The effects of the Other Side crumbling are being felt in New Orleans as Mikael starts making guest appearances in people's dreams, Cami steps up after Kieran's death, the witches start getting fierce, and Monique continues to be one of the creepiest girls on television.
With the Other Side crumbling, Mikael has apparently decided to play another round of scar the kiddies. He appears in both Elijah and Klaus' dreams and makes an attempt on Hayley before appearing to Davina in order to have her resurrect him. I so hope that she is smart enough to not do that. Having Mikael back would be bad news for everyone. That psychopath has been nothing but trouble and there is no controlling him. I know that Davina has no love for Klaus, but he is infinitely better to have around than Mikael. After all, Mikael is perhaps the biggest reason why Klaus is the way he is, Mikael tried to get rid of Hayley and the baby, and Mikael has no compunction about killing lots of people to get at his targets. In other word, Mikael is bad business and needs to stay right where he is.
Given the crumbling Other Side and Mikael's appearance, I do have to wonder if it really is the witches who are talking to Monique and Genevieve or if it may be Esther trying to stop what is to come. And again I have to ask what make the baby so damn dangerous? I know that the baby is the product of the Original hybrid and wolf royalty, but there has to be more to it than that. I really hope that this is spelled out fairly soon. Everything we've heard about the baby so far has been through Celeste, who is hardly an unbiased observer.
It was nice to see that Cami has decided to take a bigger role in New Orleans. She's lost both her brother and her uncle to what is going on and she has been at the center of things herself. I really hope that she, like Father Kieran before her, can keep the humans relatively safe. If the humans can serve as a balance between the wolves, vampires, and witches, that would be the best option to keep the peace in New Orleans. And what exactly was that thing she discovered? What did it say?
Monique needs to die and soon. That girl is getting creepier and creepier by the minute. She is a complete fanatic about doing what she thinks the witches want to do, so much so that I am seriously suspecting a possession of some sort. Either that or she in under some sort of mental influence. She is the ultimate bully. She denigrates anyone who does not live up to what she expects them to do, does whatever she wants, and has not clue how to use her power in any sort of moral sense.
I like that Hayley was not taking any guff off of either Elijah or Klaus. She served them the truth straight up and without any hesitation. It is good that she is moving back to the mansion though. Having Klaus and Elijah around to help keep her and the baby safe is a good thing. I know she can handle a lot on her own, but it never hurts to have backup just in case.
Until next week!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
This is getting annoying.....
While watching Tomorrow People, my picture went out several times. I'll put something up this weekend. I am so sorry about this. So not happy at the moment....
My Review of The Originals 1.19- An Unblinking Death
Sorry this took so long, but I have had a ton of shows to catch up on that I had trouble fitting this one in. I was finally able to watch it this morning, so here it is. The episode had a major death, an explosive event for the pack, information for Hayley, and a reconciliation...
Father Kieran is dead. I have to feel sorry for Cami even though his death was with her permission. Her idea of trying to rest his brain in order to rid it of the hex was an interesting one. Too bad it didn't work. Her next idea, to have Klaus change Kieran to a vampire, was much worse. She had to know, as Klaus said, that Kieran would never willingly change into a vampire, so all she was doing was buying a little more time with him. I get that, and it makes sense, but it was never going to end well. Unfortunately for her, it ended even worse than expected when the hex came back with a vengeance and he managed to get a little bit of her blood to transform. You had to appreciate that Klaus actually gave her the choice of whether or not he would kill Kieran and that he did so with a stake rather than by ripping out his heart. That showed Klaus' tender side that so rarely comes out. And when Klaus allowed Marcel a temporary leave to come back in order to comfort Cami, that was sweet too.
I want to say that I find it hard to believe that Oliver planned the bombings, but I can't. It's not like I expected it to be him, but once he said it, it made perfect sense. Basically, he wants to get the wolves all riled up so that they'll take their rightful place in the city. I want to know who he was working with. It could be Klaus, but somehow that just feels wrong. But anyone else I can come up with doesn't make much sense either given Oliver's rather firmly stated views on the other groups. It is possible that someone promised him freedom for the wolves or something, but it must have been a lot for him to have agreed to it.
Marcel has known who Hayley is all along and he is the one who saved her. Not only that, but he brought her to Father Kieran when her family was killed. That was an interesting revelation. I do wonder if he saved her because of her connection to Klaus, given that he is a hybrid. Her methods were direct and very interesting. Going into a vampire bar and pushing a stake part way into his chest was a very direct way to get what she wanted. Effective too. Got to admire the balls that that takes.
Watching Elijah with the pack was....interesting. He is honorable enough to ensure the safety of as many wolves as possible. He also had a perpetual look of puzzlement on his face like he was trying to figure something out. I'm not sure what it was though. It could be something as simple as wondering why Klaus is allying himself with them or it could have been more. And Oliver's bombs had the added (and possibly unexpected) side effect of convincing Elijah that the treaty was unworkable and caused him to throw his allegiance wholly over to Klaus to the extent that he gave Klaus Esther's grimoire.
Until Tuesday!
Father Kieran is dead. I have to feel sorry for Cami even though his death was with her permission. Her idea of trying to rest his brain in order to rid it of the hex was an interesting one. Too bad it didn't work. Her next idea, to have Klaus change Kieran to a vampire, was much worse. She had to know, as Klaus said, that Kieran would never willingly change into a vampire, so all she was doing was buying a little more time with him. I get that, and it makes sense, but it was never going to end well. Unfortunately for her, it ended even worse than expected when the hex came back with a vengeance and he managed to get a little bit of her blood to transform. You had to appreciate that Klaus actually gave her the choice of whether or not he would kill Kieran and that he did so with a stake rather than by ripping out his heart. That showed Klaus' tender side that so rarely comes out. And when Klaus allowed Marcel a temporary leave to come back in order to comfort Cami, that was sweet too.
