Downton Abbey Series 4 Part 8 Review

                                           
So series 4 ends pretty much as it started for most of the characters, with only a few making some headway in terms of actual storylines or development. Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) is busy preparing for the annual bazaar whilst Robert (Hugh Bonneville) is still away and needs all the help she can get.  Seems like he was the only one who could keep peace amongst the villagers. Rosamund (Samantha Bond) makes it a point to call Edith (Laura Carmichael) and tell her she's on her way down on the pretext of checking up on the Dowager (Maggie Smith) after her illness last episode, as she's come up with a plan as to how Edith can get away with having the baby, having told the Dowager that Edith "must be cherished."  Being quite cryptic with that of course the Dowager would be curious.  Later she tells Edith she has Damocles hanging over her, referring to the sword of Damocles.

Edith has her own plans and intends to ensnare Tim Drewe (Andrew Scarborough) into the picture when she's out visiting the pigs with Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Branson (Allen Leech).  She thinks he's a likely prospect for the father.  In which case she can get him to agree to be the father and she can see her child grow up, which is what she wants to do.  Though Michael is mentioned there's no hope of him turning up.  I was actually pinning my hopes on the Christmas special so we can see how Edith takes the news.  Or maybe even next season if not.  Remember how Edith kissed a local farmer early on in the show when she was driving the tractor down on the farm during the war and this was witnessed by his wife.

Rose (Lily James) has plans to meet with Jack Ross (Gary Carr) and Branson whilst in town with Isobel (Penelope Wilton) spies them both at the teashop with Rose touching his cheek.  He makes a quick exit and runs to Mary to tell her, having told Isobel he must do something that will not make people very happy. Rose tells Mary she's engaged and they plan on marrying and that will show her mother, rather embarrass her. Mary must act on this and pays a visit to Jack who agrees with Mary.  Robert wouldn't react to his colour, Mary tells him in all fairness, but to his being a band singer.  Jack loves her but he has no intention of marrying her as he doesn't want to ruin her life with everything she'll have to put up with.  Mary believes Rose only wants to marry him to spite her mother, which he knows, since his mother said the same.  He likens Mary to his mother.  Mary would have liked to think they could have made a go of it if times were different as does he.  So it seems that dalliance is over.  He writes to Rose to let her down gently so they didn't have him let her down gently in person which was annoying and taking the easy way out.

Branson meets Sarah Bunting (Daisy Lewis) who turns out to be a teacher at the local school and really doesn't like the aristocracy.  She mentions him being at the meeting which Isobel persuaded him to go to and isn't much of a Liberal.  Well he's not much of a Socialist now either, more a pig farmer, ha.  Later he sees her with her broken down car and fixes it for her, telling her his life story practically and how he was a chauffeur at the estate when he first arrived there.  She knows about Sybil and calls her "unusual and independent."  He introduces her to Cora at the bazaar and she seems a bit standoffish towards her, like not acknowledging who Cora is, until he tells her and then only saying hello.  She didn't seem like she was pleased to meet her and where were your manners girl, as Cora tells her she's interested in the school, Sarah couldn't care less.

Rosamund announces she and Edith are going to Switzerland to improve their French but the Dowager smells a rat since Rosamund hates French and can only communicate to foreigners by "shouting at them." Edith doesn't want to tell her cos she'll hate her but does so, since the Dowager is willing to pay for her going and thinks Switzerland is a good place to raise a child.  All worried about what if the child looked like Edith then they'll all know.  Still another social commentary from Downton as not only were the wealthy in a superior position in all matters but when it came to holding their heads up in public they did have to hide a lot behind the scenes and grin and bear it or as the Dowager tells Edith, life is hard and must be endured as they face problems everyday and then they die.

Anthony Gillingham (Tom Cullen) turns up again on his way to London again with Green (Nigel Harman) in tow and Mary couldn't stop him from coming, since Anna (Joanne Froggatt) was too late in telling her it was Green who attacked her.  Green tries to be his funny self when here and tells them London is great and all that which impresses Jimmy (Ed Speleers) cos Green lives near tot he West End and Bates (Brendan Coyle) asks him where he lives.  Also Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) can't keep her disgust from him and Anna tries to act normal.  Bates having asked her if she still likes him cos she used to before.  She says she doesn't remember liking him and again gives the game away.  Of course it's obvious Bates knows it was Green, with Anna still going on about Bates being hanged if he found out or given a life sentence.

Mary must go to London to see Jack and Anna too and when there she has no choice she says but to tell Gillingham to dismiss Green but she can't tell him why, even though Gillingham doesn't like him.  Bates gets his chance to ask for a day off and under the pretence of heading to Ripon.  Carson (Jim Carter) lets him go since he doesn't know why he wasn't in New York but he can't stop him from going.

Lord Merton (Douglas Reith) pays a visit to the Dowager who needs Isobel here as she can't stand him and he takes a shine to Isobel which must be relief to the Dowager.  Later he makes a faux pas when he doesn't remember Matthew is dead as he didn't recall who Isobel actually was.  But he sends her flowers and also some to the Dowager, but Isobel's bunch is much bigger than hers, as the Dowager keeps observing.  She read the note and he's apologized for his lack of tact.  So Isobel has an admirer there.

Alfred (Matt Milne) comes to visit for the last time as his father has passed and he's sent a letter to Ivy (Cara Theobold) asking him to marry her and move to London.  She likes him but doesn't want to get tied down already as she tells Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichol) as they try to hide this from Daisy (Sophie McShera). Who tells her she and Ivy "can't have a falling out if they never had a falling in."  Daisy gets the day off and has a picnic with Mr Mason who advises her she has to make peace with Alfred and be friends with him. They decide to be "friends forever."  They can give each other 'Forever Friends' friendship bracelets and teddy bears!  He says he didn't notice her before and Daisy tells him "love is blind" but she's over him now.  She brings him a basket of jams and food which she says Mr Mason prepared for him and Mrs Patmore is proud of Daisy as if she were her own daughter.

Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) and Molesley (Kevin Doyle) bond as he compliments her on using the sewing machine.  He also tells her no one likes Thomas (Rob James-Collier) but they'd like to make up their own minds about her.  Everyone makes ready for the bazaar and Jimmy sneaking drinks from the punch bowl is sent to the tea tent until Robert arrives.  Having sorted out the trouble Harold was in.  Cue Harold's arrival in the Christmas special.  Thomas asks for news from Baxter who replies nothing happened and Molesley comes to her rescue by telling him not to bully her.  That is after he shows up Jimmy.

