The Vampire Diaries - 3.10: "The New Deal" Review

Klaus announces his intentions to stay in Mystic Falls and demands his family back by threatening Elena's family. Stefan admits to Damon why he foiled their plan to kill Klaus.

We open with Bonnie (Kat Graham) at the haunted house to find four coffins there, which obviously Stefan (Paul Wesley) has hidden there.   But she's dreaming.   Elena (Nina Dobrev) is followed by a man when she's out jogging and bumps into her from the other end of the street.   She tells Bonnie she's becoming paranoid and asks Bonnie if it's a "witch dream" she had.  

Stefan betrayed them and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is drinking at the bar (so what else is new, "brunch in a bottle,")  wanting Alaric (Matt Davis) to join him.   Damon can drink but then "somebody's getting naked." Ooh Damon, not again.   Alaric is waiting for Jeremy (Steven R McQueen) who failed his midterm.   He's also been fired.   Tyler (Michael Trevino) and Jeremy bond, kind of out shooting cans in the woods with arrows.   Alaric is Jeremy's guardian and Tyler dares Jeremy to shoot an arrow at him, which he catches.

Elena describes Jeremy as moody and not talking to anyone. You'd be mistaken for thinking she was describing Damon, who tells her Jeremy still has her.   Damon doesn't have any "attractive look." Klaus (Joseph Morgan) shows up along with Tony, (Zane Stephens) the man Elena saw whilst jogging.   Rebekah (Claire Holt) is missing and he breaks the news about staying in mystic Falls.   Elena says his family is his and Stefan's problem and not hers.

Bonnie goes to the house and finds it empty, except Stefan arrives too.   He followed her here and has Klaus's family.   He needs to keep them hidden as his family is his weakness.   Such as it is for Stefan and Damon and Elena and her family too, as well as her friends.   Elena knows Tyler is dangerous.

Damon drinks again and senses Klaus behind him.   Damon never misses the chance to drink to an epic failure of a plan.  Damon and Klaus appear to bond over their respective siblings, not that they're best buds or anything.   Alaric asks Tyler what the difference is between sired and compelled.   Being sired means having the faith to do something cos it's right.   Tyler doesn't serve Klaus and Tyler is indebted to him for freeing him from a curse.   He'd follow him blindly, hey this was my line, then Elena talks about his blind faith, as does Jeremy.   Tyler has the ability to make his own decisions, that's what he thinks.

Damon: "bond over the mutual loathing of my brother."  Damon doesn't work for him and Klaus knows he's been drinking vervain so he can't compel him so Klaus needs a demo of violence to drive the point home, no pun.   He calls Jeremy.   Alaric comments on Tyler's weird cult logic after his explanation of being sired and Jeremy has left his ring behind and stands in the middle of the road, leaving Alaric to save him from an SUV, driven by Tony.   Klaus has a new compulsion.   Tyler tells Klaus he thought he was only sending a message and didn't think he'd kill anyone.   Klaus wants him to get over his guilty conscience.  Not another one.

Tyler took Jeremy's bracelet and Damon tells Elena Klaus is sending them a message.   Jeremy wants to leave town.   Elena decides to give Klaus Rebekah in return for Jeremy's life but Damon warns she'll come after Elena.   Elena tells Bonnie about the coffins and her dreams and Damon and Elena go to the haunted house.   Damon thinks witches are fickle, Klaus said that about Rebekah.   Damon burns once he steps inside the house, so from outside he listens to Stefan and Elena.   Stefan refuses to give Klaus anything and her family is not his problem.   Elena slaps him, like that'll hurt.   That's what Elena said to Klaus, about his family being Klaus's problem.

What Damon puts himself through to see Stefan as he goes back into the house.   Damon doesn't care about the coffins and they fight outside.   Damon stakes him as payback for messing up his plan.   Stefan did it to save Damon from Klaus's hybrids if the plan had worked.   Damon: "Stop saving me."  Tyler didn't think Klaus would kill Jeremy cos he doesn't know Klaus at all.   He's naive, even after Klaus was going to use Caroline in the ritual.   Jeremy posits everytime Klaus is involved someone gets killed.

Alaric is dead again and wakes coughing up blood.   Tony compels the paramedics to leave and she can use his blood to save Alaric.   Jeremy turns up and shoots an arrow in his back and then hacks off his head.   That's another mess for Damon to clear up no doubt.   Damon asks why Stefan saved him and he doesn't reply.   Damon commenting he "invented deflection." So it won't work on him.   Stefan wants to use Klaus's family against him.   Klaus can't live forever and there has to be another way.   Damon wants in cos he's better at "cutthroat decisions."  It'll be between the two of them.   SO that's another plan, how long before that goes awry too.

He goes inside and shows Damon the coffins which are still there, the witch spirits are hiding them with their powers, which explains why Bonnie was dreaming about them.   Dr Meredith Fell (Torrey DeVitto) wants to know Alaric's secret and wonders if he has a guardian angel or sold his soul.   He replies a bit of both.   Elena gives Klaus Rebeka back.   Klaus tells her anyone can be next, Caroline, Bonnie or Damon, if he doesn't find his family.   Stefan doesn't care about her anymore, that's what she thinks so he's Klaus's problem.   Elena warns Rebekah wants Klaus dead cos she knows he killed their mother.

Alaric has Damon's blood to thank for keeping him alive.   Jeremy knows things like this will always happen.   Damon took care of the DB as said and Elena admits she returned Rebekah and she doesn't trust Stefan.   Jeremy can't live like this, he's only 16.  Klaus tells Rebekah it took a thousand years to get home and daggers her - they'll meet again one day.   Is that cos sister dear will get him for killing their mother.  Oh Elena had to blab.   Damon has their 'talk' with Jeremy and compels him to leave town.  "You have a better life."

Bonnie sees the coffins in the house but Stefan can't open them. They've been closed with a spell, so perhaps what's inside is their answer.   Damon tells Elena Stefan saved his life and calls himself an idiot and shouldn't feel guilty anymore "for wanting what I want."  He kisses Elena so he has something to feel guilty about.   That was coming.   Since Elena kissed him last season, this time he kisses her.   That kiss most were expecting, it was that apparent, others didn't want it cos Elena belongs with Stefan, though she's having more doubts than usual about this now and that kiss made a lot of people jealous!!  Cos Damon doesn't belong with Elena, he's mine, er, I mean ours!

Funny how Tyler was the one to tell Jeremy how to kill a hybrid, from their little tete a tete in the woods.   Jeremy also invites Tyler into their home - silly boy - for dinner, thus allowing him to feed off anyone, oh you know what I mean, if the need ever arises and all that, especially since he's in league with Klaus.   Rebekah can't really be dead cos he just daggers her all over and suppose she had to go cos of mommie dearest and knowing he offed her.

Damon appears to be more human than Stefan - though he doesn't like to admit it, thus he does the so very human thing and snogs Elena cos vampires don't have guilty consciences, not all of them.   More importantly, yeah cos that kiss meant nothing, ha.  why is Klaus so hell bent on getting the coffins back and is so protective of them?   Granted his family is in there - but does that mean his entire family, including his mother cos we don't know what Klaus did with her after the killed her?  

Bonnie says whatever is inside "is their answer." Anyway his mother did put a curse on him.   Also the witches are helping to hide the coffins in plain sight and Bonnie hasn't mentioned she saw Klaus in her dream too, inside one of the coffins with a necklace around his neck, not too dissimilar to Elena's necklace.   (No doppelganger theories please cos that'd be too obvious and too Elena/Katherine.)  She could have seen Klaus inside the coffin as a foreboding of the future instead.

Klaus: "My sister is missing..."
Damon: "Cute, blonde bombshell.   Psycho.  Shouldn't be too hard to find."  Hey, was the description necessary?

CSI: NY - 1.5: "A Man a Mile" Review

Mac, Flack and Danny investigate the death of one of New York's tunnel builders, whilst Aiden and Stella delve into the murder of a student attending a private school for rich girls.

Underground workers known as the 'NYC Sandhogs' blow up a tunnel and one man gets left behind.   He's later found under the rubble.  Identified as Pete Riggs (Eric Ritter) who has been on site ten years.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) appears to be nervous about going underground and Mac (Gary Sinise) asks him if he's bathophobic (fear of depth.)  Danny: "I'm not anything-phobic, just a few things that shake me up..."  One of them being a 100 feet of granite between "me and daylight."  Mac adds they're going to work the same way here as the men do, "rock by rock."  A sandhog is anyone who helps in building tunnels, even if they're not actually in the tunnel, they're still one of them.   The Vic wasn't shot or stabbed before the explosion but there's trace under his fingernails, which are covered with a plastic bag to protect the evidence.   The DA wants the site cleared and running.   This is described as an accident.   The Sandhogs measure progress by a man a mile (alluding to the title) because that's the deathrate.

In the second story, Aiden (Vanessa Ferlito) and Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) investigate a DB found in a water creek.   Hannah was DOA and her mother is from Broxdale, where they lived.   She filed a missing persons report as she left home three nights ago and never came back.   She went to a friend's house to study, a Melissa Westley (Shashawnee Hall).   What's surprising is that she was her friend, or at least claimed to be and yet, she didn't realize she was missing, or more likely didn't care.   Which should have sent danger signs flashing.   They question the girls and Aiden tells them she went to a school like theirs.   They find clothes with their labels cut off in the lockers.   Aiden admits she lied about going to such a school since "they cut through the attitude if they think you're one of them."  A uniform represents social equality.

Hawkes (Hill Harper) carries out  the autopsy on the Vic in story one.   He comments a human skull  has 206 bones, 200 were broken in the Vic.   He suffered multiple fractures and he was hit on the head before the explosion and the COD was asthma.   Pete didn't have an inhaler.   Blood was found on the tracks and the walls of the tunnel.   His inhaler is found near the phone and is empty.   Mac notices the evidence leads to one direction where he died but that he was moved, somehow, ending up in a different place.   Danny doesn't suspect this was an accident and Mac believes he knew he was going to die.

