Supernatural: Red Meat (11x17)

Yikes. You know, this episode didn't tell me anything new about the plot or the characters, and yet I still thought it was one of the best episodes in a season full of surprisingly great installments. Let's dive right in.

Cons:

But I guess I will admit it would have been nice to have a bit more of a tie-in to the A-plot. They mention Cas once, very briefly, but nobody says anything about Amara, or even Crowley. He's been completely out of the picture for a while now... wouldn't the boys be curious about where he is? It's a small nitpick, but if an episode doesn't move the story forward in terms of plot or character, it does become noticeable.

Pros:

First of all, I want to compliment this episode for its "Then" section. Supernatural really has a gift with "previously on" stuff, and I love the way they always turn it in to something more special than just straight up showing clips from previous episodes. The montage of Dean being willing to do crazy things to save Sam, and then the montage of both of them dying again and again were particularly great.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Watchdogs (3x14)

This episode was really exciting, and it focused on a number of characters who have been woefully underrepresented this season. All in all, I'm happy!

Cons:

This episode, as I'll talk about in a lot of detail in a minute, focuses on ideological divides. Is the use of superpowers on a suspect justified without hard evidence, if it might save more lives in the future? Is it dangerous to have Inhumans roaming the world unchecked? Are groups like the Watchdogs terrorists or are they fighting back against an entrenched power that doesn't care about the little guy? These are all perfectly interesting questions, but I will admit I got a little annoyed with how on-the-nose this episode was in dealing with them. Characters would come right out and say how they felt about the complicated issues, and I feel like that kind of black and white concise discourse doesn't really exist outside of... well... comic books. So there's the irony, I guess. It's not a bad thing, but it's not my style, and I've seen this show deal with issues in much more nuanced and complicated ways.

There was one subplot thing that didn't quite work for me... during one part of the story, Fitz gets hit with some sort of substance that appears to be killing him, and he and Daisy have to scramble to get an antidote working to counter this biological weapon. Fitz is saved without much trouble, though, and with everything else going on in this episode I wasn't really sure why that detail was even included. Maybe they're setting up the biological weapon as a plot device for later?

The Walking Dead: East (6x15)

Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. I seriously watch every episode of this show with my heart in my throat, terrified that Daryl is going to die. And... well, he's not dead. Yet. But it's not looking good. Oh my God. Son of a bitch. Let's take a look at the penultimate episode of the season.

Cons:

To be quite honest, this episode sort of decelerated the tension, instead of accelerating it. There were quite a few different plot threads. Carol leaves Alexandria and runs in to a group of Saviors on the road, so we follow her while that's going on. Then we also follow Rick and Morgan, who go out after Carol to try and bring her back. We also follow Daryl, who leaves before finding out that Carol is gone in order to hunt down Dwight, and we follow Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita, who all go out to bring Daryl back. Back in Alexandria, we follow Maggie and Enid, who, like the rest of the Alexandrians, are prepping for the inevitable fight to come with the Saviors. This is a lot of stuff, and it doesn't have that sense of mounting tension and action that the rest of this season has had. A big thing happens in this episode, for sure, but it happens in literally the last second, and the rest of the episode almost feels like just impatient buildup for the very end.

Elementary: Ready or Not (4x18)

A perfectly serviceable yet mostly uninteresting main plot paired with an infinitely superior subplot? It must be a new episode of Elementary. Business as usual.

Cons:

The main plot was perfectly serviceable, as I said. A man turns up dead, and it turns out he was a doctor dealing in prescription drugs. He was also a survivalist, with a huge supply of emergency apocalypse supplies, and a buy-in to an elite bunker for all the rich people out there who plan on surviving the theoretical end of the world. Joan and Sherlock have to infiltrate the operation to find the truth, and discover the whole thing is a sham. It wasn't a bad plot, but I am a little aggravated about what I see as a huge missed opportunity.

This case starts with a man and his drug-addict son coming to the Brownstone to request Joan and Sherlock's help. Turns out, the son is a suspect in the missing persons case (which later turns in to a murder) and the father wants help in proving his son's innocence. Very quickly, Joan and Sherlock both deduce that this father is abusing his son: Sherlock even punches the guy in the face. And then... we never see the kid and his father again. Here I was thinking that this could be really interesting, because Sherlock is a drug addict with a lot of father issues at the moment, and Joan used to be a sober companion and clearly has a protective streak when it comes to people being taken advantage of. What an opportunity to explore both of their characters! But no. It never led to anything.

Once Upon a Time: The Brothers Jones (5x15)

Yeah. This was a good one. Very solid, very moving... perhaps somewhat redundant and even a little shallow? On a level of personal enjoyment, I'm all smiles over here. But on a more critical note, I wouldn't call this episode flawless.

