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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                                     
There's murder in them thar eyes!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Revenge 4.20 "Burn" Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CSI 15.17 "Under My Skin" Review

                                              
Two girls are at the mall and on of them gives the other a make-over.  They leave and some boys whistle at them, as one of them wearing a baseball cap watches the newly made over girl, Cara (Harley Graham).  Her sister Lexi (Hunter King) says she looks hot and she meets someone called Axel (Luke Benward) who introduces her to Peter (Chad Addison).  They go off together and Lexi leaves her with Peter, as they head somewhere more private.  Nick (George Eads) is called to the CS where Peter is found with his head in the toilet.  David (David Berman) says his throat was cut and he's only been dead for about an hour.  Nick notices what looks like the remains of some sort of bug on the back of Peter's jacket.  David finds his phone in his pocket and Nick tells him it could have his ID on there.  Also telling David to use Peter's thumb to get into it, coming up with the name Peter Corday.  Sara (Jorga Fox) tells Nick that a cleaner was suspicious of the sign on the door and he looked inside.  Nick shows her the photo of the girl who is Cara, on the phone and Sara notices her shopping bag could lead to her identity.

Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) tells DB (Ted Danson) that the credit card used in the shop belongs to a John Nolan (Brett Cullen) head of the San Diego crime lab.  He's in Vegas for a wedding and she adds Nick is speaking with him since he once offered him a job at his lab.  Nick explains that his credit card was used and he shows John the photo of the girl.  He recognizes her as his daughter Cara. He mentions she was at the mall wit her sister, Lexi.  She lives in Vegas with her mother, Tori (Lisa Rinna).  Nick asks for their numbers so he can ping them and a recent photo of Lexi.  Hodges (Wallace Langham) finds the exoskeleton Nick found belonged to the hairy desert scorpion, which is native to Nevada anyway.  Its venom can't kill and his cousin found one once in her shoe.  Doc (Robert David Hall) has done the autopsy on Peter, saying he died from exsanguination and the killer was right handed.

Finn (Elisabeth Shue) finds footage from the mall cameras, showing Lexi with the other man, Axel and Peter.  She puts him through facial recognition, showing he has a record for pandering and Sara is shocked that he's a pimp, so he could have taken them for sex trafficking.  He tells Sara he doesn't know what happened to them cos Lexi left later and he was at work.  He also has a scorpion tattoo on his neck, which was a bit of a red herring.  Ecklie (Marc Vann) tells DB to do whatever they can to find the missing girls, with DB pointing out that they found theirs and Ecklie also adds they should do everything to keep John informed.

Morgan triangulates the girl's phone signal and she and Greg (Eric Szmanda) head out there.  They find their phones but not them.  One of the phones has a video showing a man driving them in a car and demanding the phone when he sees Lexi making the video.  So he threw the phones out there, but didn't leave any prints behind on them, especially as Greg uses his finger on the screen to play the video, didn't think they'd have him do that.  Greg notices he doesn't have a tattoo on his neck, so it wasn't Axel.  Nick tells John of Axel's alibi checking out and that it wasn't him on the video, John wants to see the video, but Nick advises against it.  Saying that he's going to do everything to get them back.  He also asks if he's got any enemies and any recent cases he's been working on.  John mentions a biker gang and Nick asks for the file.  Morgan also says Lexi tried to send the video to someone and it turns out to be John's number.  He says she and Lexi were estranged but Morgan adds she reached out to him and that means something.  Since she was in the same position with Ecklie.

Finn tells DB the biker gang angle didn't pan out and maybe the kidnapping had nothing to do with John.  Greg tells DB about a man named Dennis who's been sending Lexi texts of his genitals.  He hands DB the file, but he doesn't want to see the photos.  As well as a text which reads, "you're just like you're mother."  Sara interviews Tori and she says she found Dennis on top of Lexi about to remover her clothes, but she didn't call the police.  They'd been drinking and doing E and Lexi tried some too.  The police would've found out and she'd have lost custody.  Got to ask what John saw in Tori, cos they really were as mismatched as they come.  John is angry and confronts her and Sara has to stop them, reminding them that this is about finding their daughters.

