Bitten returned for a third and unfortunately final season with “Family, Of Sorts.” The episode was written by showrunner Daegan Fryklind and was directed by David Wellington, whose other credits include
Saving Hope,
Rookie Blue, and
Queer as Folk. This first episode sets the tone and suspense for the season as we see the pack is once again under siege, but Jeremy (Greg Bryk) is taking radical steps to protect it. Once again, Elena (Laura Vandervoort) is struggling with a dark secret.
As the episode opens, it appears that Elena is speaking directly to us, drawing us into her confidence. However, she’s actually gone to Paige (Tommie-Amber Pirie) for advice about the premonition she’s had of herself covered in blood and Stone Haven burning down around her. She swears Paige to secrecy. She’s terrified that this premonition will come to pass, but also that if the others knew, they’d be afraid of her. Elena tells us, “The truth changes everything.” And we will have to wait and hope that like Elena’s other premonitions, there is some unforeseen way out of what appears to be utter and complete devastation. But, I’m betting we won’t know that until the very last episode – but I’m also betting this isn’t the last shot of the show!
Our first shot of Jeremy is him in the war room, thinking of all their dead pack members – Pete, Anthony, and Logan – and even his father. It’s a nice way to show us where Jeremy is emotionally, and it’s not a great place. Bryk does a terrific job showing Jeremy’s quiet desperation. He tells the others that it’s been just them for too long. He’s determined that they will build their strength in numbers by bringing in – or killing – the mutts. The new choice is pack or death.
Jeremy is not kidding around. He goes to see some mutts who have been counterfeiting. He reminds them he told them to stop and then he kills their leader Freddie (Mark Irvingsen) to ensure the other two – including Freddie’s brother Bucky (Ian Matthews) fall in line. They promise to do whatever Jeremy asks and to come running when he calls.
We get to see a few other of my favorite characters – but not for nearly long enough! Noah Danby is back as Cain – but only for one quick scene! At least we know he is still alive and now working as an enforcer for the pack.
We also see that Joey (Elias Toufexis) is rounding up pack members in Alberta. He’s reporting at Stone Haven and takes the bullet meant for Jeremy. I’m SO disappointed to lose Toufexis! It makes sense from a story-telling perspective to kill someone we are already emotionally attached to, but it still sucked!
Jeremy has also broken from convention in his treatment of Rachel (Genelle Williams). He’s set her up in a house with baby Rocco. However, she’s virtually a prisoner in witness protection, allowed no contact with her family. Hard to imagine that she will want to live this way for her entire life. Nick (Steve Lund) does visit her and bring a teddy bear for the baby. Nick is determined to help her in any way he can, but ultimately, her fate is in Jeremy’s hands. We see the lights flicker in the house. Rachel says it’s a short in the wiring, but is it? Another mystery that will no doubt come back up…
When Elena and Clay (Greyston Holt) want to visit Rachel, Jeremy shuts them down. Clay then suggests that he and Elena go house hunting. Elena mentions kids, but Clay wants to know if she wants to get away from Stone Haven for the kids or just to get away from Jeremy – as there is clearly some friction between Jeremy’s new hard line and Elena.
Elena tells Clay that dictatorships work until they don’t. Clay continues to defend Jeremy saying he’s just trying to keep them on track and create stability – what an alpha should do. On the other hand, is Elena trying to put distance between herself and Stone Haven in an attempt to thwart her vision? At the end of the day, I have to wonder if Jeremy will even let them leave.
After Joey is shot, the pack goes into hunting move, with Clay and Elena changing into wolf form to track the shooter - Pablo (Carlos Ganzalez-Vio). My only disappointment with the show is that the CGI wolves never really got any better. Still, we do get Greyston taking off his clothes to change…
Clay and Elena track Pablo to a storage facility and we get some good fight scenes which end in him being taken captive.
Elena has to comfort Nick over Joey’s death. She tells him that she’ll clean the blood from the Great room to spare him as he’s already had to move the body. Nick tells a story about how Joey had a stutter as a child and Nick was going to beat up the kids at school who teased him, but Joey stopped him. He said he’d beat them himself someday. But he didn’t want to physically beat them; he beat them by training himself not to stutter. It’s further proof that Joey would have brought a different facet to the pack.
Elena also has to provide support for Clay who is going to have torture Pablo. Clay doesn’t want to do it but knows he has to if Jeremy demands it. He asks Elena to go into town and get more lye and bleach to get rid of the body. As it turns out, Jeremy is more than happy to do most of the torture himself. Jeremy threatens to take his eye, so Pablo gives up Eduardo (Mishka Thebaud).
Jeremy tells Clay to finish it – not kill him, but take his eyes – and take pictures! He wants the other wolves to fear him. It’s ruling by fear rather than respect, and I’m betting it’s not going to end well. However, Clay returns to find out that Pablo has managed to hang himself.
Eduardo has enlisted the help of Bucky and the other counterfeiters. Eduardo and Bucky are not in complete agreement, however, and disagree over tactics. Once again, the show utilizes music in really unique and effective ways. I was struck by the music in the opening dream-like sequence, and I adored the use of the very recognizable Blue Danube waltz with Eduardo. Jeremy, Clay, and Nick arrive to find that Eduardo and company have already taken off but see that they are clearly arming.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen a drifter in the Yukon encounter Sasha (John Ralston). Both are wolves and the drifter tells Sasha that he’s trying to get lost, he doesn’t want to join the pack. He also tells Sasha about Elena, Clay and Jeremy.