Mary has all three of her suitors at Downton once more and competition is hotting up especially between Gillingham and Charles (Julien Ovenden) though Napier (Brendan Patricks) doesn't stand a chance.  Charles has changed his opinion of her not thinking she's stuck up anymore and Gillingham has abandoned his engagement to Mabel Lane Fox.  Cora and the others decide that they should give them "a desire of suitors" as the collective name.  Mary insists she won't change her mind about marrying anytime soon but neither one of them are giving up.

News arrives from Gillingham that Green is dead.   He was thrown in front of a car at Piccadilly, at least he was run over.  No one knows if he was pushed.  Though Anna doesn't seem to put two and two together and come up Bates since he wasn't at Downton, hmm what's his alibi then?  She is relieved it's over though.  As Mary asks Charles if someone did something wrong and then ended up dead what would he do and he thinks he'd keep quiet about it.  Oh hey just a thought what was Anna up to in London?  I mean she could have easily sneaked away, gotten lost in the crowd and that would have ended her worries over Bates and his action and reaction.  Especially since Bates was being so cagey about what he did, wouldn't he share this with his wife and it just struck me now that Anna kind of seemed too relieved about it and asking what happened too.  usually the questions of a guilty party.  Of course I could be watching too many murder mysteries and solving them too! Ha.  What was Anna doing when Mary went to see Jack alone? Does Anna have it in her?

Bates did seem to be walking round like he's on cloud nine through smiling quite a bit and Robert could have done with him as his valet.  Though there were a crowd of people and no one could tell what happened on the street.  All the better to be inconspicuous in.  Bates telling Anna he always does what he sets out to do or something lyrical along those lines.
Oh what was this an Agatha Christie novel, let's see Murder is Easy perhaps?  Coincidence since we also had the Dowager playing amateur sleuth as she works out what's going on with Edith.  She should get her own spin off with Isobel, who remembers The Snoop Sisters.  The show where they solved murders. Although the Dowager would be loathed to call Isobel her sister.

Lord Merton is Mary's godfather and in his earlier appearance he was invited down for Mary's wedding.  His son Larry Grey drugged Branson to make him seem drunk and was angry at what he did along with Robert and Matthew.

Seems all is well at Downton for another year, or at least a few months, as we get lots of possibilities as to what's coming next.  What with Mary and her "menage a trois" as Robert asks about, as Rose, Isobel and Edith look on curiously as Mary shows out her two suitors.  Then there's Branson and his teacher but how will they fare since their politics are so different and even their two worlds it seems.  Not like she'd jump at he chance of living at Downton, ha, with her snobby attitude.

Law and Order: Criminal Intent: Thoughts on the Final Episode

                                              
So we finally got the final episode of wait final EVER episode of Law and Order Criminal Intent last night on Channel five, no I didn't watch it on the Universal Channel, but it wasn't quite what I expected.  It was great watching Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Eames (Kathryn Erbe) back on the screen even if it was for only 8 eps but there were little nuances or annoyances as to why we didn't get a proper ep introducing them back to Major Crimes. Guess they didn't really have enough time to focus on that having only 8 eps.  Though the new Captain Hannah (Jay O'Saunders) did have a go at Goren in one ep telling him he put his head on the line in covering his back and bringing him back.  Which explains the psychologist, Dr Paula Geisen (Julia Ormond) Goren was sent to see.  Another insight into his private and public life and how it affects his work.

Well he turned that around on her when she mentioned feelings, has he ever been in love? making him think he'd hit on her which is what he told her she expected.  But what I liked was where she told him about Eames and how he feels about her.  He doesn't really reply in cagey Goren fashion, but he respects her. I have often thought they made a good couple.  Especially if the final few minutes of the ep was anything to go by.

Goren comes out of the office in To The Boy In the Blue Knit Cap and sees Eames waiting for him there, kind of like a supporting wife more than partner.  Then he called her Alex, he doesn't usually use her first name, although she calls him by his, Bobby.  But those long dramatic pauses where just for a second thought he might say what he really wants to say to Eames but couldn't quite get it out.  That big smile on his face! Even when he kept looking at her.  Gosh it was on the tip of his tongue.  Moment over she tells him they've got a case and have to get there before the FBI and I thought why can't we go on watching.  Even Eames thought he had something he wanted to spill, she was smiling plenty, but this is Goren so words relating to feelings don't come easily to him and so they drove off into the sunset, still solving cases out there in New York city.  Oh boy, up until the final seconds when he stared at her in the car still, come on man, spit it out..agh it was left to us, the viewers to make up our own minds as to whether they get together or not.  This was one relationship I'd like to have seen blossom, romantically.  Come on they were friends first, what better basis to begin a more intimate relationship on.

Criminal Intent was my favourite of the three Law and Order shows, as its name suggests it was the only one which delved into the minds of the criminals.  I loved the original theme tune to the show, it was so in keeping with the theme of the show, and very mellow-ish, classical sounding even.

As for the question of getting together, in my mind, they did!  It was expected.

The Vampire Diaries 5.2 "True Lies" Review

                                         
Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Caroline (Candace Accola) crash the microbiology class in the hopes of finding out who that mysterious professor Dr Wes Maxfield (Rick Cosnett) is as he faked Megan's death certificate with 'suicide' and Elena finds out he knew her father and is part of some secret society on campus.  Though they get thrown out for being freshmen.  yeah acting chatty in his class would give that away and not trying to hide behind other students would too.  Caroline is still acting all vain and she has the hots for Jesse (Kandrick Sampson) well she did say she's "deferring from having sex with Tyler" since he's deferring her calls.  Matt (Zach Roerig) and Jeremy (Steven R McQueen) need to protect Katherine which doesn't go so well.

Silas meets up with Elena hoping to find out where Jeremy is heading and she doesn't realize he's Silas since he mind controls her too.  But she finds out about Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and him keeping Jeremy being expelled from school which makes her angry.  So Silas takes her phone and he gets a text saying Katherine's been spotted on route 6, which leads to a campsite where Jeremy et al are headed, as Elena tells him.  That was all a little too easy and then well once again Matt gets killed by Silas who finds he's not able to control him cos the travellers/gypsies from last ep were inside his head and watching Silas.  Which was what we saw last ep.

