Supernatural: Let's Take "Baby" Out of the Corner

I don't know about you, but this is the episode that I've been eagerly waiting for since it was announced way back when. I don't care if it was budget cuts or literary defeat (or triumph!) that got us stuck in the Impala for an entire episode, but as soon as we were promised banter and "day in the life of" stuff, I needed this episode in my life, like, yesterday.

So how did it measure up to expectations? Was it claustrophobic, cheesy, and dull? Was it everything you wanted and more? Start the conversation down below and come back in a bit for the full review! XOXO

Continuum "Zero Hour" Review: Blast From the Future Past

Way back in the glorious '90s, when comic book heroes had too many muscles and way too many pockets, there was an "event" called "Zero Hour" that spanned months and books and it was kooky but amazing—Continuum's own "Zero Hour" was a lot like that. Continuum's benevolent time lord Jesus finally lost his patience with Alec's endless waffling and tossed him into the matrix with his older self. His older evil self. His older, evil, alternative self—THIS. SHOW.

Despite the extra effort required to wrap our heads around the Alec Sadler mind-meld, the meeting between the two Alecs was easily the highlight of the episode. Where Old Alec has long been a mostly fearsome character, with a history of being awful and the resources to make his visions reality, "Zero Hour" gave us a look at the other side of Old Alec. Alec Sadler, in that particular timeline, grew up to reshape the world—for better or worse—and became the sort of massive figure that was both adored and vilified by the unwashed masses. However, he also grew up to be a sad, lonely old man, all alone in his castle after a lifetime of alienating anyone who ever cared about him. That's the real connection between our two Alecs. Even now, it's sometimes hard to imagine our precious puppy dog superhero nerd growing so far away from who we know, but now we know where Old Alec's reality comes from, and it's a place I think anyone can admit to feeling stuck in at some time or another. 
Humanizing the enemy was edgy when The Sopranos debuted and has subsequently devolved into a cliche of it's own—which is probably why batshit crazy Jerome over on Gotham is currently such a blast—but, like so many snoozefests that Continuum manages to wake up, Old Alec's humanity felt right. 
I'm so sick of complimenting this show, you guys. Somebody recommend me a show that's sure to induce a raging hate-boner. All this goodwill is making me feel weird and out of balance and I was really banking on Gotham coming back and being a mess and then lo and behold, it got its act together. For now. 

Anyway, Continuum is only two episodes away from sweet, sweet oblivion and that means that it's time to rope all the timey-wimey stuff in and somehow make it make sense. From the start, one of my biggest fears about Continuum was the mechanics of time travel. It is messy; you've got your grandfather paradoxes and your butterfly effects and Doctor Who's "fixed points in time" that never end up quite so inflexible as the name implies. From the beginning, Continuum has, to its credit, been meticulous to the point of obsession regarding its canon and its mythology, the realities and rules of its universe. Continuum isn't the first series to build its time travel on the idea of parallel universes and timelines, but it's among the first to do it with a completely straight face. Evil Alec might have been laughable in his try-hard villainy, but Continuum supported all of his antics with evidence from his own reality. Alec's capacity for evil exists in every timeline, whether he gives in to its temptation or not; there is no "real" or "true" Alec. Every Alec (or Kiera or Carlos or Garza or whomever) is real in their respective reality, but reality is vast and wibbly-wobbly. If all of these alternative timelines exist at the same time, then they are all real. The Traveler plucking Chen's consciousness out of one reality and plopping it in his body in another confirms this. Chen is Chen is Chen. 
So when we talk about Evil Alec vs. Real Alec (and I know, I'm so guilty of doing this myself) we're not talking about two different individuals. Old Alec, Evil Alec, and Alec Prime: they're all Alec. They come from different circumstances, different worlds, make different decisions based on different influences, but the fundamental person is still one and the same. 

Ultimately, this means that Kiera can certainly go home, not just to 2077, but to the 2077 she came from. If there is no one true timeline, then the changes Kiera and Liber8 forced in 2012, '13 and '14 shouldn't have actually affected the reality that Kiera came from. The question we're left with is this: if all of the alternate timelines exist independently of each other, then what is Time Lord Jesus' role in all of it? If he's hopping in and out of them, swapping out souls or whatever, then clearly the timelines are related, at least in the sense that New Jersey and Oklahoma are two very different states that don't even touch each other, yet exist in the same neighborhood, globally. Even bigger picture: Japan and Madagascar and Scotland and Pakistan are all vastly different cultures, countries, and people... but we all live on Earth.

Are the alternate timelines just a matter of having different zip codes in the same city?

Continuum's mythology is still a big tangled ball of crazy, but the progress made in "Zero Hour" at least gives me confidence that in the end, all will be clear. And awesome. So awesome. 

---

WIBBLY-WOBBLY, TIMEY-WIMEY NOTES 

---

– Jason and Alec stalked future Mrs. Alec and Jason was weird and precious and OMG ALEC YOU'RE LITERALLY THE WORST PARENT ON THE PLANET(S). 
– Even having my kindergartener grasp of Continuum's timelines, I was waiting for Jason to POOF out of existence as soon as Alec committed to not hooking up with Jason's mom, raising a maladjusted son, and eventually driving his wife to suicide.
– LIKE WHAT THE HELL, ALEC. 
– So this means Emily can come back, right? 
– Overlord Kellogg needs a kidney transplant and the fact that he's invading Kellogg Prime's timeline—and we know that killing someone in one timeline doesn't necessarily end them in another—is totally nothing to be worried about, right? Nah. 
– Whenever Carlos and Kiera fight, it's like watching mommy and daddy fight and I need them to stop. 

