My Review of The Originals 3.10- A Ghost Along the Mississippi

Klaus and Elijah declare war on Tristan and Aurora, the results of the events that happened to Cami unfold, and an unexpected death strikes….

Cami is a vampire?  That was unexpected.  I know I said something about her having Aurora’s blood in her system before she died, but I was being more hopeful than anything else.  My concern for her stems from the way she was acting at the end of the episode.  Once she had a little blood, she seemed to barely be in control, which makes me worry that she may be a Ripper since Rippers seem to be humans who controlled themselves so much that becoming a vampire sets something loose in them that they have trouble controlling.  Pairing Klaus with a Ripper is practically guaranteed to be a disaster.

Speaking of disasters, I was surprised at how easily Elijah was able to control Klaus’ desire for revenge.  Normally Elijah can barely restrain Klaus when he is in a fury, but tonight Klaus took Elijah’s suggestions really well.  I suspect that he was so broken by what happened to Cami that he was happy that someone else was there to take command temporarily.  And Elijah’s plan was masterful.  He used a glamour to make Cami look like Aurora so that she could get the saratura from Tristan and trap him in the shipping container so they could put him at the bottom of the ocean.  Since the activated saratura won’t allow *ANY* living or dead creatures past its barrier, Tristan is going to be drowning for eternity unless he can find a way to kill himself or unless some witch can manage to deactivate the saratura so he can get out.  Given how the few months under the lake affected Stefan, I can only imagine what centuries will do to Tristan.  It is an exquisite form of torture that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.  Then again, I haven’t had anyone rip the heart out of the man I love.  If that happened, I might feel differently.  I did love that the untransitioned Cami was neither living nor dead, so she was able to get by the barrier because of that particular loophole.

I cannot say that I am surprised that the Strix abandoned Tristan.  While they are powerful as a group, they can be killed.  The Mikaelsons, on the other hand, can’t unless you happen to have your hands on particular weapons.  As Elijah pointed out, attacking 2 enraged Mikaelsons (particularly those two) would greatly thin the ranks of the Strix and, no matter what, they wouldn’t be able to get Tristan back, so why attack?

Poor Hayley lost Jackson.  While I would love to see her and Elijah together eventually, I hope it doesn’t happen too soon.  She needs the proper time to grieve before even thinking about a new relationship, even if it is based off of an already existing attraction.  Seeing his heart ripped out of his chest right in front of her was beyond cruel and that alone was almost enough to make me glad Tristan is going to rot underwater.  While I didn’t love Jackson, he was good for Hayley.  Goodbye good sir.

Tonight, Vincent showed why you don’t mess with the Regent of the witches of New Orleans.  That would be because he is one powerful guy, particularly when he was powerful before becoming the regent.  I am glad he wasn’t Finn because I have never been able to stand Finn and I do actually like Vincent.  He’s moral, powerful, and pragmatic.  That is a good combination to have in New Orleans.

I can’t imagine that Aurora will be happy with what the Mikaelsons have done to her brother.  At least Cami won’t be as easy to kill anymore.  The problem is that Aurora is so old and crazy that she can do some major damage.

Until next week!

My Review of The Vampire Diaries 7.10- Hell is Other People

Damon goes through hell in the form of Groundhog Day and the gang worries about what he’ll be like when he gets out.

I’m sure you know the aphorism about how insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Damon went through a version of hell that followed a variation on that saying.  Trapped in the Phoenix Stone, he relived the first time he had blood on his hands from killing a family and 2 deserters when he was sent to capture the deserters, despite the fact that he didn’t believe in the war any more than they did.  While he didn’t repeat the exact same events, he kept trying over and over again to spare everyone before finally changing what he did and even that didn’t work.

When he first “came out” of the Phoenix Stone, I thought it was real.  I realized it wasn’t as soon as Julian torched Stefan.  This show can kill a lot of people, but I don’t see either of the Salvatores being permanently killed unless it is in the final season as part of some massive story arc.  In that dream, Caroline’s reason for bringing him out first made sense.  Well, sort of.  Stefan has always had a firmer grip on humanity than Damon has, so leaving him in there a bit longer is the smart choice.  Add to that the fact that a dehumanized Damon is much more likely to kill Bonnie in order to get Elena back, and bringing him out first is the best idea.

Damon has always reminded me of Spike from Buffy, a good and decent human being who is radically altered by becoming a vampire.  And both of them change tremendously because of they love a human.  Given that, Stefan would be analogous to Angel/us.  Normally, they are exhibit great control, but they both have a tremendously dark side that is beyond vicious.  Both Angelus and Stefan the Ripper are absolutely vicious creatures who delight in harming and torturing others.  Both are also tragic characters, trying to redeem themselves for the horrors they’ve done in the past.  I was really reminded of this tonight when we saw Damon in the past.  As a human, Damon was a good soul who really didn’t want to transition.  The events we saw tonight obviously left deep psychological scars on him that made that time worse for him than anything he did as a vampire.  And given what we’ve seen him do, I can only imagine what he did that we haven’t seen.  I think what made this worse is that he was a human when it happened.  As a vampire, he could put a large amount of distance between him and what he did.  As a human, that is harder to do.

