Forum - View topicHigh Card (TV).
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1969 |
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Man, it is kind of embarrassing how Pinochle gets their asses handed to them on the regular when it comes to dealing with the Klondike family. I get that their mission is to gather and seal away the cards, yet for an organisation with so many cards and resources they feel extremely ineffective. The president knows a lot about the cards and yet it seems like zero effort was taken to make their headquarters a difficult place to invade. Also, maybe have an agreed upon password before letting someone into the place where all the cards are when you know there is an illusion type card?
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23807 |
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Agreed. Pinochle? Pinheadochle is more like it. We didn't officially see it, but I assume Zenon got away with the briefcase full of cards. Ms. Love-P proved once again she seems like she'd be a fun date (what can I say? I like 'em crazy...)
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#16
Effectively a complete defeat for Pinochle: the Klondike family did eventually seize the cards Pinochle had guarded zealously for so long and they're planning to use them to neutralise the "Joker" card which is the only way to stop the cards from being used freely without heed for the consequences. The only Players not part of the Klondike clan are those of the Five High Card members plus the old butler, which is no help against the Klondikes' overall military superiority. To top it off, the mysterious hooded man who spoke to Finn two weeks ago is named TILT and is working with the Klondikes. They have all the cards and Ban Klondike the nihilist is going to get what he wants: a world of anarchy with the Cards used freely by their Players in one big chaotic battlefield. Learning about the past of the three main pillars of Fourland explains a lot about Ban Klondike and Theodore Pinochle. Their relationship was still surprising, given how polar their personalities are in contrast to each other. The former used all of the knowledge he acquired when employed under Pinochle and used it against Theodore, who for whatever reason didn't see the attack coming despite the power of his card. Probably overconfidence, since his ability does lower the risk of uncertainty when used correctly. His older son is dead or dying while his younger unfavoured one can't help him, but he remains impassive nonetheless and is only shaken when he learns the Klondikes want the Joker card gone. The only "Wild Card" that could possibly stop the Klondikes now is the Black Knight, which last I remembered is secured under TILT's watchful eye. If he really is working for the Klondikes, then there's no way Finn and the others can redeem themselves. If he isn't and told the truth to Finn regarding the legend behind the cards, the Klondikes might not get what they want despite having all of the cards. Hard to say for now, but this series might have more surprises to play. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1969 |
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Man, Pinochle, last week I said that they are ineffective and the fallout this week makes me shake my head even more. It also makes me question the future seeing card. I want to say that Pinochle will bounce back and they surely will, but I am not impressed.
The backstory was interesting and we now finally have a fairly complete backstory excluding the black knight. As for what is to come, it could be fun to have them succeed in destroying the joker and also to see the wizard of old come back to life and start wrecking everything. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23807 |
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I'm still waiting to get the full story on Mr. Apple (the Pinochle customer who has taken a shine to Finn and was helping him plant seeds). I remember in the first season he got into a car and we didn't see the driver, but the driver was wearing a Player glove... hmmmm...
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#17
Another change of pace this episode, going from father to son. Leo has always been aloof and under pressure to meet the expectations of his indifferent father, so seeing another side of him in this episode in addition to moving the main plot forward is something different. We even learn a little bit about Vijay's background and why he's the High Card member closest to Leo yet not always by his side. An "occupational hazard" about being the Pinochle Scion is being perpetually on guard against infiltrators and sycophants. Leo has bad judgment, so failed to see it wasn't Francois who was responsible for his deteriorating condition instead of the Klondike agent masquerading as the infirmary nurse. To top it off, the one friend he could have made and kept from his current stint at boarding school has been scared off just as the Leo at the start of the episode wanted. High Card and the Old Maid shop really is where Leo belongs, but they're not reuniting any time soon while the Klondikes have the initiative. Wendy is up next, so if the Klondikes repeatedly fail to eliminate the High Card members as ordered and lose their cards in turn then there might be a way for High Cars to resume operations. Can't see how that's going to happen in the short term though. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1969 |
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Seems like the past two episodes and probably one or two more upcoming ones will focus on one character each week and show a bit about their past and how they grow stronger. I assume that will then lead into some type of comeback against the enemy that right now has most of the cards in hand (literally so).
