It’s been a busy week, and I’m a bit behind on some chores, which means Grimm is on the watch list for this upcoming week. I’ll plan to touch on the penultimate and ultimate episodes for next week’s week in review. For now, I’ve The Flash, iZombie, Person of Interest, Arrow, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries. Here we go!
The Flash
After last week’s intense, and highly structured and cohesive episode, it comes as little of a surprise that this week’s was a bit of a letdown. There was a lot of time spent, rightly so, with Iris having a moment with almost all of the characters to air her frustrations with. Necessary for a character as that may be, it stagnates an episode. This episode seemed mostly as a place for Iris to come to grips with what was right under her nose, all with the distraction of Grodd to add some dressing to the boring material. I found it less than memorable and deleted it from my DVR as soon as it ended. I’m not overly frustrated, because no show can keep the momentum going week in and week out, and Flash has done a very good job in its first season. I’m happy Iris is in the know, and am interested in finding out just what Wells has planned going forward.
Also, I do think that his time with Eddie will cause Eddie to change from the nice guy that he is to something less so. After all, when you do go back in time, your very presence, as innocuous as you try to keep it, changes things, so who is to say that Eddie doesn’t become less good guy going forward after his interactions with Eobard Thawne. After hearing that he is a forgettable person with no value to the future, it is sure that Eddie will take that to heart going forward and become someone different than he was had he never met Eobard.
iZombie
Hooray! iZombie has been renewed for season 2. This was a no brainer for the CW. I am looking forward to the Upfronts next week, if for no other reason than to lay to rest my concerns over PoI. iZombie is moving along nicely with its characters and what was always going to come to a collision has finally come together as Liv realizes just who is killing everyone and just what business is profiting from the deaths. Now, with her brother applying for a job there, as well as the Major zeroing in, things are going to get interesting, I think.
Person of Interest: Season Finale
The Machine’s number comes up, Dominic and Elias’s story come to an end, Control underestimated her opponent, likely because her way of looking at the world was always on the relevant and not the irrelevant; in other words, she looked at big events, not small, The Machine shows the importance of humanity, and Finch’s programming is head and shoulders above Samaritan’s; a conscience is always preferable in the end. Samaritan may have the right idea: you cannot consort with evil without getting touched by it yourself (i.e. Elias and Reese and Finch working together, even as at times it has been mutually beneficial, still shows the effects of allowing corruption into your midst.) Samaritan was right in that these outliers, such as Elias and Dominic, needed to be expunged from society; however killing them is in itself a corrupt act. There is, after all, such a thing as the law and the legal system to deal with these matters.
This was an excellent finale that does have me already looking ahead 20 weeks for the Season 5 premier. Yes, I’m completely of the mindset that PoI will be renewed. I am absolutely not prepared for its demise. There were a few glitches along the way, unfortunately, but I get past them every time Pink Floyd’s Welcome to the Machine starts up – either during the episode or in my stream of conscious. Last week it was clear that Control was a week out from May 6th, and all her efforts occurred simultaneous to Finch and Root being captured by Greer, as well as Fusco and Reese encountering Dominic and Elias. This episode however seems to pick up straight from where the last ended, at least in regards to Fusco and Reese and Root and Finch. Control however does seem to have spent a little bit of time organizing her thoughts and putting her plans into motion. Also, it seems a bit odd that Reese, already in God Mode with the Machine, heads to the precinct – in a clean shirt no less — to warn Iris and ‘have a moment with her’ when the last we saw him he was heading off to find Finch and Root. I did enjoy Iris and John’s little moment though, for it sets up a continuation of his character development for next season and it does highlight a bit of her similarity to Jessica. They have slightly similar facial features and mannerisms, and it’s clear that John has a ‘type.’
YHWH highlights just how the Machine processes things, and it does give it a bit of a god-like complex in that it shows the Machine’s planning to be a bit omniscient. It had clear forethought and planning with the installation of boxes manufactured by Thornhill, clearly a company that the Machine created years ago when it found it necessary to move. Instead of simply relocating to another geographic location, the Machine learned and uploaded itself to the nationwide power grid. Samaritan is not the only technological entity that can plan and implement and create ways to implement its plans and/or save itself.