I also found it interesting that he needed to admit that he needed and wanted Lily before he could come out of the Phoenix Stone.  Unfortunately for everyone around him, when he came out he was frantic because he wanted to apologize to Lily but wasn’t able to.  He was so convinced that he was still in the Stone that he went berserk on everyone else.  I feel safe in assuming that no one is dead, since we see them all in the flash forwards, but that was some serious damage he did to everyone.  That was not a good thing.

Until next week!

My Review of DC's Legends of Tomorrow 1.02- Pilot, Part 2

The gang returns to 1975 to stop Savage from selling a nuclear weapon, Sara gets her flirt on with an unexpected person, Snart and Ray have words, and there is a surprising death....

Unlike the last review (which was originally written for another site), the remainder of my Legends of Tomorrow reviews won't include synopses, mainly because they take forever to write.  So enjoy that one.

The team showed some serious cracks tonight.  Snart's and Rory's pasts as criminals is definitely going to be an ongoing source of friction for the foreseeable future, especially with Ray.  Sara is able to take it in stride, probably because of her own speckled past and Martin and Jax seem to be able to go along with it too.  When they were with Ray is Savage's house, Ray seemed shocked that they were going after other invaluable objects. While they may not be the most wholesome guys to be around, they are very valuable to the team for their skills and Ray needs to accept that they know things he doesn't.  Speaking of accepting things, they need to learn to accept Ray's earnestness.  Until they can learn to work together, there are definitely going to be some sparks flying.

Watching Sara flirt with Marty was really funny, as was Jax's reaction to seeing a younger version of the man he carries around in his head when they become Firestorm.  Stein definitely enjoys lecturing, so seeing a younger, less polished, pot smoking version of him was hilarious.  The fact that he was seriously cute didn't hurt either.  Her knocking him out was a typical straightforward solution, as was her method of getting Ray's stolen tech away from Savage's people.  Jump down, take out the guards, and steal it back.  Simple and straightforward.  And Jax, she knows how to handle herself, so don't go helping unless she asks.

The fight scenes outside of Savage's house and at the auction were really cool to watch.  This show is definitely more effects intensive than either The Flash or Arrow.  Having Firestorm and the Atom flying around blasting things and Cold and Heatwave shooting their guns has to consume a fair amount of time, which probably explains why they also have Sara do hand-to-hand fighting so much.  Her fight scenes simply require a good amount of choreography, but not many effects.  The other really cool effect was when Firestorm absorbed the nuclear explosion.  It makes sense that he would be able to, but I hadn't quite expected it, so it was sort of surprising to see.

I am really curious about why they had Savage kill Carter.  Unless my memory is very bad, he can only be reborn if Chay-ara also dies, which means that he is gone unless the gang can go to a time when he is still alive and persuade him to come along.  I am also curious why only Kendra is the only one who can wield the blade to kill Savage.  Was it because it was a gift from Khufu to Chay-ara?  Or is there something else going on?

I loved the fact that they had Damien Dahrk on the show.  While he didn't really do anything, it was just fun to see him.  As for getting into the auction, I had to groan when Stein decided to act all tough.  It was sort of amusing, but Snart didn't seem to happy with him for what he was doing.

Until next week!

My Review of DC's Legends of Tomorrow 1.01- Pilot, Part 1

We are introduced to the group and they go on their first mission.  We also meet Rip Hunter and his ship with an AI named Gideon.

We open in London in the year 2166 during the Second Blitz.  The city is in flames and we focus in on a woman who is shot.  Then we see her son who is confronted by Vandal Savage who asks whether he will be brave like his mom or a coward like his dad.  The boy spits in Savage’s face, who says that he’ll be like his mom before shooting.  Then we go to the meeting room of the Time Masters where a man is pleading for the chance to assemble a group to stop Savage.  The Time Masters tell him no, saying that their charge is to protect time, not humanity.

Then we see the man, Rip Hunter, enter a ship and say that he is going after a select group to help him.  The first is Atom, who is back working with the Green Arrow.  The second is Sara Lance, who is in Tibet.  Then there is Hawkman and Hawkgirl who are arguing with each other over her still not-so-great skills at flying.  Next, he goes after Firestorm who is still learning to cooperate.  Finally, he grabs Captain Cold and Heatwave.  He takes them all to a roof where he tells them that he needs them to help him destroy Vandal Savage before he takes over the world in 2166.  He tells them that if they are interested, they need to show up at a certain location in 36 hours.

Palmer consults Oliver who encourages him to go and make a difference.  Sara talks with Laurel, who not only encourages her to go with Hunter, but also gives her a suit created by Cisco and tells her to be a hero in the light.  Stein and Jax argue with each other with Jax insisting on staying.  Stein moots the argument by drugging Jax and bringing him along.  Carter and Kendra argue with each other and settle it with a sparring match.  Snart and Rory decide that they will go along because it will give them an unparalleled opportunity for theft.

