Zoo - This Is What It Sounds Like / Sleuths - Double Review

This Is What It Sounds Like:

This episode picked up right where we left off with Mitch and Chloe being taken by the scary drug lord in Rio. Throughout the episode Abe had to find a way to rescue them before they’re killed and it was the perfect opportunity for him to show off what a great contribution he is to the team. He’s not a big teddy bear anymore and he was really going into spy mode but I still love him. I also loved how this was a chance for Chloe and Mitch to get to know each other better and put aside their differences. We got to see a whole new, emotional side of Mitch and it was good to get his side of the story after meeting his ex-wife and daughter in the previous episode.

The other major team members were also in a bit of danger. Jamie was just in that car accident but she’s fine, unfortunately Leo was not so lucky. Their biggest problem however, is that Evan got away with the mother cell and they need to track it down to get it back. It’s still a mystery why he even wanted it but that is discovered in this episode as well when Evan hijacks an eye doctor’s office and has him perform some pretty gross procedures involving the mother cell, his defiant pupil, and a giant needle. All I could think about during that whole eye doctor situation was, thank God this is network television. Could you imagine if it was cable?? I wouldn't have been able to watch, there’s just something about eyes that makes me extra squeamish. Anyways, after Agent Shaffer helps Jamie remember details about her accident, via hypnosis, (which was crazy because how could she remember the license plate if she never really was paying attention to it? And how could they expect her to remember??), they track down Evan but he died before he could give them that much information. We did learn that Jackson’s father was supposedly the one that did this to him though. Agent Shaffer promised to take care of everything and call it in and this is where things get shady. Once he got back to the hotel he went to Jamie’s room and as soon as I saw him at the door, I just knew something was off with him, and sure enough it turned out he’s a dirty FBI agent (if he even is FBI!) and he’s trying to get the mother cell for himself. He ends up fighting with Jackson when he gets made but Jamie gets herself out of her ties and saves the day. I couldn't believe that Jamie actually shot him. And she didn't even hesitate or threaten him first! It was just BAM - dead. It was pretty shocking but necessary. Jamie used to be my least favorite character but now she’s right up there with Abe, she’s really impressed me with how much she brings to the team. Speaking of the team, they’re finally all back together! I’m really hopeful that they stay this way for a while because I need some full team teamwork!

Finally, the side story was everything I wanted it to be. It had the shock/scare value because it’s a freakin’ bear in someone’s house! Although, I didn’t think bears were that stealthy but he really snuck up on her! That’s terrifying. The thing I really loved though, was that this story directly ties into the following episode. We actually get to see the ramifications and the investigation into one of these random incidents. In my opinion, this is how it should have been done all along, with the side story as the set-up for next week so that there’s not a lot of wasted time in each episode.

Sleuths:

I’m so happy that the whole team is traveling together for this episode. They’re headed back to Paris to investigate the mysterious hibernating bears at Reiden’s Paris location. They also have a secondary mission of clearing Jamie’s name by hacking Reiden to see if Shaffer secretly worked for them. There was so much I loved about this episode and I definitely think it was my favorite episode so far. It was filled with excitement and interesting character developments, especially from Mitch and Abe. We finally found out about Abe’s history and it’s even worse than I thought it would be. After weeks of hinting about Abe’s tragic past and his brothers we learned that they were all taken by a dangerous group of people as children and Abe was forced choose one of his bothers to kill or they both would die. In the end, he chose neither so they were both killed. I was expecting his story to be heartbreaking but this was just terrible. I did love how he used his experience to comfort Jamie and I really enjoyed that scene between the two of them. We also learned that Mitch might be a traitor?? He’s blackmailing a Reiden higher-up about the mother cell in order to get trial medication for his daughter. I don’t really blame him but I hope this doesn’t actually ruin the team’s chances of taking down Reiden once and for all.

I loved the scene where they were hacking Reiden. That was a true team effort and everything I have been hoping for since this show started. There was still some separation throughout the rest of the episode but I guess not everyone has the skill set for certain situations so I’ll get over it. Considering they were back in Paris, it wasn’t surprising that Chloe ran into her ex-fiance and she had my favorite line of the episode when she said that if he were to be under attack by bears, she would be rooting for the bears! I love it! I hope her personality comes through a bit more in the coming weeks. Up until this point she has been rather cold but this week she started to open up and I hope we can see more of that.

This episode also provided some clues about the animal behavior with Mitch theorizing that all these changes are just an accelerated form of natural selection. The bears’ DNA is rapidly changing and they even grew an exoskeleton! These are adaptions that would not be seen for hundreds or thousands of years, so something in the mother cell is causing these changes to happen sooner rather than later. If they can figure this out then they can try to create a vaccine to counteract this process. I like this theory but there were a couple of things that just didn't add up for me. For example, not all animals hibernate so if this mysterious hibernation was a catalyst to the bear’s DNA changing than why is the same process happening to all animals? Why isn’t it just effecting hibernating animals? Maybe I just don’t understand the science behind this well enough yet…hopefully we’ll get some clarification in upcoming episodes!

What did you think of these exciting episodes? Let me know in the comments!

About the Author - Kate Sidwell

Kate is a 24 year old, USA based, Psychology/Public Health Researcher - but that’s just her day job! In her spare time she is an avid TV watcher (some may even say addict!!). Some of her favorite shows are Jane the Virgin, Bates Motel, The Flash, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Rookie Blue, Silicon Valley, Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow, The 100, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, The Royals, Orphan Black…so pretty much too many to count and a huge variety! She’ll give pretty much any show a chance! She also devotes a lot of time to her tumblr (eat-sleep-breathe-tv.tumblr.com) where you can find her reviewing and commenting on most of these shows and just generally fangirling! She’s excited to be writing for SpoilerTV on Complications, Baby Daddy, Proof, Switched at Birth, Secrets and Lies, and Minority Report!

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)