Merlin 5.11 "The Drawing of the Dark" Review

                                            
The knights and Arthur (Bradley James) come across an attacked convoy and find it to be the work of Saxons.  Mordred (Alexander Vlahos) notices one in the forest and gives chase, catching up with Kara (Alexandra Dowling) someone he used to know.  He lets her go as Arthur catches up to him and tells him he thought he saw someone, but Merlin (Colin Morgan) knows better.  Merlin once again tells Gaius (Richard Wilson) about this and believes Mordred is up to something but Gaius wants him to give Mordred the benefit of the doubt.  As they leave with medicines, Mordred enters Gaius's chamber and takes some bottles.

He finds Kara with the use of telepathy and heals her wounded leg.  They speak of his role as a knight and he talks of Arthur as being good and his friend, but she doesn't agree.  Mordred returns and Merlin is waiting for him, in a scene reminiscent of Gwen (Angel Coulby) when she was under Morgana's (Katie McGrath) spell and she returned after the meeting with her, Merlin was waiting in that same spot, sensing she was up to something.   Mordred admits he was out helping Kara and she is one of them.  He begs for Merlin's promise that he won't betray him or Kara to Arthur and Merlin hesitatingly gives his word.

Later Arthur and Merlin travel to the forest and come across the same attacked site.  Arthur teaches Merlin how to track and Arthur notices the broken plant.  Merlin thinks it's a deer and there is one there, but Arthur finds a shoeprint.  This leads them to a cave and to Kara.  She comes out of hiding, why if he didn't know anyone was there did she reveal herself?  She says she doesn't want to hurt him.  Then pulls out a dagger and tries to stab Arthur.  He arrests her and takes her to Camelot, where she is tried and is unwilling to show remorse for her actions.  She's a Druid and she believes Arthur and his father are responsible for all the misery caused to the Saxons and to those with magic.

Arthur tells her she's not on trial for her sorcery but for her betrayal and sentences her according to the law, death by hanging.  Gwen was rather silent in all of this and didn't speak up to stop Arthur as she has experienced the same sort of 'judgement' and justice under Uther when he killed her father.  Oh and what about the girl, Sefa, Gwen let go in episode 5.2 Arthur's Bane, no one heard from her again.  Point being she had committed treason, though if it was under the encouragement of her father. Arthur tells her of her wounds and how someone helped her, someone from Camelot, but she refuses to name this person.

Mordred goes to see her and we get lots of emotion and tears from this former Druid boy who left here and grew up to fall in love. Well that was a blast from the past for him but not for us, as this Kara appeared out of nowhere just to add fuel to the fire and force Mordred to reassess his loyalty to Arthur.  Oh and the guard didn't notice the tears in Mordred's eyes when he put the pot down for her.

Mordred is grateful she did not betray him to Arthur, but he will talk to his friend and get him to change his mind.  He also accused Merlin of going back on his word but realizes Merlin didn't betray him, it was his own stupidity of leaving behind his footprints.  Once again the knights, don't have much to do.  Mordred gets on his knees and confesses to Arthur how he helped Kara, the love of his life, whom he has known since childhood.  He truly believes he can help her change if he spares her, but Arthur is adamant he can't change his mind.  Even Merlin tries to persuade him but he refuses.

Merlin confronts Mordred who now knows Merlin didn't tell Arthur where to find her but he will escape with her.  He wants Merlin to keep his word and not tell.  However he tells Gaius this is not something he can do.  Merlin tells Arthur and when they arrive at the cell, they're too late.  Kara meanwhile stabs a guard as he is just a soldier of Camelot, well what was Mordred then.  Mordred is genuinely shocked she has done something like that.  Alarm bells ring out and they get to the forest but the others catch them up.  Arthur telling Gwaine (Eoin Macken)and Leon (Rupert Young) to put all friendship with Mordred aside when Leon asks if Arthur wants them caught alive.

Kara attempts to persuade Mordred to use magic and kill them but he doesn't.  He aims to plead with Arthur to let them go but he doesn't.  Mordred looks as if he's about to relent and turn to magic when Percival (Tom Hopper) knocks him out from behind.  The two now find themselves in cells.  Merlin one again tries to be the voice of reason and convince Arthur to change his mind but he can't.

The scene where Mordred asks for Arthur's forgiveness was compelling and poignant as Arthur believes him completely, thinking he's come to his senses, but how can he when it involves the woman he loves, even if she is bad.  Arthur would do anything for Gwen as we have seen so many times.  he says the same to Mordred: "You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."  Oh and lots of soppy romantic music in this episode too, ha.

Leon takes Kara before Arthur but she still refuses to repent and would do it over again.  Arthur has no choice but to carry the sentence out and Mordred uses magic to shake the objects outside his cell and his "nooooo" reaches out to blow the cell door down.  He escapes and heads straight for Morgana.  This time he wants to help her, though eh tried to kill her last time and does this by betraying Merlin, who kept his word and did not betray him, no matter how much he wanted to speak out against Mordred, well that's what you get for listening and trying to do the right thing.  Mordred tells her about the man she is looking for being inside Camelot and how Emrys is really Merlin. Ooh secret's out!!

It had to come anyway since we know this is the final series of Merlin, but Morgana the useless sorceress couldn't work that out for herself, it took  betrayal from Mordred for this to happen.  First thing Morgana asks when Mordred arrived there is about Arthur's death.  Arthur blames himself for trusting Mordred to begin with and Merlin can only try to assert it wasn't his fault, no Merlin should have spoken out as this episode leads us to the inevitable battle of Camelot: between Merlin and Morgana and Arthur and Mordred.  How the trouble began all for the love of a woman!  The episode was cleverly played and written since in the early part we side with Mordred, even if we know Kara isn't any good for him and nothing good will come from their meeting as Merlin waits for Mordred to put a foot wrong.  Mordred: "Everything I do, you think the worst."

Merlin doesn't, not until Kara reveals her true colours but even this doesn't perturb Mordred as he still wants to save her.  Love is blind and he asks Merlin if he wouldn't do the same for the woman he loves.  Merlin has also lost his love, Freya through fate and circumstances but did not turn to betrayal.  Merlin telling her, "I don't think you realize how special you are."  She became the lady of the Lake but she wasn't outright bad to begin with.

As we get several references to Arthur not being any better than Uther, yet Merlin still holds out hope that things will change.  He even had Mordred believing this until now. Yet Kara speaks out of the atrocities performed by Uther, not Arthur who has not done anything like that.  Her mentions are of the past and doesn't look to the present or the future that's how much she's set in her ways and the hatred just eats at her.

Merlin mentions the knight's bond here but clearly it means nothing to Mordred and especially not when a woman is involved.  If she was his childhood sweetheart and the love of his life, how come he hasn't seen her or been in touch with her until now, conveniently.  Once again the cast, specifically Colin, Bradley and Alexander were excellent in their respective roles.  Mordred keeping his emotions to himself and not revealing much at all, except to Kara.  He's not overly emotional either when he begs Arthur for her life but you can tell the pain is there.  Merlin is caught between the two as usual and try as he might he can't help stop the impending doom to come.

Mordred was ambiguous in his loyalty right until the last moment, throughout all this time he was loyal to Arthur, one of the knights of the Round Table and up to that point Merlin didn't have anything to fear, though he was weary.  But as it was bound to happen, Merlin is finally proved right in not trusting Mordred as he does the very thing he said he would not.  It's a shame the show got to find its brilliance and sense of character in the final series since after getting to this high, the show will be now more.  Yet at least there's plenty to come in the final two episodes!

The Mentalist 5.7 "If It Bleeds, It Leads" Review

 A group of cyclists stop to take photos by the sea as a car comes crashing towards them and goes off the edge.  A man drives up and goes to the driver in the car, she asks for help and he glances at her bag and then suffocates her with his hand.  Er, didn't they get any prints off her face, or did their autopsy not reveal anything like this.

Patrick (Simon Baker) arrives and is perturbed for being called out here for nothing, just a car accident, before which he asks Cho (Tim Kang) how easy it is to break into a maximum security prison.  He replies to his question and reminds him of the obstacles in his way, such as electric fences, so it's pretty much unbreakable.  He then notices the absence of a bag in the car, as well as a half eaten cheeseburger, which rules out suicide.  SO they need a CS tape.  He then walks off saying "my work is done here."  He is coming up with ideas to break Lorelei out of a Federal prison.  SO he's not much help this week, though he does manage to crack the case at the end.

So the address Munn gave him last episode, Cherry Picked was the Federal prison and Cho later tells Lisbon (Robin Tunney) what Patrick asked her.  Then again it shouldn't be big news where Lorelei is being held since it was the FBI who took her, thus it would be a federal prison somewhere close by.

The Vic was Cassandra Flood (Jennifer Peo) a journalist at a TV station as IDed by Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) (stuck behind her desk) and she came up with many stories, most recently one about space travel, before that she investigated a black market ring for stolen cars.  Lisbon takes Patrick to the TV station.  Whilst she's talking with Cassie's boss, Ryan (Amir Arison) shows them a threatening letter Cassie received.  No one took any notice of these since they get plenty.  He wants to put Lisbon and Patrick on air as they are young and "good looking" but Lisbon refuses.  A backdown from last ep when she wanted to go on air but Brenda said she wanted Patrick instead.

Patrick walks off as he usually does and notices the blonde weathergirl and her interaction with newsreader Ed Hunt (Ted McGinley).  There's friction between them as he's lost his glasses and his assistant should be getting him a spare pair.  Note glasses being a big clue for later.  Outside Patrick feigns to know who she is Tara, (Mircea Monroe) the weathergirl.  She asks him if he wants an autograph but he doesn't.  He questions her about Cassie and how she and Ed were sleeping together and how she would take over by getting an anchor chair, after she also slept with Ryan.  When Lisbon shows up, he tells her how Tara wanted Cassie's job "She was conniving and used sexuality to get ahead." Continuing, "hell hath no fury like a slut outskanked."  Oh my, Patty using such words and such language too, where as over the four years he hasn't done anything like that.  Not to mention getting slapped again.  Lisbon can't help laughing cos he kind of deserves it and replies she hopes "that hurt!"  Which it did he responds.

