Thursday, July 10, 2014

Witches of East End, Season Two, Episode One: A Moveable Beast


The new season begins one week after where the last left off. Freya works on a spell, as Victor ties Joanna to the bed.  Victor asks Joanna if she trusts him before creating a tourniquet out of his belt and slicing her arm open.  Ingrid makes her way downstairs and out of the house, as Wendy cautiously walks through a forbidding forest in cat form. As the pain begins to hit, Joanna says that she cannot keep doing this but Victor points out that these treatments are the only thing keeping her alive, as he places some sort of leech like creature into the open wound to cleanse the blood.

Ingrid enters the kitchen to find Freya and comforts her by saying that as long as their mother is screaming, it means she is fighting for her life.  It seems that Ingrid has developed the habit of sleep walking and that is why she went outside. On the other side of the coin, Freya has barely slept since the wedding and is incredibly upset that Killian has not returned her phone calls, or come back to town. A now human Wendy enters and announces that someone came through the portal and that she has been tracking him. Unfortunately, because he moves so fast and is cloaking himself, Wendy has no idea who it is.  I don't know about you but I really hope they follow through on this storyline.  Knowing that the witches came from Asgard but little else is killing me. It seems that Freya was working on a memory potion because they have no idea what happened the night of the wedding.  Wendy believes that it is important to get their memories back before they seal the portal.

Dash is frantically trying to use his powers to move a box but is having no success.  Killian suddenly appears and snarks about needing medical attention because of  a headache. Dash quickly declares Killian a hallucination to which Killian snarks that he is Dash's conscience.  Killian accuses Dash of killing him, as Dash places pictures of him and Freya into a fireplace to burn. His rage causes the fire to ignite.

The women are gathered at the table discussing how many lives Wendy has left and Joanna's prognosis. They drink the potion and get a rapid vision of the portal being opened but are still unable to tell who came through.

A man appears in the woods and he has the Asgard symbol on his shoulder.  My guess is that this is the son Joanna she left behind in Asgard.

Later, in the hospital, a badly injured man is brought in screaming about a shadow who chased him into the wall, marked with the ancient symbol of the king. Of course, he's Dash's patient because that hospital couldn't possibly have more than one doctor. The Asgard symbol has been carved into the patient's chest.

Freya finds a mystical box on her dressing table and when she opens it, she is transported to a fantasy like realm and reunited with Killian.  Say awe everyone, that was meant to be romantic.  When Freya pulls away, she finds blood on her hand and discovers a bloody unconscious Killian at her feet. This is enough to snap her out of the fantasy realm.

Ingrid is back at the library and meeting with Hudson.  It seems that she has applied for a position to curate documents related to witchcraft in Southern New England from the 1650's to present day. To get an interview, Ingrid lied about being a PhD, so after a few moments of angst, she decides to tell the truth about lacking the appropriate credentials.

A weak Joanna wakes to find that Victor has let her sleep into the afternoon. She struggles out of bed determined to try and track the person who  came through the portal but is forced to stop when Victor notices that her nose is bleeding.  Joanna breaks down in tears and finally admits that she is not doing fine. Victor assures her that she has them but Joanna points out that she doesn't have him. Victor promises to stay with her for as long as she wants.

Freya frantically calls Wendy to report that Killian is dead.  Wendy assures Freya that what she had was a premonition which means that Killian might still be alive.  Wendy adds that the vision could be a metaphor or literal but promises to deal the deck tonight to get to the bottom of what is going on. Wendy hangs up saying that she has to grab a book which contains information which will ease Wendy's pain.  When Wendy grabs the book, a man grabs it as well.  They bicker over the book and flirt shamelessly with each other.  Finally, the man points to a second copy of the book and the two part ways.


Deciding that there must be something wrong with his brain, Dash prepares to give himself an MRI when Killian appears. Killian tells Dash that he is not going to figure this out scientifically.  Kilian screams that Dash is not going to find the answers there and that instead Dash should be worrying about what is going to happen to him when Killian's body is found.