The medical exam on Hannah reveals peticule hemorrhaging.   She was dead before she ended up in the water, she had been drinking and there was a gold fleck found in her throat.   Mike (Tom Zito) tells them he didn't see Pete leave the tunnel and Joe Riggs (Joe Sikora) believes it was an accident.   Danny gives Joe his card if he wants to talk.  Their code is that every man comes out of the tunnel.   They examine Pete's clothes.   Danny knows his brother, Joe has something to say.   Mac: "Based on?"  Danny can tell.     Why not have Flack (Eddie Cahill) bring him in.   Mac: "Danny, your intuition is great."
 Danny: "But let's see what the evidence has to say first." Mac takes a sample from the foreman's shirt and sees if it matches Pete.

Aiden tests different belts to match the markings around Hannah's neck.   The crocodile skin one matches the ligature marks around her neck.   Gold leaf was found in her throat as Stella explains she was a floater so it could have come from the river.   Diatoms, like algae were also found and act like sponges, absorbing whatever was in the water.   Such as lead cadmium.

Mac talks about the theory of quantum physics and his, "everything's connected" theory.   Danny finds the presence of blood on Al McGrath's (Mel Rodriguez) ring and they fought after work.   He hit him cos he insulted the rangers.   The ring is important and it appears somebody had his ear "Tyson-ed."  An impression is taken so the Vic's teeth can be matched to the bite mark, but there isn't a match.   Danny is confused if the bite mark wasn't made by Pete, then why lie.   Mac: "Depends on what the truth is."  The dental impressions are a match to Al.   Mac doesn't think Al's lying, but covering for someone.   This is no longer murder, but conspiracy.   Pete dropped his keys one day and Mike got hit on the head.   He bit Al.

Stella and Aiden find that the creek has an ebb tide causing an eddy effect.   The current travels South until it hits an obstruction and then reverses.   She was thrown into the water in the North, where people dump things illegally.   The entire area is industrial.   Aiden finds Matt Paulson, (Joshua Leonard) Tina's (Sarah Foret) brother opened a club there.

There are no prints or trace found on Pete's inhaler.   Pete was careless and he wasn't responsible for him but his men.   The Sandhogs operate like a union, forming a bond like the Marines.  something which Mac should know all about seeing as he used to be a Marine too.   Danny: "Well if the evidence isn't talking, we gotta fill in the blanks somehow,"  when they reach a stumbling block.   Mac: "We have pieces of evidence, there's nothing conclusive yet."  Joe will find he doesn't have a brother anymore and in my world, "a guys gotta protect himself and his family.   I mean who would you protect your brother, or some union."  You can see Danny is all about family here, even before we find he has a brother too and get any real background on him.   Seems like everytime Danny wants to talk from the heart or about family, Mac shoots him down in favour of the evidence.

Hanna and Tina went to England.   Matt denies Hanna was at the club with Tina.   The surveillance camera doesn't work.   Stella notices cameras that do work outside and the footage shows Tina entering the club with a bag.   Matt and Hanna kiss and are seen by Tina.   Hanna had a crush on Matt and Stella feigns the need to use the restroom at their house, which she never did again in any subsequent episode.   She sees a horn with a strap attached.   Tina was bloodied in a foxhunt.

Mac comments on "pieces of evidence" again.  
Danny: "You made that clear.   I just don't see your point."
Mac: "My point is you're not seeing the connection.   It's what we all look for."  Danny asks if he feels it.   Mac does, all the time but he doesn't act on it until he's got proof.   Danny: "I can't do this job your way."
Mac: "Well you can't do it your way either.   You're coming up on your 3 years.   That means you'd be taking your exam to bump you to Second Grade.   When I put you lead in a case, I wanna make sure you're bringing me evidence.   Not intuition." ( as in episode 6 Inside Man.)

Joe is beaten outside a tunnel but no one sees anything.   Danny knows he was beaten to silence him, but he still refuses to talk.   Danny: "Well if he's not gonna tell us the truth and the evidence has gone sour.   Then what's left?"  Mac: what's been telling them the truth the entire time.   X-rays reveal Pete's fourth metacarpal was dislocated, which is inconsistent with his other injuries.   Hawkes: "Possibly inconsistent  without context."  Love that phrase.  I.e if it couldn't be placed then the evidence would seem inconsistent.

Stella finds Hanna was never meant to be part of Tina's family.   Tina's bag is seen without a strap.  Tina's father chose Hanna for the honour of being bloodied.   Matt was also interested in Hanna.   The strap from the bag is found in Tina's bedroom and matches Hanna's blood.  Tina strangled her and enjoyed watching the life drain out like that in an animals's eyes.

Pete wasn't wearing his ring when he died.   The explosion was to cover the evidence.   Joe broke their code and left Pete down in the tunnel.  Joe threw the ring done and it hit him on his head.   Joe looked after Pete growing up and this was the only job he'd ever get.   Pete was his responsibility.

These two stories though separate, were brought together by family.   Tina didn't want Hanna being part of the family and was jealous.   She killed her to keep her out and cos everyone paid attention to her and not to Tina.   With Joe it was about family.   Pete was his responsibility but he didn't really take care of him.   He left him down there to teach him a lesson, which he sees as okay.   Danny mentions family all the way through this episode as something that is clearly important to him.   Throughout this episode it appeared Mac was 'grooming' him and preparing him to take over as lead in the next episode.   At least Danny was asking questions all the way through, even if a lot of them were from his gut and were about relying on instinct.

Mac mentions his theory of "everything is connected" for the first time.    Which will crop up a few times, before it's forgotten.   Okay though it's not said many times later on, we're meant to recall this is what it's about for him.   As for Danny's promotion, we're aware things go awry for him later on this season and he doesn't get his promotion until season 7.   Also he takes his Sergeant's exam then without telling anyone, including Mac.   Maybe he thought he'd jinx it or Mac may prevent him from taking it, seeing as how he put a spanner in the works this season for Danny's promotion.

As for Flack, well he all but disappeared, think sometimes the writers were at a loss as to how to include him in the show.   At least that improved later on.

Apparently this episode is said to have been filmed at Ground Zero.   The title actually alludes to having been uttered by the Chinese who laid tracks for the Transcontinental Railroad.  "There is one dead Chinese for every mile of that railroad."  When Stella speaks with Tina about foxhunting, saying it has been banned in England.   The bill outlawing it  was not passed until 18th October 2004 and did not come into force until February 2005.   Danny forgets he is already wearing a glove in the scene where he and Mac talk Sandhogs and in the next shot, it has disappeared.

Mac's pep talk, a bit like Gil's (William Petersen) one to Nick (George Eads) in Crate 'n' Burial where Gil tells Nick to work harder before they can make an arrest.   CSI season 3 episode, Lucky Strike, also had a killer hide a DB by detonating explosives.

Merlin - 3.2: "The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part Two" Review

Uther suffers more visions, as Camelot prepares for siege. Merlin attempts to stop Morgana and Morgauese from succeeding in their plan to defeat Camelot.

 The Dragon (John Hurt) cannot fight the call of the Dragon Lord and so has to obey.   The Serket's (scorpions) poison that attacked Merlin (Colin Morgan) required the aid of an enchantment to heal him.

Arthur (Bradley James) is angry as he has no clothes for archery practice.  He swears Merlin will be the target when he finds him.  Morgana (Katie McGrath) sneaks into Uther's (Anthony Head) chamber to plant more of the mandrake root, tormenting Uther even further.  The Dragon informs Merlin that the venom was too potent for Merlin's powers to overcome.  It's Merlin's fault that Camelot is in peril and he should have heeded the Dragon when he told Merlin not to trust Morgana.  "Trust is a double-edged sword."

Merlin believed Morgana to be like him as she also possessed magic.  The Dragon says that Merlin and Morgana are similar, but Merlin insists he will never be like her.  His fault to see only the good in everyone will lead to Merlin's "undoing."  Merlin is told by the Dragon that "both their futures are now joined forever.  She is the darkness to your light; the hatred to your love." The Dragon carries Merlin to Camelot.  Merlin is told once more that Arthur's destiny and that of Albion are in his hands.

Merlin reports Morgana being behind Uther's visions to Gaius (Richard Wilson).  Uther once again sees Arthur's mother in his visions, before Merlin throws the mandrake root into the fire.  Gaius informs Uther of the spell he was under.  Merlin wants to tell Uther that Morgana was behind it all, but Gaius warns it's too dangerous since he'd be charged with treason, accusing the King's ward.  Uther will always see the good in Morgana.

Merlin warns of the great plan Morgause (Emilia Fox) and Morgana have concocted, whilst Morgause and the Camelot knights watch Cenred's (Tom Ellis) army.  Arthur berates Merlin for being absent without permission and tells him he wouldn't be too bothered if Merlin was somewhere dying.  Arthur knows that Camelot's future lies with him, but Merlin wouldn't know how that feels.  (Of course he does, since the future of Camelot and that of Arthur also rests on his shoulders!)  Another scene with a shirtless Arthur (!) shouting at Merlin: "I'll have you for breakfast!" Arthur in a moment of anger throws things at Merlin, like a girl!

Morgana finds that the mandrake root has disappeared from under Uther's bed and is surprised by Gaius.  She's lost an earring. Gaius tells her Uther was under a spell and she's glad he will be fine.  Morgana warns Merlin not to tell Uther anything of what transpired in the woods and threatens to make his life difficult for him, as well as threatening to tell Uther Merlin poisoned her.

Camelot will be under siege within two days.  Arthur is adamant Uther wouldn't surrender Camelot to his enemies and neither will he order them to prepare for a siege.  Merlin tells Arthur he will be there to protect Arthur, "God help me" is his reply.  This gives Merlin an opportunity to stock up on Arthur's favourite breakfast food, pickled eggs!  (Oh the stench in Arthur's chamber!)

