Friday, January 30, 2015

RECAP: Beauty and the Beast – Season 2 Episode 22 –

 Déjà vu - The Beast diaries



Cat finally forgets about the “finding myself by dating other people” non-sense but has the “brilliant” idea of finding herself in Rebecca’s diary. She decides to repeat all of her ancestor’s greatest hits, like locking her boyfriend inside a dungeon and luring out bad beasts. However, Cat eventually concludes that following in the footsteps of a woman who had to witness the love of her life burn in a stake might not be the best idea after all.

NEW YORK 1854

We are in the middle of NYC in a pre-Gangs of New York/pre-Copper age. An angry mob is after poor 19th century beast Alistair. He is about to get shot when Rebecca, his damsel-not-in-distress, arrives just in time to save him [Looks like being a badass runs in Catherine’s family]. In the next few scenes we get some useful information: Alistair and Rebecca were definitely a couple [so Rebecca didn’t keep Alistair as a prisoner like we were initially led to believe]. Plus there was another beast terrorizing NY back in the day and pinning his ruthless murders on Alistair. History definitely repeats itself!

Usually, I am not a big fan of the “let’s go back in time and all the characters are played by the same actors for no reason” idea. But… Kristin and Jay looked so cute… and all the 1800s images were in Cat’s mind as she read Rebecca’s journal. So, I guess it makes sense she would “imagine” Rebecca and Alistar as herself and Vincent. So yeah… I’ll accept the gimmick.

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Catherine is obsessing about the fact that Rebecca loved Alistair and then she “KILLED him”. Vincent and his robe just want to make breakfast without worrying about something that happened two centuries ago. I agree with the robe. Vincent suggests that Catherine is just looking for something to worry about. Right on cue, JT arrives and tells them that they HAVE something to worry about: Gabe-Beast!

I have a timeline issue here. Last time we saw everyone, Vincent and Catherine were still at the youth hostel [about to get it on], while JT&T were at Gabe’s. All of the sudden, Cat and Vincent are at her apartment. So… are we assuming that they had sex at the hostel, then drove to Cat’s apartment and spent the rest of the night ignoring JT’s numerous phone-calls? Guess that is possible… but kinda rude, don’t you think? And why didn’t JT [or Tess] drive to Cat’s place sooner? A scorned beast ex-boyfriend is kind of a dire situation!

Anyway…  the gang drive to the CHURCHYARD OF MAULED NOSY REPORTERS and we discover that Gabe is a “proto-beast” now and that he killed Beth. Then, for some unknown reason, Tess starts acting really bitchy and tells JT to get out of the way and “go to his little lab”. Again… What am I missing here? Last we saw JT&T were making jokes about Lizzy D’s closet and acting all lovey-dovey. Then Gabe beasted out and… did they get into a fight I am forgetting? What the hell happened between Operation Fake Date and Déjà vu? I almost feel like I skipped an episode!

Whatever… Looks like Gabe’s plan is to pin Beth’s murder on Vincent, which won’t be too hard since a bunch of reporters ambush Vincent at the scene of the crime. He really needs to go back to rooftop hoping and tunnel strolls… Vincent just wants to end it all by killing Gabe, but Cat convinces him to hold off the beast brutality until she speaks with Agent Longshadow… So Cat calls Knox; but, unfortunately, he is unavailable on account of Gabe ripping out his heart!

I wonder if Anthony Ruivivar has a clause like this in his contract:

“When the time comes for the character to exit the show it MUST be murdered in a shocking and brutal way”

I mean… last time we saw Anthony, he was getting murdered with a pocket knife by a formerly Amish girl [caution, disturbing images when you click on the link]. Guess he ain’t the Thunder man after all. So long Agent Longshadow… you will be missed! I was really hoping he would be around for S3.

With their FBI-guardian-angel gone, Vincent goes back to his original plan: To kill Gabe. Catherine wants to stop him because killing Beasts is not OK… except when this happened and this and definitely THIS. Cat is unable to stop Vincent with her incomplete beast morality reasoning. JT has a more compelling argument. Turns out, new and improved Gabe-beast is much more powerful than Vincent, so he might die if they go mano a mano [or rather garra a garra].

