S.H.I.E.L.D., Nov 26 - Repairs

Tonight’s “Agents” episode was probably better suited for Halloween, for there were many elements of a ‘stalker movie’, including the stalker himself – Tobias, who got caught between two worlds due to his clumsy (to put it lightly) attempts to woo Hannah, his supervisor. This did not work out, there was an accident, and the titular characters got caught in the middle when they arrived to fix the mess.

So far so good... no, actually very good – the team played-out this interaction with great efficiency, adding the matter of religion into “Repairs” in the process. Basically, God is Love (and forgiveness) and that He is not evil and does not send demons to torment people. Personally, I feel that it is not that clear-cut, there is an entire book of Job that demonstrates something different, but what the show did here also worked... I guess. Basically, what May eventually forced Tobias to do (with Hannah’s help) was to admit his own wrongdoing to himself (do not forget, God is also Truth) and go in peace to another world, or to the afterlife, or to wherever he ended up at. In the process, she also admitted her own flaws to herself and recognized her own humanity. This resulted in her starting to get along with Skye and playing a prank on Fitz.

The pranks were actually a minor storyline of the episode: Fitz and Simmons decided to play a series of pranks on Skye as a part of her initiation into S.H.I.E.L.D. This storyline was not just minor, but unnecessary, and did not contribute particularly much to the episode; it also showed Fitz and Simmons back as a comic relief without being just the comic relief, but rather an important part of the team: once again, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team defeated their opponent (Tobias) as a team working together. Also, in other news, Coulson had an explosive watch – very James Bond, one supposes. 

Speaking of Coulson, “Repairs” has given his Tahiti angle a break – there was no reference to it this time. Yes, it works – there are only so many times this part of French Polynesia can be said before it becomes redundant...but back to this episode.

Skye also grew as a character: “Repairs” revealed her as not just an optimist and a people person, but also as a believer – she really does believe that God is Love and tries to spread this message around...as we have seen in the pilot episode, but still. She is also somewhat stubborn and fast to judge (again, as shown in the pilot), as well as courageous and willing to stand up to her beliefs. That said, working in S.H.I.E.L.D. has taught Skye not to be as hotheaded as before and to actually listen to orders, which is good.

It is also on the level with Fitz and Simmons trying to slow down and explain things to other agents who are not as well-educated as they are, but Coulson clearly is, and now that the duo aren’t tag-teaming him in a rush attack, he can stand his educational ground with them.

Finally, Ward is in a relationship with May, but it is still unclear how long it will last: May has her own issues in dealing with a relationship on one hand...and on the other she is warming up to the rest of the team and her own humanity as her prank on Fitz indicates. Therefore, who knows where she and Ward will end up?

So: agent May comes to terms with her own humanity, Skye’s character gets more development and the Fitz & Simmons duo try out their funny side. All in all, a very nice episode.

PS: The last episode of "Lost Girl" so far was actually "Lovers. Apart.", not "United" as I wrote down. Sorry about the mistake.

Lost Girl, Nov 24 - Lovers. United.

In this week’s episode of “Lost Girl”, Bo is finally back – proper. Yay! But Lauren’s been captured. Boo. And now on to the greater details. 

In this particular episode Dyson finally got married to Bo. True, they were ‘channeling’ a pair of ghosts, but the same plot device was used in BtVS S2, and it worked there too. Plus, the ghosts (one human, one Fae) were used to introduce a Gothic angle to the show: in this particular episode Bo had to rescue a family from a vengeful Fae ghost because the father’s ancestor has killed the Fae and her human fiancé because he and the others thought that the Fae in question was a witch, something that brought back the final episodes of the S3 of this show: human-Fae interactions may be more complex than humans being just minions (or worse for the Fae). 

This brings us to Lauren, who had been finally captured by the inquisition, or the Una Mens, or whoever: Vex had sold her out in the previous installment to save his own skin. Since this episode has also introduced a cool new (well, recycled, you can say) villain, Vex is doomed still, but he had been discussed last time, so that is it for him for now.

Lauren, on the other hand, had been captured – by someone from her past according to the episode’s prompt. Perhaps, and the fact that her new ‘girlfriend’ aided in her capture just adds salt to the wound. And yet...

