My Review of The Secret Circle 1.18- Sacrifice

John Blackwell is hiding secrets, a witch hunter who knows Jake brings bad news to the Circle, Faye and Melissa get help from Adam to get a guy, and Grant is not what he appears to be....

Well, that was some interesting insight into Blackwell when he was younger.  Turns out that the demon that possessed Amelia's friend and killed Nick had been raised by Blackwell to be used to fight the witch hunters.  Not exactly the sort of thing that is going to endear Blackwell to the Circle.  He was powerful enough to raise a demon and have it possess someone, but either he couldn't control it, or Amelia wouldn't let him because she bound the demon.  Either way, now Eben has managed to raise demons and they are possessing him.  That man has gone off the deep end entirely.  Blackwell is scared of him!  Or, maybe not.  I want to posit a scenario.  We know that Eben is working with a witch.  We know that Blackwell is (or was) powerful enough to raise demons, is still powerful enough to kill one, and that he has no problems lying to protect Cassie.  We also know that Blackwell has now convinced the Circle to get all of the crystals and bring them together after they had been separated by the Elders.  What if Blackwell is the witch working with the witch hunters in order to force the Circle to bring together the crystals so that he can get his magic back and destroy the witch hunters?  Convoluted, granted.  Out there?  Also granted, but it is possible.  Only problem is that it is a fairly obvious idea, so it may be totally off.  But it is one theory.

Watching Faye and Melissa compete over the hockey goalie was quite amusing.  Even funnier was the fact that each of them got Adam to help them with magic in order to get him.  Nothing serious like a love spell, but just a little something to make them more desirable.  The look on each of their faces when the other used magic was the greatest.  Then, when Adam saw that he had a girlfriend and went off, I was a little floored.  I honestly wondered if maybe the potion was having unintended side effects or if it didn't work on him either.  Turns out that he had been trying to remember his feelings for Cassie, but couldn't and it was driving him a little crazy.  Anyone wanna bet that they'll figure out a way around the potion before the season is over?

And Grant wasn't all he was cracked up to be.  Turns out he is a worker on the boat who lied in order to impress Diana.  Well, he did impress her, just not in the way he wanted to.  She had been planning on totally rejecting him until he persuaded her to give him one day to prove that he is a good guy.  Good idea?  Probably not, but there it is.

Watching Cassie confront the possessed witch hunter was impressive.  Stopping him in his tracks was nice and the use of fire on him was quite cool.  Unfortunately, she didn't realize that fire wouldn't kill a demon.  But her dad did.  And was she annoyed that he lied about using magic!  And she'll be even more annoyed when she finds out that there is a body buried at the site of the raising.  Two questions:

[1] Whose body is it?

[2] Did Blackwell kill them?

Until April 19th!

My Review of The Vampire Diaries 3.18- The Murder of One

Stefan and Damon work with the gang to take down the Originals and find out a horrific truth, Klaus uses a witch to undo his mother's magic, and Rebekah has fun at Damon's expense.

Well, the gang managed to kill Finn using a stake that was made from the Wickery Bridge sign.  What they didn't know is that when an Original is killed, their entire bloodline dies with them.  That means that if Klaus is killed, Tyler will die.  And since no one knows who turned Rose (who turned Katherine and then the rest of the vampires in the gang) they have the potential to kill all of them if the wrong Original dies.  Talk about a Pyrrhic victory! If all of the Originals had been killed, then all vampires would have died.  You have to wonder if Esther knew that when she bound her children together.  If so, she is even more cold blooded then I thought she was since she would have been committing one of the largest acts of mass murder ever.  Fortunately for the gang (well, unfortunately too), Klaus had kidnapped Bonnie and, by threatening Jeremy's life, got her to undo the spell just in time.  Good thing or not?

When they say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, I wonder if they had Rebekah in mind.  After what Damon and Sage did to her last week, she decided to take her anger out on Damon since Sage was needed to try and keep Finn in line.  And man, did she get revenge.  She kidnapped him, hung him from the ceiling using bear traps to hold his hands up, and bled the vervain out of his system so that he could be compelled.  Not a nice girl.  The interesting thing is that when Stefan gave up the stakes (well, 8 of the 11 anyway) for Damon, she was impressed and got a glimpse of how little she means to Klaus.  Not sure if much will come of that rift or not.

I have to say that the gang's plan was a good one, at least as far as it went.  Separate the Originals and stake one of them, thereby eliminating all of the rest.  Then the two small hitches occurred.  Number one, the whole bloodline dying and number two, the fact that Bonnie removed the binding spell.  And getting everyone in on the action was the only way it was going to work.  Too bad it was doomed.

