Witches of East End - Sex, Lies, and Birthday Cake - Review

If I could sum this episode up in one word, it would be...frustrating!  Because, while the episode contained festivities and sexy encounters galore to honor its title, almost every single character faced terrible consequences, while others simply did terrible things.  Let's review and discuss!

It was Freya's 30th birthday, but not Freddie's because her many rebirths have caused their birthdays to be out of sync (interesting factoid!).  However, Joanna was determined as ever to make the best of the situation and celebrate her beloved twins together for the first time in many years.  Frederick, though, had other matters on his mind besides attending Freya's super-awkward, of-course-it's-at-the-Bent-Elbow fete.  That's because Freddie has been busy experimenting on "random" people with Tarkoff, trying to find a human host for the dreaded Grandfather.  And while Tarkoff's dismissive attitude towards carnage seemed to guarantee that this search for a host could be endless, and endlessly disturbing, Freddie could little suspect what horrific twist lay in store for him at the end of the episode.  To make matters worse (or, you know, better, if you're like me and you love James Marsters whether or not he's evil), Tarkoff is extremely hard to kill, taking away Frederick's ability to end his leftover Asgardian strife quite that easily.

Meanwhile, Eva's spell on Killian was wearing off, mainly due to his indestructible love for Freya (aww!), as Eva revealed to her "abuela."  I actually started to feel a tiny bit bad for Eva in this episode because instead of only seeming creepily conniving, she's starting to appear very sad and desperate.  Eva's story is also intriguing...why will having Killian's child restore her life to her?  It was greatly unsettling to see Eva's grandmother revealed to be her own child.  Eva's character may be getting more complex and interesting, but I can't wait to see her hold on Killian broken, hopefully soon.

Bartending at Freya's party (natch), Killian helplessly launched into a flurry of flirtation with the birthday girl that culminated with his confession that he's still in love with her and doesn't even know why he married Eva.  When Killian confided to Freya that Eva is a witch, I was hoping she'd figure out from his dazed attitude about the marriage that he had been spelled.  Unfortunately, suspicion, paranoia, and insecurity can be a potently blinding combination, and Freya was more concerned with not getting tangled up with a married man who happens to be her star-crossed soulmate.  Even after admitting that she also loves Killian (his reaction was so sweetly overwhelmed), Freya vowed never to be involved with him again due to their doomed state.  This even extended to her evading Killian's well-played "screw fate" kiss attempt, a mind-boggling feat to be sure!  However, to many viewers' relief I'm sure, Freya was quick to dart back into the gardens and into Killian's arms. 

 After a sultry lovemaking sequence that was juxtaposed with several encounters in the lives of our other characters (more on their love lives to follow), Killian promised Freya that he'd go home and talk to Eva, gaining them a clean slate so that he and Freya could reunite, starting with a trip somewhere.  When does "meet me at midnight" ever pan out well for lovers in fiction?  This was no exception, since Killian showed up way past midnight to inform Freya he couldn't leave Eva, once again entrapped.  Freya and Killian can't go on like this much longer, for their own sanity or the fragile emotions of Frillian fans!

side-note: what an adorable photo!

This was such a frustrating episode that even my guilty pleasure 'ship "Dashing" brought annoyances aplenty.  Obviously, Dash's evil deeds and lies were bound to catch up with him and destroy this fledgling romance.  But events unfolded in an even more disappointing manner than I'd expected, starting with Ingrid showing up on Dash's doorstep and finding out that he'd bedded some random woman the night before.  Seriously, Dash?  After he sent Ingrid a bazillion unanswered calls and texts, Dash showed up at Freya's party to apologize and profess his deep feelings for her.  Since she doesn't know the depths of his treachery of late, I understand Ingrid's being willing to give Dash a chance.  But jumping right into a romp with him (admittedly fire-lit and enticing) seemed a little fast, and only destined to end in trouble.  Sure enough, soon after their blissful interlude ended, Ingrid looked on Dash's computer and saw all the incriminating evidence against him for his recent couple of murders and earlier attack on Killian, right on the screen.  Because he just leaves that up on his computer all the time!  That was a bit of a hilariously cheesetastic stretch.  And of course, after seeing that, Ingrid dumped Dash and went storming out, amidst his string of really bad excuses and romantic pleadings.  What a mess.

Wendy's adorable boyfriend Tommy came back to town and saw her change from cat to lady, causing major problems due to the "code" forbidding mortals from learning about the existence of witches.  Poor Wendy doesn't want to let Tommy go, but Joanna reminded her of the danger to him if they don't spell away his memories of her.  However, after getting over his initial shock and being amazed by Wendy's awesome powers, Tommy stuck to his guns about dating her despite everything.  This reminded me of how, earlier in the season, Tommy said he wouldn't let Wendy's bad luck keep them apart, and reconfirms what a sweetheart he is.  I might have liked Wendy with her ex last week, but Tommy is, as she noted, "one of the good ones."

Tarkoff preceded a deep and surprisingly poignant reminiscent conversation with Joanna by ordering Freddie to use Caroline as a host for Grandfather.  This was definitely foreshadowed by Tarkoff's indication at the beginning of the episode that the host needed to be someone Frederick trusted.  I wish Frederick could have thought of some other solution or found a way to stand up to Tarkoff and Grandfather, because seeing him enact the ceremony on lovestruck Caroline was brutal.  We also learned from this episode that Freddie and Killian have a past, including considerable enmity, in Asgard.  It should be fascinating to learn more about what that entailed.

What did you think of this episode?  What do you hope happens with all of these dark and crazy storylines as we delve further into Season 2?  Share your thoughts in the comments!  And don't forget to catch an all new Witches of East End, next Sunday at 9/8c on Lifetime.

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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