Star-Crossed- Episode 1.06- Stabbed with a White Wench's Black Eye- Review

Welcome Back! Hopefully you are still watching. As you know, I was not completely enamored with Star-Crossed's previous entry, so coming off of it I was not expecting much. Since I watched the last episode late I had not seen any previews for Episode 6 so I went in blind. Did it rise above the stupor of the last episode or muck among it? Read on below for my thoughts.

What Happened:
Taylor's lackey(The secret Trag from last week) has a name, and it's bada**, no I'm kidding, her name is Zoe. The episode opens with Zoe approaching two guys dressed as guards planning to place a bomb inside the Atrian market, but before they could solidify their plans, Zoe walks up and takes them out and then threatens them to get them talking. (This girl is not the best actress, but she'll do if it means raising the stakes)Then, as Roman walks through the sector, there's a loud explosion that could only be said bomb, going off in the distance. (I'm excited because the last episode with an explosion turned out pretty good)

The next day as Emery runs we learn via news broadcast that those two men, found in the wreckage, were Red-Hawks(In case that wasn't obvious). As she is running she notices that creeper reporter Matt Bandell, online tabloid reporter for the Smatter Chatter(Ugly name, no?). He approaches her and she asks him why is he following her? His reason? To talk about Cyper. Emery tries to play it off that Cyper is some bogus herb, but he's got a video of her and Julia discussing Cyper, and he knows they both were sick for a long time and are now cured. Emery declares it's the wonders of modern medicine that are responsible and that if he runs that story, he'll be laughed at and they will all be pariah's because it's a hoax. He seemed convinced at that point and she should of left well enough alone, but this is Em, so she goes above and beyond to get him off the Cyper scent. She tells him she'll get him a better story, because she has access to the Atrain Seven, something he doesn't so a juicy story should just pop up. He gives her 48 hours, or else he will publish the Cyper story. (#Emeryyousostupid)

Back at the Sector before school, Drake fills Roman in about the rumors that the bomb was meant for the market. Drake then asks Roman if he still thinks that the humans aren't out to get them? Drake goes on about how the Trags see the world as it is and that the he doesn't want to share this planet with humans who want to annihilate them. Drake is fighting to free his mother and avenge Roman's father, and he feels Roman is doing nothing. Of course Roman is not going to stand for Drake using his father's death to justify murder, but Drake doesn't hear him. They both want the same thing, they both just view how to get it differently. To me this felt like a direct parallel to two very important civil rights leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

At this point while watching I was really hoping Grayson is telling Emery the truth about his feelings for the Red-Hawks. As Emery sits and watches a broadcast confirming that the two men with the bombs were Red-Hawks, Grayson works to assure her that they must have gone rogue. Yes, his parents hate the Atrians but they don't condone violence. He feels their is still good left in his parents, good,like their charity ball, which he wants her to attend with him. (Did he really just turn this into an attempt to get a date?) Emery isn't sure about attending, or about it being safe for her or the Atrians, but Grayson tells her the only conflict will come from the words "crab" and "dip" and that he needs her by his side. Em sees Julia walk in and tells him she has to talk to her but she'll let him know about the dance.

So, crazy Zoe is waiting for Drake at his locker to give him a message to take back to Vega. Grayson's parents are the Red-Hawk leaders, and she tells him, rather joyously i might add, she found out when she tortured and then killed those two Red-Hawks. Ms. Benton popped by for some random dialogue about how precise Zoe's cuts were on the pigs they dissected and then asks her if she'll be at the ball(I'm assuming this is to let us know she's dangerous, crazy and going to the ball, because why else?)Drake scoffs at her for going, but she tells him he's going to, so he can give her Vega's orders for her next move. Zoe walks off and runs into Taylor, obviously upset because Zoe is talking to her man. Zoe assures her she doesn't want Drake, because inter-species relations gross her out. (Taylor has got it bad, but Drake seems indifferent)

Julia freaks out when she learns of what Matt Bandell knows, or thinks he knows. She can't go back to being a lab rat, she suggests the story that Em give Matt be about Grayson's parents, the resident Hatrians and leaders of the Red-Hawks. Em just can't see selling them out and ripping apart Grayson's family with no proof they were behind the attack. She says she has better idea, but she needs Julia to talk to Lukas. Eric made his existence known again tonight, this time Eric has decided he's out of the red-Hawks and Grayson actually seems glad to hear it, he doesn't think it'll be this easy but he is glad to hear it. Grayson tells Emery he believes that Eric really is done, that he may not be prefect but Blonde Douchebag Human can admit when he's wrong.

Emery, enamored with Grayson's ability to see the good in everyone, agrees to go to the ball with him and he kisses her ss Roman watches on(Dude has got to stop creeping their intimate moments). Drake catches Roman gazing and calls Roman out for the real reason he wants integration to work, he has feelings for Emery. Drake asks that since Emery is dating Grayson, who's parents are the leaders of the Red-Hawks, how could trust her? Roman believes that if it is true there is no way Emery could know, he also believes there is no way Drake would attend the ball if Vega wasn't planning something, so Roman is going with him, as his plus one.

