Mysteries of Laura 2.8 "The Mystery of the Ghost in the Machine" Review

                                           
A man is found dead in a Ferrari and Laura (Debra Messing) notices the seat wasn't in the right position for him to be driving it.  They find that the actual owner of the car is at a club and was picked up by a woman, Max (Max Jenkins) describing him as a Seth Rogan lookalike.  Jake (Josh Lucas) can't believe he got picked up by a woman to begin with.  Laura follows her to the ladies as she's about to send a text.  Hey did that in the last ep, what is it with these people using texts suddenly to warn of the police.  She tells Laura she was paid to get his keys and she meets the man at an apartment downtown to get her payment.  Billy (Laz Alonso) and Meredith (Janina Gavankar) check it out and find that' it's sparse and hardly lived in with no personal belongings at all.  Billy thinks he knows what's going on and finds a police badge in the sink pipe.  Well if that was meant to be an undercover op, there was so much that was wrong there!

Laura and Jake speak with John's mother, Mrs Campbell (Regina Taylor) and his sister, Rachel (Nia Nichole Smith) who is distraught over his death and it was her birthday.  He sent her a video message from his car and Laura works out where he was shot.  The coffee place where they take their children and Billy and Meredith check out a nearby garage, which was used as a 'cooling spot' until it was clear to move the cars.  They wait for a car to drive up and arrest the driver, didn't Meredith see him with the gun, thought that's why she paused and took a look.  He had files from John's cases which his handler, Lt Monahan (Sean Cullen) said wasn't possible since they were all on a computer which couldn't be hacked.  He also tells Billy, John aka 'Ricky' was working on the case where cars are stolen.

They need to access the computer and Santiani (Callie Thorne)says Laura should go with Jake cos she's their worst detective, meaning she can play bad cop.  They question him and he says that there's only three people who have access to the computer which is in his office.  They need to analyze it. Meredith finds someone hacked into it and focused on John's case.  Billy says he's on that too but no one would be interested in his files cos they're all old cases.  Then find they're being hacked right now, as Santianai gets a whole lot of files being printed out.

Laura finds they're all personal and Santiani gets hold of the e-mails Meredith sent Billy.  Laura unplugs her printer and Santiani tells everyone to shutdown.  Jake was in the middle of accessing an e-mail from his doctor which he worries will get out.  Meredith says the hacker is specifically targetting the second precinct and not the entire NYPD.  Max (Max Jenkins) finds a safe place for them to operate from, i.e. the bar and Laura's taken to writing down messages.  Billy and Meredith find a place which has good viewing access to the NYPD and a woman tells them of a man who hogged a table for four and wanted to use the computer plug.  He bought lots of mocha latte doublepump chai.

 Also Billy and Meredith follow a lead to an apartment which isn't him but an old man who ordered pizza online and got chatting with the site's online chat.  They find where the chat link is based and Meredith didn't think about the Internet camera on the computer as the hacker watches them.  When they reach the building, Billy's shot at.  It's someone he arrested when he was undercover and Devin (Gregory Bastian) tells him he got his file sent to him.  They find a file where Rachel was cyberbullied and he sent her photos of his privates after she tells their mother she wants to tell Jake what happened cos they can catch his killer.  Laura recognizes his 'junk' ie he has a banner belonging to Hudson University.  The man also spoke about Star Trek and science stuff.  Laura steals a Hudson University course book from the shop and Jake finds a class which refers to English is in Mars thinking that his mentioning Ziggy means he was into David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars.

Laura saying, 'ground control to Major Jake.'  She finds the man and more accurately notices his drink.  He killed John cos he beat up on him for bullying Rachel.  He didn't like her singing so he could say what he likes.  Laura reassures his mother he will get what he deserves.  Santiani wants a word with Billy and Meredith, obviously she's going to reprimand them about their relationship, but Laura intervenes when she recalls the piece of info she and Jake found out in ep 1 about how she dissed everyone when she thought she was going to get a promotion.  That Laura wanted Jake to use on her to get rid of her and get his job back, but he didn't use it and got a demotion instead.  She tells her she hasn't shared that with anyone and wouldn't either.  Santiani relents cos Laura likes her just a tiny bit more in the time she's known her.

She and Jake have their date which consisted of pizza and wine at home and she stole Santiani's printer.  She thinks there's lots of info on it and secrets they can read, but decided against it.  Telling him that's what lead to him not forsaking all others til death do they part.  She pulls the wire saying "no more secrets."  Which Jake is relieved about cos he has a secret, the e-mail he was reading has found something on his frontal lobe which needs to be further analyzed, only he doesn't tell her, so yeah another secret he's keeping.  Even if it's only cos he doesn't want to worry her at this point.  Especially since it'll affect his chances of winning her back and getting forgiveness which let's face it, he wouldn't and doesn't want out of pity, but cos she genuinely does forgive him.

Mysteries of Laura 2.7 "The Mystery of the Maternal Instinct" Review

                                              
A woman calls for help after she finds a pregnant woman dead in an alley and is having her car towed away.  Jake (Josh Lucas) and Laura (Debra Messing) continue with their usual banter of how she's still not forgiving him and she's got a pain in her neck which he says he can massage for her.  Laura adding that's what got him into trouble and being led astray in the first place.  The woman, Susan (Marisa Ryan) tells them she saw a white man in the alley and Laura stops her car from being towed for which she's offered a free massage.  Jake has written down the details in the notebook that Laura just gave him so that he doesn't forget things.  Also mentioning how good her memory is.  Lucky I don't need notebooks to recall things, never forget a thing!  Laura also hinting that she can sort out Susan's parking tickets too.  The thing about the notebook she gave Jake can also be implied it's cos he forgot what he said to her in hospital, but then he was in pain and pumped with drugs so that's easy to understand.