In the garden, Joanna looks in the music box but is unable to get a vision. They all suggests that Freya should clear her mind and that her magic will come back. Joanna stands to make a toast but passes out.

Later, Victor tells the girls that Joanna had a seizure, which is normal for her condition and instructs the girls to go on about their normal lives, as that is what their mother wants. The girls head out and Wendy questions why Victor is lying to Freya and Ingrid and he says that this is what Joanna wants.  Victor admits that the poison is moving to Joanna's brain and that even if continues the treatments, he won't be able to keep Joanna alive much longer. Victor believes that there is a rare plant in the Amazon which will cure Joanna but says that it will take him three days to go and retrieve it.  Wendy is worried that Joanna doesn't have three days to live but Victor says that they have to try.

Ingrid arrives late to her interview with Dr. Foster and apologizes for being late.  They discuss Ingrid's lack of a PhD and she assures Foster that no one else in the state is better qualified than her.  Foster cuts short the interview saying that he will read her dissertation when it is completed. As Foster leaves, it's clear that something has been watching Freya.

We see the man from Asgard cast a spell in the woods before walking away.\

Ingrid is now having a drink at The Bent Elbow, while Freya comforts her. Hudson joins Ingrid and suggests that she do a spell to get the job. Freya says that there is no such thing as magic but Ingrid tosses Freya's own words back at her about witch craft allowing a person to break the rules.  Hudson pipes up to say that they just need to find a spell.

Dash is checking on his patient when the patient suddenly grabs him and says that Dash is one of them and that he knows who Dash is. The patient then begins to code and Dash puts his hands on the patient to start compressions, he sends an electric shock through the patient.  A stunned Dash steps away and the rest of the medical team work on trying to save the man.

After finding a spell they found on Google, Freya, Ingrid and Hudson utter the incantation and take a shot. Moments later, Ingrid gets a call from Dr. Foster informing her that she got the job.  Hudson says that  Freya really is a witch, as she stands up and starts to dance and promptly falls on her ass.

In a back room of the The Bent Elbow, Wendy is reading the cards and says that it looks like Killian's boat was destroyed and that he is taking a lot of money from people.  A spirit animal is now acting as a barrier so they are unable to see Killian.  Wendy does however add that since the owl is also a predator, it could be protecting Killian in order to destroy him.  The reading is broken up when Wendy and Freya are informed that there is something wrong with Ingrid.  When they rush into the bar, they find Ingrid surrounded by EMT's and one of the men, is the same man that Wendy flirted with at the library.  Wendy elbows him out of the way and uses magic to heal Ingrid's dislocated shoulder. Wendy tries to escort a drunk Ingrid home but Ingrid asserts that she cannot be Wendy's anchor and that she has changed.

Wendy signs the release, as  a smoldering Dash enters The Bent Elbow. Freya notices that Dash's aura is dark and angry but makes her way back to the bar.  Dash gets a call with his MRI results and learns that there are structural abnormalities.  Apparently, there was a match to a girl who fell ten years ago.  Dash asks for the patients name and learns that it was Ingrid. I guess the Privacy Act doesn't apply in this town.

Wendy returns home to find Joanna putting together items she wants her family to have when she is gone.  Wendy asks Joanna to stop it and says that it's time for Joanna's treatment.  Joanna replies that the treatment isn't working anymore and that they make her tired and hurt like hell.  Joanna says that she is done and that the only reason she has been holding on is the girls. It seems that if Joanna dies, they can never be reborn. Joanna hopes that when she dies, her curse will go with her, thus leaving the girls to live a normal life. Wendy is determined to have Joanna hold on but Joanna promises that she is at peace.  The sisters are interrupted by a knock on the door. It turns out to be Joanna's son Frederick.

