How I Met Your Mother: How Your Mother Met Me (9x16)

What a refreshing episode. Seeing something like this reminds me of how good this show used to be, and how drab it's become lately. Thank goodness we only have a few more episodes left. While How I Met Your Mother had a strong run, it's definitely time for it to throw in the towel. Let's take a look at the plot.

On The Mother's 21st birthday, her boyfriend Max dies. She discovers his final gift for her, a ukulele, after the funeral. From this moment forward, we are taken through The Mother's life, stopping at all the moments at which her life has intersected with the lives of Ted and his friends. First, we have the St. Patrick's Day party, where The Mother loses her umbrella and Ted finds it. At the club, The Mother runs into Mitch, the guy that Robin slept with in the episode "The Naked Man." In fact, Mitch tries to employ the same trick on The Mother.

The Mother wants to end poverty, and with this life goal in mind, she takes an econ class, whereupon Ted Mosby accidentally stumbles in and starts teaching architecture. It is here that The Mother meets Cindy, future girlfriend of Ted. We flash forward to when Cindy and Ted break up, and Cindy realizes that she's attracted to girls when she leans over and kisses The Mother unexpectedly.

Parenthood: You've Got Mold (5x14)

This episode actually made me cry. Actual tears. That's a pretty rare occurrence when watching a TV show, so kudos to Parenthood for making it happen. Let's jump right in!

Zeek and Camille's plot: Camille is continuing her art classes online, and she is still very much distant from her relationship with Zeek. Zeek talks to her about it, and then says that he's realized that the house means nothing if they aren't there together. He tells Camille that he's willing to sell the house, for her. I really enjoyed this plot, because, again, this show is not ignoring the lives and struggles of the older generations. And Zeek has been a great husband through all of this. He realized that his wife had been making sacrifices for him, and he adjusted his behavior accordingly. Actually, Zeek's amazing behavior as a husband can contrast pretty nicely with Joel, who is not doing so great with the marriage thing, as we'll see. 

The Vampire Diaries: 500 Years of Solitude (5x11)

This episode was basically a nostalgia episode. It had a bunch of old characters in it, and it took a look at Katherine's life through the ages. I'm not entirely sure what I think of some of the bigger decisions in this episode, but as far as the overall feel, I think it was a smart decision for the 100th episode to give us a lot of character bonding moments and have the whole gang be together. Let's take a look at the plot.

Honestly, there isn't much of a plot. Mostly it just consists of Katherine slowly dying in the Salvatore house, while everyone else drinks to her memory... or rather drinks in celebration that soon she will be no more. Everyone, that is, except for Stefan, who can't help but hope for Katherine to achieve peace in her final moments. And for a while it really does seem like Katherine's final moments. She seems ready to let go, even if Nadia, her daughter, does not. Nadia comes up with a plan to save Katherine, involving the Travelers. Katherine is going to use Nadia's body as a host, basically, and become a passenger in her body. In order to accomplish this, Nadia needs help from a Traveler. In order to get said help, she knocks out Matt, buries him alive, and then tells the group that she needs help to save Katherine. Elena and Stefan both come with Nadia so that Matt can be saved, while the others go out looking for Matt. Elena and Stefan, it turns out, were needed especially because they're doppelgangers. A group of Travelers take some of their blood and start chanting weird things. Nothing bad happens, but we don't know exactly what they were up to. At least, not yet...

Parks and Recreation: Farmers Market (6x12)

What a fun episode of Parks and Recreation! I was smiling through this whole thing. Some really lovely character moments and some excellent jokes made for one of my favorite episodes of the season.

So, Leslie and Ben visit the Farmers Market that Leslie helped set up, but then something strange happens: the chard salesman starts putting on a lewd show with dancing women and men in their underwear, and strobe lights, and the whole works. Leslie tells Ben to put a stop to it, but he says he can't do anything as city manager. Leslie keeps bothering him about it, but Ben creates a rule that they aren't allowed to talk about work while at home. However, Leslie is so bent on getting the chard people kicked out, that she keeps pursuing the topic. This all culminates in Leslie and Ben standing in a freezing fountain together, discussing the awkwardness of their relationship and their power dynamic at work. Eventually, they come to a compromise. The chard people can do their whole routine, but only after 5pm.

Modern Family: Three Dinners (5x13)

As the title suggests, this plot centers around three separate dinners. As such, there isn't a unifying event for the family to attend, but there is a unifying theme, and I think it made the episode work really well. As is often the case with this show, the simplest of plots make way for the best jokes.

Jay and Gloria have Jay's friend Shorty and his wife over for dinner, when suddenly Shorty and Darlene announce their intentions to move to Costa Rica. Jay is rude about this, and says that Shorty will never go through with the plan, and that it's a stupid idea. Shorty leaves, angry. After talking with Gloria and Manny, Jay realizes that he's just afraid of losing Shorty, who has been his best friend for so many years. Shorty comes over to the house, and the two of them tearfully make up. Manny and Gloria watch, a bit perturbed at how girly the two men are behaving.

