The Mentalist: Black Market (7x04)

Another adorable adventure with Jane and Lisbon, but yet another episode with no kiss! Let's dive right in. Again, I apologize for my lateness and for my brevity...

In this episode, Lisbon and Cho pose as a couple to uncover an illegal diamond operation. The team must go to a diamond showcase to find the people responsible for the sale of illegal, unregistered diamonds. One of the sellers winds up dead, and the mystery deepens. Jane, however, is getting sick, so he can't really take charge of things himself. He has an idea to talk to everybody and play the psychic game to reveal the killer. He has Lisbon act it out for him, while Jane talks to her through the phone. Lisbon is able to uncover the truth: a young woman who had partnered up with the victim was to blame for his death.

Meanwhile, Vega keeps trying to get back in good with Cho, but Cho is cold to her. Abbott asks Cho to bring Vega along while they are working the case, and Cho reluctantly does so. Eventually, Cho makes Vega an offer of continued partnership, and Vega gladly accepts.

In another subplot, Abbott's wife is up for a big promotion, but Abbott has a secret from his past that might prevent her from getting the job. One of Mrs. Abbott's future coworkers suggests that she and her husband create the illusion of separation in order to distance her from the potential scandal. Abbott wants to go through with it so as not to hurt his wife's future.

Elementary: End of Watch (3x08)

Wow, sorry this is so late. Also sorry this review isn't going to be very coherent or detailed.

Basically, this episode is about the murder of a police officer. Sherlock, Joan and Kitty are called in to investigate. Through several twists and turns, another death of a police officer, the discovery of a drug ring, etc., the truth comes out. The first cop was actually involved in some illegal activity, and it got him killed.

Far more interesting, unfortunately, than the actual murder case, was Sherlock's meetings. He discovers that someone is taking quotes that he says in his private meetings and posting them online to help inspire other drug addicts to do better. With Kitty's help, he tracks down the person who is doing it and threatens to expose his secrets if he does not take it down. Sherlock says he needs the anonymity in the meetings in order to feel like they are working. Unfortunately, his faith in the system seems to be shaken - he does not choose to say anything at the next meeting.

I know that was the briefest of all plot summaries. I'm sorry. I do have a lot of problems with this episode, actually.

The Legend of Korra: Day of the Colossus/The Last Stand (4x12/13)

What did I just watch? What the hell just happened?! Is this real life? I'm gonna be honest with you... I probably wouldn't have noticed if the whole episode sucked, simply because of that very last scene. But it didn't suck. It was excellent. Let's dive in.

Basically, this entire episode is about Kuvira's attack, and Team Avatar's fight against it. The Air Benders send paint bombs, which cover up the giant Meccha-Suit's windows, but this doesn't work for long. People try all sorts of fancy Bending, but also to no avail. Asami and Varrick, along with Hiroshi Soto's help, get some small Meccha-Suit prototypes working (Hiroshi was released form jail to help out). So, Varrick and Zhu Li take one Meccha-Suit, while Asami and Hiroshi take the other. The plan is to get inside the giant Meccha-Suit. The plan works - they succeed in drilling a hole through the material. However, Hiroshi dies in the effort.

Korra, Mako, Bolin, Lin, and Suyin all go inside the giant Meccha-Suit. The Beifong sisters go off to try and disable the weapon inside the arm, while Mako and Bolin go straight to the Spirit Vine that is powering the entire thing from inside. Korra goes for Kuvira, who is using Bending to manipulate the controls from inside the Meccha-Suit's head.

Suyin and Lin manage to succeed in disabling the weapon, so Kuvira rips off the giant gun and flings it away into the forest. Mako and Bolin try to disable the power source, but they can't do it using the controls, since Kuvira has rerouted the power somehow. Mako has the idea to Lightning Bend into the Spirit itself, which will cause it to lose stability and explode. Bolin is nervous about this, because it could mean Mako will die. However, he manages to survive, and Bolin drags him, badly injured, out of the ruined Meccha-Suit.

Once Upon a Time: Heroes and Villains (4x12)

Yikes! I can't believe I have to wait until March to see more. Lots of sadness and drama in this one, but also some hope and happiness. Let's jump in.

Because of Ingrid's magic, nobody can leave Storybrooke unless they plan on never coming back. Even though Elsa is able to take down the ice wall, it looks like the Arendelle people are still stuck in Storybrooke. They need to get back, quick, to save Arendelle from Hans' control. Hook, spying on Rumple's orders, reports to him that Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff are stuck here. Rumple needs to get Anna out of the way, because she knows about Rumple's plans to part from the dagger. So, he has Hook tell Emma and the others about a portal that will take the Arendelle folk back home. Emma notices that Killian is acting weird, but Hook insists he's fine.

They go to the Sorcerer's house, where Ingrid first came through and entered this world. Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff say their goodbyes, and enter through the portal. Just before sh goes through, Anna asks about Mr. Gold, wanting to thank him for helping them find the portal. David tells her that Mr. Gold's real name is Rumplestiltskin, and Anna is able to tell them what she knows about him.

Back in Arendelle, Anna and Elsa successfully defeat Hans, and Anna gets ready to marry Kristoff. All is well for them.