The entire team gathers at the appointed spot and Hunter arrives and decloaks his ship, bringing everyone in.  Stein and Palmer geek out at all of the science and everyone else just marvels at what they see.  Well, everyone except for Jax who is still unconscious.  The ship leaves just before a man in an armored suit shows up and kills two guys who saw the ship.

Hunter takes the team back to 1975, with Jax waking up as they are time traveling.  He tells them that they need to talk with Dr. Aldus Boardman, the only expert on Vandal Savage in existence.  He takes Ray, Stein, Kendra, and Carter with him.  He offers to take Jax, but he refuses.  Hunter insists that he, Sara, Rory, and Snart stay on the ship.  The group heads to the university to meet Dr. Boardman, who is astonished to see Kendra and Carter, both of whom he obviously knows.  He tells them that he is actually their son from one of their previous lives and that he has been after Savage ever since Savage killed them.

Sara, Snart, and Rory decide to head out for some fun and insist that Jax stay back with the ship and Gideon.  At the bar, a guy hits on Sara who breaks his arm and then proceeds to take apart a group of his friends.  She asks Snart and Rory to join in the fun and a bar brawl proceeds to occur, which culminates with Rory saying that he “loves the 70s!”  Back on the ship, Jax tries to get Gideon to return him to his own time, but Gideon refuses.  Just then, the ship is hit by fire from the armored man, who has managed to catch up with the gang.

At the university, Stein realizes that there is trouble with Jax and the gang heads back to the ship.  As they leave, Kendra and Carter insist that they bring Dr. Boardman along with them.  When they get back to the ship, Hawkman and Hawkgirl attack the armored man with their maces and fists while Hunter uses his gun to provide cover for Ray and Stein to get back to the ship to get Ray’s ATOM suit and for Firestorm to join the party.  Firestorm and Atom emerge from the ship and proceed to fire on the armored man just as Sara, Snart, and Rory arrive and join the attack.  The entire gang gets on the ship and the ship takes off.

Hunter takes the ship into a temporal holding area to repair the ship.  As he starts to fix the ship, Sara grabs him and demands an explanation.  Hunter reveals that he is no longer a Time Master and that he stole the ship to stop Savage and avenge his family, the mother and son killed at the beginning of the episode.  He also reveals that the entire group was chosen because their loss would have minimal impact on the timeline.  The entire gang is upset at this revelation and split up to think about whether or not they’ll stay.  Stein apologizes to Jax, who tells him that he wants to stay because he wants to be a part of something bigger than himself.  Sara, Ray, Snart, and Rory talk and Sara persuades them to stay by telling them that they can design their own destiny.  Kendra and Carter stay because their son died after being injured by the armored man, a bounty hunter named Cronus.  With that, the entire group tells Hunter that they’ll be with him.

The episode closes with Savage getting his hands on a nuclear warhead in 1975…..

I have to say that I was fairly impressed with the episode.  They did a nice job explaining how Savage was still around after being killed by Oliver and Barry earlier.  Since it would require Kendra and/or Carter to actually kill him to make it stick, that means that keeping the two of them alive is vital.  It also allows for other characters to “kill” him temporarily if needed.  I also liked that the writers gave us background on each of the members of the team so that new viewers would be able to learn about them, even if they hadn’t seen The Flash and/or Arrow.

I think the thing I enjoy the most is the interactions between the characters.  Sara, Snart, and Rory are natural disasters just waiting to happen.  Watching them in the bar scene was just flat out fun.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sara that relaxed and Dominic Purcell was obviously having a grand time playing an unpredictable and slightly crazy Rory.  I also swear that Snart has a crush on Sara, which will be fun to watch.  Another great combination was Ray and Stein.  Watching the two of them completely geek out over the ship was hilarious and the little tidbit that Stein taught Ray was unexpected and fun.

I did also enjoy watching Jax and Stein together.  They are so different that they still need to learn how to work together.  Stein is right that Jax does need to listen to him more, but Stein also needs to figure out when to talk to Jax when they are Firestorm.  My least favorite pair were Kendra and Carter.  They are obviously going to be the dramatic couple of the show.  They really need to get their act together.

I’m not sure what to think of Rip Hunter.  The fact that he completely lied to the group for personal reasons is not good, even if it was understandable.  He really wants to take out Savage and is obviously willing to take steps the other Time Masters aren’t willing to take.  That being said, he still really cares about the integrity of the timeline and is well versed in the potential pitfalls of time travel.  Bringing Rory and Snart along was probably not the smartest move where that area is concerned, but they are definitely good in the muscle department.  Snart is also very smart, which could prove to be very helpful.

Is this Gideon the same Gideon that Barry invented in the future Thawne came back from on The Flash?  Also, I am a little confused because I thought Thawne came back from further than 2166, yet he never mentioned anything about Savage.  Of course, it’s possible that we are on a different timeline, so that could explain it, but I hope they actually say something about it.

Looking forward to part 2 next week.  See y’all then!

