilty of murder....now it's the first wife. That was probably a cover up job on his part as well. Joanna's mother may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Robert didn't bring her there to find out about Joanna...if he did, he seemed to forget all about that. Plus how can he rely on someone who has onset Alzheimer's?

I hope the writers make sense of some of that as well as how Will has so much power per the preview. He could throw Joanna off the case but that's it so maybe he was having a moment.

Since Joanna didn't dispute what her mother said about Julian, the issue isn't and never will be whether he loves Joanna, it seems to be whether he can commit.

[Ann_SS]

It sounded to me like Robert's wife killed herself or was going to die so he covered it to get the money. I cannot take Haverstock seriously and don't blame Robert for wanting him dead. Based on Vivian's reaction when talking to Joanna, he either raped her or coerced her into sex. Either way, he committed statutory rape.

I actually thought that Robert was reading that poem to his first wife who he clearly truly loved rather than Sophia.

Joanna did not deny either Vivian or her mother's accusations about Julian, but I wonder if he was seeing those other girls to force Joanna to go public with their relationship. He obviously loved her and did not like the sneaking around. Regardless, he and Joanna love each other and have to figure out how to be together.

[Wales2004]

If Robert's wife killed herself (she may have been ill) then Joanna's mother might have helped her in some way. I think she was brought in for more than warning Joanna about Julian and Robert's forgotten quest to find out about Joanna.

Robert was thinking about his first wife. I think that scene before he gave Sophia the earrings made it clear that his focus was totally on her and that Sophia was just a help mate.

ITA about Haverstock. He's disgusting.

Perhaps Julian's subs are all about not having Joanna then and now. He does seem earnest about wanting a relationship with her. I think that whole Audrey staking a claim sideshow is kind of funny. So she really wants Julian even though she's basically destroyed his work and she gets her claws out. Do they want her to be sympathetic because she cares so much about Julian? I don't think they thought that angle out any more than they gave Will's possessiveness much thought beyond weak triangle-obstacle.

Sophia's somewhat interesting but I would like to see her secret exposed. Edward seems to be the best character on this show. Tate Donovan's done a great job there.

[DramatistDreamer]

I was thinking it was either that Robert's first wife killed herself or it was a case of Euthanasia, that perhaps after she begged him, Robert may have assisted her in suicide.

And Haverstock is disgusting but for the sake of drama, I hope they don't kill him off. Dramatically he has loads of payoff for this show and John Laroquette is really good at being very bad.

S. Epatha Merkeson was everything in those few scenes she had. As a theater person, I can tell that it must be that theater muscle that she is flexing. Especially that bedroom scene where she is struggling to keep up with Joanna's recently invented history, a lot of tension in that brief scene.

Tate Donnovan will be missed if/when he goes to another series (assuming Deception is still on the air). I've enjoyed his character for the most part and the gradual discovery that he actually has integrity.

Funny about that sonnet by Shakespeare that Robert recited at the anniversary party-- I once recited that for my grandparents 50th anniversary but I did it from memory. I come from a family of Type A personalities so reading from a paper just wouldn't do. Never mind the fact that whenever I stayed with my grandparents they probably invented something to argue about ever day of the week, it was all good. Plus, I was in my amateur acting phase and memorizing lines was no big deal, Shakespeare that much better!

But Deception, that last scene between Joanna and Julian...

Although, I hope they closed that door. And I hope that wasn't the bedroom Joanna stayed in as a kid??

[Ann_SS]

Okay, I rewatched Joanna and Julian going at it and they are hot together. I love the swelling music too. It is horrible that the scene was not longer. What were they thinking?

Spoiler:

[DramatistDreamer]

Yeah, I have been suspecting him too. He seems like more of a 'fixer' for his employer. That incident with Tate Donnovan's character (why can't I remember his character name?!), for instance.

[Wales2004]

I think the last scene with Julian and Joanna was perfect for the end of the show. They'll have more scenes together in the next two episodes.

I asked above about the groundskeeper. He seems to help Robert an awful lot and Robert brushed him off when he bought him the gulf club. It just seemed like something to me at the time. Even if he hasn't done anything too shady, he must know an awful lot but there is a potential resentment plot there.

[DramatistDreamer]

Then there was the pointed remark he made to Joanna in the kitchen. I wavered between whether it was said in a menacing tone or a concerned one. I decided that he was telling her to be careful-- he has known Joanna for a long time, it appears as he's been working there for decades, it seems. I admit my first impulse was to say the butler (i.e. groundskeeper) did it!(lol). He may yet turn out to be another red herring.