The final tally from Season 4 is the loss of a lot of lives, as well as potential allies, for I am fairly certain that Control is dead, as is Elias, but it’s clear that there are still new friends, Caleb – who Samaritan should not track back to, and like her or not, Harper will surely be reappearing. She’s truly out for herself and the highest bidder will always win, but there is a chance that she will, like Claire has the potential, come to team Machine. Sameen will return one day, but it remains unclear whose side, if anyone’s, she’ll come down on.
By the way, how awesome was it that Reese was in God Mode with the Machine again? I loved it. “Can you hear me?” Yes! This time the Machine showed itself willing to take orders as well as give them. It is becoming more symbiotic with both Root and Reese. I like it.
I know it’s just a machine, but dang the pathos as it expressed its fears and failures to Finch, realizing that it had invented new rules, rules that Finch never programmed it with (i.e. killing the congressman last year) and that it was sorry that perhaps it had lost its way and even failed Finch. Yeah, it’s just a machine, wires and such, but dang it, I teared up a bit. Greer’s harsh words, at times so correct – true control is quiet and behind the scenes: In Samaritan’s world, there is no place for outliers – oh, that is grim indeed. If we thought it was a dark and dangerous world at the end of season 3, season 4 is so much darker.
Upfronts, thankfully, are a few days away, and my fears will be laid to rest – or have come to fruition by then. Either way, this finale does have me looking forward to the next chapter.
Arrow
Too messy, too chaotic, too all over the place, too big – that’s my take on the whole League of Assassins and Oliver and Malcolm’s machinations behind the scenes. While I do enjoy a show not stagnating (PoI), I prefer the whole transition to be a bit cleaner. Just exactly when was it that Oliver realized he needed to put this whole plan together? After Ra’s attacked Thea? Really? It wasn’t until then? I’ll be glad when this is done and over with and the show has rebooted itself into whatever it’s going to be next. The writing is a bit all over too with so many feeling betrayed. Oliver really couldn’t let Diggle in on the whole thing but instead fully trusted Malcolm? And is Malcolm’s revelation to Ra’s part of the plan or Malcolm simply being Malcolm? Well, I guess by next week I’ll know and perhaps will enjoy the season on repeats. Perhaps Arrow is a show best watched (at least for someone with my patience with soap opera drama that seems to have overtaken much of this show) in one long binge as opposed to in weekly installments. Usually I have patience, but this just seems a chaotic mess with various characters strong one week (Felicity) and weak the next (still looking at Felicity).
Judging from the promos for both the Flash and Arrow next week, it does appear that the CW’s schedule adjustments earlier this year have finally caught up to them, and not in a good way, but that too remains to be seen. Promos can be tricky, and rarely to be taken at face value.
Supernatural
I give these two writers credit: They are consistent. Too bad it’s not a good consistency. Still, there were some funny moments, Rowena claiming she hasn’t known Dean that long to join “for Dean” team, then there was Crowley’s game of darts and his ‘dart board’ complimenting the grouping, Cas’s pointless call to Dean, also was funny, and there were great moments as Dean caught on to Sam’s lie.
At first I thought the Styne family exposition, although lengthy and boring at the family gathering, interesting and possibly good grounds for a new ‘big bad’ in Season 11. However, upon further reflection, the Styne family has been written as too big and too grandiose, so for them to simply appear out of nowhere, because of one book being stolen, makes little sense. Why is there nothing in the MoL to talk of this? Why have the brothers not stumbled upon some clues prior to this? It seems off, being kind.
The other thing that was off – well, just utterly ridiculous actually — was having one of the Styne’s handcuffed by only one hand. Sam and Dean aren’t that foolish and even the scene was set so that it was utterly absurd: Really, the actor’s only choice was to stand casually with his right hand in his pocket? I was waiting for him to pull out a gun! This was clearly done only for the visual image of him ripping his hand off – which is physically impossible as it was done. Sometimes a cool idea (or cool visual) is only cool on the brainstorming board; not everything should come to fruition. (Like killing Bobby Singer! Just sayin’.)