My Review of Teen Wolf 5.14- The Sword and the Spirit

Malia and Braeden confront the Desert Wolf, Scott and Liam mend fences, Theo shows his true colors (again), and everyone realizes the danger that Lydia is in.

First off, I am really glad we have finally caught up with the first scene from the season premiere.  We still have a couple of scenes to catch up with: Malia cowering in a cave with a figure (presumably the Desert Wolf) standing over her and the scene where Theo and his pack break into Eichen House to get Lydia.  Given the fact that next week is apparently going to be the gang trying to rescue Lydia, I think we can safely assume that will happen then or maybe the week after.  What worries me is that we now know that Theo will probably use it as a trap to get Scott and hand him over to Deucalion.  Only problem for Theo is that the one time his pack confronted Scott, Scott wiped the floor with them.  Now that Scott's pack is mostly back together, I don't know if Theo stands much of a chance, particularly if they can arouse Lydia enough to fight herself.

Scott didn't seem to betray any weakness to his injury this week, so I think it is safe to assume that it has started to heal.  Given that an Alpha's (or any werewolves) strength grows in proportion to the size of their pack, I suspect that having everyone back together is making him stronger, even if most of them aren't wolves themselves.  It was nice to see him and Liam make up with each other.  Liam has been so freaked out by what he did to Scott that he has never approached him to try and sort everything out.  I think Scott just needed to know that Liam really was sorry about everything before he could really forgive him.  Liam seemed almost broken and Scott obviously realized that he needed to forgive Liam so that they could get everyone back together.

Finding out that Chris is teamed with Gerard was an unpleasant surprise for Scott.  It is a measure of the trust Scott has in Chris that he just went along with it after Chris reassured him that it was necessary.  I do love it when a new member of the pack meets someone from Scott's past.  Liam's reaction to Gerard was almost as funny as Isaac's reaction when he met Peter for the first time.  Liam knew that this was not a Good Thing, but he was missing the particulars,  And Gerard's reaction to Scott's eyes flashing red was incredibly nonchalant.  I hope he isn't planning on crossing Scott again because I don't doubt that Scott could and would take him down if needed.  As for his "test" for Parrish, the less said the better.  Classic Gerard.  I did love Chris' reaction when Parrish incredulously asked if Gerard really was his father.  "Wasn't my choice."  <snerk>

I find it interesting that Jennifer's healing of Deucalion's eyes was only temporary.  I have to wonder if it was temporary by design or if it ended because Jennifer was killed.  And any hope I had about him being back in town to help Scott was seriously dashed when he told Theo that the price of his help would be Scott's eye on his claws.  I was hoping that he had been chastened by the events of season 3, but that is not the case.  Instead, he is harboring an understandable and rather substantial grudge.

I was really hoping that Theo would actually be helpful to Scott, but he is (as always) out for just himself.  He wants to kill the Beast in order to gain its power.  Add that to his chimera status and I am worried.  The Beast is already the most powerful and most feared werewolf in history, so that is bad for everyone.  And given the complete drawing Chris and Gerard showed Scott and Liam, I am really worried.  The fight between the Hellhound (Parrish) and the Beast (?) will apparently be such a massive battle that it will result in large amounts of collateral damage.  I can only hope that Scott and his pack can do something to contain and limit the damage.  Given the enemies arrayed against them, that is going to be tough.  Between the Dread Doctors, the Desert Wolf, Theo and his pack, and Deucalion, Scott and his pack are going to have their hands full.  Having Derek, Isaac, or anyone else from the past return would be a real boon for them.

And we finally found out why the Desert Wolf is after Malia.  Shortly after she was born, Talia Hale stole Malia from the Desert Wolf who (at some point) lost a large portion of her strength, speed, and healing.  She blames Malia for the loss, but I don't know if powers from one simply pass to another through birth that way.  Everything we have seen would indicate that if someone is born a werewolf (or presumably a werecoyote), they can have the inborn abilities that come with the status without the parent losing theirs.  Malia needs to be really careful.  She may have the edge in speed and strength, but the Desert Wolf is trained, dangerous, and motivated which gives her an edge.  Malia lucked out that the Beast showed up when it did and that Lydia's scream distracted the Desert Wolf.  After Theo shot her, she was in bad shape.  Fortunately, she heals fast and she can learn quickly, so hopefully she'll learn the right lesson and only go after the Desert Wolf with the full pack.

How the heck did Gerard know the frequency to use to block the Dread Doctors?  I know he is incredibly well acquainted with the supernatural, but that is showing a level of familiarity that surpasses everyone else.  Even Deaton doesn't know much about the Dread Doctors, and he knows a lot about most of the supernatural world.  I hope that Gerard will tell Scott what he needs to know, but I can't say that I'll hold my breath waiting for him to do so.

I found Meredith's explanation to Lydia very interesting.  Using her hands to direct the power of her screams is an interesting idea.  It really does make sense though.  Every banshee scream we've seen so far is unfocused and affects everything in the area.  Using the hands that way can force the mind to focus in a particular direction.  I suspect that eventually Lydia won't need to use her hands, but I could (of course) be wrong.