Cho and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) go to the garage and yes these two engage in yet another chase, though not very far (fast becoming the Flack and Danny from CSI:NY.)  Arresting Richard Yuntz (VJ Foster) who claims he was going to the loo, yeah what he had to to run there.  Van Pelt gets a sketch artist to work on a sketch of the man from the CS, whilst Lisbon attends a press conference attended by Ed for the launch of bidding for a seat on the Volker (Henry Ian Cusick) express flight into space.  Ed knew Volker from their time on the Dakar rally and all three were at a museum event as he shows them a photo.  Cassie was doing a story on Volker and he had agreed to it.  Lisbon wants to be introduced.

Volker was interviewed on the show and he seems to be one of those so smooth, smarmy rich men who can get away with anything, including murder.  Think Walter Mashburn but with criminal tendencies.  He gives her his card with his personal number and his assistant, Amanda (Rhea Bailey) comes to fetch him.  Now there was a turn up for the books, his assistant Amanda had a Brit accent whilst Henry Ian Cusick was putting on a fake US accent.  Patrick meanwhile drives out to the prison, telling the guard he's got an appointment, but no one gets in cos there are no appointments.  He even shows the guard his face, bold as brass and his car.  He then drives away to the electric fence and throws a bush into it, when Lisbon calls him to get down here and do his job.   He also tells Lisbon the prison break question was just hypothetical.

Once again we find Patrick plotting in his attic, there's also a bed there for him to sleep there as plotting takes up most of his time at least where Lorelei is concerned.  He tells Lisbon again that she's the only one who can help him with Red John.  Notice how he hides his secret file under his mattress, as if Lisbon couldn't get to it later anyway, if she wanted to.  Van Pelt finds Cassie had reserved a motel room near where she went off the road in the names of Mr and Mrs Flood, but she's not married.  The man, Steve Burman (Jeremy Glazer) is brought in and tells them about a story Cassie was working on, how Volker killed off a whole tribe in the Amazon since they objected to one of his geo thermal projects.  No one believes he would eliminate a whole tribe, but yeah he would.  Thus Cassie's bag was missing as she would have had the evidence in it.  Well why the bag? She could have carried a case in the car boot or something, or not have it with her at all.

Lisbon takes the sketch to the airport to show Volker and he denies seeing the man.  Amanda gets a little flustered and drops some papers, showing she knows something.  Lisbon tells him, "I wouldn't expect a man in your position to get his hands dirty."  A police joke.  Lisbon later goes to see Amanda at her apartment and she tells her about volker and what she overheard.  Lisbon wants Amanda to testify later on and will offer her protection then, what about protection now, cos the look Volker gave her at the airport showed she was a certain goner!

Patrick gets onto the case and tells Lisbon he'll meet her at the station along with Cho, he has to stop at the optometrist first, obviously to get a pair of glasses to fake the ones for Ed he keeps losing.  Patrick goes on air according to a script he's discussed with Ed but goes off point, as Lisbon tells Ryan "he tends to do that."  He asks him if he denies being at the Dakar rally with Volker which he doesn't and also if he denies knowing how to tamper with brakes as he did on Cassie's car.  He then days he found his glasses in the car but Ed lets slip at not wearing glasses, then makes a run for it.  He didn't mean to kill Cassie but only scare her.  He tells Cho he didn't know she would drive off the road.  Volker manipulated him into killing her.  But they don't have any proof against him, so Volker will go free.

Lisbon calls Amanda but she's being killed by Voler's goon and when they arrive at the apartment they see her hanging.  Lisbon can't bear to stay there and Cho and Rigsby have tot get her down.  She sits on the steps outside and Volker tells her Amanda left a suicide note on her e-mail, blaming Lisbon.  Lisbon tells him she will get him and he tells her that her job is at risk, putting his hand on her knee.

Later Lisbon has a meeting with Richard Kirkland (Kevin Corrigan) at her office and he explains he's from Homeland Security.  That she shouldn't work on getting Volker as he will be taken care of.  He also invites her to coffee which she agrees to.  Yes that Kirkland from the limo with Alexa Shulz in 5.5 Red Dawn.  He then passes Patrick in the hall, calling him by name.  Patrick: "Do I know you?"
Kirkland; "No, but I know you." Aggh, a Red John moment if ever there was one.  Then again he probably won't turn out to be Red John, cos that'd be too easy.  As we recall, "he is many..."probably.  Why is Homeland Security looking into Volker (for his 'crimes' abroad and thus a threat to them here) and why has Kirkland shown up now?  As for his knowing Patrick that was an ambiguous answer, he could know him from the FBI, Red John or other sources.  Red Dawn was a significant ep since it was the 100th of the show so there could have been an intro to Red John.

Patrick distancing himself from this case again but he has some words for Lisbon about him not always being around, "I can't promise I'll always be here to help you Teresa.  There may come a time when you may have to do this all on your own.  I want you to be prepared."  Is this some sort of an indication that he may be caught trying to get Loelei out, or that he may succeed on that front and disappear with her until the Red John saga comes to a head.  That something 'bad' may happen to him.  Setting up all sorts of scenarios here.  Reassuring Lisbon she did this job before he arrived so she can carry on doing it when he's gone.  Ironically or not, the 100th episode also being a nod towards how the team got together and Patrick got to work for them and Lisbon needing his help.  Now she may not have him around especially at a most crucial crossroads as she too has an enemy to chase in Volker and perhaps she may need Patrick even more now.

Also noticeable was the growing use of  "Teresa" by Patrick.  He never used to do that, well hardly ever but he now does that plenty of times.  Alluding to a growing fondness for her, or more seriously romantic affection.  She wants him to do his job and not stray into his own personal vendetta constantly.  Her reply "I'm prepared to punch you in the face on my own."  An extension of seeing Tara punch him earlier on, but then he's been punched by plenty. She's frustrated by Patrick for not listening to her and going off on a tangent, arguably his own tangent of chasing Red John and breaking out Lorelei.

So now Lisbon gets a nemesis of her own, her very own Red John in the form of Volker.  That we got to see the killer from the outset (Columbo's plot point, the killer was always shown and the viewer had to figure out how the crime was committed.)  Thus it had to have been someone else who was the criminal mastermind.  Volker has killed "women, children babies" as she tells Amanda, as has Red John, including Patrick's family.   Volker didn't want Lisbon to feel he was offended by her, as Red John indicated to Patrick he was offended after Patrick was on TV.  Cho mentions Ed was "manipulated" into 'killing' Cassie, just as Red John is a master at manipulation and getting other people, his acolytes to do his bidding for him.

As for Patrick, didn't he look great on the TV, so very natural, going back to his days of being a "mentalist." He looked back at home there, so very comfortable.  Let's go to commercial.  Red John was probably watching, another reason why Kirkland made an appearance.

Patrick's use of "sly minx." SO funny.  Lisbon wanting Patty to get make-up before going on air! Patrick calling her ""so tough" in her determination to get Volker.  His quote of "gives me goosebumps..."  So many laughs to add to the seriousness of the episode too.  When Kirkland said he knows Patrick why wasn't he more curious as to know why and from where etc?  He just walks away engrossed in his file.  Yes he's engrossed with Lorelei, to the point of obsession in getting her out, but he just doesn't acknowledge Kirkland, it's just water off a duck's back to him.  Even if he wasn't interested in the case, he still managed to come through in the end, though he was no help in pinning anything on Volker, didn't like that, but if someone says he knows him, wouldn't he be interested in knowing more.  I would!

Robin's new hairdo looked good and Patrick/Simon's 'quiff' keeps changing in every scene! Ha.  I hope The Mentalist does get at least another season since it can be downright intriguing at times, as most of this episode showed!  can't wait for the next one, which will be our last one for the year and then we'll have to wait at least another two months before the remainder!!

Moriarty May Be Dead...Okay He Is...

                                             
Jim Moriarty played by Andrew Scott in the Sherlock series killed himself in the last series and it appears he is gone for good.  In a recent interview Andrew said the next series should begin filming in January 2013 but he is not in it.  Sherlock Holmes evil arch nemesis it seems has been firmly laid to rest, unless there's some shock twist which seems unlikely with Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss at the helm.   As Andrew said he wouldn't ask them about any flashback sequences, "..they don't tell me much.  But no, Moriarty is now dead."  On his character he added,  "I have had an absolute blast.  He is an extraordinary character to play.  I was delighted to be given the opportunity to do it."

However Andrew has built up quite a fan following as Moriarty in his short time on the show and speaks of how much "dark" fan mail he receives.  Including from fans who write books about the characters.  Even graphically.  As well as winning a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor, when he was up against Martin Freeman who plays Dr Watson.   Andrew would like to appear with Benedict Cumberbatch again but in something completely different.  But has signed up with another agent and will be heading off to the USA to see what he can drum up over there.

As for filming in 2013, nothing is confirmed and as we know both Benedict and Martin have busy filming schedules with Steven Moffat also working on Doctor Who, so it seems unlikely we will get an Autumn 2013 airing as has been said before.  But never say never...

Over the year, the writers revealed three words to tantalize fans and viewers to series 3 when it does finally come about.  These being "Rat, Wedding, Bow."  Possibly referring to three stories that may be filmed: The Giant Rat of Sumatra.  The Noble Bachelor and His Last Bow.  This was the last instalment in the series written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and it has been hinted that it could signal the final series of Sherlock.  Especially with so many other work commitments of the cast.  Hey 'Bow' could be read as in violin bow??

