[Incorporated Season 1 Episode 2 Downsizing Review]

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel, and today we're going to be doing our TV review on the TV series Incorporated, episode 2 of season 1, Down Rising. Um, so we know last week um, we were left with many questions about this new series and understanding our main character Ben Larson. And what we start to discover from this episode is, as he goes through a series of flashbacks, we get to understand, uh, some, some details about how he gets from the red zone to the green zone. But we also learned that Ben first starts off in what appears to be like a FEMA camp. And this is an area where people who are displaced are before they can either get to the— or before they can get into the red zone. So apparently there is a place that's even worse than the red zone, and I guess that's these FEMA camps because what it seems to be is that everyone's trying to get out of these camps and get into the red zone to have some type of life, to start a business, even though the red zone is still not the best place to be. It would seem that it's better than being in these camps. And from this episode, when Ben has a flashback of when he was a child, we get to meet his father who actually commits suicide due to the pressures of having to live in this camp. And he does it right in front of Ben, which You know, at first, uh, uh, before, my first thought was that this would be very traumatizing to Ben as a young child. He looks like he might be around 10 or 12 years old, but, uh, Ben is actually— it seems he's quite hardened already for this lifestyle, and he kind of, uh, doesn't seem to have a whole lot of emotional, uh, um attachment to, uh, you know, the situation of what happens with his father. And I don't know if that's just due to, um, the, the type of harsh life they're accustomed to, or if it's due to just, uh, it's a type of shock and he just doesn't really realize what's going on. But, you know, as you can see in this scene, um, Ben has a cane, he has on what appears to be uh, some type of, uh, eyewear that a blind person would wear. And what we get to learn about Ben is that Ben is, uh, a very clever and, um, tech-savvy, logical thinking, and at the same time con artist, uh, you know, who has learned to you know, really, uh, survive in his environment. So they have a ration, rations, and so Ben figures out ways to steal rations from other people in the camp. And, um, I believe they use a retinal scan type technology or device which he learns how to basically tweak it to make it work where he can actually get more rations. And he's doing pretty well doing that, so that seems to be his way of surviving. And then he meets this interesting gentleman here, as you can see in this week's photo. And this, this guy that he meets I still don't know his name, although I am getting better with the character names. Uh, he's a very mysterious guy. He's the one that he met in the park on episode 1, and we get to learn from this, uh, week's episode that he himself was in one of these FEMA, uh, camps. And much like Ben, who's— and actually, I want to say that Ben's real name is Aaron, But he goes by Ben. Of course, he had to change his identity in order to get into the Green Zone. But this gentleman that he's speaking with actually catches him using these tactics and being able to steal these rations. And he's very curious as to how Ben is so smart to learn how to do that, because he understands that if he can use Ben to help him steal rations, they can make a lot of money because basically you need food to survive and having certain information can get you, you know, could come, you know, be used in certain advantageous ways. So he's trying to create this, it seems, partnership with Ben, but Ben has become, you know, very fearful and very suspicious of people in these camps that try to, uh, uh, you know, do these type things or use these type exploitations so in order that they can gain and take advantage of others. So, uh, you know, he's a bit, uh, you know, concerned here, uh, being this. And, uh, you know, basically, uh, you know, as you can see in this photo Ben has become, um, you know, it's flashback to present day, or I'm sorry, it was actually 12 years ago where he met this gentleman. But, um, you can see they're both now in the Green Zone working for, uh, the Spiga Corporation, which is the name of the company they work for, uh, and, uh, they're in better places now. But, uh, this conversation is one of concern because if you remember from last week's review, uh, Ben was able to set up his boss so that he would be able to take his spot so that he can, he can get up more levels into the corporation where he would be able to free his, um, lost love who um, you know, has been kind of taken into the corporation to work as a high-end escort for executives. And as you can see, uh, the same gentleman who tried to convince Ben as a boy to work along with him, he's wearing a necktie. And what's significant about people who wear neckties is that they represent higher levels of management. They're, they're, they're, you know, they're higher up. So he's a higher up and they're having a conversation about, uh, you know, basically what, um, uh, you know, what Ben did, um, to, um, take his boss's place and that it's dangerous, it can blow their cover basically. And Ben's replying to him, but I have no choice, because he has to save the woman he loves no matter what it takes, no matter what he has to do. So it's just very interesting to