Matt finds out Bonnie (Kat Graham) is dead and she's not coping.  Matt has to find his body before he can wake and he needs to tell the others about her but when he wakes up he won't recall her.  Jeremy and Silas fight and Katherine manages to shoot him even after saying she couldn't handle a gun.  Matt tells Bonnie if she can't cope with her own death then she can't cope with her father's death either and Jeremy will always be here for her.  He'll tell the others she's with family.  But Elena knows about Bonnie, well that she's missing.

Using her mind control she ties up Damon and feeds him vervain and then tries to kill him.  Caroline having told Damon how Elena's had a pit in her stomach about Stefan all Summer and then feeling guilty about Stefan suffering whilst she's been "rolling around" with Damon, and so she should, ha!  Stefan has flashes about Elena everytime he drowns but then wakes up again.  The sheriff (Marguerite MacIntyre) drags the quarry at Damon's request and finds the safe but Stefan's not in it, it's the DB of a bloodied man.  Seems like Ripper's back and hopefully will leave more carnage in his wake and have a better time of dealing with Silas than 'ordinary' Stefan did.

Silas is cornered by the gypsy with the gypsy dagger but Nadia (Olga Fonda) kills him cos she's got her own agenda.  Oh not more Angel territory here with Angel being terrorized by the gypsies and his soul being cursed etc.  Can't we get some new stories?!  We get Katherine whining over getting a cold an  how she survived five hundred years of being a vampire to come to this.  Caroline was boring just wanting to party and get drunk and have fun the entire year, how different was that from her time at Mystic Falls.  Come on some character development please.  Also how did Jeremy manage to heal himself when Silas drove that pole through himself and into Jeremy's body, was it the effect of Damon's blood from last week, or do hunters have some power we don't know about?

Oh and Katherine mentioning giving birth to a baby, ha, what's the betting she'll be on the scene too real soon, unless she already is, was thinking Nadia, I mean brunette, she's got dark hair and Silas mentioning his penchant for brunettes too, but maybe I'm wrong.

Scandal 2.18 "Seven-Fifty Two" Review

Five years ago Olivia (Kerry Washington) takes the Metro and notices Huck (Guillermo Diaz) as a beggar sitting on the floor, well he almost looks like that, she gives him money.  Today at the office he sits in his corner with his back against the floor and feet on the ground which Quinn (Katie Lowes) says makes him feel safe.  He keeps repeating, "752" frantically.  But no one knows what that means.  Harrison (Columbus Short) says he's found Olivia and she's at the hospital.

Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) remains there also and Jake (Scott Foley) waits outside still, would like to use lurk here, ha.  He tells her he loves her, Fitz that is and sits by her side.  No clients this week for the Gladiators cos Olivia is out of commission and well, Huck is there client, of sorts.  He has a flashback to 14 years ago and he's a Private First Class in the Marines who's just returned home and surprises his girlfriend.  he then has a meeting where, Kim (Jasika Nicole) he's been tested and told he passed with flying colours.  Also present is Charlie (George Newbern) sucking on a lollipop so we know this is how Huck came to be part of the CIA and B-613 specifically.

Charlie trains him and teaches him they torture for info before they kill and he has to learn "the tricks of the trade."  Huck refuses and wishes to stay where he is but then he doesn't want to return to Kosovo either. They take out the bad guys and it's on home soil but then Huck used to kill anyway, only they were enemies. He's given his first assignment,a  man accused of selling secrets to China.  Huck approaches him in the garage and his watch goes off, his son gave it to him so he has to wear it.  Huck injects him and tortures him before finally killing him.  He's taught to do his killing on garbage day so they can be collected and will be under landfill before anyone realizes they're missing.


Huck is nervous at first but becomes more proficient and eventually comes to enjoy his job.  Then one day Kim tells him she's pregnant.  He will stay beside her and he won't leave her like her father left her.  Until they come for him.  Charlie finds out he has a family and Huck is thrown in the hole.  Each day he's asked if he has a family and he replies yes.  Charlie must do this for two months and says he didn't sign up for this. One day Huck finally relents and is broken saying he doesn't have a family.  Charlie tests him and he's unable to go through killing a test subject but Charlie lets him go.

Harrison isn't allowed in to see Olivia cos the Secret Service is there even when he tries to talk himself through as he's got rights to do so.  He sees Charlie walking in with flowers, well he saw a man with a cap and wearing a baseball cap but he shouts to him and Charlie gets away dropping the flowers in the lift. Er, fingerprints/DNA on the flower wrapping people!!  Did he not think of that!  Olivia is called by Harrison who tells them not to leave Huck's side.  So each one of them talks to him about themselves.  Quinn about how she was going to get married and dreamed of it for a long time.  She tells Huck he'll snap out of it on three and they'll go for coffee.  He stops but then continues with his "752" chant.

Abby (Darby Stanchfield) talks about her and David how she felt safe with him and found someone who wasn't controlling like her husband and how she loved him. But she stole the Cytron card and now he won't love her anymore.  Harrison talks about himself, his law degree, getting women and how Olivia saved him but nothing makes Huck stop.

Cyrus (Jeff Perry) visits Fitz and tells him it's risky being here cos the press will get wind of it and Fitz will stay here until Olivia gets out, he can use whatever measure to do his job and prevent the press from finding out.  Just then Jake walks in and hands Fitz coffee.  Fitz intoduces him to Cyrus, who gets onto calling Charlie quicksmart.   Jake tells Fitz he found Olivia beaten at her apartment first cunningly asking if she didn't tell him herself.  Jake meets with the mysterious man (Joe Morton) again and tells him he can't so this anymore since he's conflicted, but he replies he knows the rules, there's "no getting out."  He wants Albatross.  Later we see Charlie and CIA guy handing the same mystery man Huck's file with his photo and "terminated" written all over it.  Which is meant to show us everything's connected and El Mysterioso man is connected to the CIA in a big way, which means Jake must be too.

