Saturday, February 6, 2016

My Review of The Originals 3.11- Wild at Heart

Klaus tries to help Cami adjust to being a vampire, Aya has proposals for both Davina and Elijah, Hayley mourns for Jackson, and an old face returns…

My first question is how the hell did Marcel pass that test?  At first, I thought maybe he switched the cards, but given the fact that the vampire Aya killed was plotting against her, I find that unlikely.  I am wondering if the witches are sensing that he is truly loyal to Klaus and wants to take out the weapon that could kill his sire or if he has truly sided with the Strix.  I am really hoping it is the former because I don’t want to see him turn into one of the Strix.

Aya’s proposal for Davina was an interesting one.  Aya would make Davina a part of the Strix’s coven and, in exchange, would give her power and a spell to resurrect Kol, which is what Davina wants the most.  Davina is certainly in a low place because of the shunning, so between that and the offer to bring Kol back, Davina has got to be tempted.  She is also used to having power, so that has to be a factor too.  The thing I am wondering about is that Davina spent all of last season protesting that she didn’t want to get mixed up in vampire of Mikaelson business again, so I am wondering if she would put that aside.  I suspect she will, but it is a consideration.

As for her offer to Elijah, that was crucial.  I do wonder what the witch saw in Elijah’s head that was so bad that Elijah would kill her.  Was it worse than anything we’ve seen from him so far?  Or is it just something we know that his siblings don’t know, like the fact that he is the one who daggered Rebekah?  I just wish that his efforts to distract Klaus from Cami had worked better.

The problem is that Klaus is genuinely trying to help Cami, but she is refusing to take the help.  I know that Klaus is not the paragon of good vampire behavior, but he does know how to remain more or less invisible to the human world if he wants to and that is something Cami needs to learn.  Yes, she can compel humans to forget what she does to them, but if Klaus hadn’t stopped her, she would have killed that girl.  Cami’s problem is that she is completely out of whack from what happened to her.  Learning from Klaus is not a horrible idea.  I know Hayley rejected Klaus’ help, but Hayley also has always had much better control of herself than Cami has, probably because she was a werewolf first.

Stealing the one weapon that can kill the Originals did not do anything to endear Cami to Klaus and Elijah.  While it may be effective leverage, she is quickly alienating everyone around her.  I think the biggest problem is that she knows everyone well enough (and has psychological training) that she can get in their heads and twist everything around.  I’m sorry, but she was deliberately cruel to Hayley, who was only trying to help her out.  Was she right?  Sure, but it was still really cruel to say.  Hayley is dealing with enough crap without having Cami pile on her too.  I do wonder why Klaus never thought to compel Cami in order to have her do what he wants.  I am sure that he wants her to learn on her own, but compelling her at first might not be the worst thing to do, particularly given how completely out of control she is.

It was really cool to have Josh back.  I would love to have him on more and hope he finds a good guy to love.  He really deserves it.

Until next week!

My Review of The Vampire Diaries 7.11- Things We Lost In the Fire

We get a glimpse of future Matt, Damon and Stefan continue to suffer from their time in the Phoenix Stone, Mystic Falls has new residents, and Caroline throws a baby shower.

First, let’s tackle future Matt.  He’s teamed with the Huntress, aka the woman who has been hunting the Salvatores in the future.  Apparently, the sword the Phoenix Stone goes in was created for her and if you are marked by it, she will stop at nothing to hunt you down.  She has also been hunting the Heretics, presumably that being connected to Julian being in the Stone.  Future Matt is a very hard guy.  Given the crap he’s been through in the past several years, I can’t say I’m surprised.  He’s lost so many people to vampires and he has reason enough to hate them.  He puts up with the Salvatores because they are friends of his friends and Caroline is his friend, so she seems to get a pass.  I should say that the Salvatores WERE put up with.  Given that he is hunting them (and used Caroline as bait!) with the Huntress, something major happened to complete his turn to vampire hunter.  He said something about a girlfriend, who may be the deputy who arrested him.  We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Damon is so not in a good place right now.  Assuming that what we saw is real (which is a questionable assumption), he burned Elena’s body.  As if he weren’t already disturbed enough, having her gone is going to send him completely over the edge.  I do have to say that I would be completely shocked if Elena’s body is actually gone.  Tyler promised Damon to keep everyone (especially Damon) away from Elena, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Tyler had a fake Elena or two stashed around somewhere to keep people from the real Elena.  I also have to say that I am finding Tyler much more tolerable in small doses than as a main character.  So bring him back periodically and that is cool with me.

