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

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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.