Teen Wolf 3.13 Review: The Darkness We Let Inside

As a friendly reminder to all those that have yet to watch last night’s midseason premiere of Teen Wolf, entitled ‘Anchors’, this is the point where I suggest you look elsewhere until you have. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed ahead at your own discretion.

For the most part, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this MTV series’ newest episode. Sure, I was a little confused as to how it began, and couldn’t quite recall enough details from the first half of the season, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t able to enjoy it.

Okay, so I do have to mention how I was a little bored with the opening five minutes, up until around Stiles’ last dream that he thinks is real.. Yes, I was able to appreciate it more afterwards, within the context of the entire episode, but it didn’t grab me as much as the beginning of an episode should have. If I wasn’t invested in this series and these characters – particularly Stiles – I might have stopped watching and gone back to viewing Gilmore Girls. Alas, I have been watching this series from the very beginning, so I will keep on watching. I found myself almost bored with the tedious opening act of Stiles’ dream. It was well acted, but it was a little too much of a run around. Plus, it didn’t feel like I was invested with most of the dream because I could barely remember where this series had left off.

Elsewhere, I did enjoy the interactions between Scott and Isaac, and Scott’s mom telling them not to damage the house. It was really fun getting to see Isaac thrown into the wall – twice – because Scott was just a little mad at his fellow werewolf and housemate for poaching on his ex-girlfriend (Alison, for all those that have yet to watch this series). Sure, I do think Scott and Alison are done – for now at least – but there’s a rule among bro’s, that you don’t act unless the other is honestly okay with it.

That leads me to another thing, where we see Scott is becoming interested in the new girl in his history class. Yes, I think Alison and him are done, like I said for now, but there relationship seemed such an integral part of the show for the first two and half seasons, despite not always being together, that this seems a little dishonest to the character. Not only that, but it was done in a way that mirrored his crush on Alison in the beginning of the series, and that just doesn’t sit right with me. If they wanted Scott to move on and find love elsewhere, the least they could do was make it a bit more unique and not just like he was replacing Alison or holding her spot for her with a temporary fix. Plus, I really feel like there were major vibes between him and Lydia in the first half of this season. Sure, Stiles has had a thing for Lydia for a while, but there was some major connection between Scott and her, and it feels like that’s now just been glossed over since Derek’s sister, and what seemed to be the fancy of Stiles this past summer, was not apart of the series this week. So I’m kind of feeling like this is becoming a bit convoluted.

Oh, and a couple other things that I need to mention. Tyler Posey’s performance when he began freaking out when confronting his father over trying to oust Stiles’ father from being sheriff was both powerfully and wonderfully done. This may have been my favourite moment in this episode, and when he tells his mom his anchor was Alison and he doesn’t have her anymore – that was perfect. Also, I have to make note of how beautifully man-shaped Dylan O’Brien has gotten these past few years. Honestly, that young man is beautifully and just makes me love Stiles – and not just because his sense of humour and fascination with all things supernatural is akin to my own. Finally, I have to mention how perfect the final scene of this episode was. As a screenwriter myself, I thought that fit wonderfully into the whole picture of this show, and made sure to include Derek and his uncle in an otherwise good episode. There are moments where I watch movies and television episodes and remember why I want to work as a screenwriter in this industry, and that was one of them.

Overall, I thought this episode was very well done. Sure, the vet’s acting is a little uneven and plain at times, but the other actors are most assuredly growing into there own – most notably Tyler Posey and Dylan O’Brien. Sometimes I’m surprised that this is a MTV series because it’s quite often better than that industry name.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I think you should hit me.” – Isaac tells Scott.

“Wait a sec, I know that look. That’s the we-know-exactly-what-is-wrong-with-you-and-we-have-no-idea-how-to-fix-it look.” – Stiles remarks.

“Glow your eyes at it, do something, be the Alpha.” – Stiles tells Scott.

“I think I just had a minor heart attack.” – Stiles declares.

 “My anchor was Alison. I don’t have Alison anymore.” – Scott says. “Then be your own anchor.” – Scott’s mom tells him.

All right folks, check back later for a review of Almost Human, although it may just be a brief one later on tonight. Also, I may get to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Trophy Wife, and Cougar Town tonight as well, I may not.

Revenge 3.11 Review: Who Am I?