Supernatural: First Born (9x11)

Dean and Crowley hunting together! Sam and Cas bromance in the bunker! A dream come true! Let's dive right in to the plot.

Dean is on his own, being sad, when Crowley approaches him and asks him for help in tracking down the First Blade, which is apparently a super fancy knife that can kill Knights of Hell, and thus take care of Abaddon. So, using John Winchester's journal, the two of them find an old hunting friend of John's named Tara. She has most of the ingredients for a locator spell, and Crowley is able to supply the last piece. Crowley and Dean track down the location where the First Blade is supposed to be. Instead, they find... Cain. Crowley is terrified of him, but Dean insists that they can't leave until they have the Blade. Cain shares his story with Dean and Crowley - he was one of the first demons. He killed his brother Abel because Lucifer was going to corrupt him, and he couldn't bear to see his brother taken to Hell like that. So, Cain took his place. He trained the Knights of Hell. Then, he fell in love with a woman, but Abaddon and the other Knights of Hell murdered her. He killed them all, but left Abaddon alive because Colette begged him to stop the killing, as her last wish just before she died. So, Cain ends up being sort of allied to Dean and Crowley's purposes, because he does want revenge on Abaddon.

Cain reveals that the Mark of Cain can be passed on to someone else, but only if they are worthy of such a gift/curse. Dean is one such worthy person. Ignoring warnings from Cain that the mark comes with a terrible price, Dean accepts the Mark. Demons, who followed Crowley and Dean after killing Tara, show up at Cain's house. He tells Crowley and Dean to run. Dean then learns that Crowley had manipulated these events from the beginning, and Crowley doesn't seem at all perturbed that Tara lost her life in the process. Although Dean is furious, he realizes he still needs Crowley, since the actual First Blade is hidden at the bottom of the ocean, and he needs Crowley to fetch it.

How I Met Your Mother: Unpause (9x15)

Plot happened! Yay! This week, the story actually advanced, and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

So. The title of the episode refers to Marshall and Lily's fight. Throughout the course of the episode, Marshall continually dreads the moment when they will unpause their fight, so he keeps making up excuses to put it off. First, he keeps the gang up really, really late. Then, he takes a long time having sex with Lily, and this causes her to fall asleep. However, when he accidentally wakes her up, they start their fight. Lily says that Marshall was really selfish in accepting the job without talking to her, and Marshall brings up the fact that Lily once broke up with him and moved away. He then says some pretty awful things, asking Lily if she only came back to him because her career didn't take off in San Francisco. He asks her if their marriage and their kid are just consolation prizes. Upset by this, Lily leaves, calling some as yet unknown person to pick her up and take her away.

Wow. Talk about stuff happening. It's sort of silly to think that Marshall and Lily won't make it up and be okay, but they've actually been drawing out this conflict between them for much of the season so far, and it just came to a pretty nasty climax. Has Marshall been carrying around these resentments all these years? And does he have a point? Who did Lily call at the end of the episode to come pick her up? Does anyone else think it could be The Mother? All of these questions, all of this drama... wow. I really enjoyed this plot thread a lot, and I'm honestly not sure how they're going to untangle this mess.

Castle: Limelight (6x13)

This was a thoroughly enjoyable, if somewhat silly, episode of Castle. It actually reminded me a lot of something we might have seen in the earlier days, where the case-of-the-week aspect was fun and silly yet still poignant, and the experiences of the people involved actually connected to the experiences of our leading characters in a meaningful way. Let's take a look at the plot.

Mandy Sutton is a teen pop star who turns up dead. The team is on the case, but then it turns out that Mandy wasn't the victim after all. Instead, her body double, a girl named Claire, was the one murdered. The team now struggles to determine who the intended target was - Mandy, or Claire? And does the killer know that he or she has not succeeded in killing Mandy Sutton? Suspects include Mandy's druggie ex, and her more recent boyfriend, who was upset when a paparazzo caught a picture of Mandy kissing this ex. Neither of these boys are the guilty ones. It turns out that Mandy never did kiss her ex-boyfriend. It was Claire, who was part of a scheme to make some money by setting up Mandy to fall. And who planned the whole thing? Mandy's mother/manager, who wanted to keep her in the papers as a party girl to garner more attention.

Alexis gets caught up in the case when she and Mandy accidentally wind up with each other's phones. Alexis ends up ranting to Mandy about Pi. She's not sure that she wants Pi around anymore, and she thinks she may have made a big mistake in moving in with him. But she doesn't want to tell her father, who has been writing Pi a recommendation for an internship.

Parenthood: Jump Ball (5x13)

The acting in this episode stood out to me as particularly amazing. This show always has great acting, but in this particular installment, I was really just blown away by all the stellar performances. I wanted to say that up front in case I forgot later. Alright! Let's get started with the plots.

