This week's column is light due to organizing the Character Cup for SpoilerTV and some family emergencies. As a result, I did not get to a nominated show, some pilots, or even some of my weekly shows. I hope to be back on my game next week and I will definitely do a nominated show so feel free to fill out the form. I did watch Finding Carter, but I didn't have time to rewatch it and come up with episode awards and quotes so I will review that pilot next week. As always, happy TV viewing and if you haven't checked out the Character Cup yet, come join us. We're having some great discussion. New polls go up every afternoon and you have ~24 hours to vote.
Overall Award:
I know it's summer but man is TV getting supersized these days. Reality TV, which I don't watch, apparently takes 3 days to kick someone out if my kiddo is telling the truth. (Yes, she has bad taste.) Finding Carter decided that one episode was not enough and gave us a double feature, even though the second episode took place 1 month after the pilot. If you didn't listen to the 10 seconds explainer, you'd be lost. The Leftovers clocks in at 56 minutes. I'm betting that's typical but at 42 minutes I was expecting it to end. Then there was The Strain, which I'll review next week, with its whopping 70 minutes, the first part of which was spent in therapy before the plot jumpstarted. Now don't get me wrong. I like extras of my favorites as much as the next girl, but sometimes less is more. A lot of TV felt padded with filler this week. Even Teen Wolf, which was at its normal 42 minutes, could have shaved a good 14 minutes off and been just fine. Maybe it was that I was rushed this week and had little time, but the whole month feels like I'm getting a Super Extra Value meal when what I really need is a salad.
New Shows:
In the grand tradition of most TV shows right now, I have no idea what's going on in this show but I am intrigued by it. The acting of course helps too. It's not just Halle Berry that makes this a great ensemble cast. While the advertising made it seem like this was going to be a sci fi , "who's the baby daddy?" show, it is actually far more complicated. Weirder shenanigans are going on at home but for now they feel tied to what happened in space. I'm intrigued to see what Yasumoto has to do with it all. The only major issue I have is the mention of seraphim. Please for the love of my sanity, let's not put angels in the mix of this show too.
Grade: B
Best Scene - Molly freaks out when she sees the cameras show no one was there in space with her
Best Quote - Sam: "When her tests come back, I will personally write her a prescription for margaritas."
Best Reason to Watch - story is intriguing and unlike anything else on TV right now
Best Technology - internet bathroom mirror for when you just can't wait for the latest updates
The "It Figures" Award - Great to know that android kids are just as bratty as regular ones. Don't sign me up for that model.
The "Say What?" Award - creepy staring kid is actually freaky android kid? Didn't see that coming.
Best Harry Potter Reference - the moving photographs
Most Jealous - I don't want to be an astronaut, but man do I want to be able to fly like that
The "Isn't This the Beginning of Most Sci Fi Horrors?" Award - creating artificial intelligence in the form of children sounds risky to me
The "Welcome Back" Award - Hatake from Helix is Yasumoto here. Hatake is the only reason I am watching season 2 of Helix, so woo hoo!
The "Shut Up!" Award - Seriously John, when your co-worker gives you the slashed throat gesture and glare, you should shut the heck up. Way to screw over everyone to make your point.
Worst New Aspect of the Future - therapist sessions seen by multiple people. I'm thinking that will not inspire confidence in shrinks.
The "Are You Kidding Me?" award - seraphims? Don't tell me this show has angels too. I can't take any more evil angels.
For a comedy, I didn't laugh at all but I found the Swedish setting fresh and many of the characters intriguing. I'm not sure how well Swedish subtitles are going to go over in America so I'm guessing NBC is not expecting much in the ratings. Having spent a grand total of 7 hours in Sweden this summer, this show does make me nostalgic for my vacation, even the 22-hours of daylight which was the biggest adjustment. I suspect this show will get funnier as Bruce delves more into his new life but it goes to the "if I have time" pile for now.
Best Scene - opening
Best Quote - Viveka: "Find yourself? Are you lost?"