Cons:

What do I mean exactly? Well, let's take a look at the main story of the night. In flashback, we learn that Killian and Liam were slaves aboard a ship for a long time, and they worked hard to earn enough money to buy their freedom. On the eve of getting commissions to join the navy, Killian gets drunk and gambles away his savings. Liam refuses to leave his brother behind, and the two continue in servitude. Eventually, Liam and Killian commit a mutiny to save the rest of the crew from the greed of the captain, who wanted to sail into a storm in search of a mythical gem. The plan is to turn around and run from the danger, but Hades shows up to make a deal with Liam: let the men aboard the ship die, so that he, Hades, can have fresh souls. In exchange, Hades will spare Liam and Killian's lives, and also give Liam the gem, thus ensuring he can get a commission in His Majesty's Navy. Liam takes the deal, and Killian never finds out, believing his brother to be a hero who tried his hardest to save all the men.

In the Underworld years later, the gang believes they can find out more about Hades and how to destroy him if they have the Underworld equivalent of the Story Book. They find it using information Henry found out about (I'll get there later). But Liam first gets a visit from Hades, who threatens to tell Killian the truth unless Liam tears out all the pages about Hades. Liam finds the book and destroys the pages, but Emma discovers him, and eventually Killian realizes his brother has been lying to him. The men who died aboard the ship all those years ago show up for their revenge, and Liam sacrifices himself for Killian and the others. His act of sacrifice completes his unfinished business, as he has finally made amends for his past wrongdoings. He and the other sailors all get to move on, while Killian stays behind. His unfinished business won't be finished until he and the others find a way to defeat Hades.

Grey's Anatomy: I Am Not Waiting Anymore (12x15)

All of my poor Grey's Anatomy characters are in such pain right now! Pain ranging from intense to mild, but still... yikes. I feel so bad for so many different people. That's the beauty of this show - I really feel like I understand the perspectives of all the different players in each conflict. Even when it's easy to pick a side, I still feel bad for the other people involved as well!

Cons:

The least interesting plot thread of the night for me involves the continuing drama of Maggie and Andrew DeLuca. In this week's installment, DeLuca gets annoyed with Maggie for trying to force him to have dinner with Richard, and for trying to give him special treatment in surgeries. DeLuca shuts that down right away, but is still getting comments from his fellow interns (especially Cross) about his relationship and the unfair advantages it's bringing to him. In the end, DeLuca angrily tells Maggie to stop trying to give him special treatment, which leaves Maggie confused and hurt. See, these two had such a cute little romance going. Now, I'm getting disenchanted with it right along with the characters. Maggie is one of my favorites, so I wish we could see a more interesting story here with her and DeLuca, instead of the same tired story about power dynamics that always comes into play when an attending dates a resident or an intern. We've covered this ground already, and the whole thing is making DeLuca look like a jerk, and Maggie look kind of pathetic.

Pros:

There were two main medical cases this week, and I liked the balance afforded by the fact that one patient, a tricky triple organ transplant, was a complete success, while the other one was a fluke mountaineering accident that ended in tragic brain death. The patients didn't get a ton of screen time - there were too many other things going on - but I liked what I saw. I almost hope we see more of the patient who is now brain dead. Her parents insist on keeping her alive with machines, while her boyfriend, who they do not approve of, knows she wouldn't want to live like that. It's a basic setup, but the brief moments we saw of these characters were enough to make me interested in how this would go moving forward. Will they come back? I'm not sure, but I hope so.

Modern Family: Express Yourself (7x17)

I think there may have just been too much going on in this one. Usually this show easily sustains its multiple subplots, but here I felt like not a single one of them got the attention it deserved. On their own, a lot of these stories had potential. But crammed together, they had nothing to do with one another and didn't get a proper chance to shine.

Cons:

Let's start with Cam, Mitchell, Lily, and Cam's sister Pam, who has just been left by her husband. There were lots of weirdly truncated plot ideas here - one was that Pam is a bad influence on Lily because her validation comes entirely from a man. One was that Cam and Pam both have sleep apnea and have to sleep with breathing apparatuses that drive Mitchell crazy and force him out of the house. Then there are the jokes about Pam and Cam's weird similarities, and Mitchell trying to stay out of everybody's business to preserve peace in his relationship. As I'm going to be saying a lot in this review, this idea could have been interesting if we'd had more time to look into it all. I didn't understand the connection between Pam and Lily, or between Pam and Cam, or between Pam and Mitchell. Pam's presence was totally wasted.

Jay, in an effort to keep busy, decides to remodel the master bathroom, but it takes longer than expected, and shenanigans ensue when Gloria accidentally undoes a lot of his progress due to Joe getting stuck in the bathroom. This episode followed the exact same narrative beats of so many other plot threads with Jay and Gloria. Oh, so Jay is struggling with retirement and finding out who he is without his job? Haven't we already been covering that? And Gloria and Jay both try and maintain the upper hand in a silly argument? Isn't that the plot of every episode with these two? There wasn't anything offensively wrong with this plot, but it did absolutely nothing for me at all.

Supernatural: Safe House (11x16)

This was a C-plot episode, but it was a very solid one. And it had lots of lovely little threads tying it back to the main plot and the themes of the season, which was fantastic.