I am surprised that it's taken people this long to catch onto the fact that the supernatural is in Beacon Hills.  Before this, we've only had one person outside of the pack (Danny) who knew that the supernatural existed, but he was pack adjacent and really smart and observant, so that wasn't super surprising.  The deputy talking with Scott and Stiles about the supernatural is a sign that people in certain places are starting to notice the weirdness and wondering what is going on.  That could make Scott's job harder, particularly if people start trying to eradicate the supernatural themselves as vigilantes.

Next week, the gang goes to rescue Lydia.  Until then!

My Review of The Fosters 3.11- First Impressions and Why I am starting reviews now

Well, I've added a new show to my review list.  The Fosters is my favorite show currently on television.  The reason that I haven't written about it before now is that the show has always been intensely personal for me for a wide variety of reasons and I never quite felt comfortable writing about it.  But recently, I decided that I really wanted to talk about the show that I love so much.  It is one of the few shows that, even when I wasn't writing reviews, I absolutely had to watch the night it was on because I just couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.

A part of the reason I have always loved this show is the unflinching way the show has taken on all sorts of social issues.  From same sex marriage and relationships to teen substance use to the foster system and more, this show just never lets up.  Throughout it all, we have a family created not out of biology, but out of love and because they chose to be together.  While some of the characters have frustrated the hell out of me (and some I actively hate), I just have to come back each week it is on and see it.

The other thing I have loved about this show is that it has been a tremendous inspiration to me personally.  I am 37 years old and I came out as gay almost 15 years ago, but I still learn so much from this show about being myself and not being ashamed of who I am.  A lot of that has come from Jude and Connor.  I know they are a massive inspiration to LGBTQIA teens, but their inspiration has really reached me too,  The way that Gavin and Hayden have really taken these characters and given them such depth and taken us on this wonderful journey of discovery that they went through has been beyond awesome and inspirational.  That is why I will set aside my normal disdain for shipping and I will *ALWAYS* ship Jonnor.  I know they may have other boyfriends as time goes on, but Jonnor will always be the endgame I hope they go to.

Anyway, let's get to tonight's episode.  Callie and Brandon deal with the fallout of their night at Idyllwild, AJ gets a revelation from his brother, Stef gets some bad news on two fronts, Jesus reveals why he came back, Mariana runs for class president with a surprise opponent, and Jude deals with the reality that Connor is leaving.

I have to say that I am glad Callie is adopted now.  While I was fond of Brallie in the first half of the first season, after that it just got really old because it was obvious that they were driving towards having Callie get adopted by the Adams-Fosters and their feelings were constantly cropping up at the most inconvenient times.  I get why they finally slept together, but now there is just a massive mess, which (given that message at the end) apparently someone else knows about.  At this point, I don't think there's anything that can be done to nullify the adoption, so I really think they need to tell Stef and Lena.  Will they be mad?  Sure, but I think they'll understand once they hear why it happened.

Then again, this may not be the best time to drop that particular truth bomb on their moms.  Stef has breast cancer.  The good news is that it is stage 0, which is actually precancerous rather than actual cancer.  That means that it should be relatively easy to take care of.  I remember when my mom went through breast cancer.  She ended up having a mastectomy (the breast being completely removed) and had several lymph nodes removed in order to get rid of it.  Unfortunately hers reached stage 4 (metastasized), but she still lived with it for several years.  Stef's prognosis is much better.  Expensive, but better.

Having Jesus back is going to be fun.  It will take a bit to get used to Noah instead of Jake, but Noah seems to have a lot of the mannerisms and quirks that Jake established down.  Cierra and Noah seem to have a great sibling chemistry and the bickering is perfect.  I have 3 brothers and a sister, trust me, I've seen it all.  I do have to wonder if he really came back for the reasons he told his moms.  Since the school said that his grades were fine, I will go on the assumption he was honest with them, but only time will tell.  Unfortunately for him, he now has to deal with his first ex-girlfriend running for class president against his sister whose campaign manager is his second ex.  Talk about a seriously awkward situation.

I just can't believe that Lexi running against Mariana is any sort of coincidence.  I will grant that Mariana could have been a bit more tactful in turning Lexi's help down, but she was stuck between two friends, both of whom had dated Jesus at one point.  I can't help but fear that this whole situation is going to turn seriously ugly and fast.

I was surprised when Monte told Stef and Lena that she would leave Anchor Point if they asked her to.  It was a nice gesture, but it also felt vaguely manipulative.  Did she really think that they would ask her to resign?  That would come across as seriously petty, even if she totally deserved it.  First for kissing Lena and then for leading Jenna on when she knew how she felt about Lena.  And letting Jesus jump the line to get him back into the school is seriously going to bite them on the ass.  There is more than a whiff of favoritism and if anyone finds out about the whole mess with Monte kissing Lena, it will make it so much worse.

Is AJ gone for good?  I get that he wants to be with his brother, but he is seriously screwing up his relationship with Mike who has gone out on a limb time and time again for him.  Mike is far from a perfect dad, but his heart is in the right place.  Unfortunately, AJ and his brother put together all the clues and realized that the police are closing in on Ty and that it is just a matter of time before he got put away for his role in the accident.