At least all the characters – those left standing that is (R.I.P. Charlie) are in the know about who and what everyone is. And that scene with Dean confronting Sam about the book was well shot, well written, and well-acted, as Dean was beyond menacing as he circled around Sam. I saw demon-Dean just beneath the surface in that scene. Kudos to Jensen for once again hitting it out of the park. He gave Sam every opportunity to come clean, all while knowing Sam was lying. Poor Sam, it all came crashing in on him as the rhythm of lies caught up to him, the buzzing of his phone throughout the episode, each time raising Dean’s awareness of trouble, Castiel, Charlie, and Rowena each contributing to his guilt over lying, and the pounding of stump-Styne’s arm on the door until the inevitable breaking of the door and the whole house of cards fell down. It does all come down to one thing: love. “Charlie loves you, Dean. We all love you.” Yes, love is that most powerful emotion that sacrifices all, sometimes the result is victory, and other times death.
There was much to dislike about this episode, especially the overly long gross out factor of ‘harvesting’ that poor girl’s eyes in the beginning (reminded me of Time is on My Side) and the lengthy, and for me quite boring, exposition in the Styne’s ‘living room’, but at least the lies are out in the open, most of them that is for Dean still hasn’t shared Cain’s dire prophecy. At least all the characters had a purpose of a sort, Crowley is on the hunt for his mother, which will lead him straight to Sam and Dean and the Book of the Damned and the Codex; Castiel knows who Rowena is and also knows about Sam’s plans, and Charlie’s death will catapult the Styne family front and center as enemies to the Winchesters, which does have possibilities, but hopefully the universality of the Styne family gets toned down a bit. Hey, I can dream, since much of this show’s canon gets rewritten on a regular basis, it’s possible the Styne family’s now canon could similarly be rewritten into something smaller.
I still suspect, despite this massive bump in the road (that I knew was coming once I saw these writers’ names) that the finale will have me eager for the October premier date.
The Vampire Diaries
Big gala events always end tragically here, and Jo and Alaric’s wedding was ripe for a killing – and it delivered on that front. Poor Alaric, but no one is allowed to be happy. I did enjoy Damon and Stefan’s brotherly bonding, and enjoyed it more so because it was Elena that asked Stefan to push Damon harshly to ensure he knew what he was doing. I felt bad for Damon, but at the same time glad that he was forced to face himself, and decide what he wanted, not for Elena, not for Stefan – as both made it clear he had to do it for himself and no one else. It is also clear that his choice of humanity with Elena will not occur, unless the writers want to make next season all about keeping Damon safe and trying to uncure him – yeah, that won’t work.
Also, no one gets a happy ending, and Damon won’t get one either. Not sure if Stefan’s line to Elena about Damon being a drifter and not so strong is true to canon, but I don’t remember everything from the earlier seasons’ flashbacks. I do remember that it was Katherine who Damon loved, and it was Katherine’s vampire blood he was drinking so to be with her, but she was also secretly giving it to Stefan because he was who she loved. Stefan in the end forced Damon to complete the transition, but it was a transition that initially Damon was embracing for himself until push came to shove. The other reason I think it may be a bit or convenient rewriting here is that Lily herself made comments to Damon that made it clear she thought of her eldest son as a force, at least in the sarcastic manner, so I’m not sure. But, it is clear that Stefan believes Damon is best served as a vampire, but he is not going to force Damon to remain. The brothers have done a lot of harm to each other over the years, but truth be told, when push comes to shove, they do protect the other and do want the other to be happy – as long as they understand what they’re signing on for.
Not too long ago there was a flashback with Damon telling Stefan that he (Damon) showed him (Stefan) who and what he really was. Stefan also told Elena (earlier this season when they both still thought him permanently lost) that one of the reasons they loved Damon was because he, in essence, made them confront who they were. Here, Stefan returned the favor by showing Damon possible futures and making him ‘live’ them in his mind so he would truly understand whatever decision he made. Stefan also made it clear that he would support Damon’s decision. From where I stand, this show will do very well focusing on the Salvatore brothers going forward, there is much to love there.
That’s it for this week. I am aware of who died in Grimm (NOOOOOO!!!!!) but have yet to see it. I’ll hang on to the episode for a double header with the upcoming finale for Grimm’s fourth season. Looks to be quite crazy.
One and a half weeks left in the current season, with Arrow, The Vampire Diaries and Grimm all finishing up this coming week and The Flash and Supernatural the next. Much bloodletting occurred this past Friday with shows being canceled and Upfronts begin tomorrow – although NBC has released their schedule. Grimm will be back at its regular 9:00 p.m. time slot come fall. Wonder if it will be coming back late October again. I kind of like that late start as it means fewer interruptions during the season.
Until next week, thanks for reading, Elle2
