Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Bitten, Season One, Episode Three: Trespass


The wolves are gathered around the body of the boy which was dropped at  Stonehaven.  Clay wants to move the body but there are hunters near by.  Jeremy orders the wolves to leave the body saying things will be worse if they are caught trying to cover this up. The hunters identifies the child as the Richardson boy and are immediately accusatory towards them.  Clay gets defensive and Jeremy is forced to try and calm things down.   The hunters dog gets agitated and it seems that Elena is the one egging the dog on.  Clay knocks the hunter down and takes away his gun.  Jeremy orders Antonio and Nick to escort the hunters off the property.  When they leave, Elena questions who would do this to a child.  Jeremy calls in the murder to the sheriff.

The wolves head inside and Jeremy affirms that goading the dog was a good idea.  The wolves gather in the house to try and figure out what the mutt's plan is.  Antonio walks in to say that the sheriff has arrived.  Elena tells Jeremy that she will stay now because the mutt killed a kid.  Jeremy orders Elena and Clay to head into town and sniff out the mutt with orders to bring him in alive so that they can find out who sired him.  Jeremy orders the other mutts to hunt down Karl Marsten because he knows the mutt rumor mill very well.  Jeremy then takes Elena aside to talk privately.  Jeremy hands her a bouquet of her favourite flowers and asks if her relationship is serious.  Elena says that it is serious enough and she knows how he feels about long term relationships with humans.  Jeremy asks her not to keep secrets and adds that he trusts her.  Elena reveals that she hates lying to Philip but Jeremy reminds her that their existence is dependent upon the ignorance of humans.  Jeremy takes the flowers away to hide the existence them from Clay.

Elena calls Philip to thank him for the flowers.  They chat happily for a it and Clay listens to the conversation from outside the house.  He manages to hop in the truck just before Elena comes outside.  When Elena hops in the SUV, Clay simply drives without saying a word.

The sheriff's department are cordoning off the area where the boy's body was found while Morgan talks with Jeremy.  Morgan reveals that news of the bounty is spreading.  Morgan says that she would rather have a slap on the wrist from Fire Arms Control than have another dead body show up.  Jeremy suggests that having people walking around armed does not some like a good idea.  Morgan reminds Jeremy that people want justice.  Antonio approaches and Morgan asked how they all found this body together and Antonio claims that they were all out for a walk.  Morgan questions why an eleven year old boy would be out there.

Philip meets with James clandestinely and James reveals that there is a power struggle going on with his board of directors.  It seems that the board wants to scale back their assets, while James wants to expand. Philip wants to expand to vodka and wants Philip to convince the board that the vodka will sell in North America.

Clay and Elena are roaming through the bars in bear valley and Elena says that the scent is too faint and that there is nothing new in the air.  Clay brings up the lilacs and Elena tells him the lie she told Philip so that she could leave.  Clay says that Elena shouldn't have to come up with excuses.  They are interrupted by  one of the hunters who found the wolves over the body earlier.  He suggests that they are going to want to find a new place to fill up for awhile because they normally use the Richardson gas station, which is owned by the grandfather of the boy who died.  Elena and Clay promise to keep a look out for the wolf and Elena adds that the boy deserves justice.  The hunter walks off in a rage.  Elena says that she doesn't understand why the hunter left a body on their property and left.  Elena is certain that the kills are a message.  Elena begins her search again and stops briefly when she sees a flier for a rave.

At the crime scene the officers are still collecting evidence.  Morgan heads to see Jeremy and reports that the wildlife experts are hoping to see what kind of animal they are dealing with.  Apparently, there is some confusion because the size of the footprints and the length of the stride.  Jeremy tells Morgan that if she needs anything, she shouldn't hesitate to ask.

In Toronto, Olivia pops into visit Philip and he tells her about the client he just landed. Olivia asks about Elena and Philip explains that Elena is with family.  Olivia points out that they have been dating six months and Elena is clearly not as committed as Philip because she didn't tell him about her family until now.  Philip protests that Elena is guarded and has a complicated history. Olivia asks, "what is so complicated about being honest?"

Nick, Peter and Logan walk into a bar purchased by Nick without his father's knowledge.  Nick tells them to have some vision when the talk about the dated decor. They are interrupted by Amanda and Nick introduces her to Logan and Pete.  It's Amanda's job to over haul the bar for Nick.  Marsten walks in and Nick says that they should keep it cool.

Elena and Clay arrive at the rave and Elena undoes a few buttons preparing to enter on her own.  Clay tells her that she is not going in alone but Elena makes it clear that he is so up tight people won't trust him.  Clay argues back that Elena needs to stop thinking that he cannot control himself and that they should have each other's back.  Elena points out that two of them will scare the mutt, so Clay suggests that she drive him towards the door and promises to grab the mutt on his way out. 

Amanda heads over to see Marsten and asks him to put out his cigar.  Marsten questions why someone so beautiful is in a place like this.  Marsten heads over to see Nick and the two chat briefly.

Elena enters the rave and it is in full swing with a very crowded dance floor. Elena heads to the bar but doesn't stay there once she catches a glimpse of the mutt.  The mutt tells Elena that they share something special in common.  Elena says that they are nothing alike because the mutt killed three innocent people and adds that the mutt broke the rules.  The Mutt says that he is not going to let the rules get in the way of his fun.  Elena tries to walk away but the mutt grabs her and forces her against the wall.  Elena over powers the mutt and reverses positions.  She grabs his chest, which gets his heart going, initiating the change.  When he cannot stop the change, Elena drags him into an office.