I want to say that I find it hard to believe that Oliver planned the bombings, but I can't. It's not like I expected it to be him, but once he said it, it made perfect sense. Basically, he wants to get the wolves all riled up so that they'll take their rightful place in the city. I want to know who he was working with. It could be Klaus, but somehow that just feels wrong. But anyone else I can come up with doesn't make much sense either given Oliver's rather firmly stated views on the other groups. It is possible that someone promised him freedom for the wolves or something, but it must have been a lot for him to have agreed to it.
Marcel has known who Hayley is all along and he is the one who saved her. Not only that, but he brought her to Father Kieran when her family was killed. That was an interesting revelation. I do wonder if he saved her because of her connection to Klaus, given that he is a hybrid. Her methods were direct and very interesting. Going into a vampire bar and pushing a stake part way into his chest was a very direct way to get what she wanted. Effective too. Got to admire the balls that that takes.
Watching Elijah with the pack was....interesting. He is honorable enough to ensure the safety of as many wolves as possible. He also had a perpetual look of puzzlement on his face like he was trying to figure something out. I'm not sure what it was though. It could be something as simple as wondering why Klaus is allying himself with them or it could have been more. And Oliver's bombs had the added (and possibly unexpected) side effect of convincing Elijah that the treaty was unworkable and caused him to throw his allegiance wholly over to Klaus to the extent that he gave Klaus Esther's grimoire.
Until Tuesday!
Friday, April 25, 2014
My Review of Vampire Diaries 5.19- Man on Fire
We learn more about the Travelers' plans, Enzo continues his search for Maggie, there's all sorts of lying, and someone passes...
You know, I can't say I'm sorry that Enzo is dead. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate him, but he was definitely not entirely sane. For example, look at how he acted tonight. He was so determined to believe that Stefan killed Maggie that he refused to even consider the possibility that he might be wrong. even though both Stefan and Damon told him that when Maggie was killed (Election night 1960) Stefan was not the Ripper, Enzo still tortured Stefan to get a confession out of him. That is not the action of a sane man. And when he turned off his humanity, he just made things even worse. I would swear that he was trying to die in order to get some sort of revenge. Could I be wrong? Sure, but I am not sure how likely it is.
Should Stefan have told Damon that he killed Enzo? I do think there are good arguments both ways. You know that Damon is going to find out and is going to go ballistic, so telling him might have headed that off. However, Damon is not in the most stable place at the moment, so hiding the truth from him was not the worst idea. Frankly, Stefan was stuck with two bad possibilities. Tell Damon and risk him going off the rails or hide it from him and hope he never finds out. Either possibility sucks.
Given the fact that Stefan lied, I can understand why both Elena and Bonnie would lie as well. Elena wants to protect both brothers from what could happen and Bonnie is pretty much used to keeping secrets from people at this point, so that was not a surprise. I am disappointed that Bonnie isn't telling Jeremy what is happening. I get that she wants to protect him, but if he loses her again it will not be good. At least if she told him, he would have a possibility of being able to reconcile himself to what could happen. But chances are that he would obsess over finding a way to save the Other Side, so there is that.
The Travelers' plan to use the blood of the dopplegangers to break the curse because when their blood is mixed, it cancels magic. I am not entirely sure how it would work, but it seems that the Travelers plan on using the blood to break the curse in a particular area so that they can live together. The problem is that if they do that, *ALL* magic in the area is cancelled, including whatever it is that makes vampires vampires. Within the area where the curse is broken, vampires would revert to the last human state they were in, in other words, they would die. I might be more sympathetic to the Travelers if their plan didn't involve destroying the Other Side and potentially killing all vampires in Mystic Falls.
Could Damon have saved Enzo? I know that Damon would like to think that he could have, but given the fact that Enzo was not entirely sane and the fact that Damon killed Maggie, I highly doubt it. The possibility is always there, but I really don't see how it would have worked. Enzo would have wanted revenge on Damon for killing Maggie (even though Damon didn't know who she was) and would not have been amenable to any sort of teaching on Damon's part.
So the last question is what is Enzo going to do from the Other Side. I assume that because it breaking down, spirits on the Other Side have more power now than they did before and Enzo has plenty of motivation to use power. Sort of curious as to what exactly he's gonna do now...
You know, I can't say I'm sorry that Enzo is dead. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate him, but he was definitely not entirely sane. For example, look at how he acted tonight. He was so determined to believe that Stefan killed Maggie that he refused to even consider the possibility that he might be wrong. even though both Stefan and Damon told him that when Maggie was killed (Election night 1960) Stefan was not the Ripper, Enzo still tortured Stefan to get a confession out of him. That is not the action of a sane man. And when he turned off his humanity, he just made things even worse. I would swear that he was trying to die in order to get some sort of revenge. Could I be wrong? Sure, but I am not sure how likely it is.
Should Stefan have told Damon that he killed Enzo? I do think there are good arguments both ways. You know that Damon is going to find out and is going to go ballistic, so telling him might have headed that off. However, Damon is not in the most stable place at the moment, so hiding the truth from him was not the worst idea. Frankly, Stefan was stuck with two bad possibilities. Tell Damon and risk him going off the rails or hide it from him and hope he never finds out. Either possibility sucks.
Given the fact that Stefan lied, I can understand why both Elena and Bonnie would lie as well. Elena wants to protect both brothers from what could happen and Bonnie is pretty much used to keeping secrets from people at this point, so that was not a surprise. I am disappointed that Bonnie isn't telling Jeremy what is happening. I get that she wants to protect him, but if he loses her again it will not be good. At least if she told him, he would have a possibility of being able to reconcile himself to what could happen. But chances are that he would obsess over finding a way to save the Other Side, so there is that.
