There’s games being played in and out of the lab in Stitchers Roundtable 3X06 “The Gremlin and The Fixer,” and we’re betting on Camsten

Ever since the squad was nearly torn apart by Blair weeks ago, things just seem to be going from bad to worse for our favorite lab rats. Fresh off the heartbreaking fight over losing her mother’s location, Kirsten is hell bent on making sure Cameron suffers as much as she does. At least she and Camille have made up, although the latter has romantic troubles of her own. With broken hearts all around, the lab is barely engaged in their latest case – a dead AVR engineer. After a quick and tense stitch into the victim, Jake Rowland, Kirsten and Fisher go in search of more information regarding their victim. They quickly discover he was hired as a “gremlin,” someone who intentionally sabotages AVR’s satellites so that a “Fixer” can problem solve. Unfortunately, the last thing he did was take the Mars rover satellite offline.

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While being a Gremlin might pay the bills, the team finds out Jake was moonlighting as a player with an underground gaming competition. Looking for a distraction, Cameron goes undercover as a new player and gets to know one of the competitors, Zelda. Meanwhile, Linus and Camille head to AVR to troubleshoot the issue with the Fixer, Kenneth Lee. The latter calls Amanda to extrapolate Jake’s last written message, but it does little to mend their romance. After a second stitch, Kirsten realizes that Jake was rigging the war game so he could win. Later, Camille, Linus, and Kirsten figure out he was also the game creator and had used the satellite to send one final message within it. With time running out on solving the murder, Cameron must go back in to win at all costs and uncover the truth behind Jake’s death.

There was more than one game being played this week, and we’re not entirely sure who the winners and losers are. To give us their blow-by-blow, here’s our roundtable:

Lauren (@laurensloves13) – Australian made, Stitchers enthusiast, cat mom.

Heather (@xoheatherkw) – Quality control scientist, dog mom, and fangirl extraordinaire.

Bruce (@bruceeaton88) – Sci-fi, mac n’ cheese; yells at TV; usually polite, frequently lost.

Larissa (@ladame_) – Accountant with a serious love for beauty, fashion, Marvel movies, and T.V. shows….especially Stitchers!

Allie (@alliejlanning) – Stitchers fandom Jane-of-all-trades

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1. Well, we have confirmation now that Maggie was indeed the one behind Jacqueline’s move. What or who exactly do we theorize she’s protecting the team from?

Lauren (@laurensloves13): Well, the number one thought would be that Maggie is protecting the team from Stinger, right? We have already seen him begging Ivy to get close to everyone, so that they could locate Jacqueline again. But as time goes on, I’m starting to wonder if there’s a third party, a mutual enemy if you like of both the Stitchers program and Daniel Stinger, that’s more of a threat than we’ve allowed ourselves to imagine previously. Maggie plays her cards so close to her chest. I’d much prefer to see her share this information with at least one member of the team.

Heather (@xoheatherkw): I honestly think Maggie’s intentions are to protect the team as a whole, and to prevent potential threats to the team (aka Daniel Stinger). I don’t believe that she doesn’t trust Kirsten with the location of her mother, but rather protect her from accidentally revealing too much information and therefore possibly compromising her mother’s location. Now that we know Maggie knows that Ivy has been in touch with Daniel Stinger, she’s probably trying to figure out if she is helping him or not. And Maggie just doesn’t want Kirsten to accidentally reveal something to Ivy. Because who really knows what Daniel Stinger’s plan is for Jacqueline??

Bruce (@bruceeaton88): Maggie can’t afford a ‘leak’ of information like that. She no doubt had to answer some tough questions about the Stitchers op from her bosses while in Washington, especially after the Blair incursion. After Kirsten was caught in the stitch, Maggie has to shield a vulnerable Kirsten from getting involved any more with her mother right now. And a valuable asset must continue to be protected and the mission has to stay on target. The fewer that know Jacqueline’s location, the better. Especially since Stinger has proven to be so resourcful and cunning.

Larissa (@ladame_): I think it’d be intriguing if it was Jacqueline herself! I mean she’s got some kind of ability that might harm the team and what they do. In the end though, it probably is someone higher up in the NSA that is after her and what the Stitchers program can do. Or, it’d be a really crazy twist if Maggie herself was the one up to no good! I know it’s Ivy who’s portrayed as the shady one…but Maggie is quite mysterious herself…

Allie (@alliejlanning): Maggie is always protecting this team from Stinger. Who could possibly comprehend what he would do with a fully mapped out brain from the stitching program? It would be the most dangerous risk, yet, and make that target on their back even bigger. She has been in this program just as long as Jacqueline, Ed, and Daniel have. These people were just as much family to her as the crew is now and she knows exactly what Daniel is capable of. I would do everything in my power, as well, to keep my team out of his clutches. On that note, we don’t know how Jacqueline would be once she woke up, either. If her brain is indeed as evolved as they are saying, we could potentially be looking at someone who could pose a danger to the stitching team as well.

