Vampire Diaries, Season 7, Episode 18: One Way or Another

Damon and Alaric are all trying to save Stefan’s life and capture Stefan’s body that has been possessed by an evil serial killer (which is apparently different from how the Salvatore brothers usually operate) which means compelling a couple of ambulance drivers to help keep Stefan’s injured body alive and drive him around avoiding everyone who wants to arrest/kill him while Damon and Alaric talk about their issues

Oh and hunt down Stefan’s body. But mainly issues on account of Damon having been in a self-induced coma for 4 years he’s now around again and trying to pick up where he left off while Alaric – along with everyone else – is pretty much pissed off at the guy who wanted to just check out of their lives without telling them and now wants to pretend nothing happened. Also everyone’s actually moved on with their lives and are now all happy without Damon in it, especially since Damon tends to show up at the same time as disaster (to be fair, though, I don’t think we can blame that disaster on anyone)

Alaric also has issues because he thinks, with Rayna no long murdering, Stefan may reunite with Caroline. Valerie has the same issues. I do not have these issues because I really really really really do not care who is currently shagging who, think Valerie has no personality beyond moping after Stefan, think Caroline is too good for all this and think Alaric is creepy for setting up house with one of his former students.

Damon and Alaric do manage to kidnap serial killer Stefan (that is the NEW serial killer Stefan, not the old serial killer Stefan) leaving a gajillion bodies in their wake and, as per usual, not really caring

This allows Valerie to cast the spell switching Stefan back to his usual body even though it nearly kills her because she just can’t live without Stefan. Some call this romantic. I call it shitty writing failing to produce a full character who actually has motives and wants and tastes and a life outside of being a love interest, but hey ho that’s me wanting this female people to be, y’know, people.

Grimm, Season Five, Episode Seventeen: Inugami

"Revenge

is the act of passion,

vengeance

is an act of justice."

For once, I'm not going to complain too much about the balance between the meta and the Wesen of the week storyline.  Le't just deal with the Wesen of the week and get it over with so we can get to the good stuff.

Brian is home alone and his parents have gone out for the night.  He is abducted by an Inugami bent on seeking justice for a family that he is honour bound to seek revenge for.  Brian and his friend Roger, were just convicted of negligent homicide in the death of their friend Kuma.  When Brian awakes, he is buried neck deep in sand.  Though Brian begs for mercy, the Inugami cuts off his head and tosses it under a bridge.

The cops investigate and Brian's parents lead them to Kuma's parents because his father had threatened Brian when he only received five years probation for his role in Kuma's death. Nick takes note of the ceremonial swords on Jin's walls as Jin explains that he doesn't believe that his son's death was an accident.  The cops head back to the precinct. 

Denis (Brian's dad) decides that he is going to get to the bottom of the death of his son and pays Kuma's parents a visit.  Fortunately for Brian, his wife had called to warn Nick and he and Hank rush to the Akagis. Jin woges and knocks out Denis and when Nick and Hank arrive, they find Denis on the ground unconscious. Back at the station, Denis explains that he was attacked by some sort of animal which gets Nick and Hank's spidey sense tingling.  Nick and Hank then talk with Jin, his wife Madoka, and their lawyer Takeshi.  It turns out that Akagis have a good alibi for the time of Brian's death. 

Nick and Hank decide to talk to Roger and his mother.  Roger reveals that when the gun went off, Kuma woged and both he and Brian saw it.  Roger's mother is convinced that what they saw was influenced by drugs.  Hank and Nick however know better and decide to head back to Jin and Madoka's place to talk off the record. When Nick reveals that he is a Grimm, Madoka and Jin woge in a panic, afraid for their lives. They talk about Brian's death and Jin reveals that a ghost dog - Inugami must have done it.  They narrow it down to Takeshi, because Madoka's father once saved his life, thus putting him into an honour debt with the Akagi family.  

Jin, Hank and Nick head to Roger's home and there they find Roger's mother unconscious.  They decide to head back to where Brian was taken and it's Jin who finds Takeshi standing over top of Roger, who is buried up to his neck in sand.  Jin tries to absolve Takeshi of his responsibility for vengeance but Takeshi will not be swayed.  Desperate, Jin throws himself between Takeshi and Roger, only to be roughly pushed aside and informed that while Takeshi can't kill him, Takeshi will not allow Jin to stop him.  Enter Nick and a fight breaks out between him and Takeshi. It's Hank who brings the fight to an end by pulling his service weapon.  