The Travelers' plan to use the blood of the dopplegangers to break the curse because when their blood is mixed, it cancels magic. I am not entirely sure how it would work, but it seems that the Travelers plan on using the blood to break the curse in a particular area so that they can live together. The problem is that if they do that, *ALL* magic in the area is cancelled, including whatever it is that makes vampires vampires. Within the area where the curse is broken, vampires would revert to the last human state they were in, in other words, they would die. I might be more sympathetic to the Travelers if their plan didn't involve destroying the Other Side and potentially killing all vampires in Mystic Falls.
Could Damon have saved Enzo? I know that Damon would like to think that he could have, but given the fact that Enzo was not entirely sane and the fact that Damon killed Maggie, I highly doubt it. The possibility is always there, but I really don't see how it would have worked. Enzo would have wanted revenge on Damon for killing Maggie (even though Damon didn't know who she was) and would not have been amenable to any sort of teaching on Damon's part.
So the last question is what is Enzo going to do from the Other Side. I assume that because it breaking down, spirits on the Other Side have more power now than they did before and Enzo has plenty of motivation to use power. Sort of curious as to what exactly he's gonna do now...
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Originals Review on Friday
My DVR did not record The Originals tonight and I was working, so I missed it. I will watch it Friday and write my review then.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
My Review of the Tomorrow People 1.20- A Sort of Homecoming
Roger's back and the Tomorrow People are anxious to go to the Refuge, the Founder unveils more of his plan, Stephen takes drastic action against the Founder, and Hillary makes a surprising move.
Is it too harsh to call the Tomorrow People a bunch of whiners? I get that they have been waiting for Roger to come back, but can't they give the guy and his family one night together before insisting that he take them to the Refuge? I think part of the problem is that they have turned Roger into a semi-deity and expected him to awaken and whisk them off to the Refuge. They seemed to be forgetting that he is human and he has a family that he hasn't seen in years. And Cara reverted back to her bad old leader form. Did she really think that she could stop Roger from leaving if he really wanted to? And then there was John moaning and complaining because Roger was "abandoning" them? I seriously wanted to smack each and every one of them around for being completely selfish dicks. Roger knows how important everything is to the Tomorrow People, but (as I said) he is a father with a family and he rightly put them first. The whole thing was quite infuriating to me.
Poor Luka is caught in the middle of a maelstrom. Both of his parents and his brother are powerful "mutants" (his word) and he is pretty much alone trying to play catch up. I don't blame him for being a little resentful and not wanting to be around Roger. It was really nice that he was able to have Astrid over because at least she is like him in that she has no powers. Given all that, he adapted quite nicely and went underground without any (visible) protest. Someone needs to make sure that they catch him up on what is going on so that he won't feel so out of place.
Stephen is doing an admirable job under less than ideal circumstances. He is, of course, over the moon to have his dad back, but there is still the Founder to consider. I can't blame the guy for trusting Hillary. Cara doesn't trust Hillary, but I think that she has lost a lot of Stephen's trust with her bad decisions and leadership. While Astrid doesn't trust Hillary either, she is smart enough to stay out of Stephen's way while being sure to let Hillary know that consequences are imminent if Hillary hurts Stephen. Very wise move there. The thing is that Hillary is not a bad person, but she (like Stephen) put her trust in the wrong person. I was amazed that she was able to go to Astrid with her request. I did see the bomb coming, but I had thought that it would have been the phone itself and she would have gotten out of there. I did not see the whole suicide bomber thing until right before it happened.
I was glad to see that John stopped his pouting long enough to go help Stephen and Roger destroy the machine. Nasty piece of work there. Unfortunately, Hillary had already betrayed them and it was a trap. I want to know what was in that syringe that caused John to react so violently to it. Was it some sort of drug to make John tractable to the Founders' commands? Or was it something else entirely? Guess we'll find out next week.
If Russell hadn't been with the group that went to Ultra, I would say good riddance to all of them. As it is, I am definitely worried because I love Russell. The guy is lots of fun and pretty good in a fight. Given the previews for next week, this is not going to be pretty.
After next week, there is the finale and then in mid May, we should hear about the renewal. Until next week then!
Is it too harsh to call the Tomorrow People a bunch of whiners? I get that they have been waiting for Roger to come back, but can't they give the guy and his family one night together before insisting that he take them to the Refuge? I think part of the problem is that they have turned Roger into a semi-deity and expected him to awaken and whisk them off to the Refuge. They seemed to be forgetting that he is human and he has a family that he hasn't seen in years. And Cara reverted back to her bad old leader form. Did she really think that she could stop Roger from leaving if he really wanted to? And then there was John moaning and complaining because Roger was "abandoning" them? I seriously wanted to smack each and every one of them around for being completely selfish dicks. Roger knows how important everything is to the Tomorrow People, but (as I said) he is a father with a family and he rightly put them first. The whole thing was quite infuriating to me.
Poor Luka is caught in the middle of a maelstrom. Both of his parents and his brother are powerful "mutants" (his word) and he is pretty much alone trying to play catch up. I don't blame him for being a little resentful and not wanting to be around Roger. It was really nice that he was able to have Astrid over because at least she is like him in that she has no powers. Given all that, he adapted quite nicely and went underground without any (visible) protest. Someone needs to make sure that they catch him up on what is going on so that he won't feel so out of place.
Stephen is doing an admirable job under less than ideal circumstances. He is, of course, over the moon to have his dad back, but there is still the Founder to consider. I can't blame the guy for trusting Hillary. Cara doesn't trust Hillary, but I think that she has lost a lot of Stephen's trust with her bad decisions and leadership. While Astrid doesn't trust Hillary either, she is smart enough to stay out of Stephen's way while being sure to let Hillary know that consequences are imminent if Hillary hurts Stephen. Very wise move there. The thing is that Hillary is not a bad person, but she (like Stephen) put her trust in the wrong person. I was amazed that she was able to go to Astrid with her request. I did see the bomb coming, but I had thought that it would have been the phone itself and she would have gotten out of there. I did not see the whole suicide bomber thing until right before it happened.
