Elementary –1.01– Pilot– A to Z Challenge – Day 05
‘So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.’
― Molly Ivins
Prologue
This episode falls firmly in the category of “Firsts”.
I saw the unaired pilot as well and preferred it over this one but this one was every bit as good as the other. I really liked this pilot. It’s odd that I actually didn’t continue watching it, like I initially planned*. This was by far one of the best pilots of the 2012-2013 TV season that I personally watched. I love Johnny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu and I’m an avid fan of the character of Sherlock Holmes so it was a perfect storm of bias.
I’m a Sherlockian (aka a fan of the BBC’s Sherlock) as well but I feel like there is more than enough material to go around and each show has its pros and cons and I don’t compare them because there is no comparison each one is unique and great in its own way.
I have a lot of great things to write about so onwards and upwards to the rest of the review…
About the Show
Seasons: 2 | No. of Episodes: 42 |Premiere Date: 09/27/2012 | End Date: N/A |Status: On-Air
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery
Story in a nutshell: Elementary is an American crime drama series that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. The series was created by Robert Doherty and stars Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson.
The show follows Holmes, a recovering drug addict and former consultant to Scotland Yard, as he assists the New York City Police Department in solving crimes. His indifference to police procedure often leads to conflict with Captain Thomas Gregson, although the two still remain mutually respectful of one another. He is accompanied by Watson who initially acts as his sober companion. She is a former surgeon and was hired by Sherlock's father to help him in his rehabilitation.
They eventually begin to work together on his cases, and she becomes Holmes' apprentice.
Best Reason to Watch the Show: The writing staff is AMAZING! I’m constantly hearing nothing but good things about the episodes and casting choices as well as the mind blowing twists. Even though I don’t watch the show just yet, I do follow the Elementary Writers’ Room on Twitter and they are really witty and great at interacting with their fans.
Best Thing about This Episode: No boring exposition. Really there's not a single boring moment in the entire episode, at least not to me. I was thoroughly engrossed for the duration.
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Episode Summary: Joan Watson is assigned as the sober companion of Sherlock Holmes. When she goes to meet her new companion, she finds that he escaped from rehab the day of his release. When she meets him, he takes her on the subway to a house in Manhattan; he explains that before he began using drugs he used to work for Scotland Yard as a consultant to help solve homicides. He works on the case of a woman who was attacked, and supposedly kidnapped, only to find that she was hidden in a safe room in the apartment.
The next day, Holmes finds that the killer is most likely a serial killer, finding similarities to another case, except that this victim survived. After interviewing the woman, Holmes and Watson find that she knew the man who attacked her. When Holmes calls Captain Gregson, with his newest lead, Gregson reveals that they're at the suspect's house, and that said suspect has committed suicide. Watson and Holmes fight, due to his lack of trust and sharing regarding his past, before drugs, and mysterious personal life, resulting in her saying she'll request another companion assignment.
Holmes concludes that the victim's husband, a psychiatrist plotted to have her killed by giving his patient pills that would make him violent, then sending him after his wife. There was a pre-nuptial agreement, and he would have received money if his wife were to die.
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Character of the Night
• Sherlock
Best Character Interactions
• Joan & Sherlock
Best Line
• Joan: It’s incredible the way that you can solve people out just by looking at them. I notice you don’t have any mirrors around here.
Sherlock: What’s that supposed to mean?
Joan: It means I think you know a lost cause when you see one.
Best Scene
• Joan and Sherlock watch a baseball game and Sherlock deduces the final winning play much to Joan's disappointment.
Memorable Moments
1. Sherlock sniff a shirt to see if it is passable/clean enough to wear and decides that it is.
2. Sherlock is into BDSM, he likes to be tied up and is possibly into autoerotic asphyxiation.
3. Sherlock has a wall of weird.
4. Joan swabs Sherlock's mouth mid-sentence.
5. Sherlock smashes Joan's car into a smug suspect's car in retaliation and out of frustration.
Notable & Quotable
1. Sherlock: Shh, yourself. It's not even on key.
2. Sherlock: It's elementary. - He said 'THE THING'!
3. Sherlock: Sometimes I hate it when I’m right.
4. Joan: What about my father….how did you know my father had an affair?
Sherlock: Google. Not everything is deducible.
