The Vampire Diaries: Handle With Care (5x06)

Early on in this episode, Stefan says the following to Tessa: "I think I still need to be drunk to understand this story." And, basically, that's what this entire episode boils down to. The first half of it is so exposition heavy it's unbelievable. There is so much standing around and explaining in the first ten minutes in particular. Let's look at the plot.

So, basically, we open on the day Silas is going to die. Silas wants to destroy the other side before he dies so that he can join Amara. Tessa wants to kill him before he destroys the other side, so he'll be trapped in supernatural purgatory. Got it so far? So, Silas wants to destroy the anchor, which will destroy the other side. He, Silas, and Jeremy (along with ghost!Bonnie) all go to a warehouse to find this anchor. Meanwhile, Silas has trapped Stefan and Tessa in a cabin together until sundown so that they can't come after him.

You see how that took me one paragraph to explain? Well, in the show, it takes like ten minutes of exposition. I'm not even exaggerating. Anyways, let's take a closer look at what happens next.

Grey's Anatomy: Two Against One (10x08)

This week, the plot is centered around Meredith's new 3-D printer and all the cool research she's going to do with it. There were, as always, a bajillion different plot threads going on. I'm going to keep the summary of each one very brief, and then list some pros and cons.

April and Matthew are struggling to decide whether or not to wait until marriage to have sex. Matthew wants to get it out of the way, because he's still hung up on the fact that April has already lost her virginity. In the end, April doesn't want him to break his promise to God, so they decide to wait.

Pros - This was well acted, and I felt like there was real chemistry between Matthew and April perhaps for the first time. Cons - The will-they-won't-they plot doesn't really work so well when you already know they're engaged. The writers may have backed themselves into a corner with this one, because they've already pulled the getting left at the altar card one too many times. Are April and Matthew supposed to be endgame? Conclusion - Not a horrendous plot thread, but certainly nothing special.

Parenthood: Speaking of Baggage (5x07)

I'll take this one plot at a time, and list some pros and cons.

At the Luncheonette, the band isn't doing so well with their recording. Amber has the idea to have a concert and get them to perform live, since that should help them get their energy up. She plans a big event, and although there's a scary moment where the band doesn't start performing, they eventually start up and they sound great. While planning all of this crazy stuff, she has very little time for Ryan, who is rather nonplussed that Amber now wants to have a wedding ceremony after all. Kristina tells Amber the story of how Adam proposed to her, which leaves Amber feeling a bit disheartened about Ryan. However, in the end Ryan surprises her with an engagement ring, and Amber is excited.

Pros - Mae Whitman's acting... my goodness, I love this girl. A lot. Her emotions while Kristina told her story were pitch perfect, and I loved her excitement about the concert at the Luncheonette. It's nice to see her actually at her job, since we haven't had a lot of that lately. I liked that she came up with a good idea, and that her uncles respected it and let her take charge.

Elementary: The Marchioness (2x07)

Yes, loved it. Great episode all around. The case itself was nothing special, but it was interesting enough, and it served as a great vehicle for a lot of important character development. Let's dive right in.

Mycroft Holmes is in town, to Sherlock's endless displeasure. He's here to open a new restaurant, but also because his ex-fianceé Nigella is in need of help. Her boyfriend has been murdered. I'll just go through the case really briefly... it involves horse breading, a decoy horse, a notorious cartel hit man, multiple murders, swindling, and more. It's a pretty fun case, if nothing remarkable. I liked the scope of it: since the bad guy in this one was actually pretty menacing, it felt very satisfying when Sherlock caught him.

But it was the character stuff that really shone here. Nigella is of course a point of contention between the Holmes brothers, since Sherlock and her slept together while she was engaged to Mycroft. But, during Mycroft's illness, Nigella was the one who found him a bone marrow donor and saved his life. He decides to accept her back into his life. In the end, however, it turns out that Nigella is implicated in the case - but not for murder. She was cheating people out of a lot of money, though. The Holmes brothers decide to let her off the hook if she promises to pay everyone back. It seems as though she is out of their lives forever. Then of course there's Joan's involvement in all of this. Turns out, when in London, Joan slept with Mycroft. Sherlock is very unhappy about this, and it looks like Joan and Mycroft's relationship might not be moving forward from here, if they want to make things easier on Sherlock.

