Incorporated Season 1 Episode 5 Profit and Loss [Review]

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel this week, and we're going to be continuing our review on the TV series Incorporated, uh, episode 5 of season 1, Profit and Loss. So, um, you know, like I had been saying about the show, uh Every week has been getting a little bit better, and I've been able to appreciate the show quite a bit more. But what I'm starting to see about this show is that I think it's going to be a sleeper. And what I mean by that, I think it's going to be one of those good science fiction shows that just doesn't get the traction that it probably should. You know, I could compare it to, I think, when Dune came out in the early '80s. Dune was kind of that movie, you know, even though it had the popularity of the Frank Herbert books. Um, you know, uh, when it first came out, it just really didn't pick up. It wasn't until years later that people really, you know, started to appreciate that movie. But anyway, we're going to delve into this week's episode, and what we have here in this first scene, that's Elena's father And this is, um, you know, right after last week's episode where his restaurant in the flashback series gets firebombed, and the father's mad. His, his business is burning down. They call the fire department. Apparently the fire department only serves those who are up on their, uh, their payments, their, their lease payments. And so, um they won't even, um, you know, put his fire out to try to save what's left of his business. And the father's just quite upset. Um, you know, basically he, he, he's already got the information that the reason that the business was firebombed was because Aaron, or Ben Larson, our main character he, uh, when he robbed the currency exchange, uh, they found out he didn't give Tino, his, his mob boss, his cut. And, uh, that was the explanation as to why the, the business was firebombed. And so Due to the retaliation, uh, from, uh, the mob boss who's Tino, who's featured in the scene, um, you know, Aaron basically confronts him about it while he's being shaved. And Aaron takes a razor and, uh, you know, he lets Tino know that, you know, why did you do this? Why'd you hurt these people? Uh, but Tino explains to him that, you know, it wasn't him, that he wasn't involved in, um, the incident. So when you can't pay your debts, it looks like you're put in, in jail, you know, um Debtors Extraction Services. And this is Elena's father. He's, uh, you know, taken to, uh, you know, jail after, uh, you know, he can't keep up the payments. And she actually goes there to see him, and, you know, she tells him, you know, that basically what's going to happen is those debts are generational debts. So not only will he be affected by it, but then they'll move on to her and her brother. And, uh, so everybody has to carry the, the burden, you know, of this debt. So due to this and understanding that, uh, the seriousness of what's going to happen, everybody's going to, you you know, end up probably in jail or worse. Uh, you know, uh, Elena is ready to sign the contract to become a high-end escort, you know, uh, for the Spiegel Corporation in order that she can, uh, pay her family's debts. She's breaking down. She's ready to, you know, go through with it. And these are the Spiegel representatives, and you, of course, you can see the, uh, the agent from the last few episodes there to make sure that the, uh, contract is closed. So Ben gets there, he tries in a last heroic, uh, uh, uh, situation to try to stop Elena, and Elena is explaining to Ben that it's too late, that there's nothing that can be done. And the only thing he could do at this point is just forget her. That's what she wants him to do. She wants him to forget her because she knows what she has to do, uh, with the Spiga Corporation as a high-end escort. And she doesn't want him to remember her, uh, or she wants him to remember her as she was. So at this point, Ben's figured it out, you know. He's figured out that it wasn't Tino, his mob boss, that had the, uh, father's house firebombed that started this whole thing, but it was actually the Asian here, you know. She concocted a plan, uh, to firebomb her father's business so she would be forced into this life, and You know, as she's, uh, being beat up by one of her bodyguards, she explains to him, as she mentioned earlier, about 95% of her deals get closed. And, you know, we get to understand, you know, how she's achieved such an impeccable record. So this is an interesting scene. You know, this was 6 years, um, later from when Ben Larson was in the FEMA camps. Ben eventually did get to the Red Zone, but here he's, he's met up again with his friend, and, uh, I believe I got his name right this time, Hendrick, the, the guy who's been mysterious that helped him get into the, the Green Zone. And we get his backstory in a lot more clarity this week. You know, what we get is we get that Hendrick is, uh, you know, when they were back in the FEMA camps, Hendrick had a plan that allowed him to take a back door to the Green Zone, and he didn't really explain what that plan was to Ben as a kid. He just kind of let Ben know that he was leaving and he was going to, uh, try something, try to attempt something for a better life, and they kind of gave each other parting gifts and And he was, you know, basically giving Ben some pointers how to stay alive and that he was smart and that he'd make it, just keep his head up. But what he didn't tell Ben was that he actually had a way to get into the Green