Longmire 1.4 "The Cancer" Review

As a fisherman stands in the river his line catches hold of something which Walt (Robert Taylor) fishes (no pun) out of the river and cuts the rope to reveal two DBs.  Vic (Katee Sackhoff) takes photos and comments the gunshot wounds exit at the back so it's unlikely they'll find any bullets.  They like giving her the lines about bullets and exit wounds.  Once again the Ferg (Adam Bartley) tells Walt how he called in t he Ranger since Custer National Forest is across the way, thinking he might have done the wrong thing again, so why does he persist in jumping the gun, so to speak.  But Walt reassures him it's okay.  The Ranger, Ely (Diego Klattenhoff) is there when Walt places sagebrush on the DBs before they're wrapped back into the blanket.  The Ferg once again jumps in adding that the creek is only five clicks away, it's Army speak for miles.  Eli corrects him, it's kilometres.  Walt thinks Ferg should stop watching too many war movies.  Well, once again, the would be suspect in Ely, gives this away as soon as he arrives at the CS.  Flat Lip River, Vic adds runs through the Rez (Reservation) and so the DB's could be Cheyenne.

Vic has found a keycard on one of the DBs and Walt wonders whom owns the land between the forest and the Rez.  Obviously it had to be a woman, Lizzie Ambrose (Katherine La Nasa) has just arrived and she exclaims at "how tall" Walt is.  He shows her a photo of one of the men and she faints, right into Walt's arms, practically!  Yeah like she was really that fainthearted!  She doesn't know any of the men but Walt asks her for a list of contractors.  Lizzie is worried for her safety and places her hand on his arm.  Vic can't resist teasing him once more and points out how Lizzie was flirting with him.  He didn't notice and tells her to stop her nonsense and to find where the keycard belongs.  Of course we know Vic is right about the flirting but he's not really interested in anyone else, at least not for the moment.

Walt finds Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) at his home and he's fixing it up for him, Walt thinks otherwise.  Henry recognizes one of the DB's as Freddie White Hawk and he threw him out of the bar when he found him dealing pot.  He wants to notify his grandmother of his death and has tears in his eyes.  Showing the men in this show aren't afraid to cry man tears and to express their emotions in this way, well not all of them naturally.

Vic finds where the keycard fits but the manager won't let her in without a warrant, so luckily Walt's able to get one cos the judge was at the Red Pony.  Having probably too much time on his hands.  Walt notices a statue of a man and Vic finds a suitcase full of money and ammo from under the bed.  Walt opens the case to reveal a .38 but it's missing.  At the station, Branch (Bailey Chase) breezes in and adds he wasn't really going anywhere cos 'they', him and his female companion, were arguing a lot, but he doesn't say who when Vic asks him.  The room was registered to an Octavio Mora from LA and Vic tries to find out more on the rental car.  The Ferg has a breakthrough for Walt by telling him the statue is that of Jesus Malverde the patron saint of smugglers, leading him to conclude that the Mexican Cartel is involved.

Henry asks Walt about a St Christoper which Freddie's grandmother wants back but none was found.  He also sees Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) the rez police there.  He's cagey until Henry tells him to put aside his personal feelings for Walt, or rather against Walt I should say, ha, and do it for Freddie's grandmother. Freddie wasn't part of the Cartel but he found marijuana growing on the rez and Walt is angry he wasn't told of this.  Mathias tells him he'll send out a smoke signal next time.  He recalls the statue was found at a shrine and thinks Freddie was probably a scout for the Cartel.

Walt waits for a pizza at the side of the road late night and Jamie (Robert Clendenin) drives up.  Walt thanks him for what he did for his wife, namely supplying her with pot to ease her pain and asks about Freddie. That's who he got his stash from.  Freddie mentioned El Lupo to him, but he fears for his life if the Mexican cCartel are involved.  referencing CNN and what he's seen they do to men.  Walt would rather read a good book I'm guessing, ha.  Branch and the Ferg wait outside a bar and Branch accuses Walt of not seeing what was under his nose, re the pot growing.  Ferg defends him since the rez police didn't tell him this was happening.  Branch coming up with any way to discredit Walt.  They question two of the Cheyenne boys and Branch calls them on buying beer, they're underage.  They don't recognize El Lupo but Branch lets them off, saying they should go for the cool beer next time.  The look on the Ferg's face says it all when he is shocked that Branch would let them off like that.  Pot calling kettle a minute ago wasn't it when he was dissing Walt!

At the station, Lizzie arrives with the list of contractors and wants to speak with Walt in private.  She writes him a cheque for his campaign and they should meet for dinner or drinks so she can be kept up to date on the issues.  He takes Vic with him to the forest and has a go at her for letting Lizzie come down in person and continue with the flirting.  Adding that she thinks the entire world is flirting but it's just her.  She doesn't get a chance to defend herself.  Showing how vocal Walt can be when it concerns his private life but also how he doesn't let anyone get a word in when he's so sure he's right.  He's only human after all.

Vic finds out the rental car had GPS and at the forest they find it abandoned.  Inside is the St Christoper medal attached to the keys and a file with photos.  The Cartel was surveilling and they have a photo of Mathias too.  Vic finally has a chance to tell Walt she didn't ask Lizzie to come down and that Walt only got angry cos he's attracted to her.  Mathias thinks Walt is accusing him of dealing pot and later he mentions this to Henry, who hopes he's not involved.  He also states that everyone can kill under the right circumstances. Walt could count the number of murders on one hand in this county at one time and it came to two.    Seems like the county's going to pot, ha.  Walt likens the increase like a cancer and when you find it, it's too late, maybe an allusion to his wife in the process.  She is mentioned this ep.

A man checks into the motel under the name of Octavia (Lobo Sebastian) carrying something which isn't fishing tackle.  Ely's found pot in the woods and they come to an abandoned camp with marijuana growing. Ely comments on how he came home from Afghanistan to get away from AK 47's and such camps.  Another reference to him being a suspect.  Fertilizer is also found which can be used to grow crops or for bombs and this leads back to a landscape gardener. Seems Freddie paid him to order it by the sack loads.  Henry finds from Internet research it takes thee months for the plant to grow as big as it has and he can check out its origins at the agricultural school.  Walt warns him he can't go around carrying that plant, he'll be arrested, so he tells Walt to deputize him.

The landscaper directs them to where he left the fertilizer and this leads to the forest again.  Ely also shows up and the three of them follow a water pipeline.  Henry calls Ely cos he has a phone and tells Walt the plant is grown in the foothills and is called Khyber Kush, so would be of no interest to the Mexicans.  So who do we know has made several references to the army and Afghanistan, why Ely.  Walt manages to cuff him but then they're shot at by Octavia and Ely is released to help.  Walt manages to shoot Octavia after he shoots Ely and he is told to drop his gun by Vic.  Ely was Freddie's partner and friend and he wanted the Mexicans in on their operation but Ely refused and he shot Freddie.

