Saturday, December 13, 2014

'Chupacabra' -- Grimm 4x08


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Well, finally they have kind of breached the subject of actually telling Wu what has been going on. Ok, sure, the gang had the discussion about whether or not they should actually tell him last season, but they didn't come anywhere close to really telling him (and made it pretty clear that they weren't going to say anything at all, if they could get away with it).

I can understand why Wu decided that he needed to get as far away from Nick and Hank (after seeing dude turn from a Chupacabra into a dude again) as he possibly could, but I really do wish that he would have stuck around. Not only will it mean that the gang wouldn't have to go looking for him while they have other (more important) things going on, but it would also mean that he would get the answers that he's been wanting far more quickly. I'm sure that getting everything explained to him will be tons better for his peace of mind than having to drink away the WTF?

It was a very nice touch to have the dudes who are so pissed off about Rosalee and Monroe getting married hanging up a dead fox outside the backdoor of the spice shop. There probably isn't much of anything else that would disturb her as much as seeing a dead fox in that manner (being, essentially, a fox herself). And I kind of would like to see them try and put a dead wolf outside of Monroe and Rosalee's house, just to try to find and kill a wolf without getting hurt themselves, but also to try and get such a thing past him. I have no doubt that they thought that they could get away with trying to intimidate Rosalee, since Blutbaden are so intimidating to other Wesen; but if they did such a thing in a group, they might feel like they had an upper hand ... and they must have had some sort of upper hand with what happens next week, if the preview is correct in showing that Monroe was captured by those assnozzles.

I'm really glad that it turned out that Juliette wasn't pregnant (and that I was right in thinking that they were just trying to psych us out at the end of the last episode). I'm sure that there would probably not be anything like an ideal time for a Grimm to start a family, but the way things are right now for the gang (and especially for Nick and Juliette), it seems like it would be bad timing to the extreme for it to happen right now. There would have to be a point where things would settle down a little bit (even though it's not likely to ever be completely calm), and it seems like that would be the better time for the babies to start coming (when people aren't trying to kill Monroe and Rosalee, Wu isn't deciding that he wants to go kind of crazy cuz he doesn't know what it is that he's seen, Wesen don't still think that Nick doesn't have his Grimmy powers, Adalind isn't hovering over their entire lives ...). If even a couple of this things can start to get calmed down, and everyone in the gang can kind of look over the baby, things might be a little bit different.

Is it wrong that I kind of want Juliette to permanently become a Hexenbiest? Cuz I would kind of love that. The idea of it amuses me to no end that she could have been turned into a kind of Wesen. But it also begs the question: what would happen if a Grimm and a Wesen had a child together? What kind of being would the child be, being half the hunter and half the hunted. Sure, something like this should have occurred to me when we found out that Aunt Marie has been seeing a Wesen, but we were still too new to the whole "Grimm" world at that point for the question to really occur to me. And it would also be interesting to see just how different each child would be for each different combination between Grimm and Wesen (Grimm/Blutbad, Grimm/Fuchsbau, Grimm/Hexenbiest, Grimm/Coyotl ...), since the different kinds of Wesen have such different natural traits.

Also, I would like the writers to get back somewhat to Agent Chavez, if only to tie up loose ends. Once it became clear that she was up to something, and the kid let Nick know what had happened, we haven't seen her (and have only kind of seen the dudes working with her a bit). I would love to know if they're still in town, if they've still got an eye on Nick (since that could make things troublesome for him), or if they're following after Josh and the kid. Gimme something, so I don't have to keep wondering!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

'The Things We Left Behind' -- SPN 10x09


Warning: Spoiler Alert

If there's one thing that you can count on this show to keep going back to, it's the family issues. And yes, you should be able to read that with all kinds of sarcasm. The family issues that the characters all seem to have is something that I would love for the writers to dial back on somewhat. It's one thing if one or two of the characters are having to deal with their daddy issues, but to turn around and have all of the main cast (and I am counting Crowley and Cass with this) have some variation of a daddy or mommy issue ... it's a little overboard. I might accept the twist on the fact that Cas is someone else's daddy issue if it weren't for the fact that the boys have had daddy issues since day one (and it's been something that has been a serious Thing for the two of them), and if Crowley's mommy issues hadn't now become a Thing.

Also, I want some more rules laid out for how an angel can continue to inhabit a body where the spirit has already gone on to Heaven. We know that demons can keep a body going via Ruby, but I'm completely fine with that, since they are demons and are riding a body until it wears out (whether the soul is still in there or not). With angels, there has to be some sort of permission given before they can even go in in the first place, and even though the way they go in might be splitting hairs, it makes me wonder if there other things that they have to do differently. Angels (for the most part) in the SPN universe are dicks, but they are based on the angels from the Old Testament/Torah, and those dudes were soldiers fighting on the side of humans against demons ... and they were still at least somewhat the helpers that Christians think of them now. Would there have to be some sort of permission given to continue to use someone's body after they have left it? Or does it matter if they get it or not? Andreth would tell me not to worry about this sort of stuff, cuz it's only genre television, but this is the sort of stuff that my brain circles around. Gimme the breakdown of the rules, damn it!!

And this episode made me start wondering again what exactly it is that makes some people so special that they are able to be vessels for angels, and why others aren't. I still want to think that the people who are able to be vessels are descendants of Nephilim, but Show has shot that idea right out of the water. It's not just that we met the one Nephilim that there was supposed to be in existence last season (with Cas and Metatron), but the way that the writers have set up angels, there is no way that they would be capable of having children. As completely spiritual beings, the most they could do would be to possess someone, and guide them into having children with each other ... but the kids would still be completely human. It's just like there's actually no such thing as demon blood (since they are also completely spiritual beings, they don't have blood, and if you are drinking blood, you are drinking the blood of a terrestrial being (whether they may be possessed or not)). I guess there would have to be some sort of marker in their DNA or something, but I'd really like to know what that is. ::whine:: At least "Grimm" gave us a reason as to why Grimms can see Wesen, and how Wesen are able to tell when someone is a Grimm. ::/whine::

This was a rather disappointing midseason finale. Instead of creating any kind of tension for the rest of the season, or actually focusing in on who will become the Big Bad, we get a shit ton of daddy/mommy issues. I suppose that Crowley's mom might become the Big Bad for the season, but if she is, it's still kind of disappointing. It's not just that she doesn't seem imposing enough to be the Big Bad (despite being the kind of kick ass witch that Katrina was supposed to have been on "Sleepy Hollow"), or that she isn't super sneaky (which is pretty awesome in its own right) ... but the Big Bad of Show has a certain level of badassery to live up to (like YED level). She may be powerful and pretty evil, but she has not proven herself to be YED or Lucifer; so, if it turns out to be her, I think that it's going to be a let down.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

'The Grimm Who Stole Christmas' -- Grimm 4x07


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'll have to admit that I really wasn't expecting the writers to get rid of the kid. I figured that she was going to last a while longer on the show, with the two of them learning more about what it means to be a Grimm (while helping each other along the way). Sure, the show is really all about Nick being a Grimm, but the way that this episode was written, it almost felt like the writers were saying that the kid knew all that she needed to know from Nick, and she should start teaching someone else. That may not have been what they were going for, but that's kind of how it seemed.

But I suppose that it's good to have a Grimm somewhere else in the world who has ties back to Nick and the gang, and who Nick can trust to have his vision of how the world should be (when it comes to Grimm/Wesen relations). I can see Nick becoming the de facto leader of this grouping of Grimms (provided that there are going to be more of them who are allied with him, which I can completely see happening), even if he maybe wouldn't want to become their leader. And I kind of like the idea of this happening. Part of it may be the dissatisfaction that I've had with shows like SPN, where everything that isn't human is called a monster, even when those beings aren't hurting anyone else and just trying to live their lives (and when there are plenty of regular humans who should be called monsters, but aren't).

Hopefully, now that I've started to like the kid, we'll still see her some more, and she'll continue to report back to Nick about her progress with what's going on in her neck of the woods. In a way, I kind of hope that Josh doesn't become a Grimm. What I can see happening with him is that he'll try to compensate for not being able to see the Wesen when they're woged, so he'll try to study as much as he can, and he'll gather as much information as he can (whether it's from his and the kid's experiences, or from the experiences of other Grimms) into one place. I can fully see him becoming Super Librarian and Keeper of All the Grimmic Knowings, and people will come from all around to ask him to drop some knowledge on them; and there will be apprentices ... people who were born into Grimm families like he was, but who never got their Grimmy powers (so they know that there is stuff out there that they can't see, and they still want to help however they can). In a way, I guess I kind of picture him as becoming the head of a group that's kind of like a mix between the Watchers from "Highlander: The Series" and the Men of Letters from SPN.

