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Beauty and the Beast – 2.14 – Redemption – Review: The scarcity of Catherine.

‘A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward.’
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings


Friendly Reminders

•Don’t forget to live tweet with the show (@cwbatb) every Monday night at 9 PM EST/8PM Central on The CW.

•Trend events begin at 6 PM EST and end around 1 AM EST.

•The official hashtag according to Nielsen and Trendrr is STILL #BATB.

•Also remember to only use two hashtags in your tweets, otherwise it is filtered out as spam.

The Recap and Review
Title: Redemption | Written by: John A. Norris | Directed by: Grant Harvey

Synopsis: VINCENT SEES WHAT HIS LIFE COULD HAVE BEEN — When some of Gabe’s (Sendhil Ramamurthy) acquaintances go missing, Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) must come together to save them. Vincent ends up returning to the hospital where he was an intern, allowing him to see what his life could have been.
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My thought on this week’s writer…
I was underwhelmed with everything in the script for this episode. Whether it was the atrocious dialog, the numerous plot holes or the shirking of canon and continuity everything was lackluster and damn near unforgivable. Thank goodness the cast and Jay Ryan most all, rose above it or this episode would have been a complete an utter disaster.

My thoughts on this week’s director…
Not much to say about our new director Grant Harvey. This episode did not differentiate itself from any other and that is meant in the most neutral of ways. The lighting was better but if only because we were able to get quite a few scenes out in the open and during the day time.
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Cat – What the hell happened to Cat? I really don’t recognize her at all. There is zero passion in the kisses with Gabe. She is never truly there 100% in the scenes where it is just her and Gabe. What was the point of Cat and Gabe getting together? Was it to make Cat look, weak and desperate? How clingy and desperate? Or perhaps it was just to showcase how fickle she can be? The best things about Cat are her passion for job and how it allows her to help people, caring about those around her, her inner strength and her independent nature. None of that has been present for quite some time. With Vincent back on track and ripe for a truly meaningful and poignant turn to being worthy it is now Cat who doesn’t even seem fit to even be with Gabe. Cat has become that high maintenance friend that literally goes from hot mess in her life to the next and I’m exhausted. Can we please bring back Heather to smack some sense back into Cat and make her deal with everything that has happened to her?

Gabe – Did anyone else want Gabe to get injected and to become a beast again? This episode absolutely and unabashedly confirms that Gabe is NOT the bad guy and he is also still NOT a beast. I must say that is a shame. Gabe would make the most perfect and compelling long running villain for the series. Gabe finally showed his true colors and let go of the St. Gabe act. Yes, he is bothered by the constant presence of Vincent in his life as well as Vincent’s constant pull on Cat. He sees it, he knows he can’t stop it but yet he gave her an ultimatum that will undoubtedly not end well for him. I like that Gabe wanted to help and tried to help. I’m glad the writers were fortuitous enough to see that Gabe needed to be shown as vulnerable and human and not perfect. I also like how they highlighted the inverse of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde conundrum in comparison to Vincent. I really feel like the writers have made the case to Gabe at face value and painfully underscored the fact that he’s a good guy. But no matter how you slice it Cat and Gabe have no business being together, it is squicky, messy and highly implausible and my logical side just can’t let that go.

JT – Enough with the pep talks! It feels like JT is over compensating and I for one feel like there is no need for that. I really would love for some more emotional depth to be discovered in JT’s character as well him getting a life and moving on. Austin Basis manages to get the best lines of the night and steals every scene he’s in and this episode was no exception but I just wish the bromance was depicted in a more realistic manner at times. If anything, can they have a bro’s night out and get away from the topic of beasts for just one night? Cat and Tess got to do it, it’s only fair. I’m just really tired of JT (and especially Tess) being cheerleaders for the wrong things. JT should be encouraging Vincent to embrace his humanity and find the things that make him happy outside of Cat.

JTnT – Literally, a three sentence conversation and nothing more. It was implicitly implied that they got a room and were going to get physically intimate. This is the funny thing, Vincent more than likely knows and Cat doesn’t. I hate that the boys on the show have a better relationship than the gals. Mainly because Cat’s life is one big dramatic misstep after the next that we can never get to know what’s going on with Tess. There better be a whole lot of JTnT development in the next two episodes.

Sam Landon – Yep, he really is the big bad. There is no Barnes. He’s an evil genius out for revenge. Is anyone really buying Sam as an evil master mind? This whole thing with Sam has caused so many messy mistakes; I literally just can’t talk about it. I love Tom Scott Everett but his acting choices are dreadful and ridiculous. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, an epic story needs an epic villain. I don’t feel threatened or intimidated by him and the fact that he keeps slipping away only makes Cat and company look like freaking idiots. I can’t wait for this storyline to be over with.