5. Sherlock (to Joan): Please don’t get comfortable, you won’t be here long.
Superb Scenes
1. Joan questions Sherlock about not being right all the time and he corrects her about the mistake that she thinks he made.
2. Sherlock tracks Joan down at the opera.
3. Joan makes Sherlock wait in the car after badgering a victim.
4. Joan meets Sherlock and he quotes a sappy monologue from a soap opera to her.
• I've always has a problem with smart people who are socially inept. If one knows what makes people tick then they should know that rudeness usually won't get anyone anywhere with another person.
My Favorite Main Character
• Joan Watson
My Favorite Side Character
• Captain Thomas Gregson
Least Favorite Side Character
• Marcus Bell
Fun Fact: Did you know that the show House, M.D. was basically a Sherlock Holmes alternate universe?
Tasty Tidbit: Those tattoos of Johnny Lee Miller's are all real.
Side Notes: *I seriously thought this was going to be one of those ‘can’t miss’ shows for me. I loved the pilot and the two follow up episodes that I saw were great as well but somewhere along the way, I just lost interest and then completely forgot about the show (Thursday nights are an extremely busy time for me). In all honesty it was probably due to my obsession with the BBC’s Sherlock. The hiatus between season 2 and 3 nearly drove me mad, I spent most of the time writing meta, making fan art and commiserating with fellow Sherlockians on Tumblr. I do plan on getting all caught up with the show this summer.
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Grade: A
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Comparable Shows
If you like shows with heavy elements of crime, drama and mystery then I highly recommend you watch one, some or all of the following shows: Bones , Leverage, Sherlock and/or White Collar.
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Up Next: If you are a fan of the space western genre come back and check out my blog Monday, April 07, 2014 because I will be writing about my favorite episode of Firefly.
Dollhouse –2.13– Epitaph Two: Return– A to Z Challenge – Day 04
‘Endings are hard. Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass.’
― Chuck, Supernatural (episode 5x22: Swan Song)
Prologue
This episode falls firmly in the category of “Finales”.
About the Show
Seasons: 2| Episodes: 26| Premiere Date: 2/13/2009| End Date: 1/29/2010|Status: Off Air
Genre(s): Science fiction, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Cyberpunk, Drama
Story in a nutshell: The story follows Echo (Eliza Dushku), a "doll" or "Active" for the Los Angeles "Dollhouse", one of several fictional facilities, called "Houses", run by a company which hires out human beings to wealthy clients. These "engagements" range from romantic interludes to high-risk criminal enterprises. Each Active has their original memories wiped and exists in a childlike blank state until programmed via the insertion of new memories and personalities for each mission. Actives such as Echo are ostensibly volunteers who have surrendered their minds and bodies to the organization for five-year stints, during which their original personalities are saved on hard drives, in exchange for vast amounts of money and a solution to any other problematic circumstances in their lives.E-1 Echo is unique however in that she remembers small amounts even after personality "wipes", and gradually develops an increasingly cognizant self-awareness and personality.
Best Reason to Watch the Show: It’s in the Whedonverse! Also it features fan favorite actors such as Eliza Dushku, Amy Acker and Alan Tudyk.
Best Thing about This Episode: A return to the apocalyptic future which meant we got to see Felicia Day and Zack Ward again.
Previously On Dollhouse(here’s what you need to know): As the group leaves for Tucson to take down Rossum, Boyd attempts to sabotage its efforts by drugging Echo. Boyd uses Topher's trust to serve Rossum's agenda by tricking Topher into finishing his remote wipe/imprinting technology. Anthony and Priya, who were told in the previous episode to spend their last night together, return to the Dollhouse and discover that Boyd has been betraying them all along. Boyd reveals that he has spared the group's lives because he loves them like family. Caroline has a special genetic trait, expressed in her spinal fluid, which allows her to survive the wipes. Boyd watched over Echo and allowed her to be pushed to her limits in order to allow her to form a complete personality, as every time she "survives" a wipe the gene's expression grows stronger, allowing for Rossum to create a "cure" for wiping. Boyd activates Mellie's sleeper programming and she assaults Paul, but is able to fight it off long enough to tell Paul that she loves him, and then kill herself. Echo manages to fight off Clive 2.0, now in the body of Whiskey, before having her final confrontation with Boyd. Topher wins the ensuing fight by hitting Boyd with the mind-wipe tech he created and hates, and Echo uses the now-Dollstate Boyd to as a suicide bomber to destroy Rossum's headquarters. Echo and Paul have saved the world... but the episode's epilogue depicts them fleeing through the apocalyptic future of "Epitaph One."