Arrow's Season 4 Trailer: Meet Damien Darhk, Mister Terrific, and Badass Felicity (VIDEO)

Dear Arrow Team:

Hey, how's it going in Starling City? I am writing to you today because I just saw the trailer for Season 4 and I had a few comments I wanted to send your way. But before I get to them, I just want to say that no matter what mean things I've said about your work in the past, I still love you. You know that, right? I'm only mean because I care so damn much. And because Season 3 actually was a stinker. I think you and I both know that, even if you won't publicly say so. But—and this is important!—I have faith in you that you'll be able to turn it around in Season 4. So, without further ado, let's watch and then talk about that trailer!

1.) You still produce some kickass trailers. I am PUMPED after watching this.

2.) I gotta give you major kudos on casting Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk. He is menacing and striking and the perfect man for the job, and if I could, I would kiss you on the mouth for this decision. I understand this is not acceptable, so I will refrain. But just know that I approve 100 percent.

3.) The addition of Echo Kellum as Curtis Holt a.k.a. Mister Terrific also seems fun. I like him already. I think we're going to get along SO well. 

4.) I still think it's weird that John Constantine is popping up but you know, whatever. We'll see how it goes. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.

5.) I am NOT feeling Diggle's new helmet. Like at all. Did he lose a bet? Did YOU lose a bet? I need to know who to blame for this.

6.) Who let Felicity have a gun? I'm half-terrified/half-excited by this. 

7.) And last but not least, I wanted to thank you for casting J.R. Bourne a.k.a. Teen Wolf's Papa Argent. I don't really have anything else to say about this, I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it because I enjoy him/his face.

Anyway, let's chat soon. I look forward to seeing what Season 4 brings starting Wednesday, October 7 at 8pm on The CW!

Your pal,

Kaitlin

P.S. What do I have to do to get you to give Flashback Oliver a better wig/haircut? It's time.

What do you think of the Season 4 trailer? Did it erase all your bad memories from Season 3? 

The Flash Casts Tony Todd as the Voice of Villain Zoom

The fall season will be here before you know it and The Flash is celebrating by revealing the voice of Season 2's villain, the DC Comics character Zoom. According to Variety,Candyman star Tony Todd will voice the character, who will first appear in the second episode of the season, titled "Flash of Two Worlds." 

Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg revealed that part of the mystery of Season 2 will be what's under the Zoom costume and likened the situation to James Earl Jones' iconic portrayal as the voice as Darth Vader. "Last year, we thought of the Reverse-Flash as a speed warrior; this year, Zoom is like a speed demon, and no one does demon-voice better than Tony Todd," Kreisberg told the magazine.

The series intends to draw out the Zoom reveal and Kreisberg noted that fans of the comics should not necessarily jump to conclusions about his identity. "We have to service the entire audience, both the fans and the non-fans, and I think we’ve shown up until this point a great deal of respect and reverence for the source material, so that we always feel like we’re fulfilling the comic book fans’ expectations while also not spoon-feeding them stuff directly from the comics," said Kreisberg. "So the story of Zoom and who and what he is… hopefully comic book fans will be happy because we’ve come up with a clever way to spin the tale, but that also makes it exciting for the people who aren’t as familiar with the comics and are just enjoying the show on its own terms.”

What do you think? Are you excited for Zoom and everything Season 2 promises to bring?

True Detective Season 2 Finale Review: Never Big on Running

After eight weeks of frustrating, erroneously plotted, and occasionally evocative TV, True Detective Season 2 is over. For those Twitter eggs out there in the universe who suggested that we needed to see the entire season before making any substantial judgments on the story, the mystery, and character arcs, we've now seen it all. We've now seen presumably everything an unchecked Nic Pizzolatto wanted his Very Important Show to be. And having seen all eight-and-a-half hours, I feel very confident in the following statement: This show was bad. No qualifications, no considerations of Season 1, no bullshit; It was absolutely not good. This season finale in particular was one of the most lifeless, lumbersome, bloated pieces of try-hard TV that I've seen in recent years.
Well, maybe I should give the show and "Omega Station" come credit. The finale began not with any kind of intense pick-up in the aftermath of Paul's death, but back-to-back ponderous and repetitive scenes between the show's two big couples: Ray and Ani and then Frank and Jordan. While these sequences technically offered new information that moved the story along—Ani wasn't assaulted in the traditional sense but instead chose to go out in the woods with the Manson-looking fellow, Frank revealed his plan to Jordan, etc.—they moved at such a glacial pace, and featured overly-methodical line deliveries from the actors to signify seriousness. They were bad and a sign of things to come in what turned out to be an overlong finale that featured a couple of moderately thrilling and culminating sequences and then a lot of people repeating names and information in dark rooms. But in this regard, the show stayed true to itself this season, assuming that poorly constructed or weakly developed relationships were the selling point of the story.
It's always difficult to watch shows that fail to—or simply choose not to— course correct over their duration, but it's most difficult to experience them at the finale stage, when badly conceived beats and arcs coalescence into moments that are treated as special and important and ultimately fall flat. Though I wrote about that with regards to last week's answer-heavy penultimate episode, it was even more of a problem in "Omega Station" because it quickly became apparent that there wasn't much left of the story to tell, and yet somehow we had to trek through a feature-length amount of sludge.

