The Vampire Diaries 6.19 "Because" Review

                                           
Stefan (Paul Wesley) manages to find Caroline (Candace Accola) and they end up in a hotel together. Stefan tries to convince her that his humanity is still off cos his mother tried to talk him round, but she can't really love him and isn't much of a mother.  He orders towels from room service, so they can feed off the staff, as we see flashbacks of their plans to bring Caroline back and convince her to switch on her humanity.  Room service arrives and guess what, it's Damon (Ian Somerhalder) who shoots them both and knocks them out.  When they wake up, the sheets are bloodied and they realize they've had their blood drained to starve them and the room's been vampire proofed.  Elena (Nina Dobrev) also mentions a letter that arrived from Caroline's mother (Marguerite McIntyre) after she died and that will help her come back.  Surprised no one read that, you know, just as a precaution, or copied it.  Didn't anyone think she might destroy it in her state.

Alaric (Matt Davis) and Jo (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) guard the room and she tells him he's going to sample some wedding cakes at a bakery she's found cos she stayed with him playing gin.  Elena interrupts them and tells Alaric it's good to see him happy, ass she takes over.  Elena gives Caroline the letter but she doesn't want it and guesses it's her plan to bring back her humanity.  She orders Stefan to burn it, oh great been alive so long and Stefan didn't know any sleight of hand either.  Not to mention how I've always said the plans in this show always go awry and it's a common occurrence.  He thinks she should read it but she gives him the match and he burns it.  Elena can't believe she lost the only ace she had in helping her.

She and Damon then talk about how things would be different if they were human and she says he'd be working in a bar, with Damon remarking she's turned him into Matt (Zach Roerig) then she adds he'd own the bar, give her foot massages when she returns home from being a resident in the OR. They'd have two children so they could keep each other company when they were busy with other distractions. Caroline screams and she's heard everything they said.  She torments Elena about what she said and wanting children with her non-existent human life.  Which upsets Elena cos she didn't stick around to hear it.  Saying Elena's only settling for the life she has. Of course this was tormenting Damon too cos he has the cure and can give Elena everything she wants, thing being if she was human, they wouldn't be together, cos human Elena chose Stefan over him.  At this point in time it's no wonder cos he doesn't trust her to make the decision she really wants.  Thing is would Stefan want her now?

Damon tells Bonnie (Kat Graham) about the witches, of the 'witchpires' and she wants the ascendant, saying he shouldn't come round and talk to her when he's risking her life again.  She later breaks in   and steals the ascendant, after she gets Matt to stall Lily (Annie Wersching) at the bar, pretending she wants to meet Lily.  Enzo (Michael Mularkey) musters courage to meet Lily and she finally recognizes him as Lorenzo.  Wanting to know why she left him in the ship all alone with decapitated bodies.  She remarks on how she spent time in prison cos of the Gemini coven and she didn't want to leave him, going on about loyalty.  Matt looks at his scar and Bonnie eventually finds the ascendant when lily arrives home.  She sees the drawer open, what Bonnie you couldn't use your magic to close it behind you.  Enzo tries to tell Lily that the only family she needs is right here in the house.  She refuses to listen cos her family is the only one who can save her from becoming a ripper.

Lily wants Damon to get the ascendant back in return for the cure and he stops Bonnie from destroying it, but she tells him she knows him.  She spent four months with him and he doesn't want Elena to be human otherwise he would've told her about the cure by now.  He's risking Bonnie's life again and leading her to her death again.  He leaves without taking the ascendant.  It's not about Kai cos those witches are stronger than all of them.

Damon and Elena give Caroline photos of the the people she's killed and what her mother would say. There'd be too much for her to just sweep away.  She realizes Stefan has his humanity back cos no one's telling him about what he's done.  Also cos Stefan doesn't want to be with her.  She drives away and sirens are chasing her.  Her mother gets out of the car and arrests her.  She realizes Stefan is showing her memories and then he shows her the one about the day her mother wrote the letter.  He said he wants to be with Caroline but he wants it to be perfect, where she's happy and not grieving. She doesn't want the letter posted cos she hasn't finished it yet.  Stefan leaves and the memory fades, but she wants more.  Then regrets burning the letter, that it was all her fault.

Damon doesn't give her the ascendant and she throws the cure into the fire, or he believes he does. She knew he couldn't tell her about it and she returns home and finds the cure in a box surrounded by petals.  Then overhears them talking and how he wasn't going to tell her.  Damon wants to explain. See Damon you're still lousy at hiding things!

As for Lily being a ripper, she's lousy at being a mother, but she hasn't even tried to control her need to frenzy feed.  In many ways, Damon and Stefan were better off without her being here.  Enzo comes when she calls and she tells how she ripped the head of a man and now she regrets it.  He came cos loyalty means something to him too and she saved him when his family had turned their backs on him.  Cue an Enzo/Lily reliance and how she thinks more of him than her own sons.  Stefan doesn't want to be with Caroline cos she doesn't want him around and Jo says it's her decision. Caroline looks at the photos of everyone she's killed and she doesn't think there's any future for them and leaves.  Well she doesn't say it in so many words, but it looks that way.

Elena looks at the cure and Damon said he was silly to play that 'five years from now' game and she says they should give it to someone else cos she wants to be with him.  To the point where Damon says they'll take the cure together cos he wants her to have that life.  He can't be without her, but can't really see Damon as human.  For starters, he wouldn't last long me thinks and especially with mommie dearest around and all those so called enemies of his.

Once again we get it being all about Elena, Damon didn't tell her about the cure, she could've had a chance at a normal life, he selfishly wanted her to stay with him forever...cos no one else is allowed to wallow and to think about themselves cos it's all about Elena, as I said.  So what if Bonnie didn't give Damon the cure for Elena, she could've given it to Caroline instead, but Damon said everyone's refused it.  They should give it to Lily!  But all Elena can see is what she wants in her messed up 'I'm always right' mentality.  As Caroline said to her, she switched off her humanity, she killed the waitress cos she could and no one else can do anything differently.  

Revenge 4.23 "Two Graves" Review

                                           
Emily: "When I was a little girl, the delineation between good and evil was as clear as night and day. But as life grows complicated that line blurs and we learn to justify our actions when we believe we've crossed it.  If we aren't careful, those choices can fill us with darkness leaving us destined to never see light again."

Amanda (Emily VanCamp) draws the infinity symbol on some sand at the beach house when she's little and David (James Tupper) comes and draws it again, as she looks up at a plane.  He asks her if it's cos of the plane she saw in the news.  She asks him why people do bad things and he replies "it's our decisions that define who we are..."  She should listen with her heart.  In jail, Amanda realizes that Ben (Brian Hallisay) is dead.  She then decides to plead guilty so that she'll be transferred to maximum security, thus making her escape, as Nolan (Gabriel Mann) tells Jack (Nick Wechsler). Amanda tells the judge of what her father said about no one is born bad and the DA thinks she's just stalling.  David asks Amanda why she confessed but the conversations are recorded and she tells him she did it.  He won't let her spend time in prison the same way he did and lose all those years.  Their conversation is cut short by the guard.  She climbs the ceiling and gets out through the vents as the alarm goes of indicating a fire.  They take her to Mary's house, where Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) was staying and Nolan thinks she'll be safe there.  Jack asks whose body Victoria used and Amanda finds a photo of her and her mother, finding out she burned her own mother's corpse.

Margaux (Karine Vanasse) hugs Victoria as she turns up wearing a wig in disguise but she tells her she can't stay here.  She's going to get her out of the country and gives her a fake passport and money for France.  Margaux tells her she didn't want that woman to kill Ben, but Victoria tells her it was horrific, it was laughable how they've been going on about no bloodshed for weeks now and yet that's exactly where the two of them end up. Not to mention all this line crossing business as well.  She also tells Victoria that Patrick and Charlotte (Crista B Allen) will be at her funeral, but she can't see them until Amanda's behind bars.

Victoria tells Margaux about her mother (Adrienne Barbeau) and how she got a call after Amanda exposed her.  She visits her in the hospital and tells her how she was a horrible mother.  That she took the blame for her mother killing that man but she still didn't love her and she returned home to find her with that letch of a man.  Her mother was shocked to see that Victoria has done the same thing to Amanda and framed her father.  Her mother admitting that the lecherous man Victoria seduced into her bed was her father.  Then hopes they'll continue the conversation in hell as she dies.  Victoria places her ring on her mother's finger in the house and kisses it.