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23807 |
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Episode 18
This show is usually a sausage fest so it was nice to see the ladies get their turn in the spotlight. And it seems Love-P can direct her aggression somewhat so that it only splashes the bad guys... er, gals. Question is who gets the focus next week... Vijay or Bernard the Butler? |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#18
How to get Wendy back into play as well as remind viewers Chelsea is a Player at large thanks to Pinochle's largesse? Throw in a new under-aged player for Chelsea to adopt and a good excuse as any to get Wendy to stop being a shut-in. The girl Chloe has the King of Clubs, and although not explicitly stated anyone in contact with both hands when her power is active loses their life. Not a great start to her Player career by unintentionally killing her abusive father, but if she's able to control her powers and come under Wendy's wing Pinochle will have a starting point for fighting back. Unlikely given the player's age and the strength of the card, but it's a nice thought since Wendy going into custody makes their situation even worse. I think this is the first time Wendy has actually conversed (in a fashion) with her alter ego. Turns out Love-P can hold back if the dominant party has a cause which Love-P is willing to take up. Against the other High Card members she doesn't hold back, probably because they're all male and she doesn't care for them. Did Wendy pick up the Klondike card before she was arrested? Wendy is in a spot of bother at first glance, but her superior is the one still calling the shots and he'll want to question her before she can be locked up by the overzealous subordinate. It'll give them a chance to regroup at least, since no word to redeploy will be forthcoming while the Pinochle head remains captive. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#19
It took something drastic to reunite High Card, and it turns out the police are useful as a neutral force. Despite their own motives at retaking the job they were supposed to be doing, they have played their part in securing the High Card members from Klondike assassination and somehow getting their hands on the Pinochle collection which was supposed to have fallen to the Klondikes. The episode also makes the overarching story that much clearer, as the Klondikes have been telegraphing for several weeks now that they want the second son to take the throne when he's secretly in their pocket. It's no surprise the Klondikes knew where the supposed secret base was. We aren't told exactly how, but there are several ways which wouldn't be difficult to guess. In addition, the Black Knight who has haunted Finn's dreams since he was young turns out to be both a Player and something more. The King of Spades is both a card and an independent force, and since the King is usually a high value card in most card games it usually outranks just about everything else in the pack. To date it has already absorbed one card, and if it absorbs the rest held by Chris it's game over for everyone. The magician making his reappearance should tell his side of the story to Finn, and then it's Finn's choice of how it goes since Chris will certainly die if the time stop is removed. That leaves last week's Player as one of the few not held by the Klondikes or the police force. If she does return to play, that's some role she has to play given she's still underage and her card is literally lethal when wielded. She might even have the power to subdue the King of Spades, assuming he doesn't strike her down first. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1969 |
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You can really tell that they needed to get the story progressing since they skipped a few things, this including the rest of the gang ending up in jail. Not too much of a biggie, most has been made clear and the important figures are now at one place making for some fun chaos. The real question is what the wizard wants and if there is a counter to the knight.
And another personal question from me is when that female cop will bite the dust. I get her mission/goal, but she really grinds my gears. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#20
This episode clears a lot of the uncertainty surrounding the Cards and the Players who wield them, since the magician Finn met several episodes ago is a neutral force behind the cards who is frankly tired of the carnage they've caused after they were released into the general public. With the true story behind the cards revealed and why the magician is so interested in Finn, the time has come for High Card to mount their countback. They don't have much time either, since Klondike don't know what they're going to cause by fulfilling the Black Knight's wish. The first King was a decent man, but not ruthless enough to sacrifice the utility of the cards to ensure his kingdom's continued prosperity without the carnage they could bring about. He did try his best to mitigate the risks, but the King of Spades really is the Wild Card of the pack and if it does something like take over the Klondike Patriarch's card it will really be nigh on impossible. Being able to copy the abilities of all cards absorbed is frankly ludicrous; it would be the series equivalent of X-hands at will with no penalty. Be that as it may, the police are now an obstacle for High Card to overcome. Good intentions, and they're more aligned to Lala Valdenklein's than at first glance. However, not intending to use the cards when they are plenty out there who wield them and can seize them if found really doesn't work at this juncture. Somehow they need to outwit the stubborn detective and use the cards she has as a base to work with. I'm surprised Owen is alive, since the last time we saw him he'd been stabbed deep inside his own card. How he got out is a mystery that will probably not be explained, but if he retains his card and his sanity High Card have another asset they can use if required. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#21