Stefan is having his own issues with coming out of the Stone.  He is feeling guilty because he had to let Damon go before he could leave the Stone.  I can remember a time when he would have gladly complied with that idea.  He just needs to realize that he can’t save Damon from himself.  While I do love Damon, he is incredibly self-destructive.  I think that the two brothers need some time away from each other in order to get their own lives straightened out separately.

Matt and Bonnie on vampire containment duty could be interesting.  They are the two who hate vampires the most, although Bonnie does exhibit more patience with them than Matt does.  Watching Bonnie be friends with Nora is interesting.  Watching them is sort of like watching Elena and Damon from the first couple of seasons.  The human (ok, non-vampire) is trying to help the vampire fit in and be a better being.  I hope they continue to keep this up.

How long was Damon trapped in the Stone?  Stefan said weeks, but that is a lot of vampires to move in over such a relatively short period of time.  When the Heretics moved in, the humans were evacuated and Mystic Falls was quarantined.  Was that lifted at some point or are the vampires just bringing humans in?

Until next week!

Friday, February 5, 2016

My Review of DC's Legends of Tomorrow 1.03- Blood Ties

Hunter and Sara go after Carter's body, Ray and Stein try and save Kendra, and Snart tries to change his past.

You have to feel sorry for Snart.  He tried so hard to change his past to make sure that his father wouldn't end up in jail and his dad ended up in jail anyway, so nothing changed.  For a bit I was wondering if Snart may simply have been reliving something that already happened, and would end up not giving the emerald to his dad.  Sadly, that wasn't the case and he was unable to save his father from himself and he, his mom, and his sister ended up with an abusive father anyway.  Changing a past event, as Barry showed on The Flash, is not a good idea because the timeline can come along and bite you on the ass.  The problem with messing with time is that there are some people who can't change who they are without some major pressure to change.  Snart's dad didn't have that pressure, so he didn't change.  Snart, on the other hand, wants to change and has people around who can help him.   He'll never be a good guy like Barry, but he can be a better person, which is all that can be asked of anyone.  I just hope he does what he can.

You have to admire what Stein did for Ray.  He lied through his teeth, but it was a harmless lie for a good cause, so that was a good thing.  Ray needed the morale boost and Stein gave it to him.  The two of them have a really interesting relationship.  Both are tremendously smart and have rather large egos, so when you put the two of them together, it is really funny.

It was a great thing that Sara invited herself to go along with Rip.  She is trained in observation and noticed things that Rip completely missed, like the fact that their cover at the bank was completely blown.  Unfortunately for her, the bloodlust can still assert itself.  I just hope she doesn't have the same issue Thea is having right now.  Given how she was stabbing her knife around the guys head at the end rather than beating him to a pulp or something, I would say she has a decent amount of control over the bloodlust.  She is absolutely not a monster.  Dangerous?  Yes.  The thing is that she has more control over herself, particularly when she is paying attention to what is going on.  I think that part of the reason she lost control is that she let herself be completely absorbed in fighting the people at the bank.  I am wondering if there is anything she can't fight in.  She fought in a formal dress (with a big slit) and a skirt tonight, which is pretty rare.  Up to now, she normally wears pants, presumably to give herself more freedom of movement.

I find it interesting that Rip Hunter had already traveled to the past to try and kill Savage.  And he made enough of an impression that Savage's followers know about him and can recognize him on sight.  I am hoping that Hunter starts to trust the gang more.  He pulled them together, but he doesn't seem to want to work with them.  He seems to be changing that attitude, which is a good thing.  Although they are a wildly disparate bunch, they pull together nicely when needed.

Even without becoming Firestorm, Jax can still do a good job fighting.  It shouldn't be surprising that he is using football type maneuvers to fight (tackles, etc.), but it was still interesting to see.  I just hope they flesh him out a bit.  So far, he has been the one member of the group who has been used the least.  Well, him and Rory.  I am impressed that he could repair the ship even though it was from the future.  Maybe Hunter should start using him when the ship needs fixing.