Cut to this week's obligatory let's force the humans and Atrian Seven together event, the charity ball. I was creeped out by Grayson's father Councilman Montrose, because as Drake and Roman arrives at the party, he and his senator buddy essentially use Roman and Drake for a photo op because it will bring in the donations. Ms. Benton also showed up with another useless line of dialogue right after. (Is she my new shady lady?)Also, how smart was Drake to use Roman's affection for Emery against him, using her entrance to distract him from grilling him? Drake slips off to meet Zoe and reveals Vega's orders. They are to kidnap Grayson and take him to an abandoned warehouse, and the Trags will offer an exchange, him for five prisoners in the crate. Zoe is elated, because after all this time she can get her dad back, and Drake can get his mom. The problem, they have to figure out a way to get Grayson knocked and out of the party without being seen.

Meanwhile, Em is having quite the eventful evening, after being whisked away by Mrs. Montrose, who seems to like Emery and Grayson, because Em is so kind and sweet and believes their family values. Before Em can correct her, a member of the Montrose staff comes in to tell the matriarch that senator Fatora requests a private meeting with her later. Mrs. Montrose tells him it won't work because she has that conflict, and then excuses herself from her conversation with Em. Em heads back to the ball, only to be approached by Matt Bandell, working the party for a story about plastic surgery. He takes a minute to remind Em she's on deadline to get him a new story, before she takes off to meet Julia. Julia hands her a device she got from Lukas that should wipe Bandell's tablet if she puts the device up to it, meaning no more Cyper video.

But before attempting that, they hatch a plan to expose the Red-Hawk's without hurting Grayson; Julia just has to cozy up to Eric so they can learn the location of tonight's meeting. They will give Bandell the location and he can get the exclusive scoop about their involvement, if any, with the attack. I love Julia, and I loved her rant about drugs to get Eric to reveal where he was going, which he fell for and ended up revealing the meet was at the Old Point Bar(No one said he was bright).

Roman and Grayson have a face off about Emery, because Roman still believes Em is in the dark about who his parents are. When Em walks up on the two of them, Roman spills the beans, but it's him who is surprised, when Em admits she already knew. Roman, is rightfully upset, how can Emery care for him and his kind but be so close to people who hate them? Emery, is also rightfully upset, because Grayson is not a Red-Hawk, plus he's honest with her, he's there for her, he's up front with her, unlike Roman who is always pushing her away. But then Roman does the impossible, he sold me on their romance. The way he cradled her face and told her how it pains him to walk away, how he just wants her safe and that he would give everything to be with her, there was a passion there. Em, inspired, tells Grayson it does matter who his parents are before running off to meet Julia.

Zoe was right there to fill Em's absence with a drink, which Grayson takes. Too bad Zoe had laced it with some sort of paralytic plant, because Grayson is now theirs for the taking. Taylor sees Drake with Zoe and Grayson and attempts to walk up to them, but Zoe sends Drake to intercept. (Also that moment between them earlier, where she flirted with that waiter, how gold was that?) He distracts her momentarily by calling her beautiful but then turning down her advances and leaving. (Drake, you're so Hot and Cold)

Roman gets a glimpse of Zoe and Drake together and tries to chase them down, but it's too late. He finds their ransom note and runs off to find them. Zoe, realizes she's been made, and tells Drake if Roman tries to expose her, he must take care of him. She tells him that he is a Trag, he does not have friends, despite Drake's insistence otherwise. Roman finds them and tries to get Drake to abandon his plan, but Zoe would rather run him over with the car.She steps on the gas and Drake grabs the wheel crashing the car. Roman pulls Grayson from the wreckage and tells Drake they need to get him back to the party. Drake tells Roman he needs to go so the Trags won't find out about this, but Zoe has other plans. She holds Drake at gunpoint and tells Roman to do exactly as she says or he dies. She makes them both get down on their knees and tells them both she has to kill them.Drake turns the tides on her and ends up getting her in his grasp, choking her as Roman pleads with him to let her go, that this isn't their way. Drake lets up and Zoe gets up, but Drake just turns the gun on her, eventually letting her walk away. But not before she tells him all they did was postpone the inevitable for Grayson, and that they have signed their own death warrants.

Em pulls Eric to the side and convinces him to not attend the Red-Hawk meeting tonight. She then pulls Matt Bandell away from Ms. Benton at the bar and informs him of the secret Red-Hawk meeting tonight. Em and Bandell wait outside in a van, watching the meeting with his drone cameras. Emery takes the device from Lukas from her purse, still intending to rid Bandell of that video. She cuts his feed, which causes him to leave the van, and proceeds to use the device to wipe the files before he catches on to what's happening.

Remember that conflict Ms. Montrose had earlier? It was this very meeting where she not only said she was confident no one would out her as the Grand Matriarch but that the Red-Hawks were getting more explosive as she spoke and that they would destroy the Atrians.(So much for Non-Violent huh?)Of course Bandell is eating this up, the wife of a Councilman is leader of the Red-Hawks and planning on annihilating them all. How does he celebrate? By sleeping with Ms. Benton and telling her all about his other story that revolved around two girls being healed by Cyper.