I have to say that I admire Caroline.  She has every reason in the world to want Alaric dead, but she held off.  Not out of love for Elena (although that may have had something to do with it), but because she realized that she had done things as bad as Alaric had.  At least he was under the influence of forces outside of his control.  Caroline was being influenced by being a new vampire, but she still made a choice.  The fact that she was able to let go of the fact that he killed her dad was quite impressive.

Bonnie finally broke down tonight.  After everything that has happened to her, she finally was able to break down and start to heal.  I don't think she'll ever be able to forgive Damon for turning her mom or like the brothers because of what happened to her grandmother, but hopefully she'll be able to come back and be a part of the gang again.

And Elena was left with the Sword of Damocles hanging over her romantic life.  She loves Stefan; and he knows it; but she is also in love with Damon; which Stefan also knows.  Fortunately, he is willing to acknowledge his part in what happened and seems to be willing to let Elena go if necessary.  She has a choice to make.  The question is, can she make it without having a repeat of what happened with Katherine in terms of the brothers hating each other for the choice she makes?  Not a comfortable position.

We'll be back April 17th.  Until then!

My Review of One Tree Hill 9.12- Anyone Who Had a Heart

And the closure starts.  Julian revives the idea of using Lucas' book with a twist, Brooke reconciles with her parents, Haley is the MC for the Burning Boat Festival, Chase gets a surprise, Quinn also gets a surprise, and Mouth and Millie return.

Now that all the drama (hopefully) is out of the way, we are starting to close down the story of One Tree Hill.  This was a very nice, light episode after the series of heavier episodes that preceded it.  I really hope that the finale next week is drama-lite and focuses on saying good bye to the characters we've come to know and love.  But more on that in a future post.

This week, Nathan and Jamie were gone on a guys' weekend which I think they both needed.  Nathan needs to spend some time with Jamie decompressing given everything that has happened, so I am glad they got it.  It also gave us a chance to see Haley having fun again, which was really cool.

I loved that Julian wanted to take Lucas' book and make it a television show.  I also found it funny that they referenced "The Creek" which was Dawson's version of "Dawson's Creek" on that shows finale.  Wonder how they managed to get permission for that one.  Using Brooke's diary to flesh out the characters was nice, and it also gave Julian insight into who Brooke was that he may not have had before.  I am also very proud of Julian for reading Brooke's dad the riot act for how he has been treating Brooke.  That definitely earned him more than just a small measure of respect.

Seeing Ted and Victoria together was hilarious and a little creepy.  But Brooke's reaction was absolutely priceless.  If there is one thing people do not want to know, it is about their parent's sex lives.  And Brooke got it full in the face.  It was very nice that both her parents want to work with her on the new line.  This had better not be some storyline to pull the rug out from under Brooke again.  She really deserves the chance to make this work with her parents.  She has already lost so much because of them.  So, I will cross my fingers and hope.

Clay and Quinn are engaged!  And Logan has integrated himself into their family very well.  I suspect that he can do it because he has always wanted his parents and now he has his dad.  Since he was too young to remember his mom, I think that he is having few issues letting Quinn take on that role.  I so hope we get this wedding next week.  Or at least, a glimpse of it in a montage of some sort.

Chase now has a chance to own Tric.  Haley talked Karen into selling Tric to Chase.  Now he just needs the money.  I suspect that there will be a 10th anniversary benefit concert to raise money to let Chase buy Tric.  What will that mean for Red Bedroom Records?  I suspect that he'll let it stay because I can't think of a reason why he wouldn't.

It was very nice to see Mouth back in shape.  And he has his own sports show (or segment, didn't really say which) now and Millie has a new co-anchor in the form of Skillz.  Very nice.

Next week, the series finale.  Tomorrow, I will be writing what I would like to see in the finale and a look back at my memories of One Tree Hill.

Until then!

My Review of Ringer 1.19- Let's Kill Bridget!

There is another attempt on Bridget's life, the person behind the attempted killings is revealed, Juliet 'fesses up to Andrew about Catherine and they get revenge, Machado is suspended, Henry gives Siobhan an ultimatum, and Henry is taken in for questioning....

I was definitely cheering when karma hit Catherine in a big way.  Turns out that Juliet confessed her misdeeds to Andrew and the two of them decided to get revenge on Catherine.  Juliet mentioned to Catherine that Andrew was selling their house in Palm Springs and that there was an interested buyer.  Catherine decided to buy the property on her own and resell it to make a tidy profit.  What she didn't know is that Andrew set the whole thing up to get his money back and then he proceeded to threaten to have Catherine stripped of her parental rights if she came near him or Juliet again.  Justice is served!  Oh, and it turns out that Catherine is the one who tried to have Bridget killed, thinking she was Siobhan.  I knew that woman was trouble, but I didn't think she would go that far.

