'Bad Luck' -- Grimm 4x14

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Of course Nick is freaking out about the fact that Juliette is now a hexenbiest. How could he not be? I can understand why she would want him to at least look at her, but also why it would be hard for him to; I just hope that this adjustment period isn't going to be a long one, since I want the two of them to go back to being a team (and not fall apart cuz of this). I still have the feeling that once they both come to terms with what's happened, everything is going to turn out ok ... it's just going to be getting to that point that will be the tricky part.

And really, when I said that I would love to see what happens when a Grimm and a hexenbiest have a baby, I didn't mean that I wanted it to be Adalind and Nick. I wanted it to be Nick and Juliette, damn it! The writers really need to pay attention to my demands when it comes to where the story is going to go next, if only to appease me.

But having the new baby be the product of Nick and Adalind will create a whole new kettle of fish for everyone (and not just cuz we don't know yet what the baby will be like with the mixing of said bloodlines). Things may not turn out quite as sticky for Adalind with this new baby as they did with Diana (as far as the royals are concerned), but they may turn out to be very sticky for Nick. I have the feeling that Nick isn't going to be able to get this new baby away from Adalind the same way that they got Diana away ... it may very well be that Adalind is going to be far more protective of this child than Diana (knowing what might happen if she takes her attention away for half a second). Still ... I have a feeling that the new baby may be taken away as well, but this time, it might very well be the royals that get ahold of him/her. I can see them wanting this child very badly once they know of its existence (even more so than they may have wanted Diana). It would certainly create a kind of balance to have the hexenbiest baby raised by a Grimm, and the one that is half a Grimm raised by the royals; and it would raise some interesting questions when it comes to nature v. nurture. It also brings into question how these siblings will interact with each other once they know about each other and are old enough to start to understand the nature of the world that they are in. Will they be allies, will they leave each other alone (out of some kind of respect for blood), will they only come together when the need is great enough, or will they actively try to destroy each other? It could prove to be somewhat interesting.

That being said, I'll admit to being disappointed at having Adalind get pregnant again so soon. What could have been someone who was at least a somewhat decent annoyance to the gang is turning into someone who is only there to be pretty and be a breeder for a further generation of interesting things to come in the future. It would have been nice if the writers had put a little more into her than to make her a mild annoyance and a vagina, especially since hexenbiests have the possibility of being truly formidable opponents when they want to be. But I guess we can't get everything that we want.

'The Things They Carried' -- SPN 10x16

Warning: Spoiler Alert

You know, the more this season goes on, the more I'm thinking that I'm really not going to be able to make it to the end of the season (and certainly not into the next season). As much as I have been wanting to shake the hell out of the writers and the characters of Show in the past few seasons, the more that this season has been going on, the less that I've been caring about what's been happening.

I'm sure that we were supposed to see a correlation between Dean and Cole in this episode, but all I wanted to do was to keep hitting the guy upside the head ... not so much for anything that he did in this episode (since, who wouldn't want to make sure that their friend was all right), but more from stuff that has happened in previous episodes that has made me not like him all that much now (regardless of what he may, or may not be doing).

It also seemed like the writers were trying to tell us (in a rather ham-fisted sort of way) that when Dean finally goes crazy from the Mark, Sam is going to have to kill him, cuz he'll have no other choice.

Speaking of Sam, since when is Dean ok with anyone else calling Sam "Sammy boy"? He nearly sliced someone else for doing the same thing a few seasons back. Maybe that's supposed to be a clue about just how far Dean's gone? Who knows.

Cuz Everything is on Hiatus, I Bring You a Book Review.

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I went to see my cousin last week (cuz I had yet to see his daughter in the flesh), and I unexpectedly received a copy of Soulless. I ended up downing the book pretty quickly, cuz I was having so much fun with it and was curious as to what was going to happen next.