I was glad to see that John stopped his pouting long enough to go help Stephen and Roger destroy the machine. Nasty piece of work there. Unfortunately, Hillary had already betrayed them and it was a trap. I want to know what was in that syringe that caused John to react so violently to it. Was it some sort of drug to make John tractable to the Founders' commands? Or was it something else entirely? Guess we'll find out next week.
If Russell hadn't been with the group that went to Ultra, I would say good riddance to all of them. As it is, I am definitely worried because I love Russell. The guy is lots of fun and pretty good in a fight. Given the previews for next week, this is not going to be pretty.
After next week, there is the finale and then in mid May, we should hear about the renewal. Until next week then!
Monday, April 21, 2014
My Review of Vampire Diaries 5.18- Resident Evil
We find out more about the Travelers and the Doppleganger Prophecy, the Other Side is breaking down, and Stefan and Elena are having intense visions....
First off, I apologize for the lateness, but as I said in my review of the last episode of The Originals, I was traveling for a wedding last week and missed the episode when it aired. So, here it is.
Let's start with the Travelers. Turns out that all witches used to be Travelers, but when Silas and Qetsiyah cast the immortality spell, the Travelers split into two groups. Although not stated, I assume that the split has to do with the immortality spell. One group became the Travelers and the other became witches. According to Markos (the Travelers' resurrected leader), about 500 years later the witches cursed the Travelers and made it so that if they gathered together, some sort of disaster would occur (the immortality spell was 2000 years ago and the curse was 1500 years ago). Markos also said that the curse has to do with the power that the Travelers possess as a group. Given this and past information about the witches, I think we can make certain assumptions. Since what Qetsiyah and Silas did violated the laws of nature, the witches wanted to prevent it or something like it from happening again. This would explain the witches' strong beliefs regarding natural laws and their harsh penalties for violating them. The Travelers (presumably) want to either recreate the immortality spell or do something similar which would violate the laws of nature. Seeing the impact that bringing back Markos had on the Other Side, the witches' fears may be justified. Markos claimed that he needs the blood of the dopplegangers in order to break the curse that the witches cast on the Travelers. Given what he and the Travelers have done so far, I doubt that is all he is planning on doing. I suspect that he is going to use the dopplegangers' blood in order to bring back all the Travelers from the Other Side.
Speaking of the Other Side, why is is breaking down now? Bonnie has brought people back from the Other Side before without any sort of ill effect, unless each resurrection damages the Other Side a little and the damage is cumulative. If that is the case, then what is going on there is a result of what Bonnie has done in the past. If, however, that is not the case, then why did Markos being brought back result in such horrific damage? Was he cursed to the Other Side? Or did the mass suicide somehow overload the Other Side? And what exactly happened to Vicki? I had assumed that what happened to Katherine was unique to her, but it happened to Vicki as well, which does not bode well for the denizens of the Other Side.
Turns out that the Doppleganger Prophecy; you know the one about the dopplegangers finding each other throughout history?; turns out to be a fake prophecy planted by Markos in order to get the dopplegangers together so that the Travelers can use them to break the curse. It is not True Love, but if people think it is, then they will look for each other and thus allow the Travelers to break the curse. Did Klaus learn the trick from what Markos did, or did he come up with it independently? I assume that since Esther was a witch, she would know about the Travelers and the false prophecy, but I could be wrong.
Markis gave Stefan and Elena some interesting visions of a life together sans supernatural hijinks. It was pretty sweet and gave the episode some much needed lightness. Loved Stefan's lines about biting. That was just classic. I am glad that the two of them are in such a good place. Now if only Damon could get himself to a place with Elena that is half as good. Sigh....
The Travelers are taking over people in town. That is not good, but is also a nifty way to get around the curse. Apparently, the curse is limited to the human bodies of the Travelers and not their spirits. And taking over Tyler is so not a good thing. He is on the inside of the gang and can seriously harm any plans they may make. In fact, he already has by handing the knife over to Markos. I am a little surprised that Liv never thought of the fact that she would have to test Matt and Tyler repeatedly since a Traveler could simply possess them after a test stab. You would also think that the witches' would have come up with some sort of spell to prevent someone from being possessed after 1500 years.
Until Thursday!
First off, I apologize for the lateness, but as I said in my review of the last episode of The Originals, I was traveling for a wedding last week and missed the episode when it aired. So, here it is.
Let's start with the Travelers. Turns out that all witches used to be Travelers, but when Silas and Qetsiyah cast the immortality spell, the Travelers split into two groups. Although not stated, I assume that the split has to do with the immortality spell. One group became the Travelers and the other became witches. According to Markos (the Travelers' resurrected leader), about 500 years later the witches cursed the Travelers and made it so that if they gathered together, some sort of disaster would occur (the immortality spell was 2000 years ago and the curse was 1500 years ago). Markos also said that the curse has to do with the power that the Travelers possess as a group. Given this and past information about the witches, I think we can make certain assumptions. Since what Qetsiyah and Silas did violated the laws of nature, the witches wanted to prevent it or something like it from happening again. This would explain the witches' strong beliefs regarding natural laws and their harsh penalties for violating them. The Travelers (presumably) want to either recreate the immortality spell or do something similar which would violate the laws of nature. Seeing the impact that bringing back Markos had on the Other Side, the witches' fears may be justified. Markos claimed that he needs the blood of the dopplegangers in order to break the curse that the witches cast on the Travelers. Given what he and the Travelers have done so far, I doubt that is all he is planning on doing. I suspect that he is going to use the dopplegangers' blood in order to bring back all the Travelers from the Other Side.