Camille is back from her trip, and while she seems happy to see everyone, she has also been altered greatly by her experience overseas. In fact, she's already talking about taking another trip, this time to France. Zeek tries to be understanding, but it's hard for him. I liked this plot a lot because it's continuing to push Camille's arc. She wants something, and she's not afraid to go and get it. Zeek is trying so desperately to be a good husband, but he's scared of all of these changes. He feels like his wife is starting this whole new part of life, and he's being left behind. I'll admit, I was a bit miffed that Camille didn't invite Zeek to go on the trip to France... we'll have to see how this manifests a little later on.

Amber is... understandably upset after what happened with Ryan. She blows off work and goes for a drive, ignoring her mother's worried pleas for her to come home. She ends up at a bar where her father, Seth, works. She lashes out at Seth, blaming him for what's happened to her, since she's worried she's just like him. Seth manages to calm her down enough to take her home. She sleeps off her drunkenness at his house. Seth calls Sarah to let her know where Amber is. In the morning, Amber says she has to stop being so mad at her dad. Seth and Amber share an awkward but cordial breakfast of pancakes. This was another plot I really enjoyed, mostly for the stellar acting. I do hope we get to see some progression in Amber's story arc, now. I think that maybe some parts of this thread where a bit on the nose, if you know what I mean. Amber saying she's afraid of being her dad felt a bit obvious.

Parks and Recreation: New Beginnings (6x11)

Okay! Fast review time.

Leslie gets her job back at the Parks department, but she's feeling unneeded, since everyone is doing so well without her. She tries to interfere with Tom's presentation, but after a while accepts that he can handle it on his own. Eventually, Ron points out that maybe it's okay that she's not needed, because she's on her way to bigger and better things, and now she can trust that everyone will be okay without her.

I enjoyed this plot for the same reason I've been enjoying Leslie's story line all season. She's settling back into an old routine, but it's clear that this is just a pit stop for the great Leslie Knope. She's on to bigger and better things. It might seem like they're just putting Leslie back into her old spot, but I can tell they're going to push her character forward in big ways. I'm excited for that. Also, I liked how successful Tom was in his presentation, and Ron's fatherly guidance is always sweet. One of the highlights: when Leslie decides to let Tom shine in his presentation, she gives a purposefully horrible presentation of her own. That made me laugh.

Modern Family: Under Pressure (5x12)

This week's Modern Family had a lot going on. The plot centered around the school's parent's night, where all of the parents go to check out their kid's classes. This allowed for a lot of comedic possibilities, and there were so many subplots in this episode that it's hard to keep track. However, the episode still avoided being cluttered. Let's jump straight in!

Alex is cracking under the strain of school and SATs, and has a breakdown at dinner on her birthday. She decides to go see a therapist. When she does, at first she's just trying to solve the problem right away and move on, but then she finally admits to the therapist that she feels a lot of pressure, and she doesn't think her family really understands her. At parent's night, Claire realizes how much Alex is taking on, and feels bad for never understanding all of the pressure she's under. She tells this to Alex, who hugs her gratefully. This may have been my favorite plot of the night. I really like Alex and I liked the opportunity to explore her a bit more.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Seeds (1x12)

Yay! Lots of Fitzsimmons. If this show can just be about Fitzsimmons now, I'll be happy. Seriously. Who cares about Skye and Ward? Let us discuss the plot!

So, at the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, some kids almost get frozen by an instantly freezing pool. Ward, Skye, and Fitzsimmons go to investigate. Fitz and Simmons are pretty much celebrities at the academy, while Ward, who is from Operations instead of Sciences, is bemused at Fitzsimmon's popularity. While the two scientists are giving a lecture, another freezing incident occurs. They are able to save Donnie, the almost-victim. Donnie and Fitz spend some time together, and Fitz learns that Donnie is the youngest guy to come through the academy since Fitzsimmons themselves. Fitz helps Donnie with a project, but Simmons, Ward, and Skye have just discovered that Donnie was actually behind the attacks.

In fact, the whole thing was a scheme to get Fitzsimmons to come to the school to help them complete their freezing device. Who is this device for, you ask? Well, Ian Quinn. Donnie and his friend/accomplice Seth try to put it to use, but it backfires and Seth ends up losing his life in the process. Coulson angrily calls Quinn and tells him to watch his step, but Quinn gives the ominous message that the Clairvoyant says hello.

Supernatural: Road Trip (9x10)

We're back from hiatus! Supernatural sure pulled out the big guns for this episode... we had pretty much all of our important characters in this one. Sam, Dean, Cas, Crowley, Metatron, Abaddon... I was pretty happy to see the whole gang. Let's start with a summary.

Dean is grieving Kevin's death, while meanwhile Gadreel keeps killing people (and angels) on Metatron's orders. Cas comes to the bunker, where Dean fills him in on all that has happened. Cas and Dean go to Crowley to help them bypass the angel inside Sam, so they can talk to Sam directly. Then, they hope, Sam will be able to cast the angel out. Crowley agrees to help them, if they let him go with them to find Sam. They do so, but a demon spots Crowley and alerts Abaddon that Crowley is on the move.