Zone through a back door and, you know, to get in there, create a new identity. And so he accidentally bumps into Ben in the Red Zone And this is again 6 years later from the time that Ben was a kid, you know, in the FEMA camp. So, uh, so I guess at this point Ben's about 18 years old. So, um, Hendrick is there because, uh, big representatives do sometimes come down to the Red Zone to watch like cage fights and, uh, do things that they can't do in the Green Zone. You know, it's like kind of one of those type places. And, uh, you know, Ben realizes it's Hendrick, and he's wondering, he's like, hey, what's going on? How are you, you know, dressed up in a suit and tie and you're a big executive in the Green Zone? How did this happen? You, you never— you left me, you left me to rot. You didn't explain to me, uh, that you had this opportunity. And he, you know, he explains to Ben, hey, you know, uh, I have a wife I have a family now. If I'm found out, uh, that this isn't my identity, uh, they'll all, you know, lose their lives, and, uh, so will I. And I need you to, you know, not tell, to keep this secret with me. But Ben's like, oh yes, I'll keep your secret, but, uh, you're gonna have to get me into the Green Zone, you know. And so it's kind of like a I'm understanding now the way Ben was able to, to get into the green zone and how he's able to do things and kind of keep Hendrick at bay is because they're both, you know, they both know each other's secret. You know, they're both— if one goes down, the other goes down. So, uh, Hendrick has to, you know, uh, work with Ben. And so He agrees to get Ben into the Green Zone, give him a new identity, and get him out of the Red Zone. So this is, uh, a very interesting scene, uh, where Hendrick is turning Aaron into Ben, you know, Aaron being who Ben really was. And creating his new identity. And what I found very interesting about this scene, it was just so reminiscent of, um, Gadot, you know, like I had mentioned in my first review. I said I just saw a lot of Gadot in this, uh, in this show. And even when he's transforming, there's a scene where he's burning up his old clothes and taking off his old DNA and burning it, burning it in this incinerator. And that's, um of, uh, what happens in Gattaca. That's just like a scene right out of Gattaca. That's what they— that's what, uh, Ethan Hawke's character does in Gattaca when he's trying to eliminate his, uh, identity and his DNA so that he can't be detected. And so, um, This is Laura. This is Ben's wife in the Green Zone, and it appears she's in the Red Zone, but she's actually in the Green Zone. And in the— in 2074, they've really got great with, uh, holograms, and they have these things that like screens that come down and they create whatever environment that, you know, you wish. So it kind of reminds me kind of like the Holodeck from, uh, Star Trek: Next Generation. You know, they pull down these screens and they're like these invisible screens, and then they create whatever. So this is— she's not actually in the red zone, but she's going through a self-defense class and a kind of mix with a psychotherapy class to help her, uh, understand. You know, uh, they're trying to get her treatment and to get treatment as to what happened to her when she was assaulted in the Red Zone, but she doesn't really want to go into detail about it. She just wants to cover the physical training part so that, uh, you know, she could feel more powerful to protect herself. But the therapist she's working with, you know, he really wants to delve into— in order to fully help her to heal throughout the process, he wants her to delve into the mental parts of what happened, but she doesn't want to do that. She just want to fight and address the physical part. So again, this is the, the actual room she was in. You know, like I said before, it kind of reminds you of the holodecks from Star Trek: The Next Generation. And they're safely in the green zone, but her therapist here, he's, you know, you know, addressing to her, hey, we need to not just, um, you know, treat you, treat the physical parts of this to help you feel more secure and safe and powerful, uh, and not a victim, but we need to get into the psychological parts of this. And that's the part that Laura doesn't want to deal with because those are the most hard parts. And so she has this interesting scene with Julian, you know, Julian being the security chief. Wasn't in last week's episode, but we get him in this week's episode. And he, he's— he and he, he and they both seem to have a very, uh, good relationship where— or they're confidants. And Uh, which is kind of interesting. I didn't really— you know, when he was trying to take Ben down the other week, I didn't really get that he was really close to Laura this way, but he actually is. And so he, he gives her a private visit to her home, and she's talking— she wants to know more information about what happened when, you know, when he was in the military service. And what it is, is what I'm, what I'm getting from this scene is this is, this is two people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder address, uh, uh, trying to have a therapy session with each other, you know, trying to relate to a person in a situation just like yours, whereas Laura was attacked in the red zone and it created this PTSD. Julian was in the military and he was in the military during a very, uh, critical time where they were fighting for oil. So I, you know, I guess through this future, some at some point, you know, we run out of oil and