Wendy questions where Frederick has been because the portal was opened a week ago and Frederick says that his memory was lost and so he wandered around in a daze. Joanna questions if anyone or anything came through the portal with Frederick and he conveniently cannot remember but reports that there were definitely others who would have. Joanna believes that someone else must have come through the portal and that they are all under the same memory loss spell.  Wendy is not so easily convinced and points out that one of them (read: Frederic) could be lying.  For his part, Frederick says that he was just lucky to get out of Asgard alive because it has turned into chaos and that he has been trying to escape for hundreds of years.

 Wendy pulls Joanna aside and suggests that they do not trust Frederick but Joanna points out that Frederick has been through a lot and therefore could have changed. Wendy points out that Frederick aligned himself with their father against them and betrayed them. The conversation is cut short when Frederick enters the room. He comments on Joanna's illness and she confirms the poison.  Frederick then uses his magic to take the poison out of Joanna's body and place it in his.  Frederick, it seems, has built up an immunity to the poison because his grandfather used it to try and poison him on several occasions.

At the bar, Ingrid hugs Freya goodbye and leaves with Dash hot on her heels. Dash does not get far because he is stopped by Freya, who tells him that she feels horrible and thinks about him all of the time. Dash tries to brush past Freya saying that he doesn't really care but Freya stops him yet again. This time she asks about Killian, revealing her fear that Killian could be hurt. Dash tells Freya to stay away from him and promises that she will regret not heeding his warning. Dash's rage sets off his magic and he accidentally tosses a table across the room, before storming out of the bar.

Ingrid wanders through the woods, while Joanna and Wendy make themselves comfortable on the couch. Joanna is ecstatic that she has been healed and offers it as proof that Frederick has changed. Wendy does not agree and points out that they have no idea what has happened to Frederick over the last four centuries. Upstairs, Frederick listens to the conversation.

Dash makes his way to the computer and watches a video of him using magic to shove Killian repeatedly. The words, "I'll be in touch," appear on the screen.

Freya rushes into the house and reports to Wendy that Dash has powers. Wendy says that it makes sense that Dash's powers would return now that Penelope is dead. Wendy suggests they figure out what Dash knows and go from there.  Freya points out that Dash did give her the whole death stare earlier in the night and adds that she is scared.

On the Island of Santo Domingo, Killian drops a bucket of casino chips onto a bed. A bandage at the back of Killian's head is clearly visible.  Ava knocks at the door, and Killian is happy to see her. Killian reports that he made a killing at the tables and that it's like he can read people's minds. It seems that Ava is the one who found Killian on the beach and nursed back to health.  Ava suggests that now that he is better, Killian can go back home but Killian says that there is nothing for him there. The two kiss and as Killian lifts Ava's shirt, we see an interesting tattoo on her back.

Ingrid comes across a zombie like creature in the woods with a long tail. She asks the creature if it needs her to feed him. It uses it's tentacles to explore her body as Ingrid gasps in ecstasy. I think we all could have done without seeing that. Clearly that is someone's kink in action.

Witches of East End has a lot of potential but it suffers from trying desperately to do too much.  I understand that all characters need to be engaged but must they all have separate storylines?  We have Ingrid and her job, Freya caught between the two brothers, Dash and Killian hating each other and on top of that engaged in their own storyline, Frederick is now a part of the picture, etc and etc. It's too much and the writing just does not have the strength to pull it off as far as I can see.

At the end of last season, we got a massive teaser about Asgard.  So far, all we have a bunch of teasers and no hint that this plot is going anywhere.  I think they could do some very interesting things by delving into Norse mythology but beating about the bush is doing nothing. If anything, I am just irritated by it because the ridiculous side plots hold absolutely no interest to me.

I think I have to bring up Hudson.  They have all but made him the sassy GBF.  Of course he has nothing better to do but cheer up Ingrid after she bombed her job interview.  The only thing stopping me from ripping this ridiculous character to shreds is the fact that they have not made his sexuality cannon.  If they do decide to make it so however, they better give him something more to do than snark and comfort Ingrid.  We don't need yet another offensive GBF in this genre.