Thursday, January 31, 2013

'As Time Goes By' -- SPN 8x12



Warning: Spoiler Alert

I have a feeling that this would be one of the episodes that Kieren would have insisted that I talk about, since there was so much huge stuff happening when it comes to learning about the Winchester side of the family.

The first thing that should probably gotten out of the way is the continuity that hasn't exactly been followed. Yes, there was the part when Dean first met John in the past, and someone told him to say hello to his old man for him ... but if Henry disappeared when John was a small child, there would be no way for him to say hello for anyone. Unless, perhaps the person was talking about a step-father, or a foster father. But then, there's also the fact that there should be two whole missing years that we're dealing with when it comes to continuity (one from between seasons five and six, and one from seasons seven and eight). So, when Henry looked at the tags that where on the Impala, they should have read 2015, and not 2013 (especially when kind of a big deal had been made at the beginning of seasons six and eight that a year had passed). Boo, writers.

But beside that ... it was good to finally get at least a little bit of information about the Winchester side of the family (after being able to get some about the Campbell side ... even if some of those threads about the family that were picked up in season six were just dropped without the writers giving any real closure). I want to know some more about what this whole thing about being a "Man of Letters" entails. Henry kept repeating that he had no choice about being a member (cuz he was ... what was the term he kept using? ... a "legacy"), but why? With the hunters (from what we've seen so far), it does look like it kind of sticks with families (and there are people who are from "hunting families" who become hunters themselves), but that doesn't mean that there aren't those who don't "get out". So, why does being a "Man of Letters" mean that you have no choice about whether or not you are able to be something other than that?

And I'm not fully convinced that the reason that Cupid was ordered to make John and Mary fall in love was so that a family of hunters and a family of "letters" could have children together, and they could subsequently have both brains and brawn. I feel like there is so much more there than what we are aware of ... so much more than just that they needed the brains and the brawn. Maybe it's just that I want there to be more than just that they needed a family of hunters and a family of "letters" so that they could be vessels, or so that they could possibly stop the apocalypse. Part of it (I'm sure) is that it still bothers me that they haven't explained what it is that makes someone so different that they are able to be the vessel of an angel, and what makes the people within the Winchester line so special that they are able to be the vessels of archangels. I kept talking to the screen during the is episode, and kept wanting Henry to say that they were actually the descendants of angels, and that was why he had no choice about being a Man of Letters ... like he had to learn all of this very specific magic, and at a certain point, he would learn about his heredity ... and that perhaps the organization that he was a part of was created by an angel before they all went back into Heaven so that there would still be someone looking after humanity and protecting it from the demons that would still be roaming around.

I am also very suspicious about the fact that Abaddon is supposedly the last Knight of Hell. They made kind of too big of a deal about it for me to think that we aren't going to see another one at some point ... and why do I want to say that the big reveal that we're going to find out toward the end of the season (or at least one of them) is that Naomi is one? Yeah, I'm still very suspicious about her, but at lot of that has to do with the fact that she's up to no good.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

'In My Protection' -- Ripper Street 1x02


Warning: Spoiler Alert

So, Reid and Emily are both grieving for someone. Why do I get the feeling that part of the problem that Emily has is the fact that Reid as thrown himself into his work? She's made it clear that he is distant with her (though I get the feeling that that isn't from lack of emotion or empathy (after all, he did say that he would take away all of her pain and suffer it himself if he were able), but is just how he copes with his own pain), and he does seem to spend quite a bit of time at work (far more than he spends with her).