Cons:

Supernatural has this super annoying exposition problem. If I have to hear Sam and Dean talk about how they have no new information and maybe they should take a case to distract themselves while they wait to learn more about the A-plot, I'm going to scream. These scenes that sit at the top of virtually every single C-plot episode are so repetitive and dull. It really feels like Jared and Jensen are just going through the motions.

Also, I'll admit that while this was a solid episode in its own right, it might have been nice to have a few more tie-ins with the main story, especially since we're coming off of a few weeks without new episodes. There's a moment where Dean is trapped in a "soul nest" that's supposed to show him torturous images of the things he loves, to keep his soul trapped. He sees Sam's dead body, but I must admit it would have been apropos for him to see Cas as well, especially since he's worrying so much about the whole Lucifer thing. It's a small detail, but I felt like Dean could have seen something in that nest that would have tied us back a bit more strongly to the A-plot.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Parting Shot (3x13)

I apologize for my brevity in this one - I'm just going to get to the heart of the thing and not talk about the details.

Cons:

Bobbi and Hunter have exited the show. In principle, I'm not a big supporter of this whole "Bobbi and Hunter get a spinoff" thing. I mean I guess I'm happy for the actors, but I think Bobbi and Hunter could have added a lot more to the show they were already on. I really liked the two of them and what they offered to the group dynamic. I felt like this exit was a bit hasty, and almost tangential, to the main story being told. Over the past couple of weeks, we've been seeing Hunter doubt the efficacy of working for S.H.I.E.L.D., and I thought that might turn into a really interesting discussion of the pros and cons of the organization. Instead, it's just being used as a way to fulfill Hunter's emotional arc before he exits.

I was a little confused about the main plot itself, since they went back and forth in time a little bit. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention, but the issue of Russia and the US going to war over the Inhumans just didn't interest me that much. And Malick has become such a slow-burn threat again. After seeing him show up unexpectedly last week, I wish we could have built on that momentum instead of putting on the brakes. We see an episode tag where his daughter is introduced. I already feel like they are low-key setting us up for a disturbing connection between this daughter and the entity formerly known as Grant Ward... and I'm not looking forward to that.

Castle: Fidelis Ad Mortem (8x15)

At this point, sadly, I'm actively hoping that Castle is cancelled after this season. I just get no joy out of it anymore. This episode, which had the theoretical components of a good episode, didn't do anything for me at all. Let's just dive right in.

Cons:

The basic plot is that a police academy recruit is murdered, and it looks like one of his fellow recruits killed him. Further investigation reveals that he had a connection to the Irish mob, and that he was trying to protect his secret girlfriend, also a recruit. The girl was actually the secret daughter of the mob boss. Honestly, this plot thread should have been really interesting. There could have been cool themes explored about loyalty between cops, the corruption in the system, the advantages and disadvantages of this harsh method of teaching... but nope. Just a corrupt cop skimming from the top, and a mob boss thrown into the mix.

Beckett was supposed to have this great connection with the girl whose father was the mob boss, but all of their interactions seemed flat. It wasn't either actress's fault... I just didn't care! Same goes for Beckett's connection to her old teacher. There just wasn't the same strength and bond there that we've gotten in the past with Beckett and other characters.

Elementary: You've Got Me, Who's Got You? (4x17)

I've been complaining over the past few weeks that Joan doesn't have enough to do, but here we actually got a very solid Joan-filled episode. Color me surprised, and thrilled!

Cons:

While I liked the idea of real-life superheroes, I did find it a bit distracting that they made up this whole superhero mythos that was clearly supposed to parody the actual mythos of existing comics... and yet they referenced actual comic book characters all over the place. Maybe it was just distracting to me because I always find it silly when TV shows invent their own pop culture - it's hard to do it convincingly, and it didn't really work here.

Since I have good things to say about Joan this week, maybe I'll just lodge my tried and true complaints about Gregson and Bell - why do we start interesting plot threads and then leave them dangling? What is it with this show and its inability to maintain a balance between all of its characters? I mean, there are only a few of them! Why do so many characters get pushed to the background? Ugh.

The Walking Dead: Twice as Far (6x14)

Okay... I'm just going to put this whole review under a cut. Beware of swearing, and spoilers. I am not at all calm.

Once Upon a Time: Devil's Due (5x14)

Milah!!!! Gah. This episode. It wasn't perfect or anything, but it had another solid flashback plot and continued the Underworld story quite nicely.

Cons:

Regina had a subplot that I quite enjoyed for the most part, except for the fact that apparently her magic was on the fritz? There was something wrong with it and they didn't explain why she was having a hard time. Then, she and Snow quite randomly came across an injured horse, and Regina's magic was suddenly working fine again as she helped it. I felt like I was missing something. What was Regina's crisis that caused her magic to act strangely?