Morgan finds the car driven was a 1986 Chevrolet Suburban and Nick gets a text.  He heads to the CS, where Officer Mitchell (Larry Mitchell) tells him of finding the girl.  Nick looks at her and he asks if that's one of them.  Nick replies it's Lexi and it appears she's got blunt force trauma to her head.  They didn't find Cara.  The marks on her feet suggest she tried to run.  A foreman found her in the dumpster and a neighbour heard a noise, but the car drove away by the time she got to the window, she thinks it was an SUV.  Greg thinks Nick would've been here, but Sara tells him he wanted to be the one to process Lexi.  Sara having found her necklace at the scene, tells him there wasn't enough blood so she was dumped there.

Nick processes the DB, but John is also there and tells him he shouldn't be there.  He leaves and Doc tells Nick her head was smashed against a hard surface and the ligature marks on her wrists and ankles show she tried to escape.  Also she broke her fingernails trying to get free.  She has a bite mark on her shoulder which Nick says looks like the sting mark from a scorpion.  He has Doc check out the venom.  As Doc explains blunt force trauma was the COD but if she had venom in her body, it would've slowed her down, allowing the killer to catch up to her.  Sara asks how John is doing and she couldn't imagine losing a child like that.  Also how he sent Nick a football shirt a few years back, signed by a player.  Nick couldn't leave Vegas behind as this is his home, his friends and family are here, as he points to Sara.  Besides it wasn't  a promotion or anything, just a job and San Diego is an expensive place.

Henry (Jon Wellner) tells DB the sting was from a deathstalker scorpion.  They're from Israel and are dangerous, though some people keep them as pets.  Greg tells Morgan a lot of places sell such scorpions and he has a list of buyers.  Morgan compares these to someone who might own a Suburban and gets a match to Kieran Clark (Owen Beckman).  They find his place is deserted, but full of insects and Morgan is scared by a spider.  Yeah that's all I needed to see and not just one! Greg shows her the photos on the wall of a blonde woman who is the image of Cara.  She's identified as Jennifer and she used to work at a pet store.  Kieran went out with her once and she turned him down after that.  He stalked her and she left town.  Nick tells John about this and he'll find Cara, but he doesn't want to hear it cos he said that about Lexi too.

Kieran teaches children about bugs at school and Sara says he shouldn't be allowed near children. Hodges manages to find the stone particles Nick found in Lexi's hair contained oxyacetylene, which is used on concrete to seal it.  It wasn't set in yet which means that someone had their driveway recently repaired.  Finn finds someone had their drive sealed within the 5 mile distance of the CS and tells this to Nick who rushes out.  She tells him to call for backup, but he doesn't wait for them.  He heads inside the house after noticing the Suburban parked nearby and Kieran holds Cara at knifepoint.  Nick tells him to let her go, she's not Jennifer and she hasn't done anything to hurt him. He refuses saying she's his and tries to cut her throat.  Nick shoots him dead.

So it was okay for him to go in without backup since he's going to be leaving anyway.  At the hospital, John tells Nick he's giving up his job to be with Cara. She needs him, especially now.  He wants Nick to take over the lab in San Diego and run it.  Of course we know Nick's going to take it cos he left the show.  Thing is CSI has been cancelled now, so it didn't matter if George left or not, he wouldn't be coming back anyway with the others.  Which is a bit of a shame, cos there are some shows which are running beyond 15 seasons!  Others that shouldn't have been renewed, like Castle, that's so overrated now and boring.  It's had its day and should've been cancelled by now.  Oh sorry, that's my rant.

We can see Nick came a long way from season 1 since he's now experienced and good enough to get his own team.  That' would've made a great spin off show.  Hint, hint, ha.  CSI:San Diego! Did you see how comfortable he was now at taking out his gun and actually having to use it, whereas he hates guns and he's had his fair share of having one pointed at him through the years.  The way John came out of nowhere and how that job offer was mentioned that Nick turned down, which even Morgan knew about, cos I'm thinking it might've been quite a while ago, before she was here. Nick also having a heart to heart with Sara about family and Vegas being his home, as well as loving those Dallas Cowboys.  As well as not taking the job cos it wasn't a promotion, but now to sweeten the deal, so to speak, it actually is a promotion.