Gwen (Angel Coulby) wants Arthur to have faith in himself, she trusts him more than Uther and he must do what his heart says; what he believes to be right.  Arthur doesn't wish Gwen to call him "sire." Morgana watches the siege preparations, before slipping away to meet with Morgause.  She tells of Merlin still being alive, but Morgause still needs Morgana's help from within Camelot.  She gives her a branch carved out of the rowan tree, which grows on the Isle of the Blessed (this is another name for Avalon.)  And can be seen only by the High priestesses.  Morgana will be guided by the staff.

Arthur keeps vigil at Uther's bedside and promises not to let him down.  Cenred's army reaches Camelot.  Merlin helps Arthur with his armour, he's not nervous, because Merlin tells him, "I trust in your destiny."  Arthur wonders if Merlin's been at the cider.  Merlin: "It's your fate to be the greatest king Camelot has ever known..." and his victory will be recalled by everyone forever.  Arthur is surprised Merlin is giving him the pep talk and is shocked that at times, Merlin displays signs of wisdom, whilst at other times he's nothing more than an idiot.  Arthur heads into battle, chanting: "For the love of Camelot!"

Uther awakens at the deafening din of battle raging outside and joins in.  Merlin suggests Gaius should watch Morgana in the make-shift hospital.  Arthur drags Uther from battle, even if it is his kingdom.  Merlin magically sets up a line of fire to keep back the soldiers.  Morgana disappears to use the staff.  Arthur promises Uther he will still have Camelot.

Morgana uses the staff and its power is felt by Merlin and Morgause, the staff causes the skeletons in the crypt to rise up and fight the knights from within.  Arthur questions why Merlin keeps disappearing and Merlin can only point to the skeletons with swords.  (In a scene reminiscent to a Harryhausen movie, think Jason and the Argonauts (2000).)  Merlin attempts to stop Morgana.  Arthur is wounded.

Merlin begs Morgana to stop.  She's happy with what she's doing and has magic.  She hates Uther for disliking people like her, those who have magic.  Merlin tells her she can challenge Uther to stop his treatment of people in that way.  She refuses to listen as Merlin doesn't have magic of his own and so can't understand.  If he had her powers, he calls them gifts, then he would use them for good.  She says Merlin doesn't know what it's like to be an outsider, having to hide who he is and how he was born (but he does).  She doesn't deserve to be killed for her magic.  Merlin and Morgana fight, before Merlin uses magic, making rocks fall onto her.  He removes the staff from her grasp, stopping the skeletons in their tracks.

Cenred angrily tells Morgause her traitor has failed her and calls off the attack on Camelot, he can't afford to lose men.  (Why didn't Morgause just kill Cenred for deserting her like that?)  Merlin wants to tell Arthur about Morgana.  Uther thanks everyone for their brave fight, informing them of the traitor in their midst and thanks Morgana for saving them, she destroyed the magic being used. Merlin and Morgana exchange glances.

Merlin ponders why Uther can't see the real Morgana (his question will be answered very soon.)  But he will be ready for her.  He's not afraid of her, but only sad.  Gaius doesn't want Merlin to become bitter like her.

NCIS - 7.7: "Endgame"

Vance's past comes back to haunt him and we get a little more insight into his life and character. he turns to Gibbs for help and we see a little more about their relationship too.

A DB is found in the woods.   Tony (Michael Weatherly) rifles through McGee's (Sean Murray) things and his self-help CDs.   Ziva (Cote de Pablo) calls that wrong and he thinks perhaps McGee's already satisfied.   Tony listens to the man on the self-help CD and he loves his voice, Tony: "...like a poor man's Shatner."  Tony knows exactly who he is and doesn't need any help.   Tony: "I may not be pretty, but I am Di Nozzo, hear me roar!" Well, you're pretty to many, Tony/Michael.   Ziva comments, hear him roar, "like an elephant." Gibbs (Mark Harmon) tells Tony to get out of McGee's desk.   Tony calls him 'Little Timmy' who's out buying coffee.

McGee meets a woman, or rather, she meets him, that meeting appeared contrived.   How long's he been going there and no, not a remote chance of meeting a woman, any woman, let alone one who works there sometimes.   Her name's Amanda (Lindy Booth) we preferred you in Relic Hunter as ditzy Claudia and in Cry Wolf (2005.)  McGee asks her to remove his phone from his pocket, awkward, said phone being in his front pant pocket.   Tony was calling McGee ages ago, but that call took a while coming on screen.   Tony's worried about his pastry and she puts her number on speed dial.

The DB is identified as Dr Cirreaux.  Tony's Danish is in the car, but he got him a blueberry scone instead.   Tony calls him, "Probelicious."  Ziva doesn't find any prints and his instruments were wiped clean, there were some strands on the instruments.  Vance (Rocky Carroll) is at the CS and surprises everyone by being there, including Ducky (David McCallum).   The killer intentionally shot him, so he bled out slowly, as a means of torture.  The DB was turned over and a second bullet entered the base of his skull.   This is familiar to Vance, it's her signature, Lee Wuan Kai (Kelly Hu).   She was in LA.   Yes she was.  

For those who don't get to see NCIS:Los Angeles, or don't watch it (in the UK it's only available on subscription TV.)  This story was started in the season 1 episode, Kill Shot and concluded here.   That said, it was easy enough to follow even if you didn't watch the first part of it, which is a good thing.  Kai was hurt and so must have needed medical attention.   Vance chased her for 20 years and she thinks like them.   Vance: "In some ways, I know Kai better than I know myself." Vance has the feeling he's being watched.  He warns she'll use deadly force and so should they.

McGee identifies Kai as a North Korean assassin.   Tony goes into Tony mode when he sees her photo,  with his talk of liking quiet walks on the beach.   Tony: "Look at those come hither eyes, those perfect kiss-me lips, no wonder Vance is obsessed, Kai's killing me just looking at her." Tony likens her to Ziva, both pretty ladies, both trained assassins.   Ziva says Tony annoys her sometimes.   Tony: "Sometimes?"  Ziva replies most of the time.   Ziva being an assassin and he likened her to the other assassin they were looking for in Leap of Faith which Tony has done before.   Tony believes something happened to Vance and it's not Kosher, just a figure of speech.   He calls McGee, 'McDigit' now and asks if the woman he's interested in is a redhead.   "Look at you pulling a page from Gibbs' playbook."  Liking redheads.   Thought Tony would have stopped saying that, along with not mentioning Gibbs' marriages anymore.

Tony wonders why Ziva's nice to McGee and not to him.   Well does that need answering, ha.   McGee says he mocks him publicly, but Tony always does that.   Dr Cirreaux had a lawsuit filed against him and as Tony says, what doctors lack in social skills they make up for in selling pharmaceuticals.   Was he referring to Jeanne (Scottie Thompson) then, ha, well she was a doctor too and yes her social skills must be lacking in the way she treated Tony in season 5 episode, Internal Affairs but I digress.

 Vance is putting more agents on the case and Gibbs tells him he hasn't given him much time to investigate.   Vance wants this to be over.   Always seemed to me that Gibbs and Vance have a rapport going, some sort of a friendship, that's not always highlighted much in the episodes.   Like in the season 5.14 episode, Internal Affairs, when he said he owed Gibbs money, $2,42  for the cheese danish from 9 years ago.

Seventeen years ago, Vance was part of the UN peacekeeping force in Yugoslavia.   Kai shot a local politician and then she shot his partner.   He shot her in the chest and she shot him in the shoulder, before placing the gun on his neck.   He was waiting for her to pull the trigger, but it never happened.   Gibbs needs something solid.   Tony and McGee check out Linda DeMarco, (Alla Korot) the woman who brought the lawsuit against the doctor.   Tony refers to the 'coffee vixen' and asks about 'text sex'.   He wants to know what  a question mark wedged between 2 dollar signs means, he finds it kind of kinky.   In that case, he should ask Abby (Pauley Perrette) just a thought as she's into kinky.   Tony advises McGee to listen to Madonna, women love that and also about candle wax.  Short of him coming out and not mentioning the Madonna movie, Body of Evidence (1993).   DeMarco shoots at them and Tony asks her if she's Sarah Palin.

Her alibi checks out and Gibbs tells them to let her go.   Tony calls McGee, "Self-helpless."  He says McGee's afraid of her, actually they both are.   McGee should uncuff Florence Nightingale, it's his destiny.   Ducky found a single hair on the DB's ring finger, tied in a bow.   It's DNA the killer wanted them to find.   Abby matches it to Kai.   Vance asks his wife, Jackie ( Paula Newsome) why they don't do movie night.   He's never home.   Kai calls Vance at home, of course she'd be outside his house, it's apparent.   Why didn't Vance text McGee directly to trace the call, instead of texting Gibbs.   We know he's not tech savvy.   Kai can't turn herself in, he almost caught her in LA  (there's that LA reference).   Jackie notices the car outside and begins to walk towards it, now why do that, it's not the first car that would've parked out there.

Ziva will stay with Vance but he refuses protection, until Gibbs convinces him.   Jackie refuses to leave him, she felt safe until now, but now she's Vance's partner.   The car Kai was driving was stolen and McGee recalls reading about Bingham, the pilot of a private plane who is missing.   Tony: "He was Kai-jacked."  Oh Tony that was bad even for you!  McGee is late meeting Amanda and he can't stay.   Amanda's more interested in his office when he suggests they go for a walk instead.   See she was never interested in him, romantically.   He was just more easy to approach as a target, than anyone else.   Tony thinks McGee went home and got it on with "Little Miss Sexy text message."  Like Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes (1968).  "He pulled a total Heston."  Tony's proud of Tim and asks him if he took photos.   Ziva wants to know when she can meet her to ensure she's good enough for McGee.

Agent Chad Dunham (Todd Lowe) meets them in person and tells them of the North Korean minister who was training orphans to kill for their cause.   Which is nothing new.   Tony believes Kai was brainwashed and Ziva should know, she's good.   General Pax Su Gi checked into a hotel and she's here.   Tony's turn to go into the women's loo to question Ziva this time round about Dunham.   He's from Texas and she likes Texans, since when?  He also cleans up nice.   She got that phrase right, though it should have been scrubs up nice.   Ziva's had enough of Nomad field agents and that's what he is.   She's here to make a home.   Tony comes up close to Ziva again like he's going to kiss her.