Now that Emma and the others know something fishy is going on with Rumple, they head off to stop him. While all of this has been going on, Rumple tells Belle to pack her bags so they can go on their honeymoon. While Belle is packing, she comes across a magical gauntlet that leads people to their greatest weakness (aka the thing they love the most). We learn the story of this gauntlet in the flashback, which is back during the time that Belle was Rumple's prisoner. At one point, Belle is kidnapped by Cruella de Vil, Ursula the Sea Witch, and Maleficent. They demand that Rumple bring the gauntlet, and he does, trading it for Belle. Later, however, he goes back and takes the gauntlet away from the three villianesses. When Belle sees the gauntlet, it makes her realize that Rumple will never be able to truly give up power for her.

The Mentalist: Orange Blossom Ice Cream (7x03)

The cuteness continues to grow! Although I'm getting a bit annoyed that there hasn't been another Jane/Lisbon kiss. Let's jump right in.

So. The CIA wants the FBI's help in tracking down a group of criminals that might have plans to attack on US soil. There's one guy who has connections to this group, and his girlfriend happens to be Erica Flynn. Erica agrees to work with the police to apprehend her boyfriend, in exchange for her freedom, since she had escaped from prison and has been on the run for the past couple of years. Erica also has one other condition - she demands to work with Patrick Jane.

So, Jane and Lisbon go off to help Erica deceive her criminal boyfriend. Here's what will happen: Jane has to earn the trust of Jan, Erica's boyfriend. He will then give Jane a set of numbers that he will have to memorize. Jane will then give these numbers to a contact. Jane doesn't get to know what the numbers mean. The plan doesn't exactly go off without a hitch, as Jan has his men push Jane's head into a bathtub while reading off a bunch of words. Jane then has to repeat those words to Jan to prove he is capable of remembering. Lisbon is then pulled into the room - apparently Erica told Jan about Lisbon to "gain his trust." In any case, it's a close call, but Jane and Lisbon get out of the situation alright.

Jan gives Jane the numbers, and Jane turns around and gives them to Wylie. Cho suggests that they go meet with Jan's contact, since of course this man won't know what Jane's supposed to look like. Vega wants to go with Cho, so she lies and says Abbott gave the okay. They go to the meet, but things go wrong and Cho is forced to shoot the contact. Later, Cho learns that Vega lied about Abbott giving her his permission. Even though Vega did good work, Cho says that he can't trust her, and he won't be bringing her out in the field again.

The Legend of Korra: Kuvira's Gambit (4x11)

Ahhh! Things are seriously heating up!! I can't believe next week is the end. The finale is being released in two parts, I guess, and after next Friday, we'll be deprived of The Legend of Korra forever more! Let's take a look.

So, Republic City is preparing for the imminent attack from Kuvira by evacuating the city. Prince Wu and Mako are in charge of these efforts, and they aren't going well, because the evacuation is voluntary. Asami and Varrick, meanwhile, continue to work on their Mecha-Suits to use during the upcoming battle.

Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami go to try and head off Kuvira and take out her Spirit Vine weapon before she can get to Republic City. However, they quickly discover that Kuvira is coming earlier than expected, and after dodging an attack from an enormous Mecha-Suit, Korra and the others rush back to Republic City to warn everybody.

Prince Wu is told that the evacuation of the city is now mandatory, and he does a surprisingly good job of calming the inhabitants of the city down and restoring order, after Mako first makes the announcement and riles everybody up.

Kuvira arrives and uses the giant Mecha to blow up the Republic's navy. Raiko, out of options, is forced to surrender. Korra has one last idea, though - if they can take out the Mecha, they might still have a chance to defeat Kuvira. How can they do that? By getting to the Mecha's creator, Baatar Jr. Korra and the others kidnap him. Baatar refuses to give them any information, but Korra then threatens to keep him away from Kuvira for the rest of his life. Baatar and Kuvira talk over a radio line, and Baatar tries to convince Kuvira to give up and leave Republic City alone. At least they will still be together!

Elementary: The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction (3x07)

Okay! Another good one! Lots of Kitty character development! And Joan character development! And nutmeg. So, all in all, good stuff!

Joan is asked to investigate the disappearance of a girl that happened five years ago. Sherlock gets involved when he's interested by a strange detail in the case: at the scene of this woman's disappearance, people noted the smell of nutmeg. This same smell has connected several crimes over the years. Joan, Kitty, and Sherlock go to talk to the man in charge of the case, and Sherlock quickly deduces from the man's files that the "olfactory signature" is not from the murderer, but rather from someone who is called in to help clean up after crimes. Long story short, it was a man who used to work for the police to clean up crime scenes. He went rogue. They catch the culprit and all is well.

Meanwhile, we learn that Kitty used to play clarinet at an expert level. At the end of the episode, Sherlock praises her progress with her detective work, since she was the one who found a key clue to help them solve the case. As a reward, Sherlock tells her that she can play her music as loud as she wants instead of shutting it down. Kitty decides to put in some classical music, apparently reminiscing about her past.

Joan meets up with an old boyfriend who wants her help as a detective because his medical ID badge was stolen. Joan asks Kitty to take care of it, which she does, quickly. All of this makes Sherlock notice that maybe Joan isn't that happy in her current relationship with Andrew. It's true - Joan is getting frustrated because she and Andrew are basically in a long-term relationship for the time being. Sherlock notes that maybe Joan doesn't really want a normal relationship, and that she might be happier with some other arrangement wherein she only has casual sex or is free to pursue other partners. As Joan prepares a fancy dinner for her and Andrew, she laments that maybe Sherlock has a point.

The Big Bang Theory: The Clean Room Infiltration (8x11)

An okay episode. Nothing too special going on here, though. There were a couple of setups that could have been capitalized on a bit better. But let's just talk about the story.