see how these two met years ago, how they developed this relationship, and We can kind of piece it together that some kind of way they both managed to infiltrate into the green zone and make better lives for themselves. But now it could very well be that Ben is endangering what they have, and this is coming to, you know, of concern to the gentleman here in the necktie. So this is another flashback sequence. Of, uh, I believe her name might be, um, Elena or something like that. I'm— I can't quite remember her name, but this is his lost love, and this is when they first met as children. And they have a very, um, uh, very early on connection to one another. Uh, Ben is, uh, stealing rations, and he learned, um he basically shares his rations with, um, his, uh, you know, his love here. Um, I don't want to keep saying her name's Elena because I think I'm— it's something that sounds like that, but I think I may be off. But, uh, the love of his life here, uh, she actually, on their first invitation whilst, um, the gentleman before with the necktie was chasing, uh, Ben as a kid to try to get him to steal for him. She understands the, um, the, um, you know, how they use people to steal for them. And so, uh, she basically helps Ben to hide from this guy, and they develop a friendship, and Ben, from his, uh, tech knowledge and tech skills and being able to steal rations, uh, he shares his rations with her. So, you know, early on they, they developed this connection and they learn to stick together and stay together. So, uh, unfortunately, um, his lost love, her family has found a way to leave the camp, and they're actually going to go to the Red Zone where her father is going to start a restaurant in the Red Zone. Because again, apparently there is a place worse than the Red Zone, um, Uh, from last week's episode, I was under the impression that maybe there was only the Green Zone and the Red Zone, and, um, you know, everything, um, either fell into either or of those categories. But, you know, we learned that there are other areas, and that the Red Zone is still in the city, but it's just, it's just not in the good part of the city. And the Green Zone is in a good part of the city. But then you also have these, these camps. Where people who aren't in any of those sectors live. And to them, getting to the red zone is a step up. So, uh, she's given him a very, uh, special necklace and charm, uh, to remember her, to remember their friendship, because she's leaving him in the camp. And he's making a vow as a child there to her that I will get out of this camp and I will find you one day. So we move on here to, uh, it's Ben and he's talking to Elizabeth. Now, uh, Elizabeth again is the, um, CEO of the corporation. She's his wife's mom, Laura. And I have gotten a little bit better with their names. Um, but she's informed Ben that, you know, hey, basically, uh, through the unfortunate situation with his boss, uh, whose name is Chad from last week, who Ben set up, but she doesn't know that, she's letting him know that there's a position open, uh, and that if he's going for that position of higher management, he may be eligible, but she's also warning him to be very careful because the, um, she's— he's putting himself and their family in danger if there are any secrets. And one of the things that he did was when he went to the red zone, which is something that is frowned upon but something that executives and people who work for the corporation do engage in sometimes. It's not illegal But it's just not the best thing for them to do. It's not something that is maybe, uh, a good idea to do if you're aiming to be in upper management. So she helps him to understand that if he keeps up things like that, that that's not going to help him towards getting a promotion. And also helping him to understand that, listen, once you get into a higher position of management your life's going to be under a microscope, and that any incidents or, or any, uh, situations like the one that you were part of in going into the red zone for some fun and thrills, um, you know, is not going to be a good idea, and that you may need to rethink if you really want to put yourself and your family in a position that way. So this is a scene of Chad, and Chad's being, um, you know, he's basically being interrogated. And, uh, Julian, the head of security, as we, uh, got a little bit to know about last week, um, who's, uh, the head of all the corporate security, is interrogating Chad because he's trying to understand why was he a part of corporate espionage, and why was he giving secrets away to other business rivals? And, uh, of course Chad isn't guilty of this. He's been set up by Ben, so he doesn't, um, have any of those answers. Um, he only remembers being drunk and getting ill and, uh, you know, he's basically, uh, very afraid and very ill, uh, from the interrogation. And to, to give you an idea of what's happening, it seems to be some kind of device, some, uh, that wraps around his head and, uh, it creates pain. It creates, uh, uh, excruciating pain. And I'm not sure if that's done by through some type electrical charge or sonic wave, but it's some type of technology that they use that, uh, you know, it's basically lobotomizing, uh, you know, Chad, and he's in a lot of trouble. So, um, as Julian, head of security here seated, carries on his investigation as to what exactly happened Um, while Julian was interrogating Chad, Chad mentioned Ben's name as a person whose ideal it was for them to go to the red zone, which was something