SEASON FINALE REVIEWS of Scandal, Grey’s, Castle, How I Met Your Mother, and Elementary Coming Soon

Heading out for the weekend so I will recap these shows Sunday and Monday.   Lots to talk about!   Here’s a quick preview:

Castle: Rick proposed to Kate!!!!   Rick proposed to Kate!!!!  But what does this mean for them going forward and is this really a good thing?  I’ll discuss.

Grey’s: Callie and Arizona had quite the blow up.   Who’s side am I on?   Come back to find out.   Plus, Richard better not be dead!!

Scandal: Enough already.  Ok enough!   Either keep Olivia and Fitz together or break them up but ENOUGH with Olivia running around saying “we can’t do this.”  I’m so done with that.   Did you know David was wearing the white hat all along?   Did I?  And what about Quinn becoming baby Huck and Huck’s reaction to it.

How I Met Your Mother: FINALLY!!!   We got to meet her.   Now we just need Ted to meet her.   But when Carter Bays says this will be the longest wedding in the history of TV, does her really mean that next season will cover the span of only 56 hours?  I don’t know how I feel about that…or maybe I do!

Elementary: haven’t watched it yet but I will by Sunday, so don’t spoil me!

Have a good weekend peeps!

 

SEASON FINALE REVIEW: Arrow “Sacrifice” S1 E22

Well, I thought a Merlyn was going to die, but I thought it would be Malcolm and not Tommy.   It wasn’t until Tommy rushed into the building to save Laurel that I knew Tommy would be a goner.  While I’m a little disappointed because I was hoping they would go down the road of Oliver killing Malcolm and Tommy taking over his father’s cause and therefore putting the once BFF’s as mortal enemies, it also makes sense that they did it this way.   Tommy became a pretty disposable character later in the season.    There were times it seemed he was on-screen just because the writers felt like they had to.  Not to pull out the whole crossroads speech but the character of Tommy did come to a crossroad (especially once he found out about Oliver being the Hood.)   He could align with Oliver and fight the “bad guys” of Starling City or align with his father and fight the revenge fight with his dad and become one of the “bad guys.”   Neither one of these were going to happen. Oliver already has his band of trusted side kicks in Diggle and Felicity so he really doesn’t need someone else at this point.  And Tommy always struggled with his feelings about his father only recently being on good terms with him.  It really wouldn’t have made sense if all of a sudden Tommy was taking up his father’s cause..especially after we saw his reaction to his father’s plan.   So even though you could argue Tommy’s death was a “shock” due to Colin Donnell being a series regular, when you look at the progression (or lack there of) of his character over the course of the season, it wasn’t a shock at all.

Overall, I loved this first season of Arrow.  I like how the superhero element was absolutely present but not in a way that was unbelievable.   Oliver being able to do what he does was well explained over the season.   Are there still questions, sure.   But at least, for my edification, I’m convinced Oliver is the “superhero” we have come to know and love!   And the writers did a very good job with this.  I know some of my friends who watch the show always got bored when the island story line was on-screen but not me.   I wanted to see the transformation of Oliver from spoiled playboy to focused vigilante.  In my opinion, I thought the timing and transition was perfectly handled.  Oliver didn’t transition overnight, but certain things would happen on the island that would force him to jump into a different side of himself I think was there all along but wasn’t awakened until it had to…fight or flight as they say.   And while I still want to know how he gets off and why he is there for 5 years if it appears the main person keeping him there is now dead, I at least am comfortable with the explanation of how Oliver gets to this point, so far.

In addition to Tommy dying, a lot of big things happened.   We learn that Roy Harper wants to meet the Hood so badly not because he wants to thank him for saving his life, but because he wants him to train him to do what he does.   To be Robin to Oliver’s Batman.   But what about Thea?   I don’t think the scene of Roy getting attacked and Thea saving him by throwing that bottle and Roy commenting on her aim was for nothing.  I think it was a mention of things to come with Thea but I’m not sure what.  But I love these two together.

I’m still trying to figure out if I feel bad for Moira or not.  All signs indicate she didn’t have a choice in this because she felt her family was threatened but this is coming from her so we have to take her word on it.  I don’t remember seeing Malcolm actually threaten her family.   If I missed that, please let me know but I don’t remember that.   So I don’t know if I can 100% believe Moira.   Do I believe she loves her family and would do anything to protect them?   Yes I do.   But has she crossed a line she might never recover from?   Absolutely. Has she shown herself to be duplicitous and cagey?   Most definitely.  So I really don’t know how to feel towards her.  But Walter sure made his feeling known.  In the end we see Walter has left her, again, and she was taken in handcuffs to jail.  Not looking good for the matriarch of the Queen family.

Let’s talk about the Lance family.   At first, I hated Quentin.   He was an ass.   But as the season evolved, my views on him softened.   This is a man with a ton of loss in his life and really all he has left is Laurel.  So I can understand him being irrational when it comes to her because he just wants to protect her.  I think his character started to go a bit off course when they had him set Laurel up as a trap to get the Hood.   But he was course corrected and now he’s just a cop, who loves his daughter very much, trying to do the right thing.  I can deal with that.  Watching his opinion of the Hood change over the arc of the season has been interesting to watch.  Here was a cop who was so black and white about the Hood…civilians don’t take matters of law into their own hands.   So in his mind, the Hood was just as bad as the criminals he was trying to catch.   But then, that opinion slowly started to go away as the Hood started giving him tips on criminal activity and would let the police handle it (to some degree.)   Quentin was able to notice that while he doesn’t agree with how the Hood handles his business, he does see he has the people of Starling City’s best interest at heart.   He is trying to do right…even thought it’s a way Quentin doesn’t really approve of.   And I think because the Hood has taken a special interest in protecting Laurel, that has helped soften Quentin a little bit.   So I’m curious to see where his character goes next season in relation to the Hood.

As for Laurel herself, I love Katie Cassidy, but I need more.  Laurel has been a slightly boring character this season.   There are times you see a toughness in her and other layers start to shine through but these moments are fleeting.  Too many times we’re seeing Laurel being the woman two men are fighting over and she has no idea what to do.  And that’s it.  I want to see more from her.  I want to see her fight and be strong, and kick ass in her own right without someone having to do it for her.  With Tommy’s death and her finally choosing to try again with Oliver, at least that is over.   But when we come back next season, I want to see Laurel dust herself off and pick herself back up without someone having to do it for her.  And let’s give her a story where she doesn’t have to be saved or rescued or watched over.   It’s fine to have that every once in a while, but not all the time and for me, it was too many times too often for my liking.

What did you think of Arrow’s freshman season and the finale?   I loved both and I’m already excited for next season!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Smash…The Season So Far

I’ve made it pretty clear before that I am a musical theater/Broadway junkie.   I love it.   So when Smash premiered last year, it was right up my alley.   Of course, what started out as a great premise and show slowly deteriorated into an unrecognizable mess that didn’t know what it wanted to be.  The Golden Gate Bridge at daybreak was more clear than the direction of Smash.   But after the major changes in the off-season, I had high hopes Smash would pull it itself together….and it has!   The worst part, no one has stuck around to see it.

Right now I’m invested in two things…Bombshell and Ivy’s career path.  The biggest miss right now (and my biggest disappointment) is Hit List and the storyline with Jimmy and Kyle.   I was so excited to hear Jeremy Jordan was joining the show.   He’s fantastic.   But this character is awful.  I’m actually more interested in Kyle than Jimmy because there is this sweet vulnerability to Kyle and this green, ideological, passionate spark to him that is really fun to explore.  But Jimmy?  Does nothing for me and therefore, other than the fact that he’s adorable, what the hell does Karen see in him?  He was rude to her, condescending, arrogant, and a jerk.   Well if that doesn’t scream “I must be with this person” I don’t know what does.  Her taste in men is truly atrocious.   And can I throw something out there?   Why in the world are Kyle and Jimmy treating Karen like she’s Patti Lupone?   The last I check, no one has ever heard of her, she’s never been on Broadway before, so why are they treating her like some huge Broadway star that’s going to help them get their break?   Because she knows Derek?   A guy whose reputation on the Great White Way is marginal, at best right now?   It doesn’t make any sense to me.   So I wish Hit List, and everything revolved around it, would just go away.   And Karen can go with them.