Their mother was a piece of work and funnily enough they gave Sara the job of talking to her.  She's not very big on useless, uncaring mothers at that and yet she was restrained with her, when you know deep down she wanted to say something to her, but that would've defeated the purpose, which was finding the girls, as she later tells both John and Tori.
Notice Hodges said the exoskeleton was found nearby the Vic, but actually Nick found it on his jacket.

The Vampire Diaries 6.16 "The Downward Spiral" Review

Everyone's on the hunt for Caroline (Candace Accola) and she's off partying with Liam (Marco James) she drinks his blood and bites him cos she loses control and there she was trying to convince everyone that she won't lose control.  Well she did.  Bonnie (Kat Graham) returns to the dorm and Elena (Nina Dobrev) is excited  to see her.  She even brought champagne for when they were going to bring her back.  She's sorry that she was there alone and they were all here living their lives.  Bonnie doesn't want Jeremy to know about her just yet.  Caroline walks in after being on a shopping spree and she's starting over, new sheets, new blowdryer.  See the loss of humanity hasn't thwarted her fashion sense.   Thus throwing a party later on, which Stefan (Paul Wesley) finds out about from Liam.  Caroline tells them that if they leave her alone for a year, she won't kill anyone after telling them that she ate Liam.  Stefan phones Elena and asks her to a rave.

Where he finds Caroline and Stefan tells her he realized they were more than friends but he was afraid to tell her and when he did, she wasn't there.  He sees it in her eyes that he was getting through to her, but Caroline walks off and takes Liam.  She bumps into Enzo (Michael Mularkey) and steals his phone after telling him she wants his help.  He refuses.  Before this Enzo was having tea with Sarah (Tristan Mays) ha, well he was having the tea after she photographed him and told him his vein was "doing funny" things and she caught it on film in the memory card.  Which he uses his vampire speed to take and break.  He tells her she's a vampire and she doesn't react.  Then Caroline crashes the tea party.  He doesn't want Sarah to know what he's doing.

Damon (Ian Somerhalder) wants to know about his mother after digging her up in the crypt and finding it's empty, but Kai (Chris wood) doesn't tell him much.  He wants to apologize to Bonnie first and he knows where to get a 1903 ascendant from.  Damon tries but Bonnie refuses to listen.  Then he takes Kai to the rave but she doesn't want to see his face ever again.

Bonnie demonstrates on Damon as to what it felt like with everything that Kai did to her after he got back.  Yeah Bonnie that's really nice especially after thinking you could ever be his friend.  But hey it wasn't Damon's fault.  Caroline kidnaps Sarah and gets Liam to perform surgery on her just cos Stefan tried to bring her humanity back.  She wants Stefan to switch off his humanity, great now he's got Enzo and Caroline gunning for him.  She tells Elena he can think for himself.  She tells Liam to take out her spleen.  Stefan asks him about that conversation about honesty and he tells them where they are.  She wants him to remove her heart.  SO where was Enzo in all of this?  Stefan attacks and she stakes him, who's been a vampire the longest.

Kai returns and tells Damon that he can't bring their mother back cos the prison she was in in 1903 means she's a Ripper.  Turned in 1858, faked her death and kept moving through Europe, around 3,000 bodies in her wake.  Bonnie calls Jeremy, yet she didn't want him to know just yet, this is her definition of normalcy.  Though he may not like the new Bonnie.  So much for Alaric telling him about her.  Caroline wants Stefan to become a ripper, so was this meant to be a bit of irony, poetic justice or what, just when Damon finds out that their mother was a ripper too.  Is this where he gets it from then, runs in the family?  Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse we've got a vampire Bonnie and Clyde, now that Caroline's made Stefan go bad.  How will Enzo react to her trying to kill Sarah, that was going to be his swan song, kind of and he was going to make Stefan suffer and now he can't do that.  Well she took that from him too!