I'm beginning to wonder if the two of them are grieving for a close family member. At first, I thought that maybe it might have been an elder sister of Emily's ... that perhaps Reid was originally in love with (and going to marry) her, but that she was killed (or died through some sickness that they didn't have the proper medicines for at the time), and so he married Emily instead. But the fact is that the pain seems like it is far too new for that, and it seems like it is rather significant that we learned that they were grieving for someone in an episode where children took such a prominent role in the episode. So, now, I'm thinking that maybe what we are seeing here is the grief of parents who have lost a child. I think that maybe she might have been murdered (perhaps as a result of the Ripper's actions, but probably not by him directly ... but perhaps by someone who fancied himself a fan of the Ripper) and that is why Reid has thrown himself into his work (body and soul) to make sure that the Ripper doesn't come back (and that there aren't any copycats of his crimes). It's true that Reid may have taken the Ripper's crimes kind of personally anyway, seeing as he seems to be the type of man who wants to protect those who can't protect themselves from such things, and he seems to think that there should be order and peace (even if it's hard to come by ... and maybe even more because their hard to come by), but he seems to be taking the Ripper's crimes a bit more personally than that (as well as the crimes of Rudy Carmichael, which seem kind of despicable since children were involved ... even if what he did gave them a small amount of security on the streets by banding together).

And the thing with the ring and the owner of it being "dead" ... yeah, I don't believe for a second that the owner is actually dead. It seemed far too much like we were being given a nod and a wink where that was concerned, and that the real owner of the ring was actually Jackson. We already know that something happened in America that Jackson and Susan are trying to get away from; so, what if they resorted to taking someone else's identities to do so? Ok, so maybe this theory isn't as plausible as the one about the possibility that Reid and Emily may have lost a child through murder, since Jackson's medical expertise would give him away if someone was really wanting to find him ... but they are trying to hide from something ... and the fact that they are helping the police (even if it's the police in another country) seems like it's something that will come back to bite them in the asses (since Reid doesn't seem the type to just let something go. He's not the obvious bulldog that Drake is, but I get the impression that once something starts to eat at his mind, he's going to want to figure out what the solution is so that his mind can rest). There is definitely something there with the ring; too much of a big deal was made about it for it not to turn out to be significant later on).

I kind of think that the writers want us to believe that the reason why Drake was having trouble sleeping was because of his military service (and that maybe the reason why he is such a bulldog is cuz he is trying to protect himself, or at least give the impression that he doesn't have a heart ... but the way that he was trying to reassure Thomas makes me think that he may be kind of a softie on the inside), but I'm wondering if it isn't more than that. I got the impression that he may have seen (and perhaps done) things that were particularly awful, and he wasn't able to shake it. It couldn't have been what he saw in Whitechapel, since he got the tat in Egypt (and the implication was that he got it when he was still in the military). Maybe he was somehow involved with torturing someone for information? Or maybe he saw killings that he couldn't justify? I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that there is something significant there.

Friday, January 25, 2013

'Blood in the Water' -- Suits 2x11



Warning: Spoiler Alert

I normally like Luis, I will completely admit to this ... like him even though I know that the man is a complete weasel. However, I am having a really hard time liking him (especially in this episode). He is certainly socially awkward, and doesn't seem to understand what is acceptable behavior, but there are certainly times when he is far more obtuse than what is strictly necessary. And the way that he treated the blondie (the associate that he screamed at and fired) was not cool in any way, no matter how much he may have thought that he was justified in doing so. Their job is going to have a lot of pressure in it, but continually making the poor boy stress out so that he does even worse at his job isn't going to make the situation with him any better. It seems like it is only going to keep him making mistakes, and perhaps that they will get worse with time ... and a good leader would not only not be a bully, s/he would get an idea of what other people are able to do, and would perhaps put them in a position where they would be able to do that (and it looked like homeboy should have been in a room somewhere writing drafts and such).

The more time that goes on, the more I'm convinced that Luis was bullied a lot as a kid (it's become kind of clear that he has been bullied a lot as an adult). The way that Harvey gets to him all of the time, and he doesn't seem to be able to know how to stand up for himself in those situations ... and the way that he treats those who he has some kind of power over ... it makes me think that he was bullied, and he never really learned how to stand up for himself or how to treat other people. I also wouldn't be surprised to find out that he is an only child and that he was smothered by at least one of his parents. Gah, here I go again with the INTJ and trying to read a little too much into genre television. lol

But I did fully approve of the fact that he was good to Mike, and that he was willing to use his stash of fixer-upper after a beating stuff on him as soon as he saw that there was something wrong. It made me forgive him a bit for the douche that he had been in the rest of the episode. I also forgave him a little bit after he helped Mike go through all of the paperwork that he needed to look through for any loopholes that might have been there. I still kind of wanted to shake him for how awful that he had been to blondie, and I'm sure he'll have other moments where he is a complete douche, but he is somewhat forgiven for what he did.