Gadreel goes to murder the next person on Metatron's hit list, and it turns out to be an angel named Abner, who was an old friend of Gadreel's from when they were imprisoned together. Abner explains that the way to happiness is to find the thing you want most and to hold onto it, at any cost. Gadreel kills Abner, because he knows it's the only way to get what he wants with Metatron. Cas and Dean show up and capture Gadreel.

How I Met Your Mother: Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra (9x14)

Oh boy. Not so sure what to think of this episode. It had some funny jokes, but it also had a very weak overarching plot. Let's take a look.

Marshall is about to slap Barney, but then Future Ted says there's a back-story to this slap, and we go back a few weeks before the wedding. The gang sits around their table at MacLaren's. Marshall tells Barney that his next slap needs to be especially painful. Barney remarks that he's immune to all of Marshall's tricks by now. So, Marshall tells Barney a story.

Apparently, Marshall learned the art of the "Slap of a Million Exploding Suns," by learning techniques from three different masters. He first goes to Shanghai to learn the "speed" component from Red Bird (played in the story by Robin). He then learns "strength" by going to a mountain in China called Slap Mountain, and trains with White Flower (aka Lily). Finally, he travels to Cleveland and learns "accuracy" from the Calligrapher (Ted). Throughout the telling of the story, Barney keeps interrupting to point out inconsistencies and impossibilities, but all of the other friends continually confirm that Marshall's story is true.

Castle: Deep Cover (6x12)

Hmm... I think this episode should have been a good one. It featured the return of Castle's father, and thus should have been full of intrigue and mystery and great character development. Instead, it had a rather convoluted plot, straightforward motivations, and a very lackluster resolution to the previously interesting plot thread about Castle's father. I'm actually pretty disappointed. Here's the plot:

Jackson Hunt (Castle's dad) shows up and becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a computer hacker. Castle isn't sure what to do - does he believe his dad, or does he turn him in to Beckett? Hunt shows up at the house, bleeding from a bullet wound. Martha and Castle help him with an at-home surgery, and then Beckett shows up. Hunt convinces her of his secret role in the CIA. They have disavowed him, but that's only because he has to go deep undercover. Castle and Beckett go to help catch the bad guy, but Castle almost gets himself killed. Luckily, Hunt escapes Martha's house and rescues Castle. He then vanishes with the body of the murderer, and Castle and Martha wonder if they'll ever see him again.

Meanwhile, Ryan is back from paternity leave, and Castle and Beckett try to decide when to get married. At first, they can't seem to find a good date. Later, after the whole incident with his father, Castle decides to cancel his book tour in September and get married then.

So. Let's list the few things I did like about this episode first.

The Mentalist: The Golden Hammer (6x12)

I liked this one! It was sort of just your usual fare, but it was done in a cute way and I was entertained.

So, the plot is that a guy who was secretly working for the pentagon dies of a drug overdose, and people aren't sure if he was murdered or if it was suicide. Fischer wants to bring Jane in on this case, but he doesn't have high enough clearance. He is granted the clearance, to the displeasure of some of the higher ups. Jane discovers a newspaper at the victim's house with coded messages in it. In order to catch the killer, they need to catch whoever was working inside the company to sell secrets to foreign intelligence. The victim, Jane believes, discovered the traitor and was going to turn him or her in.

The bad guy ends up being the company's mousy female secretary, which I saw coming from a mile away, but even with the obvious twist, I still liked the case a lot. The character stuff was really good. Jane and Lisbon had some cute moments together on screen, particularly when they're sitting on the bench and Jane compliments her hat.

Sherlock: His Last Vow (3x03)

I'm going to do something a bit different with this review. I'm going to watch through the episode again and do a bit of a re-watch "live blog" of it, only I'll pause and write down my thoughts about each scene as it comes. It's not normally how I write, but for this one I feel like I need to make sure I get every little detail. My opinions about this episode will become clear as you read, I think... let's get started.

Our opening before the credits focuses on Charles Augustus Magnussen. We're already seeing some of the beautiful cinematography that characterizes this episode. We learn that Magnussen is a newspaper man, and thus a private man, and that his access to sensitive government officials is therefore inappropriate. This reminds me of Irene Adler a bit, actually.

The pressure point thing is really cool - we see it used for the first time in this opening scene. There's a nice little touch where Magnussen touches the rim of his glasses just before we see the information pop up, which becomes significant later in the episode. He cleans the glasses just before looking at Lady Elizabeth Smallwood, again drawing attention to them.

"I have an excellent memory" - Magnussen. Already setting up for the twist at the end! That's awesome, didn't catch it the first time.

We then get the first look at Magnussen's vaults. Cinematography continues to be fantastic, and Lars Mikkelson is proving himself to be a very adept actor. His precision is frightening. We then transfer to Lady Smallwood and Magnussen, where Magnussen threatens Smallwood with information about her husband, which would cause a scandal if reported on. I'll admit as I watch this scene that it does go on a bit long... however, I understand the necessity of establishing this villain as a proper threat.

Parenthood: Stay a Little Longer (5x12)

I'm am going to write this review so quickly! Seriously! I have a time limit because I have a life other than writing these things! Go go go!