I'm glad that when Nick and Hank went to the parents of the kid whose med alert bracelet they found, the parents didn't prove to be so careless that they realized that something was going on with their son, but they were just letting him run around terrorizing the city. That was bothering me while I was watching it ... that there would be these kids who turned into goblins during the 12 days of Christmas, and the parents didn't do anything to try and stop them from hurting people if they knew it was going to happen. It settled a little bit easier with me that they just didn't know that this was happening to their son, cuz it was such a rare thing (and they didn't realize that he was sneaking out at night).

Speaking of the 12 days of Christmas ... I feel like we're going to have a return to the comment Monroe made about the Lunar cycle, and wondering how he knew that. I don't feel like we're suppose to treat that like it was a throw-away comment, even though it didn't get much attention in the episode. I almost feel like we're going to find out that it's the key to solving something later on ... and I hope that it doesn't turn out to be anything so mundane as a correlation between werewolves and the moon.

The way that they were drawing out the way that Juliette was staring at herself in the mirror at the end of the episode, I kind of get the feeling that we're going to find out that she isn't pregnant. It seems almost like they were trying to do one of those psych outs where they want us to think that she's pregnant, just so that they can come back and go, "Haha! I can't believe you fell for that!" So, I'm saying no to the whole pregnant thing.

Also with Wu at the end of the episode, and what they showed us from next week's episode, it looks like he might finally be brought into the gang; and about time, too. I'm really looking forward to seeing Wu becoming a part of the gang ... and seeing his brain brake for a second (that's completely wrong of me, I know).

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

'Hibbing 911' -- SPN 10x08


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'd almost say "good on you" to the writers for having Jody yell at the ex-husband for fat shaming, but the fact is that I can't really do that with much of a clear conscious ... not the way that they usually treat women, PoC, and the LGTBQ community ... and especially after the comment they had Dean make about trans-werewolves. It may not have seemed like a big deal to some people, but it struck me the wrong way (maybe from a combination of not being cisgendered myself, and having a very good friend who is trans*). Maybe if the writers hadn't proven themselves to be Dude Bros time and time again, the comment might not have made me want to cringe, but the way that they have proven themselves to err on the side of insensitivity toward gender, orientation, and anyone who is not a white Dude Bro made it just one more thing in that area that cannot be painted over.

I wish the writers would do more with the Mark of Cain, but at least they didn't ignore it in this episode. As much as it could have been awesome with the boys trying to get rid of the Mark, it's turned out to be so disappointing so far. But I don't know why I would be so surprised, since the writers have the tendency of not living up to the idea that they may have had for a season ... and they could have really done something unexpected (and potentially awesome) by keeping Dean a demon for the entire season and have him be the Big Bad (instead of having his demon days be wrapped up so quickly and easily).

I would love to see Cain again, since he was the bright spot in Show amongst seasons of blech. But since it would have been completely legit, I doubt that we're going to see him again (so I probably shouldn't hold my breath).

In a way, I'm glad that Jody has someone to hunt with her and watch her back, but I'm getting more of the feeling that this might be the last year of Show ... and I can't say that I'll be all that sad about it. By giving her someone that she can rely on, it feels like the writers are kind of wrapping up one more loose end that may have been weighing on their minds. I'm really hoping that by doing that, they aren't just trying to make sure that she's not alone, and trying to give themselves an out when it comes to possibly doing a spin-off. The spin-off they should have done should have been about Samuel Colt, but since they've already proven that they can't make him as awesome as they have made him sound from the first couple of seasons of Show (and the way that they have made the one spin-off they were going to do completely dumb), a spin-off should probably not be an option.

'The Akeda' -- SH 2x11


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I know that it's probably not something that I should be tripping out over, but I want to know what happened with Irving's body. It was laying on the bench when everyone in Team Witness was having their little "I am Spartacus!!!eleventy!!!" moment, but when Henry came into the church, it was nowhere to be found. It could very well have been that the gang did hasty burial, but the fact is that I can't see where they would have found the time to such a thing while they were planning on how they were going get stuff done when it came to Henry and Moloch. It makes me wonder if he somehow rose from the dead during the commercial break. It's possible that the writers may have really killed him off, since they haven't really been using him all that much this season, but I don't see them doing that. The character seems like he's pretty popular, and I don't see writers of a show that want to keep their popularity would want to kill off a popular character and possibly alienate a section of the fandom. If they were DeNight (who was the show runner of "Spartacus") that might be different, but he's a far better writer and show runner than any that I've come across in some time ... and certainly better than those who are working on "Sleepy Hollow". I think that he's going to come walking out of the shadows later on this season, and we're going to be expected to be completely surprised that he's there.

So ... Moloch speaks English when he's fully in our realm? What? Are we supposed to believe that the only reason that we couldn't understand him, or see him clearly, was cuz he couldn't come into our realm completely? If that were the case, why wouldn't Abbie and Captain Skinnyjeans have understood him, or seen him clearly, when they were in Purgatory? It would have made much more sense if his blurry visage and demon speak were only used when he was trying to communicate with someone on Earth, while he was still stuck in Purgatory. To have the sudden change doesn't make sense to me, unless the writers are going to say something about how the magic that he used to bring himself into our realm somehow changed him enough that we no longer get the blurry figure and the demon talk (and that those in his service didn't have it once they became his servants). But maybe I'm expecting too much logic from genre television.

And we're expected to believe that this isn't the first time that Moloch has tried to start the Apocalypse. I want to know just how far he's gotten with his previous attempts, and if Team Witness is able to stop him this time, if he will be capable of trying again (if he survives). If he has made attempts before, have there been other Witnesses (since there have been other Horsemen)? And if he tries again, will there be more Witnesses after this? Or are Abbie and Ichabod the only Witness that there have ever been? There would have to've been someone around that would have stopped him and his previous Horsemen, since he is still trying to get his stuff done ... but the way that the lore is being used, it sounds as though Abbie and Ichabod are the only Witness that there have been. Dear writers: Clarify!!

Henry using the sword on Moloch ... of course Moloch isn't going to be dead when we come back from winter break, and I don't think that Henry is going to end up joining Team Witness (and I don't think that Henry is going to die from using the sword, either). Perhaps that is what's going to happen with Irving. Since his soul was claimed by Henry, he will become the new War when Moloch gets his power back while he's in Purgatory ... I completely think that using the sword on him on Earth will only send him back to Purgatory and that the only way to really get rid of him is to use the sword on him while he's down there. Just watch, I'll bet anyone that that's what's going to happen.

Captain Skinnyjeans and Katrina are on a "trial separation" ... yeah, just one more reason for me to think that Katrina is going to get killed before the end of the season. And I can just imagine that she'll get killed, and the writers will have Ichabod holding her as she does so, telling her that he forgives her for everything that's happened between them. I would almost hope that she would have come back as a super powerful ghost, but the way that we were promised that she was Katrina, Super Witch ... but she turned out to not be in any way, shape, or form, would make me think that it's pretty much impossible for her to be Super Witch Ghost either.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

'Highway of Tears' -- Grimm 4x06


Warning: Spoiler Alert

This episode brought to you by Nick! Hank! Nick! Hank! Nick! Hank! Nick! Hank!

As much as the kid had been kind of annoying me last season, I have to say that she has been starting to grow on me this season. Maybe it has to do with the writers doing a little more with her than just the, "let's add a punk kid" thing, and giving her character some more fleshing out. The fact that she was so willing to stay with Rosalee ... that she got kind of teary and relieved and huggy when Juliette was herself again and when Nick got his Grimm back ... it endeared her to me more than probably a lot of other things that could have happened. So, even if there are still times when I want to shake her, I think that I'll be glad for her in addition to the other members of the gang.

I think I may be more excited about the idea of Nick and the kid getting their Grimm on together than I probably should be. I love the idea of the two of them growing together as Grimms, kicking some serious butt, and changing the world. In my own forming headcanon, the kid will get super trained by and with Nick, and she will go off to somewhere else to help change Grimm/Wesen relations in some major way ... maybe taking up an apprentice of her own along the way. Must resist the urge to make a joke about Jedi!!

