TV Viewing Schedule- Fall 2012

My shows for the fall.  New shows marked with an asterisk.

Sunday

8- Once Upon a Time (ABC)
9- Revenge (ABC)
10- 666 Park Avenue (ABC)*

Monday

8- Bones (Fox), 90210 (CW)
9- The Mob Doctor (Fox)*, Gossip Girl (CW)
10- Revolution (NBC)*

Tuesday

8- Hart of Dixie (CW)
9- Emily Owens, M.D. (CW)*
10- Vegas (CBS)*

Wednesday

8- Arrow (CW)*
9- Supernatural (CW)

Thursday

8- Last Resort (ABC)*, Vampire Diaries (CW)
9- Glee (Fox), Beauty and the Beast (CW)*
10- Scandal (ABC), Elementary (CBS)*

Friday

8- Touch (Fox)
9- Fringe (Fox), Nikita (CW)

My Review of The Secret Circle 1.22 SERIES FINALE- Family

Eben closes in on the Circle as they try to figure out how to rescue Faye, Charles and Dawn take steps to help, Blackwell's plans are revealed, and a witch makes a major sacrifice....

Notice that I didn't say the *ULTIMATE* sacrifice, just a major one.  Charles, after getting magical power again, took the demons from Eben into himself and then threw himself into the river to avoid being a danger to the Circle or to anyone else.  While the Circle thinks he is dead, he was in fact taken by his mother who carved the symbols to contain the demons in him, so he is now catatonic with demons.  Mid season finale plot point anyone?

Blackwell's plans were diabolical.  He planned to use the crystal skull to kill all non-Balcoin witches, call his 4 other children to Chance Harbor, and start a Balcoin Circle.  Again, not a good thing.  And the steps Cassie took to stop him, while necessary, weren't nice either.  After they reassembled the skull, Blackwell imprisoned Cassie and Diana in a magic circle.  To get them out, Cassie attacked Diana magically, forcing Diana's black magic to the surface in order to force both of them out of the magic circle.  Cassie then took the skull and tried to reverse the magic to kill Blackwell.  It worked once she got an assist from Diana.  They then decided to get rid of the skull and entrusted it to Adam's care figuring that as the purest member of the Circle, he would be uncontaminated by its black magic.  They were wrong though.....

It was nice to see Jake and Melissa working together to rescue Faye.  As a part of reassembling the skull, Cassie and Diana unbound the Circle, thus giving each Circle member back their solo magic, which Faye discovered and used with relish.  But they were not powerful enough to stop Eben.  It took a newly re-empowered Dawn to rescue them after Charles took the demons into himself.  And the magic the adults can do with a wave of their hands is interesting.  Wonder how things will change now that everyone is on the same page.

Diana has left Chance Harbor with Grant, Adam is fondling the skull, Jake received a disturbing note along with a necklace from his grandfather, Blackwell is dead, Charles is in a coma, Faye and Melissa are enjoying their powers again, and Cassie is left all alone.  Next season will be interesting...

My Review of The Vampire Diaries 3.22 SEASON FINALE- The Departed

Wow, that was totally intense with a one twist that I saw coming only a little before it was revealed and one that I *NEVER* saw coming.

Alaric is dead.  We know he's dead because Jeremy saw his ghost.  So obviously Elena died too.  But in the process, a question I asked last week was answered.  If Elena is killed but turns into a vampire, would Alaric die?  And the answer is yes.  When she collapsed last week, Elena's brain was hemorrhaging.  In order to keep her alive, Meredith gave her vampire blood.  When Elena died after running off of the bridge to avoid Rebekah (more on that later), she died in the water, but still had vampire blood in her system and revived as a vampire.  At least, apparently.  Given the fact that Bonnie is a powerful witch, is it possible that Bonnie revived her before the vampire blood could change her?  That is an intriguing question that will be answered next season I am sure.

Klaus' body is destroyed.  Note that Klaus himself is not dead.  Bonnie decided to put his essence into Tyler's body.  I am not sure why she did it, but she did.  This explains why none of our vampires died despite being from his line.  I wonder how long it will take Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol to figure it out.  The other question is how long will Klaus be able to stay in control?  Is this like when Esther possessed Rebekah?  Or is it something more permanent?  It would be very interesting next season to see if somehow Tyler and Klaus end up fighting for control of Tyler's body.