Fitz admits to Olivia he loves her but she can't do this.  She hates him.  He tells her he hated what they did with Defiance since he wanted to be the President and own it.  He had the peoples' vote but they all messed it up for them.  She didn't fix him or help him but Verna, Hollis, Mellie (Bellamy Young) Cyrus and Olivia were all involved.  Olivia can't fix him and she shouldn't even have tried.  Olivia hated what she did cos it went against everything he believes in and admits she loves him, sharing yet more passionate kisses but she can't do this anymore. Finally leaving the room, but he could have always followed her through the door, ha.

Olivia returns to the office and helps Huck through his bad time.  She stopped at the Metro cos of his eyes. She never stops to give anyone money (stingy ha) but stopped for him.  She didn't save him, he saved her. Harrison says they won't know what 752 is now.  But we see Kim and son get off the train and he gives Huck a dollar.  Huck looks up at the time, 7-52, when his train arrives at the station.  Of course it was time, I thought that too, cos there really can't be that many figures which could have such a significance other than time.

Mellie is told where Fitz was and she's leaving him and taking Ted.  If he tries to stop her she'll tell the press everything about his mistress.  Fitz wanting, no demanding a second chance from Olivia was a bit rich especially after everything he's done and all the hurt he caused, which she tells him and rightly so.  He got everything his own way and yes he did treat her like a whore.  He left her all alone and particularly when she needed him the most.  But that doesn't matte to him as long as he gets his own way.  Until he doesn't with Mellie as she takes his son too, he should be with his mother, thus he loses both women in his life and some would say, and so he should.  He can't have it both ways, wife, mistress and putting on a face, a front to the 'free world' of him being a good and selfless, righteous president.  Mellie begin able to halt his second term and running for it if he so chooses, you know, woman scorned and all that!

Finally we get to see more of Huck's background and how he was recruited to his dark past.  How he relished his torture until it was him in the hotseat, or hot hole becoming a broken man himself and they have the threat of his family too.  He can't go see them or be part of his son's life, Javier. One reason which is made clear from this episode is why he needs a family and why he adopted the perfect family to call his own. He couldn't 'watch' his family cos it was too dangerous but he could get satisfaction in whatever way possible in seeing others.  Until that too was taken away from him when his adopted family was murdered.

Then there's Jake, in too deep, falling for Olivia also and working for who he does, knowing there's no way out for him either, just as there wasn't for Huck.  Look how that turned out, he was going to be terminated if Charlie didn't let him go.  Then Cyrus is after Jake too and it won't be too long before Fitz finds out about him and Olivia too.  Think there's some foreshadowing here in that what happened to Hukc for defying them can happen to Jake too, especially since he doesn't want to do this anymore, seems like his fate has been sealed though.

It appears everyone in this show has been affected by family in some way shape and form.  Olivia doesn't want to admit her shortcomings, Quinn mentioning her father, Abby her husband and how he was no good.  Everyone except Harrison, but Olivia tells Huck they've all done bad things.  Harrison will keep her secret it seems as he put two and two together when he went to the hospital and saw the Secret Service there, but how long for.  Considering is Abby or Quinn found out they'd want explanations and it wouldn't stay a secret for long.  Well it's true, especially since Abby doesn't really like whats he does, she said as much when telling Huck if he had to do what he does 751 times, she'd lose it too on the 752nd time.

The Mentalist 6.2 "Black-Winged Redbird" Review

                                                   
A  man leaves a restaurant and hurries to his car and is stopped for speeding.  He tells the officer (Pancho Demmings) hey it's Gerald from season 1 of NCIS.  He must do this and drives off as his car finally explodes.  The police are at Lisbon's (Robin Tunney) scene and Bertram (Michael Gaston) arrives to be told about Partridge being killed.  Patrick (Simon Baker) is already there and asks if anyone has water, surprised the paramedics don't carry water with them as a officer throws him a bottle.  He wipes Lisbon's face clean of Partridge's blood.  SO he's really dead then.  Keep us guessing as to whether he was one of Red John's acolytes or just another Vic. Oh dear, Patrick hasn't been drinking his tea lately.

We're shown Lisbon return to work and she sees Bertram drawing a smiley face on the board, and Cho (Tim Kang) Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) all dead on the floor as is Patrick with smiley faces around them.  Luckily it's just a nightmare.  The other suspects are there all covered in the blood of their Vics.  This was one reason why she asked Van Pelt to remove the surveillance, as she feared for her colleagues and friends.   What was significant about her dream is that she only suspects, these three, maybe cos she's had more dealings with them, but she hasn't worked with Reede (Drew Powell) that much. Haffner (Reed Diamond) is also interested to know how close they're getting to Red John, again it can't really be for his Visualize clients, that would suggests RJ is connected to them, which he may be, but is a part of the cult.  Leading to Bret Stiles again.

Also when Lisbon asks what happened to her cos she doesn't recall she questions why RJ would kill Partridge and leave her unharmed.  As a doctor walks in asking if she's Carmen Lee, any significance? Maybe Patrick wasn't being entirely truthful with her as to what happened to her but he does say that RJ may have run out of time, or was just playing with them.  Though she does call herself a fish, by saying, "at least he threw you back."  Another possible reference to Moby Dick as we appear to be getting plenty of those now.   She doesn't keep anything from him though and admits to Partridge mentioning, "tyger, tyger."  Again the mystery deepens as to why since Patrick doesn't know why either.  Lisbon brings up the possibilities of Red John being psychic as he knew about Eileen Turner and erased his happy memory.  But that psychic ability is laid to rest when Patty discovers how he really knew of Eileen.

Problem with that was, or as I saw it, why would Sophie talk about Patrick and Eileen and if she didn't keep any physical files.  Not detailed ones at least, or probably she kept them after they were transcribed.  Sophie Miller was his psychiatrist after his family was killed and appeared in Red Brick and Ivy.  Bertram asks Patrick what she was doing there with Partridge, why not ask Lisbon, see he probably he didn't go see her in hospital,  She had visitors as shown by the flowers in the room.  Patrick says he doesn't know but Bertram again stresses he has to be there when Red John is arrested/found/caught.  Again why.  Did it have something to do with the meeting he had with McAllister (Xander Berkeley) and Reede and Reede stressing Bertram has to find out everything Patrick knows.  Clearly they're up to something which may or may not involve drugs or RJ.

