The Vampire Diaries: Never Let Me Go (7x02)

Unfortunately, this episode had a lot of structural weaknesses. However, that being said, what it's setting up for the future is still really strong. I think both the premiere and this episode lack a lot in terms of being stand-alone episodes, but both did a good job of establishing some cool ideas for what I still believe might turn out to be a great season. Let's get started.

Cons:

The Heretics are not interesting as villains. They're not terrible, but their familial bonds feel a bit forced. It's sort of like a retread of the Originals, but I found Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekka much more interesting than Lily and her gang. We find out in this episode that one of the Heretics, Valerie, met Stefan years ago, and is still pining. That's... weird. And didn't we already have a crazy powerful pining vampire in love with Stefan Salvatore? There's no way Valerie can fill Katherine's shoes.

Enzo is still floating around being useless as a character. We do learn one new thing about him, and that is that apparently he has the hots for Mama Salvatore. What? No! I am 100% not okay with Enzo crushing on Lily. It's awkward and forced and it's coming out of nowhere. Enzo needs to go away now and never come back.

Grey's Anatomy: Old Time Rock and Roll (12x04)

A great episode. I mean there really aren't any episodes of this show that suck - they're all pretty much great. But I really liked this one. Lots of focus on Maggie, and on Stephanie, two of my faves! Let's jump right in.

Cons:

The main "catastrophe" of the episode is a bus crash with a bunch of senior citizens on it. The older doctors keep calling this a "silver flood," and the interns don't know what that means. I didn't like this little plot device. Rather silly way of trying to make a joke out of it.

In Stephanie and Amelia's plot, a controversial medical method causes the tension. I wish we could have had a bit more explanation as to why Amelia was so convinced that the method would work. I sort of agreed with Stephanie - it seemed too brutal to me!

Supernatural: Form and Void (11x02)

Damn, this season is awesome. Cas is a precious cinnamon roll and I want to hug him a lot. I have a lot of things to praise. But... unfortunately I have a few things to seriously complain about too.

Cons:

STOP KILLING ALL THE FEMALE CHARACTERS 2K15. For f**k's sake, Supernatural. Learn your damn lesson. There were four female characters in this episode, and three of them died. The grandma, Jenna, and Hannah. Hannah?! Are you for serious right now? As many people have said many times, it's fine to kill off a ton of characters, but when you kill off the very, very small part of the cast that's actually bringing some sort of representation of minorities, that's a big problem. There are so few women on this show. Jenna was new, and interesting, and they implied that she was queer. And Hannah was actually recurring. Now they're both gone?! I'm so frustrated!

Crowley had a lot of great moments in this episode, but at the end he pulls up in a van and offers a little girl candy. He has a bunch of other little kids in the back of the van. This seems... creepy beyond Crowley's usual creepiness. I don't know. He also makes a joke about altar boys while dressed up as a priest. Is it just me, or are these jokes crossing some sort of a line?

Modern Family: She Crazy (7x04)

Pretty cute episode! A few things in here felt like re-tread, but it's okay to go back to simpler concepts sometimes. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Manny and Gloria's plot thread was about how they both had crushes on people but couldn't talk to them. Manny's crush was on a barista, and Gloria's was on a Spanish soap opera star who was in the city. She couldn't bring herself to talk to her, even when she approaches her in the lobby of a hotel. Both Manny and Gloria are confounded by their lack of confidence, but they give each other pep talks. Gloria continues to make a fool of herself in front of her celebrity crush, but Manny bravely calls the barista and asks her out. She says yes. I didn't really like this plot thread because it didn't offer anything new or creative. The jokes were all stale. Manny has a crush on a girl, and his sophistication surprisingly wins her over? We've been there. Gloria loses her confidence briefly? We've done that too. It felt like we could have had something a bit more solid with this concept. It wasn't horrible by any means, but it didn't much grab my attention either.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Wanted (Inhu)man (3x03)

Really solid episode. Gosh, this season has me so pumped! I guess I'll start with a few things that didn't work so well for me, but for the most part I'm happy. And intrigued!