As Walt arrives home, Jamie is out of hiding, Branch found him and questioned him on how he knew Walt. Well he is the pizza delivery guy for starters.  Jamie adds he told him they were in a band together.  Branch would be curious and asking questions like that just in the hope of digging some dirt on Walt that he could use against him in the election.  Henry reads the note on the pizza box from Lizzie, how Walt owes her dinner now.  Walt calls her a registered voter.  Yeah like Walt would use her, sorry string her along, just for her voting capabilities.

Another ep which involves outsiders being the main culprits, which makes you wonder if the locals are capable of committing serious crimes, aside from Ely, but then he seems to be an outsider too.  probably why Walt mentioned counting the number of murders on one hand.  Some funny moments hitting the right amount of seriousness too and plenty of misunderstandings as well.  Though Vic is very vocal about her thoughts and has no qualms about sharing.  Which I have to say is also the case with Branch who just appears to be looking for any way to win the election.  Wonder what the argument between him and Cady was about, assuming it was her he was talking of.

It was strange for Walt to be calling the drug trade 'a cancer' when he called upon Jamie's 'dealing services' so he could get it for his wife.  There must have a slight incling or indication of where he might obtain it from, if not locally.  Although he and Jamie have an 'understanding' that he won't get into trouble for dealing. It is also conceivable Walt would turn a blind eye to this, anything to help his ailing wife and ease her pain.  It's something Branch demonstrates in this ep too, though it's only not doing anything about underage drinking, he doesn't see that as serious, would he feel that way if they were drink/driving and killed someone.  So in its roundabout way it is more dangerous than dealing or using pot, not that I'm advocating the use or dealing of pot! Ha.

Longmire 1.2 "The Dark Road" Review

                                                 
This ep once again featured a murder and this time of a young woman found by the side of the road.  But this ep was more about family: fathers and daughters and the way in which Walt's (Robert Taylor) relationship differed to that of Ephraim (Timothy V Murphy) the dead girl, Hannah's father.  Religious aspects aside, the family are Mennonites, her father was so detached and didn't even react or flinch when told of the news of her death, she was lost years ago to him, begging the question of why have children to begin with.  He wasn't overly concerned with what she did at Rumspringa or in the outside world.

Compare that to Walt who was interested in Cady (Cassidy Freeman) and more importantly who she was dating, especially when he saw the shoddy workmanship on the lock on the door.  So it didn't come as a any big reveal or surprise that it was Branch (Bailey Chase).  It had to be, adding more conflict particularly when Walt finds out, which won't be until the end of the season most likely.  Conflict in that Walt doesn't really have much respect for branch, let me rephrase, he has respect for him as a deputy in some ways but not as a man and definitely not as his rival for the post of Sheriff.
I find Cassidy Freeman to be rather aloof as Cady and I don't think she quite fits into this role.  I've seen her in Smallville, as Tess, so dubious in character there, as well as guest roles in CSI:NY etc but I haven't found her to be that interesting in her portrayal of these roles.  Nothing personal.

Vic (Katee Sackhoff) gathers money from the scene and places them into an evidence bag.  A note was found in her pocket which Walt knows isn't German, he's conversed in that (snap me too) as he tells Vic, "Ich glaub est nicht."  (I don't think so.)  Turns out the note is written in Pennsylvanian Dutch. Walt spots glitter on her DB and he covers her exposed midriff with her shirt.  He deduces she's a stripper cos of the money and the glitter, also I'm adding cos there aren't many jobs for women around which will lead them to carrying so much money on their person.  As Branch concludes, she must have worked in Oden, a nearby, 'richer' town.  He's given the task of finding her prints at the DMV.

Walt takes Vic with him to the strip club and she comments on being able to dance but he's more interested in whether she knows who Cady is seeing.  Why would she know, doesn't seem like they're friends at all and not likely to share such things.  But Vic tells him you don't have to date someone to be more intimate with them.  Walt sees a photo on the board at the strip club of the DB, named Hannah (Bree Bond) and flashing her pic around, that's all, ha. Er, one of the strippers takes his hat and it's a way of talking to him without anyone else overhearing.  She tells her about her work and where she lives and that car, a 'puce' coloured car she saw when she dropped Hannah off.  Though it's a bit difficult to imagine Walt would leave his jacket behind, especially since it is usually cold in them there parts!  The country that is!  Also since he doesn't really remove his jacket/coat if at all whilst he's on a case, out in the field.

Finding the car turns up her brother, Samuel (Brian Norris).  He gives himself away now, for the purposes at the end, since he asks if she's having trouble with her waitressing job, when in actual fact, he knows she's a stripper.  Vic returns to the club and offers to pick up Walt's coat, since it's got the evidence in it, the note. Also Walt informs her father, Ephraim but he's just not bothered about it.  He doesn't even let his wife, Rachel (Rebecca Wisocky) talk to him and that was sad to see.  How she can't be told about the death of her only daughter.

As Walt takes prints from the steering wheel of the puce, there's a flashback with Walt being stitched by an Indian woman with Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) there too, which we gather had something to do with his wife's death and the repercussions surrounding it.  Always a good way to keep the mystery going and the viewers intrigued, though another shirtless scene from Walt won't go amiss either! Ha.  Henry brings him lunch and doesn't want to talk about grief when Henry mentions how different cultures react to grief differently.  Walt prefers to ask him about Cady and her date.

So the strip joint has more info than is necessary and Vic has to go there to find out who the man in the pic is with Hannah.  And Branch is there too.  To find out said info on man in pic, info she strips, at least to her tank top and not to her underwear even, as some might be hoping for.  Having a bet with Branch that she can get the info quickly.  The man's name is Davis (James Herbert).  The car is registered to Cyrus (Maury Sterling) and he translates the note for him. It's a passage from the Book of Matthew, which Walt finds is a code for a secret  meeting between Hannah and someone at the Dark Road, thus named since it's travelled by the people who leave to go into the world and it's also a secret meeting place between parents and their children.  No surprises then that the note had to be written by her mother, who is the only one who'd meet in secret.  She saw leaving here as a way for her daughter to escape the life she has and not be subjected to the same.

Davis was actually in love with Hannah and they were saving to leave and get their own place.  Walt waits at the road for 12.30 and Rachel arrives.  Walt finally must be the one to break the news of Hannah to her. Walt questions Cyrus as to why he didn't tell him who gave him the note to pass on, but he didn't know it was that note since it was given to him in an envelope.  Walt then asks Davis if he recognizes Cyrus, but he doesn't.  He shows him the photo and he does recognize someone.  The killer, who turned out to be her own brother and even if it was an accident, it was all about him and his selfishness of wanting to take her back home with him and it being the only way he could return home. A bit of a giveaway since the photo in the car also had her brother in it.