And you know what else? I'm happy that Harvey was willing to make peace with Luis (especially after the cartoon comparison that he made about their relationship). There is a certain point when you are pushing someone, having the kind of relationship where the two are you are snipping at each other (but where it is essentially harmless), and you turn into a complete bully ... and let's face it, Harvey has been a bully where Luis is concerned, and has been for quite a while. I don't expect the two of them to ever be friends, they are just too different at their cores for that, but they can at least work together, since they are both good in their areas.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

'LARP and the Real Girl' -- SPN 8x11


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Normally, I think that I might have been kind of amused by the fact that the boys were participating in the battle at the end of the episode, except for the fact I still don't feel like the writers are "getting it" about how they treat women or LGBT characters on Show. LARPers are still treated like they are weird for doing what they do, even if the boys seem like they're getting a smidge better at being able to treat them like they aren't complete freaks ... and that seems to mostly come from the fact that they like Charlie. And I do find it interesting that the last time that they interacted with LARPers, it was a gay couple that helped them out, and the boys treated them like there was something icky about them ... but now that it's a lesbian that's helping them, it's super cool. I'm kind of feeling a double-standard there (where it's cool to be a lesbian, but it's not cool to be a gay man), and I'm not digging that. I would almost say that maybe it is good that they go with baby steps toward acceptance, except that I still feel like there is some misogyny with this (and an attitude that straight men then lesbians are hot, but that gay men are gross).

But let me step away from that before I really start getting annoyed with it ...

Why do I have a feeling that Dean has played many, many games of Risk? When he was telling Charlie how she should position her peeps so that they could win the battle that was coming up, my initial thought was of him playing that game. Yeah, it was probably more likely that it came from the fact that Papa was a Marine, and he started training for battle from the (essentially) the time that Mama died ... and they may not have had all that much time to be able to sit around and really take the time they would have needed to play a game like Risk, but still ... I kind of like the idea of him playing it.

I thought that it was super cheesy to have a fairy be the one that was making things happen, when they were in the middle of a giant LARP weekend. It was just a little too cliché (and I said, "Oh, come. on." more than once). Sure, there was one of the LARPers that was making her do things, but there was a little too much of "well, of course it would be a fairy making things happen ... what with this particular game looking like it was in the middle of a Ren Faire". But I guess I can't really think of anyone else that the douche might have been able to get control over to make what he wanted to happen take place (since I have a feeling that if he tried to pull that crap on a pagan god, he would have gotten his ass handed to him).

I kind of wanted the fairy to ask Charlie to go with her into the fairyland. No good comes of that for mortals, but still ... it would have been kind of fun to see her get all excited about being able to go there for a while. And hey, what with time being all whacked out there, by the time that she came back (if she did), there wouldn't be any danger of her having to hide from monsters anymore. At that point, anyone who would have been looking for her would probably have been dead for a while.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

'Death Gone Crazy' -- Castle 5x12


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I did get annoyed a bit with Castle on Alexis' behalf. Yes, he was trying to look after her, cuz he loves her and wants to protect her from all of the crazies and the ickies that are out there in the world. Still ... vlogging and blogging are how a great many people connect with their friends (as well as making new ones), especially when that someone is the age that Alexis is. And I'm not sure that he was giving her enough credit for being an extremely responsible kid, and I think that he may have been forgetting that she isn't going to be so silly as to put up something on her vlog that she would really regret putting up there later on. She's smart, and is probably going to be considering those things. It just seems like he has a tendency to over-react sometimes, and forget the fact that she is far more cautious about things than he is.

I would really love if they had Alexis a bit more on the show. She seemed to be on quite a bit more earlier on in the series, but the number of times that she's been in an episodes (and how much she's been in that episode) seems to have declined. But what with the character being off at college, it probably wouldn't seem right if she were around all the time. It kind of makes me wonder of Molly Quinn is also going to school in RL? Maybe.

