Grimm "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm" Review

"Goodnight, Sweet Grimm" picks up where "The Waking Dead" left off. The Baron releases a few from the crate to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting Portland public. The Baron's involvement puzzled me throughout the episode. I waited and waited for Eric's plan to make sense. Why would he hire a guy to put wesen trances on humans? If he's searching for The Key, why did he lounge in a large room while sipping a drink? Renard went through various papers with passports and body transfers that was odd but eventually fell into place in the finale.

Grimm's second season moved slowly yet deliberately. I think the use of deliberately is the word I want to use. Last season ended with momentum; it had the pace of a Cristiano Ronaldo in the final 1/3. Grimm's structure is tricky to figure out. The finale starts off well and continues at a steady pace during the middle portion of the episode. Nick, Monroe and Rosalee investigate the waking dead folk wreaking havoc in Portland. Adalind's trying to restore her hexenbiest power. Renard's putting the pieces together as to why his brother made a surprise visit to Portland. The three storylines have resolutions, all with built-in cliff-hangers, but resolutions nonetheless.

Renard's investigation ties into the final scene of the episode when Nick's being carried off in a case to Europe where he'll surely have a bad time with the royals. The blank passport was for Nick as well as those body transport papers. Eric's a gambling man, though. He counts on a number of factors to get Nick one-on-one with The Baron. Actually, I suppose it's not a big gamble. Nick always finds the wesen he needs to stop, so it was just a matter of time. Kouf and Greenwalt carefully plotted it in the last two episodes. Rosalee figures out an antidote immediately after hearing about the case. Nick gets into trouble when saving those waking dead folk because The Baron hops around like a video game character. They fight, but Nick doesn't win. The Baron spits the goo in Nick's face, rendering him motionless. I probably should've seen the 'twist' coming, but my eyes were heavy during the episode and my head was cloudy. I wanted something to happen because "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm" felt like a typical episode. There wasn't a distinct finale feel to it.

Nick's taken by Eric at the worst possible time. Juliette's fully on board with him. They have a lovely, intimate night together. The key moment for them is Juliette's insistence about tagging along for the case work to see what his life's like on a daily basis. Fans speculated about Juliette dying in the finale, which wouldn't have worked. The writers spent months and months getting her memories back. David Greenwalt worked with Joss Whedon for a number of years. Killing Juliette wouldn't have been a complete shock considering his history, but I didn't think she'd be killed off after the insane build to her re-learning everything she learned in the last finale. I think the payoff was worth the time it took to get the character to her place of acceptance. Season 1 Juliette freaked out, but her specific amnesia of Nick, plus the general weirdness she experienced in getting her memories back. It took time but she got her place of acceptance naturally. Bitsie Tulloch portrayed Juliette's panic at the end really well--it was more heightened because she just got him back.

The episode's other resolution involved Adalind. Adalind's a hexenbiest again, if I read those scenes correctly. Resolution's not the best word to use since the baby stuff is still up in the air. Adalind's plan involved using the Frau Pech to get killed which would then allow Adalind to get her powers. I think. Remember, my eyes were heavy and my head foggy. Adalind adds a dangerous sort of femme fatale element to the show. She didn't interact with Nick at all this season. She needs to get back into Portland because the character is the best when she's an atagonist. One of the problems this season was the lack of tangible antagonists for Nick. Each episode had the stand-alone antagonists, but Adalind was a thorn in his side from the "Pilot" on last season. Eric hung out in Vienna for most of the season. Adalind was in hiding. Renard was teased as a consistent antagonist to the hero, but it was only a tease.

I don't think the second season of Grimm was a rousing success. The season had its ups and downs, with a few more low moments than high moments. I wanted the show to make the ANGEL leap, but Greenwalt and Kouf seem content in sticking with the established format and structure. ANGEL only made its leap from stand-alone procedural into serialized storytelling because of its universe. Buffy had established the long-form serialized arcs. Grimm's a traditional procedure, but it is a more interesting procedural. The genre elements are always well-used. The season was not what I expected it to be; however, the series' ideas stand-out from the pack of network procedurals. I usually admire the chances the show takes week-to-week. Overall, I enjoyed the season; it was just lighter than I thought it'd be. But that's me.

Other Thoughts:

-One more time: Bree Turner and Silas Weir-Mitchell are terrific together. The dinner scene in the beginning of the episode was delightful.

-I wonder if any story was scrapped for Hank after Hornsby's injury. Wu still couldn't take on a more significant role in the investigation. I'm hoping for Wu to get clued in next season after a 20 episode build-up.

-Grimm returns to Friday nights in the fall. I had trouble with the Tuesday at 10 change. I'm glad Grimm's going back to Fridays.