The next day the story has broke and the police are escorting Mrs. Montrose off in handcuffs and the Councilman in not too pleased while Grayson is just confused. Julia stops by to see Em and congratulates her on her success finding a new story. The Red-Hawks are outed and Cyper is still a secret, so it's a win. Em is not so sure it's a success, she just ruined Grayson's life. When Julia prompts her to go and pick up the pieces, Em tells her she's not so sure she can be there for him, at least not the way he wants her to. She'd rather have a "someday" with Roman, than a "now" with Grayson. (#ijustwentdownwiththisship)

Before Em can rush off to meet Roman and tell her how she feels, Grayson is it at her door obviously needing to talk. Grayson tells her that he was upset because his parents lied to him. He believed them when they told him that they were not involved in the violence. So he took a stand, instead of helping his dad put a spin on things he walked away and came to her, because he didn't know where else to go. Em decides it's best to comfort him and is oblivious to the fact that Roman has come to see her. Roman seems happy to get to see her, but before he knocks on her door, he sees her with Grayson and walks away.

Also Zoe has hitchhiked with some guy I believe she plans to kill.

Afterthoughts:This episode was certainly an improvement on episode five. I do want to point out I am getting tired of these weekly events that are used as plot devices to put everyone together. Gossip Girl did that by having parties every week and it just feels inauthentic. I do like that the writers are sticking to Grayson actually not being a Red-hawk. I know it appeared that way with the cliffhanger at episode 2, but him being conflicted as to taking a stand against his parents gives his character more dimensions than he previously had. I do think the romance aspect has become more balanced than it previously was. I don't mind it so much because it doesn't cause a break in the action, it actually is affected by the action. I am sad to see Em throw away at chance at happiness for the sake of a someday. With so many heroines of today choosing to forge their own path and not follow the lead of a guy, it feels like a regression to have Em to want to wait for Roman. To me, aside from wanting integration to succeed and her saving him years ago, I fail to see what the two actually have in common, so their desires seem almost nonsensical in nature.

I love that Grayson's parents were finally outed, the writers don't seem to let things linger and leave the viewer unsatisfied. I do wonder what Ms. Benton's endgame is, she had three random scenes, followed by one mildy interesting one.In all honesty we could have done without those first three. All in all this episode worked for me on multiple levels. Almost everything had a cause and effect as it pertained to the characters and their story arcs. I really hope the growth continues and launches us into a satisfying conclusion. This week we saw no Teri, Sophia, Lukas, Castor, Gloria or Vega and I honestly have no problem than that. To me this was the best episode of the show so far(If you can't tell by how much I have to say about it). I simply found this a satisfying hour of television.

Episode LVP:Ms. Benton. Sure, she'll probably show her true colors in the future, but as I noted, she just was pretty worthless tonight. The Roswell fan in me suggests her character is something akin to what Julie Benz's guidance counselor was. The TV skeptic in me shames me for even comparing the two shows, this one is it's own entity and must be judged as such. Therefore, Benton was the Least Valuable Player tonight, but as the show has done before, I'm sure her reveal will come soon and will carrying a big stick with it.

Episode MVP: Can I just say the whole show is it's own MVP? no?(I mean I did make this category so I could but I won't) This week I'm giving it a tie. Roman and Grayson both recruited me into their camps tonight. I found myself rooting for Grayson one moment, and then Roman came along and made me finally see something between him and Emery. But how could I not commend and empathize for Grayson and his situation? After some episodes of just being a pretty face with questionable motives or being an overprotective jerk, they both upped their game. Making the tug of war for Emery just that more interesting.

Theories: This week, I didn't have many theories to spread or hastags I desperately want to trend, but I most certainly want to yours if you have em!

Team: This a new aspect to the review where after the episode I will assess and decide which Team I am on for Emery. Team Grayson, Team Roman, or Team No One. This week I firmly sit on the bubble. Sure , Roman made me see passion, but I still fail to see sustainability for them beyond overcoming what keeps them apart. I was firmly in the Grayson and Em camp, but she said herself, she'd rather have someday with Roman. So for that I don't think Emery is good enough for Grayson. She nudged him to take a stand and he did, after she told him she didn't think she could be with him because of his parents. He deserves better than being second fiddle to someone who can't see what she's giving up or how he has changed for her.

Final Grade: A. I mean did you see how much I wrote? Should not be a surprise.


So what do you think? Is Em foolish for choosing a someday? Are you relieved Grayson appears to be a good guy, at least for now? What do you think Ms. Benton is up to? Do you think Drake is right about this war? Or are you in Roman's camp? Do you think there is hope for Draylor? Do you think Zoe will return? Are you team Grayson, Roman or No one?

A new Star-Crossed airs next Monday at 8/7c on the CW. If you are tweeting with the cast, the hashtags are #StarCrossed, #StarGazers.


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