The Vampire Diaries S5 E1

Where we left off:

Elena has her humanity back, the sire bond is broken, she professed her love to Damon, and she gave Stephan the cure—who returned it to her. Elena, whose obsession with killing Katherine is what brought back her humanity, feeds Katherine the cure at the end of a knock-down, drag-out doppelganger brawl.

Bonnie, who still hasn’t told anyone that she died bringing Jeremy back to life, successfully closes the curtain to the other side, leaving Jeremy alive in the land of the living, saying goodbye to dead Bonnie.

Caroline, having said a sweet goodbye to Klaus, is awaiting Tyler’s safe return.

Klaus, Elijah, and Rebecca are off to their own spinoff, but not before Rebecca and Matt go on Eurotrip together.

We said another sad goodbye to Lexi and Alaric (be still, my heart), who returned to the other side while Stephan traveled to dump Silas’ body only to find out, his body wasn’t there! When Bonnie died, Silas was freed to return to his shadow-self/doppelganger form, EVIL-STEPHAN. Silas then promptly trapped Stephan in the safe and dropped him into the quarry.

But, at least they all graduated!

Where we are after the season premiere:

Elena, now seriously dating Damon, is off to college! She and Caroline are roommates, and I literally laughed out loud when I saw their "dorm room." Obviously, TV shows get some creative license with designing film-able dorm rooms, but this dorm room is the size of a real dorm's entire floor and looks like another room from the Salvatore house. There is also a mysterious, murderous vampire on campus who kills their new roommate, who has an unknown connection to Elena's dad. And Tyler isn't coming back any time soon. Let's expect him back within 30 minutes of Caroline finding a new crush.

Bonnie is still dead, watching over the action, and talking about it with alive-Jeremy. Jeremy is trying to settle into life after coming back from the dead. Some kids from school try to pick a a fight with him, but he goes all hunter on them in the middle of a crowded hallway. Those guys probably had it coming picking a fight with someone who had basically doubled in muscle size since HE CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD. 

Silas comes back to Mystic Falls posing as Stephan for about 15 minutes before Jeremy (and Bonnie) figure him out. Watching actor Paul Wesley play Silas is really fun -- he is great! The VD writers sure didn't drag out that charade. Even by VD standards, that was a fast-moving plot development that I was grateful for, since the audience is already in on the secret. Meanwhile, Stephan is psychically communicating with Damon and Elena from his safe-prison at the bottom of the quarry. Damon, always the "turn it off" advocate, is telling Stephan to end his suffering, but Elena says to keep it on "for her." Or the Elena in Stephan's mind says that. That will be a fun reunion!

Katherine is now very human and looking to Damon for protection. To avoid being turned over to Silas, she gets Jeremy into a serious car accident which results in a very touching moment for Damon as he reacts to seeing Jeremy in danger of dying. (Watching that, deep down I knew that they couldn't have killed off Bonnie to bring Jeremy back just to kill him again in the first episode, but I was still on the edge of my seat!)

And after his Eurotrip with Rebecca including an Eastern European threesome, Matt's now back in Mystic Falls, where he was followed by the threesome lady. She had stolen the Gilbert invincibility ring. Once he has it back, a creepy guy makes his eyes go all black, and we don't know where this is headed. Based on the True Blood season where the black eye thing happens, this is not a good sign. Do we need more villains with Silas on the loose? 

There's a lot going on to start the season, but with some family connection for Elena to investigate, Damon trying to resolve the Silas situation without telling Elena while Stephan is telepathically connecting to Elena, and some new villains afoot, this should be another exciting season. 

PS-es:

- Elena's hair looks fantastic with a little volume. Also, it doesn't look like Elena and Damon's chemistry has suffered due to Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder's breakup IRL. 

- Quote of the episode, from Katherine: "I have BLISTERS, Damon!"

Thoughts on The Good Wife After Binge-Watching 4 Seasons

I thoroughly enjoy this show. It’s not primarily a drama about a good wife, it’s primarily a lawyer show. To me, Good Wife fits more into the Law and Order category than a more family-based drama like Parenthood. Which I love!

Watch it for the guest stars! Every actor who has ever been on television has guest starred on this show

as a lawyer, judge, or criminal. It’s fun to watch! Just to name a few: The P and VP from Scandal, Russell Edginton, Arlene, and the vampire Jason and Lizzy Caplan killed from True Blood, Michael J. Fox, Shue’s wife from Glee, and my favorite, Maura Tierney from ER—the best ER reunion ever. Just to name a few.