And Catherine does what she always does when she is out of options: She pays Daddy Bob a visit. I really don’t know why she does it; he never gives her anything useful and just tells her to break up with Vincent over and over again. This time around, Catherine mentions Vincent is not getting more beastly and Bob is all “yeah… I wonder why that is…” He acknowledges Vincent may be the exception to the beast-rule or that maybe Catherine’s love will set him free or something corny like that. Even Catherine rolls her eyes. In the end, Bob repeats his usual speech “Beasts only get worse … there is a point of no return…” Bob is basically saying that when a beast loses its “humanity” they can’t go back… Agrr I don’t like that it started to sound like the stupid TVD “humanity switch” that I hate so much! DO NOT get me started on the humanity switch!

Meanwhile, JT frantically looks for Vincent, but ends up finding Gabe… not sure how that happened... Gabe is enjoying a cup of ristretto in Chinatown [or maybe it was tea? That would make more sense], waiting for Vincent to come and [try to] kill him. I must have an issue with evil guys; because I couldn’t help thinking Gabe looked particularly fine in this episode. Vincent arrives to the area [also looking fine] and Gabe starts baiting him and conveniently explains his motives. In a nutshell, he had to become a beast to protect Catherine from the beast she was dating… and… then what? Seriously, Gabe’s plan is so stupid. Let’s say he killed Vincent and protected Cat from being with a beast. What was next? Kill himself? Because if he killed V only to be with Cat as a beast his whole “protection” excuse does not work. Did he forget everything he learned in law school? He can’t even come up with a consistent argument anymore! Before Vincent can attack Gabe [and shut him up for good], JT shows up and shoots him with a tranq gun. They load the half-unconscious beast in Cat’s car and escape. New Yorkers must be seriously self-centered because JT and Tess basically tranqued and kidnap a man in the middle of the street and no-one even noticed.

BACK AT THE GUILD, Cat has a new plan that I DO NOT understand… It involves luring Gabe out with Vincent’s blood… Not sure how or why. Tess mentions something about “blood crumbs” later [not even the right fairy tale]. Then it is time for Cat to produce Rebecca’s diary once again and proclaim that “history is repeating itself”. The only history that is repeating itself at this point is Cat telling us for the 100th time that their story parallels Alistair and Rebecca’s! Cat’s illogical plan also involves JT gathering evidence to connect Gabe to a couple of murders [but not M] and Tess convincing Wardy to have a SWAT team ready. Cat will figure out the rest of the plan by… sitting down and reading the diary… because, you know HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF.

1854

Alistair goes after the BAD BEAST and gets hurt. Rebecca tends to his wounds, but decides to imprison Alistair inside Beagonstone and go after the beast herself. Yep… that wasn’t on the nose at all… [But hey, they look so pretty in period costumes].

PRESENT DAY

Cat takes unconscious Vincent to the dungeon and with the aid of the BEAST-STONE locks him up inside the beast-proof cell. We know, nothing says I love you like stabbing your boyfriend with tetanous… but I am not so sure about confining him inside a dungeon… That’s pretty misguided. And couldn’t she lock him up somewhere nicer?  With the gem, they don’t really need a beast-proof cell.

BACK AT THE PRECINCT, Wardy gets his SWAT team ready. So… basically Wardy just does what anyone [Gabe, Tess] tells him to do? I mean… he is getting a major SWAT team ready to go after a guy who is an alleged serial killer, only… he hasn’t seen any proof AND he is not going after Vincent, who should be a likely suspect in his eyes. Either he REALLY trusts his employees or he is VERY incompetent. [But I still love you Wardy!] There is also the possibility that Wardy is VERY corrupt and unscrupulous, because he basically tells Tess that he is getting someone for that murder and it can either be Gabe or Vincent, whoever they get first. Let’s call him “pragmatic”.

Tess meets with Cat in the middle of the street and she is all “I promised Ward a psycho by tonight so… TIC TOCK” But, Cat is having another crisis and finally realizes that Rebecca may have been wrong. Gee you think? If you are going to follow the advice of a dead relative, at least pick one who didn’t “kill” her boyfriend! Even Rebecca admitted that by forcefully “protecting” Alistair she may have made him vulnerable, which I think was the OBVIOUS conclusion from the start; but for some reason Catherine didn’t see it. It is also kind of ironic that Cat has been “protecting” Vincent against his will since she gets so upset when the men in her life [Bob, Gabe] provide unrequited “protection”.