The Big Bang Theory: The Proton Displacement (7x07)

Unfortunately, I'm going to be pretty hard on this episode. It wasn't completely awful, but it was completely bland. On top of that, almost everything they did in this episode has already been done by this show in the past, and it didn't feel like there was even an attempt at originality going on here.

The plot: Sheldon, Leonard, and Amy run into Bob Newhart - I mean, uh, Dr. Jeffries (aka Professor Proton). Later, Jeffries asks Leonard for help on a paper he's writing, and Sheldon takes offense that he asked Leonard instead of him. In retaliation, he finds a new celebrity science friend - Bill Nye. Jeffries asks Leonard how he can put up with Sheldon being so annoying, to which Leonard replies that they're friends. In the end, Jeffries shows up to ask Sheldon his opinion about the paper, and Jeffries comes in to join Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny for a cup of tea.

The subplot involved Raj and the girls making jewelry together, while Howard interrupts to try and help them make better stuff. Raj is upset because he feels he needs the space where he can talk about his feelings with the girls, and he resents Howard showing up. Howard apologizes, and Raj patches up their friendship by making them each a lightsaber belt.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: F.Z.Z.T. (1x06)

This is definitely the strongest episode we've had yet. And yet, still, it wasn't up to the usual Whedon standards. I guess I'm probably still expecting a bit too much, but what can you do? The man that gave us Firefly, Buffy, and The Avengers is capable of more than this, I just know it. But here's an episode where I'm seeing the seeds of future success. Here's an episode that explored a character dynamic in a very subtle and still beautiful way. Here's an episode that took us away from Skye as the focus... and it's about time.

So, the plot is actually very simple and contained, which I think works in this episode's favor. The gang investigate a couple of deaths and learn that they result from contamination due to exposure to a Chitauri helmet. These people have been spreading the infection due to electrostatic shock, and Jemma Simmons contracts the disease when dealing with one of the victims. The rest of the episode is a race to find a cure. Although at first it doesn't seem like they will be able to find one in time, at the last second Fitz discovers an antiserum, and thanks to some quick skydiving from Ward, Simmons is saved.

That's honestly the entire plot. There were a few other side things going on that helped to advance the characters, but the plot took place almost entirely on the Bus, centered around a very scared Jemma in the lab. I think this setup is honestly what made the episode so strong. I want to go through character by character and talk about their reactions.

Castle: Like Father, Like Daughter (6x07)

Well, damn. Last week I was complaining about Alexis' story line, and now I'm eating my words in a big way. This was actually a fantastic episode in my opinion. Flawless? No, but it was probably the strongest episode we've had this season. So, let's get started with the plot.

Alexis and her professor are investigating a death row case in Pennsylvania. Alexis has formed a connection with the accused man and his girlfriend, and is very upset when the exoneration is denied. In desperation, Alexis decides to go to one person she knows is good at finding answers: Castle. She's still mad at her father, but she knows he's good at this sort of thing. Castle is thrilled to be working on a case with his daughter, because he thinks it will give him an opportunity to repair things between them. However, Alexis is all business, and doesn't want to talk about their relationship.

The case is a very interesting one, and because it happened so long ago, they have to deal with unique challenges in attempting to solve it. The accused man says he found the victim already dead, but all signs point to him being the murderer. Castle and Alexis dig into the case, discovering hints that at first point to the accused man's brother being the murderer. Apparently, he had been in a bad accident and had issues afterwards. The accused man, it is revealed, has believed all this time that his brother was responsible for the woman's death, and decided to take the blame in order to spare his little brother. A second twist reveals that it was in fact a member of the local law enforcement who had killed the young girl all those years ago to cover up for a meth operation.

