Smallville - 10.21: "Finale" Review

Time to say farewell to a show that has kept us entertained for a decade. Will Lois and Clark marry, can Oliver be saved? Or will Darkseid rule, we know of course, one man will sore the skies and save the day...

Chloe (Allison Mack) reads a comic to her son about the Blur and the boy who will become Superman.

Seven years earlier:  A fiery plant approaches Earth.   Clark (Tom Welling) tells Lois (Erica Durance) that some people take time off for their wedding.   Lois reminds him there won't be a wedding.   He didn't want to crowd her since she usually figures things out for herself when she 's left alone.   She wants to ring and cancel and he whooshes the guest list and her phone from her.   Lois is adamant he needs to save the day but Clark just doesn't see it, "You're a hero, that's how it should be."  There are some things he can't fix.   Every minute he spends arguing with her, he could be saving someone, she said that already last episode.  Lois is his future and that's what he wants.    She'll get in his way but he tells her, she's not in his way, "You're by my side."  He gives her an ultimatum that if she wants to cancel the wedding, then she'll have to leave him standing at the alter.

Chloe and Oliver (Justin Hartley) prepare the church.   He's relieved their wedding was hassle free.   Chloe would have liked to have recalled something and asks if he would still have married her if they hadn't been influenced by Zatanna.   Of course he would have, what sort of a question is that.   Oliver shows her the rings, simple and traditional.   That was for later as you'll see.  He likens Lois to Cinderella.

Granny Goodness (Christine Willes) visits Tess (Cassidy Freeman) in an attempt to recruit her to the darkness.   Tess is fixing the mansion to turn it into a symbol for good.   She tells her Tess was special which she also said earlier in the season.   Tess was different, "you were born to darkness."  Yes she was in a way seeing as she's the daughter of one of the darkest families around in the Luthor's dark legacy.   As Clark once said his children turned out the way they did cos of Lionel (John Glover).  Granny wants to save Tess from Darkseid's Apokolips, "evil in its purest form."  Tess refuses again and Granny tells her that the "hell's upon us."

Jonathan's (John Schneider) reflection is seen in the photo frame.   Martha (Annette O'Toole) is angry at Clark since she thought she was coming back to a home that both Clark and Lois were building.   He says they're doing that in Metropolis.   She didn't want the farm sold.   She hasn't let go of her past and she wasn't left behind since Jonathan is always with her and with Clark.   If only he would let himself see him.   Clark did see him last year, but he thought it was an excuse for him not to face his own future.  Clark had to move on.   He's forgotten his past and what made him who he is.   Martha tells him,  "You don't have to let go of the past to move on."   Looks like Martha can see Jonathan, or perhaps he was just around for us to see she could sense him.

Chloe comes to see if Lois has changed her mind yet about the wedding and gives her Clark's vows to read.   Clark can't listen  all the time, she tells Lois, he's a man, not a god and sometimes he needs rest and to love.   When he decides to "take to the skies" more subtle hints here about flying; he'll need Lois to ground him." That's exactly what Lois is afraid of, of grounding him and not allowing him to "sore through the skies."  Lois reads the vows and calls herself an idiot.

Tess attempts to access the satellite Chloe 2 from Watchtower, but it's been disconnected by Oliver, as Tess spots him on the surveillance.   All Queen Industries satellites are also off-line.   Tess sees the planet on another satellite, courtesy of 'everyone's favourite Martian.   Granny Goodness, along with Gordon (Michael Daingerfield) and Desaad (Steve Byers) has one more mission for Oliver, after he's done what they asked of him - to disarm Clark with a ring made from gold Kryptonite.

Clark speaks with Jonathan at his grave, saying he didn't want to say goodbye.   Jonathan appears and tells him he shouldn't then, but Clark can't see him.  Clark knows who he'll become but he can't lean on both of his fathers.   Jonathan believes that's just a cop out on Clark's part, since it's easier to stand alone, but it isn't better.   Clark's missed him and Jonathan places his hand on Clark's.   Clark needs him to let his father be there for him, they're a part of Clark.   Clark believes "to be the hero the world needs me to be" he has to go beyond Jonathan's and Jor-El's (Terence Stamp) guidance.   Oliver finds him there, wonder how, and tells him his graduation was the most important day of his life and he can recall his parents not being there.   Clark isn't here to mourn Jonathan and he thinks Lois may be right.   Oliver refers to him as Skywalker, as in Anakin, but Anakin became Darth Vader, surely Oliver meant to refer to him as Luke, on the side of good.    Clark wonders if Lois is part of his memories that he's meant to leave behind.  "What if heroes aren't meant to love?"

Clark helped Oliver out but Clark doesn't belong to either world, he needs to make his own path.   Even if this means letting go of Lois.   Just as Lois is about to change her mind, it's Clarkie's turn to have self doubts now and doubts about Lois too.   But he's been having doubts and been at odds with his destiny for a while now, so that shouldn't be anything new to him.   Time and again he should know he's not alone and doesn't have to do this by himself, since everyone has always been there for him, so how exactly would he be alone now.   Now that the world really needs him.

Clark goes to tell Lois she's right but she's changed her mind and written her own vows.   He tells her she can see things he can't.   Lois wonders why he'd want to be with someone as imperfect as her, he's made her a better person, just like being with her makes him a better man and a 'super hero.'  He has made Lois a better person, as you'll recall she used to be rather bratty and arrogant at times.   She recalls her mother said, "The ones you love are always with you."  The same thing Jonathan said.   Tess is taken by gunmen, probably sent by Lionel Luthor and leaves a message for the others on her phone about the planet.

Lois at the church, for a second, thinks Clark won't show, but he turns up and walks her down the aisle.   Jonathan takes his place by Martha's side.   They say their vows to each other and Chloe notices the ring isn't the same as the one Oliver showed her and she knocks it out of Lois' hand.  Oliver's eyes grow dark and Clark tells him he'll never join the darkness and he tries to talk Oliver out of it, he needs to fight it.   The water font breaks and Oliver sees the ring, how did it get that far down the aisle, in the wrong direction anyway.   They need to save the world together and Clark believes in Oliver.   The omega symbol disappears from his forehead.   Oliver: "Looks like the world's gonna need its heroes sooner" than he thought.

They listen to Tess's message informing them Darkseid is behind the eclipse.   Chloe heads to Starcity to access her database but Oliver needs to stay here, not that he did much and neither did she.   She hugs Clark before leaving, commenting "See you in the funny pages." Seeing as that's how we started the episode.   Oliver needs to be a hero she tells him, what he does best.  

The planet Apokolips can be seen from the sky now and Clark finally sees Jonathan, who knew he'd see him when he was ready.   Clark made a mistake, "Thought I had to leave you behind." But his mother and everyone he cares about makes this planet worth saving.   That's not the only reason though, since this is his destiny and why Jor-El sent him here to begin with.  Clark faced Darkseid before and he knows Clark's weakness and he needs Jonathan's help.    Jonathan tells him Darkseid "never saw the son standing before me now."  They prepared him for any challenges but their guidance isn't enough, he must let Jor-El guide him.   But Clark turned his back on him.   Jor-El is his father and will understand in the same way Jonathan understands Clark turning his back on him also.   Martha tells him not to doubt himself.   Before Clark came, they wanted a child, and when he found them in the field he was a miracle.  "Now the world needs that same miracle."  Jonathan: "Son it's time."

This is where the episode ended in the UK, it was like having an ad break that lasted a week.   At least we got to see their wedding as it should have been, well at least a glimpse of the wedding they never had, seven years into the future.

See Tess could only have been taken by Lionel and he underestimated her, she was a Luthor after all, didn't he think she'd fight.  He tells her Clark doesn't need anyone and she's wrong.   Lionel is the only one who believes in Clark.   Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) cloned himself, something we and Tess already knew.   To Lionel, Lex is a visionary and she isn't.   Lex couldn't duplicate a heart for himself but he will use hers.   Lionel appeared to be a bit pervy here, hands all over Tess.   Cue Lex...

Clark finds Tess's phone in her abandoned car.   Lionel wanted Connor's heart but she hid him so well, that wouldn't have stopped him before.   Lex is everything to him.   Tess fights to escape and finally shoots Lionel, like Lex threw the other Lionel out the window.   So Lionel didn't give in to Darkseid back then in Scion, but he does now, purely out of necessity.   Lex is more important to him so he sells his soul to save Lex and give him his own heart.

Lois comments on  the markings being like a planet.   Clark thinks he can find Tess by using the license plate number on the car, which leads back to a genetic research company.   Lionel's GPS tracker went down, but he can be traced back 15 minutes to the Luthor mansion, where else.   Lois reminds him of Clark's vows and how they were 'forever'.   Whilst he goes off to rescue Tess, she gets the ID from the Airforce One reporter, Janet (Laura Mennell) since she won't tell the president not to nuke the planet, cos the Blur will save the day.   She enjoys knocking her out.

Clark comes face to face with Lex incarnate; who tells him Lionel had a "change of heart." He kind of gives Clark a lecture on how men and women are defined by their enemies and he can't forget his memories.   Lex: "You were born to be the chosen one."

Clark: "That always killed you."  No, what killed Lex was that Clark didn't want his destiny.  Clark: "My destiny wasn't yours to take."  Lex embraced his own destiny and will be great.   They too "have a destiny together." Then calls him Kal-El.    A villain is only as great as his hero.   Lex read the Veritas journal foretelling of a chosen saviour.   Clark is the "light" inspiring the world out of darkness."  Clark Kent can't save the world, but Kal-El can.    Clark is sorry he couldn't save Lex.   Was that  a pep talk from Lex telling Clark to save the world and his destiny awaits him, if it was then he had his own ulterior motive for telling him that, seeing as he just said he needs his hero in order to become a great villain.

Oliver gets his armoury from Watchtower to go be a hero like Chloe told him to and confronts Granny, Desaad and Gordon.  Oliver's mark is gone and Oliver comments the Blur's "faster than a speeding bullet." Oliver's friend saved him, he's not here to vanquish Darkseid, but them.   Oliver: "I've got friends in high places."  Those Superman references were coming thick and fast now.   He takes all three of them out with his arrows.