Cons:

Lincoln and Daisy kiss. I'm totally fine with the two of them having a romance, but when they started locking lips I rolled my eyes. It's not really the time for that, is it? And it seemed to come out of nowhere - the kiss would have felt more convincing if it weren't for the fact that they haven't actually spent any real time together in months. The situation is pretty serious - members of ATCU and S.H.I.E.L.D. are vying for Lincoln, and Daisy thinks a smooch is the way to win her case? Bad timing, girl.

I'll talk more in a minute about Hunter and May's plot thread. I liked it for the most part, but there was this one little detour where May was pulled out of the room by three rape-y dudes, and May (predictably) kicked their asses. It's always cool to see May pull the bad-ass fighter routine, but this little fight seemed to have nothing to do with Hunter's struggles to infiltrate Hydra. Why include it at all?

The Big Bang Theory: The 2003 Approximation (9x04)

This was a surprisingly enjoyable episode. It actually got a lot of laughs out of me. I'll start with a few problems, but surprisingly I really don't have a lot to complain about.

Cons:

Emily is back. Which is great, but where the heck has she been? I get annoyed with the long gaps between her appearances, because it means I literally can't remember what happened last time she was on the show. Did she and Raj ever break up, or did that go away? I honestly can't remember, and that bothers me.

The main focus of the episode is on Leonard finally moving out of Sheldon's apartment and into Penny's. The only problem is, after a lot of really great material about how hard it's going to be, and how it will be a big adjustment, Penny and Leonard cave and decide to keep things how they are. They'll spend some nights in one apartment, and others in the other. This is annoying because it's another example of this show refusing to take risks. I wish we could have some real change to shake things up!

Castle: What Lies Beneath... (8x04)

I wanted to like this episode. In fact, I did like this episode in many ways. But I'm still pretty annoyed by one big thing, and it definitely influences my opinion of the whole episode. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Beckett and Castle's separation still makes no sense. I know I already talked about this in last week's review, so I'll try not to go overboard. But honestly - if Beckett's enemies were going to target Castle because they were married, wouldn't they still target him if he's constantly around? And if that's not the reason for the separation, then what is? It's so stupid!

Beckett's search for Vulcan Simmons - I'm fine with this in principle (although I still don't understand why she left Castle). There was a really awkward scene here, though. She calls in a narcotics specialist to ask about testing heroin samples against one another. The guy explains the process to her, and then Beckett repeats pretty much his exact words to get clarification, and then he leaves. It was super stilted and strange, and obviously the scene was only in there so that Ryan and Espo could walk in and notice that she was up to something mysterious. It felt very sloppy.

The Walking Dead: First Time Again (6x01)

This was a very solid opening episode. It managed to pick up where we left off, but also skip forward into something new and invigorating. I'll start with a few concerns, but for the most part I'm happy!

Cons:

There are a lot of characters in this show, and this premiere added even more. There's a group of people who belong to the Alexandria community that come back from a scouting trip. They've been absent since before Rick and his group arrived, so they are strangers to our main cast of characters. That's a totally fine idea, but I still feel like I'm reeling from all the new characters from last season, so it's a little difficult to keep track of yet more newbies. Hopefully things will slow down at some point soon, so we can spend some time with all of these new characters.

On a similar note, the overcrowding means that we got pretty much no Carl, and very little of Michonne, Carol, Maggie, etc. It's frustrating to come back after such a long time away and not get to spend time with many of my faves.

Once Upon a Time: Siege Perilous (5x03)

Well... my heart is broken, let me tell ya. That was some serious angst, and some excellent plot twists. I'm beyond excited for whatever comes next. That being said, there were a few things that didn't live up to my exacting standards.

Cons:

In Camelot, we spend most of our time with Arthur and David, as the two of them go on a quest to find a toadstool that will help them communicate with Merlin, who is still trapped in a tree (or as a tree, I'm not really sure which). The chemistry between Arthur and David was pretty much non-existent. I think they were trying to set up some bromance vibes, but it didn't really work. It would have made Arthur's betrayal a lot more poignant if we could have felt some real sense of camaraderie between these two.

Belle spends the episode angsting away about Rumple's fate, but at the very end she sees that the rose's petals have reconnected with the flower. Rumple is awake! Too bad he's not where she left him. The truth of Rumple's location is awesome, but Belle's quiet waiting around is not. I wish I could feel invested in Belle/Rumple, but I just can't.

