Stargate Atlantis - 5.8: "The Queen" Review

Teyla goes on a dangerous mission infiltrating an enemy hive disguised as a Wraith queen after undergoing Wraith surgery in order to ensure Todd agrees to gene therapy for his hive.

Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) is on a diplomatic mission meeting with the Wraith.   Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) has never seen a hive in space before.   Jennifer (Jewel Staite) comments she's never seen a Wraith before.   Rodney (David Hewlett) forever the pessimist is certain they'll get double crossed now.   Sheppard: "This looks a little familiar." Todd (Christopher Heyerdahl) tells his crew to lower their weapons.   Sheppard (forever eying food and chicks) takes a gander at the fruit now.  "Fruit bowl, nice touch."  The Wraith thinking that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, ha.  

Jennifer talks about Michael's lab and their success against  Michael spreading the Wraith virus, for which the Wraith are grateful.  Sheppard says they didn't do it for Todd.   Jennifer then explains gene therapy so Wraiths will never have to feed on humans again.   They have organs to digest food.   Sheppard throws him a piece of fruit..   Jennifer says they can change and enjoy their food.  Sheppard mentions the chance to stop waiting to kill Todd, in theory and not feeding on humans will be good for them.  Jennifer needs to test the therapy on lab subjects.

Rodney mentions the Hoffan drug administered to millions of humans so when they feed, the Wraith are always in danger.  Ronon (Jason Mamoa) is certain they shouldn't be here in the first place.   Sheppard expected more resistance from Todd but something's happening here.   Todd wants them to make the treatment work and converting one hive will be pointless.   He also admits to exaggerating his position in the Alliance.   Sheppard knows he's no good to them now.   They must convince the primary queen and the others will follow.   Problem: she will only speak with another queen.   Well that was her downfall.

Sheppard feels Todd must convince them they still have a queen and Todd wants Teyla to play their queen.   Teyla agrees to undergo surgery as the position is reversible, leading to them saving people instead of feeding on them if the treatment is successful.   Sheppard didn't want her to risk her life before and now he objects.   Teyla replies she has Wraith DNA and there's no one else, but why come up with this plan now?   Sheppard would be happy to just back and watch the Wraith kill each other.  Teyla isn't happy with that since many people are alive today who will be culled soon.   So if she can save them she will and also do this for her son.

Todd arrives.   Jennifer thinks she pushed Teyla into it cos of her research.   Ronon threatens Todd, there's nowhere for him to hide if he harms Teyla.   Todd: "Is that all?"  He's a technical advisor for Jennifer to perform surgery.   Rodney's uptight as he had three cups of coffee.   Doesn't explain Rodney usually being uptight all the time.  Ha.    Ronon:  "hadn't noticed Rodney was uptight."   Todd teaches Teyla how to act like a queen.   She must never show weakness.   Rodney thinks she's convincing and she replies under it all, she's still herself.   Ronon is happy the Wraith "getting their asses kicked."

The primary queen (Apollonia Vanova) tells Teyla many thought the queen of Todd's hive didn't exist.   Teyla wants her to point them out so she can remove their doubts.   Todd believes the primary likes her.   The ship leaves hyperspace away from his hive and weapons.   Ronon trigger happy as always; pulls out his gun when he finds this out.   They have to trust each other.   Teyla hates surprises.   Todd kills the primary and puts the knife in Teyla's hands to make it seem she killed her.   Power changes hands in this way with the Wraith and she must convince the hive she's a worthy replacement.   Teyla takes over convincingly.   The primary would not accept their proposal, their culture is different to humans.   The Wraith want to be ruled and are weak without a queen.   She controls the Alliance and they can start treatment.

Sheppard calls the second in command of the hive, Kenny (Tyler McClendon) and Rodney suggests they return to Atlantis.   They receive Todd's subspace transmitter signal and the hive of another Alliance seen on their feeding ground.   Todd says they must remain here.   The commander (Richard Zeman) is suspicious of Teyla and Todd and she needs to respond.   Sheppard thinks they need a diversion and attacks the other ship.   Teyla, meanwhile orders the attack on the Wraith hive.   She's not displaying any weakness.   Darts must be deployed.   Todd thinks she's doing this out of revenge just to destroy Wraith.

Sheppard thinks if they could get to the nearest gate then they could take the jumper.   Sheppard goes in and the ship is destroyed.   He flies the jumper into the hive and fires on the patrol.   They're caught yet again.   Sheppard is taken to the queen and he has a plan to get them out, just like Rodney in 5.3.   The commander listens to them - obviously someone had to eavesdrop.  Todd saves Teyla from him and she leaves Todd behind as her commander.   Things must settle down before he mentions the treatment.   Teyla will be watching him and if he steps out of line, she'll return.   Seems that 'powertrip' went to her head.   Sheppard has no desires to feed on anything and what she did took courage.   Todd is 'leader' of the Alliance but she has control over all the Alliance.

Plenty of insights into the Wraith this episode and their culture, demonstrating how ruthlessly power changes hands in the various hives.   Though of course they are merciless and cruel and take no prisoners (unless it's the Atlantis team.)  Todd showing a particular example of power play in killing the primary queen.   The Wraith's killing comes as a bit of a shock to Teyla when really she knows firsthand what they're capable of.   I think her shock was more to do with the potential double cross Todd undertook in using her to secure his future influence over the Alliance.

The team seemed unprepared for any uncertainties or surprises Todd may have had up his sleeve or Wraith feeding hand.   That he may be using them as a means to an end.   They were too willing to trust a Wraith, but credit to Ronon for always making his suspicion and distrust known, as did Rodney.   Teyla manages to hold her own.   She was alone and anything could have happened, which it did.   Fun to watch Rodney express his doubts over everything going wrong most especially with Teyla in the room and Sheppard having to diffuse his negativity.

When the jumper docks with the hive ship, Sheppard reminisces about the scene being familiar with Todd and his firepower on show, as this was similar to Be All my Sins Remember'd.

Rodney: "If history's taught us anything, this is the part where we get double crossed and taken prisoner."  Oh what foresight Rodney!..  Of course this happened, but later rather than sooner.

Navy NCIS - 8.4: "Royals & Loyals" Review

The discovery of a DB in a hot tub leads the agents to a British navy vessel docked at Norfolk. Yet there's more to the case with CIA involvement.

 A man selling a house hires an exterminator to clean out a hot tub, leading to the discovery of a DB in uniform.   Tony (Michael Weatherly)  attempts to access Ziva's (Cote de Pablo) e-mail and Ziva catches him in the act with McGee (Sean Murray) watching.  He set up a camera to her laptop and it has filmed Tony.   At the scene, McGee is told to climb into the tub by Gibbs (Mark Harmon)  and pull out Petty Officer Bick.   Tony and Palmer (Brian Dietzen) make fun of him having to climb in and the water rises over his wellies.   Bick's abdomen was cut open and something removed.   Ziva and Tony talk to his wife Tara Bick (Tracy Middendorf) and are interrupted by Petty Officer Jason Crosby (John T Woods).   He tells them Bick was under special assignment.   He wasn't working on the ship.

Ducky (David McCallum) discovers he was drowned elsewhere and was suffering from an allergic reaction.   An imprint on the side of Bick's head could be from a bolt and a fragment of a $100 note is found lodged between his teeth.   Gibbs needs to pull out Abby (Pauley Perrette) from under her desk as she was mimicking a contortionist and got stuck there.   She found the gun used was a rare English Webley.   The water in Bick's lungs was salty and fresh and had traces of oil used on British ships.   The marks on his head were caused by a valve handle.  No one has any leads to follow since it's a CIA operation and they have no clearance.   One British ship, the Sparrowhawk is docked in Norfolk.

Vance (Rocky Carroll) introduces Gibbs to Marine Major Peter Malloy (Daniel Gillies) and they have a heated exchange.   With Malloy mentioning John Wayne and Gibbs corrects him, Gary Cooper in Sergeant York.   Malloy won't allow Gibbs to board the ship.   Vance must call in SecNav to keep the peace.   Ziva seemed particularly eager to make his acquaintance (she does that  a lot especially if it's a man, tending to flirt.)  Vance asks if she's been to Switzerland cos she's this between Gibbs and Malloy.

Abby finds the CIA has marked the money with tracking powder, traced by radio waves and by touching it.   The powder is only visible under black light.   Gibbs recalls he built a crystal radio when he was little.   Bick swallowed one note before it was cut from inside his abdomen.   CIA agent Loretta Tennison (Kristin Ariza) tells Gibbs she doesn't know Bick and that the CIA doesn't operate on domestic soil.   She confides there was an operation to send money to Afghanistan via a British ship but it was scrapped.

Ziva gets Malloy to allow them onto the ship and she and Tony find the valve in a room which is flooded with water; enough to drowned Bick in.   The ship prepares to depart but not before Gibbs puts a spanner in the works.   There's a problem which he caused. "There's no such thing as good luck."  Ziva and Tony have enough time to process the room and find traces of the powder under black light, proving Bick was killed there.   Gibbs speaks with Loretta again (a credible suspect for me, knowing she was aware of the money and she lies to Gibbs the first time about not knowing Bick and then admits they were on a mission, or meant to be on one.)  Gibbs posits Bick swallowed the money to show its presence eon board.   She points the finger to Malloy saying only three people knew of the money, Bick, Malloy and her.   That was just to cover her tracks and her back.

McGee finds Malloy's phone records show he made a call near where Bick's DB was found.   Malloy claims he has a gun but it's in his London flat.   Gibbs gives Abby his teabag for analysis and Abby comments about not dumping your tea at NCIS.   His real name is Elston and he's MI6.   The phone is tracked to a hotel - which is empty but there signs of the powder showing the money was here.   Vance warns Gibbs they don't want an international incident with its ally.   Another niggle, how quickly did their system spew out Malloy's real name and ID, especially since MI6 records wouldn't be that easily accessible by anyone other than MI6.