Renaldo (Marc Webster) calls for EMTs cos the baby is still alive and is rushed to hospital, Jake reminding him they still need the forensics from the woman.  The baby is in ICU and the mother had a pre-existing condition which needed medical attention, however her placenta ruptured.  She died after her head hit the pavement.  She was also found on Hooker's Row where Meredith (Janina Gavankar) tries to get information from and one of the girls tells her she looks good but she doesn't know the woman.  Her pimp, Vladi (Andrew Hovelson) turns up and gets rough with her so Billy (Laz Alonso) has to intervene, when Meredith was just getting started on him.  He tells Billy that he didn't touch her and points to her tattoo behind her ear.  She's from Nigeria and you don't mess with the Nigerian smugglers from Benin City.

Laura had Max (Max Jenkins) look into any pregnant women who had entered the country on a tourist visa and he narrowed the list down to two women, the pregnant one was DJ and she was registered at a hotel.  The concierge recalls she would book a room but wait to be picked up by a white van.  As a man comes into the hotel and sends a text on his phone.  Laura grabs it and reads the text where he warns someone about the police being here.  He gets paid for picking up the women by a man named Carlo and that's all he knows.  Billy and Meredith follow the GPS on the phone and the white van to another location, when they raid it, they find other men and also a woman in her underwear.  She says DJ was new and how they smuggled uncut stones into the country so they couldn't be traced.

DJ had been locked up and escaped through a tiny window which caused her placenta to rupture. They ask Carlo (Blake DeLong) for her suitcase and he says he didn't kill her.  Inside they find a teddy bear and Jake puts smoothing aside for the baby from his mother.  Laura finds a notebook and deciphering the entry leads them to an apartment building.  They find out about Ambaby and in the penthouse find other pregnant mothers who were brought into the country cos they wanted their babies born here and would have dual nationality.  I don't know why Santiani (Callie Thorn) found this difficult to grasp.  There was no proper medical care and only a nursing student (Alexandra Turshen) who got paid here and they had a Dr Nick (Andrew Rothenberg) on call if they needed help. He's tracked down to a clinic where he's treating criminals.

Nick gives them info on a young man with blond hair and how he has an alibi for when DJ was killed.  He should've been on call but he lost his medical licence to his gambling habit and was on a winning streak when he got the text.  He didn't leave.  No wonder he lost his licence, he should get the book thrown at him, what happened to his Hippocratic Oath, oh poker was far more important. They can't find who the man is, but then Laura recalls the estate agent in the flyer the apartment doorman (John Hattington Bland) had given her, in which she placed her gum.  Jake poses as a rich man looking for an apartment, well at least we go to see him in a suit and tie again this season! Scott's (Eric Sheffer Stevens) arrested and says he wanted to help DJ and in return she gave him a sapphire.  He sent an email to a nurse on call that night, her domain is massage.com, which Jake recalls belongs to Susan.

She says she wanted to help her but she panicked and dragged her to dump her, she hit her head on the kerb.  After they find Susan's DNA on DJ's ankle.  See another 'witness' trying to be too helpful and thus giving herself away in the process, especially when she saw the street cleaner and pretended to be a witness.  Her DNA wasn't in the system cos she hadn't been arrested.   DJ's relatives were found so they can keep her baby.  Did you notice the look on Laura's face at the beginning when DJ was taken away in the ambulance, she seemed to recall losing their own daughter, which we heard about in season 1, that's why both she and Jake wear their bracelets still.  Also Jake putting away the toy for the baby so the baby would have something the mother got.

Jake stays for dinner and he really needed to do that cos of this case.  Also he shows her the doctor's note written on a letterhead concurring with his first doctor's opinion and he asks for a date for Saturday night, a date in the night, which Laura agrees too albeit rather hesitantly.  Jake also commenting one her hair earlier in the ep cos it was straight and she says she got into a struggle with her hairdryer, but he mentions she's actually seeing Tony.

Once Upon A Time 5.20 "Firebird" Review

                                                 
As the others gather outside discussing how they can leave, Regina (Lana Parilla) tries to transfer half of Emma's (Jennifer Morrison) heart to Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) but it doesn't work.  Well that transplant was rejected.  Hades (Greg Germann) tells them it was cos David (Josh Dallas) was only dead a few moments, whereas Hook's body is decaying and his soul is no loner in it.  Thought that already, they'd come up with some excuse, especially since they have all that magic and yet still have obstacles in their ways.

Hades turns up with a note saying he needs their help as Gold (Robert Carlyle) has kidnapped Zelena (Rebecca Mader) along with Pan (Robbie A Kay).  Regina wants to help, but Hook says he can't be trusted and as always he was right.  Hades saying if they help he'll erase their names from the stones and Emma agrees to help him but only if he does this.  She didn't ask for a way to help Hook though and obviously Hades' Ambrosia story was full of holes.  When he spoke of Orpheus and Eurydice. He sends Emma and Hook down to the deepest depths where even he hasn't been.  As they accompany each other and Hades says the portal will only be open until sundown. The others decide to help people leave the underworld too, by Henry (Jared Gilmore) writing what their unfinished business is.
Robin's (Sean Maguire) been sent a message to come out of hiding and Regina says he should give Zelena the baby and they should head to the portal cos Regina trusts her, so he should do it for her.