everybody's on the battlefront trying to fight for the last territorial, you know, rights to oil. Um, you know, as, you know, reserves and resources are running out. And so Julian is, uh, betrayed by a military, uh, um, you know, uh, a person under his command. And, you know, his whole unit is ambushed and they're all left there to die. And, you know, he's basically sharing information with her to help her cope with her PTSD. So again, they seem very, very close, as, um, you know, which I found interesting. I just didn't see these two characters being so close. And I'm just wondering, like, uh, you know, through his relentless, uh, going after Ben, did he feel that, you know, it would affect her in any kind of way if he, you know, if, uh, you know, if something bad was found out? So don't really know, you know, uh, you know, what his angle is going to be in this story as far as maybe he just wants to take care of her and get rid of Ben so Ben doesn't hurt her in some kind of way. Maybe he senses that Ben is trouble. And so this is an interesting scene. This is, uh, you know, after the big, the big scene we got last week where Elena finally, uh, you know, gets, uh, gets, uh, you know, down from the 40th floors, and she's, uh, just a few steps away from Ben, but she's actually going to see Roger, which was, which was arranged by his father. And so, um, you know, what's happening is, uh, Roger, when he meets with Elena, at first everything is— she's going through her normal routine of being a, you know, very sophisticated sophisticated, high-class escort, and he knows it's all a script. He knows it's all, you know, she's been trained to say that. He wants the real story of why Ben's interested in her, but he keeps saying Ben, and she doesn't know any— she doesn't know any Ben because Ben is a created identity, you know. His name is Aaron. So Roger, at this point, he's running out of time. He's not getting the answers he, he needs. He, he believes she's lying because he knows she has to know Ben because, you know, Ben's doing all the stuff and jeopardizing his career over her. So, uh, Roger just loses patience. He says he's gonna just cut her up and he's gonna do all this stuff to her and they got to stitch her back together and this and that. And, you know, again, as I, I talked about in earlier episodes, you know, cutting yourself and, and butchering yourself up. You know, the medical science has improved so much now that when, you know, when they— when that happens to you, you can just spray on a healing spray and nanobots and, and different things like that. And, you know, it's almost like it's no big deal. So I guess, you know, after she would be butchered— after they butcher and injure people up, um, you know, maybe these escorts get a lot of attacks like this and it's a normal thing. So what they do is they'll just stitch them back together But, uh, but you know what I— what we get from Elena too in this scene is Elena has become very hardened. You know, this has happened dozens and dozens of times, so it's no big deal for Elena. Elena— and that, that's what concerns me about Elena at this point. You know, when I think what's— what the story is going to move to is by the time Ben, uh, gets to Elena I don't think Elena's the same person she was. If you know, she's not. You know, she's changed a lot from that sweet Elena he knew. You know, this is a whole different, uh, woman with scars and probably mental issues now. You know, I don't think it's going to be the happy ending for Ben that, you know, he hoped it would be. And so Ben's in the building, he knows what's going on, and Ben has this technology, you know, he— because he works in the technology department of Spiga, you know, he's got all these cool gadgets that he can borrow. And so he's actually got this, uh, device that he's like underneath their floor, but he, he, he— the way he does it, he gets into an area where Mae's at where she's cleaning a room underneath the room that Roger and Elena's in. So he, uh, basically is able to, you know, get the maid to exit the premises. And so he has this listening device thing, this, uh, interesting— it's like a globe and it sticks under the floor. And what it's doing is it's able to pick up the vibrations and translate what's being said, uh, between Roger and Elena. So Ben knows everything that's going on. He knows that Uh, Elena is under attack by Roger. He knows everything from this technology, and so he's on, he's on it. He's, um, he's trying to rescue Elena, and he does rescue Elena. And the way he does it is the same globe he uses, it, it actually creates a, uh, it's like a gas, like a, uh um, some type of like a tear gas or something like that, and he's able to use it where it goes through the ventilation system of the entire building. So before Roger can finish, you know, his interrogation, uh, the whole building is now engulfed in this gas. Everybody has to put on masks. And so, uh, Elena, her security team is able to get her out of there because, because she's corporate property, they want to make sure she's protected. So agents and guards stay with her or stay around her so they can escort her back, you know, to the company, uh, you know, as they view her not as a person but as a valuable corporate resource now. So, but because of Ben acting quickly, they're able to get in there and take her out of the building. And so that kind of stops Roger from finishing his plan and getting his information. Of course, Roger, uh, being a resourceful person he is, doesn't let that stop him. He goes into the