Once Upon A Time 6.8 "I'll Be Your Mirror" Review

                                             
Regina (Lana Parilla) and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) finding a way to trap the Evil Queen would only backfire, at least most of the eps begin in this way.  Then somehow they backfire on her.  This one begins with Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David/Charming (Josh Dallas) coming to terms with not seeing each other at the same time and leave messages for each other.  As well as Snow realizing the Evil Queen is watching them through the mirror.  Which gives Regina an idea to trap the Evil Queen in a mirror and this will require using Henry (Jared Gilmore) as bait.  As if that hasn't been done before.

He meets The Evil Queen and she realizes it's a trap but gets one better on them when the mirror doesn't work and she smashes it, sending them to the land of mirrors instead, where she's been watching everyone, what the Evil Queen has a pervy bone in her!  As well as keeping up the Rumples' (Robert Carlyle) seduction. which he goes along with only cos he's using her and it suits him now.  Belle (Emilie de Ravin) wants to escape him and asks Zelena f(Rebecca Mader) for help since she showed her Rumples and the Evil Queen together.  She wants to get away from him and needs a portal.  So she needs her wand which is in his shop and Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) is the only thief who can help her.  Again reminiscent of Will Scarlet.  He agrees to do it even against Jasmine's (Karen Shenaz David) wishes cos they're meant to be searching for Agrabah.

Regina and Emma can see the others but can't use magic and this was where the Evil Queen was meant to be trapped.  They determine Henry is the only one who can save them, cos it's his turn to show his maturity and that he can think for himself, without needing his mothers to do that for him. Cue the formal and him wanting to ask Violet (Olivia Steele-Falconer) so the Queen disguises herself as Regina and gives him advice.  When Henry looks in the mirror at Granny's he senses something and this is reinforced when Evil Queen shows up and tells him one day they'll return to their castle and he can be king, not go after some commoner like Violet.  But her falldown is when she slips her phrase of telling Henry not to slouch.  In the land of mirrors they find the Dragon (Tzi Ma) and Emma needing his help, but he can't do anything for her parents.  Though he did think of a way out by building together the pieces of a broken mrror.

Henry enlists Violet's help to get away from the Queen's watchful eye and in the crypt he tries to communicate with his mothers.  Only he's beaten to the punch again by her as she reveals the Dragon's heart.  She wants Henry to turn to his dark side and destroy it so he can save his mothers, who have to deal with the Dragon in dragon form now.  They decide they must sacrifice themselves to Henry to help them.  Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) discovers Emma's phone and mirror but isn't much help since Queenie knocks him out.  Henry in the final moments doesn't smash his heart with the hammer but instead smashes the mirror allowing them to escape.  Hook does arrive to save the day and sends the Queen on her way unless she wants her throat ripped by his hook.  Only he knows if he does that he'll also kill Regina, but the Queen doesn't.  What something she doesn't know in Storybrooke!

Belle gives the wand to Zelena but Rumples retrieves it since she's not going anywhere and wraps a golden threaded bracelet around her wrist so she can't leave.  Which he was  busy spinning away at when Aladdin broke it, again Rumples knowing he was there.  Seems Aladdin is only remembered when they need something from him.  Also Henry and Violet share a dance together and she admits she's been distant cos she didn't know how to act at school, cos of the movies they've been watching and he said he should've showed her Sixteen Candles first.

Getting tired of the Rumples/Belle fiasco of a storyline it's so repetitive.  Just deal with it one way or another.  She tells him he can be good, he's too weak and afraid to follow through on it.  She won't let him see his son, he won't let her leave!  Also Zelena shows he can't use his powers on her cos of the hospital ep where she helped him when he had his heart attack so he wants the Queen to kill her. Well Zelena you picked the wrong side again!   Snow decides she can't write notes any longer and Charming says he misses her too.  Curses not another variation on the sleeping curse!

Once Upon A Time 6.7 "Heartless" Review

                                                 
The Evil Queen (Lana Parilla) who always wanted to get her claws into Snow's (Ginnifer Goodwin) heart now finds another way to do so.  She finds a way to take out their hearts and hold their hearts to ransom with a potion, which is actually from Rumples (Robert Carlyle) and his vial of water from the Lost Souls river which Regina tells them they brought back.  Anyway so was thinking in the next ep when the Dragon told her she shouldn't have released her dark side it was meant to stay within her, a clue to defeating her this season and putting her evil side back inside of her so she can keep her in check.  As he said they all have a dark side and she was meant to keep hers.

This ep also giving a chance to make another version of how Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow met, only he didn't realize it was her otherwise that would've spoiled their very first meeting.  You see he saves her from the woodcutter and he always finds her even when they didn't know each other. Regina tells them of a sapling.  They must find it but if they do then Rumples and the Queen will also know what they're up to.  Their search leads them all the way to the brook where Snow found Charming when he was in hospital.  The sapling is in a cave and when they touch it, they have flashbacks to everything that happened between them and how true love's kiss always led them to each other.  However their plan to distract Rumples and the Queen fails when she realizes that Zelena's (Rebecca Mader) note was written by Regina, as she turns up to find them both ti the hot throes of passion!  Ha.  Or as heated as these two could get!  The Queen admitting she always had a bit of a thing for the Dark One, dearie!  As does Regina, though nothing happened.  Which isn't how the Queen wants to leave things!

David as the shepherd finds he needs to leave in order to find a buyer for his livestock and the farm cos they're not making ends meet and his mother actually packs him off to Longbourne to do so. (Longbourn being the home of the Bennett's in Pride and Prejudice.)  Snow also having the same plan to go there but for different reasons, as she tells Blue (Keegan Connor Tracy) she needs to escape Regina.   As she'll always be hunted in the Enchanted Forest.  Of course their paths had to meet, as David meets the woodcutter who knocks him out whilst taking him the same route. Pointless scene cos he turns out to be the one who has the showdown with him, kills him and rescues Snow. Who pays him for his rescue so he can save his farm; mentioning a corrupt nobleman she can raid for funds.

Snow realizes that part of the story wasn't in their vision flashbacks and so realizes that they will always find each other and come to the town's help by willing to make the sacrifice.  The Queen has other plans however and not only does she take their hearts but she ensured Snow suffers the pain of losing each other.  She puts her under a sleeping curse and Charming finds her as he always does and as they kiss he gets the curse too.  Regina saying when one's awake the other sleeps, so they'll not see each other at the same time.

Emma's "oh my God" when she reveals she had a thang for Rumples, well she would, she was lonely having lost her true love, so naturally she'd develop some sort of feelings for him and he was also teaching her magic so he was always there to form some sort of bond, however misguided that was.   The Enchanted Forest showing how the sapling grew when they both met for the first time and their seeds of love were planted.  So how did it get in the cave?  Apparently Emma (Jennifer Morrison) being the outcome of true love and thus becoming the saviour doesn't explain much, still there's no hints on how she can save herself and stop her tremors.  She hasn't really done much of late.

Still the Belle/Rumples fiasco continues and she's not going to find any good in him and stop being a coward by a photo of an ultrasound.  If anything it'd make him more determined to find some way to ensure their son recalls him as someone worth knowing and that he gets a chance to know him.  As well as finding a way to ensure he's worthy of his son's love as Belle (Emilie de Ravin) tells him. What happened to Wilby since he was a driving force in getting the Charming's together?

The Vampire Diaries 8.15 "We're Planning A June Wedding" Review

                                              
Bonnie (Kat Graham) breaks the news to Caroline (Candice King) about Katherine and hell and says she'll need the bottle of champers more than her.  As they set about thinking of a way to lure Katherine out and deal with her.  Damon (Ian Somerhalder) thinks the best way possible will be for Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline to get married since Stefan was her greatest love and she won't be able to resist.  Hence the title and also the wedding will impact everyone's lives and not just their own.  As Alaric (Matt Davis) brings in Dorian (Demetrius Bridges) to help with finding a weapon to destroy Katherine, they recall Cade's bone being part of his body and maybe they can use Katherine's bones to do the same, which are buried in the tomb.  Where Damon takes Stefan to retrieve them. Bonnie and Caroline make wedding plans and she tells her she won't be there, with Stefan listening outside the door before he leaves with Damon.

Damon brings along his trademark bourbon and will make it into a bachelor party celebration and his last night of freedom as a single man.  Also picking up Katherine's skull and mimicking her and pouring some booze down its mouth.  Caroline gets an old cameo which she thinks is from Stefan with a card and 'something old' circled around it.  Obviously it's not from Stefan, firstly he's not around and secondly he wouldn't give her something which clearly isn't his to give.  Knew it was Katherine's.

Matt's father, Peter (Joel Gretsch) shows up in town with his mother, Kelly (Melinda Clarke) in tow, surprise, surprise it's Lady Heather from CSI!  No, cos she's acting all rather suspicious and she picks this time to come back with him, shocking Matt (Zach Roerig) also.  Then running into the loo to vomit blood!  Obviously she's dead and no one knows it, cos no one bothered finding out exactly what had happened to her.  Caroline's not so happy since Bonnie won't be there and neither will the twins.  So she thinks her wedding won't be what she had dreamed it would.  However Alaric brings them around cos Stefan called Valerie who placed a protection spell on them and she will have her flower girls.  He's glad she's happy and she has her tiara placed on her Head, but before she can tell Alaric what she wants to say, he leaves.  Later he kinda wallows when Dorian tells him about the way to end hell by using so much psychic energy that it'll implode, like the way they put out oil fires. However Alaric's not really listening as he recalls the time he came here with his first wife and wanted to kill Damon.  He thought he killed her but she wanted to be turned.

Damon brings Stefan back cos he's a lightweight now he's human and takes Caroline for a final booze up too before she gets married and drinks a toast to her mother.  Someone who hated Damon but then became good friends.  Caroline wishes she was here and misses her.  He welcomes Caroline to the Salvatore family and gaining another family member.  Peter is attacked by Kelly on the way to the wedding, wanting the knife, but he's already given it to Stefan.  Stefan wants to keep the knife and Damon says he'll keep him safe and if Katherine touches him he'll cut her into little pieces and feed her to the guests as the wedding buffet.  He wants Stefan to be there at his wedding one day and Stefan hopes he can too cos he needs a best man and that Stefan's real hair will last by then.  The band plays the Mystic Falls Founder's ball music at the Lockwood Mansion and Damon recalls how that was playing when Stefan and Katherine were together in the 1800's.

Bonnie and Enzo (Michael Malarkay) share a dance and he tells her how he'd have wanted their special day to be, with flowers and dancing.  Also that Stefan Ripper is no longer and he was the one who killed him, not real Stefan, who is back now after she gave him the cure.  She shouldn't hold it against him.  Just as Caroline thinks she'll be walking down the aisle alone, Bonnie turns up and says she'll walk with her.  Well she had to be there for the rest of the plot to pan out.  Damon's compelled the wedding guests to show up, he had a lot there and he waits a long time asking if anyone wants to stop this, but nothing happens.  Apart from Matt saying Peter should've been her  by now.  Stefan and Caroline haven't prepared any vows so Damon says they should just go for it.  She recalls how they met at the prom and how she told him about one day he'd be happy and married.  Kelly runs off to vomit again and Matt goes after her.  Some guest must've thought the vows did that! Ha.

Damon dances with Bonnie and she turns around to share a quick twirl with Enzo.  As Kelly turns up after leaving a gas tank in the fireplace of the house.  As Bonnie takes the twins to the loo.  Matt looks for Peter and finds him behind the bushes when his phone rings.  Kelly  turns up and complains of how no one liked her and they all drove her away she's happy to tell them what Katherine is planning even after Damon tries to torture it out of her cos anythings better than the torture, oblivion and pain inflicted by Katherine in hell.  She plans on burning down Mystic Falls and Matt says Peter won't do it but then he has a sister, Vicky.  Caroline rushes to get the twins out as the house explodes. Bonnie is trapped inside and the twins are siphoning her powers, as Enzo tells her she's got to show them what to do.  She needs to save herself even if she believe she'll lose the connection with him. He believes she won't and that they will be together one day in peace.  She has to show them what to do and she must live.  He makes Bonnie promise she will live a full life.  As the twins chant with Bonnie, the flames recede and burn out.

As they show Vicky walking to the bell and ringing it.  Bonnie hears it too and Stefan is there to catch her as she faints.  Everything falls into place for the final showdown with Katherine and also with Elena, just leaving us to see who will come out of all of this and survive and who, if anyone, won't.  At least Caroline got her dream wedding, even if it wasn't under the best of circumstances. Hey all members of the Maxwell's in one ep, though not altogether.

Some choice lines from Damon, as always: "we throw the one party Katherine would never miss, who doesn't love a wedding?"
"We shove Stefan's happiness in her face, she won't be able to control herself."  Ha, no wonder she wants to reign Hellfire on Mystic Falls, but then she always was destructive.  However just thought she was around all this time in hell, so in some way, she must've always planned her revenge somehow.  Also anticipating Damon and Stefan being brought to hell by Cade, who ultimately failed!

The title was said by Caroline in the Pilot episode, so they went right back to the beginning in the penultimate episode ever.  As Caroline got the lowdown on Stefan between the third and fourth period, finding out he was a Gemini and his favourite colour is blue.  Hmm, not purple (my fave) which was the colour at the wedding.  Loved that purple carpet!!  However loved how this pilot episode also had Bonnie telling Elena: "there's no way I'm psychic, but whatever I saw or think I saw, I have this feeling...that's just the beginning"  Seems she was psychic all along, or at least had this power somewhere deep inside her. Which is what Dorian thinks they can use to destroy hell.  If any one of the writers/producers recalled this, then some great continuity going on here!  (Or maybe looked it up! ha.)

Once Upon A Time 6.6 "Dark Waters" Review

                                       
Hook-centric episode as it focuses on how he's determined to keep this family together, of Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Henry (Jared Gilmore).  Showing Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) on his ship before the onslaught of the curse and how one of his crew turned out to be Captain Nemo (Faran Tahir) who has a quest of his own and needs Hook's help. This in a roundabout way leading to Hook facing his own past and finding Liam on the Nautilus too, small ocean it seems!

It also finds Hook having to make breakfast for Henry as he steps into his fatherly duties but the Evil Queen is there to stop him and ensure Hook doesn't become close to him, as she tells him about the shears and how they're hidden in the toolbox.  Oh really Hook, you couldn't find anywhere else to hide them.  Thus showing how he betrayed Emma since she needed him to do this one thing and get rid of them for her.  Henry takes them and Hook discovers them gone.  As he tries to talk to Henry at the docks cos Henry wants to put them back into the ocean, they're taken back to the Nautilus cos Nemo needs him again.  As in flashback mode Hook is rescued by Nemo from the sea monster as he hunts for the chest.  It's not about treasure but it contains a key which Nemo says will lead them to a home called Mysterious Island.

Only Hook finds the island is actually the Land of Untold Stories, so it wasn't really a home for them. As well as Hook telling Henry how he killed his father partly out of jealousy over his brother Liam. But how he doesn't want that to happen to Henry and Emma and that's why he kept the shears.  So if it came down to it, he could save her.  He makes Henry escape and stays behind where he's confronted by Liam.  He's out for revenge and doesn't want to hear Hook's excuses so he tries to stab him with the dagger but Nemo intervenes gets in the way.  Back to today and the same thing happens, but Henry comes back and begs for him not to kill Hook.  Liam telling him he realizes that Henry would've been left an orphan like he was, as Nemo is wheeled in and they're reunited.  Couldn't really be that easy.

The show finding another way to just bring in ancillary characters to drive the story forward no matter how pointless it is sometimes and tedious in many ways.  The same with Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) as Emma shows him the Storybrooke sign when she found out she was the Saviour, but it's been repaired.  She tries to make him realize he can still be a hero, only for Jasmine (Karen Shenaz David) to tell him that Agrabah is no longer there and she made an alliance with a neighbouring kingdom, but it doesn't matter now.  (Yeah Agrabah was blown up if you get the point from last year when there was the vote for it to be bombed by dummies who thought it was a real country!!)

Belle (Emily de Ravin) leaving the ultrasound photo for Rumples (Robert Carlyle) in some hope it'll what - change him?  What's the reasoning behind this, it'll only make him more determined to keep her here and to get his hands on his son no matter what.  So far the Queen (Lana Parilla) hasn't accomplished much of anything except a few victories here and there and just putting a spanner in
the works.  She's even alienated Henry, so much for saying she's his mother.  Hook tells Emma what he did and she understands cos she would've done the same.  Not much changed there then.  It just keeps going round in random circles with bits of stories added from other characters but nothing interesting that makes you really care much, if at all!

Paranormal Lockdown 2.12 "Old Chatham County Jail" Review

                                        
Some of the best episodes in my opinion are the prison/jail ones as there's so much activity going on, of all sorts, good or bad.  They may be scary sometimes, as Katrina says she doesn't like being in those places, but maybe with this one it's not knowing what to expect and especially if there's not much evidence documented. The outside of Old Chatham County Jail in Savannah, Georgia, didn't look like a jail at all, on the contrary it looked more like a superimposing courthouse would appear. She wasn't afraid of 2.2 Shrewsbury Prison. Nice to see Nick wearing a shirt as opposed to a T-shirt!