Elizabeth being so sure that Renard is the father of Diana ... I'm surprised that she is so willing to believe that this is a fact. I can see Renard wanting such a thing to be true (since he seems the kind who would buckle down and be kind of happy for "normal" family life if it presented itself (perhaps because he didn't have anything of the kind growing up)), but she seems like she would be the type who would be more suspicious of the idea that Diana was Renard's daughter until she was able to prove it. I can see her believing that he believes, but that shouldn't necessarily mean that someone who is so wily would just accept such information without testing it for herself.

And I have the feeling that we are being led into expecting a confrontation between Elizabeth Lascelles and Kelly Burkhardt. It isn't just that Kelly has Diana, it's also the mention of Catherine Schade and the fact that Elizabeth wants to be near her "granddaughter" ... and also the repeated mention of the fact that what Elizabeth did to save Renard when he was dying could only be done for both of them once. It makes me think that she's going to look for Diana, that Kelly and Elizabeth are going to get in a drag out, and Elizabeth is going to be mortally wounded (with Renard maybe getting there just before she dies, knowing that he can't save her and gets all wrecked and the gang questions his loyalties a little more than they are right now).

I'm wondering if the stuff that's going on with Josh is tied somehow with the stuff going on with Chavez ... or maybe Chavez's group is part of the one that doesn't like different kinds of Wesen getting married to each other. Arg!! There is something going on there, and I have a feeling that at least two of them are tied to each other, even if all three aren't tied together. I just wish that I had a better beat on which of the two might be tied to each other, and which one is coincidentally happening at the same time.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

'Girls, Girls, Girls' -- SPN 10x07


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Well, that was over pretty quickly with dude who was after Dean. I was expecting for it to last a little bit longer than that ... but then, I was expecting that Dean being a demon was going to last longer than it did as well ... or that they would have bothered to try and get rid of the Mark of Cain, if it's really all that dangerous for him to keep it. But it seems like the writers keep coming up with an idea, getting bored by it, and then, going on to something else. It's almost like they couldn't really decide on a story arch for the season, so they decided on a bunch of them, and are going to do all of them over the course of the season. Maybe that should be the signal that this is going to be the last season of SPN, and it would make me kind of happy if it was (since it's being going on for around five seasons too long).

The addition of Crowley's mom to the show ... this had the feeling of being less about exploring the history of Crowley (like when they brought in the ghost of his son), and more like they were trying to do some fanservice. And IMO, doing something just for fanservice makes sure that what you're going to do isn't going to be nearly as thought out as it might have otherwise been, and that it won't be nearly as awesome as it could have been if it was something that happened naturally. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but that's how it seems like things go to me. And that's another thing that makes me think that we just might be in the final season ... giving us possible in-depth coverage of the tortured past of the King of Hell (and the fact that his mum seem to have found out that he was now the King of Hell and came looking for him). Maybe it's just that it might have taken her a while to find out that he was a demon (which I have a feeling she may have already known before), that he was the King of Hell, and to cook up a plan to get in the same room with him ... which had the slight feel of, but it felt like she should have been able to get in the same room with him before this. It might have been that I was reading the situation wrong, but it almost seemed like she wanted to be there with him, cuz she hated demons so much (perhaps cuz she knew that he was one), and she wanted to get his attention long enough so that she could do something to kill him.

I did appreciate the reoccurrence of the use of the term "monster" when referring to a hunter in this episode, even if the use of it when it comes to hunters was kind of lampshaded. Just cuz they protect the innocent and unknowing from the things that go bump in the night (and which, in many instances, would do them harm), that doesn't mean that they aren't monsters. The fact that they shoot first, and ask questions later is something that I still have a problem with (since there are creatures out there which aren't entirely (or even at all) human, and who wouldn't do anyone any harm, and those creatures would still be hunted and killed by hunters without bothering to find out if they were actually a threat to others). In the first couple of seasons, I wouldn't have had this problem, but with the addition of shades of grey, that's when things start to get tricksy.

I am kind of annoyed with the writers for the addition of Hannah to Show. It wasn't the fact of bringing another angel around so that s/he could learn something more than just being a soldier (and become somewhat human); it was getting Cas on mission to bring other angels back to Heaven that he didn't want or need to be on, and more than that, the completely unnecessary sexual tension between the two of them. I'm sure that some people would be able to handwave the sexual tension as something that would have lead us to think that Hannah returning to Heaven, and her vessel returning home was a bit more believable, but to me, it seemed a bit more like the writers going "Oh, you want subtext? Here's some subtext, and it's the prober kind, cuz it's hetero." If the writers haven't had issues in the past with sexism, racism, and homophobia, I don't think that my brain probably would have gone there.

'Magnum Opus' -- SH 2x10


Warning: Spoiler Alert

The use of a Gorgon as what protects the sword ... ok, so they were using a supernatural creature to protect it. A few things about the use of a Gorgon for this:

1) This may be just me, but it felt a little too much like cross-contamination or the mixing of genres that don't belong together to have a Gorgon be what was used to stop people from getting the sword. The Gorgons were from Classical Mythology (specifically Greek, as apposed to Roman), but the rest of what is used in the show relies heavily on American folklore, fairytales, American Literature, and Christian lore (with some Wiccan and Hoodoo thrown in). Sure, it could be said that folklore, mythology, and religious lore are kissing cousins, but it just felt a bit jarring to have the feel of the lore used be (in so many cases) kind of American (or at least, have some kind of roots here in some way), and then, suddenly have something from ancient Greek mythology shoot up. Maybe it shouldn't, with the use of the Templars (since they aren't exactly as current a legend as most of the things that are used in the show), but it still does (I've kind of handwaved the used of the Templars as an extension of the use of the Christian lore and the Freemason lore, since they can be tied to both of those).

2) I did also have a slight problem with the look of the Gorogn, since they are supposed to look human (but with snakes for hair) and not like giant snakes themselves. They are also all female, but this one looked male to me. Maybe I missed something about it that would have triggered "female," and I am kind of hoping that it was me and not something to do with the effects.

3) At this point, the addition of a Gorgon doesn't really make sense for what would be used to protect the sword ... unless they were going for something that they didn't explain well enough for me to understand. From where I was sitting, it seemed a bit too much like they were reaching for something that might be snake related so that they could use Franklin's "Join or Die" cartoon. Unless they were going for something with the origins of the Freemasons, which (if they were), they should have made that a little more clear than they did ... but then, if I remember what little I know about their origins, they are associated with Egypt and not Greece.

Part of my problem, I know, is the fact that I have a tendency to overthink what's going on, and as Andreth used to have to remind me all the time, it's only genre television (and I shouldn't try to overthink it or bring logic to such things).

I was kind of hoping to find that there wasn't really a sword for Abbie and Captain Skinnyjeans to find. My thought kept going back to season five of SPN, and finding out that Dean was supposed to be the Michael Sword (in that he was Michael's perfect vessel). I was kind of hoping that they would do something akin to that. I didn't want them to have to need some sort of super magical weapon to be able to do things that they needed to do, and kind of wanted them to be able to find out that they could do the stuff themselves. I think part of my desire have them not find a super weapon may go back to SPN and the fact that they find a new one every other season (when, at first, the weapons were mythically huge when it came to the things that they could do, and now the super weapons seem like they're kind of run of the mill ... which takes away the super from the weapon and makes them just another weapon to find and use).

At least now we have an acknowledgement by Abbie (at least) that Katrina is a prisoner of the Horsemen, and not the super spy and super witch that the writers have been trying to force down our throats. Maybe this means that we're just a little bit closer to getting rid of what has essentially become a pointless character, and perhaps turning Abbie and/or Jenny into the resident badass witch.

I have a feeling that Irving should have gone to Canada with Jenny. I think that his natural inclination to have to do something to help is going to turn out to be his downfall ... and I think that Henry may be using that to his own advantage when it comes to making the vision of Irving in the middle of a war come true.

Was I completely missing something at the end of the episode? Cuz it looked to me like there were only three Horsemen there. I saw Henry (War) in the middle, Abraham (Death) on the right, and (I think) Pestilence on the left. So, where was Famine? Since the writers can't be bothered to get the order of the appearance of the Horsemen correctly, or the color of their horses, or the weapons that they are supposed to be using (Pestilence/Conquest is supposed to be first, and he is supposed to be the one on the white horse and the one using the bow, not Death), I wouldn't be at all surprised if they didn't use Famine at all. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use the correct Horsemen ... like if they used Conquest instead of Famine and turned Irving into Conquest (somehow using him as an extension of War). I have a feeling that I would be greatly annoyed by that, and so I'm sure that it'll happen.