She tells Margaux she's the only family she has left and that Amanda only confessed as she has a plan.  Victoria won't let Amanda hurt her children, well why would she, when it's Victoria she wants and Charlotte is her sister, so she wouldn't, but Patrick was nowhere to be seen at the funeral.  As Louise (Elena Satine) tells Margaux that neither of them came.  Louise goes on about her being the only mother she knew and she was like a daughter to her.  Victoria listens, as is obvious she would've turned up.

Jack notices the floor in the house has been cleaned and Amanda uses the corner of the photo to pick up traces of blood showing Ben was killed here and didn't die at home.  How could he have had a stabbing accident at home, ridiculous!  Victoria tells Margaux she was at the funeral and Louise was upset at her loss.  She wants to bring her into the loop and moreover, she wants Margaux's assassin, White Gold (Courtney Love) to find Amanda and drop her in a hole and we get that whole no more bloodshed line from Margaux again.

Amanda tells Jack how she saw him at the park with Sammy and she didn't know if she could carry through her whole revenge plan.  She knew everything would be okay and always felt safe around him.  He asks her how long since she got some sleep and that she should get some now cos he's here and she'll be safe, but before that they find the time to fall into bed together.  When she wakes she finds a note from Jack saying he's gone for food.  She then sees Dr Oren's name on the toothbrush and has a flashback to Ben saying the doctor identified Victoria's remains as hers from dental records. Louise is angry that Margaux made her leave the funeral reception and she sees Victoria.  Victoria says Louise is a treasured part of her family and she will be leaving and she can't join her yet.  She didn't tell her about her plan incase she was implicated.  She asks her to keep on the charade and they'll be reunited one day.

Nolan finds Margaux has been channeling money into the Cayman Islands and suspects she's been paying White Gold that way.  The FBI haven't been able to find the assassin and they don't know what she looks like.  Amanda tells them she has the dental records and Nolan tells her that the assassin is after her.  She can't return to the house but Jack is there.  So Jack didn't have a phone now for them to call him.  Or the house either.  David calls the police.  She's waiting for Jack and manages to stab him, he'll either die slowly or faster if he tells her where Amanda is.  The police finally arrive but she runs away.  Nolan sits with Jack at the hospital and Amanda arrives dressed as a nurse. Amanda begs Jack not to leave her and that she's going to kill Victoria, Nolan tells her to do it. Nolan is going after Margaux and they need to know where Victoria is, Louise shows up and says she knows where she is.  Nolan saying he was trained for sour years by the best sensi he knows.

Nolan hacks into her laptop and there's a picture of a dead Ben, with words saying, 'you did this... and this...' Nolan walks in with proof she hired the assassin.  The one who killed Ben and put Jack in hospital in a critical condition.  Once again, she panics since she didn't want anyone to be hurt, no what did she think was going to happen.  She was trying to put Amanda back behind bars, that's where she belongs and Nolan asks where she belongs.  She lost her father, Daniel and her baby and can't take it back.  Nolan reminds her of what Amanda said to him about their decisions defining them.  She has a decision to make.

David is with Jack and he says how he brought him and Amanda together when they were little, reminding him of their wedding on the beach, the one with the pipe cleaner rings.  Jack wants to ask him for his blessing to marry Amanda and he can't think of anyone better he'd want to leave her with. Louise shows up and tells Victoria she knows she was using her and she's a pawn, but Victoria says she didn't want to hurt her.  But Louise says she hurt someone even more and Amanda shows up with a gun, as she points it at Victoria, her hand shakes.

Margaux tells White Gold to make sure Nolan is in danger so that will draw out Amanda and she's already outside the bar.  She walks in and stabs him on his hand telling him to call Amanda.  Nolan tasers her.   Margaux walks in and pulls the knife out of his hand.  She wants to help him just like Daniel saved Amanda, she wants her own redemption and will be here when the police arrive.  She bandages his arm saying if their decisions define who they are, then this is who she wants to be. Took you long enough.

Victoria has placed cameras at the apartment and says the world will see Amanda as an assassin. Amanda saying she was the one who crossed the line.  The people who hurt her father deserved their lives and to live them in turmoil and Victoria needs to die.  Victoria tells her she was dead before she was even born and this is just the formality.  As Amanda is about to pull the trigger, David shows up and shoots her.  He can't let Amanda suffer in the same way. She can't lose him again.  Victoria reaches for he gun and shoots Amanda.

Charlotte is at the cemetery with Amanda as she places flowers on David's grave.  Flashback to snow and David sits at the beach house with Amanda telling him she was glad the judge gave him compassionate leave and she could spend the time with him.  His life is complete and he can die happy.  She will miss him and he tells her to remember the infinity symbol and how much he loves her.  He takes his last breath.  The symbol is what she always turned to anyway.

Amanda: "when embarking upon a path of revenge, Confucius warns that you should dig two graves. Confucius was right.  The second of the two graves was meant for me.  I was only saved by my father's infinite love .  I know now that revenge only brings darkness.  I couldn't see the light until I considered my father's advice to try and forgive.  It's not easy but my father once said that nothing worth doing ever is.  Well, with one exception."

She looks at the Grayson graves, Conrad, Daniel and Victoria.  Then she feels the scar on her chest as she's getting ready for her wedding.  He recalls their first night at the beach house when he wanted to help her but she said he wasn't a part of this.  She gave him purpose and he wonders if there's life after revenge for him.  He tells her to get ready since Jack's been waiting long enough.  He walks her down the aisle.  Charlotte is also there and so is Stevie (Gail O'Grady).  Jack gives a speech at the reception in remembrance of those they have lost, his brother Declan, his father, Emily Thorn who gave him his beautiful son, Aiden, Ben and David who they lost earlier in the year.  He bought them together when younger and now.  That his legacy will see them onto their new life.  They're leaving on the boat he restored.  Amanda gives him a gift and Nolan brings in a puppy like Sammy.

After the shooting Amanda is back in the hospital and Charlotte tells the doctor she must never know, who the heart belonged to.  Amanda wakes and tells Jack the dream is real but he calls it a nightmare.
Amanda: "I consider myself lucky, most morality tales don't have a happy ending.  For some reason karma saw fit to spare me, but not without leaving deeply etched wounds. ...when everything you love has been stolen from you, consider my story as you embark on your own journey of revenge and always remember, what goes around comes around."  

This show likes to do things in twos, full circle with David dying all over again like he did in prison, everyone practically ended up in hospital in the entire four years.  Not to mention deja vu when Amanda conked Victoria when she was digging that grave last season and she ended up in the institution.  Now Amanda loses David all over again.  What was the point of getting him out if he couldn't be with her and have the life they were deprived of for so long.  Don't get me started on Victoria and that dream Amanda had of getting her heart and that she was a match.  I mean Victoria her mother would be the ultimate curse and poor ending!  Really, especially since Amanda was with Daniel and married him too, I mean her half brother, noooo!  That'd been more fodder for another series!  Or a spin off!  ha.  But that's too much to bare, especially since they now leave us with that silly cliffhanger as to whether Victoria could've been her mother.  It'd have been so much easier if David had poisoned her and threw her off the lighthouse as he was going to do, when he didn't, cos he ended up killing her anyway!

Jack and Amanda sailing into the sunset and she'll always have those nightmares and not put it behind her and when Nolan wonders what he'll do, she makes sure he'll still help others who are worthy of it.  "Well played Ems," he says.  Well that's a whole other spin off on its own and he could Louise to help, ha.  Though she still got away with that whole electrocution fiasco and no one will try and convince me otherwise!  She did it, shame it wasn't properly mentioned.
Agh, Victoria's heart, and at the beginning David tells Amanda she should always listen with her heart, was that meant to be a clue, ironic or just a passing comment.  Though not sure he would've been told if Victoria was her mother, but what about Amanda's own mother then?  Is that why she was locked up and tried to drown her in the sea.  It kinda all makes sense now if you look back! Thanks for leaving us with so many questions still, talk about karma, what did we do to deserve this??  Ha.