Abby refers to the LA casefile and finds the bullet is different.   She notices McGee looks happy and asks if there's anything he wants to tell her.   McGee comments news travels fast, yeah that's what you'd expect from Tony!  She mentions Eric from the LA office being helpful with the case, was that a desperate measure from Abby, trying to hide her feelings or that McGee won't tell her anything about Amanda.   The North Koreans contacted them to tell them Kai is here to kill one of their own and her killings aren't sanctioned by them.   Gibbs lets Vance know he's the constant in Kai's life, he knows her.  Pax Su Gi is shot by a sniper.   Ziva wonders who she's killing for.   Well again if she's not here for them, then it's personal for her.   This is something Ziva should have known.

Tony comments she's dangling it in their face. "Look at me, Ma, top of the world."  Quoting James Cagney in White Heat (1949).  McGee thinks he's referring to White Knights (1985) the one with the ballet dancers.   Ziva says there's nothing impressive about killing people.   Tony says McGee's 'McSqueeze' is here.   He didn't tell her where he worked but it took him a while to figure this out.   If as he later says to Amanda he doesn't give out his work details to anyone, why did it take him all night to figure this out.   She practically gave herself away!  Tony tells McGee the copy room door locks from the inside, was that speaking from personal experience, Tony.   Tony doesn't believe in fate.   Vance finds an envelope in the car containing a photo, with 'WHY' written on it.

Abby looks at the toxicology report on Cirreaux and Pax, they both died from poison in their bloodstream.   Gibbs: "Never trust a beautiful woman."  That's definitely personal experience on Gibbs' part since he fell for one in season 2's Doppelganger.   Ducky also fell for one in the season 2.8 episode, Heart Break and they all turned out to be killers.   Thus the same with McGee here.   You see, true love never runs smoothly in this show.   Same can be said about Ziva and Rivkin.   McGee confronts Amanda and she changes her accent to South African.   She's after Kai, who shoots her.   Amanda, real name Juliet Tippin, who was a freelancer working for the North Koreans, afraid Kai may tell them everything she knows.   Kai saved McGee who contemplates joining a monastery.  

Cirreaux and Pax both had a children's disease but they didn't have any children.   From the photo Cirreaux was part of the training programme which recruited Kai.   Vance realizes she's killing the men who turned her into a killer.   Vance chased her, courted her in her eyes but never had a relationship with him, so she's turning to Vance for help.   In her mind he's been her partner.

Kai holds Jackie hostage.   It's too late for her to change and she wants Vance to end it for her.   But Jackie is the one who shoots her.   McGee reads from one of his self-help tapes: "who we are might be predetermined.   The path we follow is always of our own choosing.   We should never allow our fears or the expectations of  others to set the frontiers of our destiny.  Your destiny can't be changed but it can be challenged.   Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one."  Hey he could break this down and market it in fortune cookies!

An episode where McGee thought he found love but fell for an assassin, and one where Kai, an assassin, mistook her feelings for Vance as that of a partner, as she's never known love herself, only betrayal and conditioned to be a killer.   Ziva could have turned out like this and wonder if she would have, had she not been a part of the team; with all the betrayals she suffered and the conditioning of a distant father of her own.   He made her an assassin too and she killed Ari.

Vance's toothpick was missing this episode.   North Korean women are portrayed as assassins in this show, as in the season 3 episode Light Sleeper; with the three wives who married US marines and were assassins themselves.  

Doctor Who - 5.12: "The Pandorica Opens" Review

The Doctor receives a message from River all three travel to find the location of the Pandorica, which isn't a fairytale. Rory emerges as a Roman centurion as various enemies of the Doctor descend...

France 1890: Dr Gachet (Howard Lee) attends Vincent Van Gogh (Tony Curran).   Everyone can hear his screams.   He appears to be lamenting at his latest painting.

Cabinet War Rooms, London 1941: Bracewell (Bill Paterson) looks at a painting found in an attic in France.   Churchill can't understand and he's not meant to since it's a message for the Doctor.  (Matt Smith)

Stormcage Containment Facility 5145: The phone rings for River (Alex Kingston) who says she's entitled to phonecalls.  It's Churchill calling as the Doctor's nowhere to be found.   River kisses the guard with her hallucinogenic lipstick again to effect her escape.

The Royal Collection 5145:  River breaks into the collection to steal the painting and Liz 10 (Sophie Okonedo) tells River she's the Queen, but River needs to find the Doctor.

The Maldovarium 5145: River buys a time manipulator from the blue man, Dorium Maldovar (Simon Fisher-Becker) also seen in season 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War.

Amy (Karen Gillan) looks at the ring at Planet 1.  The Doctor tells her there's a message from the dawn of time at the cliff, it's never been translated but the TARDIS can do it.   The message says, "Hello Sweetie." With co-ordinates below it.   They land to see the Roman invasion, which Amy used to call the "Invasion of the hot Italians." A centurion thinks the Doctor is Caesar as River is Cleopatra.   The painting depicts the TARDIS exploding.   River believes it's a warning.   Date and map reference on the door.   The title of the painting is "The Pandorica Opens."  It was "built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe."   The Doctor still calls it a fairytale as in the season 5 Flesh and Stone episode.   The Doctor wants to remember where the most dangerous thing in all of the universe is buried.   At Stone Henge.

River mentions "Spoilers" when Amy recalls River said the mighty warrior in history will be guarding it.   They have to get underground.   Doctor: "The Underhenge."  A Cyberman's head is nearby.   River says it's "more than just a fairytale."  A Cyberman's hand is below.   Doctor: "There was a goblin or a trickster, a warrior, a nameless terrible thing soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies, the most feared thing in all the cosmos - nothing could stop it; reason with it; one day it would drop out of the sky and tear down your world."  It was tricked by a good wizard and River hates good wizards.   They always "turn out to be him."  Referring to the Doctor.   There were apparent clues in what the Doctor has just said if looked at and it comes down to him, the Doctor himself.   Since what drops out of the sky: the TARDIS and he goes to different worlds and planets attempting to put things right and help.   SO he would be the most feared in all the universe.   (See 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War) kind of in the wrong order to say this here, but that's what River said about the Doctor; that he's feared by everyone.)

Amy's favourite story was Pandora's Box.   Doctor: "Never ignore a coincidence unless you're busy, in which case, always ignore a coincidence." River says the Pandorica is being opened from the inside.   Amy asks how Vincent Van Gogh new about the Pandorica.   The Doctor talks of stories, broadcasting its opening, but why doesn't the Doctor know about it.   Again cos it was built to contain him.   Everyone's coming, there are starships around the planet.   The Daleks can be heard and the Doctor says they've got surprise on their side, but have they really.   River tells him everything that hates him is here, again another clue.   This is the one time the Doctor must run.   He asks where.   Think maybe he should have listened to her this time round, but as he says where would he run to, they'll always find him, so as he says, "this ends here; this ends now."  Well kind of here and now.   The Doctor thinks of  the Romans, the greatest military machine and thinks they can help.  His mistake.

River goes back and zaps away the Roman commander's cupboard.   There is a man and he needs their help tonight, well could have done without the Romans with hindsight.   River has a volunteer in the shadows.   Forcefield energy inside the box will buy them more time.   (The box refers to the Pandorica.)  So the title does make sense, since it was a play on Pandora's Box which contained the worst evils ever and was opened when it shouldn't have been, reversed here to contain the Doctor, who isn't the worst evil ever, but is perceived to be to other races and species.

Amy asks if the Doctor is proposing to someone.   Doctor: "A memory, a friend of mine, somehow lost."  People fall out of the world, but always leave traces...nothing is ever forgotten...and if if something can be remembered it can come back." Just like the Doctor (final episode.)  The Doctor was lying, he took Amy away from her house since it had too many rooms.   Doctor: "Does it bother you Amy your life never really makes sense."

The Cyber arm grabs the Doctor and he gets zapped and Amy is grabbed by the wires of the Cyber head.  Firing a dart into her.   Then the Cyberman body arrives.   The Cyberman is destroyed by a sword.   Amy faints when she sees Rory (Arthur Darvill) as a Roman centurion, he was River's volunteer.   The Doctor isn't surprised at Rory turning up.  "I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious" he says.   He gets it in a minute and pokes Rory.   He died and was erased from time.   The Doctor wonders how he's here.   Rory asks if Amy missed him, but there's no time to answer: the Pandorica opens.

The Doctor needs his TARDIS and makes an announcement: "Whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe."  the Doctor doesn't have anything to lose, he stopped them and they should do the smart thing: "let somebody else try first."  The TARDIS refuses to move.   Rory has to be brave.   Amy doesn't remember him.

The Doctor speaks of cracks and how there'll be an explosion one day.   Rory asks what exploded.  Flashes to the TARDIS and the date 26/6/2010: the base code of the universe.   Rory shouldn't be here.   He was here - a proper Roman soldier, like he woke from a dream.   The men in the camp spoke about a girl with red hair.   Doctor: "Oh shut up - go get her."  Rory's here because he is, impossible things happen - miracles.   He gives Rory the ring.

Location: Earth.  26/6/2010.   A voice in the TARDIS is heard to say "Silence will fall." The TARDIS lands at Amy's house.  River: "Oh Doctor why do I let you out." She finds a book on Roman Britain, Pandora's Box book and  River realizes the Romans aren't real.   They're in picture books.   Roranicus is short for Rory.   Amy cries.

The Doctor says something is using Amy's memories.   River's lipstick worked on the Romans.   He finally realizes this is a perfect disguise.   Rory pleads for Amy to remember him.   River calls it  a trap.   Amy was used to get close to the Doctor.   Something is controlling the TARDIS.   The Doctor mentions the date and River needs to get out.   Amy doesn't know Rory but she's crying cos she remembers him.   River can stop the cracks from forming if she can land the TARDIS.   The Pandorica opens.   The Roman's arms extend out as weapons, as does Rory's, he'll kill Amy, she has to go.   Amy recalls Rory.   The TARDIS doors don't open.