'Cry Luison' -- Grimm 4x05


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I suppose that the way to get Nick's Grimm back (as Monroe put it) makes some sort of sense ... to take away what Adalind did, do everything she did backwards. Still, that doesn't mean that I'm not slightly creeped out by the idea of it, but at least it makes some sort of sense.

I am also very happy with the fact that Juliette I now on board with him becoming a Grimm again. It was almost a forgone conclusion that it was going to happen at some point, but I would rather have her on board with the whole thing, than not. It would make the whole thing feel kind of icky, and would create more unnecessary drama than was needed. Besides the fact that I want Juliette to be all up in the Grimm life, cuz I think that she would be awesome at it. Even if she can't see Wesen woge (unless they make sure that she sees them), that doesn't mean that she wouldn't (or couldn't) be an integral part of the team (especially where Nick was concerned).

It would have been nice to see a little bit more fall out of Bud letting it slip that Nick had lost his Grimm, but I suppose that there might be more in coming episodes. I would imagine that there would be others who would come looking for him if/when they hear that he is no longer a threat, and they want to try to kill him cuz of it (thinking that they could get some kind of revenge for all of the Wesen that have been killed by Grimms in the past, and thinking that if they killed him, they might be able to stop other Grimms from being born ... since he still has the DNA of a Grimm, it is likely that he would still pass on the Grimmy powers to is kids, even if he was having some trouble).

Speaking of passing stuff on ... dude whose dad was a Grimm, but who wasn't himself (and whose name I'm completely blanking on right now) ... I wonder if someone found out that his dad had a key. It would seem a little too convenient that they found out that he had one, and then, go looking for it after he's already been cremated. He was old, and his son would have been no help to him against a couple of fully woged Wesen; if they knew that he had it, why not go for it sooner? But maybe there is something else that was going on with that ... something that we don't have the details about just yet (right now, that just seems like the most likely solution).

And now we also have another contender for who Diana's father is. It almost feels like the writers are just throwing in every royal and hoping that one of them sticks (regardless of who would be logical or not). I still feel like Renard's brother is the actual father, and that the reason why we never saw a body from when he supposedly died (and his character got swept under the carpet in a way) was cuz the actor got a gig on another show (perhaps they weren't using him enough, and he needed to get himself some steady work).

It also looks like we're going to be getting a bit more undercurrents of Wesen culture this season. It may not be a whole lot, but maybe a little bit more with people being upset over the fact that Monroe and Rosalee got married. I suppose that it was bound to happen, since there does seem to be a "nice" stroke of racism within Wesen culture when it comes to other kind of Wesen.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

'Ask Jeeves' -- SPN 10x06


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm rather disappointed that I saw it coming that the "maid" was going to be the shifter. I was hoping that it would be something a little less obvious than that, but then, I'm not really all that surprised that it was kind of obvious.

The fact that they brought Bobby back into the show (in a way) was kind of bittersweet, since I still think it was bullshit that he was killed, and wish that there had been some way that he could have come back for real (since the boys do it all the time). I was happy to see that he agreed to not kill the baby, even if the decision came back to bite Sam and Dean in the ass later on; it showed that even though he was a hunter (and shifters are considered "monsters" by most hunters), he had a heart when it came to the things that he would normally hunt. I would have liked it much more if the one that Bobby had let live hadn't turned out to be the killer in this episode ... that she had turned out to be just another person trying to live her life (it would probably be too much to ask that the killer be a normal person, and that she would turn around and help the boys try to figure out who the killer was. It would have made such a nice turnaround on the trope that the writers have been grounding into the ground since the show's beginning).

And if homegirl had been locked in the attic for most of her life, wouldn't there have been some sort of sign that she had actually lived there at some point (instead of it looking like an attic that they kept junk, and which had been that way for long enough that dust would have started covering things)? Sure, it would have made people suspicious while they were watching the episode, but it would have at least made some sort of sense when you found out that she had supposedly been living in there for so long.

But hey, this is our first legit female shifter (at least as far as we know). I had written a fanfic after "Monster Movie" (one of the only handful that I've done ... not just for this fandom, but for all of the ones that I've been at least somewhat involved in) about a female shifter, cuz it had bothered me that there hadn't seemed to be any that identified as female (and I theorized that the shifting gene must be double recessive (like being a red-head) and attached to the X chromosome (so the Y doesn't have anything to combat it, like with colorblindness), which could be why we had only met those who had identified as male. I was probably overthinking it, but it helped me handwave why there hadn't been any female shifters in the show.

The whole "Clue" vibe of the episode wore really thin after only a little bit, and I was rather glad when it was over. It felt a little bit too much like the writers were trying a little too hard to be funny in this episode (which seems to be a thing that happens quite a bit in Show), and it seems like when the writer tries too hard at it, the jokes end up falling a bit too flat. Like the whole "I hunt quail!!!" thing. I think that we (as the audience) were supposed to fin it funny that this douche thought that he knew what he was doing with a gun, cuz he had hunted quail before (when we understood that he didn't know what the hell that he was talking about), but the joke fell on it's face so hard (as far as I'm concerned) that I kind of wanted to smack someone upside the head for even thinking that it would have gone over well.

'Mama' -- SH 2x09


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm not going to lie, with the name of this episode, my first thought was of that horror movie by Del Toro. That's probably not what the writers of this show were going for, but it colored the entire viewing of the episode for me. I kept expecting for the mom to kill Abbie and Jenny. But then again, with the flashback that Jenny had (where their mom tried to kill her by running the car in the garage), maybe that movie was in the back of the writers' minds (seeing as how that film ended with the ghost "mama" killing the younger of the two sisters).

I suppose, in a way, it was good to get a bit of backstory when it came to the early lives of Abbie and Jenny (and being able to see how Moloch was already messing about with their lives at that time ... perhaps he already understood that Abbie was going to be one of the Witnesses, and he figured that Jenny was going to be a pain in his ass, even if she wasn't the one in the family who was the Witness). But even getting to see how things were for them with their relationship with their mom, I can't say that I was really all that interested in what was going on with the episode. The only thing that I found relatively interesting was the fact that the writers seem to be going ahead with the "let's turn Abbie (or possibly Jenny) into a witch" thing that they started in the last episode. If their mom hadn't been so very tormented when she was still alive, I have the feeling that the Book of Shadows witchy book that she had inherited would have been pasted down to the two of them, and the two of them would have learned how to tap into their family power and kick all kinds of ass by using that power. Perhaps the writers think that this may be a way of writing off Katrina (who had so much promise when the show started, but who has fallen completely flat, since she hasn't lived up to any of the hype that has been lain at her door, she is in constant need of rescue, and she has turned into a bitchy teenage girl), or perhaps it may be a way of giving Jenny a more active role with the Witnesses that has less to do with her proficiency with a weapon, or her sometimes knowledge of secret stuffs (since we now have Han Solo Hawley to serve that function when Captain Skinnyjeans doesn't know what's going on).

I think that the writers may also be trying to insert a bit of humanity into Henry's character. First, they had Ichabod get a flash of memory from when he was a frightened child, and now, they have given us a flash of emotion when Katrina picked up baby!Moloch. Perhaps we are supposed to be feeling sympathy for him and the rough life that he's had ... the lack of choices that were given to him, and how he did the best that he could under the circumstances ... but I kind of still want to keep poking him in the eye. Hard. I'm more interested in how being a sin eater ties with him being a Horseman, or if it does at all. Either it is an ability he naturally has from being the son of a powerful witch (sense my roll of the eyes right here, since Katrina hasn't proven herself in my eyes), and it is something that is being twisted to serve a purpose by Moloch; or it is something that Moloch gave to him to help turn him, or make him more powerful as a Horseman. I'd be interested to get an answer on what may be going on there, rather than this theme of "let's forgive and feel sorry for the poor Horseman of War" that has been going on this season.

I don't trust Irving to be with the gang. He doesn't want to betray them, but I have a feeling that at a certain point, he won't be able to control himself ... that he'll be to warped by the evil that Henry has been working on him, he won't be able to stop himself from doing something harmful to one or more of them. This doesn't mean that I don't like Irving, cuz I really dig him, but the fact that Henry has possession of his soul is going to prove problematic when it comes to him being with those who are trying to stop the people who are ultimately in control of him. I do hope that now that the sisters have their family's Book of Shadows witchy book in their possession, they will be able to find something in there that will counteract the contract that Irving signed, and which will give him back control of his soul ... but I don't see that happening for a while yet, if it happens at all.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

'Dyin' on a Prayer' -- Grimm 4x04


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I forgot to mention with my review of last week's episode that I really dig the addition of the idea that the reason why Grimms can see Wesen is cuz they have an extra cone in their visual cortex. It at least gives us some kind of explanation as to why they can see Wesen and most other people can't. Still, I would love it if there was some more history of the Grimm's beginnings that was fleshed out in Show, cuz I still love the idea that they're a Wesen mutation, but that's my own personal fanon.