It's set in a steampunk England during the time of Queen Victoria (of course it's during her time. How could you not have Vickie in a steampunk book that takes place in England, right?), and the main character is someone who is extremely rare (in a world where there are werewolves and vampires out in the open): she has no soul (hence, the title). The interesting thing about her having no soul is that it protects her somewhat from the supernatural set; because of her soulless state, she can exorcise ghosts by finding and touching their corpses, and while she is touching them, vampires and werewolves return to their human state. Because of this, any ghost that comes into contact with her fears her, vampires are a bit leery of her for the most part, but werewolves look on her as something of a blessing (and refer to her as "curse-breaker").

The main character is the odd sheep in her family, as she is so very practical, and her family is so very Victorian (and oftentimes very silly) ... plus, none of them know that she is soulless, or that she inherited that trait from her father (who we are lead to believe died before the opening of the book, but honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to have him come waltzing back into the story in a later book). She's far too straight forward for most of the people that she interacts with (especially her mother and half-sisters), as well as being ill-advisedly half-Italian; as such, she was pretty much told by her mother when she was sixteen that she has no other prospects than to be a spinster, and she would rather spend her time trying to find the younger sisters suitable matches.

The thing of it is that the Alpha of the werewolf pack in London is completely taken with her, and she is completely taken with him ... except that she doesn't seem to realize this fact until the Beta says something, because her family has her perception of herself so warped that she doesn't believe that anyone (let alone someone who is an Alpha, an earl, or a high ranking official in what is essentially the supernatural police force) would be interested in her. The two of them bicker almost constantly, and it's far more entertaining than it has any right to be.

The story itself opens up with the main character being attacked by a vampire who doesn't know that she is soulless (which for the most part, all of the supernatural in London do), and she accidentally kills him after he attacks her. The Alpha and Beta of the werewolf pack in London come upon her after she's just killed said bloodsucker, noting to them that he acted oddly for a vampire, and the rest of the book is them trying to figure out the mystery of who created this particular vampire (since they have an idea of which hive he should belong to, but that hive is denying creating him), and trying to figure out why those who have allied themselves with the packs and hives in the surrounding area are disappearing.

All-in-all I was very entertained, and checked the rest of the series out from the library when I was only about half-way through. The worst I can say about it was that it was a bit formulaic and relied a bit on the tropes but that didn't take away from it being a fun read (or the fact that I'm half-way through the next book, still enjoying the world that these books are in, and am looking forward to finishing them). I would love to see the world fleshed out a bit more, and I am curious as to what it would be like if the characters visited the US (which has been described as being in the Wild West era, and full of people who are so superstitious that the supernatural set is still too afraid to identify themselves to the larger country for fear that they will be killed).

'Not Just a Pretty Face' -- Suits 4x16

Warning: Spoiler Alert

I kind of wish that I could say that it was a surprise that Harvey refused to expand on telling Donna that he loved her (and acknowledge what he actually meant by it), or that she decided that she was going to be Luis's secretary, but the writers seem to have been building up to that for a while (both that Harvey wasn't going to act on any feelings that he might have for Donna, as well as Donna starting to work for Luis).

There is a part of me that hopes that now that Donna is going to be working for Luis that Harvey will actually act on how he feels for her (since there won't be any messy "you're my secretary and my SO" thing going on), but I still don't see it happening. I get the feeling that what will probably happen is that he will do something significant that will convince Donna to start working for him again, and the two of them will end up back in a status quo (so that we can have the dynamic of the top lawyer and the top assistant kicking ass and taking names together). I really hope that that isn't what's going to happen. I have the feeling that Donna and Luis would make a fantastic team together, and Luis would give her the appreciation that she wants from a boss (in that he will tell her how much she means to her as well as showing her), and I have a feeling that Donna will be really good for Luis (not just as a friend, but as someone who will look out for him and do her best to make sure that he doesn't do something stupid). I'm looking forward to seeing the two of them work together in an official capacity, since I'm sure it's going to be entertaining.