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Episode Summary: In the year 2020, one year after the events of "Epitaph One", Echo and her team rescue Topher and the last of the Actuals (guest stars Felicia Day, Adair Tishler, and Zack Ward) from the hands of the Rossum Corporation after he reveals that he can restore the world to order. After reuniting with Tony, who is a tech-head, Echo and her team race to Los Angeles, which is now a war zone. They fight their way in through the butchers, mindless killing machines, and Paul Ballard is killed. Echo breaks down, and Priya and Tony argue about why they are no longer together. Alpha (guest star Alan Tudyk) returns and reveals that he has taken over the Dollhouse and is using it as a refuge for wiped beings, reformed from his past. Tony renounces the tech, and Priya reveals that her son T is Tony's son and is named after his father. Topher uses help from recordings of Bennett Halverson (guest star Summer Glau), and sacrifices his own life to detonate the wiping signal into the ionosphere, dispersing it over the world and restoring everyone's mind to order. DeWitt begins the cleanup process as Tony, Priya and T reunite as a family. Echo finds one final gift from the imprinting technology and downloads Paul's personality within her. With the memory of her lover literally living inside of her, Echo settles down to sleep in her old sleep pod to dream of Paul and of a world restored to sanity with a smile on her face.
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Character of the Night
•Topher
Best Character Interactions
• Adelle & Topher
Best Line
• Topher: I don’t want to cause any more pain.
Best Scene
• Echo breaks down over losing Paul.
That Awkward Moment Award
• That awkward moment when I was supposed to care about a major character’s death and I didn’t. When Paul died I was more relieved than anything. I never really cared for how they pushed the Paul and Echo love story. It was creepy from the jump and I never could get behind it.
Memorable Moments
1. Pria, Anthony and T getting to spend quality time together as a family.
2. Adelle leads everyone out into the daylight to be reset
3. Topher sees the ‘To Remember’ Memorial and is happily distracted as the explosion occurs
4. Zone is there for ‘Little Caroline’ when she wakes up
Notable & Quotable
•Paul: The world still needs heroes.
Echo: Did you really just say that?
•Little Caroline: We still have a chance to make a true world.
Zone: A true world? Look around you tiny messiah.
• Little Caroline: We are lost. We are not gone.
• Zone: And you didn’t mention that Safe Haven was parked right next door to the friggin’ Death Star?
• Adelle (referring to Topher): It’s good to see him productive again.
Superb Scenes
• Adelle realizes the sacrifice Topher is going to make.
• Echo and Paul are reunited in her mind.
• The family dinner where they discuss how to save the world and whose going to go.
• Paul tells Echo she’s the loneliest person he knows.
• When this episode aired, the near future was 10 years away, yet they had ridiculous clothes and slang, so much so that it made feel like a cheesy Thunderdome knockoff.
• Crazy!Topher grated my nerves.
• I was left feeling pretty dang indifferent about a major death in this episode.
• Criminal underuse of Alan Tudyk.
WTF Moments
• The city of Tuscon was renamed ‘Neuropolis’
• Topher suddenly becomes able to un-mind-wipe all of humanity (It was a huge deus ex machine).
• Zone was a landscaper at the start of the apocalypse
My Favorite Main Character
• It’s a tie between Adelle DeWitt & Topher
My Favorite Side Character
• It’s a tie between Senator Daniel Perrin & Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey
Least Favorite Main Character
• Paul Ballard
Least Favorite Side Character
• Bennett Halverson
The book was a 24-page one-off limited edition, only available in the season two DVD or Blu-ray Disc.
Tasty Tidbit: It was later revealed at New York Comic-Con 2010 that there will be more comics that take place in the Dollhouse universe. A one-shot was released on March 30, 2011, and a miniseries began with the first issue released on July 13, 2011.