Once Ani and Ray did indeed learn about Paul's death, they came to the revelation that the weird set photographer from "Night Finds You" was likely Leonard, the other orphaned child from the 1992 robbery-homicide that set this entire train of corruption in motion. They came to this not really through any kind of detective work, but because they just figured it out. There are a million ways to conceive of a serial procedural story, but moving from one beat to another, or determining the hows and whys and whos of a case serve an important function in making that story successful. Pivoting toward a conclusion via Ray's sudden epiphany—particularly after a season's worth of already weak investigation-related stories that mostly revolved around Paul looking at a computer screen and then walking files into rooms—was shoddy at best and embarrassing at worst.
And it only got worse from there. The trip to the set photographer's place divulged a few key pieces of information—he was the one who shot Ray, as his rage over discovering what sister Laura/Erica had been doing to frame Caspere sent him into a murderous rage—and from there, the difficult men and Pizzolatto of it all took over, with Ray and Frank handling much of the action while their respective women took direction with the primary intent of staying safe.
The sequence at the rail station, with Ray confronting Leonard and then trying to lure Holloway and Burris into a tricky situation, featured flashes of tension and excitement, as did Frank and Ray's mowing down of Osip and the Catalyst crew up north. Yet, both sequences were surrounded by some numbing action. The power of the last 20-25 minutes required the audience to give a crap about Ray and his son, Ray and Ani's new relationship, and Frank's internal struggle with pride and survival. Unfortunately, as I discussed last week, the show never really successfully developed any of those stories or relationships in such a way that made me feel like the time spent on them was actually worthwhile.

That's not on the actors, by the way. For all the chatter about what Vince Vaughn could or could not do in the Frank role, he figured some things out in the back half of the season here and probably ended up my favorite part of the show. The last-second return of the Santa Muerte dudes was not necessarily unexpected but, again, one of those elements that never gained traction before the finale, so couldn't really pack a punch in the final episode. But Vaughn did a really fine job in playing out Frank's string. That parade of past sins and reprieves could have gone so poorly, but Vaughn made it work (with help from director John Crowley and Nigel Buck's cinematography).
Rachel McAdams had her big moment with the orgy episode a few weeks back and was saddled with some less successful stuff here, but she turned in the most consistent performance of the season and made the most interesting choices to produce a relatively coherent character. Colin Farrell, my man, kind of lost his mojo as the show stripped away Ray into a puddle of stern faces and grave whispers. You would have hoped that a couple of showdowns and shootouts would have brought back some zip in Farrell's performance, but it just didn't happen. Nice cowboy hat, though.

The end of the story was fine, given everything else that came before it. That Ani and Jordan (and Nails!) made their way to Venezuela to become a quasi-family—complete with Ray and Ani's lovechild!—and attempt to take down the remaining folks affiliated with Catalyst, the rail corridor, Vinci, and the conspiracy by bringing in the L.A. Times reporter Ray beat up all the back in the premiere, made sense given the story that Pizzolatto chose to tell. The same goes for the idea that many of the evil men involved in the conspiracy got away unscathed; Tony Chesani got his wish and became mayor of Vinci, the attorney general didn't face much blowback, and the railway project moved forward. People will compare this to Season 1's "the light is winning" speech and think there's a bleakness to it, and while that's true, it's only partially so. A lot of bad people were never fully implicated and/or caught during Season 1's investigation, too. That's the genre in which Pizzolatto is playing.
Speaking of the genre conventions, when I think about what went so wrong with Season 2 of True Detective, it's not that it traded in clichés and formulas that we've seen dozens and dozens of times. It's that it did such a poor job of executing those clichés and formulas that it was never entirely possible to simply go along for the ride in a fun genre exercise.
Even more so, I keep thinking about some of the weirdness that was sprinkled among those first couple of episodes and how almost none of that remained in the show from the fourth episode onward. Ray's wild side, the bird mask, the oddly grizzly way in which Caspere was killed, the Conway Twitty dream sequence at the gates of hell (or something), Dr. Pitlor, Mayor Chesani's family, the history of the free or alternative thought groups—none of that REALLY mattered by the time we got to "Omega Station" and Ray was trying to upload a voice memo to his son in the middle of a shootout. Those flourishes, be they little character tics created by Piz or stylistic bursts brought forth by directors, cinematographers, and editors, rapidly disappeared from the True D equation, and all that was left was a sloppily executed exercise in genre storytelling.
Maybe Pizzolatto simply had too many ideas for this season and ran out of storytelling real estate. Or maybe HBO should have never let him have full reign over this anticipated next installment of the franchise when it was clear other factors made Season 1 pretty great. And maybe they all shouldn't have rushed into a Season 2 if everything wasn't in place. All those things are probably true. But you know what else is true? This was not good.