Tess – Once again the character of Tess was not given much to do. But at least she looked pretty, so there’s that. I take that back she was the voice of reason in the coffee shop. I agree it’s odd that Gabe just smiled politely and kept the weekend going. [Insert my prerequisite ‘Poor, Nina’ comment here.] Man, we were promised to have this character fleshed out this season and I feel cheated.

Vincent – There’s my hero. Color me smitten as kitten and drunk in love with Vincent once more. He was so perfect this episode. Jay Ryan smashed the emotional range and rose above the abysmal dialog that was in the script at times. He’s begun to give Vincent some much needed lightness that has been missing. It so odd that Vincent is the more relatable one and not Cat but it works. *I see the writers have heard the fan girl complaints about not enough shirtless!Vincent and corrected it. Either that or Stephen Amell’s abs contract is up and all the other males on the CW can start baring their chests as well. Either way I’m happy.

VinCat – Hmmm, the fundamental flaw of VinCat’s relationship got a bright spotlight put on it in this episode. Cat sees and treats Vincent as a means to an end whether it is professionally or personally. Usually we don’t notice because it’s done in such a nice loving way that it gets glossed over and we have some epic VinCat moment to soften the blow and often forget about it. Vincent, well, he thinks that the fundamental problem of their relationship is that he is a beast, especially now this season, what with the mindless killing, ditching Cat for Tori because of some primal, excuse me, “beastly” needs, etc.

Grade: C-

Awards

Character of the Night
• Vincent, wow, two weeks in a row. Good on you writers but now is the time to start fixing Cat. Can anyone remember the last time I said she was my character of the night? What was it six episodes ago?

Best Character Interactions
• JT and Vincent
• Vincent and his mentor, Dr. Marcus

Line of the Night
JT: It’s hard to be Dr. Jekyll when everyone wants Mr. Hyde


Favorite Moments
1. A shirtless Vincent on the rowing machine.
2. Vincent falling right back into being a doctor with such ease.
3. Vincent comforting Jacob Sutter’s wife.
4. Gabe in casual attire (c’mon don’t hate, Sendhil is beautiful and the suits cover up too much).
5. This is like the third time we’ve got JT in suit.


Favorite Scenes
1. Vincent’s dream about Cat wanting to get back together.
2. Vincent and JT talk about the old Vincent and what could have been.
3. Vincent saving Jacob Sutter’s life
4. Cat visits Bob
5. Cat tells Tess she called Gabe by Vincent’s name


Repeated Elements
• The orphanage
• JT pep talks
• Beasts don’t get better they only get worse
• the theme of ‘Man or Beast?’

Biggest Surprise of the Episode
• Cat’s dream sequence about killing Vincent.
• Bookend dream sequences.

Theme
• When it comes to getting what you want the means always justifies the ends.

Grievances List
•There are just truly too many to list. I’ve opted to focus on the good from here on out (for the most part). All I can say is all I see are plot holes for miles and my intelligent is under attack.

Burning Questions
1. So are we supposed to forget about the gem?
2. Is it just me or has the myth arc as well as continuity gone completely out the window.

WTF Moments
• Cat and Gabe’s lackluster on screen kisses.
• Cat’s cold and callous demeanor when it came to Vincent this week.
• No follow through on the huge leap forward with the JT and Tess that occurred last week.
• They phoned in the fight/action scenes.

Side Note: In case anyone is wondering, the title for this review is a play on the title of John Green’s novel ‘An Abundance of Katherines’. It is an awesome book that you should totally read while BATB is on hiatus. Actually, all of his books are awesome and The Fault in Our Stars is now a movie, so I’ll just leave that there for you to mull over.

Polls

Last Poll Results – BATB Great Debate #13 – Did you secretly want Gabe to actually be the bad guy? 85% of you wanted Gabe to be the bad guy.

This Week’s Poll – BATB Great Debate #14 – Do think VinCat will actually be on the right track by episode 2x16? http://poll.fm/4nels

Make sure you vote and comment on this week’s Best Scene Poll as well. http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/02/beauty-and-beast-214-redemption-best.html

Shameless Plugs & Self–Promotion
The DVMPE’s Beauty and the Beast Podcast
Facebook Fan Page
Email Me
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Well, now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

PS: Don't forget to promote this and all positive Beauty and the Beast articles in all the social media you can. For instance be sure to click the like button, retweet this and +1 this article if you like it and appreciate this reviewer's hard work.

Beauty and the Beast - 2.13 - Till Death - Review: Therein lies the rub.

‘Therein lies the rub.’

Together we can save BATB

#SaveBATB – Important Trend Event - A Match Made in Heaven

Spend Valentine’s Day weekend fighting for the epic love that is VinCat! All the information can be found here.