I know I’ve been hard on the character of Karen and Katharine McPhee, but it’s so easy.   I’ve said it before, I could listen to McPhee sing the phone book and love it.   But the acting?   Wow…not good at all.   It’s why I’ve never been able to believe in her for this part and I’ve never really been able to believe in Derek if he sees this “something special” in her.   Really?   She has something special over Ivy/Megan Hilty?  Really?   I think it’s another reason I’ve never been able to buy Karen.  Ivy blows her away.  Her singing, her acting, her stage presence….she’s the whole package.  It also doesn’t help that I’ve actually seen Hilty in several Broadway shows and she’s magnificent every time!   Hilty is a bona fide star.  So next to McPhee, it’s not even close.   I also don’t like the way the writers started write Karen as a pretty big bitch.  I know she had every right to hate Ivy after all the horrible things she has done to her and if I were her, I’d probably be as cold to Ivy as she has been.  But it’s not just Ivy.  In the rehearsal room she’s short and testy.   If she’s given direction she refutes it snobbishly.  I’m sorry, when did she win all her Tonys and become worthy of telling people what to do?   Wait, let me back up.   When did she even act on a Broadway stage?   Oh that’s right…NEVER.   She had a tiny bit of success in out-of-town tryout and that’s it.    Yet she’s acting like she’s been on a Broadway stage for 20 years (and not in a good way.)   I’ve never been a fan of the Karen character and this season, I like her even less, and I didn’t think that was possible.

But what I’m loving is how this show is getting back to the behind the scenes of musical theater.  I’m a fan of the Hit List storyline, no.   But what I do like is that we are seeing two young people with a passion for music and theater, trying to make a go at their dream.  We see two very inexperienced kids who are trying to figure out how to make it in this business.  I look at it as we’re seeing Tom and Julia before they were Tom and Julia (and with a lot less charisma.)  Speaking of T&J, their storyline is great.   We’re seeing Tom and Derek bond in their own twisted way to get this show to Broadway.   We see Julia doubting herself more than ever wondering if she really is as talented as she thought.  Instead of her BFF helping her get her mojo back, it’s a dramaturg who Julia hated and wasn’t sure she could trust, that set her straight.  Now we’re to the point where Julia’s new draft is amazing and Derek thinks will win every award in June (when the Tonys are) but Jerry, who is now the producer because he’s a douchebag, and Tom think the original draft is better…Jerry thinks it will sell more tickets, which as the producer is his job to decide, and Tom thinks it tells more of the story of Marilyn instead of the men who created her (which is more the focus of the new script.)   All four go to Eileen to decide which script they are going to go with.  It’s an interesting dynamic for the Tom and Julia relationship.  We’ve pretty much seen them on the same side always having each other’s back at every turn.   So now to see them on opposite sides is quite the shift.   I certainly don’t think their relationship (personal and professional) is in any danger but it is fascinating to watch how this project is dividing certain people and bringing others closer together.

I still say when it’s all said and done…Ivy will be Marilyn.   Karen will become so attached to this new project that she will leave the show and Liaisons will fall apart and Ivy will be asked to come back and be Marilyn.  That’s my guess.  And secretly, my hope!   It’s just a shame this will be the last season for Smash.  It’s really found its groove this year and is a much stronger show.   But too many people walked away and haven’t come back so I don’t think NBC will have any other choice but to cancel it come seasons end.   I just hope we get the finale we deserve as fans or maybe we get an 8-12 episode pick up to wrap it up next year.

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Castle “Target” & “Hunt” S5 E 15 & 16

WOW.   Just….wow.  Easily the two best episodes Castle has ever done.  It was very reminiscent of the two parter they did a few seasons ago (Tick, Tick, Tick & Boom) where I was on the edge of my seat dying to know what was going to happen next.  But what put this twofer (a little 30 Rock reference) ahead of the others was the emotional tug on your heart-strings from so many angles in addition to the action packed portions of the episodes.

Believe it or not, I’m going to start with the 3 negatives so I can get them out-of-the-way and because they were so minor.  First, I thought Dylan Walsh was woefully underused as a guest start.   In these twofers, Castle has always had really strong guest stars from Adrian Pasdar to Dana Delaney who have been excellent in their roles and really added a strong character base to such a plot driven series of episodes.  I was really excited to see Walsh as a guest star because I’ve always been a fan of his.   But because this was so Castle focused, Walsh really wasn’t needed.  I think we only saw him for about 5 minutes in “Hunt” so for me, you could have cast any actor to play that part because he wasn’t as integral to the story and didn’t seem to enhance it at all.  Second, the lack of Beckett and Castle working together on this.  Now I know they did, but not in their usual way.  Again, this is minor because I liked the way she was more Kate the girlfriend than Beckett the cop in these episodes.  She was there as the woman who loves him and is broken over seeing this happen to Alexis and to him.  I was hoping to see them go off to Paris together to get Alexis back but I applaud Marlowe for taking the daring risk of not doing that because it honestly made better sense for the story.  Rick would leave Kate behind because he couldn’t risk her doing the things he needed to do to get Alexis back because she is an officer of the law.  He, on the other hand, is a desperate father frantically trying to save his little girl.  Therefore, he can use his contacts, however shady they are, to get the information he needs and not put Beckett in a difficult situation.  And even though it was the right call and I agreed with it 100%, there was a part of me, who so loves seeing them work together, sad that the one time you really need Beckett’s skills to team up with him, is the one time we can’t see it.   Finally, the CGI of Paris was horrible.  Wow, it couldn’t have looked any worse.   But that’s all for the negative.   See I told you it was minor!

I’ve read many articles over the years where the cast of Castle doesn’t get their due credit for being “serious” actors.  Because this show has many episodes where the goofiness and silliness is played up, the serious tones don’t seem to carry as much weight.  After watch “Target” and “Hunt” I would defy anyone to tell me these people aren’t serious actors.  I’ve always said that Stana Katic is painfully underrated for her acting skills.  She’s one of best on TV in my opinion who can really hit certain notes from a comedic side as well as a serious side.   She has the chops for both.  And over the years, she has gotten stronger and stronger.  Her best scene of the twofers was when she was questioning Hanson’s girlfriend and that girl gave her nothing but attitude and disrespect.  The next thing you know, Beckett kicks her chair so hard that chick goes flying off her chair into a wall and Beckett gets in her face screaming about how she’s in her way of finding a missing girl.  Holy. Shit!  I’ve seen Beckett get fired up before but this was something different.  She would have been last person on earth (well maybe second after Castle) that I would have ever messed with at that point.  She was brilliant!   This was a combination of cop being agitated at a person blocking her investigation and a girlfriend so angry that this bitch would block her ability to find her boyfriend’s missing daughter.  Not a good combination for little miss sassy pants!