Lois on Airforce One, tries to convince the Committee to give the heroes a chance.   The people showed their confidence in them and now the heroes should be allowed to show their worth.   Lois: "this is exactly the time for my hero." Clark in retrieving the crystal from the barn is stopped by Lionel possessed by Darkseid and Clark vows to fight him to the last breath.   There's always hope and nothing more stronger than love he tells Darkseid.   But Clark is the light, he cast the darkness from Oliver and has to be stopped.   He must surrender to him and lose his soul.   Clark is forced back and in that moment he recalls Jonathan: "let Jor-El guide him."  Jor-El: "...always had the power within you my son."  Then we watch a clipshow through Clark's eye from the past ten years.   Clark realizes they were his trials and this is his final trial.   Jor-El: "You are ready, seize your destiny!"  Clark floats and obliterates Darkseid with one feel swoop, final swoop?

Tess visits Lex, and he always knew she was his sister.   Tess wanted something she'll never have and Lex thinks it's Clark.   Why does everyone think women are just after Clarkie.   Tess tells him it's redemption, knew he'd kill her off.   This time he stabs her, not in the back though, which is his usual MO.   Never trust a Luthor.   He's saving her from becoming Lex, but he's too late since Clark already saved her as she infects him with neurotoxin.   He'll lose his memories, which had to be done since Lex can't know who Clark really is.   Just like Lionel couldn't either.   Also Tess had to die so Lex would be the only surviving Luthor.   Lex has flashes to his life - his last memories.   Luthorcorp sign becomes LC Corp.

Jor-El tells Clark his journey is over.   Clark realizes his strength is accepting Jor-El and his Kryptonian side.   Jor-El finally tells him he's proud of his son, of his soul.   Only he possess the "courage, determination and passion to lift the darkness from the earth."  Lift being the operative word.   Out comes the costume.   He must recall his abilities in his blood, but his time in Smallville and the people he knew made him a hero.   Jonathan hands him the suit and urges him to, "always hold onto Smallville."  He gives him the clothes and vanishes.   Clark gets poised to fly as he digs his heels in and as he does he changes into his suit/costume.   His first act as new hero being to save Lois on the plane.   Oliver also sees him fly, "come on Clark you can do this."  As he forces the planet away from earth.   Omegas are removed from people.   Well, Jor-El did kind of tell him what to do.   At least gave him the idea of "lifting the darkness," hence the planet.

We don't even get to see Clarkie in all his glory as Superman, only a comic drawing.   Chloe finishes the comic seven years into the future where we came in and their son looks at the arrows.   Also getting the original theme to Superman.   Chloe sends Lois a blue pin for her wedding and Jimmy Olson's brother (Aaron Ashmore) has taken his place as photographer of the Daily Planet, as Perry White takes his place as editor, we only get to hear his "great Caesar's ghost"  outburst from his office.   Lois wants drama in his photos.   Lex is elected as president in 2018.

Clarkie back in his clumsy, geeky mode and calls Lois, "Ms Lane" which she thinks is hot.  As if no one knew about them.   Clark has the rings, he's been ready for seven years.   Clark hears the news about a bomb in an elevator and all we get to see is him ripping his shirt away to reveal his costume, to the theme music!

So there it ends ten years of Smallville.   Not much happened in the second part of the episode, not the big battle or fight we were expecting with Darkseid, he just got brushed aside, so much for Clark almost being taken over by him earlier on.   Oliver didn't do much and neither did Chloe, so much for her heading to Starcity.   Jor-El guided him to lift the planet  and Jonathan told him to remember Smallville, as if he was telling us to do the same.   Anyway I'll miss the show, only wish they could have made Clarkie realize his destiny a bit sooner, so we could have seen Clark and Lois in action together a bit more, cos this show had great casting and Erica was my fave Lois ever!

Also we didn't really get to see Clark in his Superman attire in its entirety, just little glimpses, and no pants over tights either, so we were short changed there.  Chloe tells their son that Clark had to turn his back on both of his parents, on the page of the comic it says both his fathers, which is what he did here.   Michael Rosenbaum didn't shave his head for his scenes in the finale.   Michael McKean did an uncredited voiceover for  Perry, which you could tell was actually his voice.   John Williams musical score was used from the 1978 Superman movie and also included was 'Can You Read My Mind? aka Lois' Theme and the Superman March.

No one was concerned or overly bothered about Tess and wasn't she meant to be one of Lois' bridesmaids too, yet no one said anything when she didn't turn up.   They were only worried when they needed info on the planet from Watchtower.   Nor was anything made of her death.   Dr Emil wasn't at the wedding either, but he was invited to the stag do.   Oliver knows that Clark's powers will be removed with the gold Kryptonite, yet Clark also seemed to know this and we're not aware of how or when he found this out.   Oliver actually dug for it when he was taken over by the darkness and presumably Chloe knows since she knocked the ring out of Lois' hand.   Unless Clark realized what it was now.

 Ahh so sad...no more Smallville. It became part of the schedules and for a decade we just expected it to be on without fail every season.

The Closer 7.1 Unknown Trouble Review

As a hip-hop video plays the camera eventually pans away to show the Major Crimes team at work; investigating the homicide of seven Vics, including the rapper, C-Game (Reason).  The team ponders the IDs of the Vics and most likely posit they were gang members/drug dealers; until Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) recognizes one of them from his licence as being the sons of his deacon.  The Vics were from Clinton Street, a gang area but Gabriel refuses to associate the brothers with gangs and drugs.  Sanchez (Raymond Cruz) takes exception to this.

Flynn (Tony Denison) finds a case full of cash upstairs.  C-Game and his brother were college educated and he had a degree in music whilst his brother had one in economics.  The owner of their record label, Shank'd, Antwone Decker (Rockmond Dunbar) could be a possible suspect since the record has become popular and sales have rocketed.  Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) notices Taylor (Robert Gosset) listening to their conversation and being sneaky.  Pope (JK Simmons) shows Brenda a chart of restructuring of the Department under Delk (Courtney B Vance) and he'll announce at a press conference.

Brenda and the Major Crimes is safe and he's been relegated to Valley Traffic.  Taylor will replace him and become Brenda's boss, which infuriates her, she'd rather "stick pins in her eyes" as she bemoans to Fritz (Jon Tenney).  Confirming what I said about Taylor being pally with Delk last season and he obviously had an agenda to ensure he'd get he promotion.

Raydor (Mary McDonnell) informs Brenda the city, the department and everyone involved is being sued by Turell's mother for the wrongful death of her son.  (From 6.8 War Zone, the 'Shootin' Newton' murders.)  I.e when Brenda took him home knowing he'd be killed  and he was later beaten to death by his gang members.  Brenda denies any knowledge (but we know better) and Raydor is to audit the case and Brenda's actions.  Knew that'd come back to bite her in the final season of the show.  Brenda is angry and threatens to quit.

Brenda wants to question C-game's girlfriend, Keisha (Ciera Payton) but she's missing.  The team notice something's wrong, especially Provenza (GW Bailey) who has to help Raydor with whatever she needs pertaining to the Shootin' Newton case.  Fritz asks why she's looking into Antwone since the FBI and LAPD are running a joint investigation.  Brenda notices that pizza was ordered by someone after Tao (Michael Paul Chan) tells her of the calls on the phones but there wasn't any there at the CS.  Brenda returns to her office and her safety net of candy.   Later she vents at home and eats ice cream after flossing - really Brenda - whilst Fritz makes a list for her of possible suspects the FBI has.  He then tells Brenda he's naked under the covers, so she can repay him!  Cue the cat making  a hasty exit!

Antwone turns up the next day for questioning and his lawyer advises against it, said lawyer Braddock (David Costabile) having been here the day before when Brenda cunningly told him about finding the case, but not what was in it.  A tracker is paced on his car and Provenza was meant to remind Brenda that Taylor wanted in on the investigation and Buzz (Phillip P Keene) was to give her an earwig, which she refuses.

Brenda shows Antwone the empty case, save for the dollar bands and he walks out in a huff.  Flynn  tells her they found the pizza man dead and Sanchez works out the foam they found at the CS was from the pizza delivery bag, which was used as a silencer.  The FBI bug and tracker leads them to the home of Deandre Harmon, (Page Kennedy)Keisha's ex.  Provenza follows regs and puts on a police flak jacket and Flynn follows suit.  They arrive to save Keisha from Antwone and find Deandre with his head down the loo.

Raydor points out Brenda's pattern of behaviour in this case and that Turell's mother's lawyer will point to that too.  Pope mentions Brenda is exceptional at catching killers and they all got got off on the publicity her cases brought them.  Brenda notices the rose tattoo on Keisha's back and realizes the song was about Deandre and C-Game was humiliating him after he stole his girlfriend and got famous in the process.  Anyone could have worked out what the song was about.  Deandre gets angry and confesses to the 8 killings and how he looked out for C-Game all his life.

Delk comments on Brenda's good work but just them suffers a stroke and falls to the floor.

The actions from last season's episode were expected to be brought up again especially since Turell got away with murder.  However not being pedantic but he did want to go home - which is exactly what she did.  Even Gabriel repeatedly asked if that's what Brenda wanted to do.  Unknown Trouble was a reference to her actions last season, but this was obviously expected but Delk wasn't.  Didn't see that coming I can say for once, though this was the final season so something had to happen to ensure Pope stuck around and Taylor was rather eager to take his spot in Pope's office, relishing the moment which appears to be short lived.

Fritz: "Could it be someone has your back?"  Referring to Raydor.
Brenda: "She's put several knives in it already."  Brenda refuses to listen to Raydor when she tries to explain she's just doing her job but didn't instigate the audit and Brenda thought they were friends.

Merlin - 3.12: "The Coming of Arthur: Part 1" Review

Morgana and Morgause set their plan to take over Camelot in motion with the help of the Cup of Life; which Arthur has been sent to find by Uther. More fights, more jokes and more poignant scenes ensue.

Sir Leon (Rupert Young) and the knights of Camelot are attacked, and are found by Druids.   Leon is still alive but barely hanging on.   Carried to the Druids cave, he is made to drink from the Cup of Life, saving him from death.  Leon relays this news to Uther (Anthony Head) who immediately sets his sights on the Cup.   He must have it at all costs so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.  He sends out Arthur (Bradley James) on this perilous quest.   I could call the search fruitless and futile because if Uther had left well alone, the Cup where it was, Morgause (Emilia Fox) and Morgana (Katie McGrath) wouldn't have have heard about the Cup and it would have been safer in the hands of the Druids.   But Uther, being Uther, must covet such possessions and hide them away in his vault.   This being in his nature.   Uther: can't have it in the wrongs hands, since "Camelot would be all but lost."

