Suits: Two in the Knees (4x03)

DEAR LORD WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME! It's amazing. Every episode of this season just keeps getting better and better. I'll try and restrain my enthusiasm long enough to get out a plot summary.

So Logan Sanders decides that the best way to take out Mike and Walter Gillis is to dig up personal dirt on Mike. Harvey protests, but Logan says if Harvey doesn't do it, he will. Harvey is stuck - Donna tells him to get Mike to quit, but Harvey knows that he won't. So, feeling terrible about it, Harvey goes to Gillis and tells him about Mike's past with drugs. Apparently, Gillis' son's death had something to do with drugs. Gillis immediately severs ties with Mike.

Mike confronts Harvey about it, and when Harvey insists that he was saving Mike, Mike reveals that he has Harvey's father's records, something that Donna told Mike Harvey was trying to procure. Logan Sanders still isn't happy. He wants Mike utterly destroyed. Harvey wants to go ask Mike to give up, but Donna suggests that he have Rachel do it instead. Rachel doesn't go to Mike. Instead, she goes to Logan and convinces him to stop the personal attacks on Mike. Logan owes Rachel because of something that happened in their past. Logan agrees, and backs off. Mike sends Harvey's dad's records to Harvey, via Rachel.

Suits: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (4x02)

Yayyyy things are getting so exciting. I am just so in love with the way the conflict is developing this season. Before I give a plot summary, I'll start off by saying this: I feel like this episode was very, very, similar in most respects to last week's. We're still pushing the conflict between Mike and Harvey, but keeping things balanced on the knife's edge between friendly competition and out-and-out hostility. I'm glad we're staying in this little pocket of potential energy. It's really fascinating.

Mike gets a judge to put a freeze on Logan Sanders' ability to go after Gillis' company. Harvey and Sanders try to buy Mike off, but when Mike learns that Logan plans to sell the company for parts, he refuses the great offer. Harvey gets an important board member to flip to their side, and Mike's boss tells him to get the 30 million that Harvey earlier offered, or he'll be fired. When Mike tries to do so, Harvey tells him the deal's off the table. However, Mike manages to take the step that Harvey didn't think he would, by convincing Gillis to put up the same amount of money that Harvey got another guy to, thus crushing Gillis' dream for the company, but keeping them in the running.

Louis starts working with Jeff Malone. He is at first heartbroken that Malone gets the corner office, thinking that Jessica has just effectively told him he'll never be made name partner. With some coaxing from Katrina, Louis decides to cooperate with Malone, to an extent, and the two of them tackle a client together, coming to have a tenuous trust in one another. Donna tells Jessica that Louis knew about the SEC before she and Harvey did, and suggests that she find a way to give Louis some of his dignity back. Jessica offers Louis the corner office, instead of Malone.

Suits: One-Two-Three Go... (4x01)

It's baaack! One of my favorite shows ever. All the sexy outfits and sexy slow-mo walking and snappy, snarky, sexy dialogue... uh. Sexy. This show is sexy. Maybe I should talk about the plot of this Season Four premiere!

Mike has an idea to take over a company owned by Walter Gillis. His boss, Sidwell, thinks the plan is too soft, and so does Harvey. Harvey doesn't want to help Mike with it, because he doesn't think it's ruthless enough. Mike, angry, puts Pearson Specter under review, trying to force Harvey to get a better attitude and help him. Just as Harvey decides to help Mike, whatever the cost, another client of Harvey's, Logan Sanders, pitches an idea to take over Gillis' company. Because Mike put the firm under review, Harvey is obligated to help Sanders instead of Mike. Harvey tries to get Mike to back down so that he can still help him, but Mike does not. It looks like Harvey will have to support Logan Sanders against Mike, even though he doesn't want to.

Meanwhile, Jeff Malone, a litigator for the SEC, comes to Harvey and Jessica and announces that Woodall is going to use him, Malone, against Pearson Specter's clients. He wants Harvey and Jessica to hire him, so that he can work for them, instead of against them. Harvey wants to do it, but Jessica has a complication... she has been in a personal relationship with Malone. She decides to hire him, but declares that their personal relationship must end. While this is happening, Louis is waiting for Jessica and Harvey to come and ask him to help get rid of the SEC problem, but his coy game doesn't work out, to his and Katrina's disappointment.