So! The comic relief goes to Crosby and his family tonight. Oliver is having a hard time getting along with his band, and they kick him out. He comes to stay with Crosby and Jasmine for a while, and he teaches bad habits to Jabbar and is generally an unsatisfactory house guest. Jasmine sits down and talks with him about what's really going on, and Oliver admits that he's nervous to finish the album because he's afraid of being mediocre. As a thank you for talking through his problems, Oliver writes a song for Jasmine.

This was a cute little thread. It didn't have a lot of substance but it did have a lot of humor and a few genuinely touching moments. I like the way this plot thread resisted simple answers - Oliver is a stereotype. He's a stoner and he keeps talking all about art and destiny and all that. But, he has a genuinely good time hanging out with Jabbar, and it turns out he and Jasmine have something in common. Jasmine too resists her earlier role as just the stuck up girl who stops Crosby from having fun. I think lately the show has been compensating for earlier dislike of the character by making Jasmine a lot more understanding. It certainly showed here. Her conversation with Oliver was one of the episode's highlights for me.

The Big Bang Theory: The Occupation Recalibration (7x13)

Okay! Two episodes in a row that actually focused on the same plot, and a serious one, centered on Penny and everything! Color me surprised!

The main plot follows Penny as she decides to quit her job at the Cheesecake Factory to focus solely on acting. Penny forgives Leonard for the proposal fiasco, but she again has reason to be upset with him as he doesn't support her decision to quit her job. Sheldon, who is forced to take vacation days from work, goes with Penny as she runs errands, getting started on her new life of pursuing acting more fully. Sheldon supports Penny's endeavors, because he reasons that the best way to achieve a goal is to focus all of your energy on it. Leonard and Penny eventually make up when he says that he could never quit his job to follow his dream, but that he's proud of Penny for doing so.

Amy gets into a predicament at work when Bert, a geologist with a crush on her, asks her to go to a rock show. She doesn't know how to let him down easy, so she sends Raj and Howard to do so. They end up getting roped in to going to the rock show. Bernadette accidentally burns one of Howard's comic books, but Stuart doesn't have it, and the two of them are forced to go track down a replacement at another store, run by Jesse, Stuart's rival. Jesse insults Stuart, and Bernadette decides not to buy anything from him. However, she later comes back to the store alone and purchases the comic book she needs, although she continues to berate Jesse as she does so.

Elementary: All in the Family (2x13)

Yay!! Bell is back with the team! I am such a fan of this episode and everything that it did for the characters. When it comes to the case-of-the-week plot, I'm slightly less certain... but let's slow down and take a closer look.

Here's the short summary: Bell finds a dead body in a barrel and Gregson is brought in to investigate, which means Bell has to work with Sherlock. The victim is a member of the mob, and that starts them down a path which eventually leads to the arrest of a police officer who was dirty, and in cahoots with the mob. Actually, this guy was blackmailing mob members. Bell struggles to work with Sherlock, but eventually he manages to put aside his anger. He takes his old job back by the end of the episode.

So. I'll start with the stuff that I didn't love. The case itself. It was rather... simple. It was a bit cliche. Basically, you've got the mob stuff, and then you've got the dirty cop stuff, and it was all sort of obvious where it was going. I guess the case was really just a vehicle to hold more interesting character stuff, but I can normally expect a bit better from this show.

Parks and Recreation: Second Chunce (6x10)

For the record, I watched the producer's cut of this episode and I didn't watch the normal one, so I have no idea what wasn't in the shorter version. Here we go!

It's Leslie's last day in the Parks department and she (predictably) is having a hard time letting go. When a councilperson gets into another sex scandal, Leslie makes the rash decision to run against him in the next election. Everyone around her thinks it's a crazy idea, even Ben, but Ben eventually decides to support her. Leslie, after getting advice from a campaign manager, decides not to go through with her plans, but instead to take a step back, and come back later to shoot for higher positions in government.

Modern Family: And One to Grow On (5x11)

Rapid fire review time!!!

Phil tricks Luke into going to a dancing class, but Luke gets mad about his dad's dishonesty. On the drive home, they get pulled over for having their taillights out, but due to Haley's several unpaid parking tickets, Phil is taken to jail. He calls Claire to bring money to pay for them, but she can't remember where Phil has hidden the emergency cash, because he always uses weird mnemonic devices to hide it. Eventually she finds it in a pillow and rushes off to free Phil.

Meanwhile, Haley has been taking Alex driving to prepare for her test, because Claire hates driving with Alex. She takes way too long to do everything and is ridiculously overcautious. When Alex starts lecturing Haley about the parking tickets, Haley lets slip that Claire has been paying her to drive with Alex.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Magical Place (1x11)

I'm making the call right now - unless something drastic happens soon, I'm quitting this show at the end of the season. I'm sorry, I tried, but nothing is grabbing my interest. Nothing is interesting. Even the big dramatic reveals are not big and dramatic. There was barely any Fitzsimmons in this one, either, and that's basically the only reason I tune in at all! Okay, sorry, let's take a look at the plot...