I do want to know how exactly Kendra knew what was going on at the ceremony Savage and his followers were.  Was it her connection to Carter or something else?  I really hope they explain.

Until next week!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

My Review of Teen Wolf 5.15- Amplification

The gang finds out what is happening to Lydia and plans a rescue but events and Theo's pack intervenes, another adult starts to make their way into the secret, and we find out something interesting about Dr. Valack....

Is Dr. Valack one of the Dread Doctors or can he just create them?  I guess neither could be true, but given that he put a Dread Doctor mask on that nurse, I really think it is one or the other.  Couple the mask with his propensity for experimentation on supernatural creatures and I really think he is connected to the Dread Doctors somehow.  I want to suggest that he is the Beast and he is controlling the Dread Doctors.  The hole in his forehead has disappeared and he dresses in a very old fashioned manner, much like the Doctors.  We have also never seen him anywhere near the Beast, which could indicate that he is it.  Deaton said that drilling holes in the heads of supernatural creatures amplifies their abilities, so he could have used everything to turn himself into a chimera and then the Beast.  The chimeras aren't affect by any normal supernatural deterrents like mountain ash, so he could still slip in and out of eichen House without any issues.  Also, Parrish didn't turn into the Hellhound until Valack got close to Lydia.  That could have been because Lydia is in trouble, but if Valack is the Beast, Parrish probably sensed the presence of his enemy and reacted.

Speaking of amplification, Lydia and everyone around her is in trouble.  As Deaton mentioned, she is already extraordinarily powerful, so drilling that hole in her head will amplify powers that are already highly charged.  Since banshees scream in order to clear their heads and since their voice can also be a weapon, an out-of-control Lydia could easily kill people all around her if she screamed a supercharged scream while trying to clear her head of all the deaths she would be sensing.  Just remember how far her voice has carried in the past.  When Jennifer was holding her in the school, her scream could be heard by every supernatural creature in Beacon Hills.  Magnify that and the potential for destruction is epic.  We are talking about destruction on a level that is almost unimaginable.  Given that she can use her voice as a weapon, could she team up with Parrish to defeat the Beast?  If her voice is amplified and that potential for destruction controlled and directed, I am not sure if even the Beast could stand up to it.  Just a thought.

Scott and Siles' plan to rescue Lydia wasn't awful,, but it was too reliant on everything going their way.  Kira can barely control her powers, so making her the crux of the plan was not smart.  I appreciate that Scott is trying to bolster her self-confidence. but she is so scared of her own abilities that this was not smart.  Watching Liam reluctantly agree with Scott and the Malia's complete inability to convincingly say that she believed in Kira was funny.  Malia is not a good liar, so relying on her for something like boosting someone's confidence is just not a good idea.  I do have to admire that she did manage to pull through for Kira when she really needed it.  Watching Malia make the case for sticking around to save someone else does show a large amount of growth over where she was during season 4 when she was ready to leave everyone behind in Mexico when things looked rough.  So that is good.

Scott's call to the rest of the pack when he and Liam were under assault was just cool.  That is the type of roar he used when he broke through the barrier to get at Jennifer, so I would not be surprised if he managed to break through the barrier to get to Lydia.  The only issue is that, as he said, there is more than a simple barrier like he faced with Jennifer.  Eichen House is chock full of mountain ash which means he may very well have to fight for every step.  On the other hand, when he broke through the barrier to get at Jennifer, he did dispel the barrier, so it is possible that breaking through could break the power of the mountain ash and make it easier for him and the rest of the pack to get to Lydia.

What I do find interesting that that Parrish was able to get to the isolation wing easily.  Are hellhounds immune to the effects of mountain ash?  Given that they are guardians of the supernatural, they may be able to pass through things that hold back most other supernatural creatures.  It is also possible that he had not run into mountain ash yet, so we may not know how hellhounds are affected by mountain ash.

Methinks Lydia's mom is about to get incontrovertible proof that the supernatural exists.  She arrives at Eichen House when it goes int lockdown, so she is probably going to be confronted by one of the packs or the Dread Doctors.  She is smart and could be useful to the gang as another adult in on the secret.  I just hope she doesn't try and convince herself that anything she sees is something its not.

