Sherlock 2.3 "The Reichenbach Fall" Review

The episode opens with Watson (Martin Freeman) at the shrink again, this time he's there to talk about troubling events, which we know turn out to be the 'death of Sherlock.'  However, there were so many clues in this episode which were apparent. See below.

Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) is congratulated on the case of The Reichenbach Fall, a painting and he becomes known as The Reichenbach hero" in the press.  Leading to plenty of photos, as well as solving many other high profile cases such as kidnappings, etc.  Each time he's rewarded with a small gift, like diamond cufflinks when his sleeves have buttons, or a tie pin when he doesn't wear ties and from Lestrade (Rupert Graves) and the rest of the team, a deerstalker, they all chipped in for it.  Again he gets more press coverage.  Even Watson pints it out, how can he remain a 'private' detective with all this publicity and then warns him the press will turn on him.  Sherlock tells him Watson also has a nickname in the papers, "bachelor."  Well Watson was right, the press did turn on him and not only that but also the very force he has helped on so many occasions, barring Lestrade.

Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is at the Tower of London and elaborately uses an App to break the glass on the crown jewels display, as well as organize a daylight robbery at the Bank Of England and Pentonville prison is in jeopardy, just as everyone is enjoying that quintessential cup of British tea!  Sherlock also makes a cup for Moriarty, later.  He writes, "get Sherlock" on the glass and then breaks it using a diamond and is sitting with the jewels on when the police arrive.  Six weeks later he ends up in court and who is there to testify, none other than Sherlock.

Watson tells him to answer what's asked of him and nothing more, but Sherlock can't resist "showing off" as the judge calls it, figuring out everything about the jury.  He finds himself in contempt and ends up in a cell with Moriarty.  Also meeting a reporter in the loo, Kitty (Katherine Parkinson) he tells her everything about her too and she just happens to be wearing his deerstalker, well one like it.  Moriarty doesn't put up a defence and instead the jury finds him not guilty and not as Sherlock presupposed guilty.  Realizing he got to the jury by sending them messages over the TV, threatening their loved ones.

Moriarty then pays a visit to Sherlock and he expects him as he plays his violin and makes tea.  Moriarty sits in the chair Sherlock doesn't have ready for him and takes an apple.  He then talks about wanting to be free of Sherlock, and everything was just a big plan to show criminals he was for hire and he could do anything, get in anywhere with just one key, that's all he needed, a key.  He then taps his fingers on the side of the chair which is meant to be some sort of a message, or so we're meant to believe.  Also coming up with the line "every fairytale needs a good old fashioned villain."  As well as Sherlock saying he wants to "burn" him, he said that in the season 2 opener too.

Mycroft (Mark Gatiss) calls Watson to The Diogenes Club and tells him to watch Sherlock's back, mentioning a Richard Brook, a friend of Sherlock's, who talked about him in the press.  But then Watson has been watching Sherlock's back since he met him, A Study in Pink, when he saved his life from the murdering cabbie.  He shows him photos of assassins who have been hired to kill Sherlock and have moved in a few doors away from 221B, as well as one living upstairs.  Next comes the case of a missing brother and sister from a boarding school, children of the US Ambassador.  Sherlock arriving there and proceeding to pull off the blanket around the House Mistress so she'd answer his questions quickly.  Which again everyone found so rude.  Leading them to a Grimm's fairytales book and the envelope with the seal, which Watson didn't get to see, seeing as he picked up the envelope with the one outside their place, until later.

The boys room he finds using ALS has a message on the wall and he finds footprints to follow.  Then takes a sample from the floor and analyzes the oil to determine the location of the children and that chocolate is involved.  The children eating sweets poisoned with mercury.  Sherlock being allowed to talk to the girl who's in hysterics at the sight of him, which sets up doubt in Donovan's (Vinette Robinson) mind about how Sherlock could solve the case with one shoeprint unless he was behind it.  Er, cos he's Sherlock.  Then Sherlock seeing "I.O.U" outside on the building.  Everything leading up to Sherlock being discredited and called a fraud.  Sherlock even getting a burnt gingerbread man, alluding to this story and Moriarty wanting to burn him form the outset.  As well as Hansel and Gretel with the breadcrumbs leading to the children.  I'm not sure why they had Sherlock take so long to make this fairytale connection to Moriarty, as it was obvious from the moment he talked about fairytale villains.

Then there was Kitty who published Sherlock's story and her source turning out to be Moriarty aka, Richard Brook (meaning Reichenbach in German.)  telling her Sherlock hired him and he's only a meagre actor and of course he was.  With being a criminal consultant, he had to have some acting ability to pull this off.  Again all pointing to the 'final problem', he said it often enough.  Good bit of continuity there when Sherlock takes the taxi alone to think and Moriarty comes on the screen reading a fairytale, then turning out to be the driver! Alluded to the first episode of season 1 and how how Moriarty had hired the cabbie all along to commit those murders just to engage Sherlock and get him involved.  Yet Moriarty was the one who began this "game" and Sherlock wouldn't have been none the wiser about him, was the criminal not-so mastermind trying to outplay our hero?

Being the last episode we had to have another chase involved and this time with the two of them in handcuffs!  Sherlock telling Watson to "hold my hand." A nice touch!  Donovan reminding Watson of what she said in A Study in Pink about it all getting too much for him as he's a psychopath.  Watson's not taking in the accusation though as he knows him better than that!  To the point where Sherlock has to fake Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) getting ill for Watson to leave so he can put his plan into motion.

SO anyway as said last episode review,  Mycroft had something up his sleeve when he had Moriarty freed, after months of torture he wouldn't talk but he would to Mycroft, only a little.  When Watson tells him Sherlock only has two names in his book, his and Mycroft's, so infact Mycroft was the one who told Sherlock's enemy everything about him.  His plan backfired, or did it?

Sherlock saying he doesn't have to die since, "I've got you."  Oh Sherlock almost bursting into song there, yes let's have a bit of a musical!  Moriarty tells him there's no way he's going to call off his gunmen, which means that there is a way, so long as he's alive, Sherlock doesn't have to die.  So Moriarty does the next thing and kills himself!  Which kind of defeated the purpose of getting one over on Sherlock didn't it.  He triumphed after all in the end and Moriarty wasn't around to see the outcome.  Unless of course this was Moriarty's plan, didn't he have a deathwish since we met him in person in The Great Game, with the bomb in the swimming pool and Sherlock having the gun on him too. yet here he expected Sherlock to follow suit and jump to save his friends, thinking it was the only solution he had left to his final problem.

Those clues: well as we know from the original it is Moriarty who actually takes a fall over the edge to his death and not Sherlock, he is alive and though he doesn't plummet to his 'death' it was expected.  The same can be said here, Sherlock immediately suspected his life was in peril as soon as Moriarty said "I O U."  Not just cos Molly (Loo Brealey) saw that look in his face of sadness when he thinks Watson isn't looking and the same look she saw in her father.  That something is wrong.  But also when she tells him she can help him if he lets her and he admits he does need her help later on.  Her help with putting his PLAN into motion and not one of Moriarty's.  You see Sherlock isn't a doofus as Moriarty called him on the rooftop, he knew exactly what would happen.  "Staying Alive" song/ringtone aside!  It was Sherlock's arena, he called Moriarty and arranged to meet him here, the camera alluding several times to the "pathlogy" written at the side of St Bart's.