The one-shot, which reprints the Season 2 exclusive with additional material, is written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and the miniseries is written by Andrew Chambliss. The comics are set in a future Los Angeles after the Dollhouse technology has reduced the city to ruins.
FYI: The only other episode of the entire series you need to watch to understand this episode is 1x13: Epitah. It was unaired in the US but it is on the DVD/Blu-Ray and Netflix actually has this episode as well.
Side Notes: Dollhouse had some of the BEST viral marketing campaigns of the time. My favorite was ‘Save Hazel’ BKA ‘Doll Play’.
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Grade: B-
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Comparable Shows
If you like love Joss Whedon, I highly recommend you check out one, some and/or all of the following shows: Angel, Firefly and Agents of SHIELD.
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Up Next: If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes come back and check out my blog tomorrow because I will be writing about the pilot of Elementary.
Continuum – 2.03 – Second Thoughts – A to Z Challenge – Day 03
‘A solid answer to everything is not necessary. Blurry concepts influence one to focus, but postulated clarity influences arrogance.’
― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile
Prologue
This episode falls firmly in the category of “Favorite”. I’m a math and science nerd and so naturally a show about time travel can give me hours of entertainment by way of theorizing what type of rules the writers are using for their particular time travel . The first season was brutal as it only had 10 episodes and left on a pretty cool cliffhanger. The second season really stepped up its game and this is the episode where a lot intriguing possibilities start to present themselves.
About the Show
Seasons: 3| No. of Episodes:26 |Premiere Date: May 27, 2012| End Date: N/A |Status: On-Air
Genre(s): Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Story in a nutshell: In the year 2077, eight dangerous rebels from the group Liber8, facing execution for an act of terrorism that killed thousands of innocents, manage to avoid execution by escaping into a time jump, transporting themselves from 2077 to 2012. In doing so, however, they also transport Protector Kiera Cameron, a law enforcement officer who tries to intervene and is sucked into the jump too. Soon after her arrival, she gets into contact with, and befriends, young Alec Sadler, the 17-year old who will one day grow up to create the technology that her world is built upon, and who will control future society.
Best Reason to Watch the Show: It’s a fast paced show with plenty of action, character development and twists and turns. It’s the perfect show to marathon on a long weekend. The characters are very intriguing and as the series goes along you learn a lot about each of their motivations.
Best Thing about This Episode: Kiera and Alec bonding time. The show lives and dies with the character interactions between those two. It’s a really cool and interesting relationship with lots of twists, turns and shocking revelations.
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Episode Summary: Liber8's internal power struggle takes a violent turn as Sonya and Travis recruit gangs as their weapons. Kiera investigates a new (to 2013) street drug that she recognizes from the future. The drug, called "flash" in 2013, is administered by eye drops and allows the user to remember vividly events from the past.
Alec is part of a group in a car in which the driver had taken the drug. It crashes and Alec ends up with an arm in a sling. He was also given a plastic ampule of the drug but had not taken it.
Kiera learns that Sonya is paying the gang she had recruited to kill Travis with flash. Kiera and Carlos track one of the gang members to the lab where it is being produced and a gunfight ensues in which many of the gang members present are killed. Sonya is there and targets Keira, but neither is successful in their attempts to kill the other.
Travis calls members of various gangs together for a meeting and presents them with the heads of their former leaders. He unites them to fight together.
Kiera is also meeting with Jason, the other time traveler she met in "Endtimes" (the final episode of Season 1), who tells her that there are other time travelers present and that they are trying to kill him.
Alec, desperate to remember something that his late father told him, takes flash, and sees his mother with his father, and when he turns around, Alec recognizes him as Jason.
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Character of the Night
• Kiera
Best Character Interactions
• Kiera & Alec
Best Line
•Sonya: We will use the weakness of the system against itself. We will expose corruption and hyprocrisy where it lives and we will sacrifice. But only when there is no other peaceful solution.
Best Scene
• The opening scene where future Kiera tracks down her younger sister who has a drug problem. Kiera’s sister is addicted to “flash” a street drug from the future. This apparently isn’t the first time Kiera’s little sister has succumb to the addiction.