Best Reason to Watch - it's unique in that we see life in another country
Biggest Pet Peeve - Bruce is moving to another country and he doesn't even bother to learn the rudiments of its language. Are you kidding me? It bugs me when people visiting don't even bother to learn a few words. You had 8 hours on the plane if nothing else.
Best Surprise - I didn't know Amy Poehler was going to be on-screen. I knew she is a producer and sister to the lead, but it was nice to see her as well. Love how she is not listening to him at all and fires him for being too good at his job.
The "What an Idiot" Award - Bruce, who says the exact wrong thing to the customs person at every turn and makes an idiot out of himself and doesn't portray America very well. Please just stop.
Marathoned Show:
Teen Wolf - 1.01 -1.03
Most people know by now that I was reluctant to watch Teen Wolf because I am certainly not in the MTV demographic. In fact, I was in that demographic when MTV was born. Add to it that it was called Teen Wolf, as silly a name as you can get, even when I watched the movie when it debuted. Then throw in a star-crossed teen love and that’s all I need to be out. Still the show kept being recommended to me by people who knew my overall TV taste. Eventually I bought the season 1 DVD because it was on sale for $10. And didn’t watch it for months. Finally I was bored and broke down to watch it. I loved it. There are very few pilots that move as quickly as this one does. In any other show, you’d expect the reveal of him being a werewolf to take several episodes, but the characters figure it out quickly and the story jump starts its mythology right away. It’s a show that doesn’t tease answers just to have no follow through. It’s not coy at all and I love that about it. From this episode I was hooked and immediately ordered the second season because I wanted to have it ready once I finished season 1. The only thing I regret about Teen Wolf is that I didn’t listen sooner. It’s gotten better every season. So, if you haven’t watched Teen Wolf, here I am joining the chorus. Go! Now! Watch this show. You’re going to be converted just like I was.
Grade: B (because I know what this show can do. On first watch it was an A-.)
Best Scene – Jackson asks a clueless Scott about steroids
Most Intense – Scott almost decks Stiles when he tries to cancel Scott’s date
Best Aww Scene – Stiles picks up Scott on the road and says they’ll get through it together
Best Quote – Jackson: “Alright little man, how about you tell me where you’re getting your juice?” Scott: “What?” Jackson: “Where are you getting your juice?” Scott: “My mom does all the grocery shopping.”
Best Reason to Watch – the usually rapid pace with just a few slow parts and all the one-liners
Best Back Story – the Hale family fire
Most Valuable – Stiles and his research skills
Best Nostalgia – Scott and his baseball bat
The “Okay, Creeper” Award – Stiles is far too excited about finding a dead body
Best Plot Device – Scott loses his inhaler in the creepy woods, making him vulnerable to attack
The “If Only It Were True” Award - “There are no wolves in California.”
Funniest Character – Coach
Snarkiest Character – Stiles
Best Entrance – Derek Hale
Parent Award – Mama McCall
The second episode, while not being quite as good as the pilot, does delve more into the characters. The mystery is still strong, with Derek being the heart of it. Mostly I would have liked this better if it had toned down the teen drama a bit, but it all rings true to that age. While I normally do not root for teen romances, which turn dripping and overly emoangsty in far too short a time, I do find Scott’s goofy expression after he kisses Allison to be adorable. You just want to pat him on the head and awww over him.
Best Scene – Scott starts panicking about Argent and Stiles refocuses him after panicking a little himself
Best Moment – Stiles tosses the bag of wolfs bane out / Stiles tries to not ruin Scott’s moment but Scott realizes something’s up and Stiles tells him about Derek being released
Best Quote – Coach: “My, my grandmother can move faster than that and she’s dead. You think you can move faster than the lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother?”