Speaking of the Other Side, why is is breaking down now? Bonnie has brought people back from the Other Side before without any sort of ill effect, unless each resurrection damages the Other Side a little and the damage is cumulative. If that is the case, then what is going on there is a result of what Bonnie has done in the past. If, however, that is not the case, then why did Markos being brought back result in such horrific damage? Was he cursed to the Other Side? Or did the mass suicide somehow overload the Other Side? And what exactly happened to Vicki? I had assumed that what happened to Katherine was unique to her, but it happened to Vicki as well, which does not bode well for the denizens of the Other Side.
Turns out that the Doppleganger Prophecy; you know the one about the dopplegangers finding each other throughout history?; turns out to be a fake prophecy planted by Markos in order to get the dopplegangers together so that the Travelers can use them to break the curse. It is not True Love, but if people think it is, then they will look for each other and thus allow the Travelers to break the curse. Did Klaus learn the trick from what Markos did, or did he come up with it independently? I assume that since Esther was a witch, she would know about the Travelers and the false prophecy, but I could be wrong.
Markis gave Stefan and Elena some interesting visions of a life together sans supernatural hijinks. It was pretty sweet and gave the episode some much needed lightness. Loved Stefan's lines about biting. That was just classic. I am glad that the two of them are in such a good place. Now if only Damon could get himself to a place with Elena that is half as good. Sigh....
The Travelers are taking over people in town. That is not good, but is also a nifty way to get around the curse. Apparently, the curse is limited to the human bodies of the Travelers and not their spirits. And taking over Tyler is so not a good thing. He is on the inside of the gang and can seriously harm any plans they may make. In fact, he already has by handing the knife over to Markos. I am a little surprised that Liv never thought of the fact that she would have to test Matt and Tyler repeatedly since a Traveler could simply possess them after a test stab. You would also think that the witches' would have come up with some sort of spell to prevent someone from being possessed after 1500 years.
Until Thursday!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
My Review of The Originals 1.18- The Big Uneasy
Welcome to the final stretch of episodes for season 1 of The Originals. There is plotting galore, a death, a statement of independence, and lots of family drama.
One thing I love about The Originals is how completely political the show is. Not like Scandal, but more like a royal court. You have a king (Marcel and then Klaus), his chief advisor (Thierry and then Elijah), assorted nobles (humans, witches, and vampires), the damsels (not in distress, ok sometimes in distress) (Hayley and Cami), and the outcasts looking to get in (werewolves). Each group is jostling for position in order to get as much power as they can.
Another way to look at the show is as an extended version of the prisoner's dilemma. Basically, the prisoner's dilemma is a problem wherein two people are taken in for a crime. If both remain silent, they get a short sentence. If one stays silent and the other talks, the one who talks goes free and the one who doesn't gets a long prison sentence. If both talk, they both get medium prison sentences. In The Originals, you have 5 groups (humans, vampires, witches, werewolves, and Originals [who are splitting on their own]) who are all trying to grab power. If they cooperated with each other, they would be able to share power more or less evenly (basically what Elijah tried with the treaty). If they work against each other, they may be able to grab some power, but they will also have to be constantly looking over their shoulders. The problem is that none of the groups really trusts any other group, so there can be no lasting peace.
In the center of everything is Klaus. He is working his way into the various groups, trying to play each one off of the others in order to keep them off of his back. He has made promises to the werewolves, Genevieve, Davinna, and Cami. He is also making enemies every time he turns around. Elijah wants to work with Klaus, but is constantly being betrayed. Marcel has already been betrayed and is out for vengeance. The witches don't trust him, but he has something they want (Esther's grimoire), so they are reluctant allies.
Elijah is trying to hold everything together without resorting to Klausian methods. He seems to genuinely want to have peace in the French Quarter, even if it means losing a little bit of pride. He is not Klaus or Marcel, so his methods aren't working as well. Marcel had Davinna to keep people in line and Klaus is quite possibly the supreme manipulator when he puts his mind to it. Elijah is too honorable to use either tactic, so he is forced to resort to force to keep the peace, as Marcel found out when Elijah ripped out Thierry's heart.
Genevieve is trying to help out the witches however she can. Whether it is sleeping with Klaus in order to get close to him, not so subtly putting Davinna down, or trying to steal esther's grimoire, she is dedicated to the power of the witches. Unfortunately for her, Klaus sees right through her and Monique is convinced that the ancestors want Genevieve dead in order to revive the final harvest witch.
Monique scares me. That girl is not entirely sane. I don't know if the ancestors are really speaking to her or what, but she has some definite issues. She is so devoted to the witches that she has become a fanatic who will not tolerate any deviation from the path that she believes the ancestors have talked with her about, not matter whether the person is her aunt or her best friend. I have a horrible suspicion that Esther has something to do with what is going on with Monique.
Davinna is definitely starting to grow a backbone. She is quite obviously tired of being used by people, but she doesn't see that Josh is using her at Marcel's command. I have no doubt that he thinks he is doing what is right, but it is incredibly obvious that Josh is completely under Marcel's thumb and is using Davinna to further Marcel's plans.
Hayley was on the fence, but after what Marcel pulled, she is ready to throw her lot in with the werewolves. The problem is that that means that she needs to work with Klaus, which she so does not want to do. So how far can she trust him and work with him?
My Vampire Diaries review this week will be delayed because I will be traveling for a wedding and won't be able to watch the episode until Sunday (at the earliest).
Until next week!