At that point, Tess decides to have a MEANINFUL GIRL-TALK AT AN INAPPROPRIATE TIME. She tells Cat that she envies her epic love and wonders if she can have that with JT [is that the reason she was so bitchy? She got epicness envy?]. Cat’s all “epic is not all what it’s cracked up to be…” And then she goes because she has to leave a beast blood trail… which I still think it is stupid. Why would Vincent be bleeding? Is he supposed to be hurt? And doesn’t Gabe have comprehensive BEASTMONITIONS? Whatever… more tracking logic to annoy me…

In the middle of littering the city with cross-species blood, Cat has a change of heart. She remembers what she read on Rebecca’s journal and interprets it correctly for the first time. After Rebecca locked up Alistair in the dungeon [with the gem], the mob found and apprehended him [and apparently found a way to keep the gem on him? Smart mob]. They took him outside and burned the “beast” at the stake. [Guess beasts need to be killed just like witches #19thcenturylogic]. Rebecca watched horrified as the love of her life burned to death. So… I guess when Rebecca said she “killed” Alistair, she meant that her actions resulted in his death… which doesn’t exactly scream “follow in my footsteps unborn descendant!”

After her epiphany, Catherine rushes to Beagonstone to set her boyfriend free. While she unlocks the beast cage, Vincent goes from mad to concerned to mad again. It goes something like this “Of course I am mad! My girlfriend locked me up inside a dungeon! Wait… honey… are you OK? You are? Then I can’t believe you locked me up because your long lost relative did the same to her boyfriend!” Catherine explains that she finally realized the error of her ways; she should have trusted their strength as a couple. She asks Vincent to forgive her. He tries to stay mad, but she looks so adorable he can’t possibly say no. They kiss and make up. Vincent accepts that he wasn’t thinking clearly either. In the end, they agree to come up with a plan to get rid of Gabe without compromising anyone’s humanity.

They go back to the GUILD to confer with JT and… find him bleeding out, hanging from the ceiling! It was a horrific sight and for a few seconds I thought they might have been stupid enough to kill JT [seriously, that would be the most stupid move ever]. But fortunately, JT wasn’t dead dead, he was just dying. The ambulance arrives and the paramedics take JT away just as Tess walks in. She completely breaks down and realizes she cares about JT more than she was willing to admit. She also regrets being a bitch to him for mysterious reasons never explained. As the ambulance drives away, Vincent and Catherine have the same conversation they just had in the dungeon. WE GET IT, they have to WORK TOGETHER to catch Gabe!

At the COFFEE SHOP OF GIRL TALK AND BEAST CONFESSIONS BRAWLS, Vincent and Gabe have a pre-showdown guy talk. Gabe is still acting all smug and wonders if Cat will take him back after he kills Vincent, but even he knows that is CRAZY. So it is time To Kill a Mocking Beast. They beast- fight and it is a pretty cool confrontation I guess… but did it have to happen at IL CANTUCCIO? It was a little too contained.

Anyway, Vincent hesitates and Gabe gains the upper hand, but just when he is about to slit Vincent’s throat… Cat puts the beast collar on him and he de-beasts. Cat informs him that they put together some evidence to send him to jail for the rest of his life. Enraged, he goes after Catherine, the human way… And she defends herself [the vampire hunter way?] by staking him in the chest. So Gabe dies… to the hands of Catherine, not Vincent. She doesn’t seem as broken about killing him as she was the first time. And that is it for Gabe. I feel a little frustrated about what they did with Gabe. Sendhil is a very good actor and he is especially good at playing charming/evil characters. He was better suited for the antagonist role, but instead they made him the rebound guy/last minute baddie. At this point, the way the season was written, Gabe had to go… which is a shame, because they could have gotten much more out of that character [and actor].

BACK AT THE PRECINCT, Cat tells Wardy that Gabe was on a crazy quest to become a comic-book character or something like that. Ward actually buys it or just wants to close the case really badly. He tells Vincent he most likely will be off the hook and so is Cat apparently… You know how cops have to go through a series of psych-evals and paper work when they shoot someone? Apparently the same logic doesn’t apply to staking. Not only Cat doesn’t get in trouble for killing a public official, but she is rewarded by getting her badge back.