However as they sit there handing out their unfinished business, Cruella (Victoria Smurfit) arrives and says that no one's going anywhere cos she's the new ruler and she has magic cos the blind witch (Emma Caulfield) has magic and together they're going to rule, cos David also dispensed with James who was her fun down here.  She seals them into the library and Regina's magic doesn't work.  Emma gets down below with Hook and she has to place her heart on the weighing scale as Hook tells her to and it doesn't move.  She has a reaction and Hook tells her to go for her heart as he's surrounded by fire, but instead she saves him from the flames.  Thus showing that she does really love him as the scale moves and doors open.  However their search is fruitless as they don't find any ambrosia.  Hook tells her she must return with her family and leave him here.  Oh pointless her coming here then and bringing everyone else too.   Lots of snogging and holding hands and as Hook said before, why does she manage to say lovey dovey things when they're in danger or trouble.  She mentions her armour and how she's been wearing it for so long, but she doesn't need it with Hook.

Interspersed with this we get Emma back being in Maine, 2009 and pursued by a bounty hunter, Cleo Fox (Rya Kihlstedt) when she looks for anyone in a clipping she has.  Cleo tells her she knows and handcuffs her whilst she takes a shower.  Of course Emma knows how to pick locks and she finds the computer which has a tracker site open and doesn't leave.  They head to the courtroom where the miniscule-ly thin file only contains a clipping of a boy finding her as a baby, which she already had and two other pieces of paper.  Later she breaks in and Cleo follows her but doesn't find anything cos the police arrive.  breaks a window to escape and wants Emma to come with her.  She later finds herself bleeding in the alley with a piece of glass stuck in her and Emma tell her she can get help. See Emma got her killed cos she had to pursue things and couldn't leave them alone.  Suppose this was a parallel story for her situation with Hook, as he said to her he should've died in Camelot and this time she's got to leave him here.  He'll probably move on to bigger and better lines!! Ha.

What's the betting he doesn't cos does he really have any unfinished business now, aside from his father, whom we don't get to see in the underworld.  Also Cruella's still around and Henry left the book with peoples' unfinished business tn the library, maybe Hook'll find this or help the others.

Emma finds her daughter and tells her she found her birth mother, then buys a leather jacket cos she called it armour that she can put on to protect herself.  As Emma leaves with the others she says she won't stop helping anyone else.  Gold takes Robin's heart for Pan so he can get out of here and then doublecrosses papa by saying he put his heart back when he wasn't around cos he knew his shadow was there.  Saying goodbye to papa forever as he put some water from the river of Lost Souls into it too.  See did Pan really think he could actually get him to help.

Gold putting Belle in Pandora's box: never to be opened or untold evils will be unleashed, didn't know whether to laugh or not.  Did he really think that her father will bring her back with a kiss, well I know I already said that but just couldn't help it!  He even got Hades to tear up the baby contract but it was funny seeing Pan try to take Zelena's heart and Emma stopping him.  Zelena kissed Hades and kick started his heart!  Big mistake!

Also how everyone for years told Regina she should forgive people and when she finally does forgive her own sister she's berated for it and also when she told her to find the man she loves.  Only man is still as selfish as ever and only wanted to get his sorry ass out of the underworld.  Let's hope Hook finds his ambrosia somehow cos we really don't want him to not be around!  A lot of people will stop watching.  Could even go so far as to say that this episode was all about Emma's jacket in many ways and no it didn't help her that much if at all.  She's still making the same mistakes and also garbling words at the same time!

Regina: "You'd think the ex-pirate with a rum habit would cut my sister some slack."
Hook: "You'd think the Evil Queen would be even smarter than to send the wicked witch to romance the most devious man alive."  Well he was right, even if Zelena had showed a glimmer of a change in character, there's no guarantee Hades would or could ever change and this was proven even before we got to ep's end on two occasions.  Or three if you count getting Zelena's baby too and heading for Storybrooke without waiting for the others.  Stealthy (Geoff Gustafson) was in the underworld too and Henry told him how Grumpy still talks about him.

Mysteries of Laura 2.6 "Mystery of the Dead Heat" Review

                                          
A man's DB was found inside a sauna, Matthew Burke who was the owner.  He tried to claw out of the locked door.  His bunch of big keys are found in his short's pocket and Laura (Debra Messing) wonders why men have to carry such large keys around unlike women who have handbags.  His wife Cecilia (Sherri Saum) walks in and she's despondent at seeing him there.  She has MS and after Matthew found out he dropped his job as an attorney and became a physical trainer to help her.  She also has a van which has been converted so she can drive herself around and the camera purposely pans in on her orange medic alert bracelet, as a clue.  But he insisted on driving her and he didn't do that on the night he was killed.

Looking through complains from unhappy clients, they find a husband and wife who own a crappy cycle store as Laura calls it.  The husband, Connor (Isaac Caldiero) is doing a practice run on some makeshift obstacle course and it's made from scaffolding and orange netting.  He says he's planning on going on American Ninja.  Julie (Jesmille Darbouze) tells them about a man who was watching her named Archie (Robert Hallak) and she complained to Matthew about it, who said he'd take care of it.  Way to get suspicion off themselves, cos if they weren't involved, they wouldn't be shown. Archie has unpaid parking tickets which Max (Max Jenkins) finds and they narrow down his parking tickets to a specific area.  Jake (Josh Lucas) and Meredith (Janina Gavankar) check out and Jake thinks he's probably having a Continental breakfast at the cafe. But he's not inside.  However Jake spots his car after a truck pulls away and Archie attacks him with a wrench.

Archie tells Laura he didn't know they were police cos he was almost carjacked and says he'd been using Matthew's computer to write his resume/CV after he wanted to help him out.  Santiani (Callie Thorne) didn't think he was innocent and it didn't explain why he had Matthew's gym bag.  Meredith asks him for Matthew's computer password which she uses to log on and finds his CV.  Laura tells Santiani that hers and Meredith's gut says it's not Archie.  Meredith also finds a file with photos of a man and woman together and Laura notices the orange bracelet.  See clue!  Ha.  Cecilia says he was her sex surrogate since things weren't going well after her MS and he would work out the positions with her and Matthew knew.  She recalled Matthew didn't lock the van with the latch that day and he always did that, he kept his keys in his backpack mostly.  So someone who didn't know about the latch took the keys and didn't lock the van back.