Titus, the Vic (David H Lawrence XVII) was hiring pros and they can look through his computer.  As Cho tells Lisbon who is visited by Haffner. She gets nervous around him and tells him Red John didn't lay a hand on her, he senses she's nervous cos of him.  Asking about RJ since he has Visualize clients who care, he's got a new suit and his job is treating him well.  Haffner whistles when he leaves her saying, "one of these days we'll have our time together."  SO what was that meant to mean? Especially as we know he has a thing for her, but also he might just have had 'his time' with her.   He whistled The Muffin Man didn't he, sounded like it.  Rigsby questions Carol Matthews (Jessica Blank) the hooker as Patrick called her.  She knew him four months and he would role play as a Samurai.

Lisbon checks out and Van Pelt tells her there's no files on Titus's harddrive, it's been wiped.  Lisbon wants the surveillance on the RJ suspects to be removed.  Patrick pays a visit to Sophie's house and finds a note on the door, "dinner's in the oven" with a smiley.  He finds her head in the oven and is genuinely shocked to see her like that.  Why did Patty ask Lisbon who Sophie Miller is since she's met her already?  He also found her recorder in her drawer.  Patrick tells Lisbon about Sophie and she tells Van Pelt.  The suspects, three of them are right here in the building and Lisbon calls Patrick.  Last time he saw Sophie was five years ago.

Patrick gatecrashes their meeting, Bertram, Reede Smith and Sheriff Tom McAllister eager to tell Bertram on a new Red John development.  Bertram tells him it's a private meeting, Patrick: "how was I to know, the door was closed."  He tells everyone about RJ anyway they're all law enforcement.  He just killed his doctor and Bertram wants to talk alone.  He chopped her head off, Sheriff didn't sound or look too convinced with his "Dear God."  RJ's getting desperate and crazy and doesn't realize he made a mistake.  He'd say but he feels this room is bugged!  Reede asks what mistake and then how much Patrick knows.  It's Bertram's job to find out how much he really knows.  What's it to them?

Patrick deduces Red John killed Sophie cos she could ID him so he needed to meet her and talk to her. Being curious about someone close to him and was planning this for a while.  He needed to see her in person, had to use subterfuge to see her.  She'd have a file on him.  He probably couldn't hide everything from her. Lisbon sends Rigsby to find the file, keep it quiet.  Turn off his phone and GPS cos anyone could be watching.  SO how come Lisbon's office is safe, it could also be bugged.  Also noticed how Lisbon didn't leave the office when she returned to work and stayed firmly inside.  Maybe she's a little weary of going out there, but did manage to have a conversation with Patrick in the park outside. She wan't giving any of her fear away if she has any.

Cho sees Aaron Kalinoski (James Urbaniak) who had a lawsuit against Titus.  He worked on the drone programme but Titus told him about a fault.  He wasn't a suspect but his partners were.  Only Aaron kind of gives away what happened when he remarks if a Samurai killed him?  You know honourable death and all that.  Redbird had a fault and killed some civillians in Afghanistan.  They covered it up, Kris (Paula Marshall) and Elliott (Ivan Brogger).  Modern Aerodynamics were cleared as Cho's former buddy in the Pentagon tells him now.  Each of the employees had an alibi that night.  Titus went to eat and it lasted for three hours.  Van Pelt just found some numbers on the computer.  Patrick asks what he ate for dinner, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, burgers, Macaroni cheese, apple pie and ice cream.  Patrick knows who did it, it's right on the board.  He wants to wrap this up and move "onto other matters."  Wink, wink, ha.

Patrick tells them neither one killed Titus since he killed himself as he committed sabuko as he was a Samurai.  He dishonoured himself when they lied about the drone going wrong.  His evidence being his dinner, it was all comfort food.  Lisbon tells Kris he confessed to her cos he was in love with her, which is what I said.  He left a suicide note and she wiped his computer clean.  She says he would ruin her and she didn't talk him out of it, telling him he "should do whatever brings you peace." They can't prove anything about the suicide but can about the cover-up.  Kalinoski can prove their were flaws in the design.  Kris admits to wiping the disc clean.  Elliott is getting a deal.

Rigsby found a list with names of new clients, Ernest Mathewson, Mitchell Washburn, J Roth meaning rote, as that's red from German.  She saw him five and a half months ago.  There's no file.  Patrick has one up on Red John cos she used to dictate her notes and have them transcribed by a service.  She couldn't type and didn't learn. They listen to her notes:  Severe acrophobia, middle aged in good health, no living family, relies on friends for emotional support, excellent whistler, damaged and narcissistic personalty, not deals easily with conflict and adversity, what he said didn't match, deceptive and dark in his emotional make-up, his phobia issues are real."  She looked forward to more sessions.  As this plays we get to see the suspects again.  The remaining 6.

Four suspects were shown this ep and Bertram features prominently especially as they also seems to be Cho and Rigsby's suspect, well Rigsby's first and Cho agrees with him which kind of surprises Rigsby.   Lisbon gave herself away by acting that way with Haffner so obviously he suspected something was up or already knew.  He does have the hots for her, ha.  But that was a tender moment between Patty and Lisbon in the hospital for shippers.  Okay I'm not one of them.  So focusing on the matter in hand, it's clear those three know something that Patrick doesn't, having their little cosy meeting.  Maybe Patrick should bug his office, or was that a subtle hint that perhaps he has done exactly this as past experience shows.

We're also given another tie line here with Patrick telling the three in Bertram's office that Red John has killed his second Vic within two days so he's covering his tracks, knows the net is closing in on him.  So I used a fishing reference too, Ha.  Lisbon didn't tell him about her dream.

The Paradise Series 2 Episode 3 Review

                                            
Plenty of angry outbursts and goings on in this episode as troubles between the two lovebirds, Denise (Joanna Vanderham) and Moray (Emun Elliott).  Okay I referred to birds since Arthur (Finn Burridge) delivers Denise a message about the bird being at their usual meeting place, that bridge and we get to see that bridge during the day.  Clara (Sonya Cassidy) later refers to him as a chaffinch etc, when Arthur brings yet another note for Denise from Moray.  Actually I should have said there's trouble in paradise! Ha.  Denise wants to apply for the position vacated by Miss Audrey but Moray doesn't think it's a good idea especially since Katherine (Elaine Cassidy) can use it against them.  Thus putting his dream of getting back the store into tatters.  He calls her "sweetheart" and they kiss, and Denise thinks she can agree to not applying as long as he keeps calling her "sweetheart."