Walt has another flash to that scene and making Henry promise not to tell Cady about it.  He then calls her. We get to see Cady is dating Branch, dating or just casually seeing him and she's caught off guard when Walt calls her.  Having being questioned straight out before, she say who she's seeing, aside from dating "a vampire."  Henry too failed in his attempt at getting some truth from her, which backfires when she asks him if her father asked him to question her.  Walt decides he will wait to meet her boyfriend when she's ready to introduce him, but at least the viewers got to see him first! So at least we don't have to wait around for that reveal.

Funny part where Vic teases Walt about forgetting his coat at the strip club and he later calls her out on what she did at said strip club!

Longmire 1.3 "A Damn Shame" Review

                                           
Walt (Robert Taylor) and Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) are at a sweat lodge and once again we're shown the scars on Walt's back, though we don't know how he got them as yet.  Or maybe just another chance for Walt to go shirtless! Ha. The phone rings and they're not meant to have any phones there, but it's for Walt.
This ep was about horses, or if you're from the West Country in the UK, 'arses', well it's the pronunciation. Though it looks that way at first, actually it's about mobs and money. Walt is called out to investigate a fire at a horse farm, which is suspicious in nature,  not only cos a DB is found in the ashes.  The fireman tries to stop him going in but Walt refuses to listen, of course and even refuses his hat cos "I've got my own." Knew that was coming.

Apparently the DB is Ray Stewart, husband of Alice (Megan Follows) who Walt spoke to a few years back about domestic violence and she didn't report her husband beating her.  Naturally she's the prime suspect, until her son, TJ (Seth Adkins) finds a wouldbe suicide note.  At least it looks like he committed suicide. Until the insurance man (Ron Perkins) tells Walt Ray didn't have a policy on him but Alice did and so did the horses. There's one surviving horse and TJ comes out cos he wants to shoot her and end her misery.  Branch (Bailey Chase) stands around and is willing to let him do this until Walt stops him just in the nick.  He's not giving up hope on her and tells the vet to do anything and everything for the mare, no matter the cost.  Seems like Branch is just willing to let this happen.  He's the complete opposite of Walt and really is all about the job for him, rather than the people and what's really at stake here.  Which in a small town really isn't always about solving the case, well it is, but it's also about knowing the right thing to do and when to do it.  Everything's all black and white with no shades of  grey or emotion for Branch when he's on the job.

The coroner's dragging his feet with the autopsy of Ray cos of the backlog, wouldn't seem like there were that many cases awaiting an autopsy.  So Walt and Vic (Katee Sackoff) have their own examination.  It appears he was shot with a .45 but there's no exit wound, meaning he didn't shoot himself.  Easy way to check the calibre of the bullet, Walt places a .45 bullet into the skull and it matches.  He then takes her to the cemetery and has the grave dug up, showing the occupant's body is missing.  Meaning Ray isn't dead and he dug up the body and placed it in the fire.  He's on the run or hiding out.  Walt knew to come here cos this was the last person to be recently buried. See that's what good detective work will lead you to.

He asks Alice about her husband and she tells him his name wasn't Ray.  Infact he was on the run from the mob after he stole some money from them and hid out here.  Wouldn't it have been less conspicuous to hide out in a bigger town or the big city, to blend in with people, would stick out like a sore thumb out here.

A US Marshall comes a calling to the office and the Ferg (Adam Bartley) tells him where Alice is after he was supposed to meet Walt at the coroner's.  Anyone could tell he wasn't a real Marshall and he shouldn't have given away the location  and turns up too late to warn Walt and Vic, as they head for a shoot out at Bill's (Jamie McShane) farm.  Bill knew Ray wasn't dead and he was hiding.  So to get to the house, Walt gets Branch to cause a distraction, which he does by running with all barrels blazing on his gun.  A bit stupid don't you think, considering he's got no cover and surprisingly he doesn't get shot.  That mob hitman must've been sleeping or too slow.  The Ferg feels he must resign at the end cos he messed up and he knows he was only given the job cos of a favour for his father.

Walt finds Ray (C Thomas Howell) hiding out in the cellar and he can hear Alice's screams but he did nothing, no not until Walt handcuffs him to the pipe, not like he was going anywhere.  Yeah now Ray shouts where he is and gets shot at through the floor.  But they manage to raid the house and save the day!  Maybe Walt even gets to save the horse cos he reads out the Red Indian prayer/poem on the paper and tells her she can let go now, but she's not going anywhere.  Though we don't get to know if the horse survived, most likely did.  Had pangs of deja vu whilst watching this ep for some reason.

So after writing my review, I came across another one written at the time this ep was aired in the US, back in 2012 and I have to comment on how some people expect so much from a show, especially when it's only just starting out.  Of course you're not going to get character development from the outset, it does take time. Not to mention how certain reviewer forgot the show is based on a series of books. But even so, the writers etc, will take the show in the direction they want it to go.  Some even had qualms about Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah being used to play in the background whilst Walt's with the horse.  Do they have an aversion to horses or just this show?  I could go on, but...I will reserve judgement until I've seen more eps!  Anyway Megan Follows is always good to see, you may recall her from Anne of Green Gables.

Revenge 3.15 "Struggle" Review

                                                            
Emily: "We spend our lives struggling to hold onto the things we value most.  To the people and things we believe we could never exist without.  But our memories are often an illusion protecting a far more destructive truth."

Jack (Nick Wechsler) hasn't returned any of mother (Gail O'Grady) dearest calls after the shock revelation and he doesn't want anything to do with her.  She left as soon as Jack was born but now wants to make things up to him by making it possible;e for Jack to get his dream home and set up house with Margaux. Patrick (Justin Hartley) attends the wake for his dearly departed father, Brennan, but soon gets into turmoil when he tells his friends that he wasn't the perfect man they make him out to be.  On the contrary, he's a rapist.  Cue brawl.  But Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) was there to rescue him as per usual.  Strange how the two of them just keep sticking up for one another over and over. They really do seem to go over and beyond the call of mother/son.

Emily (Emily VanCamp) is still suffering those blackouts and this time she brings out the knife and destroys the infinity symbol her father (James Tupper) carved on the porch of the beach house.  Seems if she can't dig the knife in deeper to her friends, there' always the pieces of wood, furniture.  She ran to Nolan (Gabriel Mann) who wanted to leave town with her, but she instead decides she wants to kill all the Grayson's.  Fitting revenge indeed, or should that be end.  Daniel (Josh Bowman) meanwhile hires a PI to follow Emily so he can dig up dirt on her and finally get a divorce and her out of his life.  Or maybe to use for other purposes against her.  He's gotten his own PI cos he doesn't want the relics used by his parents.

Nolan asks Aiden (Barry Sloane) for help but he's not too eager to oblige.  Now for someone who claimed to love her forever, he should have jumped at the chance of helping her out.  I'm sure she's helped him many times in his past and with finding out about his sister too.  Aiden says she's out of control and tried to kill him too, at least have him killed, but Nolan adds if she goes through with her plan to kill the Grayson's, she won't snap out of it.  To this end, Emily headed for the Southfork Inn and to kill Conrad (Henry Czerny) but she's interrupted by someone.  Of course from the shoes, it was obviously Aiden, ha.  He kidnaps her and ties her to a chair, using the method Takeda would use on her if he was still alive.  ironically it was Aiden who killed him.  She must confront her demons and find out why she's going after her friends, instead of going after the people she wanted her real revenge against.