The main plot was awesome, but there is one unfortunate side effect of the story they're doing with Rumple right now - by the end of the episode, Rumple is working for Hades. Turns out, Hades has some serious leverage against him, so it makes sense, but still: Rumple and Hades working together is not nearly as interesting as having Rumple be the anti-hero, or play both sides, or literally anything else. Remember in Season One, when Rumple would sometimes help Regina, and sometimes help Emma, depending on what suited his greater mysterious purpose? That was awesome! I miss the days when we had really complex villains on this show. Nowadays, I understand exactly why Rumple is doing what he's doing. And Hades seems to be after nothing more complicated than souls. He's just greedy, I guess. I almost hope we get a Hades backstory so we can add some more meat to this character. Also, the blue hair is really distracting to me. The effect isn't even good!

Grey's Anatomy: Odd Man Out (12x14)

Yeah. Solid episode. Much better than last week. There were a couple of disappointing elements, but I found the overall plots to be much stronger. Let's just get started listing some of the ups and downs.

Cons:

In this episode, Richard decides to switch up the resident/attending pairs so that the residents don't get stuck in a rut with their specialties. Jo ends up with Meredith, who blows her off and pays her no attention all day. Jo whines and complains to her friends, and eventually tells Meredith what for, saying that Meredith doesn't treat her with respect. Later, Callie and Maggie confirm to Meredith that she does sort of treat Jo unfairly, and Meredith tells Jo that she's sorry for that, but that Jo needs to learn to stand up for herself. Also, Meredith warns Jo that Alex doesn't deserve to be hurt again.

I used to really like Jo, but to be honest lately I've been getting more and more annoyed with her. She comes across really whiney, and the connection between her and Alex hasn't been emphasized in a long while. Honestly, I feel like Jo doesn't even deserve Meredith's respect, although I do agree that Meredith can be a bit unreasonable. Jo doesn't seem to be a particularly good surgeon, so it's kind of annoying that she's ranting and raving about deserving respect. Like... earn it, girl. And actually make up your mind about Alex. Honestly.

Modern Family: The Cover-Up (7x16)

Ugh. What the hell. Ew. I'm not happy. Honestly I don't even know how to express my distaste. This episode was actually a big fat disappointment. I thought I could trust this show with certain basic things, at least, and it turns out I cannot.

Cons:

The main plot of the week follows Phil and Claire hiding secrets from each other. Phil meets a beautiful woman in a coffee shop and agrees to help her look for a house. He lies about the woman to Claire, saying that she's an old fat Irish woman, because Claire knows that black women are Phil's type, and he doesn't want Claire to get upset. Meanwhile, Claire goes with Gloria to a yoga class and the super attractive yoga instructor is very flirty and physical with Claire, putting his hands all over her. Claire doesn't seem to mind, and even declares that Gloria is jealous that she, Claire, was the one getting all the attention. Phil and Claire both try and hide their attractions to these other people. In the end, Angie (the black woman that Phil is attracted to) catches on that something weird is going on, and the whole truth comes out. Claire and Phil explain to Angie that Phil isn't racist, he's just attracted to black women.

Okay honestly? This was just stupid and racist as hell. Phil's type is "black women"? Like... all black women? News flash: women who have black skin have just as much diversity of appearance as any other race. And the fact that Phil told Claire so vehemently that this woman Angie was white just highlights the weirdness all the more. You could do this plot with the same actress playing Angie without making it about race at all... Phil could just be trying to hide the fact that his client is an attractive young woman. And Claire? It was actually really inappropriate how much enjoyment she was getting out of the yoga instructor's attention. If I were in a relationship, I wouldn't want my partner to allow that kind of contact with somebody else. And the end of the episode, when they talk to Angie and her boyfriend? Apparently Angie's boyfriend (also black) has a thing for Claire, which somehow makes the whole thing okay. I don't know... this whole plot thread just made me cringe. And to give Phil, a generally nice and charmingly silly guy, a plot thread that paints him as such a jackass was actually kind of hard to watch.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Inside Man (3x12)

Lots of stuff going on here. And a lot of it is really interesting! A few things... not so much.

Cons:

Not enough Fitzsimmons. This show has an overcrowding problem, because there are too many characters to cover in each episode. As such, when you have moments with Daisy and Lincoln, Bobbi, Hunter and May, Coulson and Talbot, Hive (formerly Ward) and Malick... people slip through the cracks. And after the step forward we took last week with Fitzsimmons talking about their relationship, it's sort of unsettling to have pretty much no screen time with them this week.

Daisy and Lincoln. Gosh, I really want to like them as a couple... I just keep going back and forth. This week, the two of them took different sides on a pretty interesting debate about Inhumans. I found the debate fascinating, but Lincoln just isn't doing enough to sustain my interest on his own. And even Daisy, who still holds the #1 slot for most surprising character turn-around for me in any TV show ever, is starting to slip back into the "uninteresting" category whenever her relationship with Lincoln becomes the focus.

Once Upon a Time: Labor of Love (5x13)

Wow! An episode about Snow that I really enjoyed! I have two things to complain about, but a lot to praise. Let's go.