Next week, the gang tries to escape from Eichen House as Kira loses control of her abilities.  Until then!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

My Review of The Fosters 3.12- Mixed Messages

Brandon and Callie get a scare, Stef weighs her options, Mariana and Lexi have words, and Jesus shows some definite strain....

Brandon and Callie really need to get on the same page.  I thought that after their talk on the way back from Mexico last season that Brandon would stop blaming Callie for everything, but there he goes again.  <eyes rolling>  Dude really needs to learn to take the credit for his own mistakes.  Did he and Callie think that she wouldn't be adopted when they slept together?  Yes.  Callie had just helped Rita and was under the impression that she would be turned in for kissing Brandon, which would destroy her chance at adoption.  Were they wrong?  Well, yeah, but that doesn't make what they thought at the time any less real.  They really need to figure out how to coexist and be friends, because that is when they are at their best.  They know each other well enough to push each other when needed.  Unfortunately, they also know how to hurt each other tremendously.  At this point, I really don't think that anything can undo the adoption (thought I could be wrong), so they just need to acknowledge that they made a mistake and move on.

That woman working with Callie still creeps me out.  She is trying to make Callie into a spokesperson for foster kids, which isn't the worst idea, but there is something about the way she is doing it that gives me the heebie jeebies.  Her idea about showing kids in the foster system that they can come out the other side better is not a horrible idea in and of itself, but there is something almost manipulative about her.  I really can't put my finger on what is so freaky, but there is definitely something.  Callie needs to be very careful, because this woman may try and get Callie to do things that are not in Callie's best interest.

If that driving scene with Jesus is any sort of indication, he has PTSD (or something) and is trying to cover it up.  I'm just worried that he'll keep trying to do something stupid in order to prove that he doesn't have any issues from the crash and will end up hurting himself or someone else.  Unfortunately, Jesus is one of those guys who is always trying to prove how masculine he is and just does dumb things.  Add that to the impulsivity from his ADHD and you have a recipe for trouble.  I can practically guarantee you that he won't try and talk with anyone, even Mariana, about what is going on in his head and that will only be trouble.

In that respect, he takes after Stef.  I am going to come right out and say that I agree with Lena.  Absent some serious proof that something as radical as a mastectomy or hysterectomy is absolutely necessary, I don't think they should be done.  I am so not a believer in the idea of a mastectomy as a prophylactic measure.  That being said, it is her body and she needs to be the one to make the decision after getting the facts.  I hated that her mom was trying to manipulate her into having a mastectomy right away, even before cancer was actually detected.  I know it is a bit freaky, I myself have had several precancerous polyps removed during a colonoscopy, so I get it.  At this point, she isn't sick and there isn't anything that desperately needs to be taken care of, if I understand what Lena was saying correctly.  That note at the end was worrisome.  A BRCA gene mutation does put you in a much higher risk category for developing breast or ovarian cancer, but it is not a guarantee that it will happen.  I just hope that Stef actually talks with Lena or a doctor about what is going on and takes the time (which she has) to make a well-informed decision absent any sort of emotional pressure or blackmail like her mom tried to used tonight.

I get that Lexi is feeling left behind, but I think it behooves us to remember that *SHE* gave Jesus permission to date other people before she left.  Yes, he did say that he wouldn't, but that doesn't change the fact that Emma didn't "steal" Jesus from Lexi, Jesus chose to break up with Lexi because of the distance.  Using the whole thing as a chance to lash out at Mariana was really small of her.  Sorry, but I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for her.  Mariana has really blossomed since Lexi left and has come into her own.  I hope she doesn't start to backslide now because Lexi is back.  I do think that Lexi and Emma can get along well if they give each other a chance.  I will also say that the same holds true for Jesus and Hayley.  While he should have waited longer after he and Emma broke up to get with Hayley, the fact is that he was on his own at the time.  Doesn't suck any less for Emma, but there it is.

Brandon and Mat are turning Romeo & Juliet into a rock opera?  This should be very interesting.  Maybe that will help them get over Callie and Mariana respectively.

Jude is definitely showing that he is missing Connor.  However, if I am right, he won't be alone for long.  He and the boy from the foster system Callie met last week seemed to vibe, or maybe that is just my imagination....

Until next week!

Saturday, January 30, 2016

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!