This he does by wanting her to reach her subconscious and by dunking her head in cold water.  Probably a good idea since her mother tried to drown her when she was little and also Takeda used to do the same for her, when he tied her underwater, probably more of the reason why Aiden did that.  She has flashes to her father and how she found him and Victoria together.  She ran away and he came after her.  He's the reason she's losing the plot.  Emily tells him Victoria hates her and he shouldn't trust her but he refuses to give up the woman he loves.  Emily gets better and thanks Aiden for helping since he was the only one who could get through to her.  They kiss and obviously you know Daniel's PI is hiding around somewhere.  So this time they finally get caught on camera and Daniel has his pics to move forward with his own plans now.  Emily knows she has to clear her father's name.

Victoria attends Nolan's meeting where he plans to set up an Artwalk for artists to display their work and she wants to do something for Patrick.  But she blames Nolan for being the one who sent Patrick on the path to find his father and on the path of self destruction too.  Maybe Victoria is to blame for that too, she's got a knack for attracting the wrong men in her life. Prompting Nolan to visit Patrick who is shirtless yet again!  He tells him how he's changed being here and he's truly sorry for what he did.  If he knew the gory details, he wouldn't have said anything to him.  Nolan tells him there's a place for him at the Artwalk which will be attended by a famous painter.  Sure enough he turns up and is impressed with his work, offering Patrick an internship in Tuscany.  Later we find out that Nolan paid him off to take Patrick on as he and Victoria share a drink together. Victoria: "What no snappy rejoinder?"
Nolan: "None needed, you let me help break your heart."

Jack comes to Emily for advice and she tells him to get to know his mother, Stevie.  He takes Emily's hand to thank her.  Wonder what went through Emily's mind then as far as Jack was concerned.  She tells him how she was a drunk and had to leave him so he'd be looked after her. She couldn't look after him until she could look after herself.  She only found out she was pregnant when she was in rehab.  It took her so long cos she's only now gathered the strength to face Victoria and Conrad, who are triggers to her.  Victoria also shows up with a council leader who tell Stevie she'll have a fight on her hands if she levels the mansion as it's a historic site.

Nolan brings Emily a new infinity box, one that can only be opened with her fingerprint.  Inside she looks at the journals and recalls how Jack said his mother was an alcoholic and how her father mentioned Stevie who wanted to take on his case, but she had been disbarred.  Leaving Emily with another dilemma, can she take revenge on Stevie too, she being Jack's mother, or will she pump her for info.

Charlotte (Christa B Allen) finds out Margaux's father is coming to town and Margaux did exactly what Conrad knew she would do.   He invites her to sit in on the meeting which is what she also wanted since now she can run off and tell Daniel everything.

Revenge says goodbye to Patrick but he wasn't the character he could have been.  He was mostly just used by Victoria in her struggles against everyone after her and all the bad decisions she'd made.  We didn't get to know much about him or his past and whether he was always so dark and had been in trouble before he came to the Hampton's.  As Nolan tells him his troubles started when he arrived here, but that's just his view. There was nothing to cement Patrick as a character except for being Victoria's son and always wanting to help her out, even if this involved murderous intentions.   He got close to her though he didn't know her that well himself.  So she hatches the plot to get him to leave otherwise he would forever be helping her out of her troubles.  Could have done so much more with him.

This was more of an ep for tying up loose ends than anything major and opening up new plots with Stevie and Conrad and Pascal when he arrives.

The Vampire Diaries 5.16 "While You Were Sleeping" Review

                                            
Elena (Nina Dobrev) is back in her own body now which leaves her to catch up on what's been happening around her.  Of course this she did in t he most part by having a phone conversation with Damon (Ian Somerhalder) surprisingly the phone battery didn't run out.  Oh and Matt (Zach Roerig) falling for the same ploy as Tyler did when Damon needed to get out of his chains.  I mean do they not communicate with each other.  So Stefan (Paul Wesley) has Elena at the dorm with Liv (Penelope Mitchell) having done a spell to keep her in.  Feeding her periodically with his blood.  There's no known cure for the virus she's been injected with and Caroline (Candace Accola) goes in search of this at Maxfield's lab.  She finds a recording of his saying how he's mixed in wolf blood into the serum, which potentially makes it more dangerous.  Elena is dying, booo hoo and she's revisted by hallucinations this time round, guess they got a budget now and didn't have to resort to old flashbacks, or new, ha.

Aaron (Shaun Sipos)appears to her and she thinks it's cos she's the one who killed him, so when she asks Damon he changes the subject or he's interrupted by Matt cos it's feeding time and so doesn't have to tell her.  At least not yet.  Anyway Enzo (Michael Mularkey) returns to the lab and he and Caroline work together to find the antidote which he tells her he has, but first she's got to do something for him.  This involved her and Stefan.  The Travellers want to use Stefan to locate his doppelganger, oh man, there's another one of him and apparently he works as a paramedic in Atlanta.  This was good to see cos it shows Stefan moving away from Elena and Damon in terms of not really wanting her back, as Katherine wanted him and getting something different to do.  Elena asks him if he and Katherine got together and he tells her they kissed but he stopped it.  Clearly he doesn't want to go there.

Elena wants to get out of her dorm prison and Luke (Chris Brochu) turns up whom she almost bites but sends him away by compelling him, or so she thinks.  But she doesn't have second thoughts when she sees Liv with Bonnie (Kat Graham) who doesn't want her getting out.  So she throws a sharp object at Liv and she needs Elena to save her life now by feeding her blood, but why doesn't Liv get affected with the virus too.  Okay she's not a vampire, but technically she should have some trace of it inside her.  Anyway this leads to Liv showing her true colours since she's just going along with Bonnie until the time is right for her and Luke, her gay brother, to pounce in with their new plans.  I don't like the way, just when Bonnie thinks someone is a friend or actually helping her, they turn on her and the others.  They have done this so many times now, it's getting boring.  Think Prof Shane.

Elena once again hallucinates and sees Aaron but this time Damon is there to help her, as is Enzo with the antidote.  Leaving Elena and Damon to have a heart to heart and a bit more than that.  He tells her he killed Aaron after she rejected him but she somehow manages not to blame him but everyone else, such as Katherine.  He calls their relationship "toxic" and they need to part ways.  Elena comes up with how she always has to defend him again and be there for him to help him out again.  Or the way she said again,
"ag-gen!"  Cos anyone can see what was coming next.  Another falling into bed scene and another Damon shirt being ripped "ag-gen."  Oh come on, so bored with their on/off relationship and make-up sex.  Elena can't change Damon and he won't ever change either.  New plots now please.