That woman who wants to invest in Callie's app gave me the wiggins from the time she started talking with Lena, Stef, and Callie.  What she was saying and the way she was talking was too smooth and too practiced.  And when she lied to Callie about talking to someone about that boy in the bad foster home, it just cemented my feelings.  I am seriously worried that she is from one of the companies or something and is looking to use the information from Callie's app for some nefarious purpose.  Now that she's an admin, I am even more worried.

I am going to miss Connor.  And, surprisingly, I fell bad for Mr. Stevens.  I have never liked him because he has always come across as homophobic, but I am now wondering if the problem wasn't so much homophobia as it was the reactions of a parent truly unprepared for a major revelation like that.  I know that when I came out, I felt like my world was completely upended and all my previous dreams were completely trashed.  I also know that some parents have had a similar feelings.  It can feel like the dreams they had of their kids growing up and giving them grandkids are completely shattered and they are trying to pick up the pieces.  Don't get me wrong, Mr. Stevens handled Connor's coming out horribly.  He was never supportive and never gave Connor a reason to stay until it was too late to change Connor's mind.

This has to seriously suck for Jude.  From the first day we met him, it was fairly obvious that he was (at least) gender non-conforming, if not actually gay.  Then when he and Connor finally got together, they had to deal with all the crap from Connor's dad and Jude's issues with labeling.  It seems like they finally got to a good place and then Connor decided to move in with his mom.  Losing your first significant other is never easy, and I can't imagine how hard it has to be when you are that young and been jerked around as much as Jude has.  He and Connor have really developed their identities around each other, so to have that ripped away has to be horrible.  I was just glad that Mr. Stevens had the decency to go apologize to Jude and that Jude accepted it and tried to comfort Mr. Stevens even as he was going through this.

Just a quick note.  Starting this week, I will be reviewing DC's Legends of Tomorrow here (there will be a First Impression of the first half of the pilot on pop-topia.com) and this week The Vampire Diaries and The Originals return on Friday.  Of course, I will be back tomorrow with the latest Teen Wolf.  Until then!

My Review of Teen Wolf 5.13- Codominance

Scott and Stiles go on a road trip, Kira goes through some rough "training", Lydia continues to learn how to harness her abilities, Liam learns something about what Theo is looking for, and Theo continues his search for more power.

It was really nice to see Scott and Stiles continuing to heal their fractured friendship.  Only people who care about each other as much as Scott and Stiles care about each other can hurt each other as badly as they did and then solve the situation relatively quickly.  Scott was right when he said that they needed more time to talk, but I don't think either of them could have that night.  Theo had gotten so deeply into their heads that I don't think they could have continued that conversation and remained friends.  Scott was hearing everything Stiles was saying through the filter of what Theo said to him and Stiles was too freaked out about the possibility of losing Scott to be able to talk rationally.  They both just needed time and distance, which is what they got.

The good thing about what Theo did is that it exposed a major flaw of Scott's.  Scott lacks confidence in himself as a leader.  With no adults around right now to help guide him, he is managing to piece his pack back together on his own, which is when he is at his strongest.  Scott is at his worst when he is trying to be someone else.  Anyone remember his horrible speech to Liam right after he turned him?  He was channeling Derek, which is never a good idea.  As I've said before, Derek as a teacher is great.  As a leader?  Not so much.  Scott does a great job when he is being himself and when he trusts himself to do the right thing.  If he can do that consistently, he will be a great leader.  After the fall he took in the first half of the season, he really needs to be himself to get his pack back.  He needs Stiles and Lydia to be the reality check and brains, he needs Liam and Malia to be his claws, and he needs Kira to help hold his heart together.  While he does a good ob on his own, he does a stellar job with the whole crew.

And he is a good portion of the way back.  He and Stiles have repaired their friendship enough that they can continue to work their way back to what they had.  And now he has managed to get Kira back and the two of them picked right back where they left off.  I am worried about Kira's control.  What she needs to do is figure out something to help her control the fox within.  In the first couple of seasons, Scott relied to Allison to be his anchor and ground to humanity, so can he serve the same function for Kira?  Or is she just so worried about the power she has that she needs to gain the confidence to use it properly?  Hopefully Scott can use some of the lessons he learned when he was learning to control the wolf that he can help her.  On the other hand, I wonder if her problem is that she needs to learn how to share control with the fox.  If neither of them is fighting for dominance, could they form a partnership which would allow her to access the fox's power and keep it under control?

I had to feel sorry for Liam.  He wants to make everything up to Scott so badly, but Scott isn't ready to just yet.  While I can't entirely blame Scott, he does need to remember that the Liam on the night of the supermoon was completely out of control because he was freaking out about what happened to Hayden.  Add to that Liam's anger issues and you have a potent mix that is not good for anyone.  Like Kira, Liam really needs to learn how to control his power.  He also needs to earn back Scott's trust.  Given that Scott is willing to forgive him eventually, I don't think that will be a huge issue, but it is something that Liam will have to do.