The Doctor says the Nestene Consciousness drives the Roman duplicates.   The Daleks arrive (the Fruit Pastille ones.)  Rory shows Amy the ring.   Dalek: "You have been scanned."  The Sontaran says the Pandorica is ready for the Doctor.   Rory shoots Amy.  The Doctor is dragged to the Pandorica, as River struggles with the TARDIS.   The Doctor realizes they're working together, an alliance.   The Dalek refers to the "cracks in the skin of the universe."  The Sontaran tells him they'll save the universe from the Doctor.   The Doctor tries to tell them they'll destroy the universe.   The Doctor couldn't resist the trap and is responsible for the cracks.   The Doctor exclaims the whole universe never existed.   He's the only one who can stop the TARDIS exploding.   River: "I'm sorry my love..."

What an explosive episode.  Certain hardened fans and seasoned viewers must have relished the Doctor being led away into the Pandorica, somewhere he didn't want to be, signifying the end of the universe.   Normally he has to make such decisions, "choices" to use his word and it almost always ain't pleasant!  Should have realized it was a trap a long time ago - why would Romans talk of Amy, they've never seen her.   The Doctor falling into the trap of the Romans being able to help and an obvious danger sign was Rory saying he felt like he'd woken from a dream.   As well as the Doctor's line of 'whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe'; ironic when you think of what's to come.

The TARDIS in the vortex from the opening and end credits of the show is actually featured in this episode as it heads for Amy's house, from 5.1.   In Flesh and Stone, River and the Doctor thought the Pandorica was a fairytale and they're proven wrong here, but not River, as she must've known otherwise, since this episode and what happens to the Doctor here has taken place for her already.   As in The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone episodes, since she recalls it there.

River uses her hallucinogenic lipstick again to escape her cell this time and uses "hello Sweetie" here as well as in The Time of Angels and when the Doctor met her for the first time in Silence in the Library.  Everytime I mention this episode, it always reminds me of The Silence for some reason.

Liz 10 owned the painting depicting the TARDIS exploding, but no one managed to warn the Doctor, they can't get hold of him; only River does with the time manipulator.

River portrays Cleopatra alluding to the episode The Girl in the Fireplace, where Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) comments the Doctor had to have known Cleopatra intimately (same was said about the Doctor and Elizabeth I) since he referred to her as "Cleo."  What is it with the Doctor and queens.  Love this photo it's as if the Doctor is egging them on to come get him, "top of the world..." He's invincible.

Supernatural - 6.15: "The French Mistake" Review

The most talked about meta episode, played purely for laughs, with lots of in jokes and Jared's wife, as well as the all important angel vs angel war.

Bobby's on a supply run when Balthazar (Sebastian Roche) arrives.   He's seen the Godfather movie.   Balthazar is big on movies isn't he? Just like Dean (Jensen Ackles) in a way.  They wanted Dean to be the meat suit for the wrong angel, me thinks, last season.   He draws a symbol on the window.   Raphael's after him, which is no big thing.   He's after everyone if you think about it, but let's not.   Oh oops, he says that too.   Cas (Misha Collins) is underground and wants to draw Cas out into the open.   Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean go hurtling through the window into an alternate reality, of sorts.

Balthazar manages to give Sam a key before they leave, as Virgil (Carlos Sanz) comes after Balthazar.   Surprise, surprise Sam and Dean end up on a TV show, the filming of Supernatural.   Bobby singer (Brian Doyle Murphy) thinks the window part was good and Kevin (Jason Bryden) wants to freeze frame them.   Sam asks the all important question of who Jared and Jensen are.  Jensen/Dean gets his make-up removed.   Dean: "I'm a painted whore."  Jared/Sam is interviewed as the TV show is mentioned he thinks of the Twilight Zone.   Their lives are a TV show.   Not many watch the show.   Sam tells Dean, "You're a Jensen Ackles and I'm something called a Jared Padalecki."  Dean: "Polish."  Dean's relieved to see his baby made it here.   Yeah all of them!

Dean: "This whole place is bad touching me."  Always come up with such a line for Dean, last time it was having to take rape shower.   Dean prays for Cas and he turns up.   Cas comments on the alternate reality.   A bit like Bizarro Superman Dean says and Cas asks for the key.   It's for the room where Balthazar keeps his weapons stash.   Dean: "Amen Padaleski." Sam: "Lecki." Cas reads from the script.   His name is Misha.   Dean: "Misha, Jensen, what's with the names around here."  Don't forget, Padaleski. Sam and Dean walk away and Cas/Misha Tweets he's just been pranked and he feels like one of them now.

They head to fake Dean's trailer and Sam asks who has a fish tank in a trailer.   Dean: "apparently Jensen Ackles."  Yeah it's easier to feed the fish!  He also has a helicopter.   Dean "Look at these male modelling SOBs - that's a great Blue Steel Sam." Jensen poking fun at his modelling days of long ago, ha.   Then he mentions Blue Steel again as he did in season 2.7 The Usual Suspects episode when he got his mugshot taken, picking up a copy of the official magazine.   Okay product placement, no need to rub it in.   Hey I never got my book in!!  Sam and Dean feature on the TV set.  

Sam reads Jensen's from Texas and was on a soap opera, there's a clip on the Internet.   Again Jensen will always get a mention  wherever he ends up of his time on Days of Our Lives.   The phone's out of soul range.   Sam and Dean on the TV in the background was funny and Sam winks on screen.   Dean thinks if they can get to a window and draw the symbols they can return home.   He says everything's fake.

Bobby Singer, the producer is astonished Jared and Jensen are talking to each other (yeah as if they really don't!)  Dean drives a prop car and their driver, Cliff, drops them off at Jared's house. "We're not even in America."  Cue mansion.   Sam: "I must be the star of this thing." Dean: "What am I Dracula?...George Hamilton Dracula."  Meaning Dracula with a tan, cos George Hamilton always has a tan!  Dean wonders what a camel is doing in the back.   Genevieve (Genevieve Padalecki) calls it an alpaca.   It's Ruby and she and Jared are married.   Looking at the photo of Jared and Genevieve.   Dean: "You married fake Ruby." Jensen's never been there and she's glad they're talking.   Dean comments he did all right.   Sam thinks he should work out her name.   Funny Sam didn't Google himself but he did Jensen.   Yet Sam had no qualms about spending the night with another man's wife and he has his soul back too!!

They order the things they need from the Internet and Jared has a poker table, seeing as he's into poker, Texas Hold Em.   So is Jensen.   Sam asks about disasters and earthquake spike.   Genevieve recalls those from season 5 of the show.   Sam and Dean pick up the package before it clears customs.   Dean wants the set to be cleared but Bobby refuses.   Commenting Dean Cain used to collaborate on Lois and Clark and he was a real actor.   Meaning Jared and Jensen are just fads.   Sam bought part of a dead person.   Dean knows they'll have to do some 'acting' - on the same scene over and over.   What on earth was Sam doing with his arms in that scene?  He looked so darn hilarious.    That's called emoting.   Dean suggests Sam doesn't look at the camera.   Dean's line about the gun in his mouth was rather insensitive.

Bobby calls Sera Gamble.   Sam and Dean crash through the window but are still on the set.   Sam thinks the spell can't work, there was no sign of the apocalypse.   All the creatures are pretend and there aren't any hunters.   The set looked like the one from season 5's Changing Channels in this scene and Virgil manages to get through and has no power here either.   So Sam and Dean fight him and Virgil takes the key from Sam's pocket.   Since season 3 Sam is forever having things stolen from that pocket of his and he never zips it up.   In season 3.3 Bad Day at Black Rock it was Bela stealing the rabbit's paw from him and now the key.

Sera suggests she should fly up there, but Jared and Jensen don't know who she is, they need Eric Kripke instead, but she's meant to be running this.   Eric has sold his other show, Octocobra.   Misha Tweets again when he gets in his car about having the feeling someone is in the back of his car.   So why doesn't have his own driver, cos he's not as big a star as Jared and Jensen ha.   It's Virgil.   Bobby asks if they want more money.   Dean: "You already pay those jokers enough as it is."  How does he know, he's only seen Jared's pad not his payslip.   He then asks who names a character after himself, i.e.  Bobby Singer.   Sam realizes the key's gone.

Dean posits they're not actors but hunters - Winchesters and where they're from no one knows who they are.   He calls Sam his brother.   Dean: "We quit."  Misha gets knifed in an ally by Virgil and what a sad and lonely way to go.   Genevieve breaks the news about Misha.   A tramp in the ally tells them about Raphael and he heard a voice answering.   They need to return to the time and place of the crossing.   Dean pays him with Canadian money (where'd that come from?)   Virgil steals some guns.   He's the weapons keeper of heaven.   They need to get back home, their friends are there.   Sam tells him they're not even brothers here.

Eric arrives and is shot as is Bobby.   Perhaps someone wanted to make a statement about where the show is heading!  Sera perhaps, ha.     Oh wait she's meant to be running it, exactly.   When Dean is fighting, Sam resorts to using the door.   The symbol on the window appears and they get through to see Raphael (Lanette Ware) as a woman.   Dean: "Dude looks like a lady."  Had to get that in.   Balthazar didn't give Sam the real key and he needed time to find the weapons and remove them, so they were distractions.   Cas turns up and he has the weapons now.   He takes Sam and Dean home.   Cas knew of Balthazar's plan and he'd have done the same.   Dean says they're broke.   Sam: "At least we're talking."

So what did you make of this episode?   Supernatural does have its tongue- in-cheek moments and surreal episodes, even, sometimes but this was an interesting meta episode and many fans enjoyed it, but the opinions were divided.   Seeing as many of the jokes about Jensen and Jared had been done before.