But this week's episode ...

I rather liked this interpretation of the golem, and I certainly liked it much better than the use of the lore that SPN used a couple of season ago. With that golem, it was far too human in appearance, and not enough like the creature of clay that I always imagined when I pictured one in my head; so, the fact that the writers made this one a soupy clay monster was pretty awesome.

I am curious as to why the step-dad's brother kept going after the step-son in this episode and threatening him; it didn't make all that much sense to me. Maybe it was nothing more than a way to make sure that the golem came back later in the episode, and Nick and Hank were able to make sure that the Rabi was telling the truth, but I kept getting the feeling that there was something more there that wasn't being said. I will admit that it's entirely possible that I am overthinking the whole thing, and there as nothing there, but ... I feel like the kid might be a Grimm. I'm not sure that it was from his mom. She did say that sometimes she thought that she saw things, but I got the feeling from her that she was only seeing the husband and brother when they wanted her to see them Woged. The son, on the other hand, I got the impression from him that he saw it all the time when the two of them Woged (which would have made more sense when the step-dad's brother started threatening him. Who threatens a little boy after the death of their brother, saying that they're going to rip the kid apart? Someone who maybe thought that the kid was the cause of the person's death?). Then, you have the fact that the boy feels such a kinship with the kid (who I still refuse to call "Trouble"), who is still learning about her own Grimmy powers, the fact that he seems so preoccupied with monsters, and the kid asking Nick just how many Grimms there are in the world. Like I said, I may be overthinking it, but I felt like we were getting subtle clues that the kid was a Grimm, too.

I feel really bad for Wu. He knows that there's something going on there (stuff that Nick and Hank aren't telling him), and he keeps getting the shaft from the two of them when it comes to actually getting the truth. And to top it off, he's not going to get the help that he thinks he's going to get from Renard (since it's in the captain's interest, just as much as it's in Nick's and Hank's to not tell him what's going on). He's so very close to all of the answers (not just with the kid, but also with his crazy time from last season), and I wish that he would be jumped into the gang. It's not even just that it would be good for his peace of mind, or that he would be a valuable member of the gang; it's also the fact that you have some FBI agents around, and he might go to them and say the wrong thing if he thinks that he's not getting the help he thinks that he should be getting from the other guys in the police department.

Speaking of the FBI, I'm really glad that the kid decided to tell Nick about what happened when she was taken by that agent. I didn't think that she would come clean quite so quickly (seeing as how she's probably used to doing things on her own), but I was glad to be proven wrong. Perhaps she's starting to get some family feelings toward Nick after all (cuz they could potentially have a really awesome brother/sister thing going on).

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

'Fan Fiction' -- SPN 10x05


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm not usually very keen on meta episodes (there tends to be a few too many winks to the audience in them that takes me out of the story), but this one I was kind of amused by ... amused more than I suspected that I would be. I figured that I would be doing a lot of heavy sighing at the screen and demanding that they "come. on." But there was none of that. I won't say that I wasn't kind of disappointed by the "monster," but other than that, I was fairly entertained throughout.

I was glad that there was an acknowledgement (which is now canon) of the fact that Adam was left in the Pit with Lucifer, since it was something that hadn't been dealt with in Show before that point. It still makes me feel all icky on the inside that they just left him there, and then, pretended like he never existed. I know that the boys have stuff going on that is all kinds of crazy, but they just left their brother in there, and they reportedly are all about family. How many times has something happened to one of them, and the other sold themselves to the devil just to get the other one out? A ton. But Adam doesn't get that. Bunk. Yes, Dean may have left Sam in the Pit, but that was a special case scenario.

And I will admit to having a bit of a squee moment when we got surprise!Chuck at the end of the episode. I was trying to figure out who it might have been, and kind of hoping that it would have been him (even though I also have been rather annoyed by the idea of Kripke putting himself into the show, using Chuck as his avatar, and turning that avatar into God). At least now we know that Chuck is still around, still kind of keeping an eye on the boys ... even if there was some stuff that they (and Kevin) could have used his help on, and it would have been nice to have him lend a hand ... not out and out saving their asses, but a little bit of something that would have maybe made some things a little bit easier. But if that had happened, I'm sure that I'd probably be here bitching about how whatever happened had been far too easy on them with the deus ex machine (yeah, I'm completely aware that the writers just can't win. They are completely in a lose/lose situation as far as I'm concerned).

But seeing him come in at the end like that, after everything had happened, and the boys had already driven off makes me kind of sure that they won't be seeing him again ... that he's taken himself out of the story (so to speak), even if he's just on the outside of their vision. That doesn't stop me from kind of wanting Chuck to tell them something so that they know that he's alright (even if it's only to Cas), but then, he'd probably have to explain what happened to him (since there could only be on prophet at a time, and they already had Kevin hanging around after Chuck bailed).

Also, I will give them kudos for having the girl that was playing Mary in the play being the one who started singing "Carry on Wayward Son." It made the song a bit more poignant that way.

'Heartless' SH -- 2x08


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Oh, the clusterfuck that was this episode.

I thought that we had gotten past the whole love triangle/let's have Abbie and Katrina bitchfight over Ichabod thing that the writers seemed to be gearing up to do, but it would appear that it may be back (at least somewhat). That whole scene with the two of them fighting over him, and trying to prove who was more important to him (his fellow witness, or his wife), was insulting and infuriating. It wasn't just horrible writing (in a very 1950s, let's have the women fight over the man, since that's the only thing that they would have running through their pretty, little heads anyway sort of way), and as someone who is female bodied (even if I don't necessarily identify female (I ID agendered, if you're curious)), I couldn't help wanting to shake the fuck out of whoever wrote this episode (and specifically that scene). They both have such potential to be really awesomely strong female characters (which we could use a lot more of, especially in genre television), and to have them revert to such cliché trops for how cisgendered females are supposed to act was beyond lazy when it comes to storytelling. My fury about their characterizations may be more focused to that one, particular scene, but that doesn't mean that the entire episode wasn't lacking when it comes to how they were written.

Katrina is not at all living up to the promise that we were given of her when the series first started. We were promised that she was some kind of awesome witch that had almost no equal (and the writers keep telling us how she is still totes awesome), but all we are given is a bit of witchy power and a whole lot of clichés. At this point, the only thing that she really provides is something for Captain Skinnyjeans to focus in on ... a goal to work toward if he starts to doubt his abilities or the need to keep fighting, and to be real, that doesn't give her much of a reason to keep living on the show. She would work just as well as a ghost of love lost if all she is, is motivation for him; his grief-rage would surely keep him going to at least continue the fight against Morloch.

And her going back to Henry and Abraham ... how incredibly tired. At this point, it doesn't seem at all like she is working as a spy, or that her abilities as one are all that great (much like her abilities as a witch, it's another of those things that we hear secondhand about how amazing she is, but we don't have any firsthand proof). What with the way that the necklace was glowing when she was looking down at the baby, it came across much more like she was there cuz she was being mindfucked into being there (and doesn't have any will of her own). Before, I might have been willing to look over the fact that she kept fighting for them to forgive Henry, since a mother's love will forgive a lot of things, but now ... everything that comes from her is going to be suspect in my eyes, no matter what it is.

In a way, I'm kind of hoping that with Abbie finishing the spell that Katrina had started, it might mean that Abbie will turn out to have some witchy powers, and the writers will get rid of Katrina once and for all. It might mean introducing a new minor character that will be able to give Abbie a bit of instruction, and who she will be able to ask questions of, but that is ok (provided that the character is somewhat competent, and not a complete waste of space ... I'm thinking something along the lines of Darius to Duncan in "Highlander: The Series"). But the writers may not go that way. They may, instead, continue to have a completely useless Katrina, and have the women of the show continue to fight like a couple of teenagers.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

'Last Fight' -- Grimm 4x03


Warning: Spoiler Alert

So, we have a whole new faction of ... something ... going on in the Grimm world. Well, a new faction to us, and at this point, we may find out that they're a new faction to the royals and Grimms of the world as well. I'm kind of hoping that it turns out that they have nothing to do with the fight that is going on between the royals and the resistance, but I think that they might ... that they may end up fighting for some sort of third option that neither the royals, nor the resistance has either thought of, or doesn't want.