#Save BATB – Talk Show Appearances – Get BATB on Wendy Williams

I know a talk show that is hip, popping, geared to our exact demo. It also has a large devoted audience as well as a lovable and outspoken host. I’m talking about The Wendy Williams Show. Did you know the show airs in over 52 countries around the world? Did you also know that Ms. Wendy is a sucker for an underdog? If we manage this, it would be a huge deal.

I'm not stopping there either, if successful, I plan on doing it all over again to get BATB on The Talk, The View and Kelly & Michael.

Want to join us? For more information on how to participate please visit my blog.

We’re going to need a whole lot of beasties to make it work so please spread this across all the social media platforms you can think of (Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Get Glue, etc.).

Don't sit around wishing you could make a difference, get involved!

Time to beast up and roar louder than ever before!

Friendly Reminders

•Don’t forget to live tweet with the show (@cwbatb) every Monday night at 9 PM EST/8PM Central on The CW.

•Trend events begin at 6 PM EST and end around 1 AM EST.

•The official hashtag according to Nielsen and Trendrr is STILL #BATB.

•Also remember to only use two hashtags in your tweets, otherwise it is filtered out as spam.

The Recap and Review

Title: Till Death | Teleplay by Sherri Cooper & Jennifer Levin/Story by Roger Grant| Directed by: Stuart Gillard
Synopsis: CAT AND VINCENT’S FEELINGS FOR ONE ANOTHER RE-SURFACE — In an effort to track down Sam’s captor, Vincent and Cat have to work together on Valentine’s Day, which forces Cat to evaluate whether she wants to be in a relationship with Gabe.
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My thought on this week’s writing team...

Man, was it good to have Sherri and Jenny back. It feels like forever since we’ve seen them. I absolutely adore the way they made the bromance sing and come to life. However, the gal pals were a little off. I also think that there were some nods to what’s going on behind the scenes if you look hard enough. I’m shocked at the choices they made but this show is their baby so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and enjoy what’s left of the ride they’ve planned. The dialogue was top notch and of course they threw in an explosion because well we haven’t had one in a while. I also love how they gave some more wind to the JTnT ship. I like that they opened up the world of the show a little and gave us a few new sets as well as we got to experience a more full day in the life of our favorite characters. I did find the pacing a tad bit off as well as the reveal and motivation but I’m sure there’s more to the story so I’ll wait for the bigger picture to be revealed before I comment fully.

My thoughts on this week’s directorial execution...

Stuart Gillard always brings the best out in everyone when he directs and this week was no exception. I love the mixture of lighting techniques that were employed. I also like that he managed to set a different mood with each and every set change. The way he frames his scenes are kind of genius. In short, I really love when Mr. Gillard directs.
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Cat – Yet another week of me wanting to say no comment and be done with the character of Cat. She still has yet to be relatable to me with her choice to be with Gabe. Cat lives in New York City. She is attractive, single and successful. I’m pretty sure there are tons of guys who haven’t tried to kill your ex and kidnapped you that would love a chance to woo you. I will give Cat bonus points for her finally saying what I (and quite a few other Beasties) have yelling at our screen for, oh 13 episodes now in regards to Gabe and how his past actions need to be addressed. I’m just going to throw this out there, a woman does not owe a man anything for his kindness, especially when that kindness is only there because he did something wrong. There is nothing wrong with forgiving a person for their transgressions but you should never forget what a person is a capable of. How does that saying go? Fool me once shame on you…

Dana Landon – Well, at least she didn’t turn out to be the villain. It’s a shame they rushed her backstory with a small info dump about her son and how she and Sam were on the rocks before he was “killed”/”went missing”. I’m sad that she didn’t get her happy ending but at least we will be getting more Tom Scott Everett as Sam Landon.

Gabe – Is this the final nail in the coffin for ‘Bad Guy Gabe’? I hope not. Gabe is so boring now that he spends every single frame of his screen time obsessing over Cat. Gabe still seems awfully shady. I just can’t shake the feeling that he is up to no good. Maybe I’m over analyzing or simply re-watching the episode too much, to the point where any and everything and everyone seems suspicious. I knew it was too good to be true that Gabe would be exposed as the bad guy. The question I really want to ask is that after this episode why Gabe would still want to be with Cat. Or better yet, why would he want to still hang out with people who were so quick to believe the worse about him after “everything” he has done for them?

JT – JT’s new nickname should be ‘King of the Pep Talks’. I still say that the relationship between JT and Vincent should be way more tense than what it is. But I’m kind of glad that it isn’t since VinCat is still a mess. If JT and Vincent were on the outs not only would not be able to get into Vincent’s head, I highly doubt we would get any JT screen time. I do feel as though JT is overcompensating, as he should be but at the same time, short of finding a cure for beasts, he’s really done more than enough for Vincent at this point. I think now that Vincent is out of the shadows JT should be too and moving on with his life. JT was the heart and soul of the episode and I’m glad things seem to be getting back to normal on that front.