Merlin: "If I don't know where we're going , how do I know what to pack?" [He's never had that problem before.]
Arthur: "Don't be such a girl Merlin, we're not going on holiday."  Some great funny lines in light of the drama to come.

The Druids are somewhere on Cenred's (Tom Ellis) lands, making the quest doubly more dangerous; especially since Morgause has the information from Morgana.  Cenred orders his men to find Arthur and search for the Cup.

Merlin (Colin Morgan) and Arthur are caught by Jarl: (Ralph Ineson) a slave trader who takes them to his lair, where he forces his captives to fight each other: the winner meeting the current champion, who just happens to be Gwaine (Eoin Macken).   Jarl picks Merlin to fight, but Arthur takes his place instead, as Merlin would be no match for any opponent.   (Little do they know.) Conveniently they met Gwaine here and didn't have to search for him in taverns, as they'll need his help in their search for the Cup.

Arthur and Gwaine feign fighting, allowing Merlin to use his magic and start a fire, so they can escape and Gwaine and Arthur don't keep squabbling over who was winning.   Merlin: when no one can acknowledge how he saved them, they don't know, comes up with the line, "...and if it weren't for that fire, we'd all be sprouting daises."
Also blabbing to Gwaine about the Cup.
Arthur: "We're on a quest."
Merlin: "We're looking for the Cup of Life."  Arthur slaps him on the head.   Ooh someone's been tuning in to NCIS on the sly!

Finding the Druid's cave, Arthur threatens a little boy at sword-point and agrees to free him in exchange for the Cup.   A  marked change in Arthur's character.  Arthur is desperate - yes - but to the point of harming a child, as we know he wouldn't have gone through with it, but again demostrating his shortcomings in coming up with an alternative method to gain the Cup.

The Druid leader communicates with Merlin, telepathically, calling him Emris, telling him the Cup must be protected by Merlin.   It's almost as if he knew Merlin would be here at this moment in time.

Running into Cenred's men on their return to Camelot, the Cup is lost after a fight by Merlin after using his magic to take the Cup from the soldier, he allows it to roll over the edge of a hill.  Well, perhaps if Arthur hadn't been carrying it wrapped in a cloth in plain sight...  During the fight, Arthur is injured by a poison dart and try as he may, Merlin cannot cure him using his magic and once more his magic is deemed useless as he's powerless to protect the very person he must.

Jarl, working for Cenred, or rather they have an understanding not to bother each other, brings him Arthur's bags.  Cenred: "Do not think for one moment that you can cross me - my lady."
Morgause: "Cross you - never."  Seems these two were coming up with their own one liners in the comic stakes!

Morgause getting her evil paws on the Cup, uses the blood of Cenred's soldiers.   The blood of each soldier collected in the Cup makes the soldier immortal.   Finally Morgause does what was expected from her and betrays Cenred; rewarding him with death for his help.That was seen coming, but was a bit premature.   Morgause and Cenred had another funny moment here when Cenred asks if she's threatening him and she says when she is, he'll know.   Yes, they follow this through to this scene here, just before she sets the soldier on him.   With Cenred trying to call him off, he's his man.   Sorry dear, he's immortal!  After killing him, she ends with, "...did I not say when I threatened you that you would know about it."  Morgause does comedy and sarcasm all rolled into one, and she's good too!

The immortal army marches upon Camelot and even with the Knights of Camelot, sent to fight, their defences fail as the immortal army turns out to be invincible.

Camelot falls.   At Morgana's mercy, she assures Gwen (Angel Coulby) will not be harmed.   Well, only after Gwen begs her by telling her she has been nothing but loyal in serving her.

The poison affects Arthur as it flows through his body and he is weak to act.   Arriving at Gwen's house, they stumble across Elyan (Adetomiwa Edun)  and he conveys how he tried to fight but was powerless against the army's might.

Sneaking into Camelot, Gwaine and Elyan take Gaius (Richard Wilson) to the woods for safety, whilst Merlin and Arthur watch Uther being dragged to the throne room.  He mistakenly believes Morgause wants the throne for herself, shouting that she cannot have it.  But is shocked to see Morgana finally reveal her true colours.   Informing Uther she is aware of being his daughter.   Morgana is crowned Queen of Camelot.

Morgana appears to be just a token queen; nothing more than Morgause's puppet; as she is the one pulling her strings.   Without her, Morgana is just a helpless, spiteful, spoilt child as she has no idea how to harness and use the magic within her.

An episode full of betrayal: Morgause killing Cenred.   Did he really believe she would be anything but merciless when he's witnessed first hand the extent of her ruthless powers and determination.   To stop at nothing and spare no one in her thirst for power.   What more could Cenred have done for her and why would she leave him alive.   For all this talk of the Cup of Life and retrieving it for Morgause - pity Cenred didn't think of putting his own blood into it too.   Think about it, if his men were becoming immortal, why not himself too.   Immortal forever - he could've won any battle.   Maybe that would have been futile anyway seeing as how immortality wouldn't have lasted long.

Merlin and Arthur looking down into the throne room, was more characteristic of how Morgana and Morgause would scurry around listening and watching everything happening within Camelot, through their little "peep-holes."   This time it was Arthur and Merlin in their place, doing the spying.

Followers and fans of Merlin will recall the Cup of Life was last used in the season 1 finale: Le Morte d'Arthur, when Merlin battled Nimueh (Michelle Ryan) on the Isle of the Blessed.   Somehow it has ended up in the hands of the Druids.

Lots of action in this episode and betrayals too.   Also Uther's words in the opening about Camelot being lost if the Cup fell into the wrong hands, ring true here, almost prophetic-like.   However, it must be remembered that Uther brought about this fate on Camelot after he wanted the cup, so really he's the one to blame here for everything that happened.

When all is lost, can't wait to see what the finale will hold...

CSI: NY - 1.18: "The Dove Commission" Review

The CSIs have another two stories to investigate in this episode, one relating to a damning report on police corruption and another about the killing of a gypsy cab driver, whom Danny holds animosity towards.

The Dove Commission releases a report on NYPD corruption tomorrow.    Commissioner Stanwyck (Norman Howell)  and some women have been shot after a sniper opened fire at the club.   He was the chief Investigator.   Flack (Eddie Cahill) thinks the report must be damaging.   Charlotte Dubois (Diana Lupo) appears to be collateral damage.   Mac (Gary Sinise) wants to start with the report.   The windows are shattered.   Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) wants the bullets.   Flack prevents a reporter from filming: "You keep filming, I'm gonna give you rights and lefts."  Grace (Leslie Bega) knew Charlotte from Kentucky.   Mac is insistent every officer is doing everything they can to find the killer.

In story 2, Fernando Reyes, (Toby Halguin) a gypsy cab driver is found dead in his cab.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) says if he had a legitimate licence he would still be alive.   That's not necessarily true.   He's got issues with such drivers.   Danny: "Pay it off the rest of your life or pay it off with your life.   It's an easy decision in my book."  Danny's got a book too.   No, I just thought of what was said about Flack in interviews etc, about him "having a bigger book" as far his police tactics go.   Clearly Danny is being harsh here of the Vic and judgemental too.   It's the same attitude he took with the gang in 1.13 Tanglewood.     The money is missing and he was stabbed and went down the subway.   They should start with the body.

Hawkes (Hill Harper) is pickling a brain for 10-14 days so he can dissect it, that was meant to be a quirk of his.     Stanwyck and Charlotte were both shot twice and one bullet went through both of them.   One bullet is inside Stanwyck.   Hawkes' fave game was 'Operation.'  Mac: "His nose didn't buzz red, well done." Oh come on, he's a surgeon, at least he used to be of course his hands wouldn't shake!  Mac gets a preliminary copy of the report.   Chief Robinson (Mike Starr) implicates men under his command, trafficking drugs in police cars.   He's been on the firing range and so has GSR on his hands.   Two bullets are found to have different stria, thus there were two rifles and two snipers, determines Stella.   The bullet went through the glass first and shots were fired from outside, 65 floors up.   Mac asks where the sniper was.   Flack tells her the CS is the 65th floor.   Stella finds shell casings, 5 of them, "I'm lucky like that."  Er, not if Flack hadn't told her where to look.

Again he gives her another clue when he adds, "No sniper can hit the 65th floor from here, so there's shell casings falling from mid-air."  That's one clue she didn't get.   Inspector Marconi (Mark Rolston) from IAB asks Mac about his investigation and remember IAB is a 'dirty' word in more ways than one.   He wants to put Robinson away but Mac has evidence pending.

Hawkes finds traces of blood under the Vic's fingernails, in Danny's shooting and comments he hasn't attended a seminar yet to bring him to life in response to Danny's questions.   He has defensive wounds.   A stab wound to the neck punctured his carotid artery and his throat was slit.   Danny believes the killer enjoyed himself.   Danny and Aiden (Vanessa Ferlito) process the cab.   Danny finds a photo of Fernanado with his son and Aiden finds a business card with gum, from which they could get DNA.   Antonio (Jeremy Ray Valdez) is Fernando's son.   Danny asks if he was having an affair.  
Danny: "Somebody's gotta ask the hard questions, I'm just reacting to the evidence."
Aiden: "No, you're not, you're just reacting."  Danny tries to freeze the gum off the card, revealing a name, Arnold (Pete Gardner)  who didn't use the cab but a limo service.   He gave the card to a stripper, Savannah (Patrice Fisher).

Chad (Chad Lindberg) finds the sticky casing disc positive for GSR and traces of tin.   There was a difference in the primary GSR as Robinson was shooting at a range.   Mac wants the video tape from the reporter.   There are no hits on the shell casing, bullets are only used by the field units of the NYPD.   TARU and aviation units can fire at a building.  The penny finally drops for Stella, Flack told her hours ago the bullets came from mid-air!  The murder weapon was a mechanical helicopter, a thermal camera was attached to it, which had batteries.   Tests on helicopter and control pad reveals prints.   The prints on the remote match Jasper (Timon Kyle Durrett).   Mac has to prove he was the shooter.    He doesn't pay toll in cash so his movements can be tracked.