What happens in pathology, well autopsies and DBs, plenty for the taking.  So she helped him by probably taking one of these DBs and making it look like Sherlock.  Of Course they did have a body right there in Moriarty, but that seems to be unforeseen.  Obviously when he jumped from the roof, was that really him, or a substitute DB in his place and the cyclist having to knock down Watson so that he doesn't get to see Sherlock's face, or the 'fake Sherlock.  That's why he had Watson stand where he did and made that phonecall to him.  The phonecall where he admits it's all true, the papers and everyone is right, he's a "FAKE."  Even the headline on the paper has 'fake' in it.  Sherlock wasn't a fake only he had to make everyone one think he was in order for his plan to work and in order for him to save his friends.  See, don't think he counted on Moriarty having gunmen trained on his three friends and let's face it, those are the only three he has got, or at least mean something to him and vice versa.  Then again, he may have known considering that is Moriarty's MO: to have hired guns everywhere, he gave that away in The Great Game and again here.

Moriarty gave the 'game' away by talking about Bach when he came to see Sherlock and how when he was on his last legs, the composer jumped out of bed and finished the musical piece!  Thus the code wasn't real and poor Sherlock had his "mind palace" on overtime this episode.

We see Sherlock desperately thinking he has no way out of this, but was this for our benefit and when he calls Watson too, Sherlock has never acted like that before and nor will he, give in.  Nothing defeats him and he had to 'act' sorrowful and make that final phonecall cos he needed his 'death' to be believed.  That he invented Moriarty, but Watson tells him he knew about his sister.  He researched him, but how did he know he'd meet Watson?  Telling him to keep his eyes "fixed on me" and the call being his 'note.'  He got someone to make sure Watson is knocked down.  Hence telling him to stand where he is and I liked the way he threw his phone and took a flying leap.  As we know, Sherlock doesn't get emotional and the only time he felt afraid or emotional was in The Hounds of Baskerville, but that was under the influence of being drugged! Then again the cyclist could be someone from Holmes' Homeless Network. They were mentioned this episode, also I like referring to them as the 'Holmes' network.

Let's not forget the 'ball under the arm' plot to show the or rather mimic the symptoms of death,  Sherlock had the ball here twice, first he was bouncing it and then he had it in his hand when he realized Moriarty was tapping the code with his fingers, a binary code.  Referring back to The Mentalist cos that was one of Patrick Jane's ploys in one episode.  And I won't elaborate on the truck with the landing pad everyone's talking about. Hey that nurse was quick in trying to take Watson's hand away from Sherlock's wrist so he couldn't feel his pulse.

Watson at the end desperately asking for that miracle from Sherlock in "don't be dead, for me..." And Sherlock watching.  Enough to make you cry! Well that's one way to get your anonymity back, save face and reputation and save his friends. Moriarty giving plenty away also when he referred to "the final problem." This being Sherlock, mention had to be made of The Reichenback Fall and the story, where it was both Moriarty and Sherlock who went over the Fall, so wouldn't it be kind of poetic justice if Sherlock had the nouse to throw Moriarty's DB over the edge instead, but then he wouldn't have his 'face.'  That way satisfying the original story.
Moriarty: "It's going to start very soon, Sherlock, the fall.  But don't be scared.  Falling's just like flying except there's a more permanent destination."  Funny Moriarty refers to "the king's men" since they couldn't put Humpty together again, nor it seems will Moriarty be together.

I'm probably wrong I know, on several things, such is the cunning of these Sherlock producers and writers! Ha, so I think this episode is best watched instead of reading a review, it adds more drama if it's actually watched to see all that raw emotion between the characters.  How Mrs Hudson is angry at him and Watson isn't that angry.  He just wants his friend back, be careful what you wish for...

Best line: Sherlock: "Oh I may be on the side of angels but don't think for one second that I am one of them."
Did Sherlock's line of "I can kill Rich Brook and bring back Moriarty" have any deeper meaning.  That Rich Brook really is Moriarty and with him dead, Moriarty is still alive, or that Rich is Moriarty and he's the one who doesn't exist; that sounds like grasping at straws though or losing the plot!  Mrs Hudson brings in the parcel with the "funny German name" but no one asks what that name is even when she says like the fairytale, or even looks at it, why not?  Wouldn't Watson at least be curious even if Sherlock wasn't?
At the beginning with Turner's masterpiece being stolen and then recovered, we're not told by whom but obviously Moriarty must have been behind it and we're not told how he solved the case since the newspaper merely states in the story that Sherlock followed a trail which Scotland yard couldn't find.  Unless that was just setting up Sherlock for his 'fall.'

Sherlock says he's not going to play Moriarty's game whilst holding the camera all this time, so whoever's listening and watching can still do so.  Sherlock doesn't even run when Lestrade warns him of the police and yet the moment he chooses to run is when he's outside and with Watson in tow.  Thus he was playing the 'game' after all.  Since he tells Watson he's doing what Moriarty wants and "becoming a fugitive."  Why? Even when he texts Moriarty he tells him to "come and play" the game.

In the original magazine story, Sherlock is attacked on several occasions, almost being run over by a cab at one point.  Here Sherlock is being watched by the assassins as he believes they know he has the code in his head.  He also admits that Moriarty is Sherlock's "intellectual equal" so much for Moriarty going on about Sherlock being ordinary here.  Moriarty tells Sherlock in the Reichenbach Fall that "you need me or you're nothing.  Because we're just alike you and I."
Sherlock on the rooftop, "I am you.  Prepared to do anything.  Prepared to burn....you want me to shake hands with you in hell.  I shall not disappoint you."
Moriarty: "you're me, you're me."
In the original story once they arrive in Switzerland, there's a note given to Watson where an English woman needs an English doctor, here Watson's call that Mrs Hudson is dying, but Sherlock refuses to go since he knows this isn't so.

So with the trailer at the end of the re-run on the BBC, which contains clips of the actual series, it seems we still have a while to go before the episodes are aired.  Maybe after Christmas like they did with season 2, either way, it's too long to wait...!!

Scandal 2.5 "All Roads Lead to Fitz" Review

                                        
The gathering from last episode have their secret meeting and Mellie (Bellamy Young) is concerned how she's at risk being here and Olivia (Kerry Washington) adds they are all risking being here.  Especially if David (Joshua Malina) finds out the link between Cytron and Doyle Energy.  Olivia says she will 'fix' David. David is allowed to keep his job if he lets go pursuing Olivia and this investigation.  Her next problem is a dead man at the Governor's house, shot twice with his pants down.  Apparently he was raping the Governor's wife and he shot him.  Governor Reston (Tom Amandes) used one of his guns from his collection as he's a pro-gun Democrat as Olivia knows from the election.  The rapist happened to be a contractor at his house and he built the entire house from scratch.

Jane Powell (Mina Badie) who is David's replacement arrives and Olivia wants her to meet at the office, looks like Olivia has something on her too.  Cyrus (Jeff Perry) finds James (Dan Bucatinsky) has his old job back at the Whitehouse Press corps cos Cyrus didn't let him have a baby.  The President is at the G8 conference and whilst he's away there can't be any other news made cos it will distract from the summit and belittle his presence there.  James tries to ask what Mellie thinks of the East Sudan crisis.  She arranged dinner for the four of them and Cyrus tells her she can't do anything again which leads to any distraction from the G8.  She shows her defiance saying she doesn't want to be at that meeting anymore and Cyrus tells her, tough she has to be cos she wanted to sit at another table and that table is it.  She may be a political animal but he's a "monster."

