Witches of East End - Poe Way Out - Review

This week's Witches of East End found Joanna leading Wendy and Freya on a journey back in time that also led Freya down memory lane in some unexpected ways.  Elsewhere, Ingrid showed her true feelings about her grandfather while Dash's dalliance with Raven continued and Killian took a bold and irreversible step to reunite with Freya.

I absolutely loved the story of Joanna going back in time to retrieve a magical box as she'd known for many years she would one day do, without knowing why or when.  Time travel twists such as that are always delightful, and the scene of the two Joannas interacting was perfectly haunting and accepting in its execution.  Ingrid's plotline with the king was also terrific, and she probably had plenty of us going, thinking she really was going to take his side, given her track record and Joanna's quip that Ingrid had always had a connection with her grandfather.  However, as Ingrid later revealed to Dash, her true intention is to string her grandfather along, letting him trust her and believe her to be loyal, so she can find out his wicked plan and thwart it.  Excellent!  I did think it was too suspicious that Ingrid would be so unconcerned about her grandfather's highjacking of Tommy's body.  Also, Ingrid's reunion with Dash was nice, and it was cool to see them working together again.  It reminded me of how promising "Dashing" was earlier in the season, before Dash started to slide too far downhill morally for them to feasibly work.

Killian's story was also quite compelling, as he let Eva's lookalike relative and her friend create a potion that would guarantee he could be with Freya in the next lifetime, uncrossing their cursed stars.  However, it also meant that Killian had to die in this life once he drank the potion, which unfortunately, he did near the end of the hour, right when Dash was trying to call and alert him that Freya was still alive!  Ahhh, so frustrating.  And when Ingrid was claiming that she and Dash had bigger problems than telling Killian about Freya still being among the living, I wanted to shout at her, "no, that's not true!"  Killian's desperation to be with his soulmate was obviously a major threat to his survival.  Now Frillian are in a Romeo and Juliet scenario where a misunderstanding has led to Killian's demise just as Freya has arisen from seeming-death.  This probably intentional homage reconfirms just how deeply doomed the Freya/Killian romance seems to be, despite their most devoted efforts to thwart that doom.  And it's certainly one of the most fiercely poignant and suspenseful aspects to the show.

Although Raven is investigating the murders in town, she hasn't overtly stated that she has reason to suspect Dash's hand in the two he pulled off (I'm not counting his patient whose life he traded for that of a child, since I'm assuming that's undetectable), although it does seem a bit coincidental that she chose Dash's medical expertise to consult and then snooped around his house after another roll in the hay.  Is Raven merely sexually smitten and eager to spend more time with Dash, or has she started to catch on to his criminal ways?  Or could it be both?  Time will tell.  

As for the flashback tale of past Freya falling in love with past Killian, who turned out to be Edgar Allan Poe, that part was a bit of a mixed bag.  I know there's no reason why the characters who live multiple lifetimes could not have been famous historical people, but for some reason this reveal seemed rather cheesy to me.  The best part of this aspect of the episode was Wendy pulling Joanna out of an opium-induced stupor to figure out a solution once Freya had (rather foolishly - past Freya and Ingrid often seem so incredibly naive compared to their present incarnations) summoned an evil spirit and become murderously possessed.  Seeing Wendy and Joanna join forces to solve this problem, although they were forced, heartbreakingly, to kill Freya in the process, was fascinating and exciting, especially when it culminated in future Joanna's appearance.

Now that almost all of the other Beauchamps are prepared to face off with the king and a returned-to-duty Tarkoff, (Freddie needs to stop vacillating and just join the right side of the fight completely) the stakes are set high for the two hour season finale.  With all of the tricky witchery, time travel, deception, manipulation, and romantic possibilities whipped up into a frenzy at this point, I can't wait to see how it all plays out and what crazy cliffhanger may await us at the end of the finale.

What did you think of this episode?  Share your thoughts in the comments!  And don't forget to catch the two hour season finale next Sunday on Lifetime at 9/8c!

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, Beauty and the Beast, and Witches of East End for Spoiler TV. She enjoys obsessing over films and pop music - in addition to tv shows, of course! You can find her blog, SugarRushed, at http://virginiamaeblog.blogspot.com/ and her Twitter handle is @SugarRushedBlog

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