This was truly another spectacular episode of Beauty and the Beast with so many developments to discuss. Some of the events in this episode made me happier than others, but all in all, I think the dominoes are positioned to yield even more greatness as this season continues.
I look forward to the episodes (which I think are coming soon) when I can choose a nice, upbeat love song as the thematic accompaniment to my review. However, for "Recipe for Disaster," I'm going to have to go with "Sad Dream" by Sky Ferreira, which pinpoints the sense of bittersweet melancholy that ran through this episode in such a delicately unpredictable way.
"Poured myself a warm glass, and laid awake
I prayed the lord my soul to take
I thought about you all day, how we have the same face
I fell asleep so confused, parts of me remind me of you
How could I ever wish away?"*
We opened on a super-cute scene of Catherine and Tess at a cooking class hosted by the former. The theme of aphrodisiac recipes left Cat feeling awkward and Tess getting antsy to hit it off with someone before she's single for too long. I recommend J.T., Tess! They would be so adorable as a for-real couple. Anyway, Tess started harping on why Cat hasn't started dating Gabe yet. I do think that Tess has a tendency to be too gung ho on this topic. Let's face it, few viewers are all that eager for Cat/Gabe to happen. Even I'm not into it, and I enjoy Gabe as a character. However, this is typical girlfriend advice and it played out humorously. Plus, Tess rules, so I auto-forgive her whenever we disagree.
J.T., who was absent last week, made up for it by being a wonderful and frequent presence in this episode. While the gang threw him a party for supposedly winning an academic grant, he made the rounds blushing and hugging everyone...even Tori, who felt hurt by the awkward way she didn't fit into the group of friends. Even Gabe seemed less of a sore thumb in the crowd than Tori, which wasn't really fair. I have to say that starting with this scene, I started to truly feel for Tori more than I ever had in the past and felt some of my dislike for her character ebbing away...I should have known that was foreshadowing some dark times for her.
Vincent and Catherine had some fairly deep conversations at the party that nicely bookended the equally important talk they had at the end of the episode. In reflecting on the current state of their relationship, they noted,
Vincent: "Is that what we are now? Friends?"
Catherine: "It's better than enemies."
I loved the way Vincent started wearing his heart on his sleeve regarding Cat so much more openly in this episode than he has in a long time. His regret that they are just friends now was painfully apparent, and branched into his explanation of his problems with Tori. When Catherine admitted that she often felt, as Tori does, excluded from Vincent's life, he replied, "Sorry I was such a pain." A beautiful piece of the too-seldom-heard BatB score came drifting through as Vincent and Cat exchanged a heartfelt look that was exquisitely intense.
Unfortunately for poor J.T., who's been holding out for that grant for eight years, it was all a hoax orchestrated by a creepy villain, Frank Darnell. He and his cohorts used the idea of the grant to lure J.T. to their underground lab/dungeon and force him to recreate the Muirfield beast serum.
Fortunately for poor J.T., even though Cat and Gabe were spending their time discussing Gabe's impending departure from the department and how that may impact their would-be romance, Tess had her eye on the ball. She burst in, interrupting their flirtations. "Don't you ever knock?" Gabe asked. "Not when I think J.T.'s just been kidnapped," Tess retorted fabulously.
While J.T. stalled Darnell as best he could, Vincent and the others tried to coordinate a rescue, leaving Tori out in the cold. Determined to make up for her fumble in tying Agent Landon up earlier in the episode and desperate to prove herself to Vincent, Tori took it upon herself to track J.T., which she pulled off quickly. Being the wildcard she is, Tori's arrival (wherein she was, of course, immediately busted by Darnell, since this was a trap) misled the villain into assuming she was J.T.'s only beast associate. Little did he suspect that Vincent was incoming, which at least provided a tactical advantage. While Vincent and the rest of the gang showed up in time to save J.T. and his fellow prisoner, Darnell had already put the beast collar on Tori and done some kind of scary blood drain on her (and who knows what else), leaving her on death's door.
Again, by this point I had really started to turn around in my opinions about Tori. I used to hate her and think she was obnoxious, I admit. But Tori so fiercely wanted to make up for her mistake and show Vincent that she could be a trustworthy and faithful friend that she went rushing in to rescue J.T. with little regard for her own safety. She was brave and doomed in equal measures.
I can appreciate that being a beast has isolated her and left her with only Vincent to cling to, though I also agree with him that this very factor is the root of all of their problems together. The show hasn't made it all that clear how close Vincent and Tori actually became in their quasi-relationship (even Tori wasn't sure how to term it, though she and Vincent were clearly co-habitating in their cute little bathrobes earlier in the hour). But it seems they have been bonding because of two main aspects: 1) their chemical, beastly attraction to one another, and 2) the fact that they are both living on the fringes of society, struggling to deal with the various problems foisted upon them by their mutual beast-hood.