Clay paces out front of the club.


The mutt has changed completely and is now battering the door trying to escape.

Nick and Marsten are playing pool and Marsen reveals he returned when he learned of the wolf kills in upstate New York.  Logan asks who bit the mutt and Marsten offers to find out in exchange for the possibility of getting some territory.  It seems he has grown weary of not being able to set down roots.

Elena is still trying to keep the wolf in the office.  When everything goes quiet, she opens the door and discovers that the wolf has escaped through the ceiling.  Elena rushes back into the main rave area searching for a wolf.  The mutt suddenly appears and begins attacking a man as the other humans run out.  Elena manages to save the man the mutt was feeding from by throwing a stool, as the humans keep rushing out the door.

At Stonehaven, Antonio and Jeremy watch as the sheriffs department rush off after being alerted of the attack.

Clay rushes into the party to find the wolf consuming a human.  The mutt makes its escape and Elena runs after it.  Elena and Clay watch the mutt from a distance as it hops on a car outside and is shot by the sheriff twice.  The mutt stalks the sheriff and is hit by a car before it can attack her.  Elena and Clay head back inside to find the man who was bitten by the wolf.  Clay asks the man if he remembered what happened and he says that he doesn't feel well and was bitten by a dog.  Clay asks if the man uses needles and he says yes.  Clay stands and takes off his jacket as Elena argues that the man can be taken to Stonehaven and put into a cage. Clay picks the man up and Elena continues to beg him to stop.  Clay smothers the man with his jacket against his shoulder until he stops moving, then lays him on the ground.  Elena tells Clay that he didn't have to kill him and Clay argues that the man was weak because he was a habitual drug user and that there is no way he would have survived the change. Clay leaves and Elena bends over the body to close his eyes before following Clay.

At the club, Nick's tells Peter and Logan that Marsten is pretty confidant.  They wonder what Marsten is holding back from them and declare him a psychopath.  Clay calls and updates Peter and tells him that he and Logan don't have to return to Stonehaven.  The three werewolves hug it out.

Back at Stonehaven, Elena stops Clay to say that she screwed up and let the situation get out of hand.  Clay assures her that the fact that the mutt couldn't control his change was not her fault. Elena says that they are both ticking time bombs because they don't think clearly when they are around one another.  Clay points out that they stopped the mutt from killing anyone else.  Elena says that she has a good life in Toronto and Clay tells her to keep telling herself that.  Elena yells that they don't need her to find whoever made the mutt, as Clay storms off.  Jeremy tells Elena that they all need her and she argues that this isn't what she needs.  Elena says that she is going home in the morning and will not be coming back.  Elena asks Jeremy to take care of Clay.

Elena is back in Toronto and is greeted by Philip.  The two begin to kiss and undress and they make love on the table.  Later in bed together, Elena and Philip joke about the neighbours overhearing them.  Elena says that she needed some alone time with him.  Later Philip is cooking and there is a knock at the door.  They are joined by Logan and Rachel.  Philip invited them when he ran into them on the street. Rachel produces a bottle of wine and Logan reveals that he got blindsided as well. Logan and Elena compare notes so that they can keep their respective lies straight.

Antonio and Jeremy are chatting and Antonio assures Jeremy that he can stay another night or two.  Antonio suggests that they canvass all of the mutts to remind them of the rules. Clay enters and announces that he is going for a run.  Jeremy and Antonio talk about Elena.

Elena, Philip, Logan and Rachel sit down to dinner.  They talk about the fake car accident and Philip asks how Logan and Elena found each other.  Rachel comments that it must be weird to find out that they have family out there.

At Stonehaven, Antonio is packed to go and he and Nick chat about Clay's angst that Elena is gone.  Antonio then brings up Marsten.  It seems that they are concerned that Marsten was so close by waiting for their call. Antonio tells Nick that they are going to follow Marsten's financial tracks.

Rachel and Elena chat about Rachel's relationship with Logan. Rachel says that Logan gives her room and that he gets her.  Rachel does say that she is curious about the rest of his family.  Inside, Logan and Philip do the dishes. Philip asks if everything is okay with Elena because she is holding in a lot of hurt.  Logan assures Philip that he brings out the best side of Elena.  Logan's phone goes off and it's Clay, who Logan calls his cousin.  Elena enters the room as Logan tells Clay that they are on their way. Logan tells Elena that things aren't good and they have to go back right away.

Antonio, Nick, Clay and Jeremy are standing over Peter's dead body. Clay sniffs Peter but cannot detect who killed him.  When Clay looks at Peter's hand, he finds several of his fingers have been bitten off.

I think it's fair to say that the writers intend to just give us a show which depicts everything that is written in the book.  This makes me wonder what happens when they run out of story because they are moving at a quickly clip.  Will they then move onto the other characters in the series, or will they simply create a brand new plot of the characters? Personally I really want to see something different as Clay only become more of an aggressive stalker as the story progress and it culminates in Elena agreeing to be with him.   This sets up a horrible model to base a relationship in, though it is grounded in a terrible trope that is far too prevalent in this genre.

So far, I find I cannot invest in this story largely because it doesn't feel like a compelling enough story. It doesn't help that the acting all feels stilted and forced - especially that of Laura Vandervoort and Greyston Holt.