that was not normal for Chad and higher management to do. So Ben's been brought into the, into the investigation now, and, uh, Julian's getting very close to tying him in with Chad. So it's, um, you know, uh, Ben's having to, uh, try to maneuver out of, out of his line of questioning. Uh, so the interrogation gets worse because Chad's not giving up any answers. He doesn't seem to have any answers, and they don't believe him, so they're turning up the heat. So this is the part of this week's episode that caused some theories, caused some questions into play. And, uh, so don't really know what direction to make of this scene, but I'm gonna throw out a few ideas. But as you can see, Julian is on Elizabeth's screen. Elizabeth again being the CEO of the Speaker Corporation. And although Elizabeth had told Julian that for him to do whatever it took to find out the truth, even if it meant interrogating, uh, her son-in-law Ben, um she, uh, kind of blocks Julian as Julian gets— seems to get closer to maybe tying Ben in. Because what she's, um, um, telling Julian to do is to close the— close the interrogation on Chad. So to really help you understand what it means, as we find out what it means when they close The interrogation is that basically what happens is they wipe your mind totally clean. You don't know any details about the corporation, nor do you know who you are. So it's a total mind sweep. It's total amnesia. You don't know who you are. And then once they do that, you're thrown into the red zone. And so it's just a, uh, very terrible existence you have at that point. You're lost in the red zone where nobody cares about you. You don't have a nice home, you don't have a way to support yourself, and on top of that, your mind has been totally wiped clean, so you have no identity at all. And they do that to protect corporate secrets, and, uh, you know, it's a very bad situation to find yourself in. So, um, another thing is when you're, um, basically, uh, in a situation like Chad, it's not just you that suffers, but it's your entire family. Uh, your entire family is sentenced along with you. So if you can see in the corner, it's his wife and the, and the two children here are his, his boys, his sons. And the lady over here in the blue dress who's talking to the lady in in the pink. The lady in the blue dress is Laura. That's Ben's wife, and that's the, uh, CEO Elizabeth. That's her daughter. And Elizabeth is a very, uh— oh, I'm sorry, Laura, the woman in the blue dress, Ben's— I'm sorry, Ben's wife. She's a very compassionate woman. So when she and, um, Chad— they were her neighbors. So when she hears about the problems that, uh, falling upon them, she goes to one of these, uh, detention centers in order to see if she can help them in any kind of way. Because, um, again, to help you all understand, when you're put in a detention center— or I'm sorry, when you're, you're, uh, when a member of your family gets incriminated, they will detain the entire family Maybe because they don't know what secrets you've passed along to them. And, um, so that's why all of them are in detention, since they're basically all, uh, have to be put under investigation until they can determine what's being done, what's going to be done with them. And, uh, but in this world, in this, uh, in, in their, in their system most of the time when you're interrogated to this degree, you're going to be found guilty. And that's what Chad's wife is expressing to Laura and, and, and asking her to go speak to her mom, who's the CEO, because that's the only person that could be of assistance to her, that can help her in any kind of way at this point. But Laura has a very terrible relationship with her mom And, uh, it's almost like an impossible thing for her to do, but under the circumstances, she's gonna try or attempt anyway. So here's the scene where they do confront each other, and of course it goes just like Laura thought with her mom Elizabeth. It goes horribly wrong. And, um, Basically, um, uh, her mom lets her know that her hands are tied and she's not going to be able to help her. Um, you know, that, uh, you know, there are certain things in the corporation that she just can't touch. However, she does come up with one solution, and that solution is that her children, they can be taken in by another family in the Green Zone and raised as their own. But the mom would have to hand over her parenting rights to these children. So these children— she'll no longer be able to see her kids. They will be nothing to her, and these kids will be raised as someone else's kid in the Green Zone who can't have kids. So It almost would work like an adoption in the Green Zone because as we spoke about last week, the Green Zone, obviously they want to control the amount of people who can live in the Green Zone so they can maintain and sustain a certain quality of life. So when it comes to having children or bringing more people in, there's a lot of red tape you have to go through. In these situations, people who maybe want to have kids or can't get permits to have children or what have you, adoption, uh, is a good, um, uh, option for them. So in this scene You know, we get what, of course, the mom being left with little to no choice, she has decided to sign her kids over. And she'll be sent to the red zone as well, it seems, and she'll never be able to see her kids again. But she's willing to do that, although Laura wants her to fight and tells her she doesn't have to do it that way. But again, she doesn't believe she will get