RECAPLETTE: Beauty and the Beast - S3E3 - Bob & Carol & Vincent & Cat

You shall not trust people named “Bob”  

The episode starts with Catherine and Vincent struggling with normal couples’ issues: demanding careers, struggling to find “us” time, sleep deprivation, finding the big bad behind the secret supernatural army… we’ve all been there right? [it certainly feels like it!]

There is one crucial question haunting everybody: “Who shot Agent Thomas?”

According to last week’s poll, readers predicted that Agent Thomas was shot by a supernatural we hadn’t yet met [I voted JT]. The readers were correct, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Cat is desperate to find the BIG BAD behind Agent Thomas’s shooting, mostly because she wants to check one thing off her “todo list”. Unfortunately for her, CAPTAIN WARD [yay Wardy is back!] hands the case over to the DHS because he knows how to pick his jurisdiction battles or something [Captaincy 101]. The DHS Agents taking over are Bob and Carol Hall, played by Natasha Henstridge [whom I love since that silly Charlie’s Angels spoof she was in] and Alan Van Sprang [AKA The King, whom I really liked on the few episodes of Reign I managed to watch].Only one problem with the guest casting: It was a bit spoilery, because… come on, no way those two were not evil!

Meanwhile, Heather has appointed herself Vincat’s “wedding planner” and she is determined to recycle her already planned [most likely over the top] wedding. Everything is going to be pink, isn’t it? Elsewhere, JT is in the middle of a scientific elimination process to rule out potential serum induced abilities. Spoiler alert: Electrokinesis and X-ray vision… Not in the cards. What would be a cool superpower for JT? How about Mind Reading? He is a total Matt Parkman- type. 

Tess is OK with being “off the case” because she can focus on her Cap Campaign. Cat… not so much. If I were to give a superhero codename to Cat, it would be the “Determinator” [It’s actually a thing, look it up”]. So Cat is determined to find out who shot Agent Thomas. The fact that someone tried to shoot her dead in her own rooftop doesn’t deter her one bit. So she lures poor newbie Dr. Keller into helping her break into the hospital crime scene to look for clues. Once inside the room where Agent Thomas met his maker, they realize that he was killed by a sniper. Eh… is this supposed to be a big reveal? “Shot by sniper” is what I IMMEDIATELY assumed last week. I guess the reveal is that the sniper used some sort of super-ricocheting-bullet with an impossible angle… and the bullet that killed agent Thomas, same kind than the one used to shoot Cat.

But no more un-shocking reveals from Vincat, because they get totally busted by Bob and Carol. The older couple take the crime scene trespassers back to the precinct. They go all bad cop/bad cop on them until they notice they are a couple and sympathize because they are couple too. Aw. So they decide to team up and fight crime together because two crime fighting couples are better than one, I guess… They even include civilian Vincent in the investigation because he makes the following VERY compelling argument: “I can help”.

So Bob & Carol & Vincent & Cat [& Wardy] go hunt for the sniper. The only possible building from where they could have taken the shot belongs to a drug-lord: JULIO ESPINOZA [can we not make the drugdealer latino next time?]. Of course, kingpins tend to be a bit paranoid with their security, so Cat and Carol go undercover as call girls. I am VERY disappointed that they didn’t raid Sydney Bristow’s closet on their way there. I mean, come on, if there ever was a situation calling for a wig… In summary, the badass girl duo break into Julio’s study and using the ultimate weapon of female destruction [the stiletto heel], they neutralize Julio’s security team and steal the security footage of the penthouse. That’s what I call girl power.  

The girls meet with their respective men and take a minute so we can all notice what a good looking foursome they are. Bob and Carol are about to take the drive [with the security footage] to the DHS but Vincent is all “let’s give it to my best friend ANOTHER CIVILIAN FYI so he can analyse it”. Bob and Carol agree, because that’s what normal DHS agents would do: Give classified information to random civilians. Of course JT never gets to analyse the drive because someone [literally] shoots it off his hand. So it’s back to the hospital for JT. 