One thing I love about The Originals is how completely political the show is. Not like Scandal, but more like a royal court. You have a king (Marcel and then Klaus), his chief advisor (Thierry and then Elijah), assorted nobles (humans, witches, and vampires), the damsels (not in distress, ok sometimes in distress) (Hayley and Cami), and the outcasts looking to get in (werewolves). Each group is jostling for position in order to get as much power as they can.
Another way to look at the show is as an extended version of the prisoner's dilemma. Basically, the prisoner's dilemma is a problem wherein two people are taken in for a crime. If both remain silent, they get a short sentence. If one stays silent and the other talks, the one who talks goes free and the one who doesn't gets a long prison sentence. If both talk, they both get medium prison sentences. In The Originals, you have 5 groups (humans, vampires, witches, werewolves, and Originals [who are splitting on their own]) who are all trying to grab power. If they cooperated with each other, they would be able to share power more or less evenly (basically what Elijah tried with the treaty). If they work against each other, they may be able to grab some power, but they will also have to be constantly looking over their shoulders. The problem is that none of the groups really trusts any other group, so there can be no lasting peace.
In the center of everything is Klaus. He is working his way into the various groups, trying to play each one off of the others in order to keep them off of his back. He has made promises to the werewolves, Genevieve, Davinna, and Cami. He is also making enemies every time he turns around. Elijah wants to work with Klaus, but is constantly being betrayed. Marcel has already been betrayed and is out for vengeance. The witches don't trust him, but he has something they want (Esther's grimoire), so they are reluctant allies.
Elijah is trying to hold everything together without resorting to Klausian methods. He seems to genuinely want to have peace in the French Quarter, even if it means losing a little bit of pride. He is not Klaus or Marcel, so his methods aren't working as well. Marcel had Davinna to keep people in line and Klaus is quite possibly the supreme manipulator when he puts his mind to it. Elijah is too honorable to use either tactic, so he is forced to resort to force to keep the peace, as Marcel found out when Elijah ripped out Thierry's heart.
Genevieve is trying to help out the witches however she can. Whether it is sleeping with Klaus in order to get close to him, not so subtly putting Davinna down, or trying to steal esther's grimoire, she is dedicated to the power of the witches. Unfortunately for her, Klaus sees right through her and Monique is convinced that the ancestors want Genevieve dead in order to revive the final harvest witch.
Monique scares me. That girl is not entirely sane. I don't know if the ancestors are really speaking to her or what, but she has some definite issues. She is so devoted to the witches that she has become a fanatic who will not tolerate any deviation from the path that she believes the ancestors have talked with her about, not matter whether the person is her aunt or her best friend. I have a horrible suspicion that Esther has something to do with what is going on with Monique.
Davinna is definitely starting to grow a backbone. She is quite obviously tired of being used by people, but she doesn't see that Josh is using her at Marcel's command. I have no doubt that he thinks he is doing what is right, but it is incredibly obvious that Josh is completely under Marcel's thumb and is using Davinna to further Marcel's plans.
Hayley was on the fence, but after what Marcel pulled, she is ready to throw her lot in with the werewolves. The problem is that that means that she needs to work with Klaus, which she so does not want to do. So how far can she trust him and work with him?
My Vampire Diaries review this week will be delayed because I will be traveling for a wedding and won't be able to watch the episode until Sunday (at the earliest).
Until next week!
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
My Review of Tomorrow People 1.19- Modus Vivendi and a few suggestions for improvement
Stephen continues to work to bring peace between Ultra and the Tomorrow People, Jedikiah is still on the run, someone big begins their return, and a secret is revealed....
First, I have to say that this episode definitely felt like a set-up episode. Not a whole lot happened, but you can tell that they are gearing up for the final run of episodes. Since we are nearing the end of the first season, I wanted to point out a few things that I think could definitely make this show better.
[1] Use other people in Stephen's life more- Stephen's mom, Luca, and Astrid all have the potential to be really interesting characters, but none of them are really well defined. His mom comes the closest to being well defined and Astrid is getting used a little more, but Luca is little more than a plot device brought out at various times. This is actually a beef I have with The Vampire Diaries as well. While both shows do a good job defining the central characters, there are other characters who are not defined well or are criminally underused (I would put Russell in the latter category). I would love to see Stephen's life outside of the Tomorrow People and Ultra. Which brings us to the next point....
[2] Slow things down a little- This is the biggest beef I have with most shows nowadays (shows like Scandal and The Vampire Diaries being prime examples). Everyone seems to want everything to move at such an accelerated clip that you really can't savor much. While it can be nice, it is also sort of annoying. I loved it when shows would draw out a storyline for more than just one or two episodes. I am not saying move at a glacial pace, but don't constantly be moving at such a fast pace. It makes it harder to care about characters and stories when you know that they will come and go in the blink of an eye.
[3] Be sure to explore the background of powers- Assuming the show is picked up for a second season, I think they really need to explore where the powers came from. I don't think we need a complete explanation, but some exploration of the topic would be cool. Why now? Did the powers develop naturally or are they a reaction to some outside event or pressure?
The first two are my major issues. The third is more of a wish on my part. Don't get me wrong, I do love this show. I think the storylines are great, the characters are cool, and the central story well defined. There are characters I wish had stuck around a bit longer or stories that should have lasted longer, but for the most part this is one of my favorite shows.
Now, onto the review.
Stephen appears to have been completely snookered by The Founder and Hillary. I will say appears to be because it is possible that he is aware of what is going on, although I highly doubt it. He has been so focused on brokering peace and getting Roger back that he doesn't really seem to notice much else. I was glad that he was aware enough of what The Founder was like that he is wary of him, but there are other things that Stephen wants more. And Hillary seems to be doing everything in her power to wrap Stephen around her finger. There was a look on her face at the end which suggested to me that she may not be working with The Founder as much as he thinks she is, but I am not entirely sure.