The Vampire Diaries 6.18 "I Could Never Love Like That" Review

                                       
Have to say this was an abysmal ep that I've watched.  Caroline's (Candace Accola) self indulgence and just doing what she wants was irritating, not to mention karaoke, okay she sings really, but there's no need to rub it in.  There she was promising she wouldn't harm anyone and yet she wreaks havoc at Whitmore, along with Stefan (Paul Wesley) who is relishing being back to his ripper self.  Then Matt (Zach Roerig) and Tyler (Michael Trevino) decide to stop by the bar for food and get caught up in their deadly game.  Caroline wanting to know things about herself they remember when they dated her and then she'll let the winner go.  Her final question being what her mother's last thoughts were, answered by Stefan cos he was there and they weren't, about her riding her bike.  So he wins.  Tyler decides he's not playing along and wants to fight them, breaking up a chair for a stake, only Caroline moves and he stabs Matt instead, oops.

Elsewhere Enzo (Michael Mularkey) decides to leave Sarah (Tristan Mays) with her family and wash his hands of her.  But when he turns up at the house Lily (Annie Wersching) answers the door.  Of course he had to know her, she's the one who turned him.  Cue the usual flashbacks, this time to Southampton, England, 1903 with Enzo trying to get onto the ship but he's got consumption, so he can't get on.  Lily turns up and takes him on there, with the doctor telling him he can help, but Lily compels him for the truth and she turns Enzo to save him.  With him thinking she's an angel, hey that's what Stefan thought of her too when he was little.  Sarah is on vervain as Matt paid her a visit and she inject Enzo too.  Wanting to know about her family.  With him explaining he was going to leave her with Damon (Ian Somerhalder) the bad brother who's not so bad now and the one who was good, Stefan, is bad.

Damon tells Elena (Nina Dobrev) he's not going to let Lily bring back her family and he stops her from finding the cure in his drawer.  Oh really Damon, first he used the soap dish to hide things and now it's back to the drawer.  Need a new hiding place.  Lily cooks breakfast but Damon doesn't remember it tasting this bad.  He tells her she can have the ascendant and she has to help Stefan. Elena finds out they're at Whitmore bar from Jo (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) and also finds out she's pregnant. Making her jealous and Jo asks her if she's told Damon how she feels.  She's just happy for Alaric.

Damon tells Lily to text Elena that they're heading to the campus which was new to her, she was going to text an entire letter, 'My dearest Elena' 'n' all!  When they arrive, she pikes out admitting she wasn't coming back for them and how Stefan will know she's lying.  Damon tells Elena this and also that he has no intention of giving her the ascendant, again.  But she says she was a lousy mother and so he gives her the ascendant when she says that he hasn't been honest with Elena about the cure.  See he was carrying the ascendant around with him too.

We get more on Enzo and how she killed everyone on the ship by feeding off them, as well as Enzo having that bloodlust desire to feed and he does this by feeding off the charlatan doctor.  He gets out of his ties and tells Sarah he's letting her go.  She says she wants nothing to do with her family, but she's strangely drawn to death and the vervain's worn off, he could just let her go, which he does. Seems like he didn't want to get Stefan back now after he sees Lily.  Was he really that afraid of her?

At the bar Stefan sees her and immediately recognizes her which is what Damon said he'd do, after she told him she couldn't love her own family, but loved her other family more.  Caroline finds out she's his mother and makes a break for it cos she doesn't want to be brought back.  Stabbing Stefan in the back, ha, that's what he got for losing his humanity for her.  Lily brings Stefan back cos Damon coached her on what to say, hmm, didn't know Damon could be so emotional.  Ha.  She tells him she loves him and she's his angel returned to him, bringing him back.  She was a ripper and she was afraid she'd hurt them if she came back.  She wanted to see him grow up and he wouldn't have to carry around the guilt of being a ripper with him.  It was cos of her.  They'll have all of eternity to make amends and to get to know him.  That was easy.  Tyler takes Matt to hospital and he doesn't want to be saved by Elena's blood.  He wants a doctor.  He hates vampires so he can't have them help him when he needs it.  Damon tells Stefan he can have tonight to wallow in his guilt and then go after Caroline, but he doesn't need a night, he'll go now.

Jo says that she needs the ascendant when she told her father about Kai, he told her how there are some witches who were heretics and became vampires, as well as witches, by feeding on themselves. She needs the ascendant, so they can't be brought back.  The Gemini coven banished them and amongst them was her mother.  Well Damon doesn't have it anymore and Lily brings back the six of them, with Jo saying imagine Kai as a vampire and then imagine six of him.  Damon doesn't tell Elena about the cure after she tells him she wants to throw a baby shower for Jo.  She was jealous and didn't react in the right way, but she's got him and so she's happy.  Another secret!  What's new. Though it won't last for long.

Glad they didn't draw out Stefan switching off his humanity any longer cos it would've gotten boring, seen it all before.  But had to get the new storyline going of Lily and the witchy vampires, as Damon would call them.  Once again it had to be all about Elena, she wants a family and has the chance now with the cure.  Surprised Lily didn't want it.  Elena didn't go to the bar but instead went to the hospital, leaving Damon to do it, yet she wants Caroline back to her normal vampire self again.

Revenge 4.22 "Plea" Review

                                                
Amanda (Emily VanCamp) speaks with her lawyer, Lawrence Stamberg (Tom Amandes) who tells her what they will argue, that they used her interview against her.  He shows her a photo of Victoria's (Madeleine Stowe) handwriting and she says it's hers, they'll say she forged it to look like it has discrepancies in it.  But he believes the best course of action is for her to plea guilty to a lesser charge.  She insists she will never plead guilty to this and so she shouldn't.  She didn't kill her or anyone else.  But she's rich, she should get off like the wealthy do!  Nolan (Gabriel Mann) meets with Jack (Nick Wechsler) and David (James Tupper) at court and asks how he is doing.  Nolan shows them where he's found Mason (Roger Bart) at some trailer park and Jack wonders what he's doing using a limo.  Nolan wasn't getting any results until he typed in scum and traitorous.  At court the prosecution argues that she should not be granted bail after her TV interview and the things she said. Her lawyer says that she was trying to clear her innocent father's name.  The judge sets bail at $2 million and if she violates this, she'll be back behind bars.

Margaux (Karine Vanasse) isn't happy with the newspaper headlines and says they should read, 'alleged killer...' Louise  (Elena Satine) tells her she has made the funeral arrangements and she wants her to read a Robert Frost poem, what, The Road Not Taken, cos that's what Victoria and Margaux took, the one that's been trampled on plenty for bad deeds.  Margaux replies she'll just burst out crying.  Well more likely cos she's guilty of framing her and Victoria is still alive, as I said in the last review.  She wouldn't kill herself, she's not that far gone and she said it herself when she sent that video to Emily.  That she got the idea from her flashdrive.  Oh what, she couldn't think of it herself! Louise also says the concierge won't let her into Victoria's penthouse where she feels comfortable. The executor's closed off the place.  Margaux tells her that Charlotte (Christa B Allen) did it.  She sees her and tells her Charlotte should have something that reminds her of her mother, but Charlotte doesn't want anything.  She was dead to her the first time she left and that's news to Louise.  She won't go to the funeral, Louise still harping on about Victoria being her mother figure.

Ben (Brian Hallisay) puts the ankle monitor on Amanda and he wanted this assignment cos he knows the property and so if she steps one foot off it, she's going back.  He knows her and that she's already thinking of a way out.  Clearly he doesn't know her as well as he thinks he does cos he believes she's guilty.  Amanda tells Nolan that they have to get Mason to confess and Nolan comes up with a plan to short circuit the power so that she can slip out of her monitor and substitute a different one at a different frequency.  Jack comes by and they talk.  She tells him how Nolan told her he was leaving and she ran to the airport wanting him to stay.  She still wants him to stay.  He didn't know that Victoria could do this, but Amanda knows she had help.  But Jack is so wrong, doesn't he know she killed Aiden at the very least, Amanda knows she did.  They are about to kiss when Nolan interrupts and says that he can remove the monitor, but she has a limited amount of time.

David sees what Amanda is doing but she doesn't want him to be complicit in this.  David says he'll find Mason himself but she won't hear of it! The lights go out and she slaps the monitor on his wrist and leaves.  Now he'll have to stay behind.  Jack visits Margaux at her favourite lunch place and even after Amanda told him not to.  He tells her she was set up but she doesn't want to hear it.  Of course not, she can't hide behind the lies with a straight face!  He feels it wasn't a perfect death and Amanda wouldn't have been so clumsy.  Margaux leaves and Jack notices the town car she called for has a similar number plate to the one in the photo, which he later tells David about.