You knew that the deal with Elijah was going to go badly because they always do.  Elijah promised Elena that if he, Rebekah, and Kol were given Klaus' body, they would disappear and would not bother Mystic Falls again.  Well, they didn't get Klaus' body because of Alteric and so Rebekah decided to rid the world of Alteric by killing Elena.  So, when Elena and Matt were driving back to Mystic Falls to say goodbye to Stefan (due to his being of Klaus' bloodline), she stood on the bridge and Matt swerved to avoid her and ended in the river.  Wonder how the siblings will react to what Bonnie did.  We know that Caroline will be unhappy (and that is putting it mildly) and my assumption is that the rest of the gang will be unhappy as well.

Elena finally made a choice.  She chose Stefan over Damon.  Because she met Stefan first (actually not, but more on that in a sec) and pretty much bonded to him, she chose him, but she did tell Damon that she cared for him.  Sucked for Damon, particularly since she actually met Damon first but he compelled her to forget about their meeting.  Would that have made a difference in her choice?  Possibly.  She acknowledged that Damon made her feel powerful and primal, but Stefan makes her feel complete, hence her choice.  Other interesting question:  Whose blood did Meredith use?  If it was Damon's, will that affect how Elena feels?

Loved the flashback scenes with Aunt Jenna and Elena's parents.  It was nice to see Aunt Jenna again.

Poor Jeremy, he's lost 2 girlfriends, his parents, his aunt, the second father figure in his life, and now his sister to vampires.  And he is in danger of mental instability because of the ring and the fact that he has died.  We're talking *ISSUES* here people.

Well, until next season....

My Review of The Secret Circle 1.21- Prom

Cassie and Diana discover secrets about their fathers and the last crystal piece, Jake and Melissa have very different reactions to the news that Nick is alive, and Eben returns....

Cassie discovered that Blackwell not only got her mom and Diana's mom pregnant, but he also used magic to ensure that the other members of the Circle would conceive children as well.  This news did not sit well with Diana.  Turns out that Amelia was the one who brought Blackwell into the Circle in the first place.  Like mother, like daughter.  Also alike are Diana and her mother.  Both (accurately) blame the Blake girls for bringing Blackwell into the Circle.  The last piece of the crystal was placed in the trophy case at the school, placed there by Adam's grandfather so that Amelia could retrieve it if she wanted to.

Diana discovered that Charles killed Amelia after Blackwell used magic to make him think that Amelia was getting revenge because he killed her.  After all of Diana's fulminating against Blackwell for what he has done, discovering that her dad killed Cassie's mom was too much and she left him and ended up crying on Grant's shoulder.  Not a good day for the half-sisters.

Melissa also had a bad day.  First, she discovers that her boyfriend is back from the dead but is not the same as he was.  Then Jake yells at her because he is trying to deal with what is going on himself.  Finally, she is forced to kill Nick in order to save Jake's life.  Life sucks sometimes.

Whoever is feeding Eben power is powerful.  He was able to take on Blackwell without breaking a sweat.  And he now has Faye as his prisoner.  Fortunately, the Circle has the final crystal piece.  Unfortunately, it is currently in Blackwell's hands.

Next week, season finale.

My Review of The Vampire Diaries 3.21- Before Sunset

Alteric makes an impressive debut, Elena figures out how to kill Alteric, Klaus makes a move on Elena, Tyler reveals that the sire bond is gone, and Bonnie replicates the vampire dessication spell which has consequences that the gang was unaware of....

Alteric is really, really badass.  He took apart Stefan, Klaus, and Damon without breaking a sweat; would have staked Rebekah if Caroline hadn't surprised him; and he knows the group well enough to be able to totally get in their heads and mess with them.  That strength, more than any of the physical attributes, are what make him so dangerous.  He is totally psychotic and convinced that he is completely sane.  Not a good combination.  He does have a weakness though.  Alteric will only live as long as Elena does.  Because a witch cannot create a truly immortal creature, there must always be a way to destroy them.  In the case of the Originals, the white ash tree was the method of destruction.  In the case of Alteric, his life was tied to Elena's, so if she dies, then he does as well.  Which leads to an interesting question: could Stefan or Damon kill Elena and turn her into a vampire?  Since she would have to die to be a vampire, would that be enough to kill Alteric?