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Alexis character.  I certainly don’t dislike her but I always thought she was written a little too perfectly.  And I know I’m being a hypocrite because I’m always the first one to defend the Reagan family on Blue Bloods and they (except for Danny at times) are written the same way.   But it’s one thing for adults who have been around a long time and who are bound by the law, to be so black and white, good vs bad in their convictions.  It’s a whole other thing for it to be a young girl in high school to be so righteous.  See how I justify that?   But seriously, Alexis seemed way too mature for her age.  Now is there something wrong with showing a responsible, respectful, good person?  Absolutely not.  In fact, I wish we saw more of that.  But no one is THAT perfect.  I mean this girl never made a mistake.  EVER.  And making mistakes doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you human.  So that’s always been my gripe with Alexis.  But I have to admit, there was no one rooting for her to be saved more than me.  And Molly Quinn was sensational.  True to Alexis’ character, she played her as calm and cerebral during the early parts of the situation always looking out for her friend.  It wasn’t until she was able to Skype her dad and see him that she lost it a bit.   And I would be the same way.  If I saw my dad, I would lose it.  It wasn’t until later when she realizes that not only is she not in NYC but she’s in Paris, did she really get scared.   And later when we saw her in that cage not knowing what was going to happen, not knowing where her friend was, not knowing if she was going to live, did we see her eyes swollen and red with fear.  I’m glad she played it that way and they wrote it that way because as strong and as smart as Alexis is, she’s still a 19-year-old person with no training or experience in these situations.  You bet she’d be scared out of her mind.   My only gripe is at the end when she is rescued and Castle brings her back home, when she’s walking up to her front door, all she says very cavalierly is “wow I’m so glad to be home” like she had a really bad flight back from spring break instead being held hostage for days by crazy people.   Maybe it’s me, but I would still be a little more shaken up and she seemed like she was ready to just get back to normal.  Even with that, Molly Quinn, you were outstanding!!

So 1,200 words in, let’s get to our main man and all that went down for him.   Because not only did he have to save his daughter’s life, but in the middle of all this mayhem, he meets, for the first (really second) time in his life, his father!   Nathan Fillion was BRILLIANT in these episodes.  He didn’t just knock it out of the park, he drilled it to the moon!  The first scene we really see a whole new Castle is from last week’s “Target” when he asks Beckett to have a moment alone with the man who drove the van with the girls in it.  I know there has been much discussion over this scene and my opinion is that I have no problem with it.   He’s a father desperate to find his daughter and this man is his only lead.  You do what you have to do to find her.  No issues at all with that.  Extenuating circumstances cause people to do extraordinary things they wouldn’t normally do or condone.  And I think it was even better that we didn’t see it!

So Castle has left everyone behind and has headed to Paris to find Alexis.  Her friend Sara was released but Alexis was not.  Fearing she’s not collateral damage, he high tails it to Paris to use his contacts there to track Alexis down.   One of Castle’s old connections, that he used to help him with some of his books, introduces him to man named Jacque who will help him find Alexis.  Jacque is able to help and tells Castle the kidnappers want 3 million in Euro in exchange for Alexis.  When they go to the drop point, in a move I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t see coming, Jacque turns the tables on Castle and puts a gun to his head and takes his money.   Just as Rick is about to meet his maker, bullets start flying from an unknown location and all the baddies (including Jacque) are taken out.  Castle turns around to see Mr. Barbra Streisand standing there telling him that he’s the good guy and that he should come with him immediately.  When back at his place, Castle sees all the pictures of Alexis on the wall and Jackson Hunt (that’s the name he gave to Castle) explains to him that this whole situation is his fault.   That Alexis was kidnapped because of him as a payback for killing a former KGB member’s wife and child years ago.  Castle is understandably confused and asks how this could have anything to do with Alexis and that’s when Hunt tells him that they went after her because he was careless and slipped.  They went after her, because she is his granddaughter.  ”Rick, I’m your father.”  As if this man doesn’t have enough to deal with….WOW!!!!!  Now that’s how you introduce a long-lost father into the fold!

My fear with this storyline is that I really thought Brolin was going to end up being a bad guy.   Turns out, he’s nothing of the sort.  He’s actually a hero in many ways.   We learn that he had a wonderful night with Martha but being a spy, was called away on an assignment, he couldn’t disclose that to her, so he left.  A year later he learns about Castle.  Then Castle learns that his father has been keeping track of him all these years and that they even met once.  Curious, Castle asks when.  He tells about the time they were in a book store and Castle was looking for something to read and his dad recommended Casino Royale.  ”That was you?” Rick asks him and he confirms it.  Castle tells him that’s the book that made him want to become a writer.  Aw.  Then Hunt tells him the words every kids wants to hear from their father “Son, I’m really proud of you.”  The look (and the tears) in Castle’s eyes were indescribable.  It was beautiful.  I loved the way the writers and the actors handled this moment and this whole encounter.   It could have been really cheesy or really cliché.  Instead, it was so perfectly handled.  Brolin played it so well.  He was very matter-of-fact about his life without seeming cold and distant.  He also told Castle how he followed his life and career, as any proud parent would, without being creepy.  It was perfection.  And Rick, well talk about bad timing.  Your whole life this enigma finally comes back and instead of having a Walton’s type reunion, you have to pull all that aside because your daughter’s life is at risk.  And to top it off, once his plan to rescue her is enacted, they just have to run and not look back.  He won’t know if his father made it out or not and that’s the way it has to be.   So no steak dinner reunion for these men.  It’s hi, nice to meet you, love you, now let’s go bomb these KGB freaks ok?

His plan works like a charm and Alexis is rescued by her dad and pop-pop.  When they get home, Martha and Kate are both there so excited to see them and hugs and kisses are flowing everywhere.  Castle walks into the kitchen where a package arrived for him.  He opens it up and inside is a copy of Casino Royale.  Dad is ok!!!!  He then looks at Martha with a huge smile on his face and says “mom, there’s something I have to tell you.”  Face to black.

What an amazing set of episodes from Castle.  I really have to say that I am so impressed with how Andrew Marlowe has handled this season.  He finally puts his leads together, Beckett’s mother’s storyline is no longer a who done it but a how are we going to catch him direction, Alexis is kidnapped, and Rick meets his father.  And the fans were worried Season 5 might suck with Caskett together.  Please!!!!  This show is better than ever!!!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Scandal “Nobody Like Babies” S2 E13

Was that the season finale?   Because it sure felt like a season finale.   Scandal has always been a show with a fast pace…both speaking and storytelling.  I love that about the show.  There aren’t filler episodes like many shows have or episodes that don’t mean anything or episodes where your heart can take a break.  You are on the edge of your seat with every episode.  And tonight was no different.  Some MAJOR things happened so let’s start going through all this.

The big question that got answered was that we finally learned who shot Fitz.  And it turned out, it was Verna.  I was going with Hollis, until last week.  After last week happened, I had no idea who it was going to be.  I really didn’t think it was Sally Langston and I was petrified it was going to turn out to be Mellie.  But Verna was a good solution.  I’m not going to lie, I was a bit surprised, but not nearly as surprised as how the episode ended!!!  More on that later.   Olivia has a showdown with Verna in the hospital about what Verna attempted to do and Verna called Olivia out.  Basically Verna told her that if she is going to call Verna a coward, she should look in the mirror.  And she’s right, although Olivia is no killer.  Bad person?   Yes.  Killer?  No.   But Olivia’s attack on her certainly got through to her because she picked up the phone and called David Rosen right away.  When Rosen arrives to talk to Verna, he’s denied entrance because of security.  We learn the security is there because the POTUS is there and needs to speak with Verna.  Unfortunately, Verna passes away before she has a chance to confess her sins to Rosen.

Another big payoff, which disappointed me, was Abby finally learning that Olivia and Harrison lied to her and set David Rosen up as an abuser.  While Abby was upset, I thought she would be even more pissed off.  I know I would.  But what really bothered me was Harrison’s reaction to her.  We’ve seen him be torn up about what he had to do to her and how much it bothered him.  So for him to be so cold and robotic and go into that God awful gladiator speech again, was unnerving.  And it goes to back to what my #1 issue is with this show.  Why can’t we get SOME explanation as to why these people will so blindly follow Olivia Pope into the darkness and off a cliff?  For once, Quindsay gave me a reason to root for her when last week, she started demanding answers to the same question many of us viewers have…why do you all do what Olivia says, no questions asked?  I really thought, FINALLY, we’re going to get somewhere with this.  Nope.  Shut down.  I hate it.  Harrison, Huck, even Abby…I am no longer buying the “she saved my life” speech as to why they do anything she says regardless of the consequences.  For me, I need more than that and if Shonda Rhimes is going to ask me to buy into that, she owes me an explanation.  Because it’s getting absurd.   For Harrison to tell Abby to suck it up, it’s the job, after what Olivia has done for them she needs to understand the rules or get out, was awful.  If that blind loyalty is supposed to earn my respect as a viewer, it hasn’t.  In fact, it knocked him down a few more pegs (and he was already pretty low.)  I can’t understand Harrison’s POV if I don’t have any idea what she did for him.  I can’t buy into this loyalty without a reason anymore.  In the beginning, I could let it go.  But we’ve been through enough episodes where I need at least one back story to shed some light.  Otherwise, how could I feel bad for Abby after betraying David and stealing that flash drive and therefore destroying his career?  Better to save Olivia Pope, one of the bad guys, than to save the man you love, who just so happens to be one of the good guys?  I know Olivia saved her from an abusive husband and if I were in Abby’s shoes, I would be eternally grateful.  But at some point, especially after what Olivia did to her with using that abuse as a way to get what she wanted, Abby has the right to call Olivia out and say “if you saving my life comes with the price tag of using my past to throw in my face when you need something to go your way, then I’m out and you’re scum.”  Saving their lives is one thing.  Using that against them later for your own benefit, is just sleazy.

So speaking of David, he subpoena’s James to testify about Defiance and the voter fraud.  As a result, James and Cyrus have this fantastic moment in their bedroom where Cyrus doesn’t trust James and James doesn’t trust Cyrus and they both make the other strip to prove neither is wearing a wire.  It was beautiful and sad at the same time.  While they do love each other, they have a terrible marriage!!  After what they each put the other through, I don’t know how they’re still together.  Hell Cyrus even hired Charlie to kill James!!!  Now he eventually told him to stop but only with 1 second to spare.  He’s insane!!!  Those two need some serious counseling.

The final big reveal is that Fitz finds out…about everything!  And his reaction was not what you expected (even though I called it right away!)  I’ve never been shy about saying the unpopular opinion that I hate Olivia and Fitz together.  Can I deny the chemistry between Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn?   Hell no.  It’s palpable.  But do I like it?  No.  He’s the POTUS and he’s married.  I think it’s disgusting how they not only have the affair but how they have flaunted it and been so careless with it.  Where they’ve had sex, they couldn’t care less if Mellie or someone else saw.  They have been incredibly disrespectful.  Not that affairs are the most classy or most respectful actions a man and woman enact.  But come on.  Do you have to be so blatant about it?  Sheesh.  So I don’t find Olivia and Fitz romantic or destined to be together.  Nope.  Not even a little.  So I did jump with joy when I saw that he ended up choosing to be with Mellie after all.

In the beginning, Fitz told Olivia not to marry Edison and to wait for him because he was divorcing Mellie and he didn’t care what that did to his political career.  He talks about how Mellie induced labor to try to keep Fitz at her side and he couldn’t be with someone like that.  Olivia couldn’t give him an answer.  When she sees Edison later she gives him back his grandmother’s ring and tells him that she can’t marry him.  When he asks why she tells him that she wants a painful, devastating, passionate love and that he should want that too.  Edison correctly informs Olivia that love shouldn’t be painful or devastating.  It should be fun and joyful and wonderful. The look on her face was priceless because she looked at him like she didn’t know there was any other kind of love.

At Verna’s funeral, she goes up to Fitz and accepts his offer and agrees to wait for him.  Fitz coldly tells her that she should marry Edison and that he made a mistake telling her to wait for him and that she should go away and move on with her life.  And while the President is giving Verna’s eulogy, we flash to her time in the hospital with him where she not only admits that she was the one behind the shooting, but that she and her team of misfits fixed the election so he would win.  He starts to guess the names of the people involved and when he gets to Olivia, he is absolutely crushed.  Then Verna sticks the knife in even further by telling Fitz he should have never been the POTUS but she only did so because of his charm and because that’s what his father wanted.  Ouch.  She had to bring up daddy.  Fitz then calmly tells Verna that her legacy won’t be tarnished and neither will his and he gently lifted her oxygen mask off her face and held down her hands so she couldn’t grab the mask or call for help and then she died.   FITZ KILLED VERNA!!!

After all this, Mellie goes to visit Fitz in the office and he asks her if she loves him.  She responds that of course she does and that she will always stand beside him and always be by his side.  He tells her that of everyone he knows, she’s the only one he can trust because she’s the only one who’s been completely honest with him the whole time.  And he asks if she will continue to be honest and stand by him.  She says that while he’s wavered on her, she’s never wavered on him and will never.  They seal their agreement with a kiss and the First Family is back together.

I’m sure there are many people who will be upset thinking “why did Mellie get off the hook about the election rigging and not Olivia?”  Here’s why.  Mellie has never hidden who she is…ambitious, ruthless, and cunning.  She doesn’t hide it, she doesn’t apologize for it.  It’s like McDonald’s vs. Subway.  McDonald’s doesn’t pretend it’s healthy, therefore you can’t be mad at it when you eat there and your jeans feel tight.  But Subway promotes itself has “healthy eating” yet has a million ways to sneak in the bad stuff that you had no idea was in there so that when your jeans get tight, you blame yourself instead of them.  Mellie is McDonald’s and Olivia is Subway.  Fitz wasn’t pissed at Mellie because he wouldn’t expect anything less from her.  But Olivia?  He held Olivia to higher standard and she crushed that when she aligned herself with the group to fix the election.  In that moment, she was no different from his father who said he couldn’t win on his own.  In Fitz’s mind, she didn’t believe in him.  She betrayed him.  And because of his love for her and because of the elevated opinion he had of her in regards to her integrity and loyalty, it hurt much more and cut more deeply than he ever thought possible.   That’s why Mellie gets the free pass and Olivia is left sitting in a church, alone, and crying.

What an amazing episode.  I’m wondering, now that it appears, aside from the David Rosen angle, that this main story is wrapped up, if we go back to the case-of-the-week scenario which started the series.  I hope so.  While all this has been fantastic, I kind of miss those cases.  So hopefully, we can get a little bit of each.  But with so much story to tell with the main arc, I can understand completely why the side cases were put on hold.

What did you all think of the episode?   Would love to hear your thoughts!!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Castle “Recoil” S5 E13

Castle has always done a fantastic job with any episodes involving Johanna Beckett’s murder.  Last night revisited that story line and honestly, this was a weaker episode.  It’s hard to compare it to some of the other nail-biting, edge of your seat episodes they’ve had in the past, but since it’s not really about who anymore but when, it didn’t seem to pack as much punch.  Having said that, there were parts of the episode that were really fantastic.

Jack Coleman plays a great baddie.  Senator Bracken sure fits that bill. As we learn, not only does Beckett have a major beef with the Senator, but apparently so do a lot of other people who claim that he is responsible for their love one’s death.  In this case, a woman is murdered and she has ties to Senator Bracken so immediately Beckett and the boys think he’s guilty.  But as evidence is revealed to them, it turns out that Bracken was not the perp, but the victim.  Someone is planning to take out the Senator, this young woman found out and was killed.

The investigation leads to a man named Robert McManus, who we learn his son was murdered and he blames Bracken.  In their hunt for McManus, they find his apartment and Beckett, finds him.  She sees that he is a broken man and let’s him escape by “missing” when she shoots at him.  This really messes with Beckett especially when she finds out that he has C4 he is planning to use to attack Bracken.   Now innocent lives, not just Bracken’s, are at risk and this crushes Kate.  They track down the vest loaded with C4 and other evidence linking McManus to the crime and they arrest him.   None of this sits well with Beckett.  The vest was too complex for McManus to have rigged and there were too many pieces of the puzzle that didn’t fit.   Eventually, she comes to the conclusion that the bomber is going after Bracken where he is giving a speech on energy conservation.  She orders the evacuation of the building and after a quick sweep, nothing was found.  The Senator is furious for her blowing his big campaign speech and threatens to take her down.  Just when this is looking really bad for Beckett, she starts hearing a pinging sound.   It’s the same sound she heard on the cell phone recording the night the young woman was shot.  She realizes the bomb is in the car and runs to the Senator to keep from getting into the limo.  Just then, the detonator is activated and bomb explodes.  Castle tracks down the bomber (who was Bracken’s limo driver for years) and the Senator thanks Beckett for saving his life.   The real bomber is captured and McManus was just the man the bomber was framing do deflect attention away from himself.

I loved seeing how this affected Kate.  She’s always been a no-nonsense cop.  Things are very black and white with her when it comes to the law.  In “Recoil” we saw that line blur for the first time in her career.   We all know why Kate hates Bracken and that she’s just waiting for the chance to take him down.  And we learn in this episode that his criminal acts aren’t limited to just the Johanna Beckett case.  Turns out, if the claims against him are true, this man is pretty evil.  I give Kate so much credit because, like Castle said, if it were me and this is the bastard that had my mother killed, I’m not sure I would have saved his life.  And she did it twice.  The first time, she let McManus go because this is a man who is planning on killing the person responsible for her mother’s death.  It would certainly keep the blood off her hands and rid the world of an awful human being.  So would it really be so bad if she let him go and enact his plan?   She realizes that yes it would.  Especially when she finds out that this went from a sniper rifle attack, where just Bracken would be killed, to a bombing attack where innocent people would be killed.   She could never live with herself if she thought she let a killer go who was now going to destroy innocent people’s lives.  So she find McManus and stops him.   Only that’s not the right guy.   The second time is when she hears the clicking of the cigarette lighter and sees that the bomb is in the Senator’s limo and therefore, she runs to block him from entering the car.  So she saves him, twice.  Ok technically, McManus wasn’t a killer but in her mind, she wasn’t sure so she just went on the information she had.  So from a decision standpoint, where she could choose to let it happen or stop it, twice she chose to stop it.

I think the best part of this episode is seeing Kate struggle so much with this.  And it’s completely understandable.  The daughter in her wants her mom’s killer to pay for what he did no matter how that happens.  But the cop in her says it has been done through the right channels and the right way.  She doesn’t have the luxury of allowing someone to commit murder.  Well, really no one does, cop or no cop, but the dilemma is slightly stronger when you are an office of the law and you have sworn to always uphold it.  Kate’s integrity is a huge part of her makeup.  She is incredibly ethical and the lines of right and wrong are always very clear to her.  That’s why to see her start to blur that line was really eye-opening from her character’s perspective because she’d never done that before.  She would never even think of doing something like that.  But cops are not machines and I can’t blame them when a case is personal, that emotions, at times, can cloud their judgement. But Kate stays true to her character and eventually choose the right path.  In the end, while watching Bracken on the news with Castle, she tells Castle that eventually he’s slip up and that when he does, she’ll be there to make sure justice is served.  I, for one, am really looking forward to watching Kate bring him down.

 

RECAP & REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno” S3 E17

Poor Spencer.  That girl is going right off the deep end.  She just walked around this episode with all kinds of crazy in her eyes.   But can you blame her?   Spencer, for all her faults, has really been the brains behind tracking down who “A” is and how to stop him/her/them.  I’ve given her grief over the seasons because for being the smart one, she sure handled many issues very stupidly.  But her passion for wanting to protect the people she cares about was never a question.  And in my opinion, she’s been the most driven about taking this enemy down.  It’s just her personality.  She doesn’t do things half way.  She jumps in the deep end with both feet, legs, arms, head, everything.  She’s like that with school, family, friends, and her love life.  When Spencer wants something or someone, she’s all in and that’s how she was with Toby.  So you can imagine her devastation to learn that the person she has grown to love and give herself completely to, is none other than a member of the “A” team.  Between this episode and the last one, Troian Bellisario has done a fantastic job at showing her range of emotions.  From shock to disbelief.  From sadness to anger.  From utter betrayal to determination.  She has run the gamut in basically 24 hours.  The scene where she’s in her car about to meet someone and she’s trying like hell to pull herself together, perfectly sums up all her feelings.  She knows she needs to be strong, to get past this, and to get back to her end game of taking down “A.”  But she now realizes that in doing that, it also means, taking down the man she loves.  I have to say, I’m looking forward to that showdown!

Ezra finally learns the truth.  After going round and round of “I’ll tell him, I can’t tell him” the obvious happens…Ezra finds out from someone else.  Knowing Spencer’s in a fragile state, “Aria” sends a text to Spencer saying that she told Ezra and that he broke up with her and to come and see her in the park.  Spencer goes right over and sees Ezra in the park.   Seeing how she’s in a really pissy mode these days, she rips Ezra a new one about breaking up with Aria (that whole jumping in with both feet rears its ugly head again.)  Ezra has no idea what she’s talking about.  And even though I knew it was coming, I knew she was going to spill the beans, when it happened, I still gasped out loud.   I was heartbroken for Spencer when she realized what just happened.  I mean really, how much more pain can this girl take?  She runs off and Ezra immediately goes to Aria at school to confront her.  I found it funny that Ezra wanted to have this public discussion in front of everyone, yet it was Aria that asked them to be mature walk somewhere privately to talk.  After Ezra gives Aria  a verbal beat down, he takes off and Aria gets a text from “A” saying she needed a jump-start.

Later, they meet up and Ezra is packing his car.  He’s off to meet his son.  He tells Aria that he spoke with Maggie and she explained that she asked Aria to keep this secret putting her in an unfair position.   And even though Ezra forgave her, you could tell he was still bothered by what happened.  When he goes to leave Aria asks when he’ll be back and if she can call him.  His back is to her and he starts to cry.  He abruptly turns around, kisses her on the head and says he’ll be in touch.   Did, he just break up with her?  I think Aria is wondering the same thing as well.  Maybe Ezra finally realized that dating someone in high school while you’re a grown adult, and now a father, isn’t appropriate and it’s time to grow up, get a real relationship, one that doesn’t break the law, and move on.   Maybe he realized that by having a child now, put his 17-year-old girlfriend in a position she’s just too young to have to deal with.  Not to mention his kid is 7-8 years old.  Hell in 15 years, Aria could date the kid.   In all seriousness, it’s unfair to Aria.  She’s 17.  She does need to be dealing with a boyfriend who has a child with his ex.  SHE’S 17!!!!!!!  I say, let Ezra go be a dad, get a job, and start a new life and let Aria start hers again…with someone more age appropriate.

Aria goes to see Spencer and Aria handles herself like a real pro.  She would have every right to lay into Spencer but she didn’t.  One, because she knew it wasn’t her fault and that she was set up and two, because she knows something is going on with her right now.  While Aria wants to give her friend some space and let her work through whatever she’s dealing with, she was pretty perturbed that Spencer didn’t at least ask how she was doing.   I don’t blame her.  Being supportive of your friend when they are obviously going through something is one thing and letting her deal with it in her own way is fine.  But seeing that you are responsible for destroying your BFF’s relationship, couldn’t you put aside your demons for one second and be there for her?  I know it wasn’t really Spencer’s fault because she was set up, but ultimately, it was still her that let the cat out of the bag.  So for 5 minutes, show a little remorse and compassion to your friend who is also going through something pretty upsetting for her.

