The Mentalist 6.17 "Silver Wings of Time" Review

                                                  
And we're on the sofa together again, like last ep!
A man wears a hairpiece and sunglasses and takes his briefcase to a bus stop.  There he swaps the bag as the bus approaches and whilst the other man already there is distracted by the woman with the pram, the first man swaps the briefcase.  Later the bomb explodes in the bag.  Patrick (Simon Baker) times Lisbon (Robin Tunney) as she arrives in a taxi as her car wouldn't start.  Excuses, excuses, perhaps she didn't go home driving her car.  He asks about her date with Pike and she says it went okay.  Patrick thinks  the man at the bus stop was a target since he was the only one who was killed.  The bomber could have caused so much damage but he only targeted him.  Abbott (Rockmund Dunbar) doesn't go along with his theory until the bomb expert tells him the bomb was blanketed to cause the minimum damage.  Hence showing the man was the intended target as Patty said.

At HQ, Wylie (Joe Adler) has a new clock on his computer which calls out the time and Fischer (Emily Swallow) thinks he should turn it down a little bit, he's trying to maximize his work output.  Then the firealarm sounds, it's a drill and will happen regularly at the same time, twice a day.  Of course I knew that Patrick would use that to his advantage later on, it's one of those foreshadowing ploys.  Otherwise they wouldn't have shown Wiley using it again.  The DB was David Ronaldo (Halbert Bernal) and he was working to clear Luis Cruz (Oscar Torre). A  man who was accused of killing his shrink's wife after he was on a drugs binge. Ronaldo had found something that would clear his name since his execution takes place in two days.
Abbott talks with Cruz at the prison and he tells him how they were close like brothers when younger and Ronaldo believes he was innocent.  He got close to finding evidence to clear Cruz's name and that's why he believes he was targeted.  Cruz tells Abbott that he didn't kill anyone and Abbott does believe him.  Cos they're trying to show that no matter what he was like when he was after Patrick and the lengths he went to reel him in so to speak, underneath it all, he does care about doing the right thing and about justice.

Abbott fills the team in on the case and Wylie's clock tells the time again.  Lisbon and Cho (Tim Kang) are in cos they believe Patrick is right when he says he's confident enough to believe that Cruz is innocent.  Notice Fischer's shoes when Abbott was briefing them were high heels and then when she's at Ronaldo's condo, they were a lower heel.  She notices the map when everything else there is old and wonders why he was using it.

Patrick, Cho and Wylie look at the footage from the bus stop and find that the man intentionally swapped the briefcase cos he wanted to see what was in there.  He says the woman with the pram was in on it and Wylie IDs her through facial recognition software.  Gina (Angelique Cabral) was hired the man, Peter Koch (Peter Colburn) a PI but she didn't know about the bomb.  Fischer says they found Koch's DB but not the briefcase.

Patrick and Lisbon visit Edward Feinberg (John de Lancie) and his current wife, Mae (Jud Tylor).  Patrick thinks he was the real killer, as of course it's the old tale about the spouse being the murderer.  But it was apparent that it wasn't him.

They ask questions about his wife and Mae who was a former student of his and when they began the affair, before or after his wife's death, since he says it took him a while to get over it.  Patty asks to use the loo and snoops in his office but can't find anything so he steals his prescription pad.  He is later arrested for dealing prescription drugs and Mae insists on coming with him.  Patrick plans to put the clocks forward using Wylie's computer clock and the fire alarm into fooling the suspect into believing Cruz has been executed.  The oldest trick in the book of course.  Cos it's been done so many times before in most shows/films.  Lulling the real suspect into a false sense of security so they give themselves up.

Edward will stay here and he calls his lawyer.  The FBI take their phones and watches and Wylie's clock tells the time as soon as they arrive.  There's a large display with the number of hours until the execution.  As well as telling them the fire alarm goes off at 5 and 9.  Edward tells Patrick he didn't kill his wife but of course that's what they all say.  When his lawyer arrives, he tells him not to answer any questions, but they can all ask them.  Cho, Lisbon, all ask him questions but he refuses to answer.  Buying time in the process for Patrick's plan to work.  Fischer brings a blanket and pillow for him but he tells his lawyer to go home. Edward spends the night there on the floor.  Abbott questions him further.

Next morning, Fischer takes Mae for coffee and she listens to Abbott and Fischer talk about it being over since the governor's aide doesn't want to stop the execution.  That after Cruz's executed, the case will be closed and won't be reopened.  Being music to Mae;'s ears.  The news shows that Cruz has been executed, with a message displayed across the screen, which Wylie managed to plant.  Patrick breaks the news to Edward who isn't as pleased as he thought he'd be.  That he'd be relieved and get his revenge, but he's just sad.  Which is exactly how Patrick knew he'd react.  Cos he knows he didn't kill him.  It was Mae and he shows him footage of her sighing when she sees the news of his execution, proving she was the real killer. When they leave, Edward just drives off and he then questions her about killing his beloved Sarah.  She confesses and the FBI rolls up to arrest her.  Patrick planted a bug in Edward's pocket.