That Awkward Moment Award
• That awkward moment when you discover your crack ship. This is the episode where my crack ship of Alec and Kiera began. She was so sweet and concerned about him, I just wanted them to do more than hug. Plus, now he is at least 18, so it's a little less creepy, right?
Memorable Moments
1. Kiera tells Alec she’s glad he’s OK.
2. Kiera vows to destroy Kellog if he messes with Alec’s destiny.
3. Jason plays multiple games of chess in the park while simultaneously explaining to Kiera what freelancers are.
4. Garza and Travis have a heart to heart about the Liber8 split.
Notable & Quotable
1. Kellog: I use the Google.
2. Kiera (to Kellog): Because it’s lucrative. Because you have the morals of a sea slug.
3. Inspector Dillon: So on top of civil unrest and a drug epidemic, you’re telling me we have a gang war on our hands.
4. Sonya: Ideas are more powerful than guns. (You might have to be a Batman fan for that one to really reasonate).
5. Kiera (to Jason): We both sound like we’re off our meds.
Superb Scenes
1. Kiera confronts Kellog about her suspscions that he is the one behind “flash”.
2. Alec’s mother visits Julian in prison.
3. Kiera picks Alec up from the hospital and lectures him about drug use before she drops him off at home.
4. Alec takes “flash” and remembers a childhood memory that features Jason, which leads him to believe that he is his father.
5. Sonya and her new crew have a shootout with Kiera and Carlos.
• The bad guys are now split in two and causing even more havoc and have a huge lead on the good guys.
My Favorite Main Character
• Alec Saddler
My Favorite Side Character
• Betty
Least Favorite Main Character
• Matthew Kellog
Least Favorite Side Character
• Julian
Tasty Tidbit: Throughout the series, multiple theories are suggested as to the nature of time travel and its effect on the timeline of events leading from 2012 to 2077.
Side Notes: Series creator and executive producer Simon Barry has confirmed that the creative staff have established a set of "rules" for the version of time travel depicted, which will be further explored as the series progresses.
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Grade: B+
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Comparable Shows
If you like Sci-Fi & Fantasy shows with a strong female lead, I suggest that you check out one, some or all of the following TV shows: Alias, Haven and/or Lost Girl.
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Up Next: If you are a fan if the Whedonverse be sure to check out my blog tomorrow because I will be writing about the series finale of Dollhouse. .
Bitten –1.01– Summons – A to Z Challenge – Day 02
‘I woke up one morning thinking about wolves and realized that wolf packs function as families. Everyone has a role, and if you act within the parameters of your role, the whole pack succeeds, and when that falls apart, so does the pack.’
- Jodi Picoult
Prologue
Well, this review falls under the category of 'Firsts' as this review is about the pilot.
OK, so this show is loosely based on a series of books written by Kelley Armstrong. I’d never read them but I do intend on reading them over the summer. I like werewolves. I love Laura Vandervoort. This show seemed like a no brainer. Usually, if a show is based on a series of books I tend to read at least the first one. This wasn’t the case for this show. I found out about it a little too late and decided to go with the flow. At times I feel like I’m missing something but at the same time nothing too important.
About the Show
Seasons: 1| No. of Episodes: 13 |Premiere Date: October 10, 2012| End Date: N/A |Status: On-Air
Genre(s): Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Story in a nutshell: The story centers on Elena Michaels (portrayed by Laura), a female werewolf who is torn between a normal life with her human boyfriend Philip in Toronto and her "family" obligations as a werewolf in upstate New York. Among her "pack" is her ex-boyfriend Clayton, who is responsible for her becoming a werewolf.
Best Reason to Watch: This show is my guilty pleasure. There is just so much eye candy and posterior nudity that my heart can barely take it. The story might be a little slow but it does pick up and really sets up the characters roles well. There are also some really awesome fight scenes throughout the show. The plot is intricate and engrossing (but warning, the pace can be a little slow at times).
Best Thing about This Episode: It has a balance of sexy fun times, a little gore and plenty of colorful characters, which makes for a good formula when it comes to having a guilty pleasure.
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Episode Summary: Elena, a werewolf trying to live a normal life, is summoned home by Jeremy the leader of her Pack when they come under attack by an unknown enemy. But returning to Stonehaven means facing Clayton Danvers, the only man Elena has ever loved, and the one who betrayed her by changing her into a werewolf.