Gibbs finds Malloy at his house and he is being framed.   Giving Gibbs a wad of the missing cash so he can use it to track the remaining money.   Gibbs orders Ziva to watch Malloy like Syria.   He and Tony bond over movies  and actors.   He posits Peter Sellers' best movie was Dr Strangelove and Tony thinks Being There.   Also mentioning Peter Cook and What's up Pussycat?  Ziva couldn't really believe what she was seeing.   Thought she had him to herself, 'ey.

Abby has a new gadget which she calls her 'squeeze.'  Ken the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and finds Bick had a particle of pollen in his lungs, hence the allergic reaction, from a plant native to Diego Garcia.   Bick's never been there so he had to have contact with someone who has.   The CIA station chief there was Loretta.   McGee traces the money to various stores around the city - spent by Brit sailors, since it's been exchanged with their payroll.   McGee tracks Loretta's phone to the USS Tripoli, having made calls to the ship's disbursement officer.   (Why are ship disbursement officers always crooked!?  See NCIS episode The Curse and the JAG episodes mentioned therein.)   He was her accomplice.   But instead she meets Malloy and pulls a Brit gun on him.   She killed Bick cos he knew too much.

Ziva finishes another e-mail and Tony is curious to read it.   She asks what he'd say to her friend if he met him and he thinks, "be careful...handle with care...contents priceless." Sounds like he could be reverting to the Boxed In episode.  Ha.   When she leaves, Tony attempts to access her computer and sirens sound.   McGee set a camera so wouldn't she have seen him on that anyway, or did Tony forget?

CSI: NY - 8.4: "Officer Involved" Review

Danny is involved in an officer related shooting involving his rookie, Cooper. The outcome leads him to return to the crime lab as a detective. The CSIs try to clear his name.

Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) wakes up in the street with blood on his head and still hazy.  He reaches for the gun in his leg holster but it's missing.   Cooper (Jeananne Goossen) has his gun.   The other rookies tell him what happened.   Cooper had to fire after Danny was hit with a bottle and the DB had a gun.   Mac (Gary Sinise) tells Danny about Cooper being by him and Danny didn't ID himself as a police officer as this would have made matters worse.   The rest of his story is based on what he's been told by the others.

Hawkes (Hill Harper) and Adam (AJ Buckley) arrive at the scene to collect evidence and Lindsay tells IA Adler (Dean Norris) she's taking Danny to the ER and he doesn't have to make a statement yet.

Sid (Robert Joy) removed glass from the DB's hand, which matches Danny's headwound.   The Vic, Pete (Michael Alperin) had been drinking elsewhere before getting to the bar.   Sid also found stones in his stomach.   Mac recalls at the academy they're taught to "shoot to stop." To fire more than once and yet Cooper only fired once.   Sid thinks Pete may not have had a gun at all and so she killed an unarmed man.   Adam analyzes Pete's shirt and finds a hair-like trace on his shirt which has him stumped.  Adam asks Lindsay (Anna Belknap) if she's "danced with a green fairy."  I.e absinthe was found on his shirt, which causes hallucinations.   Lindsay can't work  the case, but she tells him to try Edna.

Adam and Hawkes are all thinking about Danny.   Hawkes finds the GSR on Pete's hand matched Cooper and there was more GSR on the upper part of his hand and shirt sleeve.   Mac says the gun was different, they may not have the gun, but he left the bullet behind.   Thought they would have automatically conducted a search for the bullet anyway.   Jo (Sela Ward) and Hawkes search for the bullet on the street and Jo notices the sign and they use a laser to follow the direction the bullet ricocheted off the sign, into a window pane.

IA Adler tells Danny that Lindsay's more on the ball than the union rep.   Danny says there was no fight at the bar and he showed Pete out.   They left the bar and were attacked.   He was assaulted with a bottle.  Cooper drew cos the Vic had a gun.   He's told them to leave their off-duty weapons at home, he had his cos he wasn't drinking but was running a bar tab.   Cooper describes Danny as an excellent boss and Danny knows she has good instincts and will make a good cop.   Yeah that's why she lied about what happened.   Adler tells him Danny is capable but he's the boss now and he's over his head.

Jo mentions when they reconstructed the bullet bounced off the sign, so when did they do this, since Jo didn't spot the sign until they went out looking for the bullet?   They didn't rush back to the lab and then return later did they?   Hawkes now needs to find the gun.   A man shoots a 'Live Human target' Tommy with a real bullet through his head instead of paintballs.  Jo tells Flack that the shooter didn't understand the rules of the game.   Flack: (Eddie Cahill) "Maybe he told his mother he was in showbusiness." Hawkes asks about Danny again.   Lindsay wants to know about the case and he obliges.   Lindsay finds another hair-like substance on the ground and is off this case too.  That was a relief, ha.

Adam gets a match to the sample on Edna.   Jo finds the bullets match so there was a second gun.   Mac wonders why the shooter would keep the gun when it's already used in a shooting.   Jo: "Guy's not playing with a full deck." Mac: "But he's got  a loaded gun." Danny talks to Cooper and she's not meant to be talking to him.   She's okay but Danny tells her she will feel it," take a life - messes you up." Speaking from personal experience.   She's called way by the other two, so much for loyalty to the boss!

Mac tells Adler the gun was used in a homicide but it's still missing and asks if there's any question of it being a good shoot.   Mac: "Who's whispering in your ear about him?"  He'd be naive not to see politics are behind the investigation; as in 1.21 On the Job.   That's what I was thinking about too and it's mentioned here twice.   Mac adds Danny didn't fire the weapon in the shooting.   Adam goes through the names the trace has in common and Jo mentions nymph flies.   She went fishing with her father.   Mac also mentions rooster feathers.   Adam demonstrates reeling  fishing tackle and Mac gets an idea.   He test fires a gun and analyzes the GSR on the shirt sleeve and swabs his wrist for GSR too, cos the cuffs on the shirt move back when arms are extended to fire a gun.  Thus cooper is lying.

Mac tells her about the GSR from the cuffs to the shoulder, but he'd have to move his arm and the wrist would be exposed so Pete was standing next to the shooter.   Adler asks if it was a good shoot then why did she lie.   She lies again and tells them Danny told her to lie.   Adler shows Danny surveillance from the bar and Cooper is all over him.   He posits the fight was over a girl.  She's Danny's driver and he's married.   He's not dating her and won't answer his questions.   Danny's relationship isn't inappropriate.   He didn't tell Cooper to lie.

Jo tells Hawkes the stones contained cinnamon, peppermint and absinthe.   They're still looking for the bar.   They were kind of slow in analyzing all the evidence they had.   Adam tells them about a gunshot Vic at hospital.  Ray (Joey McIntyre) lost up to 20% of his blood so he was shot before the morning.  Flack has to inform him gunshot Vics are reported to the police, duh, thought everyone knew that.   Mac tells him he can talk now or at Rikers.   Flack: "Where I guarantee the nurses are not so cute."  So that's what Flack did when he was in hospital in season 2!  Ogle the nurses.  Mac looks at Flack when he says that line.   Pete called them about the fight and Travis (Jeff Leaf) too.   Travis had an argument with his girlfriend.   They ran after the shot was fired and Travis shot him to keep quiet.  He worked with Pete.   Jo thinks Travis is looking for someone specific, i.e his girlfriend, Crystal.  Lindsay talks to Mac about Danny's hearing and his career is on the line so they need to help him.

Adam finds the rooster feathers were used at a boutique which makes dancer's clothes.   Jo says it's burlesque.   Known to her from season 7.6 Do Not Pass Go episode when she told Mac she used to work as a weekend accountant in a burlesque club.   Flack and Mac find the bar and pause to take in the attraction, ha, well they did.   Mac was a little useless in subduing Travis, who tries to shoot himself but runs out of bullets.   Lindsay confronts Cooper about lying and for stabbing Danny in the back.    If he was in their place he wouldn't have done the same thing.   Mac comes to speak on behalf of Danny.   Danny's a good boss and not make mistakes which he did last time.   Mac called him in his office.   Mac knows he's grown up since then and if he was his sergeant he'd follow him anywhere.  Cooper retracted her statement.   Danny was standing up for them and they threw "me to the wolves."  He treated them like family but he wants to work with people he trusts.

2 weeks later.   Danny spoke with Sinclair and is back in the lab as a detective, but Lindsay still has to salute him every morning.  Danny belongs here.   Lots of references to 1.21 On the Job and again Mac wants to know who's been in Adler's ear about Danny. They did that then too, but that didn't really go anywhere and again Mac mentions it here. It's just so they have something to say rather than something actually coming of it.   Pity Flack and Danny didn't have any screen time this episode. No, it was Lindsay instead, boring in some ways as she's his wife. Of course she'll bat for him.   Didn't much like the way she came over all strong when Adler was questioning him about going to the hospital first and having 24 hours to make a statement. They did that in 1.21 too.   Yet Danny spoke to IA anyway even after he was warned by Mac.   Lindsay wasn't around then but this episode made it look like she was or at least knew what happened back then, so she doesn't want Danny to do the same again.

Smallville - 10.05: "Isis" Review

Lois is possessed by the spirit of Isis in search of her doomed lover, Osiris. Tess becomes member of the team and 'guardian' of Watchtower. Plus the moment we've been waiting for...

