Beauty and the Beast - Shotgun Wedding - Review

There may have been frustrations galore in this episode, but I'm also excited about the forward momentum that was established, something that's been sorely lacking previously in Season 3.  Despite the fact that they've been pursuing leads on dangerous superhuman experiments and fighting for their lives for weeks, barely having a moment to catch their breath, Vincent and Catherine decided to move forward with their wedding.  Of course, there were consequences to trying to wed at such a fraught juncture in their lives, complications that came along with the surprisingly-soon return of Juliana and the emergence of apparent Season 3 big bad Liam.

I'm including some lyrics from Westlife's song "Us Against the World" in my review, since despite everything life throws at them and even the disagreements they sometimes have, Vincent and Catherine are always there for each other and seem determined not to let anything ever disrupt their love again.

"You and I, we’ve been at it so long 
and still got the strongest fire 
You and I, we still know how to talk 
Know how to walk that wire 
Sometimes I feel like the world is against me 
The sound of your voice, baby 
That's what saves me 
When we're together, I feel so invincible..."*

Rehearsal for Disaster: I think Heather's overwhelmed, edge-of-panic, type-A tension at the rehearsal dinner festivities was emblematic of the basic problems with this wedding.  Of course she felt stressed out, sensing inevitabilities everyone else was trying to ignore.  Given everything that's been going on lately, how could catastrophe not be lurking around every floral arrangement?  

Juliana, amazingly spry after having the hell beat from her by Cat last week (induced coma, ladies and gentleman.  Up and swinging again with no problem), escaped from the hospital to continue her mission against the man she thought Vincent and Cat were working for.  Tess, J.T., and Heather tried to conceal Juliana's escape from Catherine, knowing she would put the wedding on hold once she found out.  Well, I have to agree with what Cat said once she found out the truth: of course the wedding should have been put on hold.  How could anyone relax and enjoy one of the biggest days of their lives knowing that Juliana was at large, possibly after them, and quite possibly bringing an even more dangerous criminal in her wake?

But wow, Vincent's speech outside the church, explaining how much he loves Catherine and why they deserve to have their wedding, why he'd do anything to help make that happen, was beautiful.  He was on the verge of tears, and I think this was the most intensely emotional scene we've seen from Vincent so far this season.  Jay Ryan portrayed Vincent's vulnerable, open-hearted pleading perfectly.  

"Cause it's us against the world 
You and me against them all 
If you listen to these words 
Know that we are standing tall 
I don't ever see the day that 
I won't catch you when you fall 
Cause it's us against the world tonight..."*

Everyone, this is Liam.  Liam, everyone.  Still, it was all-too-obvious that this particular iteration of the VinCat wedding was doomed, doomed, doomed.  One clue: Juliana, handcuffed inside the church because the fab four couldn't figure out what else to do with her during the wedding.  The second clue: Liam, a dark, mysterious, relentless villain, looming from a rooftop nearby and effortlessly leaping downwards.  As introductions of big bads go, this was really quite good: Liam seemed chillingly unstoppable, and given Juliana's indications of his terrifying nature, we had reason enough to fear him.  It's too bad that Juliana's speech about Liam didn't include any details of what he's actually after (because she doesn't even know?!).  But we did get a backstory about Liam having Juliana experiment on him, and his subsequent loss of control, attempting to kill her before launching off on his own unknown mission.

So we knew Liam was a frightening villain, but I'm sure most viewers got a jolt of shock upon seeing what happened to poor Juliana, whose arm was ripped off and her body thrown across the room.  Next, it was time for Vincent to face off with Liam, but since the former didn't beast out, we got an even more unfair fight than it would have been if he did.  As Liam threw Vincent around like a rag doll, his unbelievable strength was on further display.  The wedding was now completely over, and everyone was left to pick up the pieces.

Flipflop.  I'm glad the writers didn't put some huge VinCat argument and/or broken engagement at the end of this episode.  I was worried about that when J.T. started saying that Catherine needed some alone time after the wedding that wasn't.  But luckily, Catherine was ready for some solace from Vincent and vice versa.  As always, there were further complications.  Having their precious day stolen from them had caused both Cat and Vincent to reassess their feelings about their destiny v.s. romance dilemmas in extreme ways.  Vincent started off by explaining that he's ready to embrace their destiny of stopping Liam once and for all, before they can get married.  I was all for this resolve as it's the only one that makes sense.  But uncharacteristically, Catherine announced that she is done with the fight because it's never going to end.  I understand that the terrible day she just went through would make Catherine feel ready to throw in the old superhuman-fighting towel.  But at the same time, it seems obvious that once Liam is stopped, there will be a reprieve, a "break" like there was after they defeated Gabe.  That's the time to get married.  Of course, however, Catherine doesn't sense the narrative patterns of her story like we can as viewers.  This makes her decision, however frustrating, understandable.

"There’ll be days 
We’ll be on different sides but 
That doesn’t last too long 
We find ways to get it on track 
And know how to turn back on 
Sometimes I feel 
I can’t keep it together 
Then you hold me close 
And you make it better 
When I’m with you 
I can feel so unbreakable..."*

I told you so, Tess.  I knew that given a chance, J.T. would come through for Tess and show her that he could put her first and give her the time, support, and understanding she craved.  Sometimes, you have to communicate your needs to someone and then allow them the opportunity to follow through on that.  I'm glad that J.T. showed her that he does know what she wants and he's willing to be there for her.  Hopefully, this means she'll see the error of her ways in that hasty break-up.  I will say that after a few bumpy episodes, Tess was a lot more likable this week.  She seemed warmer, more affectionate towards her friends, and relenting in her frustrations towards J.T.  It seems there will be consequences for Tess' flawed decisions regarding Juliana, and I felt bad for her when the chief admonished her in front of everyone at the station.

What did you think of this episode?  Share your thoughts in the comments!  And be sure to catch an all-new Beauty and the Beast, Thursday at 8/9c on the CW.

*Lyrics taken from the song "Us Against the World" by Westlife.

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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