Poor Elena, everyone wants her, and not all in pleasant ways.  She has both of the Salvatore brothers after her (and she does need to choose), Klaus wants her in order to retain the ability to keep making hybrids, and Alteric wants her in order to lure Klaus in.  Thank goodness she has acknowledged that she is not being fair to the Salvatores, but she gives a very solid rationale for what she is doing.  Basically, she doesn't want to lose anyone else from her life and she knows that if she chooses one, she will more than likely lose the other and she doesn't want to lose either one.  I appreciate that the brothers are not pressuring her to choose one of them.  Even Caroline; who is pretty hardcore Stelena; isn't forcing the issue, she is just gently reminding her that a choice must be made at some point.  When Klaus discovers that Elena is what is keeping Alteric going, he decides that he will sacrifice Elena so long as he can get her blood in order to make some hybrids.  Nice guy, huh?

But Klaus is not going to get a chance to make the hybrids.  Bonnie went to Abby to get the dessication spell that was used on Mikael.  Abby revealed that the spell stops the vampires heart, but in order for the balance to be maintained, a human heart must be stopped as well.  So Jeremy immediately volunteers to be the human volunteer since it is his sister who is being helped.  Damon is worried about another split personality if Jeremy dies while wearing the ring, but Jeremy insists that he trusts Bonnie to bring him back before he dies.  The spell requires that Klaus, Damon, and Stefan drink Bonnie's blood in order to be linked to her and that they be linked to the target (Alteric) by his blood in order for Bonnie to do the spell properly.  Alteric manages to take down both Stefan and Damon.  Although Klaus gets the link started Alteric breaks the connection and tosses Klaus around like a rag doll.  Ultimately, when the gang realizes what Klaus is doing to Elena, Stefan and Damon (with some help from Tyler) attack Klaus in order to allow Bonnie to use the spell on him.  Bye-bye Klaus.  Not permanently, I am sure, but at least for a little.

I loved the little celebration at the end.  They get so little to celebrate about that I am glad they celebrated the little victory they got here.   I also found it interesting that Damon and Stefan both agreed to leave if Elena chose the other.  Their bond seems to be strong, which is a good thing.  And why did Elena collapse at the end?  Oh, and what is Alteric going to do with the council now?  Nothing good I am sure....

My Review of The Secret Circle 1.20- Traitor

The identity of the traitor is apparently revealed (and it's a doozy!), Charles finds out about Diana and confronts Blackwell, Jake contacts the witch hunters, and Adam and Melisa find out how to get their hands on the final crystal.

The traitor is apparently....NICK!  I got it about 30 seconds before the reveal when Jake found the picture of his parents.  It was a shock that I literally lost my breath over.  Having Nick be the traitor (assuming he is) is perfect.  He was possessed by a demon and died, so if he came back he might not be the same person he was before.  This will also throw the Circle into chaos.  Melisa has finally gotten to a good place after Nick's death and Jake has firmly settled himself into the Circle.  If Nick comes back, this will throw the Circle out of balance.  Although I hate to even speculate about this, I do have to wonder if Jake is the real traitor and somehow brought Nick back to throw the Circle off balance.  Even worse, did Blackwell bring Nick back for some obscure purpose?  There is no way to be sure at this point, so we'll just have to be patient.

Diana is not adjusting well to the knowledge that Blackwell is her father.  I get it, her entire world is turned on its head and she needs adjustment time.  Can't say I was fond of the way she talked to Cassie though.  Is killing wrong?  On the whole, yes.  But there are times when killing is necessary.  Self defense, defense of others, or war are all instances where killing someone else is not wrong.  These are really the only times when Cassie has ever killed someone.  I think what is going on with Diana is that she is grasping at the one thing that is still solid and real in her life, her sense of right and wrong.  Unfortunately, she is letting this make her see the world in black and white, but there are shades of gray out there that need to be acknowledged.  I do admire that she sees the world this way, but it is dangerous because if she slips sometime, it may send her down a dark, dark path that will make her infinitely more dangerous than either Blackwell or Cassie.