Oliver (Justin Hartley) prepares for an exhibit opening at the Metropolis Museum relating to Isis.   The show part does sound schmaltzy.   It wasn't going to be so much a show, but a spectacle.  The curator finds Isis' amulet is missing.  How did it end up in Lois' (Erica Durance) bag? Not like she smuggled it out of Egypt or anything.  Ha.   The amulet carries a curse as anything associated with ancient Egypt does - anyone who wears it will have their soul condemned to hell for an eternity.   Thus containing Isis' soul inside it.   Lois goes over several scenarios as to how she'll break the news to Clark (Tom Welling) that she's aware of his secret ID as the Blur.   Surprise, surprise, Clarkie has has decided to come clean about his secret too.   Seeing the future and how happy they were when Lois knew has made him change his mind.   Almost telling Oliver this as if he's looking for justification or approval it's okay for him to do this.   Oliver mentions Lois left him when this she found out he was Green Arrow, Clark uses the word "dumped" and Oliver corrects him, they "broke up."  It's not the same thing cos Lois loves Clark and they're meant to be.

Kat Grant (Keri Lyn Pratt) returns (loud groan!) and wants to be Clark's partner again in the Bull Pen, but Lois won't hear of it and neither will Clark.   They'll meet on the roof in 5.   Though that was a little more than 5 minutes for Clark, seems Lois was over-eager and arrived early.   She wears the amulet, causing her to be possessed by Isis.   (Notice the change to Lois' hair, in the Talon it was quite curly and bouncy, then it was much flatter when she was on the roof and when she transformed into Isis, it was more fuller and bouncy again, it was a wig.   Come on, how could Clarkie not tell she wasn't Lois, the way she was speaking and all that make-up too.   She has to find the treasure from Egypt and more particularly, Osiris's heart.   She steps onto the ledge uttering, "This vessel may once have been called Lois but it now serves Isis."   (In usual Smallville fashion, someone is almost always taken over by another spirit.)  She flies away in a flash of fire and Clark can only stand around and watch; wishing he could fly right this minute.

Carter Hall (Michael Shanks) being unavailable (isn't he off finding another life where he can be reunited with his wife.   The story of Isis and Osiris in much the same way as he and his wife were parted.)  Oliver's brougt books on Egyptian history, since he refuses to entertain Clark's suggestion they ask Tess (Cassidy Freeman) for help.   Isis needs to find Osiris's scattered body parts so she can put his heart back into his body, which Oliver warns will bring hell on earth.

No surprises here, what with Kat turning up at the same warehouses as Lois, as Isis, searches the crates.   She begins to take photos little knowing she's really Isis, but Clark arrives before she can do that and spirits (no pun) her away to a cafe.  Complete with coffee.   Tess has had Alexander (Jakob Davies) in therapy and is told by the doctor that he's far too clever for someone of his age; a genius going unchecked can be dangerous, so she decides to send him away.   Kat arrives with big news for Tess: she's discovered Lois is the Blur - which causes no end of amusement to Tess! And us too.   Kat notices the photo and believes Alexander is Tess's son and suggests Peter Pan.

Isis finds a sarcophagus, believing it's Osiris, but it contains only dust.   Clark finds her too and tells her she can't sacrifice the entire world for love of one person and he tells her he wouldn't do the same either, even for the love of Lois.   She binds  Clark with a rope, as he floats over the sarcophagus and will transfer Osiris's heart to his body.   When Isis holds the heart it begins to change and take on the appearance of a normal heart, probably all that energy from Clark radiating into it, well that's the only explanation I can think of, unless it's a kind of magic.   Kat, determined to prove Lois is the Blur and in her eagerness knocks over an artifact, causing Isis to stop for a second.   Running, she bumps into Green Arrow who shuts Kat away into a sarcophagus.  Then distracts Isis long enough for Clark to get free of the rope, telling Clark that only sunlight entering the amulet can hold Isis again.   Oliver shoots an arrow which breaks the necklace around Isis' neck and Clark grabs hold of it.   Using his heat vision he shines heat into the amulet, engulfing Isis' soul inside, thereby freeing Lois.

Oliver tells Tess about Chloe (Allison Mack) and how she really loved him, her eyes lighting up everytime she saw him.   Tess replies she wouldn't know, as she's never "been loved." Clark and Oliver decide to make Tess a member of the team and give her Chloe's position at Watchtower.   She appears to be genuinely overcome with with emotion and has to walk out, crying when she's out of view.   Wonder what was going through her mind then.   Will she tell them about Alexander?  Clark tells Oliver they'll have to wait and see if they can trust Tess.   She decides to keep Alexander with her; he's growing up at miraculous rate.  Claiming Alexander needs "to be loved."  She reads him Peter Pan (appropriately about the boy who never grows up, but Alexander is.) He tells Tess, "I love you."  Well she's loved now.

How did Kat get out of the sarcophagus; as she struts in and makes a beeline for Lois, jabbing a pen into her hand.   Clark prevents Lois from punching her, aw spoilt sport!  She's got photos of Lois performing a S-E-X ritual and before she can get to her phone to show them proof, Clark tampers with her phone and it falls to pieces and he attempts to explain Lois was possessed by the spirit of Isis, but Kat's not going for that.   Lois explains, "weird things happen" in Metropolis.   Yeah, like Kat turning up!

Clark bandages Lois' hand and Lois comments the Blur will never reveal his identity to her.   Not much subtly there on her part, but Clarkie doesn't get the hint(s).   Clark replies, "Not if it means putting your life at risk."  Again how did he not realize she already knows and when he's answering for the Blur, if she didn't know, she'd have worked out his secret now.   Lois wants the Blur to understand she's willing to risk it (as she's already done that too for so long!).   Clark talks about his fears and finally admits, "It's me, I'm the blur." Lois couldn't wait to fall onto him.   Lois: "What took you so long?!"  He's kind of surprised she knows - but don't think the shock of that lingers too much for Clark.

Finally the episode we've all been waiting for and at least it wasn't dragged out all season; where Clark reveals the truth to Lois.  Although she has known for a while.   Clark should've realized that because she didn't question him, or have her doubts, but he's still surprised she already knew when she asks why he took so long.   Lois wanting to tell Clark she knows his real ID, at least she wasn't the one to tell him before he spilled, cos that just wouldn't sit right, it's his secret to tell and his cloak to bear!  (Sorry.) Again as Clark told Oliver about seeing his future, can't help but think this influenced his decision to admit he's the Blur.

Ugh!  Scatty Katty was so annoying - pity she wasn't left in the sarcophagus for long.   Still on her mission to to rid the world or rather, expose the world to the "hero menace." Believing Lois was the blur, that was too funny for words - not to mention pathetic, even if she was on the right tracks about The Blur working for the Daily Planet.

Also as Oliver and Clark both said, where was Daniel Jackson, oops, Carter Hall when you need him.    Leaving Tess to come to their help and the question here was whether she can be trusted or not.   Alexander looked evil in his photo, can Tess really change him with love and has she changed too, with Clark and Ollie willing to give her the 'keys' to Watchtower.   Maybe that's also a good way for them to keep an eye on her.   Better to keep your enemy closer, if indeed she is.   Oliver still lamenting the loss of Chloe and dare I mention, being swept away by the epitome in cheesiness with the opening at the museum and the Green Arrow Girls!

Anyway knew Isis was on the agenda since Carter told Lois the exact same story about the doomed lovers, Isis and Osiris when she was in Egypt, episode 10.2 Shield.   No mention of the Darkness this episode, no it had too many fun bits to enter into 'dark' territory, as it was a little comical, annoying and grating with Kat - we don't (didn't) really need to waste time with her in the show's final season; she's a poor replacement/substitute for Chloe.   Though Lois' jibes at her were hilarious, especially the one about her saying she's not even a bottled blonde, for the stuff she came up with.

At last his secret (which wasn't a secret) is out.   Everyone knew one way or another and it wouldn't be fair if Lois really was the last one to know; particularly since Tess found out before her too.   But I loved those last few minutes of the episode when Clark finally gets up the courage to tell her; come what may...Yes everyone knew - and I also liked the way Clark thought he was telling Lois his secret now, seems he was the last to know - that she knew - if you know what I mean!

The part with the gifts lavished upon Oliver, as Green Arrow, the breakfast cereal, "they even included spoons," was amusing .   You can just imagine a cereal named 'Super Flakes'; Super Puffs';   or rather 'Huffs', maybe 'Blur Flakes', 'Blur Maize', seeing as he's from Kansas: corn, oh never mind with the corny cereal names!

Doctor Who - 5.4: "The Time of Angels" Review

The weeping angels return, only this time they appear to be more sinister and have an agenda. River Song also appears and we seem to be a step closer to finding out why she's in prison, or do we?

A man has hallucinogenic lipstick used on him, courtesy of River song (Alex Kingston) aboard a spaceship.

12,000 years later:  Amy (Karen Gillan) and the Doctor (Matt Smith) are in a museum.   Amy is eager to see a planet and the Doctor comments this is the resting place of the Headless Monks, whom we will meet in season 6.7 A Good Man Goes to War.  He stops by an old box, "a Home box" which is akin to a Black Box.   The writing on it is Gallefrayian and this Box says, "Hello Sweetie." He steals it.   Someone on a ship, 12,000 years ago requires his attention, being River, since that's what she calls him and no one else speaks like that.

River tells the man (Simon Dutton) their ship won't reach its destination.   River relays co-ordinates to the Doctor once she's transported from the ship and wants him to follow it.   River wants him to use the blue button for the stabilizers, they're blue "boringers." Amy asks how she can fly the TARDIS.   The Doctor tells River it didn't make the TARDIS noise and River replies it's not meant to, the noise comes form his leaving the brakes on.   So now we know.   Doctor: "Well I love that noise."