Someone should get those files and write about the prisoners, don't mean that in any money making way, but to document their life and stay in the jail.  There's so much to be seen and found and also in helping to work out who may still be around haunting the jail, not that it will be around for much longer.  In some ways perhaps also allowing closure for some of the inmates.  It's a shame there isn't much history, which could all be retained for future generations, as a reminder of the past, but more particularly of those that were kept there.  Can you imagine if someone was there who was innocent, since it's the place where prisoners who were expecting to have their time in court were locked up.

Thought Nick would sleep in solitary and no we didn't need a shot of that loo either!! Ha.  But yes heard all those footsteps through the night and also when they hear the jail door, you can hear some sort of dragging too, more footsteps. Again more validation that something was still around and causing all the activity.  Pity the Wonderbox didn't pick up anything the first time, or I should say nothing came through on it, cos I like the Wonderbox, it's very clear when something is captured. Uh-oh Katrina and another set of stairs!  A lot of stairs and locking Nick in the lift!!  At least it wasn't dangerous!

At 11.23 on the Geoport, the male voice sounds like, "you're gonna pay for this..." and has a lisp. You can hear something at 13.31 too as Nick says it's a "conversation" but not audible.  Like an echo almost.

Definitely some anomalies/orbs at 16.14 just when Nick hears the noise, there were two, it's like they drop from the ceiling, only the pic's not so good, sorry.  But go back and re-watch it.

At 16.53 you can see the orb float again (see below) from bottom left hand corner to the side, as Nick questions, "who just made that noise?" Seems as though Nick surprised it and it was fleeing!  No shock then that Nick heard noises all night, he caught them out!  One probably beat up the other and were right royally rumbled by Nicky!  (Only speculating but it couldn't have been anything to do with the suicides of the two inmates they later find files on.)  Ahh, he hears noises and still manages to fix his hair when he suddenly wakes up!

After Katrina knocks on the wall, you can hear a voice echo something like "we're here." 23.21. At 24.25 when they hear the door close you can hear footsteps like running or walking quickly too. 25.24 an inaudible voice comes through on the Wonderbox.  When Nick turns on the Geoport on the third floor, sure you can hear "Ethan" on it.  After Nick asks if, "there's a shadow man up here?" The voice says "closer." 34.44 after "get me out of this..." sounds like the voice continues with "murder or Murdoch..." which is heard before, "I don't want to stay here..."

What Rob hears at 36.44 sounds like a growl, "grrahh."  More than that it could've been the beginning of Rob's name, "Raahh..."

Wonder what happened in Cell 15 and who was in there to lead them there, but then do nothing, the shadow figure or someone else, was leading them to this great find.  It's amazing how Rob gets those shadow figures, as we all recall the slithering one in the very first ep of Paranormal Lockdown to air 1.1 Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.  Rob caught that figure on camera too, as well as this one after he heard the whisper in his ear.  When they replay that scene I'm sure you can hear what he heard, it sounds like a growl, see above.  It was kind of difficult for us to see the shadow figure since we have to view it camera to camera, but it is excellent validation for what Ryan also captured. Would've been a good time to have been using the thermal imaging camera.   Couldn't help but think that Rob was kind of being 'tormented' and made to see that figure since he heard the voice and I said he wouldn't go into that cell where he heard it.  No I wasn't being horrible!

Another great episode and find.  Season 2 of Paranormal Lockdown just got better with so much incredible evidence found and keeping us on the edge of our seats.  Looking forward to a season 3 so Nick and Katrina can do so much more investigating, gathering more evidence and documenting cos they really have made a lot of headway.  Will be missed for now!

Also wonder if Nick got to any of his old haunts he investigated whilst there, like Moon River Brewing Company. and the historic Sorrel-Weed House.

Once Upon A Time 6.5 "Street Rats" Review

                                             
The one about Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) and his backstory: he's a street rat and he's a thief but with some redeeming qualities since he's a a Saviour and realized by Jasmine (Karen Shenaz david) he has magic, which she already knew when she confronts him in the market with a trinket of the royal scarab.  As she wants his help in locating the "diamond in the rough."  Threatening him with consequences of facing up to being a thief if he doesn't help.  Where Jafar (Oded Fehr) also makes another appearance giving him an opportunity to sever Aladdin's magic and no longer be the Saviour and thus face certain death.  The same fate that awaits Emma (Jennifer Morrison) in her visions of the future.  He gives him the shears belonging to the Fates.  Which will remove his magic and when they find the diamond Jasmine tells him he's the diamond in the rough as he stops the ceiling from collapsing.