Raj tells everybody that he will be unable to host Christmas dinner because his father is coming into town. Amy volunteers to host instead, saying that she wants to throw a Victorian Christmas, with traditional games. At the party, Penny and the elder Dr. Koothrappali are bored by Amy's strange games, as they wait for the others to arrive.

Bernadette is giving Sheldon a ride to the party. He laments that he is being forced to celebrate the holiday. He wants to do something to punish Amy the way he feel he's being punished. His solution? Buy Amy a present. Since the two of them have agreed not to exchange gifts, any present from Sheldon will make Amy feel guilty and ashamed. Then, maybe they'll never have to celebrate Christmas again! Sheldon gets Amy a thoughtful present - a picture of him sitting on Santa's lap at the mall.

At Amy's party, Sheldon gives Amy the gift, which she loves. Turns out, she has a present for him as well - a box of Christmas cookies made from his gradmother's recipe. Sheldon grudgingly admits that maybe Christmas isn't so bad after all.

The Vampire Diaries: Christmas Through Your Eyes (6x10)

Nice! What a way to go out before the break! Lots of intrigue, lots of action, lots of angst. And a Damon/Stefan hug! I'm happy.

Kai wants to merge with Jo and become all powerful, and Tyler wants to help him. If Kai merges with Jo, that will protect Liv and Luke from having to do it. Liv is all for going through with the plan, but Luke has mixed feelings, because if Kai wins, he'll be all-powerful and he will hurt innocent people. Kai actually needs the help of the twins to find the dagger with Jo's magic in it, since he has no magic of his own to do a locator spell. Kai kidnaps Jo out of the hospital, and then manages to find the knife, which Damon had hidden away. So, Kai now has Jo, Liv, and Luke at his mercy and he is ready to get this party started.

Damon has a plan - let's go find Kai, and kill him! He and Alaric go to find Kai. Alaric is still pissed at Damon obviously, but he's willing to help him. The two of them manage to trap Kai, but before Alaric can kill him, Jo tells them not to. If Kai is dead, it will force Liv and Luke into the merge, and Jo realizes that it's not fair. She thinks she can defeat Kai, if she just has a bit more time to gather her strength. However, Kai has other plans. He has been chained up by Damon, but he starts to suck the magical energy out of the land. There's lots of magic in Mystic Falls, due to the spell cast by the Travelers that's keeping everybody magical out of Mystic Falls. Kai becomes all powered-up, and breaks free. He throws Alaric around a bit, and then vanishes. However, there is one good piece of news here - the whole magic-less dome thing is over with! All the vampires can go back home now!

While all of this has been going on, we've been getting flashbacks to earlier Christmases, where Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline are all fresh-faced, human, and have living parents. Oh, the good ol' days. In their junior year, Caroline apparently got picked by Stefan for Secret Santa, and he bought her a snow globe key-chain (lammmeee). In the present day, Liz Forbes comes to help Caroline decorate her dorm room (does anybody else get annoyed by Caroline's unrealistically large dorm? I'm a college student. I know that's crap.) In any case, Caroline is happy to see her mom, since she can't exactly go home for Christmas without dying. Then, Stefan shows up to help decorate. It seems that Liz is trying to help mend some fences. However, Caroline doesn't have very long to stay angry at Stefan, since suddenly Liz collapses!

Modern Family: Haley's 21st Birthday (6x10)

Cute for the most part. A little weird in a few places. Let's jump in.

It's Haley's 21st birthday, so she goes out to a bar with Claire, Gloria, Cam and Mitch. Claire is committed to having a more adult relationship with her daughter, which eventually leads to the two of them talking about boys and sex and all sorts of stuff like that. Gloria, to Claire's annoyance, continues to egg things on, until Haley announces that she wants to get a tattoo, and Gloria suggests that she and Claire get matching tattoos. Claire decides to go for it, to have this special connection with her daughter.

Meanwhile, Cam and Mitch think that a group of girls at a bachelorette party are going to glom onto them all night because they're gay. Instead, a younger gay couple get accosted by the women. Cam and Mitch are insulted to find that they are considered too old to be the fun gay guys. They decide they'll get tattoos too, so they can be cool.

At the tattoo parlor, Claire gets the word "mother" in Sanskrit. However, at this point Haley decides to back out. She's afraid of something so permanent. Cam and Mitch also decide getting a tattoo is a bit desperate, so they back out as well. Claire is obviously pretty pissed off.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: What They Become (2x10)

What. The. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

Nope.

Nope I do not like this. Take me back. Make it stop. Let's just... ugh. Let's just do the plot. I am upset.

This entire episode was non-stop go-go-go.

As HYDRA tries to shoot the Bus out of the air, May uses evasive tactics to escape, and then goes to meet up with Coulson and the rest of the team to formulate a plan to get Skye out.

Meanwhile, Ward brings Raina and Skye to San Juan, and takes Skye to meet her father. Turns out, his name is Cal. He tells her the story of what Whitehall did to her mother. He also tells her that her own name is Daisy. Whitehall himself is there at the HYDRA base in San Juan to oversee the plans to reach the city. Whitehall makes Skye pick up the Obelisk, which Skye does successfully. Whitehall is excited to see if Skye is as "special" as her mother. Cal is furious. Whitehall has Cal, Ward, and Skye all tied up to keep them out of the way for the time being.