-The epigram is part of a quote from Hamlet. Horatio says it Hamlet after Hamlet dies. I don't think it's important for the story, but before Hamlet dies, he wishes for his story to be told for "the rest is silence." I don't think anyone will tell Nick's story quite yet. Hamlet had quite the complicated relationship with his mother, though. I'm wondering what happened to Mother Grimm. Perhaps she comes back to rescue her son.

-Jim Kouf & David Greenwalt wrote the finale. Norberto Barba directed the episode.

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Finale Fun: Hawaii Five 0's "Aloha, Malama Pono"

I learned last week that CBS can put Hawaii Five-O anywhere on their schedule and it won't matter a darn because the show pulls in great international numbers. Thus, Hawaii Five-O will move to Friday nights beginning next fall where even less people will notice it. Hawaii Five-O has a nice and loyal fanbase, though, that'll follow it wherever it goes. I won't count myself among the loyal fans since I forget plot points. I'm glad Hawaii Five-0 is able to beat bad numbers domestically because of its numbers internationally. I wonder what international fans love most about the series. Perhaps it is Steve and Danny's playful buddy cop relationship or the character Kamekona. For me, I just enjoy the episodes most of the time. I'm entertained, often engaged. I like the characters. I like the relationships. The shots of Hawaii are lovely, breathtaking, and momentarily transports one to the paridisal isle.

Season 3 wasn't different from the first 2 seasons. I mean, the series won't change its formula or structure. 23 episodes of Five-0 is not ideal over a 9 month span. The ongoing arcs move at a snail's pace. Joe White's shelbourne nonsense took me out of season 2 completely. I can't even tell you what happened. Last week's adventure spy time with Christine Lahti and Treat Williams had its delights, mostly Lahti and Treat Williams. Alex O'Laughlin must play his scenes with his mother so seriously because Steve's ever mistrustful of her. The McGarretts get what they needed by the end of the episode because, of course they do. The whole Yakuzi plot is mostly a drag because of Adam's involvement. I think Adam's the blandest character, and it doesn't help that any memory of a Serious Kono plot causes me to curl up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth madly, uttering, "No...no...no." So, how did the finale resolve these bits of nonsense?

-The finale's the kind of Hawaii Five-0 episode I get into, for lack of a better phrase. There's excitement, adventure, good character stuff, and more Wo Fat nonsense. When McGarrett heard gunshots and explosions, I immediately thought, 'here goes Wo Fat blowing stuff up again" only to be surprised by the cliff hanger, somewhat. My memory of past episodes isn't the strongest, but I remember one in which McGarrett needed to protect Wo Fat. A couple of episodes of McGarrett begrudgingly protecting the man responsible for his father's death should be fun. McGarrett's scenes with Doris don't go anywhere, and she ends up leaving on a boat with Adam and Kono to Shanghai. I think she just said, 'to be continued' to Steve, and Steve just stared at her. Hawaii Five-0's all about incremental steps in its serialized storytelling. Wo Fat's burns add a more menacing aspect since he looked like a model before the burns and was not intimidating.

-The Adam/Kono nonsense had a nifty payoff. Adam ends the episode on the run from the Yakuzi. Kono, out of love for him, leaves with him on the boat. Adam's forced to shoot his own brother during a scuffle. Michael used the gun to frame Kono, which the team should've predicted last week. I mean, Steve and Danny should've told Max that someone must've stolen Kono's gun and used it. Max acts like Kono turned into Embrace The Hate Kane. The previews guaranteed Kono would be out of the team by episode's end. Any promo that promises the team will lose a member always means the team will lose Kono. Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park had a lovely scene together as Chin and Kono said goodbye. I felt sad for Chin; he lost his wife, and now his cousin was going away. I cheered, sort of, when he called prison riot lady for a second date.

-Autumn Reeser came back to the show after being absent for a full season. Reeser was busy on ABC's Last Resort, which is why you are forgiven for forgetting about Danny's girlfriend. Danny didn't do much this season, so hugging Autumn Reeser takes the cake for his shining moment.

-The stand-alone terrorism plot repeated the basic beats of the kidnapping episode from two weeks ago. Lenkov never fails to introduce some bad guy in need of protecting, e.g. this villain in the finale who killed five CIA operatives but then needs protection because he knows the target of a terrorist attack. The kidnapped child was actually kidnapped by the CIA for leverage. I'll always remember Five-0 being tasked with protecting a brutal dictator and then being celebrated as heroes because the dictator chooses to pay for his crimes. Hawaii Five-0, everyone. I kid. It is part of the show’s charm.

-Anyway, good season. That’s all, folk.