Since the beginning of the show, Lauren was shown thrust into positions that demanded more confidence from her, more self-confidence and quick thinking. Lauren may not be a follower, but she most certainly is not a leader – she is more of a fatalist, who goes with the flow. Well, now she will have to stop, or... there probably are not any other options: “Lost Girl” is a TV show, and when a scriptwriter (or several) decides to make their character into a hero, their character will become a hero...or a heroine in Lauren’s case.

Now why the scriptwriters decided to make Lauren a hero is another story; the short answer is that as a main (or at least a secondary) character) Lauren has to become a heroine or a villainess, that is it. Of course, she could have also vanished for good, but to do that her actress would have had to quit the show and she obviously does not want that. So Lauren is stuck being captured for now...at least until the next episode or two.

But speaking of heroes, Bo and Dyson... Yes, Clio (the bounty hunter from the previous episode who was the woman) was working for Vex in order to capture Bo, we get that. The fact that she betrayed Dyson and Bo is worse. But...

The rather callous way Bo handled Clio (who was named after the Greek muse of history) and Dyson let her was not better. In TV world heroes differ from villains by being more generous, sometimes even offering the evildoers a last chance to be redeemed, or at least get the Hell out of town. After all, Clio did help Dyson find Bo as well as put the ghosts to rest, so Bo could’ve just bitchslapped her around and sent her on her way – and that would’ve been the last of Clio, most likely. Instead, she ended up with a slit throat on a road somewhere, and Bo and Dyson continued on their way, rather like Bonnie and Clyde.

So: Lauren is captured (either by Fae or by humans or by somebody else), while Bo and Dyson are driving back to Toronto from somewhere else (wherever they have landed by jumping off the ghost train) and... that is it. The others were not in this episode. Guess we will have to wait until the next one to see what has happened to them. Overall I rate this episode a solid B. 

Meanwhile, in other news, Bar Rescue has its own problems: it aired yet another episode about a bar... whose owner had shot some other person and perhaps not in self-defense. Needless to say, even an accidental release of this episode, late in night, was...controversial, so for now Bar Rescue is probably laying low. Since it is a good show, I sincerely hope that they make it through ok...

S.H.I.E.L.D., Nov 19 - The Well

And so, Thor: Dark World came and went, and Whedon with his cohorts decided to incorporate it into “Agents”, since it is the same universe. Sadly, this was one place where tonight’s episode has failed.

Here is the basic outline of this episode: a radical group had sought out and eventually acquired the parts of a ‘berserker staff’, an Asgard (alien) artefact that gave superhuman strength and rage to whoever touched it, human or Asgard (or any other race, possibly). Sadly, to do that the staff had to reveal a person’s darkest secret to them – and in agent Ward’s case was when he was little and failed to save his friend because a bully prevented him from doing that. This event initiated the path that led agent Ward to where he was now, a crack agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Only by reliving this event was agent Ward able to shake free of the staff’s influence. The other agents helped too. So far so good.

But the Asgard tie-in was not the best part of this episode. In this episode, the titular agents were involved with a professor Randall, who was an Asgard mason turned warrior turned deserter...or at least he stayed behind after the initial Asgard force went back home. Again, this works, but the opening scenes, when the agents are in Britain and they are cleaning up after the villains’ invasion, it does not work. It stands out and appears to be rather redundant: the Norse – pardon me, the Norwegian fragment, when the latest villains are cutting down the tree to bring forth the first part of the staff – is when the episode really begins, at least in my opinion, but anyways. The staff’s effects, BTW, were probably based on real-life berserkers, who probably were not as formidable as the Marvel™ version, but were still quite dangerous and formidable...and possibly gave rise, at least partly, to the werewolf legend of Middle Ages.

Back to “The Well”. The problem is that the episode’s plot was better designed for a full-length film, not a short episode. As a consequence, it felt rushed and not quite there, as if there were two plotlines (there were) that tried to fit together, but did not quite succeed. (Also, it felt as if the hate group of “The Well” was slightly based on the pack of hyena-possessed teenagers from BtVS S1 episode, but that is neither here nor there.)

The episode was centered mainly on Ward; we - the audience – learned how he became the man that he currently is. It shows his growing relationship and bonds with Skye, but also Fitz and Simmons, and it also ties rather neatly with “F.Z.Z.T.”, as Simmons obviously hasn’t gotten over her Chitauri infestation or her almost suicide.