However Moffat did say he would bring the cast back together in the future even in 20 years time or so, to see what the two would be like in their '50's since that's how the shows have been filmed in the past with other actors in the roles.  Which wouldn't really be of much interest to many of us, indeed if we're still around...Oh and the time elapse between Sherlock series 3 only goes to show Elementary may be garnering new viewers and leading fans away from our own homegrown Sherlock!

Without A Trace 3.19 "Second Sight" Review

Viv (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is rushed to hospital.  She’s 37 years old and was diagnosed a month ago.

A woman looks at tarot cards and another woman leaves her alone to close up.  She disappears after turning over the deathcard.

38 Hours Missing

Sam (Poppy Montgomery) tells Jack (Anthony LaPaglia) she is Agnes Deshamps (Alexandra Lydon) and is 25 and she owns the store selling new age products and psychic readings.  Sm tells him Viv’s out of hospital and needs surgery.  Jack hasn’t seen her yet.  Sam says she looks good. And finds a burnt doll in the drawer.

39 Hours Missing

Sam looks at her appointments and comments there’s no way to figure out who her clients are from the symbols.  Sam thinks she may have been running a scam.  Rebecca says she never felt any psychic energy but Agnes was good with her clients.  She didn’t have the gift but she tried to help.  Sam asks if her clients felt she was conning them.  Agnes didn’t ask for her help in 5 years but recently she was afraid and was involved in something.  A man was angry at her.  She told her to imagine herself on a roof away from anger, she didn’t know where the road was going and couldn’t see through the dark cloud.  She gave Agnes a candle to use for guidance.  She didn’t finish the ritual.  She was meant to carve initials on the bottom, meditate and when the candle was burnt, she’d give her a reading.  This morning she had  a vision of a van and “frantic energy.”  Sam laughs, she’s not making it up.

Danny (Enrique Murciano) questions Agnes’s neighbour who heard a noise outside and found her on the floor.  She fell but didn’t want to go to hospital and said she was clumsy.

Sam questions Edgar (Bill Brochtrup) the last client Agnes saw.  An angry man interrupted them, she told him she couldn’t go through with it.  Viv gets a call from Martin (Eric Close) frustrated he hasn’t found any sort of records.  He got a name from his father for the head of cardiology at St Luke’s if she needs a second opinion.  Jack asks Martin how she is.  He tells him they found a candle in the garbage at Luca Bella with the initials ‘L.C’.

40 Hours Missing

The doctor at the hospital tells Danny Agnes had a fracture of the radius and concussion.  He asks if the injuries were consistent with a fall.  She also had other injuries.  He doesn’t recognize the man in the sketch.  Agnes told him no one was hurting her.  She had Huntington’s.  Danny asks what that is “for the medically impaired.”

41 Hours Missing

Rebecca (Natacha Roi) talks of the the dark cloud around Agnes.  She wouldn’t have committed suicide as she had strong energy around her.  Sam says it’s hereditary, her grandmother had it.  Agnes told her of a bird she saw on a wagonwheel, white, she knew it was her grandmother.  She had a broken wing, trapped and alone.  The bird meant sorrow.  Sam tells her they found the candle.  The only client with those initials was a Mrs Countryman.

42 Hours Missing

Agnes performed the ritual for her and made mistakes in her readings.  They were having financial discussions and she called this week and told her not to sign her estate over to her nephew (as the knight had to prove himself to the lady.)  Danny asks if she put him charge for 3 weeks?  The sketch is of her nephew, Greg (Andrew Hawkes).

Danny tells Greg someone saw him threaten Agnes.  He made a deposit on an expensive car.  He tells them 3 weeks ago she knew how she could put him in charge of the estate.  She gave him back the $10,0000.  she needed $50,000 and he could get it for her.

Viv decides who should look after Reggie with her husband Marcus (Joseph C Phillips).  Not his sister but her cousin Margaret.  Rick is a Mets fan.  Viv thinks they could get Rosemary to leave him.

Sam loses it with Martin for using Viv’s computer.  Martin finds the doll’s head was from 3 states: Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.  His computer froze.  Danny interrupts their tete a tete and shows them some videotape footage from an Everymart store.  Agnes is being abducted and put into a van.

44 hours Missing

Danny says there was no footage inside so don’t know if she was followed.  The black van has the partial plate:…2H7….  An eye witness Hilda Cahill (Karen Austin) comes forward.  Danny thinks perhaps she needed the $50,00 after a scam.  Jack thinks they may have caught her in an attempt to escape in the van.

Sam shows Rebecca the photo of the man in the van and gets angry as she told her about the van, she’s probably in on it.  Rebecca grabs her hands and tells her she’s feeling a sick friend and having problems with ‘M’.

Danny asks Hilda to confirm her story.  She was walking in the parking lot and all the lights were out.  She heard screaming.  Danny asks if she saw the man who took Agnes?  She blames the store for not fixing their lights.  She didn’t recall Agnes at the store but she dropped her shopping bag.  Danny tells her they didn’t see any bag on the footage.  She’s confused.  Maybe she didn’t see the bag.  Viv takes her medication.

45 Hours Missing

Danny tells Martin Hilda is a moving target.  Martin cross referenced the plate and got one match: a house in Greenville.  All have crimes to their names.  A Mark Conway is on the Major Crimes watchlist.  They are a gypsy family group.  Danny says he’s suspicious of Hilda, she was trying to second guess what they wanted her to say.  She doesn’t have a car on the list but has the aliases of: Carla Callaghan, aka Heather Cahill, aka Hilda Cahill.  Martin says all the people in the house are part of a clan.

46 Hours Missing

Danny uses her aliases and acts confused and threatens her.  Martin finds Patrick Orton (John Dennis Johnston) etc on an endless list.  He owns a 2002 Dodge Ranger registered licence plate: 2H7 from there.  They drive along the west I64 running scams: abductions and threatens to sue the store.  Danny tells Hilda to tell him what Agnes was doing with them and she can leave.  She’s her niece and her real name is Margaret.  She stole $50,000 7 years ago and ran away.  He wants the names and aliases of everyone involved in the fake kidnapping.  She wants her one phonecall.  Danny gets her a phone but tells the agent to capture the number but not to let the call go through.  Danny finds the number she dialled was registered to an alias in Greenville.  They make a living selling defective RVs so Danny suggest they should buy one.

Patrick Conway drives up and Danny pulls a gun on him.  Jack tells him he’s not concerned about the scam and only wants to see Agnes alive.  She’s his daughter.  She took the money and ran away so he has to make it right with the clan.  It wasn’t up to him to let her come home.  Jack tells her she’s ill and he wants to see her.  She tells Jack she knew she was ill when she fells down the stairs.  No one will stay with her except her family.  Jack lets them go.

Sam tells about Agnes.  She wants a reading done.  Jack visits Viv who apologizes for leaving him shorthanded.  Viv says he could use some sleep.  He tells her everyone’s happy to work overtime.  She understands if he wants to fill her chair.  He knows but it’s okay.  ( Or is it.  Se season 4.)

Lots of jokes in the episode about psychics and their powers etc oh the scepticism was rife.  Though Sam believed or needed to, at least to get the reading at the end.

Jack: “She could’ve saved herself some time and just told us where to look.”

Jack seems to be avoiding seeing Viv until the last possible minute for some reason.  As he keeps asking everyone else how she is.  Possibly he doesn’t know what to say to her or avoiding confrontation perhaps.

Jack: “somebody didn’t like their reading.”

Sam: “does your vision come with an id, a recollecation – past, present, future.”  Following Jack’s lead she would ask that question!

Viv: “they’re always out there somewhere."  She could of course also be referring to the missing person not just records.  Viv calls Martin “sweetie.”  He even went to the trouble of talking to his father just for her.

Martin: “I’ll see if I can conjure up something on L.C.”
Jack: “how hilarious.”  Seems like everyone was getting in on the psychic jokes except for Danny and Viv.

The bird that Agnes saw could be herself and not just her grandmother as she felt trapped and alone too, hence the need for her to return to family.
Sam had to look up the initials L.C in her notes.

Danny: “Expensive car, eye witness, missing psychic…”

Jack: “…that’s probably good.  Technically you’re not trustworthy.”

Sam: “What’re you doing?…you haven’t  said 2 words about it since she collapsed – at least not to me and now I walk in …sitting at Vivian’s desk using her computer.”
Martin: “What, you think I’m being disrespectful to her?”
Sam: “No, I think you’re selfish and inconsiderate is what I think.  I’m sorry..”
Martin: “I think you’re just looking for another reason to push me away.”
Sam: “Martin I’m not I’m just really upset…”  Danny walks in on another Martin and Sam moment, an argument this time but never got a chance to comment on it.  As for Martin not talking about it, he obviously cared enough about Viv to call her and asks if she needed another doctor or anything else.  So why didn’t Sam talk to him about how she was feeling, especially after she knew about this for longer.
Martin and Sam having another argument and Danny interrupts – though this time he didn’t notice, no, he was too busy actually working.

Did what Sam find out from the clairvoyant woman make her change her mind and be nicer to Martin. Well she should’ve gone back and tore strips off her for giving her a wrong reading.

Danny: “I was thinking – what if she pulled a scam and that’s what the 50 grand’s about – she had to pay some people back.”  And he’s right as usual!

Sam: “So either you’re involved or you’re a psychic and that part I find very difficult to believe.” But she does believe and especially when she tells her about Viv and Martin though of course surely she would’ve named them them.

These witnesses try to be so clever come forward and attempt to be helpful when it’s apparent they’re involved somehow.  Like mentioning the shopping bag for starters.

Martin: “Sorry bro my computer’s still down.”
Danny: “Mi computer, tu computer.”  He didn’t have any qualms about him using his computer.  But then Martin figured it was much safer to use Danny’s computer than to ask Sam.