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Character of the Night
• Elena
Best Character Interactions
• Elena and Logan
• Elena and Phillip
• Elena and Diane
Best Line
•Elena: You’ll have to do better than that if we’re tracking a mutt (to Clay)
Best Scene
• Elena surprises Phillip in his bathroom and entices him into coitus.
The ‘What a Way to Start the Show’ Award
•I really like the opening title sequence for the show. But the scoring of it is what pulls it all together. It’s simple and it also has some cool visual clues as well. I like when a show throws in a little meta, especially when the meta is clever.
The ‘Ominous Foreshadowing’ Award
•Elena’s necklace gets quite a few close ups, so yeah it must be important.
Memorable Moments
1. Elena eats like a pig (has a high metabolism, side effects of lycanthropy)
2. Elena likes to hunt rabbits in her werewolf form (that becomes important later on)
3. All the girls ogling Clayton as he teaches his anthropology class.
4. Elena’s socially awkward moments
Notable & Quotable
• Phillip: Is this what they mean by suffering for art? Am I suffering for your art?
Mysterious Stranger: Tell me what you know about the Danvers family.
Bar Fly: The creeps in the country? They’re hot but weird.
• Clayton: I’m not so interested in what we’re hiding. I’m interested in why we’re hiding it.
• Logan: Are you insane?
Elena: I don’t know. You tell me, you’re the shrink.
Logan: Psychologist.
Superb Scenes
• Clayton teaching his anthropology class.
• The summoning montage.
• Pete, Logan and Elena talk about why it is important to go back to Stonehaven.
• Elena and Diane have drinks while discussing Phillip’s other sister’s wedding.
• Elena finally makes it to Stonehaven.
• The CGI rendering of the wolves was very grainy and distracting.
My Favorite Main Character
• Clayton
My Favorite Side Character
• The Sheriff
WTF Moments
• They open the show with a rather steamy sex scene.
• Logan is a werewolf AND a therapist.
• Phillip goes to a sports’ bar to drink beer and watch golf? Who does that?
Burning Questions
1. What exactly is a Mutt?
2. Why is Elena so important?
3. Why is Elena unhappy being a werewolf?
Tasty Tidbit: Elena looks a lot like Phillip’s mother; I think someone has a secret Oedipus complex.
Side Notes: I thought they did a really good job with the transitions between scenes. A lot of shows that I watch have been having a major problem with sloppy transitions so it was refreshing to see thoughtful choices.
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Grade: B-
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Comparable Shows
If you like shows that feature werewolves, I suggest that you check out one, some or all of the following TV shows: The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Teen Wolf.
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Up Next: If you are looking for a new show about time travel, be sure to check out my blog tomorrow because I will be writing about Continuum.
Arrow - 1.23 -Sacrifice - A to Z Challenge - Day 1
'And I'll take with me the memories, to be my sunshine after the rain.'
- BoyzIIMen, It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Cooleyhighharmony (1991)
Prologue
Today's episode technically falls into two categories: Favorites AND Finales. For today's writing exercise, let's just file this under firmly under 'Favorites', OK?
I’m a comic book geek. I’m a lifelong resident of the DC Nation. Green Arrow is my personal top 5 favorite superheroes. I stuck by Smallville for all 10 seasons, mainly for Justin Hartley and his portrayal of Green Arrow after season 6, OK? When Arrow came along and they said it was going to be outside of the Smallville universe I was both annoyed and relieved. I love Justin Hartley to pieces but at the same time, Smallville didn’t allow the character of Green Arrow to be a true representation of the comic book character that I love so much. Green Arrow was a Batman substitute and they never really tried beyond that material wise. Arrow is an origin story that isn’t afraid to both simultaneously take it’s time with background information in the form of island flashbacks as well as plow through a rooster of episodic villains week after week while letting the season long arc simmer in the background.
About the Show
Seasons: 2| No. of Episodes: 40 |Premiere Date: October 10, 2012| End Date: N/A |Status: On-Air
Genre(s): Action, Drama, Fantasy
Story in a nutshell: Arrow is a modern retelling of the DC Comics series Green Arrow. After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for 5 years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he has become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his ex-girlfriend, Laurel Lance.