Best Reason to Watch – Stiles and Scott’s great friendship
Best Reason to Fast Forward – too much teen angst in the middle
First Mention of Greenberg – Coach makes him take a lap
First Glimpse of Danny – Danny doesn’t like Jackson’s plan to exclude Scott
First Time Lydia Shows She’s Smart – she finishes an algebra problem without thinking about it while blackmailing Scott
The “You Know You Need a Winchester…” Award – grave digging seems a lot easier when a Winchester is doing it. Stiles may want to get them on speed dial.
Best Pep Talk – Stiles, who calms Scott down enough to go to lacrosse practice
Worst Pep Talk – Stiles, who names every single thing that could go wrong with Scott playing
Least Believable – The other team wouldn’t be talking about Scott’s yellow eyes and claws and someone finding out
Worst Plan – Stiles plan if Derek catches them is basically one of them dies and the other escapes. No wonder Scott is not fond of the plan. / Allison goes after Scott into the boys’ locker room
The “It’s Time to Upgrade” Award – Scott’s internet service slows down right when Stiles tries to warn him that Derek is behind him. This is the kind of thing that gets you killed in a horror movie. Yep, time to upgrade. After all, it is Beacon Hills.
Parent Award - Sheriff
For the most part, this episode is slower and less important than the others. With the exception of the big reveal of an alpha at the end, not much happens here that couldn’t be skipped. Teens on a date don’t mean anything to me, no matter who those teens are so everything about bowling from the planning to the aftermath is pure filler and easily skippable.
Grade: D
Best Scene / Best Action – werewolf fight aka Derek kicks Scott’s butt with awesome gymnastics
Best Quote – Stiles: “Could have been animal blood? You know maybe you caught a rabbit or something.” Scott: “And did what?” Stiles: “Ate it.” Scott: “Raw?” Stiles: “No, you stopped to bake in a little werewolf oven."
Best Reason to Watch – Derek, who is far more mysterious here and brings up alphas for the first time
Best Reason to Fast Forward – bowling and everything along with it
Best Return – the McCall baseball bat, which Mama McCall almost wields on Stiles this time
First Appearance of Douchey Science Teacher – he moves Scott and Stiles away from each other
First Mention of Scott’s Dad – the dead guy was the bus driver back where he used to live
First Appearance of Deaton – Deaton gives Sheriff his expert opinion about the attack
Best Gibbs Slap – Stiles, when Scott suggests having Derek teach him control
Most Dramatic – the music where Scott and Stiles are frantically searching for Allison
Best 4th Wall Break – after punching in Jackson’s locker, Scott grins sheepishly at the camera
The “Yeah, You Jumped Too” Award – when the “dead” man sits up on the gurney
The “What the Heck?” Award – No way that bus is still on school property. They would have moved it to the police impound as soon as they finished the preliminary forensics. That’s just common sense, not to mention the school would never let it be there so soon.
The “Oh Yeah, Right” Award – Since when does thinking about a girl naked help a teen concentrate?
Most Impressive Exit – Allison does gymnastics out of her upper story building. Mighty impressive!
Biggest Reveal – Derek tells Scott there’s another werewolf running loose because he didn’t bite Scott
Weekly Shows:
Yeah so the villain was a moustache-twirling narcissist and the ending was abrupt to say the least. Everything about this episode was intense and well paced. I was glued to the screen the entire time (except the romance) and may have actually cheered out loud a couple of times. I like how the show has created real dramatic tension in what is basically a ship moving around. Kudos to everyone involved. This is a great summer show.
Grade: A
Best Scene - waiting for the bomb to hit Ruskov's ship
Best Quote - Miller: "I don't mean to sound dim, sir, but how's a roll of aluminum foil supposed to look like a 500 foot destroyer?"
Best Character Interaction - Tom and Quincy when Quincy asks what Tom would have done if the roles were reversed
Best Reason to Watch - the intensity of all the great standoffs
Biggest Moustache Twirler - Ruskov
The "Are You Kidding Me?" Award - You are going to stop the mission to tell your girlfriend to get out? Urgh! This is why I don't like romance junk in my action shows. So glad that Danny sees it to.