---

CASE NOTES

---

– Seriously though, that the Chesani family was positioned as so integral, and ultimately WAS, yet we rarely spent time with any of them is a significant crime against these last few episodes. Austin ended up dead, the son was kind of the big bad and yet appeared in like three episodes, and the daughter played by Emily freaking Rios, was around for a week. What in the blue hell happened there?
– I appreciate that Piz believes a young teenage boy who has already had trouble with bullies could carry around his grandfather's old badge in a box and somehow not get FURTHER bullied. Sure man, sure.
– Frank was literally stabbed in the diamonds. And he said that Stan's kid was made of gold. SYMBOLISM? I have no idea. Shout out to Stan though. What a dude, you know?
– So is Nails just going to stick it out with Jordan and Ani forever? It's approximately 10-11 months later and he's surely not being paid anymore. That's commitment he absolutely learned from Stan, right?
What did you think of the True Detective finale?

South Park: Season 19 Will Premiere On...

Every time a news story breaks, and we've had our fair share of ridiculous and monumental news stories in recent months, I wonder, "I can't wait to see how The Newsroom South Park will cover this!" And then I remember that South Park isn't on every week of the year and is down to only 10 episodes per season and then I get sad.
Well, at least we now know when South Park will return to catch up on everything that's happened recently:


 And to be more specific, at 10pm.
Comedy Central also revealed a few more premiere dates, so I'll list 'em off here while I have your attention. The series premiere of Moonbeam City, a new animated series about '80s cops voiced by Rob Lowe and Elizabeth Banks, will get the South Park bump and air immediately after South Park at 10:30pm starting October 15. The following Wednesday, September 23, Season 2 of TripTank will debut at 11pm. TripTank is a collection of totally weird animated shorts. And as a reminder, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will make its anticipated debut on Monday, September 28. As we previously noted, Season 3 of Nathan For You will bless us all with its presence on October 15.
Which show are you most excited for?

Suits: We Should Talk About "No Refills"

The consequences of Mike adding Rachel's dad to his case started to rear their awkward little heads in "No Refills." Elsewhere, Harvey did Harvey stuff with the usual rockstar attitude, particularly while barely holding it all together as the Donna Thing dragged on. At least we still had the delightful Anti-Donna manning Harvey's reception area. Love her.

What did you think of "No Refills?" Is this season still bringing the awesome or has it already regressed? I think I'll be fine as long as we never revisit the dismal depths of season 3. Just thinking about it gives me post-traumatic stress flashbacks. Anyway, the full review is on the way, but you can start chatting in the comments in the meantime. Kisses! 

NBC Cancels Hannibal After Three Seasons

Keeping in tradition with hating everything you love, NBC has canceled the critically acclaimed drama series Hannibal, TV.com has learned. (I'll wait while you cry disgustingly beautiful, artificial blood tears.)  Adapted for television by mad genius Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), the perverse and highly stylized masterpiece starred Hugh Dancy as Will Graham and Mads Mikkelsen as the titular cannibal from Thomas Harris' novels.
One of the most beautifully filmed series on TV, the show always felt a bit out of place on broadcast television, but would fit nicely at home on a cable network looking to up its prestige factor. Do you hear me, cable networks looking to up your prestige factor? Do not let this stunning psychological thriller slip your fingers! And not just because I know a guy who knows a guy who kills people and eats them for dinner.
For what it's worth, Fuller, who is signed on to adapt Neil Gaiman's American Gods for Starz, appeared to take the news a little bit better than we did. "NBC has allowed us to craft a television series that no other broadcast network would have dared, and kept us on the air for three seasons despite Cancellation Bear Chow ratings and images that would have shredded the eyeballs of lesser Standards & Practices enforcers,” Fuller said in a statement. “[NBC president] Jen Salke and her team have been fantastic partners and creatively supportive beyond measure."
Hannibal was the first series created by Fuller to reach three seasons.
UPDATE: All hope is not lost! The company that produces Hannibal has confirmed its shopping Hannibal elsewhere. 

Game of Thrones: The Absolute 5 Best Moments from Season 5

I'm not ready to let Game of Thrones get away. I'm not! Come back, show! But alas, the series is off to hibernate for nine months while we wait very impatiently to find out exactly where Gendry is in that rowboat.

However, just because the show is going away for a while it doesn't mean I'm going to shut up about it. This week I'll be reliving various memories from the show's fifth season, starting with my five favorite moments. Let's go!
[SPOILERS AHEAD, duh-doi]
The Battle of Hardhome


Well duh, right? Not only was this the best scene from Season 5, it's probably the best scene from the entire series. Jon Snow spinning around to obliterate a wight, Wun Wun crushing enemies underfoot, Jon dissolving the White Walker with Longclaw, the Night's King raising his arms and triumphantly resurrecting the dead... there were so many individual moments in the entire sequence that were amazing, and stringing them all together was the year's quintessential hold-on-to-your-butts moment.
More: Let's relive the Battle of Hardhome with .GIFs!


Arya murders Meryn Trant


This was a long time coming, and even though Arya's revenge on Meryn Trant had been building since Season 1 and the actual killing of Meryn happened quicker than we expected, it was still so damned satisfying!