Aiden and Danny visit the stripper and Aiden must exclaim, "Holy boob job Batman."  Savannah has a scratch.   When Fernando dropped her off, someone tried to grab her from behind and he helped her.   The police wouldn't believe her.   Danny asks for her clothes and finds a grey substance on the shirt and a DNA sample.   All the evidence points to a man but there's female DNA in the case.   The substance is steel and there's a hair on the pants.

Mac clears everyone.   A photo from the Brooklyn Bridge shows Jasper was heading North and wouldn't have had time to turn around.   Mac: "I can only look where the evidence leads me."  Stella processes Stanwyck's clothes and finds lipstick on the collar.   Flack has the news footage and the TAG footage.    Watch out for Grace hitting the deck quickly when the bullets rain.   The lipstick belonged to her and she was having an affair.   Mac gives her a tissue, which she throws away when she leaves.   She can't trust anyone.   The tissue is analyzed for DNA.   So much for not trusting people but why'd she leave the tissue there.

The female DNA Danny discovered matches the blood from under Fernando's fingernails.    The steel is from the subway tracks.  Paul was at the CS, he watched Savannah come home every night and he would have got away with it if it hadn't been for Fernando.   Danny loses his cool with him and tells him he'd better hope one of his subways opens up and swallows him when he gets put in prison.

The prints on the battery match Marconi, he worked in TARU and he threatens their careers.   He killed the wrong woman, a crime of passion.   She was his and he stole her.   He knew he'd head up the IA investigation and would send Jasper to jail.   Danny apologizes to Antonio; telling him how Danny and his father got into a gypsy cab when he was 10 and were beaten.   Fernando was a good man, "There's a lot of honour in that."  They need more men like him and gives Antonio his father's photo.

Well following on from 1.13 Tanglewood, we get more insight into Danny's past and his character.   First he thinks all gypsy cab drivers are the same and should get a licence, but changes his mind when he finds out Fernando tried to help and saved Savannah.   At least he could admit he was wrong in his earlier assessment.   Also both stories were about women and men being obsessed with them.   Marconi shot the wrong woman and thought he would get away with it.     Why no photos of the bullet casings, Stella?  She just picks them up without documenting them.   Yet more research on the Y chromosome and how mutations can lead it registering as female  DNA.

Season 2 episode Kill Zone of CSI:Miami also featured a sniper and  2.1 Blood Brothers demonstrated having access to evidence if it is in the public domain.

Lie To Me - 2.7: "Black Friday" Review

Cal and Gillian have a case fall into their laps when a boy hires Cal to find his parents. Eli and Ria must determine if a store is responsible for inciting a crowd to stampede.


 A crowd awaits the opening of Digital Convertor for Black Friday.   As a man searches for his wallet, the crowd get restless and frenzied.   A woman is trampled; as a girl lets go of her father's hand and wanders off.   Whilst at Cal's (Tim Roth) a boy, Max (Daniel Ross) hires Cal to find if he is James Knox, who was kidnapped.   Lots of cold case solving in this show.   He shows Cal the scar on his body and pays him.   Gillian (Kelli Williams) can't believe he took his money.   Hey I said that.   Cal allows Max to question his current parents, the Roland's and advises him not to back down on anything.   Max took a DNA test and found he isn't related.

Eli (Brendan Hines) has the photo of the footage from the store and Bernardo (Shashawnee Hall) hires them to show they're not at fault, thus significantly reducing the settlement payout.   Eli negotiates a percentage of their fee based on the amount he saves them.   Eli explains convergence theory: which holds aggression runs in the mindset of such crowds.   Cal wants Ria (Monica Raymund) to help and leaves them alone as the Institute needs the money.

Cal and Gillian visit the Knox's and Gillian tells them about possibly finding their son.   Cal watches Mrs Knox (Hannah cox) become nervous and fidgety.   She admits James died in the bath when she left him alone; it was an accident.   This is news to Knox (Randy Lowell).   Jackie Roland ( Lisa Waltz) confesses she got Max from a woman named Cheyenne (Jackie Debatin) who didn't want him.   There aren't any records and they didn't tell him out of fear he'd be taken.

Eli and Ria meet with the plaintiffs and they state a security guard was the cause of the frenzy.   All of them look to one man who describes the guard as bald.   But none of them actually saw him.   Cal looks through video footage and finds one of Ben (Mekhi Phifer) accessing his password, which Cal uses to access the FBI database, finding an address for Cheyenne.  Emily (Hayley McFarland) catches him and he leaves it logged on incase she wants to check someone out.   He's committed a felony.  Cheyenne say she is Max's mother and hugs him, but she's lying.   She's an addict and stole the baby from her dealer, Romeo.  She replied to an ad in the paper for a baby.

Ben catches them out as he was meant to be playing golf on holiday but he's been informed by the FBI his password was used.  Emily talks with Max who thinks she shouldn't talk to a freak, she tells him of her dysfunctional family.   Ben has the Roland's arrested.   Max runs away.   Did he actually want to find his parents so what was with the running away business?   Ria notices Bernardo is hiding something as he hides his "gonads" and has Eli pull up footage of Churchill doing the same with his hat.  Bernardo admits he has security tapes showing the guards and customers in the crowd having a fight before the frenzy ensued but they have a confidentiality agreement with the Institute.

Gillian lies to Emily by telling her they've found Max's parents, which Cal asks her to do since he can't lie to her.   Ben discovers Romero's real name is Blake and his daughter died when he was in prison.   Emily is upset with Gillian for lying.   Ben locates Blake's parole officer, Donnelly (Nick Searcy) who finally admits there was a break in at his house 16 years ago.   His wife was killed and he was shot in the back thus ending up in a wheelchair.   His baby son was stolen.

Ria finds a man in the crowd who was grabbed.   Eli mentions contagion theory and how crowds are affected by it.   They also have the video, but Ria is aware Eli wants to get into Cal's good books, let's face it he needs to.   Sense a little jealousy on her part.   She's not the only one who wants to do the right thing and get to the bottom of it.   As we know, Eli is big on doing the right thing, especially if it means blowing the whistle on someone who deserves it.   The man, Ken heard his daughter and she broke her arm, but not during the riot.   He just wants a pay out..

Max is Donnelly's son.  Eli tells Cal they found the riot was started by a man in the crowd and Cal offers them dinner on him, which Eli accepts, but Ria comes across as stroppy and wants to see it through to the end, watching more tape.   Eli has a few drinks at the bar and leaves when he sees a woman slip on some ice.   Max's real name is Owen but  but he refuses to believe he is his father after seeing him in a wheelchair.   See the difference between Max now and his reaction to Cheyenne, whom he immediately hugged.   Cal provokes max into lashing out at him and Max finally breaks down and cries.

Bernardo has settled for $2 million and hands them a cheque for $1.8 million.   Eli asks how they clear up the ice outside and the employee replies they salt.   The girl slipped on ice and that's why the crowd stampeded.   Bernardo again brings up the confidentiality agreement and Eli threatens to expose the report.   We know Eli is more than capable of exposure.   Oh not in that way!  They can use it but Bernardo won't be using any of the report.  

Cal questions Blake (John Bishop III) who wanted to keep his daughter and exacted revenge on Donnelly.   Blake wishes he knew who took his son and Cal tells him now he does.   Eli wanted to tell the truth and Cal is proud of him for standing up and not taking the money - he'd be fired if he did.   Donnelly and the Roland's agree on co-custody of Max and Emily wants to invite him for Thanksgiving next year.   Eli and Ria being allowed to work on their own where such a lucrative deal is concerned, wonder if Cal was expecting one of them to mess up?   Ria once again demonstrating the truth of her convictions in wanting some form of justice for the two who died and for their families.

As for Max and his search, it seemed to take forever to reveal who they were and each one of the would-be parents had something to conceal.   Max remarking to Gillian if she wants a kid she should have one of her own, already said before and sad for her as she's tried that already too.   As far as Max was concerned looking for his parents seemed like a vicious circle or a wild goosechase.  First lot, the mother killed her baby.   His actual adopted parents got him from a drug addict, who stole him from her dealer, who stole him from his parole officer.

Cal: "How'd it go with the suits?"
 Eli: "We got the job.   Where were you?"
Cal: "None of your bloody business.   I figured you were up to it.   It's probably a gross over-estimate on my part."
Eli: "I appreciate the confidence boost."  Funny part, Cal blaming Eli for accessing the FBI database.

Supernatural - 1.7: "Hook Man" Review

Sam and Dean investigate the legend of the Hookman and Sam finds he's attracted to the girl who appears to be the cause of the Hookman appearing and killing his Vics.

Theta Sorority, East Iowa University.   A friend, Taylor ( Christine Laing) gives Lori (Jane McGregor)  a top to wear on her date and she's driven to a spot  to make out.   Lori's father calls her but she doesn't pick up.   A sinister man with a hook lurks outside the car.   Rich (Brian Skala) goes out of the car and the man slashes the car.   Then disappears.   Lori runs to find Rich, hanging.  Dean (Jensen Ackles) comments Sam's (Jared Padalecki) half-caff double vanilla latte is getting cold.   Sam's on the phone, but Dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) doesn't want to be found.

An article reports a mutilated body found in Iowa and the 'attacker was invisible'.   Dean is certain this is something Dad would check out.  They visit the Vic's fraternity house under the guise of being fraternity brothers from Ohio and need a place to stay.  The guy wants his back painted and Dean gives Sam the privilege of doing so, "he's the artist, things he can do with a brush." Rich was with Lori who is also the Reverand's daughter.   The church door bangs when Sam and Dean enter, alerting their presence to everyone.   And causing Lori to look at Sam, with her lustful eyes, oh me getting carried away!  Sam nudges Dean to bow his head in order to pray, Sam being the religious one.  Sam knows what Lori's going through: "I saw someone get hurt once, you never get over it."  Referring to Jessica (Adrienne Palicki) of course.   The police appear to blame Lori for Rich's death.  Dean can't help adding that she's hot and so they have to look into it.