Cons:

There was a small subplot with Henry that, for the most part, I enjoyed... but there was one annoying thing about it. Basically, Henry sneaks into his mother's office (or, the Underworld equivalent) hoping to find detailed maps of the Underworld to aid in the search for Hook. He runs in to Maleficent, who coerces Henry into trying to help her find a way out of the Underworld and back to the land of the living. There were a lot of clever things going on with this, but then as the plot thread ended, Henry leaves the office to find Robin waiting for him outside. Robin asks him what happened, and Henry evades the question. Ugh. I get why Henry would be tempted to help Maleficent, (I'll get there in a sec) but why do we have to do this whole secretive plot thread? We all know that eventually somebody is going to find out and there will be all these feelings of betrayal and anger and yadda yadda. Henry should know better than to keep things from his family by now.

The main plot this week involved Hercules helping Snow and the others to defeat Cerberus, the three-headed dog in the Underworld, in order to get to Hook. I loved Hercules, but there was one part of this plot thread that was a big disappointment: earlier, Hook helped a young girl escape from the tortures of Hades, and this girl finds Emma and later helps Herc and Snow defeat Cerberus. Then the "plot twist" comes: this girl's name is Meg, and she and Herc actually met once briefly before, just before Cerberus killed them both and sent them down to the Underworld. Now, with Cerberus defeated and Meg properly rescued, Hercules' unfinished business has been finished, and he gets to go to Olympus with Meg.

The Walking Dead: The Same Boat (6x13)

The body count keeps getting bigger and bigger. A lot of people die in this episode, but fortunately, Carol and Maggie are not among them. Let's jump in.

Cons:

I've really admired this back half of the season for its pacing, and this was the first time that I felt a bit of a drag. Character episodes that focus on just a few key players can be tricky. Sometimes, this show does an excellent job. Other times, like tonight, there are some moments that drag. It wasn't a big issue overall, but I did get a little distracted during some of the speechifying.

Paula, our main guest character for the week, was for the most part very interesting. But she also exemplifies what I was just talking about with the speechifying. This is hard to describe, because I don't think she did a bad job by any means... it's just that something about her performance felt very performance-like. I almost felt like I was being asked to be impressed by her. In another key example of a minimal, character-driven episode, we had Morgan and Eastman, a guy who we only ever saw for one episode back in "Here's Not Here." But he blended in, and felt like part of the world from the very beginning. With Paula, I sort of felt like she was there to put on a show, and then take a bow and peace out. Am I making sense? Gosh, I feel a little mean, because the acting really was very nicely done...

Elementary: Hounded (4x16)

Ready to hear a broken record? The subplot was better than the main plot. As per usual. Let's get straight to it - I apologize for my forthcoming brevity, but this episode was frankly rather uninspired.

Cons:

The main plot was an adaption of the famous The Hound of the Baskervilles. In this version, we get a company doing genetic modification on animals, just like in BBC's Sherlock, but whereas Sherlock's second twist was a drug that caused paranoia, here in Elementary we have a killer robot made out of the discarded patents of the victim. There wasn't a lot to like in this main plot, although I'll mention a few things in a moment. Basically, the family that was being targeted, the Baskervilles, are down to just two remaining heirs to the family's great fortune. Turns out, a bastard child came out of the woodwork and killed the guy, and was looking to kill the others, and thus claim the fortune for her own. She bought up a bunch of patents that her "family" member Charles had cheated out from under other people, and used these patents to create the robot monster that killed him.

I just... eh. The robot dog thing was uninspired. Genetic modifications on animals is unoriginal. Twist with the bastard child was boring. I think Elementary does better for itself when its adaptions are looser and hold more to the spirit of the canon, rather than the actual plots.

The Big Bang Theory: The Application Deterioration (9x18)

Why does this show have to pull crap like this? This episode had a serious problem, but the main plot was actually really good, and it annoys me that I have to be so critical. Grumble grumble. Let's get started.

Cons:

Raj had a subplot in this episode about Emily and Claire, the two women who, for some inexplicable reason, both seem interested in a self-obsessed jerk who has one of the most horrible cases of Nice Guy syndrome I've ever seen. Basically, Emily drops off a Valentine's Day gift that she was going to give to Raj before they broke up. She then calls and talks to him, asking if maybe he could come over, since she's really upset. Penny, Amy, and Bernadette all warn him that it's a trap to get back together with him, but Raj decides to go over anyway. On his way, he gets a call from Claire, who lets him know that she's single again. Raj continually changes his mind over whether to go out with Claire or go comfort Emily. He continually calls each of them, changing his mind over and over, as Claire tells him Emily is just manipulating him. In the end, Raj goes over to Emily's house and the two fall back into bed together.

Okay... where to even start with the grossness of this? Like I mentioned before, Raj has turned into a fundamentally unlikable character. Since he's the only main character without a steady, committed relationship, they're trying to do something fun with his multiple love interests. Let me tell you - Raj comes across as a total dick, here. And hey, what happened to the hilariously dark and creepy Emily that we had from the beginning? I thought she was supposed to have a morbid sense of humor that scared Raj? All of that character work is thrown out the window here, and she is portrayed instead as a whiny and desperate woman. I get the feeling that we're supposed to think Emily is being duplicitous and wrong in trying to get Raj back, but I'm sitting over here thinking that Raj is definitely the jerk in this situation. And why is Claire interested in him in the first place? What the hell is appealing about Raj? Ugh.