Olivia wants everyone to find whatever dirt they can on the contractor and Quinn (Katie Lowes) finds he was a serial shoplifter.  Harrison (Columbus Short) and Abby (Darby Stanchfield) talk to his employees and find one's been laid off.  Abby finds a hair in the kitchen sink and then finds long, dark hair all over the house, the shower, the pool, etc.  Olivia realizes his wife, Joan (Brenda Strong) was having an affair with the contractor.  She breaks the news in no uncertain terms and the Governor admits he didn't know.  Oh yeah, he's the governor and won't know if his wife is cheating on him, highly unlikely!  The Governor wants to keep this quiet since he's been labelled a hero in the press.  Olivia warns him if there's an investigation and the police find it's not rape then Joan will end up in prison and there'll be no leniency for him either.  He wants all paper trails destroyed, if there are any.

David meets a worker from Doyle Energy and is told that they are open to hacking via their software.   David also turns up at Olivia's office telling her the rape case is now a homicide.  Joan decides to tell the truth and tell them she was having an affair, she loved her husband but after the election he wasn't the same.  One county in Ohio cost him the election, 4, 359 votes is all he could think of after that.  She should have helped him but she gave up on them.  Olivia finds photos in the file showing the Governor knew of the affair. He tells her he doesn't care about those votes anymore since this 'incident' has revived his political career. Which is what he wanted anyway.

Huck (Guillermo Diaz) has a date with the AA woman and he asks Harrison what he should do.  Harrison suggests a restaurant and still has her number on his hand.  Abby types it onto the computer and sees a post it on the computer, 'The Griddle 3.30pm, realizing the meeting David had was a plant.  Also the software Quinn's boyfriend was working on was used for slot machines but also for voting machines.  Olivia has David's apartment bugged and listens to Abby when she tells David of this.  Doyle (Gregg Henry) wants to take care of David himself if Olivia's method doesn't work and dismisses the other as if they're at a school. Thus it appears Fitz didn't win the election fairly and squarely and Olivia knew.

Cyrus turns up at Olivia's to discuss his woes and he's missed her.  They got all pally rather quickly after last season.  Especially since he killed Amanda Tanner, had her killed, killed Quinn's new love squeeze (yes he made Brendan Hines leave the show - unforgivable!!) She tells him Edison (Norm Lewis) wants to go out with her but it's too early for her, since "all roads lead to Fitz."   SO what happened to Olivia's white hat and more importantly her gut.  She said she was off a few eps back, but is she still in that situation, especially since she and Fitz parted ways, obviously that won't last long, or else the show would be losing viewers in droves.  Did anyone miss Fitz this ep?  Seeing as he wasn't in the ep he had to get plenty of mentions and not just in the title, such is the powerful influence of the 'leader of the free world.'

Kind of hard to imagine Olivia knowing about David all along and not doing much to deter him until we get the 'round' table gathering.  Also she knows about Abby too, at least now but that's the part that's meant to make this interesting, what will she do with Abby, really I don't find myself caring.  Though David's conspiracy storyline is more intriguing, at least for now.

CSI:NY 9.1 "Reignited" Review

                                             
The final season opens, or should I say reignites, with an ice hockey game between the NYPD and the FDNY and there's clearly animosity between the players, as NYPD try to achieve a win.  Mac (Gary Sinise) meets with his friend and Captain of the FDNY Curtis 'Smitty' Smith (Louis Herthum) and discuss old rivalries as well as Christine (Megan Dodds) and what Mac will buy him for dinner when they win.  Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) and Adam (AJ Buckley) have a few words as Adam's in goal and Flack (Eddie Cahill) interrupts them cos they need this goal, however Danny misses the shot, hitting the goal post instead.  Was fun watching the three of them in action, but wasn't long enough!!  FDNY win and a Danny and a firefighter brawl and everyone else gets in on it too.  A call comes in about a fire and they arrive at the scene.  Smitty enters one of the rooms and fire engulfs him.

At the funeral, Mac recalls six months ago and how Christine was there for him after he was shot, but he doesn't recall what happened at the time.  Flack tells him he's at the CS and Leonard Brooks (Rob Morrow) is arrested.  Leonard is an arsonist and has just been released and he tells Mac he didn't start this fire, why would he?  He wants his cuffs removed and tells Mac he's addicted to fire but there's no chemical running through his body.  He wants to help as an arson investigator cos he's got "an incentive to find out what happened."  He says he's being framed.  Mac shows him photos of the fire and how it used his MO of spreading wax paper and dryer paper in the hallway to spread the fire.  Flack tells Jo (Sela Ward) how he started 10 fires but they only caught him at the last one.  He's been inside for 15 years.

Mac and Flack take him back to the scene and he smells the ash from the fire and tells him about a metallic object being found there, but he won't tell them what it's used for since they'll use it against him.  Leonard was only arrested cos he went back to help a Vic when he started the first fire.  Flack doesn't believe Leonard is innocent but Mac gives him the benefit of the doubt.  He won't tell them anything cos of Flack's attitude, but hey that's just Flack for you, ha.  However Mac reminds him of his incentive.  The metal was used as a time delay trigger.  Mac: "Arrogance is often the criminal's Achilles Heel."
Flack: "Yeah great genius, that was a tough one.  Can I lock his ass up now, please?"  yet more great one liners, will miss those!

Mac recalls telling his doctor he's been having trouble with his memory.  He knows what you can do with the phone but not what it is called and he can recall certain foods but not their names.   He's suffering from Anomic aphasia.  In time the memories can return or in the worst case won't.  Mac wants this kept to himself.
Lindsay (groan) (Anna Belknap) always first on the scene!! tells Mac what was used to set the fire and when  this is exposed to water,the fire is even more devastating.  Water was used in the balloons and metal rivets were found on the walls, to secure a tripwire, thus Smitty set it off when he entered the building.  The trap was set to kill a fireman.

Adam goes through the footage at the CS and hopes to see the arsonist there.  Jo asks him how long he's been doing that and he replies four years.  Jo notices one of the fireman is from the 233 which is based in Brooklyn, so he's not meant to be there.  Adam gets a match on Marshall Hilson (Scott Subiono) who was charged with criminal impersonation.  Adam recalls one of his friends was fraudulently accosted.  Hilson tells Mac he can't do more than five years.  He didn't start the fire, instead he set fire to an abandoned car and things got out of control.  He was rejected from becoming a fireman.  Flack tells Mac that Leonard's escaped.

There's a call about another fire and when Mac and Flack arrive a fireman is beating up on Leonard.  Flack hauls him off and gets in a few punches of his own, just to ensure he didn't miss out at the match!  Flack tells him he can't beat him up cos he thinks he may have done it.  Mac has him arrested for assault.  He tells Mac the sprinklers were on when they arrived otherwise someone else would have been killed.  Mac finds the lock on the sprinkler was broken so Leonard must have turned it on.  Maybe he had a conscience all along. There was a note in Leonard's pocket giving the address of the fire.