This is yet another episode of Grimm which involves mining of cultures of colour for woo woo.  It wouldn't be as offensive if Grimm would ever get around to paying more attention to the characters of colour they do have.  Hank is Nick's sidekick and Wu seems to exist for snark.  This episode is appropriation but what I've come to expect from Grimm. 

On to the stuff that we care about.

Wynonna Earp, Season 1, Episode 3: Leavin' on Your Mind

Time for more snark and the odd demon kill!

But first let’s look at John Henry, Doc Holiday, who continues to look for a mysterious woman using Waverley’s research and not getting too far. She probably has the answer he’s looking for but he then decides to be all scary to drive her off since she’s in the habit of following him to the revenant Trailer Park having discovered who Doc Holiday is.

Which leaves Doc with one option – BoBo (head of the Revenants) for the answer about who this Stone Witch is. And in exchange he wants him to get close to Wynonna

Whoever she is, she’s using her spells for three Revenants looking to get out of town (as Waverley happily explains to Dolls now she’s doing research for the team – Revenants are trapped in town) which involves three of the nasty demons ripping off hands, stealing local history and trying to get something out of an old bank which involves taking hostages. Including Champ (Waverley’s boyfriend, much to Office Haut’s disgust) and Shorty (old wise father figure to Wynonna, don’t learn too much about him, he’s here to die so Wynonna can be sad).

Wynonna gets in the middle of it, unarmed, in a desperate attempt to save people. And kill the Revenants especially since the super-fast Marty is one of the ones who killed her dad. Revenants aren’t the most trust worthy of people though and they end up killing each other leaving only one. He looks like the most reasonable of the Revenants but reminds us he plans to kill and maim lots of people for funsies, as they do.

The 100, Season Three, Episode Eleven: Nevermore

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
    Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
    Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Nevermore, is quite the accurate title for this episode.  It's a play upon Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem The Raven.  The Raven in this case is reified by the character Raven as she lays horrors upon those who seek to save her by taunting them with their own horrendous actions.  

When we last left The 100, Jasper had managed to knock Raven unconscious and sneak her out of Arcadia, only to run into the arriving Clark.  Clark jumps into the vehicle and joins him as the people of Arcadia storm towards them.  Clark is horrified to see that her mother is one of those who has been over taken by ALIE's chip.

Back at the cave, Octavia has packed up her shit and wants to leave, feeling that she doesn't quite fit in.  Bellamy tires to explain his actions by claiming that the Grounder force outside of Arkadia was trying to starve them out. Bellamy does his best to stop his sister, citing what is going on in Arkadia and adding that they are going to need her help to deal with this.   Octavia is not immediately convinced, saying that the message Japser sent makes absolutely no sense.  Bellamy very much wants the forgiveness of his sister and points out his role in handing over Pike but an unsatisfied Octavia wants Lincoln back. Octavia then twists the knife and tells Bellamy that turning in Pike does not make him "one of the good guys."  Octavia not only lays Lincoln's death at Bellamy's feet but Monroe as well, adding that he lashed out because he was hurt. 

The fun begins the moment Jasper carries Raven into the cave and they start to try and figure out how to remove the chip from her.  Nevermore, not only hearkens to Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven but also to The Exorcist.  Possessed by ALIE, Raven is determined to break free and is willing to use whatever tools are at her disposal to do so. When Clarke pulls out the commander chip, questioning if the City of Light chip looks like it, ALIE reaslies that this is what she has been looking for.  After Raven escaping once, trying to figure out where she is so that ALIE can send in the cavalry, Jasper gives Raven the last dose of the drug which knocks her unconscious again. 

They decide that they need to get moving and head to Niylah's outpost.  Yes, Niylah, the same woman Clarke had a one night stand with.  Unsurprisingly, Niylah is not at all pleased to see Clarke, given that she holds Skaikru responsible for the death of her father.  Clarke lies and claims that the group had nothing to do with it.  The conversation is cut short when Raven wakes and Bellamy decides to just solve the issue of resistance by putting a gun in Niylah's face.  Is Bellamy ever going to be anything other than a blunt instrument?

Now that it's clear that Raven cannot be left alone, Clarke declares that they should all take a shift watching over Raven.  This does not please Jasper at all because he doesn't want Clarke in charge after what happened in Mount Weather. It's Raven who suggests that Jasper has still not forgiven Clarke for Maya dying.  It's episode eleven and I am more than tired of Jasper's manpain at this point.  On ALIE's suggestion, Raven dislocates her shoulder and begins to bite through the bandaging on her arm.  In desperation, Clarke warns ALIE that if she lets Raven die that she will never hand over the chip. That's enough for ALIE to instruct Raven to allow herself to be helped. 