River: "He thinks he's so hot when he does that."   River had lessons from the best but not the Doctor.   She's his future and the Doctor ran away from River.   The ship she was on, The Byzantium was sabotaged and crashed.   The Doctor introduces her as 'Professor and not Doctor song.   River: "How exciting, spoilers." River comments two things always turn up in a museum, the Home Box and the Doctor.   (Yes as in the season finale.)  River tells him there's something in that ship "that can't ever die."

Amy: "Oh Doctor, you Sonic-ed her."  River has her diary, it's her past and his future and "we keep meeting in the wrong order." Father Octavian, (Iain Glen) a military man, arrives saying the Clerics (dressed as soldiers) are in charge.   They're dealing with the weeping angels.   Amy comments the Doctor let them call him 'sir.'  He never does that. "A weeping angel is the most deadliest." Amy just can't get enough of the third degree, well not only is she curious, but she also seems to have designs on the Doctor.   Amy: "Is River Song your wife?"  As she's never seen anyone talk to the Doctor like that and asks if River will be his wife one day.   Doctor: "Yes, you're right I am a grumpy face today."  They love doing this, he answers but he's not answering the question being asked, just to keep us on our toes and not give anything away.  Ambiguous answers are the norm, usually.

The Doctor met the angels on Earth before, they're just statues when you look at them.   River: "...only move when they're unseen and stone until you turn your back." The Doctor woes humans are everywhere, he'll never save them all.  Radiation is being emitted from the ship and of course Amy had to go on board.   River has a book written about the angels, but the Doctor claims the book is incorrect.   River: "It's so strange when you go all baby face." She has photos of all his faces.   ( A reference to Matt smith being the youngest to play the Doctor.)  The Doctor doesn't turn up in the right order, so he doesn't know who River is yet.   The Doctor can't see any pictures in the angels book.

Amy says the angel is a recording so it can't move, but it can.   The Doctor reads, "that which holds the image of an angel -becomes itself an angel." Amy is locked on the ship.   Doctor: "Don't even blink...the eyes are doors." Amy freezes the tape and gets rescued.   The Doctor tells River to hug Amy as he's busy.   They venture to the catacombs, aka 'the Maze of the Dead, a perfect hiding place for angels.   Octavian comments The Doctor doesn't know who or what she is yet or he won't help them.   (He'll say that again next episode too."  River doesn't want to return to prison.   (Anyway it was obvious as all along, she's going to kill the Doctor - but perhaps not if he can help it.)

Amy asks what he's like in the future.   River tells him they're talking about him and he claims not to be listening; that's why he was holding the gadget the wrong way round.   Amy: "You're so his wife."  But things can't be that easy.   River thinks Amy is good, she's not admitting Amy is right, but she is good.   The Doctor didn't notice the low-level perception filter (lots of those floating around lately since episode 1 and beyond.)    The statues in the catacombs are meant to have two heads, but these ones don't thus they're angels.   No one bothered radioing the other Clerics and cluing them in.   Angelo (Troy Glasgow) lures Bob (David Atkins) into a trap. The Doctor thinks the radiation was streaming out of the ship, the angels are an army.   A bit late radioing them now.  The angel killed Bob and is communicating with the Doctor via Bob's subconscious.   Amy sees her hand turn to stone but he insists it's all in her mind.   Amy can't die here, he's got "all that stuff with River."

The Doctor comments it's not the right time and "time can be re-written."  Which he'll also repeat a lot.   (So he can't really die in his future.)  Doctor: "There's always a way out" and he wouldn't be the Doctor if he never tries.   Bob died in fear, he trusted the Doctor and he let him down.   River realizes the angels want to make the Doctor angry.   They all trust the Doctor and he tells them to jump on his signal.   Bob made a mistake he should never have snared the Doctor in a trap.

Plenty of spoilers in this episode if you really think about them, like River being in prison and the Doctor not helping if he finds out who she really is.   Amy and her hang-ups about River being the Doctor's wife.   Then the weeping angels again, but somehow they're even more menacing here and seem to have evolved, cos they're no longer weeping, but ruthless.

The crash of the Byzantium was mentioned in the episode Silence in the Library, which was in River's past, but yet to happen in the Doctor's future, which is now his present.   River's diary has pics of the Doctor which is why she recognizes him in Silence in the Library episode.   Also the message River left for him on the Home Box, "Hello sweetie," is what she says to him when she meets him in the same episode for the first time, at least the Doctor's first meeting with her.

CSI: NY - 8.6: "Get Me Out of Here!" Review

It's Hallowe'en in NY and the CSIs end up investigating a DB at a cemetery, leading them on a race to locate a missing college boy. Danny and Lindsay discuss burials.

College kids run around a cemetery on Hallowe'en and a girl falls into an open grave and lands on a DB.   Jo (Sela Ward) comments, "It's not often you find a DB where it actually belongs."  Mac (Gary Sinise) claims he was dead before he got here.   Flack (Eddie Cahill) is canvassing the area for a murder weapon and Jo asks, "expecting the dead to speak."  The DB was hit before the fall.   Nice moment between Jo and Flack that's what gives this show so much more in terms of character development and why it deserves to continue.   That and great storylines.   Oh okay I've had my rant at the beginning, never mind!  The DB has four phones on him, which Flack calls overkill  Mac: "...so does dying in somebody else's grave."

Fisher (David Burke) is responsible for the cemetery and claims he isn't trained to handle this kind of death, yeah a likely story considering he deals with bodies all the time.   The clue was when he said they still manage to sneak in.   Hawkes (Hill Harper) finds a metal object when the grave is processed.   Sid (Robert Joy) agrees with Mac that COD was blunt force trauma.   Hawkes says he was hit by a large metal object and Sid adds even if he wasn't hit they'd still have a DB on their hands since he had arsenic in his system.  "Someone wanted this man dead and buried."

Adam (AJ Buckley)  processes the info from the phones.   Paul (Torrey Vogel) and three others owned the phones: Thad, (Parker Young) Curtis (Nathan Fuzzell) and Anthony (Miles Wood), who appears to be unhappy on the video.   As you will note behind him, he's lying on marble which was a dead giveaway.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) asks how they were connected.   Adam points out the pledge pins they were wearing except for Paul who had a frat T-shirt  as he was already a  member of Theta, Delta, Pi.   Adam joined a frat for the chicks and beer.   Paul was a pledge master and they were his pledge brothers.   Matthew (Michael Nardelli) at the frat house tells them this.   Danny kicking the can was a clue for later.   If they failed in their pledge they'd be 'dinged.'  I.e.  kicked out.   Anthony found it hard to fit in and they were meant to show up at the cemetery.   Adam drew the line at naked leapfrog at his frat.   Thus he was dinged.

Lindsay (Anna Belknap) finds two soil samples; one old and one fresh from Paul's DB.   The object Hawkes found was used in DBs to keep the eyeballs sealed, an eyecap.   Lindsay also found high levels of arsenic in the soil, which was used to preserve DBs until the 1930's.   Mac comments he crawled out of one grave and fell into another .   Danny and Lindsay collect soil samples from the cemetery which gets Danny talking about burials when he notices the headstones of a couple.   Danny says they have to think about it.   Lindsay wouldn't want to be buried in such a place cos they can't afford it, besides if he got married again where would his wife be buried.   She asks what if something happens to her.   Hey a clue: could she be the one getting killed off at the end?   Ha, wishful thinking on my part (Well, I can hope can't I, along with others?). But alas it wasn't her, darn!

Danny wants his wake to last for two weeks and she wants to be cremated.   Lindsay adds she's going to haunt him and you know what, she'd do it too.   She hates his green boxers.   She's finds this the time to bring that up.   Danny notices a can and thankfully we didn't have to hear Lindsay drone on.   Sid took an imprint from the skull impression and narrowed down the weapon to a tool and Mac thinks it could be a crowbar.   He then gives Mac his new invention to try out: the 'Hammerback Sleeper.'  "Sleep like a corpse." His marketing tagline.   He wants Mac to try it out.

Hawkes and Danny ponder the puzzle: 6 figures across and down.   Danny says the can he found had 'HEA118' under it and Jo says the video of Anthony is a message.   She finds Anthony's name on the bottom of the puzzle, in code TONY.   The codes all represent cemeteries.   No one bothered reading the code going down since it would have saved them a lot of time and trouble.

Jo and Hawkes find Curtis and Thad with a can.   Hawkes flashing his badge, not often he does that.   They were on a 'six pack challenge'.   Collecting and drinking the cans.   The sixth can would be from Anthony.   Flack says it turned out to be worse for the pledge master.   Jo thinks Anthony is another Vic.   Hawkes found an object in the can, which is a key to a crypt, yes it's obvious.  Come on guys not that hard to figure out.   Hawkes got a terrible line here when he says he was busy trying to figure out what it was and Mac's question of what it unlocks didn't fare much better!

Danny would prefer his ashes scattered over the Mets field and Lindsay says she'd do that with her rich husband's plane.  Dream on!  Adam would prefer to be shot into space.   That's one way to get there.   The maintenance area of the cemetery reveals arsenic and Mac posits they ran out of real estate so they dig up the old graves.   Jo asks who would do something like that and recalls Fisher had a headache, a symptom of arsenic poisoning.   No chase here of sorts but guess Flack and Mac had an interesting scene re the digger knocking Fisher down and Flack gets to shoot a suspect, not often he does that either.   As for Fisher removing DBs from their graves, you can tell by the look on Mac's face how disgusted he was at that.