Doctor Who: Before the Flood (9x04)

Unfortunately, this episode wasn't as good as the first part. Part of my disappointment is coming from my very high expectations - I should remember never to get my hopes up. It wasn't awful by any means - it was actually still very good. But it didn't have the polished excellence of the first half. Let's talk about some of the problems.

Cons:

Convoluted plot resolution. Last week's episode stuck with a very simple premise, with enough mystery and intrigue to keep it interesting, without weird details overwhelming the narrative. This week, things got very twisty very quickly. I was particularly annoyed by the time-loop that the Doctor got stuck in, and the reveal that the ghost of the Doctor was actually a projection that the Doctor set up himself. I don't know... sometimes I wish the Doctor didn't have such brilliant plans all the time. It gets dull.

In this half of the episode, we learned that the four remaining guest characters are all love interests. Cass, the Deaf woman, and her interpreter are apparently in love, and the other guy had feelings for the other girl (O'Donnell), before she was tragically killed. Was that really necessary? I don't mind a little romance, but I was actually enjoying the strong bonds between these characters as bonds of friendship. I just thought it was a little annoying and too convenient to pair everybody up like that.

The Vampire Diaries: Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take (7x01)

A pretty solid opening. Obviously it's going to be difficult for this show to maintain itself without its leading lady, but this premiere gave me some stuff to look forward to. It wasn't great, but it was good enough that I think they can still improve from here. Let's go ahead and look at what happened.

Cons:

Enzo. At one point in this episode, Caroline asks Enzo to "pick a side." There's a lot of chaos between Lily and her vampire-witch friends, and the rest of the town, and Enzo is stuck in the middle. When Caroline said that to him, I couldn't help but feel like she was speaking for the whole audience. And then Enzo does pick a side... and he picks Lily? Ugh. Enzo has never been as interesting as the show wanted him to be. It feels like he's this errant character with no real place. He doesn't fit in anywhere, and it's exhausting to watch them try to make him function in the story.

Alaric. He wants to bring Jo back from the dead. Most of his plot thread in this episode was completely divorced from the rest of the action, as he talked to psychics in an attempt to communicate with his dead wife. At the end, we see him in the morgue, where Jo's body is apparently still being kept cold, against hospital policy. He wants to bring her back. Ugh. No. I'm sorry, but there's only so many times a character on this show can cheat death. It gets really exhausting and repetitive. I feel like this plot thread was just proving a point that I really didn't want reinforced - Alaric doesn't really have a place on this show anymore, either. All the stuff with Jo and the Gemini Coven has been pushed aside, in favor of Lily and her gang. Alaric was so tied up in last season's plot thread that I'm not really sure what they're going to do with him moving forward. I don't want anymore rehashing of old material.

Grey's Anatomy: I Choose You (12x03)

Alex Karev! If Jo doesn't want to have his babies, then I will! I love him. I also love Maggie. And Arizona. And pretty much everything that happened in this episode. I honestly can't think of much to complain about.

Cons:

April and Jackson. Their plot thread this week focused on April refusing to leave the house, and Jackson continually asking her to leave. April says she'll keep fighting, but in the end, Jackson packs up his stuff and crashes on Bailey and Ben's couch. I really don't mind some focus on the relationship woes of Jackson and April, but there was nothing really gripping here. I was totally on Jackson's side. April is completely out of line, and I guess I was just hoping for a bit more nuance.

Pros:

Alex Karev stole this whole episode. He is amazing. There are so many things to talk about here. The main case of the week involves a woman who gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Both of the twins need a liver transplant, or they will die. The father of the babies is a match, but only one baby can be saved. Alex says he will decide, based on which twin is healthier. Alex gets more and more upset when forced to make such an impossible choice. Just as he's about to pass the decision off to somebody else, Arizona steps in and gives him this amazing speech about what kind of Doctor he is, and how proud of him she is. Alex saves the girl, Emma, and tries to save the boy too, but it's no good. Daniel, the little boy, dies. Arizona and Alex's relationship makes my heart sing. I love the mentor/student dynamic, and I loved the throwback to the first time they ever really talked. Arizona knew from the very beginning that Alex could go the distance. Alex isn't used to people being proud of him, and I loved getting to see him accept that praise. I'm proud of Alex, too!