Rich was suspended upside down over the car, immediately prompting Sam to recall the Hookman (Sean Millington) legend.   That's the most famous urban legend around.   Sam noticed "something in her eyes."  Sam knows every legend has a source and so maybe the Hookman is a spirit.   Searching arrest records dating back to 1851 and in 1862, a preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder.   He was angry over the red light district in town and killed 13 prostitutes.   Some were found suspended upside down from tree limbs, serving as a warning against 'sins of the flesh'.   The preacher lost his hand in an accident and replaced it with a silver hook.

They investigate Nine Mile Lane, where Rich was killed.  Dean: "Nice job Dr Venkman" From Ghostbusters (1984) he was the geeky, brainy one.   Reverand Sorenson (Dan Butler) worries about Lori in her dorm,  but she says she needs to live her own life.   She returns to her room, where blood is dripping, but she doesn't notice Taylor is dead.  Dean says you don't have to go to college to be a genius.   No Dean doesn't need that he's got life experience, that's is why he spent 4 years doing manual research, which he could have just done on a computer!   The Sheriff (Alf Humphreys) finds them in the woods and some quick thinking and talking on Dean's part saves Sam from arrest, to receiving a fine.   Sam was a pledge and being hazed.   Dean: "Dude I'm Matlock."  Not the first time this show will be mentioned.   Dean: "Well, you look like a dumbass pledge." Yes he does, ha,  sorry, wonder what sort of hazing Sam had to undergo at Stanford.

Sam and Dean climb into Lori's dorm room, causing no end of excitement on Dean's part, "sorority girls, think we'll see a naked pillow fight."  They find the message, "aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light" written on the mirror.   Which they both know is straight from the classic Hookman legend.   The same symbol is on the message as they found for Karns in their research, cluing them in he was buried in an unmarked grave after his execution.

Dean is miffed and surprised at this whole college thing, saying it's "awesome" and Sam was holding out on him.  But this isn't Sam; he's not into the partying, he was there to work.  Sam and Dean check out the Lane and Dean hands Sam rock salt, it "won't kill him but it will slow him down."  They think the Reverend is lying to Lori and could be summoning the Hookman, Dean thinking the spirit could be latching onto the Reverand's repressed emotions, feeding off them.   Sam keeps an eye on her whilst Dean has the dubious task of salting and burning bones.   As usual, it's left to Dean to dig up buried bones.   He locates a headstone with the same cross symbol from the message. "Next time I'll get to watch the cute girl's house."  Sam watches Lori and the Reverend arguing through the window.

Sam was worried about her and she thinks he's sweet.  She tells him to stay away as she's cursed, "people around me keep dying."  Boy does Sam know that feeling.   Dean manages to salt and burn the bones but he doesn't notice that the hook isn't there.   She admits her father is seeing  a married woman and her family comes to church.   She kisses him, ahh Sam's first kiss after Jessica.   He can't do this and the Reverend is attacked by the Hookman.  Sam realizes the spirit latches itself onto Lori as she's upset about immortality.   Dean thinks she's conflicted and the spirit of the Hookman is punishing for her.   Dean: "remind me not to piss this girl off." Sam tells Dean he didn't burn the hook, the source of his power.  Checking records they find the hook wasn't buried with him and was made into something else.   Sam checks her house and Dean checks the church.   Dean: "stay out of her underwear drawer."

Lori cries and prays in church, it's her fault and she's angry at her father.   Sam tries to convince her she's not to blame.   The Hookman chases them and attacks Sam.   When Sam was aware the Hookman latches onto repressed emotions, why didn't he realize he would come after Lori, as she was all moralizing again.  Dean missed something: Lori's necklace, an heirloom given to her by her father.  Dean burns it and the Hookman burns.

Dean tells Sam they could stay and watches Sam say his goodbyes in the car mirror.   Yes but how long could they stay before they had to be on the move again, to investigate another supernatural phenomena.   Lots of angst in this episode, as well as Sam trying to come to terms with losing Jessica and his attraction to Lori.   Perhaps another reason why he wanted to leave is that he's still not over his guilt, not being able to save Jessica, but at least he got to save Lori, with Dean's help of course.   Sam still searches for Dad with more determination than Dean and it's never a dull moment with big brother around.   It's not that Dean doesn't care about Dad, it's just all that hunting without him most of the time probably has Dean weary that he's been known to go off on his own.

A classic legend and this epsiode was criticized for being a carbon copy of I Know What you Did Last Summer (1997), but this episode of  Supernatural was based on the legend and Supernatural always does its own storylines.   It was different enough to original.   Besides if, as critics said,  this was meant to be a rip-off of the movie, then the movie was a copy of the legend!

CSI: Miami - 8.19: "Spring Breakdown" Review

It's Spring break again in Miami and yet more murders to contend with. when the CSIs find the three cases they are investigating are all connected.

A DB is found buried in the sand, another is found stacked inside a washer and a third is found impaled on a spike sculpture.   Calleigh (Emily Procter) is pretty vexed and questions what type of person puts a girl out in the laundry.   Tripp (Rex Linn) blames it on Spring Break.   Calleigh given the limelight now, away from Horatio (David Caruso) when she has the last line before the credits, "There are going to be consequences."  Ryan (Jonathan Togo) believes the sand constricted the DB's lungs, suffocating him.   Since when did Ryan start second guessing before the evidence is in (my fave phrase).  He's not an expert on determining COD.  

Jesse (Eddie Cibrian) thinks he most likely drowned as the tide was high.   ME Tom (Christian Clemenson) will enlighten them.   There was probably more than one killer.   Ryan is adament that it's a prank gone wrong and the tide ended it.   That's his theory.   First he suffocated and then the tide finished him off, now Ryan can't make up his mind.   Don't know why they keep chopping and changing Ryan's character so much, he goes from extremes in practically every episode.   Jesse tells him they still need to find who did this.

Walter (Omar Miller) can still recall his Spring break and calls it a miracle he's still alive.   Some characterization of Walter, we know he's a fun loving guy from past episodes but not so much about his misspent youth.   ME Tom thinks it was a bad aim, commenting on the DB.   Calleigh still harping on about how Spring break is meant to be the best part of your life, not the worst.   Well, maybe it was for her, but not everyone's like her, or as pretty as her.   Bet she didn't have any problems throughout school and college.  Tripp calls it a body dump and all the hotels send their laundry here.   Any evidence on her form the killer would have been destroyed in the washer.   Calleigh notices the debris collector on the side which could have collected something belonging to the Vic or the killer.  

ME Tom is majorly outnumbered and overwhelmed with the body count and he can't examine everyone's body, no but he kind of favoured Calleigh's over Ryan's.  But opts for Horatio's DB.  There were no IDs, but present were second and third degree burns and residue on the pipe.   Horatio likens them to being flare components, so he was shot with a flare gun.   Walter finds tempered glass from the window.  and scorch marks.   Horatio surmises the blast originated from the hotel room.   Dean (Peter Mooney) admits to firing the weapon at a man at the party, but he didn't hit him.   He doesn't recognize the DB.   Walter thinks he's lying; "That story's got holes in it as big as the one in our Vic's chest."

He and Horatio conduct a demonstration with dummies, judging where the body was found and where it landed; 20 feet away.   So he fell from a bigger height.   Horatio ends up on the roof.   The dummy still lands 4 feet short, he's 'fast running out of real estate'.   The DB was never in the room, the flare was fired as he was falling from the roof.   Walter calls that an urban legend.   He's big on those; calling the murder  Dean's alibi.   Heel impressions are aslo seen close to the edge of the balcony.   Horatio concludes he was pushed.

Ryan calls ME Tom to see how the autopsy is progressing but ME Tom tells him their body isn't the only one in town and Ryan proceeds to hang up on him.   That was uncalled for, see what I said about his character constantly being altered by writers.    The female DB had broken bones, no bruising and blunt force trauma.   Calleigh refers to her as a "poor thing, beaten and thrown away."  Sympathy and compassion is all fine and good but  Calleigh was acting in a way she hasn't before either, never seen her show this much feelings towards a Vic before.  

Usually she's the voice of reason more than over zealous emotion.   ME Tom has the Vic's room key.  Tripp and Calleigh question a woman at the bar, she's been charging drinks to her room.   Her name's Courtney (Chelsea Hobbs) but she wants to see Tripp's ID first.   Tripp was becoming annoyed with her as he asks for her ID.  She denies recognizing the photo of the Vic, and claims she's drunk.   She dropped her keycard on the beach, so the Vic must have picked it up.   She's drunk, but not enough to realize she must have dropped her keycard, or it's location; so why not tell the hotel she lost it.

ME Tom finally gets round to Jesse and Ryan's DB and finds saltwater in the lungs, so he drunk-drowned and was murdered.   Ryan still thinks it's an accident.   His jaw was fractured perimortum.   Jesse notices burn marks on his ear.; identified as residue from a flare.   Dean shot him with the flare.   Calleigh finds a button from the washer belonging to the Vic's dress.   She thinks chlorine would've set the print.   Walter finds their Vic had a VIP bracelet from a club and Jesse also turns up at said club.   Calleigh says all three Vics went through the same club.   The bouncer recalls the woman as she left her credit card at the bar.  her name is Alexis (Teresa Castillo).   She was helped by a blonde.   Walter: "At least their Vic has a name."

Calleigh and Tripp check out Alexis's room and there's a huge blood stain on the floor where she was killed.  Calleigh says she was sharing the room with the two other Vics and there's photo of them all together.   From their university records they're identified as Brad (Simon Miller) - Horatio and Walter's DB and Paul, (Alan Ritchson) - Jesse and Ryan's DB.   They all had wrap sheets but the charges were dropped.   Ryan plays the video on the laptop from a social network site belonging to Alexis, uploaded a year ago.  An overweight blonde woman was ambushed in a humiliating way.   Whoever threw Brad off the roof, states Walter, was wearing a VIP bracelet.   Calleigh had very little to say on the video and Alexis's behaviour, presumably she would have found out about it.   The bracelet wearer is identified as Hillary (Cassie Scerbo) and Brad gave her a black eye, she's blonde, but she's not the killer.   There was another woman there; Courtney, but she claims not to recognize Brad.   She denies everything.