Best Timed Cup of Tea Ever - Nice that the guy hands Ruskov a cup of tea right as the US Navy switches radar signals to escape. I hear he's particularly fond of the Plot Device flavor.
The "Bye, Bye Red Shirts" Award - Berchem and Smith, we didn't really know you but I feel for those who miss you. Poor Danny's having a hard cruise.
The "Use Your Words" Award - There are hundreds of people on that ship, Rachel. Yell out as you're running away from that traitor. He's outnumbered.
Best Standoff - Rachel vs. Quincy
Weirdest Quote of the Week - Kara: "I can knock the nipples off a chicken from a thousand yards, sir."
Best Reaction - Granderson and Gator when Slattery says they have to thread the needle without any sonar or radar. Classic "Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?" expressions.
Best Way to Know Someone Needs to Die - He give a speech that includes the words: "We will walk the earth as gods! We will be the new masters of this beautiful world." Yeah, sanity runs deep in you, buddy.
Most in Need of a Raise - I agree that Danny and Kara deserve hazard pay, but I'm giving it to the guy who steered the ship. Never have countless hours playing video games ever paid off more.
Most Unsettling Ending - Crazy scientist blowing on the mouse for….I have no idea what reason. Creep me out.
Even less happened in this episode than the last one and that's hard to do. There was a shoot out in which the Feds I think were the bad guys, so there's that. Mostly though people cursed, may or may not have hallucinated, some teens stalked a lady on an interview, and NOTHING made sense. Plus this show is freaking 56 minutes long. One more episode and then I'm scrapping this in The English Patient file, impossibly drawn out for no apparent reason.
Grade: C
Best Scene - Laurie "talks" to Meg about remembering
Best Quote - Meg: "You know, you guys are running a pretty sh** cult if you can't even join."
Best Reason to Watch…without distractions - if you don't actually watch, then you miss all the main action in the mute white cult, since it's all about handwriting and facial expressions
Best Product Placement - The Alpha Twins' Prius
Best Reference - Perfect Strangers is on the TV. Balki always drove me nuts but I liked Larry.
Best Acting - Amy Brenneman, whose facial expression when she writes: "I remember" is just heartbreaking
The "Oh Gross" Award - Why is this guy kissing the dead guy? I totally do not need necrophilia. At all!
Most Overkill - These FBI guys apparently don't have to follow any rules now. They shoot whatever the heck they want. Are you kidding me?
The "I Hope This Leads Somewhere Because That's a Sucky Hiding Place" Award - Tom, no offense but that hole in the ground isn't going to fool anyone. It better lead to a crisscross of underground tunnels you can get lost in.
Biggest Manipulator - Nora, who plays on everyone's sympathy
Biggest Hmm - Is the point of this "non-cult" cult that everything is pointless so why bother? Because if that's the case why bother with anything they are doing?
Worst Sign - when your own cops think you're seeing stuff, you may have a hard time being re-elected as Sheriff. Just saying, buddy.
The "So…Um, Are Dogs the New Polar Bears?" Award - These dogs make no sense at all.
The "Next in Line for Paul Bunyan" Award - Meg wails on that poor tree. And looks nuts doing it.
I have given up on this being a serious series and am now viewing it as a spy spoof. Have to say it is a thousand times better that way. My brain kicks off and all the nebulous story logic flows away, leaving me with 42 minutes of non-stop action and overall fun. Take out the entire Russian goon squad without even getting knicked. Sure, I love the explosions. Have to stop WWIII because a Chinese radial has a doomsday device. Hey you're in the land of 007. Just keep emptying your clips into anything that moves and making sure to bomb something every episode and I'll keep watching this crazy ride.
Grade: B
Best Scene - Jack confronts Mark about the Russians
Best Action - Jack and Kate take on the Russians
Best Reason to Watch - it is definitely non-stop action
The "Poor Baby" Award - Audrey. There you are trying to do what's right and boom, your friend is killed and the psychopath from your nightmares is on the phone threatening you. Add the fact that your father is steadily losing his mind and your husband might be bound for Gitmo and I'd say you've had one hell of a day already.