Modern Family: The Wedding Part 2 (5x24)

Very cute. Much better than the first half, I thought. A lot of good jokes, and some real emotional poignancy as well. Let's dive in.

The wedding is rushing forward, as Pepper convinces the firefighters to give them 30 minutes at the venue. However, just as they're about to get started, Sal (who was going to officiate their wedding) goes into labor. Phil volunteers to be the one to marry them, since he got certified online. However, the firefighters are back to say that the winds have shifted - they all have to evacuate right now!

Pepper finds a new venue, but that one falls through as well. Then they go back to Cam and Mitch's house. This also doesn't work out. Cam and Mitch are ready to call it all off, but then Jay comes in and says "you can't do this." Mitch is upset at first, but it turns out Jay meant that they can't have their wedding all cramped up in the house like this. He offers the country club as a suitable location. 

While all of this is going on, chaos is erupting in every corner. Phil wants to do a magic trick as part of his officiating. In the end, he decides not to, letting the strength of Mitch and Cam's love be the focus. Claire continually insists that she's the "best person," instead of "best man," and gives a speech where she congratulates herself on being the best person. However, she also says how happy she is to know that Mitch is with a guy who will look after him just as much as Claire always has.

Supernatural: Do You Believe in Miracles (9x23)

That was a damn good episode. Damn good. I'm very, very impressed by it. There were a number of different theories as to how this season would end, and this... this was one of them. One that I had considered pretty likely, in a way, but not in this way. I'm both surprised and very excited to see what comes next. I'm feeling less sad and more... exhilarated. I can't wait.

We start off with Cas and Sam restraining Dean, as he goes crazy and tries to kill Gadreel. They lock him up in the bunker and go off to find Gadreel, who vanishes after being attacked by Dean. They find Gadreel and Cas is able to heal him, even though it weakens him considerably to do so. Gadreel reveals that Metatron wants humanity to follow him as their new God.

We then see Metatron doing just that - Metatron is drawing power from the angel tablet, making him ultra powerful. He heals people and converts them to his side, soon growing a decent-sized cult of humans around him. Gadreel says that Dean, with the Mark of Cain and the First Blade, might be their best chance to stop Metatron. First, however, they'll need to destroy the angel tablet in order to make Metatron stoppable.

The Mentalist: Blue Bird (6x22)

I am a puddle of feelings. I am incoherent. My God. It happened. Six years of waiting, and it finally happened. I'm overwhelmed. Let's... just... talk about the plot, shall we?

We open with Jane and Cho on a case. Cho mentions that Lisbon is leaving, and Jane is upset that she hasn't told him yet. Jane quickly solves the case, noting how a whole group of friends were all responsible for the death of another friend after things got intense while playing cards.

We flash forward to the day before Lisbon is supposed to leave for DC. A cold case gets opened up: years ago, a high-profile socialite was murdered, and the FBI got a lot of ridicule for being unable to solve it. Because of this, all transfers (including Lisbon's) are being put on hold while they try and solve the case. Jane tells Lisbon to cheer up - it's their last case together!

Jane seems determined to have some fun with Lisbon. They end up going for a nice walk on the beach and even have plans for a fancy dinner. Jane's plans are slightly thwarted when Cho and Abbott show up to partake in the dinner, but Lisbon still looks gorgeous in a dress that Jane got for her. The entire reason this cold case was opened was because the FBI received a note with a riddle that, once solved, led to the Blue Bird Inn. Lisbon, in talking to a hotel employee, learns that Jane had booked rooms for them a week ago, before this case was reopened.

The Big Bang Theory: The Status Quo Combustion (7x24)

The title is apt. Many things are changing on The Big Bang Theory, and I should say - it's about time.

Leonard and Penny announce their engagement, and while everyone is excited, this news is eclipsed by Raj's announcement that he slept with Emily. Leonard's mom hears the news of Leonard's engagement, and is just as apathetic as always. She says that Sheldon approves of Penny, so she's okay with it. Leonard is annoyed that his mother talks to Sheldon more than to him.