Supernatural: Dog Dean Afternoon (9x05)

I'm really scared about the next episode, because they just gave us two "funny" episodes in a row and I feel like they're just trying to prepare us for a major storm of angst. I'm very afraid, okay?

You could tell from the "previously on" that they were hoping this episode would go down as one of the great humor episodes in the show. We saw clips from "Changing Channels," "Yellow Fever," "Hunter Heroici" and a few of the other totally silly episodes from the past. And while "Dog Dean Afternoon" didn't completely tank, by any means, I don't think it's going to be making it in with the greats. There were quite a lot of things that fell flat. But let's slow down and look at the plot.

Basically, it's a case-of-the-week. Dean is worried about Sam working, but Sam says he feels fine. The two of them go to investigate a strange killing. A taxidermist has had the life squeezed out of him, as if a snake has constricted him. Initially, Sam and Dean investigate an animal rights group as potential suspects, but find them to be guilty of nothing more than tagging the taxidermist's building. Later, the same killer goes to an animal shelter and eats one of the cats. He then takes on cat-like abilities and kills a man working at the shelter.

How I Met Your Mother: The Lighthouse (9x08)

Three plots. One amazing, one pretty good, and one so-so with a good ending. The end, goodbye.

...

Okay, fine, I'll actually review the thing. Let's go plot by plot!

The amazing plot: Barney and Robin's story. I haven't been able to say that a lot lately, so I was really happy to see a good plot with the two of them. Basically, the feud between Robin and Barney's mom Loretta has gotten worse, as the two of them fight over Loretta's supposedly amazing scrambled eggs. Robin says her mother can make better scrambled eggs. Ted, Lily and Barney are all very excited to have another piece of information about Robin's mom, since over the years they've heard so little about her. Things with Loretta culminate when Robin reveals she doesn't know how to scramble eggs, and Loretta says she worries about what Robin will make for her kids someday. Robin storms off, upset, and Barney tells his mom that Robin can't have kids. Robin then reveals to Lily that her mom isn't coming to the wedding, since she's too afraid to get on the plane to fly over. Loretta shows up and hugs Robin, telling her to call her mom. Tearfully, Robin hugs back.

Once Upon a Time: Ariel (3x06)

Okie dokie, people. Things are getting really intense. I was actually blown away by the acting talent in this episode, and that's not ordinarily something I would say about Once Upon a Time. There were a lot of really stellar moments in this episode, but it also had one big structural problem, so it made it a little hard to sink in to all this good acting. Let's take a look.

So, the title of the episode is "Ariel," and we get a story that takes place while Snow is on the run from the Evil Queen. She escapes some of Regina's henchmen by jumping off of a cliff and into the water, and is then saved by Ariel, a mermaid. Ariel then tells Snow about her true love, Eric, a man she has never even spoken to. Ariel then loses her fins and grows a pair of legs. She explains to Snow that the mythical sea goddess Ursula is said to grant mermaids this gift for a short period of time. Ariel and Snow go to a ball, where Ariel dances with Eric - he announces that he is leaving for a grand adventure in the morning, and wants Ariel to accompany him. She's upset, because she knows that she'll lose her legs in a few hours, making her journey with him impossible. She prays to Ursula for help.

Regina, who has been tracking Snow, decides to impersonate Ursula to serve her own purposes. She gives Ariel a gift, or rather what seems like a gift at first. Ariel goes to Snow to say she's solved both of their problems - Ariel can keep her legs if Snow becomes a mermaid. That way, Ariel can be with Eric, and Snow can go elsewhere, escaping Regina for good and starting a new life under the sea. However, Regina then shows up to capture Snow. Ariel is horrified by what she's done. While at first she wants to leave and go be with Eric, she ultimately decides to come back and save Snow, stabbing Regina with a fork and escaping into the sea with Snow. Snow gets away, and Ariel goes to tell Eric the truth. Just as she swims up in the harbor where his ship is docked, Regina takes her voice away from her, thus preventing her from talking to her true love.