Cal manages to escape from his bonds, leaving Ward and Skye behind while he goes after Whitehall. However, Coulson and the team show up at this point, ready with their plan to extract Skye, and to seal off the entrance to the underground city. Coulson shoots Whitehall, killing him. Cal is furious because he wanted revenge against Whitehall. He tries to kill Coulson. Ward, meanwhile, gets free and also sets Skye loose, thinking to get her to safety. Skye takes advantage of Ward's trust in her and shoots him several times, running off. Skye shows up and sees Cal beating up Coulson. She threatens to shoot her father if he doesn't leave Coulson. Cal runs off, promising that Skye will someday see how special she is. Skye is devastated that she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger and kill Cal. She runs off to fix the situation, with Coulson, injured, calling after her.

Supernatural: The Things We Left Behind (10x09)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but... eh. I wasn't really a fan. I mean, it wasn't bad. But it wasn't... it wasn't mid-season finale-ish. I felt sort of disappointed in the end. Let's go ahead and talk about what happened.

So. Cas decides to go find Claire Novak, because he feels guilty for taking her father away from her. He tracks her to Pontiac, Illinois, where he finds her in a group home. Claire is apparently quite the troublemaker. Cas talks to her, telling her that sadly her father is dead, but that he wants to help her in any way he can. Claire asks Cas to pretend to be her father and get her out of the group home. Cas tries, but the woman running the home doesn't let it happen. She says that Cas is looking to be Claire's friend, when Claire needs a father.

Cas is still determined to help Claire, so he helps her to escape. The two go out for food at a diner, but Claire manages to steal Cas' wallet and she runs off. Cas calls in the Winchesters to help him track her down, since he believes she is his responsibility.

It turns out, Claire lives with a father-figure-type person, Randy, who uses her and one other troubled teen to help him steal money. Randy is in trouble with a loan shark, and he needs big bucks, fast. Claire is sent to rob a convenience store. However, Cas and the boys track down the other kid who lives with Randy, and he spills the beans about what Claire is up to. Cas stops her before she can commit the crime. She is angry - she thinks of Cas as the monster who killed her father, and the Winchesters were just the jerks who stood by and let it happen.

Claire runs home to Randy. The loan sharks are there. They offer to let Randy off the hook for his debts, if he'll only turn over Claire. Randy does so, selling Claire to these evil men. Luckily, Cas is able to rescue her before she is raped. However, Dean's Mark of Cain is triggered by this terrible group of potential rapists. He slaughters them all brutally. Cas, Sam, and Claire, who had all been out in the car, come rushing back in to see the carnage. Sam desperately asks Dean to tell him that it was self defense, but Dean, in a bit of a daze, can't deny what really happened. The episode ends.

Castle: Bad Santa (7x10)

Oh noooo! I wasn't expecting that. This is going to be interesting. Let's start with a plot summary.

A man is killed by someone in a Santa costume, which is an odd way of starting things off. Very quickly, the victim is identified as a doctor who worked (in secret) for a mob family. Castle actually knows Dino Scarpella, the Don, because the man helped him write his novels. So, Castle goes to talk to Dino about the murder, thinking that he can help them solve it.

Very quickly, it looks like Dino's right hand man is the guilty party, but Dino is convinced that this is not the case. He makes Castle swear a blood oath that he will track down the real killer. Castle investigates further, and for a while it looks like it might be Dino's daughter who did the killing. Dino is furious at Castle for accusing his daughter, and he nearly kills Castle on the spot. However, the daughter comes forward and tells the truth: she didn't kill the man, but she was there at the scene of another murder, that of her boyfriend. This boyfriend, it transpires, is in a rival mob. The two of them were in love, and planning on running away together.

Eventually, after a few more twists and turns, the real murderer is apprehended - it was another detective, who had been investigating mob activity for so long that he wanted in on the action. Shocking! Unfortunately for Castle, his connection to the mob and his cooperation with them means that the NYPD is nervous about him. Captain Gates sadly tells Castle that he is no longer allowed to work at the NYPD.

Once Upon a Time: Shattered Sight (4x11)

Okay, this episode was hilarious! There were touching and sad moments here as well, but mostly it was absolutely precious and it made me laugh multiple times. Let's start with a plot summary.

We get flashbacks to when Ingrid first entered our world in the 1980's. She goes to see a psychic, to ask about Emma, but quickly realizes that the woman is a fake. She angrily declares that she'll wait as long as it takes to find Emma. Years later, Emma enters Ingrid's house as a foster child. Emma wants to run away at first, but Ingrid and Emma eventually form a bond. After a while, Ingrid tells Emma she's going to adopt her, and that she can be like Emma's big sister. Emma is thrilled. Ingrid believes that Emma is starting to show signs of magical power, so she decides to spur her into realization by throwing her in front of a car. Emma angrily dives out of the way. She thinks Ingrid is crazy, and she runs off.

Ingrid uses the scroll given to her by the Sorcerer's Apprentice to get to Storybrooke, where she knows Emma will arrive on her 28th birthday. Emma does indeed come to Storybrooke, as we know. When she sees Ingrid in the ice cream shop, she is angry and scared. Ingrid realizes that Emma still isn't ready to embrace her powers, so she takes Emma's memories of Ingrid away using a memory stone, which explains why Emma doesn't remember anything.