red zone. He's able to pick up on information from the conversation he had with Elena. He's able to pick up enough details even though she couldn't tell him about her past. Um, he was able to still do cleverly, you know, having this conversation with Elena, pick up on enough information to trace it back to where she was educated down in the Red Zone. You know, just the, the, the, uh, the, these centers that they used to go to where they have these, um, these, uh, cranial, uh, drugs. And, you know, they had to take these drugs and hook up to a machine where they're able to learn, um, uh, information very rapidly. You know, it's like you can get a 4-year degree in maybe, you know, a day or so. And because of that, it, you know, it, it messes up people's brains. And at this point in the story, that was 6 years ago where Elena went there. They're closing these centers down now. You know, people understand these things are dangerous and they're, they're, you know, they create more problems than, um the solutions. And so the director here of the center is saying they become pariahs because of all these people having seizures and all of the side effects when they try to use these, uh, type of means. And so Roger is able to, through, uh, paying off the director and some manipulation, uh, get her to release Elena's files. And so now Roger is able to, uh, get information on Elena's whole background. And so Roger runs into Elena's father because he's able to find out who her father is. And at this point in time Uh, Elena's father has become a drug addict. You know, I guess the pressures of life and everything that happened with Elena being taken, him being put in jail, was too much to bear. You know, even though Elena was able to pay off the debts due to being an escort now and going off with the Spiegel Corporation, she was able to, you know, as I'm showing some of the earlier scenes when she's negotiating her contract you know, she's being paid well, so she's able to send some money back to her father and, um, you know, get them out of debt. And, um, so Roger's now talking with the father. He's able to identify Elena's entire story, and he shows the father a picture of Ben. And the father never liked Ben, uh, or Aaron after the firebomb because he blames him, you know, for when he, you know, stealing the money from the currency exchange and creating this entire backlash. So Elena's father is more than happy to identify that Ben is Aaron when Roger shows him a picture. And because of that, Roger has been able to tie up all loose ends. He now knows that Ben is an imposter from the Red Zone. That he's assumed someone's identity, that he's a crook. And, um, you know, Roger basically knows now he has the promotion. Of course, whilst all this is going on, Ben is in an important meeting about a new technology that's able to read minds. And, uh, the meeting is running too long. His tracker on Roger, he knows he needs to keep an eye on Roger, and he knows now Roger is in the red zone, but he just doesn't know what Roger's up to and what he's doing at this point. But he know it can't be anything good. So Ben really wants to get to that, to back to the red zone, or I'm sorry, get to the red zone so he could try to figure out what Roger's doing. But this meeting is important. Elizabeth, his mother-in-law, is in it with the board members. He just can't get out, so he has to make a decision where he promises, uh, that the technology that they need will be ready and to perform a certain way in a time frame that, uh, it may not be ready. And in this— and in this corporate world, you can't make promises. You have to meet them. You know, if you don't meet them, I imagine that they can terminate your contract and that means you lose everything. And so Elizabeth is warning Ben, this is what, you know, this is what you're risking here. But Ben knows that if he doesn't get down to the red zone, he's going to probably be in a lot more danger than, uh, risking his, uh, contract with the company. So the confrontation happens. Um, Ben arrives catches Roger in the red zone, and Roger's already calling him by the name Aaron because he knows that Ben is an imposter now. He's telling him he knows the whole story, and Ben's pleading with Roger at this point. He's going, you got me, you know, uh, you, you got this, uh, this over me. I'll step down. I'll let you get the promotion. It's nothing that, you know, I could do to stop you now. You, you, you, you have me, you know, you, you basically got me, uh, it's nothing I can do. And so Ben's pleading with Roger, he, he's letting him know, I'll play ball, just please don't go and, uh, inform everybody of the information you have. But unfortunately Um, at this point, um, Roger is recording the entire conversation, and, you know, so he doesn't— it's— he, he was recording the conversation, but at the same time he was talking to Ben like, you know, he wasn't doing that. And so Ben figures out that Aaron is going to take this information to, to the Spiegel Corporation, and, you know, things go terribly wrong. At this point, Ben knows that Roger can't be trusted, that Roger will destroy his entire life, family, and everything he's been trying to achieve and trying to save Elena. So they get into a fight and basically Ben ends up killing Roger. And you know, Ben is devastated at this point because he didn't want to have to kill anybody, but it— this is what it came to. And it's like I said in the earlier episodes, um, that this is a, this is a show where, you know, the characters aren't black and