Danny: “…whole time Jack and I were talking to her, it was as if she was trying to guess what we wanted her to say.”

Danny: “Hilda, I’m sorry Heather.  Carla, Okay I’m confused…you know what else  you don’t know whom you’re talking to.  I’m FBI.  If I want to I can make your life a living hell…tell me what I wanna know.”  Yes he loves to threaten people and you know what it’s enough to make you want to talk!
Danny: “You trying to figure out all the angles but sometimes smart people complicate things.  This is simple…tell me that and you’re done.”

Hilda; “you told me we were done.”
Danny: “I lied and here’s the part where I’ve gotta tell you that you’re entitled to that one phonecall.”  Yes, but his threats are always so nice, well usually.  Danny threatening her by using the old “I’m an FBI agent” ploy/scenario.  ‘Ooh I’m scared.  Interrogate me some more so I can go weak at the knees and my heart pounds!’  Sorry!!

Jack and Danny undercover and out of their suits with Danny sporting a tracksuit and cap.
Jack finally talks to Viv and reassures her her job is safe.  Also she picks up his not sleeping, continued on from the previous episode.  Sam going to get a psychic reading after being sceptical and making all those comments/jokes after taking Jack's lead.  a bit like Danny when he went and got that 'self help' book in season the episode Life Rules.  He thought it would work, why did he need a self help book anyway?

Desperate Housewives 8.21 "The People Will Hear" Review

Mary Alice: "Since Bree Van de Camp (Marcia Cross) was arrested, she had experienced a wide range of emotions.  One moment she felt afraid, the next she was angry and through it all she felt ashamed.  But now that her trial was fast approaching, she was beginning to feel a little rattled."  The women sit in Bree's room and discuss her trial.  Trip (Scott Bakula) goes over questions for the trial and asks Gaby (Eva Longoria) what sauce Bree put on her chicken, Gaby replying barbecue, how long has she known Bree that she comes up with BBQ sauce!  Gaby blabs about Alejandro, piquing Trip's interest as Trip doesn't know who that is.  Bree thinks mentioning she'd use BBQ sauce is worse than killing.

Lynette (Felicity Huffman) states Bree is still after Trip and Bree thinks he's an "intelligent, charming, caring man."  That Scott is in real life too, one huge fan of his right here!!  She hasn't met anyone like him in ages.  She's sure he feels the same too, but Lynette notices him through the window, getting picked up by a blonde in a car.  Mary Alice: (Brenda Strong) "After Bree was arrested she felt a range of emotions...But the one thing she didn't expect to feel was jealousy."

Mary Alice; "At the Fairview Childbirth Centre there are certain conversations you expect to hear...discussions about the magic of  childbirth...but Julie Meyer (Andrea Bowen) found herself having a conversation that was rather unexpected."  Susan (Teri Hatcher) can't believe Bree is on trial for murder.  "Killer's don't wear aprons."  That's debatable, ha.  Julie wants to punch Porter (Charlie Carver) for being late and he's late for class since he's out making money.  He then faints at the child birthing DVD.

Bree visits Trip at the office and finds he's out to lunch with the blonde woman.  Gaby picks outfits for Bree's trials and Bree doesn't want stripes, giving the jury the wrong impression, or ruffles.  Bree is innocent Gaby tells her and Trip is a brilliant lawyer, but Bree feels he's distracted.  Gaby isn't worried at all but she's not the one on trial, allowing Bree to take the blame still.

Tom (Doug Savant) is heading out to Mumbai as he breaks the news to the children who don't want him to go.  Jane (Andrea Parker) and Tom aren't in a good place.  Lynette thinks time apart will do them good, but will be hard on the children. Tom doesn't want to be away from Lynette, who will tell him what to do? and they haven't been apart from each other for more than a month.  He'll miss her.

Bree meets up with Lindsay (Brit Morgan) and asks if  "part of your discretion is falling out of your bra?"  Lindsay quits, she's a PI and was working for Trip.  Lynette won't let Tom get on the plane and Lee (Kevin Rahm) adds she won't fit into that garish purple dress as Renee's (Vanessa Williams) bridesmaid if she keeps eating.  Hey purple is my fave colour but it did nothing for that dress!  Ha.  Bree turns up where Lindsay is surveilling, how'd she track her down then?  She apologizes for being rude and claims she's not jealous.  Lindsay says Trip's a good lawyer (we get the picture by now! ha) but female clients get the wrong idea, "he's into your case, not you."

Susan tries to comfort Julie by telling her the men think the birthing DVD is like a video game when they see the blood.  Mike almost passed out when he saw it too, but he always knew what to do, especially when MJ fell.  There are so many memories of Mike for her here.  Julie doesn't believe Porter wants to be with the baby anymore.

Lynette doesn't want Greg (Reed Diamond) to send Tom to Mumbai and she dumps him when he agrees.  Bree can't sleep, neither can Susan or Lynette.  They take a walk and have't been out so late since they buried Alejandro.  If only they could go back.  Gaby comes out cos she saw them walking but was asleep.  She knows Bree will be fine cos she's innocent and as the saying goes, innocent people have been convicted for less, thought I'd add that.  Susan was thinking Gaby should tell the truth and so was Lynette.  Gaby still thinks all will be back to normal if they just hold on longer.  They're mad at Gaby cos Lynette says if Gaby cares about Bree being convicted then she'd not be sleeping now either.

Bree is polishing the silver and Trip comes over with donuts and a Casablanca DVD.  He hasn't seen the film when Bree mentions "of all the gin joints in all the world you had to walk into mine..." so he doesn't know what that means.  Funny Sam would have known what it means in Quantum Leap!! Ha.  Wouldn't Bree have anything already baked, would have thought she'd be in the kitchen, not polishing if she couldn't sleep.  It's Bree's fave movie, mine too.

Prosecutor Stone (Christina Chang) asks how well they know their neighbours?  They have secrets, like Bree does and can poison Wisteria Lane.  Trip replies that she knows her neighbours and they're honest, have integrity and compassion.  Stone describes Bree as a woman of loose morals.  Trip responds if it's criminal to pick up people, there are one or two in the courtroom who is guilty of picking up in bars, pointing to himself.  Bree made questionable choices which doesn't make her a killer but human like them.  Stone adds secrets like bodies don't stay buried.

Susan sees Porter to help Julie, he's making money for her and the baby and he needs to find his own life right now.  So Susan wants to leave with Julie and help her.  It will be good for her to move.  Greg takes his anger over Lynette dumping him out in the office, calling her a real piece of work and a psycho.  She's hung up on another man.  Tom punches him over this and gets fired.

Susan is called to the stand and has  known Bree nearly 20 years.  Lynette says they're like sisters.   Gaby talks about the progressive dinner party and Susan wasn't with Bree the entire time.  She went home to check on her course and Lynette says she had sex with her boyfriend.  Gaby says she stayed with the others to help her clear up until 2.  TOD was between 10 and midnight.  Susan adds Bree didn't kill Ramon and Gaby concurs.

Jane asks Tom why he didn't like his boss, cos he was dating Lynette?  Tom still loves Lynette.  Stone shows Bree photos of all those men she was with.  She admitted her transgressions and didn't kill Ramon.  Stone says Bree has a clear conscience and rebuts this by introducing her suicide note into evidence.  Chuck was killed in a hit and run later and she reads out the letter, "...can't go on living with a secret."  Bree was in a dark place when she wrote that.  Trip believes her and hopes the jury does too.

Lynette is trying to control Tom's life as she laments to Lee.  That dress is horrible and if Lynette tells Renee, she'll just pick another one.  She did that with Tom all the time and maybe she's just unhappy.  Lee helped her get out of her dress and Tom sees them through the window.  Juanita (Madison De la Garza) and Celia (Daniella Baltodano) break Gaby's grandmother's vase and Juanita was going to let Celia takl the blame "for something you did...own up to it.  Don't you see how bad..."  Gaby realizes she has to do the same.  Trip gets the file on Alejandro and Bree tells him they all made a pact.  He asks if she cares enough to lie for them cos she'll end up in jail.  The jury think she's hiding something and she is.  She wants him to win this case.  Bree posits it won't work without her betraying her friend.  Trip says it's her only way out, to tell the truth about Gaby.

Mary Alice: "Yes...recent events in the lives of my friends had stirred up intense emotions, excitement about starting a new chapter, guilt over causing another's pain, disappointment in a failure to change.  Then there are those who are asked to put all emotion aside in order to make a cold hearted decision."  Gaby brings  a scarf for Bree, she's sacrificing herself (now she can hang herself with the scarf, sorry).  Gaby insists she's a better person than Gaby could be.  Well Bree is a better person since it was all Gaby's fault to begin with for not coming clean in the first place.  Of course then there'd be no story!

The title is yet another song from a Stephen Sondheim musical All That Glitters.  Surely Chuck Vance died on the Valentine's Day ep so he couldn't have bee killed in May.  Also how did the coroner manage to determine TOD since Alejandro was buried for months, let alone the date of his death.  Bloops writers!!

Tom and Lynette let's face it will always be a couple.  How could Tom not know that was Lee from behind.  and it was always doubtful Porter and Julie would be able to bring up their baby together.  Gaby realizing she has to do the right thing but still doesn't come clean and own up but buys Bree a scarf instead!  My scarf comment I've already made!

The Vampire Diaries 4.8 "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street" Review

                                             
Caroline (Candace Accola) mentions Elena (Nina Dobrev) being sired to Damon (Ian Somerhalder) again and that she has to make him happy. Stefan (Paul Wesley) thinks the bond may not affect her the same way, naive thinking on his part but Caroline thinks it is affecting her and Stefan doesn't want her to tell anyone else.    Caroline will talk to Tyler (Michael Trevino).  All the while Elena and Damon engage in yet more bedroom antics together. Elena wants to tell Stefan and Damon thinks she should leave it for a day.  Stefan tells Damon about the sire bond who calls it "pathetic nonsense."  He got her to a good place about being a vampire.  Stefan wants him to tell her to drink from a bloodbag and if it doesn't work he'll apologize.  Damon: "apology better be epic."  Caroline's word from last episode when she said Elena and Stefan are "epic" together.