In Storybrooke, the Spell of Shattered Sight has begun to affect the town, and people are going crazy. Mary Margaret and David are yelling at each other, Kristoff is griping and complaining, while Anna just tries to keep the peace. Townsfolk are rioting in the streets, etc. Anna, Emma, and Elsa, who are all immune, try to come up with a plan. Elsa and Emma leave baby Neal with Anna, while they go to confront Ingrid. However, when they do, they realize that the ribbons Ingrid has put on them make it impossible for them to hurt her.

The Mentalist: The Greybar Hotel (7x02)

Jane and Lisbon are killing me with cuteness. I love them so much I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Let's take a look at this episode.

To start, we see a couple arrive at a fancy party and try to commit a robbery. Cole gets away, but his girlfriend Marie is caught. She won't rat Cole out, so she's sent to prison. The FBI are interested in this whole thing because Cole is working with some international car smugglers, and they think some of these smugglers might have ties to terrorism. If they can get Marie to give up Cole's location, they can make progress in catching some really bad people.

In order to accomplish this, Lisbon goes undercover as an inmate, and she bunks with Marie. Lisbon manages to form a bond with Marie, who then lets slip some information about Cole. However, they are unable to find Cole based on these hints. Jane has another idea - what if Marie and Lisbon break out of prison? Then, Marie will lead them right to Cole!

The plan is put into place, and Lisbon and Marie escape. The FBI were supposed to follow them, but they lose the trail when the escaped prisoners switch cars. Things start to heat up when Cole shows up to get them at a gas station. He shoots the gas station employee several times, killing him, before taking Lisbon and Marie away to meet up with a helicopter that's going to get them out of the state. Jane arrives at the crime scene and realizes that Lisbon has been there. Despite Vega's protests, Jane runs off to get to Lisbon before backup can arrive.

The Legend of Korra: Operation Beifong (4x10)

Toph! That's enough to get me to like any episode, honestly. I'm pretty easy. But let's go ahead and look at the plot, shall we?

Lin, Opal and Bolin all approach Zaofu to save the rest of the Beifong family. Toph shows up to help them out. She and Lin have a rocky relationship, but they are willing to work together to save Suyin and the rest of the family. They track the prisoners to one of Kuvira's camps, where they are testing the Spirit Vine weapon.

Kuvira herself shows up to see how the testing is going, but something seems to be wrong with the machine. Very quickly, Kuvira realizes that Zhu Li was sabotaging the weapon. She sends Zhu Li to an abandoned town, where she will be tied up and then killed during the testing of the weapon.

Toph, Lin, Opal, and Bolin manage to rescue the other Beifong prisoners, but when Bolin finds out that Zhu Li is in danger, he says he has to go after her. Opal decides to go with Bolin to rescue Zhu Li. When Baatar Jr. sees that his sister Opal is down in the abandoned town, he tries to call off the weapons testing, but Kuvira is relentless.

Lin, Suyin, Baatar, and the rest of the Beifongs fight against Kuvira's Earth Benders. Suyin fights against Kuvira herself, while the others stave off further attacks. Just when it seems all hope is lost, Toph shows up and knocks the Earth Benders out. As the whole crowd escape on Opal's Flying Bison, Toph tells Kuvira: "You give Metal Benders a bad name!"

Elementary: Terra Pericolosa (3x06)

OH MY GOD SHERLOCK HOLMES YOU ARE TOO ADORABLE. I absolutely loved everything about Sherlock, Joan and Kitty in this episode. Let's get crackin'.

So, the case of the week involves ancient maps, and thievery. I won't go into too much detail, because as I think I've made clear, the case-of-the-week stuff is never the stuff that I'm really interested in. Basically, a guard at a library is murdered so that someone can get their hands on a very specific map. Sherlock, Joan, and Kitty all investigate, along with Gregson and Bell. Sherlock eventually detects some slight differences between different copies of the map, and he realizes that the whole thing was set up by the granddaughter of the man who originally loaned the map. She had paid a forger to make a forgery that looked really old, so she could trick everyone into thinking that the original was the forgery. She is arrested.

The much more interesting plot of this episode involves Kitty, Sherlock, and Joan's personal relationships. Joan notices that Sherlock has been sending Kitty on lots of little errands, several of which seem beneath her. Joan learns from Kitty that there's a group of friends she has met, and she has turned down going out to drinks a few times, because Sherlock needed her to do something. Joan tells Sherlock that he has to give Kitty some free time, and Sherlock reveals that Kitty has a suitor. This man is interested in her, and Sherlock is worried that Kitty is not ready for this step. He makes up busy work on purpose so that Kitty will not be able to go out with this man.

The Vampire Diaries: I Alone (6x09)

Ugh. Damon you asshole. Poor Rick! I don't know what to think! Let's dive right in.

So. Alaric steals the Ascendant from Jo by making her a nice dinner and getting her to open up. She eventually lets slip where she has it hidden, and Rick gives it to Damon. Damon then compels him to forget the whole thing ever happened. Jo quickly realizes that the Ascendant is missing, and she confronts Alaric. Of course, he has no idea what happened, but Jo figures out that Damon must have compelled him. The two of them drive into Mystic Falls, which causes Rick to remember the compulsion.

Ascendant in hand, Damon and Elena are all set to go into the 1994 Hell and get Bonnie out. Elena tells Jeremy the good news that they're going to save Bonnie, but Jeremy is not enthused. He has only just started to move on with his life, and he doesn't think the plan is going to work.

Liv has been staying with Tyler so that he can protect her from her crazy family, but Liv insists on leaving so she can help Elena and Damon get to Bonnie. She uses her magic to do so, and Damon and Elena are sent to 1994.