Most Likely to Need Background Info - Cheng, who I get is one really bad dude. Is he the one who got Jack addicted to heroin 'cause I think that's the last thing I remember from 24?
The "Exactly How Many People can the US Kill on Foreign Soil?" Award - They've killed the terrorists, the Russians, and random drug lords so far. Now it's the Chinese.
The "Never Say Never" Award - Oh Audrey, Jack makes so many questionable decisions that I wouldn't be sure yet that you won't ever hate him. I'm sure there's another few seasons to go.
The "Didn't Think That One Through, Huh" Award - Oh Mark, you'd be so much interesting if your key motivation wasn't jealousy. But Dear Mr. President, you arrest your chief of staff for treason and you are the one in the hot seat. Perhaps everyone needs a time out to think.
Best Escape - Chloe, right until she knocked herself out. That takes talent. Watch out for mountain lions.
And thus ends the most fillery of all filler episodes Teen Wolf has ever done. It even out fillers the bowling episode in season 1. Teens - 1, Plot - 0 (until the end), Dahne - 0. (Deep sigh) While this was better in rewatch when I already knew nothing would happen for long stretches of time so I didn't expect anything, it still is chock full of things that simply did not move the plot forward. Similar to the season premiere, the pacing dragged for long minutes of time before popping in for 30 seconds of even less important filler and heading back to more lacrosse/teen romance wanking. Until the last 10 minutes, zero happened at all that mattered. Add in all the indistinguishable new blonde kids and it's even worse. While I wasn't a fan of Allison dying last season, I did like that they trimmed the cast down significantly. Teen Wolf was far too packed to allow enough screen time for all its many characters. That meant ones like Derek, Lydia, Coach, and Danny often got shafted in time and story. By cutting back the cast, I hoped they were going to develop the characters they already have. Instead we have Isaac 2.0, when I didn't even care about Isaac. No way I give 2 figs about Liam. Sean wasn't even worthy of a name for the majority of the episode and will always be Random Kid to me. As for Garrett, I agree with Stiles. Shut up! Even worse, we spent an infinite amount of time on lacrosse for no reason at all and we didn't even get Danny. How is that even possible? Argh! One reason why I love Teen Wolf (besides the frantic pace) is that for a teen show, it seldom feels teen. This episode refuted that. Most of the time I felt like I was watching an ABC Family drama. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it's not what I signed up for with Teen Wolf and I wouldn't be watching the show anymore if it were. These teens have gone through too much to slip back into a season 1 mode. The new tagline is Can't Go Back, but that's exactly what they are doing and it's not to the show's benefit. If this is where we are heading this season, I am going to be sorely disappointed.
Grade: C- (up from a D- in first watch)
Best Scene - Braeden and Peter negotiate
Best Quote - Peter: "We're hiring you to find Kate, not assassinate the president."
Best Speech - Stiles tells Scott that it's okay to want something for himself
Best Moment - Stiles' face when Malia growls at him in math class
Best Question - Stiles: "Now what the hell are we even doing here anyway? We've got like 117 million problems and worrying about our status on the lacrosse team is not one of them." I have no idea, buddy.
Best Reason to Watch - fan live tweets, which were very funny and completely divided between loving and hating the episode
MVP - unusual pairings of Lydia and Parrish / Derek, Braeden, and Peter
Best Reason to Fast Forward - romance awkwardness / lacrosse
Biggest Disappointment - there was zero action
Best Character Interaction - Stiles and Malia / Derek, Braeden, and Peter
Strangest New Character - lacrosse, which has become the love triangle du jour
The Charlie Brown Award - Scott and Kira, who every time they speak all I hear is "wah, wah, wah"
Most Ambiguous Villain? - No Mouth, who killed the wendigos. So far it's a win but I have a feeling he gets less helpful as we progress.