Leonard tells Mac someone put it through his door and he happened to know which building it was.  Mac thinks he might not be working alone.  The prints are analyzed from the sprinkler but only match Leonard. Hawkes (Hill Harper) tries to get prints from the gloves found at the scene and says they may get lucky since you have to put one glove on with your bare hand.  Danny and Jo come up with nothing.  Hated how Danny didn't have much to do here, once again Lindsay gets more screen time than any of the other CSIs!! Oh why?!!  She finds a logo but can't match it yet.  Danny says fire gel was used to spread the fire from one room to the next found in some tubing.  There was also a sewing needle found where the fire was ignited. Hawkes finds prints and says they may have solved the case. They match Eva Mason (Mageina Tovah) she lives at a motel and that was the logo.  The needle came from a sewing kit from the motel.

Eva visited Leonard in prison and was studying psychology.  She interviewed him for her research on arsonists.  They find lots of clipping relating to Leonard and his fires and Lindsay finds a sewing kit, did she have to give it a 180 degree turn just to undo the button on it! Huh.  Jo finds Eva was watching Leonard on her laptop in his apartment and she's there now.  She pulls a gun on him.  Leonard tells her he doesn't remember her and she demands to know why he turned the sprinklers back on.  He was trying to save her from his life cos he hates it and hated being in prison with animals.   He notices the gas is on, and the bulb on the table and a syringe rigged to the fan.  Then pulls out the rug from under her and jumps out the window. Eva can't get out of the apartment.

The look on Flack's face when he arrives at the scene with Mac, then finds Eva's DB.  Leonard recalls how he bragged about the fires and Jo brings him what's left of his belongings.  He thanks Mac for treating him like a human and Mac replies "that's what we do."  He tells Leonard he can still be helped and not to go back there to that place in his mind.  Leonard arrives at another place and watches the gas burn on the cooker.  Mac gives Christine flowers thanking her for being there for him.  He's booked a place for dinner but can't recall her favourite dish by name.

So one down and another 16 to go, though we've seen one episode as the CSI crossover.  Couldn't watch this episode in the same way as the others knowing it's the last season.  Gotta savour every moment cos we won't be seeing our fave CSIs together as a team anymore.  So would have loved to have seen more of Flack, Danny and Adam on the ice and this was the last time we'll get to see Flack in a suit again!!
Let's hope all of the cast get equal screen time and it wasn't just all about Lindsay, though one episode will be when she meets her father again.

Anyway Rob Morrow was hardly recognizable here from his usual roles but enjoyed every moment of playing Leonard, not a bad guy per se here.  We'll have to see what happens next episode as he makes another appearance.  Mac has to deal with the aftermath of the shooting now and how it affects him personally.  We're shown the scar on his back when he gets out of the shower and he still has to take pills. Gradually we'll see if he'll make a full recovery or not and whether he'll get his memories back.

Funny scene when one fireman insults Flack's sister and mother, Flack replies his sister died six months ago then adds she's still alive and he'll get punched for the next insult.  Funny he mentions six months considering that's how long it's been since Mac has been out of hospital.  Sid (Robert Joy) telling Lindsay Manhattan is better than Annie Hall.  Though Lindsay has to get in on the act and trade her own insult when someone in the crowd yells, "Messer, you suck."  Shouting he should come down here and say that. Agh, she does my head in! ha

Once Upon A Time 2.16 "The Miller's Daughter" Review

A young Cora (Rose McGowan) is made to trip over by Eva (Eva Allen) a Princess and is made to kneel and apologize to Eva otherwise they'll not be taking anymore flour from her.  She is humiliated by  King Xavier (Joaquim de Almeida).  The others sail back in Hook's ship and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) tells Gold (Robert Carlyle) she will do anything to help him cos they're family now.  Cora (Barbara Hershey) and Regina (Lana Parrilla)can make him do anything with the knife.  Including killing them all.  Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) with a red apple in her hand, Regina and Cora were listening in with a phone tap, which Cora calls an 'enchanted box.'  She needs to get Rumple's powers before he dies.  She must not kill him fast but stab him and take his powers, which is what she wanted all along.  Henry (Jared S Gilmore) was never part of the plan.  Which Regina doesn't realize until now but still goes along with it.  Cora doesn't want to spend the rest of her life on her knees before them.

Cora gatecrashes the ball at the palace but couldn't remove that tell tale piece of straw from her dress which the King notices.  She tells him she can spin straw into gold and the King challenges her to do this or die. Enter Rumples and his contract, he wants her first born child.  Regina, he's seen the future.  He will help her spin but it will take "bloodlust."  All the hatred she feels for the others will help her spin.  If she can do this she will marry the Prince (Zak Santiago).  Rumples to Cora: "Not a pretty name is it, sounds like something breaking."
Also his "The future is a gift" line.

Rumples returns when Cora is allowed to marry the prince since she's made the kingdom rich again, but she promises Rumples his first born child in an amended contract. She falls for him and he loves her.  But to me it seemed she was just using him to gain his secrets and not because she really loved him.  Rumples recalls the man who made him kiss his boots in front of Bae.  He teaches her how magic is made.

Charming (Josh Dallas) tells Snow she has the purest heart of anyone he's ever known and she reminds him of Cora killing her mother.  Henry knows they'll stop Cora.   Gold tells Emma to take what's in the bottle and she puts her hand inside to find invisible magic chalk which she must mark in front of the door.  They have to fight the others but then how can they when they don't have magic.  Gold also gets Emma to cast a protection spell, she has to feel it and use her emotions.  Gold tells Snow only the candle can save him, she's "all grown up now" and they have the same interests.  She has to whisper Cora's name over Cora's heart and then put the heart back in her body.  Gold: "The heart will know."

On the day before her wedding, Cora declares her love for Rumples and she must take the king's heart in vengeance.  However she tells the king she doesn't love Prince Henry and yet he tells her love isn't everything.   That's why Cora didn't think much of Regina's father in season 1 and why she was more powerful than him.  However Regina did love him and that's why she called her 'son' Henry.

Cora and Regina attack and Emma manages to take Regina but Cora gets the dagger back cos Bae (Michael Raymond-James) didn't pick it up when it was lying on the floor all this time.  Snow makes her getaway and arrives at the crypt, cursing Cora's heart.  Cora sends Regina to look for her and protect her heart as she feels weak, when she arrives Snow tricks her into taking the heart as it's the only way Cora can ever love her.  Snow sits outside and tells Charming he was right, she shouldn't have done this.

Cora puts her own heart inside the box and tells Rumples it's cos she loves him and that's her weakness. Now he wont get Regina but he won't get his own child either as he changed the contract.  Which explains why Rumples made Regina turn against Cora and teach her magic, sending her to Wonderland.  He wanted revenge.  She breaks through the forcefield spell and Rumple's name almost disappears from the dagger.  She tells him she did love him really.

 Regina puts Cora's heart back and Cora feels love for a moment.  Then dies saying "you should have been enough."  Gold is back to his old self and Regina swears vengeance on Snow, again.  It was so easy to put Cora's heart back wasn't it.  Regina didn't listen to Snow before and yet she listens to her now. But Cora took Eva's life so she should know how Snow feels.  How come Regina couldn't use the spell of purple smoke to conjure herself at the crypt.  Rumple's line to Cora of there being irony in being "Snow White" was good.

Gold and Bae manage to make up after all these years as he tells him how sorry he was and he calls Belle (Emilie de Ravin) to tell her he's dying and she was the only one who saw the goodness in him as she does in others.  He wants to go back to his good self.  Bae wouldn't think he'd hear that from him.

