Liv as the Recruit

[animus]

So i was thinking about last week's episode, and a thought (a very obvious one) just hit me. I think that Nina Sharp and Broyls know about Liv's "destiny" if you will.
It would make sense, after all the talks the two of them had in the earlier episodes about Olivia's importance.
So maybe the two of them have formulated their own way of training Dunham...hmmmm:ninja:

Just throwing that out ther!:confused0006:

[phenol]

I'm quite sure they did at least suspect it (that she has "abilities"). Broyles has, numerous times, held back information from Liv until she was "ready" in his eyes.

Nina may have not known for sure if cortexiphan did have an effect (Bell and Nina might have thought is was a flop because its effects didn't immediately manifest during the trials). She may, however, have caught wind recently that ZFT was discovering that cortexiphan DID have an effect, but wasn't sure whether to believe it or not (and she probably discussed it with Broyles in one of their meetings). She might have held back on telling Liv about the Jacksonville trial to SEE if she could indeed defuse that bomb without her knowing for sure she was drugged with cortexiphan. It's kinda like "blinding" the subject to prevent a Placebo-like effect ... although I think in this case Nina might have thought the OPPOSITE of what usually happens with Placebos might have occurred -- maybe she thought that if Liv knew she was drugged she wouldn't try as hard to defuse the bomb, because maybe it requires true FAITH since the drug only "limits the limitations" -- it doesn't actually change the brain. If Liv had it in her head that the drug changed her cerebral cortex before she even consciously tried to use her abilities -- perhaps Nina thought it would fail because Liv would be believing in the DRUG and not HERSELF, which might make the drug's changes not manifest. If that makes sense.

After Nina heard that Liv had used her ability without knowing for sure that she was given cortexiphan, it was safe to tell her about the clinical trial in Jacksonville, since she already had to rely on faith in HERSELF, thus "locking in" her faith in her ability. So that's when Nina called Liv and told her the truth. Nina didn't need to be specific since she knew Liv would then surmise that she had indeed been givin cortexiphan, and Nina almost definitely already knew Liv was given the drug since it's likely kept on record after the trail who was in the control group and who was in the experiment group. Nina probably dug up the files LONG before this episode and knew Liv was in the experimental group given the real drug, but she had to sit on it to allow Liv to have faith in herself to bring the abilities to fruition.

Perhaps Broyles or Nina will confirm this and tell Liv that she was indeed given cortexiphan when she was a young girl, but that they couldn't tell her until they were sure that it had an effect --- that it opened the brain up without the person knowing about being drugged if the just believed in themself. Now Nina and Broyles know that Bell was mistaken -- cortexiphan did in fact work, but it might have required time for its initial pharmacologic effects to manifest changes in reality, and it might have been "mild" in effect such that the psychic powers could only be tapped with intense faith in the ability to use the powers. Perhaps the powers can grow stronger as a person given cortexiphan uses the abilities more often. The drug was simply a catalyst, and needed to be activated by Liv believing that she could cause changes in the surroundings with her mind.

Now, I bet, Nina and Broyles are going to open way up and tell Liv more -- now that they've seen that cortexiphan works without her knowing she was given the drug.

The blue flash was her mind "opening" and "believing" IMO, and that's when she was able to turn the lights out and defuse the bomb. Now that her mind is open, it may unleash a torrent of psychic ability such that Liv can gain more conscious control over her abilities and use them without trying as hard as she had to the first time.

I'm open to the fact that Peter was given the drug too, possibly. Nina may NOT know that, since it's possible that Walter synthesized cortexiphan himself without Bell or MD knowing to test it on Peter himself -- outside of the MD clinical trials.

[animus]

Yeah I totally agree with you.
And about the Peter thing I strongly believe that he was also given the drug, just thinking back on Peter and Walter's reunion, and his reacotion, not to mention his strange comments about Peter's weight...
Another possability is that it wasnt Olivia that shut the bomb off, the lights started turning off once Peter showed up. OR maybe, they both had to do it together.:confused0006:
... Oy I have way to much spare time on my hands..... :ninja:

[MystikPeril]

And about the Peter thing I strongly believe that he was also given the drug

I've said it several times before, and I'll say it here again, I agree. I do believe Peter was also given this drug. I'll actually be disappointed if he wasn't! :P

[Cathy904]

I've said it several times before, and I'll say it here again, I agree. I do believe Peter was also given this drug. I'll actually be disappointed if he wasn't! :P

Also duplicating entries from other threads, I'll be disappointed if he hasn't been given the drug, also. :hope:

[moof]

We've already seen Peter *do* cortexiphanish stuff, namely in the Arrival, when he gave answers to questions that he did not know. Also, Walter in Safe specifically hints at a cortexiphanatical "You have no idea what you're capable of" understanding.

And then Peter's entire reason for being on the show (other than his role as "Hot Pacey" eye candy and informant hook-up) seems to have stopped for four episodes while the focus shifted entirely to Magic Olivia.

[animus]

Yeah, I would be very dissapointed if Peter wasnt given the drug himself.
That being said maybe its about time we got another Peter-centric eppy. Last time we had one, it was a big hit. So hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink, dear ol' JJ, I think we need to explore magic Peter a tad bit more:ninja: