Vincent and Catherine have been fighting hard to prevent his secret from being exposed all season, and in this episode, they were forced to decide just how far they would go to continue protecting that truth. Interestingly, they almost revealed it to the reporter who was killed during Graydal's attempt to capture Vincent a few weeks back, before he turned himself over just to try and find out who put the bounty out on him. In "Means to an End," Vincent and Catherine also discussed the possibility of running away, which really shows that it had come down to those two options: tell all (or be exposed by outside means), face the consequences, or start over somewhere new. But the "beast buyer" had his own agenda, and we finally found out his identity, as well as the reason for his desperate need for Vincent's help...though honestly, he could have just asked nicely!
Tests and Trials: Braxton, the boss and founder of Graydal, ran all kinds of downright cruel tests to see how strong and beastly Vincent really was. Then he set Vincent free under the condition that a series of further tasks would be assigned to him, and if he didn't complete them, Braxton would release video footage proving that Vincent is a beast. After reuniting with Catherine and J.T., Vincent admitted that he didn't see any way around completing the assignments from Greydal, but Catherine was there to help while J.T. continued putting his all into finding out the truth so they could hopefully stop the madness.
Naturally, the first task was to steal evidence from Tess' (and Cat's former) precinct, leading Catherine into an awkward confrontation or two with Tess that showed how far these two have drifted apart, and how Tess' insistence on keeping her hands clean has alienated her from her best friend. From seeming much warmer and more likable earlier this season, Tess has somehow ended up seeming like she doesn't even belong in the fab five, and it's sad. However, she struck up a truce with Catherine, looking the other way regarding the evidence theft as long as her somewhat-still-bestie (?) fixes the problems caused by the theft and cracks the case of Graydal. So, just a little bit of a difficult situation for Catherine to solve....again. But you know our girl, and Vincent, were up for the challenge!
Beast buyer, revealed? I admit to being confused by the reveal that Braxton himself is apparently behind the bounty out on Vincent. It's unclear why he couldn't just reveal that from the beginning instead of pretending there was an outside party pulling the strings. I found this to be an underwhelming turn for the plot to take, but the showdown between Braxton and VinCat was pretty entertaining and satisfying. After Braxton gave his little monologue explaining that he founded Graydal to prevent wrongs that law enforcement can't stop, and his need for Vincent is just the latest example of his angelic crusade (even the player of the world's tiniest violin would laugh off this pathetic sob story), he intimated that only Vincent can fight a dreadful new foe. The suggestion was obviously that there is another beast out there.
Cleverly, Catherine and Vincent managed to rescue J.T. and Heather from their latest hare-brained scheme and get Braxton on tape admitting to his crimes, all in time for DHS' arrival, but not in time to grab the footage of Vincent beasting out that may well be found by DHS at any time now. This left VinCat in a perilous limbo, debating what to do if he is exposed by this. Just as they were wondering about that, Tess came knocking at their door, telling them they had to come to the precinct right away. Braxton had been savagely murdered, and the body was mauled so badly that Vincent couldn't even discern his identity without Tess assuring them of who it was. This confirmed Catherine and Vincent's suspicion that there is indeed another beast, and despite Tess' annoying eye-rolling, this was a very effective cliffhanger!
The scene where J.T. told Catherine he feels like he is meant to save Vincent, and Catherine told J.T. that she loved him was quite a deep one. I love their friendship, and this was a sweet conversation. I just hope that this wasn't foreshadowing that J.T. will ultimately sacrifice himself to rescue Vincent by the end of the show.
Heather and Kyle's romance is getting weird. Kyle himself continues to seem shady, constantly distrustful of Heather and spending more time questioning her than dating her. Is it possible that Kyle is the other beast? Frankly, I would embrace that plot twist, as it would be cool and also give an actual answer and purpose for this odd subplot that hasn't really gone anywhere all season.
What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to catch an all-new episode of Beauty and the Beast, Thursday, 8/25 at 9/8c on the CW!