Lots of secrets in this episode and season.  Damon not telling Stefan about their mother, or that she was alive, even before he found out she was, correction, is a ripper.  Stefan still hiding Sarah from Damon and Enzo didn't tell him either.  Thought he was Damon's friend.  Let's see, are they trying to turn this show into a Supernatural piece, so many secrets between Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) and now Stefan and Damon too.  Through Caroline's selfishness, guess she got the best line where she tells Elena after all this, she still makes what' she's doing about her, when Elena tells her she will feel the pain and she will hate it if she kills anyone.

Seems everyone's split up now and they've all got their own agendas and even if Stefan tells Elena to bring him back, they're all going to have to endure the killing spree first and trail of bodies and will Damon even care this time, or will he try to bring back mommie deadest!  He took a bit of a back seat here since Ian directed this ep, he didn't have much to do.  Didn't Enzo notice his phone was missing. I have to add that Caroline going bad was out of her element and character, so many character dynamics have been changed here and not just Caroline, but Bonnie too.  With all her suffering, understandable, yet she doesn't try to put it behind her.  1994 changed her and has Kai really changed all that much.  He's leader of the Gemini Coven now, but he doesn't seem to be a match for Bonnie's powers.

Lots of selfishness all round in this ep.  Caroline what would mommie dearest think if she knew how far she's fallen and really is this any way to honour her mother's memory, she's made it all about herself now, and dare I say it, that's Elena's territory.  But she couldn't see that.  Is Stefan feigning with the humanity, cos Caroline still didn't tell Elena where Sarah was he couldn't very well ask her if she made it okay, or that Caroline didn't keep her side of the bargain.

Revenge 4.19 "Exposure" Review

                                            
Emily (Emily VanCamp) reveals she s sAmanda Clarke and Louise (Elena Satine) goes running off to Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) giving her the flashdrive just cos Nolan (Gabriel Mann) lied and Victoria claims to show her the extent of his lies.  Victoria gets the flashdrive unencrypted and Louise gets her divorce papers, still willing to not believe that Nolan lied to her.  Amanda has a flashback to meeting Nolan and carrying out their first revenge on DA Kingsly (Yancey Aris).  Ben is angry at how she revealed herself without telling him and she should say she's sorry.  Now he's going to be under an IA investigation cos of her lies.  Life is a series of circumstances and she can't take that back now cos it was on live TV.

Victoria tells Louise about Amanda, telling her how she locked her away in the institution.  Louise, another one with a holier than thou attitude feigning sorrow for her, when she tried to kill her.  Agh, when's that going to be resolved.  She tells her about Homeland Security and all the other things Amanda did and Victoria tells her to go ahead with the divorce cos she has to bring the story of America's new hero to a proper end.

Louise comes to see Nolan with the divorce papers and says he lied about Amanda to her which he is sorry for but he couldn't tell her.  No he couldn't cos that secret wasn't his to share, or doesn't Louise get that.  She tells him he wasn't her true Wonder Twin (oh is that Victoria, or Margaux (Karine Vanasse) even).  Then mentions him shutting down his laptop everytime she came in the room.  He then gets it when she glances over to his laptop.  That Louise knows about it, after running a scan he finds that his files were copied.  But didn't she already tell him Lyman had a flashdrive, why didn't he ask her what happened to it or find it for himself, if it was so easy for Louise to dig up in the sand.   He tells Amanda about the files and she's angry that he kept them.  He wanted to remember what they had done and Emily tells him she'll handle it herself.  T my recollection, didn't the flashdrive end up in Louise's hand when Lyman went over the edge.  Did she throw it down after him, which would've been crazy cos she'd never find it there.

Amanda goes to Kingsly and tells him about how he put an innocent man behind bars and he justifies it by saying he did what he had to with the evidence he was given.  David (James Tupper) walks in   and threatens him, he stole twenty years of his life and if he ever comes after them, then he will have to watch his back.  Victoria calls him and he says that he just won't answer the phone.  Victoria heads to Margaux who's printed the headline that Daniel was a hero and she's happy with that.  She doesn't want to be a part of revenge against Amanda that Victoria has in mind and Victoria reminds her of what Amanda did to Pascal.  Again, it was actually Conrad.  Margaux tells her she lied and Amanda didn't push her cos she didn't know how to tell her it was her fault she lost her baby.