Sam Landon – We all knew he was shady and I’m glad it didn’t take Team Beastie long to figure it out either. His plan was sheer genius and made me squeal like a pig with delight. They also gave us some heavy background for the Landons. I’m very pleased that they do indeed know what an archeologist does and elaborated on how and why he was able to coach JT from the bench.

Tess – Tess wasn’t out of character so, there’s that. Not much was really written for Tess this week. The character boiled down to a very limited supporting background character which is a shame but the story really didn’t call for what Tess is best at so I’ll let it slide. Bonus points that she got so much screen time with JT.

Vincent – It’s a shame that it took Tori dying for Vincent to be more likable or maybe that was the whole point of the character. Vincent is a really amazing friend to Cat. He pointed out all the things that if I did not know what Gabe had done, I would totally tell Cat. It’s even more encouraging that he is still protective while not being jealous. Part of me wishes he had not saved Gabe but he literally had to since Cat was there, which was the point of that scene.

VinCat – Wait, can I say no comment here? Would you be mad? No, I will go ahead and address it. As I said last week, I’m on board with Cat and Vincent being friends and learning to openly communicate without fear of saying or doing the wrong thing because that will build a strong foundation for whenever they get back together but come on, episode 16 (aka our hiatus) is right around the corner. They keep telling us VinCat will be back on track by then. That’s three episodes and four weeks away from now. I’m a fan of things happening organically and having credibility. So it pains me to say unless there is a significant time jump VinCat getting back together again won’t be believable for me. Vincent still has a long road of redemption before he can be anywhere near worthy of being with Cat again. Cat still needs a lot of work to do in regards to figuring who she is and what she wants and why she makes some of the terrible choices she does (cough, Gabe, cough). I think Vincent is showing way more growth than Cat at this point but she doesn’t nearly as much to make up for Vincent does. I think that once Vincent finds a place in the world and JT and Cat are not his only lifelines then and only then will Vincent be on equal footing with Cat and able to have a healthy relationship.

Grade: B-

Awards

Character of the Night
• Vincent wins this one hands down. I really appreciate that it seems that Vincent is growing as a person, has a handle on his beastly nature and truly wants Cat to be happy even if that means that he can't be with her. I love how Vincent is being a good friend. But honestly, it must be pretty damn annoying to have your ex's new relationship and all your shortcomings constantly rubbed in your face.

Best Character Interactions
• Vincent and JT
• JT and Tess

Favorite Moments
1. We open the episode with a shot of Sally (Cat’s blue Mustang). What? I have a thing for cars.
2. Vincent is still in big, fluffy, comfy robe
3. I believe Vincent was making his favorite sandwich
4. Cat’s flashbacks of Gabe
5. Team Beastie meeting minus Gabe at the Gentlemen’s Club.
6. Cat’s heart beat when talking about Gabe to Vincent.
7. The precinct’s new boss takes some of Tess’s chocolate.

Favorite Lines
1. Cat: That actually makes sense considering how the last one ended. No offense.
Vincent: None taken.
2. Tess: The good news is I saved our jobs.
3. Vincent: I like balloons.
4. Vincent: 87? I don’t think Barnes is trying to make octogenarian beasts.
5. JT: What? I watch a lot of CSI.

Favorite Scenes
1. JT gives Vincent a pep talk peppered with ‘Les Miserable’ references.
2. Cat and Vincent chat about Gabe
3. Gabe and Vincent have a chat about Cat
4. Cat and Dana talk about Sam
5. JT confesses to Tess he was the one who sent the flowers, balloons and chocolates.
6. Vincent breaks into Gabe’s apartment.
7. Vincent confronts Gabe about finding the serum in his apartment.

Burning Questions
1. Is the gem still safe?
2. When will we meet the guy who is actually pulling the strings?
3. Why are women always made to look the fool because they let the men in their lives pull the wool over their eyes?
4. Why is JT still living in the Gentlemen’s Club?

Theories
• The new boss of the 125th precinct is an avatar for Brad Kern (aka an unabashed misogynist)
• Gabe really is the bad guy that is pulling the strings at the highest level and he did all this to throw suspicion off of himself.
• Gabe is still a beast (he’s not even the slightest bit afraid of Vincent).
• Cat and Tess will get fired by the end of the season.
• Cat and Tess’s new boss is the big bad.

Repeated Elements
• JT + pop culture references.
• Women being blinded by love
• Couples being paired together
• Misdirection

Biggest Surprise of the Episode
The JTnT ship is out in the ocean with plenty of wind in its sails.

Theme
• Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the cracks in the reflection.