Supernatural: Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire (11x01)

After last season's rather disappointing finale, I was approaching this premiere with skepticism. Could Supernatural really give me a premiere that would reinvigorate the show? Put it back on track? Get me interested? I'm happy to say that the answer is YES. I have a few questions/concerns, but for the most part I think this premiere bodes very well for the season.

Cons:

We learn in this episode that the Darkness, newly released, is a woman. Now, this is totally fine in theory - I've always liked the bad-ass female villains on this show. Lilith, Ruby, Abaddon, and now Rowena. But if they're going for an "Original Sin" angle, or, even worse, trying to do a twisted love interest thing with Dean, I'll be really annoyed. I guess what I'm saying is - they haven't done anything to piss me off with this yet, but I'm keeping a close eye on the situation.

This other complaint is... well, it's complicated. I really do ship Destiel, truly, but this episode reinforced a really uncomfortable trend in the relationship between Dean and Cas. I loved their phone conversation, and I'll talk about it in a minute, but I also hate the fact that Dean knows Cas is in trouble, but instead of telling him to meet them somewhere, he just immediately starts asking him questions, and using him for information once again. Cas is a great plot device when it comes to information about ancient powers, but I really wish Dean didn't jump right past Cas being in trouble, and straight to how he could help them out. I don't know... am I being too sensitive?

Modern Family: The Closet Case (7x03)

There were four plot threads in this episode, and I really enjoyed three of them. Let's get to it.

Cons:

The one plot thread that I didn't enjoy very much was the Alex, Luke, and Manny plot thread. Alex Skypes Luke to talk about her relationship with Sanjay. Luke notices a hot girl changing in the background, and encourages Alex to keep talking so he can watch her undress. Luke is then inspired to go visit Alex at college, and brings Manny along. The two of them hang out with two college girls, who give them their consent to kiss them. Luke goes back to Alex's room to get some gum, but finds Alex in distress. Sanjay has broken up with her. Luke decides to stay with his sister instead of going back to the girls, but Manny stays with the hot girls. Okay... is it just me, or was Luke totally pervy in this episode? I mean, he was trying to see a girl undressing without her consent. I didn't feel like there was any good addressing of that really gross behavior.

Also, why did Sanjay and Alex break up so quickly? What was the point of having them try to work it out if it was going to end so soon? I don't know... maybe we'll get more with Sanjay later, but it seemed really strange to do all that stuff with Sanjay in the premiere, and then just cast it aside now.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Purpose in the Machine (3x02)

!!!! I was not expected this to happen so soon! For the most part, I loved this episode. Truly loved it. My fangirl heart is very happy. But my critic's brain does have a few things to talk about before the gushing begins. Let's get to it.

Cons:

I can't believe I'm saying this, but there's a part of me that's disappointed that Simmons is back already. I was thrilled to see her, but in a sick, masochistic way I was looking forward to the buildup, and the angst, and Fitz's deteriorating mental state as he continued to desperately search for his lost love. As amazing as it was to see the daring rescue, I'm starting to wonder why we even had that detour in the first place, if Simmons was destined to return so quickly. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the Monolith fits in with the rest of the season. If it doesn't play a role, then I'll be a tad disappointed.

Castle: PhDead (8x03)

Not as strong as the two-part opener. I think I'm already seeing some problems with mixing this whole Castle and Beckett separation in with the usually somewhat humorous tone of the show. I was pretty disappointed in some parts of this episode. Let's take a look.

Cons:

Both Castle and Beckett seem to have faulty logic when it comes to their relationship. Beckett is staying away from Castle because she can't "let it go," and has to keep hunting down leads on the people who killed her FBI teammates. But if these guys are really so evil, won't Castle be in danger no matter what? Even if he sits passively on the sidelines, which Beckett knows he won't do, he'll still be a target if Beckett keeps digging. The bad guys aren't going to leave Castle alone just because Beckett left to "protect" him or whatever. That's a load of crap.