Katherine has ordered a doll for Flora (Edie Whitehead) and has ordered for clothes to be made so Flora can play dress-ups with her doll, er, wasn't that a little like Katherine getting them to make matching outfits for herself and Flora.  Did Katherine see Flora as her own little doll, looked that way, now they're all triplets. Katherine, Flora and the doll all with their matching dresses!  No wonder it all got too much for Weston (Ben Daniels) as he pokes out the doll's eyes after drinking a lot.  He asks Flora questions to which she doesn't know the answer, including when Christopher Columbus discovered America.  Hey I got that right, 1492, ha.  He thinks she "ignorant" and no daughter of his will be so, thus he's going to convert the attic into a schoolroom.  Katherine wants to object to this but can't since well, women didn't really have any rights. He's her husband and yet again he brings up the fact she married a soldier!  That's three eps in a row now it's been mentioned, but we're none the wiser as to how he got those scars that pain him so.

Thus the crux of this episode as later Denise and Moray argue over their visions for the Paradise.  He thinks she doesn't have enough knowledge to run the store, not like him anyway.  Telling her of how he toiled and worked at owning the store and learning all about running it.  Whereas she argues she's a woman so can't have the same visions since society won't let her.  The example being if she went to the bank for a loan she wouldn't get it, cos it would either show she's selling herself, being desperate for money.  He doesn't treat her as his equal which is true, but Moray tells her it's cos he doesn't want her to go through the same hardships. Of course Katherine will also make their lives hell.  This makes Denise determined to go through with making an application.

Denise says she doesn't mind whoever wins the position, it's better if it's Clara than some outsider but Clara doesn't agree with that.  She hopes it will be an outsider, naturally.  At a meeting with Moray and Dudley, Katherine embarrasses Weston when she brings up his wandering eye for women and how he almost got himself into trouble with one brunette, which he didn't appreciate, referring to Clemence from the previous episode.  No wonder he wanted a governess for Flora, who hears them arguing over Denise and Weston tells Katherine she's having noxious thoughts.

Katherine is overcome and Dudley (Matthew McNulty) comforts her.  She mentions the schooling and Dudley has two children but he wants them to have an education and not be ignorant.  He suggests Katherine should teach Flora and at the same time she too can learn, but she sees herself as "shallow" and doesn't have a mind for such things. Dudley tells her he used to read a word a day from the dictionary and had to educate himself to keep up with Moray.  He says she should bring Flora here and he gives her a lesson in French words, and where the crates are from and the languages on them.   He also tells her about the war in Japan and how it can affect trade.  Flora later mentions this in front of Weston who isn't impressed with Katherine making a spectacle of his daughter in public.

Jonas (David Hayman) has words for Denise and he's always got time for her.  He gets Weston on side and suggests that he should go ahead and have the staff go to the music hall since they are more willing to back someone up who is on their side.  That he will gain support from Moray's staff who will be less inclined to follow him.  Also mentioning Denise in the process and how she'd be good for the role vacated by Miss Audrey.

They narrow down the candidates to four, including Clara and Denise.  Katherine only wanting Denise in that position so she can cause trouble between her and Moray.  As Weston told her he saw how she looks at Denise.  Weston asks Denise how she'd organize the music hall entertainment but she tells him she'd bring the music hall here.  She has to organize it for tonight and she signs the staff up to for the entertainment.  Even getting Jonas to dance a reel with her.  He has one arm and she has "two left feet" so they're even.  She asks him how he's convinced Weston to do this and he replies he works for the Paradise.  Still can't tell if he's up to anything yet as he seems to be chopping and changing sides.  Don't know whether he's using Weston to help Moray get the store back or if he's playing them against each other.  Not sure where his loyalties lie now he's returned.  But he seems to be fine with Denise and does a good deed for Myrtle (Lisa Millett) when Arthur mentions a book is being run on who will get the position and Myrtle is at odds of 500-1.  He bets ten shillings on her and gets Arthur to spread the gossip.  Myrtle thanks him but tells him he didn't need to bet money on her.  He could have brought her a drink which he replies she can do so herself.

Flora having asked Dudley what "noxious" means and tells her she heard Katherine refer to Denise as this and he fears she may be up to something.  Denise organizes the show with Sam (Stephen Wight) dressing up as Myrtle which she finally sees as funny and Denise dances her reel with Jonas who is dressed in a kilt and Myrtle gets her wish to see him in one.  As she has a special penchant for a man in a kilt.  Dudley gets Flora to go on stage and answer ten questions from the audience, in music hall fashion, answering them all correctly, with Weston asking her when America was discovered, which she answers correctly.

Weston appoints Denise as head of ladies which Clara knew she would get and Katherine having the final say as she tells Moray Denise did an even better job than he could have done.  Well she's definitely stirring up trouble between them and causing them to drift apart.  Yes trouble is definitely afoot in paradise and it adds more to the tension between Moray and Denise, he wants her, she wants to make her dreams become real and envisions her, er, visions, but he seems to want to hold her back.  Moray is sexist after all like all men at that time and he did come across as jealous with Denise and her visions.  he still refers to her as his "little champion" but doesn't want her to excel him.

Wonder if we'll get to see Dudley's wife, she's been mentioned enough times and she doesn't even come in to his place of work, or the store to window shop or anything.  Does he keep her on a short lease.

Downton Abbey Series 4 Part 7 Review

                                              
Robert (Hugh Bonneville) sets off for America but is loathe to do so since  he doesn't know why he has to be there, at the request of Cora's (Elizabeth McGovern) mother.  Cora thinks it's to give some sort of credibility to her brother with the other senators, that having an Earl from England will help in their reputation. Robert adding that most Earls he knows don't have good reputations at all.  Just a little aside to ensure we know Robert isn't like any other Earl or aristocrat and that he is changing his ways to fit in with a modern society.  Robert requires Bates (Brendan Coyle) to accompany him but he really doesn't want Anna (Joanne Froggatt)to be on her own at this time.   SO Mrs Hughes (Phyliss Logan) speaks with Mary (Michelle Dockery) to get Robert to take Thomas (Rob James-Collier).  He's acted as valet for him before and he can do so now.  Mary wants to know why Bates can't go and Mrs Hughes tells her that "it's not my secret to tell," but does so anyway, for a second time.