Aladdin has to rescue her from Jafar as she threatens treason against the Vizar and he swoops in on his magic carpet to save her and her father the Sultan (Cedric De Souza) who's spell on him is removed since he was sitting around playing with toy castles.  Jasmine comes across as someone who's led a sheltered royal life and Shireen, the teacher's aide isn't much of a heroine.  So she has her own flaws too including being afraid to explore "a whole new world" (had to get that in) outside of the palace and her kingdom.  Choosing not to go with Aladdin even though she is falling for him. However she's accused of killing the Oracle that Emma had been seeing and this transpires into her search for Aladdin and Emma finding out he was also a Saviour.  So if they find him she can find out how to save herself.  Not realizing that in actual fact he used the shears after all.  A life without magic and helping people was much easier than death itself.

As Jasmine thinks he's dead, he reveals himself to Emma after he hears the heart to heart she has with Henry (Jared Gilmore) when he tells her of how he found her and made her come here.  Also owning up to Jasmine and confronting her.  As for Emma's visions he thinks it's the Evil Queen (Lana Parilla) but surely if it was her, she'd have just taken care of her right here and now instead of in the future. There's nothing stopping her as she keeps getting one over on them all the time.  Clearly this Grim Reaper is someone else, someone we haven't encountered before or someone who's not so likely in our thoughts yet.

Paranormal Lockdown 2.11 "Scutt Mansion" Review

Another episode where the mansion involved has some sad stories behind it as well as hauntings.  But one that draws people in regardless of its curse.  This one pertaining to Hiram Scutt, a Civil War Vet and also a barbed wire magnet.  He built the Victorian mansion in Joilet, Illinois in 1882.  Which has seen its fair share of 'bad' events.  His son, Frank, took it over after his death in 1889 and his wife, Adelaide died shortly after Hiram.  The mansion was also a girls' school, a place where women who came to the city in search of work lived and in 2004 there was a murder when a student was shot and killed there after a rowdy party, the owner had rented the house to college students. The mansion was later bought by Seth and he died there after he had an aneurysm.  Seth's father, Pat Magosky, fell down the stairs he had put there himself and broke his back.  Seth's mother, Andrea saying she would never live there.

Nick and Katrina invited Andrea there to tell them about the mansion and her son who had turned it into a museum and kept various objects there, including a doll room.  Nick and Katrina both hoping that Steh had moved onto a better place and his energy/spirit wasn't there.  Katrina being drawn to Adelaide's room, and is what my sister said too, just as Rob said the same to her, before the figure appeared on the 3D mapping.  Which was even taller than Nick.  Funny how Nick mentioned his height twice in this ep, first when he commented on how the sleeping bags don't accommodate his 6' 1" height and then when Katrina mentioned how the figure was taller than Nick, with Seth's sister, Serena saying he was 6' 6" and was really tall!

Also a first with 16 HD cameras set up to monitor most all the rooms, or at least the strategic ones. When Rob's camera died was gonna swear, ha, saying someone made a rough edit there and missed what was happening!  Katrina sleeping at the top of the stairs with her track record with stairs; thought Nick would've done that.  At least they had proper running water to brush their teeth and Nick fixs his hair as usual as soon as he wakes up!

Nick and Katrina getting help from Dana Matthews and Greg Newkirk, paranormal researchers and friends of his who have a travelling haunted museum: Travelling Museum of the Paranormal and The Occult.  They brought along some haunted objects: a dark mirror, Billy the Idol of Nightmares (!) The Crone and the Dybbuk box.  Which has been the subject of many shows and documentaries.  A box which draws the person to open it and has untold effects on that person.  The Box was originally owned by Keven Mannis of Portland, Oregon.  The box refers to a Jewish wine cabinet and he bought it as a gift for his mother.  And is haunted by a malicious spirit.  She suffered a stroke on the same day.  It was owned by a survivor of the Holocaust in Poland.  (See episode 2.4 Paranormal Witness. The box was the subject of  Sam Raimi's 2012 horror movie The Possession.  With Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick.)