While I stand by my prior critiques of Cara, she seems to be continuing to get better. She knows that something is up with Hillary, but she does seem to be somewhat blinded by her feelings for Stephen as demonstrated by how easily Hillary was able to sidetrack Cara's attempt to read her mind. Cara was also the only one to provide a note of caution when Russell came back from his meeting with The Founder.
Stephen's mom now knows that Roger is still around. I was impressed with how well she was able to handle the news and get working on him to ensure that he was able to come back. I also loved the fact that she put Jedikiah in his place with a not too evil comment about his lack of surgical experience. She managed to do impressive work. I do wonder how she will react when (presumably) Roger actually wakes up. He's been gone for so long that I wonder if reintegrating him back into her life will be viable. I would not be terribly surprised if Roger stayed with the Tomorrow People to help them.
Unfortunately, The Founder also knows that Roger is back. In fact, if I am not mistaken, he seems to have known all along and was guiding Stephen to make sure that he would do what he had to in order to bring Roger back. I almost have to wonder if Jedikiah is actually working with The Founder and is playing Stephen and the Tomorrow People for all they are worth. That does seem unlikely, but it is a possibility. I was suspicious of The Founder when I saw that he was willing to throw away the truce because of what John did. If he had merely said that John would be punished, it would not have been as bad, but to throw away the truce over such a flimsy pretext is something that shows that it was never anything serious in the first place.
By bringing Roger back, Stephen has definitely displayed a tremendous amount of strength, He can use two abilities at once and can even manage a third with considerable difficulty. If his mom and dad continue to work with him, he may very easily surpass them both as the premier Tomorrow Person. Unfortunately, it appears that his trusting nature is going to get the whole lot of them in tremendous trouble.
Watching the "summit" between Russell and The Founder was quite funny. The Founder is so smooth and polished and Russell is so not smooth or polished. There was such a contrast between the two of them and it was tremendously entertaining.
Until next week!
First, I have to say that this episode definitely felt like a set-up episode. Not a whole lot happened, but you can tell that they are gearing up for the final run of episodes. Since we are nearing the end of the first season, I wanted to point out a few things that I think could definitely make this show better.
[1] Use other people in Stephen's life more- Stephen's mom, Luca, and Astrid all have the potential to be really interesting characters, but none of them are really well defined. His mom comes the closest to being well defined and Astrid is getting used a little more, but Luca is little more than a plot device brought out at various times. This is actually a beef I have with The Vampire Diaries as well. While both shows do a good job defining the central characters, there are other characters who are not defined well or are criminally underused (I would put Russell in the latter category). I would love to see Stephen's life outside of the Tomorrow People and Ultra. Which brings us to the next point....
[2] Slow things down a little- This is the biggest beef I have with most shows nowadays (shows like Scandal and The Vampire Diaries being prime examples). Everyone seems to want everything to move at such an accelerated clip that you really can't savor much. While it can be nice, it is also sort of annoying. I loved it when shows would draw out a storyline for more than just one or two episodes. I am not saying move at a glacial pace, but don't constantly be moving at such a fast pace. It makes it harder to care about characters and stories when you know that they will come and go in the blink of an eye.
[3] Be sure to explore the background of powers- Assuming the show is picked up for a second season, I think they really need to explore where the powers came from. I don't think we need a complete explanation, but some exploration of the topic would be cool. Why now? Did the powers develop naturally or are they a reaction to some outside event or pressure?
The first two are my major issues. The third is more of a wish on my part. Don't get me wrong, I do love this show. I think the storylines are great, the characters are cool, and the central story well defined. There are characters I wish had stuck around a bit longer or stories that should have lasted longer, but for the most part this is one of my favorite shows.
Now, onto the review.
Stephen appears to have been completely snookered by The Founder and Hillary. I will say appears to be because it is possible that he is aware of what is going on, although I highly doubt it. He has been so focused on brokering peace and getting Roger back that he doesn't really seem to notice much else. I was glad that he was aware enough of what The Founder was like that he is wary of him, but there are other things that Stephen wants more. And Hillary seems to be doing everything in her power to wrap Stephen around her finger. There was a look on her face at the end which suggested to me that she may not be working with The Founder as much as he thinks she is, but I am not entirely sure.
While I stand by my prior critiques of Cara, she seems to be continuing to get better. She knows that something is up with Hillary, but she does seem to be somewhat blinded by her feelings for Stephen as demonstrated by how easily Hillary was able to sidetrack Cara's attempt to read her mind. Cara was also the only one to provide a note of caution when Russell came back from his meeting with The Founder.
Stephen's mom now knows that Roger is still around. I was impressed with how well she was able to handle the news and get working on him to ensure that he was able to come back. I also loved the fact that she put Jedikiah in his place with a not too evil comment about his lack of surgical experience. She managed to do impressive work. I do wonder how she will react when (presumably) Roger actually wakes up. He's been gone for so long that I wonder if reintegrating him back into her life will be viable. I would not be terribly surprised if Roger stayed with the Tomorrow People to help them.
Unfortunately, The Founder also knows that Roger is back. In fact, if I am not mistaken, he seems to have known all along and was guiding Stephen to make sure that he would do what he had to in order to bring Roger back. I almost have to wonder if Jedikiah is actually working with The Founder and is playing Stephen and the Tomorrow People for all they are worth. That does seem unlikely, but it is a possibility. I was suspicious of The Founder when I saw that he was willing to throw away the truce because of what John did. If he had merely said that John would be punished, it would not have been as bad, but to throw away the truce over such a flimsy pretext is something that shows that it was never anything serious in the first place.
By bringing Roger back, Stephen has definitely displayed a tremendous amount of strength, He can use two abilities at once and can even manage a third with considerable difficulty. If his mom and dad continue to work with him, he may very easily surpass them both as the premier Tomorrow Person. Unfortunately, it appears that his trusting nature is going to get the whole lot of them in tremendous trouble.
