It's ramped up emotionally as well, because the kid expresses the same expectation as you and all the rest of us. He says, "people don't have to keep telling me"… like the generic condolences are not worth the time it takes to speak them… and then we see that Frank is not offering the generic condolences… but rather…

I agree that it's loses gravitas because we have no connection… But I feel like we don't need to know Stan to know the loss involved… The point being that a father is a father and the show is trying to balance nature and nurture as deciding factors in who we are.

Jr or Sr?

That's kind of the point I think… It's not something the commune was doing to her, it that the commune failed to protect her. This is kind of flipping our understanding of what was happening. Perhaps it's no more complicated than a grown up who took advantage of a child… no web or maze… no connection to the current…

I'm guessing yes, and not sure. Who took the diamonds originally? why did Caspere have them? and why was Dixon looking for them?

That would make this the 2nd "who's stan?" moment… He was mentioned 1ce in a "get stan and so and so, and everybody" by vaughn… then killed off like a regular that we should know… then they wait 3 or 4 episodes before introducing his family… there is clearly some pacing and story development issues in his "arc"…

good point… I agree

I don't think so, I think it was a random guy… the reveal being that it was far less complicated and organized than we'd been imagining?

So with 2 episodes left it's time to play who lives, who dies…
Frank Lives…
Frank's Wife Dies
Ray Dies
Ray's kid (actually turns out to be his, and lives)
Ani's sister dies
Ani lives
Paul probably dies
Blake dies horribly…
Franks driver lives
Mayor Chessani? The Lieutenant? The Cartel guys?
Who lives who dies… thoughts??

I feel like Frank and Ray are two sides of a coin. they have a symbiosis

Right… he assumes the child isn't his but swears it doesn't matter until they find out that the child IS his and it DOESN'T Matter anymore…

There is a dream like quality to all of this, esp. when Velcoro and Semyon are talking and anytime we enter the sad bar. Something is not as it seems with one or more of the leads.

I think it's gonna be his (Ray's) kid…. the tragedy is that by the time they actually find out, there is no relationship to salvage…

Ya, that's also true.. even the moving around inside half-carrying the drugged up girl and the ease with which they got in to snag the contracts… everything seemed very simple

Did anyone else find the whole rescue thing a little too easy?

"By all means, find friends"… Was spectacular writing and delivery…

Well, the show hit stride and is now getting somewhere… a few notes

I did find the episode less interesting than the previous one… But I thought the story arcs progressed well.

Again… I think the "masculinity" is her weekness… her softer side and concern for the missing girl are her strengths here. She is the one who cares about the truth… this is good. All the characters are flawed and none are ideal… I feel you are seeing it through sensitive goggles… she is not dumber or less effective…

I was speaking of the movie… delightful Character