Game Of Thrones "Second Sons" Review

Game of Thrones is a terrific series. The A Song of Ice and Fire series is epic in scope, populated by seemingly endless amounts of characters, with different, intricate storylines. Some characters get a scene every two episodes, but the strength of the material, as well as the strength and skill of Benioff and Weiss' adaptation helps the material land for the viewer. The Sam the Slayer scene could've been shorter. Benioff and Weiss could've cut in as Gilly, her unnamed son, and Sam, camp out, only to be interrupted by a white walker. Instead of quickly cutting in and then cutting straight to the action as Melisandre does with Gendry, the scene is allowed to breathe, grow, whatever you want to call it. Sam and Gilly talk about the baby's possible name, which reveals Gilly's extremely limited worldview as well as Sam's relationship with his father Randyll. Gilly criticizes his fancy talk; she thinks he's speaking fancy purposefully. Sam's not, though. Sam is who he is in the scenes we've seen. He's not malicious, deceptive, sneaky; he's one of the few honestly good men in Westeros. He's been the outcast of the Night's Watch, been called piggy, and could barely walk the rest of the way to Craster's earlier in the season. His men wanted to leave him to die, but Commander Mormont wouldn't allow it. He escaped the Night's Watch mutiny and wandered around the dangerous northern woods where the dead walk. All of Sam's history matters. Gilly's perception of him matters because if it doesn't then his slaying of the white walker doesn't mean anything. Sam's had about seven scenes this entire season. The scene lands as terrifically as it does because of the writing.

Tyrion and Sansa's wedding is another example of the series' terrific writing and its terrific understanding of their characters and the world. Their marriage is one of circumstance. Tywin won't allow the Tyrells to gain more power than the Lannisters in the Seven Kingdoms. The wedding's wildly depressing for the participants. Tyrion's piss-drunk by the reception, and Sansa's looks close to vomiting in each of her shots. The wedding scenes don't solely emphasize the dispositions of Sansa and Tyrion; the scenes also re-emphasizes Cersei's cold and cruel bitchiness and Joffrey's cruel prodding of Sansa and Tyrion. Cersei hasn't behaved as cruelly as she did in season one. I thought the writers forgot about her stinger. No, indeed, the writers did not. Margaery sweetly calls her sister, and Cersei responds with threats of strangulation. Loras weakly attempts to converse with his bride-to-be and Cersei blows him off, leaving Loras looking more awkward than he looked in the scene's beginning.

Joffrey's an insufferable bastard throughout the wedding scenes. He embarrasses Tyrion at the service. At the reception, he threatens to rape Sansa after Tyrion's done with her. He tries to force the bedding ceremony, which leads to Tyrion putting his drunken foot down. Tyrion threatens to cut off his nephew's penis should he continue his bullying. Tywin dispenses with the bedding ceremony and reminds his grandson that his uncle is drunk and making bad jokes. Tyrion's drunkenness is amusing and sad. He's a pawn now. Sansa won't kneel for him without him asking. She's sick to her stomach every waking moment with her. Tyrion stops her from undressing because he won't share her bed until she wants him to, and Sansa may never want to share her bed. Tyrion's denied happiness when he earns it, denied accolades when he deserves it, and is made a mockery of throughout the wedding. Sansa would be wise to remember Littlefinger's words about life as a song but only realize she's not the only person miserable. Of course, she is just 14.

Across the Narrow sea, near Yunkai, Dany attempts to enlist sellswords, known as the second sons, to her cause. Among the sellsword captains is Daario Nahaaris, who turns on his other two captains after being ordered to kill Dany, for he is taken by her beauty and wishes to fight for her. The episode takes its title from the sellswords. Daario's a fascinating character. He's neither rough nor brutish like his fellow captains. His eyes seem to pierce Dany's. Dany's not afraid of him after he brings her the heads of men who wished her dead. Indeed, she rises from her bath tub, nude, staring her new friend and captain in the eyes. Daario doesn't look away. for her beauty is unparalleled. Dany has 10,000 men strong, three dragons, along with Jorah and Barristan. I'd say the girl is doing well in Essos.

Stannis does not include Dany in his three curses of usurpers after he drops the leeches carrying Gendry's blood into a fire. Dany may be his biggest threat. Robb's strength hinges on a wedding with an irascible old man. Joffrey's busy being a piece of shit. Tywin's marrying his children off. With the Tyrlls, the Lannisters are in good shape. They'd dismiss Stannis because Stannis is reliant on a half-bastard born son of King Robert. Stannis and Melisandre plan to sacrifice the boy to the Lord of Light. Stannis informs Davos of a vision he had in which he fought a great battle in winter, which is designed to show Davos that gods aren't make-believe. Davos feels Stannis freed him from his cell because he felt conflicted over the sacrifice of Gendry. Gendry has Baratheon blood in him. R'hllor demands a sacrifice, though. A sacrifice seems inevitable. When do the powerless ever overcome the powerful in the Seven Kingdoms? Gendry's not in Essos where slaves are freed.