Andrew spent most of the episode putting out fires related to Olivia's leaving.  I don't know if things were as bad off as he said or if that was all a part of the scheme to get Catherine.   I would suspect a bit of both, but obviously I can't be sure.  I loved the revenge, but I do worry that maybe he pushed Catherine too far.  After all, we know she tried to have "Siobhan" killed, so maybe completely cutting her off wasn't the best option.  Here's hoping she doesn't push back too hard, although I suspect that hope is in vain.

I must say that I was honestly wondering if Bridget was going to reveal her identity to Machado.  After all, she did say she wanted to testify against Bodaway.  But, in an interesting turn, she proposed that "Siobhan" pretend to be Bridget and be coached by Machado to testify against Bodaway.  Very interesting idea that Machado totally did not go for because (so far as he knew) it would be suborning perjury.  Amusingly, it would not have been perjury, but anyways.  I was also impressed at her quick thinking in using the fake blood to pretend that she was shot and killed.  That was good use of intellect under fire.  If on;y she hadn't blinked....

I've been complaining that Machado seemed to be an incredibly ineffective cop and it turns out that someone agrees with me.  He was suspended from his job.  Granted, the immediate cause was that he beat someone up on a public street, but the underlying issue seemed to be his ineffectiveness in the current investigation.  Turns out that Bodaway had let go of the lieutenant whose body was discovered last week shortly after Malcolm escaped.  Oh, by the way, the lieutenant was killed before Malcolm disappeared, so we have his murderer running around still (presumably anyway).

Henry told Siobhan that either she give up her revenge idea or they split up.  While she seems to have dropped the idea, she definitely still wants to kill Bridget given the fact that she was fantasizing about it.  And yes, that was what was in the previews.  Should have expected it, but missed that somehow.  I did figure it out right before they revealed it, but it shouldn't have taken that long.  Oh well.

Speaking of Henry, his father-in-law has promised to take care of the information on the flash drive.  And he turned Henry into the cops for the murder of Tyler Barrett.  Not sure how he connected those dots though.  Can't wait to see that reveal.

Next week, Bridget tells Machado about the attempts on her life and figures out that someone close to her wants her dead....

My Review of The Secret Circle 1.17- Curse

Adam and Cassie face the fallout from a curse, Faye finds out what Eva did to Lee, Charles and Dawn team up again, and John Blackwell has something up his sleeve...

I have to say that seeing all of those dead birds around the house after Cassie and Adam slept together was weird.  I mean, I know sex sells, but I can't say I've heard of sex killing (ok, Angel is the exception).  That whole curse story was very believable and the curse on Jake was good reinforcement.  I hope Blackwell truly did not know that the potion would have no effect on Cassie.  The fact that he interfered as bad as he did was bad enough, but if he purposely hurt Cassie that badly, he would be beyond the pale.  What is it about the union of the Conants and Blakes that scares him so much?  He interfered with Amelia/Ethan and Cassie/Adam.  Is the joining of two powerful houses of white magic what scares him or is it something else?  The other interesting fact to come out is that Blackwell still has some magic (apparently sans crystal) but not as much as he once had, and not enough to protect Cassie from the witch hunters.  Now that Dawn knows about the witch hunters, will the adults and kids team up for protection?

When Eva was woken with Faye's powers, it apparently also made her mentally unbalanced, hence the actions of last week and then again this week when she tried to kill Faye.  I have to admire Faye for going after the truth about Lee.  She is also a good, quick thinker which was helpful.  It sucks for her that Lee is dead.  I wonder what she's going to do?

That scene where it was revealed to the Circle that Adam and Cassie slept together was actually funny and uncomfortable at the same time.  Faye's totally inappropriate humour was truly funny and snarky.  The look on Diana's face made it incredibly uncomfortable.  She was so hurt by what happened.  I hope she gets things sorted out with Cassie and Adam.

I am worried about Charles.  Why did he restore Cassie's grandmother's memories?  Isn't that dangerous to him and Dawn?  Is taking out John Blackwell worth the risks he is running?

Next week, a confrontation between the Circle and the witch hunters....

My Review of The Vampire Diaries 3.17- Break On Through

Elena gets Alaric some help, Stefan works on his control, Damon has a reunion with Sage and discovers what Rebekah has been asking around about, and Caroline helps Bonnie and Abby out.

Well, we got to see Alaric's evil side and it was not pretty.  Turns out he wasn't just going after people who he saw as a threat to Meredith, but he was going after members of the Council who were not tough enough on vampires.  So why did he stab himself?  I am guessing it is either because of his friendship with Damon or the result of some sort of battle between his two selves.  In the past he has controlled his dark side by hunting vampires (after a violent start) but the rung brought it out even further so he could no longer control it.  Fortunately, Bonnie had a spell to help suppress dark desires and was able to help him.  He has to continue taking herbs twice a day.  Didn't say for how long, but I am guessing it will be for life.  So now, he is under "house arrest light" apparently with Damon acting as the jailer.