So many holes in this ep, ag-gen, ha.  For starters why would Enzo help Elena, she's just a nagging pain and he was happy being 'ripper' pals with Damon on their killing spree.  He doesn't even know her.  Why would Caroline just jump at the chance of killing Stefan's doppelganger.  She's not really a cold blooded killer and how could she just murder his lookalike anyway?  Are the Travellers so strong that they can't work to defeat them instead.  Bonnie once ag-gen (ok I'll stop copying Elena's 'again' now, ha) keeping things to herself, like not telling them about Katherine being dragged to hell most likely and not passing through to the other side.

Anyway Enzo and Caroline head out to kill the Stefan doppelganger and Caroline thinks this is okay to do cos Stefan would do the same for her.  Leaving us to also ponder what Luke and Liv will be up to and will this tie in with the Travellers.  As for Sloan (Caitlin McHugh) being their leader, she's the one who came to Maxfield, saying she'd fund his research further.  That was a bit of a dead end (pun fully intended) so presumably the antidote and meeting up with Sloan was what Maxfeild wanted Enzo to do for him, before letting him go.

I can't believe someone actually got Stefan to say he worked out Elena was Katherine after they kissed. Cos the text Matty Blue Eyes sent to Caroline helped, as did Caroline herself.  It wasn't a lone man effort.  Cos it also rings the opposite of what Elena said to Damon, that it wasn't her and Katherine was in her, he didn't know, when he should have known.  Well they didn't really snog each other if that's how they're now saying Stefan worked it out.  Lazy writing here for a show in its fifth season!  Also Stefan implying he stopped the kiss cos he worked out it was Elena, means he actually still has feelings for her, if you think about it.

Funny scene had to be Elena hallucinating herself dancing on the bar and Matt telling her to rip off her top, which she does.  Something she wouldn't do.  Perhaps rename the title 'While We Were Weeping' for Katherine and her quirkiness and downright 'not giving a damn for anyone' attitude, which is now missing.

The Mentalist 6.16 "Violets" Review

                                             
A gallery owner, John Hennigan (Trevor St John) is robbed by a group of masked men and when they try to steal a portrait which is close to his heart and his wife Sylvia's (Samantha Smith) he is brutally shot.  The FBI Art agents are trying to apprehend the gang for a number of years and Patrick(Simon Baker) stops by knowing he can help them out.  He offers some advice to Sylvia, telling her that John's not really dead but lives on inside of her.  Something he knows all about since he's been through the same and mourned the loss of his wife and daughter for many years.  Even took him a number of years to catch the killer, as we know.   Ah for the days of red John.  But he reassures her they will get the killer.  Also Patty doing some analysis of the agent who arched his shoulders showing they're in need of his help.

Abbott (Rockmond Dunbar) agrees to Patrick helping out since the gang has alluded them and tells Fisher (Emily Swallow) they'll go along with him.  During their briefing, they ID one of the men.  Lisbon (Robin Tunney) walks in and catches the eye of Agent Marcus Pike (Pedro Pascal).  Patrick has a plan and Lisbon is surprised he already has one, don't know why though, since she's been working with him a long time too and knows how he operates, at least how his mind works.

Patrick is out shopping and Wylie (Joe Adler) walks in with shopping bags and instructions which he had to write down on a notepad.  He gives Abbott a jacket as he's going to rope in Seth (Aaron Pulaski) as he knows about boxing, which Abbott says is true but he didn't tell Patrick.  No need, he knows everything! Ha.  Lisbon is handed a white dress cos she's going to be the 'inside man, er woman' and play Patty's girlfriend!  He must be thinking, if only, Patty that is, and so are we.  He can't stop acting so blase and so cool about this for very long, cos it'll get too old too soon.  Though most of us weren't expecting anything romantic between Lisbon and Patrick, think it's about time that changed.  Oh come on, we know Patty has deeper feelings for her than this.  He really can't fool us any longer!

Cho (Tim Kang) is going to be the muscle so he can find his own clothes too and Fisher will make goo goo eyes at Seth and reel him into the bedroom.  Adler of course will be watching their every move since they've installed cameras in the bar and the 'party house.'  Which Marcus tells Wylie they found in an operation.  So Patrick's plan goes according to clockwork and Abbott makes his move in the bar talking about boxing. Thus naturally he fools Seth into a false sense of security and befriends him, gaining his trust.  Wylie telling Marcus that the mark will trust Abbott and open up to him when he removes his hand from the bar since it means he's opened up to him.  Patty told him that.

Cho pretends to lose his shot in his pool game and accuses Seth of putting him off by his annoying laugh. There's a fight and Cho pulls out a gun, prompting Abbott and Seth to run.  Abbott gives him a lift in his flashy car to his boss's house.  Said boss being Patty, cue scarf round his neck, so very arty!  Wonder where he went shopping for that.  Mind you that's the only piece of wardrobe he adds to his usual clothes.  Yep still wearing the socks Lisbon gave him!  They're very treasured by now.  Lisbon feels self conscious in her low cut number as she looks at her cleavage.  Patrick invites Seth to the party and he meets Fisher.  They talk dirty and she leads him upstairs, just in time for Patrick to arrive and get them out of his bedroom.  And time for him to notice the artwork on the walls, which Patrick tells him are fakes.  Of course they're all stolen property recovered by the FBI.

Wylie watches on camera and Seth calls another man, their 'leader' and the shooter to the house.  When the guest leave Patrick finds him in his bedroom again and he tells Patrick the paintings are real.  He realizes he's about to steal something, but warns him this is his town and he should head for Miami instead.  Patrick deals him in otherwise they'll have bad things happen to them.  He drives them to the museum cos Patrick wants to steal Manet's Violets.  Notice the subtle way in which Patrick describes the painting as being  an homage to forbidden love, painted by Manet for his brother-in-law's wife.  Almost a reference to Patty and Lisbon. Marcus asks Wylie about Patrick and Lisbon but they're not an item.  Seems even Wylie suspected they were together, but aren't.

Lisbon covers Patrick with a throw as he sleeps on the sofa and calls Marcus. She's hungry and there's no food so he mentions pancakes, waffles.  But she can't go get any.  Next day whilst they're at the museum, Seth comes back but the paintings are gone.  He searches to find a hidden safe for which they'll need the combination.  Returning to the house Patrick and Lisbon are held at gunpoint until Patrick opens the safe.  McKay (Charles Mesure) as Wylie IDed him as, finds the tracker on the painting and Lisbon pulls a gun on the man guarding her.  When McKay and Seth leave, they're arrested but McKay manages to escape.  Cho gives chase and he runs into an alley and then approaches the band that Patty wanted, playing Yellow Rose of Texas.   McKay takes a taxi and leads them right to his lair!