Season 3's showed a more layered Stannis than season 2 did. Stannis' family was introduced, he did go to Davos for restraint, and he reveals in this episode that he never wanted to be king until it was foreseen. Stannis hasn't always been blinded by power. During the chaos after Robert's death, Stannis remained in Dragonstone. Visions by a red priestess, seen in fire, signs from a god, led him to commit fratricide, to turn on his closest friend, Davos Seaworth, and to contemplate sacrificing the life of innocent Gendry. Stephen Dillane's figured out the character. I think Stannis' story needed deepening this season. Season 2 highlighted the essentials, but the details of Stannis, revealed this season, are crucial.

Other Thoughts:

-How about that: the Hound is taking Arya to the Twins so he can get ransom money from Robb and Cat. Arya expected way worse as the audience must have as well. They had one scene. Well, then. Onto the wedding next week (or two weeks. Indeed, two weeks).

-Cersei provided exposition for the Rains of Castamere, a song in the books from which the next episode takes its title.

-David Benioff & D.B. Weiss wrote the episode. Michelle MacLaren directed her second episode in a row.

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The Vampire Diaries "Graduation" Review

The beat goes on and the beat goes on, doesn't it? Never trust a CW promo when said promo promises an epic season finale. The swelling of contemporary music had an epic feel to it. Stefan and Elena's relationship was epic. The story of the season was not epic. The deaths, the resurrections, et al, are the stuff fan videos are made of. I'll be stunned if a new Bonnie/Jeremy video doesn't post on YouTube by midnight. The Silas plot had an epic build and its payoff was okay. Silas' helpful piece of exposition in the final scene helped make sense of his appearances this season. The ever-changing ancient vampire hid his appearance because he's Stefan's shadow self. He's not really a ripoff of The First. I opined on the significance of never seeing the man's face and overlooked another direct parallel to The First. Harping about that now just seems unnecessary.

The finale's not even about Silas or any of the other supernatural threats hanging around Mystic Falls with the veil down. Lexi talks about letting go and moving on with Stefan and Damon. Graduation's a symbol of moving on for teenagers into the next phase of their life. Alaric listens to Lexi's words about moving on and letting go. Alaric wonders how he can when the people he loves keep screwing up. Lexi shrugs. Letting go and moving on is for the dead. Fresh starts is for the living. The other side is TVD's version of purgatory where the dead pay for the wrongs they committed while living. Graduation is about fresh starts, though. Every living character needs a fresh start heading into the fifth season.

Fresh starts wouldn't mean anything, really, if Elena chose Stefan in the finale. Stefan's solid, loyal, loving, devoted. They loved each other for a long time. He believed in her from day one and never wavered, and her faith in him saved him during his dark ripper days. Elena's indirect goodbye to him was soft, gentle, subdued, and she offered him the freshest start with the cure. Stefan denied the cure and had her keep it, which was handy when Katherine tried killing her. Damon endured false starts with Elena this season. The sire bond derailed their relationship. Elena became an emotionless bitch for a time. Free of the sire bond, Elena makes known her feelings for Damon. She owns her feelings just as Damon's ranting about losing out on her, damning his past mistakes because his past mistakes will always keep him from her. Elena acknowledges that he's a terrible person, but he made her feel more alive dead than she felt alive. Damon/Elena, free of anything, is definitely a fresh start for both. Stefan even helps Damon feel like less of an ass for getting the girl.

Jeremy Gilbert gets a fresh start. Bonnie's final deadly spell wasn't for nothing. At the moment of disappearance, Jeremy returns to life. Bonnie's ghost stands in front of him, making him promise to keep her death a secret for the summer. Jeremy doesn't want to, but he acquiesces. I don't know what to make of Jeremy's resurrection. I thought the writers ran out of ideas for the characters once they sent him off to Denver last season. Elena needs an emotional anchor besides the Salvatore brothers. Jeremy doesn't have a specific direction, but I'm sure he'll get tossed around by shadow-self Stefan, or something.

Meanwhile, Klaus receives a hero's welcome to Mystic Falls. Dude mercilessly drowned Tyler's mother five months ago in real-time, so that's less than 3 months in the show's timeline. We've all seen Klaus' fresh start in New Orleans. The man has learned how to forgive, step aside when he needs to step aside, and, most importantly, how to be decent. It's a start for Niklaus Mikaelson. He allows Tyler to return to Mystic Falls, and he reminds Caroline that Tyler's her first love, but he'll be her last, no matter how long it may take. Klaus' hero scene actually involves beheading that witch Caroline killed, which led to the final massacre that completed the expression triangle. Caroline took lives to save one. Stefan said something about being as bad as Klaus earlier this season, but his words don't seem to have a lasting impact. The writers forgive the characters alot.