So how will this affect Snow now since her heart is no longer pure, but it was bound to happen since most of the characters are evil or bad before they turn good, such as Red (Meghan Ory) but with Snow it was the opposite.  Surprised to see Eva was mean when she was younger, so who taught her to be good as she taught Snow, who has regressed now.

As for the 'enchanted box' couldn't they just use magic to listen in to their conversation.
Gold: "...so when you look in the mirror and don't know who you are, that's who you are..."  Was this a clue for Belle, also Regina was the one who used to look in the mirror to see her true self, well you know, "mirror, mirror..."

The Miller's Daughter was of course based on the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale.

Scandal 2.4 "Beltway Unbuckled" Review

                                        
Mellie (Bellamy Young) stands over Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) in the nursery and berates him not only for sleeping there since they have other rooms but also cos he won't let Olivia (Kerry Washington) go, he's bene having wet dreams about her.  He doesn't sleep anywhere else cos the press will get hold of it but she thinks he can make up a story like he doesn't want to disturb her whilst she's pregnant and he had a late night solving the nation's troubles and keeping them at safe.  Abby (Darby Stanchfield) and David (Joshua Malina) spend the night together, twice over and his mother calls which he must take privately, mother being Alissa (Brenda Song) so he was kind of using Abby to begin with as I said last episode but now it means more to him.

The parents of a missing college girl ask Olivia for help in finding her.  Senator Davis (Norm Lewis) thinks Olivia can help. She used to date diplomats and then blog about them, but her blog hasn't been updated as Harrison (Columbus Short) finds out.  Olivia suggests Jenny's parents, Janet (Eve Gordon) and Peter (Todd Waring) go public and alert the media.  Jenny's secret life is made public on the news and the reporter asks where her parents were in all of this, questioning how she was raised.  Quinn (Katie Lowes) finds out a girl is in a hospital and her picture is being faxed over, maybe it's Jenny.  Olivia gets a call from Bill and IDs a DB found in the woods as being that of Jenny.  That scene was a little Without A Trace, whilst they wait for the fax to come through, Olivia finding out Jenny is dead, nicely done.

Jenny was at a State Department party when she disappeared and Harrison has a list of the guests whilst the car wind screen glass found by the ME identifies which car she was in.  The ME also says her injuries weren't enough to have caused her death, so she was lying in a ditch for five hours losing blood.  Olivia is horrified at that and makes it her mission to find the killer.  Harrison and Quinn cross reference the drivers of the car to the party and find one match to Alexander Lavich (Creighton James) a Kurkistan diplomat, so he has diplomatic immunity.  He can't be brought to justice in the US unless the President asks Kurkistan to revoke his immunity, he refuses to do this as Olivia already knows why when she speaks with Cyrus (Jeff Perry) cos the country's help will be needed if the US raise an air strike over East Sudan.

Cyrus tells her to leave before he arrives and he does arrive.  Telling her the same thing.  Mellie is frustrated at her 'duties' and doesn't want to be seen with children puking on her cos their parents don't want to immunize them, she wants to do more and sit at the 'adult' table.  Though Cyrus refuses to help.  Olivia knows Jenny's parents must protest in order for the President to take notice.  So this is watched by Mellie and she protests outside not as the First Lady, but as a mother who is outraged at what happens to women in Kurkistan and doesn't want that to happen to her daughter, to her or to Olivia even.  Cyrus tells Fitz about the two women in his life and Fitz can only laugh at how they got together.  Cyrus: "The women in your life play a very mean game of political chess."

Cyrus arranges a meeting at their usual place but Fitz turns up instead and tells her he deported Lavich, it was the only thing he could do since Kurkistan refused to revoke his status.  He asks Olivia if she wants to "hitch a ride on Airforce One".  She can't do this anymore and they should just go their separate ways, she can't join his mile high club and do nothing else.  He wants to face up to his responsibilities and leaves and she cries.

Huck (Guillermo Diaz) attends his AA meeting and meets a cocaine addict who tells him about how rats bleed when they're tested with artificial sweetener.  Peter is angry at Olivia doing nothing and Huck tells him not to get that gun and shoot him cos he'll never live with himself after that.  Speaking from experience of course, so Huck does the next, not so best thing and ensures Lavich pays for Jenny's death.  As the news reports he suffered a heart attack.  Huck attends AA and talks of falling off the wagon and enjoying his perfect whisky again.

David finds Quinn's ex boyfriend had a phone conversation with an oil company and he meets with Doyle (Gregg Henry) who won't let him speak with his Head of Security.  Abby breaks into his apartment and finds his 'wall.'  She confronts Olivia about not keeping secrets and wants her to talk to her, but Olivia doesn't. She has a call instead.  Prompting Abby to see David and ask if what they have is something more.  He tells her he doesn't think it's about Olivia or Quinn but about Cytron.  Olivia arrives at a meeting with the Supreme Court judge, Verna (Debra Mooney) whom she was just supporting through chemo, Mellie, Cyrus and Doyle to talk about David.

Harrison is happy to let Olivia have her secrets cos without her help he'd be behind bars and studying for an 8 year book keeping degree.  So why are Olivia and Mellie both in on the meeting cos whenever they've seen each other or had words about one another they've painted a very different picture, of hating each other etc and here we see them sitting round a table. What another conspiracy of which Quinn is a part of?  Not sure if this story is actually going to get interesting or not.  Does this also mean Olivia and Fitz will be taking  a break from each other so we won't have to watch them make googly eyes at each other!

Oh Abby do not like you, she's always got a bone to pick with someone, air her rants and raves and even if it turns out she is on Olivia's side, I still don't like her.   Neither does Quinn so I'm not alone, ha!

2.2 Sherlock "The Hounds of Baskerville" Review aka "My Mind Palace"

                                               
Okay I added the aka in the title! Ha
Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) has to come home on the tube cos no taxi would take him as he's covered in blood and with a harpoon too, harpooning a pig as Watson (Martin Freeman) tells us, so wasn't anyone overly suspicious of him on said tube, or street etc in this day and age.  He's bored out of his mind and needs another case.  More than that he's craving a smoke and can't find his secret stash when Watson tells him he's been doing so well.  What weren't his  nicotine patches working?  His addiction to cigarettes was so obvious then, like he wanted something more than just cigarettes.  Think of the other Holmes adaptations and you'll know what I mean.  Someone's e-mailed him about a disappearing rabbit called Bluebell which glows and has vanished now.  He's mean to Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) this time round when he tells her about Mr Chatterjee and his wife in Doncaster, advising her to read his blog on perfumes.

He even suggests a game of Cluedo to Watson but he's not into that especially when Sherlock says the Vic did it.  Which is something we used to say when we played back in the '80's.  Ooh should have copyrighted that!!!

Finally Sherlock catches a break when in walks Henry Knight (Russell Tovey) claiming strange goings on in Dartmoor.  Sherlock proceeds to tell him how he arrived here, on the train, met a girl, what he ate and insists he smoke as he inhales the fumes!  Sherlock isn't interested in poetry otherwise he would have read Watson's e-mails to his girlfriends.  Watson didn't want him to tell Henry about himself since he's just showing off, "which is what we do," replies Sherlock.  He's not interested in the case until he tells him he saw a gigantic hound.  SO he takes the case.  Outside in the cafe Mrs Hudson argues with Mr Chatterjee and Sherlock adds wait until she finds out about the wife in Islamabad.