Drogon fires up some Sons of the Harpy


Not to be confused with Drogon being Dany's bus out of Troubletown (which happened moments later), Drogon breathing hot fire all over the idiot Sons of the Harpy was spectacular. I mean, look at that .GIF! The effects were some of Game of Thrones' best and really stood out considering Dany's bareback ride on Drogon a few seconds later were some of Game of Thrones' worst.


Cersei licks the floor


The culminating moment in Cersei's fall from power was the former queen's butt-naked walk of shame from the finale, but the moment we truly knew that Cersei was having a hard time was when she licked spilled water off the floor of a dungeon cell that people definitely peed on before. This was a woman who would probably have servants carry her over a floor that hadn't been washed in five minutes, and here she was, like a desperate alley cat shlurping up a few drops.


Stannis BBQs Shireen


Yep, this will be the controversial inclusion in this list, but I'll do my best to argue why it should be here while simultaneously understanding why you think it shouldn't be here. I get it. This scene sucked, but it was also immensely moving and crucial to Stannis' tragic arc. The direction of the scene was impeccable, and the acting—particularly young Kerry Ingram and Stephen Dillane—was brave and perfect. Emotion, even anger, is key to the viewing experience, and boy was I angry while watching this. Do I ever want to see this scene again? Hell no. Am I glad I did see it? Absolutely. I really wanted to put Stannis' "You're my daughter" speech to Shireen here, but given how things turned out, I couldn't.
What were YOUR favorite moments from Game of Thrones' fifth season?

Beauty and the Beast: Cat and Vincent's Romance, and More Secrets From Season 3

Beauty and the Beast has somehow triumphed over its low ratings and being shuffled around The CW's schedule to earn not just a Season 3 renewal, but an early pickup for Season 4 as well. Now that it's back with two more seasons, executive producer Brad Kern is putting his focus back on the heart of the show: Vincent and Cat's romance.
"In Season 2, the mandate was to broaden the characters and the reach and see if the network could attract a bigger viewership. At the time, a future pickup was dependent on that," Kern told TV.com. "It didn’t work, but the good news was that the network was exceedingly happy with what we did and they really liked the pitch [for] Season 3. Luckily, the loyal audience stayed with us and they'll be happily rewarded."
The Season 2 finale saw Catherine (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) defeat their friend-turned-beastly foe Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy) as they found their way back to each other romantically. When the third season begins, the duo is in a bizarrely normal circumstance: figuring out how to be a couple. As fans are already anticipating, a proposal is also on the way, which will set the stage for the remainder of the season. But that's not to say the third season's 13 episodes will be all puppies and rainbows. Kern warns there are many obstacles ahead–just more relatable ones than we've seen on the show in the past.
"We're not challenging them with external threats anymore," he said. "We don’t want to do that and the audience doesn’t want to see it. The engagement period will run through Season 3 and will show that this wonderful romance still needs to grow. There's a difference between being engaged and being married, and there are real world and real couple issues that will be both fun and emotional for Vincent and Catherine to have to work through. We'll tie that into the overall story, leading into the discovery that Vincent and Catherine will have to be at their best in order to survive the season."
One of those internal struggles will be Catherine's past. "There's nothing like being engaged without it triggering old family issues," said Kern. "Her dad is in prison, her mom isn't there, she died, and she has a sister (Nicole Gale Anderson) who is there, but they have different recollections of their mom. So, we'll use that to delve into Cat's family backstory and a lot of revealing, cool elements that come out and help her grow."
Although this season's story is intended to be more grounded, there will be a new enemy for the season: a threat "that is worthy of Vincent's beastly skills, but not a beast!" said Kern. "The reality is that Reynolds [Ted Whittal] used Vincent to eliminate, we think, all the other beasts and there are only so many beasts Vincent can fight that can look different. So, in looking for new threats, we decided to come up with a story where innocent [people] are being experimented upon to see how far the human being can evolve. It's how they'll react as far as speed, thinking, agility, jumping, strength and what would a human look like in 10,000 years? As we discover more and more of these innocent people, we have to save and not kill them as they're trying to attack Cat and Vincent. We'll then begin to reveal the reason why the people are being experimented upon which will lead us back to our mythology."
Joining Vincent and Catherine in their fight will be the show's other couple, a pairing Kern admitted he wasn't sure he wanted to see play out.  "I was frankly resistant to the idea of Tess [Nina Lisandrello] and J.T. [Austin Basis] together, but Austin and Nina surprised me and [CW President] Mark Pedowitz with this wonderful chemistry," he said. "It's something we'll be further developing. I look at them as the more relatable couple, and through them we can enjoy the more fantasy, epic couple which is Vincent and Catherine. [Catherine and Tess'] friendship and partnership will actually be tested because of a change in their work relationship, but the goal of the season is to bring the 'Scooby Gang' together—and that includes Heather. They're all a part of a greater destiny and the fun is how each comes to that realization in their own separate ways."
Beauty and the Beast Season 3 premieres Thursday, June 11 at 8pm on The CW.

Elementary Has Found Sherlock's Father and He Looks a Lot Like John Noble

Sleepy Hollow's loss is Elementary's gain! The always great John Noble has joined the CBS drama as a series regular for Season 4, the network announced Wednesday. Noble will take on the role of Sherlock's (Jonny Lee Miller) estranged father. 