Amanda sees that Victoria's left the office from her GPS and actually goes to the TV station.  Emily heads her off by telling the reporter that she'll give her an exclusive no holes barred interview, if she never lets Victoria go on air.  Amanda had to take to her persona of Emily cos she had to prove her father's innocence.  She has hurt others physically, but she never crossed the line and hasn't killed anyone.  Unlike Victoria, when she mentions how she killed Aiden in revenge for Pascal.  She adds she didn't make an accusation, but Victoria needs to own up to her own mistakes and what she's done. Everyone listens to the interview and Victoria see it on the street.  Even Margaux listens to it and has a change of heart.  She says Amanda was volatile and full of vitriole, yes you can talk Margaux, sporting an even weirder hairstyle this ep.  She aims to help Victoria and she tells her that she's already dead to the world. Well there's an idea for a future plotline if ever there was one.  So it's the three witches going to go after Amanda now.

Jack (Nick Wechsler) asks Nolan if he's watching Amanda's interview but he's not.  He couldn't believe the anger towards him and Jack reminds him of all the times they helped each other and became friends.  She won't be mad at him for long.  Nolan tells him he should go to her now cos this is his opportunity.  She'll recall what she feels for him in her heart and has since they were little, cue flashbacks between them.

Amanda returns home with the infinity box David made her and he recalls that too, as well as carving the symbol in the wood of the house banister.  He's proud of her and how she and Jack were all friends.  How she got Sam and was there for Jack when he died.  Sam being the only one who recognized her as Amanda when she came here.  Finally we're shown someone at the club putting down the magazine and having a drink, as he circles the photo of Amanda.  Well assuming it'll be a man.  It could be Lydia, though it didn't look like a woman's hand or what if ii was Conrad, that'd be funny, but unlikely.  Let's not forget Mason Treadwell.  He was denied his exclusive by Amanda!!

Most of this was a clip show and nothing more with flashbacks to how she took down the DA, some others like Lydia and also of those she has hurt along the way and her loved ones who got hurt, such as Aiden, and Pascal, but everyone seems to forget that was Conrad's doing.  But how many times are we going to hear Victoria's lies about Amanda showing up here with revenge in mind, but that she didn't just go after her, but the entire family and already had it in mind for Daniel to be hurt.  Who wasn't so innocent either.  Oh and Charlotte had to be included in the clipshow too.  Maybe they were good clips to remind us how this all began and how great season 1 was, also how everything fitted in to her becoming Emily.

CSI 15.16 "The Last Ride" Review

                                             
Nick (George Eads) and Crawford (Alimi Ballard) are called to a CS where a woman who was earlier shown dancing is found covered in silver paint.  Cue comments about the Tin Man and not finding the Yellow Brick Road and the Silver Surfer.  Her TOD is between 12 and 3am.  David (David Berman) washes her and Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) takes samples of trace from her. Doc (Robert David Hall) tells DB (ted Danson) that COD wasn't blunt force trauma but asphyxiation, she was drowned in the silver paint.  There was also a grill pattern on her back and this Finn (Elisabeth Shue) thinks could belong to a car, which she searches for online.   Earlier Hodges (Wallace Langham) identifies the paint as chrome, but the more newer version with chromium dioxide.  He tells Finn that the paint belongs to a flashy car and she's all over the case in her usual smug way.  Ava's (Blair Bomar) parents are interviewed by Sara (Jorga Fox) and her mother, Ruth (Karen Sillas) says that she was wild and got into drugs and her step father, Duncan (Tracy Fraim) said she resented him by taking her father's place.  Sara watches them hold hands, which seemed a little forced.  Some drug dealer of hers came to the house once and Ruth asks if Sara has children.  It's not right when a mother loses a daughter.