The cast of characters is a good one -- in no particular order:

Chris Noth as the Bad husband: he is perfect for this role—it’s basically the same as Big.

Alan Cumming as Eli Gold: I would like this character better if Alan Cumming played it more as himself: gay and British. It feels like Eli was written as a standard, Olivia Pope-style fixer but the actor has molded him into something different, and slightly better.

The Florrick kids: Played by real kids! Written as real kids! They have just the right amount of screen time.

Jacky: Mary Beth Peil will always be Grams from Dawson to me. Jacky's most important function seems to be catalyzing Alicia to take action in her life.

Kalinda: Aside from the plotline where husband comes back for her, I generally like Kalinda and was genuinely heartbroken when her and Alicia’s friendship ended. She does need some more depth, though – keeping her so mysterious all the time gets gimmicky. Also, her wardrobe veers into "pirate hooker" territory sometimes; with so many other well-dressed women on the show, her awful wardrobe stands out more. 

Cary- I love Cary. His character made such a nice transition from bratty associate to ASA nemesis to coworker. I love how he tries to make out with everyone, and how that strategy generally ends up working for him.

Will- I love Will even more. I love his dark circles and how he’s 90% win-at-all-costs and 10% sweet, good guy. I loved the episode with his sisters. And obviously, I love the Will and Alicia tension, and I think the show feels like something’s missing when they don’t acknowledge it.

Juliana Margulies as Alicia- My biggest conflict with Alicia is that the show doesn’t fully address her decicion making process about going back to Peter. I like how she consistently acts in her own best interest, but I wish the audience got more insight into her process. Juliana Margulies is a great actress, though, and nails this role. 

Christine Baranski as Diane- Diane is the best. She's impeccable and the pillar of sanity amid the craziness of the firm. Diane has a similar presence as (though nothing else in common with) Samantha from SATC. 

Overall, this series is great, and recommended for lovers of lawyer shows and love triangles. As a fan of both, I am wildly curious about how season 5 will start!

Miley Cyrus on SNL

If I was Miley's publicist, I would be pretty pumped about Saturday's SNL performance. The cold open about the VMAs and her brief but well-played monologue (and promos) struck a good balance between self-effacing and not-apologizing. Her musical performances were solid (for Miley) and earnest (despite her ridiculous-to-the-point-of-distracting wardrobe choices), and I think it was a great choice to do We Can't Stop acoustic, especially given the shutdown spoof of the We Can't Stop video.

I also thought this was a pretty funny SNL episode overall. The cheerleaders/alien sketch was the kind of wacky that gets better the more times you see it. I appreciate the effort behind Vanessa Bayer's poetry teacher, but I couldn't quite wrap my brain around the character -- I hope she gets to do that character again this season. The Morning Miami skit was great, and I couldn't take my eyes off of Bobby Moynihan. Same with Aidy Bryant in the Girlfriends Talk Show sketch -- she killed in that sketch, particularly when she sang. I giggled appropriately at the 50 Shades audition sketch impressions.

The problem with watching SNL on Hulu the next day is that you can' watch Weekend Update, intact, all the way through. They break it up into different scenes, sometimes they don't play in order, and they don't show some of the news-style jokes at all. Update is usually my favorite part of SNL, so I don't understand why it can't be viewed as one full segment, or at least in full as separate clips in order.

Now I have to go back and watch the Tina Fey/Arcade Fire episode!

The Killing S3 E10: Six Minutes

My sister posted something vaguely spoilery on Facebook about this episode before I watched it, so I knew to brace myself. I'm slightly mad and slightly grateful, because even with a warning, this episode was a huge punch to the gut.

Linden begins at the prison trying to get Ray a stay of execution based on his wife's ring, and when that effort fails, she tries to facilitate Aiden's visit while keeping Ray company. It was electric seeing Linden and Ray connect over the challenge of parenting, with Linden opening up more about her son throughout the course of the conversation.

Holder is still on a bender after Bullet's death, and shows up to the prison with evidence for Linden. He simultaneously gives Linden the greatest pep talk/kick in the ass ever and jokes about his kiss attempt from last episode. I'm guessing that'll be that until they can bring back their sexual tension next season, maybe with a crazy one night stand? Holder then stays to keep an eye on Aiden because he's "good with kids" and has a touching scene with Aiden where he helps fix his hair before he sees his dad.

When it finally looks like Ray is going to get to see Aiden, he's taken away by the guards, and the episode launches into a gut-wrenching sequence leading through the execution. Linden pulls the epic move of bring Aiden outside so that Ray could see him from the window. From Ray's inability to walk down the hallway through the hanging, I could hardly breathe while I was watching. We experienced the execution through the reactions of every character -- most strikingly through Linden's.