They manage to get a hold of Bonnie, who is driving back towards Mystic Falls from where Kai left her when he took her blood. While they're waiting for her to return, Elena figures out that Damon compelled Alaric to steal from Jo, and she gets angry at Damon, saying that he only wants to rescue Bonnie so that he can get in good with Elena. Damon tells Elena that Bonnie means a lot to him, and that he was doing it for her, not for Elena. Elena apologizes for erasing her memories of Damon, and Damon says that it's okay - they'll make new memories.

Modern Family: Strangers in the Night (6x09)

Quite a few funny one-liners in this episode. I'll try to remember a few of them to quote for you. In all, this isn't an episode I'll be remembering particularly well, but I did have fun while I was watching it.

A white rose is delivered to the Dunphy house, and Alex is offended that nobody thinks the rose could be for her. She tells her family that she has a boyfriend, but Claire, Haley, and Luke all think that Alex is just making up this boyfriend. However, it turns out he's real, but that he is moving to Africa with his family. The Dunphys think this is rather convenient. Later, she says she already has another date, but they continue to think she's making it up. When the boy, an ex-con with a motorcycle, shows up to take Alex out, Phil and Claire are relieved to know that Alex isn't crazy, and really does have a boy in her life. However, Phil quickly chases them outside to stop Alex from going off with such a scary and dangerous guy.

Cute. Nothing terribly outstanding, but very cute. The best part was when Phil and Claire were in Alex's room, and she was talking about her date. She kept saying things that sounded like they were being made up on the spot due to their correspondence with objects in the room. That was pretty funny. I also liked that Alex wasn't making up the boyfriend, but that everything did come across as very coincidental. Alex's boyfriend's name, for example, was Alec, so when Alex claims she has his coffee cup, Claire sees what looks like Alex's own name written on it. Pretty funny.

Supernatural: Hibbing 911 (10x08)

So. Incredibly. Cute. I am so happy that this episode exists. Supernatural has never been the best when it comes to representation, and even now all of the main characters are still white males. However, this episode is one of those signs that at least they're trying to do better. This was the episode of Jody Mills and Sheriff Donna Hanscum being buddy cops together, and it was glorious.

So, Jody is on a cop retreat in Hibbing, Minnesota, at the insistence of her boss. She is paired up with Donna, who is overly chipper, but very nice. Jody is grumpy about being on the retreat, and she is worried about Alex, who she left at home. Then, bodies start dropping. Jodie calls Sam and Dean to ask them about what's going on, but she says that she can handle it. However, Dean is sick of being stuck in the bunker researching the Mark of Cain, so he gets Sam to agree to go to Minnesota. They show up.

Donna sees one of the cops standing over the body of another cop with vampire fangs out. She tells Jody, so now they know they're working with vampires. Donna is understandably shaken by all of this, but she puts on a brave face and goes to help the others clean out the vamp nest.

It doesn't work out so well, and they are all captured. We learn that the one cop used to be the leader of the coven, but he has turned away from harming people and has tried to help people. The rest of the coven are disappointed in his choice to turn on them. Dean manages to get free of his bonds, and he attacks the vampires. Donna ends up killing the final vampire, saving Jody's life.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: ...Ye Who Enter Here (2x09)

Yikes! I wasn't expecting that! Let's do the plot.

We start with Skye, as she has a bad dream wherein Coulson and May, seemingly her parents in the dream, abandon baby Skye. Once she is awake, Skye cannot get rid of the ominous feeling the dream has left her with.

Raina is nearly captured by HYDRA, lead by Agent 33, who still looks like May. They need her because she can safely touch the Obelisk. However, Raina is saved by two of the Koenig brothers - Billy and Sam. Coulson sends Skye, May, and Lance Hunter to go get Raina. Meanwhile, he goes with Bobbi, Mack, Fitz, and Simmons with him to find the alien city, which is apparently hidden underneath San Juan.

In San Juan, Simmons tries to talk to Fitz about their relationship. She has gotten advice from Bobbi that she should share her feelings. However, Fitz cuts her off and announces his intention to let her be the head of the science department. He says he wants to move to the garage and work with Mack. He'll work for Simmons, but he can't work with her. Bobbi, meanwhile, asks Coulson if he plans on destroying the Obelisk, or if he wants to take it and use it for himself. Coulson insists that he wants to destroy it, because he doesn't want to put people at risk. Unlike Nick Fury, his "acceptable losses" number is zero. Bobbi has a contact who helps them find a way into the underground city.

Castle: Last Action Hero (7x09)

Not a fan, to be honest. There was nothing technically wrong with this episode, but it was just... I don't know how to describe it. It was missing something, though.

The plot is pretty basic. An action hero from the '80s is murdered. Castle, a big fan of the man's movies, immediately comes up with all sorts of crazy theories as to how it happened. Along the way, Castle gets to meet the other stars of one of his favorite movies. The main suspect turns out to be the man who played the victim's arch nemesis. The other actors basically abduct Castle and take him along on an illegal operation to get a video recording that might prove this man's guilt. It turns out that the son of one of the actors was actually the biological son of the victim. This adds a whole other layer of complication to things, and in the end it turns out to be this son's mother who actually killed the victim.

There's a very brief subplot about Beckett saying goodbye to her apartment. She is ready to move in and start her life properly with Castle, but she still feels an attachment to the apartment, and is sad to be letting it go. She commiserates with Lanie, but eventually says a wistful goodbye to the apartment.