Grievances List
• Gabe’s picture shouldn’t have been up in that office for several reasons. The first reason being he was not a cop.
• I’m tired of all the so called “small gestures” when it comes to VinCat. I’m going to need a grand sweeping gesture pretty damn soon.
• What the hell is Vincent doing in the precinct let alone in an interrogation room?
• Shouldn’t the charge for the tickets to Mexico have specified that there were two of them?
• Nobody is wondering why the serum bottle is more than half empty?
• No one is asking any of the right questions, AGAIN!

WTF Moments
• Remember all of that hype for a ‘pregnant bride’? She was an unimportant background actor. SMH.
• Can no one have a happy ending on this show?
• When Sam points to Gabe’s picture while being interrogated.

A little help?
Who is the actor who plays the new commander of the 125th precinct? I know I have seen him in numerous other shows but his name alludes me.


Side Note: I forgot who asked last week but yes, the title was an Arrested Development reference. This week’s title reference is a purposefully misquoted line from William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’.

Polls

Last Poll Results - BATB Great Debate #12 - How do you feel about the relationship between Cat and Gabe? A whopping 61% of you responded: It makes no sense and I wish they would stop trying to force it.

This Week’s Poll – BATB Great Debate #13 – Did you secretly want Gabe to actually be the bad guy?

Make sure you vote and comment on this week’s Best Scene Poll as well.

Shameless Self–Promotion
The DVMPE’s Beauty and the Beast Podcast
Facebook Fan Page
Email Me

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Well, now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

PS: Don't forget to promote this and all positive Beauty and the Beast articles in all the social media you can. For instance be sure to click the like button, retweet this and +1 this article if you like it and appreciate this reviewer's hard work.

Beauty and the Beast – 2.12 – Recipe for Disaster – Review: I don't know what I expected.

'I don't know what I expected.’

Together we can save BATB

#SaveBATB – The Road to Sponsorship

I have a pretty cool idea to gets a sponsor and it can be found here! I hope to see a lot of familiar screen names participating in that project.

#Save BATB – Talk Show Appearances – Get BATB on Wendy Williams

I know a talk show that is hip, popping, geared to our exact demo. It also has a large devoted audience as well as a lovable and outspoken host. I’m talking about The Wendy Williams Show. Did you know the show airs in over 52 countries around the world? Did you also know that Ms. Wendy is a sucker for an underdog? If we manage this, it would be a huge deal.

I'm not stopping there either, if successful, I plan on doing it all over again to get BATB on The Talk, The View and Kelly & Michael.

Well, the plan has been made and the date has been set! Join us? For more information on how to participate please visit my blog.

We’re going to need at least 1,500 beasties to make it work so please spread this across all the social media platforms you can think of (Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Get Glue, etc.).

If everyone who views this article participates we can definitely achieve our goals. Don't sit around wishing you could make a difference, get involved!

Time to beast up and roar louder than ever before!

Friendly Reminders

•Don’t forget to live tweet with the show (@cwbatb) every Monday night at 9 PM EST/8PM Central on The CW.

•Trend events begin at 6 PM EST and end around 1 AM EST.

•The official hashtag according to Nielsen and Trendrr is STILL #BATB.

•Also remember to only use two hashtags in your tweets, otherwise it is filtered out as spam.


The Recap and Review

Title: Recipe for Disaster | Written By: Brad Kern & Wendy Straker Hauser | Directed By: Allan Kroeker

Synopsis: Cat and Vincent must work together to save J.T. when he gets kidnapped, while Tori attempts to intervene, with fatal consequences. Meanwhile, a stranger (guest star Tom Everett Scott) from FBI Agent Dana Landon's (guest star Elisabeth Röhm) past is rescued along with J.T., and might have some insight about Vincent’s beastly past.
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My thoughts on this week’s writing team...

I thought Wendy Straker Hauser did a fine job in the last episode she wrote which was 2x07: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? I found her to be a lovely addition to the staff and couldn’t wait to see what she did next. I’m just going to say it, Brad Kern brings every writing partner down a notch or twelve. He doesn’t understand the beauty of this show. I honestly don’t think he grasps the mythology of it and I’m fed up with the stupid gem. It makes no sense and Vincent is slowly but surely being turned into Clark Kent. I’m a writer and there are really only a few rules to a good story. Keep it simple and make things happened organically. There is nothing I hate more than the use of a McGuffin which what both Tori and the gem are point blank. Also, Brad Kern always manages to murder at least one character’s canon attributes and for some reason it seem that the character Tess gets the brunt of it.

This episode was a hot mess. I can see where things have been heavily edited out and I can only wonder what else has ended up on the cutting room floor. At least it seems as though Sherri and Jenny managed to edit out most of the stuff Brad had originally wanted, even if it was detrimental to the last few episodes and the continuity of the show overall from here on out.