Vincent and Catherine are in a momentary high, thinking that they found the perfect couple to double-date. They even consider letting them in on their “supernatural hunters” secret over dinner at the houseboat. However, Vincent has a change of heart. Looks like he is FINALLY learning that people shouldn’t be trusted [especially when their name is BOB!]. Cat tries to call the DHS to cancel their dinner plans only to find out that there are no “Bob” and “Carol” there. Seriously? Does ANYONE check credentials on this show?

So Cat puts 2 and 2 together and realizes that Bob and Carol are in fact:

THE SUPERNATURAL BEINGS OF THE WEEK! --> Bob and Carol Hall

Superpowers: Brain processing super speed allowing to anticipate everyone’s moves [sort of like that dude on Alphas]

Code Name: “The Chess Masters”? “The anticipators”? “Observers”? – OK, that sucks… let’s stick to Bob & Carol

I was totally expecting “evil” but I didn’t realize they were also the SPNers of the week. That was a nice surprise.

Cat’s epiphany, however, comes a bit too late and they don’t get a chance to re-schedule dinner. Bob & Carol immediately notice something is off and attack Vincat first. Cat goes against Carol but she blocks anticipates her every move. Same happens with Vincent and Bob until V FINALLY beasts out and kicks Bob’s a**. You weren’t anticipating “Beast”, were you Bob? The evil couple suddenly give up the fight and run away… but they are not quitters, they are just running away from the BOMB they put below the boat! Luckily, Vincent still has his super-hearing so he manages to drag Cat overboard, just as the boat explodes. First the warehouse, now this? No-one should ever rent property to Vincent.

At least they don’t have to worry about the police, because the newly minted CAPTAIN VARGAS will probably accept the “gas explosion” excuse. Good for Tess… she deserves something good. Not sure how believable it is [considering last season Gabe kept complaining about their poor performance], but hey… if Debra Morgan can do it… so can Tess. 

BACK AT THE GUILD, JT realizes that he is NOT turning into Matt Parkman. He is actually turning into Claire Bennet. In other words, JT can heal himself, but Vincent can’t anymore… Hey, at least he finally has one up on him [Everyone together now: “Save the biochemist, save the world”]. 

Meanwhile, Cat goes out on a stroll with Heather… in the park… out in the open. Because it’s not like Cat has a couple of super-snipers on her a**… Oh wait a minute, she DOES! So while Bob aims his sniper gun at Cat, she has a moment of sisterly love. Heather comes to terms with the end of her engagement and Cat realises that a wedding is not something you “get out of the way”. It was a very sweet moment, but I still thinks that Heather is getting married at some point; mostly because if they don’t explain Matthew I am going to kill someone. Like Bob was planning to do with Cat… until Carol stops him because they “need her to get to him”… “Him” meaning Vincent? I am a bit confused. Yet intrigued. I like where this plot is going.

END OF EPISODE

I really liked this episode. The guest stars were amazing and I thought it was fun to watch, plus I like the serialized story that is unfolding. I loved Heather and all her interactions with the other characters. Her contrast with Vincent [and even JT] is really funny and she brings out a sweet side of Cat.

I was again a bit underwhelmed [but not necessarily displeased] with the “relationship” portion of the episode. I thought Vincat’s interactions were very cute and I totally get their struggle because my biggest ambition in life is finding time to sleep. But this is not an emotional high point I am going to remember. Perhaps that is precisely the point: Keeping the Vincat’s relationship in the background for now while they focus on building everything else. Not necessarily a bad idea assuming they are heading towards a turning point with heavy emotional impact. If that is the case [and I hope it is] I can wait for the emotion because I think they are doing a great job with the rest.

It is tough to please everyone with BatB because it is a triple genre mash-up: part romance/part action adventure/part sci-fi. I happen to love all three aspects, but not everyone does. When they favour one element over the other, they are bound to alienate some fans. For instance, S1 was great in the “romance department” however I was always complaining about the wasted science fiction potential. This season, they seem to be focusing on the action/adventure element and have vastly improved the sci-fi aspect; but may have reduced the “tumultuous romance” [for now].

Having said that… It is possible to have memorable emotional scenes on genre shows. I am sure I cried in 90% of Fringe episodes and that show was more sci-fi oriented than BatB is right now. However, they always managed to include at least one scene in every ep that touched you. That’s what I want to see and I think BATB has the potential to have those moments, but maybe they still need a bit of build-up to get there.

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