Fisher doesn't know Anthony but admits to killing Paul as he found out what they were doing and buried him alive.   Hawkes finally discovers the key belongs to a crypt from the 1800's and the date on the puzzle was MC1831.   Jo comments the challenge was meant to fail from the outset.   Hawkes also found a stone chip on the key's surface which EDNA identified as Tucahoe marble.   MC means Marble Cemetery, the crypt belonging to the Warren family, which is where they find Anthony.  Flack picks up the empty beer can with 'BOO' written under it.   Mac talks about how some people just need to belong and will do anything.   Jo ropes him into an important scientific study: watch a horror movie with the others and they analyze it to pieces.   Kind of like what my friends and I do when we watch stuff.   Mac loved the pillow but Sid should rethink the tagline.

Danny and Lindsay discussing how they'd like to be buried after they depart was morbid.   Talk about smug Lindsay.  Also she tends to keep a close eye on Danny, especially when it comes to other women and his behaviour around them, like the tattooed woman from Coney Island.   As for finding Anthony from his photo it was apparent he was buried somewhere and lying on marble.   He would be in a crypt cos of the key and cos the entire scavenger hunt took place in cemeteries.   That was logical.

Sid's invention was the so called secret he was meant to be working on according to the live chat online last September where Pam Veasey and Zach Reiter spoke "a good Sid moment coming up, where he becomes an inventor of a very interesting object."

Another episode which demonstrates the lengths people will go to to belong and fit in and those who are willing to put people through these things.   The so called 'youth of today; tomorrow's future.'  The mind boggles, thank goodness no frats here.   CBS aired this episode a week after Hallowe'en for some reason, but hey I was right when I said we'd get it around February, which ended up  two weeks late cos the show began later than it normally would have.   Cursed Big Brother!!  An episode clearly for Hallowe'en, with some added creepiness and creativeness and great banter between Jo and Flack during the opening.   Danny and Lindsay's fave band is KISS.  Danny I get, but Lindsay, can't imagine it.

A variation on recycling done in CSI episode 1.5 Friends and Lovers, where Sara (Jorga Fox) had to investigate when a funeral home director admits to recycling coffins when a woman's DB is found in a dumpster.   Also CSI: NY 1.15 Til Death Do We Part which had recycled clothes being sold of the backs of DBs without being cleaned.   Anthony battling to get out was a bit Nick-esque (George Eads) in Grave Danger episode of CSI.

In CSI: NY episode Hung Out To Dry, which was the intro episode with Shane Casey (Edward Furlong) the society was Sigma Delta Theta, here it was Theta Delta Pi.   In this episode Flack had the encounter with the frat guy and he couldn't believe how moronic he was.  He had bottles taped to his hands and Flack wanted him out out of his face and rightly so.   Talk about obnoxious - putting it mildly.   Here Danny sees Matthew lying on the floor passed out with empty beer bottles surrounding him.  Wonder what use they'll come up with them for next time.

Don't see why Danny had to be a tad bemused when he went to the frat house with Adam (or even that Adam wanted to be part of that for a while) since in Hung Out To Dry, Danny already had his fill of frat houses when he and Flack  questioned the party goers whilst drunk.   So the cans and other mess strewn everywhere shouldn't have come as such a shock or surprise to him.   Hung Out To Dry episode was written by Zach Reiter, this one by Trey Callaway.

Why didn't Mac give Sid feedback on the pillow since he asked him to, particularly if he liked it?   The movie they were watching was Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, what else could it be?  

I'm on Twitter finally ha, cos me and tech just don't gel!    @mila255h

Castle - 1.5: "A Chill Goes Through Her Veins" Review

A missing woman turns up dead and frozen at a construction site, which is a little too close for comfort for Beckett and she reveals the truth about her mother.

A frozen DB is found at a construction site and we get to see Beckett (Stana Katic) getting ready for work, with her gun, watch and necklace with ring on it.   Wearing her red coat and blue top (those being Superman's colours!) Castle (Nathan Fillion) arrived at the scene before even Esposito (Jon Heurtas) did.   "My first cold case" he quips.   Lanie (Tamala Jones) agrees with him, it's not funny but it's true.  The DB wasn't there last night and Castle comments they may as well be looking for ruby slippers (those worn by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.)  Beckett adds the bit about the flying monkeys dumping her there.   Castle comments on the killer's MO: he froze her since he either wanted to keep her as a souvenir or he dumped the DB, Beckett concludes cos he didn't want to be reminded of her.   They need to look her up and Castle asks if that's in the facial recognition database as he's seen on the Discovery Channel.   Cue lots and lots of old fashioned files!

Esposito says maybe Castle can download them an App from his phone enabling their search to be carried out easily.   Ryan (Seamus Dever) posits there are plenty of ways to disappear, quoting Shrodinger's Cat (as does everyone, as did Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) in the Mentalist.   Castle believes there's got to be an "explanation - a story that makes everything make sense."  They know the ending so how did she get there? It takes a long time for a body to unfreeze, his turkey took a while.   Beckett has to get in she wasn't a turkey but a person, well that was obvious, clearly she's never heard of the word, allusion before.   She's been Id-ed as Melanie Cavanaugh, so they don't need to trawl through the files.   Not that Beckett would have, she'd have found a way to get out of it.

Lanie finds she was killed by blunt force trauma and her prints were in the system, she was a drug addict.   (So how come Lanie didn't ID the possible murder weapon.)  Castle says she was stored in a freezer and Lanie finds she was frozen within 2 hours and has been missing over 5 years.   Beckett immediately notices Melanie had a troubled childhood.    Castle already gleaned her file, he's a speed reader.   Well you've got to be if you're a writer, but other times it just comes in handy for never-ending essays and articles!  He gives her the 'Castle notes.'  Melanie married Sam Cavanaugh and had 2 children.   Why would, as Beckett says, Castle miss out anything important, she's the one who more likely does that.

Melanie was gone 24 hours before Sam reported her missing.   In the past she ran away but always returned home and Castle refers to her as the 'runaway bride.'  Castle: "Some people love the institution, hate the day to day."  He just hasn't met the right girl.   Plenty of marriage talk in this episode.   They check out Sam's apartment, but common sense dictates that he doesn't really have to be there after 5 years.   Also why didn't Beckett run a background check on Sam.   The fact he didn't report her missing until later should have been red flagged, but no, she's too casual by far and I've said it before, how did she do her job without Castle.  Probably relied on Esposito and Ryan.   She's a detective always demanding facts and evidence, yet she just assumes things.

Roger moved in 8 months ago and tells them Sam was murdered.   See a background check would have revealed that, also wasn't she meant to be prepared before she jumps in questioning people.   Recall the first 2 episodes where she said she doesn't like to investigate until she questions.   Laborious policework, her way.  Ryan finds Sam was shot outside a store.   Castle: "...odds are long, unless connected." Which is another clue cos his murder was connected to Melanie's disappearance.   He's got 250 pages which would make him believe it.   He'd call the book, 'A chill runs through her veins', hence the title.  Another best seller for him.   Esposito likes the title.

Castle accompanies Becket to Melanie's parents where she has to break the news to them and Ben Davidson, (Bill Smitrovich) her father says the policeman on the case believed she ran away but she'd never leave her children.   Sloane, (Peter Jason) the policeman says she's been found, but Beckett corrects him, her DB was found.   He was looking for a missing person not a murder.   Sam cooperated with the investigation and of course he'd let CSU into the apartment cos he'd conveniently disposed of the body.   Melanie was meant to be in Philadelphia with her druggie boyfriend.   Beckett shows Sloane Charles Wyler's photo (Charles Malik Whitfield) Sam's best friend.   (In the photo, the clothes Charles is wearing are the same ones he's wearing when they interview him.)   Castle was right, Charles wasn't an impartial observer!

Beckett hates cops like Sloane where things need to fit into a box conveniently for them.   Castle asks why she wears her father's watch.   Would've thought the writers would have him observe that in the pilot episode.   Esposito finds a homeless man saw a yellow truck at the construction site, which is owned by Bolland (Jerry Kernion) who found the freezer in the storage and he dumped it.   Castle said he should have denied first before saying there's no evidence he did anything.   Beckett was going to argue all night with him about what he's done wrong, etc, before Castle stops her to ask questions.   That's effective policework for her going on endlessly about the morality of what Bolland did.   If it wasn't Sam, then who?

Castle stands with the freezer open at home, waiting for another clue from Alexis.  (Molly Quinn) She asks what made him stop paying for the storage space?  Charles just told the detectives what Sam told him.   Melanie had a boyfriend, Kevin Henson (Channon Roe).   Captain (Reuben Santiago-Hudson) tells Beckett to check him out.   Castle says Melanie was leaving Sam as he was having an affair.   Kevin put her on a bus and was in rehab when she went missing and was killed, cos she stopped calling him.   Sam's best friend would know about Sam's lover.   Charles lied to them but it was a long time ago.   Beckett tells him her children deserved to know what happened to their mother.   (Personal comment from her, since she wants to know the same thing about hers.)

Elizabeth Forte (Erin Matthews) worked with Sam at the bank.   Castle of course sees through her and says she'd only end the affair if she was scared: of being found out, taking it to the next level and Forte admits she was afraid of Sam.   He asked her what she'd do if his wife wasn't in the picture.   They're both dead so it doesn't matter, which riles Beckett, cos it matters.   Beckett looks at the whiteboard and she can't figure out how Sam killed her.   Castle and Alexis play laser tag in the apartment and Beckett drops by, cos let's face it, she hasn't been there before and she was curious.  Martha (Susan Sullivan) face mask in tow asks if they're entertaining.