Tyler says Adrian (Mica Parker) needs to endure more torture to break Klaus's bond but Kim (Alyssa Dias) won't let him continue.  Shane (David Alpay) has taught Bonnie (Kat Graham) small spells.  Damon brings Elena a bloodbag and she drinks it, finally tasting of blood to her, begging the observation of why if she had never drunk blood before then of course the blood will taste like "garbage" to her, as she put it.  But she has a real sense of what blood tastes like now.

Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) says they will break Adrian and then Shane will have his 12 hybrids he needs.  He has the info she wants on her biological parents but he wants the 12th hybrid first or else he'll take Tyler.  Caroline finds there's no vampire equivalent of breaking the vampire sire bond.  Damon recalls New Orleans 1942 and they were there.

New Orleans 1942.  Charlotte (Madeline Zima) was sired to Damon and she kills a sailor cos Damon told her to "show no mercy. and she didn't.  Valerie, a witch helped him break the sire bond.  Elena, Caroline and Bonnie have  a girls' night in.  Stefan was at war and Damon didn't go.  Stefan feels it's important for Elena to know how wrong Damon is for her and then apologizes.  Stefan also apologizes back in 1942 for being the ripper and hope they can be friends gain.  Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) tells him not to pick a fight or judge.

Stefan is going to Egypt as an ambulance driver.  Damon can handle war and wants to spend time with his brother.  Lexi tells Damon he's not going.  Stefan needs balance and to see human blood and suffering.  Charlotte brings in another Vic and Stefan loses it when he sees the blood on his hands.  Damon left Charlotte at Bourbon and Du Main, telling her to count every break and then he left.

Hayley thinks Kim is challenging Tyler's position as the Alpha of the pack.  Stefan doesn't believe Damon will do the right thing, only what's right for Damon.  Damon replies he wants to "restore her factory settings." Damon calling him a dick, now he's at it.  As if it wasn't enough to hear that in Supernatural! Ha.
Caroline says they don't hang out in the bathtub cos of cooties.  Damon brings his skanks in there which Elena takes offence to, what Damon's skanks or that Caroline has labelled Elena one too.  They both fight over Damon and Elena lets slip she's slept with him (and not once either.)

Damon is looking for a witch  in Nandi's (Adina Porter) store.  Valerie (Takara Clark) had a Grimoire with a spell.  He sacrificed 12 human souls.  She says the stuff was lost during Katrina.  Caroline and Bonnie are only watching out for Elena and Caroline blabs Elena is sired to Damon.

Damon says he killed them all back in 1942, his justification, how does Lexi know they didn't deserve it.  He'd do it again.  Tyler told her "the bond affects how you act, not how you feel."  Damon returns to the store and knows she's Valerie's daughter, a practising witch.  She uses her magic on Damon.  Stefan needs her help.  Valerie called on darkness, she wanted power and Damon provided it for her with the 12 souls.  A vampire only bonds to a sire if they have feelings for him.  He must set her free and let her go, then leave her.

Kim tortures Caroline and Elena takes her place as Klaus is fixated on her.  Tyler won't hurt her since he's not Klaus.  Kim submits as do the others.  Damon wants to get on with his life and so should Charlotte, she needs to forget him and find someone else.  Stefan tells Damon it's hard to do the right thing as he's far from selfless, it's not one of his character traits.  Damon responds one day Stefan will realize he doesn't know him as well as he thinks.  Damon wears a uniform in 1942 and is ready to ship out with Stefan but Lexi stops him.  Serving in war is penance for Stefan and Damon has no conscience, Stefan will wonder why.  Damon needs Stefan, but he will destroy him.  She made him not go and Stefan says he didn't know.

He's upset at Damon loving Elena.  Stefan knows it will be Elena's choice if she doesn't feel the same way for Stefan.  Caroline apologizes to Elena and wants to tell Stefan about Damon herself.  Bonnie mentions the little spell she did is called "expression" at least the magic is and Shane is helping her with magic.  Well that puts Shane firmly in place of the dark side, since that's the 12 souls he needs to sacrifice, just as Valerie did back then and Damon provided them for her, as Hayley is doing here.  Of course we knew he was involved in dark magic.

Shane tells Hayley her parents are dead but it doesn't mean she can't see them again.  "We are the beginning."
Stefan feels sorry for Damon since he loves Elena. Damon isn't as bad as he used ot be.  Caroline wonders how he can trust Damon.  He loves Elena as much as Stefan and he can't be selfish with her anymore.  Damon tells her everything's changed; she wants him to know the time she's been in love with Damon is for real and she's happy.  Damon has to do this, he's not a good guy and doesn't do the right thing but he must do the right thing for her.  Elena makes him touch her heart and she touches his face asking if this feels real?  So will Damon do the right thing and tell her to move on, cos Elena just keeps stopping him.  She was quite selfish here too, was she afraid if he told her to leave that she'd actually do it and walk away from him.

Lots of real emotions from Damon in this episode, even if it was mostly for Elena.  He did however want to be with Stefan back in 1942 and Lexi made him see he wasn't any good for him, in the same way Damon must show Elena, but that didn't happen this time round, wonder if it will next ep.  Damon sacrificed those 12 souls for nothing and would do it again in a heartbeat, this time for Elena and Stefan can't believe he did, but why so shocked when he knows what Damon was like.  Only the 12 souls had nothing to do with the sire bond and now Shane wants to do the same.  Pastor Young sacrificed himself and 11 other council members earlier on, presumably they were all innocent and now he wants 12 hybrids.

Elena bringing up Caroline's attraction towards Damon when under compulsion and it appears we must suffer the Damon/Elena relationship for the foreseeable future, even if many of us don't want it.  Well he didn't come out and say he wants to get on with his life and Elena should leave him so she can return to him of her own free will.  It's all about free will in this show which is demonstrated by Tyler breaking the hybrid bond Klaus has over them and yet Hayley is doing it for the wrong reasons, but we knew she couldn't be trusted ages ago.

The other part is how this Tyler/Hayley/Klaus sire bond is being dragged out and I don't find that interesting at all.  Caroline and Tyler don't spend time together and she's the sounding board for Stefan these days and his woes with Elena, but even their love triangle is boring, jarring, whatever you want to call it.  It has been dragging on since a few seasons now and the characters just get pushed in one direction or another.  Do the Salvatore's have to fall for every girl each brother desires?  That makes sense?  Why not decide once and for all who will get Elena, it was the same thing with Katherine.

Let's focus more on the dark side of the show and less on the ever-lasting love triangle.  Also obviously Damon and Stefan missed how Charlotte was still sired when he left her counting bricks on the walls.   Thus the spell didn't work, or was used for other purposes.  Wasn't Damon obsessed with Katherine due to her having a sire bond over him and when she rejected him she set him free.

The title perhaps a reference to Casablanca and the "we'll always have Paris" line between Elsa and Rick.  The film was also filmed in 1942 and was set during the Second World War.  One of my faves.  Damon's fave drink being bourbon.

CSI:NY 7.20 "Nothing for Something" Review

The CSIs investigate the murder of a woman who turns out to be the Vic of a serial killer. Mac is stalked by a ex-con he put away and meets his ex-partner.

 Flies feed of a DB dumped in the park, as the scene flashes back to the murder Vic in the club; where she's picked up by a man.  The scene rewinding and then fast forwarding with the song, New York, New York, playing was an interesting effect.   Flack (Eddie Cahill) informs them the Vic was found by a hiker.   Hawkes (Hill Harper) determines she's been dead at least 36 hours.  Flack recalls the name of another Vic who was also stabbed, strangled and dumped in the park, Macy Martinez..   Mac recalls it was on the other side of the park.   A nearby path could have provided easy access for the body dump.   Mac: "sometimes evil finds finds you on the road you take to avoid it."  Another one of Mac's evil comments, second one this season.   Also alluding to himself, with the ex-con finding him and his ex-partner, who was evil personified too.   Just like the killer.

Lindsay (Anna Belknap) had to be there.   She takes a cast of the shoe print, which took forever.   Hawkes and Mac process the DB, there's trace under her fingernail and Hawkes notices two deep puncture wounds.   Mac adds Sid (Robert Joy) who wasn't in this episode, found the same marks on Macy also indicating manual strangulation with the left hand.  Jo (Sela Ward) comments on Mac wearing the same suit, he hasn't been home in two days.   He had a granola bar from the vending machine.   Jo: "Don is driving you out."  Mac asks if he's getting "Milk and cookies and singing a lullaby."
Flack: "Lullaby thing's a bit weird, but milk and cookies could happen."  Hey no lullaby, no fair!

Jo notices the Vic's expensive lingerie, she was ready for a night out.   Hawkes mentions in Macy's case, she left the club with an older man.   Mac and Flack go to Mac's favourite diner.   Flack: "So no more milk and cookies."  Outside they bump into Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan; and Flack makes several comments alluding to NFL players and their game.   Inside, Flack wonders who arrived at the formula that every dog year is 7 human years and wonders 'how many years these cases take off our expiration date?'  A man feigns being lost and Flack provides him directions to the Statue of Liberty; stealing Mac's wallet in the process.   Flack determines they lose 2 human years every year as a cop.