Thomas is pleased to get a free trip to America and Mary convinces Robert to take him adding, think of all the stewards he'll meet on the ship.  Robert telling her to stop being vulgar and asking how she knows all this anyway.  She replies "I have been married."  To which anyone would ask, so? Ha.  Jimmy (Ed Speleers) wishes he was going too and that things are off with Ivy (Cara Theobold) since she didn't play ball with him and he spent all that money on her.  Charming!  Thomas tells him he expects him to court a village girl by the time he returns.  Also telling Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) he wants the low down on why Bates isn't going, i.e a "full report" when he gets back, which Molesley (Kevin Doyle) overhears.  Later when he asks Baxter about it she doesn't say anything.

Edith (Laura Carmichael) wants to go to London and Rose (Lily James) persuades Cora to let her go too as Robert left her in charge of fun and maybe she can cheer up Edith.  Edith telling Cora she's worried about Michael not being found.  Cora doesn't want her to give up hope but she can worry as much as she likes. Edith admits the truth to Rosamund (Samantha Bond) in London cos she wants to be away the following night.  Admitting she's pregnant, she loves him but can't keep his baby.  Rosamund being very progressive for the times tells her she can't begin life with Michael on a lie if he returns.  Edith can't bare to live like some woman in Maida Vale, Sybil could but she can't.  Also how she won't be able to face baby George or Sibby anymore.  When Edith arrives and hears the doctor talking to another woman, she has a change of heart and leaves.  Rosamund tells her she'll stand by her and they can make it work.  Edith will have to tell Cora.

Rose meanwhile sees Jack (Gary Carr) and doesn't want to stop but it's not like Robert or Mary will approve he tells her.  Feel like a song coming on, "underneath the arches..."  Rose is in a huff when Edith returns home already cos she made other arrangements. Rosamund tells her she'll be there with her when she tells Cora if she likes.  Yeah cos Edith asked Cora if she's bad and has bad feelings.  Cora replying she can have bad thoughts but it doesn't mean anything if she doesn't act on them.  Well, too late, cos she already did.  To think she made judgements over Mary and Pamuk when the news was revealed.

Cora has received a letter but she doesn't tell anyone what it was until Anthony Gillingham (Tom Cullen) returns with his valet, Green (Nigel Harman) in tow.  She recalls when he's arrived that Anthony has arrived which is news to Mary.  You see she spent the night in mud with Charles (Julian Ovenden) sorting out the new arrivals at Downton, the pigs.  Charles having called her 'aloof' to Napier (Brendan Patricks). But Mary is pleased Napier is here.  Charles just wants to see Downton make a go of it cos they are trying whereas other estate owners just gave up and lived off their inheritance until it was spent.  Anthony doesn't tell her about Lane Fox and her name wasn't even mentioned this week, so I did.  He thinks Charles is lucky he'll be here this long and he knew Charles from the war.  They were at Jutland together.  No mention of Matthew this week, so everyone's over him by now!

Elsewhere the Dowager (Maggie Smith) suffers from bronchitis and Isobel (Penelope Wilton) offers to nurse her day and night, refusing help and not letting Mary or Cora do the same.  She remains with her constantly and Dr Clarkson (David Robb) tells the Dowager when she's fully recovered how Isobel nursed her without sleep or food.  The Dowager thinking she had a nurse there.  They end playing gin together.

Alfred (Matt Milne) wants to visit cos he's looking in on his parents but Mrs Hughes and Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nichol) convince Carson (Jim Carter) to tell him there's flu here and he doesn't want to miss his classes.  Putting him up at a hotel instead.  You see no one wants to stir up the love triangle again and Ivy speaks highly of Alfred now he's gone, much to Daisy's (Sophie McShera) chagrin, especially since Ivy wanted nothing to do with him when he was here, but now she does.  Alfred turns up before leaving and sets them off anyway.  SO much for that plan.

Green arrives and it comes as a shock to Anna, talk about making it obvious when she stops still in her steps and is shocked at seeing him here.  Green being his usual jokey self.  Mrs Hughes with that look of disgust on her face and tells him he's lucky to be alive and if he wants to remain so he should keep to the shadows. He tries to say Anna was at fault too cos they'd been drinking.  But Mrs Hughes knows it was all him.  At dinner he brings up Dame Nellie Melba and thinks he's home free by making comments of not liking her singing thus he had to come downstairs.  That look on Bates's face.  Of course he knows it was Green, he all but gave himself away when he said that.  Will there be murder at Downton?

Really trudging along with this season which I didn't find that interesting at all.  It had some good moments but series were much better.  What was up with that woman Branson (Allen Leech) met at that political meeting.  First she doesn't give the chair up she was saving for him and then she did.  It was like that political meeting scene from The Thirty Nine Steps, barring intrigue and er, murder!    Everyone's after Mary, let's see, she's got three potential suitors at Downton now.  Particularly as she demonstrated her skills of cooking, scrambled eggs, that's all she can do.  Scrambled eggs and drinking wine! Oh and she can also fling mud too, well wipe it across Charles's face.

Though we were shown the hardships faced by women especially where "bastard" children were concerned with the more wealthy being under an obligation, or expected not to get themselves into that situation, but deal with it, especially if they were unmarried.  The differences were shown by Ethel when she got pregnant but kept the baby.  However the stigma attached to unmarried pregnancies existed in both societies. Providing a social commentary on the times, in a way.

Final ep next week, will Michael show up and how will news of Edith's baby be taken.  Will Mary make any headway with her three men, that sounds wrong, especially since she wasn't ready to be with anyone just yet, and what news does Robert bring from America. And murder, wait I'v e mentioned murder twice already, ha.