There's a lot to wrap up in the finale -- and Linden will be more fired up than ever to solve the original case of the Ray's wife's murder.

Pretty Little Liars Eps 3 & 4

Episode 3

So this season is all about wearing masks? Aria, Emily, and Hanna track down a very creepy mask maker who made the Alli mask that they found in Mona's things. In order for him to tell them about making Alli's masks (she had a bunch made and then destroyed the mold, or so we're told), Emily has to have her own made. Good thing she's a swimmer, because that must have been a long breath with her face covered in plaster with absolutely no air holes. Meanwhile Hanna snoops out back and find a... Melissa mask.

Melissa is back in town, acting extra snooty, and meeting the new cop.

Toby and Spencer sneak into Radley and discover that his mother couldn't have jumped out of the window that she's reported to have jumped out of.

A is apparently plotting against the PPLs' moms:

• Emily's mom grabs Emily while confronting her about stealing her painkillers for her shoulder and then gets "Family Services" called. 
• Aria's mom is maybe off to Austria with her hot, young pastry chef bf. 
• Hanna's mom looks progressively more guilty of Wilden's murder through Caleb's very blunt detective work. Not only did she skip the play in NY to come back to Rosewood, but she met Hanna's dad to ask him for money, and now Hanna's dad's gun is missing! At first, I thought that Hanna and Ashley's conversation through the locked door was going to end badly, somehow, but she was just running a bath. 
• Is Spencer's mom invincible? Does that mean Melissa is A?

And Aria hangs out with Jake again. Her "TV at home date with new guy" outfit consisting of knee high boots and a shredded shirt was almost my favorite outfit of the episode, but Spencer wins out with this bananas high-low dress and boot combo that she wore to school: 

Episode 4

This episode was pretty uneventful (even wardrobe-wise) until the Melissa information-dump at the end. 

• Toby found out basically nothing from his mom's now-senile doctor except a vague warning about a "blonde girl."
• Wilden had some vaguely criminal-seeming items in his safety deposit box.
• Emily's torn rotator cuff will keep her from swimming.
• Aria is not ready to be dating Jake yet, as demonstrated by her run in with Malcom (without Ezra).

After the hilarious segment of Spencer narrating their very A-like plot to find out Melissa's connection to the masks, we find out that:

• Melissa traded her face to the mask guy for info to see if Alli had it made before or after her disappearance.
• Wilden and Melissa wore the same costume on the Halloween train, and it was Wilden who tried to kill Spencer and Aria, on orders from someone else. (I feel like I need to rewatch that ep, I can't remember what happened.)
• Jenna and Shauna were at the lodge to watch what was happening, but didn't start or save anyone from the fire. 

So basically, we still know nothing. Quote of the ep goes to Aria, when Jake asks about Ezra. "Is he a friend of the family?" he asks, to which Aria replies, "No, just one of my teachers." Awesome.

The Killing S3 E9: A Doozy

RIP, Bullet. Best character this season.

This was an action-packed episode for The Killing! And a heartbreaking one. The almost mirrored images of Holder sprinting to save Linden from Mills and then Linden sprinting to save Holder from seeing Bullet's body were full of suspense and helped develop a deeper bond between the two. They rushed to save one another's physical, and then emotional, lives.

Joel Kinnaman's performance this episode was excellent; Holder's reaction to opening the trunk was perfect and devastating. As was Linden's rebuff of Holder's kiss. I like what that did for their overall dynamic -- Linden and Holder are very Benson and Stabler in that their love for one another lies more in their professional partnership than in romantic potential. Though even the hint of a romantic relationship is enough to add depth to their interactions, and the the show. In going outwardly for the kiss in a moment of extreme emotional stress, it gets that moment out of the way with the least repercussions for their partnership. (Benson and Stabler, being stronger people and on network television, always kept it mostly together. Linden and Holder play by different rules, opening up more possibilities for their romantic tension.)

Not to mention, MILLS IS THE KILLER?! Didn't we rule him out back in the first episode? This is why I focus on the relationships between the characters and the actors' performances on this show -- getting too caught up in the actual plausibility of the plot ruins the enjoyment. Like the magical glow in the dark stars that still glow after 3 years in a dark closet.

The scene with Lyric and her boyfriend in the new apartment was really sweet and sad at the end of the shot as I imagine Lyric's thoughts turned to Bullet.