We also get a look inside agent May’s head – or not. Basically, it is implied that she had similar experiences to Ward, but they were also worse, so her self-control is even stronger than his is. Skye, admittedly, is getting her to warm-up, as does Coulson, but apparently she still tends to end up blotto at night every once in a while, as the penultimate scene of “The Well” indicates.

Agent Coulson, on the other hand, still has issues about his supposed stay on Tahiti when he – supposedly – was recuperating after being stabbed by an alien staff, as pleasant dreams become nightmares in his head. Judging by the indications of this episode and the previous one, his problems in dealing with the largest island of the French Polynesia will only become stronger. Well, as long as he does not end up being possessed by Loki or a similar villain his team should be able to help him without a particularly large loss of human lives, right?

So: a very intense, very personal episode that also tried to be a short, 50-60 minute movie. That is why I give it only a B.

Lost Girl, Nov 17 - Sleeping Beauty School

The 4^th season of “Lost Girl” continues strong. Bo is still missing, Dylan is still in love with her, and Hale finally decided to make a move for Kenzi but more on that below.

Firstly, Mr. Trick survived, though scarred – Aoife may be formidable herself, but her father is still the king, literally. For now Aoife is absent once again, so let us put her aside. Speaking of asides, Trick was also put aside for most of this episode, so better luck next time, your majesty.

Then again, the same can be said about Vex. After looking over the latest episode I realized what Vex’s problem is – his character just does not generate any respect. His villainy got nothing to do with it – his problem is that he is more of Peter Pettigrew than Lucius Malfoy, and this has to change, or Vex will probably have to die, for there is only so much abuse any character can take before either the audience loses their respect – and sympathy – for him, or he will turn on his abusers...with mixed success, admittedly, but still.

Incidentally, by who was Vex abused? The Una Mens (or the Spanish Inquisition)? The episode does not tell us...probably saving it for later. That said, this is the second time in the show (the first was in S3) when Vex gets to be fed some insect, and that is the opposite of respect. For real, Vex just should not have come back at S3, is all I am saying.

Of course, the root of Vex’s trouble is that the previous Morrigan either is dead or is not. Frankly, at the end of S3 she looked quite dead but you never know with the Fae, fair enough. Of course, this makes her one of the two contenders for the identity of Kenzi’s new babysitting charge... and the other one is Tamsin, who’s been absent from the previous episode. Sadly, it may be that Tamsin may actually be Lauren’s new friend and an owner (?) of a fast food place (think “The Ruby” from “Corner Gas”) in which case the precocious tyke’s identity may be someone else. And the tyke is precious: she grew from a child to a teen in than an episode: Kenzi will really have her hands full with the child/teen for the next episode or two...

On the other hand Hale has admitted his feelings for Kenzi, sort of. I am guessing that the siren playboy is new at this, and it took some Kenzi/Dyson flirting from the previous episode for him to get his brain into gear. All that can be said – it is about time, the Kenzi/Hale ship was practically absent from S3 so it got some serious catching up to do.

Speaking of means of transportation... The ghost train that has appeared in this episode was very impressive, especially how Dyson and his companion were able to catch a ride on it. Sadly, it also seems that Bo has escaped from it (or another ghost train?!) so the game is now literally afoot.

Now, about Dyson’s companion. This episode borrowed from the Greek-Roman myth of Selene and Endymion. Selene was an early moon goddess who was merged with Artemis-Diana and Endymion was her mortal consort. To prevent him from aging and dying Selene put him into an eternal sleep...one that Dyson woke him from. Only, it may be that this Endymion is not the real deal, but is a fake – Dyson was able to figure it out in time and “replace” him with a real deal, a woman...who may be actually an agent of Vex who needs Bo alive for some personal reason... See, it is confusing.