The character was referenced in the past as being instrumental in Sherlock’s first stint in rehab. He's also the person responsible for Sherlock being paired with Joan (Lucy Liu) as his sober companion during the series' first season. Now living in New York City, he will help Sherlock deal with the aftermath of his recent relapse.


What do you think of this casting? Anything is better than the bull-honky they handed to him in Season 2 of Sleepy Hollow, right? Also, here's the requisite "FRINGE RULES!" 


Elementary's fourth season will air Thursdays at 10pm on CBS this fall. 

FTW vs. WTF: The TV Week in Review (May 17 - 23)

It's a three-day weekend in the American States, so please adjust your television viewing accordingly. Instead of going to bed immediately after Veep ends on Sunday night, you can now stay awake for another 24 hours straight and continue to watch even MORE television! It's a good opportunity to catch up on Beauty and the Beast or Baby Daddy before they return. Get to it! 

Now here's what we liked and didn't like from the week in television.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't finished watching this week's new episodes (of The Flash, Mad Men, Silicon Valley, etc.), we suggest that you hold off on reading this story until you do.

FTW:

The Flash wrapped up its freshman season in thrilling, character-focused fashion

The best thing about The Flash's Season 1 finale was that it kept the focus on Barry's emotional arc of the season. Instead of saving Nora from the Reverse-Flash's machinations, he provided her (and himself) with words of comfort in her dying moments. Barry realized that the life he had now, the life that led to him being the Flash, was actually pretty great and that he and his team could do real good. And then a black hole opened up above Central City and Barry rushed into it because SUPERHEROIC CLIFFHANGER. Is it October yet?

FTW:

Bob and Louise reunite "Hawk & Chick" while also bonding on Bob's Burgers

One of the many pleasures of Bob's Burgers is when the parents and kids get a chance to work together, and when Bob and Louise spotted the hero of their favorite martial arts film series—"Hawk & Chick" (a riff on "Lone Wolf and Cub," but with a little girl)—they decided to reunite him with his estranged daughter. A convoluted plan involving a film "festival" and amateur dubbing (never not funny) resulted in the father-daughter martial arts duo having a heart-felt hug, but it also allowed Louise and Bob to reassure one another that their relationship will stand the test of time. How better to realize that when dubbing a fight with a seaweed monster?

FTW:

Mad Men lets Don Draper find happiness and a kick-ass advertising campaign

Don Draper did it! He finally found inner peace in the thoughtful and fantastic (or dull and anticlimactic, depending who you talk to) series finale, exploring enlightenment and using that inner sense of contentment to create the infamous "I'd like to teach the world to sing" hippie-dippy Coke ad. Or did he not create the Coke ad? The ambiguity of it all falls right in line with Mad Men's intellectual pursuits, and made it a fitting way for the series to end.

FTW:

Supernatural moves into the Darkness...

Bucking tradition, Supernatural plopped both Winchesters down in mortal peril before calling it quits for the summer. Dean killed Death but he didn't kill Sam and that distinction makes all the difference for a series whose big dramatic death scenes have become a bit of a joke over the years. The Darkness, with its slimy obsidian fingers in seemingly every disaster in Supernatural's mythology, promises to be the sort of evil that miiiiiight just rival the apocalypse. 

FTW:

iZombie's majorization of Major 

When iZombie premiered you probably looked at Robert Buckley's Major as the obvious man candy that he was ("Blonde pretty boy who looks like he's straight out of a Nicholas Sparks movie?"), but over the course of the series' incredibly strong first season, the writers have given him a worthwhile arc that's run parallel to Liv's main zombie action. Major's investigation may have led to him losing his job, getting attacked by Blaine's cronie, and believing that he was losing his mind, but it's also allowed him to develop on his own and exist beyond the limits of a traditional love interest. Liv's decision to not clue him in on the real truth is frustrating and ridiculous, but luckily a fellow member of his group at the psychiatric hospital he checked into was more forthcoming: "This city has a zombie problem." Boom. 

FTW:

David Letterman bows out gracefully and sincerely

Letterman's final episode was about as perfect as it could have been in honoring a late-night legend. Celebrity guests stopped by but were never the focus, old clips showed off just how good he was throughout his career, a killer montage cemented his relevance in pop-culture history, and most importantly, the final broadcast let Dave be Dave and do what he does best: host. Still, he deflected as much attention away from himself and toward everyone in his life who helped him make The Late Show and Late Night such successes during his tenures. We'll miss you, Dave. We already do. 

FTW:

The late-night camaraderie surrounding Letterman's exit

Late-night television is notoriously cutthroat, but everyone put their differences aside to honor Letterman as he exited his post. Jimmy Kimmel was particularly awesome, demanding that ABC air a repeat of his show the night Letterman signed off. And in his shows leading up to Letterman's departure, he told his audience to go watch Letterman and offered up a teary tribute to his idol.

FTW:

Silicon Valley SWOTs Blaine's fate

Danesh and Gilfoyle met daredevil douche Blaine and then found out that his calculations for his death-defying stunt were off, which would turn Blaine into a splatter mark on the side of the building. After trying to warn Blaine and getting shut down for being losers, the two used Original Jared's SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) board technique from business school to figure out the pros and cons of saving Blaine's life in one of the funniest gags since Season 1's epic dick joke. 