Abbott tells Cruz they found the gun in the lake where she'd thrown it the night of the murder and this will help to free him.  Ronaldo believed in him and that's why he was going diving for the gun himself near all the spots where there was water near the CS.  Abbott tells Patrick that a psychic led to the lake, but Patrick doesn't believe in psychics, saying that it's obvious most things are found near a body of water.

Lisbon comes in wearing a short-ish black number and Patrick tells her she looks beautiful and to enjoy herself, calling her Teresa, ahh!  Lisbon looks a little flustered or a little guilty as Patrick goes to sleep with a good book.  Nice to see Patrick and Lisbon have a small scene together when they interviewed Edward but it wasn't long enough and was just there to give Patty a chance to grill her about Pike.  Clearly she's moving on and it doesn't appear Patrick's going to do much of anything to stop that.  Which is a little sad, see by now if it had been anyone else, he'd have scared them away or put them off by now!

So being in Texas, Patrick had to have a case and solve it too where the accused was on death row and facing an execution.  A roundabouts way of being a damning indictment of the death penalty in Texas and the number of innocent convicted who are executed, not to mention Cruz being from a minority too.  Aside from that, it was a bit of a routine ep and not as good as last ep.  But it was good to see Lisbon and Cho follow Patrick's lead cos he was confident that Cruz was innocent.  A little reminiscent of the good old days there. Oh and Fischer went back to wearing her heels as soon as she returned to the office and boy why'd she change them, she didn't even get a chase scene where she'd be running!

Patrick's funny-ish response to Abbott about a broken watch being right twice a day. In response to the psychic comment and that Patrick was just jealous.  Maybe but not of the psychic.  Then there was Fischer talking about Patty and Lisbon and their not 'dating'  Why's she so interested.  Okay she didn't mention Patrick by name, but she implied it.  She should just ask him.
Fischer: "Did Lisbon date on the job at the CBI?"
Cho: "Don't know.  Never asked."
Fischer: "Surprising to see her and Pike hook up, Wouldn't have put those two together.  You ever wonder what Jane thinks about it?"
Cho: "Never...my brain would explode."  Another funny reply from him, kind of true, cos only Patty knows what's going on in his own mind when it comes to Lisbon.  Maybe Lisbon did pick up on Patrick being a bit put off when he called her Teresa or perhaps not.

Oh I forgot about Patrick cottoning on to Koch wearing a rug! Ha.

Revenge 3.16 "Disgrace" Review

Emily: "Grace is at the core of tragedy, for if there's no height at which to drop, no pride taken in a life lived, you have nothing to lose.  But once in the freefall of disgrace, the only way to change the momentum is to use it to your advantage."

As Emily (Emily VanCamp) runs down the stairs at the opera and miraculously she didn't trip in that dress and those heels, we find the story flashes back to 36 hours earlier.

Seems Margaux's (Karine Vanasse) plan to have Conrad (Henry Czerny) ousted by her father, Pascal (Olivier Martinez) backfires since the two of them head out for tennis again.  Conrad won him last time and so now they have a rematch.  In which Conrad beats him again.  Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) shows up thinking she could have the tennis court without Conrad around after their divorce but she bumps into Pascal too, being very convenient.  Of course we know they must have a thing for each other, even if he was the one who introduced her to Conrad.  Conrad also stating that he doesn't want that old house bricks and mortar, referring to Victoria too in the process.

Daniel (Josh Bowman) thinks he's hit the jackpot as far as getting his divorce from Emily since he's got leverage now with Emily's photos with Aiden  but Victoria tells him to hold his horses.  Daniel is impatient and wants nothing more than to be rid of Emily but she thinks Emily is more than just a grifter.  A grifter would have seen the amount of money in  the settlement and taken it, but Emily appears to be going after the family.  Victoria wants to know what she's really after and so she hires Daniel's PI to dig some more dirt. Daniel meanwhile is sympathetic over Patrick leaving her.  For a minute there, thought Daniel was going to get mad over Victoria playing favourites with Patrick over him.  Victoria also adding she wants the best seat in the house when Daniel confronts Emily with this.

There's plenty of opera talk, as it seems everyone's going to be at the spectacle, er,  big event I should say, even if it turns out to be a spectacle.  Since the best came when Emily put on a sad face and talked of how she protected Daniel after he shot her and forgave him for what he'd done.  That was going to be her testimony and as she walks off, Daniel is left seething.  What did he expect, she'd be all a quiver and leave.

Emily wanted to know what happened between Stevie (Gail O'Grady) and her father as she saw him in prison and Nolan (Gabriel Mann) wants to make sure she doesn't jump in without thinking about hurting Jack (Nick Wechsler) again or getting him involved to begin with.  She doesn't get a chance to speak with Stevie, but Jack sees her with Stevie after her AA meeting and confronts Emily.  Nolan also wanted to know if Emily would remove Stevie from the equation if she turned out to be the enemy.  But she couldn't since she is Jack's mother after all.  Jack warned her from interfering since they were both in a good place and he wanted the same for himself and his mother.  Emily instead talks with Conrad and he tells her he wanted to make amends with his first wife, perhaps at the expense of his second.