And Lauren... aside from the fact that her new friend may be Tamsin (or maybe another Valkyrie instead) she had rescued a customer from a beetle in his throat. Considering that the customer survived having his throat torn open and healed in a matter of moments, this means that he was a Fae and that, possibly, the beetle was the adult form of the grub that Vex was fed. It also means that either Lauren has somehow become an opponent to some obviously powerful Fae group...or she is some sort of an anti-Kryptonite to Fae...or her cooking is. Either way, she has problems...and has to solve them on her own. It is also the end of the Lauren/Bo ship, but that was evident from S3: the scriptwriters wanted to pair Bo with Dyson and are going to do that. Yet they are doing it with much more grace than, say, Mike and Bryan from the “A: TLA” fandom, who did their ship (Kataang) with all the subtlety of a brick...and are paying for it with the gradual loss of their fanbase; of course, “Korra” does not help either... but I digress.

The bottom line here is that this episode was confusing. Yes, Hale is finally getting on with Kenzi, Dyson has admitted his feelings to Bo and Lauren has to come into her own somehow (or perish) while Bo has escaped from captivity at last – but the brief entry into Greek mythology notwithstanding, this episode was still confusing. One thing is clear – if in previous seasons that was one major mystery (such as the identity of Bo’s true parents) and lesser, one-episode, ones, here, in S4, there is only one major mystery-slash-conflict and that is to find Bo. Let’s wait and see what happens.

Lost Girl, Nov 10 - In Memoriam

In all of the “Agents”-related excitement one forgot that LG S4 has aired last Sunday. What can be said about it?

Due to difficulties outside the shooting set (Anna Silk-Bo had a baby boy) the season had to start with Bo’s minimum presence on screen. The cast and crew handled it wonderfully, by opening the episode “In Memoriam” in a world without Bo – somehow everybody forgot about her completely, and... well, that elevated Kenzi into the position of the most desirable female, something that is not her thing. No, seriously – while Bo gets out of one sexcapade and into another, Kenzi has stayed chaste...at least on screen and in canon (the past before Bo and others is probably another story), so her suddenly forming a triangle with Dyson and Hale was something else.

Well, not exactly. Among fanfiction there are enough cases of Kenzi being paired with both men – “In Memoriam” only showed that the cast and crew of the show listen and keep an eye on their fandom at least from time to time. A second point to them.

And the first point for masterfully presenting the world without Bo, where Kenzi is something of a thief, or maybe a minion for Trick and Hale is no longer the Ash. This, actually, is something of a sticky point – Hale’s predecessors on the show (S1 & 2) have left their office only when they died: does this mean that the posts of Ash and Morrigan (the latter is now occupied by Vex of all people) is temporary rather than permanent? The previous seasons (especially the first two) tended to indicate otherwise – a case of changing canon, perhaps, and not for the better.

The same goes for Una Mens – a group that has supposedly taken over Trick’s old job as the Blood King: introduced on a web episode in October, it is hard to figure out how they fit with the rest of the Bo-verse, with the council that decides who gets to be the Ash and Morrigan and all. This is a case of too much back-story already, not too little...

Finally, Vex. Frankly I am thinking that Paul Amos (who plays him) must have bribed someone in the crew to make him a more permanent part of the show as opposed to a one-ep villain from S1. Even at the end of S2 there was no reason to make Vex a part of the main cast and now that he is the leader of the Dark Fae...yes, he is not the man for the job and he knows it. I cannot say that it will be interesting to see what happens to him next, but it will be unavoidable, most likely.

Incidentally, Lauren was not in “In Memoriam” at all, though there was a waitress called “Amber” at the end of the episode – maybe that is she. Who knows?

Aoife. It is reasonably certain that she is back in town and without memories of Bo either. Considering that the end of S3 left Bo with her father, it is possible that the latter does not have any fond memories of Aoife also and did his best to distance her from the rest of the family. Sadly, this left Mr. Trick out; considering that Aoife went at him with a knife at the end of “In Memoriam” this leaves a rather interesting cliffhanger to end the episode.

Finally, the guest star from “Star Trek”, the Underfay collector. Considering that he was made a naga (a snake-man from Southeast Asia and India) the second mouth on the end of his tail was overkill – otherwise he was very impressive, until Dyson killed him with a spear to his second mouth/head. So much for him.

And so, the first episode of LG S4 went very impressively, showing quick thinking by cast and crew and some amazing special effects and acting. Considering that the final scene had Bo’s eyes glowing blue – a clear tie to the previous season – it is obvious that LG S4 shall be amazing.