They find a car matching that description is owned by Aaron Derosa (Travis Schuldt) who turns out to be Ava's ex.  He takes them to the vault, where his father kept all the classic cars.  The one they're looking for is behind the curtain as work was being done on it and Finn finds it's the CS.  Finn didn't see the blood on the figurine of the car before.  There's also a tub of silver paint.  The silver paint drops are followed to where another car, a Packard, was and that's now missing.  It was a classic car and belonged to his father.  His brother Carlo (Wil Travel) also comes in and they're arguing over whether to sell the collection or not as they both own half.   Carlo tells Finn about their father, Alfonz Derosa and he was killed in the car by a hitman so it's worth plenty.  Sara tells Aaron she's heard about that story.  All I said was where's Greg (Eric Szmanda) cos he's all about the mob re his book and Finn asks him about writing such a book.  He tells her about it and how Alfonz was in the car with his mistress and a hitman from another family in Chicago shot them both.  A snitch in prison gave him up and the shooter apparently died in prison.

Finn only now notices blood on the car and there's a smashed car light.  Also finding the heel of Ava's shoe.  Outside where the other car was, Greg notices a pizza magnet.  Finn doesn't believe the brothers, but Greg thinks the CS was too messy for them and why wouldn't they clean it up.  Finn wrong as usual.  Cos my first instinct was her mother and step father, they just seemed shady (does anyone still use that word?  Ha.)  Henry (Jon Wellner) and Hodges checked out the pizza place and brought back pizza as well as magnets.  DB says no one invited him for pizza.  As Hodges eats, he shows him that the magnet only sticks to one side of the fender and not the other side.  That's why it fell off, meaning that side was recently repaired.  Also finding that a car appraiser/mechanic also frequents the pizza place by the name of Bixler (Matthew Glave).

Sara talks to him and he lies saying he hasn't been there for the past two months.  She tells him about the magnet and he then says he was there three days ago as Aaron wanted the car appraised as he had a buyer for it.  Also whispering he was afraid cos of who their father was.  Finn finds the sale online and he had a buyer who deposited $100,000 for it.  It turns out Ava had a warehouse which could be the right size to hold the car.  Nick and Crawford go there and find the car aswell as Carlo with the keys.  He says he didn't kill anyone or had the car stolen.  Ava used to go out with him too but she was messed up.  He had a credit card for her so the bills came to him, so he knew about the warehouse.  The car had sentimental value for him since his father took a ride in it with him the night of his death.  He dropped him off at a diner and didn't pick him up.  He was closer to him cos Aaron was too much like him and didn't get on.

Greg and Morgan process the classic car and she finds a piece of chrome under the passenger seat, as well as a fibre on the back seat.  Greg commenting on the size of the backseat where you could have a picnic.  Morgan saying Alfonzo The Vice wouldn't be thinking of that but he had his last ride there. Opening up the boot, they find the tarp in which the DB was wrapped up, as well as the appraisal report.  A partial print is found on the report which is a familial match to Ava.  Her mother wanted the car since she had a buyer for it, she borrowed the money for the deposit from a loanshark.  She wouldn't kill her own daughter.  As Sara says she would've been too valuable alive, but that she's seen it all before.  They find prints on the headrest belonging to her Bixler, so they believe there was no buyer from Dubai.

Finn says that hemp wouldn't be used in the seats so it must've come from somewhere else.  Telling DB she restored a car her brother used to have and to took the entire engine apart.  Greg finds the chrome came from the headrest which was replaced.  There was something there that the shooter wanted.  This turns out to be the bullet.  Ava used the appraiser to help her  remove the car but he killed her instead cos she saw him replacing the headrest.  Bixler was the shooter and he would've been 18.  He tells DB and Crawford that Vera, The Vice's mistress was his girlfriend.  Bixler confesses and Finn tells Greg that means the car is no longer evidence.  They take it for a spin and the brothers have agreed to donate it to the mob museum.

Didn' think much of this ep, it seemed like everything was just fitted into the puzzle more so than usual.  DB mentioning the evidence Greg wanted to show him looked like he was writing another mob book.  Very flimsy, selfish motive as well for the murders.  Nick had very little to do in this ep seeing as he'll be leaving at the end and that's going to come out of nowhere.  Finn just gets all the lines and the smugness, whilst everyone else takes a backseat (no pun!)  She really wasn't necessary for the show since they had enough of a cast to keep it going without her.