Jack appears to be getting on with his mother and she looks through his wedding album.  She wished if she had the courage to return sooner then things might have been different.  But she's proud of him for being so brave and moving on.  She then notices the photo with Amanda and Emily and knows something isn't quite right.  Stevie believes David was innocent but with the Grayson's involved there had to be something going on.  She speaks to Emily about this and realizes she wants to see justice done for David and is interested in clearing his name for Amanda.  Emily hated what the Grayson's did to her, even if she is a Grayson and Amanda was a Clarke and yet she was her maid of honour.  Stevie tells her how she was on her way to the prison and was stopped for a DUI, which means automatic disbarment, meaning she knows Conrad was behind it cos she didn't drink and drive.  Emily didn't want her help cos she was honouring what she said to Jack.

Stevie also tells Jack about this and how she was given a piece of information but she couldn't find the source of it and it was confiscated when she was dropped from the case by her old firm.  It's what Stevie does now, she became a lawyer to fight for the underdog and for justice, as she does this now in her divorce cases. Nolan has a new housemate, Javier (Henri Esteve) from prison and he needs a place to crash after being released.  Nolan promises him he can stay one day.  Jack and Nolan attempt to get into the firm's archives and find the disks for June 1997.  Nolan makes an appointment to get back into the game with his new inventions, whilst Jack got into the archives but Can't find the files, until Javier told him what numbers to look for. Jack leaves the disks for Emily but she's not happy he got involved.

Conrad has forensic accountants doing some digging and come up with Voulez being in the red, money is being taken from the magazine and he knows Pascal is behind it.  Conrad shows this to Margaux who can't believe it.  Conrad uses this to try and get a stake and a job at Pascal's Manhattan company.  Conrad adding she can bring back Daniel now if she wants.  Pascal brings over a dress for Victoria, a little Dolce and Gabana black number.  He knows the designers, as does Victoria and she can't resist accepting. Margaux is on cloud nine with Jack but don't think that'll last especially since she seems to begetting in bed with the enemy, Daniel.

At the opera, she tells Daniel they're going to put on a show for their fathers and he's all aboard with it. Charlotte (Christa B Allen) is writing gossip pieces for the magazine and she introduces Emily to Pascal, exchanging words in French.  He's more interested in Victoria though and she tells him she might have her dress on her skin but he won't be touching it.  "This dress may touch my body but you will never be so lucky."  We'll see about that since Conrad later promises Pascal he can help get the one thing he doesn't have, Victoria.  That made him stop and listen.

Also at the opera, Charlotte gets a text saying Emily's medical records are all over the news.  Victoria confronts her with it then and there and Emily really appears to be flustered, the mark of a good actress, ha.  Victoria exclaims at how she faked her pregnancy to nab Daniel and Emily leaves, running down the stairs to be greeted by the press. Later we find out she planned the entire thing so she could manipulate getting the divorce on her own terms.  Victoria and Daniel think they've been instrumental in seeing this as the perfect opportunity to rid her from their lives.

Emily signs the papers looking really despondent, and still thinks she can use Daniel being the one who shot her but Victoria reminds her of the press conference she gave announcing it was Lydia.  Victoria thinks if she still hangs around after that then she is targeting their family.  Emily tells Jack it was her behind the reveal and he wants to make sure she's okay.  She still doesn't want him involved since she will get revenge for Amanda and for Declan.   Emily shows  Nolan the note, written on American paper by Pascal since she got a handwritten note to compare it with when she wanted Voulez to cover the wedding, but they don't know what it means.  "Conrad  per your request, I handled TWM.  Your DC plan is safe."  Her next target is going to be Pascal.  Though she has to be careful considering Jack is seeing her.

Appears there's plenty for Emily to be dealing with here and they've added Pascal to the mix, but he's going to be in cahoots with Conrad so how easily will Emily take him down.  Though she's dealt with far tougher obstacles before, she now has Victoria one her back, looking to find what Emily's up to and it also looks more likely than not, that she will find out what Emily's game is.

Nolan's got a housemate for good now since Javier gave his parole officer this address as his permanent abode.  Nolan thinks he could help him as he notices the artwork he's done on the pizza box.  Emily and Jack still make a nice couple and no matter how much she wants him not involved, he finds some way to turn up.  Also now Stevie's in the game, he won't stay out of it.  Haven't made up my mind about Stevie yet, if she can be trusted or not, irrespective of being Jack's mother, which all seemed rather convenient.  At least Daniel and Victoria got their moment of smugness having played right into Emily's hands, but can't wait for Daniel to get his real just desserts.

Longmire 1.4 "The Cancer" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Longmire 1.2 "The Dark Road" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Longmire 1.3 "A Damn Shame" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Revenge 3.15 "Struggle" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Vampire Diaries 5.16 "While You Were Sleeping" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Mentalist 6.16 "Violets" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Vampire Diaries 5.15 "Girl Gone" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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