Grey's Anatomy: All Eyez on Me (12x13)

Strange... it's not often that I have this complaint about Grey's Anatomy, but I actually thought the episode was a bit crowded. And while I didn't hate any of the plot threads, there are things I dislike about a lot of them. Unfortunately, this episode wasn't a winner...

Cons:

One of the main plots followed a cheerleader squad that had all been injured. A lot of the story focuses on how catty and cruel these girls can be. I liked some things about this plot thread - in fact, it was the best of the episode - but one thing that drove me nuts was the teen speak. One girl actually said "hashtag that" about something. Let me tell you, having been a teenager not that long ago, that nobody says that unless they're being ironic or perhaps even post-ironic. I mean people hashtag things, sure, but they don't use the word as a verb. For the most part I liked the cheerleader characters just fine, so the few jarring moments of teen speak really stood out.

The most aggravating subplot of the night followed Ben. He is called up to psych to deal with a patient who appears to be dying. He sends a fellow resident/intern (not sure which) out of the room to try and find a crash cart and an attending, while he tries to keep the guy alive. Since they're in the psych ward, there's nothing sharp around, and Ben ends up using the edge of the metal part of a clipboard to cut into the guy. Richard shows up just as Ben is doing this. They rush the guy to the OR and he actually survives his ordeal. Ben gets in huge trouble from Richard and later from Bailey, his own wife. As the chief, she has to discipline him and she suspends him for three days. Here's my question, though: what else was Ben supposed to do? He tried calling for an attending, and the guy was going to die if he did nothing. I feel like his kind of innovative thinking could just as easily have been praised by the narrative and the characters, instead of being condemned by it. Everybody kept chastising him for what he did, but I didn't hear a single person offer an alternative solution to his situation. There was some shoe-horned in part of the plot thread where Ben was apparently trying to prove himself because the other residents made fun of him for being older... it didn't really work.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Bouncing Back (3x11)

Not bad! Really, this episode did more to get me excited for the rest of the season, rather than actually keeping me focused in and of itself. There's a lot to talk about, so let's get started!

Cons:

Like I said, there is a lot to talk about. Like... maybe too much. The plot threads included in this episode were numerous. We followed Daisy, Mack, Lincoln, Bobbi and Hunter as they found a new Inhuman for their team, we checked in with Fitz and Simmons and their relationship, we saw Coulson meet with the President about the status of S.H.I.E.L.D. moving forward, and we also watched as Coulson tried to damage Malick's enterprise as much as possible. We saw the Inhuman thing inhabiting Ward's body begin to heal, and we dealt with Coulson's grief over Rosalind, and his guilt over killing Ward. In short, there was just a ton of stuff to cover here. The Coulson stuff could have been its own episode, separate from the stuff with Daisy and the Inhumans. I felt like I barely had time to breathe after getting all this new information.

On top of that, the idea of the Inhuman team is moving at a glacial pace. We finally get somebody new, and I loved her, but then by the end of the episode Daisy was telling the new girl Elena, and also our old friend Joey Gutierrez, to go back home and be ready to be called back in when needed. Already, this fledgling group of Inhumans is scattering to the winds. That's sort of disappointing, because last season's finale really made it seem like this season was all about ramping up the Inhuman team.

Castle: The G.D.S. (8x14)

Blarghhhh why. Why would you do an episode without Beckett? I'm disappointed. That being said, there were one or two really great things about this episode. In all, I'm sort of torn...

Cons:

The main plot was not a winner. Basically, Castle goes to LA to try and find out what happened during his missing months. He brings Hayley and Alex along with him. While there, Castle is tapped by a secret organization of detectives called the "GDS" to help solve a murder of one of their members. Castle and another potential recruit, played by Summer Glau, are tasked with solving the case in order to win their own spot in the GDS. I really don't even feel like getting into details of the case, since it was mostly stupid. They uncover a bicoastal serial killer whose victims are in New York and Los Angeles. This is all tied up with a movie studio, since the murder weapon ends up being a prop knife. Turns out, there are two serial killers working together. One of them is a studio executive who Castle has a personal grudge against for ruining the Nikki Heat movie. In the end, Castle solves the case, but when the GDS offers him a place among them, he turns it down and tells them they should give it to Summer Glau's character instead. He has his own team to get back to in New York.

What a waste of Summer Glau. I mean, come on. There was this whole bit where she and Hayley went undercover as a couple and went into a suspect's house while Castle looked around for the murder weapon. This could have been played for laughs, and I think indeed we were supposed to find it funny, but it didn't hit the mark at all. And then Castle beat his adversary, because he has to be the best, of course, but then he gets to benevolently bequeath the spot on the GDS to her? So cheesy. For that matter, the very idea of the GDS is ridiculous. The Great Detective Society? Are you serious? In what way would that actually be a viable organization? The reveal of the killer was also painful, because they tried to play it off as a joke. I don't think we had a single moment in the whole episode that portrayed the gravitas of the situation. Both killers were maniacal to the point of total absurdity, and I never felt scared or sad about any of it.