There was another big reveal in that we learned Allison may have been pregnant when she was killed.  Now there’s something I didn’t see coming but should have.  So now the question is, who’s the “hottie at the beach,” did that person impregnate Allison, and was she killed because of it by this person?  We know this all happened down in Cape May because of the picture Emily found.  Ironically, later in the police station where Emily is visiting her mom and Hanna is there for underage drinking, they see a picture of the creepy detective, with friends of his, down in Cape May.   Now I know this is a TV show.  I get it.  And connections need to be made. But really?  If you’re from the Philadelphia area, chances are you spend all if not some part of your summer down the Jersey Shore.  There are 5-6 million people in the Philadelphia area.  I would venture to say that at least 1-2 million head to the shore every summer.   A fair amount of those people, head to Cape May.  Not to mention all the people outside the Philly area that flock to Cape May every year.   So it could be anyone.  Because I would guess, and I’m going out on a limb here, that there are many “hotties at the beach” in the summer time.   I’m just saying.  But PLL is very good at bringing people back into the picture and making you question them.  But what is it with the writers putting adult men with high school girls?   ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

I wonder when Spencer is going to tell the girls about Toby.  How long will she hang onto that juicy detail.  If “A” is as dangerous as we’re all led to believe, then she owes it to her friends to tell them soon, especially Emily who’s still pretty good friends with Toby.  But she’s hired, what I assume is a private detective to do some digging around.  So I think it’s just a matter of time at this point.  Hell, it’s still only been 24 hours since this all came to light so I’m willing to cut her a break.  But at some point, she’s got to let them know.

 

SEASON FINALE RECAP & REVIEW: Parenthood “Because You’re My Sister” S4 E15

I hate that it’s Jan 25th and Parenthood is over for the season.  But I’ve said it before, I’d rather have a 15 episode season of Parenthood, than no season at all.  So if 15 is all I get and it keeps Parenthood on the air, so be it.  But I’d still rather have the full 22…it has to be said!

Adam and Kristina

It’s been a pretty emotional season.  Kristina’s cancer storyline has really dominated the tear factor, with a handful of other stories vying for their Kleenex moment, so you knew there was going to be a decision at the end of the season…was Kristina going to be in remission or was she going to die?   I’m not going to lie.  I was worried Katims was going to kill Kristina off.  Because the storytelling that would happen in the build up to her death and in the preceding episodes dealing with her passing would be so incredibly powerful and interesting, I thought Katims might go that route.  At this point, luckily, he has decided not to go in that direction.  Although I fear seeing her friend Gwen might have been a foreshadowing of things to come.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I am by no means wishing for this to happen.  NO.  WAY.  I’m just putting on my forecasting hat and, as usual, reading too much into everything.

Kristina had one more scan to make sure that the cancer hadn’t spread because something looked off in her test.  But the doctor was just being cautious thinking it was probably just her body reacting to all the treatment.  Turns out that exactly what it was!    Yeah!!!  Now he did warn her that she can’t use the “C” word (cured) for 5 years but at this point, she is cancer free!!!

I’m so happy for her and for Adam.  This whole storyline was told so beautifully.  It showed how scary and lonely it can be for a cancer patient.  But it also showed how difficult it is on the spouse.  And it showed that both sides can be flawed in their actions.  There were times Adam was trying to be supportive but in his quest to support (like with bought Kristina the trip to Hawaii to celebrate her clean health), it pushed negative buttons in Kristina.  Likewise, when Adam was doing his best to be supportive (like when he bought Kristina the wig) Kristina really overreacted to what her husband’s intentions were.  Showing the side of the cancer patient in a supportive light is a dangerous and tricky storyline to go down.  You never want to show a patient unfavorably because of what they are going through but if you are going to show this as real as possible, then you have to cross that line.  But Katims did it so well that it was never disrespectful or insensitive.   But it was a perfect ending to a very well told story from start to finish.

Joel and Julia

Speaking of a well told story, this story had some mixed emotions over the course of the season.  I didn’t have as much of a problem as some people did…until the last two episodes.   Now I am going to chalk up the fast turn around to only have 15 episodes to work with and wanting to wrap this story up on a happy note this season and not drag it out into the next one.  But is that the fastest turn around you have ever seen in a kid?  He went from being really nasty and mean to Julia and Sydney to now begging Julia to adopt him and asking Sydney to show up at his adoption ceremony because she’s his sister.  This from the kid that just 2/3 weeks earlier was saying Julia wasn’t his real mother.  It didn’t make sense to me.  And there seemed to be no explanation as to what caused him to have this major change of heart.  That’s the only part that really disappointed me.  But my assumption is that Katims really wanted the adoption to happen in the finale and there was only so much time between certain episodes to make that happen.

Other than that, the adoption was wonderful and classic Braverman.  Of course the ENTIRE family would be there to support J&J.   And I LOVED how each one of them stepped up to say how they now related to Victor and how there certain areas in life where he should reach out to them for advise.  (Oh and really Sarah, YOU’RE going to suggest relationships for your area of expertise.   Ugh.)   But the best part was at the end of the scene when they were running out and Victor said to Julia “Mom can we get ice cream?”   The look on her face when he called her mom was priceless.  I love it.

Crosby & Jasmine

I still don’t agree with Jasmine on how her mom should have been handled.  Are there some sensitivities to the situation that should be respected because of who Renee is and what she has been to Jabbar?  Absolutely.  Does that give her the right to tell Crosby and Jasmine how to parent their son?  No.  And Crosby had every right to be upset with Renee interfering with their way of raising Jabbar.  Renee wasn’t happy with their routine (Crosby getting in late and having dinner as a family when he got home.)  so she just changed it.  That isn’t right and Jasmine should have put her foot down more.  She was just as much to blame in this for putting Crosby in the position of having to be the heavy and that’s why it became worse than it needed to be…because she didn’t have his back, even though she agreed with him.  Ironically, I think Renee was right that Jabbar shouldn’t be eating dinner at 8:00pm during the week.  That should be closer to a bedtime than mealtime.  But you know what, it doesn’t matter what I think or she thinks.  The only thing that matters is what his parents think because it’s their decision.  And quite frankly, I think it’s nice that they try to do what they can to have dinner as a family, no matter what time it is.   But because Jasmine didn’t have the guts to have an honest, but respectful conversation with her mother, the situation and the tension built up and exploded when it didn’t need to and Renee’s feelings were hurt.  And somehow Crosby had to apologize, which was wrong.  If anything, Jasmine should be apologizing to Crosby and her mother, because this whole thing is her fault.

I forgave Jasmine very quickly though because I LOVE the way she told Crosby she was pregnant.  Even more, I love the fact that they went to see Renee and let her be the first one they told.  And the way Crosby told her was so sweet and adorable, it just melted my heart.  So it looks like all if forgiven and another happy ending for another Braverman sibling.

Sarah/Hank/Mark

Thankfully, this storyline is over.  Sarah finally made up her mind and decided to give it a go with Hank only to have her heart-broken by him when he told her he was closing the shop and moving to Minnesota to be with his daughter.  I have to say, I can’t blame him.  But he did tell Sarah that he loved her and wants her to move with him to snowy, icy, Minneapolis.  I say, go.  I’ve said this before, I love Lauren Graham, I don’t like her character.  Sarah isn’t bringing a whole lot to the table and her stories, quite frankly, haven’t been that interesting.  So I wouldn’t mind seeing her haul off and follow Hank to Minnesota.  But that won’t happen because LG isn’t going anywhere.  I also had a MAJOR problem with how she told Mark.  Are you kidding me? You walk into his classroom and stiffer than a board, tell him you’re going to make a go of it with Hank and good-bye.  Could she have been more cold?  For God sake he was her fiance.  Didn’t he deserve a little more warmth and respect than what she gave him?   Take him for coffee, take him for a beer.  But don’t do it at work and don’t be so cold and unfeeling that we’re wondering how you two were ever together in the first place.  I assume  she was trying to play it as awkward, which I’m sure it was.  But it came off as bitter and rude, than awkward.

Amber/Drew

A quick note on these two.  I’m glad Drew got to wrap up his story with Amy and we got to see her one more time and they were able to resolve their break up in a satisfying way.  What they went through was so hard and difficult for teenagers.  For anyone really but especially teenagers.   I’m also thrilled to see his moment of joy learning he got into Berkley, after all the sadness he’s had the last few weeks.  The only thing that was disappointing is that there is still no fallout from his moment with Sarah when he fell into her arms crying after it happened.  Does she know?  Did he tell her?   We still don’t know.  My assumption is that he did because when she was congratulating him on getting into Berkley, she told him “I told you everything would be ok.”  Now was that the gentle nod to let us know that she knew?  I’m still not 100% sure.   Either way, I’m happy for Drew and I’m very excited for him.   I’m going to say something cooky, crazy now.   Is it possible Amy didn’t go through with it and is still pregnant and that we’ll see her two seasons from now where Drew bumps into her with a kid in a stroller?   I’m just, throwing it out there.  My guess is no, but you know how my mind works!