Greg telling them not to open the box no matter what happens, which explains the chains.  It was a good experiment of sorts since the activity came out after the objects were there.  That Dark Mirror looked creepy and really dark, as in black.  Heard all of those deep breaths that Katrina and Dana heard and they were right, they were laboured and did sound like someone on their last breath. (The death rattle.) However, Serena later said that he breathed like that.  Dana also facing her fear of going back up the tower.  Nick directing the energy to Dana and the tower.  Then she got her hair pulled.

On her recorder at 26.37 a man says, "you don't have to do that."  Before Greg hears "they tried to kill me."  Which is what the voice says later on, that Hiram did it when the woman says he wouldn't do that (see below.)  Also when Nick got the child's voice on the Geoport when the girls says "hi;" you can hear a man say "stair."  Strangely Nick has them place the objects on the stair before Dana and Greg leave.

34.22 sound like "Seth."  35.18 sounds like "Nick" was spoken, but it's not every clear.  The whisper at 36.00 can be heard without enhancement and seems to whisper, "still here."  Relevant as they ask where'd the figure go?  The female voice attempts to stop the male voice from speaking, you can hear "sshh" at 36.55. The curse started at this house as Nick asks, before that it sounds like "he hit me..." "He pushed me off the bridge"??
Female; "He didn't do that."
37.06: "Hiram did it."

Though it was said that as his family reaffirmed Seth still being there perhaps it's because he loves the house and is protecting it.  Finding it hard to leave.  But as Serena said, hoping he might get some closure now knowing that his family knows about him and how his mother's last message to him was how much she loves him.  A moving episode more than it was creepy.

The Vampire Diaries 8.14 "It's Been A Hell Of A Ride" Review

                                                 
Stefan (Paul Wesley) decides he's leaving town and comes to tell Bonnie (Kat Graham) he's sorry but she's not willing to listen or forgive him saying several times how he killed Enzo!  Yeah, right, he wasn't exactly himself.  Enzo (Michael Malarkey) asks her how she can't forgive him cos she should and he was also working for Cade (Wole Parks) and killed many people as a result, but the time's not right for her to do this just yet.  Also she doesn't let Stefan in though he could come in cos he's human now.  Back at the karaoke bar, Kai (Chris Wood) belts out a tune, very out of tune, yeah don't give up the siphoning day job!  As Damon (Ian Somerhalder) asks Stefan for help with Kai cos he's taken Elena and given her to Cade in return for staying on earth and not going to hell.  Though it was risky asking Stefan for help cos one wrong move and he'll die and won't be coming back as everyone does over and over.

So Stefan meets with Kai and wants the weapon from him, the Ashen, as Cade asks Damon for that and once he gets it, he'll return Elena.  Stefan wants the weapon so he can kill Cade instead.  He needs to do that and it's not just part of his redemption.  Kai tries to siphon from Stefan but he realizes he can't and Stefan foolishly lets on he's human now.  Prompting Kai to stab him in his hand. With Damon taking a detour cos he was putting on a song!  Really Damon!  They take him to the Armoury cos it's the nearest place with a holding cell and Alaric (Matt Davis) has his own problems with the twins who are siphoning like crazy.  They try on the wedding dresses which Caroline (Candice King) tells them off for as they could have fallen on them, the boxes that is and they set the boxes on fire, just like they did at school, which Alaric neglected to tell Caroline.  There's no school that will take them.

Caroline tells Damon that Stefan's leaving cos he's going on a 'spirit walk' to come to terms with what he's done and to seek atonement.  Easier said than done.  Stefan asks Alaric for his help even if he's the last person he wants to see right now.  He needs him cos he's not a Maxwell or a Donovan. Obviously that had something to do with the bell.  As he and Damon head to Mystic Falls where Damon says he should be the one to kill Cade cos he's got Elena and Stefan's human now.  But Stefan knocks him out and takes the Ashen into the cave where he finds Elena's coffin.  Stefan already knows his soul is bound for hell and he wants to kill Cade.  Stefan:" Cade is free because of me and that's why I have to kill him."
Damon: "You screw this up, we don't know what he'll do to Elena." Once again its all about her even when she's not around!  But attracted Cade cos of her 'beautiful soul.'
Cade laughs since Stefan's human and well, he's the devil.  He waits until the clock strikes 8, well it'll be 8 on his phone and Alaric rings/strikes the bell.  Stefan:" Cade is free because of me and that's why I have to kill him."