The leader of the group that was protesting the "Girls Gone Crazy" organization got on my nerves, not cuz he was protesting something that he thought was wrong, but cuz he was making blanket and misinformed statements about people that were completely wrong ... and he didn't seem to be bothering to try and make sure that he wasn't talking directly out of his ass. I especially loved [/sarcasm] the part where he tried to tell Castle and Beckett that his daughter would ZOMG!! never do what they were trying to say that she did ... even though it was pretty clear that he actually had no idea of who his daughter was as a person. Seemed much more like he was the kind that was never actually "hands on" when it came to being a parent, but thought that he knew everything that there was to know about his children since he was their biological father and had only a vaguely passing knowledge of who they were. And it didn't help his credibility in my eyes that he was being such a jackass about the dude who was killed, when the guy was genuinely trying to change his life for the better. It seemed much more like papa bear thought that there was no way for anyone to be able to change for the better.

Esposito ... oh, Esposito. Not that I can blame him for his crank getting turned by someone who is kind of dangerous, cuz I can completely understand why that would be kind of hot to someone. But it really seems like he needs to get himself some action, cuz he's been chomping at the bit lately, and that is no lie. I would kind of love to see him and Lanie get back together, but at this point, I really don't see that happening. They can probably be friends now, but I don't think that they are going to be a couple again (I would love to be wrong about that, though). And I did enjoy how Ryan was teasing him about it. I seriously need to draw hearts on both of their faces.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

'I Need Light' -- Ripper Street 1x01


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Oh, I have a feeling that I'm going to adore this show. Yes, it kind of reminded me of "Copper," but I don't see how it couldn't have (what with the two of them both having the same kind of visual feel to them, and both of them being about police detectives). And because of the fact that they reminded me of each other, I kept wondering if Erin had seen the episode (since we have had some fannish moments over "Copper").

I want to know what the heck is going on with Jackson and Long Susan, cuz there is obviously something going on with the two of them. But it was only the first episode after all, so we probably aren't going to find out what is going on with them for a while. I can't even think of what it is that they might be hiding from at this point, unless it has something to do with him as a doctor. I really hope that we don't find out that he is Jack (and that she knows all about it), cuz that would seem kind of like a cheap way out for the mystery of who Jack is/was (and to have him be Jack, and to have him be there in Whitechapel, helping the police, doesn't seem like it would be entirely smart on his part)

There seems to be a bit of tension between Inspector Reid and his wife, and I get the feeling that it might have something to do with all of the hours that he's probably put in at his job (and maybe even more specifically with the ripper case). I would imagine that she would love having him home far more than what he actually is. There may be more to it than that, but that is the feeling that I'm getting at this point about it.

I'm still not sure what I think of Drake at the moment, other than to think that the man is a complete bulldog. I have a suspicion that he is going to be the muscle of the show, but I'm kind of hoping that they don't keep putting him in bare-knuckle boxing matches. That would get rather old pretty quickly.

Friday, January 18, 2013

'Blind Sided' -- Suits 2x11


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Oh, what an amazing mess Mike's life is right now. But then, how could it not be? While he's still trying to grieve for his gram, the boys get a case that reminds so very much of when he found out that his parents had died. That's got to be rough, to be reminded of such a terrible loss while you are still so very close to another terrible loss. But him saying that he was fine ... oh, how very much he really wasn't. And him going to the lawyer that came to the house makes it look like he's reached the "anger" portion of his process. That seems to be the only reason as to why he would go there and confront them man for doing his job, while raging against him for not remembering his parents. But really, how would the lawyer remember them? I don't see how one case out of so many similar ones would stick out in his mind. For Mike, it may have been one of the most important days of his life, but for that particular lawyer, I'm sure that it was probably just another day at the office. Not the kind of thing that Mike would have wanted to hear from him, but that doesn't mean that it was any less true.