My thoughts on this week’s directorial execution...

I feel like Allan Kroeker didn’t pull the best out of any of the actors at all. The acting all around was extremely off (perhaps because the written material wasn’t up to par). As for the directorial eye, there was nothing fancy, no interesting shots. He blended right in with the rest of new to Beauty and the Beast directors this season.. The lighting was muted, even during the daytime scenes, something I hate, if only because it makes screencapping an arduous process.
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Agent Landon – Well, she was very much on her way to becoming a villain, what with the illegal listening devices and unlawful search and seizure. Dana took seeing a beast very well. I’m not quite sure if she is out of the woods on being a villain just yet. I’m glad she found her husband so now she move on and have her happy ending. But of course not before inspiring VinCat to reconcile and see that their destined to be together. Also, her husband Sam is supposed to shed some light on beasts but he came across as pretty useless in this episode, what a shame to waste Tom Scott Everett in such a fashion. The whole situation is unbelievable and nonsensical, and probably unintentionally comedic that the dungeon scenes took me right out of the episode.

Cat – I almost just want to write ‘no comment’ and be done with it but I won’t. The episode got off to an amazing start. She was having fun with Tess by hosting a cooking a class. They were drinking and chatting like the gal pals that I missed dearly. Cat was in a good mood and smiling. Then Vincent calls and it is all downhill from there. I just don’t buy anything she’s selling at the current moment. From her reason for wanting to be with, Gabe to her trying to be friends with Vincent, right down to how she feels super connected to the gem and feels it’s her duty to unravel the mystery behind it. I feel like all the writers are doing is telling me how she feels, not showing, which is a big no-no for writers. In a word, I’m underwhelmed with Cat character development right now. She is making all of the wrong choices and is coming across as extremely illogical. How could her hear actually being telling her to be with Gabe? It goes right back to my problem with the trope that a woman needs a man to be happy. And please don’t get me started on how bad this show overall fails the Bechdel test (Google it). The misogyny is real strong this season and I have had about enough.

Gabe – Oh, my god, yes, please get the hell out of the precinct Gabe! I’m glad somebody finally remembered that Gabe is not actually a cop and that his stay and role at the precinct was to be a very limited one. Gabe is a lawyer, let him go back to his office and legal pursuits and leave the real detective work to Cat and Tess and maybe just maybe Tess can get some meaningful scenes with Cat like she used to. I love Sendhil Ramamurthy, I really do but the way they have been shoving his character Gabe's “goody-two-shoes” status down my throat has irritated me beyond belief. His pursuit of Cat is and forever will always be squicky and highly questionable. Cat accepting his advances makes her look crazy and desperate. He is the reason Vincent was captured. He wanted to kill Vincent to save himself. He killed the woman who loved him more than anything in his selfish pursuit of self-preservation. Does Cat not remember that Gabe kidnapped her, held her hostage and terrorized her in order to get to Vincent? And NO, it was NOT that long ago. It hasn't even been a year yet! Are you serious? Has Gabe redeemed himself? Sure. But his “infatuation” and now pursuit of a relationship with Cat almost completely overrules it, if not negates it because it makes it seem as if he was only doing it for Cat and not for himself.

JT – Poor JT! Can’t he have anything good happen to him ever? Just make JTnT official already so Tess can be awesome again and JT can have something good in his life. I guess it was his turned to get kidnapped. After all everyone on the show has to be two things at least once on this show, a stalker and a kidnap victim. Loved JT at his party celebrating. We haven’t seen JT smile in such a long time. I find it odd that he still has his job after stealing the blood. Sure he didn't get arrested but surely there must have been an internal report and official reprimand. That’s serious stuff and it doesn't just go away. I have a big problem when shows don’t consider the consequences of characters actions, I’m nit picky that way. But nonetheless I was bummed he didn't actually win. It was a nice reminder that JT and Professor Forbes is a certified genius, sometimes his actions make me forget that. It was nice to see that Austin was given a chance to convey a range of emotions for a change. Usually he’s either given comedic lines, pep talk lines or exposition to catch us, the audience up on what we should know. What I didn't like was his core interactions were very isolated. JT is the heart (and brains) of the group and his distinctive relationships with all of the characters just that ‘j’e ne sais quoi’ to the group chemistry. Honestly, JT has been very isolated all season long because Vincent lives on that houseboat. Time for Vincent to move back into the Gentlemen’s Club, obviously. JT and Vincent’s relationship is one of the best things about the show, time to capitalize on it.