After talking to Ward, Vincent and Catherine rush to the hospital and find Tess crying because JT is not going to make it. Tess is devastated, Cat is shocked and Vincent is in doctor denial. Just then an alarm goes off. Everyone rushes to JT’s room because they think he is coding… but they actually find a happy biochemist on his road to recovery. The miracle recovery was a courtesy of Agent Barnett from Fringe Division.

Vincent recognizes Agent Barnett and pulls him aside for a talk. They are joined by Agent Thomas in the hallway. Vincent and Catherine ask all the obvious questions: “How? Why? And Who the hell are you?” They don’t say who they are, just that they are some sort of good samaritan scientists’ group. However, they do explain that they used an experimental nanoplasma to regenerate JT’s cells. Then they offer Vincent [and Cat?] a job and mention “there are worse things than beasts out there” [God, I hope this doesn’t turn out too supernatural-y]. The agents decide to give them some time to think about the job offer and tell Vincent to watch JT’s “T-Cell count”. Wait… does that mean JT could become a beast?! That would be one seriously cool twist [like when they turned Caroline into a vampire during the good days of TVD]. They have been very hush hush about it unless there are spoilers I don’t know about. I wonder if they actually would dare to go there… I would really like it.

And now time for the obligatory UPLIFTING FINAL SCENE just in case the show gets cancelled. Vincent and Catherine are FINALLY out in the world, with no-one chasing or trying to kill them. They sit on a bench by the river and talk about beast morality. As sappy as it sounds, Vincent is convinced that he, like Alistair, didn’t lose his humanity because he has someone who loves him. So he gets to hold on to his human side and Cat gets a kick-ass boyfriend/bodyguard + destined love in return. Cat tells him she doesn’t want to worry about the future and just wants to live in the moment with him. END OF SEASON.

OK, cute scene, but if that had been the last episode ever I would have been pissed! I still feel cheated that M went away in the blink of an eye. I always felt Vincent and Catherine destroying the M powers was their big quest. Having that well-defined enemy was one of the shortcomings of S2. Gabe’s vendetta was personal and didn’t happen until the last part of the season. So, as satisfying as it was to see Gabe finally die… I didn’t feel it was series finale-worthy. They planted some pretty cool stuff for S3 so I am really excited! I just hope they don’t go too far with the sci-fi elements because it is not exactly what the show is about.

And thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on these recaps! If you enjoyed the recaps, leave a parting comment now… You can also find me on twitter, facebook and now also on Tumblr!

I am also taking suggestions for new shows to recap...

Thanks for reading!

MORE RECAPS

QUOTES


Catherine: Please forgive me…/ Vincent: Mmm-hmm

18 comments:

  1. Thank you for another fun, fun recap - I just love your way with words and quotes and references to other shows, even though I do not know all of them or actually most of them, because I seem to be caught in a time loop of re-watching BATB episodes only and all the time.

    It is a bit like loving a child, but not being blind to its faults. I can scold my child, but nobody else better say anything bad about it. A bit schizophrenic I know.

    The little journey back in time was interesting and our couple did look so good. Having a slight issue with the time line, though. Rebecca Reynolds was helping Scotland Yard investigating murders/maulings in 1836 in her capacity as an insurance investigator. Let's forget for the moment that it was highly unusual for a woman to work in that field back then and let's further assume that she was in her early twenties. So 18 years later (1954), she and her beast show up in NYC, which would make her about 40 years old. There must have been a lot of story happening in those years. Too bad we did not get to hear it.

    And I like your assumption that they must have put the gem on Alistair in order to overpower him – not sure how they could know about the gem though. Since the journal did not clearly state how Alistair died, I believe it was all in Catherine's mind anyway – so who knows what really happened to him?

    Totally agree with you on the idea of leaving a blood trail was stupid. Gabe knew that Vincent was not hurt, so he must have figured out that the blood trail was a trap. But he was just cocky enough to follow it anyway.