Ben drops by and tells David of an increased number of burglar alarms going off,  David tells him Amanda's upstairs.  The monitor needs to reset and will do so automatically at 9, which is why he's here.  It's 9 now and it goes off on his wrist.  Amanda gets to the trailer park and breaks in but everything's neat and tidy inside, with his slippers on the bed and champagne bottles.  She asks his neighbour if they've seen him and he says he went off with some woman in big shades in a car.  The police arrive and she can't run away.  Would've been futile anyway since they know she's not home. Also as I said before, she was a little sloppy as Amanda, Emily wouldn't have had that problem and also a little complacent.

Nolan sees Louise coming out of Victoria's bedroom and he tells her Amanda was framed. She's fooling herself believing that Victoria was her guardian angel.  That Victoria wasn't the only one who cared about her, he did too.  She tells him to get out.  Victoria was using her and Louise's blind faith to believe everything that happened to her.  Yeah once again Victoria playing helpless Vic here, or rather more hapless!  Oh sorry no pun here, by Vic I meant Victim, not short for Victoria!  ha.

David visits her in jail and she tells him about Mason.  Also that Victoria is still alive and that's what Amanda would do.  As we get a flashback to the last ep and Victoria telling Amanda about how she got the idea from her.  He tells her about Margaux's car and she needs five minutes alone with her. At that point David falls to the floor in pain.  Nolan says they don't have his results back yet and meets Jack at the bus stop.  He's waiting for a friend, Daryl (Drew Rausch) who Jack saved on the obstacle course at the academy.  He heads to the jewellers as Margaux buys an expensive necklace for the funeral.  Who was that for, her or Victoria.  She leaves the alarm goes off and Daryl stops her, wanting to look in her bag.  She refuses but he insists and he finds a pair of earrings in there.  She doesn't know how they got there and hits him in anger.  Jack pays off Daryl.

Margaux is thrown in a cell and rants about wanting her lawyer.  Amanda from the next cell, tells her that it's a wrong time to be here.  She breaks open the door and gets into her cell, saying they've got eleven minutes and she won't need the last four minutes to do what she needs.  She demands to know whose body was in her house and throws down the contraptions she said she learned how to make after her time in jail.  Margaux so deserved the steel sandwich on her cheekbones! ha.  Louise is raiding Victoria's closet and finds a dress in a garment holder.  Then finds the hoodie the assailant wore when attacking Victoria.

Amanda tells Ben everything about Victoria being alive and she used the DB of Mary Gaines which was unclaimed.  Then used her dental records too.  Margaux attacked her in the garage and made it look like it was her.  Ben doesn't believe her cos she's not capable of telling the truth and she's only hurting those who care for her.  He leaves.  Louise comes in with the hoodie and Ben looks in the surveillance photo to see it's the same one.  So you're telling me Margaux didn't leave behind a stray hair or any of her sweat in the hoodie, that forensics could find.  But conveniently, they found all the evidence Mason planted in Amanda's car as belonging to Victoria.  Louise sees Margaux and tells her about the hoodie and that she's doubting Victoria.  That Nolan was at the penthouse, thus Margaux telling her he probably planted this.  Margaux makes a call and we know who that's to.

David tells Amanda his prognosis gives him at least six months to live.  Amanda promises to help him and makes him promise that they'll fight it.  Ben follows this up and finds Mary's DB isn't in the morgue.  He turns up at her house.  Inside he finds Victoria coming out of the bath and the assassin, White Gold (Courtney Love) stabs him.  What did he want, another promotion, going there alone.
We know Victoria was never dead and cos this was the final season, they brought her out of hiding sooner than later.  Margaux is just as bad as her and the way she thinks it's easy to play with peoples' lives and in such a way.  Always knew she was bad news.  Did she really believe she was helping Victoria or was she deluded into getting Amanda back for Pascal.

Actually, my scenario, Amanda would go to jail and David would spend his time getting his revenge on everyone who put her there; after recovering.  Could get a whole season out of that!  Ha.  Almost done now and I think they did exhaust their possibilities of where the show was heading, that's why they had no choice but to end it.
Only hoping Victoria gets caught for killing Aiden and Margaux both end up in prison together, just desserts and retribution for what David and Amanda had to endure!  But I want Amanda to have her happy ending with her father.  They deserve it!

CSI 15.18 "The End Game" Review

                                             
The Gig Harbour Killer returns and gets a tattoo of himself whilst hanging out with two women.  He then cuts off his finger and becomes his brother Jared.  Finn (Elisabeth Shue) returns home to find a package from her mother and opens it to reveal a statue of the twins Castor and Pollux, as well as a bottle with a finger inside.  She doesn't realize when she sees the statute that it's actually a connection to Paul Winthrop (Mark Paul Gossellaar).  She must have a short memory.  He calls telling her "this is the beginning of the end."  Kind of poignant there in some ways, especially considering that's what it turned out to be for this show!  She takes it to have it analyzed.  Oh the penny finally dropped. Nick (George Eads) talks to DB (Ted Danson) and notices he's grown a beard within a week, which his wife doesn't like.  As Nick has shaved his.  Ahh, so we can see Nick clean shaven (or rather George) before he leaves, just as he was all those years ago back in 2000.  That seems an age ago.  He mentions the Sand Diego lab director and the job to him and Nick thinks DB's trying to get rid of him, but he doesn't want to leave and is having second thoughts, but DB thinks he'll get the promotion and should take it.  Finn interrupts and listen to what they were talking about.

Sara (Jorga Fox) tells Nick that the tracking number didn't lead them anywhere and he asks for some advice, her guessing it's about San Diego as he's having some reservations about leaving.  She reminds him what Grissom would say, to go "where you can do the most good."

Henry (Jon Wellner) has analyzed the blood on the statue and on the finger and finds the finger belongs to Paul, but also that the blood doesn't belong to him but it's female and since it's all over the statue it's most likely the murder weapon.  The finger was also in saline and another unknown substance.  Greg (Eric Szmanda) watches Hodges (Wallace Langham) with tattoos on his arm and he says he hasn't got a tat but it's a sleeve which will show him what tattoos would look like.  The unknown substance he says is tattoo ink and the artist must have used it for Jared's tattoos.  The artist moved to Vegas and has an ex-wife who has a twin sister.   Greg realizes it could be their blood.

Sara and Greg go to the lost rented by Amelia and her sister but it's a CS which has already been staged and prepped.  Though it's not quite finished in terms of being very different to the others. Such as the Gemini signs aren't hidden in the strings this time.  As well as being a rope with some sort of yellow transfer/trace.  There are still the strings made from human tissue and blood on the floor.  Sara picks up the recorder and he leaves them a message which is for DB and how those who separated him from Jarad will pay.  As Greg uses the new machine from the lab which shows them how old the blood stains are.  The blood is quite fresh thus the murders took place at least twelve hours ago. Hodges tells Sara the rope is dogbane and is used in gardening and the trace was pollen from a cactus.

Finn mentions that Daniel Shaw (Mark Valley) is asking for a deal as he has some information to share about the Killer.  When she arrives to see him, he sends his lawyer packing cos he doesn't want a deal but just wants to tell her everything.  He tells her about their father and how he was investigating a lead that the accomplice wasn't necessarily Jared.  Also mentioning Brother Larson (Eric Roberts) whom we saw in the episode of CSI 13.22 Skin In The Game and 14.1 The Devil and DB Russell.  Anyway the preacher pimp we could call him.  He can talk him to him if she lets him out for 48 hours.  We see Larson convincing a prostitute to carry on with her 'job' but she wants to leave the game.  Also asking her for an envelope.  He sees Daniel and he says he needs information from him, he used to work for him so he has info on him.  Finn shows up. He doesn't want to talk but tells them about the twins father and how he used to find him girls. Talking about the apple not falling from the tree at all.  he tells them he doesn't harm the girls and that his accomplice is most likely Paul's father, Collin (Barry Bostwick).