[Ann_SS]

Sneak peek with Will and Joanna (scroll down): http://www.eurweb.com/2013/03/laz-alonso-explains-why-he-took-deception-gig/

[Ann_SS]

I knew that guy killed Audrey for Robert! I am glad that Joanna and Julian are happy for the moment.

Will is the dumbest FBI agent ever. He has no clue what evidence is on that golf club, but he arrested Edward. Plus, he waits for Julian to get stabbed. What a dumbass! At least, Edward is free and off the hook. I did enjoy him wacking the hell out of Haverstock. Although it is horrible that Samantha is dead.

That reporter was asking to be killed. too bad she survived.

[gtru1981]

OMG! such a good show and so sad about Edwards wife.

[Wales2004]

I liked several things about yesterday's episode--the main being how Joanna's mother handled Robert's threat. I had a feeling that there was nothing to that golf club so it was good to see Edward use it to beat Haverstock. I think Mia is great and I loved the scene with her and Vivian. They seemed to have the perfect relationship. Nicole is truly annoying but I love how she is an immensely better detective than Will. In fact, everyone is better and more astute than Will.

How about Will telling Joanna she is not objective? Exactly what is he? He pretty much runs on emotion and runs his mouth a bit too much as well. He is fairly quick to shoot down anyone's theories....which usually turn out to be true, He was quick to shoot Joanna down about Haverstock but then he seemed to realize later that Audrey didn't kill her or have her killed. And instead of looking into Joanna's theory, he wants it to be one of the Bowers. He's not just dumb. He's dumber than dumb.

I don't get Joanna's mother bringing up Will unless that was an Alzheimer's moment. I do like Joanna's response when she asked what Julian was doing coming out of her room. I figured they would have somewhat of a continuation from last week and that her hair would be without that fall.

I didn't see the crooked killer cop coming. I have that in common with blind Will. His animosity towards Julian was petty and childish. I would have had Joanna be concerned about Will's stab wound and not Nicole's survival or at least both but their overall interaction was nice. It was good to see Joanna own her feelings and say so...even if they purposely kept her from admitting that she loves Julian to her mother with that lost contact lens.

[DramatistDreamer]

I'm watching Deception online and did anyone see that brief cameo by Ilene Kristen? She managed the motel where Vivia Bowers 'used to crash' during one of her 'benders'.

[Ann_SS]

Yeah, I posted about IK on the "where are they now" thread.

Julian and Joanna were so adorable at the beginning and in their final scenes. She has got to tell Julian about her "deception" before he finds out from someone else. I think that he will forgive her, but it will take time.

I did like how Joanna handled her mother's questions about Julian coming out of her room. I don't know why the mother thinks this is unfair to Will. Will had his chance and chose the FBI over Joanna.

I think that bracelet means that Vivian was killed in the house. I now have two theories 1) the "he" that Vivian is referring to in her sessions is the handyman/henchmen and he killed her or 2) Sophia killed Vivian in a rage when she told her that she was leaving and taking Mia. However, if Sophia did it, I don't know how she would have moved the body. She would have needed help.

Oh, we are supposed to find out who killed Vivian next week so we'll see if I am close to the truth.

[Wales2004]

I hope the groundskeeper isn't the one to whom Vivian refers. There's enough of an ick factor with Haverstock without them doubling down on the perversion. He can still be the killer but if he is, I hope it's about something else. I actually want Haverstock to be the killer so he can have his life prolonged then end up locked up and unable to enjoy it. That would be the best payoff. He has no leverage since he gave up the fake murder weapon and Wyatt's free. The best thing they could do with that character now is make him pay and Vivian moving on does make jealousy a perfect motive. They set it up where it would make sense since she was planning to run away and take Mia.

The Sophia theory could also work. You could also throw in Vivian possibly knowing about Wyatt from Haverstock. Maybe the groundskeeper helped Sophia. Maybe Sophia made good on her threat to kill Sam and hired that man to kill her and possibly even Edward.

If the groundskeeper is involved with anything major then it might be that he has something against Robert. I still don't think that Audrey was working alone or that it was even her idea. The only thing that does not tie in is Sam's death unless it was assumed that she knew everything Edward knew. Since Audrey was planning to leave the country and wanted Julian to go with her, it seems odd that she would have had anything to do with going after Sam or even Edward.