Tess – I just can't with the way Tess was written in this episode. I really hate that Tess sole purpose this season has been to pretty much root mindlessly for Gabe to get with Cat and to encourage Cat to give Gabe a chance. Nina manages to knock it out of the park every single time she’s given out or character crap to work with and love her for it but someone (cough, Sherri and Jenny) really needs to stop letting the character of Tess be murdered. Tess is a smart, sassy, tough independent lady from New York. Sure she’s gets lonely but women don't have to come across as desperate just because they don't have a man. A man is not the sole defining factor in woman’s life or her only option of being happy. I just hate when misogynistic, patriarchal B.S. comes rolling off the screen from my favorite show, that once upon a time had a deep, strong messages of girl power.

Tori – Ding dong the wicked witch that dared come between our precious Vincat is dead; or so most of my Twitter timeline rejoiced. But not I, I really liked the idea of a she-beast. I loved the actress who played Tori. I just hated all the bumbling missteps they took with this character. The more I think about her relationship with Vincent, the more it makes my skin crawl that the writers actually went there. Tori is super young, like between the ages of 18-22 apparently. She was locked in a gilded cage by basically what boils down to an emotionally abusive and overly protective father. She had no friends. She didn’t even have a mother to love her. She was naïve to the ways of the world because of all the aforementioned reasons I just listed. She was born a beast and didn’t have a clue.

Along comes Team Beastie and turns her life upside down. Not only does Vincent kill her father, in the most brutal fashion (by literally ripping his heart out) but he does so directly in front of her and that trauma triggers her dormant beast to come to the surface. Lost, alone, frightened and not able to fully grasp what is happening to her, she tries to commit suicide. Then she finds herself a target for being something she had no control over. She struggled with what she was and only tinkered briefly with the power that she had and then decided she wanted to pretend she was normal. Did I mention Tori also “fell in love” with the man that murdered her father for no other reason than his name was on a list and Vincent wanted his life back so he was on a mission no matter the cost to anyone else?

It would have been awesome if they wrote her as a kid sister to Cat who could shed light on beastly things that Vincent couldn’t explain. Cat could have trained her. Maybe let Gabe mentor her? Tori and Vincent could have the muscle of the group and been a surrogate daughter to Vincent. Tori could have helped JT understand beasts and he could have explained just how she was born a beast, perhaps? They should have made her a part of Team Beasties instead of some awful wedge issue/love interest. The saddest thing about Tori is she died friendless and unloved.

I just can’t get behind the hating on Tori, sorry. I really hate having characters die for no reason other than to create man-pain. No one else is going to be really affected by her death. Hell, in this episode Vincent didn’t really seem all that broken up to me, if I’m going to be honest.

Vincent – Two huge bombs got dropped on Vincent this week. Tori’s death and JT telling him the truth about how he was chosen to become a beast. He took everything pretty well, all things consider. I think Vincent needs a cathartic breakdown at this point just as much as Cat. His life too, has been one thing after the next for the last year and a half. I think he needs to reconnect with his family (cough, bring back his nephew, cough), maybe even begin making his way back to becoming a doctor (that’s where he always has found his solace in the past) and some good quality time with his best friend JT. Vincent has seemed to hard, cold and distant this whole season that I almost forget at times that I’m supposed to be rooting for him. With these latest developments hopefully, the metamorphosis of Vincent’s next life stage will compel me (and Cat) to fall in love with him all over again. Fingers crossed!

VinCat – Cat gave Vincent the ‘let’s be friends’ speech and I almost fell out of my chair. She even offered up relationship advice. I think a good strong friendship along with open communication is strong solid foundation to build a relationship, so I see where this need is coming from. But they are still forcing the Cat and Gabe issue despite Cat openly admitting that she needs to find herself as well as stop bouncing from man to man. She needs to fix herself before getting together with anyone. Vincent is in a vulnerable place (I guess). He realized he rushed into things with Tori and it might have had a lot to do with her beastly wiles (did I mention what a cop out that was?). He treated Tori like crap the whole time they were together and he has some odd behaviors while being with Cat. Vincent, too, needs some time alone to work on himself and definitely get back in touch with his humanity before we as an audience can even root for him to start wooing her away from Gabe (just my two cents).

Final Grade : C- (That’s me being EXTREMELY generous)

Reason: When an episode is entitled ‘Recipe for Disaster’ you should not live up to that expectation. You should go out of your way to make it the best damn episode your fans could possibly imagine. This truly was a recipe for disaster indeed. This episode was obviously and painfully heavily edited to wipe away the relationship the writers had written for Tori and Vincent to quell some of the fandom backlash, all the while still showcasing the creepy crawly relationship between Cat and Gabe. This makes Tori’s death even more pathetic and sad. Hey writers, you do remember how you built Tori up as a socialite and how she was dating ‘the war hero’? There should be consequences to this situation. Somebody should miss her.