He refuses to talk and asks for a lawyer. Abbott tells him he doesn't need to say anything and Patrick asks him what the band was playing, mentioning Yellow Rose.  Them lets him know he used the "illusion of control" to let him think McKay was the one making all the moves.  He'll be charged with John's murder and Sylvia gets her painting back, telling Patrick he was right.  He lives on in her heart.  Cho brings back the tradition of pizza after a bust and Lisbon and Seth head out for pancakes.  Patrick asks where they're going, but lets them go alone.  Huh, Lisbon didn't even ask him if he wanted to come.  No, after Marcus told her he likes her, that was it!  Patty sits on his couch and what sulks, regrets.  He didn't even have any funny comebacks or one liners to throw at him, which was so unlike him.

Am hating where they're taking this, giving Lisbon a love interest, fine she had to have one eventually. Patrick did leave her alone for two years, but that was out of necessity.  He did keep in touch though, but have to wonder and ask where this storyline is heading.  This was an enjoyable episode of late and finally Lisbon and Patrick go to work together and it was almost like an old episode.  It managed to get everyone out of the office and even Fisher was good in it, which came as a shock to me! Ha. Maybe cos it was more Lisbon/Patrick orientated.  With Cho having another chase scene which we're so accustomed to seeing him in from past eps.

If the remaining eps are as good as this, surely we should get a season 7, even if that's the last one, it'll give us time to prepare to say a find farewell.  Oh and did anyone miss Van Pelt and Rigsy, not being horrible and just asking, but this ep didn't make me think about them at all.  Was I wrong to think that way?

Hey look it was Mom from Supernatural, i.e. Samantha Smith, now we know what she did after leaving, posing for nude paintings! Ha. What would Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) think?! Ha.

The Vampire Diaries 5.15 "Girl Gone" Review

                                              
As Nadia (Olga Fonda) lies dying (thought I'd paraphrase a previous Vampire Diaries ep from the season 2 finale, As I Lay Dying, when Damon (Ian Somerhalder) was bitten by the werewolf and they needed Klaus's blood to save his life.  We had Elena (Nina Dobrev) by his side and spending time with him, whilst Stefan (Paul Wesley) was put through the rigmarole of having to play Klaus's lackey so he could get Klaus's blood to cure Damon.  Ok a little off point there, but still relevant for many reasons, read my review for that ep to find out why.  http://mila255.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/vampire-diaries-222-as-i-lay-dying.html)

 Here Nadia doesn't get a cure since Katherine tells her she can't ask Klaus cos he'll be after her.  Instead she enlists the help of Maxfield (Rick Cosnett) which was not only stupid but dangerous, I mean he's really going to help.  He takes Nadia's blood sample so he can juts whip up something, a magic cure.  Don't think so.

The others meanwhile are on the hunt for Katherine and Nadia and this involves Bonnie (Kat Graham) asking Liv (Penelope Mitchell) for help again with the scrying spell, but seems she only has eyes for Jeremy (Steven R McQueen) which perturbs Bonnie no end.  Many have liked Jeremy and wanted him, many will continue to do so, so get over it Bonnie.  They need to locate Katherine so they can use the gypsy dagger on her and expel her from Elena's body.  Even Damon tries to get Katherine to meet him, but she sees through him, of course she would.  One minute she doesn't want to know him and vice versa and the next he just expected her to come running!  Caroline (Candace Accola) and Bonnie also come up with a plan to reel her in for Bonnie's birthday but Katherine isn't biting.  She knows it's a trap since none of them wanted her around or called her and now everyone's bugging her.  Figuring out they know she's not Elena.

Damon also tells them the same eventually, that she knows he was trying to get her to come down under false pretences.  Nadia has flashes of looking for her mother over the centuries, which was very Katherine orientated in the sense of how she also had flashes when she was on her deathbed of having Nadia taken from her so cruelly and losing her parents.  As well as having eyes only for Stefan.  Maxfield doesn't show up with the cure and Katherine goes looking for him.  That's cos Damon's escaped his chains by luring Tyler (Michael Trevino) in after telling him how he couldn't stop Caroline from sellping with Klaus and he can't resist being baited by Damon.  So Damon arrives at Maxfield's after Enzo tells him where he is but we don't know what Enzo's last deed for Maxfield was.  They fight and Maxfield tries to get his hands on the syringe with the all magic potion, the Augustine serum; but Damon gets his own back by exacting the same torture he endured for five years onto him, but in less time.  A fitting end, ha.

Katherine didn't even look all that distraught, unless she was keeping up a front for appearance's sake.  But she arrives at Salvatore mansion after all to say farewell to Nadia.  Though it doesn't really look like she was really that sad to see her daughter go, not until the last minute.  She tells Nadia she was taken from her and so couldn't be a good mother.  Right, any old excuse.  Nadia dies and Bonnie helps her to cross over. Katherine attempts to escape but is cornered by Damon who's outside the front door.  So that was the only way in and out was it.  She accepts defeat in the only way Katherine could and asks who will do the dirty deed.  It won't be Caroline, Jeremy or "Matty Blue," or even Damon or Bonnie.

Katherine tells Damon she sorry him for turning him, for taking him away from his family but it's just a speech to get him angry, cos she's glad of everything she did to him and he went through.  She turns to Stefan, the love of her life and they share a kiss, before he brings out the dagger and stabs her.  She had to really expect that didn't she, knowing his heart always belongs to Elena and not to her.  So Katherine's gone, or is she?  Probably she will return in some way, shape or form and she gets to the church where Bonnie lights a candle for her father, but Katherine doesn't pass through her and not for want of trying either.  Before she goes she has a nice surprise in store for them and for Elena.  She stole the syringe and injected Elena's body with it, so now Elena's got the ripper virus too, but many times worse since it has werewolf blood.  That should spice Elena up a bit seeing we can't really have the old, boring Elena back.  So she's in league with Damon now, having got what he's got and her turn to play ripper for a change.  As for Katherine, she's dragged to that other side, the hell below.

Tyler tells Matt (Zach Roerig) to bury Nadia in the woods but he tells him she's going to have a proper burial as she deserves better.  We also got to see how he and Rebekah and Nadia spent the Summer together. Matt even pretended to be Gregor so that Nadia could have a less painless passing.   Finally though Tyler's werewolf bite is actually lethal and if Katherine really wanted to be the mother she claimed she was, she should have found Klaus to save Nadia even if that meant losing her life in the process, which she did anyway.  At least she gave Nadia her last perfect day/memory which involved her playing outside and coming home with her.  Just like Stefan did the same for Katherine by removing the death of her parent's from her mind.  Although Katherine didn't go gently, she left them with a parting gift that'll make them remember her.

So Bonnie doesn't know what was happening to Katherine or where she was headed, that can only mean one thing, she's not really gone for good, right?  She's an intricate part of the show and can't really be written out.  She made the show more interesting than the ever-eternal, confounded, continuing love triangle, which this show should never have gotten too bogged down with, drawing away from the real story.  It's not always about love.