While Elena is in town, she’s approached by Katie (Sofia Banzhaf) who tells her they’ve come a long way to meet the female werewolf. Katie tells Elena that her brother, Alexei (Alex Ozerov) and father, Sasha, are both wolves. On threat of exposure, Elena agrees to meet with Sasha. He tells her that he’s kept a very low profile by hiding in the Yukon and hunting cariboo when he needed to change. He also tells her that he’s her real father! BOMBSHELL!
I thought this was a great first episode to the season, which carried on nicely from last season and threw a bunch of new balls in the air.
The next episode “Our Own Blood” was also directed by David Wellington and was written by Jenn Engels. The title already brings up some interesting issues. What does constitute our own blood? Is it a blood relation? Or is it the pack?
The episode begins as the first one did with a scene involving a witch. Roman (Daniel Kash) is looking for a witch of his own. He has a girl (Rayisa Kondracki) handcuffed to a bed. She denies being a witch until he almost strangles her to death. After grabbing her talisman, her eyes turn white and she walks backward up the wall on her tip-toes – creepy!
We then flash to a picnic that young Elena (Oksana Zilinskas) is having with her father (Matt Wells) and her mother (Brandie Hamm). These were the parents that she knew who died tragically. Sasha tells her that they were only the people who raised her, she was actually smuggled out of Russia. And wouldn’t that technically make her a member of the Russian pack? Sasha shows Elena that he has her birthday tattooed on his arm, and it’s an old tattoo.
Sasha spots someone following Elena. There is a terrific fight between Elena and her shadower. I could watch Laura Vandervoort fight all day! Sasha shows up and breaks the guys neck, saving Elena. He flips the body into the back of his truck and takes off.
Jeremy, Nick and Clay clean up the tannery – Eduardo’s base of operations. Jeremy is still incredibly angry and starts calling in reinforcements. Clay returns to Stone Haven to start repairs and secure the house. Elena meets up with him there and tells him everything. Clay warns her to assume that Sasha is part of the larger threat. Vandervoort is terrific in this scene as she explains to Clay that her memories are all she has and that no one stepped up to claim her after her parents died. And we all know what happened after that. She’d closed the door on ever finding any blood relatives and then she found her family with him. Holt is at his most devastating as he tells her, “I’m not going anywhere, darling.” And then they make passionate love in the kitchen….
Nick and Jeremy follow the trail to a storage locker and realize that Bucky is in league with Eduardo. Bucky has already answered Jeremy’s summons and shows up to help at Stone Haven.
Elena is cooking for the pack. I loved the exchange between Clay and Elena over her cooking. He’s a lot more disturbed about the stereotype of the woman cooking than she is because she’s so secure in her actual place in the pack. She is still stewing over Sasha, however, and has dug out her memory box. There is a single baby shoe in it. Clay tells her not to question her whole life. He stresses she’s still who she is and still there with him. But Elena is determined to know her own history.
Bucky comes into the kitchen and has a creepy come on to Elena. She sends him to watch the front door. Clay is tipped off when he hears Bucky whistling Blue Danube. Bucky and Clay fight while Eduardo attacks Elena in the kitchen. This is another great fight sequence – something the show really excels at. Clay kills Bucky with Bucky’s own knife while Elena takes Eduardo out with a frying pan. When Clay is pinned down by yet another gunman, Elena dispatches him.
There’s a beautiful shot of Elena and Clay sitting with the bodies Neither are happy. Both are sick of the killing.
Roman arrives at Stone Haven to pay his respects to Jeremy as protocol dictates. Jeremy arrives and is relieved to find Elena and Clay alright. He’s courteous but suspicious of Roman. Elena wants Jeremy to get rid of Roman, but Jeremy insists that this is how they restore order. He doesn’t want an unnecessary enemy in Roman and he doesn’t believe Roman was in league with Eduardo. Jeremy does pull Nick aside and tells him that he doesn’t feel they have all the information yet.
Meanwhile, Sasha has holed up with Alexei and Katie. Alexei is about to change for the first time. Sasha contacts Elena and she agrees to meet. Elena tells Clay who agrees to go with her. Both are suspicious about two Russians showing up in one day and are sure they have to be connected – and of course they are. Roman tells Jeremy that he’s been tracking a dangerous mutt for years – and it’s Sasha. Sasha tells Elena that Roman killed Alexei and Katie’s mother.
Elena doesn’t tell Jeremy about Sasha because she wants to bring him the solution not another problem. While Clay goes with Elena, she lets her go in by herself – this is about her. When Sasha learns that Clay is her fiancé, he invites him in. Katie and Alexei have also left to give the two space. Sasha tells Elena that he burned the body to protect her. He also proves his story by showing her the matching bootie to her own.
Meanwhile, Roman also helps Jeremy torture Eduardo. Eduardo taunts Jeremy by telling hiom that he may have built a family but none of it is real. Jeremy tells Eduardo he will remember Edward’s death – but Roman deals the killing blow. Jeremy watches as Roman savagely hacks Eduardo apart. The lighting in this scene is particularly well done. As always, the cinematography on the show is really top flight.
This was another fast paced episode that ramps up the stakes of the season. With only 10 episodes, I suspect that the pace is just going to get faster. What did you think of the two episodes? Favorite scenes? Is Jeremy doing the right thing? Will Elena be forced to choose between her families? Will there be war? And what part are the witches going to play this season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