The van was wiped clean and most likely Matthew had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Also they find orange fibres on the key chain, which Laura recalled were at the training course for Julie's husband.  Cecilia also worked at the city and had access to municipal plans, which Jake finds burned out copies off at the shop.  Yeah leave behind evidence without destroying it properly, they could have just as easily taken the plans with them, duh! Laura asks Cecilia which plans were more likely to have been stolen and she narrows it down to five.  One of which is a bank.  Didn't the corner piece Jake found have any info on it.  Also Meredith and Billy (Laz Alonso) find a list of numbers, which Jake works out are sunset times.  5.59 being the time for that day.

They arrive at the bank and the lights go out after an explosion since Isaac used to work at a construction site, but there's no robbery.  Santiani watches the news where Chief D'Angelo (Malachy Cleary) gives a press conference on how the second precinct foiled a bank robbery.  However Laura says it's not the bank and from the photos taken of the buildings on the other plans, she finds one of the buildings has scaffolding and netting near a police evidence building.  If they get into the vault then they can wreck thousands of convictions and criminals could go free cos of evidence tampering. She and Jake enter the building and Jake has a momentary problem with his heart.  As Laura earlier wanted him to see a specialist and then she'd think about a date with him.

Jake hears a noise and seconds later the wall explodes, as he shields Laura to the ground.  They enter and they have a shootout but Julie escapes, only to be caught by Billy and Meredith on the roof. Thought Jake might'vea  gotten chance to have his go at climbing but obviously that wouldn't have been too healthy for him right now.  The Chief has a go at Santiani for the press conference he gave, but Laura defends her by saying she planned it that way so the public wouldn't be aware of the real target.  He's impressed by Laura.  Oh watch out, she's next in line for Captain!  Ha.

Billy's mother, Silvia (Geisha Otero) comes in to see Meredith and is impressed by her cos she's been pestering him to meet his girlfriend. Though they don't actually meet in person.  Jake tells him the whole office knows about the two of them and he sussed it out cos he's a detective, but advises against introducing her to his mother yet cos Meredith might get too pressurized.  Like he did with Laura's father.  Meredith would like to meet his mother one day but for now they go back to her apartment and make a taxi driver she knows jealous.  Jake agrees to see the doctor and Laura says after she sees the doctor's note, they'll talk about a date, but she's seeing Tony on Saturday.

Thought Jake would've already got a second opinion even if he is trying to keep the department from his health issue, cos there's doctor/patient privilege and who's to say he didn't, though it's understandable Laura would want him to cos she doesn't really want to lose him and especially for the children too.  But is does seem that momentary pain he got may have more serious repercussions for him and he may just need to get "benched" to use Santiani's phrase from ep 4 and get a desk job. No chases in this ep and usually there's at least one in every ep, hmm, must be taking a new approach.
Laura's seeing Tony but it can't hurt to go on adate with Jake, I mean not like she's gonna jump right in and take him back, even if they do see each other at work everyday.   Yeah but of course you know I'm biased in Jake's favour, still what he did can't be easily forgiven and why Laura needs time to get over that, not sure she ever will, but she needs to be sure.  Especially considering he still doesn't recall what he said to her about loving her.

Longmire 4.5 "Help Wanted" Review

                                         
Walt (Robert Taylor) is testing applicants for the post of deputy to replace Branch and Ruby (Louanne Stephens) informs him of  a shooting of Greg Collette (Brendan Fehr) at his home.  Walt rides with him in the ambulance and he tells him how the robbers were masked and wanted money but when they asked for Brandy's wedding ring he refused and was shot.  He describes the ring as a green agate and silver and she found the rock when they were camping.  Also informing him that she killed herself two months ago, she was suffering from PTSD after returning home from fighting in Iraq and wasn't provided with the help she needed.

Vic (Katee Sackhoff) radios in about a shooting at a warehouse where a security guard, Lee McKinnon (John Bobek) was shot and they find the stolen items were pharmaceuticals.  He described them as wearing ski masks but one of them stopped and stitched up his leg.  Several clues to this too as it was apparent it could've been an inside job and the thieves could've just been after the drugs and that's all.  Walt checks out the applicants at the firing range and one of them, Zachary Heflin (Barry Sloane) didn't shoot at the target cos it wasn't close enough to him, Walt telling him it's a dangerous criminal with a gun and he fires perfect shots.  He leaves Cady (Cassidy Freeman) to deal with them as he's asked for her help with background checks.

He has Ferg (Adam Bartley) check out forensics at both scenes and whether there are any similarities or differences.  Ferg finds that the bullets were from the same gun, that of the security guard, Lee, at both scenes.  Then questions the potential applicants on their theories of how that could be possible if the shooting of Greg took place first and the security guard second and the delay between the 911 call by Lee.  Travis (Derek Phillips) who also wants in on the deputy's position thinks it's an inside job and he returns after Walt rejected his application cos of his misdemeanours, but generally again it's cos he doesn't measure up to his expectations.