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2. We never thought we’d say this, but Stinger was right! What do you think Maggie is going to have Ivy do? Do you think Linus will be involved?

Lauren: There’s a pretty good chance that Maggie is going to ask Ivy to be a double agent; to draw Stinger back out into the open, lull him into a false sense of security by feeding him some carefully chosen information, and then locking him down before he has the chance to act, though my theory about a third party and the mutual application of information could come into play here. Maybe Maggie thinks there’s some information that Stinger has that could be useful for the Stitchers program. Given previous requests from Maggie for an agent to undertake a secret task (Camille with Liam, anyone?) my guess would be that it won’t be Maggie’s instruction to involve Linus, but Ivy will ignore that command and draw him into the plan anyway.

Heather: I think to start Maggie will just have Ivy update her on what Stinger is up to, and what he has planned for the program and/or Kirsten’s mother, mostly in an observational role. This could lead to her proving her loyalty to either the program (and Kirsten) or her father, by either Maggie orchestrating a scenario that would force Ivy to choose, or take advantage of a situation that would allow her to observe who Ivy would choose. There is one piece of information that Maggie doesn’t know, that Ivy was responsible for trapping Kirsten in her own memory by luring her with younger Cameron. Not sure how well that would go over… I don’t think Linus will be involved at the start, but that’s not saying if a situation were to arise that Maggie would consider involving him.

Bruce: I’m not sure what Maggie’s going to task Ivy with. But she surely will be playing for bits of information about Stinger to maintain the upper hand. I see Maggie manipulating Ivy into setting up a scheme to trap Stinger, probably while he’s getting a haircut. Linus will get pulled into the plot to the detriment of a slowly mending relationship with Ivy.

Larissa: Maggie will probably have Ivy lure Stinger somewhere, or basically have her keep him around so they can get him. I am not sure if Maggie will want to put Linus in the middle of this. I guess it could possibly be to help keep Ivy around (like Stinger wants her to do with Linus), but then again that is already being written in. Knowing the writers, it probably is something I haven’t thought of yet!

Allie: Maggie is playing a dangerous game here and she’s going to bring Linus and Kirsten into it. By having Ivy relay information from Daniel back to her, she’ll call on the two people that Ivy is closest to. This kind of “trust fall” test is dangerous and could easily backfire on Maggie. And that odd behavior will cause even more of a rift between the team. Ivy is definitely a fracture in this already splitting team.

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3. Stitchers shined a light on a different type of geek this week: gamers! For those who do game (or know someone who does), did they do it justice?

Lauren: I don’t game personally, but my circle of geeks is wide and varied, so I know some pretty hardcore gamers. Fairly certain I’d never catch any of them standing up to play a game, even if it was some sort of sudden death match like what turned up in the episode tonight. But the intensity and concentration of the gamer was there.

Heather: I thought it was a pretty interesting case! I can’t speak for competitive underground gaming, but as a casual gamer it was pretty accurate. I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten so into it that I started throwing punches though!! I definitely think the “in the zone” focus was on point. Plus Cameron’s initial intrigue was surprisingly adorable and accurate. Overall great portrayal of gamers. I approve!

Bruce: The underground gaming den (and fight club) run by a murderous thug is apparently way more profitable than a Starbucks franchise. Who knew? But the general scenes played awkwardly to my mind and more befitting a bad episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But did the episode ultimately do justice to the gamers universe? I may be the least qualified panelist in the Western Hemisphere to direct this question to. I lost a game of Pong to a female coworker years ago at a local tavern and that pretty much wrapped it up. That is until 1982 or so, while wandering around our local Sears store, we came upon the display for a new gaming console with an integrated CRT called a Vectrex. The fascination wore off quickly. It’s still buried in the closet underneath the stairs and is now, apparently, a collector’s item.

Larissa: The only games I’ve always played are the Pokemon ones!! (The GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS versions). I think they gave gaming that cool edge it tends to lack in T.V. show portrayals. I can’t comment too much because I am not close to anyone who actually does game. I’d say it was entertaining. #TeamGuyInTheTankTopandTie

Allie: I love watching people play video games. I’m not sure why, but I’d rather spectate than participate. I’m interested in the world of underground gaming now, though, and I think it was such an interesting and dynamic turn for the team to take. The great thing about this season is that we are seeing so many new types of cases that break away from the standard and typical procedural type cases.