ME Tom had to peel back Alexis's face to reveal she suffered skull fractures.   Calleigh offers to help him cast them, see again so hands-on from her for this Vic.   Alexis was struck with an iron from the hotel.   Ryan pulls  blonde hair from Paul's shirt.   Calleigh comments this is not a fluke, they were being targeted "by a killer blonde."  At which point Ryan looks at Calleigh when she's walked away!  Courtney is swabbed for DNA and Hillary refuses as she had no reason to kill them.   Travers (Christopher Redman) analyzes the hair to find it was bleached, dyed and starightened.   He comments there's no justification for murder, but those three were asking for it.  

So it's left ot the lab rat to put forward his feelings in contrast to Calleigh's, well no else had anythign to say.   Ryan understands what Travers means after he explains why he said that.   Tripp tells them Jill (the woman from the video) filed a complaint against Brad and she's missing.   To humiliate someone like that, he'd want to disappear too.   Travers finds evidence of appetite suppressants on the hair, the side effects of which include, alopecea.  Ryan explains that's thinning hair for Tripp's benefit, no doubt, he already knows.   Yeah Ryan so do most people.   Ryan and Travers exchange glances on the thinning hair part.   Tripp says she doesn't look like she did in the video.

Dave (Wes Ramsely) uses visualization software to see what Jill would look like, and she resembles Courtney.   Who's really Jill.  Horatio says she's not a Vic but their killer.   The video gives her motive.   Jesse says she was the last one seen with Brad before he was pushed.   She dyed her hair and the DNA is a match.   Would've thought she'd have worn a wig instead of dying her hair, it would have been easier to disguise; no need to dye it and perhaps she wouldn't have left her own hair on Paul's shirt.    Amazing that hair was still on his shirt.  

Horatio comments she took advantage of Alexis when she was drunk.   No one helped Jill when she needed it and they got away.  "I'm the fat girl whose life you destroyed." The joke ws on Brad and she claims impaling him was the icing on the cake.  Jesse tells her when someone goes through such a change as she did, they're much happier.   Horatio ends by saying she's spending her life in jail;  he hopes it was worth it to her.   Yes it was.   Almost a cheesy joke there, what with dying her hair and being worth it, you know out of the TV ads for hair products!

Calleigh still feels sorry for Alexis.   When Courtney is led away, the end scene was like from a movie, strutting away without a care in the world, until she's locked up.   She's happy with what she did but not for long.   Calleigh was kind of overdoing it in the sentiments stakes when she clearly is disgusted at Alexis's treatment, how she's killed and dumped so coldly.  

Yes it's understandable - but as I've said many times - what goes around comes around.   They didn't deserve to be murdered - no one is - but they were sorry excuses for human beings and it's not just the ravages of youth, or having a good time, they were a poor reflection of humanity.   It was fine for them to humiliate and make jokes at another's expense, but to get away with it.   The Vic of their jokes never received justice.   However, Calleigh really did go overboard with her emotions.   So it was good to see her thoughts levelled out by Travers, bluntly coming out and saying they deserved what they got, someone had to say it.   Shame it wasn't from a main character.  

Ryan wasn't saying much on the subject  and once again it was Calleigh who reminded him in a previous episode that all Vic's deaths need to be investiagted, irrespective of whether they were good, bad or indifferent.   That being said, Calleigh hasn't shown this much compassion to other Vics of crimes, those who were worthy of it and deserved it more than Alexis.   Jesse's comment about people who undergo the changes she went through, losing weight,etc, end up being happier is true, but she was only happy with the end product of her becoming another person, of becoming Courtney.   Then she hung around to see the results of her actions; until it hit home, they were the ones who got justice for their killings, for what she did to them and she was going to rot in jail.   Horatio in contrast didn't seem to have an opinion either way, not like he normally does.   Of course it was worth it to her - but the dust hadn't settled on what she'd done until now.

Ryan being abrupt with ME Tom was unneccessary and Walter mentioning his Spring break briefly.

In season 1 CSI:NY episode, Crime and Misdemeanour, Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) and Mac (Gary Sinise) trace the DB of a woman found in a laundry, back to a hotel.   Here Alexis was found in a laundry too and this led back to the Ciel Blue Hotel.   In season 4 CSI:NY episode, Personal Foul, a basketball player dies after kissing several cheerleaders and one of them kissed him to death with her poisoned lipstick.   Said cheerleader used to be overweight; changed her appearance and exacted her revenge on the player who teased and humiliated her because of her weight.   A photo of her obese appearance is also found.  Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) is the one who says he hopes 'it was worth it', showing a degree of sympathy towards her.   Here Horatio uses similar words, saying he hopes it was worth it.   I actually recall this episode for much more shallow reasons, oops, the fact that when Flack (Eddie Cahill) lifted part of his shirt, the scar he should have had from his injuries sustained in the bomb blast from episode, Charge of this Post, was conveniently absent!

The Mentalist 23.4 "Red Rover, Red Rover" Review

This episode the team investigate the discovered remains of a body inside a disused bulb factory where there's mercury present, which Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) comments isn't safe.

Patrick's (Simon Baker) character was a turn up for the books.  They really 'changed' him in that one instance and it was such a dramatic change too, that it made me wonder if it was real or if he as just acting, since it was something he hasn't undergone in the space of almost four years of the show.  The trigger being Red John, who else, sending him that 'happy anniversary' card was the kicker - or rather the trigger, or so it seemed.  On the worst day of his life, Red John gets the little girl to deliver him that message since it would provide Patty with the ultimate heartbreak, as if losing his family wasn't enough.  Red John as we know plays dirty and no expense is spared or feelings too for that matter.

The girl was also dressed in pink, akin to his own daughter smelling of strawberries and cream, kind of pink if mixed together.  His family's names are also revealed on the headstones again and we get to see how Patrick spends that horrible day: a visit to their graves and then 'dinner' at  a table for three; drowning his sorrows in Bloody Mary's.  The irony's in the name, 'bloody.'  Meaning blood, red. Also we haven't seen him drink anything besides tea or water.  So you know something's not right.

He then burns the Red John files; again that was overly dramatic for him, he wouldn't just do that when it's taken him so long to amass all that info.  Still drinking from a bottle as he wants to stop playing Red John's game and he believes Red John will leave him alone.  Though that's highly unlikely.  Again that's probably what he wants Red John to think and us too, but that won't be the case, since Red John is the entire premise of the show.  No Red John, no Mentalist.  Now Patty really has nothing to lose as he doesn't seem to be too bothered about working at the CBI anymore and goes out to ensure the killer of the DB they found (who I may add was obvious as usual) is brought down.

This time he finds himself enduring his own medicine - the killer Ben (Aaron Lohr) that is - when Patrick locks him in the coffin in the hopes of garnering a confession, his last ditched attempt to prove him the killer.  In a way Patrick was also taking out his own grief and anger over Red John and I think this is something he'd like to put him through, slow torture to gain some form of retribution for his family.  Said killer having also locked Antonio (Dave Baez)in  a box and letting him suffer in agony, being a sadist.  (Think CSI Grave Danger).

Lisbon (Robin Tunney) is notably angry and disgusted at Patrick.  Yet he has an ally in Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) as she agrees with what he did - which was to be expected, given her record of late, especially with her treatment of men.  But neither Cho (Tim Kang) or Rigsby offer support.  Well, would've thought Cho would understand Patrick's intentions and reasons behind his actions and motivations.  Especially with beating up Summer's drug dealer last episode.

Patrick has left the CBI before and now he's fired for calling Wainwright (Michael Rady) a "mummy's boy" - think he was aching to let out that put down for a while now and weren't we all.  Wainwright is very weak as a leader and all for doing things by the book.  Again having Patrick leave the CBI all seems like a contrived plot on Patrick's part and with his cunning mind he played everyone just how he wanted.

Patrick calling Lisbon "sweet" he's not done that before when she says she'll come and see him after work.  Proving she is sweet and genuinely cares. She clearly doesn't want to see him like that when she knows how much he still suffers for his loss.  She will hate to see him go, but he'll be back.  He has to.  Particularly since Patrick acting in this way won't provide him with the closure he desperately needs and that will only come with Red John's downfall and ultimately death in Patrick's eyes.  Clearly he was manipulated by Red John here, but I think it's all an elaborate ploy, Patrick is too clever and well adjusted to let this get to him now.

Patrick knows that 19:24 is from the Bible which he gets and Van Pelt knows what it says too.

Patrick must have been shocked to see that girl with the smiley face on her hand - a reminder of his own daughter, Red John's intention no doubt.  Hayley, he ensured forgot what Red John told her about him too, cos let's face it, no girl should have to have such psychotic ramblings placed in her head and also we're not privy to what Patrick elicited from her.  Though Lisbon would agree with Wainwright about asking her questions as they may have revealed something further, using the 'freash eyes' approach.

The murder investigation I felt was ancillary to the main storyline here - at least I think so since you couldn't really care who did that to Antonio.  He was foolish, desperate enough to fall for a ritual, initiation, whatever you call it just to join that club and do everything Ben asked of him without any warning lights at all.  He didn't even ask if he'd be able to breathe in there.  It was just a childish schoolboy, dangerous prank which he fell for, but really it was more than that.  It was sadistic torture and Ben got off on it.  Hence Patrick's rouse at the gathering of the club members to ascertain who was lying when answering his questions.  Ben was a sadist.

Who cares if Marcy had an affair, it was only relevant in so far as Patrick was concerned, being blunt and to the point but that was nothing new on his part.  What actually was of interest is what he said see later.  The case was just a way to get Patrick involved in going to extremes to coerce a confession from Ben and how he wanted all and sundry, especially Red John to believe he'd cracked.

Van Pelt picks up on Patrick acting oddly - what more than usual, ha and that was all that was said, which is exactly what Patrick wanted them to believe.  Van Pelt has become stronger as a person and character since we first met her, she was naive and she's less gullible now.  Partly I think that's to do with Patrick and partly cos of her experiences with O'Laughlin.  This episode showed some of Simon Baker's truly amazing acting - the grief he suffers from still; whilst trying to carry on and then he mentions 'cheating' to Marcy.  As if this is a reflection of his own life, the death of his wife, how he cheated death.  Especially when he tells her "you've moved on.  It happens."  But it doesn't happen - it hasn't happened for him and it's been 9 years.  It won't happen until he finds Red John and destroys him little by little as he destroyed Patrick.  To the point where Patrick still wears his wedding ring, signifying there's no moving on for him.  You see, you can move on eventually, but you never forget the loss.