Biggest Game Changer - Scott makes a beta….and we're stuck with Liam. Oh joy!
Oh look. TC's the hero again. Was there any doubt that he would be? I have zero interest in a ludicrous hospital drama where I dislike the main character and feel mostly apathy toward the others. I will watch the next episode because Topher is my favorite, but I'm insulted by the blatant emotional manipulation here.
Grade: D
Best Scene - Krista tells off the clueless parents of a bulimic
Best Quote - Kenny: "I guess I just thought we were better friends than that. That's all." Drew: "You're right. That sounded a little gay."
Best Reason to Watch - Drew steps up and Ragosa's speech
Most in Need of Therapy - always and forever, TC. How he's allowed to practice medicine in his condition is the biggest mystery.
Best Reason to Fast Forward - lap dance, yes really there's a lap dance
Best Nickname - Doctor Baby Bro, nothing like starting with respect before completely putting him in his younger brother place
Best Entrance - TK and Topher, who rappel from the chopper to the plane crash below
The "Say What?" Award - How is it even physically possible for someone to swallow a fork?
Most Surreal - Afghanistan dance off
Biggest Ouch - Kenny tells Drew that he thought they were good enough friends for him to say he's gay
The idea of doomsday survivalists killing each other off for future supplies is interesting and it was super cool to see the hideout. I want one of those just as a conversation piece. Other than that, the best reason to watch Rizzoli and Isles is always the character interactions, which were particularly good here.
Grade: B
Best Scene - Jane and Korsak talking in the ambulance after the explosion
Best Quote - Jane: "Okay if this is what surviving the apocalypse looks like, I'd rather be a zombie."
Best Reason to Watch - the fun standalone case and great character interactions
Best Character Interaction - Korsak and Jane
Best Plan - Frankie's taking computer classes at night so that he can get a detective job with BRIC since he won't be able to get a homicide job if Jane's there
Most Fun - Jane and Maura debating the merits of Scooby-Doo
Best Boy Scout - Frankie puts together emergency packs for everyone. And people make fun of me bringing a first aid kit with me.
The "So Much for Being Prepared" Award - I find it hard to believe that a survivalist would not have an oxygen tank on the ready just for these kind of emergencies
The "Dull but True" Award - As someone currently paying, it really is never too soon to start a kid's college fund
The "I'm with Jane" Award - I want a secret room bunker too, especially if it's opened by fake books
The "Yeah No" Award - I can't take anyone serious who talks about tin hats. Sorry Frankie.
Most Bizarre Reason to Fight - debating how the world will end
The "She has a Point" Award - Jane has had a whole lot of close calls since getting pregnant
This was a bizarre case with probably too many plot twists and a bent towards the sensational. Weirdly, I liked Father Pat and the devil the best. Father Pat laid home the hard truths while the hallucination devil was just snarky…and played by John Glover, who was Lionel Luthor on Smallville. Score! I also thought Donnie was amazing in this. In fact, maybe too amazing since anyone that solicitous makes me wonder.
Grade: C+
Best Scene - Father Pat tells Kate that she's forcing Donnie to sacrifice because she won't sacrifice for him
Best Moment - Max's victory dance
Best Quote - Max: "Oh you're just scared and you should be. I mean your positional play is so weak, it needs to hire a personal trainer." Daniel: "Are you chess trash talking me?" Max: "Why? Can't handle the heat?"
Best Reason to Watch - the sheer number of plot twists
Most Incisive - Father Pat
Best Casting - Lionel Luther plays Satan. I'm pretty sure I heard people watching Smallville say the same thing.
Biggest Flashback - Daniel's explanation of teratomas reminded me of reading Stephen King's The Dark Half all alone at night. Wasn't my best move.
Biggest Growth - Donnie went from adulterer I couldn't stand to the nicest guy on the planet. He has bent over backwards for Kate, completely supportive.