This is a friendly reminder for all those that have yet to watch Sunday night’s episode of Revenge, entitled ‘Homecoming’, to kindly turn away from their screen before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!You’ve been warned.

There were some definite ups and downs regarding this week’s post-Christmas premiere episode. Things picked up almost immediately where they’d left off in the December finale. Daniel – to which I’d guessed right before watching the last episode – shot Emily after learning she’d poached his family and faked the pregnancy and after blood loss and some head trauma in the water, she had – of all things – amnesia. In my opinion, while it was a cliché TV trope, I thought that this would be able to bring a refreshing on this series, that has had a stronger third season compared to it’s second, but nowhere near as good as its first. Sadly, it seems that Emily may have gained her memories back by the end of the episode, and I was hoping she would at least have amnesia for a couple episodes.

One thing I do have to say is how completely naïve Charlotte seemed to be when Emily said that her father was David Clarke. Sure, it is somewhat reasonable to believe her damaged memories were spewing out such things because Charlotte was the one in the room, but when she approaches Jack with the confusing information his reaction is so completely obvious to me. He turns away just to keep the look from confirming the information with Charlotte, but she’s still somehow able to believe what he says. It was so obvious on his face for a good few seconds, and I was disappointed that Charlotte wouldn’t catch on and just feign believing what Jack was saying to be true. But then, I suppose the truth is often too difficult to handle. I guess the writers just didn’t want another person in the loop at this point, but I am disappointed with the way they handled that tidbit.

Possibly my favourite part about this episode was Emily VanCamp’s stellar performance. While I do believe her voice over on the episodes can come out dry and tedious, and her performance has been off and on this season giving me the feeling she was often phoning it in, this week’s episode made it seem like she honestly has the acting chops. That performance with Daniel when she can’t remember who she is or where she is was simply beautiful and something I would very much like to see more of. If I were still doing Best Performances of the Week, even without watching all the other performances this week, Ms. VanCamp would most certainly be in the running.

Something I have to say I’ve hated this season is how terribly they’ve been writing Daniel. His character just seems like he’s had character development come completely out of nowhere. Honestly the trajectory he’s had, merely since the character of Sarah has reemerged, seems utterly ridiculous. Yes his character seemed to naturally love Sarah, but then the way he’d react around Emily made absolutely no sense as to why they would get married at all – even with the belief that there was a baby involved. Last season Emily and Daniel seemed to be back in love and set on the path towards this wedding, but all season I’ve felt none of that chemistry that they used to have. Seriously, have these two actors broken up? I know they’d been dating last year, but if they’d broken up since then there’d be an actually feasible reason for their lack of chemistry, even with the introduction of Sarah.

On that note, does anyone sincerely believe that Sarah would try and kill herself? I mean we only got to know her over the course of a handle of episodes, but she appeared to be the most genuine of people and even with the loss of Daniel it would not seem honest in any form for her to try such a feat. Yes, she’d loved him, but, to quote a bad cliché, there are more fish in the sea. I can’t see any possible reason that she would try something so rash. Now, if this is part of the writers plan, then it is completely within reason, but if she actually did do it, then I am losing faith in the skills of these writers. But then, I’ve found a lot of this season to be a bit drab. Sure, there have been some stellar moments, but as a whole last season was almost better.

All in all, there were a lot of good parts to this episode. It did not disappoint me as much as I thought it might, from the grand scheme of the delectable previews, but it wasn’t as fantastic as it could’ve been. This series canstill count me as a viewer, but I really hope they fix what they’ve done to Daniel, because his character doesn’t seem like he could’ve gotten to this point in any fashion. He’s dark in a way that isn’t fun to watch – if that makes sense – and this is coming from someone who enjoys dark and damaged characters more than other characters. He’s treading Ashley territory, that’s how much I’m beginning to not like him. The only time he is good, at all, is when he’s around Sarah, and he needs to be able to interact with other characters to be able to keep going on this show.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

No memorable lines.

Okay, so check back soon for reviews of Teen Wolf and Almost Human.

The Crazy Ones 1.12 Review: Out of the Comfort Zone

This is a warning for all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of The Crazy Ones, entitled ‘The Face of a Winner’, then now would be the time to divert your eyes from this screen. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!Proceed ahead at your own discretion.