The Walking Dead: Not Tomorrow Yet (6x12)

Yikes. This is not a good situation. I'm really, really nervous right now... This show is freakin' stressful sometimes. Let's take a look.

Cons:

I really hate Abraham. I don't mean to sound rude, but seriously. Screw this guy. This episode starts off in Alexandria, with Rick and the others planning the assault on Negan's men. All of a sudden, Abraham decides to break up with Rosita, telling her that when they met, he thought she was the last woman on earth. Now that he knows that's not true, he doesn't want to be with her. What the heck, dude? Could he have picked a more insensitive way to break it off with her? I've never found Abraham particularly interesting, and over the last two weeks I've lost pretty much all sympathy for him.

I'm also a little confused about what they're doing with Morgan's character. There was a lot of talk this week between Carol, Morgan, Rosita, and some of the others about how they're keeping what happened with the Wolf a secret. Why? So that the rest of the people of Alexandria don't know that Morgan could have gotten them all killed. Okay... that's fine, I guess, but Morgan's whole "don't kill people" thing gets a bit swallowed up by what ends up happening in this episode, don't you think? I'm just not sure what the long game is with his character. Is he supposed to emerge as an opposing force against Rick, with a peaceful attitude that sways some of the others? I just don't know what to think.

Once Upon a Time: Souls of the Departed (5x12)

Hm... not a super strong showing back from the hiatus, but it wasn't terrible or anything. I would have preferred a jump straight in to the A-plot, rather than a sort of strange decision to focus on Regina's back story. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Okay, so our gang is in the Underworld, which looks just like Storybrooke. As everybody is looking for Hook, Regina runs in to Cora, who tells her daughter that she needs to leave the Underworld immediately, for her own safety. If she doesn't, bad things will happen to Regina's father, Henry. We see flashbacks to when Regina was still chasing and hoping to kill Snow, back in the Enchanted Forest. Apparently, Cora came back briefly from Wonderland to help Regina get Snow's heart, but Henry stopped this from happening, because he didn't want his daughter to be totally corrupted by evil. If Snow still lived, there was still a chance for Regina to turn over a new leaf. Regina punishes her father by shrinking him and trapping him in a box, but Cora takes the box with her at the last second when Regina traps her back in Wonderland. So sad! Back in the present-day Underworld, Henry Sr. finds Regina and tells her to ignore Cora's instructions to leave, and instead to stay and help her friends. Regina is torn, because she doesn't want Cora to hurt Henry. Henry, it transpires, doesn't get hurt by Cora's attempts to use him to manipulate Regina. He is able to pass out of the Underworld, his unfinished business finally resolved.

I did like some things about the Regina-centric story, but I was also very annoyed and distracted by the flashbacks. The time period where Regina is the Evil Queen and is chasing Snow as an outlaw has been well covered by flashbacks in the past. We've seen so many near-misses between Snow and Regina over the years that it's getting pretty ridiculous. I also found the simplicity of the battle between good and evil to be a little silly. So Regina's father represents the good potential within her, and her mother represents the evil? Ugh. Subtle.

The Vampire Diaries: I Would for You (7x15)

Oh, good. I was hoping we'd catch up with the flash-forwards soon. I think we might be in store for a very interesting final third of the season. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Cons:

Hm. I don't have a lot in the way of serious complaints, here. Except maybe the Valerie/Stefan stuff. I don't care much about them as a couple, even though Valerie has grown on me of late. Also, I'm sad to say that Caroline and Stefan's relationship still doesn't really get me. I know I'm supposed to be sad for Stefan that Caroline is staying with Alaric and the kids. I know I'm supposed to feel the tragedy of their separation. But for most of this season, I've found it hard to care about them together at all.

Pros:

Damon has decided to desiccate next to Elena for the next several decades until he can be reunited with her, but before that he has to take care of Rayna so she won't kill Stefan. Bonnie goes to the Armory again and meets with Enzo. She learns that Rayna has a limited number of lives, one each for the people who died to give her powers. Once she dies for the last time, problem solved. Bonnie tells Damon this via a text, but Enzo furiously tells her that she's made a big mistake. Turns out, Rayna's last life is linked to her targets. Anybody with the X marked on their chest will die if Rayna does.

Elementary: Up to Heaven and Down to Hell (4x15)

This was a very solid episode in a number of respects. I liked the case of the week, and I liked the B-plot as well. It wasn't outstandingly perfect or over-the-top wonderful, of course, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Cons:

The subplot this week, which I really loved, featured a lot of emotional stakes for Gregson. Joan was there as the supportive friend. The more I think about it, the more I realize that Joan is always sidelined in favor of emotional stakes for other characters. Usually Sherlock, of course. I wish we could have some stuff that genuinely focused on her character, instead of focusing on her role as a supportive friend for everybody else.