I really don't like the idea that the kid isn't telling Nick what happened with the FBI agent, even if she is afraid of what might happen if she tells anyone about the whole thing. She may be used to keeping things to herself, and there may be a bit of wanting to keep Nick out of the loop so that he will stay safe from whatever is going on, but I have the feeling that by not telling him, things are going to blow up in her face. Whatever it is that is going on with them, I don't think that her trying to deal with it alone is going to prove to be such a good thing; I have the feeling that it's going to turn into one of those things where it can only really be dealt with by the whole gang together (with everyone on the same page).

The fact that they keep blowing Wu off is kind of bothering me. I can understand why they're doing it, especially when things are so weird and tense with the gang right now (seeing as how Nick doesn't have his Grimmy powers, he doesn't know if he wants them (but feels guilty about shoving the kid out there by herself), and Juliette has made it pretty clear that she doesn't want him to have his powers anymore. It would probably make more sense to tell him everything once Adalind's spell was reversed, and he was back at full power. Still ... I want Wu to be a part of the gang!!

Oh, Bud. I love how nervous he gets about everything. It kind of makes me want to give him some milk and cookies, pet his head, and tell him that everything is going to be alright. And the thing of it is that I know that if he was on the show more than he was, I would end up finding his constant worrying annoying. Hopefully he doesn't tell anyone about how Nick has lost his Grimmy powers, but I have the feeling that he's not going to be able to keep his mouth shut about it (cuz he'll be so worried about what's going on, he'll need to vent about it to someone).

I'm really liking Renard's mom so far, and I kind of don't want her to leave, but at a certain point, I think that she's going to have to ... only cuz she's not part of the core of the gang, and I don't think that we're going to ever be certain of her loyalties (other than those she has to Renard); plus, we already have one hexenbiest running around on the show.

Speaking of, who the hell is that guy that said that he could get her out of her cell. Sure, he got her a little ways out (and from next week's preview, it looks like she ends up back in Portland), but it seems like quite a chance to trust dude. For one, he looks like he's completely crazy (and wouldn't be able to find his way out of a shallow hole); for two, she has no idea if she's being tricked by Victor for some reason. Sure, he has her where he wants her, but I wouldn't put it past him to mess with her mind a bit, just for the hell of it. And even if she may be fun for the writers to write, I kind of wish that they would give Nick an new nemesis, cuz I still want to poke Adalind in the eye (and I'm usually the one who loves the baddies).

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

'Deliverance' -- SH 2x7


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Moloch is going to be pissed.

Henry is going to be boned the next time that Moloch calls him into Purgatory.

Haha.

Is it just me, or is it rather convenient that Franklin just happened to get that key out of the Hellfire Club ... and Jefferson figuring out that whole thing about the Aurora Borealis (and hiding a Borealis creating deus ex machine in a tablet that the Hellfire Club had) ... and that Abbie and Captain Skinnyjeans were able to figure all this out (and get all the way across town) just in time to save Katrina. Convenient.

I really don't believe that the new sheriff would have been so ok with going into that place without knowing a little bit more about what was going on. She came across as a little too willing to go in there without as much evidence of wrongdoing as she might have been in previous episodes. Sure, the way that the episode was written would have made that hard, but it seems like she should have needed a little more convincing to join in, and should have been more suspicious of Abbie and Ichabod trying to sneak out after they had gotten what they wanted.

Also, I don't understand the wardrobe choices that were made on behalf of Katrina's character this episode. Maybe they were trying to keep one foot in the past, while still getting her something to wear, but I don't know why she would have needed to wear a corset. The tank she was wearing underneath it would have been perfectly fine ... especially since those things are freaking uncomfortable, and she was already feeling ill as it was (without adding idiotic wardrobe choices on top of it) ... but while we're at it, I'm sure that the jeans that were almost a size too small wouldn't have helped either.

I'm really hoping now that Katrina and Captain Skinnyjeans are now lovey dovey again, we won't have to deal with the stupid love triangle that the writers were trying to shoehorn into the show. That thing was idiotic (mostly cuz it made absolutely no sense per the way that they've written the characters, but also cuz it was obnoxiously cliché, and was completely unnecessary for the plot), and I will be glad to see it go.

I am wondering what the lightning in the bottle that Henry got ahold of was for, and if it was something that Moloch wanted him to get ... or if it's something that he's doing on his own (some sort of personal revenge on Ichabod for somehow getting inside of his head and seeing him as a scared little boy). But whatever it is, I don't want it to come into play for a while, since the thing with the bone flute came to fruition in only a couple of episodes, and that was pretty fast; if the writers have another plan come into plan and become foiled in a couple of episodes, that would seem even faster, since it would come about on the heels of a victory for Team Skinnyjeans that took far less time than it should have. I'm really ready for them to do an episode or two that is a MOTW type of episode ... ones where we might not find out the true extent of the badness until later on (if ever).

Whatever the writers do, I'm hoping that it's better than what's been going on this season, cuz I'm not digging it nearly as much as I did last season.

'Octopus Head' -- Grimm 4x02


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Ok, I'll admit that within these first couple of episodes of this season, I have a little less frustration over the kid's character. Part of that may have to do with the fact that she seems to becoming a bit of a team player, instead of doing everything completely by herself like she was doing before ... sure, she still needs to work on that sort of thing, but at least she's getting better about it.

I am curious as to why it is that Timothy Perkal (said octopus head) wasn't able to use his freaky powers on the kid. It could just be that he was too freaked out by what he saw in her memories (understanding that she was a Grimm once he started looking at them) and decided to bail before something horrible happened to him, but the way that things have happened to Nick, it seems much more likely that there was something going on there ... like she may have some sort of resistance to the memory bleed (the way that Nick developed zombie powers at the beginning of last season ... or he got freaking super hearing in season ... was it two?). Nick may be atypical when it comes to the adaptability of Grimms, but since he's the only one that we really have any experience with, there is no way for us to really know at this point.

The thing with him and Adalind ... there has to be something with that. I almost want to say that this was a possible side effect of the spell that she did, and one that she didn't bother finding out about. I have the feeling that she isn't one to really bother with trying to find out the side effects of the spells she uses, even when she isn't trying to do something wicked cuz she's pissed off (and just wants to cause as much damage as she possibly can). But I also think it's rather "convenient" that the Scoobs now have a way to try and track her down, whether they are going to need her for some reason in the future or not. If the spell that Renard's mom does to try and help Nick get his Grimmy powers back doesn't work, I have the feeling that the writers put an "out" in the show to use if they want to have the gang go on a road trip and get her to reverse it.

Speaking of Renard's mom ... Renard's mom!!!! Hizzah!! I'm glad that she's finally made an appearance in the show, and I really hope that she turns out to be as awesome as she's been built up to be by the hints and whispers that we've gotten about her before (and that she doesn't turn out to be a complete let down, after we've been led to believe that she's the place where all awesome comes from ... kind of like what happened with Samuel Colt in SPN). I'm really looking forward to seeing what it is that the writers do with her, and I'm hoping very much that she doesn't end up in a show down with Nick's mom over the baby. Mostly cuz they already did it with Adalind's mom (and doing it again would seem cliché and tired), but mostly cuz I have the feeling that Nick's mom would lose, and Nick still needs to have at least some contact with her (when he has series Grimmy questions ... not that she's really been all that helpful when it comes to that, but still).

Also, speaking of Adalind and the baby ... I still think that she was stupid to assume that the royals had her, but being a new mom was probably messing with her head (and wasn't thinking as logically as she might have otherwise), and I still do not believe that Renard is the father. But if they are able to get ahold of the baby again, Renard's mom would probably be able to do some sort of spell that would prove who the father really was once and for all (if she turns out to be as awesome as I'm thinking, at this point, that she is).

Wu is getting so close to figuring things out with the gang, and I don't think that they're going to be able to duck him for very much longer about the truth. If they would just tell him already, that would be freaking amazing! I really want Wu to be a part of the gang already. It would have been even more amazing if he had turned out to be a Grimm also, but I'll accept him being a part of the gang as compensation for not getting the outcome that I would have preferred where he is concerned.