Due to the type of drugs stolen Walt thinks it could be the same people, Trey and Theo who are on probation now for selling drugs and checks out their place cos they're on probation and so they don't need a warrant. Vic finds a gun inside which he says belongs to his Nana.  Also they don't know how to make meth.  Walt talks with the doctor, Donna Sue (Ally Walker) at the clinic who dealt with Brandy and she couldn't help her.  She didn't know she killed herself but knew it would happen cos she couldn't get the help and the drugs she needed.  She agitatedly knocks over the drugs from the cabinet which includes those that were stolen.
Walt asks if Greg recognizes any of the boys in the mugshots and then wonders if he recognizes Lee's voice.  His friend Mark Van Zandt (Rick Ravanello) is there as well, that's when I deduced (thank you Sherlock!  ha) that he and Gerg were in on it along with Lee cos he seemed agitated when he saw Van Zandt.  Ferg also points out something's happening between them.

Cady checks the references and one of them Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) knows and he also has a tear in his shirt.  Theo and Trey bring in a photo to show Walt of Dwight Brisco (Nick Gomez). Henry buys drugs from him and he says he's a veteran but he didn't steal the drugs.  He walked into church and took them from there to sell, cos he hasn't been able to find work.  At the church Walt finds the drugs in the piano cos one of the notes doesn't play and they find Donna Sue conducting a support group.  Also a woman, Rebecca (Amanda Brooks) speaks about her husband getting better now.  Speaking to Donna Sue she tells them she didn't do it and as they confiscate the drugs, she says they need them cos people won't help.

Walt knows they'll steal more drugs and they haven't hurt anyone yet but who knows next time.  Ferg surveils Lee's house and he's noticed a truck drive around three times with Colorado plates.  He's also noticed the car.  Ferg leaves  Zachary behind to surveil further and not Monte (Stephen Louis Grush) cos he made remarks about Walt and what he's like, but also cos he looks like a policeman.  Zachary  says Van Zandt spoke with Lee at his house.  Walt plans a sting and as they hijack a truck carrying drugs, Walt arrests Van Zandt and it had to be none other than Greg under the ski mask.  He didn't want anyone else to go through what Brandy went through, but there's a third accomplice.  Obviously it was cos Rebecca was very vocal about her husband and getting better.  She holds Walt at gunpoint and makes him get down on his knees, about to shoot him.  Walt mentions Of Mice and Men and George shooting Lenny cos he didn't want him to be lynched.  It was an act of love and she can show her husband that's what this is too so he'll get the help he needs.  She throws the gun down.

Walt hires Zachary as deputy cos he's read the book, but also cos he answers his question about if he'd shot Lennie too.  Removing Branch's name from the list of the sheriff's office outside.  Vic calls Eammon but a woman answers and buys Travis a beer who says he was much better than Branch. They both played football but he played for the team so he went onto play football.  He's angry he can't get a job either with Walt and not just cos of his misdeameanours.  Even Vic must have some he says.
That was a fairly straightforward investigation and it pays to read!  I like the way ones with a little more twists in them.

Mysteries of Laura 2.5 "Mystery of the Watery Grave" Review

                                             
A 911 operator receives a call from a woman who is run off the road in her car by bikers.  She's the wife of The New York Ledger owner, Terrence Van Doren (Jeffrey Pierce) who needs them to find out who killed his wife, Isabel (Betty Gilpin).  At the accident scene Renaldo (Marc Webster) finds the body is missing, probably washed away in the river and signs of head trauma with some scalp remains on the windscreen.  Inside Laura (Debra Messing) spots  a plastic bag and some empty coffee cups.  After speaking with Terrence who tells them he recently published an article about motorcycle flashmobs and thinking it could be murder.  Meredith (Janina Gavankar) knows where the bikers will be and Jake (Josh Lucas) wants to get out his Harley and go riding, but Laura doesn't cos he's still recovering and besides, Meredith adds she'd look better on a bike than him.  Ooh missed our chance to see Jake in leathers!

Billy (Laz Alonso) follows her and she gets in the bikers good books and challenges them to a race but a motorist gets involved and has his window smashed, leading her to reveal her true ID.  He insists he didn't have anything to do with Isabel cos they filed a lawsuit against Terence and were most likely to win, attacking her would've led to that not happening.  He also has an alibi cos he was with his wife.  Jake asks Terrence for the hate mail he's been getting and he tells his assistant, Beth (Anastasia Barzee) to help.  Also telling him Claire died in a kayaking accident.  Yeah they were all accidents how unlucky could Terrence have been with his wives!  His former brother in law, brother of his first wife, Claire was sending him the mail and is most likely the suspect.  Laura speaks with him and he says he used to beat Claire and didn't let the family see her whenever they wanted to.

Knew Isabel staged her own death cos it was that obvious, but more so since she would've got the same treatment as Claire and that Terrence also would've killed Claire.  Remember always suspect the spouse!  Meredith listens to the 911 call and says the sound effects were just that and there were no bikes following her.  Thus she staged her death.  Laura also assumes the bag she saw in the car would've had ice in there which would've melted in the water and would've been placed on the accelerator to speed the car and enter the water.  Laura and Jake speak with the taxi ferry operator who doesn't recall seeing Isabel or Terrence.  Santiani (Callie Thorne) disagrees she's still alive unless they can get evidence confirming the white van a woman wearing a baseball cap got into is actually Isabel.  Who took a ferry to an IKEA store and got into the van and is seen on their surveillance.  Jake commenting on how shoppers wanted to get to IKEA so early!

Terrence pays a visit to Santiani who believes her detectives are not doing their jobs and as he knows the police commissioner will have the case reassigned.  She gives Laura her full backing to find Isabel cos Terrence is a jerk, to put it mildly.  They find that Isabel didn't have any friends, after Laura speaks with her assistant who was meant to help her blend into Greenwich society.  He tells Laura she didn't have much to do and didn't want to volunteer, also she preferred jeans to nice clothes, which Laura agrees with.  But she did donate money to a place downtown, the Styvesant women's shelter.  Where Max (Max Jenkins) finds the woman in charge hired a van using her credit card to rent the white truck.  Meredith is able to narrow down motels near an airport, as the truck had GPS she can hack into.