Beckett feels like "Alfred in the Batcave for the first time."  Castle attributes Batman more to Beckett cos the loss of a loved one leads to crime solving.   She calls him the multi-million dollar crime fighter.   She looks at what Castle calls his 'murder board', like hers, only his is fake.   Beckett can't find the answer and needs proof, she needs to know what happened.   Castle needs to finish the story, she has the ending, the killer and now they have to put it together with facts.   They didn't have a baby sitter so Melanie had the children to look after.   The doorman didn't see her leaving, so she was killed in the apartment.   Of course  Sam would need transport in the form of a truck and he's got that with Charles.   That was glaringly apparent!  Castle likes to "walk the crime scene." He once needed to figure how to throw someone off the Empire State building and that was around the time Sleepless in Seattle was out, lonely women mistook him for Tom Hanks and he got laid...  that's a story Beckett doesn't want to hear.   Yet he always manages to get something in there about him sleeping around!

At Roger's apartment Castle tells her they're married, Beckett doesn't want to pretend to be married and if they are; she wants a divorce.   This was the only exciting part in the entire episode; when they walked the CS.   Sam would have put the DB in the bath, what if the children wanted to use the toilet.   Castle believes the DB was already in the freezer and Roger adds he would've needed a truck.   Had to sign for deliveries in the building and Delores Marsh (K Callan) signed for a freezer she didn't order.   She mentions telling the older detective the same thing and Beckett thinks she means Sloane but obviously it's Davidson.   Charles has many trucks (about time) and he helped Sam cover her murder.   Sam told him it was self-defence and he went along with it for the sake of the children.  (Castle and his blue shirt again!  Sorry digression!)  Charles paid storage for 5 years, was he meant to keep on paying.   Well he's paying  now is what I said.

Castle and his cold comment again.   Captain says Sam got his karma, case closed.   But castle had to ask why Sloane would go back to the apartment and question the neighbour if he wasn't investigating a murder and doesn't mention Delores's name in his report..   Delores says the old man came back a year ago.   Meaning it was Davidson.   Beckett has to do her job and arrest him.   A cop can't decide how a story ends, it's not a novel.  If Castle wanted her to drop it, then he shouldn't have mentioned that to her, since she didn't pick up on it to begin with.   Davidson realized the same thing, that Melanie never left the apartment alive.   "A father might follow his daughter's murderer," but he didn't admit he killed Sam.   Melanie's mother Julie, (Kerrie Keane) was frought everytime Sam bought the children over.

Castle has "Spidey sense" as far as Alexis is concerned and Beckett admits it was her mother who was stabbed.   The detective put it down to gang-related, a random event and didn't want to think outside the box.   She wears her father's watch, he's 5 years sober, for "the life I saved;" and her mother's ring, for the "life I lost." That she states is backstory for Nikki Heat.   Castle preferred her when she was a hooker by day and cop by night.   Castle "until tomorrow" and not goodnight since it's more hopeful and then says goodnight when she's gone.   He gets Esposito to show him Beckett's mother's casefile, cos as we know he'll solve her murder.   Something Beckett wasn't able to do.   As we see Beckett go through the same ritual of removing her watch and necklace this time round.

Admittedly not the best episode so far, very much Beckett orientated with references to children losing a mother and how getting to solve the crime was the most important thing for them, just as it would have been for her and her mother.   Only she couldn't solve it herself, wonder if she tried hard enough.   Most times Beckett can't think outside of the box either, since clearly that's something Castle does.

Doctor Who - 6.3: "The Curse of the Black Spot" Review

Ere me hearties, pirates galore in this episode, a fun filled swashbuckle on board the high seas with a Siren in tow, turning men to mush with her enchanting song.

A hounded pirate on board a pirate ship is cursed with the damned affliction, The Black Spot on his palm, which spells doom as the siren (Lily Cole) takes all who bear said spot.   Captain Avery (Hugo Bonneville, in a not so Downton Abbey role) says he's a dead man.   The siren's song can be heard and the Captain ties the cabin door shut with a medallion for protection.   The pirate is taken and disappears, without leaving behind any bones or blood.   The Doctor (Matt Smith) and the others emerge from below, "Yo, ho, ho, or does anybody actually say that." The TARDIS saw that the ship was in trouble.   Captain Avery calls their predicament being, "becalmed."  I.e.  there's no wind for the ship to sail.   The Doctor is ordered to walk the plank and Amy (Karen Gillan) is called a doxy.   Amy is taken below where she finds the swords hidden away and dresses in the coat and hat.   So she started it off, well the rest of it, with the pirates getting cut, including Rory (Arthur Darvill).   The Captain fears the sword will kill them all, it will, but not in the usual way. "One drop of blood and she'll arise out of the ocean."  Referring to the siren as the demon, she can smell the blood and they've all been marked for death.   Including Rory.

The Doctor attempts to console him, it's good that if something's going to kill him, he'll have a note to remind him.   Rory is transfixed by her song and calls Amy beautiful, "Cuddle me shipmate." The siren makes men fools and she arises out of the ocean for the token extra to be taken; but not Rory who just wants to touch her.   If Rory's been affected too, then why not take them both at once.   The siren glows red when threatened so no wonder she was called a demon as she resembles one.   Rory could have been taken ages ago when he's left to stand around alone - but again he's not.

Captain Avery states the legend, the siren hunts ships with treasure, which should have been an obvious indication of why she appears.   The Doctor doesn't believe she's a curse and says humans are big on curses, so they don't have to offer explanations.   The Captain's big on guns too, so he's overcompensating as Freud would say.   A pirate gets bitten by a leech and is also taken.   Rory was completely mesmerized by her and wanted to be taken by her, so why was he screaming here - and yet again he's saved.   The Doctor thinks she's using water as a portal.   He puts on a hat and tells the Captain, "worried cos I'm wearing a hat now." Yes, but it's not  a Fez !  The Captain's son, Toby (Oscar Lloyd) is found as a stowaway.   His mother told him his father was in the navy.   He also bears a black spot.   The Doctor comments she's coming for the sick and the wounded, which is a clue and they need to get to the TARDIS.   It's not a curse.

The Doctor tells Amy and Rory, "We've all got to go sometime." To which Amy and Rory can only look at each other.   They've already seen him go.   The Doctor tells the Captain he lied when he said 'his was bigger', the ship that is, cos the TARDIS is bigger.   The TARDIS refuses to move and the Captain calls it "becalmed."  Then gloats, which the Doctor observes.   The TARDIS disappears, why, was it too in need of healing and repair.   Captain Avery only wants his treasure back.   The siren appears in the reflections - not the water. "Still water is nature's mirror." They need to destroy everything with a reflection, including mirrors, which can be said, is where the Doctor's bad luck may have began.   The Doctor believes she attacks ships filled with treasure, as he's now made the connection to what the Captain said earlier.   They need to throw the treasure overboard including the crown.   The siren can be heard again.   Amy dreams about the eyepatch woman from episode 2.   Suppose that's Amy having the baby, or someone having a baby.   The Doctor looks out and senses something's staring back at him.

The wind picks up and they man the sails.   The siren takes Toby and Rory falls overboard where he drowns.   The Doctor thinks the siren must be released to rescue Rory as it's intelligent.   The others are probably still alive and they must let the siren take them.   They agree by pricking their fingers.   None of them acted all foolish here.   They awake on another spaceship which is trapped in a temporal rift, enabling them to step from one universe to another.   The reflections are now gateways.   A distress signal is heard.  Always have to be on another spaceship.   The crew were staring at them, which is why the Doctor said he's being watched.  The crew died from bugs, a human virus.   He gets "sneeze" on his hand, "alien bogies!" The siren is a stowaway.

They come across the rest of the crew, Toby and Rory.   Not forgetting the TARDIS.   See wasn't it in need of healing to have ended up on the sickbay too.   Or did it just hone in on the distress signal of this other ship.  The siren is keeping everyone alive.   The black spot isn't a curse, but a tissue sample, her song is an anesthetic and she maintains them in statis.   The siren is a virtual doctor.  Amy needs to reason with her to help Rory.   He can't leave with them as he'll drown.   He's a nurse, as he mentioned last week too, so he can teach her CPR.   Amy asks why she has to be the one to do it, why not the Doctor.   Rory knows she'll never give up.   The Doctor needs to send the ship into space and Toby has typhoid fever so he can't go back either.   The Captain agrees to stay with him on the ship and the siren can look after him. "Point me to the atom accelerator."  They sail into space, crew abound.

The Doctor calls her Amelia when he's worried about her and he always worries about her.   Amy has a flashback, or flashforward to the Doctor dying.   Rory says they can't tell him, it's his future.   How did Rory know she was thinking about the Doctor dying when he says this to her.  The scan on Amy still reverts between positive and negative.   So, not much happened this episode, it was just meant to be a fun-filled ride, partly anyway.   Many pirates abound lately, to coincide with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  and everything has to be black and cursed too.   Curse of the Black Spot, Curse of the Black Pearl.

I preferred the excitement of the first two episodes and this one was bit tame in comparison, time to take a breather before the next thrilling instalment.

Stargate Atlantis - 5.7: "Whispers" Review

 The show's answer to a horror movie, with lots of creepy fog, missing people and things going bump in the shadows... oh that was just Sheppard getting knocked out!

Two men hear a noise in the woods and see a man wearing a mask in the shadows.   One Year later a team from Atlantis find the mask.   Beckett (Paul McGillion) is leaving to help others.   Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) tells him they've found one of Michael's labs which he has to check out before he can go.   Sheppard didn't tell Beckett there'd be so much walking involved, he complains like Rodney (David Hewlett).    Sheppard is shocked to see four women heading up the Atlantis team headed by Major Teldy (Christina Cox), with Mehra, (Janina Gavankar) Alison Porter (Nicole de Boer) and Vega (Leela Savasta).   He wasn't going to say his team were "a bunch of girls!"  She picked the best and the brightest.   Sheppard: "Funny how that worked out."