Sherlock and Watson check into the local inn and they can't get a double room but Watson's really not bothered with explaining they're not a couple.  Oh Sherlock driving!  No taxis 'ere mate! Ha.  He manages to get them into the local not-so-secret military base using Mycroft's (Mark Gatiss) card which can get them in anywhere cos he "is the Government."  And reckons they have 20 minutes before alarm bells sound.  Putting up his coat collar cos he's cold.

Watson also gets to pull rank as he's a Captain which he admits he enjoys doing.  The facility is into testing and developing all sorts of weapons, biological, chemical, etc and they run into a Dr Frankland (Clive Mantle). Also Sherlock finally gets 'Bluebell; now when he meets Dr Stapleton (Amelia Bullmore) her daughter e-mailed about the rabbit.  He thinks it's time to leave as the security check comes up and Mycroft is informed of the breach, texting Sherlock to find out what's happening.  They're stopped by Major Barrymore (Simon Day) and Frankland vouches for him being Mycroft.  Admitting he's a fan of Sherlock's and mentions his hat, which Sherlock tells him wasn't his.  He also enjoys Watson's blog.  He gives them his cell number but can't talk now.

Watson asks Henry if he's rich after seeing his house, well he would be.  As they drink coffee and we're meant to particularly notice the sugar Sherlock puts into his, cos watching it first time round, we're meant to think it's a clue.  Henry's recalled 'Liberty In' with the help of his therapist, Dr Mortimer (Sasha Behar).   Sherlock thinks they need to go out on the moor.  Which they do.  Watson gets separated from them as he sees flashing light and thinks it's Morse code.  Then there are sounds and a mist as Sherlock and Henry are visited by the hound.  Sherlock insists he didn't see it.

Later at the inn, he is sweating and nervous, he says he's experiencing fear.  He's divorced from all emotions but his body is shaking and he drinks.  Also telling Watson his mind is fully intact.  By showing how a couple are a mother and son, he's a fisherman, needs money, wearing a jumper his mother gave him, she's got a dog, a small terrier called Whisky cos she was on the train with it and just wants Watson to leave him alone. Admitting he saw the hound and that he has no friends.

But this is Sherlock and he thinks there has to be an explanation for it, like being drugged.  He thinks of the sugar as we're meant to since Watson wasn't affected and he doesn't take sugar.  So he makes him a cup of coffee which Watson says he never does, as Lestrade (Rupert Graves) is here on holiday (coincidence?) and questions the inn owners about the extra meat they've ordered and the hound they keep.

Sherlock tells Watson to question Mortimer but she can't talk about Henry.  Frankland turns up to mess things up asking how the investigation's going?  Henry thinks he sees the hound at home as the lights come on.  Watson finds the lights weren't Morse code but coming from a Lover's Lane, of sorts.  Sherlock takes Watson back to the lab cos he's cunning! ha and he wants to get his own back on Watson for doubting his faculties, well not really.  He wants to test his sugar theory and locks him up whilst making him believe the hound is about to come in and get him.  Adding to his paranoia.  He then tells him it was meant to be the sugar, but testing it doesn't reveal anything.   He wants to be left alone in "my mind palace" so he can think.

Thus we get a demo of the inner workings of the Sherlock mind, with lots of words coming up and being moved around his mind.  Until he finally clicks to Liberty, Indiana.  The place where experiments were conducted.  Accessing the computer files using Barrymore's password of 'Maggie' as in Thatcher he finds the names of the people experimented on spell 'HOUND.

Henry attacks Mortimer with a gun and she calls for help.  Ending up on the moor once again.  With the hound approaching.  Sherlock realizes Henry saw a man with a gas mask when he was little and with glowing red eyes.  (That was all very Doctor Who).  Said masked man approaches and so does the hound, which wasn't really dead.  Lestrade and Watson shoot at the hound, with Watson being the better shot and Frankland manages to escape.  Of course it was him, he was making himself very conspicuous by showing up practically everywhere, using the word 'cell' aside.  He's chased into the minefield.  He was Henry's father's friend and didn't want to be found out about the experiments.

Sherlock and Watson talk about him thinking the drug was in the sugar but it was actually in the mist.  Watson wasn't exposed to it until later and not for very long.  Watson saying it wasn't the sugar as Sherlock thought it was.  Also at the end Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is released from his padded cell, after scrawling Sherlock all over the walls, in a scene straight from The Return of the Pink Panther when Dreyfus had written 'Kill Clouseau' all over his padded cell.  Obviously it's for the final episode in this season and possibly, possibly using Sherlock as bait or something more sinister.  Won't give it away here here since maybe some out there won't have watched the next episode yet.

Yet more great moments here, like Sherlock turning his collar up, not cos he's cold but as Watson tells him he does that to look cool with his cheekbones and all!  Also Watson mentions Spock here, which was Mr Spock and well before Start Trek: Into Darkness!  But then there was Sherlock and the raising of his eyebrow when he was looking under the microscope, again very Mr Spock!

Loved the 'mind palace,' didn't we all.  Only a palace would do for Sherlock!  And no he didn't get that from last week and being at the Palace!  As we know by now, whatever case Sherlock gets or turns down as irrelevant or boring has some forbearing on the bigger investigation he does take up.  Last ep it was the bodies for the plane and this time it was the glowing rabbit.  Nice touches too with Stapleton in the original story being the naturalist and conducting his experiments just as Stapeleton did here, albeit she's a woman here, as well as the hound being kept hidden in secret by the inn owners.  Barrymore also in the original whose wife was hiding her convict brother and thus signalling on the moor, Watson's flashing light here.  Frankland is also in the story and Mortimer was the one who went to Sherlock for help.

Dr Frankland:" Oh Mr Holmes I would love to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
Sherlock: "That would be tremendously ambitious of you."  Indeed considering Moriarty tried and was stopped and try he will again!

CSI 13.22 "Skin in the Game" Review

                                                  
DB (Ted Danson) and Ecklie (Marc Vann) attend a Black Sabbath concert where they're to meet a reporter John Merchiston (James Callis).  DB recalls being at The Dead concert at the same time Ecklie last watched Black Sabbath in concert.  He's to follow DB around and Ecklie thinks it will be good PR.  DB gets a call and agrees to let John accompany him.  Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) has already met him and he tells him how he had forensics training at Scotland Yard before he accompanied them.  Brass reminding him not to touch anything even if he has latex gloves.  Brass explains the CS is a porn stage and has been closed for 48 years.  The DB is mummified and is found on a bed, Brass referring to as the "lambskin linings playbook."  Finn (Elisabeth Shue) sees she's wearing new lingerie and Brass and John both smell Honeysuckle Summer.  So there are new additions added to the CS as well as old.

Nick (George Eads) sees a Bible on the nightstand and inside he finds some of the pages have been cutaway revealing a wooden box with markings and inside the box is a spider, Finn refers to as the Black Widow but Nick explains it's a fake one.  David (David Berman) Greg (Eric Szmanda) examine the DB and Doc (Robert David Hall) thinks they can restore the Vic's face using a new technique involving hydrating the DB.  Doc is able to give the Vic a face.

Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) shows DB the killer's possible signature, a gold heart charm which was placed inside the Vic's heart.  Brass thinks they should show the Vic's photo in public and this leads to stripper Miss Kitty showing up.  She now goes by her real name, Angela (Tangie Ambrose).  The Vic's name is Megan Ramirez and she wanted to leave just as Angela has done, she was helping her through it.  With help from the Fellowship of the Fallen Angels, run by Brother Larson (Eric Roberts).  She shows them files of missing girls and Brass is shocked when he sees Ellie's photo inside.  He calls his ex, Nancy (Annabella Sciorra) obviously so we can get to meet her now.

Finn visits Theresa  in the hospital after the Doctor (Michelle N carter) found her photo in the missing person's file.  She's in a coma and Finn wants to process her.  Morgan shows up and goes through her belongings, finding a charm bracelet with another gold heart charm.  Adding this is more than a coincidence. Nick and Greg find another Vic, Chloe, this time from a food fetish porn site.  The camera was on and inside the freezer is her boyfriend with the ice cream.  Chloe choked on a chocolate covered cockroach! There's another Bible and inside this is a gold heart charm.  He says they have a "serial."

Greg finds Chloe was strangled due to her hyoid bone being broken and Hodges (Wallace Langham) notices some abrasions on her back, which when read are from the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not bear false witness."   The killer wanted them to find this.  Finn and DB concur that the killer doesn't have a signal signature and John thinks it strange Teresa wasn't killed by him.  Finn doesn't think her CS was staged.

Nick and Greg go to the Fellowship where Larson is delivering a sermon and Jake (Luke Kleintank) stops them from entering.  Liked the way Nick said, "po-lice."  He doesn't speak like that, ha.   Nick notices the Bible and inside he finds a wooden cross.  Larson cuts out chunks of pages from the Bible.  He also mentions Ellie being missing and he's also questioning them since it takes her to be missing before the police take any notice of the other missing women.   Larson's prints are on that Bible but the boxes and the other Bibles were wiped clean.   He has a record for pimping and pandering and has a licence for a .38, similar weapon used to kill Chloe's boyfriend.

The camera at Chloe's fetish show was turned on by remote and the address is traced back to the Fellowship.  Inside Greg and Nick find a girl and outside John notices a man smoking.  He gets knocked out. So did the man take the cigarette butt John was going to pick up.  Angela denies killing anyone and the girl was an addict.  She tells them DB knows her and John figures out a pattern, all the circular objects at the CS.  In the first one there was a bicycle, a clock and DB realizes they're circles.  Leading him to Dante's Inferno and the Nine Circles of Hell.  Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger which was meant to be Morgan undercover.  Larson is questioned and admits to making money.  An anonymous caller asks for the girls and he drops them off at a street corner where they are picked up.  He knows where Ellie is since he heard from her this morning and wants a deal.

Morgan has a plan to be bait and act like one of the girls.  Ecklie is against it but Finn convinces him that there are other father's like him out there too.  Morgan tells him she was undercover in LA and she's LVPD now.  Morgan is picked up by an SUV and Nick and Greg follow.  She's taken to an apartment where the man inside has lots of scientific things, including an old abacus.  Finn IDs him as Oliver Tate (Tim Matheson). Morgan shows them his place and the things he has inside using the cam in her necklace and he gives her a present, inside is a box with the picture of 'Anger.'

Nancy arrives with a box and inside they find a memory stick.  This reads 'Fake' on it and a message from Ellie saying, "we have sinned."  Oliver takes the necklace from Morgan and says he's not interested anymore. (Yeah after getting her to remove her clothes!)  Morgan comes out and Greg tells Nick they should pick her up.  The SUV takes her away and DB tells them to stop it but it's too late.  Jake is driving but Morgan is missing.  DB saying the killer has Morgan and Ellie.

So we get Tim Matheson playing a bad guy again and did you notice his driver's license DOB 1960, when clearly he is older than that.  Again why didn't Nick maintain visual on the SUV, they didn't have to be that far behind. See Ellie was calling out to help now from dad, when really she doesn't want to know him and has gotten into so many scrapes and trouble over the years.  Also Nancy didn't even tell him that she saw her a year ago when she gave he the engagement ring.  Nancy doesn't think much of Brass either aside from telling him he's "a good cop."

Dante's Nine Circles of Hell was nothing new and has been used before in many shows/films but this episode moved along nicely.  With the added benefit of having a journalist on the scene too, which are usually hindrances than help most of the time, but you have to wonder what his angle is, as he conveniently turns up to shadow DB just when they catch the serial killer case.  Well you do and he's a stranger to them too.
Morgan's hair wasn't as curled as it was when she got inside the apartment.  Thought it was good to see her get into trouble for a change, she's a newbie and most of the cast have seen their fair share of trouble over the years, especially Nick when he was kidnapped in Grave Danger.  More mentions of Nick being 'Bug Guy' and how he says he had a good teacher.

Angela/Miss Kitty was in the episodes Willows in the Wind and Terminal Velocity.

Once Upon A Time 2.15 "The Queen Is Dead" Review

It's Snow's (Ginnifer Goodwin) birthday and Charming (Josh Dallas) makes breakfast but she reminds him he promised.  She has a flashback to her own mother, Queen Eva (Rena Sofer) preparing to celebrate Snow's birthday by throwing her a ball and giving her a tiara.  Snow catches Johanna (Lesley Nichol) trying it on and reprimands her.  Her mother telling Snow off for being rude as everyone is treated equally.  How she must be good all the time.  A present arrives for Snow and Charming didn't give it to her.  Snow doesn't open the card first but is more interesting in throwing it aside for the present.  It's her tiara from Johanna. Snow goes to see her and she's tending to some snowdrops.  That's why her mother named her Snow.  They hear a noise and she finds Regina (Lana Parrilla) and Cora (Barbara Hershey) digging for Gold's (Robert Carlyle) dagger.  They don't think it's there and think Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) may have duped them. Well if he did that's score one for him then.  Makes a change! ha.

Charming gets to work and is attacked by Hook, for his hook from the drawer.  Oh so now Hook's going around knocking others out after suffering the same fate.  Gold wants Emma (Jennifer Morrison) to convince Neal/Bae (Michael Raymond-James) to return to Storybrooke but she says she's already fulfilled her deal.  Henry (Jared S Gilmore) likes the pizza it doesn't lie.  Gold knows Emma lied to protect herself and that she still feels for Neal.  It's in her face.  Neal wants to take Henry to the museum and they return for the camera. Where Hook awaits them and he pounces on Gold and attacks him with his hook, only to be knocked out by Emma, this time courtesy of a bin!

Snow finds her mother is ill and doesn't want to lose her.  Johanna tells her of the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) who can help with magic.  The Blue Fairy finds Snow and says she can't help but dark magic could.  She gives her a candle she must place over the heart of her sacrifice and her mother will be well.  Of course Snow refuses to do this since it means taking one life for another.  Obviously Cora gave the game away when she said she has to place the candle over the heart!  Though it's Regina who's big on heart ripping and manipulation.

Snow tries to give Regina a last chance as she doesn't know how evil Cora is.  She doesn't care about her.  Regina turning her nose up at Snow for being hypocritical and reminds her of her own mother again.  Who dies since Snow refuses to sacrifice an innocent life and her mother is proud of her as she's learned to be good now.  Snow says goodbye wearing the tiara.