It makes me wonder, while Mike is seeing some connections between himself and the guy that they were representing, if he was able to see the connection that they both were getting high. Yeah, Mike rides a bike everywhere, but what if something changed and he hurt someone after getting high? Could that have been part of the reason why he was so upset with the guy (and not just cuz the guy killed someone)? It seemed like he realized that he was making some really bad decisions around this time, and maybe he was seeing that. I would really love to see him giving up pot, since bad things seem to happen when he starts lighting up.

You know, it's probably good for the firm in general (and Harvey in particular) that Donna has such good instincts, on top of the fact that she's so freaking loyal. I bet that if she wasn't awesome and ginger, things might have turned out differently for the first year that Luis had wanted to hire ... and then, they all would have been fucked when it came to Mike. And even if there are only four people in the firm that know that Mike is a complete fraud, it probably would have been bad news for everyone that worked there if it came out that the managing partner kept Mike on after finding out that he never actually went to law school. At the very least, I wouldn't doubt that the fines that would be involved with that would sink the entire firm. That would not be a good day for anyone. But the fact that Jessica told Luis to get rid of this particular person, and then, he found out that Harvey hired someone as a bribe ... I have a feeling that there is going to be some badness coming around cuz of that. It won't be just cuz Luis is a douche, but it will be that on top of the fact that he hates Harvey (and the both of those things will make him want to do as much damage as he can, I'm sure).

I wonder if the little girl that greeted Harvey at the door of his RL wife's character's place was actually their daughter. I would not be at all surprised if she was, and you know what? She was awesome and adorable. I thought that it was great that she was busting his chops about not bringing flowers. Awesome kids are awesome!! And it was only right that he "brought the little one flowers" the next time that he came around. lol

Thursday, January 17, 2013

'Torn and Frayed' -- SPN 8x10


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Ok, what is up with the music on the "Then" portion? We are supposed to be getting us some "Carry On Wayward Son". Maybe this is another instance of the new show runner trying to put his own, personal stamp on the show (like when he turned Crowley's smoke red, for no reason, instead of keeping it the traditional black).

So, the boys are back together again ... kind of ... until their next fight, where they'll break up again. Yes, I get that their lives as hunters cannot possibly be easy, and I get that Sam never felt like he was cut out for the life, but the way that the two of them seem to go in cycles with their breaking up and getting back together is starting to get wearisome. It would be ever so nice if the writers of the show would come up with something that hasn't been done on the show at least three times before. Really, how many times do the two of them need to have a huge fight where they break each other, and then, decide that they really can't do life without each other, before the writers think to try something else when it comes to that? Families fight, and they sometimes go through the same cycles in RL, but when you've watched a show since it's pilot, rehashing some of the same themes over and over and over again is not only dull for your audience, it's sloppy writing. And you know what? There's only so much that an audience is going to forgive that before they start to get bored and decide to try something else.

Sooooo ... it looks like Naomi has done something to Cas' hardwiring. Why? So that he will be her own, personal, little buttmonkey? So that she can force him to do whatever the hell she wants him to do without him thinking for himself or trying to fight her on whatever it is that she wants to use him for? Cuz it seemed like it was far more than just some kind of tracking device that she was implanting inside of him to make sure that she knew where he was at all times, and would be able to snatch him up into the White Room. The fact that he was having flashbacks to the time when she was sticking drills into his eyes while Little Boy Angel was being tortured into giving up all of the information that was on his mainframe makes it look very much like there was a correlation between the two events. And it makes me wonder when exactly this occurred with Naomi going all anal probe into Cas' eyeball. It would have had to have been after he came back from Purgatory, yes? It wouldn't make sense that she did it before he went to Purgatory, what with the way that he went off the rails and declared himself god. But if it had been done before that, a whole hell of a lot of stuff could have been avoided ... like Dick.

What do you want to bet that Naomi is just working on her own and that she doesn't have an official sanction to do whatever it is that she's been doing (or whatever it is that she's trying to accomplish)? It doesn't necessarily mean anything that we haven't seen anyone else in there with her in the White Room, but it still kind of makes me suspicious of her ... like she's created her own little bubble that is Heaven adjacent, and she's been making Cas (and us) think that she is something that she's not. There is, oh, so much going on with her than we realize; I'm very sure of that. And I would not be at all surprised to see her turn into this season's Big Bad (since she's already been doing some questionable things that would lead her down that path).