Maybe it’s just that I’ve been binge watching Gilmore Girls the last week or so and have really been in that state of mind, but I wasn’t quite feeling this week’s episode as much as the previous few episodes. It definitely did have its funny moments, but I found that it wasn’t as strong a comeback episode post Christmas break as it could’ve been. I was kind of hoping for a New Years related episode, and wasn’t as excited to watch this episode one day after New Years when it had no major pizzazz to it.

So this week’s episode included Sydney – with Lauren’s help – swapping accounts with Zach and Andrew after Simon has an epiphany that made him decide things needed to be mixed up for creative reasons. I did enjoy the beginning where they all pretend it was a great idea Simon came up with, but then immediately groan about it after he’s out of earshot. Also, I loved the brief glimpse at Sydney beating Lauren at the videogame, and especially when she’s dancing with that trashcan on her head. That was probably my favourite moment of the episode. So it wasn’t a complete wash, but the episode wasn’t anything as special as the previous eleven.

All in all, I do enjoy these characters each week, and think that this is a great comedic series, but they can’t be a great show every week. This must just have been one of the weaker episodes this series has had written. Like I said, it didn’t have as much pizzazz as I would have liked, and wasn’t quite as fantastic as the last episode. But every series has to have their own Zeppo… Although, I, myself, enjoyed that Buffy the Vampire Slayerepisode, but that’s beside the point.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Line:

“I fear an analogy coming on.” – Sydney mutters to herself, relating to Simon.

Okay, so this may not be my strongest review, being that I tried to go old school like I used to do with essays in high school and watched Gilmore Girls while I typed this up, but I stand by my views. As evidenced by this coming up, I did skip over the reviews of the last episode of Revenge, Almost Human, and How I Met Your Mother. Despite taking notes on the episode, I do think I was too excited for Christmas at the time, and a bit burnt out concerning writing as many reviews as I was at that point, but nevertheless I will continue writing these. Now, I’m off to shower, but check in Sunday for my review of Revenge– to which I will say that I guessed right concerning who shot Emily. Anyways, until next time.

Once Upon A Time 3.11 Review: Life is Unpredictable

Any of those that have yet to watch Sunday night’s winter finale of Once Upon A Time, entitled ‘Going Home’, now would be the point in which I suggest you turn away from this blog and go do that, before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Keep in mind as you read this review that I watched most of this episode four days ago (I rewatched the last ten minutes two days ago), and while I do have nearly an entire page of notes, I may be a little blurry on parts of the episode. As I have said numerous times, I do not have the clearest of memories, but I really did love this episode, and it has stuck with me, so it should be okay.

Anyways, I have to begin this by saying that this was a good episode, but it was by no means a great one. It did have a great final ten minutes, but the previous points in the episode (at least to me) felt a bit too much like filler, and not enough like there was a heightened sense of malice to it. I’m guessing I’m one of the few that feels this way, but that’s just how I see it.

There were a lot of great performances this week, though. I found that Jared Gilmore was surprisingly good with his rendition of Pan this week, certainly no where near as well played as Pan’s original portrayer, but good nonetheless, and much better than his portrayal of Henry in most episodes before this. Also, I did find that once he became Henry again, he seemed to step up his game. I actually found myself liking Henry, for the most part, and that, while his disposition in the flashback scene neither resembled his character’s personality at that time nor did he look the age, I did like him a great deal better. Gilmore’s acting this week was most assuredly his most well done since, likely, the pilot episode. I also have to note that, once again, Robbie Kay’s rendition of Henry was actually better than Gilmore’s portrayal of the character before this episode. Although, I did find that once he reverted back to Pan he was a bit over the top. Finally, I have to take note of Hook, and Colin O’Donoghue’s masterful depiction of him in this, and every other week before it. He is such an amazing actor that I actually believed that scene could’ve been filmed in the past, before he’d gotten over his revenge plan against Rumple. Also, all of his moments, before the final one, between himself and Emma were filled with such passion and undeniable chemistry that it’s relentlessly exciting. Anyone that saw that seemingly final exchange between them before Emma and Henry left cannot possibly deny their feelings for each other.

