Episode #204 "Duplicate Bridge"

Logline: When a bridge collapses and plunges many to their death, the victims' families come after the engineer, who, once in WITSEC, attempts to clear his name no matter what the consequence.

So, what did everyone think of the latest episode? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere inbetween? Were you shocked by the ending? Do you think Marshall made the right call? Please share your thoughts here!

I thought this episode was wonderful. One of, if not THE best of the series so far.

I like that in the past couple episode we've gotten to see more of Stan and Marshall. I hope we get more episodes like that in the future.

I was surprised at the end that Norman was in fact partly to blame for the bridge collapse. And I actually liked that Marshall realized at the end that all he could do was walk away. I'm glad the show "went there" - Mary and Marshall couldn't help him, the witness wasn't completely innocent, and he went through with killing himself. You don't see that a lot on TV.

an excellent episode. I was surprised to find out that the engineer had helped build so many bridges...and
had errors on all of them. He did not do it deliberately of course..but..he felt so much remorse for all of this.
The episode could have ended..with the engineer living..but..I felt the ending although surprising was the
right one.
and I loved the music used for the show.Thanks for listing the music for the shows !

Loved the episode—and the ending really surprised me. It was most unexpected. Generally, someone like Marshall or Mary talks the other person down. Also, this time, there was no "right" side.

At heart Norman was a good person, and he gave his very best (he thought) he had in him. Needless to say it was devastating to find out that everything he thought he had accomplished--his lifetime work--was flawed and would have to be destroyed.

When you are in the people business the way Marshall and Mary are, losing is hard. Mary's "if-you-blow-I-blow" was so in character because she just doesn't know how to quit. But, no matter how hard you try, sometimes no matter how well you do your job, things fall apart. You can't fix everything. Marshall knew this and he knew his client. He knew that being the kind of man he was, Norman couldn't live with what he had done. He also knew that Norman was prepared to accept his fate and would not be deterred—no matter what. He did the right thing in dragging Mary off the bridge.

I have a few points of feedback to share in regards to the most recent episode aired of “In Plain Sight”

Original Omaha KC Masterpiece Ribs – there is no KC Masterpiece in Omaha…Nebraska is known for the company named Omaha Steaks….very popular mail order steaks shipped anywhere in the world. This company is not necessary known for their ribs, rather raw steaks and hamburgers.

The model of the “pedestrian bridge” supposedly sitting in a County Office Building in Omaha (with Hogland, the defendant from the opening trial scene standing over it) would not have been in such a location due to the nature of the project – it was not a county issue.
Old Watson Highway – never heard of such a location in Nebraska, let alone 70 miles from the city of Omaha which was supposedly where the witness was arrested and detained.

Platte River Crossing –State Highway 454…I was very excited to hear & see an accurate reference to a river in Nebraska, however I was disappointed when I realized you reference was a highway that does not nor did not ever exist in Nebraska. There are numerous truss bridges like the one shown in the suicide scene that pass over the Platte River.

The only scene that may have been remotely plausible could have been the memorial speech scene as there are indeed several lakeside park locations in the Omaha area.

I am wondering, where were some of these “facts” dug up or how were these references created? Can you please enlighten me?

Please check your facts that reference cities or businesses with a little more accuracy, it would certainly make viewers feel more pulled into the show and follow the story line rather than be distracted by inaccurate facts and references to their home cities. I realize it is for entertainment purposes, but the incessant reference to delicious ribs became annoying and greatly distracted from the main plot line about the witness, particularly when I was elated to hear in the first few minutes of the show that “Omaha” was being referenced and used in the story line.

I thought it was really good. I never expected that ending.

Duplicate Bridge was a great epi! Maybe the best one yet. Strong characters. Great story. Well done. I especially liked seeing Mary and Marshall work as a team, a partnership (and not just have Marshall be Mary's satellite).

Excellent epi!

I agree! I loved the episode and was really surprised by the ending. Mary is the "superwoman" who always talks people into doing the right thing....but not this time. And I loved Marshall's quiet assertion, "I know my witness."

Norman had such a serene look on his face as he blew himself up on the bridge, that it reminded me of the hara-kiri that you see in the old movies. The ones where a military official, politician, an owner, etc. would take responsibility when something went horribly wrong "on his watch". No, I'm not saying that the "wigs" of Wall Street or the purveyors of deadly, tainted products, or any other entity who action or inaction led to a major catastrophe should "fall on the sword", just that it made me think about how rare it is to see anyone "take responsibility".

Once, he got the other guy to confess, Norman could have just walked away. But, being the kind of person he was—he could not. So far, this is my favorite, and I think the best, episode of the season.

I have to say I am a little biast as I live in Kansas City. However, they should do a little more research, Omaha Steaks doesn't ship anything close to KC ribs. Ask anyone in Kansas City where to get ribs and not 1 person will mention Omaha Steaks. Next time you want to have some real KC Ribs try using JACK STACK BARBECUE. They ship it FedEx just like the show had, and they're actually in KANSAS CITY and have been for 50+ years. Other than that the show was good.

I think the ribs were supposed to be from a fictional place in Omaha anyway - in one shot the label on the box said "Maggie's" or something like that.

I think they were just supposed to be ribs from one of Norman's favorite restaurants in his home town, which was Omaha. And they were just barbecued Kansas City-style.

I really liked this episode and the fact that Mary kind of took the backseat to Marshall for this one. Once it got down to the end of the episode and Mary was trying to talk Norman out of blowing the bridge up along with himself, I was afraid that she would succeed and was glad she didn't. If anybody were supposed to stop him, I think it should have been Marshall. All in all, I thought it was a wonderful episode. Too bad it's not Sunday yet!

Also, I too think that the place where Marshall got the ribs was made up and supposed to serve as one of Norman's favorite places to eat.

I also have to agree that this episode was an incredible story, as much as all of the stories have been, this one in particular has stuck with me even more. The closing scene when Marshall is talking to Mary's sister on his cell-phone, and Mary's kind of half-asleep. This is an incredibly dramatic scene, very dramatic writing and "spoken" word by Marshall. They break to Mary asking how he's doing, Marshall says "I'm still here" (as if to counter what Norman had done to himself over his guilt), then they break to Mary's thoughts, close to what Marshall had told Mary's sister on his phone...this was incredible to see the writing done very well for this cable TV series.

I did like this episode. I wished I understood more about the architeture of bridges but it was a back story to some degree. The relationship between Marshal and his witness was very "real". I was rather shocked that he did go through with the destruction with the bridge and take his life. I was proud in a strange way of his decision on taking responsiblity but sad that he chose to end his life. We all do things that we are not always proud of but sometimes taking responsiblity on these actions make you a stronger individual.

Keep up the great work..

LTM

"Duplicate Bridge" is one of the best episodes in a television drama I've seen in a long time. It had a great theme and message. I felt more connected to the witness as a character than any other character I've seen on the show.

I missed this episode and would Really LIKE TO SEE IT. Why isn't it online like other episodes are? I even missed the repeats during the week. Please put it online viewing.

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It's now on hulu.com if you want to see it!

The episode is now available online with pop-up trivia and behind-the-scenes facts!

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/inplainsi...html?id=1126718

Great episode ! !

I do have a question..

The footage at the beginning of the episode was obviously real news footage from the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007. How do you get permission to use actual news footage like this ????

The reason that Mary "took the backseat" as you say is because it was Marshall's witness, as opposed to hers, which was a first for the show. But I agree, it was an awesome episode!