Beauty and the Beast - The Beast of Wall Street - Review

I'm so excited that Beauty and the Beast is finally back after the long hiatus, with plenty of its typical romance and thrills set to light up the summer.  What a treat to get to enjoy this new batch of episodes while already knowing that there will also be a Season 4.  Overall, I thought this was a solid beginning to the season, though I say that with a few small caveats, aspects that will likely be ironed out in the next couple of episodes.  Truthfully, it's just so fun to have these wonderful characters on the screen again, with the show's great relationships continuing to unfold and plenty of that adorable humor at which BATB also excels.  Let's review and discuss the Season 3 premiere!  I'll be including some lyrics from Jessie Ware's song "You and I (Forever)," which reflect the continued, infamously "epic" love of Vincent and Catherine.

VinCat, in bliss and conflict: The beginning of the episode was so replete with swoon-worthy VinCat moments that I felt fan-serviced in the best possible way.  I loved the scene of Vincent and Cat both rushing to the rooftop for their rendezvous, as well as their sexy greeting and sweet morning-after breakfast routine.  It's fascinating to see Vincent finally getting to step back into his role as a doctor after Muirfield and all of his subsequent beastly adventures made him have to give that up.  Along with his new ability to be with Cat the way the two dreamed of for so long, Vincent is coming into his own again as his life has started to return back to normal.  Vincent wants his human identity back, and, aside from the occasional mandatory beast-out, to leave the supernatural life behind, and it's beyond understandable.  However, the show has made it clear that Catherine and Vincent share a common destiny that is tied into the mythology of our story.  That destiny will not allow Vincent to entirely walk away from his beastly side.

"It's getting late for me
But it's too early for you
I shouldn't wait but
This one I'm not gonna lose
I can see it, forever...
I got my starter for 10
You give your love for free
So could you say it again?
That this is all that you need..."*

It was truly intriguing to watch Cat struggle to reconcile the feeling of responsibility for finding out more about the latest supernatural threats to NYC (super-powered people we don't know much about yet, with Cat's sketchy intel coming from Agents Barnett and Thomas) with the problem of putting Vincent in harm's way once again.  Making this even harder for her is Vincent's firm resolve not to get involved in any more beast (or beast-adjacent) - hunting shenanigans again.  She has to respect the life he wants for himself and appreciate the life he wants to be able to have with her, while knowing that it will inevitably be interrupted from time to time by outside forces.  Cat also has some kind of enjoyment, or a feeling of satisfaction, that comes from investigating the unknown and protecting the city from threats no one else would be able to thwart.  Her fascination with beast history and her own ancestry (the story of Rebecca and Alastair provided a helpful hint at what VinCat should not do last season) fuels a certain enthusiasm that Vincent just doesn't feel.  However, there's no question that when Vincent and Cat team up to fight baddies together, they are an amazing team.

"I don't wanna try alone
We could dream it all
Don't wanna stop the thought
Of you and I forever
Forever..."*

Even as Catherine followed leads to learn about an apparently powered and out of control man named Zane, Vincent was planning to propose to her and further cement their domestic bliss.  Though their activities were at odds at some points in this episode, the complicated bond between them ensures that they both want the same things from life: to be happy together, to share their love, and to always hold themselves to the same high moral and heroic standard that makes them who they are.  It's true that we didn't learn a whole lot about the new mythology of the season in this episode, but we did get an unusually philosophical look at how Catherine and Vincent each see life and how they can get back on the same page.

"I only wanna team with you
We could dream it all
Don't wanna stop the thought
Of you and I forever
Forever..."*

Best of all was the way they didn't let their disagreements about Catherine's investigations interfere with their new chance at happiness.  The last thing any of us want is a rehash of the VinCat angst from Season 2.  Thankfully, the duo have now reached an admirable level of maturity in their relationship that allows them to talk it out and come to an understanding. If the tide of their destiny is always going to pull them back into these battles, Vincent will have to come to terms with it.  But that didn't stop him from going through with his proposal either.  It was delightful that he segued right from their deep discussion on life into asking Cat to marry him.  Instead of drawing the promise of the question-popping out over multiple episodes filled with misunderstandings, the writers gave us this lovely proposal scene right in the season premiere.  It was beautifully done, especially this exchange:

Cat: "I keep saying, I really believe that were in this together for a reason. Not just for love."
Vincent: "Except, without that, I'd be lost."

Jay Ryan and Kristin Kreuk were just perfect in this scene.  I loved Vincent's cute nervousness and dashing proposal, and Cat's shock and joyful acceptance.  Thank goodness that conversation with Heather earlier in the episode, about VinCat not rushing towards marriage, was not a foreshadowing that Cat would hesitate to accept the proposal.  

"Sometimes you got to push to start
And then we're gonna go until the wheels fall off
'Til the wheels fall off
Can't you see it?
It's forever..."*

J.T. and Tess:  This part of the episode moved a little more slowly, as J.T. was stalling his own recovery, through what was probably a combination of fear over how exactly he was healed and his own problems with hypochondria.  While still being his usual charming b.f.f. self, J.T. was more neurotic than usual and couldn't seem to get out of his own way.  A little tough love from Tess was understandably on order, and I can sympathize with both of their feelings about this situation.  I'm glad that by the end of the episode, J.T. got rid of his crutch, which represented his recovery-stalling, and began to move on from his near-death experience.  I always enjoy watching Tess and J.T. both in their individual best-friendships with Cat and Vincent, and in their relationship with each other, which is still new and developing.  It will be interesting to see what the writers have in store for these two in Season 3 and how exactly J.T.'s survival from his wounds from Season 2 will play into the new storyline.

Heather:  I was pleased that Nicole Gale Anderson became a series regular, as her plucky character Heather is typically very enjoyable.  From this episode, I can't quite tell what Heather will bring to the ongoing story as a more prominent player.  Heather's role still felt like one of her random guest starring pop-ups from Season 1 or 2.  Will Heather become drawn into the adventures of VinCat, and how so?  We still haven't seen her fiancé, and I'm very curious to see what kind of a character he will be as well.

The new mythology and storyline: Simply put, my one issue with this episode was the lack of progress on the actual big bads of Season 3 and who exactly our scooby gang, the "fab four," will be up against.  Are these new supernatural people like new versions of beasts (as Zane sort of seemed to be) or is there more to them?  Are there multiple types of new supernatural creatures we will see in upcoming episodes?  How do these new developments tie into beast mythology and the mysterious group of people conducting the experiments to create these beings, using NYC as "their own Petri dish," as Cat put it?  I am on the edge of my seat for the next episode to pull back the veil on these aspects of the story, but do feel that more should have been told in this one.

What did you think of this episode?  Any theories for what lies ahead in Season 3?  Share your thoughts in the comments!  And don't forget to catch an all-new Beauty and the Beast, Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

*Lyrics taken from the song "You and I (Forever)" by Jessie Ware

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast 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 @VMaeFontana

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