Coincidentally he just happens to be in San Diego and Finn says she knows a guy as it turns out that Colin is into plants.  Nick heads over there first and it seems the CSIs there know they may be working for him soon.  CSI Ellis (Brandon Bell) tells him about there being a guesthouse where they suspect Paul has been hanging out.   As Daniel and Finn arrive.  Nick checks out the guesthouse and find meds and bloody bandages.  There's also a chest freezer which has two DBs inside of it.  Finn shows Colin the search warrant and he has nothing to say.  He's arrested when they find the DBs.  As they leave Finn is called by Paul. He shoots Colin and then also at her when Daniel dives in front to save her.  No Finn put your phone away first before you tell them about the sniper!   The rifle is found in a spot where he was hiding out to take the shot and Nick analyzes it for Paul's prints.  Daniel doesn't make it and Finn tells this to DB.  Who tells her to head home, well that's silly, he will  be after her wouldn't he.  Didn't she need some police protection and so the lab would've been safer for her.

Doc (Robert David Hall) finds the DBs had blunt force trauma and such a multitude of fractures that David (David Berman) couldn't count all of them.  The sisters also engaged in rough sex.  Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) shows DB footage from Collin's greenhouse where he's visited by Larson and they argue.  She tells DB there's a way to hear what they were saying, as she and Sara went on the Net and found a site where she can hear what was said through the plant's vibrations.  Colin tells him he's had enough of his blackmailing and Paul might try and find his daughter, May and kill her. Larson is with DB as he tells him he found out may was missing at 15.  Larson says she ran to a convent and gave birth to twins and she's their mother, Sister Alice that Finn spoke to.  DB replies Larson is the twins' father and they found this though DNA.  She was one of his girls but he actually had an affair with her and made her pregnant.  So Logan is their father.  Finn goes home and breaks the news of her father's death to Daniel's daughter, Amy. She's then confronted by Paul.

Sara thinks DB may be the next target and he will pick up Finn and head to Seattle with her.  DB is confronted by Paul who has Finn and he wants him to read the CS.  He says she's not dead cos there's not enough blood and no blood spatter and wants to know where she is.  Paul replies the desert.

Sara finds Morgan and says that Finn and DB aren't answering their phones and she heads over there, telling Morgan to bring Greg with her.  They enter the apartment and Mitch (Larry Mitchell) shoots Paul before he can fire at them.  With DB telling them to stop cos they don't know where Finn is. Sara tells them to search for Paul's car and Morgan finds one which was stolen.  Opening it up, they find Finn inside and Greg tries to resuscitate her.

Nick gets ready to leave and DB puts Finn's badge into an envelope.  She's in a com and they don't know if she'll come out of it.  Obviously if there had been another season then she'd have made a miraculous discovery, more's the pity.  He got the job and he's going.  Sara reminding him they'll be meeting for drinks and Nick says he'll buy the first round.  Greg tells him he can buy all the drinks cos he's got a higher salary.  Nick loves and respects them both.  As he leaves we get flashbacks to his past cases over the years and how young he looked at the beginning!  Ha.  Had to get that one in. SO he came along way as he looks at the solved board of crimes and moves one from Warrick's column.

As Sara said to him, reminding him of what Grissom would say, "you go where you can do the most good."  Well he would've been missed in the show and it wouldn't have been the same without him, but I can add that to all the cast now too, cos they won't be back for a season 16.  Barring Finn of course, cos I never really liked her.  It had to end sometime but we started with CSI and we ended with CSI as it outlasted the other spin-offs.  It couldn't have gone on forever and as I said it wouldn't have lasted that long since CSI Cyber is now on air!  Apparently it seems there's only room for one such show on the network.

Revenge 4.21 "Aftermath" Review

                                                
Emily (Emily VanCamp) returns home to find the firemen putting out the fire and David (James Tupper) runs up saying he saw the flames when he got home.  She says no one  was home which is just as well.  Nolan (Gabriel Mann) spends the night with Tony (Josh Spence) and he's made him breakfast but he has to work.  He then checks his messages with Emily telling him the house is on fire and she needs him.  Nolan asks her what the world looks like sans Victoria and she still can't believe it was an explosion.  She says the revenge is over and Nolan's falling for Tony and wants a vacation
away from the Hamptons which is is good for him and he's got a private jet if she wants to fix things with Jack (Nick Wechsler).  She has to fix things with Jack herself later and she needs his help with Mason (Roger Bart).

Mason meets with her in her car and he pretends he has a cold from the plane and how he doesn't touch the car with his hands but she doesn't notice.  Her father's alive and she's trying to have the life she wants.  He wants to remind her that Emily already told him about a new identity wherever he wants it.  He hates the Maldives.  The Amanda Clark story will be believed by people and will destroy whatever Norman Rockwell life she's going to have with her father.  He'll give it all to the papers, Homeland Security and it's her move.

Jack calls Nolan to find out about the fire and also to ask if Emily did it.  It's not a poetic end to Emily's revenge.  Nolan reassures him Emily wouldn't kill anyone.  Jack isn't sure but he knows her so well yet he still has to ask.  I mean he loves her why the need to doublecheck on her.  She needs a pre-dated paper trail for Mason from Nolan, showing Conrad killed Gordon Murphy.  He can do that and more fool Emily for not getting any proof of Mason being alive, even if it was a photo or a recording.  They made her rather lax now she's not revenging.  Stevie (Gail O'Grady) heard his call to Nolan and asks if Emily's responsible for this.  Even she's asking now, like she ever killed anyone. She's worried that Emily still affects him.  But he's not going back there.

Emily takes the papers to the DOJ saying she found a hidden compartment in the floor of her house and if the fire hadn't started it, she wouldn't have seen it.  It's got Conrad's documents in it.  They'll investigate anything about him.  Also the DOJ has no cameras in their building or outside.  How perfect for security purposes.  Especially with Mason outside.  Louise (Elena Satine) isn't convinced Victoria killed herself, cos she's been in and out of mental institutions and she doesn't think she killed herself.  She scheduled a mani-pedi for the following week.  She finds blood on Victoria's room door and assumes someone attacked Victoria.  She says it wasn't a suicide at all.

Well the Revenge standards are slipping no wonder they ended it.  Emily/Amanda went from being one step ahead to being framed by Victoria and the two wenches even figure out Victoria was murdered.  Well she wasn't.  Also Emily not realizing Mason left no prints behind and yet she met in her car.  Of course he was busy planting evidence when he dropped the tissue.  Since his cold also miraculously vanished at the DOJ building.  Don't know why she even bothered clearing his name.  Mason mentioning he knows what it's like to have your house go up in flames.  Emily's lowered her guard cos as I said in the previous ep, Mason is her only alibi cos she missed Jack's plane and it's unlikely he'll help her considering he's that sort of a two faced jerk.  Siding on whoever gave him the big bucks or whichever way the wind blew, in this case it was Victoria;  yeah two losers getting together.  Ben's (Brain Hallisay) taking this jilted lover thing too far as well, he could really be in love with a killer and he's behaving like a woman scorned!  All of a sudden everyone has to doubt Emily and think she's capable of murder.  That was Daniel and the Grayson's and Victoria. What about how Victoria killed Aiden.  That was swept under the carpet.  

Louise accuses Emily of killing Victoria on the same spot her son died (like she cares.)  Emily says   she didn't do it.  She's going to help them prove she attacked her it the garage, that was Louise, or Victoria set it up.  Think it was Victoria now.  The police call her and David disposes of the poison he got for Victoria down the sink.  She tells him about her death being ruled a suicide and he's been called in too.  They're covering their bases.  They're the prime suspects and she doesn't want anything bad happening to him.  He tells her he was working on the boat by himself and no one saw him.  Of course his alibi is even better than hers.  Nolan tells Tony about the vacation and he wants to go but he prefers tequila, not pina coladas.  Nolan saying he'd like to shack up with him someday and slapping himself for going too far too soon.  Tony however later tells him he's adopting and he's getting a baby in two days.  He's a single dad and wants it that way even though Nolan suggests he's not high maintanance.

David sees Emily in the room and Ben asks if she's worried about him.  Ben believes she's guilty and Margaux (Karine Vanasse) was the last one to see her.  If it wasn't Emily then one of her friends could've done it.  She was at her house with Ben and then at the airport.  She missed his plane but tells Ben about Mason.  Which is hard to believe since he's dead. She gives him her car keys for forensics, but obviously his phone's disconnected.  She saw him the other day and there's no security cameras in the entire city of New York now.