This was an awkwardly paced episode and super rushed along. Tori’s death scene made me laugh and I got secondhand embarrassment from watching it, everything from the way it was written to the way it was acted was a complete joke to me. Tess was once again out of character in an extreme fashion. Tess is tall, beautiful, with a no-nonsense attitude and has an easy breezy sense of fashion that screams low maintenance . She would be prime real estate in the NYC dating world (trust me, I live there, I know these things).

Cat still wanting to be with Gabe and not going after Vincent to comfort him, even as just a friend smacked me in the face with a sense of falsehood. But I know it was plot shortcut so that JT and Vincent could get a little bro time confessional going. Even that scene just didn’t cut it for me. Everything at this point just feels off and doesn’t ring true for me. Hopefully next week will be amazing and I can give it an A+ (it’s long overdue). Sorry this review turned into a rant but expect so much more from this show and they just haven’t been giving it to me on a consistent basis.

Awards
Character of the Night

I’ll go with JT because he was the best thing about this episode, even the use of the character was poorly executed.

Best Character Interactions

JT and Vincent. They just have a bromance for the ages and Austin and Jay have chemistry that won’t quit. It’s a winning comboniation that I can’t get enough of.

Favorite Moments

1. The return of JT's leather jacket.
2. Gabe spitting out the Cat's canapés
3. Vincent in a big, fluffy, comfy robe.


Favorite Lines

1. Vincent: Cooking? Really?
2. Tess: You are like catnip for every single guy, including chef Raymond.
3. Vincent: You are not moving in here.
4. Cat: I’m not going to get into a relationship so soon.
5. Tess: I’m just saying use or lose it.

Favorite Scenes

1. Cat and Tess attending a cooking class.
2. JT's party
3. Tess apologizes to Agent Landon
4. Dana and Sam are reunited
5. JT and Vincent chatting about life saving, how he became a beast and Tori
6. Cat saves Vincent, AGAIN!

Burning Questions

1. How much time has passed since the last episode?
2. Was it just me or was the character of Sam pretty worthless?
3. Are they going to have a funeral for Tori?
4. They’ve got the gem and it’s buried. Now what?
5. Sam is an archeologist, how could be aide JT who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry?

Theories

• Brad Kern is biggest Sendhil Rammurthy to ever live. It is the only plausible explanation to continue to have the Cat and Gabe relationship shoved down our throats so forcibly.

Repeated Elements

• Relationship advice being given.

• People’s eyes being opened to the truth.

Theme

• Telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

Grievances List

• The total waste of Tom Scott Everett.

• The total waste of Colm Feore, he should have been the big bad, but no he died as cover for the big bad. Shaking my head at the decisions being made about the use of big get guest stars.

• No one is questioning how the gem is actually works. Yes, it takes away beast powers but how is it suppressing certain aspects of genetic coding? Very akin to the whole flat lining thing where everyone accepts it as fact and doesn’t question the validity. Paging Professor Forbes…

• What the hell happened to the character of Tess in this episode? She was clingy, desperate, and needy and didn’t even crack wise once. She seemed so pathetic. Tess from season 1 was so kick ass and ballsy, bring that back ASAP!

• This is what they call a JT centric episode? Really? Are you sure?

• Agent Landon being able to have her happy ending so soon. There better be more to this story.

• The return of the over usage of the word 'beasts'.

• O-S-H-A, everyone in the know calls it Osha. I’m not even sure OSHA handles labs, just workplace safety at a base level.

WTF Moments

• Tori died by being bled dry? Vincent didn’t even try to save her after her protests? Vincent could have super zoomed away to a hospital instead of letting her talk.

•Vincent keeping Tori in the dark about the hunt for the gem.

• The true nature of Tori and Vincent’s relationship being exposed.

Side Notes: Just because I criticize doesn't mean I don't like the show. I'm actually still very much in love with the show. Just a little disappointed and frustrated with the network and quite a few of the choices being made/forced and how that has affected the writers room because they want to give us a happy ending but the timetable isn't exactly ideal or clear. I see the stress in the writing and it ticks me off, so I point it out.

Polls

Last Poll Results - BATB Great Debate #11 – Do think Agent Landon will turn out to be evil? Only 27% of you were right in thinking that, no she wouldn’t turn out to be evil.

This Week’s Poll –BATB Great Debate #12 - How do you feel about the relationship between Cat and Gabe? If you have something to get off of your chest, be sure to leave it in the comments section on the poll.

Make sure you vote and comment on this week’s Best Scene Poll as well.

Ongoing Beastie Challenge – Keep BATB in the top 10 favorite shows at all times here on Spoiler TV. All you have to do is like, tweet, and Google +1 any and all BATB related posts as well as commenting and up voting each other’s comments. This is a really huge site that gets a lot of traffic and one of the best places to recruit new beasties. If we are constantly putting our show in the spotlight, some are bound to tune in to see what the fuss is all about.

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Well, now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below, I look forward to reading your thoughts.