The Walking Dead: Indifference (4x04)

Alright. Good episode. Things are really getting going now, and I find myself eagerly awaiting next week. This story centered around two groups outside of the prison, thus moving us away from our stationary location and giving us some of that migratory adventure that was so important in earlier seasons. It was a breath of fresh air to see some of these characters on the move again. 

So, we have Carol and Rick who go out to look for more food and any medicine they can find. It's just your average supply run, except for the awkward tension in the air. Carol continuously tries to defend her decision to kill Karen and David, but Rick is very unresponsive. While on their supply run, the two come across a man and a woman who have been staying in the neighborhood for a while. Their names are Sam and Ana. Carol helps Sam with a dislocated shoulder, and Rick plans to take the couple back with them to the prison. The two enthusiastically ask to help with the supply run, and while Rick doesn't think it's a good idea, he allows them to help. However, the two don't make it back to the house, having been killed by the Walkers. At the end of the episode, Rick tells Carol that she can't come back to the prison with him because of what she did to Karen and David. With sort of an eerily serene acceptance, Carol drives off, going out on her own.

The Legend of Korra: The Guide (2x09)

So, I'm going to start by saying something about last week's double episode. I've been reading a lot of reviews of it, and it seems like I was the only one who was a tad bit underwhelmed. Let me recap what I said about it: visual design = stunning. Story = great. Mythos ideas = amazing. Characters = boring as hell. As a character driven person, I found that this one element was enough to make the episode less than perfect for me. However, it was still an amazing addition to the show in many ways. One of those ways is that it's propelling our main character Korra into action, and we're finally getting more of the Spirit world, which is what we've been promised all season.

So, what do I think of this episode? One of the stories is great. And the other story has serious potential, but isn't quite there yet.

Korra goes to the Air Temple to find Tenzin and his family. They are all surprised to see her, and even more surprised to hear about the civil war. They've been completely cut off from the outside world. (I found this a tad bit hard to believe, but it's a nitpick, and I can let it go). Korra tells everyone about the Harmonic Convergence and how she has to close the portal. She knows that the only way to do this is to go into the Spirit World. Immediately, Tenzin volunteers to help her do so. Only one problem - Tenzin has never managed to successfully enter the Spirit World. It was his one failing as Aang's son. However, the day is saved when Jinora reveals that she has a very deep connection to Spirits. The episode ends as she and Korra enter the Spirit world together, Jinora as Korra's guide.

Parenthood: The M Word (5x06)

It's always a bit difficult to review this show as a whole, because often the differing plot lines vary in quality. Some of them I loved, others I wasn't too crazy about. I guess we shall take them one by one.

Starting with my least favorite, I have to say I wasn't thrilled with the Sarah and Amber plot. Don't get me wrong - in terms of acting, it was great, as always. Mae Whitman and Lauren Graham do an amazing job of portraying the relationship between these two characters. But honestly, I think this plot is just wearing me out. Last week, we saw Ryan confront Sarah about some of her concerns. But instead of propelling the plot forward, we got more of the same. Sarah and Amber have another confrontation about the wedding, but in the end Sarah apologizes and they decide they're going to plan the wedding together. I just anticipate a lot of going back and forth on this one, and I'm still not sure whether we're supposed to think that Ryan and Amber will be endgame or not. I did like seeing Drew in this one. It was really sweet that Amber wanted Drew to come with them when they eloped, but I thought it was very true to Drew's character that he wouldn't let Amber get married without their mom. This plot thread wasn't awful by any means, but it wasn't my favorite.

Elementary: An Unnatural Arrangement (2x06)

Somehow, the writers of Elementary found my blog and decided to answer my prayers. The last few reviews, I've been complaining about how Gregson and Bell haven't had enough to do this season. And now? We get an episode with a focus on Gregson! Woo! I'll just go through the plot really quick.

Gregson's wife comes home to find a man in a mask with a gun, asking for her husband. She manages to run upstairs and shoot at him through the door, but the mysterious man gets away with only a minor wound. Their first lead is a man who has been stalking Gregson, but when another person is attacked and then killed, Sherlock figures out the truth. Gregson wasn't the target - his next door neighbor was. This leads to finding a connection between the neighbor and the dead man that involves their time in the army on a guard detail for an important archaeological dig. In the end, it turns out that a supervisor for the dig and her ex-husband are the culprits behind it all. They were trying to cover up the fact that they had stolen artifacts from the site.