Tyler and Caroline faced that inevitable showdown where she wanted to know why he and everyone was down on her for sleeping with Klaus.  Yes, she did it, she tells him, it's in the past, but now get over it. Adding that no one riled on him for killing Nadia with his werewolf bite.  Recall he told Matt he only just nipped her.  Also Tyler bit Damon in season 2 when he was trying to help him.  Thus passed a well loved character in Katherine Pierce.  Leaving us to ponder what lies in store for Elena, but who really cares? Ha.

As sated int he opening there were similarities to Damon's werewolf bite ep where he had flashes and they always involved Katherine.  Vowing he could chase her forever, which he did and finally got to see her die now.  Stefan had to turn into a ripper once again in order to save Damon and here Damon was a ripper too and Elena, well she'll probably be a super ripper, ha.  The title of that season 2 episode alluded to Homer's The Odyssey and mentions the woman wouldn't close his eyes as he descended into hell/Hades, somewhere Katherine is right about now.  I also mentioned in that review about Supernatural making a great cross over ep with Vampire Diaries and didn't Katherine remind you just a little of Dean (Jensen Ackles) and his being dragged into hell for making that deal and selling his soul to save his beloved Sammy (Jared Padalecki).

Revenge 3.14 "Payback" Review

                                               
Emily: "Of all the weapons we take into battle, there is none more powerful than the mind.  It holds our instincts and our training.  It allows us to distinguish friend from foe, love from hate.  But if that weapon is unsound, it is by no means disarmed.  For the mind is all the more dangerous when damaged and there's no guarantee it won't choose itself as its next victim."

Emily (Emily VanCamp) goes in for a cat scan and her doctor tells her there's an anomaly on her brain, for which she needs to see a specialist and that she should also seek professional help and talk to someone about it.  Emily tells this to Nolan (Gabriel Mann) and she's asked him to hack into the security footage of the Southfork.  She's at the bar when Conrad (Henry Czerny) approaches and takes her back to his room, but he leaves her there the entire night.  So much for saying how amazing she was.  Nolan's worried for her since she's living in danger at the mansion and living with the enemy, so anything could happen to her.  It appears she's working with Conrad and he's the one who called his ex, Stevie (Gail O'Grady).  Who just happens to be a hotshot divorce attorney and is helping her with divorcing Daniel (Josh Bowman). Yeah one Mrs Grayson to another.  She can get an annulment from Daniel cos he slept with his mistress in their home.

She tells Emily about the deal she wants but Emily can't recall.  Instead she tells Stevie she doesn't want to divorce Daniel after all but she's not in love with anyone else, which Stevie can't believe cos her eyes betray her.  Stevie: "that look in your eyes is love and not for the man you married."  This really worries Emily cos she almost gave away telling her about Aiden (Barry Sloane) and later she turns up at Aiden's and wants to make mad love to him.  Mad being the operative word.  He pulls her off him and tells her he's leaving for London.  Well not really, just the boot of the car, as Niko (Stephanie Jacobsen) drugs him and takes him back to Takeda's apartment.  Here she shows him the katana and is hoping for Emily to come, as she's left her a clue and then she's going to kill her, just like he murdered her father.  Aiden tells her he didn't, he defended himself and did what his father taught him.  Or else he could have said that someone else did it, but he took the katana for sentimental reasons, that's why he had it.

Emily tells Nolan about what she's done and about Aiden and then sees the katana cover in Aiden's bag. She's the one who had the katana after all and not Aiden, which is why I said he wouldn't be so stupid as to keep that under the bed last ep.  She's worried for him and also that she's trying to get revenge on her friends instead of her enemies.  She turns up and fights Niko, who really doesn't compare to everything Takeda taught her.  Oh, now Aiden manages to undo his ropes, but he couldn't before.  Emily gets the better of her but Aiden stops Emily from killing Niko.  He says they followed a code just like her father and she should just leave.  But has she gone for good.

Daniel plans a birthday party for Charlotte (Christa B Allen) but only after she reminds him.  Also asking him for a job on Voulez.  He responds she's welcome to his job since Conrad has taken over the magazine and he got fired.  Daniel stresses how it's just the two of them against the world.  Maybe until she finds out who really shot Emily.  Just as Conrad returns home, ha, Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) receives word of the fire at the gallery and Patrick (Justin Hartley) admits it was his fault.  He's called Brennan (Brett Cullen) to carry out the repairs and he's more than happy to get into bed with the Grayson's.  Victoria is disgusted with him and leaves but not before begging Patrick not to take drastic measures against him cos she can't lose him.

Patrick almost electrocutes him until he talks of how he had a child, but couldn't get to see him cos his mother took him away and gave him up.  Emily arrives at Charlotte's birthday and she tells her she's happy she's got an internship on Voulez.  Of course Conrad would oblige her.  Charlotte tells Emily she already said that half an hour ago.  Daniel receives a phonecall and Victoria spies Brennan speaking with Charlotte. He's here for colour swatches and then notices that look in Victoria's eyes.  Like she's after him.  Later he puts two and two together and when Victoria shows up at the gallery again, he recalls who she is and how she went after him.  Victoria is outraged and Patrick hits him, he falls and hurts his head, but they don't call for an ambulance.  Instead Victoria has a flashback with his, "face in the concrete line" and they leave him to die.  Patrick tells her he doesn't want to go through that, what were they even doing.  But he's in the clear since the police say he fell from his ladder.  Not very thorough the police in the Hampton's.

Emily finds out she lost the plot with Nolan too and he videoed it on his phone. Only his ego was bruised. She doesn't know what's happening since it's not the anomaly on her brain which is causing the blackouts. She thinks it might be heridatary and she may be following in her mother's footsteps.  She later tells Aiden how she didn't mean to plant the katana for it to be found and didn't want to see him dead.  But she must have her revenge and she cant give him the family he wants.  He tells her all he ever wanted was Emily.

Jack (Nick Wechsler) and Margaux (Karine Vanasse) get a house together.  She also tells Daniel she is trying to save the magazine for both of them since she's trying to see what Conrad is up to.  She's leaving for France to force her father to meet her.  As well as losing it when Conrad calls a creative meeting without her there.  Conrad tries to get into Stevie's good graces by giving her an envelope with something that will make up for the past.  She throws it into the bin.  Later she visits Jack at the Stowaway and sees Carl there, Stevie decides to stay on since she wants to hear what Conrad's been up to with Jack.

Stevie has a deed which shows she's the owner of the manor and wants Victoria out, Conrad joking about how this will leave Victoria homeless.  But Stevie tells him this doesn't mean she's in partnership with him. She returns to the Stowaway and reveals to Jack that she's his mother and wants to hear the story now. Though it was meant to be shocking it was just so obvious Stevie was going to say, "I'm your mother."  That we blurted it out before even she did, ha!  So it seems Jack is in it up to his neck with being so closely associated with the Grayson's and his father having an affair with Stevie, ugh, it's never ending.  Is Montauk so small! The other worst case scenario is that he's Conrad's son, nooo!  But wouldn't that stir up a whole other kettle of fish.  There are plenty of 'halfs' though, as in Emily and Charlotte being half sisters.  Daniel and Charlotte being half brother and sister and then Patrick is also their half brother.  Jack and Declan were half brothers.  Have I missed anyone?