Amber and Ryan are back together…yeah!!  As they should be.  I love this relationship and it’s so nice to see how far Amber has come from when we first met her and how mature she is being.  She is getting her life together and she is being very responsible and respectful to herself and Ryan in regards to making this relationship work the right way.  The chemistry between Whitman and Lauria is incredible so I hope Ryan will be a permanent fixture on the show moving forward.

So that’s season 4 of Parenthood.  Did you love this season?  Are you sad it’s over so soon?  I hope NBC does the right thing and brings it back.  I think they will.

 

RECAP & REVIEW: 2013 Golden Globe Awards

I always enjoy the Golden Globes.  I love it because it isn’t as stuffy as the other awards shows.  It doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s always a good time.  Plus, as the wonderful Amy Poehler put it, I love seeing “the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of TV.”

First of all the hosts….Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.  They.  Were.  AMAZING!!  I thought Neil Patrick Harris should host every award shows…I was wrong.  Ok, he can keep the Tony’s but I want Fey and Poehler for everything else.  They were perfection!!!  So as a result of their genius, a few of their best bits from the evening:

• “Celebrating shows that have entertained us all year and films that have been in theaters for two days”  - Tina Fay 
• “When you run afoul of the Hollywood Foreign Press, they make you host this show two more times.”  - Amy Poehler
• “When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent 3 years married to James Cameron.”  -AP  (In regards to Kathryn Bigelow’s direction in Zero Dark Thirty)
• “When left untreated, HFPA can lead to cervical cancer.”  -AP
• “He filmed his first films in Boston but moved this film to Iran because he wanted a place more friendly to outsiders.”  -TF (To Ben Affleck)
• “I have not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since you were on stage with James Franco at the Oscars.”  - TF (to Anne Hathaway)
• “She had a difficult time performing with the camera so close to her face.  Then she’ll never make it in porn.  I don’t think she has any plans to do porn Amy.  None of us has PLANS to do porn Tina.”  - TF & AP (again to Anne Hathaway)
• “The Hunger Games is also what I call the 6 weeks it took me to get into this dress” – TF
• “The Life of Pi is what I will call the 6 weeks after I take this dress off!”  - AP
• “Meryl Streep is not here tonight because she has the flu and I hear she’s amazing in it.”  - AP
• “Wow, what an exciting special guest!  Hillary Clinton’s husband!  Bill Rodham Clinton!”  - AP
• “Good night everyone.  We’re going home with Jodie Foster!”  - AP

Unfortunately my bullet points don’t have the same inflections and facial expression that the ladies do so it probably loses a bit but you get the point.  Genius, genius, genius.   My only complaint, we didn’t have enough of them throughout the show.  Actually, they could have gotten rid of some of the boring presenters and just stuck with them.  Except for one pair…their SNL counterparts…Kristin Wiig and Will Ferrell.  Again, hilarious!  Maybe went on a touch too long, but I didn’t care.  It was wonderful.  Just ask Tommy Lee Jones who seemed to be rolling on the carpet howling with laughter at their bit.  (Insert sarcasm.)

There were many parts of this show that I loved.  Some parts that made me laugh, some parts made me roll my eyes, and some parts had me scratching my head.  I loved Jessica Chastain, Adele, and Ben Affleck’s acceptance speeches.   All were really from the heart and genuine and I couldn’t be happier for each one of them.  Take that Oscars for not nominating Affleck for Best Director.  That’s a crime.  Also, just when I thought it was impossible to love Adele more, she proves me wrong.  She is delightful and the type of person I just want to go and have a few pints with.  Just as I thought my love for Adele couldn’t increase, I thought my dislike for Taylor Swift couldn’t increase.  I was wrong, again.  Sitting there with her pissed off face for losing to Adele just shows again what a phony she is.  Show some class and be happy for your colleague who, quite frankly, can write circles around you and your pedestrian crap.  Moving on.  For some reason Lena Dunham and Anne Hathaway’s speeches didn’t come across as genuine.  I love Anne Hathaway. I do.  But her speech came across as a bit rehearsed and fake.  Except for her comments to Sally Field, that felt very real to me and they were beautiful.  But the rest…eh, not so much.  Lena Dunham’s speech was very nice, but it’s harder to believe someone’s sincerity when they are stiffly reading it off loose leaf paper.  I know it’s not fair and she probably had stuff written down because she was nervous.  I get all that.  I’m just saying it doesn’t feel as heartfelt.  Also, to say you’re “so surprised” yet you have an acceptance speech ready?  If you really don’t think you’re going to win, there’s nothing for you to prepare, right?    But I will say, her thanking Chad Lowe?   AWESOME!  Kevin Costner’s speech reminded me why I’ve never liked his acting.  It was a dry and boring and he is.  But congrats!

Then came Jodie Foster.  Foster is one of my all time favorite actresses.  If you really press me, she’s in the top 5.  She’s brilliant.  I was thrilled to see her getting the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award because she is so deserving and I was ready to be wowed by her speech.  I was watching her feeling empowered yet confused at the same time.  I was touched and baffled all at once.  Does that make any sense?  I couldn’t tell if she was coming out or looking for a date.  If she was retiring or starting a self-help business.  It was bizarre.  But it was also beautiful.  It was just, odd.  It went off in these strange tangents but then when she focused herself back, she had some wonderful sentiments, especially about her mom.   Twitter last night was going off on her speech…some love it and some hated it.  Some were just as confused as I was.  But what no one can deny is that Foster has been a huge force in the film business for over 40 years.  And when looking back on her career, it was, and still is, glorious.

From the winners and losers standpoint, nothing was very shocking, on the TV end, except for one…Don Cheadle winning Best Actor in a Comedy for House of Lies.  Wow.  I love Don Cheadle and think he’s a great actor, but that show is awful.  And before you scream at me, yes I know he won and not the show, but he is wasted on that show.  His character is horrible, the plots are outrageous, and I can’t root for people who help slime balls out of jams they have no business being out of.  There are many awards Cheadle deserves, this wasn’t one of them.   But all the Homeland and Game Change love was well deserved.  The other one I’m not on board with is Girls.  I can’t speak very intelligently with this show because I only watched two episodes, but I couldn’t get into it.  I was bored by it.  And I know it’s the darling show right now and Lena Dunham is the darling writer/actor.  It did nothing for me.  But I’m happy for her and her cast and crew because it’s always nice when a new show can break the mold.  And hell, at least it’s not Modern Family right?   Yeah!!   The one person I’m hoping gets some love soon is Max Greenfield.  He is absolutely sensational as Schmidt on New Girl.  Please, please, please someone give this man the props he deserves!!!

The only thing I’m going to say from the movie side, since this is a TV blog after all, is that I have a TON of movies to see before the Oscars.  The last few years, there haven’t been many “Best Picture” movies I’ve wanted to see and truth be told, I think the last few years, I haven’t seen any of them.  But this year…Silver Linings Playbook, Argo, Django Unchained, Les Miz, Zero Dark Thirty, and Lincoln…wow.  What a great year for movies.  And I can’t wait to see all of these.

What did you think of the GG?  Love or hate it?

 

SEASON FINALE RECAP & REVIEW: Homeland “The Choice” S2 E12

The Choice.  What a perfect title for the finale.  So many choices had to be made in this episode.   Do you do the right thing or the wrong?  Do you follow your head or your heart?   Do you stay or do you go?  Do you kill or be killed?   All of these conundrums were up for grabs in the season finale of Homeland.