They figure out what Raven was trying to do with the wristbands but realise that they don't have a big enough charge to make it work.  Monty and Octavia head to the drop ship to get the equipment they need.  This is when Raven begins to work on Clarke.  Raven asks if Clarke sees the faces of the people that she has killed.  Yes, what happened at Mount Weather is still very much a sore spot for Clarke. Clarke, having spent so much time self flagellating knows exactly what ALIE is up to and does not take the bait. Raven then suggests that Clarke is guilty for the death of Wells and Finn. When this doesn't get the reaction she wants, Raven turns to Clarke's father, saying that she knows all about this because Abbie is in there with them.  Raven then suggests that though Clarke wants to save everyone, the people around her always seem to die.  Clarke finally breaks when Raven suggests that she probably killed Lexa to.  Bellamy is forced to rush into the room to get Clarke away from Raven but not before Clarke threatens to fry ALIE, which is the information that ALIE has been waiting for. Raven informs ALIE that they have sent people to the drop ship. 

On the way to the drop ship, Monty decides to question Octavia about leaving the group, but Octavia who is still full of grief answers that she only felt at home with Lincoln.  Monty tries again and reminds Octavia that she is one of The 100.  This really struck a nerve with me because they have been through so much and wouldn't have survived without solidarity; however, it's not enough to reach Octavia. 

When they arrive at the drop ship, Hannah thanks to ALIE is there waiting for them.  When Monty confront her about turning him in, Hannah tries to protest her innocence.  Monty however will not be fooled and so questions his mother about his father's favourite colour.  When Hannah cannot answer because her memories have been erased, Monty realises that the person he is talking to is not his mother.  The struggle begins and Hannah and Monty fight because ALIE is desperate for Monty to take the City of Light chip. Octavia is forced to intervene but Hannah quickly gets the upper hand and holds a knife to Octavia's throat.  Monty picks up a gun and calls out to Hannah, begging her to stop. Finally, feeling as though he has no choice, Monty shoots his mother twice, killing her in the process.

Zoo, Season 1, Episode 6: This Is What It Sounds Like

Picking up where we left off, the Brazilian government decides that poisoning Rio is a great idea. No, really. Not only do they do that but it doesn’t even work

That leaves Chloe and Mitch desperately cobbling together some reason why the gang members shouldn’t kill them on general principles – eventually bullshitting enough to create a bat repelling device that actually works. Yes, Mitch achieves what the Brazillian government couldn’t figure out using $20 of used computer equipment. No matter how smart he is, that’s pretty demeaning. So poisoned Rio is technically saved…

Of course gang member wouldn’t let them go because of the device – but he does because Abraham rides to the rescue and unleashes 8 kinds of holy hell in on the gang and the boss until Chloe and Mitch are released. In addition to kicking every arse every, Abraham also brings the line:

“The man you are is not worth the man I would have to be to kill you.”

Again, I’m not entirely thrilled with the role Abraham is occupying in the group, but at least he is epically skilled within that role.

While locked up Chloe and Mitch get to talk all about his feelings for his terminally ill daughter and partly why that makes him so negative and cynical (there also seems to be an academic kafuffle caused by his ego running ahead of him: teaching him not to get too confident in his abilities). I’m not sure about this storyline, yes it’s humanising but the world may actually be ending

Orphan Black, Season Four, Episode One: The Collapse of Nature

When I first began this episode, I must admit that I was utterly confused.  What the hell was Beth doing there?  Why was Paul still alive? I thought for a moment that I made some sort of mistake and was actually watching an episode from season one, rather than the premier of season four. This episode also brought the return of Dr. Leekie and Olivier. Seeing that little tail again was just as unpleasant as the first time.

Before there was Sarah, there was Beth.  Beth is the one who gathered Allison, (my favourite clone of all time) and Cosima, together to try and figure out the mystery of their existence and exactly what they were up against.  It was Beth who used her credentials as a detective to work the case. Finally, it was Beth who paid the price of leadership with her life.  Everything that Beth was, became lost to the Neolutians and the mystery of her clone identity. It cost her in the most profound ways.

Beth desperately tries to hold things together, taking drugs to make it more difficult for the Neolgians to be able to mess with her head though it causes great problems with her job.  A cop and an addict do not mix, forcing her to acquire the urine of Allison's daughter in order to pass a urine test. Quick aside, did anyone else wonder how it is that Beth was allowed to keep the stall door closed while she took the test?