His response to his behaviour with Ben: "I gave an evil psychopath justice."  As an indication, no strong and bitter indictment of what he'll do to Red John, harking back to an earlier season where he told Lisbon he will kill Red John when he finds him (and he did in season 3, at least he thought he did at the time.)  Maybe putting Ben in the coffin was a dress rehearsal for when he finds Red John.  He can't end his life so immediately, where's the fun in that.  I mean justice, not fun, ha.

In Cackle, Bladder Blood, Patrick told Danny he doesn't visit the cemetery cos "they aren't here."  Did he mean in a spiritual sense or cos he buried them somewhere Red John couldn't get his hands on them anytime he wanted, so as for them to not find peace even in death.  We don't know where Patrick really goes on their anniversary and maybe he was here for another reason too.

As for the title, it is from a children's game going back centuries originally from Britain, moving to Australia and the US.  A player from one team is picked and children say. "Red rover, red rover, let...come over..."  In much the same way as Red John goads Patrick into playing his game over and over, even when Patrick says he's through, he doesn't take the hint or message. April mentioned red rover in an episode of  Aussie soap Home and Away in reference to Heath.  The title is also the name of a character in James Fenimore Cooper's The Red Rover, the name of  a pirate.

I shall be back to blogging some articles on the Mentalist soon, I have a lot to say on many shows, but this one in particular gets my brain going, gets me thinking and there's plenty to think about. Ha.

Doctor Who - 6.11: "The God Complex" Review

The Doctor takes Rory and Amy on another visit where they end up in the wrong place again. a hotel which hides your worst dreams in your room. The Doctor realizes it's time to let Rory and Amy go.

Muzak plays in an empty hotel lobby, where a policewoman looks through all the rooms.   There's always a clown about somewhere, only this one is sad.   The police woman, Lucy (Sarah Quintrell) writes her observations in a notebook.  "You don't know what will be in your room until you see it and you realize it could never have been anything else...Praise him."  she writes over and over, before being taken by some monster.

Amy (Karen Gillan) remarks they're not where they're meant to be.   The Doctor (Matt Smith) calls Rory (Arthur Darvill) 'Beaky' this time round and not his usual 'Pointy Nose'.   The Doctor's excited about the hotel as it's not on Earth but made to look like it.   There are photos of the Vics on the walls.   Rory points out Commander Halke - Sontaran.   Wouldn't think a Sontaran would give in to his worst fears.   Which must have been 'defeat' as it's written under his photo.   Lucy was attacked by a gorilla .  The Doctor rings for service.   Two people and one alien appear and the Doctor claims he's never been hit with a chair leg before.   He lies (!) He has.   He thinks Rita's (Amara Karan) good.  

Doctor: "Amy with regret you're fired."  (Who was Amy all this time, The Apprentice?! ha.) He's joking.   Not by the end of the episode he's not.  Amy asks Rory if he just said "we're nice." Rita explains everything in the hotel moves and rooms vanish.   The Doctor checks the door and finds a wall behind it.   They're not doors but walls, or "Dwalls."  The Doctor loves things.   Rita tells them the rooms contain bad dreams.   People are snatched and dropped into a hotel.   the TARDIS has vanished from its spot.

They are taken to Joe  who is tied up and surrounded by ventriloquist dummies, laughing.   He'll feast on Joe soon.   Joe tells the Doctor they're not ready, they're still raw.   Then says everyone has a room, even the Doctor, has he found his yet?  The Doctor takes Joe with them.   Also warning not to go into the rooms.   Joe speaks another rhyme; "here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head."  Howie (Dimitri Leonidas) is into conspiracies and thinks this is a secret CIA facility.   Rory is amazed Howie's theory is "more insane than what's actually happening."  A PE teacher (Dafydd Emyr) comes out of a room and tells the Doctor he's forgotten his PE kit and will have to do it in his pants.   Girls in another room laugh at Howie and make fun of his stammer.   Amy finds Lucy's notes on the floor.   So much for rooms vanishing, they seem to have found where Lucy disappeared.  

Rory stops to tie his laces and for a second you think he's going to get lost too, but he doesn't thankfully, that would have been too coincidental.   They all hide in a room.   Rita sees her father (Rashad Karapiet) reprimanding her for only getting a 'B' in Maths.   The Doctor enters into the room with the others and walks into the Weeping Angels.   Amy: "Don't blink."  The Doctor can put his hand through them and tells her they're not real.   It's easy to see why Amy would fear them after turning into stone, practically, but apparently they're for Gibbis (David Walliams).   He was a right old weasel!  Thus my name for him.   The Doctor must see what's outside and calls the creature ( Spencer Wilding) 'beautiful,'  as usual.   Joe's restraints come undone and he's devoured, as the Doctor loses him in a maze of corridors, which keep changing.

Rita makes tea.   Amy tells Gibbis she's met the Weeping Angels and thought the room was for her, which would have been easier than what she'll have to go through.   The Doctor's never let her down before, even when she was little, he came back for her.   This gives a clue as to what Amy's room will hold.   Rory comments "when the Doctor gets pally, he has an urge to notify their next of kin," and he's not far wrong.   The Doctor has a degree in cheesemaking.   (Didn't know you had those ha.)  The Doctor realizes he's got tea, she's a Brit.   She thinks this place is "Jahannam."  That's her theory.   Doctor; "You're a Muslim."  Rita: "Don't be frightened."  She thinks it's hell.   The Doctor likes Rita, she's a "clever clogs." She's tried to live a good life and that keeps her sane.

Amy recalls the notes she found.  Lucy was terrified of a gorilla from a book she read when she was little, as the Doctor reads her notes out aloud.   Howie says "Praise him." It's coming for him.   The Doctor promises he'll be fine - again and insists they stay together.   He has a go at Gibbis - the weasel- he knows what he's really like, his civilization is the greatest - his cowardliness is aggressive.   Doctor: "No one else dies today."  That's what he always says and it always happens.   Howie must answer the Doctor's questions next time he's possessed.   Spoken like a true Doctor.   He asks why they've not been got at.   The Doctor believes it feeds on fear.   Everything was there to frighten them and he tells them "not to give in to the fear."  They're going to catch a monster, which they do.   Rory with another mop!  he only just had one in 6.9 Night Terrors.

The Doctor talks to the Minotaur who tells him this is a prison.   Howie talks weasel, er, I mean Gibbis, into letting him go.   He can tell them he was overpowered - with tied hands.   The Minotaur makes them ready, "you have lived so long, even your name is lost."  The Minotaur wants this to end.   Take it that line refers to the Doctor.   Doctor: "Pond bring the fish." - Pond, ha.   Rory asks if Amy hit him, when the Minotaur escapes to get Howie.   Amy relies on the Doctor as she normally does and takes a look inside Room number 7.   The Doctor's clearly disgusted with Gibbis and his cowardly behavior.   He asks Rory if he's found his room.   Rory's not scared of anything, "what's there left to be scared of?"  After all the time he's spent in the TARDIS.   The Doctor says he used the past tense and said scared, but Rory denies this.   Rory: "Not all victories are about saving the universe."  This strikes a cord with the Doctor, as we'll see at the end.  

Rita asks why the Doctor should be the one to save them and comments he's got a 'God complex.'  He replies, "offer someone all of time and space and they'll take that too."  He'll show Rita all of time and space when they get out.   he notices the video surveillance camera and now it's Rita's turn to say "Praise him." Was that line another reference to the Doctor when he "borrowed" the TARDIS to go exploring.

The Doctor finds his room, number 11, for obvious reasons, him being the eleventh Doctor (and this being the eleventh episode of the season.)  So what or who was actually in there when he says, "Of course, who else."  He finds the monitors and sees Rita enter a room.   He attempts to talk her out of it but she doesn't come back to them.   He loses his temper when she dies.

The Doctor believes there's some connection between them.   Then finally realizes it's not fear but faith which is their downfall.   Joe gambled and believed in luck.   The Doctor told them to find what keeps them brave and in the process made them expose their faith.   It didn't want Rory that's why he was shown the way out, he's not religious or superstitious, but he wanted Amy cos of her faith in the Doctor.   Doctor: "faith is an energy the creature needs to live."  Amy says "Praise him."

She sees herself as Amelia (Caitlin Blackwood) in her room, sitting on her suitcase in front of the window, waiting for the Doctor to return.   He tries to convince Amy to stop believing in him.   He stole her childhood - led her to her death, he knew this would happen.  "This always happens."   Just like he keeps saying 'no one dies today' and they do.   She should forget her faith in him.   He took her with him cos he was vain.   "The girl who waited for me.   I'm not a hero.   I really am a mad man in a box."  The Minotaur gets weaker.   The Doctor calls her Amy Williams, "it's time to stop waiting."

No matter what the episode is like, good or mediocre, Matt always turns it around, all that emotion he exudes in his performance is so believable.   The Doctor sacrificed their faith in him allowing the Minotaur to die.   The hotel vanishes.   The Minotaur was a distant cousin of the Nimon, they set themselves up on planets to be worshipped.   Amy tells the Doctor it didn't just want her and asks him what Time Lords believe in, which he cleverly doesn't answer.   The Doctor translates what the Minotaur tells him; his dying words about "an ancient creature drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space though an endless, shifting maze.   For such a creature, death would be a gift."  Knew he was talking about the Doctor, it's always subtly disguised when it's about him.   The Doctor tells the Minotaur to accept it.  "I wasn't talking about myself."  Even the Minotaur knew about the Doctor's bad dream.   What was in his room?

The Doctor gives Amy a house and Rory the car he always wanted.   He's leaving but they haven't seen the last of him.  "Bad Penny is my middle name." Yeah as the saying goes, he keeps coming back like  bad penny.   He's leaving now cos Rory and Amy are still alive.   He tells her the alternative would be his standing on her grave, or Rory's.   Amy wants him to tell her mother, River Song, (Alex Kingston) if he comes across her, to contact her mother.   Amy tells Rory, "he's saving us." The Doctor is left alone in the TARDIS.