So, in all the actual crime-driven part of the plot was pretty average. Nothing mind boggling, but still interesting enough. I was fooled by some of the twists and turns. The only thing that really didn't fit was the bit about Gregson's stalker. That seemed like it could have been an episode all to itself... who the heck was that weirdo?

Grey's Anatomy: Thriller (10x07)

Alright, we've got a Halloween themed episode this week, and it was actually quite a lot of fun. It always amazes me how much this show can fit into one episode without it feeling crowded, and this week is no exception. Let's jump right in and start going through these plots.

Webber has been teaching the (now second year) interns from his bedside, coaching them through his own case. When he wants one of the interns to perform the surgery, Bailey comes up with all sorts of reasons why it's not a good idea. In the end, however, Webber fires Bailey from his case and asks Meredith to take it on. He apologizes for what he said to Meredith when he first woke up, and tells her that he wants her help teach the interns. I liked this plot, although I found the scene with Bailey and Webber to maybe be a bit too harsh, actually. I understood where Webber was coming from, but he really did a number on poor Bailey.

Speaking of Bailey, her husband Ben comes home for Halloween, excited to spend the holiday with his family. Bailey is busy at the hospital and is a bit dismissive of Halloween, but Ben says that Tucker deserves something amazing for the holiday, so he sets up a huge decoration display at the house and gets Tucker an awesome mad scientist costume. Bailey is overjoyed and all seems well, until Ben drops a bomb: he dropped out of his residency to spend more time with his family. Bailey is... not happy about this. She says she's disappointed in him. This is a very interesting little development, and I really hope we get more time to focus on it moving forward. Ben basically says that he loves Bailey more than he loves surgery, and I think that upset Bailey because she knows she can't say the same. Surgery is always going to come first in her life, and I think she's upset that her husband doesn't feel the same.

The Vampire Diaries: Monster's Ball (5x05)

This is going to be a rapid-fire review. Let's start with the plot.

We see Professor Maxfield running experiments on the new vampire Jesse, and it appears that these sorts of experiments aren't new to him. That cannot be good. Meanwhile Elena, trying to handle her grief over Bonnie's death, looks further into Megan's death. She meets Aaron, a rather taciturn student who apparently knew Megan when they were kids. Things are getting interesting, however, as Elena is threatened by Maxfield to leave the school before people start asking questions.

Tyler is back in town, but only long enough to have sex with Caroline for a few days and then break up with her to go join the spin off. Apparently, his hatred for Klaus is stronger than his love for Caroline.

There's a ball at the college, and everyone goes dressed up as famous historical figures, which is a great opportunity for some fun costumes. Nina Dobrev looks beautiful as always, dressed as Anne Boleyn. Also in attendance at the ball are Damon, Caroline and Tyler, a very grumpy Stefan, Tessa/Qetsiyah, and Silas. See, Damon and Silas are working together.

Once Upon a Time: Good Form (3x05)

I shall start this review by praising Colin O'Donoghue's acting. Because wow. I was seriously impressed with him in this episode. I think part of it was that he actually got a pretty decent script and story to work with, but he was just selling all of those emotions. I knew that once he got a chance to shine, he'd hit it out of the park.

Let's take a look at the plot. There are two main plots happening. The story in Neverland has good elements, but it has its problems as well. Then, there's the Hook-centric back story, which I found to be pretty strong, generally. Here we go!

Henry is feeling more and more at home among the Lost Boys. During a sword fight with Devin, Henry accidentally cuts Devin on the cheek, but Pan tells Henry that Lost Boys don't ever apologize. I'm not entirely convinced about the Lost Boys plot arc yet, but Pan is making for a very convincing villain, and I think this worked okay.