Sheldon, who as we all know isn't good with change, is suddenly bombarded with it. The university won't let him switch his specialty from string theory, even though he doesn't feel he can pursue it anymore. Penny and Leonard think about where they'll live now that they're getting married, and Sheldon is horrified that they don't want to live with him. (Even though, funnily enough, Leonard's potential scenarios all involve them staying in that apartment building, across the hall from one another.)

Amy suggests that Sheldon could live with her, which of course he doesn't take well. Then, just when he can't take any more change, he sees that Stuart's comic book store has had a serious fire, and this is the final straw. He decides to take off. Penny and Leonard track him down to the train station, but Sheldon insists that leaving is something he needs to do, so he can figure out his next move. Leonard and Penny say goodbye to him. Amy is furious at Leonard for letting Sheldon go.

Elementary: The Grand Experiment (2x24)

Oh gosh. Feelings are happening. I apologize for my brevity with the plot summary, I'm in a rush.

Sherlock and Joan work to find the real mole inside MI6, meanwhile keeping Mycroft hidden away from prying eyes. Using the clues left on West's tattooed arms, they decipher secret phone calls between a bookshop owner and the mole. They are able to figure out when and where each of these calls came from. They discover that each place and time corresponds to somewhere Mycroft has been. They then realize that Mycroft's handler, who would have been with him in all those places, is the mole, and is setting Mycroft up to take the fall.

Joan and Sherlock are still working on a way to figure things out, but Mycroft goes to meet with his handler. His handler says that if Joan and Sherlock are successful in tracking him down, then he's going to tip off the French paramilitary, and Joan and Sherlock will be "collateral damage." Mycroft takes extreme measures: he contacts the NSA. He tells them to tip off their own contacts among these Frenchmen, and Mycroft's handler is killed. However, now Mycroft is in considerable danger. The NSA agree to fake his own death. Mycroft will have to disappear completely, probably never to be seen again. He says goodbye to Joan and Sherlock.

Joan declares her intent to move out of the Brownstone, even against Sherlock's protests. As Joan finds a suitable place, we see Sherlock take the hidden cocaine and put it in his pocket. He also accepts a job offer with MI6, even though Joan had insisted that she still wanted to work with him.

Grey's Anatomy: Fear (Of the Unknown) (10x24)

Aww! Goodbye Christina! Honestly, I thought they did a lovely job with saying goodbye to this beloved character. They kept it relatively simple, and sweet, and in-character. There's one super duper annoying aspect of this episode, but I'll get to that in just a sec. Let's start with the plot.

It's the day that Christina is finally supposed to go to Zurich. She keeps putting it off, but today, finally, she plans on leaving. However, an explosion at the mall delays Christina yet again, as everyone rushes to deal with the multiple traumas. Christina had been planning on going to the mall, and nobody can find her at first. However, she turns up unharmed, having not gone to the mall after all.

Leah, although she's been fired, comes back to help, and ends up having meaningful experiences helping the patients, even if she's not cut out to be a surgeon. When things have calmed down, she quietly leaves. Callie and Arizona help a surrogate mother who was in the explosion, and the experience makes them think that maybe they want to have a surrogate carry their baby, as well.

The Vampire Diaries: Home (5x22)

Even though I know that Ian Somerhalder isn't leaving this show, I will admit that the ending of this episode was a real punch to the gut. A lot of this episode was gut-punching really, but I still think ultimately they could have done more to make it feel as epic as a finale should. Honestly, I have mixed feelings.

We start off with Damon and Elena rushing home, where Caroline has brought Stefan's body. They're all distraught, but they still believe that Bonnie has a way to bring people back, so hope is not lost yet. However, when Damon goes to ask Bonnie about it, he learns that she lost her opportunity. Enzo, however, has a new Traveler lined up to help them with the spell... Silas. To help them, they also need a witch, and a ritual sacrifice of a bunch of Travelers.