In the next two episodes, we will hopefully locate Kallie and we will see what happens with Ray. Linden appears to be ignoring him, so his chances for a pardon seem to be gone. Two developments in this episode seemed really random to me, and may set up the conclusion of Ray's story line. I'm not sure I've been paying close enough attention to the jail scenes, because I barely recognized the preacher inmate who apparently has been taunting the other inmates into untimely deaths. And the head prison guard's son killed his mom's "the other man*?" That's what happens when you show your son an under-construction gallows?

I watched the first two seasons of The Killing in about a week on Netflix, so this has been my first experience of watching the show one episode at a time, without the knowledge that I could find out the answers to the cliffhangers right away, if I wanted to. Knowing S2 E1 was just a click away kept me from being as wildly pissed off as I've read most viewers were at the end of S1. I hope that The Killing learned its lesson from S1 and we get some kind of closure at the end of this season!

*I just googled "male version of mistress" thinking that I was having a brain cramp and couldn't remember the word. Turns out, there is no male version of mistress. Urban dictionary offers "manstress" -- and a few old-timey words include "lover" and "paramour," but there really is no dedicated word for the object of a woman's extramarital affair. That's a whole separate blog post.

Pretty Little Liars Season 4, Eps 1 & 2

Episode 1:

A pig?! The resolution of the cliffhanger from Season 3 -- the girls opening the trunk of Wilden's car and gasping -- was pretty disappointing. It would have been a better payoff if it had just been Wilden, whose body was found later, anyway. 

There are new plotlines materializing for Season 4 after last season had us trying to figure out who dug up Alli's body last season (without ever solving it other than "Red Coat"):

The girls and Mona are now sort of on the same team because Red Coat/"Alli" is trying to kill them all(?) plot line:  I wish the Mona spill session had been more gratifying to me, but I didn't remember all of the things she was explaining the answers to. 

The new Toby's mom, what really happened? plotline: This is interesting because it involves A and also because I love Toby and his ever-changing hair. 

The creepy Alli's mom plotline: I get the feeling that this is going nowhere and Alli's mom is just creepy. 

Ezra and Aria:  Good riddance. I wish that Aria's daydream was real. Was that the first time that the show really recognized that A&E were sleeping together and that it was illegal? This relationship never has anything to do with A except to give A reasons to manipulate Aria, anyway. It's fun that Larisa Oleynik is E's baby-mama, but I wish that she wasn't rocking an unfortunate mom haircut.

The college plotlines: Spencer's UPenn rejection better tie in with A somehow or it will become boring, fast. Emily is clearly not actually on board for Stanford with Paige. This situation is a ticking time bomb. 

The New Cop: Someone has to fill Wilden's shoes! (Where is that actor from? He kind of looks like the guy from Heroes.) But who will make out with him first?

Hanging Threads: Jenna's burn! The veil lady! Spencer's sister on the video! Will there be better music on the show this season?

Best outfit: 

The funeral outfits, obviously. These girls rock a funeral. 

Best quote: "Yeah, I have my own set." -Mona, referring to keys to Emily's car.

Episode 2:

First of all, did Hannah get major extensions since last episode? Second, Hanna gets outfit of the ep for her second pair of metallic leggings in two episodes: 

Things are moving right along in episode 2:

The girls and Mona are now sort of on the same team because Red Coat/"Alli" is trying to kill them all(?) plot line: A legit tries to kill Mona! And Hanna tries to play her for the video from Wilden's car, but she knows and gives up the only(?) copy anyway. 

The new Toby's mom, what really happened? plotline: Toby lies to Spencer (at first) about A, again. This does not bode well. But his mother's apparent suicide is very mysterious. Maybe she was saying she was happy, but her face looked miserable, like the wife on Lie to Me. 

The creepy Alli's mom plotline: A talking parrot, seriously? And the A tag at the end feeding it poultry was just too much. 

Ezra Jake and Aria: Ha! Aria takes self defense and kisses her (young, attractive) instructor, and he likes it. What's the deal with his accent?

The college plotlines: Emily pulls a Jessi Spanno with painkillers at the swim meet and kills her Stanford chances (that was fast). Ezra helps Spencer with her college essay. Snore. 

The New Cop: Absent this week! 

Hanna's mom as Wilden's killer plotline: This just seems like another "Toby is the killer" or "Paige is a stalker" plotline, where a character acts very creepily but it turns out to be nothing. And Hanna and her mom have a very open, calm-sounding conversation where Hanna basically accuses her mom of actual murder, and her mom answers very normally, as if that is a standard conversation to be engaged in with her teenaged daughter. 

Hanging threads: The parrot song phone number!

Best quote: "Which freaky woman? There's a couple." -Aria, on their lives.