The Walking Dead: Coda (5x08)

Oh for the love of God. Stop reading now if you haven't seen it. I'm just... I cannot even handle it. God damn everything ever. Damn it my heart cannot even ugh freakin' UGH. Let's just start with what happened. I don't even know how to type this right now. Damn.

Back at the church, Father Gabriel is accosted by a group of Walkers. He runs back to the church and begs for Michonne and Carl to let him back in. They had barricaded the door for protection, and have to fight to get through to Gabriel. The Walkers swarm in, but they manage to escape through the floorboards that Gabriel had earlier used. Turns out, Gabriel had left to go to the nearby school. He says he had to "see it for himself." At this point, the DC crew arrives back. Eugene is still recovering, but Maggie gets some good news: Michonne tells her that Beth is alive, and that the rest of the group has gone to rescue her. So, they all decide to go meet up with them and help them rescue Beth. Michonne, Carl, baby Judith, Father Gabriel, Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Maggie, Glenn, and Tara all head out.

Meanwhile, Rick chases down Bob Lamson. He keeps telling him to stop running, and when he won't listen he runs him down with his car, hurting him. He then shoots him dead. The two other officers say they're still willing to make the trade and help them get through to Dawn. They agree to lie and say that Walkers killed Lamson. The trade is arranged.

Inside the hospital, Beth is still horrified by all of the things that Dawn lets slide. When she accuses Dawn of doing the wrong thing, Dawn continues to insist that the ends justify the means. One of the officers overhears Dawn talking about how Beth killed Gorman. He threatens to tell everybody what's going on, and tells Dawn that she has to get rid of Beth. Instead, Dawn threatens to shoot this police officer. Eventually there is a scuffle, and Beth pushes the man down the elevator shaft. Beth believes that Dawn has only protected her thus far so she won't have to do her own dirty work. Beth is the one who has been getting rid of Dawn's problems, after all.

The Mentalist: Nothing But Blue Skies (7x01)

So. Cute. I cannot even stand it. This was adorable. Jane and Lisbon. Oh, how we've waited. Years and years of waiting. It. Was. Worth. It. Eek! Let's do the plot first.

Jane and Lisbon have both been taking some time off from work. They're cute and slightly awkward together, and as Lisbon suggests maybe Jane should have a key to her house, they are interrupted by Abbott calling Lisbon. There's a new case, and he wants to know if she can come in. He then also calls Jane. Lisbon says that she wants to keep their relationship a secret for now, and Jane agrees.

The case is tricky - somebody is shot and killed. Nothing too mysterious. However, it turns out that the victim was undercover with the FBI, looking to crack open a gun smuggling operation. They have to figure out who killed him, without revealing his undercover identity. At the bowling alley, where the operation is being run, Jane gets impatient with the agent in charge of the case, because he is rude to Lisbon. He quickly pulls one of his stunts, reading the faces in the room to reveal who is the gun seller. He succeeds, but the woman runs off and gets away.

It looks like the case is ruined, because now everyone knows about the undercover investigation. However, Jane apologizes for being hasty and promises he'll get everything sorted out. Meanwhile, we learn that Kim Fischer has transferred, and the team is getting a new member - Michelle Vega. Vega is young and inexperienced, but she seems sharp and dedicated to learning.

Once Upon a Time: Fall (4x10)

Oh my God this is going to hurt so bad I can just feel it coming and I don't want to deal with this I can't handle it noooo! Plot? Let's do the plot before I explode.

Ingrid is casting the Spell of Shattered Sight. She tells Rumple that it will take hold by sundown. Rumple has a proposition - if she will allow him to leave with Belle and Henry, then he will leave her alone to be with her "sisters" Elsa and Emma. If she refuses him, then Rumple will make it his life's mission to make her miserable. Ingrid agrees to let Rumple go.

Everyone else is trying to figure out a way out of this Curse. Emma suggests that they simply get out of Storybrooke, but Ingrid's ice wall won't let them escape. Belle sets to work with the fairies to try to come up with a spell. They can use Anna's necklace, which Elsa recovered from the ice, to make a counter-spell. Since Anna has already been through the Curse, she'll be immune. Using the necklace will take a long time. It will be faster if they can find Anna herself, and use her. When the Charmings tell Elsa to hand over the necklace to the fairies for their spell, she tricks everyone by putting rocks in a bag and handing it over. She runs off with the necklace, using it to track Anna. She is convinced that she will find her.

Meanwhile, Rumple forces Hook to hide and wait for him to remove Belle from the company of the fairies. Once Rumple manages this, Hook uses the Hat to suck up all the fairies, including the Blue Fairy. Rumple tells Hook that he'll be dead in the morning. Rumple then kisses Belle goodbye and locks her up in the shop where she'll be safe.

The Legend of Korra: Beyond the Wilds (4x09)

I'm so proud of Korra. I know that's a weird thing to say. But I am! I'm so happy for her and I'm proud of how much she's grown over the years. Let's look at the plot of this one.

In Republic City, the world leaders are having a meeting about Kuvira. While President Raiko and Lin Beifong want to go on the offensive, Fire Lord Izumi and Tenzin refuse to back their play. Prince Wu is there too, but he's not much help. Bolin and Varrick show up and tell everybody about Kuvira's plans to weaponize Spirit Vines. Even so, the counsel decides to go on the defensive instead of attacking Kuvira right out. Korra is insulted that she wasn't invited to the meeting, and she thinks that nobody believes in her anymore.