Caroline convinces Liv to help by snapping Luke's neck, putting him on the Other Side. Damon and the others concoct a plan to get all the Travelers to the bar. Then, they'll blow it up, killing all of them. Bonnie has to hang out and be the Anchor for all of this.

Stefan finds Lexi, and the two of them hang out waiting for this all to go down. Sheriff Forbes draws the Travelers to a bar. Jeremy and Matt let the gas leak, and Damon and Elena drive a car into the bar, killing themselves and all the Travelers in the process.

Modern Family: The Wedding Part 1 (5x23)

This is the first half of Mitch and Cam's wedding episode, to be continued next Wednesday. My thoughts? Let's start with a plot summary.

Mitch and Cam's wedding day has arrived, but things don't go smoothly. Firstly, Cam notices that the dry cleaners gave him the wrong tux. When they go to get the right one, they see that the dry cleaners are closed. Eventually, they send Lily in through a mail chute, but she gets caught on the rotating clothes line. The owner comes by because his alarm went off, and he lets them in. They are able to get Cam's tux.

However, that's just the beginning of their problems. A forest fire puts their venue in harm's way, so they have to move the wedding up to earlier to quickly complete it before the firefighters kick them out. Mitch and Cam must rush to get there, and all of the rest of the family has to find ways to get there in time, as well:

Jay, who is still uncomfortable with his son's gay wedding, is at the country club with Cam's dad. The two of them chicken out of telling the other guys that their sons are getting married. They're in the middle of their day at the club when they get the text that the time of the wedding has moved up.

Supernatural: Stairway to Heaven (9x22)

Dean. What. Dean, sweetie, stop it. Listen to your brother. Listen to your angel boyfriend. Get a goddamn grip on yourself. Let's talk about the plot or something. Dean I'm so angry at you.

In an ice cream parlor, a crazy angel kills himself, acting as something of a suicide bomber and wiping out another angel and several humans all at once. He says that he was doing this "for Castiel."

Sam and Dean show up to help Cas with this situation, and are a bit disturbed to find that Cas' followers are something of a cult, hanging on his every word. Cas promises that he would never order an angel to kill himself. Sam believes him, but Dean has a moment of doubt, remembering what Cas was like the last time he had this much power. While Dean goes to talk to other angels about the suicide bomber, Sam and Cas search for the portal to Heaven.

Sam and Cas find a portal, alright, but it ends up being a trick from Metatron. Meanwhile, Dean questions an angel and finds out that the suicide bomber angel was friends with Tessa, the reaper. Dean finds her and the two of them talk. Cas' other angels think that Dean is just a brute, and don't trust him to interrogate Tessa. They make him leave his angel blade outside when he talks to Tessa. Turns out, Tessa has the same symbols carved into her that the suicidal angel did, and she too is planning on killing herself. Dean pulls out the First Blade (even though he promised Sam he wouldn't bring it along) and Tessa impales herself on it.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Beginning of the End (1x22)

That was one of the best hours of television I have ever seen.

I'm dead serious. That was phenomenal. If someone had told me after the first few episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that I would be saying that about its Season One finale, I wouldn't have believed it. But here we are. Let's start with a plot summary.

So, we see Quinn trying to sell the super soldiers to some important US military figures, when suddenly Garrett shows up, spewing all sorts of god-complex-like nonsense about power and such. He ends up killing one of the military men.

Meanwhile, Coulson, May, Skye, and Triplett all mount an attack on Cybertek. They use Skye's information gathered by the Trojan Horse thing to disable a lot of Cybertek's defenses and get in to their inner offices. While May fights Ward and Coulson tries to hold off Garrett and Deathlok, Skye manages to find Mike's son, Ace.

Fitz and Simmons are trapped at the bottom of the ocean. They manage to come up with an escape plan, but Fitz insists that Simmons save herself using a burst of oxygen. There's only one, so Fitz will sacrifice himself so she can be saved. He tells her that he cares about her as more than a friend, and after she tearfully embraces him, he blows the glass out of their box. Simmons grabs Fitz and brings him to the surface. Fury swoops in like the bad ass that he is, and saves them both, although Fitz is barely alive.