    Also puzzled as to why Tess is so mean to JT all of a sudden and can only surmise that Brad Kern and Roger Grant (the writers of this episode) did not watch the previous episode too closely. I mean they were fine and kissing in Gabe's apartment and agreed that they were NOT sexually mismatched. Even if she is having doubts about her and JT being as great together as VinCat should not make he snarl at JT like that. I think it was only done for effect and the old trope that you do not know how much you like/love someone until you almost lose that person.

    Loved the scene in the dungeon after Catherine lets Vincent out and asks his forgiveness – she has the cutest little pout. And when they got back to the Guild, I had the same terrifying thought about JT being dead dead – my heart almost stopped when Catherine stepped on his glasses.

    Overall a satisfying ending to a very troubled and troublesome Season 2. Cannot wait for the DVD being released to watch the take outs and the gag reel. And then on to Season 3. Hope to hear from you at that time again. It was a wonderful ride – thanks again.

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  2. Thank you, Alex, for another spot-on and very funny recap! And thanks so much for all the time you have taken to give us these recaps each week. You truly helped me come to terms with the many heartbreaking and difficult scenes of S2. You have such generosity of spirit, really you do. I look forward to reading you on FB and hope you decide to recap another show...Outlander, hint, hint? Take good care and keep safe and warm. xx

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  3. Thanks for a fun and intelligent review. Always a pleasure to read your recaps. When I watch the episodes (which I confess to doing over and over) I often come away with a vage feeling of confusion, why would they do that or say this? And your reviews always pinpoint the fuzzy logic of the scripts. E.g. the blood trail … so unnecessary, if they thought Gabe wanted so badly to kill Vincent he could simply have stayed put in his or Cath’s home for Gabe to find him the usual way, by knocking at the door (or in Gabe's case crashing it down). Your point about the gem making it unnecessary with beast-proof dungeons was precious, Tess starting to act as if she is too good for JT, because she is a cool NY detective and he is "just" a NY professor? Seriously, we are supposed to think that is believable? What is she? 12? No, she is not. Even if she has had to act that way in many episodes.

    The totally unnecessary visit to Bob, just to fill out his contracted screen time. Cath actually asking him advice even though she knows what it will be and she doesn’t want it anyway.

    Gabe telling his point of view, finally very free with his opinions after being silent and ambiguous for 24 episodes. And since he has never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, always acting on the borders of illegality and/or stupidity, his arguments are hollow to say the least. I can’t say I was impressed with SR, neither as the good guy, nor as the undoubted villain. He somehow always got his portray of Gabe slightly wrong IMO. Too sleazy when he was supposed to be good, too crisp and clear when he was the baddie.

    Cath often seems to mistrusts Vincent even more than she mistrusts Gabe or Bob. She doesn't trust his humanity, nor his ability to fend for himself. Locking up someone to protect them, that is usually the first sign of a deranged mind. Her actions are about on par with the trope of the lonely teenager walking down into the basement to investigate. We all meant to shout "Don't do it!" .

    And the end scene, that was very subdued and toned down which was at least original. The only strange note was when Vincent was being so happy about finally perhaps having a real job and Cath not even allowing him that pleasure.

    Jay Ryan as always is creating a natural and believable portrait of Vincent, I never feel confused in his scenes, he can turn every scene into something interesting.

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  4. I am going to miss your recaps. They are always fun and thought provoking. I love that you gave the bathroom an identity. Vincent and his bathrobe making breakfast. LOL

    You got me thinking about the psych-evals. She did have one, but only when she was shot. In the meantime she killed three people by shooting them in the back, and killed one with a stake through the heart and that didn't raise an eyebrow. Well, they probably only knew about two, Barnes/Darnell and Jacob beast. The Sheckman body guard was found in an ally so she wasn't fingered as doing the deed.

    The beginning dates were incorrect. The ending credits show the correct date, it was supposed to be 1840 just like we have been told throughout season 2. They must have had a left over title scene from another show and just used it for the opening.

    I found it odd that no one thought that Gabe would go after JT once he saw that JT was helping Vincent. And how convenient for a building to be built next to the gentlemen's club just in time for Gabe to stare down at JT from the roof.

    The blood trail idea was just another of those wild hairbrained ideas that Cat convinces everyone is workable. Or locking someone in a dungeon for their safety. Or "I have control over him and will use it" remember those famous last words?