I'll also admit to the fact that I kind of want to see Harvey scramble to try and replace Donna. I want to see him struggle without her and have it thrown in his face how much he really loves her, and how much he wants her to be the SO (even if he does appreciate her, even though he doesn't say the things that he feels). But even if he does realize how awesome she is, I get the feeling that a part of him has been taking her for granted, assuming that she would always be there, and that she would never leave him (despite knowing that she's in love with him, and that she would like something more from him). It would be really nice to see him get shaken up over her and have it force him into action (especially since he usually has such an easy time when it comes to women).

Good on Harvey and the kids figuring out how to take down Forsman, cuz the guy was a smarmy git, and I will be kind of glad to not have him hanging around anymore causing trouble (or giving people someone to go to when they want to play at being Faust). And yes, I am counting what the kids did as part of what led to Forsman getting his ass handed to him, since it was their work that eventually led to Harvey getting himself wired up and having Forsman talk too much and get himself caught. You would think by now that bad guys would realize that you don't talk too much about the bad things that you have done, cuz it will only end up getting you in trouble. Apparently, not enough of them have watched old movies where that happens all. the. time.

And finally getting an actor that is the face of Harvey's brother! I would love to know a bit more about his family dynamic through flashbacks, but I think that they're doing a good job with stringing that information out a bit, since it's probably what is making me more interested his life from when he was younger.

'Intent' -- Suits 4x15

Warning: Spoiler Alert

OMG!! I am so glad that it looks like Donna isn't about to be written off the show, since I need to have Donna in my life. She is everything that is good and awesome in the world, and that is no lie. I am not sure how much I would have continued to enjoy the show if Donna had been written off of it, since she is so thoroughly awesome.

Her relationship with Harvey ... holy hell. The two of them really need to get on the same page about stuff, since that would make things so very much easier on everyone. It's not likely to get any more touchy feely between the two of them than what it is now, since that's just now how they roll, but it would be nice if they could actually say what they mean without any hang-ups getting in their way (but their hang-ups are part of the reason why they are so awesome at what they do, and why I love them both). The thing is that I think that if she hadn't been so scared that she was about to go to prison, she probably would have seen what Harvey was doing, and she wouldn't have needed him to actually tell her that everything was going to be ok (but he was scared, so she did need to hear those words from him ... and I think that if he wasn't so scared that she might go to prison, he might have been more able to see that she needed to hear the words from him that she got from Luis).

And the fact that he kept saying through the episode about how she was different than everyone else ... in normal circumstances, that would have been a throwaway comment, but in this instance it wasn't. The way that this episode was played made those comments add even more weight (or a different weight) to him telling her that he loved her at the end of the episode. In a different episode (where her whole life might not have been ruined by what was going on in the episode), him telling her that he loved her might have been brushed off as him having a rare moment of showing feelings for a bestie (and someone that he knew that he could trust), but with those comments from earlier (and how scared he was that he might be able to protect her like he wanted to), him telling her that he loved her ... I kind of wish this would mean that the two of them would get together, but I have the feeling that the writers are going to go no farther than acknowledging that the two of them really are in love with each other, but because of how well they work together, they aren't going to ruin their working relationship to complicate it with a personal relationship.

I can't seem to make myself care about the fact that Jeff quit, since he outlived his usefulness to the show. The guy really only should have lasted a few episodes, but it was his relationship with Jessica that saved him from getting canned. He wasn't really adding anything to the show as one of the attorneys (since we didn't see him do much of anything after his initial few episodes). And after a while, his scenes were a bit too repetitive (him getting upset that Jessica wouldn't tell him what was really going on, and her being cagey about it); there's really only so many times that you can rehash that one scene before you have the character branch out in some other direction, or you write him/her off.