Watching the "summit" between Russell and The Founder was quite funny. The Founder is so smooth and polished and Russell is so not smooth or polished. There was such a contrast between the two of them and it was tremendously entertaining.
Until next week!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
My Review of Tomorrow People 1.18- Smoke and Mirrors
The Founder is back at Ultra, Stephen's separation from the Tomorrow People widens, Jedekiah is desperate, and someone new finds out about the Tomorrow People.
The question of the week is who can Stephen trust more: the Founder or Jedekiah?
Jedekiah is his uncle, but he has also repeatedly lied to Stephen and has committed almost unspeakable acts of cruelty. So why should Stephen trust him when he is warning Stephen about the Founder? It is the problem of the boy who cried wolf. Jedekiah is so unreliable at this point that it is hard to believe him. Then, to top it off, Jedekiah told Luca the whole truth and forced Stephen to choose between revealing his powers or saving Luca. As if that is really a choice Stephen could have made.
The Founder is also seemingly untrustworthy. He experimented on his own daughter, shows signs of paranoia (or some other type of mental instability), is manipulative, and sent people to kill Astrid when she found out about the Tomorrow People. On the other hand, he does seem to have changed in the wake of his daughter's death, so it is possible that he has turned over a new leaf.
Stephen, somewhat unsurprisingly, chose to ally himself with the Founder, reasoning that he can still effect change from within Ultra. After everything Jedekiah has done to Stephen personally, I find it hard to blame Stephen for his choice. John seemed to be inclined to let Stephen follow his instincts until the blatant emotional manipulation by Jedekiah when he revealed Roger's body to John. Cara, on the other hand, didn't even give the Founder's words a second (or even a first for that matter) thought. She dismissed the whole idea out of hand and pushed Stephen further away in the process. She also was clearly jealous, which didn't help her cause at all. After the way she has been acting, I am totally unsurprised that Stephen ignored her. Her leadership skills have not been up to par and she has done enough to damage Stephen's trust in her that I don't think she had a chance of him listening to her.
Is Stephen being manipulated? Yes, he is. But the question is whether the manipulation will benefit him, the Founder, or everyone. We know that Jedekiah is scared of the machine, but it could be because the machine will give the Founder some sort of leg up on everyone else. I have a theory about the machine and the "tracking devices" the Founder was talking about. The Founder said that the devices attached themselves to the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that helps to coordinate movement. I suspect that the devices somehow allow the Founder to control the movements of the people who they are in. The machine will somehow use Stephen's power to enable the devices and allow the Founder to have an army with which he will try and wipe out the homo sapiens.
Can anyone blame Luca for flipping out at the revelation of what Stephen can do? And then he found out that both of his parents have the paranormal powers as well, so his world is completely upended. I cannot blame Stephen for wanting to protect Luca, and I really hope that Luca sees that everything Stephen has done was to help his family have as normal of a life as possible. In fact, I suspect that is also a part of the reason why Stephen is going along with the Founder. If a normal life can be achieved, that would be something that Stephen has wanted for some time now.
Until April 14th!
The question of the week is who can Stephen trust more: the Founder or Jedekiah?
Jedekiah is his uncle, but he has also repeatedly lied to Stephen and has committed almost unspeakable acts of cruelty. So why should Stephen trust him when he is warning Stephen about the Founder? It is the problem of the boy who cried wolf. Jedekiah is so unreliable at this point that it is hard to believe him. Then, to top it off, Jedekiah told Luca the whole truth and forced Stephen to choose between revealing his powers or saving Luca. As if that is really a choice Stephen could have made.
The Founder is also seemingly untrustworthy. He experimented on his own daughter, shows signs of paranoia (or some other type of mental instability), is manipulative, and sent people to kill Astrid when she found out about the Tomorrow People. On the other hand, he does seem to have changed in the wake of his daughter's death, so it is possible that he has turned over a new leaf.
Stephen, somewhat unsurprisingly, chose to ally himself with the Founder, reasoning that he can still effect change from within Ultra. After everything Jedekiah has done to Stephen personally, I find it hard to blame Stephen for his choice. John seemed to be inclined to let Stephen follow his instincts until the blatant emotional manipulation by Jedekiah when he revealed Roger's body to John. Cara, on the other hand, didn't even give the Founder's words a second (or even a first for that matter) thought. She dismissed the whole idea out of hand and pushed Stephen further away in the process. She also was clearly jealous, which didn't help her cause at all. After the way she has been acting, I am totally unsurprised that Stephen ignored her. Her leadership skills have not been up to par and she has done enough to damage Stephen's trust in her that I don't think she had a chance of him listening to her.
Is Stephen being manipulated? Yes, he is. But the question is whether the manipulation will benefit him, the Founder, or everyone. We know that Jedekiah is scared of the machine, but it could be because the machine will give the Founder some sort of leg up on everyone else. I have a theory about the machine and the "tracking devices" the Founder was talking about. The Founder said that the devices attached themselves to the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that helps to coordinate movement. I suspect that the devices somehow allow the Founder to control the movements of the people who they are in. The machine will somehow use Stephen's power to enable the devices and allow the Founder to have an army with which he will try and wipe out the homo sapiens.
Can anyone blame Luca for flipping out at the revelation of what Stephen can do? And then he found out that both of his parents have the paranormal powers as well, so his world is completely upended. I cannot blame Stephen for wanting to protect Luca, and I really hope that Luca sees that everything Stephen has done was to help his family have as normal of a life as possible. In fact, I suspect that is also a part of the reason why Stephen is going along with the Founder. If a normal life can be achieved, that would be something that Stephen has wanted for some time now.
Until April 14th!
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