    I realize they give her love the credit for saving Vincent from himself, but the entire time he was being "redeemed" she was with Gabe so Vincent discovered his own humanity and his own innate goodness. Mostly because he was trying to win her love, not because she gave it.

    The ending left me a little disappointed. "He tried to be good" relieves Gabe of any wrong doing.

    I for one was happy that SR's character was gone. I instantly disliked him from the moment he appeared in season 1. Nothing he ever did seemed genuine. His pursed lips, the constant grin, and his obvious distaste for his love scenes was irritating.

    At best the character was tepid until he could finally offer something forceful as the villain. It was a long 30 episodes waiting for him to become compelling.

    I will miss you and hope to be right back here when season 3 starts. Even when complaining about my favorite show, I wouldn't miss one minute.

    It feels like I was given a gift that I had not witnessed before. I learned what "chemistry" looks like. And how a team of great actors can overcome plot holes and strange dialog and make us love them, and impatiently wait for the next episode, no matter what.


    Marsha

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    1. I hate spell check sometimes, it was supposed to say I love how you gave the BATHROBE an identity, not the bathroom!
      Sorry,
      Marsha

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  5. "OK, cute scene, but if that had been the last episode ever I would have been pissed! I still feel cheated that M went away in the blink of an eye. I always felt Vincent and Catherine destroying the M powers was their big quest. Having that well-defined enemy was one of the shortcomings of S2. Gabe’s vendetta was personal and didn’t happen until the last part of the season. So, as satisfying as it was to see Gabe finally die… I didn’t feel it was series finale-worthy. They planted some pretty cool stuff for S3 so I am really excited! I just hope they don’t go too far with the sci-fi elements because it is not exactly what the show is about."

    WORD!! AND I MEAN, WORD!!!

    regarding J.T. from spoilers that have come out and as ashton confirmed he aint gonna be a beast or have beast DNA

    loved reading your reviews and please update on any new ones on other shows! i would love banshee ones and breaking bad ones please.

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  6. Great recap, I hope the writers read them and avoid all the logic pitfalls and plot holes from S2 I hope to read more S3 from you, thanks for helping me through the hiatus

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  7. Thanks for all your hard work Alex. I know it takes time to write, and you do it so well, great recaps. There are so many inconsistencies and things left in nowhere in S2 so it's annoying. I hope they aim for a bit higher quality writing in S3. Lucky for the writers they have 4 great actors with amazing chemistry to cover for their shortages.

    For some strange reason I obsessively love our BATB-show, even with its defects, and the hiatus feels really long. Really looking forward to your reviews/recaps S3.

    Guess you know my favorite show (besides BATB) and it would be great to read your recaps on GOT of course :)
    Another show I dont think is mentioned yet is Continuum (sci-fi with female lead and a “big bad”).

    /MiaZ

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    1. The100 is also a great show, prob one of the most interesting and best written shows on CW. Since I get a feeling they actually glance a little bit at GOT it would be interesting to see your reviews/recaps :)
      /MiaZ

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    2. I have to say... I enjoyed The 100 since it premiere (even despite irrational TV Hatred), but this season they definitely took it to another level. It's a solid show and they are doing a good job with it.

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    3. much as i love vin cat,it was unwatchable with the new love.yuck. i only read the recaps! s3 i will be able to watch again,jay is very talented.recaps very funny and entertaining. annoymous spoke the words tor me

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  8. I love this show and wish it could have ended better for Alistair

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    1. I know... getting executed witch style... not a good way to go