FTW:

There's going to be a Breaking Bad-themed bar

A london drinkery will be themed on AMC's hit, complete with an RV that looks like a meth lab. We're booking two tickets to Londontown RIGHT NOW. 

FTW:

Dean Pelton paintballs his way out of a sticky situation

This week's episode of Community brought back paintball, which was highlighted by this action sequence. Go get 'em, Dean!

FTWTF:

Netflix's Between is right between being good and okay

You probably didn't know this, but Netflix premiered a new series this week. The under-the-radar Between is all about a virus that kills off everyone over 21 years old in a small town, but the real story here is how Netflix is releasing the series: one episode a week like a real television network. As such, we still don't know how good this show will be after an interesting but ultimately lukewarm pilot because we can't instantly flip on the second episode. What is this, the Stone Age? We guess we'll have to wait *gulp* a week to stream the next episode? 

FTWTF:

Stars drop by the Black-ish finale, but it was more of an event than the comedy we like

P. Diddy! Mary J. Blige! Fancy Roarin' 20s getups! The Black-ish finale certainly looked great, but it didn't touch the heart like most of its successful first season. It's okay though, the event episode was entertaining, and Jack (Miles Brown) showed off some nasty dance moves. 

WTF:

Game of Thrones' Sand Snakes have no bite

We were supposed to be impressed with Oberyn Martell's trio of dangerous daughters, but so far they've fizzled instead of sizzled. The biggest problem is we don't know who these people are other than pissed-off revenge machines, and we can't tell them apart because they have no personality. Game of Thrones has done remarkably well with bringing its characters to life, but the Sand Snakes stink. Perhaps the impossible task of bringing the books to life is finally catching up to the show.

WTF:

Stalker died as it lived

Our contention that Stalker's pilot could've just as easily been Episode 18 as Episode 1 bore fruit in its series finale. While no women were set on fire, a serial killer wearing a mask for no discernible reason—other than for audience mystery—stalked and murdered women. Although there were occasional male-centric cases, Stalker never consistently expanded its focus beyond women in peril. It continued to be competently acted and directed, and it dropped the Jack-as-a-stalker angle (thank goodness), but it remained a repetitive and dull slog with delightfully bizarre cover songs to wrap-up episodes. At least it brought Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott together, so something good came from it all!

WTF:

ABC produces a horny factory on The Bacheloretteand freaks out when someone takes advantage of it

Previews for the rest of the season of The Bachelorette showed Kaitlyn sleeping with a dude and then ABC made a big deal out of it, bordering on exploitative slut-shaming. But that's wha happens when a network provides Costco-sized servings of romance, alcohol, and bare abs. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT, ABC? WHAT. DID. YOU. EXPECT. ?.

WTF:

Whatever this is

What?

What's on YOUR list of TV loves and hates this week? The Supergirl pilot leak? Another Good Wife exit? The Survivor finale? Share your own FTWs and WTFs in the comments!

Outlander "Wentworth Prison" Review: Eyes Closed, Heart Open

Sometimes I don’t know who the bigger sadist is, Black Jack Randall, or Diana Gabaldon for creating him and then setting him loose on Jamie Fraser. Let me level with you: I found this part of the book so deeply disturbing, I considered not watching the series. I was like, I can't take that happening in real time! I do not enjoy physical violence in movies and I cannot watch rape scenes. So this episode was painful. 

Probably the first physical assault scene I ever saw was a PBS version of Clarissa that traumatized me at age 8. Set in the 18th century, Clarissa died of shame after her assault. Not only was it horribly scarring for an 8 year old, but talk about a vicious message, and one that has echoed throughout literature and film... the idea of being “ruined.” So often on television, characters who are survivors exist only in one-off episodes, or sexual abuse will only happen to very peripheral characters on a series. We almost never seen main characters raped (interestingly enough, an exception this year was Queen Mary on Reign, another Scottish period drama). Nine times out of 10, main characters are saved at the last minute from assault, or they help a survivor deal after the fact. Frankly, that's a way of subtly marginalizing survivors and enforcing the idea a stigma attaches to them: this can't happen to heroes! If there is any point to depicting rape in media, it’s that having it happen to beloved, developed characters sends a strong message to survivors that their story is not unspeakable. That rape is everybody's problem because yes, it can happen to the main characters in our lives. 

But maybe I should start talking about the actual show? Jamie was in Wentworth prison, watching people get hung in a very perfunctory fashion by the British, when his name was called next. Being Jamie, he fought for his life, but there was a dozen redcoats and one of him. Just as the rope was put around his neck, Black Jack Randall came in and was like “Not so fast.”

Meanwhile Claire was trying to sweet talk the head of the prison. She hoped to see Jamie and walk out with some intel, but she left with a box of his tchotchkes and puked outside the prison gates. Luckily two of her sloppiest dudes gambled with some jailors and got some very useful information: there’s a one-hour window of time in which the head of the jail will be checked out, they can sneak in, and hopefully liberate Jamie.

Meanwhile, Black Jack Randall threw Jamie in a dungeon where he was chained to a wall and given enough provisions to buoy him up for the long night of psychological torture to come. He had a muscle man, Morley, with him, and the first thing he did was burn Jamie’s hard-won petition of complaint. You know, just in case he had any last desperate atoms of hope in his heart. He also let him know he will certainly die, no two ways about it, but not before Black Jack Randall had the opportunity to torture him. But, if he surrendered to Black Jack now, he’d have the privilege of stabbing himself instead of being hung in the morning. Nice deal.