It wasn't really explained how Owen managed to survive his wound and escape his card's powers without so much as a scratch, but the episode does fill people in on what happens to players who are inside the labyrinth and end up dying. Unfortunately for the bloodthirsty Owen, his lack of foresight throwing in the Black Knight and the one Player who could drive him over the edge is going to cost them all. The King of Spades will stop at nothing to achieve his aims, and even the petty conspiracies of the royal court of the present age won't stop him. With the retaking of almost all of the seized cards, High Card can once again make a move in a game they've been playing catch-up since the start of the second season. At least they know where Theodore is, although they're short on manpower if they're thinking of taking Ban on with just three Players. Wendy and Vijay might join up once they've finished their courier quest, but if the King gets his way and uses the Joker before everything is resolved it might all be for nought. Ban Klondike isn't going to sit on his laurels either, but with the King of Spades heading his way all of the smooth progress he's enjoyed to date is going to take an unexpected detour. One feels a little sorry for Captain Young. Having kept his head down through most of his career to survive, risking his neck because of his subordinate's unyielding idealism has resulted in paying the ultimate price. He didn't deserve it either, since he's played his role well despite how it was forced onto him. Short of plot armour, it will be down to his subordinate finding him fast to have any chance of saving him on a day when no emergency services can respond quickly. Not much longer to go, how is this going to play out now that the Wild Card is well and truly out of the Klondike's control and High Card are inadvertently playing into the royal family's hands with their actions? |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#22
Quite the episode. A lot happens, and at the end of it all it seems everything is going to come down to whether Finn can survive and escape his current situation. If he does, then San Galgano might well be defeated for the final time. But a lot will depend also on what the palace does from this point onwards. Although we finally see what drives Ban Klondike in his rebellion, it's hard to feel much sympathy for him because he was always a narcissistic egomaniac to begin with. Losing his eye for nothing simply made him embrace his true nature. Theodore isn't much better: if he'd known this was going to be the end result (and his foresight most likely led him to that conclusion even before he helped Ban) then there wasn't much point in going so far for Ban, especially with his pitiless demeanour. It would have saved them a lot of grief and possibly avoided the mess they are in to begin with. But there would be no story either, so I suppose it evens out. No plot armour for Detective Young, so his idealistic subordinate is all alone with hardly any cards left to play (literally and figuratively). She might still force a result favourable to her and the police, but a lot of factors are beyond her control and she's not exactly keen on helping any faction with Players. At least with Ban Klondike gone, she has less to worry about other Klondike mafia casually showing up to seize cards from her again. It's not a shock that the youngest prince was the traitor, although why he's so desperate to be king is not explicitly revealed. We might find out more before the series ends, but his role in the entire mess is more or less revealed. Whether or not he's exposed is another matter: with Ban Klondike's death and Detective Young's assassination the only way he would be outed is if the assassin he sent against Young spills the beans. No chance of that happening any time soon, unless the detective starts her own investigation and somehow finds out the truth before the series finishes. While he's inside San Galgano, Finn might as well find out the truth about what happened that night when he lost his family. In doing so, he might find a way to break the hold the King of Spades has over TILT. With that story thread closed up, a final showdown can take place against San Galgano with some of the Players in position. Vijay and Wendy are confined inside the palace and won't participate unless San Galgano attacks the palace directly for the Joker card. That might still happen, and it'll set up nicely for all of Pinochle to take him on when he does. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2860 |
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#23
Is it that big a surprise who TILT really is? For many viewers it might be, except for the rare few who watch the ED animation to the end and take note of that penultimate shot of a younger Finn and an unknown person over him. That person is finally introduced this week, and Burst's conviction that TILT would never harm Finn comes from the knowledge of who he really is (after all she was the one who altered his appearance into the entrepreneur Apple, who briefly had a Player's glove on when he sporadically visited Finn at the showroom in this quarter). Zenon's mindwipe of both brothers was only hinted at during his death scene, while TILT's desire to kill Ban Klondike came from learning the truth of what really happened during that fateful night. Closing these two open threads has been long overdue, but necessary as it sets the stage up for the final showdown with San Galgano. Finn most likely learnt how to pickpocket from his older brother, who was not wanted by their parents for his errant ways. Even so, Finn's memory of his family really was wiped clean under Ban's orders and without Flann's revelation he would have died not remembering what happened after he survived. Chris's luck should have finally run out, but Burst decided to do everything she could by gambling on the two remaining members of High Card with freedom of movement. As the Player with the most experience playing X-hands, she could easily replicate the same X-hand which Chris's father used to save him all those years ago. Assuming it went well, Chris should now be able to use his Five of Hearts the same way he did before he played the X-hand at the end of season one. He'll need it, but it won't be enough against San Galgano if he decides to use his patented Player-swallowing move. The rest of High Card will need to join in, and they'll have to content with another royal assassination as well since the youngest Prince will probably make his move during the chaos. Not sure how it's going to turn out, or if it's going to be more pyrrhic than expected. Hopefully the ending will stick, as series with original plots really need all the exposure and publicity they can get to convince more studios to gamble on original IPs instead of adaptations of popular media. |
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