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4. That scene with Amanda and Camille was so tense! What do you think Amanda meant by saying they were on two different planets?

Lauren: What is very clear here is that Amanda is very confident in who she is and what she wants, while Camille only acts like this is the case. Someone as strong-willed as Amanda usually craves someone on the same page as them, but for some reason in this relationship Camille has let herself become soft and vulnerable, and it’s not appealing to Amanda anymore. This still makes me really, really mad because it was Amanda that practically threw herself at Camille from the very start, and the second Camille laid herself bare, Amanda turned up her nose and walked away. Her blindness to Camille’s awkward soul-bearing just kills me.

Heather: It was tense! I think their issues are a combination of Camille not using the right words to try to explain what was going on with her and her past in 3×05, and maybe Amanda getting burned too many times in the past. So I think Amanda is keeping her distance because of it, and maybe not giving Camille the chance she deserves to try to work it out. Due to that combination of factors, that’s why they’re on two different planets. Since Livy is on their way to working things out this episode, I still have hope for Camanda though!

Bruce: The initial attraction phase has subsided and Amanda’s seeking more substantial, positive signs of commitment. Amanda is comfortable with who she is and realizes Camille is insecure about her pansexuality. Amanda’s comments reenforce that there’s a wide, unmanageable rift between the two.

Larissa: Definitely a great one liner there! Amanda was referring to their view on relationships. I’m glad they brought her back instead of just having her go off into the sunset after that last encounter with Camille. She’s already been around most of this season, and I think she’s going to provide Camille’s character with some good growth. I thought I was kind of over her character, but her time in this episode had me change my mind. Really big props to the writers for giving such great stories with these characters in such short seasons!!!

Allie: I think that Amanda is getting a lot of the tension that Camille is radiating from her frustration with Maggie overlooking her and her feelings about Ivy. Which isn’t fair that Amanda has to deal with that. I think that it was smart for her to take a step back from Camille until Camille can get her own feelings about these situations figured out. Look, we’re all on team Camanda and we want them to be together, but I am going to have to side with Amanda on this one.

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5. We saw some amazing work from everyone in the squad this episode. Who impressed you the most and why?

Lauren: Camille was the most impressive to me this week, because she saw what needed to be done from a work perspective and put emotion aside in order to make it happen. It takes a big person to do that, and despite her personal angst, our girl stepped up and got the job done.

Heather: The whole squad was impressive this episode, but I’m going to go with Amanda. Mainly because this was the first real look at what she could do outside of the medical examiner’s office. And she was kickass! Plus without her skills to roll back the sands of time, they wouldn’t have discovered the unlock code to solve the case.

Bruce: What a great, well-coordinated team performance. My top marks go to Camille for managing Amanda’s presence at the crime scene with maturity while emotionally devastated.

Larissa: Honestly…Amanda with the writing in the sand! I wasn’t as surprised with the (still insanely impressive) tech talk from Camus this episode, but the idea that technology like what Amanda used to decipher what Jake wrote impressed me. You have to admire Cameron’s really awesome fanboying at the beginning and fairly decent gaming skills! He’s such a lovable dork (with some bad luck when it comes to getting in fights…)

Allie: I think I’ll have to go with Kirsten, this episode. Given everything that has been happening this season for her, I am on her side. She’s upset at Cameron because he betrayed her trust and I am still trying to wrap my head around his motives. These are characters that, fundamentally, have required the trust of each other over the past two seasons and we’re seeing that trust unravel before us. Kirsten’s anger, frustration, and hurt were appropriately placed. I’m glad we’re seeing this new side to her. It sometimes felt during this episode that Temporal Dysplasia Kirsten had returned and whether that was an acting choice by Emma, or how it was written, I think it was the right choice. It was great to see some of that come back to her. It helps us to remember that Kirsten used to be completely different.

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6. At some point, Ivy is going to have to own up to her communication with Stinger. Who do you think she will tell first? Who might break ties with her forever?

Lauren: The first person that Ivy is going to tell about her communication with Stinger is Linus, because he’s going to help her with the double-cross that Maggie is going to get her to pull. That’s my theory at least anyway. I think Linus will be unhappy about being left in the dark for a moment, but he’ll move past that because of his undying need to help those he cares about the most. When Kirsten finds out on the other hand, all hell is going to break loose. We’re already witnessing how mad she is at Cameron about her mother, and she’s already declared that she trusts Ivy more than anyone else, so when that all breaks down, it could sever that sisterly bond forever.