Scandal 2.18 "Molly, You in Danger, Girl" Review

                                            
Huck (Guillermo Diaz) and Quinn (Katie Lowes) come for their weekly bug sweep on Olivia's (Kerry Washington) apartment and find everything clear.  That's cos Jake (Scott Foley) hastily removed all of his surveillance equipment and devices cos he knows when bug sweep day is, so wouldn't it have been easier to change the days and times instead of routinely coming on the same day.  It's ridiculous if anyone was surveilling he'd get their routine down pat.  They leave in one lift and Jake returns in the other.  So whilst all this is going on Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) addresses the nation telling them about Osborne's betrayal.  Was that really big news, I mean did they really want to advertize having a leak, a huge national security leak at such a level. SO the mole is dead and David (Joshua Malina) and Molly (Mageina Tovah) can leave and he can go back home and brush his teeth in his own sink.

Osbornes's widow, Susie (Mary Page Keller) comes to see Olivia to tell her he didn't kill himself cos he wrote Susan on his suicide note and in all of their tears of marriage he always called her Susie or honey. Olivia comforts her and reassures her she will get to the bottom of it and she promises.  Harrison (Columbus Short) says they won't take the case and he's proved wrong.  Jake meets with the mysterious man (Joe Morton) and tells him that Olivia is investigating Osborne's death and he replies that Olivia won't stop until she gets to the bottom of it.  Jake calls her for dinner, he's going to cook, not pasta or noodles but a real dinner.  She takes a raincheck and he holds her to that.  Jake giving himself away when he tells her she doesn't use her kitchen, she finally asks how he knows and he calls it a hunch.  Of course she didn't get that last ep, when he mentioned her drinking so much wine.  Yeah they all drink too much wine, hence the wine shortage in the world! Ha.

Huck and Quinn visit the coroner and find that Osborne killed himself, there's nothing out of the ordinary, which Quinn finally gets, the suicide was too perfect.  Abby (Darby Stanchfield)  realizes David is still in danger and rushes to his apartment to get him out.  But no one thought of Molly, wouldn't she still be in trouble.  They think she's a witness and can maybe shed light on the exact words Osborne used with Wendy. But she's in the wind and Harrison thinks of calling his Justice friends, but David thinks his Homeland Security connections will be much easier cos they can detain her at the airport.  Which they do.

Huck and Quinn check out the storage place that they were led to by payments made to Molly and Huck vanishes after leaving Quinn in the car to watch for strange looking people.  Quinn manages to find him cos she uses the security cameras and notices someone moved the direction of one of the cameras cos the pallet is facing the wrong way in one of the screens.  Yes it's a pallet not a piece of wood, which it is also.  She finds Huck beaten and locked in a crate.  He's traumatized and sits in the corner of the office.  David recalling this would be worse than water boarding for him.  Molly is detained at the airport and tells them she didn't do it for the money but she lied cos she was threatened.  Oh they were after molly cos the money paper trail led to her.

Olivia also finds from Osborne's security that he was a patriot but he had a gambling problem that's why he went to the laundry.  The man was his bookie.  She tells this to his wife and she can reassure her daughter her father was a patriot.  Olivia calls Cyrus (Jeff Perry) to tell them they were wrong about Osborne but he's not willing to believe that and that's what I was saying about the wine as Olivia and Cyrus both drink. Apparently the mysterious man wants Olivia dead cos of Osborne.  We are lead to believe that but if he's really you-know-who (not typed spoiler here) he wouldn't want her dead.

Cyrus convinces Fitz and Mellie (Bellamy Young) to give an interview cos he's going to have to announce he's running for a second term soon.  They feign being so in love and talk about where they met.  In some bar where Mellie was meeting Jim, but she doesn't want him mentioned in the press.  He was in the navy and they finally got to talk when Jim ordered a dink from the bar.  They later talk about what's wrong, well why they lie and it's so easy for them.  Mellie telling him everyone pretends in a marriage, that's what it's all about.
Fitz calls Cyrus and asks him how he's coping with James (Dan Bucatinsky) cos he's living in a hotel.  He tells him to hang in there and finally tells Cyrus he killed Verna.  Cyrus telling him they all do things like that cos he killed Gideon and cue Cyrus sending Charlie (George Newbern) to take care of Huck cos he was wearing the baseball cap.  But was it Charlie? So they ascertain that baseball cap man is working for albatross.  But was he working for Cyrus again or for someone else on the side.

Olivia watches the mushy interview on TV and has to turn it off, turning up at Jake's with Gettysburger.  She needs wine and napkins but he makes her drink ale, turning off her phone.  They finally kiss and fall into bed together as she sends the night with him, waking up for water and turns on the TV to find her apartment from all angles. She drops the glass and Jake wakes, obviously having time to throw on his pants!  Well never mind!! Ha. She tells him to get away and he pushes her back accidentally and she hits her head on the table.  He tells her he was watching her to protect her as a masked man enters her place.  That was conveniently timed.  Jake sees blood on her head and Fitz is called.  Who is that masked man, Charlie. Okay I don't know why I said that, just seems he's seen everywhere isn't he.  Especially when there's killing involved.  So where was Jake heading out with his duct tape and gun when Olivia came a calling.  To Olivia's place since he said he was protecting her.

Fitz shows up and rests his head on her as Jake watches from outside the room, jealous much?  The other main story was Cyrus showing up at his own home and not going anywhere.  He wants counselling but James doesn't want it now cos it would involve telling the truth and they've lied.  He perjured himself and Cyrus tells him that's the choice he made.  James tells him it would have been better if he had lied to him about Defiance. SO this ep, all about secrets and lies should I say.  How serious was Jake when he said he was protecting her as we know he was watching her cos of Fitz but how exactly does the mysterious man fit in and did the masked man think he'd really kill Olivia.

So if Jake is a good guy this means someone will eventually find out about him and be after him too.  But he's a real man, he can cook. Oh and Molly is also found dead, was that Charlie?  But what about the duct tape on Huck's mouth and then duct tape in Jake's bag, was that meant to be a clue he's the bad guy or just a red herring to throw us off the scent or in this case, a red wine soaked herring! Ha.  Sorry.  But this mystery with Jake is really hitting up (bit like him!) and you really can't trust anyone in this show, not even the gladiators.  They lie too, well Harrison with Abby breaking her and David up.  Olivia keeping Quinn's past a secret.  Fitz and Olivia a secret but for how long.  Cyrus getting away with murder too, as well as Fitz and on it goes.  Seems like James seems to be the only one with a conscience.

Apparently the ep title is from Ghost, which also starred Tony Goldwyn, as the baddie.