Stefan, too, plans for a fresh start. Elena chose his brother, so he sets out to move on. After Lexi leaves him, he takes Silas' body for burial. Of course, Silas isn't dead. Stefan won't get a fresh start after all. Shadow Stefan stabs Stefan in the gut, locks him in a crate, and throws him into the water below. I've compared TVD's fourth season with the entire ANGEL series throughout the fourth season. Why stop now? Stefan was dropped into the ocean trapped in a box. No one knows what happened to him, and someone will walk around acting as if nothing has changed. Paul Wesley relishes his time to play the bad guy in TVD. Wesley is able to play any kind of character. His silent reaction to hear Elena's choice was one of his best moments of the entire show. I'm excited for Shadow Stefan because of Paul Wesley's glee in playing the bad guy. I'm curious how this character will be different from switch-off Stefan.

TVD season four had its highs and lows. It never reached the heights of the second season. I felt the fourth season was an extension of the problematic back half of season three. Season five seems poised to offer something different, something new. Elena's journey into darkness was worth the risk the show took at the end of last season, though I am curious about Elena's character going forward, because she was tethered to something, constantly, this season--whether it was the sire bond, the switch, etc. Who will she be, as a vampire, now that she's free, her own vampire, should be a worthwhile journey to follow.

Other Thoughts:

-Matt's going to travel Europe with a hot blonde for the next while. Lucky dude. Matt's still human and alive. The Aleksander/Rebekah/Matt plot was insignificant, though it had Rebekah's big moment of selflessness that's endeared Matt to her. Saving a dude's life has that affect.

-Damon's quick recovery from the wolf infection was a nice surprise. I'll never miss another scene in which any character begs Klaus for mercy.

-TVD's use of music gets distracting. Relax on the music in post-production. The beats will still hit without needing to use music to manipulate the viewer into feeling an emotion they'll feel with or without the music.

-Caroline Dries & Julie Plec wrote the finale. Chris Grismer directed it. Ms. Plec is a busy woman. She's going to have three series on the air in the fall. That's a rare feat in television. Kudos to Ms. Plec. She's a heck of a writer. Dries has been a driving force in the show for at least three seasons now. I'd like to give the tip of my hat to all the other writers, directors, cast and crew for their work this season. 23 episodes is a tough order, but moreso for TVD.

-Bring on season 5. Also, thanks for reading, everyone. I'll be back in the fall.

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Arrow "Sacrifice" Review

Arrow's first season modeled the structure of a summer popcorn comic book movie. The mid-season finale showed Oliver's personal crisis. Oliver alienated those around him a few weeks ago before inevitably winning them back. Summer popcorn comic book movies end with the salvation of a city or planet Earth. The hero always endures personal loss. Always. Arrow's season finale is the explosive final act in a movie. The bad guy seems unstoppable. The evil plan is in place. People across the city freak out, turn on one another. The ugliness inside the villain comes out in all those he wishes to destroy. Oliver's triumphant moment over Malcolm, wherein he kills him and listens as Felicity relays the good news about Det. Lance deactivating the earthquake device, is momentary when Malcolm reveals he planted a second one. The second one is deadly. Buildings go down, and a character meets his ending.

Tommy's death is somewhat surprising to me since I thought he'd succeed his father as a villain. I tended to compare Spiderman and Arrow involuntarily; well, at least, I saw parallels between Peter/Harry and Oliver/Tommy. Tommy suffered from a lack of direction in the early episodes. Like Oliver, he suffered the tragedy of losing a parent. The surviving parents of both children changed. Moira sacrificed her morality to protect her children. Malcolm also sacrificed his morality to avenge his wife's needless death in The Glades. Had anyone stopped to help her, she wouldn't have bled to death on the sidewalk in The Glades--a part of the city she chose to work in to help save through free medicine. The love of a woman helped both men. Tommy changed his ways as he realized Laurel believed he could. Oliver stayed out of the way until Tommy's fatal flaw reared its ugly head.

"Sacrifice" had a bit of the Shakespearean element to it. The early part of the season reminded me of Hamlet. One early episode used The Tempest, which was Shakespeare's final play that centered around an exiled duke who realizes the error of his ways on a magical island. The tragic elements of Shakespeare's plays were borrowed by the Arrow writers tonight. A.C. Bradley wrote thoughtfully about Shakespeare's tragedies over a century ago. Mr. Bradley identified the most tragical elements of Shakespeare's famous tragedies and its characters. Tragedy stems from the character which then creates catastrophe. Tommy's hate for Oliver blinded him to Oliver's warning about his father. Malcolm's hate for The Glades created catastrophe. The sins of Robert Queen forever changed Oliver and re-defined his life. Malcolm tells Oliver he'll lose because he doesn't know what he's been fighting for, and he won't know what's worth sacrificing in his fight.