Speaking of Cassie, that poor girl had a tough week.  Her grandmother is dead and she believes that the witch hunters did it.  She kissed the boy she loves, even though she is supposed to have gotten rid of those feelings.  Her half-sister is scared of her and hates her father.  Life just sort of sucks right now.

Charles attacking Blackwell was not the brightest maneuver.  And I was wrong in what I said last week, Charles did not know about the affair.  Huh.  I have to say that I am surprised about that.  His hatred is so strong that I was sure he knew.  At least he reaffirmed his unconditional love for Diana.  She needs that even if it will mean more later than it does now.  And leaving may not be a good idea.  I don't see Blackwell allowing it, particularly if Diana is necessary for his plan (whatever it is) to work.

Watching Adam and Melisa together was fun.  These two don't hang out much together, so watching them take the opportunity allowed us to see a different side of both of them.  That cloaking spell was neat, as was Melisa's line about Adam's grandfather using the spell to cloak his girlie magazines.  Oh, and the crystal?  It's at the school somewhere.

Not sure if contacting Isaac was the brightest idea that Jake has ever had.  Not an awful idea, but still, not the best.  At least it told them who the traitor was and gave him time with Faye, which is always fun to see.  I also loved Faye's quips about the Blackwell sisters or Super Powered Black Twins.  Those were truly amusing.

Until next week!

My Review of the Vampire Diaries 3/20- Do Not Go Gentle

Esther makes Alaric into the ultimate vampire hunter, Elena continues to waver between the brothers, and Tyler and Caroline confront the possibilities....

Esther has made Alaric into a vampire.  He will apparently be the only vampire who will not die when the Originals are killed because he is a new bloodline.  He has also been given the single remaining white ash stake which has been made indestructible by melting his ring and binding its magic to the stake.  Esther means business.  She recreated the original spell for a one time use.  Interestingly enough, she somehow altered the spell so that Alaric would have enough energy to kill hunt down and kill the Originals, and once he accomplishes that task, he will die.  All in all, Esther is not the white hat in this story.  She is so obsessed with destroying her children and their progeny that she has lost sight that not all vampires are inherently evil.  They may be unnatural, but they are not all evil.  Take Stefan (or even Damon!) for example.  Both brothers are good.  Are there bad vampires?  Yes, that is definitively true, but Esther is trying to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

While she is trying to destroy her children, she also hurts other people.  She used magic on Elena to cut her and get her blood for Alaric in order to cast the spell.  She has manipulated Alaric so that Alteric is now in the driver's seat.  She almost killed both Matt and Jeremy by making them point their weapons at each other when they were trying to protect Elena.  And she took control of Bonnie in order to get her to Alaric to feed him so that the transition would be completed when he didn't want to complete it.  Not sure who is worse, an admittedly evil creature like Klaus or a deluded person like Esther.  I think I'd go with the latter.

Speaking of Bonnie, can't say I am fond of her right now.,  I get that she is upset at Damon and Stefan for what happened to her mother, but Damon is right, would Bonnie rather have lost Elena?  I also get that Bonnie hates vampires because of what happened to her grandmother.  I guess I just am not fond of her attitude right now.  Elena has lost more than Bonnie has.  Her mother and father are dead, her aunt was turned into a vampire and then sacrificed by Klaus, her guardian has been killed in front of her eyes, and she was forced to send her brother away for his own protection, yet she continues to work with vampires to do what needs to be done.  Is it always easy?  No, but she can still do it.

Watching Tyler and Caroline was interesting.  He had to pretend that the sire bond was still functioning properly by allowing Caroline to dance with Klaus.  He is also willing to sacrifice himself by helping to destroy Klaus if it is necessary.  To be honest, I didn't think that Tyler could be that selfless, so color me impressed.

Elena still has a choice to make.  She loves Stefan with an epic, pure love but she also loves Damon with a more wild, chaotic, and passionate love.  She will have to make a choice soon.  Fortunately, Stefan seems to be not putting her in a position where it will be uncomfortable if she does not choose him.  He knows that he has hurt her dreadfully and knows that she and Damon have gotten closer.  He refuses to hear details yet, wanting Elena to choose him before she tells him.  And Damon is refusing to do anything to force Elena closer to him or further away from him.  Wonder who she'll choose.  I can't choose myself because I do think that either would be good for her in different ways.  So, I'll just wait and see.

Until next week!