Then there's Castle, who continually insinuates himself into the precinct's case this week, in order to try and impress Beckett. His logic is that since solving cases was what made her fall in love with him, he needs to solve more cases to impress her! What the hell? Obviously a screw has come loose in Castle's head. Beckett still loves him - he doesn't need to impress her with his smarts. She knows who he is, and she loves him. What he needs to do is respect her desire for space, if he wants a chance of really working things out. Castle's quest to impress his wife felt like a very desperate excuse to get Castle working with the NYPD again. Very weak.

The Big Bang Theory: The Bachelor Party Corrosion (9x03)

Eh. It seems the early-season excitement is wearing off, and I'm remembering why this show pisses me off so much. Let's get started.

 

Cons:

 

Howard and Raj kidnap Leonard to take him to Mexico for a belated bachelor party, and they drag an unwilling Sheldon along. I was hoping for a lot of hilarity, but as often happens with this show, they wasted the opportunity. Instead of seeing a hilarious bachelor party, most of this plot thread was spent driving in a van, and then trying to take a flat tire off of the van, with no success. In the end, they end up setting fire to it, which is even a bigger deal than it seems, because this van belonged to Richard Feynman. While we could have been spending time seeing what these boys would do for Leonard for a bachelor party, we instead got a basic "stranded by the side of the road" plot thread.

 

On top of being lazy, Sheldon's racism was really grating. He's afraid of Mexico because of "banditos" and "scorpions" and worries that they'll be kidnapped and forced to work in a factory manufacturing items for Americans. In another show, I'd almost believe this was meant to be satirical, and if we could have seen the other guys react negatively to Sheldon's racism, then this could be played a little more complexly. But as it stands, it felt like a cheap way to get laughs, and I didn't appreciate it at all.
 

Once Upon a Time: The Price (5x02)

Another very solid installment! This season is really, really awesome so far. The strongest stuff we've had out of this show in quite some time, maybe since the first season, even. Let's jump right in.

Cons:

There were a few disingenuous character moments here and there. Mostly, they were minor, but I do feel I have to say something. I thought Zelena's presence in this episode was awkward and contrived, especially when Regina had her pose as a serving wench during the stay in Camelot. Come on. Really? It's one thing to see a defeated enemy, it's another to turn a formerly formidable foe into comic relief.

I watched this episode with a friend of mine, and the two of us were rather giggly about the continual talk of "Merlin's prophecy." It sort of felt like Arthur had been given a very specific prophecy that mapped out exactly what was supposed to happen. That's a little silly. This show never does a very good job of determining the rules of magic. Merlin is obviously very powerful - so who trapped him in the tree? Oh well. Probably not the right thing to be focusing on, but it did annoy me a bit.

Doctor Who: Under the Lake (9x03)

Wow! This is going to sound unbelievable coming from me, but I wasn't annoyed by a single thing in this episode. It was really, really amazing! Let's dive in to a few little nitpicks, and then I'll just sing the praises of everybody who worked on this.

Cons:

A few little things that the Doctor said rubbed me the wrong way... I just hate it when he's a total jerk. I miss the Doctor who saw the wonder and goodness in all humans. This one is disdainful of anybody who isn't as smart as him - which, by the way, is everybody. I wish we could see some more nuance with this. Even the little joke about the notecards, where the Doctor apologized for his callousness by reading off of cue cards that Clara had prepared for him, didn't really hit the spot.

There was a conversation where the Doctor warned Clara not to become too much like him. He says this because Clara is thirsting for adventure. I'm not sure what they were trying to get at here, but it didn't quite work, because Clara has always been interested in adventure. I don't really see that as being part of the Doctor's corrupting influence.

Grey's Anatomy: Walking Tall (12x02)

Another solid episode! Not as strong as the first one, but still... a lot of good stuff is going on here. Let's start with some cons.

Cons:

The main plot centers around Bailey's first day as chief, and the remarkable patient she wishes to save. This woman is over seven feet tall, and they discover that this rapid growth is caused by a tumor on her pituitary gland. I've got to say, the woman who played the patient was not a very good actor. I hate to be mean to the guest stars, but there you have it.

This plot thread was meant to showcase Bailey's struggle to be a good chief. She ends up yelling at everybody a lot, and not treating them with respect. While I liked this in theory, I felt that maybe some of it came across as a bit extreme. There was no subtlety to Bailey's behavior. She acted horribly the whole time, then apologized. I wish we could have seen more layers.