One of the Air Benders is giving a tour of the Spirit Wilds, when suddenly a Spirit Vine seems to kidnap all of the tourists. Jinora, investigating what happened, is also taken. Korra is able to tap in to the Spirit Energy to see what Kuvira is up to, and she, along with Mako, finds the captured victims. She thinks maybe if she meditates and goes into the Spirit World, she will be able to get them out. However, she finds herself unable to get into the Spirit World, still haunted as she is by memories of Zaheer.

Korra realizes that she needs to face Zaheer once and for all, to move past what happened to her. Tenzin is hesitant to allow this, but Korra persists. Face to face with Zaheer, Korra seems completely overwhelmed by her fear. Zaheer tells her that she can't move past what happened to her until she accepts it as part of her life. Zaheer then helps Korra to meditate into the Spirit World, helping her past her trauma. Korra is able to save Jinora and the others, and she regains faith in her own ability to do good.

Elementary: Rip Off (3x05)

Woah, I almost didn't realize that this episode had aired. It's weird to have a new one on a holiday! In any case, here we go.

First of all... I'm confused. Was last week's episode not supposed to be continued? Because to me it felt really unfinished. Are we really never going to discover what happened with Bella? And that professor guy? That seems totally ridiculous! But maybe they will come back in later. I hope so, anyway. But setting that aside, we should look at this episode for what it was.

In this episode, someone finds a severed hand in a sewer. Sherlock and Kitty are called in to investigate. (Joan is in Copenhagen and remains there for the whole episode).  The victim ran a mailbox service, but Sherlock quickly uncovers the truth: he is a jewelry smuggler. Sherlock is able to discover that the victim's hand was actually torn off by someone, which limits their possible suspects to body builders. They find the culprit, but it turns out that it was a paid hit. Eventually, with Kitty's help, Sherlock realizes that Amit, the victim's employee, is the culprit.

Along the way, Kitty is doing an experiment with Clyde where in she is hooked up to a mild electric shock and to a bell, and she sees which one Clyde is more inclined to use to get food. He seems to favor the shock. Also, Sherlock is acting cagey and makes Kitty sign a nondisclosure agreement. Sherlock eventually tells her why. Apparently he discovered Joan's "Casebook of Sherlock Holmes," and he feels betrayed. Kitty assures Sherlock that she won't read it if he doesn't want her to, and even pours something on the laptop to ruin it. Sherlock admits that part of his motivation for not reading it was fear of what Joan really thinks of him.

Supernatural: Girls, Girls, Girls (10x07)

Alrighty! I'm pretty late with this review. Sorry. But I liked it! For the most part!

Sam is amused and annoyed to discover that Dean has taken them on a detour to meet up with a girl from a dating app so that he can get laid. However, the joke is quickly on Dean, as he discovers that the girl is a prostitute. However, her payment isn't money - it's her soul. Dean quickly gets the girl to confess that she has been forced into this job, and he and Sam trap the demon responsible. Before they can question the demon about the brothel where other such forced prostitution is going on, the angry woman kills her pimp, cutting off their best lead. However, they are still able to track down Raoul, the man running this operation, by finding some of the cards he passed out to possible clients.

When they get there, someone has beaten them to it, and Raoul is already dead. It was a witch by the name of Rowena. She liberates some of the women who were forced into prostitution, taking them under her wing to train them as witches. Sam and Dean track her to a fancy hotel. Sam tries to fend off one of the girls, who Rowena has transformed into some sort of monster. Dean chases down Rowena, and actually manages to stop her. However, at this unlucky moment, Cole shows up to finish things with Dean once and for all. He forces Dean to let Rowena go.

Dean and Cole fight, and Dean manages to overpower Cole. However, he hands him back his gun, saying that if Cole still wants to kill him once he's explained himself, then Dean will let him have his shot. He explains that Cole's father was a monster, and reveals that he does in fact remember having killed him. Sam shows up but Dean tells him to put his gun down and let him keep talking with Cole. He tells Cole that the people who love him had pulled him back from the edge of darkness, but that once that darkness is in you, there's nothing you can do to stop it. Cole has a family that he has to get back to, so he shouldn't do this. And... Cole decides not to. He drives off to head back home.

Castle: Kill Switch (7x08)

Esposito-centric episode! Yes! Some days I think this show should just be about Espo and Ryan. As much as I love Castle and Beckett, most of my favorite episodes of this show, ever, have been ones that focus on one or both of the Ryan and Espo pair. Let us begin with a brief look at the plot.

Basically, the team is investigating the murder of a man who died in the park. Esposito and Ryan go to track down someone they think might be involved. As Ryan waits in the car, Espo follows this man into a subway car. Once in the subway, Espo is horrified to find that the man (Jared) has a bomb strapped to his chest. The rest of the team and a very worried Lanie have to figure out what's going on, while Espo tries to keep Jared from setting the bomb off. He also makes friends with another cop on the subway car by the name of Marisa.

Slowly, pieces start to fall into place. Jared only has one demand for the police - he wants his girlfriend, Erin, to be released from prison. Later he asks for her to be taken to a specific location. Ryan discovers that Jared seems to be following very specific instructions, like he's acting on behalf of somebody else. In the end, everything becomes clear: Jared was passionate about freeing Erin, and he fell in with someone on the internet who told him to use the bomb to get people's attention. Turns out, Jared was being used as a tool to disseminate a deadly strain of the H5N1 virus to the people. That way, the people with the antidote could make a lot of money. The real bad guy is apprehended.