Adam (AJ Buckley) works his Scottish accent on Lindsay (waste of time really) and she fobs him off by wanting him to analyze the shoe treads for her.   He was improvising.  Why does Adam want to act anyway? Ha.   Mac says he should have seen his wallet being taken.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) identifies the Vic as Patricia Kelly (Najarra Townsend).   Her roommate filed a missing person's report on her.   The trace under her fingernail is identified as tyrian purple, Jo worked on art heist cases at the FBI.     Hawkes surmises fine art pieces would belong to a private collector and he's compiled a list of collectors.   Adam identifies the circles on the shoe tread as belonging to 'the Jammer', he has his fingerprint on 500 shoes and he cross references the owners with the art collectors.   Hitting on one match to Charles Martin (Josh Randall).   His apartment looked a bit like Stella's (Melina Kanakaredes) one when she was attacked by her psycho boyfriend.  

When they arrive at his apartment they find it's already been processed.   Danny thinks Patricia was murdered here so the CS has already been processed.   So what would they have done if Danny hadn't turned up to answer Jo's question of, "What the hell's going on here?"  Flack finds Martin was at a business conference but the police were unable to arrest him.   Jo says whoever processed had to have a basic knowledge of CSI techniques.     Danny: "Basic knowledge, kind of like the Feds."
Jo: "I heard that Messer."

Flack checked and neither the Feds or the NYPD were here.  Jo finds the source of the tyrian purple, using the 'poor man's process', where the paint turns blue when it's exposed to water .   Patricia touched the painting on the wall.   Danny notices the lock was picked.  Jo hopes Martin returns here, which he will won't he, cos he doesn't know he's been fingered!  The man who stole Mac's wallet returns it, under the guise of finding it on the street.   Mac insists he didn't lose it.   Raymond Harris (Clifton Collins Jnr) was released from prison a week ago.   Mac isn't sure who he is or what he wants and meets with his former partner.   Whose entire name isn't mentioned until the end, where Mac introduces him to Flack as 'Wild' Bill Hunt
(Peter Fonda).   Mac tells him they locked up Harris, but he appears to be stalking Mac.   Years ago Mac saw him at Rikers, where he believed he was somehow 'wronged.  Flash to Mac in uniform.  Bill doesn't want Mac questioning his integrity; but Mac respects him, "we just had a different way of doing things."  Somehow he doesn't strike as the type who needs to be careful or needs to be warned about danger.

                                                            
Lindsay finds blood evidence from Macy connected to Martin's apartment.   Lindsay had to be the one to mention Stella here again, as in the season opener, as this was her last case at the lab.   No wonder it was unsolved!  Gravitational blood drops on the bed frame matched Macy, who was also killed there.   As well as finding evidence of another woman, as a blonde hair was recovered from the sofa.  Danny finds the CSI rang the doorbell and left his print, identifying him as Mark Fields, (Gene Blevins) a former cop, turned PI.

Yet more tiresome questions from Lindsay, where Jo says it's not a question of 'what', but of 'who'.    Danny shows Fields a photo of a blonde woman, Christina Moreno, who left her husband, Benny (  His only lead was Martin and he was looking for evidence of Christina, but didn't find anything.   Well he missed the hair.   What was the point of having Lindsay there to question the husband,other than pulling faces.  Sure Flack would have managed on his own.   He tells Benny all they can do is hope she's safe.  Whereas Lindsay said to Jo earlier on Christina's probably dead, and Jo replied, let's hope not, just as Flack did here.   Lindsay is so cynical, yet another one of her faults.

Flack informs Jo Martin was chased to the roof of his building and Jo is sure he won't jump.   Did anyone really care he was threatening to jump, not really cos the coward wouldn't have gone through with it.   Jo's not there to make him come down but to ask about Christina, since they know where Macy and Patricia are.   She tells him he's "too fond" of himself to jump.   When the camera showed the bird's eye view of Jo's head, she looked like a stuntwoman.    Jo tells him she can give him 12 ways to kill himself when he's in jail if he changes his mind.   Her hands shake, which she puts down to drinking too much tea and an adrenalin rush.   He admits Christina called him and stayed here a week, then left.   Christina being his friend, well there's no accounting for taste.    Martin arrogantly and remorseless, posits their last moments were filled with pleasure.   He has an impulse to kill.   Flack's impulse: to 'smash his face in and throw him out the window'.

Jo believes he didn't kill Christina.   Bill gives Mac his file on Harris; then proceeds to beat him up in an alley and warns him off.  He's actually going to eat that bread from the ground, yuk.   He tells him "What's done is done." The apartment across the road from the alley looked like the one Danny and Hawkes went to in the episode Jamalot.   (Which is a studio set of course.) Mac tells Jo that Christina doesn't fit Martin's Vic profile.   Hawkes traces the last call made from Christina's phone to a hotel, where they find a bloody CS.   Danny says a man didn't request a maid.   Obviously the husband, Benny killed her as there were no other suspects, then it's always the spouse.    Also as Fields said, Benny kept her on a 'tight leash'.   It was apparent her suitcase was missing, so they're looking for a missing DB.   Lindsay with yet more pointless questions, this time she asks who'd kill her.   Duh.  

Mac says they can pretend they have her DB.   Which is what Flack tells Benny, so why did he butcher her?   He shows him the CS photos and one of the leopard skin suitcase.   Flack also asks him the significance of why they found Christina there.   Benny only wanted love and respect in return.  He dumped her where he met her and yes Lindsay also had to be there!  Like it was necessary.   Flack tells Mac he owes him for the suitcase and if Fields hadn't broken into Martin's apartment, they wouldn't have solved Christina's murder.   Cue Harris breaking into an apartment to retrieve his old weapons.   Bill lets Mac know he doesn't expect Harris to bother them.   Flack "...expect a body to turn up."  (Well maybe in the next episode.)  Mac is adamant he should have left things alone as Harris won't be easily frightened.  Hey last time I looked, that wasn't Flack's desk where he sat at episodes end.  Ha.  

This episode didn't seem to be too focused on the main story, but more of a mish-mash, piecing together the pieces of the various puzzles.   With Martin being revealed as the killer very early on.   How did we know Mac's partner would be his polar opposite, engaging in everything Mac strongly disapproves of and doesn't stand for.

Great to see Jo actually getting Mac to listen to her when she sends him away for food and sleep, in that she hasn't been here long but he listens to her.    He should've taken his own advice when he said similar to Hawkes last episode, who appears to be back on the straight and narrow now.   Jo calling Flack 'Don', felt so comfortable to her, and the number of times she said his name, as we know, usually everyone just calls him Flack.   Flack was in a kind of crazy mood, what with counting the number of dog years and cop years too.   Great to see Eddie portray comedy and seriousness all in the same episode and he does it so well.   Later losing his cool with Martin when he says he's thinking about throwing him out the window.   Providing Mac with milk and cookies, yeah that can be arranged, cos then he can have some too and he didn't refuse breakfast with Mac either.   We haven't seen Flack eat in a long time for someone who loves food.

Didn't like Lindsay popping up everywhere again, surprised she didn't turn up to force Martin from the roof.   Her endless puerile questions being asked again and stopping Adam from his explanation about his accent, was uncalled for, she's not Mac.   If she didn't want to know why bother asking to begin with when she was too busy attempting to score more points off him when asking him for help.

Getting back to Mac, he really seems weary in this episode, but not just because he hasn't had any sleep.   His years on the job appear to be catching up to him - so no wonder he probably had thoughts about leaving the force and the crime lab.  Almost as if the writers were projecting their opinions about the show and where it may be headed, onto Mac.   You can tell there's something going on when the killer's unmasked straightaway and you don't have to put together clues or evidence to guess the suspect, as that's what happened in this episode.  It felt as though the writers had given up already before the season was even over and couldn't be bothered to keep up the momentum to keep viewers interested.   What with Stella being mentioned it practically made it seem like the final series.   Slipping standards when they feel  Lindsay has to be written into every scene, practically.

Macy Martinez's case was one of the last ones Stella worked on before leaving for New Orleans.

Also not mentioned since season 1's Officer Blue episode, was Mac and Flack being able to lie to Benny about finding Christina's body to elicit a confession from him.  Then  Aiden (Vanessa Ferlito) told the suspect, : "You know what one of the greatest rules of an investigator is - we can lie to the suspects legally." Used to brilliant effect here in getting Benny to admit, not only he killed his wife, but her whereabouts too.   Very tactful on Flack's part and clever (he's not just a pretty face!)  The DB being carried out in the leopard print suitcase reminded me of Rear Window, (1954) where the killer, Lars Thorwold cut his DB wife into little pieces to dump her.   Hey how could they be sure they got the correct leopard print?

Flack and Mac meet Mike Tannenbaum, the NY Jets coach and Rex Ryan, the General Manager outside the diner, in a scene filmed in downtown LA.   Flack giving some pointers about NFL and comments on the players, whereas with Danny it was baseball in the episode The Untouchable.

Mac's reference to evil was in the season 7.11 episode To What End, where he said "...the sacrifices they have to make...the necessary price of evil."

Merlin 5.10 "The Kindness of Strangers" Review

                                           
Morgana (Katie McGrath) continues her attempts (pathetic) to wage war on Arthur (Bradley James) as she tracks down, no, hunts down Alator the Catha (Gary Lewis) who made his last appearance in season 4.7 The Secret Sharer ep where Gaius (Richard Wilson) revealed the true identity of Emrys.  She catches up with Alator and once again threatens him with torture if he doesn't comply with her will.  Thing is she knows he's been trained to withhold all forms of torture and physical pain, yet she still insists on doing this.  Until she decides to use the Nathair, or threatens to, the evil looking snake.  This will engulf his soul and he will reveal Emrys.  Though it isn't shown or said whether she actually goes through with this and if Alator withstands it or not.