Oliver knows what Malcolm meant: giving up his life to save the lives of others. Since the day Robert shot himself in the head Oliver probably thought he'd die fulfilling his father's wish to right his wrongs and save Starling City. The final flashback to the island shows Oliver making a choice to kill the bad guy, to save Shado. Oliver's showdown with Fyres is a moment of bravery for him, a transitional moment in his personal arc. Tommy's death represents a different transition for Oliver. Oliver cries, repeating over and over that it should've been him dying. Tommy makes amends for his bad behavior in the past. He's redeemed in saving Laurel's life. Oliver tells his oldest friend a lie in his final moments. Tommy thanks Oliver for not killing his father, mumbling that he's just misunderstood. The season ends with the city burning, fires burning throughout The Glades, and more change for Oliver Queen.

The season finale is incredibly dramatic. There are false cliff hangers and real cliff hangers. Oliver's self-doubt about his ability to beat The Dark Archer makes sense. The Dark Archer beat him twice, but he's Oliver Queen. The dude survived five years alone. In his first year alone he stopped a terrorist attack. The flashbacks were consistently strong. The additions of Slade and Shado were wonderful. I thought the flashbacks would tie into Malcolm's plan in some way. I'd bet they will. Malcolm's fighting skills were advanced. I have a nagging feeling that the stories were connected. Now that both have been defeated, the flashbacks should transition to other areas of intriguing story such as Slade's transformation, the whole Russian mafia deal, and whatever happens to Shado. Celina Jade is my favorite addition of the season, narrowly beating Emily Betts-Rickards. Many shows struggle to integrate flashbacks into the ongoing narrative. Flashbacks can be distracting, slow, or even unnecessary. Guggenheim, Kreisberg and Berlanti integrated the flashbacks into the DNA of the show from day 1 and showed the present could not be understood without the past. I quite liked the flashbacks. Usually, when stories in the present faltered, the flashbacks wouldn't, and vice-versa. It was a nice balance--that balance helped Arrow remain consistently solid throughout the season.

Det. Lance finally stopped chasing The Hood after The Hood tipped him off to Malcolm's plan. Moira validated his claim to the department about the planned attack (indeed, Moira turned herself in for 'failing the city'). I liked how Det. Lance's story finished. He was a drunk for the first half until he accepted that his daughter's death wasn't on him, and then he stopped thinking of The Hood as the city's major villain. Oliver told him he needed to save his city, which mattered to a man who thought he couldn't save anyone. A vigilante took out the men he should've gotten. A playboy took his daughter from him to a doomed boat trip. Before Det. Lance saves the city he's prepared to die for the city. Det. Lance and Laurel have their Armageddon moment just before Det. Lance momentarily saves the day, which is right before Malcolm reveals that he planted a second device. I'm looking forward to a happier and more cooperative Det. Lance next season.

I'm most attached to Oliver's small circle of Diggle and Felicity. Oliver was open throughout the episode. He told Laurel all he held in his heart. With Diggle and Felicity, he simply told them he loved them and that he couldn't accomplish what he has without them. I felt moved watching Felicity try to shrink herself as the building shook along with Diggle and Oliver's quiet concern for their girl. Family was a dominant theme this season, but Oliver's makeshift families, both now and in the past, are the best for him.

I'm very glad that Arrow's a legitimate hit for The CW. Arrow's similar to other genre shows I adore. Thus, Arrow is my favorite new show of the 2012-2013. I had high hopes for it last season. Its gritty yet it doesn't forget its adapted from a comic. The creative struck a terrific balance in season 1. Arrow has the best fight scenes on network television. Stephen Amell emerged as a solid lead, sort of like a young David Boreanaz when Boreanaz figured out the Angel character. Simply, Arrow's awesome.

Other Thoughts:

-Cliffhanger for Thea and Roy: Roy remained The Glades to help folk. Thea drove off. None were accounted for at the end. Expect both characters to survive.

-So, will McKenna return next season? Probably not. I liked McKenna.

-The Deadshot story will carry into season 2. Every character but Diggle had their small triumphant and/or redemptive moments this season. Diggle asked out his dead brother's widow. He did help Oliver fight Malcolm. I was glad Oliver finished Malcolm alone, though.

-Marc Guggenheim & Andrew Kreisberg wrote the teleplay. Greg Berlanti got the story credit. David Barrett directed it. Impressive directing in this episode. I should mention the director of photography, too. And the stunt cooridinator. I give a standing applause to the entire cast and crew for a fun, entertaining, moving, and action-packed season.

-That's a wrap for the season 1 reviews. I'll return in the fall for season 2. Thanks for reading.