Castle: For Better or Worse (6x23)

"If the promos are anything to go by, next week's finale will be a fun, lighthearted wedding episode." - A quote from last week's review.

Uh... so I guess I was mislead by the promos? Sort of? This episode did not do what I expected it to, at all. I'll do a plot summary before I discuss how I feel about all of this.

So, it's getting close to Castle and Beckett's wedding day. They go to get their marriage license signed, and discover that Beckett is already married! Years ago she went to a drive-through chapel with a guy named Rogan O'Leary, and it turns out that the marriage is still binding. While Alexis and Martha hold down the fort and keep the wedding plans in full swing, Beckett goes to chase down this Rogan guy to get him to sign divorce papers. When she finds him, he won't sign the papers until she steals his ex-girlfriend's garage door opener. Beckett does this, but before Rogan can sign the papers, he gets kidnapped!

Castle joins Beckett as they try to investigate what happened with Rogan. Eventually, they discover that Rogan had taken pictures off of a stripper's phone, which implicated some important men in compromising situations. Rogan needed the garage door opener to get to his ex's computer, where some of these pictures were. Castle and Beckett find Rogan, but they also discover that one of the pictures with the stripper is of a mob boss who has been in hiding for years - Rogan unwittingly pissed off a very important and dangerous man!

The Mentalist: Black Hearts (6x21)

I continue to be fascinated and delighted by this current decision to stretch a single case over multiple episodes. Now, we finally have some closure on the trafficking case, but we're opening up even more questions about Lisbon's future. Let's dive in.

As far as the case goes, I'll be brief: the team narrows down on the bad guy by tracing the ownership of the truck to his company, but they need to get proof that he's responsible for the trafficking. In order to find him, they must first find the ex-doctor who removed the organs from the kidnapped girls. They track him down, but Cho and Fischer almost get themselves blown up for their trouble. They are able to question the doctor, which leads them to almost tracking down a client of our big bad guy. Unfortunately, the bad guy is one step ahead of them, and his client disappears before they can find him.

So, Jane goes over and has a drink with their prime suspect, drugging him in the process. He and Lisbon then stage an elaborate ruse to get the guy to confess. They dress up as doctors and pretend to gruesomely murder someone, while the bad guy, strapped to a nearby table, watches. Jane then prepares to cut open the bad guy, but he hands over his computer password in desperation, and thus gives them the evidence they need.

Abbott asks Jane and Lisbon if they really tortured the guy for answers, but they both deny it. Even after Jane leaves, Lisbon doesn't tell on him.

Once Upon a Time: Snow Drifts/There's No Place Like Home (3x21/22)

I'll review this as a double episode, since that's how it was meant to be watched. I'll try to reign myself in, but I have a lot to talk about.

So first of all, we have a flashback to when Emma was just a little girl, as she watches someone else get adopted. She longs for a home of her own. Later on, as a teenager, she and Neal hang out together, and Neal tells Emma that the way to know if you've found a home is if you miss it when you're away. Emma has taken this philosophy to heart: her whole life, she just keeps running away, waiting for the time she'll miss what she's left behind.

In Storybrooke, Mary Margaret and David prepare a party at Granny's to announce the name of their new son. Regina and Robin have a romantic time together, and Regina confesses to Robin about Tinker Bell, and the tattoo. Robin says that maybe they just needed the timing to be right. Emma still plans on leaving Storybrooke and heading back to New York. Hook tries to convince her it's a bad idea, but she says that she doesn't feel at home here - when she looks at her family, she sees fairy tale characters, not family members.

The Big Bang Theory: The Gorilla Dissolution (7x23)

Awwww cuteness occurred!

Leonard goes to visit the set of Penny's terrible gorilla movie. When she tries to ask to do a take again, she is fired. Wil Wheaton, in standing up for her, also gets fired. The three of them go out to drink together. Wil's speech about artistic integrity is interrupted by a text telling him he got an audition for Sharknado 2. He leaves. Penny talks about how she needs to start making better choices in her life, starting with this one: she wants to marry Leonard. At first, Leonard is upset, thinking that Penny is only marrying him because it's the practical thing to do. But Penny assures him that she wants to be with him, because he's all she needs to be happy. Leonard pulls a ring out of his wallet and proposes properly. They are finally engaged for real.