As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow, a vigilante archer, to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree, and careless philanderer he used to be flanked by his devoted chauffeur and bodyguard, John Diggle, while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under the cover of darkness. However, Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest Arrow operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver's own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.
Best Reason to Watch: If you are looking for a show that is jam packed with action and full of eye candy then this is the show for you. The side characters of Felicity and Diggle are really great as well. If you are a shipper, there are plenty of couples to root for. Even you are a comic book fan this show will still keep you guessing as they turn a lot of things on their head and go in directions you wouldn’t expect. If you are watching or tried Agents of SHIELD and it was a tad bit to shiny and campy, give Arrow a try. I have to say, it only gets better during season 2. For me personally, the pilot had me hooked and left me on pins and needles with anticipation. My two most favorite things about the show are the stunt coordinator, James Bamford and the composer, Blake Neely because the action and the scoring of the show really adds that ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the show.
Best Thing about This Episode: The writers went out of the way to make sure every single actor got a moment to shine. They also gave every single character some great character development and plenty to build on for the next season. They also managed to craft a bittersweet ending with a shock that most of the fans did not see coming. It was one of the best season finales of the 2012-2013 TV season in my personal opinion. It had it all, highs, lows, triumph, defeat, gains and losses. The episode managed to leave every single character in a place where you were absolutely dying to know what would come next. It generated a lot of buzz and set up season 2 to start off in a strong place with plenty of new viewers.
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Episode Summary: Malcolm imprisons Oliver and leaves him to die, but he manages to escape and return home with Diggle's help, due to a tracker in his boot. In a flashback, Edward fires a missile at an approaching airliner, but Oliver and Shado manage to override the coordinates and destroy the missile. Afterward, Oliver kills Edward. In the present, Oliver confronts his mother about the Undertaking, which prompts her to hold a press conference and reveal to the city her involvement with Malcolm and the plan to destroy the Glades. When Tommy confronts Oliver about his night with Laurel, Oliver tries to explain what's going on with his father and the Glades. Tommy doesn't believe him and tells his father, who reveals it's all true. Tommy sees the press conference, and Malcolm reveals that he is The Dark Archer, to the dismay of his son. Meanwhile, Felicity has been brought in for questioning because of the all of the tasks Oliver asked her to do before he revealed he was the vigilante. She hadn't covered her tracks because she didn't realize (at the time) what she was doing was aiding and abetting. Detective Lance starts to question her, but Oliver calls as the vigilante to explain about the Undertaking and how it's going to happen tonight. Felicity hears the call and asks the Detective, if he really wants her there since it sounds like he's got something a lot bigger on his plate. Lance releases her with a warning not to leave town. Before she leaves (even though it will almost certainly confirm to Lance that she's helping the Hood) she tells him that she thought the vigilante was a bad person too, but then she realized all he was sacrificing to help the city. She posits the question, "Doesn't that make him kind of a hero?"
Lance tries to go to his boss to tell him what's going on, but it's revealed that he's had almost constant contact with the vigilante, so he's suspended. It isn't until Moira's press conference that the police get involved.
Oliver decides to go after Malcolm again, even though he knows it means he'll probably die, because he hasn't beaten him once. Diggle offers to go with him and Felicity says that leaves the bomb dismantling to her. Oliver refuses and she points out, he doesn't have any other option. He then calls Detective Lance again as a compromise. Felicity will work from the Foundry, staying in the Glades but in better shelter, Lance will deactivate the device with her help and Oliver and Diggle will go after Malcolm.
Detective Lance, with help from Felicity, is able to dismantle the earthquake device. John and Oliver (Oliver sticks an arrow through his shoulder to hit Malcolm's heart) disable Malcolm, who gloats that there is a second device shortly before he loses consciousness. The device activates and begins to level the east side of the Glades. Thea goes into the Glades to save Roy, who works to help others who are trying to escape the earthquake. He refuses to leave the Glades when he sees a busload of people stuck because of a car accident and sends Thea away because he can't help those people if he's worried about her being caught in the Undertaking. Laurel who went to CNRI despite warnings from both Oliver and her father, is trapped in her office when the quake starts and gets stuck under a slab of concrete but Tommy arrives to rescue her. Laurel escapes, but Tommy is caught by falling debris. Oliver arrives too late to help him, Tommy is fatally wounded and dies after apologizing and making amends to Oliver for fighting and being angry and jealous. Tommy asks if Oliver killed his father and Oliver lies to him, spending Tommy's last moments holding his hand, insisting it should have been him who died instead of Tommy.