'Tempus Fugit' -- SH 2x18

Warning: Spoiler Alert

So, that's what "Fuck you, it's magic" looks like where time travel is concerned. I had hoped that they would have done something intelligent where the paradoxes of Abbie being the past were concerned, instead of giving them the magical assist that would have undone every bit of damage that she and Katrina possibly could have done. And rather convenient that we weren't given a timeframe where using the Traveler spell would have not been effective in stopping the paradoxes was concerned. I have a feeling that no matter what might have happened, the writers still would have given themselves enough time to get Abbie and Katrina back before things couldn't have been undone. And I will admit that I feel completely cheated in that regard; I wanted there to be some ripples of badness that came out of the two of them going back in time, instead of having everything getting retconed, and Abbie still retaining her memory about what happened (complete with the nudge from Grace). I wish I could say that I think that there could be some kind of fallout later on from Abbie and Katrina going back in time (maybe with Abraham, or something that may have seemed insignificant at one point, but which has snowballed into something that is near impossible for them to solve now ... and maybe they don't even really notice that it's something that has changed), but I have a feeling that the whole thing was a way for the writers to give us a visual that starting with next season we are going to have a new beginning (with Abbie meeting Captain Skinnyjeans in the past while in a prison cell and not believing anything that she said, much like what happened in the pilot), and to give us some sort of plausible reason for killing of Katrina.

However, I will say that I am not sad to see Katrina go (and that we were given a most definite nod to the fact that we will not have to worry about the writers bringing her back). The things that the writers could have done with her character are astounding, but they botched the whole thing up, and I'm glad that we won't have to worry about them continuing to drag out that storyline (while continuing to lose viewers like whoa).

But since they have now officially gotten rid of Katrina, and we have had a bit of guidance from Grace to Abbie, I have a feeling that we may see a bit more of Abbie and Jenny using their magic (and using Grace's journal as their Book of Shadows, adding to the things that Grace had put in there with the things that they have learned and faced in the battle against whatever is coming next ... maybe something more about the angels? or the demons who escaped Purgatory trying to make Abraham the new Big Bad?). And maybe the comment from Franklin means that we are going to meet some more modern witches, and some of them might be able to train Abbie and Jenny in the Craft.

And since we have now gotten rid of Katrina and the awful soap opera that was her relationship with Ichabod, I am leaning toward hoping that we don't find out that they never left Purgatory (even if I still think that it makes complete sense that they are still there and only think that they're not), and we never have to hear anything more about Henry and marriage woes.

'Derailed' -- Suits 4x14

Warning: Spoiler Alert

What is it with this show and giving tertiary characters that are involved with primary characters the axe as soon as they either find out about Mike, or edge up to finding out about Mike? First Scotty, and now Jeff. Sure, I wasn't all that interested in having the Jeff aspect of Jessica's storyline (not only their romance, but her being conflicted about telling him) be the primary arch that her character was involved in, but that doesn't mean that I didn't want her to have him in her life (if she could have opened up to him a little bit more, which I know was hard for her, I have a feeling that the two of them could have had a pretty solid relationship).

Stupid Mike, and his secret.

I know that it wasn't something that Luis had done on purpose, since sometimes he just isn't thinking about what he's saying and how it will come back and bite him (or someone else) in the ass, but I kind of want to shake him ... just a little bit. Not a whole lot, like I've wanted to before, when he was being a jerkface on purpose; just a little to make him think about what he's saying. Live the lie, bro.

That isn't to say that Jessica probably shouldn't have told Jeff what was going on before now, but since Luis knew that there was the lie there ... urgh! But I'll completely admit to being like Jessica with the keeping things very close to the vest, until sometime down the road (if I ever say anything about it), so that may be a bit why I'm kind of frustrated with him for not thinking about what he was saying so that she could tell Jeff when she was ready; not that I don't completely think that Jeff was right to be angry when he found out that she had lied to him, cuz he had every right to be.

Donna!! Donna!! Donna!! She really should have known better than to go down there and pretend to be someone that she wasn't, and that she had asked for copies of records that she hadn't asked for. She's worked in a law office long enough that doing something like that should have been a big no no ... even if the boys skirt around the law sometimes to get what they need. But you would have thought that she would have learned her lesson that time when her signature was forged on that paperwork, and she got fired. Her heart was in the right place (not only as far as Mike was concerned, but also with those people that were killed), but she still should have known that doing something like that could come back to bite her in the ass (she's Donna after all). I just hope that this isn't a way to write Donna off of the show, since I love her so. I would be beyond sad if she left the show; I'd be down right disgruntled. No lie.