Heather: I think Ivy will tell Linus first. I feel that Linus would be more understanding, and then he would have Ivy’s back when she tells the rest of the team. I personally think she would tell Kirsten second, before the rest of the team. Depending on how deep Ivy is with Daniel Stinger, her relationship with Kirsten would be irrevocably damaged. If Kirsten finds out that Ivy was the one responsible for trapping her in her own memories, I don’t think she’d forgive Ivy. At least not anytime soon (if ever).

Bruce: After the last scene with Kirsten and Ivy together on the bench sharing a touch of the grape, it seems Ivy might very well spill to Kirsten. But this next breach of trust will prove too much for Kirsten. The growing sisterly bond between the two will dissolve for good.

Larissa: Unfortunately I’m not looking forward to that….she should’ve come clean because she was innocent (!!! Let’s be honest Maggie is shadier than her right now) and it is not going to be pretty when it’s revealed. I’m a bit over the beating down on the girl, and wish it wasn’t happening but it’s going to make for some good scenes later on. Kirsten’s going to have some serious issue with that I’m sure….

Allie: For the record, I am team Ivy. In her meeting with Daniel last week, she was telling him to back off. She sees the benefits of the Stitching team and I think as much as she wants to have her father in her life and on the ‘good side’, she’s starting to realize it could be a moot point. I’d really love if she decided to place that information with Kirsten. It would be a nice balance to the Cameron betraying her trust situation.

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7. Obviously, we were really hoping for Camsten to kiss and make up, but how did you feel about the way the two of them grew in their interactions because of the betrayal?

Lauren: Personally I would have been quite upset with the writers if they had simply let Cameron and Kirsten wander back into each other’s arms with a lame little “I miss you, I love you, I’m sorry” moment. What they’re going through right now is a real relationship. We still got to see their tender little moments that showed just how much they care about each other, but Kirsten’s hostile outbursts and grumpy stares coupled with Cameron’s awkward attempts at flattery and begging are what make this couple so believable to us all. They’re going through what a normal couple would go through, as much as they can in the environment they’re in, and it’s why we love them so much, because no couple exists without just a touch of drama. The evolution of Camsten is just one of the reasons we all stay hooked to this joy of a show.

Heather: I feel that Kirsten is still trying to process everything, and from her standpoint Cameron’s betrayal was pretty unforgivable. Although it was unintentional which just makes me want to forgive the poor guy. They did make a little bit of progress with Kirsten not wanting Cameron to get himself hurt and how she said she just needed time to figure it out. So I’m definitely hopeful that they can work things out, given time. At the same time I’m like please just kiss and make up already! Maybe next episode 😉

Bruce: Where to start? The Camsten scenes this episode are brilliantly scripted and played. The arc to recovery of the relationship is masterful and perfectly paced for my tastes, not too fast and not too slow. Just great.

Larissa: I’m glad they didn’t make up, because it’d be all too typical (plus, did you see next weeks promo?!) I think I felt alright with their interactions. Camsten can’t always be happily ever after. I’m all for tension in relationships…it makes for an even more hooked viewer. You have to see how it ends! I think it’s important to remember Kirsten’s still kind of new with this entire emotions process. I have such high expectations for Stitchers that always get met. With how the next episode is setting up to be, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed then, either…

Allie: I think I could write a five page paper on trying to understand Cameron Goodkin at this point. Frankly, I’m disappointed in him, right now. He has always depended on Kirsten’s trust and because of this new position, he’s not seeing very clearly. He’s got some very narrow blinders on. I think it was justified for Kirsten to step back from him. Of course, I want them together forever, but I need them to understand first just what that would entail. Plus, we’ve never really had the opportunity to see them so at odds with one another like this. It’s creating a tense dynamic within the team and you can really tell that Camsten is the foundation on which this house is built on. The whole team throughout this episode let their emotions get the best of them. This season is definitely about taking the gloves off.

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Final Verdict: In Stitchers 3X06 “The Gremlin and The Fixer,” we’re hoping our favorite geeks will solve the problem of love

It was really tough for us to watch our beloved geeks juggle heartbreak and a challenging new case this week, but they surprised us. Yes, each of their love lives are still in shambles, but our squad came together like the winners they are and caught the killer before time ran out. There was a glimmer of hope for Camsten, as seeing Cameron first hurt and then flirted with clearly affected Kirsten. We still don’t know why Camanda is no more, and now we wonder whether Livy is a genuine connection. Speaking of which, Maggie and Fisher’s little meeting with Ivy will likely have major repercussions. We know it has something to do with Stinger, but will Kirsten’s sister be tasked with being a double agent? Where do her alliances lie? What will Stinger’s next move be? Where the hell is Jacqueline! So many questions, so few episodes left!

Stitchers returns next Monday, July 24th at 9/8C on Freeform.