white. You know, they're, they're great characters. They're just kind of forced into, uh, these very challenging, impossible situations, and they just are surviving through the situations in their environment. You know, they're not able to make, um, you know, it seems they're, they're very— these situations are written so tight, there's not much room to make a moral decision, you know, like, um, you know, in society we consider moral. And, uh, so, but it is bothering Ben to a great degree. He's taking someone's life, and he goes to Theo in the Red Zone. He wants Theo to help him, uh, dispose of the body. And he's telling Theo, look, uh, you know, um, I had to do this. He was too close, you know. He said, everything I've been doing, um, it's been for Elena. And you know, at this point in the series, you know, you're starting to wonder, you're saying, well, my goodness, like, is it, you know, is he going too far? You know, is, is, you know, does the ends justify the means? You know, what, you know, what, at what, what won't, what won't he do, you know, to, to— and he's already done so much. And so he's explaining this to Theo, but in an interesting scene Theo, you know, basically says you're a piece of crap, you know, you really are. Even though Theo understands that he's trying to do that to save Elena, you know, uh, you know, it kind of just goes back to that question I had asked earlier, or just a few minutes ago, and that's, you know, does the end justify the means, you know? And what, what is his limit to, you know, trying to rescue Elena and get this life that he's, you know, after? And so, you know, they basically decided that they're going to burn the car up and drive it to the edge of the city and hope that, you know, nobody can identify Roger. And, you know, just basically so that they're not caught. So, um, Elena's father and Theo's father, he comes to Theo for a place to stay because he's a drug addict now. But, and you know, his father's still blaming Ben for everything that happened, uh, you know, to their family. But Theo has a different, uh, position on it. You know, Theo's saying it's not Ben, but it's him that's put their family in a bad situation. You know, that he's a drug addict and that he was the one who wasn't there for them when they really needed him, that it was his responsibility. And so Theo doesn't want anything to do with his father. He's telling him when he wakes up there the next morning, he wants him to be gone. He never wants to see him again. And so after just, uh, uh, you know, terrible situation having to kill Roger and trying to figure out who he is now, because, you know, he's, he's reflecting back on something Hendrick told him about during his transformation into— from Aaron to Ben to live in the Green Zone. He's saying that, you know, one of these days you're gonna, you're gonna wake up and you're not gonna even know who you are anymore. You know, you're really gonna believe that you're being Larsen, and you're really gonna believe that you're this person from the Green Zone. And this seems to be Ben's fear, that that would happen. And he feels he's at a point where it's already happened. So he comes home just devastated from everything that's happened. And, you know, as Laura turns over in the bed to welcome him back home uh, not knowing the— just these terrible things he's done and this terrible lie he's living. Uh, you know, he's just reflecting on that and, you know, uh, I guess just trying to figure out, you know, where does he go from this point. And so, you know, again, my thoughts on this week's episode, uh, I Personally, I still think the show's getting a lot better. I think it's doing a great job, um, and, um, you know, I, I do hope that viewership picks up. I think it's going to be a sleeper though because we're already on episode 5, and, um, you know, it seems like it's hard for this show to gain some traction, um, but it is a, it is a pretty good show. It's a decent show, and it's a lot better than I thought, you know. It's entirely better than I thought it was going to be. But, you know, my thoughts at this point now is that yes, Elena has become somebody totally different from what Ben's expecting, you know, expect, you know, known, known her to be. And I think that it's going to be this really bittersweet reunion, uh, you know, if he, you know, when they, when they meet face to face and he reveals who he is and comes to rescue her. I think it's going to be very bittersweet. I think it's going to be one of those situations where when you get there, you're just too late, you know, that she's already become, you know, much like who— how he's becoming Ben, uh, in the Green Zone. I think Elena's going to have become, uh, you know, this person in this life, in this in this escort corporate world, high-end world she's living in. And they're both going to be two different people. They're gonna, they're gonna actually be these people now. And it's kind of scary, but that's what I see is gonna happen with that. And again, a great week's episode. Um, I hope you guys enjoyed the episode. And for the people who are still watching the show, uh, I want to go ahead and finish out the, uh, the season see what happens. I hope it, I hope it, you know, really does something spectacular at the end, and I hope it can get some traction. I do think it's a pretty decent science fiction show, especially now that, you know, there's really not any science fiction shows on TV I'm really feeling that much at the moment. But anyway, guys, this same time next week, and take care.