S1X5: Bad Blood

[Nazgul]

I remember Harry saying something to the nature of "That's a new face for you" to her when she showed up. 
I don't know about the Gatekeeper.  I had almost forgotten about him.  Maybe he is just "super special."

Well, I just thumbed through Summer Knight and Proven Guilty but it doesn't say. *shrugs*
Maybe we'll have to stick to "super special" then which is kicking butt enough, I guess

I just re-read the Council meeting portion of Summer Knight, and Harry does mention that she doesn't look her age. He describes her features as "only lightly touched by the passage of years" or something to that effect. This would indicate that in the books at least Mai looks quite a bit younger than she is, like Jane Seymour or Sela Ward    As for what's up with Mai in the show? I have no freaking clue, but I can't wait to find out!

[applejuicefool]

The change in her face...does this mean that the high council is composed of more than humans?  She looked a little...demonic.

Yeah, when I was watching the show, it reminded me of the vampires from B:TVS.  Later, I got wondering (I don't have a DVR) whether perhaps her anger at Harry caused her youth glamor to falter, revealing her true "ancient" self.  

At the time I watched it, it definitely looked more along the lines of "inhuman".  Any thoughts?

-AJF

[Sway]

I remember Harry saying something to the nature of "That's a new face for you" to her when she showed up. 
I don't know about the Gatekeeper.  I had almost forgotten about him.  Maybe he is just "super special."

Well, I just thumbed through Summer Knight and Proven Guilty but it doesn't say. *shrugs*
Maybe we'll have to stick to "super special" then which is kicking butt enough, I guess

I just re-read the Council meeting portion of Summer Knight, and Harry does mention that she doesn't look her age. He describes her features as "only lightly touched by the passage of years" or something to that effect. This would indicate that in the books at least Mai looks quite a bit younger than she is, like Jane Seymour or Sela Ward    As for what's up with Mai in the show? I have no freaking clue, but I can't wait to find out!

I took that question to one of the FAQ posts. Let's see
As far as I understood it, wizard age slower than "normal" people. Like Murphy said in Proven Guilty that she'll grow old and Harry won't.

I guess we'll have to wait for more episodes to see what's up with her

[Tremaine]

About Bianca vs. the council, I would have to disagree with you, Tremaine.  By making it look like Bianca broke the treaties, that would take away her protection (for lack of a better term) and make her a target of the council.  The courts wouldn't care if she went up against the council and lost, because, well she brought it on herself.  And if she took out a few council members on her way down?  Bonus to the courts.  If the courts took her out for an offense against the council, they'd be risking their own people on behalf of the council, and I seriously doubt they care enough about the council to put their own necks on the line.

Good point. I did like Bianca, I wonder if she will try to live up to her remark at the end of the episode. The council are coming over with a certain amount of heavy handedness and an inherent darkness, the existance of this wetwork team (that is known to both Harry and Bianca), their interaction with Helions (previous episodes).

When she entered, Harry had a line to the effect of "That's a new look," so I got the impression that Mai changed appearances from time to time. (Of course, lacking book knowledge, I have to interpret the information the series presents...)

In the books there is one person who can switch faces, the "Corpsetaker" (I think thats the name). That was considered extremely dark/evil magic. We will need more info from the TV show to see how things go.

It is the dicotomy between the books and the TV series is getting to me, I am watching this because it is Harry Dresden. However this reality is very different to the one in the books. This show isn't what I signed up for, wether the show itself is good or bad is immaterial, I wanted to see Harry Dresden on the little screen. Instead I am seeing something that vaguely resembles it.

[NightProtector]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.


If the hit teams are just killing vampires and such, they really aren't breaking the rules of magic, are they?  They would be going after those who broke treaties and such.  I wonder if the books will bring something like that out?  Or if the show will bring in a blackstaff?

[Melgaye]

--After the first commerical--
Bianca is not very fast for a vampire

Bob swatching a french weepy film and crying and sighing just pissed me off.

They should have just cut that whole scene with Laura, it does nothing.

There seems to be no longer a seperatiion between Harry's office and Home unless he and Laura were watching tv and eating popcorn in his office.

What was that thing Bianca had Harry turn around on the wall.

No wards going off again, Harry did not know someone dangerous was at the door before he looked out.

---After second commerical---
Bianca is way to nice and friendly

Harry should have been younger in that flash back, when Morgan was looking for him after he killed Justin.

Okay Harry is doing magic, which I like but can we please hear the spells, want words.

Since when has Bianca been afraid of the Council, she would welcome a chance to start a war with the wizards.

Yes, Three-Eye is mentioned.

---After third commerical---
Harry being kidnapped is about on par for him

Hmm, Harry can magic out of chains, wonder why he did not do that in previous eps.

Harry would never invite a vampire into his home/office, he would have met her someplace, now unless he does something she can come in anytime without messing up her powers.

No way would Harry give that much information about himself to a vampire, it gives them to much power.

Ancient Mia(sp) working with Morgan??

---After fourth commerical---

Ancient Mai is a wizard and part of the High Council, come on..... this is just wrong.

See since Harry has invited her in Bianca just comes in when she wants.

I know this is loosely based on the books, but Bianca not messing with drugs??? She loved using durts to lure people to her court as either food or recruits, especially young people.