Laura goes alone since she's a woman so Isabel would talk to her more easily and she pulls a gun on her.  She tells her about Terrence and how he would've killed her cos he used to beat her up and shows her the bruises where he recently kicked her.  Also saying she'd end up like Claire.  She won't come in but Laura promises to get him for murdering Claire.  Jake wants her to come in cos they can protect her, but that'd be ruining the ace up their sleeve, since he's got the police commissioner and everyone else eating out of his hand.  Max tells them the only police interview they conducted for Claire's death was with Beth and Jake says he can talk to her, "it's man/woman thing."

She tells Jake she didn't see Claire that day and her finances show that Terrence bought her an expensive apartment which must've been a payment for helping him out.  Terrence's lawyer shows up and prevents her talking further and Jake puts his foot in it by libelling him.  He goes to the press who turn up at Laura's doorstep and Laura adds it's messy now.  Hey why didn't they share dinner with
the boys since they were actually all at the house together.  Max also raving about the decor in Terence's house and showing them magazine photos.  She notices he hasn't changed the decor at all since then, so they could get a warrant to search his house.  However they'd need Isabel for that so Santiani thinks if they searched anyway, then he couldn't refuse them or he'd look guilty.  Jake wants a date with Laura and he asks what's happening with the forgiveness project, but she says she's with Tony.

She notices that there seems to be a painting there that's different and Max confirms there should be a tryptych there, maybe it had blood spatter.  Meredith, Billy and Renaldo found a grave on the property which contained a DB there.  Laura and Max pay a visit to the museum where he donated the third of the painting and Max gets her in cos the Carnegies are huge donators.  He tells them Terrence donated it but it's been cleaned before it was hung.  That's why he did it cos any DNA would've been cleaned along with it and was donated at the time Claire died.

Laura recalls how Isabel's assistant said he loved his mother and visited her grave every week, but the museum man says he hated her.  Thus the body is most likely there.  Got that when the assistant said Terrence went to see his mother every week!  She can get into the family crypt with Isabel's consent cos she's family and Renaldo finds a skull with head trauma.  They have enough to arrest Terrence, however Laura fools him with an ulna bone which she put together from a museum kit Renaldo gave the boys.  Terrence smugly says they need a warrant for the crypt, but Isabel turns up saying they had her permission.  He'll do down for Claire's murder.

Santiani tells Laura her ex beat her once and she left him and that's why she wanted to get Terrence as well.  That's why she gave her leeway on the case.  Laura still hasn't forgiven Jake but he hasn't given up and wants a date with her, with the "may the best man win" comment too. Well we know who the best man is, sorry but Tony is boring!! Lots of clues early on again that Isabel staged her own death and where Claire's DB would be found and also when the caretaker said he'd come in every week with a briefcase, off course that'd be to sneak in parts of the body.

Once Upon A Time 5.19 "Sisters" Review

                                               
As Hades (Greg Germann) drives Zelena (Rebecca Mader) around in his truck, to the tune of "I'm the one that set the world on fire" or rather, made the show so boring ha!  He tells her if she wants the real Storybrooke he'll get it for her cos she doesn't deserve this second rate one in the underworld and he's changed the names on the gravestones so that none of these do-gooders can leave.  They'll go back and take it over, of course she's forgetting or not realizing he's only using her.  How can she be wicked and at the same time be blinded by his true intentions.  I mean how can he leave this place anyway.  As Regina (Lana Parilla) tells her it's a mistake and he can't expect to think he can leave by true love's kiss after all the time he's been here.  She shows her the mirror which she used to spy on their so-called date including finding out his plan of leaving them all stranded here.  Though Hades forgets their secret weapon, Snow is back in Storybrooke already and will band everyone together to fight Hades, if he gets there.  Also that David (Josh Dallas) sent her back cos she's a better leader, could he have foreseen this trouble coming.  It's a little doubtful he'll even make it their considering what happens at the end of this ep, with Zelena getting kidnapped.

Cos David was right, he wouldn't have been any good back there and he wouldn't have gotten his meeting with James either.  Who tells him Cruella (Victoria Smurfit) lied, he doesn't bear grudges about their mother choosing David over him, rather he took his princley title from him, which is the real reason he's here with his unfinished business, which will remain so.  He kidnapped David and locked him up in the sheriff's station, not too bright then was he.  As he returns to Emma's (Jennifer Morrison) apartment, she doesn't sense he's not quite her father, like mother, like daughter can I say, considering Snow didn't realize it wasn't David who kissed her, so much for true love's kiss.  Emma didn't even notice the stubble on him either!  Considering they all share that apartment.  He gets the day wrong in the photo of David and Snow forgetting it was their anniversary, still Emma didn't realize with their love for each other, David wouldn't ever forget their anniversary!

Regina finds talking to Zelena didn't do any good since she doesn't believe Regina would care about her now after all this time and she thinks they need someone else's help.  This being Cora (Barbara Hershey) who we see is slaving away down the mines, so to speak, as the miller's daughter that she is. She finds a hook in the sacks and uses it to get her magic back by removing her bracelet, obviously recognizing Hook's (Colin O'Donoghue) hook, he hasn't had much to do of late, he was only in two scenes!

David and Emma take supplies to Robin (Sean Macguire) still hiding out when I'm sure he could've returned with Snow and Cruella drives up as James takes the baby, cos Hades wants it and will get into Zelena's good books with it, but also they can use it as leverage against Hades.  See, a surefire giveaway that he doesn't really love her cos he wouldn't have to use a baby to blackmail her. Emma gets a bracelet slapped on her to stop her using magic.  Thinking Hades will probably turn around and surprise everyone by declaring he really does love her and will need their help with Zelena.