"If there's a key, then there has to be a lock," could in some ways sum up this episode.   If there's a Supernatural, there must be a send-up, jokey episode.   There's nothing wrong with acting in one's self parody of oneself.   Not much to say in terms of reviewing this episode - maybe I should have Tweeted like Misha.   No stone was left unturned by the end of this one and Supernatural fans will know the references verbatim.   If anyone was watching for the first time they'd think the show bonkers and never return,   unless they're into self-effacing mockery.   Sam and Dean talking to each other, well that should be Jared and Jensen talking to each other. Who came up with that one?   At least Cas got his weapons and Raphael picked up the body of a chick!  Now if that ain't funny.

The alternative world: so boring - everything was perfect, no evil until Virgil got there and proceeded to massacre the production team.   It just got to signify how tedious an actor's life is (!)  The episode being filmed in the alternate world is entitled Echo for obvious reasons.   Misha actually sent a Tweet to his followers, "Hola, Mishamigos.   J squared got me good.   Really starting to feel like one of the guys." This was also sent by the real Misha.

This title was from Blazing Saddles (1974) where the fight scene in the Western is actually a film set and a choir sings a song entitled, The French Mistake.   Still there was an underlying theme here, crucial to the season arc, so they didn't just have Sam and Dean pottering around a film set willy nilly or for the fun of it.   Though that was an added bonus.   No, it was to scare them into realizing there are worlds; realities out there which really are this frightening and "douche-induced."   Oh and the scenes where the dudes have their heart-to-heart scenes on or in the Impala can never be cut!

Note the cowboy pic over Jared's head/ Sam's head for future reference.   Also the tramp telling them, "The scary man killed the attractive crying man."  A bit of a niggle, there was no supernatural element in this reality and yet Virgil was able to kill Misha and get a message through to Raphael, yet none of their symbols worked when Sam and Dean tried to get back home.

Castle - 2.1: "Deep in Death" Review

Castle is still in Beckett's bad books for going behind her back and has to let him work on the new case cos it's great publicity for the NYPD.

Castle (Nathan Fillion) is on a photoshoot at the police department with some chicks dressed in uniforms. Why the police station? Just cos it's about Niki Heat and Beckett (Stana Katic) has to give an interview to Amy (Elizabeth Ho), 'Cosmo', as she calls her the inspiration behind Castle's new book.   Castle claims to have offered them insight on the profession and solved some of their toughest cases.   Well that's true as seen from my season 1 reviews.   She tells the Captain (Reuben Santiago-Hudson) she wants him gone and calls them 'bachelor party strippers.'  Captain agrees Castle has helped on cases and the mayor wants him here, also it's hard to get good press for the department.

Esposito (Jon Huertas) asks why Beckett doesn't wear a uniform like that.   Er she's not a uniformed cop anymore ha.     Beckett is still angry Castle delved into her mother's death when she asked him not to.   He suggests he should buy her a pony.   Hey Lisbon (Robin Tunney) wanted a pony too when she was little.  This case involves a DB found in a tree.  Castle: "It's raining men."  Lanie (Tamala Jones) complains of being stuck up there and Esposito says she could be wearing a skirt.   She'll smack him when she's down, which she didn't do.   The DB's named John Allen and Beckett and Castle both say it's not suicide at the same time.  Castle surmises he was thrown off the building.  He was strangled and then Castle explains what ligature means to Amy.   Would have thought she'd be up on that as she's conducting an interview, but clearly that's beyond her scope and the interview.

Beckett gets Castle and Amy to ride in the morgue van together, which is hijacked and the DB stolen.   Castle has the opportunity to explain to Lanie what he found before that happens.   Three others were killed like Beckett's mother, a law student she taught, a documents clerk and a lawyer.   The ME also died four years ago.   They wonder who'd want to steal a DB which is obvious, either whoever killed him or someone was looking for something.   Castle comes up with a spy angle.   Castle can't go home, he's a witness.   Ryan (Seamus Dever) loses bet about Beckett not taking Castle back.

John's wife, Sandy (Lauren Holloman) doesn't want questions she just wants to know why he's dead.   Castle asks if he received late night calls, which he did, from Max whom he fired.   Beckett stands away from Castle in the lift.   Alexis (Molly Quinn) tells him Beckett called to let them know he was okay and she left messages for him, one asking if she could go see Fame with Owen.   She's lad he wasn't taken by body snatchers.   Martha (Susan Sullivan) asks if he has a plan B and what Hollywood is coming to with all these movies.

Max (David Bowe) tells them they were both fired and John didn't have a job.   The DB is found again and a bloody glove is found too.   He was operated on.   Castle: "Somebody hated his guts."  He was a drug mule and Castle wonders how he became one.  Lanie finds he was strangled with both hands and one of the marks is faint.   Castle suggests he didn't use his pinky.   Castle also wonders how he got the job as a drug mule.   Beckett suggests they dust inside the glove, oh come on that should have been obvious and why didn't Lanie think of it.   Beckett isn't that good a cop.   Castle ask Lanie if she should put on some music, like they do on CSI.   Actually the music is played over the scene, no one in the lab actually listens to music on full blast.   That music playing reminds Castle of porn, well he had to get that in.

The print from the glove belongs to Luthor and they all want to make a deal.   John didn't show up and so they went looking for him as he had their drugs.   Beckett wants to know who vouched for him.   That was Ron (Robert Gant) and he asks Castle if he writes plays.   He introduced John and he gambled in Chinatown, losing more than he had.   He owed a Russian mobster with a tattoo.  Castle wants to go in after talking with his writer buds, Stephen Cannell and Michael Connolly.   A button cam is placed on Castle's shirt and he goes in wired for sound and images but can't hear them.   Naturally there'd be more than one Russian poker player.   Esposito adds give someone a gadget and he thinks he's Bond.   Ryan wants to know why he's repeating everything they can hear him say.

Castle sits in on a poker game and tells them he's writing a book, giving details about the case and riles one up.   Beckett notices him playing with his pinky which is prosthetic and that's why there weren't any prints from it.   Beckett spent one semester in Kiev and knows Russian.   Beckett puts on her jumper, removing her pants and goes in to save Castle.   Castle notices she's changed.  Well that was easy.   Now we know why she's always wearing heels.

Castle thanks her for saving him and they make a good team.   Like Starsky and Hutch (so who's who, ha) Tango and Cash, Turner and Hooch.   He reminds Beckett of Hooch.   Castle tells her she's afraid of looking for the killer, but she has him this time.  Beckett replies she may not want to know and maybe she's not ready.   Castle goes home and writes again.   Alexis asks why boys are such losers and why do they have to justify things instead of just admitting they're sorry.   Giving him yet another idea of how to get into Beckett's good books.   Castle apologizes to her.   She'll see him tomorrow.   He could have just made it up and he could have just fallen for it.   Not that he would really do something like that, but you never can tell sometimes, especially when there's something in it for him and if he apologizes then he can get to spend more time with her and also eventually get to work on her mother's case.

Good to see the episode pick up from season 1 when Beckett found about about Castle going behind her back.   That she still holds a grudge against him for not leaving her mother's murder to rest.   It was personal for her and he just ignored her wishes.  She thinks he'll be out of her hair now, but the photoshoot and then the mayor wanting the article and publicity for the NYPD all conspire against her to keep him around.   Anyway they had to find some reason for Castle sticking around in the NYPD fold.  

Though did think it a little naive, if that's the right word, for Beckett to continue to work with Castle cos he said sorry; even if that was Alexis's idea.   So he'd be up a creek without a paddle without Alexis around.   Castle mentions Ryan Reynolds being in the movie of the video game, Asteroids, he and Nathan were in Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza.

In 1.20 Red Sauce episode of The Mentalist, Lisbon finds a pony waiting for her on her birthday, courtesy of Patrick (Simon Baker).   Here Castle mentioned getting a pony for Beckett twice.   Patrick also encountered a Russian mobster in 1.13 Paint it Red, though no tattoos around that we know of.

CSI - 12.06: "Freaks and Geeks" Review

This case involves the death of a woman working as a human candleabra in a carnival. Suspects are plenty but it's not always those who are the most obvious that the CSIs need to be the most weary of.

The scene opens with a woman being forcibly tied to a chair and needles being inserted into her arms.  Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and DB (Ted Danson) arrive at a CS where this same woman has been found.  Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) helps Catherine process the Vic, as they remove needles and a skewer from her body.  Morgan notices black wax on the skewer.  Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall) finds scars on the Vic which were formed when needles were repeatedly stuck into her.  There was also lidocaine in her system.  Doc also discovers a knee implant which DB says will give them her name: Rachel Grier (Jenny Parsinen).

Rachel's sister, Jennifer (Suzanne Cryer) is a doctor and Catherine questions her.  Silvia, (Skylar Day) Jennifer's daughter spoke with Rachel a few days ago.  Hodges (Wallace Langham) scrapes away at the tarp in which the body was found, beneath which a painting is discovered after Nick (George Eads) takes over from Hodges.  He converses in Italian and then says something Nick hopes wasn't anything bad.  The painted woman looks similar to Rachel and has flames in the same position the needles were stuck in her arms.  Hodges describes her as a human candleabra which Morgan searches on the Net; coming up with Major Willie's Rambling Carnival and Curious Abravaganza.  Rachel was the 'Magnificanet Femmistophles.'

Willie (Kevin McNally) isn't surprised she's dead.  Rachel was killed wirth propofol so she suffocated.  DB speaks French again.  Nick and DB process her tent, finding traces of blood and semen in her bed.  The blood reveals she was pregnant.  Catherine checks out Elephant Man, Joshua Helm. (Paul Hodge)  The semen in the blood belongs to him.  He suffers from Proteus Syndrome and he and Rachel were going to leave the carnival, but Rachel lost the baby and he didn't want another.

Willie is brought in for questioning and he proceeds to swallow a paperclip after inserting it into his arm.  Willie refers to himself as a geek - he honed his talents, as did Rachel.  Freaks are those who have natural abilities. DB gives him a paperclip for the road.  Willie is later found hanging and Silvia is caught escaping from his tent.  She discovered his DB and ran.  Doc gives Greg (Eric Szmanda) and Nick the contents of Willie's stomach to analyze since he practically swallowed anything and everything.  His stomach was punctured from the inside.  A nipple is found with the ring still attached, which has the Zodiac sign, Gemini and leads to the strongman, Sergio.  You know what they say about the quiet ones. In this case, strong and silent was guilty.