Biggest Surprise - who knew a dominatrix made that much money
Most Overreacting - the actress who plays Silvie Pavel
This Graceland was a bit different for me because while there was some movement on the overall bus story, I found the side projects more interesting. In particular, Paige's reaction to the human trafficking felt real and poignant. I also liked Briggs and Charlie working together on a project again. Having to dump the excess drugs was bizarre, but I like how Kelly Badillo is developing both Charlie and Briggs as characters. I hope she is not gone now that they've solved her financial woes. As for Jakes, the man is a mess and I hope that figuring out how the buses are being used will help him turn a corner. Alcoholism and prostitutes are not the way to go. The only two characters I didn't like tonight were Johnny, who got stuck with Solano, and Mike like always.
Grade: B
Best Quote - Briggs: "You know what your problem is Warren?" Mike: "What's that?" Briggs: "You've got no loyalty."
Best Reason to Watch - side projects
Best Reason to Fast Forward - Solano's party fun
Best Character Moment - Paige admits that human trafficking is totally different than what she usually deals with and it sickens her
Most Messed Up - Jakes, but Briggs is isn't much better at this point
The "Wow that was Fast" Award - The FBI pays its informants the instant they take someone down. Everything should be that prompt.
Best Hidden Skill - Jakes is a mechanic
Best Friend - Briggs, who makes questionable decisions but man is he loyal to his own
The "Are You Kidding?" Award - So Charlie and Briggs have to flush some of the heroin during the actual drug bust so that Juan's widow doesn't get too much cash in the FBI sting. Yikes are their lives complicated.
The "Well I Guess We're On Again" Award - Charlie is sleeping over again. Their relationship is way too complicated, especially given how screwed up they both are.
Worst plan - Can Johnny even offer those girls drugs? Is that legal? This is messed up.
Worst Way to Cope - drowning your sorrows in alcohol. No way you get your son back that way, Jakes. Plus you're going to screw up at your job. You'll have nothing.
The "Uh Oh" Award - Jessica takes over the investigation. If she comes to Graceland, it's going to get way too crowded way too quickly.
Best Look - Johnny in glasses as the nerdy guy in a whorehouse
Biggest Douche - Solano
Best Cliffhanger - Jakes figures out about the bus
I am ticked off. Absolutely, 100% ticked off. If it were physically possible for me to go through the TV and strangle a fictional character, Whele would be a dead man. What the heck is up with killing a kid? Argh! You are #1 on my hit list now sir. Other than that I think this was one of the more gripping episodes of Dominion, based mostly on the tensions between Frost, Riesen, and yes the dreaded Whele. I am also intrigued by Uriel, but probably not as much as most. I will say that Dominion does strong female villains well and Uriel is definitely a match for Arika.
Grade: B
Best Scene - hostage standoff
Best Quote - Ethan: "The woman had a body in a box delivered to her doorstep." Noma: "Don't worry about me." Ethan: "Yeah I'm sure that's what the woman in the box said."
Best Reason to Watch - Alex steps up
Best Character Interaction - Riesen and Whele
Biggest Shock - Riesen killed Frost, not Whele
Best Plan - Alex gets himself thrown into solitary, which keeps him out of the general population and his tattoos hidden
Best Manipulator - Uriel plays both brothers against each other
Most in Need of Dying - Whele
Worst Security - the hospital since people can walk right into where a high security patient is. I expect better of Vega.
Biggest Ouch - Claire tells Alex he's acting just like his father
Most Confident - Becca thinks angels are capable of love. All I know is that they are incapable of leaving my TV screen these days it seems.
Most Interesting Reveal - Michael is the little brother. Uriel is far better here than on Supernatural also.
Most in Need of a Gibbs' Slap - Alex, who is playing the martyr to a hilt. Thank goodness Claire gives him a verbal set down that breaks through
Biggest Promotion - Claire gets a seat at the table, the highest table, and she knows how to use it.
The "I Don't Blame You" Award - Frost shoots Whele. I've been wanting someone to do that since the premiere.
Screencaps by Screencapped.net, Wifflegif, and various networks.