She bumps into Jack on the way out.  He had to come in for questioning since his leaving so soon was seen as suspect.  She denies killing Victoria.  When he heard about the fire he's glad she wasn't hurt.  She asks why he didn't say goodbye and they're interrupted.  Emily tells him to come by the beach house, but he's leaving after this.  She overhears the policewoman ask if David's alibi at the hospital checks out.  So that's Nolan and Emily in the same boat regarding being alone.  Don't think that'll last for Emily though and I so want Louise to get her just desserts regarding trying to electrocute Victoria but of course that is something that was forgotten and I will harp on about that until it's resolved, which is highly unlikely that it will.

Ben questions Jack with such contempt that he suspects he could be in on it with her, if he wasn't on that plane, which he'll have to check out.  He hasn't spoken with Emily until now when she assured him she didn't do it.  He doesn't know that she and Ben broke up and Ben congratulates him for winning cos she raced to the airport to stop him.   He can't see how he'd move away so quickly when he's lived here his whole life.  He's doing Jack a favour by keeping this off the record.  That's why he called him down cos phonecalls are recorded.  Jack wanted to know if this isn't a conflict of interest cos he's working on his girlfriend's case.

Emily waits for David outside the hospital and finds out the doctor corroborated his story.  He didn't tell her cos he saw that look in her face when she was so happy after everything was over when there weren't anymore battles to be fought.  He hasn't seen that look since she was a girl.  he doesn't have to pretend with her but he wants to.  She says they're in this together.  He feels better she knows now. He's not there when the police come for her cos she's arrested.  They find prints and some strands of Victoria's hair in Emily's car.

Louise wants to throttle someone and Margaux is writing a story that Victoria wanted her to write weeks ago but she refused.  Louise is so certain she killed Victoria, sorry luv, you're as wrong as Margaux's hairstyle and walk in her shoes.  She'll regret it.   Notice the way Emily was arrested at the beach house, it was the same way that David was taken, only he wasn't there to see it.  History repeating itself, but this time it wasn't David being framed, but Emily by Victoria!  I still have the feeling that dastardly Victoria isn't dead!!

Gotham 1.19 Beasts of Prey 1.20 Under the Knife 1.21 The Anvil or the Hammer, The Ogre Character View

When I write a review it's almost always about shows, but I couldn't pass on the opportunity to write a character review this time round, of sorts, re Milo Ventimiglia's portrayal of The Ogre in Gotham. There was much publicity of this and the fact it was going to be a three-ep story arc, but I couldn't help but think I've seen it all before.  Deja vu strikes again Batman and it's not even about him!  Ha.
                                       
The fact that The Ogre was actually the son of a butler and his wife, the mother who didn't love her son, couldn't love her son cos he was ugly, ergo the Ogre, see, that's Ogre spelled backwards! Well if that wasn't enough to give him a mother complex, don't know what else would be.  Ain't it always the way, that a rejected son turns out to go on a killing spree and become a serial killer, killing women.  But yes, as I was saying, I wish I could recall where I saw that entire plot point before offhand.
Some choice quotes in ep 1.20 Under The Knife and of course it was apparent that someone so ugly would undergo surgery. As for The Ogre it's more a name to do with his crimes than his actual physical appearance, since not that many would know what he looks like now, as opposed to back then.

As for Fifty Shades of Batman, er, let's not go there, poor Batman to be, Bruce Wayne is but a babe in arms in this series, so..it's a little discomforting to have it called this.  More like Fifty Shades of Ogre! (Ochre?) Though the Don Juan Killer was more appropriate, the Ogre would stem from him being a monstrous serial killer.  The bondage room came as a revelation to most, cos it was meant to be a rather tame adaptation compared to other shows.  Also a revelation that his Vics suffered more before being killed and weren't spared their torture.

With the sort of character Barbara (Erin Richards) is of course she wouldn't be afraid of that room, the torture chamber, I mean, not the other one.  Though as Barbara isn't killed off by this eps's end, it appears he has other plans for her, including as a possible soul mate?
Another deja vu scene when the Ogre aka Jason, but that was probably too plain a name, takes their hands and sits them down on his lap whilst perched on the edge of the chair, what's up with that? Something his mother never did to him.  He did it in 1.19 Beasts Of Prey and he did the same thing with Barbara too.  He would have an attraction to Barbara especially when he finds out she has nothing to do with Gordon (Ben Mackenzie) and that in their own twisted, messed up ways, they are both broken, making them kindred spirits in that sense.  Yet it's hard to believe she would graduate onto murder, even by proxy.

                                        
At least this episode did have some interesting backstory looking into the background of the Ogre and who he really is, that sketch left a lot to be desired after his transformation, but it's a bit difficult to think the police had no idea he could've undergone a change in facial appearance if he's as horrendous as his father made him out to be.

"How is a successful, funny, mildly good looking guy like you still single?"
"Mildly?" Must be something wrong with him, yeah you were right, should've steered clear.

Jason: "I think what I'm looking for frightens people [more like you do] unconditional, real intense love."
So we get glimpses to what's behind the cupboard door, already, skeletons in the closet.  Funny, no blinds, no nosey neighbours perving on this "mildly good looking guy," whom the bartender describes as "hot," cos that's really strange, seeing as the windows are so close!

Leaving behind a broken heart calling card. Not his first kill. Surprised that dinner scene wasn't based on the Hannibal Lecter one!  Sooner or later he did find the one.  No one was stupid enough to "investigate" til Gordon came along.  Obviously there's a reason for going after police investigator's loved ones! Not having unconditional love of his own when he was younger.  But they did and exhibiting not only manic tendencies, but a smidgen of envy too.

Barbara: "Once you saw the real me you would run screaming like everyone else," well she said it, that's what attracted him to her, when he said in previous ep, 1.20, he'll find someone who is a kindred spirit to him, his soul mate.  Those words would've been music to his ears since he is exactly that, every woman's nightmare.

Well the clinic would've been a good place to begin with, but why cos she would've known what he ultimately looked like.
Constance Van Groot aka Miss Haversham! Great Expectations (Charles Dickens) could be an underlying theme here, Jason had some expectations, even wanting a share in her will.  Yes she could have been a Miss Haversham, yet much more crueler, toying with his emotions at an impressionable age and in what was already a damaged psyche.  Which turned out to be more Psycho and Norman Bates than anything else.  Always had knife in hand.  Jason's father only keeping the body in the house to engage in the game of keeping her money.  Also the faces being scratched from the photos was a big clue, but why not just remove them.

"A face only a mother could love."  Conjured up the parallel story of Gertrude having given birth to a monster" as Maroni tells her.  No one would ever love Jason,  Except you think his mother, but even she ran out on them.  He said same thing, about the woman he thought was his mother.  How he portrays two personas and has the world see another, one person on the outside, and he lives like that. He created, or rather recreated himself and can do the same for you, i.e become a killer like him. That photo wasn't that marked a change from what he looks like now!
                                           

The scene at the ball in 1.20 could've been right out of a sleek movie, subject matter of dialogue aside and how these two did have something to share with each other, although as it turns out, they got their wires crossed, so as a couple, they really wouldn't have worked.  Her idea is being accepted by society, high society and people that shun her, his idea of acceptance is completely different, cos she's not looking for it.  Rather someone to share his 'life' with him and all the death and despair that entails.  So really it's all about Jason and anyone else is just a stepping stone to his death count.

How can he find the woman , the perfect partner Jason is looking for if he doesn't know what that involves.  He didn't have any female or motherly figure in his life, no mention of Constance here, she was just a poor surrogate substitute.  So how can he know what unconditional love really is.  He only has his own crazed and fundamentally flawed, yet dangerous definition.  Some nice dance moves, something you'd find in certain eps of The Vampire Diaries.  Mind you Milo was born in the year of Saturday Night Fever, 1977, just a comment! ha.

                                     
There's murder in them thar eyes!

Casting of Milo was perfect in this role since he exudes a quiet charm underlying a more menacing killer, prima facie no one would suspect; with a fresh face that needs more molycoddling than exhibiting a darker incarnation.  It's when he gets the woman alone that the 'fun' for him truly begins. Through all that coldness, he retains his temper, until the women let him down by failing to meet his 'great' expectations and he has to 'take care' of them.  See that Barbara didn't get a cooking challenge.  Or how many times they could include the scene where Jason holds Barbara from behind?!