Gold has been poisoned and there's no cure here as Neal tries to help him.  There's magic in Storybrooke so they need to get him back.  Emma's tied Hook up in the basement and gets his map.  He sailed here on the Jolly Roger and it'll be the quickest way back as Neal tells them.  Obviously he can sail it cos he's been on there before and he also knows Hook.  He needs to get a car to take Gold to the ship.  Henry shows Emma the message Snow sent her about Gold's dagger but he tells them it's safe.  Neal and Emma go for the car and he tells her it belongs to a friend.  Along comes Tamara (Sonequa Martin-Green) his fiance and Emma is disappointed.

Snow and Charming find Mother Superior, who's still going by that name and think the dagger is probably in Gold's shop.  She can't manage to get the door opened with her wand but Snow tells her she should try dark magic.  She's never done that before but Snow insists as she's kept her secret.  Emma calls Charming and tells him where the dagger is, in the cock tower.  Should've guessed that as it was shown in the opening credits.  So it would have been better to leave it there since Cora had no clue of its whereabouts until now, but that's not how the story goes.

As if by purple magic, Regina and Cora arrive and demand the dagger.  Also bringing along Johanna for leverage as Regina takes her heart.  She realizes Cora poisoned her mother all so Regina could become queen. As well as Cora being the Blue Fairy.  Snow still thinks good has won but she's forgotten Cora and Regina both have magic.  Snow throws the dagger to the ground and Cora swoops in.  Regina returns Johanna's heart but Cora throws her out the window.  Well that clock's gone, for a while.

Cora returns to the Mayor's office and Regina hates being there.  She also realizes she ensured Regina would be queen, how she made sure she;d be out riding when Snow was there too with the King and she'd save her.  She's worried that Henry will know about the dagger now when they kill everyone.  Don't know how Regina can trust her, she's got ulterior motives and reasons and the way she touched the dagger also shows she's got feelings for Gold, or at least did.  Also mentioning she was just a miller's daughter.

Snow doesn't want anymore lives to be lost and recalls how she was good and so she saved Regina from being killed and all the other good deeds she did.  Now she's going to change as she promises she's going to kill Cora.  As her mother said "as long as you hold the spirit of goodness in your heart, I will never leave you." That's been eroded from her now as Snow no longer wants to be good when she harbours thoughts of killing Cora.

Don't know why Cora didn't just grab the dagger from Snow when she was holding it, duh magic.  Why did Regina have to dig for the dagger instead of just using magic and the King wasn't even at his wife's funeral or there to comfort Snow.  Also it seems Cora knew all along about Regina and Daniel without Snow having to reveal it to her, so Regina blamed her for nothing.  Though it does appear it was a set up for Regina to rescue Snow, but she must have known with her magic.

Seems Hook is doing his own spot of double crossing now but doesn't manage to get very far with it.  We also got Gold snapping at Henry and blaming him for his predicament as he brought them here.  Really, it was Gold who wanted to find Bae and it was Rumples who killed Milah.  As for Tamara she could be anyone but also could be that 'HER' in the texts on Mendel's phone.  I only said that cos she's an 'outsider' whom Bae is conveniently engaged to.  So they know where to find Hook's ship and finally a phone with batteries that need charging!! Oh and Johanna was Mrs Patmore from Downton Abbey.

Scandal 2.3 "Hunting Season" Review

                                            
A Senator talks of how the President (Tony Goldwyn) almost took them to war over Sudan and Olivia (Kerry Washington) watches him and calls him telling him he shouldn't wear pinstripes and he's her client now.  Olivia finds a man in her backseat who tells him they're after him and will kill him, that they've been spying on him and she yells for him to get out, as she drives off he shouts they know about the calls to the West Wing and she drives back.  Oh she heard that!  Artie (Patrick Fischler) is a low-level data entry clerk at the NSA and claims to have stolen their programme, Thorngate, showing they've been spying on American citizens.  Nothing was done by his supervisor so he stole it.

Olivia meets with the NSA to discuss this programme but it is denied, Olivia says she's confirmed Artie is crazy.  Olivia tells them to take him to a  safehouse and then Huck (Guillermo Diaz) unencrypts the programme to find Cyrus (Jeff Perry) on the phone to Hollis Doyle (Gregg Henry) talking about the President going hunting.  The programme goes into self destruct mode and Olivia questions who else knows about this.  Artie mentions Monica.  Abby (Darby Stanchfield) and Harrison (Columbus Short) are sent to talk to her and Abby wants to play good cop, she manages to get them into Monica's apartment but they find her dead of an apparent suicide but Abby claims it's not and there's a black sedan outside.

Olivia wants info from Senator Davis (Norm Lewis) who is on the Intelligence Committee but he doesn't give her anything since it's all top secret.  Cyrus shows a photo of their meeting to Fitz who loses it.  He was her former boyfriend.  SO much for playing nice with Mellie (Bellamy Young) who received baby clothes from Queen Elizabeth (really?)  Olivia believes if they can blame the NSA for the murder then they can corroborate Artie.

Olivia is taken hunting to talk with Fitz and he is riled up for getting involved with this and believes Davis provided her with info cos they looked so cosy in the photo.  They kiss and Olivia pushes him away saying "I am not yours" and he can't just take her anywhere.  Thorngate is used for anti-terrorism.  Olivia thinks they can protect Artie if they go public and involve the TV station into broadcasting the story, but only if Huck can hack into the NSA.  But the TV network has been given an injunction from the Justice Department insisting if they go ahead they will be traitors.

She shows the Head of the Network his wife at home with his baby and he decides to air the interview. They need the autopsy reports and the black sedan.  Abby manages to get hold of the report which shows Monica died by an insulin injection.  Quinn (Katie Lowes) is shown in flashback telling them about Artie's allergies and his Type 1 Diabetes.  Artie sets the smoke alarm off and escapes from the safehouse.  Olivia realizes he played them as he needed someone to hack the system.  He can now sell it to the highest bidder.  Olivia agrees with the NSA if they can get Artie back they are off the hook.

David (Joshua Molina) is still obsessed with Olivia and thinks that maybe Quinn is innocent after all.  Lindsay is harassed by Abby who keeps calling her Lindsay, a liar and fraud.  Quinn has enough of her and gets her own back.  David wants Abby to buy him a drink and they end up together.

Mellie finds out Fitz saw Olivia whilst hunting which explains his mood change and threatens Fitz with bringing him down and that she can ensure he won't be elected for a second term as she has all the attributes in her life and the sacrifices she made for him to ensure she is.  He should stop seeing her.  Fitz is called a ticking bomb by Cyrus, saying he knew about the calls to Olivia since he's ensuring Fitz is protected from himself.  Davis is removed from the Committee and says he's on Olivia's books now and he's her client pro bono.  Huck tells Olivia not to worry about him.

So much happened in this episode and it was good to see Olivia put Fitz in his place, that she's not there for him at his beck 'n' call doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants. She was played by Artie cos as Harrison says, her gut is off cos of Fitz.  She needs to step back from him.  Abby was irritating, they way she kept hounding Quinn, cos she's so perfect.  How does she know David's not gonna use her for info about Olivia, you know, pillow talk.

Mellie back to her old self and it was her who wanted Fitz to go on the hunt to begin with, since he said he can cancel it cos of his pregnant wife.  Was she really expecting him to get back to playing 'happy families.'  Well she's shown her true colours once again so much for asking forgiveness last episode.