Friday, October 31, 2014

'Paper Moon' -- SPN 10x4


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Normally, I would be all over an episode that had to do with werewolves (seeing as how I love them the way that I do), but I felt like Show was just retreading things that it's gone over before over and over and over again ... not that that isn't A Thing with Show (the writers really seem to love sticking to one formula and never moving away from it). And the fact that the mantle of Sibling Emo Band was taken up by a couple of sisters (on top of the boys pounding it into the ground) made that trope that much more tired. Also tired is the fact that the older sib is the one who is messed up, but who still functions, and the younger one is the one who is completely the Ebil (younger sis being the ebil werewolf, and Sammy being the true vessel of Lucifer).

But the fact that Dean seemed to at least be brushing up against the idea that sometimes the two of them should stay dead might mean that this is the final season and that when one of them dies, it will finally be the end. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, since Show has kind of brushed up against that idea before, and it hasn't stopped the writers from continuing to kill one of them and bring them back for more seasons (as well as let us know through Ash that the boys have died and come back more times than we are actually aware of).

This whole episode left me feeling that the writers should have left Dean being a demon, and possibly let him be the Big Bad of the season, instead of curing him, cuz it seems like they are going to possibly rehash that whole thing with Sam being addicted to "demon blood" (which I still assert does not exist, since demons are non-corporeal). I have the feeling that they're going to get at least slightly emo about things, and I'm going to want to stab both of the boys in the eye.

And with us now being a few episodes into the season, it would be nice if we had a clear Big Bad to worry about, instead of it feeling kind of like the season is just going to be drifting slightly (and that the whole thing really should have ended at the end of season five ... which it should have).

'And the Abyss Gazes Back' -- SH 2x06



Warning: Spoiler Alert

Ahh, so that's what Henry wanted the Piped Piper's bone flute for ... blackmailing Joe Corbin into giving him the jar of stuff that would allow him to get his mom pregnant with a demon baby. I was kind of expecting that it would end up being something ... bigger? ... maybe, but as far as the mythos of the show goes, getting a way for Moloch to enter into our world is pretty huge a thing (it's pretty much the thing right now).

I don't know why I would have been kind of surprised to find out that Corbin had a family, but I was. The way that Jenny and Abbie seemed to take up all of his time (in kind of an obsessive sort of way) made me imagine that he didn't have any family, and that the two of them were it. But knowing that there was at least one son and (possibly) a wife/baby mom in the picture puts a new spin on things. Now, we've got to add neglectful dad/husband to the picture (along with manipulator and super secret keeper). And now it makes me wonder just how much of what was going on Joe and his mom knew about ... and if Joe's mom was still with Corbin when he died (or if she got sick of all of the secrets and bailed, cuz I don't get the feeling that Corbin would have shared everything with her, and she may have had the feeling that he had gotten slightly obsessed over something that she may not have thought was real).

I get the feeling that Irving is completely boned and that no matter what anyone does, he is going to be under the thumb of Henry for the rest of his life (and beyond). At this point, I kind of want Irving to just turn and start doing War's bidding, since it doesn't seem like there is going to be any chance for anyone to free him from the contract that he signed; dragging out the possibility of him getting free kind of seems pointless and slightly boring (not to mention that it would be someone that the writers of SPN would do, and they typically turn things like that into a complete yawnfest).

Speaking of SPN, I know that since I watch a lot of shows that have kind of the same themes running around in them, I'm going to see some overlap, but the fact that SPN had a Wendigo episode early in season one, I felt like that kid in "South Park" that kept saying "Simpsons did it" through the whole episode. There have got to be more things that they can branch out into that won't give me flashbacks to episodes of other shows.

'Thanks for the Memories' -- Grimm 4x01


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm kind of hoping that Nick not having his Grimm powers will last for a little while, cuz I'm sure that there are some interesting things that they could do with it ... but I don't want it to last as long as they had Juliette's memory loss lasted (that was far too long and out of control). I have the feeling that they would be able to do quite a few things with him trying to figure things out (knowing that there are all of the Wesen out there, but not knowing who is, or what kind); plus, trying to help the kid figure things out as well, without putting her in so much danger that she wouldn't be able to get herself out of it. Sure, she's on her way to being a completely awesome Grimm, but she's a little too ... unstable? ... when it comes to cleaning up messes afterwards, and she seems like she might have a touch of a tendency to panic. But I get the feeling that the longer she stays with Nick and Juliette (and if the two of them continue to try to work on being solid), the kid will end up feeling a bit more secure about life and being a Grimm (cuz she'll have a place that feels like home, and people in her life that feel like family).

Speaking of the kid: she didn't annoy me nearly as much in this episode as she had the tendency to do when she was first introduced (those first few episodes with her, I kind of wanted to punch her). If she continues to mellow out a bit (feeling secure that she has someplace that is home), I think that she may be a good addition to the team ... and I may continue to not want to punch her. Also, good on her for remaining cool when the pressure was really on ... even if she did want to run at one point (but then, I don't think I could blame her for that one).

Yet again, so very close to telling Wu exactly what it is that's really going on with the world. I really want Wu to be a part of the gang, and not just cuz it would probably be better for his peace of mind if he knew the truth of what was going on. It's more that I like that character, and I think that he would be an asset to the team once he knows the truth of what's going on ... not that he's not already an asset without realizing just how much he is at this point.

There wasn't enough of what was going on with Renard in this episode, but I have the feeling that we'll probably find out more about what's going on with him in later episodes. I don't get the vibe that he's in danger of being written off of the show, and not just cuz he's our doorway to the royals. The writers would have to crazy to write off a character that provides so much tension to the plot (in the sort of "what are his motivations"/"what is he really up to" sort of way). I don't see them wanting to get rid of someone who could provide so much delicious writing for them. Of course, the actor may want to move on to something else, but I don't see that being the case right now, either.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

'Soul Survivor' -- SPN 10x03


Warning: Spoiler Alert

Well, that was rather disappointing. It only took the course of one episode for Dean to be "cured" from being a demon. I was hoping that the Dean as Demon storyline would have lasted until the end of the season, since it seems like it would have created a much more dynamic season, and would have forced the writers away from the normal formula that they've had since season one. But now, there will be no more Dean as the possible Big Bad of this season, and I am rather disappointed.

Also, am I the only one who thought that his cure went a little too quickly? It only took the course of one episode ... it seems like it would have taken longer than that (or at least, it seems like it would have been far more interesting if it would have lasted longer, especially since Sam and Cas had no real clue as to whether or not it would actually work on him, even if it lasted around the course of one episode for Crowley to start acting human again). If they had played it out over a couple of episodes, the writers could have at least built up the tension over whether or not it might work, and could have gotten people to actually care a tiny bit about what might happen. Ok, I'm sure that there are some people who still care (since I've seen some reaction videos from the season finale for season nine, when it was reveled that Dean had gone all black eyes), but I'm not in that category any more ... I've been tired of he formula for quite a long time now.

I am very suspicious over the fact that Crowley helped Cas get some more grace. Seeing as how he's the King of Hell again (and the fact that he's still a demon), the fact that he's helping an angel with something is highly suspicious and makes me wonder what exactly it is that he has up his sleeve (which I'm sure is something). I don't get the feeling that he's going to try and get Dean to be his BFF again, since he seems to think that it's over between the two of them (even if he's turned all emo over the fact that he's lost his one true love).

But even if I'm suspicious about him and his motivations, I don't think that he's going to turn into this season's Big Bad ... and now that it's looking like it's not going to be Dean either (even if he does still have the Mark of Cain making him trip balls), I am wondering what the writers are going to do with that. Unless the motivation for the boys this season is going to get the Mark of Cain back to Cain ... which doesn't seem all that amazing as far as motivations for an entire season go (especially when it might (hopefully) be the final season). It seems like there should be something ... bigger than that for the overall baddie for the season, but maybe that's just me.

'The Weeping Lady' -- SH 2x05


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm starting to become rather suspicious over the fact that all of these weird occurrences, and ghosts, and Horsemen, and whatever seem to have some sort of origins that lead back to Ichabod (doesn't seem that there are that many in the way of having a connection with Abbie, but we have at least two Horsemen and a ghost that has been haunting Sleepy Hollow for two hundred years that are connected to Captain Skinnyjeans in some way). That is far too many in the way of coincidences ... more than I think should be all that normal even if he is one of the Witnesses.