Coulson is in the hands of Centipede, and the team works hard to get him back. Coulson learns what really happened when he died... sort of... apparently he really was dead for several days, but Nick Fury pulled some serious strings and resurrected him. Apparently it was super painful and Coulson was asking to die while the operation was taking place. But, then they erased his memories of the whole thing and replaced these memories with memories of Tahiti.

To get Coulson back, S.H.I.E.L.D. works on taking out Centipede. Skye gets kicked off the plane by Agent Hand, but it turns out that May (who supported Hand in doing so) just wanted to give Skye a chance to work outside of the system, for better results. Skye does indeed get better results, and S.H.I.E.L.D. defeats Centipede and retrieves Coulson. However, in the episode's button, we see that Mike Peterson didn't actually die in that explosion that happened in the last episode, and that he now has a missing limb and is getting messages through a bionic eye.

Castle: Under Fire (6x11)

That was one of the most unrepentant, dramatic, and cheesy episodes of Castle that I have ever seen, but I didn't mind it one bit. In fact, I enjoyed every second. Let's take a look!

The plot is fairly basic - the team's latest murder victim is found inside of a recently burned building, and thus the team works together with the fire department to try and catch the killer, who they believe is the arsonist who started the fire. The victim is so charred that at first they don't know who it is, but later they discover that the man was a member of the fire department desperately trying to catch a serial arsonist. By following this unfortunate man's leads, Ryan and Esposito find themselves in an abandoned warehouse, which it turns out the arsonist was using as a headquarters. Unfortunately, the place was rigged to blow, and Ryan and Esposito are trapped in the basement as a raging inferno consumes the building.

Meanwhile, Ryan's wife Jenny goes into labor while Ryan and Espo are still caught in the building. It looks like they won't be making it out alive, that is until Castle notices that the building plans don't match with what Ryan and Esposito tell them - there is no lower basement on the plans! Castle, Beckett, and Gates work hard to catch the arsonist, who is then able to tell them another way out of the secret basement. Ryan and Espo are saved just in time, and Jenny gives birth to a healthy baby girl - Sarah Grace.

The Mentalist: White Lines (6x11)

Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of this episode. I was waiting and waiting for some good Jane/Lisbon interactions after the winter hiatus, and I didn't get them. It's not like that's the only thing that makes a good episode of The Mentalist, of course, but the case was transparent and boring, and nothing much happened that I was too fond of. There were a few things here or there that I enjoyed, but not much. Let's start with the plot.

Jane and Lisbon are working one of their first cases with the FBI, and it involves several DEA agents being killed. The hunt is on for some bad man who runs a drug cartel. Along the way, Jane meets a beautiful woman and goes out on a few dates with her. In a predictable turn of events, she ends up being the head of the evil drug lords. Jane lures her to a boat, where she almost kills him, but luckily Jane had the FBI listening on the phone and they swoop in and save him at the last minute.

So, as you can tell from that very short plot summary, this story was nothing too special. If this is an indicator of how the normal FBI cases are going to go, that's not a good sign. After the last few episodes, which have all been very exciting and different, this one was a rather dull reintroduction to the routine.

Sherlock: The Sign of Three (3x02)

So... like... am I dreaming? Did this episode actually freakin' happen? I cried, I laughed... watching "The Sign of Three" was a singularly unique experience and I've already gone back to watch parts of it over and over again. The plot... well, it's unlike any plot we've seen in an episode of Sherlock thus far. The case isn't the important part at all - it's very much centered around the characters, and in particular the beating heart of this episode is the friendship and love between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Brief summary... John is getting married, he asks Sherlock to be the best man, Sherlock takes this very seriously and gives a long, complicated, sometimes insulting and sometimes sweet best man speech. Along the way we get hints at a case which all comes to a head at the wedding, as Sherlock is forced to work quickly to save the life of John's old friend Major Sholto. Sherlock manages to save him, and the wedding continues on peacefully. At the end, we learn that Mary is pregnant.

I'll commence with a very brief paragraph that mention the few flaws I've found in this episode. And they are minuscule problems in comparison to all the brilliance, trust me. First of all, I didn't like the Irene Adler cameo. I just didn't really like her in Series Two, either, and if anyone wants to hear the reasons why just go ahead and message me and I'll talk about it. Also, there was this line towards the end where Sherlock tells John: "get your wife under control," and I just knew that freakin' Moffat had written that line and it just made me mad. Like, Sherlock is totally allowed to be an insensitive jerk, but if he was annoyed with Mary, he could have just said "Mary, get yourself under control," instead of having it be this weird misogynistic comment thrown in to an otherwise amazing scene. On the same note, I found it insulting that John's explanation for the "Mayfly Man" was that he's a guy, so of course he wanted some one night stands. Like, really? Boys will be boys, they want to sleep with women and they'll do any old horrible thing to get into bed with one? That was just a really eye-roll worthy moment for me.