Speaking of Damon, he let himself get led around by his head.  And I ain't talking about the one with the pretty eyes.  Sage knew how to manipulate him and did so masterfully.  I wonder if she planned the whole thing with Rebekah or she went to Rebekah after finding out what Damon was planning.  Fortunately for our heroes, Damon somehow figured out what was going on and managed to save the sign for the Wickery Bridge that was made out of the white oak that will kill the Originals.  One question: I thought it was a white *ASH* tree that would kill the Originals?  Am I misremembering?  Oh, and one more thing.  I want to thank the writers for the extended scenes of Damon in a towel!  :-)

Stefan is apparently getting better at control.  It seems like he can control his impulses if he has something else to focus on outside of himself (i.e. Elena).  However, if he does not have something else to focus on, the blood becomes an all-consuming passion.  That is just an interesting note because it implies that his blood problem is not strictly speaking an addiction, but more in the nature of a coping mechanism.  It was definitely nice to see Stefan and Elena together for the investigation.  I do wish Elena would lighten up on Stefan.  He is a vampire and does need blood.  Granted, Damon's methods aren't kosher, but neither are the problems, so let the boys solve their own issues.

Watching Caroline be a mentor was neat.  She has grown up and matured so much since she was changed.  She managed to get Jamie to interact with Abby, helped Abby learn control, and helped Bonnie and Elena reunite.  She is really a cool character and majorly underutilized.  It was also nice to see Bonnie flirting with Jamie.  Seeing her laugh and enjoy herself was very nice to see.

I so want to smack Abby around for abandoning Bonnie again.  I get that the incident with Jamie freaked her out and that she has no idea how to be a mom, but Bonnie is a good girl and Abby would be ok.

It was also nice to see Jeremy again.  That note from Alaric to continue the mission was chilling and the fact that Jeremy has died several times with the ring is not good.  I wonder when he'll be back.

Next week, Damon and Stefan arm everyone for war....

My Review of Ringer 1.18- That Woman's Never Been a Victim Her Entire Life

Juliet and Bridget have a talk, Machado has a talk with Andrew and Bridget, Henry has a talk with his father-in-law, we find out what happened to Tyler, and Siobhan nearly has a talk with Andrew....

Siobhan had a bad day.  Henry was convinced that she had hired someone to kill Bridget and demanded that she get out of his house and his life.  So, she decided to reveal all to Andrew.  Henry stopped her and they made up only to have him drop the bomb that he was the one who killed Tyler (accidentally) and that he gave the flash drive to his father-in-law so that he could get out of Martin Charles.  Sorry girl, you just got screwed.  What are you going to do now?  Beg for the flash drive back?  Maybe Henry's father-in-law will send the flash drive to the SEC and bring down Martin Charles for you.

Bridget had a day that was a little better.  She knows for sure that Andrew loves her because he jumped in front of a bullet for her.  That is about it for the good news.  Malcolm is still missing, Juliet told her about the plan from her mom, and Machado thinks that Macawi was behind the disappearance of Malcolm and the shot at Bridget.  His reason?  Macawi doesn't know about Siobhan and thinks that "Siobhan" is Bridget!  Talk about irony!  Oh, and the other reason that Machado thinks that Macawi is behind the events?  One of his chief lieutenants was discovered dead and buried in a park with Malcolm's wallet and ID near by.  I wonder how much longer until Bridget reveals what Juliet and Catherine did.  I hope Andrew will forgive Juliet because she was ripe for manipulation when she made that deal with her mom.

At last we get to see Machado as a decent FBI agent.  He has been on the sidelines and unobservant for too long, it is nice to see that he is in fact competent.  He did a good job chasing the guy who shot Andrew, divided up the investigation well, is putting the dots together well.  The only thing he is still missing is that he has not yet realized (despite numerous small slips) that Bridget is masquerading as Siobhan.  Granted, no one else has figured it out either, but I would expect him to be a bit more observant.

I guess when you get down to it, that is my only beef with the show.  Why has no one figured out that Bridget is masquerading as "Siobhan"?  There has been a complete personality change and no one is suspicious?  I know, it is necessary for the show, but you'd think that at some point people would figure it out.  After all, it's not like we're dealing with someone who has emotional issues or is a teenage hormone bomb with the emotional fluctuations to match.  Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.

Next week, Bridget and Siobhan (apparently) have a face-to-face meeting....

Until then!