Elsewhere, Merlin (Colin Morgan) has to endure yet another picnic outing with Arthur and Gwen (Angel Coulby) and yet more jokes at his expense.  One about Arthur's dog being bale to catch the pouch and Merlin replying it's cos he gets treated better.   Gwen says Arthur's changed and Arthur wants Merlin to fill the water pouches.  He throws them at Merlin who doesn't catch them and Merlin finds magical markings on on trees, which Arthur puts down to hunting.  He also finds a piece of jewellery near the tree.  They find refuges flooding in from across the border where magic is freely used and Merlin wonders why Morgana would hurt these people.  Arthur sends out more patrols on the border, but what will these knights do against Morgana and magic?  Gaius tells Merlin the medallion could have been dropped by a refuge and is probably used by the high priestess.

Merlin knows Alator would never betray him and Gaius adds not willingly, since Gaius has been subject to Morgana's torture and magic last season too.  He reminds Merlin it was he who betrayed him and told him who Emrys was.  Whilst picking flowers for Arthur (ha!) who wants them to serve with Gwen's breakfast in bed, Merlin chances upon a high priestess, Finna (Sorcha Cusack) who has a message for him and wants him to meet later.  Gaius warns him against going and feels it's a trap set by Morgana to ensnare Emrys.  Merlin doesn't believe this but Gaius gets him to promise not to go to the meeting.

Gaius later engages in another betrayal of sorts by informing Arthur of this woman and he sends out his knights to find her.  In a moment where Merlin once again feels likes an outsider, Arthur takes Mordred (Alexander Vlahos) aside, telling him he has a task for him.  Merlin can't help but feel this way as Arthur once more puts all of his trust and faith in Mordred.  Plus we don't know what Arthur actually says to Mordred.   Merlin goes out to meet Finna anyway and the knights arrive, prompting Merlin and Finna to run.  Merlin has to use magic to keep the knights at bay so they can both make their escape.  Had a feeling Mordred knew exactly what was going on then.  Also the bit where Finna sends a message via the crow to make us believe she was on Morgana's side, where it's actually Alator she's contacting.

Merlin tells Gaius of this and has to find her.  Alator receives the message saying that she has found Emrys and all will be well.  Two mistakes here that people with magic so obviously shouldn't have made, Finna signing her name, surely they would have had some other name or symbol and Alator keeping the note.  Why?  He could have torn it up and thrown it out the window or buried it in his cell.  Morgana's henchman finds the note leading Morgana to kill Alator.  As she heads out to find Finna.

Percival (Tom Hopper) finds Merlin who thinks he's given them the slip and admits he was out looking for herbs, commenting on how they helped Percival and his 'palsy', it wasn't palsy.  Gwain (Eoin Macken) and Leon (Rupert Young) won't let him return and he tries to sneak away in the night, with Mordred catching him.  He won't tell Mordred where he's going but Mordred covers for him.  Morgana catches up to Finna as does Merlin and he is injured by an arrow in his leg.

They get to a tower and Finna gives him a box.  Warning him of the great battle to come for Camelot and Arthur.  She is pleased to have served him, sending Merlin to the roof and leave her his sword.  She waits until Morgana comes in and then kills herself.  Oh dear, another waylaid plan Morgana!  Merlin lies helpless and calls for the Dragon (John Hurt) long time no see; carrying him to safety he tells Merlin he will serve him as long as he can but he grows weary and it will soon be his time, it's the circle of life.  Ahh poor Dragon.

The knights bring in a dead knight and Gaius once again breaks the news of it being the work of magic, his skin has grown over his face.  It is a declaration of war on Arthur and Camelot by Morgana.  Thought she was doing that anyway! So not that much happened this episode, seems this one was all about tying up loose ends as to who could give away Emrys's identity and next week's one will set up Mordred as an enemy and then we get Arthur to be his own "Bane" in the two-part final episodes.  So what of the blue creature encountered earlier on and of course Morgana hasn't found Arthur's bane either and what she was looking for in the caves.

Merlin is distraught he has gotten two people killed and Gaius tells him he is the only one who has the magical ability to help Arthur, no one else can do it.  Yet it seems he doubts himself.  So what happened to the knights after Merlin left them and where did they find the dead knight's body, well he was dressed in knight's clothes.

Finna's prophecy is all about the impeding battle: "let loose the hounds of war" immediately reminding me of Shakespeare's line from Julius Caesar, "let slip the dogs of war..."  She also refers to Arthur as "the once and future king" said many times before and in season 3.8 The Eye of the Phoenix. The Nathair Morgana used on Elyan last series.   "The ...cold dawn of Camlann" is where Arthur will meet his doom (but then they can't have any movies?)  Incidentally it is said that Mordred also met his death in this battle, but we don't know if it was battling against Arthur or with him.  Be good if after all the prophecies and doom, they could turn it around with Mordred turninng out to be good after all, but that'd be too much since he will join Morgana.  Lots of mentioning of destinies too, like Finna's to "serve you until the end" she tells Emyrus.  Of course it was apparent what Finna was going to do with the sword, she's hardly going to use it to fight Morgana and her henchmen.  SO much for Morgana wanting her alive.

Gwen was quite boring now that she's back to her usual self and Arthur fawning all over her after everything, well perhaps he won't be around much longer so...Thought Merlin forgave Gaius a little too quickly, but then he is a father figure and mentor, plus there's no one else he really trusts or can turn to.   The knights not having much to do again this episode.  The title was from Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire where Blanche DuBois depends on "the kindnesss of strangers."  Here that is what Merlin relied upon with Finna and Alator who he didn't really know and who went to their deaths for him.

The Mentalist 5.6 "Cherry Picked" Review

Patrick (Simon Baker) is interviewing police officers to find who helped in Lorelei's disappearance, well I say loosely interviewing as he does what he does best ascertains if they're lying or not.  Then gets hold of the arm of a female officer to see if she's telling the truth, much to her dismay.  Lisbon (Robin Tunney) calls him about a case, the killing of a security guard.  A couple have been kidnapped and as soon as he arrives he notices a face in the crowd busy using his phone.  He tries to read his messages, conspicuously of course and Isaac (Neil Hopkins)  feigns checking his brother's mail.  Of course he doesn't know if the box was empty or full.

When Lisbon and Patrick take him into the house, there are signs of a struggle.  Patrick calls him on his phone and he admits his brother, Marcus (J R Cacia) and his wife, Pella (Brooke Langton)  have been kidnapped.  Patrick noses around and Isaac locks himself away wanting his lawyer.  Patrick plays classical music really loudly on the expensive sound system and again a record on the record player, but there's country music in one of the other music systems.  Thus he deduces the kidnapper took the wrong couple.  Also he notices the dog is missing and finds him outside.  Don't know about you but hiding Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) constantly behind large cases made me laugh and was quite off putting, no cos it's so obvious why they're doing that and excuse me, what about hiding her upper body?  It's confirmed the wrong couple were kidnapped when the Goodwins walk in the door.

Lorelei has been missing 19 days and with any other missing person this wouldn't have been significant, so quite a lot has happened in that time.  Patrick leaves to interview the police driver, Munn (Michael Shamus Wiles) he shows him Lorelei's picture and he gets defensive by folding his arms, well duh, Patrick suspects and notices everything and if that wasn't a big giveaway he's hiding something, he tells Patrick he drives a lot of prisoners and walks out.

A lot of the time is spent at the couple's house until they work out Gary (Michael Petrone) and Sloan (Anne Dudek) his wife, are missing.  Then it's back to the office and more cases for Van Pelt to conceal herself with.  Cho (Tim Kang) and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) not having much to do this episode.  The kidnapper calls and demands $5 million.  Patrick takes charge and tells him he took the wrong couple but he already knows that.  Patrick demands one hostage released within the hour, or they will get nothing.  Seems like he's already deduced who is behind it, as did I, it was obvious, sorry, as I've said they need to give us more twists and turns, cos finding 'whodunnit' is too easy!  So it looks like the accomplice will be released.  Patrick doesn't tell Lisbon how it went with the Munn and she realizes he knows something.

Note: a lot goes on outside the lift!  Just as in last episode, Red Dawn, Patrick was trying to obtain info on Red John.  Lorelei in the lift with the FBI being taken away, Patrick getting punched in the nose, etc.  Lisbon wants in on what he knows but he thanks her, not just for letting the lift door go, but also for not wanting her involved.  especially as we see he breaks into Munn's house.  Just as he did the same with having Culpepper break into La Roche's house, here he does the breaking in.  Also Lisbon and Patrick's life scene was like the season 4 finale, Red Rover, Red Rover, where she offers to help but he doesn't accept.

Patrick also finds Isaac doesn't have the money to pay for the ransom, he has $1 million of his own money but he doesn't want to part with it.  Marcus agrees to return it.  Lisbon wants proof of life and the drop point is arranged at a mall.  With Sloan bringing the ransom money.  Funny part wasn't only Patrick re-negotiating a lower amount for the ransom but defending Lisbon when the kidnapper is rude to her.  Pushing down the laptop cover to end the transmission.  Well he's being forceful and to the point, cos he hasn't got time to mess around and neither does Gary, he's got Lorelei on the mind.

Like breaking into Munn's house and looking for incriminating evidence and questioning Munn and tells him about the illicit porn and what he's thinking about, his wife leaving him and that he raped a prisoner.  Thus the FBI has leverage over him and he would be the only logical choice to take Lorelei away for them.   He reluctantly relents and mentions "Agent Nemo" took her, Patrick replying, "Nemo is Latin for nobody."  If he's not arrested was Munn's condition but knowing Patrick he would do exactly that even if he hasn't been a stickler for upholding the law in the past.  He's not going to let him get away with rape.

Brenda (Brenda Wisocky) is back and wants Lisbon to tread carefully as Marcus Goodwin is Pentagon connected, shown by the arrival of the press.  Lisbon refuses to back down and Brenda threatens to call Director Betram, he's mentioned again.  So Brenda is back, there were theories propounded out there in The Mentalist fandom about Brenda being in cahoots with Red John.  Also Patrick calls Isaac, "arrogant, insensitive..." earlier on, words that can also be applied to Patty himself.