It was important to define Black Jack Randall as first and foremost a sadist, as Gabaldon could otherwise be condemned for having used an extremely homophobic "Devious Gay Predator" stereotype for her villain. Sandringham exists in the story for almost this express purpose: to be a nice, normal 18th century gay dude who in no way wanted to smash people’s hands with giant hammers. That Jack was attracted to Jamie was sort of besides the point (in the world of Outlander, literally everyone was), what makes him terrifying was that he wanted possession of Jamie’s soul. He wanted to break him psychologically, and bind them together forever through fear and trauma because deep down Randall could only feel fear and trauma, so this was the only form of intimacy he was capable of. To this end, Randall sprinkled spurts of compliments and life coaching in with his torture. He broke every bone in Jamie’s hand, then tenderly revived him. He was an uncomfortably close and detailed portrait of a complete sadist.

Gabaldon: Girl, what’s up. Did you date someone like this? Would love to know.

Anyway. Claire sweet talked her way back into Wentworth when she knew the Head Jailer would be indisposed, then when she’s left to wait for him in his office she grabbed his keys and headed through the jail to find Jamie. She was soon able to follow the sound of his screams. She removed a bolt from the back door before sneaking into his cell while Jack Randall was taking a snuff break or something and desperately tried to free him. Randall almost instantly returned.

So here was the crux of the episode: no amount of fear or abuse could get Jamie to capitulate to Randall. However, the moment Claire’s life was in danger, Jamie struck a deal: do what you want with me, just let her go. It’s Christmas in the springtime for arch-sadist Randall, and it’s also a powerful insight into Jamie’s character. His love was much, much stronger than his fear. Randall kissed Jamie in front of Claire and then hustled her out of there, but before he could throw her down the “Executed Prisoner Chute” onto a heap of corpses, Claire enacted her own form of psychological torture. She told him the date of his death, which was carefully hidden from the audience because that would be a major spoiler alert for Season 2, I presume.

I am writing about this all a little cursorily because frankly this was an extremely unpleasant episode to watch, much less to relish in exquisite detail. We had to see Jamie’s hand smashed, then watch Randall grope him, then watch Randall almost murder Claire. It’s all very not okay. I am still kind of furious at Diana Gabaldon for going into so much detail in the book, and the series was being faithful to her vision, and I’m terrified of what’s coming next week. If it were a woman being victimized I would call it gratuitous, however because it was a man my feelings are more complicated.

Male-on-male sexual assault is not something we see a lot of in mainstream film and TV. Female sexuality is public space, male sexuality is more private and almost inviolable, so seeing a strong, traditionally masculine lead character be objectified and violated in this way was shocking. This is not an age where viewers are easily shocked. I mean, I can see a guy's head pounded flat on Daredevil and not blink an eye: same old same old. So why have we never seen something like this Outlander scene before? What expectations was it subverting, what assumptions was it challenging? 

This was shock with a social value. This was something almost unprecedented, a completely heroic, masculine narrative for a threat traditionally relegated to marginalized female characters. This was a character male and female survivors can identify with who was clearly blameless and strong and brave and without stigma, yet still trapped and coerced into "consenting" to his abuse. As grueling as this episode was (and I fear the next episode will get even more intense), hopefully through suffering by Jamie’s side, we all gained a visceral understanding that we must, at all costs, protect survivors from feeling diminished or stigmatized by sexual abuse.

So yeah! Extremely deep dark feels for this episode. Claire was going to go back in there and those of us who have read the book know it’s going to get darkest before dawn. Get out some of your feels now, tell me if you kept your eyes open the whole time, let me know how you’re doing, and let’s all mentally hold hands through the finale.

QUESTIONS...

... Did you keep your eyes open the whole time?

... Do you think Diana Gabaldon was intentionally trying to start a larger discussion about rape with Outlander?

... How impressed are you by Toby Menzies? Is playing a psycho sadist this well “career suicide” or will it launch him into the spotlight of casting directors everywhere?

... Can you handle the finale?

Game of Thrones: How Delightful Was "Kill the Boy"?

Kill the boy? Which boy? There are lots of boys that could be killed, so let's run down the noteworthy possibilities:
Robin Arryn: He should be killed, definitely.
King Tommen Baratheon: Another possibility, as his death would throw the kingdom into chaos... AGAIN. 
Olly, Jon's squirt for a helping hand: Wouldn't it be something if Ser Alliser decided a little payback for Janos' beheading was in order? 
Bran Stark: He's not even in this season, so probably not. Ditto for Rickon.
And depending on your definition of boy, we could add Ramsay Bolton, Jon Snow, Lancel Lannister, Trystane Martell (Myrcella's soon-to-be husband). Or, you know, it could be one of those metaphorical things where the boy is simply a stand-in for the innocence of pre-puberty adolescence, and someone should just grow a pair. Hopefully it is someone real and not just an abstract concept, because we all watch this show for its death count, right?
I'm working on my review and carefully plotting out some .GIFs, but that doesn't mean you can't start talking about the show without me. I will not be offended. So go ahead and discuss in the comments section.