1.21 The Anvil or the Hammer kind of left a bad taste in terms of the menacing Ogre being dispatched so quickly, I mean a bullet through the head, that was it. SO how do we know that was actually THE Ogre and not some manipulation he's created.  I mean he said to Barbara in the previous ep he 'created' himself so why not someone else to take the fall for him.  Just me thinking aloud.  He didn't strike me as being stupid enough to actually lead them straight to his location by giving it away, but from that phonecall, that was exactly what it looked like; unless it was to not only kill her parents cos she wanted it done, but to end her too in process and have Gordon be there to see it.
Which wouldn't have achieved much, especially since Gordon's no longer with her and as she said, no one's gonna miss her if she were run over by a bus.  Though in this city, she was more likely to have been killed outright rather than it being any sort of accident.  Which many were hoping for.  I mean Gordon's indifference to her was apparent in the end, he didn't really care about her and to him the more important part of his job was to get Jason and he did.  Saving Barbara was just to assuage his own guilt were anything to happen to her since he didn't think she'd be a target/Vic.

Oh yeah let's get some slapping in Barbara, cos it's not like Jason's not into all of that. But she got it back too.  Though she was drugged and not fainted as some have said, who faints with their eyes still open. Anyway, she was being 'mothered' by him quite a bit wasn't she.  So much for hating his mother.  He had some motherly tendencies towards his Vics, it appears.  Also when he told her that he wants to "set you free," he means her inner killer.   Her choosing her parents to be killed by Jason, was it some desperate act of staying alive (not to bring the Bee Gees song to the fore here) or was it cos she didn't have anyone else in mind and deep down he did notice something more sinister in her, or something more painful he could manipulate.

But exposition in Jason's apartment was funny too when Gordon and Bullock (Donal Logue) work out the sounds they heard in that phonecall and where there's a bridge (there's a way! ha). Suppose they had to have a break from the serious stuff!  Not to mention that sketch got around and how it led to plenty of people seeing the likeness between it and the real Jason.
My sketch: not of Jason though! Ha.  Yeah it's funny!

At least we got to see Jason/Ogre's backstory to an extent instead of having him as a two dimensional villain.  I mean even some of his lines signified how troubled he was, but they managed to murder his character in five seconds! Which was like shooting themselves in the foot cos there wasn't much else worthwhile going on. SO if push came to shove then at least they could've brought him back if ratings fail them next season!

“Barbara, I love you. I love you like no one has ever loved you. But if you try to escape, I will chain you to the ceiling and gut you.”  Someone apply this to the writer!  Ha.

Milo you need to play more bad guys, as if you aren't one already.  Now work that one out!

With Bruno Heller having left The Mentalist to helm this show, also created by him, it would appear that at least in its first season it would have had an impact.  Yet the Ogre story arc wasn't resolved to a satisfactory conclusion in much the same way that that Red John storyline was completed. It wasn't much of a surprise as more of a fizzle moment.  Leaving a rather lacklustre final series 7!  But this arc was three eps and so there was much potential to at least do something different, but no, it ended as many thought it would, at least I did, with the Ogre being killed off and to my chagrin if this was to happen, it was Gordon who pulled the trigger, but Bullock had to distract him, so it wasn't so much as Gordon getting the serial killer, was it worth having him on the case.  It was one of those endings that felt like it 
was sending you a broken heart card!

The Vampire Diaries 6.17 "A Bird In A Gilded Cage" Review

                                              
So we're off to rescue the mother this ep after Damon (Ian Somerhalder) does some crawling to Bonnie (Kat Graham) oh don't even get me started on sanctimonious Bonnie!  She's changed yeah and into a right old witch, use your rhyming skills here for what I really mean.  She meets with Kai (Chris Wood) who tells her he's changed and then shows her the 1903 ascendant which he found cos he knew that Damon would've wanted it, shouldn't have bothered.  This must be bitchin' season in Mystic Falls, cos everyone was showing their selfish side all of a sudden.  Never mind Stefan's (Paul Wesley) trying to guilt Caroline (Candace Accola) into losing control, wait guilt isn't the right word. he's trying to get her to become like him, so when her year is over she can feel the pain of every cruel act she's inflicted on the innocent and some not so innocent.  Well Caroline that's what you get for making him lose his humanity, switch it off.  Did she think it'd be some picnic as if she hasn't already seen what he's capable of.  He was the ripper after all and as Damon says he's halfway to getting there again.

So Stefan wasn't faking switching his humanity off, it would've been far easier if he had, instead we get a vampire v vampire game of revenge like Stefan gathering up the trture tools, contained in the throne! With Damon being a little slow to inject him, so much for being big brother.  He kills Carolin's director of the play she was auditioning for, well that's what you get for blabbing.  She scuppered Enzo's (Michael Mularkey) plans of getting revenge on Stefan using Sarah (Tristan Mays) and thinks she can just live' a normal life, go to college and everything's going to be peachy in a year.

I'm still waiting for Jeremy to get that call about Bonnie being back, you know, 'she's back' and not for the better; Alaric's (Matt Davis) too caught up with being a father.  Jo (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) treats Sarah in hospital and tells her she was found by a professor after having too much to drink, so how come she didn't notice her scars, cos I mean you do have scars after surgery.  Alaric thinks she can spend a normal life back at Duke after this and Jo gets a notion to name their child Duke which he hates. But comes up with Josette as an alternative.  Course he's not been thinking baby names.  Enzo goads him to trying to get Stefan and Caroline with vervain, calling him a coward and the kid won't be too proud of that.

Caroline telling Enzo she's a drama major, thought she was going to say drama queen!  Would've been more appropriate since this entire mess began with her.  After everything she's been through, she's not able to deal with the pain of losing a loved one, how'd she cope when she lost her father and don't tell me she didn't love him, cos she did and also don't say it was cos her mother was around. Anyway she takes apart Stefan's bike after he bit off the director's head and he tells her that's all she could come up with.  So she punches his fuel tank.  Then he turns up again as she stakes him and then stakes a student who's not really meant to be there.  Before Enzo and Alaric show up and are attacked by a Molotov cocktail, of sorts.  Caroline stops Stefan from killing them by threatening him with the vervain and he decides the girl's a much better choice, as he feeds on her and tempts Caroline into doing the same.  Then they just get together, casually doing their thang.  Which she what she wanted all along, but really in this way Caroline?

So they head to 1903 with Bennett blood and they need the ascendant back to return to Mystic Falls, thus Bonnie says she'll look for it with Kai since Damon and Elena should meet his mother alone. Knew she was lying through her teeth.  Finally meeting mother (Annie Wersching) she tells them how she got vampire blood by a nurse in the hospital.  She's been using two drops of blood a day cos that's all she could find here and also scrimping on the teabags I see, using one for three, ha!  Damon tells her she needs to return cos she has to bring Stefan back and only a mother's love can do that, yeah and that of a fellow ripper.  Lily wants to take back the others with them whom she calls her family, cos they saved her.  Damon says they can't take them all back and will return for them.  Elena finds the ascendant in the cave as Bonnie has her own agenda for revenge.

She reminds Kai about leaving her alone as she stabs him in the back and leaves him there.  She believes he has changed but so has she.  He disappears.  Damon breaks the bottle of blood so she can't give it to them and they can't come with them as they head for home.  Kai finds them, but he calls out to Bonnie, why didn't he just run and join them.  He later finds Lily's family there in the cave.  Bonnie interrupts Damon and Elena and he says they're not going back to 1903 only he hasn't told Lily that.  She gives him something she brought back from 1994, cos his notes on Nova Scotia reminded her of there being magic there.  He opens up the box to find the cure.  He wanted it for Elena once and now he's not sure what he wants to do with it.  She says it's none of her business what he does with it.  He could just give it to Lily instead.  

Liked Damon's line of Stefan being a mama's boy, that's why he's a ripper too.  Also why he acts out so much! ha.  Bonnie has well and truly changed cos old Bonnie would've told Damon to give Elena the cure, but she's not bothered either way.  Gordon Bennett (as we say here! ha)  Bonnie you should've stayed back in 1994 and alone.  Seems Stefan and Caroline are going to reek havoc as the rip roaring duo for a while now.  Wonder how Stefan will react when he sees mother.  Won't that make him act out even more, not to mention Lily's reaction.  Who knows what she'll do seeing him that way.