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  9. Season-end comments Part One: I think I just am so mad that the writers did so many things that destroyed the characters for plots they thought were cool and didn't even bother to fix the characters really afterward or give explanations. Why piss off your fans for no reason? Why ruin the 1 thing that made your show diff, the beautiful relationship between V and C? Why add stuff that didn't advance the plot, but saddened or angered fans? Like love triangles are fine, but the writers went way to far. No show I have ever watched made such a shocking turn in their 2nd season. It was like new characters. Did the actors not care anymore to say something when things seemed OOC like suggesting minor changes in dialogue? It's not their job, but they used to do that and I felt like they kept their chars in char and in tune with fans' desire. I hope some of the issues in season 2 get fixed in season 3. Hire new romantic writers or character writers if they exist I thought making V a firefighter was unnecessary and overkill. I hated the push between Vincat. I hated the way it was dealt with. I just think of it as he isnt a human so it isn't a "real" dv situation, but mainly I try not to think of it bc it was horrible and painful to see. And so unnecessary...they could have had him almost push her and shock her and us. I hated how out of character V and C acted. V pushing. V;s kiss and relationship with Tori...him befriending the beast who tried to kill Cat when old V never would have. What was C's excuse though for OOC (out of character)? She wasn't brainwashed. At least V was so it made it easer albeit still hard to watch his messed up actions. I just kept telling myself he doesn't know any better, but C did! Why would C act so committed to Gabe who tried to kidnap her and kill the love of her life? Was she just lonely and rebounding? Why would she say she loved him? She didn't act like she did. Disgusting and so unnecessary. Why would her and V sleep with other people? Again, unnecessary and their distance could have been explained by them just dating other people. Yes, you can date and not have sex. I mean, it's rare on TV, but this isnt a normal show, it's about epic love so they shouldn't have said ILY or had sex with others. Just tainted it for me.

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    1. Season End Comments Part 2: Anyone have an explanation from the writers or the cast about why they slept with other people or why Cat said she loved Gabe? Like didn't KK make changes in Season 1? I wished she said and they listened she wanted it to say I cared for you instead! How much easier would that have been to swallow for us? Not her resp., but she seems to get Cat. I'm going to have to forget a lot of things. Anyone know how to make that possible? So much of this stuff was obviously going to piss off fans. Were the writers even reading it? Like how did they write this stuff? Some was illogical, some was unnecessary and painful. And you should want fans to be able to watch your show. I think they need like a BATB super fan, like me just saying ha, who loves VC apart and together and wants to protect their characters and relationship. I would have said, hey that isn't consistent or tweak that line a little and it could have been WAY less controversial and painful. Like "I cared for you' instead of "I loved you." Hell, that's not hard. And some stuff is inconsistent like they don't remember the stuff they already told us. They need someone in there with a better memory! They were just trying to shock us on the show this year and they did that, but turned me off, too. I hope they remember that the show works because of Vincat. Again, Vincat apart in season 2 would have been okay as long as they weren't serious with others and weren't acting so OOC. Anyway, I still love BATB and Vincat. It's one of only 2 shows I have ever been obsessed with. I love BATB because JR and KK have amazing chemistry and are magic together. I don't know how they do it, but I am going to try to forget season 2 and focus on their chemistry and acting and think ahead to season 3. I care too much about this show and characters. LOL I love the characters, which is why the bad and painful stuff bothers me so much! I want someone to make season 2 better for me. LOL I hope the writers add a sentence or two in season 2 like Cat lied to Gabe that she had lied to him to manipulate him. A few minor changes this season would have gone a long way. No ILY, no sex, no dv. I mean come on. To be positive we have gotten a lot of things other shipper fans haven't-2 beautiful epic love scenes in season 1, 2 amazing 1st and second kisses in season 1, and just all the intense looks of season 1. and the whole I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Some shows end before any of that. And some shows never make that stuff believable bc the chemistry isn't there I'll always be SO grateful for BATB for those things. For example, when the couple on Bones got together there was no love or even makeout scene really. It was so anticlimactic. Plus, no other couple on TV for me has been more believably in love than JR and KK on BATB so their chemistry is a gift and even if season 2 was rough I am still thankful for the good amazing and emotional moments we have gotten. And the ones we will get in the future. I'll try to just be grateful for those and not think of the bad as much. Thanks for the recaps and for the place to rant. I haven't really vented before about s2 like this. Obvi BATB is my fave show and I'll watch every episode made of it.