Caroline talks to Kai about the twins' power, again a silly move and he tells her how he was a siphon
and the Gemini coven didn't understand it, how he needed power, to take energy and Jo was the perfect witch.  He was living in a nightmare and it was torture and there wasn't anything he could do. He handled it by becoming a psycho with a penchant for murder. telling her it was stupid bringing them to the Armoury surrounded by all this magic cos the walls have magic practically in them as he places his hand on the glass and it cracks.  The walls do have magic he says.  Then snaps Caroline's neck and escapes intent on  killing the twins.  As Stefan makes some headway in stabbing Cade with the Ashen, Alaric is called by the twins who tell him Caroline isn't here and they heard a crash. Making him stop ringing the bell.  Giving Cade a chance to recover and beat up Stefan.  He likes how that feels and kicks him some more.

Damon tells him to let him go cos they had a deal and he got his weapon. But Cade, being Cade tells Damon to chose, Stefan's soul or Elena's as he sets her coffin on fire.  Damon can't really make that choice and Stefan begs Cade to take him instead, he's going to end up there eventually anyway. Damon says to "choose me" instead.  Bonnie senses the psychic connection and sees fire and Elena being in trouble so she heads there leaving Enzo alone.  He earlier told her that she can bring him back as many times as she wants but she should makes amends with Stefan.

Damon makes the sacrifice of having Cade take his life when he hands him a burning ember from her coffin, even with Stefan refusing for it to be him.  Ending up in a place where Cade thinks he's hiding.  Damon says he never hides and Bonnie turns up but she can't see Damon there until Cade tells her to use her psychic power.  She won't let him take Damon and will fight for him, as Damon struggles to hold onto the rock and to not get sucked into hell.  She will fight for him even if she loses and no matter how hard it might be for her.  Until Stefan shows up and stabs Cade thus ending his reign in hell and on them.  However even if hell isn't the same without him, or doesn't exist.  There still won't be any getting away from it, since they've both side they're hell bound eventually some day.  Though them both coming back alive was becoming a bit Sam and Dean too in Supernatural!

Alaric tricks Kai into thinking he's found the twins and they fight with Caroline getting Kai and then taking turns to beat him saying it's for them, the twins and for Jo.  Bonnie then chains Kai up in his own hell where  he'll listen to the same song over and over, the one he hates.  Using the Gemini compass again and she says there's no eclipse this time round.  He tells her Cade may be gone but hell is still there and is ruled y someone else.  No guesses there then.  But I'll leave the reveal for a bit.  As we head into Winchester bonding territory with Damon and Stefan drinking sitting on the car; well Damon does most of the drinking.  He says he's got his own redemption to do and he knows that he will do it with the people he loves the most and Stefan is at the top of his list.  He hopes to marry Elena one day and he wants Stefan not to be a coward and run away on this spirit journey of his. They won't have each other forever but today isn't a day he should lose him.

Alaric wants to start a school for people like the twins since they have nowhere to go and wants Caroline as his collaborator.  Stefan proposes to Caroline again saying he won't be able to tell her how much he loves her and he'll have to show her by asking her to marry him and she agrees.  Bonnie tells Damon about the other bad in their lives now and who's running hell, obviously it would have to be someone from their past and Damon smashes the bottle in his hand as he says not to say her name and they both utter, "Katherine."  Okay knew that was coming and said it several second before Damon did!  Ha.

Obviously there had to be somewhere else they had to deal with considering Cade was killed off pretty quickly, bit too cocky in thinking none of them would get him but it had to be Stefan as he said he would, not only for making him do all those killings but also for taking Damon from him too. Who admits he's made so many mistakes and hurt so many people.  It could only be Katherine cos where else would she have gone.  Don't think much of Kai's least favourite song having an impact on him cos being a witch he should be able to shut it out of his head.  Think being alone in his own prison will have more of an adverse effect on him.  Kai referring to Caroline as Clarice and himself as Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs.  Don't think so!  Funny though how Damon told Cade to "eat me!"

The title refers to Damon's line to Elena in season 1.20 Blood Brothers.  Have written plenty about this episode over this season and its relevance to the episode it relates to, so no need to repeat it again.  However this episode's quotes have also been referred to plenty of times as episode titles for the final season 8.