As far as I'm concerned there may have been a point where I didn't like what Enzo was up to with Sarah, but now I agree with him.  He should destroy Stefan in any way possible, even if that means using Sarah.  Okay Stefan flipped his switch for Caroline, but he knew what he was getting into and they are such a selfish lot.  Got his mother back to save his family as Damon tells Lily about Stefan being his family, lied to everyone in the process and didn't think about getting Kai back, who isn't perfect, but it's okay for them to use people like that.  Same goes for you Elena, all about you.  All she could bring back was Damon's baby pic, boo hoo!  The sooner she takes the cure, the better cos she's really nothing but a loose end.  Maybe I have too much of a conscience when watching this show, should flip the switch and turn it off, ha, but Damon you too have gone off the rails and killed people, even if you weren't a ripper!  So much for judging Lily.

Revenge 4.20 "Burn" Review

                                             
Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) reads the papers' headlines stating she's a horrible monster and feels there's nothing left to do but give up.  She refuses to leave her apartment.  Louise (Elena Satine) arrives and Margaux (Karine Vanasse) doesn't want her here, she's shocked that Victoria can even think of letting her into her life.  Reminding her that she was trying to kill her, but she says her family had her on drugs.  So why did she try to kill Victoria also, I hate how that was just conveniently swept under the carpet and forgotten about.  As well as adding how you face up to a scandal, not hide from it.  Well I didn't see her doing much facing up to her family until Nolan (Gabriel Mann) helped her.  Ungrateful Southerner!  Ha.  Had to use that analogy since she's always mentioning something about Southerners herself.

She takes Victoria out of the apartment and the car isn't there.  Victoria tells her to find it and she's attacked by someone in a black hoodie, similar to Emily.  When she returns Victoria tells her it was Emily.  Obviously it wasn't and wouldn't she have an alibi.  Victoria lies to the doctor telling him she fell and once again Louise tells her she's got to do something about her and use the flashdrive against Emily.  Have a feeling psycho Louise was behind that just so she uses the flashdrive.  Funny how they're all swarming around Victoria now.

Amanda (Emily VanCamp) is at the cemetery as they replace the headstone with one with Emily Thorne on it.  Jack (Nick Wechsler) thanks her for being here and she tells him that she's done with the revenge business once she gets the flashdrive back.  Stevie (Gail O'Grady) is also changing Carl's birth certificate with her real name.  He knows that she and Nolan will figure out what to do and Amanda fears Victoria is planing something.  Nolan is at the fashion show with Tony (Joshua Pence) and he wants to buy him some clothes, but Tony refuses.  He's already donating to his work charity and organizing a fundraiser.  Nolan tells him they're the same size and so he can borrow his clothes.  Also telling him that he can fix things with Amanda if he talks to her, holding his hand.

Nolan finds Amanda at his house and he tells her Victoria hasn't used the flashdrive now, or he'd have been notified.  He wants to talk with her but she doesn't cos this is a nightmare for her.  He adds this is a nightmare for him too.  At least they should argue.  He kept those files cos that was his infinity box, which is the only reason he kept hold of those files.  She says they're a team and he won't lose her even if she is pissed.  Adding his suit is nice.

Stevie brings the papers for David (James Tupper) to sign and they argue.  As she has another go at Amanda.  Margaux wants to know how much she can pay Louise to leave.  She won't be bought and then tells her about Victoria being attacked and how it was Emily.  Margaux calls for her car now, oh what happened to hailing a taxi now?!  She has called the FBI and Nolan tells Amanda it's going down now.  See that smirk on Louise's face says it was her behind Victoria's beating!

Ben (Brian Hallisay) wants to talk with Amanda but she knows he put his career on the line for her. She's not ready to talk yet and Nolan calls her.  They'll talk later.  He gives Amanda  a graphite scanner which will hone in on the flashdrive.  She wants him to go to the charity event with Tony and she'll handle this herself. But she doesn't mean that in a horrible way.  The FBI agent is at her apartment and Margaux tells her about the flashdrive and impersonating an agent.  The fire alarm goes off and she suspects that's Amanda.  They leave the building and on the stairs they're met by some firemen, one of them being Amanda of course.  Margaux tells him to check his pocket for the flashdrive and he finds it's gone, as Amanda removes the helmet and looks at the drive.

David gives Stevie the signed papers and he apologizes for his outburst.  She tells him she's a good listener and he says he's got lymphoma.  They caught it in time.  But he hasn't told Amanda.  Stevie tells him he should.  She goes to the beach house and David is ready to tell her, but she tells him it's over and she got the flashdrive, as she snaps it and throws it away.  She looks so happy that David doesn't tell her his news.  Only that he loves her.  Stevie plays with Carla and tells him she doesn't want to go back just yet and wants to see them more, cos she's only here a short time.  Jack decides what he wants to do.

At the charity event, Louise turns up and makes a nuisance of herself by ranting on about how Tony broke up their marriage in front of his boss and that Nolan is his sugar daddy.  As Nolan takes her away she drops a tray of drinks all over Tony's suit.  She tries to get him to confess what he and Amanda did it Victoria, but he knows she's trying to record the conversation on the phone and used an app to reset it to factory settings.  Telling her she's in over her head.  Which she is.

Victoria and Margaux at the docks, were they in a scene from Casablanca, ha, no that was to come later.  She tells Margaux she'll be fine cos she's got some dastardly plan in her head.  She buys back her throne chair from a man and tells him she's paid him a lot cos they won't meet again.  Nolan sees Jack at the bar who's got his last paycheque.  He's leaving and Nolan mentions after he got the daycare running for him, he could've given him two weeks notice.  Jack is leaving and going to California.  But he hasn't told Amanda.  She'll never stop cos this is the life that she knows.  Nolan says that she loves him and they know that what she says is different to what she feels.  He poured his heart out to her but she didn't want the same thing and he asks Nolan not to bring that up again as his friend.  They hug.  

Stevie comes to see David before leaving and give s him the name of an oncologist friend of hers, as well as her number.  She tells him he's not going through this alone.  He wonders if his whole life has lead to this and she tells him to fight.  Nolan tells Amanda about Jack leaving and she doesn't want to go after him, after everything she did to him.  She was protecting him and Ben walks in to hear her say that.  She could do this to Ben but not to Jack,  Actually she says that she doesn't deserve Jack but Ben says he deserves this.  He asks if she wants to work this out and then adds she was just hiding and he knew but didn't want to believe it.

Jack's flight is about to leave and Amanda calls him but he hangs up, hey he hung up on Emily Thorne, not on Amanda, he's still got her number under Emily.  Tony tells Nolan he had to bring him his suit back.  Nolan did his job as they raised money for the children and Louise the lunatic didn't do anything to upset him.  He has to make things right with his boss, but he kisses him.  Louise can't get hold of Victoria and is worried, as Margaux knows she left with her bodyguard.  Margaux thinks they'll get them when Nolan and Amanda make a mistake.  Little knowing that Victoria has her own plans.  Putting their own differences aside.  Victoria dresses in her red dress and puts the throne in Amanda's house, opening the gas.

Amanda gets to the airport and sees the plane fly away, now this could've been areal romantic scene al la Casablanca!  When up drives Mason Teadwell (Roger Bart) angry at not getting the exclusive. Amanda says she did what she had to and he was typing away on his book.  He tells her everyone changed but not her.  She was hiding behind her revenge.  As we see Nolan with Tony, Jack on the plane, David getting chemo.  She only has enemies and that her dirty little secret is that she can't be without her revenge.  Amanda will crash and burn.  Victoria sits in her chair and lights the fire.  The entire house explodes.  Which would be a fitting end to it cos everyone who lived in that house was no good and nothing good came from it.  Victoria setting the scene for the final three eps where Amanda will be arrested for killing her.  Cos it's unlikely that Mason will come forward with her alibi.  But it seems Jack will be back to help her, he can't help it either.  Of course the house went up when Mason mentioned his pyrotechnic line about Amanda!

Suppose the story with Victoria could be seen coming, but she gave up so very quickly didn't she. Fell from grace so quickly without fighting.  She was alone yes, but she did have the two vixens, I don't even think I should call them that, that suggests a level of intelligence!  Ha.  She didn't have any guarantees that Amanda would face jail for the so called murder, so it wasn't much of a victory.  Yet she got out that Special K red dress one more time for her swansong.  I suppose if they came back for a season 5, she would've faked her own death.  A pity she didn't do that now, cos it's not something we would've pictured for Victoria all the way back in season 1.  Aww, I wanted Victoria's chair!!