the justice she seeks. So she believes that's the best option for her children so that she can make sure that they're, uh, raised in a, in a good place. So now we get into a scene with Theo on the left, and this, this is Theo's lover, and they have a, um, a relationship here in the red zone. And Theo again is the— he is the friend of Ben when Ben was in the Red Zone, and he's actually the brother of Ben's lost love who Ben's looking for. And, um, what we're starting to find out too, or what's, what's being released to us, is that Theo, who's been— who's, uh, engaging in these cage, uh, Matisse, um, in order to, uh, well, actually he was originally brought into it because he really had no choice. He had kind of crossed their organized crime syndicate within the Red Zone from selling expensive items that Ben had brought over to him from the Green Zone, as we got into a little bit of last week's episode. But we're also finding out that Theo wants to be involved in these cage matches as well, because one day he may get to appear before, uh, big executives in the Green Zone. And he, from, from the direction I'm getting with it, it seems like he believes he'll be able to cross paths with his sister, or maybe even get his sister out some kind of way, if he can just get access to the, to the Green Zone. And also, I just want to mention, in these cage matches, they're almost treated like gladiators, you know, like gladiators of ancient days. You're owned by somebody, basically. You fight for your master, that type of thing. So it's very interesting, you know, how they put these things on. And so Here you see sitting at the chair here in the suit is actually the head of one of the organized crime syndicates in the Red Zone. He's the person who Theo is now, uh, kind of under, you know, he's under, uh, the control of this person. And, um, I believe his name is Terrence. Terrence, if I'm not mistaken. Terrence is the the crime boss syndicate here, and he's basically setting up a match for Theo to engage in a cage fighting match. And I believe it's going to be his first match. Well, I think he might have had one last week. I gotta go back and watch that episode, but he's setting up a match for him here. And they're discussing all the details and what he expects. So in this scene, this is a very interesting scene. We see Theo, he's, uh, he actually meets with the guy who he's about to fight. So these are the two fighters that are going to meet in this cage match, and The, uh, the guy that Theo's gonna fight, I believe his name is Saeed. I could be mistaken again. I believe it's something like that. But Saeed, you know, he's living— when, when you're, uh, a cage fighter, uh, like I mentioned before, it's like being a gladiator. So you have a pretty good life. It's like the gladiators of ancient Rome, if you will. Whereas they, they had to fight sometimes to the death, but they actually had a very good life. They were like the athletes or celebrities of their day, so they would get great meals, they would get massages, they would get women, they would get whatever they needed. And so we kind of see that playing out in this scene because, you know, um, basically, uh, Saeed, I believe his name is, he's having a very, uh, uh, just a big juicy steak. It's a real steak. And you, as we touched on last week, real food, uh, is only for the rich, only for people who can, uh, import or have a lot of money and access, because they mostly eat synthetic food. And if you can get real food, that's a lot of status. If you can get real steaks, real bacon. And so he's eating this large juicy steak And he just, uh, and Theo doesn't really know what he's gonna get from this guy, so he kind of comes in, uh, he's kind of puffed up, he's kind of in a defense mode, ready to deal with anything. And he's surprised to find that this guy, this guy he's gonna fight, is quite civil. And not only is he quite civil, he, he's asked him, have you ever eaten steak before? And he's like, no. And he actually gives him this big juicy steak he's eating on. Because from what I'm getting, this is a normal, uh, type life for him. This is the kind of life he's built for himself, being in this gladiator cage fight type situation. You know, like I said, they're like professional fighters, they're like athletes of their time. And so Theo's just murdering this steak, he's just killing this steak because he's never eaten steak before. He's never had real meat like that before. And, uh, you know, he's just killing it. Um, you know, uh, and it's just very, uh, you know, very interesting to see the type of life, uh, the contrast between Sei's life and what Theo's life was. So this is during the fight, a very grueling fight as you can see. And, um, you know, uh, Theo took a lot of punches. He was actually losing the fight, but one, uh, thing happened when he was eating that steak. You know, this big juicy steak had a very sharp bone in it, uh, and Theo managed to conceal the bone, get it into the cage match, and whilst he's losing the fight, he manages to use sharp edge of the bone to disable, um, or fade, or his opponent, and, uh, because of that, he's able to win the, win the fight. So things don't go very well because apparently, uh, after the fight, um, Terrence, the organized crime syndicate leader here, he's not happy with how the fight went. Because in these particular things, it would seem that they kind of, um, use, uh, uh, fixes, fixes for the fight. So they, they want them to look good, they want them to go so many rounds, and the