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Grimm "The Waking Dead" Review

Grimm's stretch run last season was thrilling and exciting, recalling to mind the yesteryears of ANGEL when David Greenwalt ran the show with Joss Whedon. The season two stretch run hasn't been as exciting, though the stand-alone episodes have been worthwhile. I quite liked the imagination of the last two episodes of Grimm. "The Waking Dead" is the penultimate episode which means stand-alone plots are discarded for the sake of the finale build. Greenwalt and Kouf's script introduces a new villain and also brings Eric to Portland for a one-on-one chat with his brother. The C story brings Juliette together with Monroe, Rosalee and Bud for a session of Volga, so that one wonders how she'll react, and whether the truth will keep her away from Nick. The A story introduces a man with a top-hat who uses a deathlike trance goo on people and puts them away in a shipping crate. The final scene reveals top hat man is a Baron working for Eric of the Royals.

Grimm's second season premiered in August 2012. Renard's brother, Eric, and the whole of the Royals storyline has unfolded in spurts. Adalind arrived in Vienna to seduce Eric. Once impregnated, she inquired about the price a royal baby would get on the market. There's a divide between the brothers. Renard has a partnership with Nick. Eric's not interested in grimms; indeed, he's tried to kill Nick once or twice, if my memory is right. Eric, of course, wants the key that unlocks Something. I'm not really interested in the Royals storyline. Half of the episode is concerned with the Royals. Adalind hears two conflicting things about her royal baby growing inside her womb. The woman the audience met some episodes ago tells her everything is good and that no danger will befall her. The Frau Pech tells her danger WILL befall her, warning her that the womb could be her tomb. Basically, the royals will kill her and save the baby. Adalind's desperate to get her powers back, so one can forgive her for overlooking an obvious drawback to her plan. She's power-hungry; her hunger makes her vulnerable. Adalind's not a sympathetic character. Yeah, she's in a bad spot after losing her powers, but she's not been written redemptively. So, it's difficult to care about her fate.

The episode keeps Nick and Juliette apart. Nick works the zombie case with Hank while Juliette sees the other faces of Bud, Monroe and Rosalee. I usually don't nitpick Grimm, but the Juliette scenes with two of my favorite characters in the show, and Bud, were a waste of time. Greenwalt and Kouf are veteran writers. They know they shouldn't devote two or more scenes to information the audience already knows. Juliette's reaction to the Volga-ing of the trio of Wesen is important for the story. Her reaction will tell the tale of her thought process--will she stay or will she go? The scenes unfold slowly, really slowly. Bud's freaking out. Rosalee and Monroe must freak out Juliette more by the deliberate caution they're showing when they should behave like someone diving off a high dive for the first time. Close your eyes, jump, and remember your ability to swim. Grimm could've trimmed these scenes, focused a little more on the disposable villain to be dispatched next week, or have any decent character stuff for Nick.

The Baron character or book man or any of his other names including the one he'll be referred to as hangs in the shadows for half the episode. Nick noticed him at a crime scene. Nick and Hank learn interesting details about their suspect. He creates zombies in a way, but he doesn't kill folk and then reanaimate them. He's spits green goo in the faces of people that renders them deadlike. The Baron's amassed a small army of faux-zombies for a mysterious reason. The Baron drops off the radar by the final act as Nick's focus shifts to Juliette. The Baron meets Eric in the hotel, which means The Baron's plan is Eric's. Eric's small speech about the superiority of Vienna over Portland was delightful, but a man of his tastes shouldn't use something as kitsch as zombies to do his dirty work in Portland.

Of course, Grimm's use of its zombie figures is more sophisticated than in other works of fiction. The backstory of the Baron is rooted in Haitian vodou. I'm not well versed in the history of Haitian vodou, but I read about vodouists' beliefs in a creator as well as their beliefs in their Ioa's power of different aspects of life. Ideally, the finale will show a piece of the history between Eric and the Baron insofar as the Baron's role in matters of the royal family. I wonder whether or not the Baron's involved with the key. Perhaps he's simply a man called in because he can send people into a deathlike trance. Right now, the character's just a top hat and green goo. He's Kwang if Kwang had exchanged his mask for a top hat.

I wasn't into the 'To be continued' to tag to end the episode, because the suspense was non-existent. Nick arrives for dinner with Juliette, unsure of her feelings about what he does; however, the audience knows Juliette's all-in. Why the cliff-hanger? The Baron and Eric shake hands to end the episode, as I've already stated. Eric's been horribly developed as a villain. He's all hair, and The Baron barely spoke. Renard's alarmed about his brother's surprise arrival, but I'm not. I'm detached from the storyline. Grimm can be amazing when it delves into its mythology and embraces serialization. I'm just not into this story. It hasn't taken me yet, which is a problem since the season ends next week. Season 1 had a quite good Royals-related plot. It's not all bad, but the execution of the storyline's been lacking in season 2.

Last season's penultimate episode had more momentum than "The Waking Dead." I'm hoping for an awesome finale next week to send me into the summer feeling good about Grimm.

Other Thoughts:

-Rosalee, Monroe and Bud together should be a hole-in-one for the show. Nothing about those scenes worked except for Bree Turner's and Silas Weir-Mitchell's chemistry.