Cora says the only way they can get Zelena to get over Hades is if she forgets and takes some water from a stream running from the river of Lethe.  The same one she used on Regina to make her forget about Zelena.  So now suddenly cos the plot requires it, we find Regina and Zelena knew they were sisters all along cos Cora needed  Zelena to save Regina after she opened a box containing her wand and fell ill after she used its magic to bring her doll to life.  Bringing back Zelena from her abusive father who didn't want her to use magic as we know.  So after they both got close and after Cora, foolishly didn't remove the box from that same drawer and Zelena was able to open it, Regina realized they must be related.  Cora admitting they are sisters but taking Zelena away and making them both forget their obvious love for each other.

Cora says she's sorry to Zelena but Zelena reads her like a book and knows Regina is there, not drinking the water she calls poison.  As Regina and Zelena are about to throw fireballs at each other, for real and not play dress-ups, Cora puts an end to it.  She says she loves them both and her unfinished business is Zelena, not Regina.  She joins hands with them and miraculously makes them recall the love for each other.  Zelena now knowing she was loved.  So they end up at that cliff edge again and she says her goodbyes to Regina cos she didn't have a chance to in Storybrooke and her hellos to Zelena cos they didn't even get a chance to say hello.  Zelena is upset cos she didn't get chance to know her.  Cora is engulfed by flames which turn into that same old staircase out of there, the same one Regina's father climbed, most likely and she is redeemed and sent to a better place.

Zelena seems to be on her side until Gold (Robert Carlyle) catches up to her and wants his revenge for what she did to Belle, it's not her fault she didn't want to be with him, she tells him, as she watches Hades inside the diner, cos sis Regina let hr be with the man she loves.  Playing that same old song.  Maybe it is for Zelena to remain wicked and remain a villain and not a hero, not everyone can become a hero can they, that'd be too much like Regina. Gold introduced her to his dad, Peter Pan (Robbie A Kay) and he managed to say that with a straight face again, as Pan whisked her away, guessing it's not to Neverland!! ha.

David and Hook arrive at the dock in time to save the others as he and James fight, as Cruella runs away when James is pushed into the river of Lost Souls, so no unfinished business for him.  He told him he shouldn't have locked him up there cos he knows how to get out.
Suppose the highlight was Cora calling Hook "my faiyr godmother."  Most of this felt like it was tacked on just to get Cora gone and Regina and Zelena to find each other as sisters.  The baby kidnap and David meeting James was hopeless and silly really, cos it was finished in the space of one ep, like Hook becoming the Dark One was dealt with in two eps.  Funny Cruella just seems to get away over and over to fight another day, so it's not so easy to take care of her then!

The Vampire Diaries 7.20 "Kill 'Em All" Review

                                               
As they rush to finish off the vampires on Rayna's (Leslie-Anne Huff) list, time's running out for Bonnie (Kat Graham).  Damon (Ian Somerhalder) gets Matt (Zach Roerig) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) to kill some together which was a mistake considering what they feel towards one another, but the unfinished story between them and why Matt hates him so much was inevitable.  Two years ago Matt proposed to Penny and she accepted.  But we know she was killed and Matt suspects it was Stefan. However he learns it was actually him, after Stefan saves him from a vampire.  Stefan was visiting Elizabeth Forbes's grave hoping Caroline (Candice King) would show up, but she didn't.  Instead he was met by Penny who tried to kill him.  Matt arrived and he shot her, thinking it was a vampire. Stefan compelled him to forget and still doesn't want him to remember, but he gives Matt back his memories.  He's sorry he released Rayna and kidnapped Caroline for something he did.  Well it wouldn't be that difficult considering Rayna is one selfish liar and loves using people.  Matt blames Stefan for coming back to Mystic Falls but actually it's also his fault too for drawing her into this vampire hunting, especially since she was just going after everyone, even those Matt knows.

Caroline takes Alaric (Matt Davis) on their so-called hunting roadtrip too, even though there's a million things to do with the twins and at their school.  She wants to help Bonnie and she also doesn't want to be with Stefan either or see him.  They find two who are a couple and at the first sign of trouble, Ashlyn runs out on Wyatt.  However Damon gets Alex (Mouzzar Moukka) to help with the Armoury in killing the rest off the list, in return he'll get Bonnie to her.  He also tells Enzo (Michael Malarkey) to be with Bonnie cos he doesn't have much time left with her and he doesn't want Bonnie to give up.  Again referring to his own life when he had to give up, going through the hurt, anger, drinking, fighting, but nothing helped.  Bonnie takes Rayna's blood and injects herself with it so the Armoury can't find her with a locator spell as the pills have warn off.

Stefan tells Damon he can't forgive him just yet for the hell he went through, but he's doing good and he should continue with that.  Alex kidnaps Alaric and Caroline so that Bonnie fulfils her part of the bargain and opens the vault.  Alaric is impressed with an artifact belonging to Charlemagne which he searched for three years and with all of their other finds; he's hoping they get whatever they want cos they could be in serious trouble otherwise and Bonnie opens the vault, telling everyone to get out quickly.  Inside Alex finds Yvette dead and nothing good, but apparently it's something which will turn everyone bad and this is what happened to their great grandfather after he opened it too.

