Intelligence: Home Base + Primer

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This is the homebase post for discussions of Intelligence! (The 2014 US version; not the older Canadian show by the same name.)

Discussion Threads

1.01 Pilot
1.02 Red X
1.03 Mei Chen Returns
1.04 Secrets of the Secret Service
1.05 The Rescue
1.06 Patient Zero
1.07 Size Matters
1.08 Delta Force
1.09 Athens
1.10 Cain and Gabriel
1.11 The Grey Hat
1.12 The Event Horizon
1.13 Being Human

If anyone's looking for caps for icon purposes, you can find some here.


Also, a primer for anyone who missed the show when it aired.

Introduction to Intelligence

What happens when you take a man and stuff a computer chip in his head? Besides a lot of cool special effects?

The Premise

Intelligence is about Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway), a former Delta Force operator with a particular genetic quirk that allows scientists to implant a computer chip in his head that gives him mental access to the information grid. They then assign Secret Service agent Riley Neal (Meghan Ory) to protect him and keep him in line. The former she's happy to do; the latter...not so much.

The Characters

Gabriel Vaughn. Highly-decorated soldier turned human computer. Courageous. Skilled. Occasionally reckless. And desperately searching for his CIA agent wife, who vanished seven years earlier while undercover in Mumbai.



Riley Neal. Secret Service agent. The youngest women ever assigned to Presidential detail, and the only one who made it through the vetting process to be considered as Gabriel's protector.



Lillian Strand (Marg Helgenberger). The director of US Cyber Command, with deep roots in the intelligence community.



Dr. Shenendoah Cassidy (John Billingsley), the neuroscientist who created the chip, and his son, Nelson Cassidy (P.J. Byrne), who also works as a scientist on the project.



Amos Pembroke (Eldon Henson). Yet another technician working on Clockwork.



Chris Jameson (Michael Rady). Cyber Command all-purpose extra body, good with a gun or a computer.

Comments

1.13 Being Human

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Gabriel, in need of some private medical care, directs Riley to take him to his retired Army combat nurse mother. She gets the bullet out with the help of a good, stiff drink. While we're there, we get some banter and a glimpse of his mother's shrine to the military men in the family, which kind of contradicts her continuing to scold him for joining the army. While Gabriel's on his mother's kitchen table, Mei Chen warns him of an impending assassination, then runs away.

Back at CyberComm, Team Gabriel refers back to Gabriel's intake interviews and guesses where he might have gone. Unfortunately for Gabriel, one of the Iranian Tigers figures it out first. There's a brief fight, Gabriel burns down his mother's kitchen (well, blows up some hair spray in the microwave), and takes out the assassin. Jameson shows up in time to have a show-down with Riley before they decide to put their guns away and go help Gabriel instead.

Team Gabriel reunites with Gabriel, Jeffrey dies heroically sending them vital evidence, the governor (and presumed future president) is saved (and hopefully Griff's reprimand is withdrawn), and Gabriel has a nice dinner with his mother and Riley where his mother talks about how happy she is that Gabriel has found someone new after Amelia.

Oh, and it turns out Weatherly was one of the Iranian sleeper agents. They arrest him trying to kill the governor and send him to a secret prison where Mei Chen breaks and kills him on the orders of...Leland Strand. Duh duh duh duh.

Re: 1.13 Being Human

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I thought this as a great finale, even if io9 disagreed! Lots of bits from previous episodes, including meeting Gabriel's family and the return of Riley's ex, plus a lot of delicious teamminess.

I love that Gabriel's mother was also army. I wonder who took care of the kids while she was deployed? The alcoholic angle was interesting; Gabriel seemed very matter-of-fact about it. Recent development, or something he grew up with?

Okay, question. Was I the only one who thought that phrases like "the youngest is always the freak" and "I was the only one my mother forbid from joining the army" implied more than two kids in the family? Well, maybe Gabriel has an older sister who didn't join the army. I think that's my new headcanon.

Poor Jeffrey Tetazoo! So he was a good guy after all. Mostly. At least he got a heroic death, but why do they keep killing off Lance Reddick?

If this show does come back (unlikely, yes), they're going to be introducing a few new characters. Or giving Lillian's father a bigger role.