fight didn't go like the boss was hoping it would go. And he's very upset with his main fighter there, and it's not good. He, you know, he really loses his temper, and, you know, things get really bad. And you can see in this next scene, he's on the floor because what happens is the organized crime syndicate leader here, Terrence. He actually tells a story about how he once was a cage fighter and that he was very good and he won a trophy. Picks up this heavy trophy, walks over to Sage, and he knocks him out over the head with the trophy. So, and he kills him actually. And then killing him He helps Theo to understand that he's now his main fighter. So just a very gruesome scene, and you can see that Terrence, the organized crime boss here, he's very ruthless. So it's heating up in this scene, the pressure on Ben. Ben is basically uh, about to be found out because his story's not adding up right. They're checking it out because he's trying to concoct a plan where he's trying to have his word against Chad's, and he's basically trying to say that it was all Chad's idea to go to the Red Zone. And, uh, you know, he's basically, uh, trying to hide his evidence, uh, that technology that he used And they found out that he did get the technology that he used last week to make Chad sick. And he's trying to pin it on Chad to make it like Chad authorized him to take that out to test that piece of technology. As you know, it's a technology that comes from their corporation. So I imagine they have something to do with this production. But he concocts a story where it wasn't him, but it was Chad. So they're kind of playing this his word against yours thing, and Julian, the security chief, is not buying it. He's getting closer and closer on Ben's heels. So this gentleman here, and I forget his name, but he's actually a kind of friend/adversary of Ben's as they're vying for the same executive position. So they're working together because they definitely want Chad to go down for the position so one of them can become boss. But at the same time, they're fight— they're playing against each other. So it's a kind of a chess game between him and Ben as they vie for, uh, this new executive position. And at the same time, this gentleman here, he knows the truth about what's going on, but he won't divulge the information as he wants that position, but he does have information. It's just a matter of time before he tries to use it against Ben or Ben uses it against him. But one thing is clear about this show is that it seems that Ben's willing to do whatever it takes in order to get to the next executive position so he can free his lost love. And he's already managed to get out the boss and destroy his entire life and family. I don't think Ben will stop now, and if it means he has to destroy this guy, uh, he may have to. And another thing I just want to mention about this series is it seems to me that this is a series that there aren't really good or bad characters. Nobody's really good or, or bad. It's just people set in an environment in the world where they're doing what they have to do to survive. And, um, so, um, basically that pretty much concludes this week's episode. I just want to give my final thoughts, and that's basically that this show picked up a lot from last week. Um, you know, last week I kind of came into it feeling like, you know, this is a good show, but it's, it's one of these sci-fi shows where that I've seen a bunch of times where, you know, it's just something to watch to fill my TV slot. And I think this week has showed me it could be a bit more than that, that it did get a lot more interesting this week, and it really got me involved, you know, and interested more. And as the story unfolds, it's become a lot more interesting to me. So Very, very well done. Um, I'm actually going to keep doing reviews on this show. I do hope that viewership in it picks up, and I think people are starting to come around a bit. But, um, you know, it may be a late, uh, late bloomer. It may be, uh, you know, something that people pick up a little bit later in the season. And, uh, just trying to think of a few other interesting details that I may have missed, uh, missed, uh, maybe, or maybe I can just come up with a few predictions. But it seems to me— oh, this was one thing I wanted to mention earlier, that the CEO, uh, or Elizabeth, uh, the way the scenes play out, you know, you almost feel like she's aware that Ben's hiding something, and you feel like she's trying to, uh, she wants Ben to get that executive position. But what concerns me is this: I don't know if she wants Ben to get the executive position because she really likes him, which she seems like she does, or I don't know if she wants him to get it because she's afraid that, uh, uh, if he is caught or find out or found out or messes up, that it will not only endanger himself but that of his wife, who's her daughter, and their unborn child, or soon-to-be child. So she may be trying to protect Ben in order to protect her daughter and her family. Uh, it could be that, or it could be both. It could be that she likes him and she wants to protect him. We really don't know at this point, but it's very interesting to see how this plays out. And I hope you all enjoyed this week's review. Um, again, if you like information like this, if you are watching the show and you find it interesting, please feel free to comment and like the video, um, in order that we may bring you much more information like this in the future. All right, take care, folks.