I won't lie that it was kind of awesome to see Henry get dressed down by Morloch, cuz it's sometimes fun to see the bad guys get kicked in the ribs for trying to overreach ... well, at least when it's a baddie that isn't completely awesome and someone that you would love to win. I have a feeling that Morloch is going to be super pissed when he realizes that Henry has something else going on with the Pied Piper's bone flute (cuz I really don't think that he has any idea of what Henry is doing with that ... something awesomely evil, I'm sure). I have the feeling that all of this overreaching, and desire to get personal revenge on his parents, is going to be the ultimate downfall of War (since he's making their suffering a little too personal and seems to be forgetting the larger plan that he's supposed to be working toward).

The fact that Katrina has been lying to Ichabod about pretty much everything is certainly going to put a damper in their relationship, and I really feel bad for him. It's gotta be a blow to think that you know someone, be completely in love with them, think you can trust them ... and then, find out at pretty much every turn that they've been keeping huge secrets from you the entire time. I'm not sure how he's going to be able to trust her from now on. I don't see him just leaving her to remain in danger by staying with Abraham/Death, cuz he's a stand up guy, but I don't see him ever having the same amount of trust in her that he had before. Maybe this is part of the plan of the writers to bring in the love triangle aspect a little more strongly, since Ichabod and Abbie have a very solid relationship, and neither of them has done anything to make the other doubt any motivations.

Should it make me more suspicious of Hawley now that we know that he's also had (what appears to have been) a sexual relationship with Jenny? The fact that he knows both of them, and he seems to have been working angles on both of them, makes me think that there might be something more going on with this one. I really hope that it turns out that he's the Han Solo of the group (where you aren't completely sure about him in the beginning, but in the end, he turns out to be a valued member of the Scooby Gang).

Thursday, October 16, 2014

'Reichenbach' -- SPN 10x02


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I'm trying to decide if the writers are trying to make us think (through the use of the title) that Dean is dead (and that we may end up getting a psych out later when they realize that they can still make money off of the character. ::cough::SirArthurConanDoyal::cough::), or if we're supposed to think that this new dude is going to be the show's Moriarty ... or something of the like. Or it could be that I'm overthinking the whole thing, and they don't mean either of those things, and if it doesn't, it doesn't seem like the use of Reichenbach would make that much sense (what with the word being associated so much with the supposed death of Sherlock (and the actual death of Moriarty)).

I'm really hoping that they don't bring Metatron back into the show. He wasn't nearly as awesome and awe inspiring as I had hoped that he might be before they introduced him as a character (what with Metatron being one of my more favorite angels). If any of the angels or fallen angels of previous season were going to come back to be an antagonist again, I'd much rather have Lucifer or YED ... not that either of them have much of a chance of coming back onto Show at this point.

But speaking of Metatron, I don't believe him when he was telling Cas that he still has a part of his grace out there somewhere; it seems just too much like something he would say to mess with Cas's head while he still had the chance to do so. And if we do suddenly find out that there is still a part of his grace hanging out somewhere, I won't lie ... I'm going to feel kind of cheated. I know that there are plenty of Cas fangirls out there that would be completely psyched that Cas would be able to survive this season (and possibly into another season, if there is one ... which I really hope there isn't), but from a story standpoint, it feels like a complete cheat to build up that he's dying, and then, randomly give him the Get Out of Death Free card. It feels lazy on the part of the writers if they go that route, like they wrote themselves into a corner and couldn't think of anything that might actually get them out of the predicament they had put themselves into. So, in that way, I do hope that Cas finds out that Metaron was lying to him.

'Go Where I Send Thee ...' -- SH 2x04


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I really liked the idea of the Pied Piper being some sort of crazy ninja and loved them showing him going all Nightcrawler all over the place. But I'll also admit that the use of the Pied Piper made me want season four of "Grimm" to hurry up and come on (and only partly cuz I want to know how Nick is going to get his Grimm powers back (cuz let's be real, we all know that he's going to ... you can't have a show about a Grimm when the main character isn't a Grimm anymore)).

The thing that I really found interesting about this episode wasn't even in the A storyline ... it was the stuff in the B line ... the stuff with Irving. Of course someone who is completely evil is going to try and trick people into serving him, or doing stuff for him, but there has to be some sort of loophole that the gang can use since Irving was tricked into becoming one of War's bros. It may turn out to be something rather tricky, since he signed that contract in blood ... and did do it willingly (even if he really should have read the thing before he signed it). I don't get the impression from the way that the writers have been writing his character that they don't like him (I get rather the complete opposite impression, in fact), or that they want him to turn into one of War's lackies. So, there has to be some kind of loophole that the gang will find later on (and I'm kind of hoping that it's Jenny that finds it, since it's always awesome when she is able to get one up on Captain Skinnyjeans and her sister).

I'm also wondering what is going on with that bone that Henry wanted, what sort of spell he has in mind for it, and if that spell has anything to do with the house that he was born in. I almost get the impression that we might be supposed to think that it has something to do with Abbie and Ichabod directly, but I think that it will end up being used against them in a more roundabout way. The fact that the bone had something to do with the Piper and family (it being what the Piper used to perpetuate his revenge against this one family through the generations), I wonder if Henry isn't doing something with it that has to do with the house that he was born in. He quite obviously has something planned when it comes to that house, and I almost have the feeling that it might be something familial. It still might be that he is using the house as some sort of base of operations to heighten his power (what with the connection that it has to his birth), but with the addition of the bone ... it makes me wonder if he might have plans for Ichabod and Katrina (something more than just that one is a Witness, and they are both working for the forces of Good).

And with the way that the writers are focusing in on War and Death, it makes me think that Conquest/Pestilence and Famine may not show up all that much in Show. It would awesome if they showed up more than those couple of times that they have (and having Conquest/Pestilence in more than just the showrunners showing the four of them riding together). What would be kind of cool (if the writers could pull it off) would be if they kind of dealt with the riders in turn ... once they were able to defeat/push back War or Death, one of the others came forward to pick up some of the evil slack. But granted, War and Death are the two that seem like they would be more interesting from a writing (and viewing) standpoint ... unless they built up the whole Anti-Christ theme that is associated with Conquest. That could turn out to bring some really interesting TV.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

'Black' -- SPN 10x01


Warning: Spoiler Alert

I wonder what really happened to Jared's shoulder ... but not really enough to go looking for a reason why he would have been in a sling (and the writers would have felt the need to add something in there about how a demon messed him up while he was looking for Dean). And how is it that Jared's the one that ends up in the slings and the casts, but not Jensen? I guess Jared needs to not be a giant klutz. ;) But then, it has been six seasons or something since he broke his arm, so maybe he's not such a giant klutz.

Even if I knew that it would mean there would be no show, I kind of wish that Sam would just let Dean go ... hell, that's a good way for there to be no show anymore, and as much as Show has been making me crazy in the head the past few years, maybe that's a good thing. It would be easier to just walk away than to wish that the whole thing would explode, but I've invested far too much time into Show at this point, and it's hard to walk away when you've been in on the long haul like this.

I get the feeling that we're supposed to care and wonder about who this dude is that has kidnapped Sam cuz he's so pissed off at Dean from back in the day. But the problem is that I don't really care about who he is ... and only part of that comes from it not making a whole lot of sense to me that he's going after Dean now. If he's a hunter, why haven't we ever heard about this rift until now (and why is it such a surprise to Sam)? And if he's a demon, why would he be so stupid as to go after Dean now that he has the First Blade and the Mark of Cain, especially since he doesn't seem to be so stupid that he doesn't know that Dean has either of those things (like the idjits that Crowley has been getting to start stuff with Dean)? Whatever the case may be, if past is prologue, I have the feeling that there's going to be all kinds of build up, and we're going to be let down by the reveal.

I kind of hope that Cas does end up dying by the end of the season ... mostly cuz I get the feeling that he has a free pass cuz he's so popular ... and there may still be a bit of residual resentment over the fact that they killed off Bobby (and then, didn't bring him back, except as a ghost for a few episodes, and then, as a cheat in Sam's dream), and he was hella popular, too.

Since they made a point in the episode to let us know that Metatron is now permanently in prison (that the door to his cell is always going to be there), it makes me wonder if there would feasibly be more prophets now. If he's all locked up, and the magics that he used to make sure that there wouldn't be anymore prophets is out of commission, theoretically there should be. But I have the feeling that even if there are going to be more, they have run their course on the show. It's not just that Kevin was popular and killed (and the writers broke an entire fanbase by doing it), I got the feeling from last season that the writers were exiting the prophets from the show's mythos with the death of Kevin (especially since the tablets don't seem like they're going to be as integral to the show as they were before). However, I would love to at least have a throwaway comment about how there is a new prophet around ... as well as another comment about, "I wonder what ever happened to Chuck."