They picked up a lock in the signal to the catacombs and discovered statis pods.   Beckett isn't familiar with this facility.   Sheppard tells them to stop touching thins since he doesn't want more rubble on his head as in the season 4 finale and the season 5 opener.   Alison can disable the security protocols cos of what Rodney found.   Mehra is left with the two docs.   She'll make sure they "don't geek out too much."  Sheppard claims he'll have undergone a cardio funk with a few more clicks of this walking around.   Mehra can't stop talking cos she's a substitute for Rodney on this mission.

Alison is new to the galaxy.   Michael's early version of human iratus hybrid is probably in the pods.   The village is empty and Sheppard wonders why.   Early test subjects were a combination of other life forms.   Beckett can't help them cos they're no longer people.   One man, Mirellus (Darren Dolynsky) returns to the village.   Sheppard tells him they came through the big round thing.  People have disappeared and thinks the village is cursed, he came to warn them.

They want to check out the next village.   The statis pod opens.   Beckett thinks Alison is young , Mehra laughs at their smalltalk and goes to check out the perimeter, "unless there's a sock on the door knob."  The torches fail and Sheppard spots something in the shadows.  Throws a stone in the well and finds a wooden doll. "Creepy." One of Sheppard's words.   Smoke rises from the well.   Sheppard: "crap."  Another of his words.   They fire at the zombie like creatures.   Mehra checks out the noise from Michael's lab.   Mirellus let them out, his wife was amongst the missing.

There are twelve pods.   Beckett leaves and he's chased by old sutured face.   The creatures can't see but use smell.   That clicking sound they make just like the Manticore mutants in Dark Angel.   Alison goes missing.   Sheppard says 'trust the prom queen and the kid in the wheelchair to wander off.'  Fog is used as a predatory feature by the creatures.   Michael left his research behind cos he couldn't control the creatures.   A creature climbs though the well and Sheppard finds Alison.

Vega is grabbed and the fog enters through the door and the creature has Teldy's flashlight.   Beckett finds the catacombs run to the well.   Alison suggests they ambush using the tablet as bait.   They should blow up the well and the signal will be the explosion whereby they open fire.   They take up positions to fire.   Sheppard is attacked and loses the C4 and is found by Beckett. Beckett and Sheppard moved into the catacombs obviously to save themselves from the explosion.

Alison and Mehra stay behind cos there are more pods and they need to take a moment, well, Alison does.   Beckett collects data on the creatures.   Alison hears a noise and Sheppard finds more pods, there had to be more than 12 .   They shoot them all.   Beckett leaves and Rodney doesn't know who Alison is.  

One of those atmospheric, creepy episodes showing the extent of Michael's research correctly called "mad science" by Alison.  Stargate Atlantis's first foray into a horror episode was not received favourable by all.   It was more of a 40 minute movie with limited budget and similar goings on.   Even Sheppard has a crack at the genre with his 'prom queen and kid in a wheelchair' line.   Why Sheppard's surprise at an all-girl team, he's the military commander of Atlantis is he not and should know of all the teams there.   More like he was hoping he'd have gotten one too, or some fun.   But hey he picked his own team - kind of.   I wouldn't go so far as to say it was all bad.   It had it's moments and lots of Sheppard scenes.   He wasn't really being sexist in his comments about the girls.   Hey, we know Shep is a ladies man at heart!

Vega got a recurring role and was killed off, so that's what happens to recurring characters.   Joseph Mallozzi's blog stated: "...a fun little episode.   More edge-of-your-seat popcorn fare than The Shrine."  Also Janina commented to fan's Q&A on his blog about 'Dusty' Mehra: "the quiet one that will save your ass in time of peril."  Quiet - I think not.   A bit of a romance developing betwixt Beckett and Alison which didn't really get anywhere.   Also Leela Savasta was also in season 3 episode, Tao of Rodney as a different character, Dr Esposito.

Merlin - 4.2: "The Darkest Hour: Part Two" Review

Merlin fights to save Arthur from making the ultimate sacrifice and aims to take his place to allay the balance upset by Morgana when she pierced the veil. Sadly someone takes both their places.

Merlin (Colin Morgan) appears to be catatonic and Arthur (Bradley James) wants him taken to Gaius (Richard Wilson).  Lancelot (Santiago Cabrera) volunteers since he's the only one who knows of his magical abilities.  He takes Merlin through the Valley of the Fallen Kings, which is appropriate for the fate that potentially awaits Arthur and also Uther (Anthony Head).  Arthur vows to continue the quest and blames himself for Merlin's condition.

Gwaine (Ewoin Macken) finds bees as he's in search of food and is chased by them.  He's needed for the light hearted moments.  Besides he says they're heading to their deaths anyway.  Well, one death.  Merlin 's hand touches the water and droplets of water call out to Lancelot.  They are 'Villia': spirits of the brooks and streams.  Good spirits also roam when the veil is pierced.  Arthur will need both Merlin's and Lancelot's help.  Merlin has great power, which we already know and "future that has been written since the dawn of time." Hey isn't that what the Dragon (John Hurt) says in the opening narration?  Her sisters heal Merlin.

Meanwhile, the others are in a system of tunnels overrun with Wilderin and they must use gaia berries to hide their scent which is fine until Gwaine kills one of them after getting his face licked.

Camelot's gates are closed on the orders of Agravaine (Nathanial Parker), but Gwen (Angel Coulby) is on hand to put foreward the case of the people.  Arthur taught her every citizen is vital and they will bring their own food with them.  Gwen aksks Agravaine if he thinks Arthur will fail.

Merlin catches fish and he must join Arthur.  Agravaine can't wait to tell Morgana (Katie McGrath) of Arthur and she dreamt of a future where Gwen was on her throne.  Uther aks after Arthur. Agravaine needs to discuss the people with Gwen as she understands them and needs her advice, thus inviting her to his chambers.  How did Agravaine find Morgana, knew where she was and she'd be on his side.

Lancelot and Merlin light a fire in the shack for shelter and Morgana enters Camelot unseen. Agravaine appears to want his way with Gwen or strangle her, ha, but doesn't.  Instead guards walk Gwen home.  Why's she going home with the threat of the Drocha outside and yet the people want to enter Camelot?  Morgana attacks the guards and Gwen with her magic.

Elyan (Adetomiwa Edun) wonders what they'll face on the Isle of the Blessed.  Arthur believes the burden is his to bare alone.  But Elyan knows they must all stand together.  Gaius searches for Gwen and finds her alive.  Merlin doesn't want Lancelot to go with him but Merlin wouldn't understand why he must go and it makes no sense to him either.  He made a vow to keep Arthur safe.  Arthur is a better man than Lancelot.  Lancelot lies when he says he doesn't think about Gwen.  Arthur "loves her and she's happy."

The fire goes out and Merlin and Lancelot are attacked.  Merlin summons the Dragon to fight the Drocha and yet he doesn't seem to know Lancelot, "the bravest and most noble of them all."  The veil must be restored and Merlin must help Arthur heal it.  The spirit world demands nothing but the Calleach does.  Merlin is warned not to sacrifice himself.  He saw something in Merlin which was invisible and now all the world can see.  It will be "an empty world without you - young Warlock."  Why couldn't the Dragon fly them to the Isle of the Blessed.  Lancelot asks if he could knowingly give up his life.  Merlin would if there was a reason more important than anything.

Gwaine now sets fire to his socks.  Lancelot has bad news for the others, Merlin is still alive. Merlin reassures Arthur or at least tries to; that he doesn't have to sacrifice himself as Merlin will take his place.  The life of a servant is nothing.  But Merlin is no ordinary servant.  Arthur wants Merlin to look after Gwen as the Cailleach refuses to stop the sacrifice cos it wasn't of her doing. Gwaine is struck down and Arthur knows she demands a sacrifice.  Merlin flings Arthur back, which leaves Lancelot of course to take his place.  Merlin's destiny is to save Arthur and the Cailleach agrees it's not Merlin's time yet.

Arthur pays tribute to Lancelot's "unselfish heart and the most noble knight" he's ever known.  He gave his life to save them all.  Gwen tells Arthur he was looking after him, "he was true to his word." Morgana is livid Emyrus thwarted her and needs Agravaine's help to find out his identity. Agravaine then asks Gaius if he's heard of Emyrus and Gaius knows only Morgana would have known that name.  Hence he gives himself away and it's only the second episode.  Morgana will never know the truth of who Emyrus really is.  Once again we have another traitor in the midst of Camelot and once more Gaius knows it's Agravaine, just as he and Merlin knew about Morgana; yet they are powerless to act and tell Arthur as there's no proof.

Gaius was too far to be reached so the spirits of the lake were on hand to cure Merlin, allowing him to be at Arthur's side and more importantly so Lancelot would be there to make the ultimate sacrifice; thereby keeping his vow to Gwen.  So he faced death for King, country and the love of a good woman, also giving Merlin and Lancelot more of a chance to bond thoughout this episode. That's why Lancelot volunteered to carry Merlin back to Camelot.   Besides, Lancelot would never let Merlin give his life since he had to be there for Arthur with his magic.

Watch Gwaine's sword disappear when they come across the Cailleach.  Arthur entrusted Gwen's care to Merlin once before in 2.10 Sweet Dreams.  There was no need to as Merlin wasn't about to let Arthur face peril.

For all Morgana's threats and strutting around, she just proves over and over she's pretty helpless when she's alone and always needs help from some quarter.  Now she no longer has Morgause and must turn to Agravaine.  My gripe is that their backstory isn't told here; nor is it told in the entire season.  If revealed, it would have put Agravaine's hatred of Arthur into perspective since it's Uther he should be directing his wrath at, surely not Arthur who was innocent and had nothing to do with the magic being used resulting in his mother's death.