And I'm really not surprised to find out that there is a tablet for angels as well (even if I don't really like the idea that there is a mainframe somewhere inside of their minds that turns them into slaves to whoever is able to "hack" them ... or that they aren't willing servants to God, and that He would need to turn them into slaves for Him as well ... but I don't suppose that we're going to like everything on any show or movie, or in any book). I kind of want the boys to be able to find all of the tablets, and for Kevin to be able to work his magic on them so that they could get rid of all of the angels and demons on earth. If it were only the demons mucking things up, I think that I could live with it, but the angels really get on my nerves. It's the fact that they are self-righteous while they're fucking everyone, and they seem to think that they're doing the right thing. At least a demon will be honest about what s/he's doing, and why s/he's doing it.

I'm sad about Dean breaking up with Benny, since I liked him, and I was hoping that he would be staying around for a while. Well, this doesn't necessarily mean that he isn't going to be around for a while on the show, cuz he could still make a few more appearances later on. Maybe we'll finally find out who that stalker was that made an appearance in the beginning of the season, and Benny will be able to help with that ... or maybe he'll even be able to help with the tablets and getting the angels out of Dodge. I really do hope that we see him again; he's the first reoccurring character that I've liked in a very long time.



Thursday, January 10, 2013

'Significant Others' -- Castle 5x10


Warning: Spoiler Alert

The thing with the killer in this episode ... I thought that it was far too obvious to figure out who it was. As soon as Ryan put up the pictures on the television, I noticed the one of Victoria Pratt with dark hair and a slightly differently shaped chin. The photo may have not been on the screen for all that long, but it seemed like it was on for far longer than it should have been if they didn't want people to figure out who was really this episode's MOTW (so to speak), especially since they spent so much time having the boys ogle her when they went to speak with her second husband. That ogle session made it far too obvious that she was someone of importance, and that we should pay attention to her part in the over-all scheme of the case. They're usually better than that (when it comes to keeping the viewer at least somewhat guessing as to who might be behind everything), and I'll admit to being disappointed at how little I had to try to figure out who they were actually looking for (and the fact that it was so easy made me disappointed that the gang didn't realize sooner what was actually going on ... or that the boys didn't see that they were looking at Leann Piper when they saw the picture of Jane Garrison).

Speaking of the Piper gang in all of this ... every time they mentioned "Billy Piper," my brain went immediately to Rose on DW (since the actress that played Rose is called Billie Piper). I'll admit to getting distracted by that, but that really wasn't their fault; it was the fault of my own brain and it's tendency to always be playing a game of "six degrees".

As far as Meredith coming to the flat and inserting herself into the situation cuz she wanted to see what Beckett was like ... I really didn't like that. On a certain level, I did get it, if for no other reason than wanting to make sure that whoever was around Alexis was someone who would be good to her, but that really didn't seem to be what Meredith was concerned about. She seemed far more concerned with the fact that Castle was seeing someone new, and she wanted to stick her nose in the middle of it, as though she would have any say about whether Castle would continue with the relationship or not. It seemed far too much like she was over-stepping her bounds on this. She's Castle's ex, and whatever their relationship is now, she has no claim over him (other than Alexis), and he seems to be the one that is far more stable of the two. Yeah, I would have had a lot less of an issue of her butting in and looking like she was trying to become a wedge between Castle and Beckett, if what she was doing was making sure that Alexis was safe and loved (and not that she was trying to be a bitch and put doubts into Beckett's mind about the relationship, cuz that's what she seemed to be doing). Even with her little talk with Beckett at the end of the episode ... it seemed a little more like she was causing damage than she was helping. After all, all she did was create doubts in Beckett's mind that hadn't been there. And what is Beckett supposed to think when Meredith said that she didn't really know him, and that he could have written books about her ... especially when he's written books with Beckett as the main character?

Not the best episode around, over-all.