Meanwhile, Emma and the gang continue their journey to find Henry. Emma is scared that Henry might be losing hope. She remembers her time in the foster system, and she sees markings in Neal's cave that indicate he stopped counting the days... she knows that Henry needs some sort of sign in order to maintain hope. They decide to set a trap for a Lost Boy and ask him to deliver a message to Henry.

Supernatural: Slumber Party (9x04)

Okay, I'm happy. Like... I'm really happy. This is one of the only episodes of Supernatural to ever pass the Bechdel test, which is awesome on its own. Then take into account that we get to see Charlie again, and the fact that this episode allowed us to explore the bunker, and that we had a sassy Crowley making Wicked references, and that it addressed some big plot points while still staying light and funny, and that the girls totally save the day, and that Oz is freaking real, and that they watch Game of Thrones together... oh my word. I was just a smiling ball of joy throughout this entire thing.

The plot is as follows: the boys invite Charlie to the bunker because they're trying to figure out a way to get the MoL equipment to track angels. Charlie shows up to go to town on all of this cool old technology, but in the process, a jar is knocked over and out comes Dorothy and the Wicked Witch, who have been trapped there since the '30s.

In a series of flashbacks, we see how exactly Dorothy and the witch got into the jar. Basically, Dorothy is a bad ass hunter who did go into Oz, but the story is very different from what's written in Baum's books. Baum, incidentally, is Dorothy's father. Anyways, some Men of Letters are in the bunker when Dorothy arrives, and she needs their help to try and kill the witch, who seems impervious to all normal methods. Eventually, in desperation, Dorothy devises a way to trap the witch in a jar, but she ends up trapped as well.

How I Met Your Mother: No Questions Asked (9x07)

I'd say this episode was a decent one. One of the stronger ones in a thus far mediocre season. It had a few things that I didn't like, but it stuck to a tight premise and really rolled with it, finding creative things to do with all of these characters.

Daphne has sent a text to Lily that reveals that Marshall has agreed to become a judge. Marshall is horrified, and calls his friends to ask them a favor. He calls Barney, Robin and Ted to ask them to sneak into Lily's room, get her phone, and delete the last text she received. No. Questions. Asked. They all do crazy things to try and get the message off of Lily's phone, and Ted finally succeeds in doing so. In the end, however, Marshall realizes he hate lying to Lily, and he tells her about the judgeship. Lily is, understandably, furious.

The other thing going on in this episode is that apparently Lily and Marshall's room in the inn is haunted. Marshall is really excited to get to stay in that room, but Lily is just annoyed. The hotel management keeps using "it's haunted" as an excuse not to fix up the room, resulting in Lily having to put up with all sorts of problems.

Castle: Get a Clue (6x06)

This episode was basically National Treasure, and I don't mean that in a bad way. God, that movie is full of more stupidity than I could possibly enumerate for you here, but it's still ridiculously entertaining. And that's the same thing that's going on in this episode. The main case of the week is very silly, but very fun to watch.

So, basically this woman is found dead in a Crucifixion position, and while trying to solve the murder, Beckett and Castle get caught up in this giant Freemasons treasure hunt. Castle is of course very excited, and Beckett is rolling her eyes at all the conspiracies. Partway through, Castle and Beckett learn that the entire thing is just a scavenger hunt set up as a fundraiser. Or... is it? Castle puts together the clues and learns that the treasure hunt might be real after all.

It turns out, the murder victim had found a bunch of old coins worth millions of dollars. She wanted to give them to a museum, but her cousin was desperate for the money. He killed her so that he could get the money.

A rather simple case, with a couple of silly twists and turns. This one really tested my suspension of disbelief. Some of the clues were a tad bit easy to put together, especially if you take into consideration how long this treasure has been hidden. I know Castle's a smart guy, but the fact that he pieced together the clues so immediately was a bit silly. However, it was still all really fun to watch. Castle's childlike glee while working the case was a joy to experience. I think it worked better than in last week's episode with the time traveling, because this was silly, but a plausible sort of silly. The sort of nonsense that Beckett could let herself get caught up in. Especially since, as it turns out, Castle was right.