At home, flying high from the drugs, Beth has a fight with Paul.  It bothered me to watch as Paul repeatedly gas lighted her when he knew exactly what he was involved in and how it was affecting her life.  His very presence in her apartment meant that Beth had no place to simply unwind, no place that was safe.  When Beth pulls her gun and points it at Paul's head while he wasn't facing her, I wanted so desperately for Paul to die in this moment because what he did to Beth amounts to mental abuse, to say nothing of the repeated violation of trust he engaged in. We all know that this is not how Paul met his end but I think it would have been far more satisfying than Paul being somewhat redeemed in his sacrifice for Sarah.

Beth is desperate in her confrontation with Paul, stripping off her dress and pleading with him to touch her, to be intimate with her but Paul withdraws. Beth realises that at best, Paul is an enigma and she has filled in his identity with educated guesses.  Who is this man and why won't he end it, forcing her to continue to endure this living hell of a relationship, loaded with subtext and suspicion.

By the time Beth makes it to Art's home begging to watch television with him and his daughter, Beth is so broken she cannot even begin to think about explaining what is going on, let alone set herself up for healing.  Art is Beth's safe space and though she cannot tell him the truth, she can count on him to embrace her, see her for who she is, and give her the tenderness she is so desperate for.  When she caresses Art's face, and kisses him, he pulls away and shakes his head no.  When Beth reaches for him a second time, Art cannot deny her and they end up in bed.

I'm not sure if my memory is wrong on this but I do believe that this is the first time we see that Art's feelings for Beth ran much deeper than what would occur between partners.  He doesn't know what is going on but Art cannot stand to see Beth in pain.  It's a bittersweet moment because we know that despite all of his concern, Art cannot stop what will happen to Beth, he cannot protect her from what the future holds.

Back in season one, it was implied that Beth committed suicide because Paul was her handler. Given what we know about Paul, it's pretty easy to run with that.  It turns out however that what finally pushed Beth over the edge was her accidentally shooting of a woman.  Art planted evidence to cover her mistake and told Beth to get her story straight but the guilt at what she had done was simply too much for her.  In the end, no matter how desperately Beth wanted to be cared for and protected, no one could have saved her. The drugs, the lying, sneaking around and finally the accidental shooting all became too much for her.  Beth fled a life that has spiraled out of control.

Wynonna Earp (Wynonna Earp, #1) by Beau Smith

Wynonna Earp is a descendant of the famous old west lawman Wyatt Earp.  Colour me unimpressed. She is drafted by the US Marshals Black Badge division to go after all things which go bump in the night.  Wynonna is a no nonsense cop who experiences absolutely no fear up against creatures which would make the most of at the very least scream and run the opposite direction.

My decision to read Wynnona Earp is based on our commitment to read the source material of all media that we watch.  Wynnona Earp, the television series which is currently airing on Syfy.  The television show really is aimed around the idea that Wynnona is a descendant of Wyatt, which is not a central point to the comics.  She is chosen for her skill and her fearlessness.

I find Wynnona as a crime fighter absolutely ridiculous.  She runs into situations with little planning and little back up.  Invariably, despite the fact that Wynnona is strong, she needs to be saved by a man twice.  Can you picture any male protagonist with the same background having to be saved, let alone by a woman?

The artwork in this comic leaves so much desired.  Why is it that any male law enforcement official is dressed from head to toe, while Wynnona sports thigh highs, a bare midriff or short skirts?  Who gets into battle looking like this?

This is absolutely Hawkeye Initiative material. What sense does it make for her to go up against a nest of vampire who are hopped up on drugs dressed like this?  If that's not enough, we even have drawings done is such a way to show off T&A.  

A kickass protagonist is an awesome thing but a kickass protagonist who is overly sexualized is sexist and ridiculous. The horrible portrayal wouldn't have been so bad if we had seen even a modicum of intelligence coming from Wynnona.  At best, we got badly written one liners that simply rise to the level of bad snark.  

Leaders of international criminal organizations are being killed. This leads Wynonna to little Cairo in New York City.  Amir Tasmir has big plan is to bring the goddess"Timat" back to life and use Wynonna's body as her vessel.  As far as I am aware, there is no Goddess Timat but there is a goddess Tiamat of the Mesopotamian Religion (Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian) At any rate, apparently it has been prophesied that Timat will make her return in a blonde body.  Go ahead and roll your eyes because I did.  Why the hell would a supposedly ancient Egyptian goddess choose to come back in the body of a blonde white woman? It makes absolutely no sense. It seems to me that this prophesy is all about making Wynonna the extra special special one. If Wynonna's character had been developed beyond T&A, such a cheap trick wouldn't have been necessary.  If that were not enough, Wynonna refers to the men who work for Amir as, "sand stooges and stinking sand lovers"  Thanks for that. This language isn't even coded; it's blatantly racist.