Is the Doctor really saving them from their fate, which is not an eventuality for them or is he saving them so they don't see his destiny fulfilled.   Whatever he saw in his room, could not have been River could it, or was it death itself, or was it himself.   Oh hate these endings cos there's so much there to set me thinking.

The idea for this episode was meant to have seen fruition  in season 5, but Toby Whithouse wrote the Vampires of Venice instead.   Thus the God Complex was moved to season 6, where I think it fits in better with everything that is happening with the Doctor and his future date with destiny (and River, ha.)  Have Amy and Rory really gone as companions - no they are great - don't want to see the old codger, lodger, Craig, back next episode.   Also if the Doctor forced them out of the TARDIS to live their own lives and not be his companions anymore as he doesn't want to see them die, how can it be okay to get Craig involved and be placed in danger.   Besides Amy and Rory have to return for the finale as it features River and Amy's mentioned her now too.   Karen and Arthur have signed a season 7 contract so...let's hope they appear full time.

Also new companions don't really work with the Doctor all the time, remember after we watched Rose (Billy Piper) for so long, Martha (Freema Agyeman) didn't go down too well as the Tenth Doctor's (David Tennant's) companion and neither did Donna (Catherine Tate.)  He always feels sorry for his companions eventually and having them around means he always has to let them go in some poignant manner, especially with Donna and Martha and most especially his beloved Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) as he said in 6.7 Let's Kill Hitler, he saw them as his guilt.   Maybe now with Rory and Amy he couldn't live with that guilt if anything happened to them, which could not be reversed, so he let them go.  A hint at what his past companions have had to endure.   Yet still he took on more.

The title again alluding to the Doctor and Rita spells out the Doctor has a "God complex" - the inalienable (no pun) need to save and to help everyone he comes across.   Also he just can't help interfering.   As for Rita being Muslim, couldn't she have a proper Muslim name, which Rita ain't!  A bit topical when she asks the Doctor if he's afraid of her cos she is a Muslim.

Amy's room was number 7 indicating Amelia was 7 when she waited around for the Doctor to return in 5.1 The Eleventh Doctor.   Some inconsistencies - such as why is Amy's fear that the Doctor wouldn't come back for her.   She knows he does return for her - he always does.   Maybe it was more of a way to compound  that faith she has in him, making her realize she should believe in someone more like Rory, or not at all.    Thereby removing her faith in him, but also reinforcing she still has faith , but that she doesn't see him as a God or a hero, to be reveered.

Also weasel Gibbis saw the Weeping Angels but the Minotaur didn't come after him, opting for Amy, who opened her door after Gibbis had already seen the Angels.   (Well no episode with an allusion to God would have been complete without angels!) Suppose like Rory, he didn't have any faith in anyone or anything, as we recall his civilization was all about cowardly giving in to any one who came to conquer.   Not that Rory is a coward or sly, far from it.

Amy being fearful of the Doctor not coming back - maybe she was fearful of him not coming for her now - of being left behind, or more rather I have this niggling feeling it's cos he never existed (5.13) until she brought him back.   Afraid he'll be wiped from existence, this time with his death; which none of them talk about anymore.   Amy was she was older in 6.10, lost faith in the Doctor and when he shut the TARDIS door on her to keep her out, the look on his face as if he didn't want to know that bitter, older version.   Perhaps here he was hoping that moment never arrives for him.   Amy even said she hated the Doctor and maybe that was too much to bare from the "girl who always waited" for her "raggedy Doctor."

The TARDIS' cloister bell was last heard in the episode Logopolis with Tom Baker, signifying death/regeneration.  The Doctor with another Rubik's cube, where'd he get that from then, 6.9.   He doesn't like apples either as in 5.1.   Hey is the Doctor actually the Doctor or perhaps his ganger has reappeared somehow.   Oh that'd be too, too confusing or far fetched.   As I said in my review of 6.6 The Almost People, is the Doctor's ganger going to be killed in place of him, as this is what the bell tolls for.  

Another clown as he mentioned those in 6.9.   This ending was a bit of a letdown, as in 6.9 as far as the Minotaur goes, as the boy was an alien who latched onto the parents' need for a child.   Here the Minotaur was of a race of Nimons who do much the same thing.   Nimons were seen as an enemy in The Horns of Nimon.

Convincing Amy not to believe in him was also done in The Curse of Fenric, where the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy)) has to coerce Ace to do the same.   Oh, oh, in 6.7 A Good Man Goes To War episode, one of the soldiers comments  they were being paid to fight him, not praise him.   Here there were praises galore, were they meant for the Doctor and his God complex.   Or perhaps we're not meant to recall that as being of any significance.   Who knows...Have to say Matt Smith just gets better and better in portraying the Doctor, I thought David Tennant was great in his performance, but I have to say Matt has surpassed all expectations for me!  Not that I don't still like David as the Doctor.

Lie To Me - 2.6: "Lack of Candor" Review

Ben's past as an FBI agent undercover comes back to haunt him and Cal has no alternative but to help him as we get some insights into his character.

Ben (Mekhi Phifer) and some men celebrate the new year at a club where they also beat up a man.

11 months later  The beaten man, Mark (Roy Werner) wants to make a deal with assistant US Attorney, Denning, (Brian Howe) in exchange for his testimony on mobster Elliot Greene (Michael Harney).   Mark also wants his mistress in protective custody with him.   Outside the safehouse, Mark is shot and killed by a sniper. Cal (Tim Roth) walks into Gillian's (Kelli Williams) office and closes the blinds. He informs her and Ben of what's happened.  Cal knows everything about Ben, just like Ben knows everything about Cal.   Cal explains how Ben spent two years of his life undercover to bring down Greene.  Here we were led to believe that Ben was bad.

Ben is now the next witness on the list and will be placed in protective custody.   Denning arrives and is led to Ben in their interrogation room which has bullet proof glass.   Cal is holding him hostage and wants to make a deal.   Cal and Gillian question the US Marshalls assigned to the case to discover which one gave Mark up to Greene.   One of them, Johnson, (Matt Gerald) shows signs of double fear and he's questioned further.   He didn't want Mark dead even if he didn't like him.   Cal tells Ria (Monica Raymund) to watch out for Johnson.   Cal must speak with Greene.

He examines Greene as a doctor and adds Ben is a friend.   Greene is certain he will be cleared at trial and suggests Cal should asks Ben about Scotty, whom Cal mentions to Ben.   He rushes in to look through Denning's file but doesn't find what he's looking for.   He refuses to testify.   Ria wants to question Johnson but Eli (Brendan Hines) thinks they're being tested.   They ask him everything about that day and he let Mark use his mobile phone, so Johnson messed up.

Ben calls Sheila (Alicia Coppolla) his handler at the FBI when he was undercover.   Gillian asks Sheila why Ben doesn't want to testify.   She and Ben have a bond, like she shares with her other agents and Gillian says she keeps commending Ben but there's more.   Ben had been sanctioned to commit crimes undercover if necessary and he took drugs to get in with Greene.  Something which would come out at trial, but that's not all.  

Cal accuses Ben of being a 'cokehead,' but Ben was doing his job.   Cal talks to him in his office without cameras - that'd be a first for Cal, since when has Cal not used a camera especially since he was spying on the place even on holiday.   Ben knows what Cal did in Northern Ireland.   Ben used to work with Scotty who was one of Greene's men.   He found out about Ben when his wire malfunctioned.   Ben tried to explain but he didn't listen, so he had to shoot him in self defence and planted his wire on Scotty, gaining Greene's trust.   He told sheila but there was no record of this in the file.   The truth will get out at trial if he testifies and Greene will walk free.   Cal plays back their conversation and then erases it, showing he's now in the same boat as Ben, since Cal could go to prison for what he did.

Cal catches Ria and Eli watching the Internet, where Kimi (Arlene Tur) is an exotic dancer.   Eli explains if they could see she's embarrassed by what she does then they could bring her in and use it against her.   Why would she be embarrassed by that? If she was she wouldn't dance to begin with.   Cal just tells them to question her and Mark's wife, Mary (Kari Coleman) together.   Cal gives Ben a gun and Gillian chats with Sheila about Ben's drug use and also Scotty.   Sheila denies knowing anything about him.   Ben goes in with a gun and she does the same with him.   Ben is adamant he told her about Scotty and wrote a report.   She blames the drugs.   Denning has Ben arrested for murder.   Both Kimi and Mary deny wanting him dead.   Mary was divorcing him cos he lied about who he was and Kimi admits the phone was hers.   She gave it to him and he used it for work calls too, so Greene would have his number and explains Eli, anyone with the number could track the location of the safehouse.

They watch Sheila's tape and Ria knows she's lying.   Cal buys Sheila drinks at a bar and she comments on his accent.   Cal: "Gotta use what you've got."  He thinks he knows her and tells her he works for Greene .   Cal is going to kill Ben and she pulls a gun on him.   She doesn't want him harmed cos he will discredit himself at the trial.   She doesn't care what she has to do even if it's outside the realms of justice.   She tells him to talk with Greene's lawyer.   She finally confesses for failing to report Ben's actions over Scotty and he'll be seen as a rogue agent.   Cal plays this back to Denning and Ben.   Sheila wants credit still for bringing down Greene cos without her it wouldn't have happened.

At the courthouse, Ben can't wait to get out of protective custody.   Cal doesn't want Ben's thanks cos he's family and after what he did for his friend Terry, Cal owes him.   He tells Ben about the woman who is there for him and don't think Ben quite cottoned on to this being Gillian.   Also Cal trying to read her when he should be reading Sheila.   We get some insight into Ben's work as an agent and find that life at the FBI was very different for him than just some cushy job at the office or conducting investigations.   He had to do whatever was necessary whilst undercover no matter what it involved.   So now that leaves us wanting to know what Cal did in Northern Ireland.

Don't think Cal was that surprised at Ria and Eli using their own initiative - he was expecting it, but isn't it time he stopped testing them.   Ria: "I'm going in."
Eli: "Lightman will be furious that you interfered."
Ria: "I'm gonna go find out what he wants."
Eli: "Then he'll be angry we didn't take the initiative sooner." Eli and Ria congratulating themselves for doing their job.   More flirty goings on between Gillian and Cal especially when he asks her how she feels about Ben and drugs after everything with her ex husband.   Then he proceeds to read her.   Great scene.