Damon tells Enzo he made a deal with Alex so Bonnie will hate him and not Enzo, doing what he couldn't do.  She already hates him anyway even if she said she forgives him for leaving.  Damon takes Rayna to the shaman, gives him Bonnie's blood and he does the spell, but before Rayna stabs herself she gets him to transfer her burdens onto Bonnie, meaning she'll hate all the vampires and hunt them all down.  So ending her relationship with Enzo too.  Of course as we're nearing the end of the season, something else had to happen for next season, including the new big bad that's potentially released now, even if Bonnie sealed the Armoury with a spell, so it can't get out.  It is a big place to keep underwraps and surely someone will find it, or Bonnie'll open it herself now she has to hunt vampires herself.

Mysteries of Laura 2.4 "The Mystery of the Convict Mentor" Review

                                                
Nice change of pace for an ep, when I say change of pace, I mean as in plot, as this time the action focused on a cold case and not on any homicide.  Though one was mentioned which Billy (Laz Alonso) and Meredith (Janina Gavankar) cleared up in the record time of eight hours.  Laura (Debra Messing) received a call from her old captain, Hauser (who last season murdered his wife's killer and pulled a gun on Laura too, oh the outrage, Pilot ep).  Hauser (Enrico Colantoni) cryptically tells her where to find the DBs of two security guards who vanished after a robbery and then tells her he can't talk anymore, she assumes it's cos he's being watched.  Santiani (Callie Thorne) wants her to investigate a murder and Laura thinks they may be synchronicitally sharing their time of the month and asks if she's on it now, cos Laura's got serious cramps.

Laura takes Jake (Josh Lucas) to the building where the DBs are after buying a screwdriver, clearly she doesn't have one at home and neither does Jake, just saying!  Cos later Santiani checks her credit card and finds she purchased one the day before, and she couldn't pay cash for it either.  They find the DBs of the security guards behind a grate and she recognizes the uniforms and the necklace that the woman wore.  Jake wants forensics on the scene, bu Laura wants him to wait cos of ehr CI and finally reveals it's Hauser, shocking him of course.  They argue about how she's forgiven him, someone who held a gun to her, but she can't forgive him and holds his past up to him everyday. Clearly moving on from the conversation they had about how she lets the boys do their maths homework when they're with him, adding that Jake could always do the laundry instead.  Nah I wouldn't do laundry!  Also Jake mentions how it's funny how the man gets lumbered with the maths homework.

This ep was a little sexist in that's how Billy was treating Meredith, he wanted to protect her when they were on the manhunt and also how he stopped her at the end of the ep from advancing any further when they caught the crim.  She's a detective and was one long before they got together which she tells him in no uncertain terms, they're equals and partners and she doesn't need protecting cos she's his girl now, or needs to walk behind him.  Apparently the only reason no one's brought up how they're getting along is cos they don't want anyone else to know, but of course Laura does.

Laura pays Hauser a visit in prison and gives him a bag of pork rinds which will make him go straight to the loo, thought that was a clue he was already giving her.  As well as the ones where he tells her he's wearing band aids on all his fingers cos of paper cuts and he's researching for his appeal, hitting a brick wall.  Yeah it was all there.  Also adding he's unable to talk right now.  Next day Jake comes in telling her she's not watching the news cos their was a prison break and Thomas Mullens (Jamie Jackson) escaped along with Hauser.  Cue manhunt and also Laura and Jake searching Hauser's cell under the suspicious gaze of the correctional officers, who film their search.  He made his escape by removing bricks from the wall and hid it behind the boxes full of legal books. Having also made legal notes too.

Santiani finds out about Laura's visit to Hauser and benches her until IA can deal with her, she also checked her credit card, though Jake could've used his instead.  She's suspected of helping him to escape, which Laura finds absurd.  Laura has Max (Max Jenkins) check out the correction officers at the prison and he finds that there are three women there who can be very easily manipulated by the men.  So why not the male officers, see sexist comment again.  Jake questions the three and one of them, Vicky Lynn (Eva Kaminsky) liked Hauser even though he's a killer.  Jake breaks her down as only Jake could and she admits they're on their way to Canada.

Laura recalls how Hauser liked Mexico when they were partners and used to make things up to pass the time.  Then recalls the clues in their conversation.  She asks Jake to search his cell as if he was leaving clues for them and to luminol the cell, would've been quicker if she had asked him to luminol the brick walls instead of the entire cell, cos of his 'hitting a brick wall' clue from earlier.  Anyhoo, Jake finds 'charlie' written in his blood on the wall.  Laura shows Santiani the map where Charlie district was their patrol area and how Mullens owned the building there.  Max did research and found he owned six buildings in the area.  Which they search but come up with nothing.  Laura is despondent then hears the call over the radio about a break in where flashlights and such items were stolen.  She checks out bathroom and finds a message written in waterproof eyeliner in the toilet which gives her an address.  Jake has Max check it out and buildings registered to the name of Rosario, Mullens' mother's maiden name.

Laura promises to wait but has to go in when he pulls a gun on Hauser.  The others try and break down the door when they arrive, but couldn't see he window like Laura did.  She tries to talk him down but can't and Jake uses a door jamb to open the door, Billy shooting Mullens.
Well if Hauser hadn't gone to prison, Jake wouldn't be at the precinct cos he was the replacement boss, much to Laura's chagrin and we wouldn't have gotten to see him stuck behind his desk, practically, every ep!  Ha.  Laura and her emotional farewell to him and he regrets his actions cos she was his family.  But she can't forgive Jake so easily cos everytime she tries to go there the hurt just keeps coming back.

Anyway Jake did the paperwork so she can buy him a beer.  The scene in the bar with them when Jake wanted to dance with her was so funny and at the same time a little romantic too.  She wants to forgive him, especially cos of what he said in the season 1 finale, but just can't get past the betrayal.  And eeeww Laura didn't wash her hands after touching the toilet, I know it's just a little point, but still, eeeww!!  Ha.