When Raj and Sheldon go out to see a movie together, they run into Emily, who is out with another man. Raj and Sheldon talk about Raj's feelings, but of course Sheldon is not much help in situations like this, and he kicks Raj out. Emily comes over, and they talk about their relationship. Emily says that she was basically out with that guy because he kept asking her out and she wanted to get it out of the way. She also mentions that she has some tattoos - one in a very intimate place. Raj and Emily spend the night together.

The Vampire Diaries: Promised Land (5x21)

What. The. Actual. Fuck. Is. Happening. Right. Now. I cannot wait for next week. I seriously need this finale like right the fuck now.

Stefan and Elena have been captured by Markos and the other Travelers, and they are slowly being drained of blood. Maria, Julian's wife, frees them, and they start to make their way back home. Damon, meanwhile, has been collecting the bodies of Travelers, with help from Matt and Jeremy. Tyler, aka Julian, is trapped in the cellar. Damon tries to figure out Markos' plan, but Markos, who shows up when he notices his friends' bodies are missing, refuses to trade them for anything. He says that he doesn't really care if the Travelers get put back into their own bodies or not.

The Travelers are gearing up to enact the spell that will allow them to remain in Mystic Falls, but that will also undo all Witch magic. Daylight rings will stop working, Vampires will be "cured," as in killed, and everything will basically be awful for our main characters.

Elena and Stefan get picked up on the side of the road by Maria, but as she is driving them back home, Luke and Liv show up. Unfortunately, they know of only one way to stop the Travelers now: kill the doppelgangers. They don't manage to succeed, but they do kill Maria in the scuffle.

Elementary: Art in the Blood (2x23)

After such a fantastic episode last week, I was hoping for another great installment this time around. Unfortunately... well, let's take a look and then we can talk about it.

So, we start off with Sherlock going to Bell and Gregson, still in full panic mode about Joan. Then... he gets a phone call from her! Joan tells him that she's at home, and to come straight there. He does, to confront his brother. Mycroft explains that he's British Intelligence. Sherlock is shocked that his brother could have hid this from him all these years, and is furious that his deceit put Joan in such a dangerous situation.

Sherlock then goes to meet Mycroft's fellow MI6 agents, and they ask for Sherlock's help with a case, in exchange for their help in saving Joan's life. The case is as follows: a former operative of MI6 named West, who had gone somewhat off the grid due to his paranoid delusions, was insisting he had more information to give British Intelligence. West then turned up dead. MI6 wants Sherlock to figure out if there's anything more going on. It turns out there is: when they go to examine West's body in the morgue, they discover his arms have been removed.

Grey's Anatomy: Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right (10x23)

I'm annoyed at some things, delighted by others, and sort of in the middle with still others. A mixed bag, I think. One week away from the finale, it seems like they're setting up most of our beloved characters to start these new chapters in their lives, and yet others are backsliding into familiar patterns. It's hard to piece together.

So, first of all, Owen sets Christina the task of interviewing for new heart surgeons. Meredith expects it's a ploy to get Christina to stay. If she has to interview a bunch of people who aren't right for the job, then she'll want to stay. Christina isn't too impressed with the candidates, but most of them, she says, would be fine. Owen doesn't ask her to stay, knowing it would be useless to offer her the job when she already has such an amazing opportunity waiting for her. He does ask her: "don't leave me until you're leaving me," and the two of them share a passionate embrace.

Derek is away in DC for work, and Meredith spends time with Amy. Amy seems to be struggling with something, and eventually confides in Meredith that she wants to call off her engagement and come to Seattle. Meredith is overjoyed with the thought of Amy coming to the hospital. She can take on some of Derek's work and help out with the kids, solving their conundrum. However, Derek throws a wrench in that plan: he comes home from DC with big news. Apparently, he met the President, and was offered a job in DC. He really wants to take it, and says Meredith would have an attending position waiting for her in DC, too. Now that everyone else is moving on, maybe it's time for them, too.