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Character of the Night
• Oliver
Best Character Interactions
•Oliver and Tommy
Best Line
•Malcolm Merlyn: You can’t beat me Oliver. Yes, you’re younger. You’re faster. Yet, you always seem to come up short against me. Want to know why? Because you don’t know in your heart what you’re fighting for. What you’re willing to sacrifice and I do.
Best Scene
•Tommy dies in arms Oliver’s arms.
That Awkward Moment
• That awkward moment when another show that comes on right after you decides to name their season finale ‘Sacrifice’ as well. Supernatural’s season 8 finale episode was also titled ‘Sacrifice. During the 2012-2013 TV, Arrow was Supernatural’s lead-in on The CW.
The ‘Gone but Not Forgotten’ Award
• Tommy Merlyn, beloved son and friend. He made Laurel softer and dropped truth bombs on Oliver when he needed them most. It was only right that the second season has pretty much been dedicated to the character.
• Colin Donnell who played Tommy Merlyn. He was a joy and delight to watch every week.
Memorable Moments
• Oliver climbs up a chain to escape.
• Diggle and Oliver begin making plans together to save the city.
• Tommy tries to punch Oliver and ends falling to the ground
Notable & Quotable
•Quentin: You’re not exactly a hardened criminal are you?
Felicity: I’m not any kind of criminal.
Quentin: Then what do you call computer hacking?
Felicity: A hobby… that I do not engage in.
•Felicity: I use to think that the vigilante was a criminal too but it seems to me whoever he is, he is willing to sacrifice to help the people of this city. That kind of makes him a hero… doesn’t it?
•Tommy: I wished you would have died on that island.
•Quentin’s Boss: What?! You swore to me you would catch him. You swore you would bring him (the vigilante) in.
Quentin: I know. I swore to uphold the law. The laws are steady. The law is unchanging. The law needed to be protected. But what are laws, rules if they don’t protect people? Now listen, I know I’m throwing away my career by telling you this but I’m willing to sacrifice catching this guy if it means saving people’s lives. Please.
Quentin’s Boss: You’re suspended.
Superb Scenes
• Malcolm Merlyn monologues about the differences between himself and Oliver.
• Quentin interrogates Felicity about hacking into
• A drunken Tommy confronts Oliver about sleeping with Laurel.
• Quentin goes to his boss to ask for help based on the information
• Oliver confronts his mother about ‘the undertaking’.
• The Oliver and Laurel scenes really sapped the momentum out of the episode.
• I could have done without the flashback scenes during this episode; they cut the momentum of the episode as well. But I will say they were the source of most of the action, tons of explosions and fight scenes and a shocking character development for Oliver.
WTF Moments
1. Tommy is the one who dies.
2. Yao Fei dies.
3. Moira holds a press conference and announces that she was in cohoots with Malcolm Merlyn to blow up The Glades.
Burning Questions
1. Who is the lady in the red shoes?
2. Is Malcolm Merlyn really dead?
3. What’s next for the character of Moira?
Fun Fact: Originally the episode was titled "52 Wells Street".
Tasty Tidbit: The abandoned subway Detective Quentin enters, Puckett Station, is a reference to Kelley Puckett, one of the co-creators of Connor Hawke, who in the comics is Oliver's son and the second Green Arrow.
Side Notes: Ferris can be seen written on the side of the airliner that Fyers is planning to shoot down. This is a reference to Ferris Airfield in the DC Comics where Hal Jordan, the alter ego of Green Lantern works.
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Grade: A+
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Comparable Shows
If you like shows based on the superhero genre, I suggest that you check out one, some or all of the following TV shows: Smallville, The Flash (1990) and/or Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Up Next: If you are looking for a new show about werewolves, be sure to check out my blog tomorrow because I will be writing about Bitten.
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