Harry and Bianca having sex??? Just don't know why this was written.

Vampires using Third-Eye, what for?

So since the writers have Bianca helping Harry after Justin was killed we are not going to have the pleasure of seeing is Fairy step-ma I guess.

So I was right Harry has his magic coming out of the straight end of the "hockey stick", knew it would be to hard to have it coming out of the bent way, so let us just have a staff with runes. I was happy to finally see the staff being used magically and physically, lol.

---After fifth commerical---

Nothing much to say except I really like that is was little blondie screwing over everyone.

2 big old arrow in the back, I hope Harry was wearing the magically vest, it is magic isn't???

---End of Show---

Now the scene under the parking garage or what ever that is was wonderful. Harry missing and then moving like the wind, winning the Day, or should I say Winning the Night. This was the best thing that happened in the show.

I am sorry but this Bianca is just creeping me out. She is actually playing a part that Thomas should be playing. This whole show seems more like "Forever Knight" than "Dresden Files".

By the way it never showed how Harry got away from Bianca the first time when she made him her "love slave".


Yeah, I so hated that scene with Laura. 
It's good to see get in and out of trouble..I thought Clive was kinda interesting..too bad he's dead now.
Bianca and Harry...that just creeps me out.

[ButMadNNW]

<snip> I love both of Paul's voices! (did you see him in "Mr. Monk and the Leper"? yummy!)

DVR'd it just BECAUSE I wanted to hear his "real" accent, and watched it twice already!!  Sooooo much a creepy fangirl, but that's OK cause I know I'm not alone!   

[fangirl gushing] I don't watch Monk much, usually just when I'm hanging out with my family. But I remember hearing the title for that episode and thinking, "Monk... with his germophobia.... meeting a leper?! This I gotta see!" And sure enough, it was amusing. --Cut to MONTHS later-- I hear about Dresden, start watching, like Paul, look him up.... "He was in that episode of Monk?! Gotta see it again!"

So.... yeah. I now have it DVR'd, too, and keep watching just the Dr. Polanski scenes. LOVE the scene in the car. And yup, glad I'm not alone. [/fangirl gushing]

Later, I got wondering (I don't have a DVR) whether perhaps her anger at Harry caused her youth glamor to falter, revealing her true "ancient" self. 

Interesting theory! ...... Hm.

[Kalshane]

In the books there is one person who can switch faces, the "Corpsetaker" (I think thats the name). That was considered extremely dark/evil magic. We will need more info from the TV show to see how things go.

Corpsetaker steals people's bodies (and then brutally murders them if he has the time). That's a whole different ballgame than using magic to look like someone else (whether by glamour or shapeshifting).

[jimbutcher]

When she entered, Harry had a line to the effect of "That's a new look," so I got the impression that Mai changed appearances from time to time. (Of course, lacking book knowledge, I have to interpret the information the series presents...)

In the books there is one person who can switch faces, the "Corpsetaker" (I think thats the name). That was considered extremely dark/evil magic. We will need more info from the TV show to see how things go.

Uh.  Not even.

There are about a million things that can switch faces in the books, and that kind of simple illusion (which we haven't seen a lot of in the books, because Harry isn't good at it) isn't even considered /remarkable/ among wizards, much less extremely dark and/or evil.

Corpsetaker didn't change faces.  She /stole/ /bodies/.  She ripped minds out of their natural bodies and plopped them down in others.  And /that/ is considered dark and evil magic.

Book-version Ancient Mai looks good for her age, but since she's over 400 that's not necessarily saying a lot.  She's just kinda remarkably well-preserved for her age, like the chick who played Wonder Woman on TV.   She by no means looks young...

...which is why the face thing got added on to TV.  They cast Elizabeth Thai as her actress, so in the pilot, Mai looks like a pretty young thang until she gets angry and then her face starts slipping, and the nearly-inhuman features of someone ridiculously old and not altered by more than her share of serious magic over years of time.  TV-Mai is about a thousand, she might not be altogether human any more, and she has to use magic to pass.

Mai's actress got replaced between the pilot and "Bad Blood," hence Harry adding the line "that's a new look for you."

Jim

[Darth KTrava]

Good Episode.  I really enjoyed it(so did my wife and my students). 

I thought one of my students put it best.  She said that there was no way they could do everything in the books for tv and have everyone like it.  Put in too much detail and a lot of people who hadn't read the book would get bored.  Put in too little detail and the people who had read the book would hate it.  People need to look at it seperately to enjoy it. 

She's 13.

She gets it.

Great job, Jim.  Can't wait for White Night (or to see you when you come to Borders on Thursday!)

And the point of that would be what?  That those of us that aren't satisfied are somehow less perceptive than the 13 year old?  Me, it just saddens me that such a young girl has such low expectations already. 

How about instead of "so much" or "so little" detail we just have the detail that is there be faithful to, if not identical to, the source?

Can't wait for the book, since I'm not getting any Dresden fix from the show.

There's only so much detail you can put into a tv show. A lot less than goes into the average book. And you're looking at 4 episodes of tv vs. 8 books; books that have room for expanding details that tv doesn't. Not to mention that what looks great in text doesn't work so well in the visual media. So things get adapted.