So are the Dread Doctors using Deucalion to get information on everyone in Beacon Hills?  Given the fact that he told Malia he knew how the Dread Doctors were finding everyone and then it was revealed that he was looking for a blind wolf, that would seem to be a valid assumption.  The only question is how Deucalion would know everything.  Also, didn't Jennifer give him his sight back during their last confrontation before Scott broke through the barrier and became a True Alpha?  So is he really still blind?  I also have to say that seeing Theo almost getting off on Malia beating him was more than a little freaky.

Speaking of Malia, I have to admit to being surprised that Scott seems to simply accept that she and Braeden are looking for the Desert Fox in order to kill her.  I wonder if this is simply his way of acknowledging that he can't control everyone or if he has bigger concerns (or maybe both!).  I also found Scott's revelation that he was always worried about someone getting too much blood on their hands interesting.  Could that be how Theo got into his head so easily?  We know Scott said that he didn't want to ever kill anyone, but now it seems like he just didn't want any of his friends to kill anyone, which would indicate that he is willing to sacrifice his purity to protect his friends, which is pretty cool if a little worrisome.

Given the fact that Lydia's training seemed to take place entirely within her mind, how on earth did she manage to affect that light in the real world?  Which also poses another interesting question.  Is "Meredith" merely a figment of her imagination to give herself a reason to unlock her abilities?  Everything "Meredith" is teaching her is based off of what Lydia has witnessed, which would seem to indicate that her subconscious mind is putting pieces together so that she can utilize her talents to their fullest extent.  It is possible that this is a psychic echo of the real Meredith, but I am leaning towards the subconscious manifestation explanation myself.  Of course, it could also be Valack in her head somehow.  Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Kira's "training" was brutal.  I want to know how exactly that was supposed to teach her.  You really want to throw an out of control trickster spirit into a combat situation?  You have to show her what control is first and then she can figure out how to do it.

I have to wonder how much longer Roscoe will be in this world.  It seems to be held together by spit and bailing wire.  Stiles needs to really invest in getting a mechanic to do something to keep roscoe in working order.

And who is the Beast?  According to Theo, it is a teenager during the day with no knowledge of what it is at night.  Sounds a lot like Jackson as the kanima to me.  So is the Beast the shape that someone is taking because of what is inside of them?

I loved how cute Liam and Hayden and Mason and Corey were together.  I really hope that Corey isn't the Beast.  Given that we know he is a chimera and I don't remember ever seeing him at the same time as the Beast, it is a possibility.  An even more horrifying possibility is that Mason is the Beast.  That would be totally awful.

Until next week!

My Review of Teen Wolf 5.12- Damnatio Memoriae

Scott starts to pull his pack back together, Theo prepares for what is to come, Lydia gets a teacher, we find out where Kira is, Liam and Mason work together, Malia and Braeden work together, Argent makes a desperate move, and we meet la Bête du Gévaudan.

I am beginning to wonder if Scott is going through another psychosomatic episode like he did back in Season 3A when he thought Derek had been killed.  He seems to be taking forever to heal and he seems to have lost some strength.  That being said, he hasn't lost it all given how quickly he took apart Theo's pack when they attacked him and the fact that his eyes are still red, indicating that he is still an Alpha.  It is entirely possible that his loss of confidence brought about by what happened in the first half of the season is affecting him if he takes the time to think about it.

That being said, he and Stiles took a huge step forward to bringing the pack back together.  Liam seems primed to come back, he just needs to be assured that Scott will forgive him and accept him back.  Malia is going to be harder than I expected because she is planning on going after the Desert Wolf.  The thing is that she knows that Scott won't like what she has planned and she is distancing herself from him for that very reason.  When Kira comes back, I have no doubt Scott will welcome her with open arms.  As I said last week, I think Lydia will be the hardest to bring back because she is in Eichen House.  But given the very determined look he had on his face, I have very little doubt that he can get her out if he really wants to.  If he is determined enough, I would be surprised if even Eichen House's defenses could keep him out.  While it wouldn't be easy, I fully expect him to be able to breach any sort of ash wood barrier they have.

Speaking of Lydia, how awesome was it to see her and Meredith together?  Or at least something that took on Meredith's form.  Given that this is Teen Wolf, I wouldn't be surprised if some other creature got in her head and is talking to her as Meredith.  I'm not saying that the creature is evil, but you never know.  It was nice to get a probable answer about how she used her voice as a weapon in the season premiere.  I'm not sure how Meredith (or whatever) learned to use their voice as a weapon, but combining that with the training she received from Parrish was a potent combination.

I loved seeing Mason and Liam together.  Liam is feeling so guilty about what he did to Scott and about what happened with Hayden that night and Mason is trying to get him to just suck it up and make things right with Scott.  Given the way he and Hayden were kissing, I'd say that they're going to be good.  The only potential hitch there will be Theo, who is being as enigmatic as ever.  He told Scott that they need to work together, but he seems to be trying to isolate his pack from Scott's and had Scott attacked.  I suppose that it's possible he just wanted to check and see if Scott was up to fighting, but that is doubtful.  What I am fairly certain of is that he is scared of la Bête and seems to be willing to do whatever he needs to do to protect himself.