Patrick has sussed Sloan is behind the kidnapping and Rigsby escorts her home telling her she has to deliver the ransom.  She immediately calls her partner in crime,Vince (Wes Chatham) and tells him about the drop and she wants Gary dead.  He gave her ten years of nothing, well she can't divorce him cos she won't really get anything in return, thus the money.  Before the drop, Cho wires her and tells her there'll only be the team there.  Meanwhile, Patrick masterfully directs Lisbon and Rigsby into fooling Sloan.  Lisbon radios she's spotted the kidnapper and Rigsby gives chase.  Shots are fired and Cho leaves her alone with the money.  Finally Sloan makes off with the money.  Van Pelt watches her on the CCTV but she knows the blindspots and leaves the mall in disguise, leaving behind her clothes.

There's quite a lot of mistakes made by Sloan in the amateur commission of this crime, firstly she didn't have to reveal herself to Gary, or at all, then she didn't realize if she was wired, so would the money have some sort of a receiver and she's up against Patrick and she's no match for him.  As well as leaving the phone behind, allowing Van Pelt to trace the signal to the mall and her accomplice.  Who tells them where Gary is. Was it really worth it?  When Rigsby and Cho trace up the lead on the white stolen van with no number plates, and the woman who sold it and reported it stolen after the kidnapping cos it was still registered to her, identified the kidnapper, it looked  a bit like Isaac I thought.  Seems like Gary knew who his real friends are. Though Gary turns out to be more of a family to Marcus than his own brother.

Speaking of Betram earlier on, there was a photo of him with Munn in Munn's apartment, so they know each other, that's a little too close for comfort especially since we know Betram has been put forward as  a possiblility of being in league with Red John or as being the old devil RJ himself...   Brenda refuses to let Lisbon speak at the press conference, she was looking for Patrick to be there!

The title a reference to Patrick 'cherry picking' the officer from his list and crossing off other names.  Patrick listens to "La Donna et mobile" from Verdi's Rigelleto, (which is what Doctor Who sang in the shower in season 5's The Lodger episode.  The song is all about how deceptive women can be.  The song is sung whilst his beloved is plotting to kill with her accomplice.

Though there wasn't much inway made into Red John, at least Patrick now has an address for her and we're left to wonder if he will tell Lisbon or go after her himself.  he's done that before, "gone rogue" so to speak where Lorelei was concerned when he feigned his breakdown last season and that didn't work out.

Scandal 1.7 "Grant: For the People" Review

Ahh poor Gideon (Brendan Hines) lying there in agony and along comes Quinn (Katie Lowes) and what does she do, practically kills him off! Did no one tell her you do not pull out sharp objects when stuck in someone's neck, causing massive blood spoutage!  No the first thing she does is remove the scissors and then call for help, Agggh!  Hey if I had my way I wouldn't have cleaned up the mess for her.  Then she calls Olivia (Kerry Washington) and she brings in the others and why, cos if they call the police then they'll fingerprint and find out her real ID, cos Olivia knew all along who she really is.

Olivia decides on covering everything up even if this means losing the evidence that will find Gideon's killer, charming, we'll just let him walk ten.  Obviously Gideon's killer was Billy (Matt Letscher) but there was something more to Amanda's killing, if Billy had killed her, why would he go to all the trouble of staging the set of it being suicide and having the DB dumped in the river.  Then all of a sudden Billy becomes sloppy and leaves Gideon lying there, still alive, knowing full well he could implicate him in all sorts of "scandals."  See no one thought of the 'sloppy' angle side of things.  There was more going here than meets the eye.  Though he does get to go free, re Gideon, as he tells Olivia she cleared him of that.

Stephen (Henry Ian Cusick) debates the legality of covering up the evidence and cleaning up, since most of them are sworn officers of the court/law and this is not what they do.  Harrison (Columbus Short) doesn't want to end up in prison.  Olivia calls it, protecting Quinn is more important and they reluctantly have to follow the boss gladiator.  Quinn's real ID being the cliff hanger for season 2.  Not sure whether to read up on this and spoil it for myself or wait until Spring to watch it.  Then it'll probably end up being a total anti-climax!  Harrison finds clothes for Quinn to wear, Gideon's clothes, as well as bagging the evidence of their 'one night' thang and grilled cheese too!  Gideon's last meal, ha.   She has to change in front of everyone.  Huck (Guillermo Diaz) recalls his phone and they take that too, as well as all his story info.  Finally Olivia calls and leaves an anonymous message for the police.  Leaving Gideon all alone...  Wonder if Brendan Hines kept a straight face through all that?!

                             
The scissors??... gone...aghhh

Back at the office they try to  figure out what happened and who was behind it.  Quinn wants to help but can't.  Billy gives the VP Sally (Kate Burton) a note, obviously his 'confession' about what happened, but she doesn't really seem to share it with anyone, cos it's back to business as usual .  Billy hijacks the Whitehouse Press conference and admits to his affair with Amanda but also that the President had an affair too and how there's a sex tape with his voice on it, which will be revealed to them.  Cyrus rushed to have him removed from the podium but it's a little too late.  Sally tells the Pres she had nothing to do with Billy's outburst and was shocked when she read the letter.  Then smirks as she walks away from him.  She's probably peeved she didn't think of it herself.

I like the way he later manipulates her by telling her the news about her daughter's abortion, obtained with her consent in Georgia and the line about "let him who is without sin cast the first rock, stone..."  She needs to be put in her place with her 'holier than thou attitude.'  You know she was secretly hoping he would resign and she'd take his place.  Mellie (Bellamy Young) walks out on him too.  So Olivia is brought back in to help.

Olivia doesn't want him to resign as she voted for him and he needs to do the job he was elected to do.  He wants to resign so he can have the woman he wants, but Cyrus (Jeff Perry) gives her a sob story about how the country needs him and she makes a deal with Mellie, who blames Olivia for Amanda and her actions.  Thought she knew about Olivia and the Pres, or did she just vent to Olivia and keep that to herself.  "I did my job, why didn't you do yours..."  She shouts at Olivia.  Being the First Lady is just all in a day's work.

Rosen (Joshua Malina) wants Quinn and he knows about the destruction of evidence they engaged in.  Stephen tells her to give Harrison a dollar, that's his retainer so he's her lawyer now.  Stupid Quinn, asking why?  Ugh if this revelation about her is something lame, I'll scream!!  She later makes another mistake when Rosen tempts her with Chinese food, putting the container and fork back on the table with her DNA all over it!! Don't tell me she doesn't know you don't touch things either.  Also when Rosen was at the office he dials Gideon's number, don't tell me (number 2) no one switched his phone off!!  Wonder if I'd hire them!!

Huck offers to take care of Billy but Olivia doesn't want that and makes him promise, so he does the next best thing, turns to Charlie (George Newbern) instead to do the dirty deed.  He tells Huck that Billy contracted him for the Amanda job when he clearly knows who it really was.

Oh Olivia's deal with Mellie. I got side tracked before, it's not seeing Gideon again you see...Rosen saying he was only 29...oh yes, she gets Mellie to agree to give an interview with Pres at her side saying it's her on the recording and she's upset at their privacy being invaded, thought for a second she'd say it was Olivia and she 'lies' that she's pregnant, but they'll have time to work on that.  Perhaps cunning Mellie agreed to that cos she can manipulate her husband all over again, as she's the one behind the presidency and being so instrumental in ensuring he stays elected.  Then she can get him in her bed again!  Maybe he's piked up a few pointers about manipulation from her when he makes Sally go on air.

Funny line Cyrus saying he'll be known as a slutty President.  Of course Cyrus is a bit of a dark horse like Mellie, he's another one who keeps exclaiming he's worked so herd for the President and he'll be damned if he watches him throw it away, blah, blah, another master manipulator.  It's partly cos of him that Olivia is determined to see her beloved remain President.  She returns to the office in despondent mode and Stephen admits to her that he's been cheating on his fiancee and Olivia said he should try to go 'straight' then at least he'll have nothing to be ashamed about.  Pep talk over and it's business as usual.

The VP goes on air denouncing Billy as a liar and needing help and as he takes the lift, Charlie enters, see they don't acknowledge each other.  If Billy contacted him surely they would at least do that.  Rosen tells Olivia he printed Quinn himself and wants to know about her, Olivia giving her the option of telling everyone herself.  Let's hope it's not witness protection or some domestic or other type abuse thing.  So Quinn isn't Quinn, which explains why she's rather inept at the job, forget about her being new and green behind the   ears.  Olivia kept referring to Quinn as "the client" in the ep, so maybe she could be a client.  Oh okay stop sniggering all you who have watched it!

Charlie comes to see Cyrus asking for the rest of the Amanda money.  See, Cyrus you conniving devil!  One Chief of Staff is as bad as another!  The team did look like they could have engaged in super clean-up tactics before, but it is immoral.  Think of what else they could have gotten up to, not to mention does Olivia still wear her white hat that Harrison mentioned quite a bit, especially to Quinn.  Ha, Quinn knowing all about Olivia and let's see keeping secrets from her associates, that's not on is it.  I expect to see some fall out from this, especially from Abby (Darby Stanchfield) why didn't she trust them?  That whole hat Olivia's probably handed over to Rosen as she tells him to use it, but he's a stickler for the law and upholding it, until he finds out about Quinn.  That's something he'll keep to himself.

Olivia and the Pres getting carried away under the cameras and he doesn't care, she didn't either until that conversation with Cyrus.  Though people may be shocked the Pres actually wanted to tell the truth and come clean, yes shocked, okay even if it was only cos he could finally have Liv, so he's a fundamentally flawed character.  After all, he's just a man with manly urges.  Sure they could have come up with something more for Gideon to do than just bite the bullet, suffer the scissors in the neck...