It does appear from this episode Morgana has some sort of pull over Agravaine, but even that looks flimsy and isn't explored.  Oh and Morgana doesn't stick around to ensure Gwen meets her doom!  Very dangerous leaving all this down to the spirits.

So Lancelot came and went. As said before, he hasn't been completely done with, but it seemed a shame to kill off one so noble so soon - especially when he was an outsider who knew of Merlin's magic.  Now it's reverted back to only Gaius knowing.

The Vampire Diaries - 3.3: "The End of the Affair"

Flashbacks reveal Stefan's time as a ripper in '20's Chicago and how he came to meet Klaus and Rebekah. Present day, Damon hatches a plot to rescue Stefan from Klaus's clutches.

Katherine calls Damon (Ian Somerhalder) who tells her no one's even thought about her since she left.   He's not giving up on Stefan (Paul Wesley).   Katherine's trailing him and Klaus (Joseph Morgan) so she knows where they are.   Katherine claims she's conflicted as she doesn't know whether she's looking out for Stefan or not.

Stefan and Klaus are in Chicago.   Stefan's blocked out his memories of being here in the '20's.   Klaus comments prohibition was fun since "everything was off limits."  Stefan has a flashback  to his time in '20's Chicago and meets a blonde.   Klaus is there to see his fave witch so she can help him with his hybrid dilemma.

Elena (Nina Debrov) wakes to find Damon in her bed.   Now who wouldn't want that!   Damon: "You know you were dreaming about me;" which explains the drool on her face.   He wants Elena to go to Chicago with him for Stefan, she wants to know how he knows where Stefan is, it "came to me in a dream - I was naked, you would have loved it."  Ahh, she's already seen him naked.  Bill (Jack Coleman) has Caroline (Candice Accola) and he asks her how vampires walk in sunlight?  Then notices her ring and removes it.   Ancestors built the cell and there's vervain in the air conditioning system.   He opens the skylight to let the sun in.

Damon and Elena make smalltalk on the road and comments on the last thing Stefan left her, that "crappy old necklace." Elena responds "It's antique, like you." He wants her to read Stefan's past in the journals but she's already seen his darkest moments.  Damon reads an extract.   Flash to Stefan and he asks the blonde her name.   She'll tell him when he's earned it.   Gloria's (Charmin Lee) here, the singer from the '20's.   She's a witch.   Present day Gloria tells Klaus he did something wrong and he needs to contact the original witch who created the curse.   Klaus needs help and he needs Rebekah (Claire Holt).   Stefan listens in to this, obviously.   Then sees a photo of himself with Klaus also from the '20's.

Sheriff (Marguerite MacIntyre) leaves a message for Caroline on her phone and Tyler (Michael Trevino ) turns up.   Caroline tells Bill she can control the vampiric urges and he thinks drinking human blood will make her repress her vampire tendencies.   Elena tells Damon she won't be frightened by him and return home.   Damon shows her Stefan's apartment form the '20's.   He shows her a secret closet and she thinks he's showing her the booze, as if, it's a list of names, names of Stefan's Vics.   Elena sarcastically asks Damon if he was all for women's lib back in the '20's.   Stefan doesn't recall Klaus, who hated Stefan back then.  Yeah cos Stefan was engaging in a threesome, blood drinking orgy!  Stefan notices the blonde's necklace given to her by a witch.   Klaus calls her Rebekah, so much for Stefan earning her name.   She calls Klaus, Nick.   Rebekah is his sister.   Stefan in present day tells Klaus that he knew another original vampire back then.   Klaus opens her coffin, but Stefan still doesn't remember her.   Klaus asks why Stefan is worthy of Rebekah, Klaus killed many of his family and Rebekah chose his side.   The right side.

Liam (Shane Callahan) comes looking for his wife, Lila (Christine Lekas) whom Stefan was feasting on with Rebekah and Stefan forces him to drink Lila's blood.   Klaus was Stefan's "number one" fan.   Back in the present, Damon talks with Gloria and he tells her if he knew Gloria would age like this he'd have stayed.   Elena reads in the journal: April 1922 about Lexie finding Stefan; June 1924, 1935 and on it goes.   Naturally Elena had to be at Stefan's apartment and Stefan doesn't sense her, so much for his vampire senses but Klaus does, unless Stefan did and then was trying to get Klaus off her scent.   since Klaus does sense a human presence.   Stefan told Klaus he has a secret - it was part of his ritual.   Liam's name is on the list as Elena sees it and Stefan opens the closet, finding Elena inside.   He says he's found something for Klaus and she looks worried, as if he'd give her away.   Taking out a bottle instead.

Damon knows where Stefan will be and he realizes he shouldn't have left her alone, so she should move on now.   Who told her to stay anyway.   He wants her to dress up.   Klaus tells Stefan he used to want to be his 'wingman.'  Then tells him Rebekah will leave him in the end, when they were back in the '20's.

Bill tells Caroline he cried when Carol Lockwood (Susan Walters) called him about Caroline, who has learned to adapt.   He wants to fix her, "so I don't have to kill you." The sheriff finds Bill and he has to do this cos they both love her.   Tyler releases Caroline.   Stefan only knows Klaus as the hybrid who sacrificed Elena.   In the '20's the club is raided by police using wooden bullets.   Rebekah shouts, "He's here."  Klaus compels Stefan to forget them - he'll forget what it was like to have a brother.   Stefan believes Klaus was covering his tracks cos he's running from someone.   In the present, Damon calls Stefan away without Klaus seeing him.    Damon is confused, Stefan killed Andie and then saved Damon, so is Stefan good or bad? Stefan says Elena was meant to die, now Klaus can't transform hybrids but Gloria will figure out why.

Damon talks to Klaus to distract him and he comments on the riff-raff being allowed in the place.   Damon: "Oh honey, I've been called worse."  Klaus promised Stefan he wouldn't let Damon die, but since Damon's here, he must want to die.   Elena wants Stefan to come home with her.   Stefan refuses and when she tried to inject him, he stops her.   Klaus stabs Damon, he's more fun if he's looking for a partner in crime, Damon tells him.   Klaus breaks a chair leg to stake Damon and Gloria saves him this time, well someone has to save Damon.

Stefan tells Elena that Klaus will figure out she's still alive and Stefan isn't the same since he's left a trail of bodies in his wake.  Elena must give up on him.   Stefan: "I don't wanna see you, I don't wanna be with you." How hard was it for him to stay that, knowing he's leaving her to Damon's mercy.   What made Damon think Elena in a dress like that would make Stefan go for her or have a change of heart, all dressed up like a prized chicken.   Damon and Elena leave once more, defeated yet again.   That was a waste.

Sheriff tells Caroline that her and people like Bill don't stray from their beliefs.   Caroline is more concerned about her father hating her.   Rebekah's up and stabs Klaus.   Back in the '20's Rebekah waits for Stefan and Klaus makes her choose, Stefan or her brother.   She chooses to stay for Stefan and Klaus knifes her.   Klaus compels Stefan to remember everything.   Klaus says to Stefan, "We are friends."  Rebekah knows how to contact the original witch, but she doesn't have her necklace.   Damon speaks with Katherine, that she was right about Stefan but she doesn't tell him where she is.   She was also in Chicago back in the '20's.  The man (Sebastian Roche) is part of the Chicago PD, as we flash to the '20's again and he shows Stefan sketches of Klaus and Rebekah.   Stefan has the necklace.  

The End of the Affair or the Affair of the Necklace, ha.   A flashback induced episode providing plenty of backstory on how Stefan met Rebekah and Klaus.   Though he doesn't remember them and how Rebekah fell for him, which she does in a big way, providing comparisons between her and Elena's feelings for Stefan and his charm.   Although Klaus is calling himself Nick in the '20's.

Didn't like the way in which Damon and Elena head to rescue Stefan then return home empty handed.   Stefan still continuing to play the 'dumbass martyr' as Damon refers to him; thinking he can still protect Damon and Elena.   Again Stefan doesn't appear to be completely turned yet cos he doesn't give Elena away to Klaus and doesn't want to either.   Just how long will that last?   In the previous episode it was Elena heading in search for Stefan, dragging Alaric and then Damon following.   This time Damon gets a heads up from Katherine and takes Elena along, couldn't he have gone himself, seeing as Stefan didn't come back, or was that a clever ploy to kind of get Elena to say goodbye and then he could get in with Elena.   What's Katherine's motives for giving Damon the tip and why's she in Chicago.   How long can Stefan think he's protecting Damon, when Klaus was about to banish him forever?

Most of the cast weren't in this week's episode - so time to concentrate on just two storylines.   Bill wanting to save his daughter, believing he could was kind of endearing but he went about it in the wrong way.   Did/does he really believe he could save her in that way?   The sheriff rescuing her and Tyler leading the way was a bit obvious and dealt with very quickly.

Stefan finding the necklace but not knowing its effect or true significance back in the '20's, but knowing now.   Also does Stefan really want to follow Klaus now - that he's made Stefan recall the past - their past and Stefan truly referring to him as his brother, more so than Damon.   If he felt that way, why would Stefan still try to protect/save Damon.   Leaving Elena in Stefan's apartment when clearly Klaus would take him there as they were re-living the old days was foolish, as was getting Elena "trussed" up.   What was the significance of Liam, other than he ended up on Stefan's list of conquests.

The end of the affair for Rebekah and Elena too, with Stefan.   This episode reminded me of Charmed  2.14 Pardon My Past, where Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) was cursed and had to travel back to the '20's to get her hands on an amulet to save her.