'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.

'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).

'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.

'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.