How the heck did the Doctors bring la Bête back?  Did they resurrect the actual Beast or did they somehow recreate it?  Whichever it is, I don't think they will be able to control it unless they have some sort of device.  And you know things are seriously bad when Argent cured Gerard in order to get his help.  I wasn't sure if I would ever see that happen.  I just hope that he keeps in mind the fact that Gerard absolutely cannot be trusted.  Add to that the fact that Deucalion is supposed to be coming back and you have a recipe for an absolute disaster.

Until next week!

My Review of Teen Wolf 5.11- The Last Chimera

Scott tries to recover from the disastrous events that tore his pack apart, Stiles desperately tries to help his father, Parrish looks for Lydia who has quite the eventful night, Liam and Mason look for Hayden, Theo assembles his pack, and we continue the events of the future.

Scott has managed to get himself into quite the pickle.  After dying at Theo's claws and then being revived by his mom, he has quite the way to go to reassemble his pack.  He lost Stiles because Theo came between them, he lost Liam because he didn't turn Hayden, Kira is gone, Lydia is in the hospital because Theo stole her memories (ok, mentally raped her), and Malia has gone her own way after breaking up with Stiles.  What he really needs to do is focus on getting Stiles, Kira, and Liam back first and then worry about Lydia.  Stiles is going to be the hardest to get back because their friendship was completely shattered after the two of them let Theo get into their heads.  It is mostly Scott's fault because he didn't listen or believe Stiles, but if Stiles had told him earlier what had happened with Donovan, they could have handled it a lot better.  I am honestly not sure if they can ever truly get back what they had.  Coming back from that sort of personal sense of betrayal is never easy, but if anyone can do it, the two of them can.

Getting Liam back will be easier because Liam seems to want to come back.  When he was in the library with Mason, he seemed to truly regret what he did to Scott.  With Hayden being ok and due to the fact that what he did was (in part) because of the super moon, I think he'll be able to come back to Scott quicker.  I wouldn't be surprised if he second-guessed Scott for a while, but I think he'll come back.  Getting Kira back into the fold will simply require her returning to Beacon Hills.  Hopefully, when she returns she'll have a better grip over her new abilities.

Getting Lydia back is going to be the hardest thing to do.  First off, she's in a semi-catatonic state after what what Theo did to her.  Second, her mother seems determined to keep her as far from Scott and the gang as long as she can.  While she may not be totally up to speed on what is going on, she knows enough to know that they are at the center of everything and she wants to protect her daughter as much as she can.  Throw in the fact that (in the future) Theo comes looking for her and Parrish shows up as well, and it will get complicated.  Of course, it seems that Theo only wants her so he can use her to lure Parrish in, but I wouldn't be surprised if he will use Lydia too.

I am honestly not sure what to think of Theo.  While he seems to be a mini-Peter and out for his own power, there are also moments when he seems like Derek from Season 2.  He's out to expand his pack and his power in order to confront whatever it is that the Dread Doctors are attempting to bring forth.  He knows he can't trust them, so he is doing what he can for himself.  This is not to say that he is a good guy bu any stretch of the imagination, but I am not wholly convinced that he is as evil as Peter was.  If anything, he seems more like the Twins before they went to join Scott's pack: out for himself and willing to do whatever he needs to do in order to protect himself.

If what I have read is correct, we are going to see la Bête du Gévaudan, which was mentioned in the first season when Allison was researching her ancestors and that beast is one of the beasts from painting in the wall.  I am assuming that Parrish is the other beast (the one on fire).  If so, it looks like we are going to have a major clash between the two.  La Bête seems to be very animalistic and possibly evil and, as a hellhound, Parrish seems to straddle the lines between good and evil.  The reason that I say la Bête is "possibly evil" is that to be truly evil requires making the choice to be evil.  If it is as animalistic as I expect and is operating on mostly instinct, then I don't think it can truly choose evil.  I could be wrong, so we'll have to wait and see.

Melissa and Scott are going to have to read Liam's dad in on what is going on.  He knows that there are things Melissa isn't telling him and he seems content, for the moment, to trust her, but having another adult in the hospital would be a good thing for the pack.  That would bring most of the parents in on the secret, which would make it easier for them to do what they have to do.  Lydia's mom will be the hardest to bring in because she is so protective of Lydia, but she may come around eventually.

Scott's pack now has an official symbol, Scott's two circle tattoo.  Theo was not happy when he saw that symbol carved into the wall of the building he and Hayden were in.  With Scott still around, his chances of bringing anyone from Scott's pack into his pack is vanishingly small, assuming that Scott can fix the relationships that are currently in tatters.  With everyone on notice that Theo can play head games, I think Scott will have an easier time holding his own pack together.  Knowing about Theo gives them that much more protection against his manipulations.

Until next week!