Daniel wants Charlotte to spy on Conrad now she has her foot through the door since once again they've only got each other left.  Again I reiterate, how long before she finds out his lies and shooting Emily.  Wonder if he'll find out Emily and Charlotte are sisters, that'll send his world spinning and rightly so.  Charlotte is worried about Emily and Conrad being so close, especially after Lydia shot her.

Perhaps the highlight would have to be Victoria and Stevie bumping into each other dress shopping.  Then Stevie pointing out Victoria has the same dress as her in her hand!  Touche, ha.  Are their tastes really so alike.  It's uncanny, I mean they both had affairs, both had children who weren't Conrad's and whilst they were both married to him.  Want to know how Jack will take this revelation and how will Margaux's foray into ousting Conrad get her any closer to Daniel.

Is this blackout storyline of Emily's actually going to lead somewhere or is it just a means to keep the show running.  So Patrick has now killed two people for his mother and he's not looking any more endearing as a person.  Just reinforcing the effect Victoria can have on her brood, which I mentioned a few eps ago, both Patrick and Daniel can take other's lives so easily, life is so cheap and they don't have any morals.  What makes it worse is that they can get away with it too, as it's always covered up everytime.  Though Patrick was going to call for help but instead she made him endure his own father's death.  As Victoria replies, "we're victims of our world."  Or rather victims of your own doing.

The Mentalist 6.15 "White As The Driven Snow" Review

                                             
Continuing on from last ep we get to see the call again between Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) before she's abducted.  Hey she was wearing her socks on the bed, but when she woke up in the basement, she had her boots on, of course she needed those for when she escaped.  So Rigsby, Cho (Tim Kang) and Patrick (Simon Baker) have a few beers with Rigsby telling Patty he and Van Pelt always thought Patrick and Lisbon (Robin Tunney) would get together, which Patrick just laughs off.  But seriously under that demeanour, he has got a soft spot for her, only we don't know if he would really own up to his feelings and admit them and whether Lisbon would too.  Hey we can cold read Patty too you know! Ha.

Rigsby and Cho grab some dinner and Cho tells Rigsby they should join the FBI.  Abbott (Rockmond Dunbar) wanted him to ask them and Rigsby really thinks they could do that until later on.  Cho notices the hotel room door open and they find Van Pelt is missing.  Abbott wants a search for Haibach (William Mapother) and Wylie (Joe Adler) tries to tell him that he's already here, which we knew.  Patrick finds he's got a plan and had one all along before turning himself in on the basis of being stalked by the police and having a warrant on his head.  But Patty can see through the facade.  Rigsby comes in and blows his top, like that'll make him spill.  Haibach's alibi is checked and pans out but only cos he's got an accomplice.

                                                
We see her when Van Pelt manages to escape her prison to find herself in the snow.  Asking the first car that came along for help, which happened to be an SVU and a grey one at that, just like what the FBI saw on some camera footage.  She didn't think that it could be her kidnapper and the person who was really after them.  She takes her back to the cabin feigning Van Pelt can use the phone, until Van Pelt notices there's no electricity, so no phone.  Rigsby really wants Patrick to help him and Patrick tells Rigsby she's still alive, even though Fischer (Emily Swallow) tells Abbott she's already dead by now.  Yeah she'd know.  Wouldn't want to have her on my team or the case either.  So untactful too cos Rigsby heard her and that's the last thing he wants to hear.

Patrick storms into the interrogating room and threatens Haibach, that he will answer to him and he's got nothing to lose, which he hasn't as we know and he's not just full of idle threats either.  Abbott reprimands him but Patrick wants him out of his comfort zone and his plan to be foiled.  His lawyer, Laura (Penny Peyser) arrives and his alibi checks out so he has to leave.  Knew that was Patty behind the wheel of their car cos of his plan.  Fischer even tried to have a talk with Laura as if she'd help.  Though Lisbon would have had a better shot, even if Fischer tells her she already tried.

They drop Laura off on the road and they take him further.  Rigsby threatens him and throws him out of the car, as we know this is Patrick's plan and Rigsby even pours gas over him and lights a flare, throwing his gun down beside him, cos it wasn't loaded.  Haibach gets the better of them which is what they wanted and he leads them to the building but Van Pelt is gone.  He then takes them to the cabin.  Wylie figures out where Haibach would be since he's bought clothes for snow and his sister, Hazel (Lisa Darr) is the logical accomplice helping him out.  He's at Sante Fe at the bottom of the mountains.  Van Pelt tries to talk to her but she doesn't want to hear anything.  She feels guilty about not being there for him when their father did things to him.  I don't know why Van Pelt didn't undo the duct tape from her mouth since  her hands were taped in front of her.

Patrick and Rigsby arrive and he heads straight for Van Pelt not seeing Hazel's behind him.  She shoots him and then Haibach shoots Rigsby again.  Felt sure those bullets would have been fake too, but alas no. Patrick and Van Pelt are taken outside and Patrick is about to have his fingers chopped off one by one.  Oh the look on Patty's face since we know his aversion to pain.  But Rigsby helps them by getting to Hazel and then the helicopter arrives, a little too late though.

Rigsby and Van Pelt don't want to join the FBI but that's the last time we'll see them as one big happy family. That's why the bonding moment with Cho for the last time and asking Patrick for help one last time too.  Though it really seemed slow and like Patrick wasn't his usual self when he was working the case.  He was sitting there reading the file,something he didn't do as much and wouldn't really need to in the past.  You can still feel that something is missing here.  Then it was good to see Patrick and Lisbon share some screen time together.

Also some reminiscing on the part of the boys when Cho recalls that pony Patrick gave Lisbon and he wonders what happened to it.  That's right, buy her a pet and then forget about it, ha.  Patrick mentioning also the title of an ep, A Price Above Rubies.  A good ep to mention since Patrick finds out Rigsby and Van Pelt have a thing for each other, as well as Patrick posing as Lisbon's husband for a moment at the psych hospital.  Hey it was good continuity to mention it here, though he didn't mean as a past ep, since Rigsby says they thought about Patty and Lisbon being a couple.  Besides the episode also guested Callard Harris, so that's a bonus!

Almost like the good old days!  Yes even with their dialogue at the end:
Lisbon: "I was really angry at you for doing what you did, but then I thought better of it.  It was a stupid idea, but hey it worked.
Patrick: "Stupid...not necessarily stupid, simple, not stupid.
Lisbon: "I am still angry at you for not telling me what you were going to do.  I thought you'd gone nuts."
Patrick: "It's not like I haven't abducted people before."
Lisbon was afraid for Patrick but not for Van Pelt or Rigsby.