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    2. Ep comment: My fave ep of s2. Loved the R/Alistair story. I'm sorry they killed him off&ended their story. I wanted more. I loved the flashbacks+ I loved Cat envisioning A/R as her & V. It made sense to me that these 2 chars therefore who would look like her and V. & it made it more emotional when Alistair died bc we saw V dying & Cat screaming. Beautifully done. I ship A/R. Really beautiful imagery. The accents were fine with me. I loved Cat obsessing about her ancestor killing her beast. V was super chill. Does he just trust Cat loves him too much to kill him? I loved Cat's My beast and My Vincent stuff. It sounded sweet and she was so concerned. They seemed more like season 1 Vincat to me in this ep and I LOVED that. I loved Rebecca's kiss to distract Alistair and how desperate people do desperate things line. She's more fiery than Cat. I liked it. Also, JR like picked KK up a bit in that scene to move her out of the way from the towns people-adorbs. There was more intensity and emotion in this episode that I felt. I feel like KK killed it in this ep as both chars. She portrayed desperation, sadness, love, and all mainly with just her eyes. Great acting. Her sadness and the way she talks about how Rebecca loved Alistair really made me believe she loved V in the same way she loved him in season 1. and her eyes showed me that, too. I like that both C and Rebecca are a bit bad girls gone bad with their respective lovers. I, too, was super confused why R would kill Alistair. But the way she talked about them I could tell Cat was really talking about her and V. I thought the kisses between Vincat were really sweet in the beginning of the ep and like Cat almost seemed under V's spell when he was telling her not to worry about the past. Great acting. Loved Cat's concern for V during the whole ep. I liked R tending to Alistair's wounds, but she did it with spunk. Plus, she said what he does affects her life, too, and that was great and applies to Vincat, too. Like you dying isn't your choice bc then you're ruining my life, too. I loved C's guilt over locking up V and her finally realizing with the symbolism of blood on her hands that she was going to kill V if she left him trapped. I liked the blood on hands-on point. I assume beasts like dogs can easily sniff/detect blood. I hated Tess' like are JT and me the new Vincat...it's like I hope the writers make them more casual not try for the epic thing..it's just not there chem-wise (sweet, but not the same) and I'm a firm believer there should be only 1 epic couple per show. I was shocked when I saw JT. I for a 2nd thought the writers were insane enough to kill him off. Thank god it wasn't true. I don't want JT to be a beast BTW so I don't know what the docs did to him in the end, but what are JT and T supposed to have the exact same life as Vincat? They shouldn't be as great as Vincat. They're not the main couple. I don't buy Tess and JT are in love, but whatever. I don't care as much bc I'm not emotionally invested in their rel. I liked Cat's stronger now than before speech and they should handle Gabe together. Their kiss and her pout were adorable. I'm glad C not V killed Gabe so there's no conflict. She didn't seem that upset about it, which was weird, but I'm glad she didn't act devastated. You mock, but thank god for the happy end scene or I would have been devastated. I needed it bc if BATB got cancelled and it ended on a cliffhanger, just no. Thak god the writers ended it with them happy and a couple in love. Sweet end scene. Thank god Gabe is gone. Sorry to see Sendhil go, but since he played Gabe he just had to bc Gabe had to. I think the end scene wasn't romantic enough or big enough for a series finale I'm going to need more when it happens-I pray they have notice. I agree that V found his own humanity. I, too, was like okay Cat enough with Gabe in the end scene. She just sounds so sympathetic to him. END S2 RANT.

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    3. Hey Nic I like everything you wrote and especially this; "They were just trying to shock us on the show this year and they did that, but turned me off, too. " The writers/showrunner ruined the show and never even realized it.

      I still watch BATB but only for Jay Ryan's excellent acting. I used to love KK too but her script became too stupid, the last straw was Cath locking up Vincent to protect him. Apart from being extremely brain-less, it is offensive and illegal to lock anyone up. And then there was her sanctimonious "I loved you" to Gabe when we all know she didn't. And her reproachful "I came with an open heart", when she openly stated intention was to manipulate Gabe. Did they write that script with the sole purpose of making us see Cath as a manipulating, lying, delusional character? Anyway her character became too unpleasant to watch after that. Somehow Jay managed to keep Vincent's character understandable and consistent in spite of similar clumsy and weak-minded twists of the script.

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  10. I forgot to say thanks for putting up with my long+ranty comments. I guess I wanted to vent & share my perspective so thanks for the space to do so. Your reviews were great & helpful in seeing a new side to things, which made season 2 a bit better. I was just processing season 2 as I commented, which is why my comments were ridiculous rants. The actors make the show for me, esp.JR & KK (grateful for their great acting) so I'm def going to watch every ep made of my fave show. I just like the show too much. :)

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