All in all, rather than whining and acting aggressively needy and manipulative as Tori has in a few past episodes, she finally opened up and honestly confessed her fears to Vincent, which all hinged on losing him. Clearly, this terror is the one that has been behind all of her shenanigans this season (agent/manager Tori! Tori bragging to Cat about dating Vincent! Tori constantly hounding Vincent to let go of Cat!). However, it's this same emotion that led her to an act of heroism that put her on the brink of death. So she came a really long way in "Recipe for Disaster," which was one quality that made this episode so strong.
Her words to Vincent, "I should've known, you belong with Catherine," were actually kind of heartbreaking, as was Vincent's regret of treating Tori so dismissively. While Tori's death is presumed by the end of the episode, I'm not really buying it for a few reasons. We don't actually see her die. Since we don't know what Darnell did to her, something he tinkered with might have given her the ability to survive. The ambulance driving off seems more indicative of life than death. The only reason I have to think she could be permanently killed off is that BatB doesn't exactly flinch at killing off or kicking off series regulars - just ask Evan and Joe.
I actually hope Tori is still alive, because this episode effectively cultivated her into a character I can root for.
"I live by my own laws,
I stick to my guns and hold my head up to midnight sun
I hope the guilt will dim and fade,
The fire baptism engulfed in my shame"*
Yet another stunning moment occurred when Cat shot Darnell right as Vincent was beasting out to go after him. The way the beasty yellow flash in Vincent's eyes vanished the moment Catherine shot the bullet was a fantastic nod to the way she saves him from himself whenever she can. Again, Catherine soothed the beast in Vincent when he needed it most and restored his humanity.
While VinCat reflected on all of the insane events that had just happened, Catherine noted that she's becoming more and more drawn into the world of beasts due to her familial connections. As they considered the beast who may have originally been held in the dungeon, Cat pondered, "How do we know Rebecca didn't save him?" "How do we know she didn't die trying?" Vincent questioned, again emphasizing something he'd made touchingly clear a few moments before: he keeps his loved ones at arm's length because he's afraid they'll be hurt by his enemies. It's a very Dean Winchester or Superman line of reasoning we've heard from lots of other heroes, but one we can hardly blame Vincent for sticking to, especially considering Tori's seeming-fate.
With his awesomely hot appearance (that popped collar was excellent) and poignant emotional revelations this week, Vincent really hit his full stride as a character after being a little lost previously this season. While it's understandable that he did become so out of sync after everything he went through between being kidnapped /mind-wiped by Muirfield and jerked around by Agent Reynolds, and all of the new craziness with beast mythology and those trying to use it for evil means, I'm really happy to have Vincent back to feeling like himself again.
"Only ever in dreams I wrap my arms around you.
And standing in the water with me,
I can tell you what I wanna tell you.
And I hope it's not just a bad dream,
Hope it's not just a sad dream"*
As obvious as the love between Cat and Vincent is at this point, I was a little surprised that she decided, at the end of the episode, to move forward with Gabe. Does she simply assume that she and Vincent can never be together because their problems were too immense? I suppose that this idea, combined with wanting to give Gabe a chance and see where it may lead, are behind this development. I have to say though, from the preview for next week, it looks as if Gabe and Catherine being together is only going to bring out a jealous Vincent and probably will just hype up the VinCat intensity more than ever. 2x13, "Till Death," looks crazy and hilarious. And we also have to remember that once Cat tries dating Gabe, at least she won't be able to say she never gave him a shot, and when it inevitably doesn't work out, she'll have closure there.
One of the themes of this episode was definitely honesty. We saw Vincent and Tori opening up in various ways earlier, and after the latter's death (?), J.T. felt moved enough by Vincent's pain and remorse to make a confession of his own. The entire bromantic scene of J.T. urging Vincent to drink with him as they discussed their troubles was adorable and heartwarming, and reaffirmed how terrific this friendship is. When J.T. revealed that it was he who signed Vincent up for the Muirfield experiments, I was pleasantly surprised to see how Vincent took it admirably in stride. He acknowledged the enormity of what J.T. had done, but didn't turn on his friend after learning this.
It was wonderful that Tom Everett Scott's mysterious prisoner character was Agent Landon's lost husband, and their reunion was moving and sweet. I wonder to what extent they will be involved in future episodes, as they are likable characters who make good allies.
What did you think of this week's episode? Do you think that Tori is really dead? How long do you think Catherine will seriously date Gabe? Share your ideas in the comments!
*lyrics are taken from "Sad Dream" by Sky Ferreira.