A few contentions with this episode that need to be mentioned. One is definitely the more obvious issue that Belle seems to better suit Neal than she does his father. I get that there is a large fan base behind “Rumbelle”, and that my main issue could be the blending of one of my favourite Disney princess movies with another fairytale (i.e. Rumplestiltskin being the Beast), but I have major qualms with this couple because I just don’t see any major chemistry between the characters. But then, I find that that can be the fault of this series a few times over. Also, it could have something to do with the twenty-year age difference, but I digress. Another problem I had with this episode is the fact that I really don’t trust that Mr. Gold is dead. In this day and age of television in the fantasy world, so often beloved characters can come back from the dead (see also: the Blue Fairy). When there’s no build up and feeling of finality to a characters death, it doesn’t quite feel like they’re done with them, and I didn’t feel much of that here, so I don’t trust that they’d actually kill his character off. Another thing, I didn’t feel like Michael Raymond-James really gave it his all this week when playing Neal. He felt very superficial, and like he wasn’t completely grounded in the scene. After his father died, it didn’t seem like he felt any grief at all, and despite their qualms he really should have, and at the end it didn’t appear like he despised the fact he would be away from Emma and his son for an unknown period of time. It’s like his character wasn’t fully there, and it really bothered me because he seemed to be the only one that did not have any issues with anything going on, despite the near 100% likelihood that he should. And, a side note, the one thing I’m not looking forward to with this whole going back to where they came from, is the fact that this likely leads to a larger quantity of CGI use, but I’ll just have to wait to see how that goes. And one final issue I had this week was with the costumed look of Snow during the flashback scenes. It felt like they were taking a page from Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’s playbook, and I wasn’t a fan of it.

There are, most assuredly, several other things that need to be noted regarding this episode. First off, I feel like there was a great deal of hate between Tinkerbell and Hook in that flashback scene, so I don’t really think there’s any possibility of romantic history between them, particularly because he was desperately gung ho with regards to avenging his beloved Mila’s death. Also, I’m curious to know who Emma would think Henry’s father is, if Neal’s gone back to Fairytale Land. Maybe she still thinks it’s him, seeing as he was never affected by the curse in the first place. Another thing, I absolutely adored the rearview mirror shots of Emma, as well as the fantastic cinematographic skill of flipping between those and the behind shots of Henry. That is a piece of television cinematography that makes me adore and want to work in television so badly. It was that beautiful. Also the use of Lou Reed’s ‘Charley’s Girl’ was the perfect music choice for that New York scene and reminded me to download the song, I only wish they’d played more of the song, and the tune they played while Storybrooke was destroyed was spectacular. I definitely think fabricating Emma and Henry’s memories so it feels like they’ve always been together will be interesting grounds for storytelling that I greatly look forward to immersing myself in. Finally, I honestly believe that it was incredibly smart of the writers to have a year pass by before Hook comes to Emma’s door because it’s both a great way to explain Henry’s aging, and also create grounds for a lucrative amount of stories. Plus, classic Lost writing.

All in all, I’m rather impressed with where this series appears to be going. I’m definitely looking more forward to the second half of the season, more so than I am happy with the first half. While I should not be surprised by such tactics being used by the likes of Lost writing alum, I am by no means unhappy with the way this series appears to be going. I am beyond excited to see where they go with this series from this point, a feeling I don’t believe I’ve felt since the first season. This series may have lost it’s way a bit since season one, but I think it may be on the way to bringing that creative vibe back that I’ve only felt sparingly since it’s first season. Also, Hook being the one to go to New York to get Emma was brilliant in my books, and I greatly anticipate how he will convince her of the time she spent in Storybrooke. Basically, this series may grow to become one of my favourite current series once again. The way this finale ended was pure genius, despite its television cliché.

My rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Life is unpredictable.” – Mary-Margaret explains to Henry.

“Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a powerful thing.” – Mary-Margaret says.

“This pink, naked, squirming little larva.” – Pan conveys his distaste for the first sights of his son.

“But I’m a villain, and villains don’t get happy endings.” – Rumplestiltskin expresses.

“And all I’ve wanted is for you to get the hell out of my life so I can be with my son.” – Regina states of her past contrivances with Emma being apart of Henry’s life and her’s.

I know this is late, like my last few reviews, but I think the weird serotonin levels in my brain are acting up again, so the low energy levels are really getting to me lately. So, don’t expect my review of Revenge, How I Met Your Mother, and Almost Human until at least tomorrow. Otherwise, once I’m done posting this, I’m off to try and get my creative juices flowing with my own television series pilot. Goodnight.