Greg takes photos of all the men and their nipples and Sergio wears a bandage.  His nipple is missing.  His name is Seth (Tug Coker) and he's Joshua's brother.  He helped Willie cover up Rachel's death and he thought he'd killed her, so a scuffle ensued and Willie bit his nipple.  Seth then pushed Willie whilst he was swallowing a sword.  Seth coughs up a bottle of propofol and this leads to Jennifer as the killer.  Of course it had to be someone with access to the medication since it wasn't found at the carnival.  Also in the beginning she didn't show any emotion when Catherine informed her of Rachel's death.  Even if they were estranged they were still family, which should have garnered some reaction.

Jennifer wanted to keep Silvia away from the freaks and was protecting her "from the monsters of this world," at which point I commented just like Jennifer was a monster and then Catherine called her a monster too.  DB thinks Willie was guilty cos his own parents were with a travelling show and made their escape one night.  Catherine thinks it's Joshua cos Rachel left him and he couldn't walk away from the only refuge in his life. Seth being the one who took this away from him and the others when he killed Willie.  All three: DB, Catherine and Seth made the wrong asumptions here as to who was the true culprit.  Dangerous assumptions for DB and Catherine to make in their line of work, particularly since the evidence wasn't even in.

DB met his wife at college and she was his "first and only love" whereas Catherine regrets her 'fling' when she was 16 at the 'Missile Base' where Rachel was dumped.  Not something she's told anyone else.  Sara (Jorga Fox) was missing this episode and Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) only got one scene.

CSI: NY season 1 episode Blood, Sweat and Tears featured a circus, where the contortionist died and this time it really was love since he had made a suicide pact witht the girl he loved, akin to Romeo and Juliet and she didn't go through with  it.  He suffered from Ehlers Danlose Syndrome for which there is no cure.  Also CSI: NY  1.11 Triborough had paint chips to be analyzed.  CSI: Miami  season 8 episode, Dude Where's My Groom? had a painting revealed within a painting.

CSI  usually comes up with these human interest episodes which will appeal to most.  6.11 of the show, Werewolves, dealt with Hypertrichosis Syndrome where Catherine was once again involved in investigating.

Lie To Me - 1.8: "Depraved Heart" Review

Cal stumbles upon a case which brings up his past and in a roundabout way, Eli also works on a case which brings out his feelings of outrage and disgust at the wealthy being able to avoid justice.

A girl jumps from a bridge in the night.   Next day, Cal (Tim Roth) talks with Emily ( Hayley McFarland) in the car and happens to pass the same bridge, getting stuck in traffic.   Of course being Cal, he has to be curious and talks with a policeman, who from his gestures and evasion concludes there was a suicide.   He notices Gail (Megan Dodds) from the US Attorney's office who used to work with his ex wife.   She tells him the girl also had a sister who committed suicide a few days earlier.   He's not deterred and can't stop himself from getting involved.   Emily asking him that he used to study suicides.   He still does.   Cal talks with Arun (Sunkrish Bala) the sisters' brother and mother.   Cal still recalls some Hindi and their mother, who is beside herself asks why they did this?

Arun says his sisters stayed on in the US and used to send money home - leading Cal to stow away in his office and watch an old film on a projector about a woman who is in therapy.  Well it could only be Cal's mother - as she mentions wanting to go home to her children.   Also this episode follows from the last one where he briefly talked about his mother, more so that his best friend, Jeffrey, was there for him when she died.   (Similar to the season 1 episode Unchained and Ria's (Monica Raymund) own experiences with her abusive father, making her a natural at reading people.)  Here in much the same way, Cal's mother's suicide framed who he is and what he does, causing him to study "micro-expressions" (tell-tale signs of trouble.)  Naturally, Ria opens his office door and catches a glimpse of the footage.   Being a natural, she knows Cal is affected in some way by this.

Cal needs to find out why they killed themselves.   From photos, both the girls displayed shame.   The girls were here on a travel visa and stayed, so he and Ria pay a visit to immigration officer, Mike Personick (Kirk BW Woller) who states he can't help.   (Note his job and that's why he could have been the only one involved in this.)  Cal finds out his wife's name is Beth and threatens to tell her he's been cheating as clearly Mike is lying.   He finally relents telling them the sisters were working at an Indian strip club.   He visited the club when he was meant to be working.   That he lied once, makes him a more viable suspect.

The club owner, Patel (Anjul Nigam) was filming the girls there, as Cal finds a secret camera wired to an Internet feed.   This was seen in India and by Arun.   They shamed their father but he resolved to unite the family.   Another Indian girl is reported to have committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.   Cal needs Gillian (Kelli Williams) but she's not around and he is dismayed over this.   She being the only one he can talk to and vice versa.    You can hear the desperation in his voice and it's clear the two share more than just a working relationship and know more about each other's personal lives than they let on.   Cal notices marks on the girl's face and marks these on her photo.

Gillian is working with Eli (Brendan Hines) on locating the money hidden away by Joseph Hollin, (Daniel Benzali) stolen from investors.   Brought onto the case by the SEC, he refuses to speak and is terminally ill.   His daughter, Carolyn (Mandy Jane Turpin) wants them to leave.   Eli is very hostile towards her and hates the way they are able to get away with their crime.   Gillian has to reprimand Eli over his attitude and doesn't allow him to her a second time.   Gillian realizes she is the one who stole the money and she wants it returned to the investors.   Eli wants her brought to book.   Hollin agrees to give up the money if he can take the fall for his daughter.   Gillian agrees as the investors will receive their money but Eli is disgusted.   The SEC calls Gillian to tell her they no longer require her services and they have arrested Carolyn.  

Gillian is furious and is adamant Eli turned her in as he was the only one privy to this info.   Gillian has no choice but to believe him when he denies it was him, or does she?  Eli admits the truth to Ria and she doesn't want to know, she's the only one he trusts (just as Cal trusts Gillian.)  She asks how he pulled off lying and he tells her he used a sedative.   Ria should've known this since Cal did the same for the army woman in 1.2 Moral Waiver, when she passed her polygraph, so should Gillian.   Eli tells Ria about Louise Mason, the woman on the footage.   She killed herself after she was released and this led to Cal discovering 'micro expressions'.   When he slowed down the tape, he could see the agony on her face.   Gillian catches up with Cal, but it's too late now, he doesn't need her anymore.

Emily brings Cal dinner and recalls a girl in one of her classes who killed herself.   Cal says she shouldn't think about these things - but about celibacy.   Ria confronts Gillian about Louise - but just as Cal is abrupt with Ria when she brings up his lying over Alex cheating on Gillian, she acts in the same way. "Just because you see everything, doesn't men you understand it."  Could that be a subtle reference to her own personal life.   Cal shows Ria the tape and she notices the pain in Louise.   Then apologizes.   He replies she shouldn't be sorry  for what she sees.   Ugh, something completely different to Gillian.   Ria would have picked up on this despair in Louise, even back then.   This also affects him, cos if this was known back then and if Ria was around then she'd have been able to save Louise, or any natural like Ria.

The marks from the girl's face were a result of pregnancy and she gave birth to a baby.   All three were working as surrogates.   On a raid several pregnant women are discovered and one of them, Kiran (Kosha Patel) IDs Mike.   He was meant to pay them but he kept the money for room and food.   If he knew she was going to kill herself and did nothing then he can be charged with 'depraved heart.'  Cal knows he's lying but that won't stand up in court.   A call was made from her phone and so Cal brings in a man claiming to be her father.  Speaking in Hindu throughout, he demands to know if he's the bastard who killed his daughter.   He knows she called him asking for help and Mike did nothing.   Knew that wasn't really her father (a ploy used in many shows including NCIS season 2.7 Call of Silence when Gibbs (Mark Harmon) got the man from his Japanese restaurant to play a Japanese soldier at Iowa Jima.)  Mike confesses she did call him and is charged.

Cal shows Emily the tape and she recognizes her grandmother (that was obvious).   He begins to tell the details - which we don't get, but it's something Cal realizes he finally needs to do.   Many similarities between Cal and Eli here, in that both of them strive for justice.   Cal appears to do it for the right reasons though.   Eli seems to be geared more to putting Carolyn behind bars to the detriment of those investors who lost out.   Yet Eli too seems to have a much deeper reason for his contempt towards her, more personal; but we don't know that cos we can't have two reveals in the same episode.

Think this was the best episode so far this season with plenty of character development, getting to see what motivates Cal and how/why he came to do this sort of work.   Also why he is envious of Ria and her natural abilities.   Eli appears to have some sort of a personal reason for this too.   Gillian doesn't seem to know he lied - but perhaps Ria would have noticed as she did in episode 1.6 Do No Harm when he lied about his feelings for Farida.  Ooh irony, with some hypocrisy, Eli can lie and yet he's there to investigate and root out others lies.   This episode also answered Ria's question of what motivates Cal to do this work, or rather who.   But she doesn't know that's his mother.

Gillian: "Okay."
Eli: "Okay you believe me or okay I'm not showing any signs of lying?"  He had to be sure of this and yet he almost gives himself away when he says he's not showing any sings of lying.
Gillian: "The worst lies we tell out of love but I'd want my family to learn from their mistake."  Something Ria said about Eli when he lied in that episode.   Was this an allusion to Alex on her part?

The Vampire Diaries - 3.9: "Homecoming" Review

As the Homecoming dance draws near, Rebekah is eager to attend. Stefan lures Klaus back on the pretext of Mikael's death and everyone's set plans go awry.

Stefan (Paul Wesley) calls Klaus (Joseph Morgan) to inform him Mikael's (Sebastian Roche) dead, well he's been "daggered." One hour earlier:  They need to get their stories straight so Klaus will believe Stefan.   Mikael followed Elena (Nina Dobrev) into the house and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) vervained him.   Elena says Klaus will want proof.   Mikael adds Klaus will be dead by then, he'll be lured here and killed.   Mikael has the stake from the oak tree, a vampire can't dagger an original without dying, so it's up to Elena to kill Mikael.   Klaus wants to see Mikael's DB, just as Mikael said he would.