Let’s start with an easy one…Brody and Jess.  The writing has been on the wall for a while with these two.  You could argue ever since Brody came back they were doomed to fail.  But I give them both credit for trying.  After betrayals on both sides and two annoying kids, Brody and Jess gave it the best they could, but it wasn’t enough.  They weren’t enough for each other any more.  So they officially ended their relationship and decided to part ways.  Jess gave Brody her blessing to be with Carrie, and Brody did the same for her and Mike.  Brody even went as far as to go have a beer with Mike and tell him to go be with Jess and the kids.  I thought it was fascinating to see, and I thought the show did a very good job of showing how hard it is for soldiers when they come back from war, to go back to their old lives.  On the flip side, you also see how hard it is on the family they are coming home to.  And even though what happened was no one’s fault and they did still love one another, it just wasn’t the same.  That has to be what makes it even harder.  They didn’t hate one another or become intentionally disrespectful towards one another.  They just couldn’t take a tragic situation, that changes everyone to the point they couldn’t go back, and make it work.  It’s really sad to see and I’m sure happens more often than it doesn’t.

Then you have David Estes.  He made a deal with Quinn to have him kill Brody as soon as Brody was finished helping them get Abu Nazir.  So once Nazir was gone, Quinn had to assassinate Brody.  He followed Brody and Carrie to her family’s cabin and watched and waited for his opportunity.  When it finally came, he couldn’t pull the trigger.  Later he shows up at Estes house, in his room, with a gun.  He tells Estes that his job his to kill bad guys and in his estimation, Brody isn’t a bad guy.  Quinn confronts Estes telling him that the real reason he wants Brody dead is because Brody knows Estes was linked to the Drone attack and therefore only wants Brody dead to protect himself.  I’m not so sure that’s true otherwise Brody would also be going after Estes as well as Walden but I could be wrong.  Now that I think about it, I’m sure he didn’t know but that’s probably why Estes wants him gone.  If he does find out, he’ll go after him.   But Quinn tells him again, he only kills bad guys and if Brody ends up dead, he’ll be back in Estes room.  Wow has Quinn made a 180.  I hated him at first and now, I wouldn’t hate it if he were back next season.   As a result of this conversation, Estes releases Saul from custody and tells him the hit on Brody is off and Saul can go back to work.   I wonder if Saul will ever learn the reasoning behind his release.

Next we have Brody and Carrie and Saul and Carrie but before we jump into their choices, we have to discuss what happened to alter original decisions and what changed their courses significantly from the middle of the episode to the end.

Everyone gathers for the VP’s memorial.  I did find it odd that Jess and the kids weren’t there considering how close their families had become but whatever.  These are also the same people who had Nazir and Brody skyping without tracking so I can overlook the Brody family not being in attendance.  Estes is at the podium paying his respects to Walden and his time not only as the VP but as the head of the CIA.  Brody and Carrie can’t take their eyes off each other and Carrie motions to Brody to leave the room.   They go to another wing of the CIA offices and She announces to him that she’s decided to leave the CIA and start a life with him.  They are about to get down and dirty in someone’s office to celebrate when Brody notices his car in front of the room where the memorial is taking place and mentioning to Carrie that he never parked his car there.  She drops the F bomb and the next thing you know an enormous bomb explodes taking everyone in the memorial with it, including Estes, the VP’s wife and son and many ranking members of the CIA.

Again I know I have to suspend my disbelief but really?   You are having a memorial for the Vice President of the United States at the offices of the Central Intelligence Agency where not only the head of the CIA but many high-ranking members of the agency are in attendance…and there’s no security outside?  No one notices a car parked in a no parking zone, completely out-of-place, right next to the room where the memorial for the VPOTUS is being held?  Seriously?  That’s another tough one to swallow.

I think one thing the writers of Homeland have always done a fantastic job with is making you doubt Brody…is he a good guy or a bad guy?   I was watching the finale waiting for the bomb to drop.  Not literally of course the way that it did, but because of the false security that I and Carrie had been led into thinking Brody was a good guy under the manipulation of a horrible terrorist, only to find out that Brody was on the dark side the whole time.  I was so waiting for that to happen and then the bomb went off.   For a split second, like Carrie, I thought “damn it, he is a bad egg after all!”   But, again like Carrie, I realized that wasn’t the case.  I think the show, while playing with our emotions towards Brody during the first season, made a decision that Brody was going to be a good guy and stuck with that through the end of this season.  Ever since Brody had that vest on and decided not to blow up a bunch of innocent people, the show really did make it clear which side Brody was on.  And we saw all throughout this season with his conversations with Roya, Carrie, Quinn, Nazir, and others, that he wasn’t on the terrorists’ side.  Did he want Walden dead?  Absolutely.  But did he want to destroy the lives of innocent Americans?  Absolutely not.   Brody wanted a normal life.  And he wanted it with the woman he loved.  And Carrie, who was very torn on what to do, made the decision to leave her job at the CIA and live a peaceful life with Brody.  And then the bomb went off.

As to be expected, all breaks loose.  Saul comes rushing back (he was on a naval ship overseeing the burial of Abu Nazir at sea) only to find out he is now the highest ranking CIA agent.   He’s trying to find out of Carrie is alive and since they hadn’t found her body, she was presumed dead…as was Nicholas Brody.  Once Saul heard Brody was also unaccounted for, he knew she was alive.  Well, his gut was telling him she was alive but he couldn’t be 100% sure.  Brody and Carrie are on the run and she gets him a new passport, ID, money and tells him of a contingency plan she had set up for her in case she ever needed it and now he is going to use it.  While this is all happening, the national news releases a very interesting video.  It was the video Brody made when he was planning to blow up the VP last season.  Somehow, someone got their hands on it and released it to the press and now Brody looks like the terrorist he was feared to be and he is being set up.  Only problem is, his family is seeing this video and in order to protect himself and them, he can’t contact them to let them know that he’s being set up.   So Brody is on the run.  Of course he wants Carrie to go with him but she can’t.  She needs to stay behind and not only find out who’s responsible but to clear his name.  He understands completely and they have a heartwarming and tearful “see you later” instead of good-bye and we watch Brody take off into the darkness to his new life without Carrie.   I’m glad it ended that way instead of having Brody killed (which I would have bet my right arm was going to happen.)  Now we can have Brody return to the fold, if it makes sense, or he can stay off the canvas and in his new world.   Smart choice by the writers.  Carrie goes back to the scene of the crime and sees Saul praying over the victims.  She calls his name and he tearfully turns to her with a smile on his face as we fade to black.

So early when I brought up the choices for Brody and Carrie and Saul and Carrie, there really weren’t choices at all for the men….just Carrie.  Brody was clear he wanted to give their relationship a chance and Saul was clear she was a lunatic if she decided to leave a job she loves and is good at to go make babies with a known terrorist.  “He’s a man who put on a suicide vest Carrie.  That’s who he is, that’s who he’ll always be”  warns Saul to Carrie.  He also states one of the greatest lines I’ve ever heard in the history of TV “You are the smartest and the dumbest fucking person I’ve ever known.”   No truer words have ever been said about Carrie Matheson.  In Saul’s mind, there is not choice.  He knows Carrie so well that he knows she can never be with a man like Brody.   But you know how women can be!  Sometime it takes a national disaster to change our minds.  And that’s what happened for Carrie.  She was ready to leave her CIA world behind.  But then two things happened, a new threat emerged and her man was being framed for it.   She’s not going anywhere!  In fact, she probably prime for a huge promotion since half of the CIA was wiped out.

I like the fact that we have wrapped up the Abu Nazir/Brody storyline and are moving on to another phase of the show.  The tough part about a show like Homeland (similar to 24) is that it can get very stale very quickly.  But keeping it fresh with new faces and stories, while still maintaining a strong core, should be the key to longer term success.  I still don’t see Homeland as a 10 season show…more like 5 or 6…but since I’m always wrong, it will probably run longer than Law & Order!

What did you think of the Homeland finale and of Season 2 as a whole?  Are you on board for next season or are you out?  Let me know what you think!