The main plot featured a victim who fell to her death and crushed a man underneath her. The case takes several twists and turns from there, of course, but the thing that bothers me is that the second inadvertent victim, the young man who was crushed by the intended target, is never really brought up again. At first I though we were going to discover some twist about him, that maybe he was somehow connected the whole time. But... nope. Honestly, the whole thing was completely unnecessary. The actual intended victim could have just as easily fallen to her death without taking out an innocent civilian. The story wouldn't have changed at all. So why include that?

Grey's Anatomy: My Next Life (12x12)

In contrast to last week's episode, which focused on one story, this week we got to check in with a lot of our other characters. I'm always amazed at how much this show can cram in to one hour without it feeling crowded. I liked this episode, but unfortunately not every single plot thread could be a winner.

Cons:

Alex and Jo. This week, Jo finds the engagement ring Alex bought for her in a drawer. She waffles about what to do with it, and eventually tells him that she doesn't want to wear it for now, but she also doesn't want him to take it back. Leaving it in the drawer is fine. I used to really like Jo and Alex's relationship, but nowadays I'm just getting more and more aggravated. What's the point of drawing this out? The two of them are existing in this awkward limbo, and the longer Jo keeps stringing Alex along, the less I like her. Is it just me, or is she coming across as really selfish?

Richard, Andrew and Maggie had a plot thread that I didn't hate, but that had some troubling elements. Basically, Richard now knows that Andrew and Maggie are seeing each other. He gets Andrew as his intern and makes him a scut monkey for the whole day. In the end, Maggie confronts Richard and thanks him for looking out for her, but assures him that Andrew is a good guy. Honestly, if I were Maggie I'd be pissed at Richard's behavior. It's really immature and insulting for any man to try and police his daughter's dating life, especially when they didn't even grow up with a father/daughter relationship, and even more especially since she's a full-grown woman. I appreciated the intent of this plot thread, which was to show Richard trying to understand his place in Maggie's life. I think a better way to do it would be if Richard merely acted super awkward and tense around Andrew, instead of hazing him.

Modern Family: I Don't Know How She Does It (7x15)

This is one of those episodes where none of the plot threads were great, but each featured at least one or two really funny moments. It's a mixed bag, and unfortunately I can't give it high marks... but it doesn't totally flop either.

Cons:

First of all, you've got Claire and Phil. Phil is flummoxed by the fact that Claire is still being a super mom while also working all the time. Eventually, we learn that Claire is having a guy from marketing do all of the mom stuff, like making lunches for the kids and running errands. Phil is suspicious of Claire's successes, and figures out that she must be getting help. In the end, Phil overhears Claire talking about how she misses being a good mom, and decides not to give her a hard time about all of this.

While this premise isn't necessarily bad, it was a bit awkward given the age of the children. All three of those kids are old enough to be making their own food and running their own errands. I can see helping Luke out, since he's still in high school, but I can't even imagine the look on my mother's face if I told her I expected her to pick up a present for one of my friends' birthdays, or make a lunch for me every day at work. Additionally, they tried to play this like Claire was having an affair and Phil was getting suspicious. That's a pretty tired joke.

Suits: 25th Hour (5x16)

Well... that was emotional. I'm really pleased that this show isn't pulling punches in terms of its further development. There's no crazy last-minute save. Mike goes to prison. Wow. Let's dive in!

Cons:

A big chunk of this episode is focused on Harvey frantically trying to find a way to save Mike, while Robert Zane threatens to tear the firm apart, with the help of Katrina Roberts. A lot of this material seemed like the kind of stuff that would have served a Season Six premiere better than a Season Five finale. I didn't have a problem with it in and of itself, but what with the return of Evan Smith, Katrina Roberts, and other players, the episode started to feel a bit crowded. I wanted this finale to focus on slower character moments as everybody adjusted to Mike's inevitable prison time.

Gloria, the mother of the man Mike once helped, tries to convince Mike that prison is going to ruin him. She even goes to Harvey and asks Harvey to toughen Mike up for his life on the inside. I appreciate the attempt to address the corruption of the prison system, but it felt a little shoehorned to have Gloria come in and tell everybody that Mike was doomed. All of this was just a way of forcing the stakes up even higher so that we're properly scared for Mike as he goes inside. I don't know... I'm still sitting here thinking that a white collar prison is going to be okay. I can't imagine next season featuring Mike in prison getting shanked by hardened criminals.

Castle: And Justice For All (8x13)

This episode was cute, and actually had a very sweet little message at the end. At the same time, there were a few things that pulled it down.

Cons:

The broken record strikes again - Castle and Beckett's secret relationship is stupid and pointless. Especially since the A-plot is so rarely even touched upon nowadays. The show is straining itself in coming up with plausible reasons to pull Castle in on cases when he and Beckett are supposedly on the outs. And as I've said before, the whole thing is just fundamentally disrespectful to their friends and family, who all believe that Castle and Beckett are messily separated right now.
 

Vikram kept appearing in this episode to help with the main case, but his presence had no real substance and no purpose whatsoever. Rarely have I been so frustrated with a useless character. He just doesn't need to be here at all!