Klaus tells Stefan he can't lie cos of his compulsion and Stefan tells him he saw Mikael die with his own eyes.   Rebekah (Claire Holt) is also there and tells Klaus she saw it too.   Klaus's coming home for homecoming!  Damon thinks that was easy.   Elena pulls the dagger out of Mikael.   Rebekah tells Mikael nothing he says matters to her.   Mikael isn't after her.   Klaus killed their mother and she tells him they weren't killers and he turned them, he destroyed their family, not Klaus.

Caroline (Candice Accola) wants Elena and Bonnie (Kat Graham) at their homecoming and Bonnie thinks that's fine for her cos she has a date.   Elena wants Bonnie to talk about Jeremy, but Bonnie adds Elena shouldn't be angry at Jeremy.   Damon gets ready the wolfsbane grenades and has a secret plan. "Well if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret."  Stefan needs a tie for the dance , he has to protect her or Elena will probably get herself killed by the homecoming queen.   Stefan is cynical about their plan cos his freedom rests on them, adding their plans fail cos their humanity gets in the way.

Tyler (Michael Trevino) wants a "real bite" and there's plenty of people about to feed on.   Caroline doesn't want him hanging with Rebekah.   Matt (Zach Roerig) is Rebekah's date and he's drinking vervain so she can't feed on him.   Tyler still harping on about Rebekah being hot.   Rebekah tells Elena this is her first dance since they were always running.   Rebekah warns Mikael can't be trusted, "no one in my family can." Well she just gives herself away there, she can't be trusted to stand by and watch Klaus being killed either.   She's spent her whole life loving and hating Klaus and didn't think she'd be the one to help kill him.   Oh yeah, probably she'd do a backflip like Elijah to save him cos he'd talk her into it.   Elena gives Rebekah her mother's necklace to wear and then stabs her in the back, literally and metaphorically.   Lots of that going around this episode.

Damon refers to that as "very Katherine of you." Elena cares too much and Damon says she's not really dead.   Damon doesn't trust Mikael or Stefan, so with so many trust issues it's a wonder their plan will work, or will it, judging on past experience.   He doesn't want Elena to be a part of any of it and of she trusts Damon then she has nothing to worry about.   Tyler brings the party to his place after the school gym is flooded, no surprises for guessing who was behind that.   Tyler is doing what Klaus wants: throwing a wake.   He's been planning Mikael's funeral for a thousand years and wants to reunite his family now.   Stefan doesn't know where Rebekah is .   Stefan wants his freedom but he'll only get that when Mikael is dead and the weapon is destroyed.

Damon asks why Mikael feeds on vampires.   Reply: bloodlust wasn't Mikael's intention, he feeds on the predators not the innocent, oh so that's why he slaughtered innocents from his village.   Damon has a plan which doesn't involve Stefan and Mikael bites him.   Damon: "You couldn't just break his neck." Klaus has invited his own friends to the party, a bloodline of werewolves intent on  serving their master.   Tyler warns Caroline that Klaus knows what they're up to.   Caroline denies nothing and even if she did, she wouldn't tell him.   Tyler injects her.

Klaus thanks Elena for killing Mikael but this isn't the first time she killed an original, there was Elijah.   Klaus says she's always one step ahead of them and just a minute ago, Tyler said he's always two steps ahead.   Damon arrives and Tyler used vervain on Caroline.   Tyler can't fight his compulsion, he has to protect Klaus.   Damon and Tyler fight and Bonnie stops them.   Bonnie wasn't supposed to 'witchy' him.   Damon was the only one who could get in the house with the stake.

Mikael tells Klaus the hybrids can't kill him.   Klaus hasn't changed, he' still a coward hiding behind his 'playthings.'  He can still compel them.   Mikael threatens to kill Elena, there'll be no more hybrids if she dies.   Klaus has no one other than those he forced into loyalty.   Mikael stabs Elena yet again, only surprise, surprise, or not, it's actually Katherine.   Damon attacks Klaus and Stefan stops Damon, thus allowing Klaus to kill Mikael with the stake and he burns.   Klaus gives Stefan his freedom.

Caroline wouldn't have left the party if she knew her friends were there for Klaus.   Tyler says he can't be fixed but he's fine with that  and he won't turn unless he wants to.   The full moon controlled him, yes, but now Klaus controls him, so which is the worst of two evils?   Caroline won't turn her back on him now, no, she might get stabbed in the back if she does.   Damon was prepared for all of it and Katherine's run away.   They had Klaus and it would have been over, they're not getting Stefan back now.   Elena suggests they'll just have to let him go then.   Katherine calls Damon to say goodbye.   She is really willing to give up on Stefan so easily now, well putting aside she's got Damon now.

Stefan tells Katherine that Damon doesn't need to know where it went wrong.   Katherine was at the house when Stefan woke up and gave him blood.   Klaus told Katherine that if he dies then Damon dies too.   Katherine was hoping Stefan would stop Damon.   Katherine tells Stefan to "care enough to save Damon's life." So Stefan foiled their plan to save Damon's life, yet again.   Katherine wanted to save Stefan and Damon's life and more talk about each other's humanity.   She wanted Stefan to get his humanity back cos she liked the old Stefan better.   She loves Damon and Stefan.   Sometimes she lets her humanity come back, but Stefan doesn't want to.   Katherine wants Stefan to get  angry.   Stefan calls Klaus to thank him for his freedom, Klaus took everything from Stefan and he tells Klaus "revenge never gets old."  Klaus will never see his family again.   Stefan: Klaus was always ahead of everyone for a thousand tears, "Was he prepared for this?"

Another episode with lots of twists which weren't that difficult to follow, after three seasons, that's come to be expected and we'd want nothing else from this show.   Though Katherine turns up out of nowhere to play Elena again, but no mention of where she's been hiding, especially since Klaus hadn't even returned to town yet and neither had Mikael.   The only thing on Caroline's mind was Tyler being able to throw a better party than her planned homecoming - oh and before I forget, Rebekah not being able to attend her first homecoming was funny, no it was.

 Don't have any sympathy for Rebekah.   Kind of poetic justice for her with everything she and Klaus have done over the centuries, she doesn't really deserve to go.  If push comes to shove; or backstabbing; don't think she'd have gone through Klaus being killed and especially not by Mikael.   He may be their father, but he's her brother and they've been there for each other through it all.   Besides it was obvious when she told Mikael she blames him for what they are: killers and vampires.   Although she doesn't hold the same feelings for dear mama, whose necklace she was willing to wear.   Mother bears some responsibility for them being who they are as well and for Klaus being part werewolf.

So where was I - ah the party.   Tyler only made it a better do than Caroline cos of Klaus and Tyler's under his compulsion so Caroline really didn't have anything to worry about, aside from not being kept in the loop about what her friends had planned.   Tyler was grateful for being sired by Klaus as he no longer has to change during a full moon, into a werewolf that is, and it's his choice whether he turns or not.   Caroline referring to Rebekah as an "evil blood slut" was also hilarious.

It seemed like an interesting and foolproof plan; Get Mikael to kill Klaus, get Stefan back, but nothing's that simple on this show, as Damon said, that was too easy when they lured Klaus back.   Being left to Stefan to spell it out again: their plans never work and this was no exception.   Pity no one can get that into their heads.   Yet Stefan went along since he wanted his freedom from Klaus and as he told Damon last time - it was so he can leave Mystic Falls.   Funny it was Katherine who talked about Stefan's humanity at the end; and her own, how she uses it sometimes.   But more so ironically, it was Katherine who instilled the thought of revenge into Stefan.   Probably having an ulterior motive in Stefan being the one to torment Klaus and exacting revenge on him for her.   Well she was after Klaus to be killed for five hundred years, she wasn't just going to let him get away.

Also mentioned again that it was Elena who killed Elijah, an original vampire, as she had to kill Mikael this episode in order for him to appear dead to Klaus.   A bit far fetched since he was brought back anyway, only for Klaus to kill him too, just as he killed their mother.  Mikael wasn't much of a vampire hunter when it came down to his own family.   He also didn't want Rebekah dead after all she's done with Klaus, why let her off, as I said last episode, he wasn't too overly concerned about her.   Think the writers were saving Katherine as a bit of a secret weapon and a surprise for us that only Damon knew about.   Thus his line about having a secret plan and not telling Elena.

Yet no one really trusted anyone  (aside from Damon and Elena to a point) since there was room for plenty of betrayal on everyone's part, especially Mikael, Stefan and Rebekah.   Mikael stabbing Elena to lure Klaus out , wouldn't it have better served its purpose if Mikael had been invited in beforehand.   Let's face it Katherine had to have been an Elena substitute as we couldn't have her being killed again, that'd be too same old, same old.   So Klaus was telling Katherine that Damon wouldn't survive, causing her to come up with her own plan.   Oddly enough Katherine's plan succeeded.   So Stefan's "humanity" led him to saving Damon once more.   But Damon is oblivious to this (at least for now) and Damon believes Stefan betrayed him to let Klaus live.   But he should have known from last episode Stefan would do anything to save Damon.

For a painful second it looked like Elena and Damon would kiss, luckily they didn't but they did manage to get closer still, as Elena says if Stefan's gone they'll have to let him go.   It's Stefan's turn now to hold Klaus to ransom.   Mikael even brought Klaus to tears.  Elena: "It had to be done.   Rebekah was never going to be completely on our side."
Damon: "Hey I'm not judging you.   It's very Katherine of you."
Elena: "Not the way to make me feel better about myself Damon."
Damon: "It was a compliment, sort of."  Now if we'd have been thinking down this route (or were psychic) with Damon talking about Katherine, then we'd have realized she would be involved.   No vampire fix over Christmas, at the time of writing, but the show will return later and a lot later than January for some of us.