-NBC moved Grimm back to Fridays starting next season.

-David Greenwalt & Jim Kouf wrote the episode.

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How I Met Your Mother "Something New" Review

Bays and Thomas are really going to tell the story of a wedding during the entire 9th and final season of the show. HIMYM will attempt to stretch a 56 hour story out to fill 24 episodes. The show has not been good for four seasons now. Any one wearing the HIMYM beer goggles will eventually remove them only to shudder at what they see a la Bart in the Duffland episode of The Simpsons. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas probably want the show to be remembered for its unique storytelling approach to the final season. Roseanne's last season is remembered because Roseanne Barr broke the formula of the previous seasons for a dream season. HIMYM emerged in 2005 as a worthy successor to Friends. The early seasons have allowed the show to get away with horrible story choices, character assassinations, and lazy storytelling for four years. The last season is going to be a gosh darn slog. Of course, it may not be just the wedding. Either way, though, I lose.

I wondered, a few weeks ago, how the series would contrive a way for Lily and Marshall to leave for Italy and return by the 9th season premiere. I hadn't heard the rumors about the 9th season. I forgot about Marshall's judge storyline. I will wonder no more. It'll take another 9 months to resolve the dangling story threads from the 8th season. Let that sink in, friends and well-wishers: nine months to resolve dangling story threads. The worse part about the delayed resolution to any stories from season 8 is the contrivance of it all. Characters will behave like sitcom characters because they are characters in the sitcom. "Something New" had everything old in it. Ted reveals his shocking plan to move to Chicago one day after the wedding; Marshall receives judge offer but won't tell Lily because 'this is face-to-face' news; a flashback shows the audience the time Robin acted like Ted before his marriage to Stella; Ted realizes Robin's locket has been on his desk for the past five years. Ted's epiphany last week disappears as soon as he sees another reason for him and Robin to end up together.

Anyway, "Something New" has a story about Robin and Barney. Robin and Barney went to a restaurant to eat dinner. The couple is excited for their wedding in one week. They feel close to each other. They've been practicing their first dance. Another couple gives them attitude at the bar, though, as they wait to be seated. I turned on the Robin/Barney relationship during season 5. I've disliked their storyline strongly for the entire season. Barney's plan for proposing to Robin was disgusting, and his subsequent stories in which the show domesticated him failed. Barney's a sociopath, and Robin's more unlikable every episode. So, I hated tonight's Robin/Barney story. The other couple, featuring Casey Wilson, are rude, obnoxious, pretentious. The guy's the type of guy who'll correct someone's pronunciation of Camus without reading any of Camus' works. The woman, Krirsten, is a typical terribly written one-off female character. Barney and Robin plot their revenge throughout the dinner, resolving to ruin the couple's relationship for stealing their table at their restaurant. The plan works. The couple breaks up. Barney and Robin celebrate in a park.

Of course, the couple finds Robin/Barney in the park. HIMYM's New York City is the size of Smalltown U.S.A. in Gremlins, apparently. The couple did not break up at all; instead, they really got engaged. Robin looks at Barney with a smug-as-shit look on her face, and Barney meets her look with the same smug-as-shit look, and they congratulate themselves on their awesomeness. Being dicks to strangers led the strangers to profound and prolonged bliss. No, what they did makes them more unbearable and unlikable.

Ted wallows in his nice Westchester home that he just finished restoring. With Marshall in Minnesota, Lily hangs out with Ted and gets to hear about Ted's feelings about Robin. Their conversation recycles old dialogue. The only new thing comes in the way of Lily's memory of the locket. I already addressed the locket situation and Ted's interpretation of it. I've written plenty about Ted/Robin. Until he meets the mother at Farhampton, the character's treading water. I think about Dan Harmon's opinion about romantic comedies when Ted Mosby's speaking words. Harmon hates romantic comedies because the story of whether or not some girl likes some guy isn't a story but a plot point. Ted's arc comes down to which girls like him and don't like him. Bays and Thomas are doing due diligence with Ted/Robin, though. Victoria told him he wouldn't/couldn't be with someone or love someone until he overcame Robin. The wedding should do that for him just in time for Ted to meet his wife.

I could write about Lily/Marshall or I could end this sentence in mid-sentence. Future Ted said the spring of 2013 tied up loose ends. Future Ted doesn't lie. The spring of 2013 will tie up loose ends, but not until spring 2014. I wrote about Revenge's finale last season. Revenge and HIMYM shared a disinterest in telling a story during their respective seasons. Go ahead and remind me all that happened this season, fans. I know; I remember. Barney and Robin got engaged; Ted continued chasing his tail; Lily lived her professional dream. Stuff happens, but that's just plot points. It's not a story.

So, hey, Bays and Thomas, try telling a story in season 9.

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