Parenthood: Promises (5x11)

Ohhhh boy. Okay, things are really happening in this show. Some of those things I enjoy quite a bit, but others... not so much. Let's take a look, starting with the patriarch of this fine family and then working our way through the others.

Zeek and Camille are still separated by an ocean, and it seems that Camille would like to extend her trip by a week. Zeek hasn't been doing so great on his own, as he is completely incapable of taking care of things like laundry, cooking, and so forth. He goes to a diner and meets a fellow veteran named Rocky. The two of them don't have much in common other than their loneliness, and Rocky tells Zeek about his deceased wife and how if she were still around and wanted to go to Italy, he wouldn't hesitate to come with. Zeek takes this into consideration, but instead of buying a ticket and joining Camille, he merely tells her that he's okay with her extending her trip.

I loved this. I love Zeek and I love the way this show doesn't ignore the stories of the older generation. Zeek isn't doing well without Camille, and it's for a lot of different reasons, some of which are very shallow - he's not good at taking care of his own basic needs, and he wants his wife to come back and do it for him. But he also misses her for more than that, and this episode very clearly showed that he loves her and is willing to make sacrifices for her happiness. I hope we see more of Rocky in the future, since I thought he was a fun character.

The Big Bang Theory: The Hesitation Ramification (7x12)

Alllright. Jumping straight into the plot, which was very Penny-centric this week.

Penny gets a minor role on NCIS, and she gathers everyone together to watch the scene. However, upon viewing the episode, Penny realizes that the scene was cut. She's very upset, but Leonard's attempts to make it better go awry when he admits honestly that he doesn't think Penny can make it as an actress. Later, he tries to apologize by getting her an audition for the new Star Wars movie, but of course that's just a publicity stunt. Penny, drunk and frustrated, tells Leonard that she has nothing to show for all of her hard work. Leonard reminds her that she has him, and Penny spontaneously proposes to Leonard. Leonard hesitates, because Penny is drunk and upset. Penny is angry about his hesitation, and the episode ends with Leonard uncertain about the state of their relationship.

Meanwhile, Sheldon tries to create a unifying theory for humor, and continually tests his ideas on Amy, who is bored by this. She joins Howard and Bernadette at lunch, and we get a hilarious When Harry Met Sally parody, where Bernadette shows Howard how she can convincingly "fake laugh" at his jokes. Raj and Stuart go to the mall to practice talking to people, but they are unsuccessful up until the very end of the night, when they briefly talk to the security guard who is closing up the mall at closing time.

Elementary: The Diabolical Kind (2x12)

Moriarty returns! It was smart to hold back on using this fascinating character so that we could all get excited to experience her all over again. I'm just going to do the briefest of plot summaries.

A girl has been kidnapped, and Sherlock recognizes the voice of the kidnapper as a man who worked with Moriarty. Moriarty is brought in to work on the case, and in the end it turns out she wasn't involved in the kidnapping, at least not the way everyone suspected. The kidnapped girl was actually Moriarty's daughter. She escapes her confinement and kills the man responsible, but she is gravely injured. After talking with Sherlock, she allows herself to be taken back into custody. We learn throughout the course of the episode that Sherlock and Moriarty have been writing letters back and forth for some time now. In the end, Sherlock can't bring himself to get rid of the letters just yet, since, as he tells Joan, he has been harboring the hope that maybe Moriarty could change.

Okay, so let's run this down... I'm really pleased that they decided to go a new direction with Moriarty. Instead of just casting her as the criminal mastermind once again, this time they put her in a position of extreme vulnerability and showed that although she's smart, and although she's able to play on the same field as Sherlock Holmes, she is also human and has her weaknesses. The best part of Moriarty's return was her creepy fascination with Joan. I just loved how disturbed she was by Joan's partnership with Sherlock, and how obviously jealous she was of it. I also loved that Joan held her own against this insane woman.

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse (3x01)

I can't review this episode, really. I mean I'm not going to sit down and write out the plot. The plot can be said in a few measly sentences: Sherlock comes back from the dead, John is confused and angry, and a terrorist threat sends Sherlock and John to an underground train car where Sherlock flips the off switch on a giant bomb. Meanwhile, we get a lot of different stories as to how Sherlock might have faked his death, and no real straight answer.

Let's start by talking about that second thing. All of the theories about Sherlock's survival were amazing. The way they pulled that off - God, it was brilliant. More than anything I've seen on television in a long while, this episode felt like a love letter to the fans. I mean, they worked in everything. The body double, the biker that hit John, the ball under the arm, Molly knowing the truth, the placement of John so he couldn't see what was going on, the idea that Moriarty's body replaced Sherlock's... these were all theories I've seen floating around for the past two years, and here we have them all coming to light on screen in front of us. Rather than being disappointed by the lack of definite answers, I was delighted by the way they did it. It was pretty much the only way to leave nobody disappointed by a lame solution. I do hope we'll find out the truth eventually, but I've actually realized that it's not needed. Like John said, I'm more interested in why Sherlock never told John he was planning all of this, or why he didn't come forward sooner, at the very least. Those are the questions I'd love answers to in the future.