Sleepy Hollow: The Intolerable Treatment of Abbie Milles

It has been nearly impossible this week to miss the outpouring of outrage on social media over the season finale of Sleepy Hollow. Yes, in a month where even the usual death rate among marginalised people has grown to even more vomit-inducing levels than we’ve become used to (and it’s always been nauseating), Sleepy Hollow decided to kill off their Black, female protagonist. The heart of the show and one of the main reasons so many people were following it - especially after the second season.

Which is, of course, the background to this appalling death - Sleepy Hollow, despite being, on the face of it, a racially diverse show has shown a shocking level of contempt to those Black characters and the fandom they gathered in season one that was so invested in the surprising diversity (it is, of course, an important but different issue that a show with a Black female protagonist is so rare as to be surprising and to gain such an investment from minority fandom). It seemed that someone in charge of this show simply had no clue at all as to why this show was so popular or why so many people were invested in it - and were so enraged by the hot mess that was Cranewreck, and the sidelining of Captain Irving before killing him off after pretty much ignoring his character for most of the season (plot box now comes in mental institution).

The writers of Sleepy Hollow has earned absolutely no benefit of the doubt from its furious fandom. It entered season 3 with a lot of their fans having turned their back on the Cranewreck and much of the rest watching with narrowed eyes and waiting for this show to dig itself out of that hole. Or bury itself.

And they killed Abbie.

That’s not so much burying yourself as making a spirited attempt to reach the centre of the Earth and digging until you drown in molten lava. Killing her not just showed that they didn’t understand their fandom (or didn’t care about their fandom), and that they had learned nothing after the backlash of the Cranewreck - but also that they didn’t seem to realise what Abbie was to their show or what the death of Abbie revealed about how they thought of Sleepy Hollow.

This was her show. This wasn’t even a story that was about a world setting or particular plot line. This was a show about the WITNESSES. This whole show wasn’t about fighting the Headless Horseman or Henry or the Hidden One (the mere fact the antagonists changes every season established that). This was a show about Abbie and Ichabod, the Witnesses, working together and pooling their expertise and wider circle of friends to defeat the evil and fulfill their destiny

This was Sleepy Hollow the story of the Witnesses. The story of these two excellent characters and how they bounced off each other. Every funny exchange, every touching moment, every time they truly knew each other, every joke they shared and, yes, even the constant possibility they would take the next step and turn their epic friendship into a romance.

In the eyes of us and a huge amount of the fandom, this was the Witnesses show, the show of Ichabod and Abbie, co-protagonists.

While, in the eyes of the writers, it was clearly Ichabod’s show - and his sidekick. All the Cranewreck outrage of season 2 clearly hasn’t changed that - in their eyes this was a show about Ichabod Cane, man out of time and his little band of followers. It showed in season two where we had to endure agonisingly dull episodes with Katrina while Abbie was banished to the plot box and, despite initial indications to the contrary, Abbie sacrificing herself for the sake of Ichabod et al has sealed the deal.

The writers just made this Ichabod’s story. The writers degraded Abbie into becoming a sidekick, a fridged woman to give Ichabod eternal emotional angst and Manpain, another figure in HIS story, rather than the awesome, excellent character who was an equal partner and co-protagonist in the Witnesses story.

Just in case you didn’t catch that insult, look at one of Abbie’s last lines to Ichabod:

“My job was to carry you forwards.”

Are we clear? Abbie existed to further Ichabod’s storyline. This was the sole point of her character, her existence. This Black, female, apparent co-protagonist existed entirely to further the story of the white male ACTUAL protagonist.

“My job was to carry you forwards.”

Seriously, how Nicole Beharie didn’t just stab the writer who gave her that line to speak I do not know. Ye gods, I am in AWE of her restraint.

“My job was to carry you forwards.”

How she managed to choke that out. I just can’t even imagine. And smile? Damn, that’s some incredible acting. Let’s repeat it again:

“My job was to carry you forwards.”

No, I don’t think this will ever sink in. How anyone thought that line was ok boggles the mind.

I am also making a demand now to know where Abbie’s plot armour is. Seriously, I have watched so many damn shows in this genre where a white protagonist will do the most epically self-destructive, ridiculous things borderline suicidal things and somehow survive. Look at Shadowhunters, the whole PLOT of that show is based on Clary making ridiculous decisions, having Jace follow and, for some unknown reason, neither of them ever being killed.