As for the main plot, it was probably the weakest part of the episode. Not in a bad way, oddly. I think it was a very smart move to let the case be a rather simple one. The characters were what was important here. We got to focus on all the crazy theories about Sherlock, and we got to focus on all of these character's reactions and relationships. It was smart of them to throw Moran's name into the mix, even if his role was greatly diminished from that which he has in ACD's original stories. I think by far the most intriguing part of the plot was the kidnapping John thing. Who was that? And at the end, we see the guy watching the video of it? Wow, that's interesting. So much more interesting than a vague plot about terrorism and parliament, which was so phoned in that they didn't even bother putting in any twists. Sherlock and John show up, Sherlock stops the bomb, the end. But like I said, I don't mean that in a bad way.

What I've decided to do with this review is break it down by character and just talk about all of the awesome going on here. I mean, literally every named character on screen was pulling some pretty heavy weight and doing some fantastic stuff. Let's start with...

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor (2013 Christmas Special)

I'll admit that it's going to be difficult for me to be objective and speak intelligently about this episode. Matt Smith leaving was really hard for me to take, for a number of reasons. I think the main thing is that Matt was my first Doctor that I didn't have an expiration date for. Capaldi will be the first Doctor that I experience anew with everyone else, without knowing what people think of him. What with my general dislike of Moffat as a person, I'm always skeptical when he tries something new, and a new Doctor is new indeed. However, I'm probably getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look at the plot of this episode, if we can really even call it a plot...

So a whole bunch of our favorite bad guys are hanging around in orbit around this planet, because some mysterious signal is broadcasting from the planet and everyone wants to know what's up. The Doctor, with the assistance of a modified Cyberman head called Handles, tries to figure out what's going on. He picks up Clara from her Christmas dinner with her family, and the two of them head to the planet. Handles identifies the planet as Gallifrey, which of course the Doctor rejects out of hand, because of course that's impossible.

So the Doctor and Clara are allowed to go down to the surface because of the Doctor's connection with the Church of the Papal Mainframe, which is being led by Tasha Lem, someone from the Doctor's past. When they get down to the planet, they learn the town is called "Christmas," and that it's impossible for anyone to tell a lie while there. They then see a crack in the wall - the crack in the wall, and we realize that Gallifrey is the one sending out the signal that has sent everyone here. The Time Lords are asking a question - "Doctor Who?" If the Doctor gives his name, the Time Lords will come through the crack and into this reality, which will start a huge war with all of the other aliens that are hovering in orbit around the planet. So, despite the fact that the Doctor would love to get his planet back, he decides not to say his name. He ditches Clara, sending her back to her Christmas dinner, and keeps guard around the town.

How I Met Your Mother: Bass Player Wanted (9x13)

The Mother returns! Yay! Let's jump straight into the plot.

Marshall is trying to walk to the inn with Marvin, but it ends up being a harder walk than he suspected. Just when he's about to give up, The Mother pulls up and offers him a ride. In the van, The Mother reveals that she met Lily on the bus. The two of them chat about their lives, and The Mother reveals that she's a part of the band that's supposed to play at the wedding, but that she's thinking about quitting because of friction with another band member, Darren, who constantly pits people against one another just to cause friction. Marshall and The Mother both agree to stop being pushovers and stand up for what they want, and they arrive at the Farhampton Inn.

Meanwhile, the evil Darren has indeed been causing trouble. He ingratiates himself in with Lily and Robin, and then starts a fight between the two girls by suggesting that Lily is taking up too much space during Robin's wedding weekend with her own problems, and then revealing that Robin doesn't want Lily to go to Italy. Darren also stirs up trouble with Barney and Ted when he reveals to Barney that Ted is moving to Chicago the day after the wedding. Barney feels hurt that Ted places so little weight on their friendship.

Once Upon a Time: Going Home (3x11)

I was a mess after I watched this. Seriously, it was pretty emotionally gutting. And surprising! Things happened in this episode that I would not have expected. As always, Once Upon a Time pushes the envelope and never lets any of its tricks get stale. Whenever you feel like you're starting to understand the game, they change the rules. And I love that. Let's talk about the plot.

In the character's pasts, we got tons of little bits and pieces. For example, we see Snow and Charming worrying about the impending curse. The Blue Fairy says she has faith that things will somehow be okay, but Snow says the only thing she still has hope for is that Emma will have happiness. In Neverland, Smee is knocked out by Tinker Bell. A surprised Hook converses with the fairy, revealing that he wants a way off of the island to find revenge on Rumplestiltskin. It's all he cares about. In Rumplestiltskin's castle, Belle catches Rumple lighting a candle in Bae's honor for his birthday. Belle says that maybe it's not too late for him to find his son, but Rumple expresses his doubts. In Storybrooke's past, we see Henry expressing his impatience with the repetitive world around him. He talks to Mary Margaret about it, and she says she has something for him - suddenly, a book appeared in her closet that she had never seen before - Once Upon a Time, the book of fairy tales that caused Henry to go find Emma in the first place.